Written Answers of 26 November 1991

TRANSPORT

  Kent Link
  Mr. Gregory
  To ask the Secretary of Stale for Transport how much money has been approved for re-equipment of the Kent link services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Approval has been given to the following investment in Kent link:

  Project

  Cost £ million

  Initial build of 400 Class 465 Networker vehicles (to make 4-car trains)

  297

  86 Class 466 Networker vehicles (2-car version of Class 465)

  67

  A further 188 Class 465 vehicles

  127

  Infrastructure (including platform lengthening)

  120

  Total

  611

  The Government have just increased British Rail's external finance limit for next year by nearly £1 billion to a total of over £2 billion. It is for BR to allocate resources to specific schemes within its external finance limit: that limit is not hypothecated to particular projects.

  Channel Tunnel
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safety precautions will be installed on channel tunnel trains to deal with vehicle fires.

  Mr. Freeman
  The safety precautions required for Eurotunnel's shuttle trains are set out in the report on non-segregation of drivers and passengers from their vehicles, published by the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority in March 1990. The report is available in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Speed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he intends to make a further statement on the channel tunnel or its associated transport infrastructure before the next meeting of the joint consultative committee in Kent.

  Mr. Freeman
  If any statement is made on matters of concern to my hon. Friend, I shall write to him.

  Rail Line, Cowlairs
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the railway inspectorate's provisional approval of the single line chord at Cowlairs, to which he referred in his answer of 7 November,Official Report, column 189.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have made arrangements for a copy of Her Majesty's railway inspectorate's provisional approval to the single line chord at Cowlairs to be deposited in the Library.

  Trains (Ages)
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the average age of(a) engines and (b) passenger train units currently in service, excluding InterCity, by British Rail region.

  Mr. Freeman
  This information is not available by British Rail region. The average ages by sector are as follows:

  Multiple units

  Locomotives and loco-hauled stock

  Regional railways

  16

  25

  Netword SouthEast

  19

  27

  EC Meetings
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the EC Ministerial Council meetings at which his Department has, or will be, represented during November and December.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues have attended any meeting during November. I expect to attend the meeting of the Transport Council to be held in Brussels on 16–17 December.

  Mr. Forman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list for himself, and for each of the Ministers at his Department, details of (i) the number of visits made during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business;

  (2) if he will list (i) the number of visits made by officials in his Department during the past month to destinations outside the United Kingdom but within the European Community on official business related to the European Community, (ii) the number of visits made by officials in his Department to Brussels within the past month on official business related to the European Community and (iii) the number of nights spent by officials in his Department over the past month away from the United Kingdom on official European Community business.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  No. Many of my officials attend EC-related meetings outside the United Kingdom. These are very numerous and the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Road Haulage
  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he proposes any changes to the fees charged to United Kingdom hauliers for international road haulage permits in 1992.

  Mr. Chope
  I am glad to announce some further fee reductions following the successful negotiation of significant increases in the United Kingdom's bilateral and multilateral quota. This has resulted in greater income from permits without significant increases in costs.
  425
  Our success benefits British hauliers twice—first, from the more plentiful supply of permits and, secondly, from the reduction in fees.

  The fees will be as follows, with the 1991 charges in brackets:

  £

  £

  Single journey permit

  £2

  (£2)

  Multi journey permit for two or more journeys

  £1 per journey

  (£1)

  Annual period permit

  £20

  (£40)

  Three month period permit

  £5

  (£10)

  Multilateral EC/ECMT 3 annual permit

  £40

  (£80)

  Multilateral EC/ECMT 3 month permit

  £10

  (£20)

  Community Removals (annual)

  £5

  (£25)

  Multilateral EC 1 month permit

  £5

  (£7)

  EC 1 month cabotage permit

  £5

  (£5)

  Mr. Hind
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will announce the outcome of his Department's recent bilateral negotiations on road transport with the Soviet Union and its republics.

  Mr. Chope
  These negotiations resulted in agreement that road hauliers travelling between the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union and its republics will no longer need to carry permits as from 1 April 1992. We have also reached agreement with Portugal that road hauliers travelling between the United Kingdom and Portugal will no longer need to carry permits from 1 January 1992.

  These follow my Department's success in February—March this year in negotiating the ending of permits between the United Kingdom and Hungary and the United Kingdom and Czechoslovakia from 1 January 1992.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Latest estimates are that about 24,000 calls to directory inquiries are made each year, representing approximately 1·5 calls for each member of staff annually.

  Air Pollution
  Ms. Hoey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he intends to take to combat air pollution caused by road transport.

  Mr. Chope
  [pursuant to the answer, 22 November, Vol. 199, c. 236]: On 1 October the EC Council of Ministers adopted an amending directive 91/542/EEC prescribing stricter limits on the same gaseous emissions from new diesel-engined trucks and buses over 3·5 tonnes. Limits on emissions of particulates are also set for the first time. There will be two stages, the first to take effect in 1992–93 and the second in 1995–96, with the potential for a third, starting in 1999. The 1992–93 stage substantially reduces the limit for emissions of NOx and establishes limits for particulate emissions. The 1995–96 stage goes further with NOx reduction, so that the limit will be less than half its present value, and reduces the particulate limit to a level of stringency similar to that to be applied in the United States from 1994.

  Both directives set ambitious targets with a challenging but industrially realistic timetable, putting the United
  426
  Kingdom and its EC partners on a course for substantial longer-term progress in improving the quality of air in our towns and cities.

  Regulations will shortly be laid before Parliament introducing the directives into United Kingdom law.

  The Government are also pressing the EC Commission to propose a directive to control CO2 emissions from motor vehicles using a system of tradeable credits to ensure effective control of this important greenhouse gas.

  On 1 November a new MOT emissions check came into effect. If motorists keep their engines in tune, less fuel is burnt and therefore fewer pollutants are emitted. It is expected that the check should improve fuel consumption and hence reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 4 per cent. averaged over the 16·5 million cars and light vans in the MOT scheme, with substantially larger benefits to carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions.

  During 1992 the Government also plan to introduce an instrumented smoke check into the annual test procedure for large goods vehicles and buses.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Pensions
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of(a) the basic state retirement pension, (b) state earnings-related pension scheme, (c) occupational pensions and (d) personal pensions as a percentage of gross domestic product each year since 1979; and what estimates he makes, stating his assumptions, for 1995, 2005, 2015, 2025 and 2035.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The cost of basic state retirement pension and the state earnings-related pension scheme as a percentage of gross domestic product from 1978–79 to 1990–91 is given in the table.

  Estimates of the cost of basic state retirement pension and SERPS are not available for the future years quoted in the question, but estimates for certain years up to 2050–51 are published in the report by the Government Actuary on the second quinquennial review under section 137 of the Social Security Act 1975, a copy of which is available in the Library.

  The Government do not publish assumptions for money GDP for the future years quoted.

  Comparable information on the cost to pension providers of occupational and personal pensions is not available.

  Basic RP Expenditure £ million

  Percentage of GDP

  SERPS Expenditure £ million

  Percentage of GDP

  1978–79

  7,552

  4·43

  —

  —

  1979–80

  8,815

  4·30

  1

  0·0005

  1980–81

  10,518

  4·50

  8

  0·003

  1981–82

  12,107

  4·72

  19

  0·01

  1982–83

  13,509

  4·82

  40

  0·01

  1983–84

  14,553

  4·78

  60

  0·02

  1984–85

  15,181

  4·66

  87

  0·03

  1985–86

  16,443

  4·61

  141

  0·04

  1986–87

  17,560

  4·58

  219

  0·06

  1987–88

  18,356

  4·33

  292

  0·07

  1988–89

  18,857

  4·00

  380

  0·08

  1989·90

  20,171

  3–96

  526

  0·10

  1990·911

  21,990

  4·02

  725

  0·13

  1 Estimated expenditure.

  Carers Charter
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to introduce a carers charter to ensure the mutual financial independence of carers and disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  We have no such plans. However, by the end of the year the Benefits Agency plans to publish its own customer charter which will take account of the needs of all its customers. An independent income for carers is provided in the form of invalid care allowance—ICA. More carers are now able to benefit following recent extensions in the provision of attendance allowance, the introduction of a carer premium into the income-related benefits and increases in the ICA earnings limit, from £12 per week prior to April 1990, to £40 from April 1992.

  Housing and Mortgage Statistics
  Mr. Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will detail the annual figures for(a) mortgage interest tax relief and (b) housing benefit for the years 1989–90, 1990–91 and the projected figures for 1991–92, respectively.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The amounts of housing benefit paid to beneficiaries and the tax relief given on mortgage interest in the United Kingdom for the relevant years are shown in the table.

  Housing benefit1

  Mortgage interest relief £ billion

  1989–90

  4·3

  6·8

  1990–91

  24·9

  37·7

  1991–92

  45·4

  56·1

  Notes:

  1 Excludes Rate Rebates and Community Charge Benefit. Includes Rent Rebates and Rent Allowances.

  2 Estimated outturn.

  3 Provisional figure.

  4 Planned expenditure.

  5 Estimated figure based on the assumption that current interest rates are unchanged for the rest of the year.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Moate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received about the working of the housing benefit direct payment procedure, particularly with regard to delays in payment and failure by recipients of benefit always to make rental payments; what changes are being considered to the guidance notes to local authorities; and what other measures are being considered.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Full statutory responsibility for the administration of the housing benefit scheme rests with local authorities, which are required to ensure that the system is working effectively and in accordance with the rules of the scheme. Regulations prescribe that claims should be processed within 14 days of receipt of all the necessary information, or as soon as possible thereafter. Where, through no fault of the applicant, a claim cannot be settled within 14 days, interim payments should be made.

  An important principle underlying the social security reforms is that individuals should be encouraged to take
  428
  responsibility for managing their own affairs. Housing benefit is, therefore, normally paid direct to private tenants in the form of a cash rent allowance to enable them to discharge their liability to their landlord. Nevertheless, regulations do give local authorities wide-ranging powers to pay benefit direct to a tenant's landlord, for example where rent arrears have accrued or where social or medical problems clearly indicate that help with budgeting is needed. A number of representations have been received about local authorities' use of those powers, and the Department therefore intends to issue further guidance on the relevant legislation to authorities in due course.

  Disabled People and Carers
  Mr. Moate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what, in real terms, is the increase on expenditure on benefits for disabled people and carers since 1979.

  Mr. Scott
  Total planned expenditure on benefits for disabled people and carers for 1991–92 is £11,950 million—an increase of 152 per cent. in real terms over spending in 1978–79.

  Departmental Contracts
  Mr. Thornton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many computer management and consultancy contracts were awarded by his Department in 1991, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will give the total value of these contracts; how many contracts were subject to competitive tender; and if he will give the value of these contracts.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Since January 1991 we have awarded 19 such contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases. The total value of the contracts is about £20 million. Eleven were let by competitive tender; the total value of these is about £13·5 million.

  Mr. Thornton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the names of the companies shortlisted for each computer management and computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1991, excluding hardware and software purchases.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Details of companies shortlisted for computer management and consultancy contracts represents commercial-in-confidence information.

  Care Homes
  Mr. Moate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will specify the measures being taken to help those in residential care and nursing homes.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Special higher levels of income support are available to people in residential care and nursing homes towards the cost of their fees. On 21 October, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced proposals for substantial increases, from April 1992, to the limits which apply to people in such homes, including increases of £20 a week for two groups of people—the mentally handicapped and the very dependent elderly—and £15 to almost all the other limits.

  From April 1993, new arrangements will be implemented as part of the Government's community care policy for the assessment and provision of care for such people. This will improve the effectiveness and targeting of the resources.

  Contributions Agency
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the powers available to inspectors at the Contributions Agency relating to entry of premises, seizure and inspection of documents; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The agency's inspectors have powers relating to entry of premises and inspection of documents to ensure that the Acts and regulations are complied with. The relevant legislation is contained in section 58 of the Social Security Act, 1986, and regulation 32 of the Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 1979 which is summarised as follows:—

  Certified inspectors are empowered to:

  (1) enter at all reasonable times any premises where persons are employed or from where any agency or business is being conducted.

  (2) require information to be provided by individuals and inspect any records to ensure that the provisions of the Social Security and related Acts are being complied with.

  The regulations require employers to produce wages sheets and other records relating to the calculation of payment of emoluments, and that such documents should be kept by employers for not less than three years after the end of the year to which they relate. The vast majority of inquiries carried out by the agency are completed in an effective and businesslike manner, without recourse to these powers which are normally used as a last resort.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Fire Stations
  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals there are to(a) refurbish existing fire stations and (b) to build purpose-built fire stations in Northern Ireland; and what is the proposed start date for each project.

  Mr. Needham
  The Fire Authority for Northern Ireland's current works programme does not include any projects for refurbishing existing fire stations. It does, however, make provision for the following purpose-built fire stations:

  Location

  Proposed start date 1992

  Glengormley

  January

  Crossmaglen

  February

  Carryduff

  November

  In addition the authority will be providing prefabricated buildings for new retained fire stations at Dromore, Co. Tyrone and Ballywalter, Co. Down. The proposed start dates for these are February 1992 and June 1992 respectively.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested is not available.

  Belfast Prison
  Mr. Fishburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to identify the senior figure who will carry out an inquiry into prisoner management at Her Majesty's prison Belfast.

  Mr. Brooke
  I am glad to say that Viscount Colville of Culross, QC has agreed to undertake this important task, with the following terms of reference:To review the operational policy in Belfast Prison for the management of paramilitary prisoners from opposing factions; and to make recommendations.

  Lord Colville will begin work immediately and I expect to receive his report early in the new year.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it remains his policy that the agreed budgetary guidelines for the common agricultural policy must be observed; and if he will make it his policy to veto any proposals at the Council of Ministers which would lead to those guidelines being breached.

  Mr. Curry
  The Commission is legally bound to keep agricultural support expenditure within the guideline, the base level of which can be changed only by unanimity. The Government remain committed to ensuring that the cost of agricultural support is contained within the existing budgetary guidelines.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amount in pounds spent on each agricultural product under the CAP in 1990.

  Mr. Gummer
  Expenditure on agricultural commodities under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund guarantee section in 1990, is given in the table.

  £ million

  Cereals

  2,697

  Rice

  60

  Sugar

  986

  Olive Oil

  829

  Oilseeds

  2,468

  Proteins

  93

  Textiles

  412

  Fruit and vegetables

  890

  Wine

  529

  Tobacco

  875

  Other arable products

  60

  Milk

  3,518

  Beef

  2,011

  Sheepmeat

  1,031

  Pigmeat

  175

  Eggs and poultry

  127

  Source: EAGGF Guarantee Report 1990

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Curry
  This information is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Agricultural Support
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the amounts in ecu spent on non-CAP agricultural support for each EC country for 1989, 1990 and 1991.

  Mr. Gummer
  The Government monitor, through their embassies in member states, the introduction of new state aids and modifications to existing aids, and draw any that seem to be of doubtful legality to the attention of the Commission. The Government do not keep comprehensive details of the non-CAP agricultural expenditure in other member states, since to do so would not be a cost-effective use of resources.

  Milk Quotas
  Mr. Robert Hicks
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many disputed milk quota exceptional hardship claims were taken to judicial review following consideration by the diary produce tribunal for England and Wales; in how many of those claims the courts referred the cases back to the tribunal for reconsideration; what was the total litreage of quota at issue in these cases; and what was the actual additional litreage allocated to the producers concerned.

  Mr. Curry
  There have been eight judicial reviews of decisions of the dairy produce quotas tribunal relating to quota claims on the grounds of exceptional hardship, as defined in paragraph 17 of part II to schedule 2 of the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations 1984 and 1986. Of these, four claims were referred back to the tribunal for re-hearing. These re-hearings resulted in tribunal awards of quota totalling just over 1 million litres. Claimants were not required, under the provisions of the regulations, to state the litreage of quota which they considered to be at issue in that case. It is my understanding that none of the four had been awarded exceptional hardship quota in their original tribunal hearing, although two had been given primary quota awards which together totalled over 3 million litres.

  Fisheries Council
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the outcome of the EC Council of Fisheries Ministers meeting on 28 October 1991.

  Mr. Gummer
  [pursuant to the reply, 6 November 1991, c. 163–64.]: I very much welcome the decision by the Japanese Government to ban large-scale high seas drift netting by the end of December 1992, with an interim step halving the use of such nets by the end of June 1992. This is a major step forward in protecting dolphins and other small cetaceans. It is particularly significant as it comes shortly after the European Community's own decision, for which we pressed hard, to stop the development of large-scale indiscriminate drift netting.

  These decisions give clear notice to the world that the major fishing nations are not going to allow the development or expansion of such fisheries.

  I am delighted at the news that the UN resolution calling for a moratorium on large-scale drift netting is having a clear effect. Britain continues to be determined to protect small cetaceans.

ENERGY

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My Department does not hold this information.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Asylum Bill
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the Asylum Bill.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Since July we have received approximately 200 letters from hon. Members forwarding correspondence from their constituents and about 820 letters from members of the public. A large proportion of these have been pro forma letters from members of organisations such as Amnesty International, Charter '87, A Charter for Refugees, and the Asylum Rights Campaign. The majority of correspondents have expressed opposition to one or more aspects of the Government's proposals.

  Metropolitan Police (Compensation Awards)
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the public have received awards from the Metropolitan police following civil actions brought by them for assault, wrongful arrest, false imprisonment or malicious prosecution in each year since 1985, inclusive; and what has been the total amount of such awards in each of those years.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information is not held in the form requested. However, I understand from the commissioner that the amounts paid by the Metropolitan police under awards made by the courts and out-of-court settlements arising from allegations of wrongful acts, including assault, wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution by Metropolitan police officers, and the number of plaintiffs who have received awards and settlements are as follows:

  Year

  Awards made by the court £

  Number of plaintiffs in receipt of awards

  Out of court settlements £

  Number of plaintiffs in receipt of settlements

  1985

  13,949

  8

  193,588

  58

  1986

  46,836

  11

  330,332

  63

  1987

  11,233

  6

  82,486

  48

  1988

  107,035

  22

  250,557

  59

  1989

  252,904

  30

  266,850

  51

  1990

  188,110

  8

  557,214

  88

  11991

  18,627

  11

  299,691

  74

  1 (to 22 November).

  Tamils
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number in each of the last five years of Sri Lankan Tamils deported from the United Kingdom.
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  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information available relates to all Sri Lankan citizens deported and is given in the table. No distinction is made in statistical records between Tamils and other Sri Lankans.

  Sri Lankan citizens removed from the United Kingdom under the deportation process.

  Year

  Number

  1986

  3

  1987

  6

  1988

  8

  1989

  12

  1990

  4

  11991

  3

  1 January to June.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of Sri Lankan Tamils seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; what number has been granted; and what number has been rejected.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information available relates to all Sri Lankan citizens and is given in the table. No distinction is made in statistical records between Tamils and other Sri Lankans.

  Applications1 received for asylum in the United Kingdom by citizens of Sri Lanka, and decisions1

  Applications2

  Decisions2

  Granted asylum

  Granted exceptional leave

  Refused asylum or exceptional leave

  1986

  1,274

  5

  1,489

  5

  1987

  994

  7

  733

  64

  1988

  402

  6

  226

  52

  31989

  1,785

  10

  840

  30

  31990

  3,325

  10

  455

  10

  3 41991

  2,410

  10

  630

  15

  1Excluding dependants.

  2 Decisions in a particular year do not necessarily relate to applications in that year.

  3 Provisional figures, rounded to the nearest 5. Decisions figures for 1990 and January—June 1991 may understate because of delays in recording.

  4January to June.

  Terrorists
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Irish(a) men and (b) women serving prison sentences in the United Kingdom for terrorist activities have been transferred to prisons in Northern Ireland or Eire in each of the last five years.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  It is not possible to transfer prisoners from the United Kingdom to the Republic of Ireland because the latter has not ratified the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons.

  Information on the number of prisoners transferred from England and Wales to Northern Ireland is given in the table. Statistics are not collated on the basis of the prisoner's nationality, sex or offence. The transfer of prisoners from Scotland to Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
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  1. Permanent transfers of prisoners from England and Wales to Northern Ireland

  Number Transferred

  1985

  3

  1986

  2

  1987

  3

  1988

  6

  1989

  15

  1990

  3

  11991

  4

  Total

  36

  1 to 31 October.

  2. Temporary transfers of prisoners from England and Wales to Northern Ireland

  Number Transferred

  1985

  1

  1986

  1

  1987

  2

  1988

  7

  1989

  2

  1990

  12

  11991

  8

  Total

  33

  1 to 31 October.

  Vehicle Security
  Sir Anthony Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report on the progress of his talks with car manufacturers concerning the provision of security systems in cars; if he will make such provision compulsory in new vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  At a seminar on crime prevention chaired by the then Prime Minister in 1986, it was agreed that the British Standards Institution and the motor vehicle manufacturers should produce a performance based standard on car security. A five-part standard—BS AU209—was subsequently published, covering mechanical locking systems, in-car entertainment equipment, window etching, central power locking and deadlocking.

  My right hon. Friend is engaged in a series of meetings with the motor vehicle manufacturers to encourage them to adopt these standards for all new cars. Many manufacturers have already made significant improvements in security, but there is still much more that can be done. My right hon. Friend and I will meet the manufacturers again on 11 December to discuss their progress.

  It would be a breach of European Community law for the Government to introduce separate national legislation on vehicle security since this would constitute a technical barrier to trade with member states. It was, however, agreed at the seminar on crime prevention in 1986 that the Department of Transport would seek to have the British standard on vehicle security adopted as an EC directive. That Department, with the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, is continuing to take this matter forward in the motor vehicles working group of the European Commission; its efforts have my full support and that of my right hon. Friend.

  Italian Prisoners
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Italian citizens are currently serving sentences in United Kingdom prisons; how many such citizens have been permitted to return home to serve their sentences in Italian prisons; how many have applied to do so; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  On 30 June 1991, the latest date for which information is readily available, about 45 sentenced prisoners in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales were recorded as Italian citizens. Repatriations of prisoners are possible under the European convention on the transfer of sentenced persons provided the prisoner and both countries concerned consent. The Italian Government ratified the convention in October 1989, since when 26 Italian prisoners have asked to be repatriated. In five cases the application has been withdrawn or the prisoner released. In two cases the request has been refused. The remaining 19 cases are outstanding.

  Table A—Number of offenders sentenced at magistrates' courts for offences of unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle of unauthorised taking of a conveyance other than a motor vehicle or pedal cycle by type of disposal 1980–89.

  England and Wales

  Sentence disposals

  Year

  Total for sentence

  Absolute discharge

  Conditional discharge

  Fine

  Probation order

  Supervision order

  Community service order

  Attendance centre order

  Care order

  Fully suspended sentence

  Immediate custody

  Otherwise dealt with

  Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle

  1980

  29,910

  137

  2,595

  13,995

  1,659

  1,677

  2,314

  1,712

  434

  1,457

  3,760

  170

  1981

  26,404

  133

  2,436

  11,055

  1,734

  1,428

  2,436

  1,694

  342

  1,352

  3,582

  212

  1982

  23,911

  98

  2,367

  9,766

  1,589

  1,244

  2,284

  1,570

  265

  1,131

  3,416

  181

  1983

  20,677

  86

  2,028

  7,894

  1,553

  1,115

  2,270

  1,493

  197

  737

  3,219

  85

  1984

  19,252

  80

  2,040

  7,036

  1,599

  1,109

  2,291

  1,458

  175

  406

  3,010

  48

  1985

  19,220

  87

  2,079

  6,798

  1,721

  1,179

  2,129

  1,497

  158

  445

  3,080

  47

  1986

  18,072

  84

  2,158

  6,409

  1,681

  1,136

  2,145

  1,292

  126

  377

  2,634

  30

  1987

  17,136

  67

  2,112

  6,091

  1,736

  1,107

  1,973

  1,166

  94

  418

  2,305

  67

  19881

  16,366

  64

  2,163

  5,873

  1,799

  1,013

  1,880

  1,076

  77

  353

  2,006

  62

  1989

  16,790

  150

  2,571

  5,394

  2,011

  1,065

  1,916

  1,213

  63

  358

  1,911

  138

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

  1980

  171

  —

  29

  115

  1

  5

  5

  6

  2

  1

  5

  2

  1981

  174

  11

  26

  114

  3

  6

  3

  3

  2

  1

  5

  —

  1982

  161

  10

  25

  111

  2

  5

  1

  3

  —

  1

  3

  —

  1983

  169

  7

  39

  107

  3

  5

  3

  2

  1

  —

  2

  —

  1984

  164

  2

  27

  115

  —

  6

  2

  9

  —

  —

  2

  1

  1985

  85

  1

  8

  61

  4

  1

  2

  4

  —

  1

  3

  —

  1986

  84

  3

  12

  65

  1

  2

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1987

  48

  3

  18

  21

  —

  2

  1

  1

  —

  1

  1

  —

  19881

  76

  1

  10

  54

  1

  3

  3

  2

  —

  1

  1

  —

  1989

  124

  —

  23

  63

  10

  5

  13

  3

  —

  2

  5

  —

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

  Table B—Number of offenders sentenced at Crown Court for offences of unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and unauthorised taking of a conveyance other than a motor vehicle or pedal cycle by type of disposal 1980–89.

  England and Wales

  Sentence disposals

  Year

  Total for sentence

  Absolute discharge

  Conditional discharge

  Fine

  Probation order

  Supervision order

  Community service order

  Attendance centre order

  Care order

  Fully suspended sentence

  Immediate custody

  Otherwise dealt with

  Unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle

  1980

  7,394

  7

  276

  619

  534

  62

  703

  —

  22

  586

  4,535

  50

  1981

  6,911

  13

  262

  465

  535

  44

  737

  —

  25

  569

  4,219

  42

  1982

  6,512

  5

  310

  370

  505

  44

  773

  —

  17

  489

  3,959

  40

  1983

  4,938

  10

  223

  384

  472

  32

  705

  —

  9

  361

  2,667

  75

  1984

  3,421

  3

  209

  297

  478

  16

  577

  —

  5

  233

  1,554

  49

  1985

  3,939

  5

  226

  331

  633

  36

  654

  23

  7

  259

  1,748

  17

  1986

  3,921

  5

  252

  332

  618

  43

  611

  18

  4

  251

  1,764

  23

  1987

  4,195

  3

  259

  377

  669

  35

  749

  30

  4

  300

  1,747

  22

  19881

  4,130

  7

  274

  356

  801

  32

  677

  24

  4

  365

  1,652

  38

  1989

  1,668

  1

  94

  131

  398

  22

  249

  12

  2

  117

  604

  38

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

  1980

  6

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  4

  —

  Primates Register
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to secure the establishment of a European primate register to conserve stocks of non-human primates used in scientific procedures.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Effective measures to conserve stocks of non-human primates are clearly desirable. We are aware of an initiative from the Primate Society of Great Britain in this area and of continuing interest in such a scheme within Europe. The United Kingdom will play its full part in giving thorough consideration to any formal proposals which emerge.

  Vehicle Theft Statistics
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing(a) the variety of non-custodial sentences given for the offence of taking a vehicle without consent for the years 1980–88 and (b) a breakdown of custodial and non-custodial sentences for the above offence for 1989 and 1990.

  Mr. John Patten
  The information requested is given in the tables. 1990 data are not yet available.
  437

  Sentence disposals

  Year

  Total for sentence

  Absolute discharge

  Conditional discharge

  Fine

  Probation order

  Supervision order

  Community service order

  Attendance centre order

  Care order

  Fully suspended sentence

  Immediate custody

  Otherwise dealt with

  1981

  8

  —

  —

  5

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1982

  2

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1983

  3

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1984

  3

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1985

  5

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  3

  —

  1986

  8

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  6

  —

  1987

  14

  —

  2

  2

  1

  1

  2

  —

  —

  3

  3

  —

  19881

  2

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1989

  15

  —

  1

  2

  3

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  5

  1

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

  Table C. Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for offences of unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and unauthorised taking of a conveyance other than motor vehicle or pedal cycle by type of disposal and sentence length 1989.

  England and Wales

  Offence

  Total immediate custody

  Custodial sentence disposal

  Sentence length

  Young offender institution

  Partly suspended sentence

  Unsuspended sentence

  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

  2,515

  1,617

  12

  886

  2,459

  41

  11

  3

  1

  —

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

  10

  3

  1

  6

  9

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Television (Sponsorship)
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage and type of television programmes will be allowed sponsorship by commercial companies; and what safeguards exist to prevent sponsors from influencing the quality and control of programmes.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under the Independent Televison Commission code of programme sponsorship, any television programme may be sponsored, except news and current affairs. No sponsor is permitted any influence on either the content or the scheduling of a programme.

  Animals (Scientific Procedures)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the numbers of primates used in scientific procedures in Great Britain and in Northern Ireland which were wild-caught and captive bred, respectively, in each year from 1981 to the current year.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Statistics about the origin of primates held or used are not kept centrally. The number of scientific procedures performed on primates in Great Britain for the years 1981 to 1990 is given in table 18 of "Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 1990", Cm. 1574, a copy of which is in the Library. In Northern Ireland only two scientific procedures were performed on primates over the period 1981 to 1990.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Crossbows
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many adults and children have been(a) killed and (b) injured in each of the last five years in incidents arising from the firing of crossbows in (i) public and (ii) private places.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The number of currently recorded homicide offences where the death resulted from the firing of a crossbow for the years 1986 to 1990 are as follows: 1986 nil, 1987 one, 1988 one, 1989 nil, 1990 three—two in one incident. All the victims were adults. It is not known whether the incidents occurred in public or private places. No information is available on the number of accidental deaths involving crossbows nor on incidents involving injuries whether criminal or accidental.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest estimate of the number of crossbows within the United Kingdom; what existing laws cover the purchase and use of crossbows; and what representations he has received from the police and others about new laws covering the use of crossbows, including licensing the ownership of crossbows.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information about the number of crossbows in the United Kingdom is not recorded
  439
  centrally, but I understand from Barnett International, the largest manufacturer of crossbows in the United Kingdom, that its latest estimate of the number of crossbows in circulation is between 250,000 and 300,000.

  The Crossbows Act 1987 prohibits the sale of crossbows to, and their purchase by, persons under the age of 17. The Act also makes it an offence for a person under 17 to have a crossbow in his possession, unless under the supervision of someone aged 21 or over. There are a number of other measures that bear upon crossbow misuse against people, property or animals. These include the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, Offences Against the Person Act 1861, the Criminal Damage Act 1971, the Protection of Animals Act 1911, the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981 and the Deer Act 1963.

  We have received no representations from the police on crossbow controls since the passage of the Crossbows Act 1987.

  In the last 12 months there has been one parliamentary question on crossbow controls. We have also received 21 items of correspondence on this issue from Members of Parliament and six letters from the public broadly favouring some form of further control.

  Greyhound Racing
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the Office of Fair Trading to consider the competitive aspects of bookmaker-owned greyhound tracks supplying races to the bookmaker afternoon greyhound service.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. Anyone who believes that they have evidence of anti-competitive behaviour should report the matter to the Office of Fair Trading.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals for legislation to put greyhound racing on a par with horse racing; and what plans he has to treat the two industries equally, with regard to off-course betting.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Government's views on the need for legislation to amend the law on betting on greyhound racing were set out in our recent reply—Cm 1757—to the Home Affairs Committee's report "Financing of Greyhound Racing"—HC 463.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the statutes which control the staging of greyhound racing, greyhound totalisators and on-course betting on greyhound tracks.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The statutory controls on betting at greyhound tracks are contained in the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, as amended. Further regulations governing the operation of totalisators at greyhound tracks are contained in two statutory instruments made under the 1963 Act. These are the Dog Racecourse Totalisator Regulations 1967, as amended, and the Dog Racecourse Totalisator (Percentage) Order 1980. The Dog Racecourse Totalisator (Percentage) Order 1991 was published on 22 November, and comes into force on 20 December.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Office of Fair Trading considered the competitive aspects of bookmaker-owned greyhound 440
  tracks supplying racing to the bookmaker afternoon greyhound service; how long the inquiry took; and who supplied information to the inquiry.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I understand that the Office of Fair Trading's informal inquiries are made under section 2(2) of the Fair Trading Act 1973, which imposes on the Director-General of Fair Trading a duty to keep commercial activities under review and to collect information with a view to his becoming aware of monopoly situations or uncompetitive practices. The OFT has considered whether the ownership of greyhound tracks by off-course bookmakers raises concerns under the competition legislation, but to date no evidence has been received to suggest formal action is warranted. Details of information collected by the OFT are subject to confidentiality requirements, particularly section 133 of the Fair Trading Act 1973, and cannot therefore be disclosed.

  Young Offenders
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in what circumstances teenagers are placed in young offender institutions for non-violent offences; and whether he has any plans to end this practice;

  (2) under what circumstances it is his policy for persons aged 15 years to be locked up in prisons or young offenders' institutions; and whether he has any plans to end this policy;

  (3) from what age young people who have committed offences can be dealt with through the prison system;

  (4) if he will bring forward proposals to remove persons under the age of 21 years from the prison system; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Patten
  From the age of 10, juveniles convicted of murder or manslaughter may be detained under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Section 53 detention is available from the age of 14 for juveniles convicted of other offences carrying a maximum penalty for an adult of imprisonment for 14 years or more. Juveniles aged under sixteen and a half years who are detained under section 53 are normally held in the child care system rather than Prison Service establishments. Detention in a young offender institution is available for males from the age of 14 and females from the age of 15 for any offence for which an adult may be sentenced to imprisonment. Male defendants aged 15 and 16 may be remanded in prison. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 provides for the abolition of courts' power to sentence 14-year-old boys to detention in a young offender institution; for the ending of prison remands for 15 and 16-year-old males: and tightens the restrictions on the use of custodial sentences for young offenders.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he intends to take to prevent suicides at Feltham and other young offenders' institutes;

  (2) what plans he has for a public inquiry into the suicide rate at young offenders' institutions.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons, Judge Tumim, prepared at my right hon. Friend's predecessor's request last year a report on suicide and self-harm in Prison Service establishments. My right hon. Friend responded to that report in the White Paper
  441
  "Custody, Care and Justice", Cm 1647. We have also received, and circulated to all governors, the summary report of research carried out by Dr. Alison Liebling of the Cambridge university institute of criminology into self-injury among young offenders. A wide-ranging programme of work is in hand to try to reduce the incidence of suicide and self-harm in young offender institutions and other penal establishments. In work with young offenders, the emphasis is on the development of personal officer schemes, the provision of useful activity and measures to address problems of vulnerability and peer group pressure. A recent initiative at Feltham, which I welcome, has been the introduction of weekly case conferences to review the care of the most vulnerable prisoners.

  I do not think that a public inquiry into the suicide rate at young offender institutions would materially advance the substantial efforts already being made at Feltham and elsewhere to provide care for a particularly vulnerable section of the prison population.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many hours a day he advises that teenagers should be kept in solitary confinement in prisons or young offenders' institutions.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  There is no such thing as solitary confinement in prisons or young offenders' institutions. However, an inmate may be removed from association with other inmates where this appears desirable either for the maintenance of good order or discipline, or in his own interests, under young offender institution rule 46 or prison rule 43. The length of time for which an inmate is removed from association will depend on the circumstances of each case. No inmate should be segregated for longer than is absolutely necessary. Each case must be kept under continuous review.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide alternatives to custodial sentences for young offenders.

  Mr. John Patten
  A wide range of community sentences already exists for young offenders. The emphasis is on dealing with young offenders in the community wherever possible. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 establishes a new sentencing framework providing courts with a wider range of strengthened community penalties. The Act creates two new community sentences—the curfew order backed by electronic monitoring and the combined probation and community service order—which will be available from the age of 16.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigation he has made into the psychological effect on persons under the age of 16 years of being held in young offender institutions and being held for long periods in solitary confinement in cells; and whether he has any plans to make further investigations.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  An assessment of how young offenders adjust to a custodial environment was the subject of one of the studies in "Applying Psychology to Imprisonment", published in 1987. A further research study was completed this year, which compares regimes in young offender institutions and local authority community homes for juveniles sentenced under section 53(2) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 for serious offences.
  442
  Research has also recently been undertaken by Dr. Alison Liebling of the Cambridge university institute of criminology, into self-injury among young offenders. The need for further research in this area is kept under regular review.

  Visas
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time now being taken between the receipt of interview notes from the United Kingdom high commission in New Delhi by his Department concerning an application for leave to enter by the fiancé of a British citizen and the calling of the fiancé for interview here.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The current average response time for all interview cases referred from India is 75 days; the period is from the receipt of the papers in this country until the dispatch of a report to the post. Separate information on particular categories of cases is not available centrally.

  Gambling
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect the evening opening of betting shops will have on the level of gambling in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No such assessment has yet been made. The effect of evening opening of licensed betting offices on levels of gambling is one of the matters on which the recent Home Office consultation document invited views from interested parties. Evidence received about the effect on levels of gambling will be one of the factors taken into account in the Government's further consideration of whether to allow evening opening.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on gambling as it relates to horse racing and greyhound racing.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  It is Government policy on gambling, including betting on horseracing and greyhound racing, that it should be subject to statutory control to ensure that it is conducted honestly and fairly, and that gambling should not be positively encouraged.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Home Office began its review of section 19 of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963; and how long he expects the review to take.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The review has not yet begun. It will be undertaken as quickly as possible, but the issues are complex and it is not clear at this stage how long it will take to complete.

  Football (Policing)
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce a pricing policy for the policing of football matches based upon club attendance levels and past records of incidents.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Charges made by police authorities for the policing of football matches under section 15 of the Police Act 1964 reflect the number of officers deployed.
  443
  Home Office circular 36/1991 encouraged chief officers to discuss deployment with football clubs, taking account of all relevant factors, but ultimately it must be for the chief officer to decide how many officers need to be deployed on each occasion.

  Small Shops
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any proposals to remove the threat of prosecution from small local shops which have traditionally opened late in the evening and on Sundays to sell their full product range; and what representations he has had from the Greek Cypriot and other ethnic minority communities on this subject.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  The institution of proceedings for breaches of the Shops Act 1950 is a matter for local authorities. Proposals for extended evening shop trading hours, and for small local shops to trade fully on Sundays, are among those which have been put to me in my discussions with numerous interest groups about reform of the Act. Records of our correspondents on these proposals are not classified by ethnic community.

  Urban Crime
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to deal with urban crime.

  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  I am launching today a new initiative: the urban crime fund. This will provide targeted additional funds to selected forces on an experimental basis. Merseyside, Northumbria and West Yorkshire will each be eligible for additional funding in 1992–93 of up to some £3·6 million.

  The additional funding—made available direct to police authorities through the Government's urban programme—will be targeted on the inner cities, including city challenge areas. This demonstrates the Government's commitment to a co-ordinated attack on inner city problems in partnership with local authorities, the private sector and local communities.

  The three police authorities will be invited to put proposals to me on how they would use the extra resources. I will be looking particularly for effective and innovative measures, including the mobilisation of local communities, in the fight against urban crime.

  Racial Hatred
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his evaluation of the effectiveness of the law making it a criminal offence to incite racial hatred.

  Mrs. Rumbold
  [holding answer 21 November 1991]: The Government deplore any act likely or intended to stir up racial hatred. We believe that part III of the Public Order Act 1986 has played an important part in deterring such acts. We shall continue to keep the legislation and its operation under review.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Off-Balance Sheet Financing
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce legislation under which banks will be prevented from selling off-balance sheet financing schemes.

  Mr. Maples
  I have no such plans.

  British Telecom
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any institution which provided a presentation for becoming a retail outlet in the BT share sale was rejected.

  Mr. Maude
  The Government selected eight organisations to act as share shops in the sale of shares in BT plc from among the various proposals received.

  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those institutions which made presentations with regard to the second BT share offer, in response to his invitation.

  Mr. Maude
  It is for the organisations concerned to disclose whether they made a submission in response to the Chancellor's invitation in his Budget speech for proposals from private sector organisations for a high street share dealing network.

  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to evaluate the eight retail institutions' ability to undertake at relatively short notice the sale of BT shares, referred to in his answer of 22 October 1991,Official Report, column 505.

  Mr. Maude
  The Government's objective was a network of share shops which, together, could respond to the high volumes of a public share sale while giving the public a choice of institutions. This was achieved with the selection of the eight firms who are participating in the BT share sale. The Government intend to build on these arrangements in future public share sales.

  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those institutions which wrote to his Department stating an interest with regard to the second BT share offer but did not make a presentation.

  Mr. Maude
  The proposals received from organisations in response to the Government's share shops initiative ranged widely in the extent of detail in which they were made.

  Life Assurance and Pension Payments
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of expenditure of total disposable household income was accounted for by life assurance and pension fund payments in 1990; and what is the estimated percentage level for the current year.

  Mr. Maples
  Household disposable income, and hence expenditure of that income, excludes amounts paid as pension contributions, whether to the state scheme or to occupational schemes. Contributions to the latter type of scheme, together with life assurance premiums paid by individuals, are estimated to have amounted in 1990 to 7·6
  445
  per cent. of households' current expenditure. The latter aggregate has been adjusted to include the occupational scheme contributions. There is no official estimate of this percentage in 1991.

  Contributions to the state scheme are intended to fund social security benefits of all types and no estimate is made of the proportion which notionally finances state pensions.

  EC Membership
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish the effect of EC membership to date on the United Kingdom balance of payments in terms of 1990 prices and on the United Kingdom rate of economic growth forecast by Her Majesty's Treasury in Cmnd. 4289 together with(a) the actual average per capita rate of growth from 1973 to 1990 and comparable data for the decade ending in 1973 and (b) the average non-oil balance of payments surplus or deficit with the EEC Six and with other countries in each period in terms of 1990 prices; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maples
  It is not possible to produce reliable estimates of the effects of EC membership on the United Kingdom balance of payments or on the rate of economic growth. Data requested on the growth of GDP per capita can be derived from statistics published by the Central Statistical Office in "Economic Trends Annual Supplement", 1990 edition, and on trade balances with the EC Six and other countries from the CSO's "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics Annual Supplement 1991".

  Town and Country Building Society
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the affairs of the Town and Country building society.

  Mr. Maples
  The Woolwich building society issued a press release on 19 November stating that the board of the Town and Country building society had agreed to recommend to its members a transfer of the society's engagements to the Woolwich building society and that arrangements for the transfer, subject to audit and to regulatory and other relevant requirements, were accordingly proceeding.

  TESSAs
  Mr. French
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to remind banks and building societies of the specification of section 4 of S.I. 2361/1990 that tax-exempt special savings accounts must be transferable from one society or institution to another society or institution.

  Mr. Maude
  There is no need, since there is no evidence to suggest that institutions are not allowing savers to transfer their TESSAs elsewhere.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gloucester, 13 November,Official Report, column 526, if he will review the extent to which TESSA issuers are departing from the aims of TESSAs, as stated in the 1990 Budget, by levying penalties for withdrawing interest.
  446
  Mr. Maude
  The TESSA rules specify the maximum amount of interest which may be withdrawn without loss of tax exemption. Within those limits, the terms under which withdrawals may be made are a matter for agreement between investors and operators.

  EC(Government Debt)
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list the unfunded maintenance backlog liability on public sector capital assets by member state of the EC and the effect such unfunding has on the calculation of each member state's Government debt as set out in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union;

  (2) if he will list the unfunded nuclear reactor decommissioning liability by member state of the EC and the effect such unfunding has on the calculation of each member state's Government debt as set out in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union;

  (3) if he will list the notionally funded and unfunded public sector employees pensions liability by member states of the EC and the effect such unfunding has on the calculation of each member state's Government debt as set out in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union.

  Mr. Maude
  Standard definitions of Government debt measure the cumulative liability incurred on past borrowing, which accords with the common usage of the term "debt". They do not include any measure of unfunded liabilities. The requested data on unfunded liabilities are not readily available.

  Single Currency
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the present and future implications for the United Kingdom Budget of proposals for a single currency in the draft treaty on economic and monetary union as a result of different methods of accounting for liabilities in each member state's national accounts.

  Mr. Maude
  National accounting conventions in other EC member states have no obvious implications, either now or in the future, for United Kingdom budgetary policy.

  Company Cars
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a further statement on the Government's policy regarding the taxation of company cars and on the increase in the taxation of company cars which has taken place since 1979.

  Mr. Maude
  The Government's policy is that, so far as possible, there should be broad neutrality in the tax treatment of remuneration paid in cash and in kind. In keeping with that policy, the aim has been to ensure that, as regards cars provided to employees by employers, the statutory income tax scale charges realistically reflect the value of the benefit of a car's availability for private use. That has involved substantial increases in the level of the scales since 1979.

  The scale charges and the total tax burden on the car industry are of course kept under close review.

  Friendly Societies Bill
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to introduce a new Friendly Societies Bill.

  Mr. Maples
  The Government remain firmly committed to this legislation and we will introduce the Bill at the earliest opportunity.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Call-logging information for the three buildings in which my right hon. Friend's department is the major occupier shows that 620 calls were made to directory inquiries in October 1991.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  India
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what present aid projects exist in India; and if he will list them.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Projects in India receiving British bilateral aid at present are as follows:

  A. Bilateral country programme financing

  Visakhapatnam slum improvement

  Hyderabad slum improvement

  Indore slum improvement

  Calcutta slum improvement

  Vijayawada slum improvement

  Training and study tours in Aslum improvement

  Indo-British Fertiliser Education

  Rain-fed farming

  Karnataka Social Forestry

  Gujarat Family Welfare

  Orissa Health and Family Welfare

  St Stephen's Hospital Maternity Wing

  Andhra Pradesh School Health

  Andhra Pradesh Primary Education

  Water Training Networks

  Maharashtra Rural Water

  Dadri Power Station Dry Ash Handling

  Obra Power Station Energy Audit

  BEI/NTPC Twinning

  Technical Assistance to the Power Finance Corporation on economic appraisal

  Study on long-term issues in the power sector

  Equipment for the oil and natural gas sector including pipe lathe machine, conduit-type gate valves, and multi-phase pump

  Hindustan Zinc Mine and Smelter

  Churcha West Mine longwall coalmining equipment

  Longwall spares system

  GDK 11A mine longwall coalmining equipment

  Central Mining Research Station

  Longwall Mining Centre

  Technical Assistance to Indian manufacturers of longwall mining equipment

  Study of de-pillaring in coalmines

  Operational assistance and training to coalmines

  Environmental study of Amlohri Coalmine

  Operational assistance, training and spares for Amlohri Coalmine

  Assistance to the health services of Coal India Limited

  Indian School of Mines

  BALCO Power Station

  Rehabilitation of Nagarjunasagar Hydro-electric Power Station

  Power Sector training

  448

  Operational assistance to Rihand Power Station

  Train describer for Delhi Railways

  Equipment for Indian Railways including flashbutt-welding machines, head-hardened rails, rheostatic brakes and turbo-chargers

  Training in railways management, vehicle suspension systems, electrification and bridge technology

  Technical assistance in the health sector for:

  Blood transfusion

  Medical education technology

  Blindness

  Haemoglobinopathy control, TB research

  Viral hepatitis research

  Rotavirus infection

  Mother and child health training

  Other training

  Technical assistance for education on the following topics:

  Indira Gandhi National Open University

  Educational Media Research Centre, Pune

  Central Board for Secondary Education on English training

  Various institutions for training awards

  Technical assistance on Science and Technology includes the following research projects:

  Heat Pumps

  Instrument servicing

  Micro-processor education

  Central research facility

  Naval architecture

  Offshore oil engineering

  Optical fibres

  Instrumentation and photo-fabrication

  Computer for Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

  Training for public administration on the following topics:

  Development project planning and management

  Public enterprises management

  Planning and management for rural development

  Trainer development

  Foremen

  Parliamentary procedures

  Legal advice

  Taxation

  Public media services

  Technical assistance for renewable natural resources research and extension on the following topics:

  Foot and mouth disease

  Seed technology

  Pathology of oilseeds

  Land resources planning

  Milk marketing

  (Conservation of flora and fauna with Bombay Natural History Society)

  Land and soil survey for forestry

  Management training for agricultural extension management

  Training for rural credit

  Common property management of forests

  Mysore Paper Mills forestry

  Training for various forestry institutions

  Mangalore fisheries

  Bay of Bengal fisheries

  Recombinant DNA technology

  Animal diseases research

  Equine influenza

  Meat species identification

  Equine breeding

  Technical assistance for industry includes:

  Quality control and marketing for export

  Training in telecommunications

  Training in ports management

  Training in road transport management

  Technical assistance in the water sector covers:

  Ganga sewerage treatment

  Water pollution

  Madras water and sewerage management

  Water supply management training

  449

  Groundwater development

  Solid waste management

  Orientation Programme for Urban Health

  Delhi water and sewerage management

  Geographic Information Systems for groundwater development

  Other projects include:

  Andhra Pradesh cyclone relief and rehabilitation

  Various gifts and small projects under the Head of Mission Scheme

  Training on cross-cutting issues including Women in Development; gender awareness; legal literacy for women; environment management, impact assessment and monitoring; and structural conservation

  In addition to this list of projects which are under implementation in 1991–92, there are approximately 70 projects in various stages of formulation, appraisal and approval on which some resources have been expended in their preparation.

  B. Aid and Trade Provision

  Equipment for Uri Hydro-electric Power Station (co-financed with the Swedish Government).

  C. Joint Funding Scheme—agencies and projects supported include:

  Aga Khan Foundation

  School Improvement

  Water shed management development

  Rural support programme

  Rural education and advancement development programme

  Action for Disability and Development

  Orthopaedic workshop

  Development and training groups of people with disability

  Horticultural training programme

  Alternative for India Development

  Non-formal education and skill training for tribal women

  Family planning

  Appropriate technology for Tibetans

  Demonstration integrated farm

  Decentralised dairy

  Improved chulus

  Care

  Rajasthan agricultural and natural resources

  Centre for Human Development

  Harvest help

  Village rehabilitation

  Hedley Roberts Trust

  Income generation for the disabled

  Help Age

  Age care training programme

  Community-based rehabilitation

  Henry Doubleday Research Association

  Genetic conservation and exploitation of prosopis cineraria

  Homeless International

  Housing and documentation

  International Agricultural Training Programme

  Rural trainers programme

  Impact foundation

  Leprosy disability prevention and limitation

  India Development group—rural development training

  Inter-care

  Small farmers wasteland development

  Villpatti integrated village development

  International Boys' Towns Trust

  Afforestation

  450
  ITGD

  Boatyard development

  Kaduna Trust (aid for India)

  Boys Hostel

  Marie Stopes International

  Family Life Education

  Soap Drama—family life/responsible sexual behaviour

  Contraceptive social marketing

  Workplace family planning and preventative healthcare

  Afforestation

  Small business development

  Population concern

  Womens' development

  Project Mala

  Project Mala

  Ryder Cheshire

  Mobile TB units

  Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund

  Community development

  Education for rural development

  Harijan people's awareness project

  Vetaid

  Community dairy

  Village Services Trust

  Health and Community development

  World Vision

  Child Survival project

  Y Care International

  Integrated tribal development projects

  Cafod

  Health and Education programme

  Community health and social education programme

  Christian Aid

  Madras Christian Council Social Services

  Schools project

  Voluntary Health Association

  East Godaviri District Project

  Rural Education Society

  Voluntary Health Association projects

  Rural Education and Action for Development

  Crop agricultural and irrigation programme

  Activists for Social Alternatives

  Tribal Development project

  Save the Children Fund

  Collective Surgery

  Rehabilitation and vocational training for handicapped children

  Rural education project

  Nutrition programme

  This list of joint funding scheme—JFS—projects in India is incomplete. Agencies which receive block grants from the joint funding scheme have yet to notify us of all the projects which they are implementing, this year. For example, OXFAM which used joint funding scheme resources for about 200 projects in India has yet to notify us of its allocations for 1991–92. Other agencies are also likely to add to their list of projects financed from JFS resources.

  D. Commonwealth Development Corporation—Projects include:

  Project

  Activity

  Andhra Petrochemicals Ltd

  Oxo-alcohols production

  Apollo Tyres Ltd

  Tyre production

  Asian Coffee Ltd

  Soluble-coffee factory

  Biax Packaging Ltd

  Polypropylene film

  451

  Project

  Activity

  Consolidated Fibres and Chemicals Ltd

  Acrylic fibre production

  Creditcapital Venture Fund (India)

  Venture capital

  ITC Agro-Tech Ltd

  Vegetable oil production

  Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Ltd

  Development finance

  Modi Threads Ltd

  Synthetic thread production

  Rane Power Steering Ltd

  Production of power steering units

  Sakthi Soyas Ltd

  Soybean processing

  Shipping Credit and Investment Company of India Ltd

  Development finance for shipping and fishing

  Unit Trust of India

  Venture Capital fund

  Haryana Telecom Ltd

  Cable manufacture

  Ethiopia
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid is being given to, or is under consideration for. Ethiopia in(a) getting relief aid to those in need, (b) stimulating food production and (c) respect for human rights.

  Mrs. Chalker
  Including our share of EC assistance we have committed £53 million emergency aid to Ethiopia since September 1990. Our aid includes £6·2 million for road transport, airlifts and other infrastructure essential for getting relief to the needy.

  We are financing the following projects aimed at stimulating food production.

  Project/Programme

  Description/Aims

  Teff Research

  Collaborative research to improve varieties of Teff.

  Rainfall Monitoring

  Rainfall and crop development estimation and monitoring systems.

  Sidamo Rangelands

  Improved food security for ten local communities in South Sidamo; managed by CARE.

  Koisha Rural Development

  Increase food production and strengthen rural economy in Koisha region of Sidamo; managed by SOS-Sahel.

  Land Use—Western Hararghe

  Introduce sustainable system of land use for 17,000 families in Western Hararghe; managed by CARE.

  Dairy Goat Project

  Increase rural incomes by improving the productivity of dairy goats managed by women; managed by FARM Africa.

  Projects funded under the Joint Funding Scheme

  Action Aid (Small Scale Seed Production)

  Develop economically viable and sustainable small scale seed enterprises.

  Catholic Fund for Overseas Development (Rural Development)

  To increase productive capacity of land.

  OXFAM (Delanta Agriculture)

  To promote post drought agricultural rehabilitation and prevent environmental degradation of the land.

  OXFAM (Hararghe Agricultural)

  Construct a new seed store and to replace seed stocks lost in the drought.

  Projects funded under emergency relief aid

  Christian Aid

  Agricultural tools for Ethiopia.

  We have made clear to the Ethiopians the importance we attach to respect for human rights. We are considering what help we might give for this and other aspects of good government.
  452
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current level of aid to Ethiopia; what was the level in each of the last 10 years at current prices; and what plans he has to increase the level of aid before 1993.

  Mrs. Chalker
  In 1991 we have committed over £26 million bilateral emergency assistance to Ethiopia including 79,000 tonnes of food. We expect to continue to respond generously to meet emergency needs. Our development programme for 1991 is worth about £3·5 million.

  Between 1981 and 1990 the United Kingdom provided bilateral aid—development and emergency assistance—to Ethiopia as follows:

  Year

  Total (£,000)

  Total at constant 1990 prices (£,000)

  1981

  563

  941

  1982

  5,645

  8,769

  1983

  3,433

  5,068

  1984

  7,004

  9,884

  1985

  28,058

  37,446

  1986

  9,627

  12,409

  1987

  8,552

  11,399

  1988

  18,544

  21,324

  1989

  11,691

  12,570

  1990

  20,042

  20,042

  As to future levels of development aid, I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 25 November, at column 388.

  UNICEF
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial pledge was made by the United Kingdom in support of the United Nations children's fund at the New York pledging conference on 5–6 November; what proportion of the total funds available to UNICEF for 1992 will be provided by the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the future of UNICEF in the light of its funding base.

  Mrs. Chalker
  In common with most other major donors we have not yet announced our pledge for UNICEF's 1992 programme. I expect to do so early next year.

  Over recent years UNICEF has acquired a very strong funding base and the current pattern seems likely to continue, but, for the reasons I have given, the total amounts available in 1992 are not yet known.

WALES

  Surgical Procedures
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the impact of new health technology on surgical procedures and treatments in Welsh hospitals.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The NHS in Wales continually assesses the costs and benefits of new health technology.

  As part of this process, in 1990 the Welsh health planning forum commissioned an expert report on the

  453
  possible impact of emerging and future technologies on the delivery of health care. It was circulated widely and prompted a useful debate between scientists, clinicians and managers in NHS Wales.

  Building on this, the planning forum, in partnership with the World Health Organisation and the King's Fund college, held a conference in Cardiff in October this year focusing on the potential for shifting care from the hospital to the home. It brought together international experts and raised awareness of technology's potential for creating a more people-centred and community-based health care service.

  The conference pointed up the opportunities for de-institutionalising health care in an environment where before too long perhaps up to 60 per cent. of surgery will be performed on a day basis with over 80 per cent. being bloodless.

  The use of endoscopy is transforming clinical practice in the fields of gynaecology, orthopaedic and general surgery. Endoscopes are flexible tubes used to examine, photograph and take biopsies from the body's cavities and organs without the trauma of surgery, and often while the patient is conscious.

  Similarly, lasers have superseded some more traditional surgical approaches to treating skin, eye and gynaecological disorders and a wide range of other conditions.

  In addition, new techniques commonly referred to as key-hole surgery are becoming widely used. Laparoscopic cholycystectomies—lap-cholies—are replacing open abdomen gall stone operations. In the field of orthopaedic surgery, a damaged knee cartilage can be removed without opening the knee joint. Recovering from these operations is much quicker than the earlier kind and people do not need to stay in hospital so long. Some coronary artery bypass surgery can be avoided by using balloon angiography. This technique passes a balloon into the artery in a catheter. The balloon is then inflated to enlarge the artery, remove blockages and allow the blood to flow freely.

  These and similar developments are having a profound effect on the size and nature of our hospitals. What counts is not hospital bed numbers but providing people with the right services in the right settings.

  Sports Council
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the amounts of grant he has given the Sports Council for Wales, in real terms, for each of the years 1980 to 1991; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  The grant in aid allocations to the Sports Council for Wales for the years 1980–81 to 1991–92 adjusted by the gross domestic product—market prices—deflator at 1990–91 prices, are as follows:

  £ million

  1980–81

  4·176

  1981–82

  4·297

  1982–83

  4·482

  1983–84

  4·143

  1984–85

  4·058

  1985·86

  4·529

  1986–87

  4·852

  1987–88

  4·726

  1988–89

  4·788

  1989–90

  4·769

  1990–91

  4·782

  1991–92

  4·860

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of farms currently covered by environmentally sensitive area agreements in Wales are subject to whole farm agreements.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Farmers who choose to join the Lleyn peninsula environmentally sensitive area scheme must enter all their land into the scheme; all farms in the scheme are therefore covered by whole farm agreements. In the Cambrian mountains ESA, it is only that area of the farm which is classed as semi-natural rough grazing which has to be entered and, optionally, woodland and hay meadows. In consequence, none of the ESA agreements in the Cambrian mountains scheme cover the whole farm.

  Ministers (Travel)
  Mr. Grist
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles he and his Ministers have travelled on British Rail during the course of their official duties during the last year.

  Mr. David Hunt
  In excess of 50,000 miles.

  Regional Selective Assistance
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those companies in the Wrexham area which have qualified for regional selective assistance in the last five years.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Details of offers of regional selective assistance are confidential to the company and the Welsh Office. The following information relates to accepted offers of assistance by companies for projects in the Wrexham travel-to-work-area over the last five years which have received publicity.

  Betts and Co.

  Brother Industries (UK) Ltd.

  Courtaulds Films and Packaging (Holdings)

  Cyanamid of GB Ltd.

  Dowty Koike Ltd.

  E & L Instruments Ltd.

  Environmental Services (NW) Ltd.

  European Fine Blanking Ltd.

  Fibrax Ltd.

  GKK Plastics Ltd.

  Honkley Eng. & Marine Co. Ltd.

  Hoya Lens UK Ltd.

  Impetus Packaging Ltd.

  Kronospan Ltd.

  Label Research Ltd.

  M & C Plastics Ltd.

  Microtech Precision Ltd.

  Nationwide Boards Ltd.

  Olaf Foods Manuf. Ltd.

  Owens Corning Fiberglass (GB) Ltd.

  Processed Timber Products Ltd.

  Rexham (UK) Ltd.

  Richard Burbridge Ltd.

  Rubery Owen—Rockwell Ltd.

  Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd.

  Stadex Holdings Ltd.

  Vossen Ltd.

  Wrexham Lager Beer Co. Ltd.

  Wrexham Scaffold Ltd.

  Zeta Communications Plc

  Local Government
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received regarding the proposed changes to the structure of local government in Wales.

  Mr. Nicholas Bennett
  My right hon. Friend has received responses to his consultation paper from both Welsh local authority associations; from each Welsh county council and district council; from individual community councils, and their representative bodies; from a number of professional bodies and societies; and from many individuals, including several Members of Parliament. The vast majority of these responses express support for the establishment of a system of unitary authorities in Wales.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the present level of unemployment in the Clwyd, South-West constituency.

  Mr. David Hunt
  On 10 October 1991 there were 2,314 unemployed claimants in the Clwyd, South-West parliamentary constituency.

  Valleys Loan Scheme
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many loans under the valleys loan scheme have been made to date; what is the total value of such loans; how many jobs they have created or safeguarded; and how many of the recipient firms are still in business.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Since 1 April 1988, a total of 178 loans have been placed by the Welsh Development Agency to companies in the valleys programme area. The total value of these loans was just over £1·5 million with an expectation that 799 new jobs would be created. One hundred and twenty-seven—71 per cent.—are in place, with a projection of creating over 550 new jobs and a value of £1·2 million. These figures include loans made under the valleys small loan scheme, the valleys enterprise loan scheme and the rural small loan scheme.

  Value of grant paid by year (£ million)

  Scheme

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Regional Development Grant II1

  7·3

  9·9

  17·2

  7·7

  6·9

  Regional Selective Assistance

  8·7

  9·3

  11·6

  8·2

  7·1

  Regional Enterprise Grants2

  —

  —

  0·1

  0·2

  0·5

  Total

  16·0

  19·2

  28·9

  16·1

  14·5

  1 RDGII closed to new applications 31 March 1988.

  2 Scheme introduced 1 April 1988.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the annual changes in unemployment by local authority districts in the valleys

  Unemployed Claimants—Annual changes (October to October)

  District1

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Blaenau Gwent

  -651

  -725

  -500

  594

  Torfaen

  -346

  -473

  -53

  648

  Islwyn

  -542

  -773

  -86

  557

  Merthyr Tydfil

  -462

  -386

  35

  397

  Cynon Valley

  -377

  -721

  -163

  880

  Rhondda

  -805

  -702

  123

  973

  Valleys Programme
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a breakdown of expenditure, by local authority district and by category of expenditure, under the valleys programme from 1988 to date.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Provision for the programme for the valleys area over the five years of the programme is £800 million. A breakdown of outturn for 1988–89 to 1990–91 and estimated outturn for 1991–92 by category of expenditure is shown in the table. It is not possible to provide a breakdown by local authority district except at disproportionate cost.

  Programme for the Valleys Expenditure

  (£ million)

  1988–89 Outturn

  1989–90 Outturn

  1990–91 Outturn

  Urban Programme

  11·950

  16·000

  19·400

  Urban Development/UIG2 1

  2·600

  7·200

  6·000

  RIG2 1

  28·875

  16·100

  14·500

  WDA

  Factories

  20·730

  20·950

  23·100

  Land Reclamation

  11·900

  15·500

  14·700

  Environmental

  0·780

  0·600

  0·600

  Urban Renewal Unit

  0·700

  1·570

  3·260

  Investment1

  1·325

  1·750

  2·730

  Business Development

  0·720

  1·000

  1·000

  Corporate Planning/Research

  0·100

  0·100

  0·050

  Roads

  11·100

  11·730

  15·270

  Employment Department

  48·600

  49·670

  48·200

  Total

  139·380

  142·170

  148·810

  1 1991–92 figure gives provision rather than estimated outturn.

  2 These programmes are demand-led.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total sum spent in regional aid in the valleys programme area, by year and by category of expenditure,(a) in the two years before regional development grants were abolished and (b) since regional development grants were abolished.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The information is as follows:

  programme area, and the comparable information for Wales and the United Kingdom as a whole from 1988 to date.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The information requested is given in the table.
  457

  District1

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Ogwr

  -610

  -254

  -35

  393

  Lliw Valley

  -354

  -336

  -124

  359

  Neath

  -364

  -508

  53

  256

  Afan

  -158

  -155

  10

  145

  Brecknock

  -49

  -123

  26

  53

  Taff Ely

  -853

  -719

  -78

  823

  Llanelli

  -272

  -191

  -70

  248

  Dinefwr

  -128

  -157

  21

  132

  Rhymney Valley

  -1,120

  -593

  161

  939

  Total Valleys programme area

  -7,091

  -6,816

  -680

  7,397

  Wales

  -30,367

  -31,169

  -484

  31,059

  United Kingdom

  -632,522

  -483,018

  34,776

  755,370

  Source: Employment Department.

  1 Data relate to wards within the districts covered by the Valleys Programme Area and not to the district as a whole.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. David Hunt
  My Department undertakes exercises at six-monthly intervals to assess usage of this service. The last monitoring exercise showed an average of 50 calls per week from the main offices in Cardiff.

  Revenue Support Grant
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales at what level he proposes to set the total of revenue support grant to Welsh local authorities in 1992–93.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I announced on 23 July that I proposed to set the total of aggregate external finance— AEF—the level of central Government support for local authority revenue spending, at £2·383 million, an increase of 6·7 per cent. over the equivalent amount for 1991–92; but that this figure would be adjusted to reflect the transfer out of local authority control of the six major higher education institutions in Wales, including the Polytechnic of Wales, from 1 April 1992. I have concluded that this adjustment should be confirmed at £34·6 million, the provisional sum I identified in July. I now propose that the level of AEF for 1992–93 should be £2,348·4 million.

  A comparable adjustment will be made to the level of total standard spending of £2,639 million that I announced in July.

  AEF support has three components: the distributable amount of non-domestic rates, the total of relevant specific and supplementary grants, and revenue support grant.

  As I announced to the House on 6 November, I intend to specify that the distributable amount from the non-domestic rating account be £536 million on the basis that the Welsh national non-domestic rating multiplier for 1992–93 will be 42·5.

  I propose that relevant specific and supplementary grants towards local authority revenue expenditure should total £195·3 million.

  I further propose that the total of revenue support grant should be £1,617·1 million of which £1,616·0 million should be paid to Welsh county and district councils and £1·1 million to certain specified bodies.

  My officials are today writing to Welsh local authorities setting out my proposals for the component amounts of
  458
  AEF and inviting their views. I am placing a copy of that consultation letter, which details the relevant specific and supplementary grants and the amounts to be paid to specified bodies, in the Library of the House.

  I will also provide an additional £5·985 million, outside AEF, for the payment of a special grant in 1992–93 to meet the estimated revenue cost to Welsh district authorities of council tax implementation. The special grant arrangements will be the subject of a separate consultation letter to be issued shortly.

  Early in December I will be notifying Welsh local authorities of my proposals for the distribution and population reports setting out the basis on which I propose to distribute revenue support grant among county and district councils, and the rules for calculating the relevant population of the areas of county and district councils for the purpose of the distribution of non-domestic rate income. I shall lay these reports before the House in due course.

  Charge Capping
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has proposals for community charge capping of Welsh local authorities in 1992–93.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have today written to the leader and the chief executive of each Welsh local authority informing them that I do not intend to announce charge-capping criteria in advance of next year's annual budgetary round. This is a continuation of the arrangements that have applied in Wales for 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  In my letter I have warned that I will subject to very careful scrutiny the expenditure proposals of Welsh local authorities for 1992–93 and will not hesitate to exercise my charge-capping powers in respect of any authority whose budget proposals I consider to be unacceptable.

PRIME MINISTER

  Natural History Museum
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Prime Minister whether he will publish the names of the trustees of the natural history museum and their respective remaining terms in office.

  The Prime Minister
  The names of the trustees of the natural history museum and their respective remaining terms in office are:
  459

  Date

  Sir Walter Bodmer FRS FRCPath (Chairman)

  31 December 1993

  Sir Owen Green

  31 December 1995

  Raymond John Carter

  31 December 1995

  Gerald M. Ronson

  31 December 1991

  Dr. Euan N. K. Clarkson FRSE

  31 December 1992

  Mrs. Jennifer d'Abo

  31 December 1993

  Professor Brian Follett

  31 December 1993

  Denys Henderson

  31 December 1993

  Professor Robert McCredie

  31 December 1993

  Professor John Harper

  16 February 1996

  Sir Anthony Laughton

  7 February 1995

  Forensic Evidence
  Mr. A. Cecil Walker
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps to ensure that the methods and thoroughness of forensic evidence gathering employed following incidents in Northern Ireland are of the same standards as those employed at the recent incident in St.Albans.

  The Prime Minister
  All explosions in Northern Ireland which, like the incident at St. Albans, cause fatalities are subject to a level of forensic scientific examination which is commensurate with their particular nature and appropriate having regard to the circumstances in which they occur and to whatever security considerations may apply at the time.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Prime Minister what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his office since 1 April 1991.

  The Prime Minister
  No record is kept of the number of calls made to directory inquiries from my office.

  RECHAR
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister what bilateral discussions he is having on RECHAR and additionality and with whom.

  The Prime Minister
  None, but Ministers and officials of the Departments concerned have discussed the subject fully with the European Commission and with interested parties in the United Kingdom.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Mrs. Maureen Paleschi
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made to repatriate Mrs. Maureen Paleschi from prison in Cairo.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We continue to take every suitable opportunity to seek the early release of Mrs. Paleschi on humanitarian grounds. I have no progress to report at present.

  EC Economic and Social Committee
  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the British members of the economic and social committee of the European Community, indicating in each case which interests they are intended to represent.
  460
  Mr. Garel-Jones
  British members of the economic and social committee are as follows:

  Group I (Representing employers)

  Group II (Representing workers)

  Group III (Representing various interest groups)

  Neville Beale

  Campbell Christie

  Wilfred Aspinall

  Michael Bell

  Peter Dawson

  Jocelyn Barrow

  John Little

  Tom Jenkins

  William Black

  Kenneth Gardner

  John Lyons

  Angela Guillaume

  Felix Kafka

  Ada Maddocks

  Robert Moreland

  Michael Mobbs

  William Morris

  Sue Slipman

  Ann Robinson

  Roy Sanderson

  Michael Strauss

  John Whitworth

  Alexander Smith

  Andrew Tyrie

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff are encouraged to make economic use of the telephone.

  Gibraltar (Human Rights)
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he takes to ensure that residents of Gibraltar have their human rights protected under the European convention on human rights.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The European convention on human rights applies in full to Gibraltar and provides Gibraltarians with the right of individual petition in relation to the rights covered by the convention. Furthermore, Gibraltar's constitution contains a chapter setting out the fundamental rights and freedoms of Gibraltarians and provides for their enforcement through the courts.

  Lockerbie
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from Mrs. Pamela Dix of UK Families Flight 103 concerning the Lockerbie disaster; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Ms. Pamela Dix has written three times to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State concerning the Lockerbie disaster. Ms. Dix wrote most recently on 4 November 1991 enclosing a copy of a status report by UK Families Flight 103. My right hon. Friend replied to Ms. Dix on 19 November.

  Cambodia
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, further to his answer of 20 November,Official Report, columns 198–99, what information he has regarding the current whereabouts and fate of the leadership of the site 8 camp.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We understand that all but two of the members of the former site 8 leadership have returned
  461
  to refugee camps on the Thai/Cambodia border, 10 of them to site 8. The exact whereabouts of the others is uncertain, but we understand that the two who remain inside Cambodia are safe.

  Iraq
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Fulham (Mr. Carrington), of 18 November,Official Report, columns 52–56, he will place in the Library copies of the reports of each of the UNSCOM visits to Iraq listed in his reply; if he will list by name and expertise each of the United Kingdom inspectors or technical experts involved in each UNSCOM visit; and if he will set out the new information provided to Her Majesty's Government by the UNSCOM inspection visits, subsequent to knowledge of the Iraqi nuclear programme as at 19 April 1990.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: Reports of the IAEA nuclear inspections are already available in the House of Commons Library in the form of Security Council documents as follows: UNSCOM 1 and 4 in S/22788 of 15 July; UNSCOM 5 in S/22837 of 25 July; UNSCOM 6 in S/22986 of 28 August; UNSCOM 14 in S/23112 of 4 October and UNSCOM 16 in S/23122 of 8 October. We expect the report of UNSCOM 19 to be issued shortly. Reports of other inspections have not yet been made public.

  United Kingdom nationals serving on the inspection teams have skills and expertise requested by the UN special commission and appropriate to the nature of the inspection for which they are provided. For reasons of personal security, I am not prepared to reveal their identities.

  New information on Iraq's WMD programme is set out in the above documents and in the report submitted to the Security Council by the executive chairman of the special commission which is being made available in the House of Commons Library—document S/23165 of 25 October.

  Algerian Nuclear Facilities
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he intends to make to the International Atomic Energy Agency to improve its surveillance of Algerian nuclear facilities.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: The Algerian research reactor operating at Draria is already under safeguards and the Algerian Government have given a public guarantee that the nuclear reactor under construction at Ain Oussera will be subject to IAEA inspection. We welcome this assurance, and look to the Algerian Government to invite the IAEA to inspect Ain Oussera as soon as possible.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Corporate Governance
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the cost to his Department of seconding staff to the Cadbury committee on corporate governance.
  462
  Mr. Leigh
  There is no cost to the Department for the secondment of a member of its staff to the committee on the financial aspects of corporate governance.

  Company Investigations
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions he has secured repayments of the costs of any investigations carried out by DTI inspectors, under section 439 of the Companies Act 1985.

  Redwood
  The Government are seeking recovery under section 439(4) of the costs of the Animal Defence Society Limited.

  Inspectors Reports
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his Department's policy(a) on the timing of the release of one of its inspector's reports where the subject of the report is also the subject of a current trial and (b) on the relative timing of the release of an inspector's report to those mentioned in the report and to Parliament.

  Mr. Lilley
  My Department would not expect to publish a report where the subject of the report was also the subject of a current criminal trial. A copy of the report could, however, be made available to those affected by its contents in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act and against suitable undertakings of confidentiality from the recipients. The timing of such release would depend upon the reasons for the request for the report.

  Reports are made available to Parliament on publication. It has been the practice of my Department to allow persons whose interests may be affected by the report, on request and on payment of the prescribed fee in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 1985, to have copies, against undertakings, shortly before the proposed date of publication.

  Export Credits Guarantee Department
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those countries covered by Export Credits Guarantee Department provision.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Some export credit insurance cover is currently available from the Export Credits Guarantee Department, including from the Insurance Services Group which is shortly to be privatised, for all but three countries—Iraq, Libya and Zambia.

  BBC External Services
  Mr. Michael Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline the arrangements made to co-ordinate the duties of the BBC external services and of the Export Credits Guarantee Department with respect to promotion of United Kingdom commercial interests.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The BBC World Service and the Export Credits Guarantee Department are two separate organisation with separate aims and objectives. However, ECGD does keep the BBC World Service informed about its activities. There are no plans to co-ordinate more closely their respective roles.

  Cumbria Action Team
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the proportion of the budget of the Cumbria action team allocated for(a) administration, (b) new work space in Copeland and (c) new factories in Copeland.

  Mr. Leigh
  On 13 June the Secretary of State announced a package of special measures for Barrow and West Cumbria. These included:

  (i) The establishment of the Cumbria action team, with a special fund of up to £1 million to support local initiatives in the area. No money from this special budget has been allocated for administration.

  (ii) A £15 million programme under which English Estates will provide new sites, factories and work space in Copeland and Furness. There is no formal allocation for Copeland, but we expect the programme to be roughly equal between the two areas.

  RECHAR
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects the European Commission to release the RECHAR programme for implementation in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 21 November 1991]: This is a question for the Commission. I can make no prediction, but I hope that it will be released very soon.

  ECGD Insurance Services Group
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) further to his answer of 18 November,Official Report, column 37, what is his most up-to-date estimate of the number of current Export Credits Guarantee Department staff who will be given additional paid leave after 1 December, pending transfer to other duties;

  (2) how many existing Export Credits Guarantee Department staff will be retained after 1 December, on full pay with no duties pending early retirement with full civil service entitlement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 21 November 1991]: Management are stilt considering the most effective deployment of staff following the privatisation of the Insurance Services Group.

  Cumbria
  Dr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he proposes for the improvements to communications recommended by his Department's consultants in their report, "Cumbria's Economy, Strategic Needs and Opportunities in the 1990s."

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 22 November 1991]: Following my right hon. Friend's announcement of measures for West Cumbria and Furness on 13 June, the Cumbria action team was promptly established in the area with bases at Barrow and Cockermouth. The team has established close and regular links with business leaders, key local agencies and others concerned with the economic development of the area.

  A steering group involving the regional directors of Government Departments has also been established to
  464
  ensure effective liaison at senior level between Departments on issues concerning West Cumbria and Barrow. In addition to regular meetings between Departments, this group has held other meetings with representatives of key agencies in the area with a follow-up arranged for mid-December. I plan to be in Whitehaven on that occasion and to attend the meeting.

  Cars(Recycling)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has to date on corporate projects to dismantle and recycle cars in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the remainder of European Economic Community countries.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: I am aware of a number of initiatives being taken with regard to the dismantling and recycling of motor cars. In the United Kingdom, for example, BMW (GB) Ltd. has announced a pilot recycling and disassembly scheme and the Rover Group has announced plans to undertake a programme of research with the Bird Group—one of the leading United Kingdom and European materials reclamation and recycling organisations—which aims to establish the optimum level of disassembly as well as standards covering a wide range of marques. I am also aware of the proposal for an industry steering group whose initial function would be to initiate action and to co-ordinate information on the range of projects being undertaken.

  Elsewhere in Europe, we are aware that BMW—who are co-operating closely with other manufacturers—have a pilot disassembly plant at Landshut and have opened an operational recycling centre in Munich. Also in Germany, GM Europe—Opel Vauxhall—has initiated a programme with RED Darmstadt and Ford have started a vehicle dismantling plant at Cologne. In France, the PSA Group—Peugeot/Citroen—has established a joint project, near Lyon, with a scrap metal processor and a cement maker to remove pollutants, to recover metals, and to produce fuel pellets from the residues. The results from all of these projects will be applied in the United Kingdom.

  Additionally on the European front, the European Commission—DGXI—has designated end-of-life vehicles as a priority waste stream and discussions will start next month on identifying the scale of the problem and ways in which it can be tackled.

  Recycling is not new to the motor industry. About 75 per cent. of the material in the average car is already recovered and there is a long commercial tradition in the United Kingdom of recycling car batteries, of reconditioning engines, gear boxes and radiators and a variety of other used parts.

  Regional Government
  Mr. Caborn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Council of Ministers meeting on the regions on 18 and 19 November.

  Mr. Leigh
  I attended on these dates the informal meeting in the Hague of EC Ministers responsible for regional policy and physical planning. The meeting considered two subjects: the Community structural funds, and the Commission's reference document "Europe 2000, Outlook for the Development of the Community's Territory". As it was an informal meeting, not a Council, no formal conclusions were reached.
  465
  Ministers had a broad exchange of views on the implementation of the structural funds to date and on certain aspects of their future. The importance of proper evaluation of the effectiveness of the funds was recognised and several ideas for improving the efficiency of their administration were discussed. The principle of subsidiarity and its relevance to the operation of the funds was acknowledged; I and some others expressed our Governments' wish to be more fully responsible for determining the eligible areas for and the detailed uses of the funds. Both Ministers and the Commission felt that there should in future be fewer "Community initiatives", a type of grant scheme exemplified by RECHAR.

  The reference document "Europe 2000" was generally welcomed, although I and others emphasised that it should not lead to any Community "spatial plan" contrary to the principle of subsidiarity. The Commission intends to carry out further studies. The intention of establishing a committee or working group, to facilitate exchange of information and experience on matters relevant to the Community dimension of "spatial development" in the member states, will be considered in detail at official level.

EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

  Channel 4 Commission on Education
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department supplied the Channel 4 commission on education with statistical information or comments on the performance of education in England and Wales.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department did not supply the Channel 4 commission on education with statistical information or comments on the performance of education in England and Wales. It was, however, in contact with the makers of an accompanying television programme.

  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he received a copy of the report of the Channel 4 commission on education; and what response he has made to the views expressed.

  Mr. Eggar
  A copy of the report of the Channel 4 commission on education was received by the Department on 22 October. I responded to the views expressed in a television debate on Channel 4 transmitted on 23 October.

  Disabled Students
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to extend the system of mandatory and discretionary awards to students on courses of further or higher education whose disabilities or medical conditions oblige them to study on a part-time basis; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Education Act 1962 gives local education authorities the power to make discretionary awards to part-time students on courses of further or higher education, but restricts mandatory awards generally to designated full-time and sandwich higher education courses. The student support arrangements are kept under review. We have, however, no present plans for primary legislation to extend mandatory awards to part-time courses.
  466
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make special provision for people to have access to education or retraining if they become disabled after the age of 19 years through accident or illness.

  Mr. Eggar
  Existing education and training arrangements already provide for those who become disabled in adult life. Local education authorities' responsibilities towards disabled adults will be carried forward into the new further education structures under the Further and Higher Education Bill. Department of Employment schemes give priority access to people with disabilities.

  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to ensure suitable transport to and from college for disabled students in further education who do not have access to public or private transport; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Under the Further and Higher Education Bill currently before Parliament, the provision of transport for disabled and other students in further education will continue to be the responsibility of local education authorities.

  Special Educational Needs
  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to ensure that students with special educational needs wishing to pursue further education receive a full and appropriate assessment of their needs; and if he will specify the methods by which their academic achievements will be acknowledged.

  Mr. Eggar
  Under the Further and Higher Education Bill currently before Parliament the assessment of further education students' needs will continue to be a matter for the colleges. It would be inappropriate for the Government to specify the methods by which examining and awarding bodies assess the academic achievements of students with special educational needs. The Government expect those bodies to ensure that their assessment arrangements take account of the needs of students with special educational needs.

  Mr. Ashley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will extend the statutory age limit for entitlement to further education for students with special needs who need extra time to develop independence skills and to catch up academically with their able-bodied peers.

  Mr. Eggar
  There is no such statutory age limit. The duty to secure provision of further education applies to 16 to 18-year-olds and to adults of all ages. The Further and Higher Education Bill currently before Parliament carries that duty over into the proposed new further education structures.

  Official Journeys
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the number of official journeys to Bradford made by the hon. Member for Enfield, North (Mr. Eggar) during 1990 and the current year to the most recent practicable date and the total cost of rail fares for himself and civil servants together with the associated costs of meals and any other expenses.
  467
  Mr. Eggar
  The Government have a strong commitment to promoting inner city regeneration. As Minister with special responsibility for Bradford and Leeds, it is invaluable for me to maintain personal contact with those involved in this vital process—including both Bradford city council and important private sector and partnership bodies such as the Bradford chamber of commerce, the Bradford and District training and enterprise council, the Bradford Breakthrough and the Keighley business forum, not to mention the many voluntary sector and community groups which are contributing to the development of new initiative and new partnerships in the district.

  My many and frequent contacts with local people are also invaluable in steering the work of the Bradford and Leeds city action team and the Bradford task force which between them invest over £1·5 million a year in the city—and which seek to co-ordinate the impact of central Government programmes especially in the fields of environment, employment, training and enterprise. There is no substitute for seeing things personally and learning at first hand.

  Since July 1990, when I became Minister of State, I have made 11 official visits to Bradford, nine by train. From the records currently available the total cost for myself and civil servants is as follows:

  £

  a) Rail fares

  1,692·58

  b) Associated costs

  285·85

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Eggar
  It is not possible to give complete statistics of all directory inquiry calls made by departmental personnel. While telephone logging equipment is now installed at the Department's main offices in London and Darlington, it is not available at small outstations or the divisional and local offices of Her Majesty's inspectorate.

  Data collected during October suggest that approximately 80 calls are made daily to directory inquiries from the Department's two principal sites.

  Schools(Health and Safety)
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy on local education authority inspections of schools for health and safety.

  Mr. Atkins
  It falls to local education authorities to ensure that their inspection arrangements are appropriate for the discharge of both their statutory duties and wider responsibilities with regard to health and safety.

ENVIRONMENT

  Council Rents
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his Department's guidelines for rents of council homes in Lambeth in 1992 and 1993.
  468
  Mr. Yeo
  Guideline rents are the assumptions about each local housing authority's rental income used in the calculation of entitlement to housing revenue account subsidy. They are calculated by each authority in accordance with a formula determined annually by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. For 1992–93 my right hon. Friend has proposed that guideline rents should be increased by between £1·20 in low value areas to £4·50 in high value areas. If the proposals are confirmed, the Department estimates that Lambeth's guideline rent for 1992–93 is likely to be £30·39 a week. No decisions have been made about guideline rents for 1993–94.

  Red Telephone Boxes
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria changes have taken place which has resulted in English Heritage listing an old-style red telephone box outside the London inn in Ivybridge, Devon, in 1988, but removing it from the list in 1991; and how many red public telephone boxes will remain in Ivybridge.

  Mr. Yeo
  The criteria for assessing traditional red telephone kiosks for listing have not changed since June 1987. The kiosk outside the London inn, Ivybridge, was rejected for listing on 24 June 1991, because it is not considered to fulfil the listing criteria. It had not previously been assessed for listing.

  It is for British Telecom to decide how many red telephone kiosks are to remain in Ivybridge.

  Council House Sales
  Mr. Summerson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing for each year since 1981 which local authorities are spending their receipts from right-to-buy sales at the maximum permitted rate; what are the amounts; which local authorities are spending their receipts at less than the maximum permitted rate; what are the amounts they spend; and what are the amounts they could spend.

  Mr. Yeo
  Data on the spending of receipts from right-to-buy sales has not been collected from local authorities.

  Liverpool Obstetric and Gynaecology Unit
  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what grant aid has been sought through the Merseyside task force towards the cost of the proposed obstetric and gynaecology unit in Liverpool;

  (2) what grants are being made through the Merseyside task force towards the costs of the proposed obstetric and gynaecology unit in Liverpool.

  Mr. Key
  None, but the Liverpool city action team has given grant support to the development team of Project Rosemary, of which the proposed new hospital would form a part. This support includes payment of the salary of a community development officer. The main costs of the new unit will be met by the district health authority under its usual allocations, details of which are a matter for the chairman of Mersey regional health authority, Sir Donald Wilson.
  469

  City Challenge
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of grant the Government will be contributing to city challenge schemes; and what proportion local authorities will have to raise themselves.

  Mr. Portillo
  The proportion of grants contributed by local authorities and the Government in city challenge are as follows:

  Urban Programme

  For revenue projects grant will be available at 90 per cent. rather than 75 per cent.; the local authority will be expected to contribute 10 per cent. of approved costs.

  For capital projects, grant will be available at 75 per cent. and supplementary credit approvals (SCAs) at 25 per cent.

  Estate Action

  For estate action projects there will be 100 per cent. SCA support.

  Local Authority Derelict Land Grant

  In respect of local authority derelict land grant projects, all city challenge areas will receive 100 per cent. support, in the form of 50 per cent. grant and 50 per cent. SCAs in Lewisham and Tower Hamlets and 100 per cent. grant elsewhere.

  Non Local Authority Derelict Land Grant

  Grant on approved expenditure on non local authority derelict land grant projects will be given at a rate of 50 per cent. in Lewisham and Tower Hamlets and 80 per cent. in other areas.

  Private Sector Housing Renewal

  City challenge support is available under section 132 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and for environmental works in renewal areas under section 96 of that Act. Grant will be paid on 90 per cent. of a local authority's eligible expenditure for group repair schemes and on 90 per cent. of the eligible expenditure incurred in carrying out environmental works in renewal areas; the local authority will be required to contribute the remaining 10 per cent.

  City Grant

  For city grant, grant will continue to be paid directly to developers and assessed on the deficit between project costs and project value.

  Housing Corporation

  For schemes funded by the Housing Corporation grant will be paid on mixed funded schemes and public funded schemes in 1992–93 at the appropriate rates for the area in accordance with Housing Corporation circular 33–91.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the funds for city challenge have been top-sliced from existing inner-city programmes.

  Mr. Portillo
  Yes; £82·5 million for 1992–93 has been top-sliced from the following programmes:

  Estate Action

  Urban Programme

  City Action Teams

  City Grant

  Derelict Land Grant

  Private Sector Housing Renewal

  Housing Corporation

  470
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department will provide continuing revenue support to the city challenge schemes after the five year cut-off point.

  Mr. Portillo
  Revenue support for city challenge schemes will be provided for the period agreed in their action plans.

  Police Authorities (Finance)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions a police authority has become insolvent in that its current expenditure in the current financial year exceeds its income; and what powers he has to deal with such an eventuality.

  Mr. Key
  No single-service police authority has reported to us that it has ended any year with a deficit. The management of its financial affairs, including dealing with any deficit, is a matter for each individual authority.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions he or his predecessors have advised police authorities to run revenue deficits on the assurance of income in future years; and what powers he has to offer such assurances.

  Mr. Key
  None. We have no such power.

  House Repossessions
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses were repossessed by building societies in the first three quarters of 1991.

  Mr. Yeo
  The latest available information is the number of properties taken into possession during the first half of 1991 by building societies and other members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This, with the corresponding information for earlier periods, appears in table 11 of the November 1991 edition of "Housing Finance", which is in the Library.

  Council Tax
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide examples for council flats or two-bedroom terraced properties for the same areas as he provided in his press release of 19 November for a 1960s built three-bedroom semi-detached house.

  Mr. Key
  The information requested is not available.

  Mr. Gould
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing his estimate of the council tax bill payable and the community charge bill payable in 1991–92 for a couple living in(a) a 1960s built three-bedroom semi-detached house and (b) a 1960s built four-bedroom detached house for each English council.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have today placed in the Library tables providing the information requested.

  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the addresses for each of the 1960s built three bedroom semi-detached houses used to illustrate comparison between the last rates bill, current poll tax bill and the future council tax bill published in a press release from his Department on 19 November 1991.
  471
  Mr. Key
  The figures published on 19 November were based on estimates of value provided by the Valuation Office. These estimates relate to typical properties rather than actual addresses.

  Nitrate Pollution
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the 28 zones which are the subject of an action by the EC against the Government for failure to meet EC nitrate levels.

  Mr. Baldry
  The 28 zones covered by the European Commission's 1989 case against the United Kingdom, which is to be heard in the European Court on 27 November, are shown in the table, together with the date by which each will comply with the nitrate standard in the EC drinking water directive.

  Date by which to comply

  Anglian Water

  Dessingham (2 sources)

  1—

  Docking

  1991

  Hunstanton

  1991

  Bowthorpe

  1993

  Hoveton (2 sources)

  1992–1994

  Moulton/Kennet

  1993

  Wisbech

  1993

  Immingham (2 zones)

  1995

  Harrowby (2 sources)

  1992–1994

  Barrow

  1992

  Binbrook

  1992

  Market Rasen

  1992

  Middle Rasen (2 zones)

  1992

  Sleaford (2 zones)

  1994

  Metheringham (2 zones)

  1994

  Barrowby

  1994

  Ely

  2—

  Severn Trent Water

  Oakley Farm

  2—

  Puleston Bridge

  2—

  Farnsfield

  2—

  Lilleshall

  2—

  Lee Valley Water Company

  Luton (Crescent Road)

  1993

  South Staffordshire Water Company

  Lichfield (5 sources)

  3—

  Trent Valley

  2—

  1— 1 source now complies/second 1994.

  2— Now complies.

  3— 1 source now complies/remainder 1993.

  Mobile Homes
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will agree to meet representatives of mobile home dwellers in Dorset; and if he will make a statement on his Department's current discussions on their circumstances.

  Mr. Yeo
  Consultants appointed by the Department carried out a research study into physical and social 472
  conditions on residential mobile home sites over the summer. We shall be publishing their report in the near future. We also intend to publish a consultation paper on future mobile homes policy, although no major changes to the Mobile Homes Act 1983 are contemplated. We shall be initiating discussions with representatives of mobile home residents and site owners at the appropriate time.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what investigations and surveys he has undertaken in the past two years into the size and extent of the problem of people sleeping rough in snow or extreme cold outside London; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what inquiry he has made into the number of people who slept rough in snow or extreme cold in Leicester last winter.

  Mr. Yeo
  My Department has not undertaken any research into the number of people outside London sleeping rough during the last two winters. The most reliable estimate of the numbers sleeping rough outside London is in the 1991 OPCS census supplementary monitor on people sleeping rough, which was placed in the Library on 9 July. This reported that 33 people were sleeping rough on the streets of Leicester on the night of 21–22 April.

  MINIS-12 Report
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what inquiries have been received by his Department since the start of October concerning(a) the content and (b) the availability of the MINIS-12 report for 1991.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: My Department has received only a handful of inquiries since the beginning of October about MINIS 12 returns. The returns were published in July and their content is a matter of public record. Copies were placed in the Library of the House and are available for purchase from my Department. Inquirers are referred to these sources as appropriate.

  Incinerators
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the levels of pollution from each incinerator operating in England; and to what extent they comply with EC legislation.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: Information on levels of pollution from individual plant is not available. The European Community has set limits on emissions to air from municipal waste incinerators with which incinerators built since 1 December 1990 must comply now. Municipal waste incinerators with a capacity of 6 tonnes/hour or more in existence on that date have until 1 December 1996 to be brought up to the European standards.

SCOTLAND

  Nuclear Power Plant, Torness
  Dr. Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether spent nuclear fuel allocated to the dry storage facility planned for the Scottish nuclear power plant at Torness will be subject to the EC proposal for a Council directive (COM(90)328 final) amending EC directive 80/836/EURATOM.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  The draft of EC directive COM(90)328, which is still being discussed by the Council of Ministers, relates to the control of shipments of nuclear material. The effect of any directive on any dry storage of spent fuel is therefore speculative. No formal application to construct spent fuel storage facilities at Torness is before the Secretary of State.

  Children (Special Needs)
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on the education of children with disabilities or special needs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Primary responsibility for the education of children with special educational needs lies with education authorities. It is their duty to make available for all children in their area adequate and efficient school education which must include provision for children with special educational needs. Additionally, for children and young people with pronounced, specific or complex special educational needs requiring continuing review, authorities have a duty to open a record of needs and to ensure that the provision they make provides fully for the needs described in that record.

  Financial provision to enable authorities to carry out these duties is included in the aggregate external finance settlement.

  Traffic Accidents (A1)
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many deaths and how many injuries have occurred as a result of road traffic accidents on the A1 road between Musselburgh and the English border in each of the last 10 years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The following table provides the information requested on road traffic accidents on the A1 road between the Dolphingstone interchange east of Musselburgh, and the English border. Information for 1991 is available centrally only up to June and is provisional.

  Number of casualties on the A1 between Dolphingstone interchange and the English border by severity 1981–90, and to June 1991

  Fatal

  Serious

  Slight

  Total

  1981

  7

  36

  77

  120

  1982

  4

  54

  51

  109

  1983

  8

  35

  46

  89

  1984

  7

  55

  54

  116

  1985

  7

  52

  73

  132

  1986

  4

  62

  78

  144

  1987

  12

  43

  66

  121

  1988

  15

  41

  57

  113

  1989

  7

  46

  75

  128

  474

  Fatal

  Serious

  Slight

  Total

  1990

  10

  47

  95

  152

  11991

  1

  11

  39

  51

  1 January to June 1991 (provisional).

  Road Crossing
  Mr. McMaster:
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to provide local authorities with responsibility for roads with additional finance for the specific purpose of providing accessible and safe road crossings for people with mobility or visual impairments; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  It is for local authorities to include projects for the provision of accessible and safe road crossings for people with mobility or visual impairments in their transport policies and programme documents and financial plans. These will then be taken fully into account in determining capital allocations. Local authorities have been given detailed guidance about the provision of facilities at pedestrian crossings for disabled and visually impaired people. It is for the authorities themselves to decide what priority should be given to providing these facilities and other road safety measures.

  Lyme Disease
  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the incidence of Lyme disease in the highlands of Scotland and in each of the other health board areas in each of the last three years; and what steps are being taken to prevent its spread.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Lyme disease has been a notifiable disease in Scotland since January 1990. Information about its incidence in earlier years is not available. The number of notifications, by health board area, for 1990 and 1991, to 8 November, is as follows:

  1990

  11991

  Ayrshire and Arran

  1

  2

  Grampian

  4

  11

  Greater Glasgow

  2

  2

  Highland

  3

  2

  Tayside

  2

  —

  1 To 8 November.

  Lyme disease is transmitted from animals to man by the bite of the adult female tick. It is not a common condition in Scotland, but the notification requirements which have been introduced will enable careful monitoring of its incidence to be maintained.

  RNIB Needs Survey
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, further to his answer of 12 November,Official Report, column 485, whether he has yet received a copy of the RNIB needs survey on blind and partially sighted adults in Britain; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. Friend has now obtained a copy of this comprehensive report. He will consider its contents carefully in relation to planning and delivery of the wide range of services for blind and partially sighted people for which he is responsible.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the current unemployment figures for the Kilmarnock and Loudoun district.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  In October 1991, the latest month for which figures are available, there were 4,295 people unemployed in Kilmarnock and Loudoun district. This figure is given on the unadjusted basis.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest unemployment figures for Dundee and Scotland.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  In October 1991, the latest month for which figures are available, there were 9,641 people unemployed in Dundee travel-to-work area and 220,396 in Scotland. The figures shown are given on the unadjusted basis.

  Craigtoun Hospital
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the future of Craigtoun hospital.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. Friend hopes to announce his decision shortly.

  Cumbernauld High School
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth on 11 November,Official Report, column 381, whether Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools have had discussions with Strathclyde regional council concerning the implementation of the recommendations made by the inspectorate in its report on Cumbernauld high school: and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 20 November 1991]: The implementation of the recommendations made in the published report following the inspection of Cumbernauld high school were discussed fully with the divisional education officer in May 1991 following the follow-up inspection, and have been the subject of further discussions. Progress was being made on all the issues raised in the published report, although the authority had been unable to respond immediately on those in relation to the replacement of windows and other maintenance, and decoration. That work has been phased. Window replacement is being undertaken in three phases with the second to be completed in 1992 and the remainder undertaken in the course of the financial year 1992–93. Early preparation for redecoration is under way and plans have been made to complete that in 1992–93.

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth on 11 November,Official Report, column 381, if he will outline those subject departments, or areas of weakness, at Cumbernauld high school which necessitated Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools to undertake a follow-up inspection of the school in January 1991.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 20 November 1991]: In terms of Scottish Office Education Department
  476
  circular No. 1095 a follow-up visit is paid to all schools inspected to determine the progress made by the authority and the school in responding to the recommendations made in the published report. The report on Cumbernauld high school made recommendations for action by both school management and the education authority. In relation to the former, action was suggested to be necessary to provide clearer statements of school policies and to ensure effective monitoring of the implementation of these, to provide more differentiation of demand within courses to match the range of ability of pupils, and in relation to aspects of provision in history, technical education, home economics, music and computing. On the evidence of the follow-up visit, substantial progress was being made, with the support of the education authority's advisory service, to bring about improvements in all these areas.

  M80
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to announce the line of route of the M80 to Haggs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether a decision has yet been reached on the line of route for the M80 from Haggs to Stepps; and when the work is likely to commence.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: Over the past six months the road project team in the Scottish Office roads directorate managing the M80 Stepps-Haggs scheme has been heavily committed in a major review of the strategic trunk road network in north Lanarkshire. This review, together with essential preparatory work for the forthcoming M8 Newbridge to Edinburgh public inquiry, has regrettably delayed the consideration necessary to enable a decision to be made on the line of the M80 between Stepps and Haggs. It is hoped that formal presentations can be made to regional and district councils early in the new year and a decision taken thereafter. The date of a start of the works will depend on the satisfactory completion of the statutory procedures and the availability of funds.

  Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to declare a moratorium on new management agreements under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, pending a review of the system.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: No.

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations(a) the Scottish Office and (b) the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland have received from Lord Kimball on the need for management agreements in north-west Sutherland under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: Lord Kimball has served notices of intent under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to undertake agricultural, forestry and other operations. These proposals are being assessed by the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland which will decide whether management agreements should be offered under section 15 of the Countryside Act 1968.
  477
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the impact of management agreements, currently being negotiated, on the proposed budget of Scottish Natural Heritage.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 25 November 1991]: All matters affecting the funding requirements of Scottish Natural Heritage will be taken into account by my right hon. Friend in deciding the amount of the grant in aid which will be allocated.

DEFENCE

  RAF Machrihanish
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement on the future role of RAF Machrihanish;

  (2) if he will make a statement on the use of facilities at RAF Machrihanish by United States armed forces.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  RAF Machrihanish is primarily established as a wartime forward operating base for NATO, including United States, maritime patrol aircraft. United States navy aircraft occasionally use the station for exercises. Additionally, the station accommodates a United States navy mobile mine assembly group and special warfare unit. There are no current plans to change this role.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts have been awarded for construction work at RAF Machrihanish during 1990–91; and what is their individual cost.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Contracts awarded in 1990–91 for construction work at RAF Machrihanish cover airfield paving, aviation fuel storage installations, an operational and administrative building, a range of accommodation buildings, a civil aviation terminal and a public road. These exclude minor works and have a cumulative value of £28 million—of which some £15 million falls to United States and NATO funds. It is not possible to give the costs of individual contracts for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residential properties owned by his Ministry are in Scotland; and what is the current percentage rate of occupation.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As at 30 September 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, MOD owned 6,361 houses and flats in Scotland, of which 5,107 were occupied representing 80 per cent. of the total stock. Many of the unoccupied properties were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation, some were already allotted to service families who were due to move in shortly, and others were being considered for disposal. In addition, 372 properties were in the process of being sold.

  Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residential properties owned by his Ministry are in Fife; and what is the current percentage rate of occupation.
  478
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As at 30 September 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, the Ministry of Defence owned 1,436 houses and flats in Fife, of which 1,222 were occupied, representing 85 per cent. of the total stock. Many of the unoccupied properties were either undergoing major maintenance work or modernisation, some were already allotted to service families who were due to move in shortly and others were being considered for disposal. In addition, 108 properties were in the process of being sold.

  Thurleigh Airfield
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consultations have taken place since the announcement of the closure of the airfield at Thurleigh, Bedfordshire between his Department and agencies and the local authorities in the county; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will make it his policy to discuss the terms of the proposals covering Thurleigh airfield with the local authorities involved before completing negotiations with United Parcel Services;

  (3) if he will make it his policy to ensure that North Bedfordshire borough council is requested for planning permission for a change in use for Thurleigh airfield from military to civilian flying;

  (4) how many applicants have approached his Department for authority to use the airfield at Thurleigh for (a) flying and purposes connected therewith, (b) commercial users, other than as an airport, (c) recreational purposes and (d) housing; and whether any negotiations have been completed;

  (5) what account he takes in considering the future of Thurleigh airfield in Bedfordshire of (a) noise, (b) planning blight, (c) environmental despoliation and (d) loss of amenity.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Since my announcement on 9 May of our intention to dispose of Thurleigh (Bedford) airfield on relocation of research and experimental flying to Boscombe Down, consultants acting on our behalf have held several discussions with Bedfordshire county and North Bedfordshire borough councils in the course of stage II of their study into disposal and marketing strategy. We anticipate a continuing, more detailed, dialogue, once the consultants' findings have been evaluated. We are not, in the meantime, in formal negotiation with either United Parcels Service or the 10 other commercial concerns which have discussed their informal interest in alternative use for the airfield site with our consultants.

  In considering the disposal of Thurleigh airfield, our objective is to agree a way forward with the local authorities concerned that is consistent both with our duty to maximise the potential return from sale and with legitimate local environmental and infrastructure concerns, which it would be our intention to address in an environmental impact assessment. Any subsequent developments within the context of current planning legislation would be the subject of a formal submission to North Bedfordshire borough council.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Alan Clark
  Information on calls to directory inquiries from my Department is not held centrally and the number of such calls could be calculated only at disproportionate cost. Access to this service is restricted.

  Staffordshire Regiment
  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the record of the Staffordshire Regiment.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Staffordshire Regiment and its predecessors have a long and honourable history. They have served with distinction in campaigns from Guadaloupe in 1759 to the recent conflict in the Gulf. Full details are available in the Army List and regimental histories.

  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to maintain the Staffordshire regiment in its existing form.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As part of the restructuring of the Army, the Staffordshire Regiment will amalgamate with the Cheshire Regiment in 1993. I am, however, confident that the traditions, identity and loyalties of both the Staffordshire Regiment and the Cheshire Regiment will be successfully carried forward into the new regiment.

  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the Director of Infantry's current guidelines on amalgamation of regiments in respect of the relative priority for amalgamation of those regiments which have already been amalgamated since 1945 and those which have not;

  (2) if he will list the order of preference for amalgamation submitted by the Cheshire regiment to the Army board.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The detailed basis on which the Army board came to its decisions about regimental amalgamations is an internal matter. The board took account of all relevant factors.

  Service Medals
  Mr. Speed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration is being given to the striking of a humanitarian medal for service personnel; and when he expects to announce a design.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The possibility of an award for service personnel who take part in operations of a humanitarian nature is under consideration, but no decision has yet been taken.

  South African Defence Material
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what oversight his Department maintains over the sale of South African-made defence material by companies based in the United Kingdom.
  480
  Mr. Sainsbury
  I have been asked to reply.

  Exports of defence equipment are subject to control under the Export of Goods (Control) Order and a licence is required to export such goods to any destination.

HEALTH

  West Middlesex University Hospital
  Sir Barney Hayhoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what building works costing more than £5 million he expects to be carried out at the West Middlesex University hospital during the next 12 months.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Department has not received any approval-in-principle submissions from North West Thames and consequently no funding has yet been identified for any major scheme at West Middlesex. The regional health authority, however, recognises the case for investment there and is currently awaiting submission of the proposals being developed by the district.

  South East Thames Regional Health Authority
  Mr. Moate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a table showing the funds allocated for the current year per head of population to each health district within the South East Thames regional health area.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Information about the funds allocated to health districts is not held centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Mr. Peter Barker, the chairman of South East Thames regional health authority, for details.

  Residential and Care Homes
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the total number, by region, of inspectors of residential and care homes; what is the minimum number of annual inspections of these; and what further measures will be taken to maintain standards of care in residential and care homes.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Information about the numbers of inspectors employed by local authorities is not held centrally. Authorities are required to inspect registered private and voluntary residential care homes at least twice a year.

  The regulation of residential care, in which inspection plays a major part, safeguards the welfare of residents and helps uphold high standards. It is for this reason that over the last 12 months the Government have required local authorities to set up inspection units specifically to begin inspecting care homes in the public sector; have instituted arrangements allowing authorities to ask the police to check the antecedents of new proprietors and managers of homes; and, in regulations due to come into effect on 1 December, have introduced a requirement on applicants to provide details of criminal convictions, as well as to provide proof of identity on request.

  We are also actively seeking to encourage improvements in the quality of life of residents in care homes. The social services inspectorate is publishing and promoting a series of documents on standards in homes with the generic title "Caring for Quality". Considerable progress has also been made in the caring in homes initiative, an action research programme which the Department is funding at a cost of some £2 million. The initiative is

  481
  working to promote good practice and enhancing residents' quality of life, drawing on recommendations made in the report "Residential Care: A Positive Choice". The final results will be made widely available next year. Copies of the existing publications are available in the Library.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the salaries, remuneration, pension entitlements and other benefits payable to(a) each chair or shadow chair of each national health service trust or proposed trust in the Northern region from 1 December, (b) members of each national health service trust or proposed trust in the northern region from 1 December and (c) when he proposes next to revise salaries and other remuneration for trust chairs and board members.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The chairmanship and non-executive directorships of NHS trusts are not salaried posts, although chairmen and non-executive directors receive remuneration for their services. Remuneration, though taxable, is not pensionable. The rates of remuneration from 1 December are given in table 1. Chairmen and directors are also entitled to claim travel and subsistence allowances, the current rates of which are given in table 2. The timing of the next review of remuneration and allowances has yet to be decided.

  Table 1

  NHS Trust Chairmen's remuneration

  £

  Band 1

  19,285

  Band 2

  17,145

  Band 3

  15,125

  Banding criteria

  Turnover

  in excess of £50 million

  Band 1

  between £20–£50 million

  Band 2

  less than £20 million

  Band 3

  Note: Turnover means the unit's turnover for 1988–89.

  Table 2

  NHS trust chairmen, non executive directors, committee members and sub-committee members

  Travelling and other allowances

  Current rates

  1. Public transport allowances (from 1 June 1990)

  20·1p

  2. Motor mileage allowance (from 1 April 1991)

  a. Up to 1500cc

  Up to 7000 miles

  35·7p

  Over 7000 miles

  13·0p

  b. 1500cc to 2000cc

  Up to 7000 miles

  37·0p

  Over 7000 miles

  15·0p

  c. Over 2000cc

  Up to 7000 miles

  39·0p

  Over 7000 miles

  17·0p

  3. Motor cycle allowance (from 1 April 1991)

  a. Up to 125cc

  Up to 5000 miles

  15·4p

  Over 5000 miles

  5·5p

  b. Over 125cc

  Up to 5000 miles

  24·7p

  Over 5000 miles

  8·1p

  482

  Current rates

  4. Overnight absence allowance (from 1 August 1990)

  Inner London

  £98·70

  Elsewhere

  £85·85

  5. Day subsistence allowance (from 1 August 1991)

  5–8 hours

  £3·90

  Over 8 hours

  £8·60

  Over 12 hours

  £12·50

  NHS Hospitals
  Sir Anthony Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy for the amalgamation of NHS hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Hospital and community health services at a local level are the responsibility of regional and district health authorities, which should seek local agreement to significant changes in the provision of health services.

  AIDS
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to mark World AIDS Day; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  World AIDS Day is a World Health Organisation initiative held on 1 December each year designed to expand and strengthen the worldwide effort to curb the spread of HIV infection and AIDS. The theme this year is "Sharing the Challenge", calling for a partnership of nations, groups, individuals and organisations from all walks of life to combat the pandemic.

  As in previous years, we asked Mrs. Margaret Jay, director of the National AIDS Trust, to form a group to steer the United Kingdom response. The membership of the group has included people from the United Kingdom statutory, voluntary and media sectors. The day is being marked by many events throughout the United Kingdom.

  On Friday 22 November I launched the Surrey and East Hampshire AIDSlink as a charity. In the week running up to World AIDS Day I am attending events in Bristol and in London. There will also be a preview of an exhibition of photographs of innovative local initiatives on HIV/AIDS. On 28 November the Chief Medical Officer and I will address the all-party parliamentary group on AIDS. My final World AIDS Day engagement will be to open a nursing conference on changing attitudes to AIDS in Cambridge on 2 December.

  On World AIDS Day itself the Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Social Services Inspector and the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer will attend an ecumenical service at Southwark cathedral. They will also visit people with HIV and AIDS and those who care for them, at the London Lighthouse and the Mildmay Mission hospital. These organisations have pioneered the provision of palliative care and support for people with HIV and AIDS. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will also visit London Lighthouse on 4 December.

  We hope that the press, radio and television will help focus national attention on action to curb the spread of HIV infection and foster compassion and support for those already affected.

  Mr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-haemophiliacs in England, Wales and
  483
  Northern Ireland who have contracted HIV infection as a result of contaminated NHS blood-tissue transfers (a) remain alive, (b) have developed AIDS and remain alive and (c)developed AIDS and have since died.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  There have been 51 reports in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of HIV infection in people who received blood or tissue transfer in the United Kingdom. The number of infected persons thought to be alive is 26.

  The number reported with AIDS is 27, of whom 22 are known to have died. We have no information on the cause of death.

  NHS Residential Estate
  Mr. Gerald Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the report of the national health service residential estate commissioned from CSL Group Ltd.

  Mr. Dorrell
  CSL Group Ltd. was commissioned to examine the utilisation of national health service staff accommodation. Its report analyses NHS residential accommodation by type and number of units and recommends target rates for utilisation and availability. This will be incorporated in guidance about to be issued to the NHS. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

  Home Care Standards
  Mr. Fearn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessments his Department has undertaken of standards of nursing home care provided by national health service hospitals;

  (2) what consultations he has had with local health authorities over the standards of home care provided by national health service hospitals.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Continuous nursing care may be provided in long-stay NHS hospital wards, community units, directly managed nurse-led units or through independent providers. It is for health authorities to decide the appropriate type and level of care and how best to secure it, taking account of local needs and priorities. Independent nursing homes are subject to the registration and inspection procedures laid down in part II of the Registered Homes Act 1984.

  Health authorities as purchasers of health care services are expected to ensure that their contracts include appropriate quality standards and to monitor the delivery of care. The Department is in continuous contact with the health service through the NHS management executive.

  Nasogastric Feeding Tubes
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 November,Official Report, column 409, when he expects to complete his consideration of whether to make nasogastric feeding tubes available on general practitioner prescription.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  A decision on whether to make nasogastric feeding tubes available on general practitioner prescribing depends on the resource implications for the family health services and consultations on the transfer of a service that is currently the responsibility of health authorities.

  Dental Services
  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has plans to introduce a charter for dental patients.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We have no such plans.

  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to review the working of the capitation system for dental treatment for children; and whether he will introduce an item of service payment formula within the capitation framework.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We keep all aspects of the working of the new dental contract under review. The capitation system includes provision for item of service payments. These are listed under item 41 of the fee scale in the "Statement of Dental Remuneration".

  Mr. Terry Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been paid in pre-entry payments for children on a monthly basis in the period since the inception of the new dental contract.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The information is given in the table.

  Month/Year

  Payment (£)

  October 1990

  336,560

  November 1990

  4,100,607

  December 1990

  6,928,169

  January 1991

  6,079,356

  February 1991

  6,579,365

  March 1991

  6,709,034

  April 1991

  6,541,420

  May 1991

  5,834,846

  June 1991

  5,301,253

  July 1991

  5,309,673

  August 1991

  4,587,857

  September 1991

  3,349,053

  October 1991

  4,138,035

  Note: The figures refer to payments made under items 42(a) and 42(b) of the fee scale published in the "Statement of Dental Remuneration".

  National Health Service News Management
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost of establishing the national health service management executive news management unit; and what is its budget.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The NHS management executive does not have a news management unit.

  Secure Accommodation
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce an additional option for accommodating children midway between secure accommodation and open children's homes.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  If a child needs to have his liberty restricted it should be in premises which can hold him safely and securely and in accordance with the statutory safeguards provided by section 25 of the Children Act 1989.

  Radiotherapy, Sunderland
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give the average waiting time for patients needing radiotherapy treatment in Sunderland district health authority.
  485
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  This information is not available centrally. At March 1991 there were no patients waiting for radiotherapy treatment in Sunderland district health authority.

  Hospital Waiting Lists
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has received from regional health authorities as a result of their being requested by his Department to notify the Department of approaches to regions from the hon. Member for Peckham about patients on waiting lists.

  Mr. Dorrell
  None.

  Mr. D. H. Bullock
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will investigate the case of the constituent of the hon. Member for Liverpool, Garston, Mr. D. H. Bullock, who was admitted to Broadgreen hospital, Liverpool on 25 September 1991, discharged on 9 October 1991, and re-admitted on 13 October 1991; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We have received a full report on this case, which concerns a patient who contracted legionnaires disease at the cardiothoracic centre, Liverpool. We are satisfied that the hospital took immediate action to both isolate the infection and to take the necessary measures in line with the two codes of practice issued by the Health and Safety Executive and this Department.

  Healthy Eating Campaign
  Mr. Couchman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance he has given the food industry and educators with regard to the healthy eating campaign running alongside the HEA publication "Enjoy Healthy Eating"; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) whether he will issue additional advice to the food industry and educators as to the role they can play in working towards a healthier nation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  When my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched the COMA report on dietary reference values in July, he asked the Health Education Authority to take the lead in developing a healthy eating campaign. The booklet "Enjoy Healthy Eating", which was published on 5 November, a copy of which is available in the Library, represents the start of that campaign. Further nutrition education resources for both professionals and the public are being developed.

  So far as the food industry is concerned, the Government maintain a constructive dialogue with it on issues such as food labelling and the production and marketing of healthy choices in food supplies.

  In the context of the Green Paper "The Health of the Nation", the responses of those representing the food industry have given a positive welcome to the initiative and have signalled their intention to play a full and constructive role.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Only two months' information is kept on telephone calls from the Department. Since 16 September, 3,900 calls have been made to directory inquiries.

  Psychiatric Facilities
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of provision of medium secure psychiatric facilities in Wessex regional health authority; and whether there are any plans to develop them.

  Mr. Dorrell
  West Dorset health authority has been invited to co-ordinate the purchasing requirements of all the health authorities in Wessex for the provision of medium secure psychiatric facilities.

  A decision will be taken about the nature, location and size of future provision, taking into consideration the recommendations emerging from the current national review of services for mentally disordered offenders and others requiring similar services.

  Juveniles (Secure Accommodation)
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make assistance available to local authorities to meet revenue expenditure in repect of the provision of secure accommodation for juveniles.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  Secure accommodation in community homes forms part of a range of residential facilities provided by local authorities for children they are looking after. The revenue costs of such accommodation fall to the providing local authority, which may recharge other local authorities making placements there. The local authority associations have an opportunity to express views on pressures that might lead to additional expenditure, or savings, on personal social services as part of the discussions leading to the annual local authority settlement.

  Grant aid is available from central Government to meet the full capital cost of providing secure accommodation in community homes.

  Patients Charter
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the cost of production and distribution of(a) the patients charter and (b) the summary of the patients charter.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The costs of the production and distribution of the patients charter and the summary of the patients charter were £200,000 and £1,400,000 respectively.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training Credits
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to report on the training credit pilot schemes.
  487
  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. and learned Friend was delighted to be able to announce yesterday the names of the training and enterprise councils and local enterprise companies that will be developing a second round of training credits schemes, to come into operation in April 1993. This second round of credit schemes will build on the experience of the existing training credit pilots and we hope to publish evaluation results from the first nine months of operating the pilots in the spring of 1992.

  Unfair Dismissal
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to protect employees against unfair dismissal when they are trying to enforce a statutory right.

  Mr. Forth
  Employees who qualify can complain of unfair dismissal to an industrial tribunal. My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to amend the existing legislation.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will amend the qualifying conditions for unfair dismissal for employees trying to enforce section 8 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978.

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to amend the qualifying period for unfair dismissal when employees are dismissed for trying to enforce a statutory right.

  Mr. Forth
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to amend the existing legislation.

  Unemployment
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which are the latest figures for unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Howard
  This month's rise in seasonally adjusted unemployment of 15,700 is the smallest since September 1990 and the third successive fall in the rate of increase. In Scotland, Wales and the Northern region seasonally adjusted unemployment fell in October 1991.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were unemployed in the United Kingdom on the latest date for which figures are available; and what was the comparable figure published in November 1979.

  Mr. Howard
  On the seasonally adjusted, consistent basis, there were 2,472,900 unemployed people in October 1991 compared with 1,052,500 in October 1979.

  Wages Councils
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement about the operation of the wages councils.

  Mr. Forth
  The wages councils have no permanent place in the labour market, but so long as they exist, the wages inspectorate will continue to enforce wages orders effectively.

  Government Training Schemes
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are participating in Government training schemes now relative to 1979.
  488
  Mr. Howard
  A total of 737,000 people entered Government training programmes in 1990–91 compared with 108,000 in 1978–79—a sevenfold increase.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on training and enterprise councils.

  Mr. Jackson
  All 82 training and enterprise councils are now operational and turning their ambitious plans into practical action to improve training and business services in every part of the country. The enthusiasm and commitment shown by the top business people leading the TEC initiative is without parallel and is laying a firm basis for the high-skill, high-productivity economy this country needs.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will give information showing the differences between profiled and actual expenditure by each training and enterprise council/local enterprise company and area office for each of the training and enterprise councils/local enterprise companies five funding blocks in each region and for Great Britain in total in 1990–91 and the latest available period; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what were the differences between profiled targets and actual performance of training and enterprise councils/local enterprise companies and area offices for (a) youth training starts, (b) youth training non-vocational qualifications I and II, (c) youth training non-vocational qualifications III and IV, (d) employment training starts, (e) employment training positive outcomes and (f) enterprise allowance scheme starts, in each region and for Great Britain in total in 1990–91 and the latest available period; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  It is not possible to provide the information requested. Profiles are produced for internal management information purposes only.

  The part of the question that relates to local enterprise companies is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to answer.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many directors of training and enterprise councils are (i) men, (ii) women, (iii) from ethnic minority backgrounds and (iv) from the private sector; what information he has about from which industrial sectors directors with a private sector background come; and, of those non-private sector directors, how many are from(a) local authorities, (b) local education authorities, (c) other educational organisations, (d) trade unions, (e) voluntary organisations, (f) ethnic minority organisations, (g) employers' associations and (h) others.

  Mr. Jackson
  The information available is shown in the table. Information on the industrial sector background of directors from the private sector is not held centrally.

  Category

  Number of directors

  (i) Men

  1,014

  (ii) Women

  122

  (iii) Ethnic minority background1

  40

  (iv) Private sector

  805

  (v) Non-private sector directors local authorities

  331

  489

  Category

  Number of directors

  of which;

  (a) Local authority

  97

  (b) Local Education Authority (not included in (a))

  48

  (c) Other educational organisation

  27

  (d) Trade Union

  58

  (e) Voluntary organisations

  42

  (f) Ethnic minority organisations

  4

  (g) Employer Association

  11

  (h) Others

  44

  1 Based on information collected in June/July 1991: 12 Directors preferred not to state their ethnic origin.

  Unemployment (North Tyneside)
  Mr. Ted Garrett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will announce his proposals to reduce young male unemployment in north Tyneside.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Employment Service and Tyneside training and enterprise council deliver a wide range of employment, enterprise and training programmes to help unemployed people in north Tyneside, including young men. In particular, the Employment Service and Tyneside TEC, together with the local authority, other local bodies and residents, are involved in action to help the regeneration of the Meadow Well estate.

  Wages Inspectorate
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to expand the wages inspectorate.

  Mr. Forth
  None. The wages inspectorate has adequate resources to enforce wages council orders effectively.

  Textile Industry
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been lost in the textile industry during the latest period for which figures are available; and what steps are being taken to prevent further losses.

  Mr. Forth
  The number of employees in employment in the textile industry in Great Britain decreased by 2,100 in the month to September 1991. The Government have created and will maintain a climate which encourages enterprise and diversification, so that industry as a whole remains competitive. It would be counter-productive to try to support any individual sector.

  Cumbria TEC
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the chairman of Cumbria TEC to discuss its budget plans.

  Mr. Jackson
  My right hon. and learned Friend spoke to all TEC chairmen in England including the chairman of Cumbria TEC on Wednesday 6 November immediately following the autumn statement, to inform them of the Department's budgets next year as they affect TECs.

  Youth Training
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the number of trainees on YT schemes in the Bristol, South constituency.

  Mr. Jackson
  I understand that Avon training and enterprise council has supplied the hon. Member with the information requested.

  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.

  Wage Rises
  Mr. Beaumont-Dark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what research he has funded in his Department into the effect of wage rises on the level of employment.

  Mr. Howard
  The estimation of the effect of wage rises on employment is best dealt with by using a model which considers the economy as a whole. We therefore use results reported by the Treasury which indicate that a 1 per cent. rise in the average real wage lowers employment by about 110,000 to 220,000 overall.

  My Department commissions much research on labour market issues and some projects may also shed light on the wage-employment relationship in particular sectors.

  Services(Redundancies)
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has about the participation of people leaving Her Majesty's forces in the full range of training and employment schemes which are made available for the unemployed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Employment Department group does not collect statistical information about ex-HM forces members entering training schemes or participating in Employment Service programmes.

  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what provision including the levels of funding he is asking training and enterprise councils/local enterprise councils and the Employment Service to make available in 1991–92 and over the next three years to members of Her Majesty's forces to resettle into employment following "Options for Change"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  The Employment Service's full range of programmes and services is available to forces personnel to help them resettle into employment. Additional funding was allocated to the Employment Service in 1991–92 to allow it to introduce new programmes for newly unemployed people. These programmes are particularly suited to the needs of forces personnel and comprise job review workshops, which help with careers advice, and jobsearch seminars to improve job hunting techniques. The Employment Service has a long tradition of helping
  491
  ex-forces personnel into employment and it is discussing with the Ministry of Defence ways in which this can be built on.

  Training and enterprise councils and local enterprise companies will take account of the training and enterprise support needs of members of Her Majesty's forces seeking resettlement, as they will for any particular group. Ex-service personnel may enter employment training through a special eligibility route.

  The proportion of training and enterprise budgets used to train ex-service personnel is the responsibility of individual training and enterprise councils and local enterprise companies and is determined by local needs and priorities.

  Disablement Resettlement Officers
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been on the caseloads of disablement resettlement officers in Great Britain and each standard region in each month since September 1990; how many interviews disablement resettlement officers have carried out in each of those months; what information he has on the outcomes of those interviews; and if he will make a statement.

  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.

  Midwives
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many midwives were employed and registered as unemployed in each of the last four years.

  Mr. Jackson
  I regret that information is not available on midwives registered as unemployed.

  The following information on midwives, including student midwives, employed in English NHS hospitals and community health services has been supplied by the Department of Health:

  NHS midwifery staff in post at 30 September each year in England: whole-time equivalents

  Number

  1987

  23,300

  1988

  23,300

  1989

  22,900

  1990

  23,800

  EC Meetings
  Mr. Sillars
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the EC ministerial council meetings at which his Department has been or will be represented during November and December.

  Mr. Jackson
  I attended the Labour and Social Affairs Council in Brussels on 6 November. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State shall be attending the next Labour and Social Affairs Council in Brussels on 3 December.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what change there will be to the employment figures as a result of the redefinition of full-time work from 24 hours to 16 hours for those on income support; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jackson
  There will not be a change to the definition of full-time work in the employment series. It will remain at more than 30 hours per week, as it has for the last 45 years.

  Departmental Telephone Calls
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information is available on the number of calls made to directory inquiries from his Department since 1 April 1991.

  Mr. Jackson
  The statistics available show that an average of 56 calls are made each day to directory inquiry services, from Employment Department and Employment Service headquarters buildings in Sheffield. No similar information is collected for other Employment Department group sites.

  Employment Service
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress the Employment Service has made towards meeting the targets set out in its annual performance agreement for 1991–92.

  Mr. Jackson
  We were informed by the chief executive of the Employment Service that in the period April to September 1991, the Employment Service placed a total of 710,000 unemployed people into jobs. Some 16·8 per cent. of these placings were long-term unemployed people, 2·4 per cent. were disabled and 34 per cent. were unemployed people in inner cities, against annual targets of 16, 2·4 and 34 per cent. respectively. To take account of the extra resources we have allocated to the Employment Service to help unemployed people, which my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State announced in June, we have decided to increase the ES target for 1991–92 for placing unemployed people from 1·3 million to 1·335 million.

  Over the same period, details of new claims were input into the computer within six days of claim being made in 89·3 per cent. of cases, and the total value of correct payments of unemployment benefit was 96·4 per cent. of the total value of payments, against annual targets of 91 and 95·5 per cent. respectively. In addition, the number of people who withdrew their claim to benefit after contact with ES fraud inspectors was 24,450. In the light of my right hon. and learned Friend's announcement in August to allocate additional resources to this area of work, we have decided to increase the ES annual target of claims withdrawn following fraud investigation from 45,000 to 49,000.

  LARGE PUBLIC WORKS: EC CORRESPONDENCE
  LARGE PUBLIC WORKS: EC CORRESPONDENCE
  THE PATIENT'S CHARTER
  THE PATIENT'S CHARTER
  AUTHORISED PRACTITIONERS: CONSULTATION ON REGULATIONS
  AUTHORISED PRACTITIONERS: CONSULTATION ON REGULATIONS
  PRISONERS IN POLICE CELLS: COST PER NIGHT
  PRISONERS IN POLICE CELLS: COST PER NIGHT
  PRISONERS IN POLICE CELLS OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1991: NUMBER
  PRISONERS IN POLICE CELLS OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 1991: NUMBER