Written Answers of 1 December 1992

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the estimate of his Department of the numbers of adults who(a) are at present liable to pay a contribution for civil legal aid and (b) are not at present liable to pay a contribution towards the cost of civil legal aid but would become so under the Lord Chancellor's proposals.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Information on eligibility for legal aid is available only on the basis of percentages of households. We estimate that about 23 per cent. of households are currently eligible for civil legal aid with a contribution. The proportion of households which are not at present liable to pay a contribution but will become so under the changes recently announced is estimated at 14 per cent.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Pakistan
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take to persuade the Pakistani authorities to review the death sentence for blasphemy passed on the Christian, Gul Masih; and what representations he has made to the Pakistani Government concerning the treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have been carefully monitoring the position of all minorities in Pakistan, including Christians, for some time. We have regularly made our concerns known to the Pakistan Government, most recently on 30 November with the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Shaharyar Khan. We understand that the case of Mr. Gul Masih has gone to appeal.

  Bosnia
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government first became aware of aircraft flying in logistical or any other support of combat forces in the air exclusion zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina before 16 November.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Since the establishment of air and ground-based observation, we have become aware of reports of flights by military aircraft which have not been approved by the United Nations protection force. We have had no confirmation of the purpose of such flights, or evidence that the aircraft were used in combat missions.

  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral 86
  answer to the hon. Member for Western Isles on 25 November, Official Report, column 854, to what extent the ban on military flights imposed by United Nations resolutions 781 and 786 is limited to aircraft flying combat missions; and to what extent it extends to any flights with a military purpose, with the exceptions of the United Nations protection force flights or other flights in support of United Nations operations or resolutions.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  United Nations Security Council resolutions 781 and 786 ban military flights in the airspace above Bosnia-Herzegovina. The ban does not apply to UNPROFOR flights or to other flights in support of United Nations operations, including humanitarian assistance.

  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition he uses of aircraft flying combat missions in his assessment of contraventions of the exclusion zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The United Nations protection force has produced guidelines which define a military flight for the purposes of United Nations Security Council resolutions 781 and 786 as any flight by a fixed-wing or rotary aircraft that has a military purpose. This excludes flights with a humanitarian purpose, or which are judged by UNPROFOR to be in the pursuance of the peace process.

  We have no confirmed reports of aircraft being involved in combat activity over Bosnia-Herzegovina since 13 October.

  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will now make it his policy in the Security Council of the United Nations to press for further measures necessary to enforce the ban on military flights in the airspace of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as provided for in resolution 786.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The United Nations Security Council made clear in resolution 786 its determination to consider urgently further measures necessary to enforce the ban on military flights over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the case of further violations reported to it.

  Research Projects
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 19 October,Official Report, column 27, how many scientists working on these projects had to sign the Official Secrets Acts or agree to any restrictions on publication or discussion of the project; and how many projects in universities and polytechnics which were funded by the Government Communications Headquarters were signed in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Five scientists working on the projects listed in my answer of 19 October have signed the Official Secrets Act. The research commissioned by GCHQ is confined to unclassified subjects, as stated in my answer of 29 June, but there are clearly benefits to GCHQ to be able to discuss the context in which the research will be useful to them, and this of necessity involves revealing classified information to some of those involved.

  The numbers of research contracts signed in each year since 1979 are as follows:

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  Institutions

  Number of contracts

  1979

  University of Birmingham

  1

  University of Surrey

  1

  1980

  Loughborough University of Technology

  1

  1981

  University of Sheffield

  2

  1982

  University of Sheffield

  1

  University of Surrey

  3

  University of York

  2

  1983

  University of Leicester

  2

  University of York

  1

  1984

  University of Sheffield

  1

  1985

  Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education

  1

  University of Leicester

  1

  Plymouth Polytechnic

  1

  1986

  Imperial College, London

  1

  University of York

  1

  Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education

  1

  University of Leicester

  1

  University of Manchester

  1

  1987

  Plymouth Polytechnic

  1

  University of Leicester

  1

  Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education

  1

  1988

  Plymouth Polytechnic

  2

  1989

  Cambridge University

  1

  1990

  University of Leicester

  1

  1991

  University of Leicester

  3

  University of York

  1

  Oxford University

  1

  1992

  University of York

  2

  Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education

  1

  I have asked GCHQ to confirm the titles and cost of the projects referred to above and will write to the hon. Member when I have the full list.

  During research for this question, a further contract has come to light which should have been included in my earlier answer. The contract signed in 1990 with the university of Leicester was worth £1,700. This should be added to the sum given in my answer of 29 June to give a total of £528,200. The contract was for testing and integration of DF subsystems.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Goodlad
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) on 3 November, at col 173.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomatic and aid (Overseas Development Administration) Wings are expected to achieve efficiency savings of 2·3 per cent. and 2·74 per cent. respectively on running costs for 1992–93, thus exceeding the minimum target of 1·5 per cent.

  The target areas for savings include relocation, staff reductions, overseas security, overseas estate, energy efficiency, training, travel, communications and information systems.

  Neo-Nazi Activities
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Governments of the former Soviet Union concerning neo-Nazi and extreme right-wing activities in these countries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We look to all countries of the former Soviet Union to live up to their obligations and commitments in respect of human rights, including the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. We use appropriate opportunities to express to their Governments our concern about the activities of extremist groupings of all persuasions.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Governments of Germany, Spain, and France concerning neo-nazi activities in those countries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Her Majesty's Government are very alert to the rise in attacks against foreigners in Europe. So are the Governments of Germany, France and Spain. The European Council has twice issued declarations expressing its condemnation of racism and xenophobia: at Dublin in June 1990 and at Maastricht in December 1991. The European Parliament also issued resolutions on the subject during its plenary sessions in March and November this year. The problem is being addressed both at the European and national level.

  Acquired Rights Directive
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the effects of the acquired rights directive on(a) services which his Departments contracts out and(b)services which he plans to contract out in the future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is fully aware of its obligation to take account of the effects of the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE), the British law based on the acquired rights directive, and of the directive itself, when contracting out any services, but the detailed implications have to be assessed in each particular case; it is not possible to generalise.

  European Union
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what circumstances and constitutional procedures he expects to deposit instruments of ratification in respect of titles I, V and VI of the treaty on European union with the President of the Italian Republic as required by that treaty.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The United Kingdom's instrument of ratification will be deposited with the Italian Government once we have given effect in United Kingdom law to those provisions of the treaty of European union which amend the European Community treaties previously enacted here. The instrument of ratification will cover all titles of the treaty on European union.

  Iraq
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what responses have been made to requests and reports received from the United Nations special commission of inspection in Iraq or its executive chairman, Rolf Ekeus; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding reply, 26 November]: The Government have made a significant contribution to the work of the United Nations special commission on Iraq as it seeks to implement relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. In response to UNSCOM's requests, we have supplied personnel for the UNSCOM inspection teams and some specialised equipment. It is not our practice to comment in detail on the information given to us by UNSCOM.

TRANSPORT

  Aviation
  Mr. Deva
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions he has reached on the case for compulsory third party insurance in aviation, in the light of the single market in aviation.

  Mr. Norris
  The EC licensing regulation (council regulation (EEC) No. 2407/92 of 23 July 1992), which is part of the single market in aviation, introduces from 1 January 1993 a statutory requirement for air carriers to hold insurance to cover liability in case of accidents in 90
  respect of passengers, luggage, cargo, mail and third parties. Any air transport operator established within the European Community and operating commercially will, with minor exceptions, be subject to this requirement as a condition of holding the new operating licence—which all Community air carriers will need to have.

  My Department had already been examining the case for a general scheme, within the United Kingdom only, of compulsory third party insurance for all United Kingdom operators and pilots. In the light of consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority and the insurance industry (and in the light of the new EC requirement), my officials have found no reason to doubt that the great majority of United Kingdom operators and pilots do already hold insurance in respect of third parties. Accordingly, taking into account the new EC requirement, I see no reason to add to bureaucracy and administrative costs by introducing a separate United Kingdom scheme.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Norris
  The average time taken by Ministers in the Department of Transport, including the Secretary of State, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the despatch of the substantive reply is as follows:

  1 January—31 March—average response time=14·93 working days.

  1 April—30 June—average response time=15·98 working days.

  1 July—30 September—average response time=14·83 working days.

  The target for ministerial correspondence in the Department of transport from letter in to reply out is 15 working days or less.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Norris
  My Department's running costs budget for financial year 1992–93 contains planned savings significantly in excess of 1·5 per cent.

  The review of running costs at the mid-point of the financial year showed that the Department was within budget. The forecast outturn for the full year is also forecast to be within budget.

  The savings initiatives are wide-ranging and varied. They include the continued equipment of most administrative staff with word processors, which has allowed the closure of a typing pool and a reduction in the number of typists, the computerisation of traffic area offices and a reduction in their number from eleven to eight, the contracting out of stationery and publications, energy conservation measures, and reductions in accommodation

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  costs, as well as initiatives across the whole Department at working level to improve the effectiveness with which all resources are used.

  Further details of the efficiency targets set by my Department are given in the departmental management plan 1992–95, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.

  Red Routes
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been allocated to the London boroughs of(a) Haringey, (b) Islington and(c)Tower Hamlets for work related to red routes since these were introduced.

  Mr. Norris
  The latest estimates of expenditure on approved works for the red route pilot scheme are as follows:

  £

  (a) Haringey

  778,000

  (b) Islington

  1,111,000

  (c) Tower Hamlets

  1,490,000

  A further £526,000 has been provided for works in Hackney.

  Rail Privatisation
  Sir Keith Speed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all the individuals and organisations he has consulted over his Department's current rail privatisation proposals.

  Mr. Freeman
  Many individuals and organisations have been consulted, and many others have volunteered their

  Trunk roads and motorways in England: new construction expenditure (cash)

  £ million

  Transport Regions

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  5 year Total

  Eastern

  79·7

  61·8

  69·6

  209·0

  240·5

  660·6

  South Eastern

  68·6

  121·0

  214·5

  313·0

  320·3

  1,037·4

  North Western

  56·1

  71·4

  63·9

  102·0

  100·0

  393·3

  West Midlands

  85·0

  162·3

  213·5

  165·5

  193·0

  819·3

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  56·1

  39·4

  30·2

  41·3

  48·7

  215·7

  South Western

  93·6

  103·3

  92·2

  119·4

  122·8

  531·3

  East Midlands

  29·7

  73·7

  88·0

  152·8

  100·7

  444·9

  Northern

  28·9

  39·1

  58·1

  55·3

  34·4

  215·8

  London

  59·1

  53·0

  124·5

  121·4

  141·6

  499·6

  Total (Cash)

  556·8

  725·0

  954·5

  1,279·5

  1,302·0

  4,817·9

  Total (GDP deflated constant 1992–93 prices)

  708·9

  884·7

  1,115·9

  1,411·0

  1,355·1

  5,475·7

  A27 (Improvements)
  Mr. Higgins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the amount which would be payable under the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 if his preferred route for the A27 Worthing-Lancing improvements scheme went ahead; and what is the corresponding amount for the bypass north of Cissbury ring.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The estimated sums payable under the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 are £22·84 million for the published route and £837,000 for the route north of Cissbury ring at current prices. These sums are
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  views. They include the British Railways Board, railway trade unions, local authorities, rail user consultative committees and other consumer groups, the CBI, commercial enterprises and financial institutions.

  Road Building
  Mr. Peter Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent in each of the last five years on new road building; if he will give the figures for each region; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Department of Transport has spent £4·8 billion on the new construction of motorways and trunk roads in England in the period 1987–88 to 1991–92, broken down as follows:

  £ million

  1987–88

  557

  1988–89

  725

  1989–90

  955

  1990–91

  1,280

  1991–92

  1,302

  Total

  4,818

  The table sets out the expenditure by region.

  In real terms (GDP deflated), expenditure rose 91 per cent. over the five years; investment in new roads has increased further to £1,446 million in 1992–93, and will rise to the record level of £1,496 million by 1994–95. This funding is being used to make excellent progress with the road programme; since 1987–88 we have completed 604 miles of new motorway and trunk roads, including 72 bypasses.

  included in the "land cost" estimates shown in the recently published brochure for the A27 Worthing-Lancing scheme.

  Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representation his Department has received from the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  My right hon. Friend has not received any representations recently from the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, although it did send him a copy of its letter of 1 October to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor about the importance of investment in transport infrastructure. We have had a number of useful
  93
  discussions with the federation this year, and there is a regular dialogue with the Department which has enabled a helpful exchange of views on various matters.

  Main Line Rail Services
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will establish a target date by which time all major freight and passenger ports and airports will be served by a main line railway.

  Mr. Freeman
  No. The provision of railway infrastructure is a matter for the British Railways Board.

  Out of Town Shopping
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research has been conducted by his Department into the effect of the development of out of town shopping facilities on the level of car journeys undertaken.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  There are two research projects currently in hand:(a) a series of traffic surveys on trip attraction rates at different sites for a variety of land uses, including retailing, in London and the south-east; and (b) a joint DOE/DOT commission to investigate the relationship between land use and trip generation, and identify measures to reduce the need to travel.

  Private Sidings and Rail Schemes
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to amend the criteria for section 8 payments for developing private sidings and rail schemes by(a) broadening the environmental criteria referred to to include motorways and trunk-roads and take account of congestion, (b) increasing the lorry sensitive mile value,(c) reducing the minimum qualifying period for asset use(d) the widening of the scheme to include intermodal operations.

  Mr. Freeman
  The criteria for the payment of freight facilities grants were broadened last year and we are continuing to keep their effectiveness under review. The grants scheme will require amendment in due course to reflect the privatisation and liberalisation of rail freight.

  Combined transport operations are eligible for grant.

  Traffic Calming
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of traffic calming measures on the level of traffic on nearby roads.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Traffic calming measures can have the effect of displacing traffic onto nearby roads. We have advised highway authorities that traffic calming schemes need to be developed within an overall strategy for the roads in their areas.

  The Department, through the Transport Research Laboratory, has studied some 60 traffic calming schemes introduced by local authorities. A preliminary assessment indicates that there has not been an increase in accidents on the surrounding road network.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review his Department's guidelines for local highways authorities on traffic calming measures.
  94
  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Advice and guidance on traffic calming is kept under review and brought up to date in the light of experience, changes in the law and the results of research.

  My Department is currently working on traffic calming regulations, under provisions of the Traffic Calming Act 1992. We aim to undertake a public consultation soon and lay regulations before the House in the new year.

  Motoring Campaigns
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what publicity campaigns have been launched by his Department during 1991 and to date in 1992 highlighting(a) the importance of proper car maintenance, (b) reduction of speed for (i) cars and (ii) lorries, (c) acceleration and braking and (d) encouragement of public transport usage; and what is the amount allocated to each individual campaign.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  During 1991 and 1992 the Department launched two major television advertising campaigns (with the slogan "Kill your speed, not a child") aimed at the reduction of driving speed in residential areas. The amounts allocated to this campaign were £1·2 million in 1991 and £2·3 million in 1992.

  A number of campaigns launched in 1991 and 1992 have addressed issues raised by the hon. Member, for example:

  April 1991

  Travel Safely by Public Transport.

  June 1991

  Transport and the Environment. Included information on benefits of public transport.

  August 1991

  Safer, Cleaner, Wiser Driving. Leaflet issued with all vehicle licence renewals for 12 months. Included advice on maintenance.

  September 1991

  Advice on new Road Traffic Act provisions. Leaflet issued with vehicle licence renewals for 12 months. Included advice about unroadworthy vehicles.

  June 1992

  Blunt Instrument public service information film for television. Encourages reduction of driving speed in residential areas.

  July 1992

  Easy Ways to Save Fuel. Leaflet issued with vehicle licence renewals for 12 months. Includes advice on braking and accelerating and on use of public transport.

  Many of these initiatives form part of wider campaigns covering a number of related issues, and it is not possible to provide costs in the form requested by the hon. Member.

  A12 Dualling (Suffolk)
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest estimate of the cost of dualling the A12 in Suffolk, including a new crossing at Lake Lothing; and if he wil make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: The cost of dualling the A12 in Suffolk is currently estimated to be £197 million. This figure includes £82 million for the Lowestoft relief road and second harbour crossing.

  Speed Limits
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the changes he has announced on speed limits to be in operation; and if he will make a statement.
  95
  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: A draft order was laid before the House on 23 November, seeking to remove the requirement for local authorities to obtain the Department's consent before establishing a speed limit on a principal road. This is subject to affirmative resolution of both Houses but I hope to be in a position to make the order by January 1993.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Guildford Four
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what documents the security services have disclosed to Sir John May's inquiry into the Guildford Four convictions and on what terms.

  Mr. Jack
  None.

  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence his Department has supplied to Sir John May's inquiry into the Guildford four convictions; and on what terms.

  Mr. Jack
  We provided Sir John May with documents relating to the consideration given by the Home Office to representations which were made about the safety of the convictions of the Guildford Four. These documents were supplied to Sir John on a confidential basis and with his understanding and agreement that he would discuss with us any question of their further use which might arise in the course of his inquiry.

  Windsor Castle
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has regarding advice given to authorities responsible to Windsor castle on fire safety precautions.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The royal household is responsible for providing suitable fire safety precautions for Windsor castle. In doing so they may seek advice from whatever sources they consider to be most appropriate.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from Berkshire fire brigade on the advice offered to the authorities at Windsor castle in respect of fire safety precautions, specifying the nature of the recommendations and the dates upon which they were made.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for fire safety at Windsor castle and at all occupied royal residences has been vested in the royal household since 1 April 1991. The royal household may seek advice from any source. Her Majesty's chief inspector of fire services has asked for a full report on the fire from the chief officer of the Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service, which will include details of any fire safety advice provided by his brigade.

  Car Boot Sales
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the connection between car boot sales and burglary.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Clearly there may be instances of car boot sales being used to dispose of stolen property.96
  However, there is no evidence that the majority of traders at car boot sales are anything other than law abiding citizens.

  May Inquiry
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost so far of Sir John May's inquiry into the Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings.

  Mr. Jack
  Sir John May's inquiry was established in October 1989. Up to the end of October 1992, the inquiry had incurred expenditure of £1,357,000. Most of this expenditure relates to the Maguire case. The amount that can be attributed to the inquiry into the Guildford and Woolwich convictions can be identified only at disproportionate cost.

  National Identification Bureau
  Ms. Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the functions of the National Identification Bureau; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The National Identification Bureau provides police forces with confirmation of the identity of arrested persons through the matching of sets of fingerprints; supplies details of arrested and convicted persons for prosecution, investigative and other purposes; maintains, to these ends, the national collections of fingerprints and criminal records; operates a national index of selected criminal methods; circulates details of wanted persons to forces through the Police Gazette; and facilitates the exercise by members of the public of their rights of subject access to the police national computer under the Data Protection Act 1984.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the averge time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The figures for the period in question are not currently available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. New monitoring arrangements came into effect on 1 October 1992 and it is my intention to make available in the Official Report, early next year, performance figures showing the volume of ministerial correspondence from hon. Members in 1992, the targets set for reply and the percentage of replies sent within target.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The planned efficiency saving on Home Office running costs for the present financial year is £24·7 million, or 1·7 per cent. of the estimated outturn on
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  running costs. The Home Office has already made

  Home Office: Running cost efficiency. savings for the first half of 1992–93 financial year

  Department

  1991–92 (first half) running cost efficiency savings (£k)

  Achieved through

  Prison service

  6,056

  Increased manpower productivity.

  Police department

  7,000

  Rationalisation of maintenance resources and savings from relocation in the Directorate of Telecommunications, civilianisation in District Training Centres and economies of scale in the Police National Computer Organisation.

  Criminal and research and statistics departments

  101

  Productivity gains in the Attendance Centre Network, computerisation of drugs related activities and the more effective use of human and computer resources in statistical analysis.

  Immigration and nationality department

  35

  Relocation savings and productivity gains in nationality and citizenship activities.

  Finance department

  263

  Productivity savings in Budget Support Group and improvements in purchasing and supply management in the Home Office Procurement Unit.

  Fire department

  377

  Contracting out of maintenance and storage of the Emergency Fire Service and staff efficiency savings.

  Establishment department

  536

  Productivity savings in Personnel Management Division and computerisation and increased productivity at ED5 (computers and payroll).

  Forensic science service

  200

  Improved caseworking productivity.

  Passport agency

  120

  Improved purchasing methods and better stock control.

  Total Home Office running cost efficiency savings

  14,688

  Acquired Rights Directive
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the effects of the acquired rights directive on(a) services his Department contracts out and (b) services he plans to contract out in the future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The possible effects of relevant employment legislation have been taken into account in any consideration of the contracting out of my Department's services.

  The main functions to be market-tested to September 1993 were published in the citizens charter White Paper (Cm 2101) on 25 November 1992. The impact of the acquired rights directive and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 will be fully taken into account, and legal opinion sought on a case-by-case basis.

  Prison Education
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to ensure quality and high standards in the delivery of prison education.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Government consider that competition is the best guarantee of quality and value for money. The report from the Education, Science and Arts Committee on prison education in 1990/91 (HC 311) and reports from Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons have commented that, under the present arrangements, the quality of education provision varies considerably between different establishments. Through more detailed specification of requirements, competition and more rigorous monitoring, the aim is to ensure that, in future, education programmes delivered to prisoners are of a consistently high quality.
  98
  efficiency savings of £14·7 million on its running costs in the first half of 1992–93. Details of these savings are set out in the table.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to re-organise the delivery of the prison education service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 27 October at column 581–2. Invitations to tender for the future provision of educational services in prisons and young offender institutions were issued on 30 October and are due for return on 7 December.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the effects of the acquired rights directive on his plans to put prison education out to competitive tendering.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The legal advice received by the prison service is that, where there is a transfer of an undertaking for the purposes of the acquired rights directive and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, then the directive will apply. The directive does not apply where there is not a transfer of an undertaking. Competitive tendering for the future provision of education services in a prison establishment would not necessarily lead to such a transfer.

  Wolds Remand Centre
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners at the Wolds remand centre are segregated under rule 43 or any similar arrangements.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  At unlock on 27 November 1992, there were five prisoners segregated under rule 43 for good order and discipline. A further 21 were segregated under the same rule at their own request.

  Sea Defence
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future of the sea defence and river flooding early warning siren from April 1993.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The obsolete national air raid warning siren network is to be closed as soon as possible. My officials have approached those local authorities which are understood to use the siren system for flood warning purposes and have asked them whether they wish to retain the equipment for such future use and to be responsible for its upkeep. Arrangements will be made to effect retention where it is sought.

  Shops Act
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his statement of 26 November relating to the Shops Act 1950—Official Report, columns 997–98—if he will set out the grounds on which he considers the Shops Act 1950 to be in abeyance; and if he will make a statement on the consequences for local authorities.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Pending the decision of the European Court, there is doubt whether the provisions for Sunday trading in the Shops Act 1950 are consistent with Community law, but my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary made it clear to the House on 26 November that, as my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General explained to the House on 11 May at columns 367–68, local authorities can still issue summonses and apply for interim injunctions against retailers. Local authorities must decide for themselves what action to take.

  Fire Precautions (Places of Work) Regulations
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his consideration of comments on the proposals for the Fire Precautions (Places of Work) Regulations 1992; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The consultation process drew an excellent response, and I am grateful to all those who contributed to it. While many who responded were generally content, some valid criticisms did emerge. It was also evident that the possible impact of the regulations had in many cases been misunderstood.

  I intend, therefore, to give further and fresh consideration to the content of the draft regulations. We will not now introduce them on 1 January 1993 as originally planned. My aim will be to simplify the regulations and to limit their scope in order to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and those charged with enforcement responsibilities. The associated technical guidance will be redrafted in order to clarify our intentions. It will also be supplemented by a simplified guide for the owners of small businesses.

  I shall bring forward fresh proposals for consultations in due course.

  Probation
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the projected numbers of persons who will be supervised by the probation service on licence after release from custody for each of the next three years.

  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: Estimates based on the latest prison projections will be produced in the new year.

  Fire Regulations
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fire regulations are imposed on(a) English stately homes which are open to the public and(b) to Windsor castle.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the use of premises or parts of premises as an office, shop, factory, railway premises, hotel or boarding house where the numbers of people involved are above certain minima may require a fire certificate. Any part of a stately home or of Windsor castle that falls within these categories may therefore be subject to the provisions of the 1971 Act.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Natural Resources Institute
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 November,Official Report, columns 426–27, what has been the cost to the Exchequer of the chief executive of the Natural Resources Institute's visit to Wageningen, Netherlands on 8 May.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Natural Resources Institute under its chief executive, Mr. Anthony Beattie. A copy of his reply is attached.

  Letter from Anthony Beattie to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 27 November 1992:
  Lady Chalker has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about my visit to Wageningen last May.
  The visit was combined with one to Amsterdam in connection with NRI's participation in the European Consortium for Agricultural Research in the Tropics. The additional costs associated with the visit to the Centre for Tropical Agriculture in Wageningen were £113·97.
  In my letter to you of 28 October I gave the date of my visit to Wageningen as 8 May. This should have read 13 May, an error for which I apologise.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Windsor Castle
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what part of the Chester tower at Windsor castle has been open to the public; and on what occasions this has occurred over the past five years.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Chester tower is not open to the public. It comprises a small number of state rooms which are used for state occasions only, together with office and staff accommodation.
  101
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what insurance against fire loss or damage exists in relation to the fabric of Windsor castle and the furnishings and artefacts therein.

  Mr. Brooke
  [holding answer 30 November]: The fabric of the occupied royal palaces has never been insured since it is almost impossible to put a value on such buildings. Where damage occurs, the cost of repairs is met from the annual works programme funded by my Department. The Government bear insurance risks themselves, since it is far more economic to do this than to pay annual premiums on Crown property.

  Items in the royal collection are insured against damage but not loss. Other contents are insured.

  Hampton Court Fire
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what help was offered to the royal household to meet the cost of additional or alternative fire precautions to Windsor castle, following the fire at Hampton Court and the subsequent publication of the report of the inquiry into that fire.

  Mr. Brooke
  There have been significant increases in resources for the royal household works programme in recent years to provide for fire prevention programmes at Windsor castle and the other royal residences. The total cost of the programme for rewiring and other works at Windsor castle has been £20 million, including a substantial amount for fire protection.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what advice was tendered to the royal household following the fire at Hampton Court and the subsequent publication of the report of the inquiry into that fire.

  Mr. Brooke
  The royal household received advice on fire safety from PSA after the Hampton Court fire, and that advice was fully incorporated into the designing of works projects at Windsor castle and other royal residences. The household now employs its own fire consultants.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Brooke
  As my Department was established in April 1992, I can supply estimates of the time taken to respond to hon. Members' letters for the second and third quarters of 1992. The average was approximately 16 working days in the second quarter and 17 working days in the third.

  Accounts (Confidentiality)
  Mr. Fabricant
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will bring forward legislation to prohibit the offering by newspapers of financial inducements to staff of banks and credit card companies to divulge confidential information about customers' accounts.
  102
  Mr. Brooke
  I shall consider what, if any, action needs to be taken when I have received and studied Sir David Calcutt's report on press self-regulation. Meanwhile, I have no plans for legislation.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Economic and Monetary Union
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of when the United Kingdom will meet the convergence criteria for EMU.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government are determined to ensure that the United Kingdom economy is able to meet the convergence criteria so that the United Kingdom can choose whether or not to move to the third stage of EMU.

  Company Cars
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to treat all company cars and company car parking provision as income for taxable purposes.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Employees are already taxed on the benefit of cars made available for private use by employers. Car parking provided by employers for employees was exempted from tax as a benefit in the Finance Act 1988.

  Car Tax
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was received from special car tax in 1990–91 and 1991–92; and what is his estimate for 1992–93.

  Sir John Cope
  Car tax raised £1·5 billion in 1990–91 and £1·2 billion in 1991–92. Following the reduction in the rate from 10 per cent. to 5 per cent. in the 1992 Budget, the yield for 1992–93 was estimated to be £0·7 billion. This forecast was revised down to £0·6 billion prior to the autumn statement, reflecting depressed car sales. Following abolition of the tax with effect from 12 November, this estimate has been revised to £0·5 billion.

  Charities
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to exempt charities from VAT.

  Sir John Cope
  I have no plans to add to the existing wide range of VAT reliefs already in place for charities and the voluntary sector.

  Maastricht Treaty
  Mr. Duncan-Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans Her Majesty's Government have to seek amendment of the Maastricht treaty so as to alter the dates for commencement of stages two and three of economic and monetary union.

  Mr. Nelson
  We have no such plans to do so.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants are currently employed by his Department(a) in London and (b) elsewhere.
  103
  Mr. Nelson
  There are 1,350 in London and 640 elsewhere, based on staff in post at 1 November 1992.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sprout
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Sir John Cope
  The average number of working days between a letter being received and the dispatch of the reply was:

  Letters posted

  Number

  Average working days

  Ql

  4,409

  15

  Q2

  1,126

  17

  Q3

  3,332

  22

  From November 1992, new targets were introduced for the dispatch of replies to letters from hon. Members:

  Letters for ministerial reply on matters concerning Her Majesty's Treasury: reply to be posted within 15 working days;

  Letters for ministerial reply on matters concerning other Chancellor's Departments, including Inland Revenue and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise: reply to be posted within 18 working days;

  Letters for ministerial reply on matters requiring a report from a local Inland Revenue tax office: reply to be posted within 23 working days.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Nelson
  The 1992–93 running costs limit for the Treasury already takes account of planned efficiency savings of 1·6 per cent. of some £0·9 million. The main areas for efficiency savings are staff savings on support services and improved purchasing procedure. Savings in the year to date on the purchase of a wide range of goods and services amount to some £420,000.

  Premium Bonds
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he used in proposing to increase the minimum purchase by parents, guardians, or grandparents of premium bonds for children; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The minimum purchase level of national savings products is kept under review. The minimum purchase level for premium bonds was raised to £100 in July 1989, except for purchases on behalf of children, which remained at £10. I have decided that, given the need to achieve running costs savings in the 1992 public expenditure survey, these thresholds should be brought into line.

  National Savings
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he used in proposing to increase the minimum for each deposit into ordinary account with national savings, including the amount required to open an account; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The minimum deposit level of national savings products is kept under review. Since each deposit costs the same to administer, irrespective of the amount involved, small transactions are disproportionately expensive. Given the need to achieve running costs savings in the 1992 public expenditure survey, I therefore decided that the minimum deposit should be increased from £5 to £10.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria he used in proposing to increase the minimum for each deposit into an investment account with national savings, including the amount required to open an account; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The minimum deposit level of national savings products is kept under review. Since each deposit costs the same to administer, irrespective of the amount involved, small transactions are disproportionately expensive. Given the need to achieve running costs savings in the 1992 public expenditure survey, I therefore decided that the minimum deposit should be increased from £5 to £20.

  Private Health Care
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what element of private health care provision falls within the public sector borrowing requirement where(a) public sector land or property is used, (b) tax relief is provided on contributions, (c) private insurance is offered as an alternative to pay in public sector employment and (d) public sector contracts are purchased from private sector provider units; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  (a) None; (b) tax relief increases the PSBR; (c) the cost of obtaining private insurance would increase the PSBR, offset to the extent that pay is lower than otherwise; (d) the contract is funded from the expenditure provision for the NHS. This is part of public expenditure which affects the PSBR.

  Hospital Trusts
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to exempt hospital trusts from inclusion in calculations in compiling the public sector borrowing requirement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  None.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to exempt hospital trusts from regulations on capital expenditure applied to directly managed units; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  None.

  Pleasure Craft
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the recommendations agreed this week on value-added tax on the import of pleasure craft; and if he will make a statement.
  105
  Sir John Cope
  Proposals by the EC Commission about VAT on pleasure craft currently under temporary importation arrangements are still under discussion in the Council as part of the simplification directive. I will write to the hon. Member with details when the proposal is adopted.

  Leasing Agreements (NHS)
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what way the relaxation of leasing agreements will be applied to the provision of equipment or materials within the national health service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  Provided that the great majority of the risk stays with the private sector, the capital value of the leased asset will not count against the health authority's allocation or trust's external financing limits. In the past this provision has been restricted to leases satisfying a short term need. It will continue to be necessary to demonstrate the value for money of leasing as opposed to purchase.

  Bank of Credit and Commerce International
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reconsider his decision not to publish those parts of Lord Justice Bingham's report into the supervision of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International which disclose the use of BCCI accounts to facilitate the trade of arms with Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 17 November 1992]: Neither my right hon. Friend the Chancellor nor I are aware of any evidence that BCCI accounts were used to facilitate the trade of arms for Iraq. As for the Bingham report, my right hon. friend the Chancellor has already made it clear to the House that the balance of public interest weighs against publishing any of the appendices.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 16 November,Official Report, column 26, whether the Bank of England is liable, as a result of the indemnity given to Price Waterhouse when commissioning the section 41 report on BCCI, to defray any damages or costs awarded against Price Waterhouse as a result of the action recently instituted on behalf of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi.

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: The indemnity given to Price Waterhouse by the Bank of England when commissioning the section 41 report on BCCI is limited to any cost, liabilities and expenses arising out of their appointment, investigation and report. It would not cover any cost, liabilities and expenses were it shown that these had been caused by Price Waterhouse's own negligence or wilful default.

  Office

  Address

  Area occupied sq metre

  Dundee 3 Tax District

  Overgate House Marketgait Dundee

  890

  Dundee 1 Tax District

  2 Court House Square Dundee

  990

  Dundee Collection Office

  Overgate House Marketgait Dundee

  680

  Dundee Tax Inquiry Centre

  2 Court House Square Dundee

  340

  As is common with Government Departments, the Inland Revenue pays an accommodation charge to

  Nationalised Industries
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the guidelines for the capital spending, investment policies and external financing limits of the nationalised industries as they existed prior to his autumn statement; what new guidance he has given to the nationalised industries and trade agencies; and if he will place a copy of all relevant documentation in the Library.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: The main elements of the control framework for nationalised industries are set out in the relevant parts of the 1978 White Paper "The Nationalised Industries" (Cm 7131), and summarised in the statistical supplement to the 1991 autumn statement (Cm 1920). The latter document also sets out the external financing limits planned for 1992–93.

  Further detailed and technical central administrative guidance is issued from time to time, in internal working documents.

  In addition, Ministers responsible and Departments may give guidance to particular industries from time to time.

  No general guidance on these subjects has been issued to the nationalised industries since the Chancellor's autumn statement. The new external financing limits are, however, set out in the "Autumn Statement 1992" (Cm 2096).

  Inland Revenue, Dundee
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the staff at the Caledonia house tax office in Dundee belong to non-mobile civil service grades; and what right these individuals have to choose to stay with the Inland Revenue in Dundee, and to refuse a compulsory transfer to an office outwith Dundee.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: Twenty four of the staff at Dundee 4 Inland Revenue office, Caledonia house, Dundee are in non-mobile grades. Each is obliged to accept a transfer into another office only if it is within a reasonable daily travelling distance of his or her home.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what accommodation is provided in Dundee for(a) the tax district 3 office, (b) the tax district 1 office, (c) the collector of taxes office and (d) the taxes inquiry centre; from whom this accommodation is leased in each case; and what would be the cost in each case of terminating the lease at six months' notice.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: The accommodation occupied is as follows:

  Property Holdings, which acts as landlord in relation to the Inland Revenue and rents the buildings for Crown use.

  107
  The Inland Revenue incurs no cost by surrendering the buildings to Property Holdings after giving six months' notice of its intention to do so.

  Independent Taxation
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whom he consulted before taking the decision to close the tax offices at Dundee and Falkirk, and to concentrate the work arising from independent taxation for women in the office in Glenrothes; how many Inland Revenue staff will now be required to change their place of work to Glenrothes as a result of this decision; and what assessment has been made of the civil servants' increased travel costs arising out of this decision.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: We approved the Inland Revenue's decision to concentrate work on tax repayment claims in Glenrothes and four other Inland Revenue offices, in order to ensure that resources are used efficiently within the Inland Revenue. It is not yet possible to say how many, if any, Inland Revenue staff will be required to change their place of work to Glenrothes as a result of the decision: the wishes and preferences of individual members of staff will be fully taken into account in considering this. Increased travel costs stemming from a change in an individual's place of work will also be taken into account and may, depending on the circumstances, be met by the Inland Revenue for up to three years.

TRADE AND. INDUSTRY

  Private Detectives
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what use his Department and the Department of Energy made of private detectives in each of the last five years; at what cost; and if he will list the firms involved.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  Information on the use of private detectives in the context of the question is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions since 1979 his Department has engaged private detective agencies to investigate the activities of British citizens; and if he will list the date and purpose of each investigation.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  [holding answer 18 November 1992]: Information on the use of private detectives in the context of the question is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Nuclear Electric plc
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what conditions are attached to the spending of the fossil fuel levy by Nuclear Electric; and what proportion of the levy is applied to the decommissioning of nuclear plants.

  Mr. Eggar
  The non-fossil fuel obligation and the fossil fuel levy arrangements were introduced to secure the benefits of nuclear and other non-fossil fuel energy in increasing diversity of supply and reducing CO02 emissions. The levy is needed to cover the additional costs
  108
  associated with nuclear and renewables generation over those of fossil generation. In the case of nuclear, these additional costs include so-called back-end costs, which comprise the reprocessing of spent fuel, the decommissioning of stations and other plants and the treatment and disposal of resulting waste.

  Loan Sharks
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will take action to control criminal activities and extortion by unauthorised loan sharks.

  Mr. Leigh
  The Director General of Fair Trading and local authority trading standards departments are responsible for enforcing the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which prohibits unlicensed persons from carrying on the business of lending sums of less than £15,000 to individuals. Enforcement of the criminal law on making unwarranted demands with menaces and on unlawful harassment of debtors is a matter for chief constables.

  Plutonium
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now make it his policy to publish details of amounts and destinations of all civil plutonium exported under safeguards from the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Eggar
  Information on the exports of civil plutonium under safeguards are published annually by my Department. The information is as detailed as possible within the constraints given in my answer to the hon. Member on 14 May 1992,Official Report, column 170.

  Shipping
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total tonnage of shipping constructed in the United Kingdom in each year since 1973.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Records held by the Department of Trade and Industry cover merchant shipbuilding constructions since 1976. Figures of the period prior to this date are not available.

  Warship building is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and is excluded from these figures.

  The total tonnage of merchant registered ships of 100 gross tonnes and over constructed in the United Kingdom for each year since 1976 is as set out in the table.

  Compensated Gross Tonnage (Thousands)

  Year

  Completions

  1976

  898

  1977

  693

  1978

  709

  1979

  584

  1980

  513

  1981

  254

  1982

  418

  1983

  349

  1984

  288

  1985

  262

  1986

  168

  1987

  236

  1988

  87

  1989

  144

  1990

  208

  1991

  142

  Regulatory Measures
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the main measures increasing regulation in any area for which his Department has responsibility, which his Department has caused to be put into effect since the last general election.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  Since 9 April 1992, two pieces of primary legislation have been brought into effect by my Department.

  The Competition and Services (Utilities) Act 1992 (some provisions have not yet been implemented);

  The Timeshare Act 1992.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the main measures of deregulation, or simplification of regulation, which his Department has carried out, or caused to be carried out, since 9 April.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  My Department continues to make a good contribution to the Government's deregulation initiative. Since 9 April 1992 the main measures are as follows:Nine partnerships have been established between local authorities and businesses as a result of a DTI initiative to make local authority regulation more effective arid less burdensome;
  The companies Act 1985 (Accounts of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Publications of Accounts in ECUs) Regulations 1992 has come into effect and reduces the burden of reporting on small and medium-sized companies;
  A scrutiny of the procedures for approving and monitoring oil and gas field development and production activity offshore and onshore has been completed. Its overall effect will be to bring about a more streamlined system for approving developments and the scrutiny's recommendations will be implemented in the near future;
  A new telecommunications class licence, which revoked the class licence for the running of branch telecommunications system and clarifies, simplifies and improves arrangements for the provision of resale services from rented telecommunications capacity;
  A new radiocommunications licence for road contractors, which removes the previous need for a separate

  United Kingdom imports and manufacturers' sales1 (£ millions)

  (1) United Kingdom manufacturers' sales2

  Civil aircraft and parts4

  Washing machines

  Cameras

  Televisions

  Computers

  Ships and boats

  Cars and commercial vehicles

  Motor cycles

  1979

  5—

  168

  45

  395

  347

  —

  4,424

  —

  1980

  353

  178

  37

  395

  413

  —

  4,295

  —

  1981

  417

  167

  38

  405

  364

  648

  4,032

  —

  1982

  477

  178

  29

  431

  391

  1,072

  4,388

  —

  1983

  582

  207

  34

  508

  548

  1,101

  4,267

  4

  1984

  712

  210

  34

  494

  948

  1,037

  4,856

  —

  1985

  836

  230

  33

  494

  1,279

  1,387

  6,078

  —

  1986

  1,099

  231

  56

  516

  1,032

  575

  6,517

  —

  1987

  1,009

  259

  59

  592

  1,957

  835

  8,669

  —

  1988

  1,333

  276

  45

  607

  2,394

  900

  9,838

  4

  1989

  1,501

  247

  56

  545

  2,445

  1,080

  10,941

  3

  1990

  1,860

  268

  —

  848

  2,684

  1,216

  —

  1

  1991

  1,700

  245

  —

  1,004

  —

  1,160

  10,648

  —

  (2) United Kingdom Imports3

  1979

  —

  59

  64

  117

  190

  —

  2,978

  100

  1980

  —

  59

  69

  105

  247

  270

  2,464

  128

  1981

  227

  70

  87

  —

  399

  233

  2,448

  117

  1982

  245

  77

  85

  187

  494

  267

  3,295

  87

  1983

  378

  93

  91

  251

  723

  110

  4,232

  88

  1984

  479

  100

  102

  249

  916

  299

  4,322

  68

  110
  licence for each contract.

  Work is currently going on in my Department to identify a new programme of work under the deregulation initiative for 1993 and beyond.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Eggar
  Prior to the merger of the Department of Trade and Industry with the Department of Energy, the two Departments published targets for efficiency savings of 3·7 per cent. and 2·3 per cent. respectively. The running cost allocations to each department for this year reflected those savings, which the Department is on course to achieve. Furthermore, as a result of the merger, the Department has been able to reduce the overhead costs of common functions and services, with savings to date of 60 posts. These savings have been used to strengthen the Department's sponsorship role and to support other priority activities.

  Manufactured Goods
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the value in current prices, for each year since 1979, of (i) civil aeroplanes, (ii) washing machines, (iii) ships, (iv) cameras, (v) television sets, (vi) motor cycles, (vii) computers and (viii) cars and buses which were(a) manufactured in the United Kingdom, (b) manufactured by non-United Kingdom companies in the United Kingdom and (c) imported into the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Needham
  The sales information for non-United Kingdom companies in the United Kingdom is not available. Information on United Kingdom manufacturers' sales on United Kingdom imports is given in the table.
  111

  Civil aircraft and parts4

  Washing machines

  Cameras

  Televisions

  Computers

  Ships and boats

  Cars and commercial vehicles

  Motor cycles

  1985

  894

  124

  111

  186

  1,046

  149

  4,889

  76

  1986

  353

  136

  136

  226

  1,080

  322

  5,653

  78

  1987

  513

  131

  145

  227

  1,369

  184

  5,915

  84

  1988

  712

  158

  149

  256

  1,449

  183

  8,014

  103

  1989

  1,819

  144

  157

  265

  1,777

  186

  8,674

  123

  1990

  1,899

  128

  136

  218

  1,741

  138

  8,282

  165

  1991

  1,584

  137

  131

  245

  —

  298

  6,106

  130

  1 Information on sales and imports is not directly comparable. The product classifications used for the collection of sales and trade information differ, and sales information is not collected from smaller companies.

  2 There have been changes over the years in the products included in the heading and to the coverage of the inquiries. Therefore, the series may not be consistent over time. Full details for each product are in the relevant Business Monitors.

  3 A new system of product classification was introduced on 1 January 1988.

  4 Sales statistics are not available, therefore, turnover is used.

  5 not available.

  Data sources: PQ and PA business monitors 3302, 3454, 3460, 3733, 3633, 3634, 3650, 3510, 3521, 3610 and the Society of British Aerospace Companies.

  Nuclear Power Stations
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish estimates for the average amount and value of fossil fuel used in the construction of a nuclear power station in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Eggar
  It is very difficult to make estimates of the amount and value of fossil fuels utilised in the construction of any power station. In particular, it is difficult to hypothecate electricity used in the manufacture of materials used in the construction of the station to any particular fuel source.

  Assisted Areas
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the areas which have submitted an application to obtain assisted area status; and if he will list the names of individuals or organisations which submitted the applications.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  At the most recent count, on 16 November, there had been 1,550 formal written representations received in my Department and the Welsh and Scottish Offices about the review of the assisted areas map. Providing information about each individual or organisation in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as the consultation paper about the review issued in June made clear, representations received are available for inspection at specified offices of the three Departments concerned.

  Defence Cuts
  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 4 November to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins),Official Report, columns 313–15, if he will list those proposals he received for European Commission funding under the Perifra II scheme concerned with retraining and resettlement of former members of the armed forces and their families, or civilians displaced as a result of reduced defence expenditure, identifying those proposals subsequently forwarded to Brussels, those which were subsequently approved and the estimated expenditure in each case; what is the total expenditure for this programme throughout the European Community; and if he will make a statement.
  112
  Mr. Sainsbury
  A proposal from the Royal British Legion was the only such proposal received for the second year of the Perifra scheme. The costings of individual grant applications are not normally published as they may contain commercially sensitive information.

  This proposal was transmitted to the European Commission, and was awarded 1,969,000 ecu in grant towards the design and construction of a training centre. The total expenditure on Perifra committed in 1993 throughout the Community was 50 million ecu.

  Major Energy Users Council
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the principal members of the Major Energy Users Council; and if he will make a statement on his most recent discussions with the council.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Major Energy Users Council represent large energy users in many industrial sectors. Officials met the MEUC last month. It was agreed that the MEUC would survey the electricity prices paid by their members in 1991 and 1992. My Department will then compare the results of this survey with our own statistics.

  Electricity Contracts
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a list of the principal sectors of industry in which large users of electricity in Great Britain have successfully negotiated beneficial supply contracts with the private sector electricity generating companies.

  Mr. Eggar
  DTI statistics show that the average electricity prices paid by industry fell by 12 per cent. in real terms between the second quarter of 1992 and the second quarter of 1989, before the electricity supply industry was privatised. Individual contracts are a commercial matter for the companies concerned.

  Power Generation
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) which other EC countries have invested in coal-water mixtures; and which intend to use it as a source of power generation;

  (2) how much has been invested into research of coal-water mixtures as a clean source of power generation since 1980 by (a) his Department and (b) British Coal;
  113
  (3) how much (a) his Department and (b) British Coal intend to invest in research and development of coal-water mixtures in the financial year 1993–94.

  Mr. Eggar
  The use of coal water mixtures was investigated by industry during the 1980s, with support from the European Commission. British Coal, with EC support, invested about £1·1 million and industrial companies also contributed to the collaborative research programme. Several other EC countries also received EC support for research on coal water mixtures, including France, Germany and Italy. My Department has not provided financial support for research on coal water mixtures.

  The conclusions of the research were that the use of coal water mixtures in power station boilers was technically feasible but it was not economic. In particular it was a more expensive method of reducing sulphur emissions from coal fired power stations than gas desulphurisation equipment. Neither my Department nor British Coal has any plans for further research on coal water mixtures.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much has been invested by his Department in(a) oil, (b) gas and (c) nuclear fuels as a source of power generation.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department's expenditure on nuclear research directed specificially at power generation in 1991–92 was £80·1 million. There was no expenditure on oil or gas research for power generation.

  Debt Payment
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to require businesses over a certain size to pay their bills promptly.

  Mr. Leigh
  Though we understand the frustrations felt by small businesses because of delayed payments, we remain unconvinced that legislation would prove effective. The majority of organisations representing small firms share the Government's view that the effect of a legislative approach would be, at best, minimal and could even be

  Scheme

  Take-up

  Expenditure

  1991–92

  1991–92

  The Enterprise Initiative Consultancy Scheme

  14,387 cases

  £64·4 million

  Loan Guarantee Scheme

  2,941 loans guaranteed

  £27·541 million

  Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology (Smart);

  180 stage 1 grants

  £12 million

  Support of Projects Under Research (SPUR);

  148 grants

  £318,000

  Your Business Success;

  75,000 kits

  £1 million

  Graduate Enterprise;

  5,200 students

  £340,000

  The Export Marketing Research Scheme (ERMS);

  221 projects

  £1·1 million

  Regional Enterprise Grants;

  975 grant offers

  £7·3 million

  Development Projects

  individual projects

  £350,000

  late payment development projects with three trade associations

  £30,000 each

  informal investment demonstration projects with five TECs

  £100,000 in 1992–93

  114
  damaging to the small firms sector. We remain interested however to receive views on how an effective legislative framework might operate.

  Thermo-Lag 330–1
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what use is made of Thermo-Lag 330–1 produced by Thermal Science Inc., in British nuclear power plants for the purpose of protecting electrical systems in the event of an emergency.

  Mr. Eggar
  This is a matter for the operators of nuclear power plants.

  Animal Experiments
  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Ms. Lynne) of 2 November,Official Report, column 60, what progress has been made with his European Community counterparts in the development of standards in respect of the testing of cosmetics on animals.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 19 November 1992]: At the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 3 November, we secured agreement on a common position on the proposed sixth Council amendment to the EC cosmetics directive which includes a ban on the use of ingredients tested on animals after January 1998, with a provision for the Commission on scientific advice, to propose the postponement of the ban where validated alternative testing methods are not available by then.

  Support Programmes
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the support programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises run by his Department with the latest available figures for annual expenditure and take-up; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 25 November 1992]: The support programmes run by my Department for small and medium sized enterprises are as follows:
  115
  During next year my Department will start support for up to 15 pilot schemes which will provide businesses with a single point of access to information and advice.

  Manufactured Imports
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of manufactured goods imported, in current and real terms, for each financial year since 1979–80 from(a) the rest of the European Community, (b) Japan, (c) South Korea and (d) Taiwan; and what was the percentage change between 1979–80 and the current year.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: Information is not available for financial years nor for individual countries in real terms. The available information, in current prices and for calendar years, is given in the table.

  United Kingdom imports of manufactured goods1

  Current prices £ million

  2 European Community

  Japan

  South Korea

  Taiwan

  1979

  16,225

  1,441

  256

  211

  1980

  16,023

  1,666

  229

  222

  1981

  16,607

  2,154

  313

  311

  1982

  19,903

  2,572

  307

  324

  1983

  24,233

  3,250

  424

  447

  1984

  28,050

  3,650

  426

  574

  1985

  31,768

  4,036

  469

  561

  1986

  35,325

  4,863

  641

  687

  1987

  39,808

  5,413

  915

  989

  1988

  45,912

  6,452

  1,133

  1,133

  1989

  52,768

  6,980

  1,134

  1,334

  1990

  54,102

  6,607

  943

  1,193

  1991

  49,646

  6,655

  905

  1,250

  Percentage change, 1979 to 1991

  206

  362

  254

  492

  Average annual percentage change, 1979 to 1991

  10

  14

  11

  16

  1 Sections 5 to 8 of the Standard International Trade Classification.

  2 European Community is defined in terms of its 1991 membership throughout.

  Source: Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, CSO.

  Utilities Regulation
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost of regulation in 1991–92 for(a) telecommunications, (b) gas and (c)electricity; and what are the expected corresponding figures for 1992–93.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) Official Report, column 345. Details of the 1992–93 budgets for the regulators may be obtained from the regulators themselves, or from published Government expenditure plans:

  Budget 1992–93 (£ million)

  OFFER

  10·0

  OFTEL

  8·055

  OFGAS

  13·203

  1Information supplied by OFGAS.

  Albania
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what trading links now exist between the United Kindom and Albania; what talks he has held with that country in respect of such trade; what subjects in respect of trade were discussed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: The United Kingdom's present trade with Albania is small, with exports of less than £2 million and imports of £250,000 in the period to the end of September this year. In part, this is due to the extremely difficult economic conditions which prevail there. None the less there have been several visits by British companies to the market recently which have shown some long-term potential in sectors such as tourtism, agriculture and food processing, and mineral extraction. I hope these early forays can be built on in the future.

  Trading Standards Departments
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what consultation he has had with the county councils in Wales in relation to the reorganisation of trading standards departments; if the reorganisation will follow the boundaries of the unitary authorities; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what proposals he has to administer the trading standards service in Wales following local government reorganisation; what consultations he has had with county trading standards officers in Wales in relation to joint boards to provide the service; and what proposals he has for local democratic accountability in relation to joint boards.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has had no such consultation. A Department of Trade and Industry official participated in the environment and public protection services sub-group set up by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. The sub-group, which also included representatives of the district and county councils, discussed the future arrangements for the trading standards service in Wales. Its report is in the Library. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will announce his decisions in due course.

  Business Statistics
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 19 November,Official Report, column 225, to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) if he will give a breakdown by region and by county of the number of businesses that have registered and deregistered in each year since 1981.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: A breakdown of the number of businesses that have registered and deregistered for VAT by region and by county for the years 1980 to 1990 was published in "VAT Registrations and Deregistrations, County and District Analyses 1980 to 1990", a copy of which is available in the Library or online via NOMIS. For further information, contact the NOMIS team at: NOMIS, Unit 3P, Mountjoy research centre, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3SW.

  Girobank
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place the final sale contract documents for the sale of Girobank in the Library.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: No. The final sale documents for the sale of Girobank are commercially confidential documents belonging to the Post Office as vendor and the Alliance and Leicester building society as purchaser.

  999 Calls
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what approaches and representations he has received from commercial organisations over the future management of 999 calls.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: The Department has received no such representations from private sector commercial organisations.

  Development Area Status, Cheshire
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy not to remove development area status from Ellesmere port and adjacent parts of Cheshire.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: I shall consider the needs and circumstances of all areas, including the Wirral and Chester travel-to-work area, in the review.

  Pyramid Selling
  Mr. Griffiths
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has on the number of(a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for offences related to pyramid, direct selling and multi-level marketing practices and advertisements in each year from 1982.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 23 November 1992]: Part XI of the Fair Trading Act covers pyramid selling and similar trading schemes. The only prosecution brought by this Department under this legislation was in 1987. Two companies and their directors pleaded guilty to 39 offences under the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Pyramid Selling Schemes Regulations 1973.

  Oil Exploration
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the marine sites where his Department are offering licences for test drilling for oil and mineral exploration; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Copies of the announcements, made on 5 March, 30 July and 26 November, giving details of the acreage on offer in the 14th offshore licensing round have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Applications for the first two stages of the round are due by midday 16 December 1992 and for the frontier stage by midday 9 March 1993.

EDUCATION

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Forman
  In the first quarter of 1992 substantive replies were issued in an average of 39 days; in the second quarter 29 days and in the third quarter 24 days.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Forman
  The Department's target for efficiency improvements in the 1992–93 financial year, as published in the departmental report in February 1992, Cm 1911, is 2·2 per cent. The main contributing areas to this are the wider use of information technology, relocation of posts, rigorous staffing reviews, and tighter control of support service costs. The Department expects to reach its target, but the data necessary for calculating efficiency improvements are not available until after the year-end.

  Acquired Rights Directive
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the effects of the acquired rights directive on(a) services his Department contracts out and (b) services he plans to contract out in the future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forman
  In contracting out services, this Department has taken into account the possible effects of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. It will continue to do so for each of the components of its market testing programme. These were set out in the citizens charter White Paper, Cm 2101, as:

  building, office and support services in DFE's London HQ;

  some information systems services;

  payroll services provided by Chessington Computer Centre; and

  services provided to the Teachers' Pensions Agency by the Paymaster General's Office.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the latest figures he has for schools which have held a successful ballot to opt out of local authority educational provision and the number of such schools which have been refused permission to opt out.

  Mr. Forth
  A total of 574 schools have voted in favour of grant-maintained status. Of these, the Secretary of State has turned down applications from 51 schools.

  Higher Education Funding Council
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for England's budget is expected to be spent on supporting research activities in the financial year 1992–93 and the planned totals for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Mr. Forman
  The Higher Education Funding Council for England will become responsible for funding higher education in England on 1 April 1993. The council is expected to announce its funding for teaching and research for 1993–94 early in 1993. The proportion of recurrent funding allocated for research by the Universities Funding Council in academic year 1992–93, before taking account of the transfer of resources to the research councils for the new boundary for dual support, was 35 per cent. The Government have indicated that they expect no significant change in the proportion of funding allocated for research in higher education in 1993–94. Funding council allocations are determined on an annual basis.

  Students
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish an education charter for students.

  Mr. Forman
  The White Paper, "The Citizen's Charter, First report: 1992", Cm 2101 indicated that further and higher education charters will be published in spring 1993.

  Education Inspectors
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the expected salary costs for 1992–93 for higher education inspectors.

  Mr. Forman
  A total of £1·2 million, including national insurance contributions by the Department.

  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many inspectors are currently employed by the Higher Education Funding Council.

  Mr. Forman
  The Higher Education Funding Council for England is in the process of establishing its arrangements for the assessment of higher education. In preparation for a full programme of visits in 1993, the council has carried out test assessments using the services of four inspectors seconded from the Department. The council will make appointments shortly.

  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of Her Majesty's inspectors were employed in 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Forth
  The number of full-time equivalent HMI employed by the Department on 1 April each year since 1989–90 was as follows:

  1 April 1989–479

  1 April 1990–462·5

  1 April 1991–482·5

  1 April 1992–466·5

  Since 1 September 1992 HMI engaged in the inspection of schools and teacher training have been members of the independent Office for Standards in Education, headed by Professor Sutherland, Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools.

  Student Unions
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information he has as to the major users of those student union funds received from public sources, including(a) the cost of sabbatical officers and (b) support for students' societies in institutions of higher education.

  Mr. Forman
  Student unions' funds derive from a variety of sources: notably profits on their trading activities, and grant from their parent institutions, paid out of funds deriving from a mix of public and private sources. A survey undertaken by the Department in 1988 identified the principal services provided by campus unions: these include representation of students; welfare; sports; catering and refreshments; shopping; travel and insurance; and support for student societies. No information is available centrally on the breakdown of unions' expenditure on these activities, or on the employment of sabbatical officers.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will circulate to all student unions details of the recent High Court ban on the university of Greenwich students union from political campaigning.

  Mr. Forman
  This would be premature, since the transcript of the court case is not yet available. When it is, I shall consider the implications of this case.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the legal status of a student union.

  Mr. Forman
  In England and Wales, as a general rule student unions in further and higher education institutions are established by or under their institution's charter or articles of government.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will audit the use of funds of student unions to discover the extent of illegal spending.

  Mr. Forman
  The auditing of student unions' use of funds is a matter for the educational institution concerned. The short survey of student unions, carried out by the Department and published in September 1989, found that over 75 per cent. of unions' accounts were subject to approval by the institution. Among the issues addressed in the current consultations initiated by the Department is whether any improvement in financial accountability is required.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to apply charities law on political campaigning to student unions.

  Mr. Forman
  A significant proportion of local student unions are already charities and subject to charities law. Responsibility for taking legal action to ensure that a charity's activities conform to its charitable objects rests with the Attorney-General, who issued guidance on this to student unions in 1983.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what basis student unions receive public and members' funding.

  Mr. Forman
  Student unions are financed from block grant from their institutions. The Department's survey of
  121
  student unions, published in 1989, found that half were dependent on this grant for 90 per cent. or more of their non-trading expenditure. The amount and the method of determining grant vary between institutions. In higher education, the grant is paid out of general funds which come from a variety of public and private sources. In further education, the usual pattern is for the block grant to be funded at least in part from an element within the student registration fee. In most institutions student union income from individual members is not substantial, relating to small amounts from associate or live members.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education who is liable for repaying illegal spending by student unions.

  Mr. Forman
  Where a student union's funds are used for purposes which are not within its objects, officers of the student union are potentially at personal risk to a claim that they have been party to a breach of trust, and liable to make good any loss.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of sabbatical officers funded by student unions in each year since 1964 and the range of payments to sabbatical officers in student unions.

  Mr. Forman
  No estimate has been made centrally of the number of sabbatical officers funded by student unions or the range of payments to such officers.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his policy on permitting student unions to influence public opinion and to affiliate to other organisations so as to promote non-charitable purposes or charitable purposes other than those of the student union.

  Mr. Forman
  The Government have initiated consultations on membership of campus unions and the National Union of Students; freedom of speech; and the use of public funds by campus unions and the National Union of Students. In the light of the consultations, the Government are now considering proposals for action. The extent to which student unions influence public opinion and affiliate to other organisations in order to promote activities that could be regarded as outside their legitimate concerns is being considered within this framework.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment currently using chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons; if he will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling; if he will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by his Department; if he will publish targets for reductions in leakages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Property Holdings, or its appointed contractors, maintains all the Department's refrigeration and air-conditioning plant, under its standard option arrangements. The Department depends on these arrangements to control the use of ozone-destroying chemicals, and to recycle any waste from this plant.
  122
  There have been no leaks of ozone-depleting chemicals recorded in the Department for the last five years. Leaks are prevented by the application of planned maintenance regimes. The disposal and recycling of all controlled waste material is governed by the duty of care regulations. The Department does not currently have sufficient information to publish targets for the reuse and recycling of CFCs and HCFCs.

  In the case of light equipment, such as fire extinguishers and domestic fridges, the Department observes guidance disseminated by the Department of the Environment. This has led, for instance, to the replacement of all the Department's halon fire extinguishers with environmentally friendly alternatives.

  The Department's purchasing policy is to avoid buying materials and equipment that rely on ozone-depleting substances in their use or manufacture, unless suitable alternative products are unavailable. A reduction in the amount of ozone-depleting chemicals used in its premises will automatically follow as a result of the implementation of this purchasing policy.

PRIME MINISTER

  Security Service Commissioner
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements have been made to appoint a Commissioner under the Security Service Act 1989 when Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's appointment expires on 17 December.

  The Prime Minister
  Lord Justice Stuart-Smith has accepted reappointment for a further three years, until 17 December 1995.

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 1 December.

  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 1 December.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  As part of the EC presidency duties, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is visiting Spain and Portugal for discussions with Prime Minister Gonzalez and Prime Minister Cavaco Silva in preparation for the European Council in Edinburgh.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Science and Technology White Paper
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the names of the individuals and organisations who have made submissions to the consultation on his forthcoming White Paper on science and technology; and if he will place copies of the responses in the Library.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The consultation period ended on 30 November, and the response has been superb. Over 500 submissions from all over the United Kingdom have been received from multinational companies, small businesses, charities, academia, professional bodies, institutes and societies, and, of course, scientists at the bench. Their responses have covered all the major aspects of science and technology.
  123
  All the views expressed will be taken on board and fed into our thinking on the White Paper, which I intend to publish in the early part of 1993. I very much appreciate how seriously the consultation has been taken and am pleased with the way it has widened the debate on the future of science and technology in this country.

  Since responses are still arriving I intend to wait a short while before placing a list of respondents and copies of responses from organisations, who have consented, in the Library. However, today I am placing in the Library copies of the submissions from the Research Councils.

  Medical Reports
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it the practice of Her Majesty's Government employing Departments to give the right of access to medical reports to their employees, or individuals who undergo medical examination as potential employees.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Government Departments are bound by the requirements of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 and the Access to Health Records Act 1990. The civil service occupational health service also complies with these statutes.

  Since employees and potential employees already have ready access to medical reports provided and health records maintained about them, I do not consider further action to be necessary.

  NHS Medicines (Limited List)
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment the Office for Science and Technology has carried out of the likely impact on scientific medical research of the Government's proposed extension to the limited list regulations in respect of NHS medicines.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  It is not expected that the proposed extension will have an adverse impact on Government-funded medical research.

  As regards research funded by the United Kingdom pharmaceutical companies, I can add nothing to the answer already given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Health, in his answer on 26 November to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) at column 810.

  Technology Transfer
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what responsibilities the Office of Science and Technology has for the promotion of technology transfer from the public sector research base into industry.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Office of Science and Technology supports many initiatives through the five research councils to encourage the transfer of technology from higher education institutes or publicly funded research establishments to companies.

  The initiatives supported by the OST through the research councils are:

  1. The LINK scheme which encourages companies to become involved at the pre-competitive stage of research. To date 30 programmes have been announced involving almost 300 active projects, with many more under consideration. Overall funding for these programmes is currently £410 million, made up of equal inputs from Government and
  124
  industry. Most programmes involve both research councils and one or more HEIs alongside other Government Departments and industry.

  2. The teaching company scheme (TCS) which arranges partnership programmes between companies and HEIs. Able graduates ("Associates") are employed on two-year contracts to undertake a specific project within a company. TCS announced their 1000th programme earlier this year. At present, there are over 400 TCS programmes in operation involving around 450 Associates. The TCS is organised jointly by SERC and DTI; ESRC and other Departments are also involved.

  3. Integrated graduate development scheme (IGDS). This scheme is run by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC); it enables graduates in employment to undertake postgraduate training at masters level in a part-time modular form. Twelve programmes are running at present; there will be six intakes in 1992–93 and six more are planned. Costs are shared between SERC and the company.

  4. Collaborative awards in science and engineering (CASE): these entail industrial sponsorship of research post-graduates by companies based in the United Kingdom. Since 1990 an average of 1,000 students have taken up CASE awards. The student receives a normal studentship from a research council plus additional maintenance grant, and spends a minimum of two months with the company. A similar scheme arising from a review conducted by Dr. J. Parnaby (SERC) enhances the stipends of students working towards engineering PhDs. This new doctorate course will include a higher content of industrial engineering and work experience in industry. The scheme started on a pilot basis in September 1992.

  5. Postgraduate training partnerships (PTPS): this is a joint OST/Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) pilot scheme started in 1992–93. In the first year some 50 postgraduate students are carrying out research for their higher degree at the five partnerships between an industrial research organisation and higher education institution.

  6. Application of computers to manufacturing engineering (ACME): among other things ACME co-funds club-type initiatives whereby groups of companies benefit from new technology developed in HEIs. There has been SERC funding of about £40 million since 1984–85, and 520 schemes since inception.

  7. Interdisciplinary research centres (IRCs): the IRCs, jointly financed by the research councils and industry, were set up with the purpose of performing research in 'fusion' areas which would be of broad relevance to industry. There are 19 IRCs with another two (in human toxicity and brain repair) planned. There are 868 full-time equivalent staff employed in IRCs.

  8. Engineering design centres: are based in universities; there are now seven of these centres and many of them have close links with industry.

  9. Industrial fellowships: this is a scheme supervised by the Royal Society which manages a two-way flow of senior researchers (at the senior lecturer or industrial equivalent level) in order that a specific research project can be completed. Currently, there are about 5 fellows per annum.

  10. Total technology: is a scheme whereby engineering postgraduates work towards a PhD while interacting closely with industry: the project work has to be completed in industry, under joint academic and industrial supervision.

  11. Royal Academy of Engineering industrial secondment scheme: enables academics to be seconded into industry, particularly SMEs, to do research which would not normally be undertaken by SME concerns. The scheme grant pays for the replacement teaching staff in the HEI while the academic is seconded. Currently, there are four or five secondments per annum.

  12. Centre for Exploitation of Science and Technology (CEST): this body is jointly funded by OST, DTI and industry. Many of its projects are concerned with exploiting new technology and finding applications for new technology more widely in industry. Most projects involve science base organisations.

WALES

  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the implications for Wales of the GATT negotiations.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I welcome the agreement between the EC and the United States of America on the outstanding differences between them. We await the full report from the Commission, but the agriculture agreement appears to be broadly compatible with reforms of the CAP regimes agreed last year.

  The need now is to return to Geneva to make the agriculture agreement multilateral and complete negotiations in all other areas, including liberalisation of trade and services and tariff reductions. We believe it is possible to reach political agreement this year.

  Mining (Environmental Damage)
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the basis for excluding the coal spoil heaps and mine tailings dams of Wales from the draft regulations under section 143 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The uses of land listed in the draft regulations for initial coverage by registers are those considered most likely to give rise to contamination. Current research being undertaken for the Government is identifying, in general terms, the occurrence of natural contaminants associated with mined ground.

  Dentists
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will prevent the employment of more salaried dentists by family health service authorities in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  No.

  Smoke Alarms
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are his plans for assisting local councils in Wales to increase the programme of fitting smoke alarms to council properties; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  It is for individual local authorities to decide what priority within their enhanced resources to give to fitting smoke alarms to their properties.

  Housing Management Tendering
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidelines have been produced by his Department on the steps to be taken to protect tenants in the event of a successful housing management tenderer becoming insolvent or failing to deliver adequate performance standards.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  It will be for local authorities to ensure that their tenants' interests are protected in the event of inadequate contract performance or of insolvency.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the change in unemployment in Wales by number and percentage since November 1990.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Between November 1990 and October 1992 the number of people unemployed in Wales, after seasonal adjustment, increased by 38,900, from 91,300 to 139,200 a rise of 42·6 per cent.

  Abortion
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and which national health service hospitals in Wales providing day-care abortion services are offering medical abortion services in the first nine weeks of pregnancy by mifepristone and prostaglandin.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Information in the form requested is not collected centrally. Abortion notifications between July, when the drug was licensed, and December 1991, the latest period for which figures are available, show that the mifepristone and prostaglandin method was used in two NHS hospitals in Wales. Identifying information derived from the notification form, including the names of the hospitals concerned, may not be disclosed under regulation 5 of the Abortion Regulations 1991.

  Special Needs Education
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many establishments for children with learning difficulties in Wales have section 56 status.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The information is not available centrally.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment currently using chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochloro-fluorocarbons; if he will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling; if he will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of CFCs and HCFCs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  My Department is currently formulating a green housekeeping strategy which will make a clear statement of our policy to govern the use of ozone-depleting substances. The statement will be followed up by an action plan for issue to departmental operational managers in implementing the policy.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by his Department; if he will publish targets for reductions in leakages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given today by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, which covers refrigeration and air conditioning systems in buildings occupied by my Department.

  Hospital Construction
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent in Wales in each year since 1979 on hospital construction programmes.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information in the form requested is not available but the amount of capital expended on hospital building schemes—inclusive of land purchase, design costs and plant and equipment—in the financial years 1979–80 to 1990–91 was as follows:

  £000

  1979–80

  9,930

  1980–81

  9,506

  1981–82

  15,027

  1982–83

  16,313

  1983–84

  15,939

  1984–85

  43,921

  1985–86

  44,573

  1986–87

  48,547

  1987–88

  47,845

  1988–89

  46,675

  1989–90

  63,627

  1990–91

  75,344

  Source: Health authorities annual accounts.

  Note:

  As the result of the introduction of a new format of accounts, no comparable information is available for 1991–92.

  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the new(a) hospitals and (b) hospital extensions and units opened in Wales since 1979.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Table 1 lists the new hospitals opened in Wales since 1979. Table 2 lists other hospital developments, extensions and units, costing over £1 million completed since 1979. Details of schemes costing less than £1 million are not held centrally.

  New Hospitals opened in Wales since 1979

  Ysbyty Gwynedd

  Mold Community Hospital

  The Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend

  Morriston Hospital, Swansea

  Wrexham Maelor Hospital

  Ystradgynlais Community Hospital

  Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli

  Chirk Community Hospital

  Ysbyty George Thomas, Ystrad Fechan

  Deeside Community Hospital

  Hospital Extensions and Units Costing over £1 million—completed since 1979

  Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Scanner Suite

  Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Multi-disciplinary unit

  St. David's, Carmarthen, 90 bed ward block

  Bryntirion Development

  Amman Valley Development

  St. Woolos Development

  Tredegar General—elderly accommodation

  Nevill Hall—outpatients department redevelopment

  Royal Gwent, Scheme 6

  Blackwood Acute Psychiatric Unit

  Llanfrechfa Grange Laundry

  Central College of Nursing

  Llandudno Development

  Cefni Hospital Development

  St. Tydfil's Adaptations for elderly accommodation

  Prince Charles, Merthyr, Scheme 2

  Aberdare elderly unit

  East Glamorgan elderly unit

  128

  Pontypridd Continuing Care Unit

  Machynlleth Hospital Development

  Rookwood ALAC

  Llandough Obstetric Unit

  UHW—Medical Genetics Centre

  Remedial Works

  Paediatric Cardiac Unit

  Upgrading of ITU

  Telephone Switchboard

  Cardiac Catheter Laboratories

  Velindre Linear Accelerator Suite

  CRI—MRI Scanner

  Neath Outpatients Department

  Singleton—Sterile products unit

  Pathology, PHLS and Mortuary

  Physical Medicine

  Main Kitchen/cook chill

  Boiler House

  Infrastructure works

  West Ward Block

  Residential Block

  Gorseinon Hospital Upgrading

  Tonna Development

  Salmon Fishing
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate has been made of the value of the Welsh economy of the tourist trade attracted to Wales by sport salmon fishing.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  In 1988 a survey commissioned by MAFF estimated that visiting anglers to the National Rivers Authority's Welsh region contributed £2·4 million to the Welsh economy.

  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was(a) the total salmon catch taken by sport fishermen in Welsh rivers and (b) the total commercial salmon catch taken off the coast of Wales for 1991–92.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In the National Rivers Authority's Welsh region in 1991 anglers reported catches totalling 4,525 salmon and commercial netsmen catches totalling 3,037 salmon. Figures for 1992 will be compiled at the end of the year.

  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total revenue generated for the Welsh economy by commercial salmon fishing enterprises.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In 1991 the first sale value of salmon taken by commercial fisheries in the National Rivers Authority's Welsh region was estimated to be £65,000.

  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people in Wales are directly or seasonally employed in(a) commercial salmon fishing enterprises and (b) sport salmon fishing.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In 1991, 436 people either held commercial licences to fish for salmon and sea trout or were endorsed on such licences. It is estimated that about 60 people are employed full or part-time by owners of fisheries which provide salmon and sea trout angling for sport.

  Breast Cancer
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are being taken to ensure women in Wales receive regular check-ups for breast cancer.
  129
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  An all Wales breast screening service for women between the ages of 50 and 64 years is provided by Breast-Test Wales. In accordance with national guidelines, women in this group are screened every three years. Women aged 65 and over will be screened on request. Regular screening for women under 50 years is currently not recommended but all women who experience symptoms which cause concern can and should seek early advice from their general practitioner.

  Community Care Grants
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of applications for community care grants in(a) Clwyd and (b) Wales are successful.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Under the flexible community care grant scheme introduced two years ago, the Welsh Office, in partnership with local authorities, gives grant aid to local projects aimed at developing more flexible forms of community care for elderly people and for people with physical and/or sensory disabilities. Numbers of applications and approved grants are set out in the following table.

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Clwyd

  Applications

  6

  12

  Approved

  6

  8

  Wales

  Applications

  54

  73

  Approved

  47

  46

  Traffic Calming
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to incorporate traffic calming measures in all road improvement and road building initiatives pursued by his Department.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  It is already our policy to incorporate the most appropriate road safety measures in all our road schemes.

  Shopping Facilities
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the out of town shopping centres and hypermarkets developed within each local authority area in Wales during the last two years;

  (2) what proportion of supermarkets and hypermarkets in Wales are currently located (a) out of town, (b) in urban areas adjacent to the town centre and (c) within the town/city centre;

  (3) how many empty shops there are at present within each urban settlement in Wales; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the past five years.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  This information is not held centrally.

  Car Parking
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will bring forward proposals to grant additional powers to local authorities concerning the control and regulation of parking within town centres.
  130
  Sir Wyn Roberts
  No. Extensive powers to meet this need are currently available.

  Further Education
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many further education courses in(a) painting and decorating, (b) plumbing and welding, (c) electronics, (d) hairdressing and beauty, (e) journalism and (f) construction will be available in South Wales colleges after September 1993.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Responsibility for providing further education is currently the responsibility of the local authorities. From 1 April 1993 the Further Education Funding Council for Wales will take over the responsibility for funding further education provision. It is not possible to say at this stage how many further education courses of different kinds will be available in South Wales colleges after September 1993 since this depends on a variety of factors.

  Private Sidings and Rail Schemes
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the schemes which have been granted section 8 payments for the development of private sidings and rail schemes in Wales during 1990 and 1991, or which are scheduled for 1992, indicating how much money has been allocated to each scheme.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  No section 8 payments were granted in 1990 and 1991. No payments are scheduled for 1992 although Ryan Mining Ltd. has received approval for a grant of £4,247,000 which is expected to be paid in 1993 and 1994.

  Bus Lanes
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for the 12 largest urban centres in Wales by population the percentage of total route miles covered by dedicated bus lanes.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Of the 12 largest urban centres in Wales by population, only Cardiff, Newport and Caerphilly/Bedwas have dedicated bus lanes. These amount to 1 per cent. or less of their total route miles.

  Women Passengers
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many incidents have been reported of(a) physical attacks on women passengers and (b) instances of sexual harrassment of women passengers (i) at railway stations in Wales and (ii) on trains in Wales in each of the last five years.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  This information is not readily available and I will write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

  Company Transport Schemes
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many company transport schemes have been established in Wales to transfer company employees to and from their place of employment.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  This information is not held centrally.

  Swn Dwr Farm
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what price was received by his Department following the sale of Swn Dwr farm, Northop, Clwyd.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Following a formal tender process, acceptable offers were received for the sale on 14 October 1992 in three lots of parts of the former Swn Dwr farm, Northop, Clwyd. The sales are currently with solicitors and completion is anticipated shortly. The price paid for each lot is considered commercially confidential information between the parties.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. David Hunt
  My Department is on course to achieve a saving of 1·5 per cent. in its running costs in 1992–93. Managers throughout the Department are contributing to this saving.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The information requested is as follows:

  1 January 1992 to 31 March 1992–12 working days

  1 April 1992 to 30 June 1992–12 working days

  1 July 1992 to 30 September 1992–14 working days

  Bardsey Island
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will designate the area around Bardsey island, Cardigan bay as a marine nature reserve, in recognition of the importance of the dolphin population; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  My right hon. Friend is responsible for designating marine nature reserves following an application from the Countryside Council for Wales. There are no such applications currently before him. I understand, however, that the council has completed surveys of the area that will enable it to undertake the relevant consultation procedure.

  Housing Stock
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of the housing stock held by the Development Board of Rural Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I will be laying draft regulations to govern the disposal of the Development Board for Rural Wales' housing stock before the House in due course.

  Assisted Area Status
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide a list of the 67 submissions he has received concerning assisted area status, indicating from which constituencies each submission has been received; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers I gave him on 26 October and 24 November.

  District Health Authorities (Appointments)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the criteria according to which he is appointing members of the new area health authorities; what is the known political affiliation of those already appointed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Appointments to district health authorities are made on the basis of aptitude and merit and irrespective of any political affiliations.

  Higher Education (Research)
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales's budget is expected to be spent on supporting research activities in 1992–93; and what are the planned totals for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I will announce the allocation of resources for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales as soon as possible. The allocation of funds for research will be determined after consultation with the funding council and in the light of the totality of funding available to it.

  Health Trusts
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to provide the health trusts recently approved in Wales with the capital funding required to enable them to achieve the developments set out in their trust application in the time scale prescribed.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Announcements on the overall capital provision for hospital and community health services in Wales and its distribution between allocations to health authorities and provisional external financing limits for NHS trusts will be made during the course of the next few months.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Home Help Service
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are in receipt of the home help service in each unit of management in the Eastern and Southern health and social services board; and what were the figures for 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991 and(b) 5 April 1991 to 31 March 1992.

  Mr. Hanley
  Information is collected centrally only at one date each year. The number of people in receipt of the home help service in each unit of management of the Eastern and Southern health and social services boards at 31 March 1991 and 31 March 1992, the latest date for which information is available, was as follows:
  133

  Community Unit

  31 March 1991

  31 March 1992

  Eastern board

  North and West Belfast

  3,606

  3,501

  South and East Belfast

  15,569

  25,486

  North Down and Ards

  1,456

  21,716

  Down and Lisburn

  22,444

  22,436

  Southern board

  Craigavon and Banbridge

  2,011

  1,794

  Armagh and Dungannon

  1,686

  1,687

  Newry and Mourne

  1,578

  1,495

  1 This figure includes an extrapolation of data from 1990 as not all the information for 1991 is available.

  2 These figures relate to dates in either May or July of the year in question.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by his Department; if he will publish targets for reductions in leakages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Routine maintenance of all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment includes a leakage test. Where a leak occurs or major maintenance work is being undertaken in equipment which uses chlorofluorocarbons or hydrochlorofluorocarbons, these are replaced by ozone-friendly refrigerants. In other cases, equipment containing CFCs and HCFCs is replaced when it reaches the end of its useful life.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment currently using chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons; if he will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling; if he will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of CFCs and HCFCs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  In Northern Ireland the Department of the Environment has advised the public sector on the use and reduction of CFCs and halons. It has also worked closely with the district councils, which are responsible for waste collection and disposal in the Province, on the extraction and recycling of ozone-depleting gases from redundant fridges and freezers from all sectors. Each council now has access to a CFC removal facility and any gases which have been removed are recycled by ICI. It is policy that any departmental equipment which becomes redundant is replaced by more environmentally acceptable equipment and I will publish targets in a forthcoming strategy document.

  Forensic Science Laboratory, Newtownbreda
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many owner-occupiers have now submitted claims for compensations as a result of damage caused by the IRA bomb at the forensic science laboratory at Newtownbreda on 23 September; in how many of these claims authorisation has been given to issue interim payments; and how many interim payments of more than £2,000 have now been made.
  134
  Mr. Mates
  Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its chief executive Mr. J. Robinson. I have asked him for a reply to be given.

  Letter from J. Robinson to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 30 November 1992:
  I refer to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the criminal damage resulting from the bombing of the Forensic Science Laboratory at Newtownbreda on 23 September. The Secretary of State has asked me to respond.
  In total 727 applications for compensation have been lodged in connection with this incident and 179 interim payments made. Of the total number of applications received 490 are in respect of owner/occupiers and to date interim payments have been authorised in 122 of these cases. Twenty-two of the interim payments to owner/occupiers have been above £2,000. In addition 56 offers of settlement have been made to owner/occupiers three of whom had already received interim payments.
  As you may appreciate, many of the claimants are covered by household insurance policies and the Compensation Agency has to take account of this and other interests before making interim payments or settling claims.

  Training and Employment Agency
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 2 November,Official Report, columns 47–50, what has been the cost to the Exchequer during the last 12 months of the chief executive of the Training and Employment Agency's visits to (a) Brussels and (b) Germany.

  Mr. Atkins
  Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Training and Employment Agency under its chief executive Mr. Julian Crozier. I have asked him for a reply to be given.

  Letter from J. S. Crozier to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 27 November 1992:
  Following the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's answer of 2 November (Official Report, columns 47–50) you have asked him to provide information on the total cost to the Exchequer during the last 12 months of the Chief Executive of the Training and Employment Agency's (T and EA) visits to (a) Brussels and (b) Germany.
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply as Chief Executive of the Training and Employment Agency which I do as follows:

  Total cost to the Exchequer

  Visit

  £

  Brussels

  552·13

  Germany

  727·95

  Cereal Production
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current surplus or deficit in cereal production in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Hanley
  Northern Ireland has a deficit in cereal production and net imports amounted to 492,000 tonnes in 1991.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters
  135
  from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Mates
  The information is not readily available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Mates
  We are on target to deliver the 1·8 per cent. cash releasing savings as detailed at chapter 11 of "Northern Ireland expenditure plans and Priorities 1992–93–1994–95" (Cmnd. 1917).

  Higher Education (Research)
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the Department of Education for Northern Ireland's higher education budget is expected to be spent on supporting research activities in 1992–93; and what are the planned totals for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Mr. Hanley
  In the financial year 1992–93, just under 33 per cent. of the Department of Education's higher education budget is being spent on supporting research activities in the university sector in Northern Ireland. For subsequent years planned totals are not yet available as the methodology by which research funding will be determined is currently under consideration.

  Nursing Homes
  Rev. Ian Paisley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many citizens of the Irish Republic are resident in nursing homes in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Hanley
  The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Rev. Ian Paisley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how the Department of Health and Social Services ensures that only British citizens are subsidised in Northern Ireland nursing homes by public funds.

  Mr. Hanley
  Help from public funds for people in nursing homes is provided mainly through income support but other benefits may also be payable. The maximum income support payable is generally reduced by the 136
  amount of any other available income. In certain circumstances, income support is payable to people coming to Northern Ireland from other countries, including European Community member states, which have similar obligations in relation to their corresponding benefit schemes.

  Elderly People (Funding)
  Rev. Ian Paisley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding is available for the elderly in Northern Ireland from EEC sources.

  Mr. Hanley
  The individual European Community programmes, operated under the Northern Ireland community support framework, are not aimed specifically at elderly people, although the latter may benefit indirectly. As part of an European Community action programme for older people, which culminates in a European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993, a limited amount of funding is being made available to support mainly pan-European activities to mark the year.

  Residential Care and Nursing Homes
  Mr. William O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the role of the Client Groups Legislation Unit in respect of the Residential Care Homes Regulations N.I. and the Nursing Home Regulations and Registered Homes Tribunals Rules N.I.

  Mr. Hanley
  The client legislation unit is a small, time-limited unit within the Department of Health and Social Services dedicated to the preparation of new registered homes legislation, both primary and subordinate. The unit issued the Residential Care Homes Regulations (Northern Ireland), the Nursing Homes Regulations (Northern Ireland) and the Registered Homes Tribunal Rules (Northern Ireland) in draft form for consultation on 16 November. It will receive comments on all this subordinate legislation up to 14 December.

  Eastern Health and Social Services Board
  Rev. Ian Paisley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether employees with the Eastern Health and Social Services Board may register their nationality under the fair employment legislation as European; and how many have done so.

  Mr. Hanley
  The Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 does not make provision for employees to register their nationality. However the Eastern health and social services board does request applicants to indicate whether they are from an EC or non EC country and there are 18,995 EHSSB employees registered as EC nationals.

HEALTH

  Hormone Replacement Therapy
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of general practitioner prescribed hormone replacement therapy in each national health service region and family health services authority area in 1991–92; and if he will express that cost as expenditure per head of the female population for each area.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Note: The data included in the table are for preparations used for hormone replacement therapy as defined in the British National Formulary chapters 6.4.1.1 and 6.4.1.2. Some of the products could be wed for indications other than HRT. The period covered is April 1991 to March 1992 and the figures are for the net ingredient cost of prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, prescriptions dispensed by doctors and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered.

  Hormorne replacement therapy—England 1991–92

  NIC—Net Ingredient Cost

  NIC—Net Ingredient Cost per head of Female Population

  FHSA Name

  NIC

  NIC/Head

  £

  £

  Cleveland

  579,975

  2·03

  Cumbria

  513,631

  2·05

  Durham

  597,589

  1·93

  Northumberland

  287,420

  1·83

  Gateshead

  191,788

  1·84

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  225,443

  1·59

  North Tyneside

  170,745

  1·68

  South Tyneside

  128,790

  1·59

  Sunderland

  270,097

  1·77

  Northern RHA

  2,965,478

  1·87

  Humberside

  864,076

  1·93

  North Yorkshire

  763,371

  2·07

  Bradford

  405,128

  1·68

  Calderdale

  176,848

  1·76

  Kirklees

  306,322

  1·57

  Leeds

  719,500

  1·98

  Wakefield

  291,091

  1·81

  Yorkshire RHA

  3,526,336

  1·88

  Derbyshire

  866,565

  1·82

  Leicestershire

  763,437

  1·69

  Lincolnshire

  603,283

  2,00

  Nottinghamshire

  912,784

  1·77

  Barnsley

  190,450

  1·67

  Doncaster

  321,214

  2·16

  Rotherham

  171,854

  1·33

  Sheffield

  457,509

  1·72

  Trent RHA

  4,287,096

  1·78

  Cambridgeshire

  673,611

  2·00

  Norfolk

  906,173

  2·34

  Suffolk

  583,899

  1·75

  East Anglia RHA

  2,163,683

  2·05

  Bedfordshire

  544,581

  2·04

  Hertfordshire

  1,174,413

  2·34

  Barnet

  279,609

  1·80

  Brent and Harrow

  351,075

  1·52

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

  501,852

  1·53

  Hillingdon

  235,285

  1·97

  138

  FHSA Name

  NIC

  NIC/Head

  £

  £

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  450,608

  2·67

  North West Thames RHA

  3,537,424

  2·00

  Essex

  1,737,656

  2·20

  Barking and Havering

  307,844

  1·59

  Camden and Islington

  348,021

  1·91

  City and East London

  371,387

  1·28

  Enfield and Harringey

  377,723

  1·57

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest

  368,378

  1·60

  North East Thames RHA

  3,511,009

  1·82

  East Sussex

  797,161

  2·10

  Kent

  1,764,088

  2·24

  Greenwich and Bexley

  438,645

  1·98

  Bromley

  385,880

  2·53

  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham

  625,343

  1·70

  South East Thames RHA

  4,011,117

  2·10

  Surrey

  1,232,952

  2·23

  West Sussex

  911,909

  2·45

  Croydon

  363,573

  2·22

  Kingston and Richmond

  370,512

  2·38

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

  594,536

  1·90

  South West Thames RHA

  3,473,483

  2·27

  Dorset

  808,695

  2·35

  Hampshire

  1,906,760

  2·40

  Wiltshire

  579,860

  2·01

  Isle of Wight

  175,537

  2·66

  Wessex RHA

  3,470,582

  2·32

  Berkshire

  862,692

  2·29

  Buckinghamshire

  808,863

  2·51

  Northamptonshire

  617,377

  2·07

  Oxfordshire

  640,275

  2·21

  Oxford RHA

  2,929,206

  2·28

  Avon

  974,609

  1·98

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  540,141

  2·20

  Devon

  1,233,861

  2·30

  Gloucestershire

  576,903

  2·09

  Somerset

  495,070

  2·06

  South Western RHA

  3,820,584

  2·14

  Hereford and Worcester

  769,466

  2·21

  Shropshire

  464,404

  2·22

  Staffordshire

  1,002,273

  1·90

  Warwickshire

  552,465

  2·23

  Birmingham

  879,187

  1·73

  Coventry

  293,369

  1·89

  Dudley

  250,033

  1·60

  Sandwell

  173,540

  1·15

  Solihull

  289,761

  2·82

  Walsall

  221,067

  1·66

  Wolverhampton

  175,972

  1·39

  West Midlands RHA

  5,071,539

  1·90

  Cheshire

  1,259,205

  2·55

  Liverpool

  462,260

  1·86

  St. Helens and Knowsley

  334,512

  1·94

  Sefton

  346,512

  2·24

  Wirral

  389,056

  2·21

  Mersey RHA

  2,791,620

  2·24

  Lancashire

  1,482,176

  2·04

  Bolton

  243,773

  1·82

  139

  FHSA Name

  NIC

  NIC/Head

  £

  £

  Bury

  196,882

  2·14

  Manchester

  341,059

  1·53

  Oldham

  212,248

  1·88

  Rochdale

  219,809

  2·09

  Salford

  238,549

  2·04

  Stockport

  342,588

  2·31

  Tameside

  197,317

  1·75

  Trafford

  272,994

  2·45

  Wigan

  323,490

  2·05

  North Western RHA

  4,070,886

  2·00

  ENGLAND

  49,630,313

  2·02

  Calcium Supplements
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of general practitioner prescribed calcium supplements in each national health service region and family health services authority area in 1991–92; and if he will express that cost as expenditure per head of the female population for each area.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested is given in the table.

  The data included in the table are for calcium supplements as defined in the British National Formulary chapter 9.5.1.1. The period covered is April 1991 to March 1992 and the figures are for the net ingredient cost of prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, prescriptions dispensed by doctors and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered.

  Calcium supplements England 1991–92

  NIC—Net Ingredient Cost

  NIC/Head—Net Ingredient Cost per head of Female Population

  FHSA Name

  NIC

  NIC/Head

  £

  £

  Cleveland

  58,435

  0·20

  Cumbria

  34,204

  0·14

  Durham

  64,425

  0·21

  Northumberland

  33,883

  0·22

  Gateshead

  24,882

  0·24

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  36,334

  0·26

  North Tyneside

  46,218

  0·45

  South Tyneside

  20,532

  0·25

  Sunderland

  76,075

  0·50

  Northern RHA

  394,987

  0·25

  Humberside

  104,125

  0·23

  North Yorkshire

  75,560

  0·20

  Bradford

  64,769

  0·27

  Calderdale

  18,859

  0·19

  Kirklees

  40,141

  0·21

  Leeds

  74,230

  0·20

  Wakefield

  24,809

  0·15

  Yorkshire RHA

  402,493

  0·21

  Derbyshire

  117,234

  0·25

  Leicestershire

  108,224

  0·24

  Lincolnshire

  97,693

  0·32

  Nottinghamshire

  103,570

  0·20

  Barnsley

  20,388

  0·18

  Doncaster

  41,381

  0·28

  Rotherham

  29,296

  0·23

  Sheffield

  35,320

  0·13

  Trent RHA

  553,107

  0·23

  140

  FHSA Name

  NIC

  NIC/Head

  £

  £

  Cambridgeshire

  70,897

  0·21

  Norfolk

  70,532

  0·18

  Suffolk

  58,164

  0·17

  East Anglia RHA

  199,594

  0·19

  Bedfordshire

  38,042

  0·14

  Hertfordshire

  143,371

  0·29

  Barnet

  53,993

  0·35

  Brent and Harrow

  50,594

  0·22

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

  90,311

  0·27

  Hillingdon

  23,756

  0·20

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  40,462

  0·24

  North West Thames RHA

  440,528

  0·25

  Essex

  145,219

  0·18

  Barking and Havering

  37,478

  0·19

  Camden and Islington

  40,235

  0·22

  City and East London

  40,651

  0·14

  Enfield and Haringey

  80,327

  0·33

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest

  39,627

  0·17

  North East Thames RHA

  383,538

  0·20

  East Sussex

  81,774

  0·22

  Kent

  176,068

  0·22

  Greenwich and Bexley

  40,712

  0·18

  Bromley

  23,372

  0·15

  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham

  37,483

  0·10

  South East Thames RHA

  359,409

  0·19

  Surrey

  119,487

  0·23

  West Sussex

  120,449

  0·32

  Croydon

  27,881

  0·17

  Kingston and Richmond

  42,489

  0·27

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

  64,134

  0·21

  South West Thames RHA

  374,440

  0·24

  Dorset

  92,732

  0·27

  Hampshire

  148,107

  0·19

  Wiltshire

  52,851

  0·18

  Isle of Wight

  14,866

  0·23

  Wessex RHA

  308,557

  0·21

  Berkshire

  54,634

  0·15

  Buckinghamshire

  76,040

  0·24

  Northamptonshire

  55,136

  0·19

  Oxfordshire

  33,793

  0·12

  Oxford RHA

  219,603

  0·17

  Avon

  118,269

  0·24

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  105,892

  0·43

  Devon

  122,348

  0·23

  Gloucestershire

  62,736

  0·23

  Somerset

  53,472

  0·22

  South Western RHA

  462,718

  0·26

  Hereford and Worcester

  93,170

  0·27

  Shropshire

  49,914

  0·24

  Staffordshire

  110,275

  0·21

  Warwickshire

  58,751

  0·24

  Birmingham

  109,298

  0·21

  Coventry

  97,215

  0·63

  Dudley

  56,107

  0·36

  Sandwell

  40,661

  0·27

  Solihull

  24,080

  0·23

  Walsall

  42,147

  0·32

  141

  FHSA Name

  NIC

  NIC/Head

  £

  £

  Wolverhampton

  36,953

  0·29

  West Midlands RHA

  718,571

  0·27

  Cheshire

  154,340

  0·31

  Liverpool

  46,592

  0·19

  St. Helens and Knowsley

  43,084

  0·25

  Sefton

  44,998

  0·29

  Wirral

  51,180

  0·29

  Mersey RHA

  340,194

  0·27

  Lancashire

  194,165

  0·27

  Bolton

  43,900

  0·33

  Bury

  26,824

  0·29

  Manchester

  43,987

  0·20

  Oldham

  30,688

  0·27

  Rochdale

  36,901

  0·35

  Salford

  29,602

  0·25

  Stockport

  35,565

  0·24

  Tameside

  38,172

  0·34

  Trafford

  20,653

  0·19

  Wigan

  30,373

  0·19

  North Western RHA

  530,831

  0·26

  England

  5,688,569

  0·23

  Clinical Psychology Training
  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of graduates applying for post-graduate clinical psychology training;

  (2) what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the level of financial support available on the willingness of graduates to take up postgraduate clinical psychology training.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  It is a matter for regional health authorities to determine how the training arrangements for clinical psychologists are organised and funded. This includes any assessment of factors affecting the numbers of applicants for such training.

  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average level of income of a postgraduate clinical psychology traineee on(a) a nationally agreed salary scale and (b) a bursary awarded by the northern consortium of health authorities; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The pay scale effective from 1 April 1992 for trainee clinical psychologists who are employed on Whitley terms and conditions is as follows:

  £11,268

  £11,718

  £12,187

  £12,675

  Information about the current average income of trainees is not available.

  I understand that the northern regional education purchasers' group has yet to decide the level at which any bursaries might be set.

  Prescription Charges
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what would be the annual cost, and what would be the current charges if prescription charges had been raised in line with inflation since 1979.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  A cost of about £170 million in 1991–92, and a current charge of 69p.

  Only one in five items dispensed in the National Health Service now attracts a charge at the point of dispensing, compared with two in five in 1979. In 1991, over 100 million more items were dispensed free of charge than in 1979. Although the prescription charge has increased, it continues to represent less than half the average total cost of a prescribed item to the NHS.

  Solvent Abuse
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's planned direct expenditure is on solvent abuse in the year 1993–94.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No decisions have yet been taken about expenditure in 1993–94.

  NHS Staff (Pay)
  Mr. Khabra
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance will be issued to enforce the 1·5 per cent. pay rise ceiling she has set for NHS staff; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 23 November at column 505.

  Residential Care Homes
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider imposing an obligation on local authority inspection units to make publicly available their reports on residential care homes in the private and voluntary sectors and in local authority homes; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  We expect local authorities to allow public access to the reports on individual care homes and other services prepared by inspection units, under the terms set out in chapter 5 of the policy guidance "Community Care in the Next Decade Beyond". The consultation document "Inspecting Social Services" published on 2 October 1992 contains proposals aimed at increasing the influence of inspection reports and ensuring their public availability.

  Copies of both the guidance and the consultation document are available in the Library.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authorities have published the reports of their inspections of registered residential care homes; and if she will provide a list of those authorities and the number of their published inspections.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not held centrally.

  AIDS
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the AIDS support grant for 1992–93 and 1993–94; and if she will make a statement.
  143
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 November to the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates),Official Report, column 387, what reasons underlie the reduction of specific grant for AIDS/HIV from 1992–93 to 1993–94; and what assessment she has made of the effects this will have on service provision (a) in England, (b) in the west Midlands and (c) in Birmingham.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The AIDS/HIV specific grant is £15·3 million for 1992–93 and £12·4 million for 1993–94. The grant will continue to support a maximum 70 per cent. of expenditure. For 1993–94, the grant will be targeted more effectively on those local authorities most in need of support and the funds thereby released will be used for other important priorities. The Department is currently considering how best to target the grant in the light of individual authorities' needs.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average time taken by the Ministers in her Department, including herself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Sackville
  We aim to reply within 28 days of receipt, and we actively monitor performance against this target. The information is shown in the table.

  Average clearance time (calendar days)

  Number of letters received

  1 January 1992 to 31 March 1992

  25·93

  4,866

  1 April 1992 to 30 June 1992

  18·03

  3,320

  1 July 1992 to 30 September 1992

  23·75

  4,073

  Patients Charter
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will give every citizen the right of access in the patients charter to medical records held about him or herself by(a) an employer and (b) by a medical practitioner.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Access to Health Records Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act 1984 provide individuals with a right of access to their own health records, subject to certain safeguards. This right has been highlighted in the patients charter. The statutory right of access extends to those health records held by an individual's employer where those records have been compiled by a health professional in connection with the individual's care.

  Nottingham City Hospital
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will announce her decision on the appeal from Nottingham city hospital to be allowed to build a new day care unit at the edge of its current site and on the competing bid by the health authority to sell land for a supermarket.
  144
  Mr. Sackville
  The matter has been referred to the National Health Service Management Executive for resolution. The NHSME is currently waiting for further information from the parties concerned.

  Acquired Rights Directive
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the effects of the acquired rights directive on(a) services her Department contracts out and (b) services she plans to contract out in the future; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  To date, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations which implement the acquired rights directive have not been applicable to any services contracted out by the central Department.

  The main functions to be market tested within the Department by the end of September 1993 were published on 25 November 1992 in the citizens charter White Paper (Cm 2101). These are as follows: internal audit, internal management consultancy, library services, office services, selected statistical surveys and support, welfare foods scheme. The possible effects of the acquired rights directive will be taken into consideration in each market test.

  Prescribing
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions she had with ICI Pharmaceuticals prior to her announcement of the extended limited list system for national health service prescribing;

  (2) what discussions she had with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry about possible alternative ways of reducing the NHS drug budget prior to her announcement of the extensions to the limited list system for national health service prescribing;

  (3) what alternative methods of reducing the overall national health service drugs budget she considered prior to the recent announcement of the extensions to the limited list prescribing system; and why, in each case, those alternatives were rejected;

  (4) what consultations she had with representatives of the Royal College of General Practitioners to discuss the medical implications of extending the limited list prescribing system to those categories which were included in her recent announcement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The selected list scheme has been in place since 1985, and has helped to control the growth in the national health service drugs bill, without adverse effects on patient care. Extending the scope of the scheme to ten new therapeutic categories will not affect the basic structure of the scheme. As now, decisions on individual drugs will be taken on the basis of advice from the independent advisory committee on NHS drugs, comprising doctors, dentists and pharmacists appointed after consultation with relevant professional organisations, and after the manufacturers concerned have been given the opportunity of making representations to the Committee.

  Advance consultation with professional organisations, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry or individual manufacturers on the proposal to extend the scope of the scheme was not therefore, in the Government's view, appropriate. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear in her announcement on 12 November, we intend to have discussions with the

  145
  pharmaceutical industry, and the medical and pharmaceutical professions, about the drugs bill, and we expect other possible ways of controlling overall expenditure to be considered in the course of those discussions.

  Sir Michael Grylls
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement providing full details of representations which she received prior to the announcement of an extension to and adoption of the limited list prescribing system; and which representations specifically support the inclusion in that list of each of the new categories of product which will now be included in the system.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No such representations were received.

  Accident and Emergency Units
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will establish an inquiry into the resourcing, planning and co-ordination of accident and emergency units in Greater Manchester; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) if she will arrange for an investigation into the number of occasions during November when more than one accident and emergency unit was closed in the central and south Manchester areas, and into the impact on patients; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  North Western regional health authority co-ordinates the provision of accident and emergency services across Greater Manchester. A working party into the provision of these services has recently concluded its work. The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Bruce Martin, the chairman of North Western RHA, for information about the working party and for details of accident and emergency services.

  Homeless People
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance the Government issues to local authorities on the health and welfare of homeless people.

  Mr. Yeo
  Prime responsibility for the health of homeless people, as for others in its area, lies with the relevant health authority. Recent guidance to local authorities which includes references to the health and welfare of homeless people is contained in the homelessness code of guidance (published by the Department of the Environment, the Department of

  General dental services (England): average gross payment to dentists in 1992–93

  Adult item of service

  Continuing care

  Child item of service

  Capitation

  Entry payments

  Gross

  £

  £

  £

  £

  £

  January

  5,018

  590

  310

  884

  175

  6,978

  February

  5,458

  613

  359

  810

  220

  7,460

  March

  5,551

  621

  381

  845

  239

  7,637

  April

  5,665

  631

  374

  871

  229

  7,770

  May

  5,278

  643

  361

  896

  224

  7,402

  June

  5,331

  661

  364

  915

  177

  7,447

  July

  5,337

  674

  369

  930

  171

  7,481

  August

  5,211

  613

  375

  940

  161

  7,302

  September

  4,553

  594

  328

  959

  140

  6,573

  October

  4,468

  602

  349

  976

  126

  6,521

  Total

  51,870

  6,242

  3,570

  9,026

  1,861

  72,570

  146
  Health and the Welsh Office) and in this Department's guidance on the implementation of our care in the community policies.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many homeless people attended outpatients departments in each London hospital in the latest available year.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of homeless people in London who do not have access to a general practitioner.

  Mr. Yeo
  All homeless people, have the right of access to a general practitioner. To encourage and improve this access, the Department of Health is funding a number of special projects, in London and elsewhere, where a significant need has been demonstrated which the normal arrangements do not meet. These projects are based on a doctor, often supported by other professional staff, holding surgeries in places, such as day centres, where homeless people tend to congregate.

  Dentists
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are her estimates for gross payments per dentist in 1992–93 and net income per dentist after expenses in 1992–93.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We estimated that the new fee scale, introduced on 8 July 1992, would deliver a gross income of about £88,000 to the average dentist. However, the full effects of the revised fee scale are not yet apparent, and it is too early to revise the estimate of either dentists' gross earnings or net income in 1992–93. Dentists should, however, still receive several thousand pounds more than the target average net income recommended by the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing the average gross payments for a general dental practitioner for each of the first 10 months of 1992–93 broken down into(a) adult item of service, (b) continuing care, (c) child item of service and (d) capitation.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested (the latest available for the last 10 months) is set out in the table.
  147
  Note

  The above figures were obtained by dividing expenditure on the GDS in England, excluding direct reimbursement of business rates and other payments made by FHSAs, by the number of general dental practitioners in England at 30 June 1992 (14,865). These data are not compatible with the data used by the Dental Rates Study Group.

  Residential Homes
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will state the latest estimate for the number of places in(a) private residential or nursing homes, (b) voluntary residential or nursing homes and (c) local authority residential homes and express each element as a percentage of the total number of places.

  Mr. Yeo
  Information which separately identifies private and voluntary nursing homes is not available. The total number of beds in nursing homes (including beds in dual registered homes) at 31 March 1991 was 124,300.

  Provisional estimates of the numbers of places in adult residential care homes (including dual registered homes) as at 31 March 1992 are:

  Places

  per cent, of total

  Private homes

  172,800

  52

  Voluntary homes

  55,400

  17

  Local authority homes

  105,400

  31

  The figures include only those private and voluntary homes which have registered under the Registered Homes Act 1984, and so exclude for instance, homes with fewer than four residents. Unstaffed local authority homes are not included in the figures.

  Community Care
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) in calculating the territorial distribution of the social security transfer element of the community care funding available from April 1993 what assumptions were made concerning the numbers, in percentage terms, of future residents of private or voluntary care or nursing homes who would be placed in establishments outside their own local authority boundaries;

  (2) what correcting mechanisms to take account of migration have been included in the distribution arrangements for community care funding with effect from April 1993.

  Mr. Yeo
  The overall level of cross-boundary flows was taken into account in deciding the respective weighting to be given to the two parts of the distribution formula—whether according to standard spending assessment or according to the current pattern of income support expenditure. A standard spending assessment distribution would tend to favour those authorities most likely to place residents in homes outside their boundaries, and so the less weight that is placed on the income support element of the formula, the less need there is to adjust it for migration.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what allowance has been made for support costs after 1993–94 in the arrangements for community care funding with effect from April 1993.

  Mr. Yeo
  In each successive year after 1993–94, the amount of the previous year's special transitional grant for 148
  community care, including the additional amount of £140 million which has been made available in 1993–94 in respect of authorities' new responsibilities, will be included in the personal social services standard spending assessment control total and distributed through the revenue support grant.

  Pharmaceutical Industry
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the likely effect of the Government's proposed extension of the limited list on the pharmaceutical industry's international competitiveness and its export achievements.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 26 November at column 810. The relative competitiveness of the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry and its export achievements depend on many factors in both the United Kingdom and other key pharmaceutical markets.

ENVIRONMENT

  Environmental Sustainability
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ensure that structural fund regulations are amended to include a commitment to environmental sustainability as a vital component of regional policy during the United Kingdom's presidency of the EC.

  Mr. Maclean
  Draft regulations covering the future operation of the structural funds are still awaited and it is unlikely, therefore, that negotiations will start during the United Kingdom's presidency. However, when negotiations commence, the Government will be concerned to achieve closer integration between Community environmental policy and the structural funds.

  Charities (Planning Applications)
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many planning applications have been received by local authorities from registered charities in each year since 1985;

  (2) what plans he has to allow local authorities to waive planning application fees from registered charities; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what is the estimated cost of waiving local authority planning application fees from registered charities.

  Mr. Baldry
  Information on the number of planning applications and the fee revenue received from registered charities is not collected. Planning application fees are determiend by the type of development proposed rather than by the nature of the applicant. Under the existing statutory provisions, local authorities have no power to waive fees. I have no plans to allow them to do so.

  Earth Summit
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the dates by which Her Majesty's Government expects to ratify each of the agreements made at the Earth summit; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  We are seeking to ratify the framework convention on climate change and to establish the basis on which we can ratify the convention on bilogical diversity by the end of 1993.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by his Department; if he will publish targets for reductions in leakages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department has a comprehensive green housekeeping strategy in place which aims to prevent leakages of ozone-depleting refrigerants through the regular servicing of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. It deals with the scrutiny of materials used by contractors, the storage and disposal of ozone-depleting substances and compliance with the professional codes of practice.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment current using chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons; if he will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling; if he will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of CFCs and HCFCs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department already has a policy on its use of ozone-depleting substances. It is included in its statement on green housekeeping which was published in March 1992 and, among other things, commits the Department to eliminating the use of substances such as CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachloride and 1,1,1 trichloroethane. It also stipulates that the chemicals being replaced should be recycled in products where no alternative is available.

  The policy is being implemented through a comprehensive green housekeeping action plan which was issued to departmental operational managers in October.

  The Department does not presently have sufficient information to publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling.

  Property Services Agency
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those firms bidding by 26 June to take over the duties of the Property Services Agency; and which firms were shortlisted.

  Mr. Redwood
  Seven firms bid by 26 June to purchase the PSA projects of which WS Atkins; Carl Bros; the Pell Frischmann/Sir William Halcrow Consortium; and Tarmac were shortlisted. Names of those not shortlisted are regarded as commercially confidential but will of course be available to the National Audit Office.
  150
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what commercial basis Tarmac was offered the contract to run the Property Services Agency.

  Mr. Redwood
  Tarmac was not offered a contract to run the Property Services Agency. PSA Projects was offered for sale by open competition and Tarmac was the successful bidder.

  Sewage Works
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of sewage works for each water company comply with the standard set by the National Rivers Authority.

  Mr. Maclean
  The most recent information, relating to 1990, is contained in this year's "Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics", and in my Department's recent report "The UK Environment", copies of which are in the House Library. Overall in 1990, 92 per cent. of sewage treatment works complied with their consent conditions, compared with 77 per cent. in 1986 and 83 per cent. in 1988.

  Whales
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment upon what grounds EC member states can derogate from prohibitions on the killing of whales contained in(a) the habitats directive and (b) the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species regulation EEC No. 3626/82; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to article 16 of council directive 92/43/EEC. There are no provisions for derogations of the type described in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3626/92.

  Local Government Finance
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of money he assumes will be raised in local authority capital receipts by(a) Wear Valley district council, (b) Derwentside district council and (c) Durham county council as a result of the measures announced in the autumn statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I have not made any estimates of these receipts at the level of individual local authorities. Authorities have provided their own forecasts of the receipts they expect to receive during 1992–93 and this information is available in the Library of the House.

  Rent Arrears, Northamptonshire
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of rent arrears in each district in Northamptonshire at the latest convenient date.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 2 July 1992 to the hon. Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson) at column 675.

  Travel Times
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures are taken by his Department to promote zoning schemes linking residential, commercial and recreational areas so as to keep travel times to a minimum.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Department has issued preliminary advice to local planning authorities on how development patterns may influence the need to travel, and promote choice of more energy-efficient means of transport, in "Planning Policy Guidance" (PPG) note 12. The Department will be publishing shortly the results of research commissioned jointly with the Department of Transport on the part which land-use planning measures could play in achieving these objectives. Some of its findings will be reflected in a revised version of PPG 13 on transport and planning, a draft of which will be issued for consultation in the next few months.

  Specific advice on locational policies in development plans designed to influence travel patterns in relation to industrial and commercial development and small firms was issued in November in a revised version of PPG 4. Equivalent advice for retail development is given in the consultation draft of PPG 6, issued in October.

  Water
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the total number and percentage of English homes directly served by mains water supplies; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what is the total number of homes directly served by mains water supplies for each of the EC member countries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The "Levels of Service Report 1990–91", published by OFWAT, lists 23,594,000 domestic properties that are served by mains water supplies for England and Wales. These account for approximately 99 per cent. of the population for England and Wales. Figures are not available for properties in England separately, or for other EC member countries.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans his Department has to improve co-operation and liaison between the water companies and British Waterways; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The relationship between British Waterways and the water companies is a matter for the board and the companies.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next plans to meet the chairman of the regional water companies; and what matters will be discussed.

  Mr. Maclean
  Ministers have had a number of meetings in recent months with the chairman of British Waterways, at which, among other things, matters of strategic policy and board appointments have been discussed. But the Secretary of State has at present no plans to meet him.

  Sheltered Housing
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to transfer the care element of the warden service in sheltered housing from housing accounts to the social services budget; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  A recent Court of Appeal judgment cast doubt on housing authorities' powers to provide care services and charge their costs to the housing revenue account. To avoid disruption to these important services, we are seeking powers in the Housing and Urban Development Bill to legitimise all housing authorities' arrangements in connection with care services.

  The Government's policy is that the housing revenue account should be a landlord account. We therefore propose that these new powers would be temporary only. But before any decisions are taken about the timing of any change in the arrangements, or about how the services would be provided thereafter, or about how their costs would be accounted for, there will be full consultation with all parties early in the new year. When considering how best to implement any new arrangements we shall consider all the financial and administrative issues to ensure that support continues to be available to those who need it.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Howard
  The Department's annual report for 1993, which is currently being prepared, will show that between 1986–87 and 1991–92 the Department increased it's efficiency by about 4 per cent. a year. These figures reflect a measurement of administrative output throughout the Department and not merely of running costs. The savings have been achieved primarily by the increased use of information technology and the implementation of more efficient and effective management controls. As a consequence, the Department has been largely able to absorb the cost of additional policy initiatives. Equivalent figures for the current financial year are not yet available, but will be published in the departmental report in early 1994.

  Falkland Islands
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning the decision of the Property Services Agency International to withdraw from the contract to build the road from Mount Pleasant airport to Newhaven in the Falkland Islands; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Discussions on the completion of the road are taking place between Property Services Agency International and the Falkland Islands Government in the light of the run down of PSAI's workload.

  City Challenge and Urban Programme
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources will be available for city challenge and the urban programme in 1993–94.
  153
  Mr. Howard
  City challenge and urban programme resources will rise from a total provision of £319 million in 1992–93 to £408 million in 1993–94, underlining the Government's continued commitment to urban regeneration. In addition, the 57 urban programme authorities will have an estimated £500 million in extra spending power in 1993–94 as a result of the changes I announced on 13 November in the capital receipts rules. To complement these resources, I have decided to make available up to £20 million in uncommitted urban programme resources in 1993–94 through a new urban partnership fund (UPF) which will combine with local authorities' usable capital receipts and other funding, including private finance, to promote urban regeneration. Details of the UPF are included in guidance to local authorities, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Wildlife Trade
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes will be made in controls on the wildlife trade from 1 January 1993; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The main controls on the wildlife trade will remain unaltered but the establishment of the single market will make it impractical to retain controls on some imports and exports. We propose to compensate for this by strengthening controls within the United Kingdom.

  There are controls throughout the European Community on trade in species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These cover imports from and exports to non-EC countries of all species listed on the CITES appendices and also include prohibitions on the sale of specimens of endangered species. They are supported by systems of permits and certificates issued and recognised by all member states. This system will remain fully operational on 1 January. Within the United Kingdom, we have an extensive system of controls to restrict sales of specimens of native species. Within Great Britain, this was strengthened in October to include a further 90 species and will remain unchanged from 1 January next year.

  At present, we also control the import and export of many species not listed on CITES, under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976. From 1 January, it will no longer be possible to retain these controls in relation to trade within the European Community. Given the future freedom of movement within the Community, we have looked carefully at whether we should continue to control trade in non-CITES species with non-EC countries. We have concluded that it is only sensible to do so where most other member states have similar controls, because otherwise our restrictions could be evaded very easily by routing trade through EC neighbours. This means that from 1 January 1993 controls under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976 will apply only to the import of the skins of harp and hooded seal pups. We are writing to traders giving details of the species which will not require import export licences.

  We are determined that these changes should not result in any significant loss of protection for species which require it. We urged the European Commission last year to bring forward proposals to strengehen EC-wide controls and this they have done. We have made good progress during our presidency of the European
  154
  Community towards achieving agreement on a new regulation which would extend EC controls on the wildlife trade to more species than are covered at present by the 1976 Act. We expect this regulation to be adopted next year. Further, freedom of movement within the Community will make it particularly important to have effective controls within member states and the Environment Council on 20 October took the view that a good deal of discretion on these should continue to rest with individual countries.

  We therefore propose to strengthen controls applied within this country. As a first step, we propose to extend sales controls to some 200 species formerly protected by import and export restrictions and which our scientific advisers, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, consider would otherwise he at risk from trade. We propose too to review how the operation of all our wildlife sales controls may be made more effective. We are consulting interested organisations about the scope of the review which will be undertaken over the course of the next year.

  Personal Social Services SSA
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to review the children's element of the personal social services standard spending assessment and the area cost adjustment to ensure equity between local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: My right hon. and learned Friend announced his proposals for standard spending assessments (SSAs) for 1993–94 on the 26 November 1992. There now follows a period of consultation during which representations about any aspects of SSAs will be carefully considered.

  Water Industry
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost of regulation in 1991–92 for the water industry; and what is the expected corresponding figure for 1992–93.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: Different aspects of quality regulation fall to the drinking water inspectorate (DWI) and National Rivers Authority (NRA). The Office of Water Services (OFWAT) regulates prices.

  In addition to its regulatory functions the DWI provides technical and scientific advice to my right hon. Friends, the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales. DWI's total costs for 1991–92 were £1·4 million, and for 1992–93 are expected to be £1·6 million.

  The NRA spent in total £35 million in 1991–92, and expect to spend £41 million in 1992–93, on licensing and monitoring of discharges: approaching two thirds of this is attributable to water industry discharges. The NRA spent a further £8 million in 1991–92, and expect to spend £9 million in 1992–93, on licensing and enforcement of abstractions: the proportion attributable to the water industry is not readily available.

  The Director General for Water Services's "Annual Report 1991", a copy of which is in the Library, records that in 1991–92 OFWAT's budget was £6·29 million, and for 1992–93 is £7·52 million.

  Local Authority Capital Receipts
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the level of capital receipts held by each local authority at the end of year 1991–92 and which they are unable to spend according to current rates, together with the level of capital spending by each authority in 1991–92.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: Local authorities are not required to identify the reserved part of capital receipts from other amounts which have been set aside as provision to meet credit liabilities (PCL). Information on the total amount set aside as PCL at 31 March 1992 is not yet available. The most comprehensive information relates to 31 March 1991: this is in the Library of the House.

  I am arranging for provisional information on gross capital expenditure in 1991–92, as reported to the Department by local authorities, to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will publish and place in the Library in hard copy and in machine readable form, as soon as possible after issuing his consultation paper on 1993–94 roles support grant, a table showing for each local authority its 1992–93 standard spending assessment with and without adjustments for changes in local authority functions and its 1993–94 SSA with the percentage changes, between both 1992–93 SSAs and the 1993–94 SSA;

  (2) what are the cash and real terms increases for total standard spending in England in 1993–94, after adjusting for changes in local authority functions, compared with (a) total standard spending for 1992–93 and (b) local authorities' budgets for 1992–93.

  Mr. Howard
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: Information on 1992–93 SSAs was placed in the Library in hard copy and in machine readable form following the announcement of the 1992–93 revenue support grant (RSG) settlement. Similar information on the proposals for the 1993–94 RSG settlement was placed in the Library, again in both hard copy and machine readable form, immediately following the announcement to the House yesterday of our intentions for 1993–94.

  There are several ways in which the 1992–93 SSA figures might be adjusted to allow for the changes in local authority functions in order to facilitate comparisons with the 1993–94 information. I shall provide a set of SSAs for 1992–93 on an adjusted basis, together with a full description of the underlying assumptions shortly.

  Region

  Taxbase March 1991 (millions)

  Dwellings March 1991 (millions)

  Taxbase September 1992 (millions)

  Dwellings September 1992 (millions)

  Northern

  0·923

  1·243

  0·900

  1·294

  North West

  1·962

  2·516

  1·905

  2·607

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  1·535

  1·952

  1·486

  2·045

  East Midlands

  1·303

  1·572

  1·245

  1·663

  West Midlands

  1·639

  2·016

  1·619

  2·102

  East Anglia

  0·677

  0·816

  0·689

  0·874

  South West

  1·694

  1·842

  1·671

  2·003

  South East

  4·078

  4·143

  4·261

  4·415

  Greater London

  2·950

  2·824

  2·720

  2·946

  Public Buildings (Fire Damage)
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost to public funds arising from fire damage in public buildings in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: The total cost to public funds arising from fire damage to public buildings on the civil estate for the last three years, based on reports received by my Department, were:

  £

  1989

  631,439

  1990

  6,168,465

  1991

  Nil

  To date fire costs reported for the current year amount to £2,000. The cost for 1990 includes £6,000,000 arising from a single incident in a storage depot at Burtonwood. One incident was reported for 1991 but no cost was incurred. Fire incidents occurring on the defence estate are not reported to my Department.

  Council Tax
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact on the band D equivalent council tax of a single person discount of 50 per cent. instead of 25 per cent.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: On the basis of the provisional taxbase information provided by local authorities for consultation purposes, it is estimated that a 50 per cent. single person discount would reduce the national taxbase by just over 8 per cent. This means that the headline council tax for two adults would need to be about 9 per cent. higher in order to raise any given amount of revenue. For single person households the combined effect of the increased discount but higher basic tax rates would be a reduction of about 27 per cent.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing, for each region, the total number of band D discounted equivalents for council tax purposes form CTB1, row 11, total of columns 1 to 8 and the total number of dwellings on the valuation list, form CTB1, row 8, column 9, and a table showing comparable information for each region imputed from the illustrative council tax figures produced by his Department in 1991.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  [holding answer 20 November 1992]: The information requested is as follows:

  157

  Region

  Taxbase March 1991 (millions)

  Dwellings March 1991 (millions)

  Taxbase September 1992 (millions)

  Dwellings September 1992 (millions)

  Total

  16·761

  18·923

  16·270

  19·950

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Bananas
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the arrangements for bananas agreed at the last meeting of Agriculture Ministers.

  Mr. Curry
  The Agriculture Council of 16 and 17 November discussed the Commission's proposal for the common organisation of the banana market. No agreement has yet been reached on the future arrangements for bananas. The Council will consider the issue again in December.

  Mr. Channon
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what interim arrangements he is proposing to put in place to protect the position of Caribbean banana exporters during the interim period after 1 January 1993 before final decisions on the banana regime are taken.

  Mr. Curry
  The Government are working hard to achieve agreement on new EC banana market arrangments as soon as possible. If necessary, interim measures designed to protect our traditional suppliers in the Commonwealth Caribbean will be put in place on 1 January 1993.

  Mr. Channon
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he intends to make so as to achieve a successful banana regime before the end of the United Kingdom presidency.

  Mr. Curry
  I am reflecting on the possibilities for reconciling the wide differences of opinion between member states in a way consistent with our objectives on this dossier.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Curry
  In this Department, Ministers replied within 21 days to letters from hon. Members and noble Lords in 80 per cent. of cases in the first quarter, 91·7 per cent. of cases in the second and 78 per cent. of cases in the third quarter of this year. Numbers of letters received during the first three quarters were 1,931, 2,521 and 3,684 respectively. The Department does not hold information on the average time taken to reply to Ministers' correspondence.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Curry
  The main areas which contribute to the Department's running cost efficiencies are: information technology; staff inspection, to ensure the most efficient organisation of work; and purchasing.

  The efficiency gains which these measures provide are monitored and reviewed on a 12-month (financial year) basis, and information is not available on a six-month basis. Information on efficiency gains will be available after April 1993.

  Plant and Machinery
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the level of investment has been on agricultural plant and machinery for each year since 1979; and if he will give a breakdown of the different areas including tractors, combine harvesters, and farm buildings.

  Mr. Gummer
  Latest estimates of investment by the United Kingdom agricultural industry in building and works, plant and machinery and vehicles are shown in the table. Information on tractors, and combine harvesters is not available separately.

  Gross capital formation at current prices

  £ million

  Buildings and works

  Plant and machinery

  Vehicles

  1979

  397

  501

  100

  1980

  557

  425

  82

  1981

  516

  361

  103

  1982

  617

  484

  112

  1983

  645

  599

  122

  1984

  661

  563

  129

  1985

  556

  595

  116

  1986

  432

  495

  122

  1987

  396

  447

  126

  1988

  447

  538

  140

  1989

  473

  489

  161

  1990

  545

  431

  201

  1991

  436

  394

  191

  Fishermen (Incidental Catches)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many reports regarding incidental catches of marine mammals by fishermen his fisheries officers in England and Wales have received to date under the scheme set up to monitor the extent of this interaction.

  Mr. Curry
  There has been one report for England and Wales which recorded the incidental catch of three dead common porpoises.

  GATT (General Waiver)
  Mr. Channon
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what agricultural products coming from least-developed or island states have been granted a general waiver from the GATT in respect of their imports into the EC.

  Mr. Curry
  The draft GATT agreement on agriculture, tabled by the GATT director general in December 1991, states:"In implementing the commitments on market access, developed countries will take fully into account the particular needs and conditions of developing countries by providing for a greater improvement of opportunities and terms of access for agricultural products of particular interest to these countries, including the fullest liberalisation of trade in tropical agricultural products as agreed at the Mid-Term review, and products of particular importance to the diversification of production from the growing of illicit narcotic crops."

  The GATT in any case provides for preferential tariff treatment to products from developing countries in accordance with the generalised system of preferences.

  Horses (Exports)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures he will put in place from 1 January 1993 to avoid the export of horses for slaughter under the EC trade legislation.

  Mr. Soames
  As indicated in the reply given on 6 November to my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby), EC Directive 91/628 provides specifically for national provisions in relation to horses, and our rules will continue to apply from 1 January 1993.

  EC Agricultural Fund
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much was spent by the European Community agricultural fund, for each year from 1980 to the latest date for which figures are available on(a) intervention purchase and (b) export subsidy on those categories of oilseeds in contention in the GATT, together with an indication of quantities for each year.

  Mr. Curry
  Figures for costs of intervention and export refunds for oilseeds (rapeseed, sunflowerseed and soya beans) are set out in the table. I will write to the hon. Member with the information which he seeks on quantities.

  Year

  Intervention (mecu)1

  Export refunds (mecu)

  1980

  8·9

  3·7

  1981

  —5·3

  5·4

  1982

  0

  3·8

  1983

  —3·7

  3·7

  1984

  2·1

  0·4

  1985

  0·5

  3·4

  1986

  0·05

  2·3

  1987

  —0·4

  64·0

  1988

  2·4

  24·9

  1989

  7·4

  5·8

  1990

  3·8

  1·0

  1991

  0·5

  0·5

  1 A minus figure indicates that proceeds from sales exceeded costs of purchase and storage in the year in question.

  Veterinary Medicines Directorate
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 4 November,Official Report, columns 286–87, if he will list by visit for the last 12 months, the cost to the Exchequer of the international visits made by the director and chief executive of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

  Mr. Gummer
  Responsibility for this matter falls to the chief executive of the veterinary medicines directorate. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Dr. J. M. Rutter, to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 27 November 1992.
  In his reply to your question, the Minister said that he had asked me to write to you direct.
  I have attended two international scientific meetings on a fact-finding basis during the 12 months from 27 November 1991.

  6–10 June 1992

  Animal Health Institute/Food and Drug Administration

  Symposium on the Microbiological Significance of Drug

  Residues in Food—Rockville, USA.

  Cost: £2,365·28;

  21–26 June 1992

  VIth International Technical Consultation on Veterinary

  Drug Registration—Buenos Aires, Argentina.

  Cost: £3,739·46.

  The costs were incurred in accordance with Treasury rules for Civil Service travel and subsistence.

DEFENCE

  Technical Co-operation Programme
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 21 May,Official Report, 256, when the technical co-operation programme mentioned in point (f) was set up; what was its original purpose; and which countries were involved at the beginning.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  On 25 October 1957, the then President of the United States and the then Prime Minister of Great Britain made a declaration of common purpose part of which stated that:"The arrangements which the nations of the free world have made for collective defence and mutual help are based on the recognition that the concept of national self-sufficiency is now out of date. The countries of the free world are interdependent and only in genuine partnership, by combining their resources and sharing tasks in many fields, can progress and safety be found. For our part we have agreed that our two countries will henceforth act in accordance with this principle."

  Immediately afterwards, the Canadian Government declared themselves ready to join in this common effort. The resulting organisation was called the tripartite technical co-operation programme.

  Chemical and Biological Warfare
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 26 June,Official Report, columns 357–58, what is the nature of the collaborative work between Canada and Britain in the field of chemical and biological warfare carried out since 1962.
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  (2) pursuant to his answr of 26 June, Official Report, column 359, from what source his Department obtained the sample of shellfish toxin for the study in 1982;

  (3) pursuant to his answer of 29 June, Official Report, column 411, under which defence agreement the environmental testing of the S10 respirator in Australia was organised; and what other chemical and biological warfare equipment has been tested in Australia through this agreement since 1962;

  (4) pursuant to his answer of 16 July, Official Report, column 936, under which specific international agreement or agreements named in the Official Report, 21 May, columns 255–56, technical and scientific information on VX nerve gas and possible binary gases was exchanged; with which countries this information was exchanged; in what form it has been exchanged; and when the first information was exchanged;

  (5) pursuant to his answer of 26 June, Official Report, columns 358–59, how often the CB defence sub-group of the technical co-operation programme meets; when and where the last meeting of the sub-group was held; how many times the sub-group has met since 1967; and when each of the four countries joined the sub-group.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment DSA under its chief executive, Dr. Graham Pearson. I have asked him to arrange for replies to be given.

  Letters from Dr. Graham Pearson to Mr. Ken Livingstone, 1 December 1992:
  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him pursuant to his answer of 26 June, Official Report, Columns 357–8, what is the nature of the collaborative work between Canada and Britain in the field of chemical and biological warfare carried out since 1962 (Question 3, Order Paper, 19 November 1992) has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. The United Kingdom abandoned work into offensive chemical and biological weapons in the 1950s as has Canada and collaboration between the two countries since 1962 has been into the provision of effective protective measures for the members of the Armed Forces of the UK and Canada against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them.
  3. In both countries, the approach to the provision of such protective measures is made up of:

  a. assessments of the hazard which involve evaluation of the potential agents that may be used against our Armed Forces and provide information on the sensitivity levels required for detection and protection,

  b. techniques for detection, identification, monitoring and warning,

  c. physical protection including respirators, individual protective ensembles and suits as well as collective protection,

  d. decontamination of persistent agents to reduce the hazard and,

  e. medical countermeasures to enhance the ability of the body to survive should exposure to chemical or biological warfare agents occur.

  4. Such collaboration is carried out under the various collaborative arrangements detailed in the answer of 21 May 1992, Official Report, Columns 255–256. These involves meetings, visits to the respective Establishments and Headquarters involved and the exchange of information, personnel and equipment. The benefits from such collaboration include the sharing of limited resources and thus better value for money as well as the achievement of more robust conclusions as a result of peer review by our counterparts in Canada.
  162
  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him pursuant to his answer of 26 June, Official Report, column 359 from what source his Department obtained the sample of shellfish toxin for the study in 1982 (Question 4, Order Paper, 19 November 1992) has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  In my previous letter of 10 August 1992 to you I said that

  "The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down is to ensure that the UK Armed Forces have effective protection measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. As part of this work, it is necessary to investigate the effectiveness of protective measures against the range of potential agents. As stated by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Mr. Archie Hamilton, MP, in his answer of 26 June 1992, Official Report, column 359, a study on shellfish toxins was carried out in 1982 to establish whether such toxins have any effect on medical countermeasures against nerve agents.

  This work into the evaluation of the effectiveness of protective measures against the range of potential chemical and biological warfare agents forms part of the United Kingdom chemical and biological defence programme on which information is exchanged with the United States Department of Defence under the international agreements referred to by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, the Rt. Hon. Archie Hamilton, MP in his answer of 21 May 1992, Official Report, columns 255–256. In this instance, the study was carried out using material supplied by the US Army Chemical Research, Development and Engineering Centre at Edgewood, Maryland."

  3. The sample of shellfish toxin was therefore provided by the US Army Chemical Research and Development and Engineering Centre at Edgewood, Maryland which has from 1 October 1992 been renamed as the US Army Chemical and Biological Defense Agency located at the Edgewood Research, Development and Engineering Centre.

  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him pursuant to his answer of 29 June, Official Report, Column 411, under which Defence agreement the environmental testing of the S10 respirator in Australia was organised; and what other chemical and biological warfare equipment has been tested in Australia through this agreement since 1962 (Question 5, Order Paper, 19 November 1992) has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  2. The environmental testing of the S10 respirator was carried out at the Joint Tropical Trials Research Establishment (JTTRE) under a Memorandum of Agreement between the UK and Australia relating to a joint programme of research, investigation and material testing at the JTTRE which was an outstation of the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) of the Australia Department of Defence and is now designated as MRL-Queensland.

  3. Some carbon-impregnated overgarmets were tested in the late 1960s and early 1970s in an indoor storage trial at the Joint Tropical Research Unit (JTRU) under an earlier UK/Australian Memorandum of Understanding which set up JTRU in 1962. The JTRU was subsequently incorporated into the JTTRE.

  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him pursuant to his answer of 16 July, Official Report, Column 936, under which specific international agreement or agreements named in the official report, 21 May, Columns 255–6, technical and scientific information and VX nerve gas and possible binary gases was exchanged; with which countries this information was exchanged; in what form it has been exchanged; and when the first information was exchanged (Question 8, Order Paper, 19 November 1992) has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  2. VX nerve gas was synthesised in the early 1950s and information was first exchanged in the early 1950s between

  163
  the UK, US and Canada under the Tripartite Cooperation Programme which involved the United Kingdom, United States and Canada and subsequently became the Technical Cooperation Programme referred to in the Official Report, 21 May, Columns 255–6. The form of the information was in oral presentations and papers presented at the cooperation meetings, the exchange of reports and through the exchange of information on a more informal basis between individual scientists and during exchange postings arranged under the auspices of this collaborative arrangement. In the 1970s, the chemical, physical and general physiological properties of VX became unclassified. Patents on VX were also unclassified.

  3. Insofar as possible binary gases are concerned, this has been the subject of much less exchange as the binary concept was developed by the United States in the 1970s and 1980s at a time when the UK no longer had an interest in retaliatory capabilities. Such information as has been exchanged of relevance to assessment of the potential hazard from binary gases has been largely under the UK/US/Canada MOU on Chemical and Biological Defence and the Technical Cooperation Programme.

  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking him pursuant to his answer of 26 June, Official Report, Columns 358–9, how often the CB Defence sub-group of The Technical Co-operation Programme meets; when and where the last meeting of the sub-group was held; how many times the sub-group has met since 1967; and when each of the four countries joined the sub-group (Question 6, Order Paper, 20 November 1992) has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  2. The Sub Group E on chemical and biological defence has met 15 times during the period 1967–1992 and the last meeting was held in the UK at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment in June 1992. The frequency of meetings is about once every 12 to 18 months and is as often as necessary to meet the objectives of the sub-group to promote collaboration in chemical and biological defence research. The UK, US, Canada and Australia were founder members of the sub-group when it was activated in 1967.

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many memoranda of understanding have been agreed in the field of chemical and biological warfare involving Britain and the United States of America since 1963; what was the subject and nature of each memorandum of understanding; and in which year each memorandum was signed.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United Kingdom abandoned all offensive chemical and biological weapons in the late 1950s, since when the United Kingdom has been solely concerned with the provision of effective protective measures for the United Kingdom armed forces. It therefore follows that no memoranda of understanding on chemical and biological warfare have been agreed since 1963.

  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 May at column 255 for details of general defence agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States of America in the field of chemical and biological defence.

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department established in association with the United States of America following the United Kingdom's decision to abandon offensive work in the field of chemical and biological warfare.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave him on 21 May at columns 255–6 and on 26 June at column 358.
  164
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has concerning the use of chemical or biological weapons in the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There is no clear evidence to suggest that any of the republics of former Yugoslavia possesses chemical or biological weapons, although the Yugoslav Army does have quantities of tear gas.

  Toxicological Warfare
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when and where the 15th tripartite conference on toxicological warfare was held; which countries participated; what were the conclusions and recommendations of the conference; and under which defence agreement the conference was organised.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The 15th tripartite conference on toxicological warfare was held in the United Kingdom in 1960. The participant countries were the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada, and the conclusions and recommendations of the conference have not been published. The conference was organised under an informal 1947 agreement to discuss like programmes of a chemical, biological and radiological nature.

  CR Gas
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 July,Official Report, column 936, what are the main points of the draft text of the chemical weapons convention which relate to CR gas; and what implications it would have for the United Kingdom stock of CR gas.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The main points of the draft chemical weapons convention which relate to CR gas are:

  Article I, paragraph 5

  Use of Riot Control Agents

  Article II, paragraph 7

  Definition of Riot Control Agents

  Article II, paragraph 9d

  Purposes not prohibited under the Convention

  Article III, paragraph le

  Declaration of Riot Control Agents required under the Chemical Weapons Convention

  Annex 2, Appendix 1, Part XI

  Allegations of use of Riot Control Agents

  The chemical weapons convention has no implications for the United Kingdom stocks of CR gas.

  RAF Regiment
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the present strength of the Royal Air Force Regiment; and if he will make a statement on the role of this branch in the defence and security of RAF establishments and the maintenance of military skills in this service.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The RAF Regiment is undergoing force reductions from just over 3,000 regular personnel in 1991 to about 2,400 personnel in 1995, a reduction of over 20 per cent. It is responsible for the defence of RAF airfields and installations at home and overseas against ground and low-level air attacks; for counter-terrorist measures; for measures to mitigate the
  165
  effects of nuclear, biological, chemical and conventional weapons; for the training of all RAF personnel in ground defence skills, and counter-terrorist guarding duties at stations in the United Kingdom and overseas. The RAF Regiment's volunteer reserve programme has led to the formation of eight auxiliary-manned squadrons for the ground and low-level air defence of stations and installations in the United Kingdom.

  Regular units of the RAF Regiment continue to perform operational duties in Northern Ireland, Belize, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands. Officers are also currently deployed on United Nations duties in Cambodia, Kuwait, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The performance of my Department in meeting targets laid down for replies to letters from hon. Members will be reported in our departmental report, due to be published early next year. The figures given will relate to the period 1 December 1991 to 30 November 1992.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 2·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Data for the current financial year are not yet available. In the financial year to 31 March 1992, however, the Department made efficiency improvements to a value of £234 million against a target of £192 million. The outturn in each of the Department's main management areas and by means of achievement was as follows:

  Area

  Target £ million

  Performance £ million

  +/-£ million

  Navy

  45·0

  62·2

  +17·2

  Army

  66·0

  56·0

  -10·0

  Air Force

  51·0

  61·9

  +10·9

  PE

  10·8

  30·7

  +19·9

  Centre

  19·1

  23·1

  +4·0

  Total

  191·9

  233·9

  +42·0

  Means of Achievement

  As percentage of Total

  Organisational Changes

  24

  Contractorisation

  5

  Changes in Manpower Mix

  6

  Rationalisation

  14

  Relocation to lower cost areas

  1

  Utilities and Energy

  1

  ADP and IT

  1

  Asset Management

  18

  Design/Engineering

  1

  Purchase Improvements

  3

  166

  Means of Achievement

  As percentage of Total

  Capacity Management

  25

  Entrepreneurial Activity

  1

  This related not only to running costs but to Defence expenditure generally, apart from pensions and capital equipment.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the United Kingdom troops in Bosnia have clothing to protect them from the consequences of chemical and biological weapons.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  All United Kingdom troops deployed in Bosnia have NBC respirators and protective suits, which give protection against normal chemical weapon agents. They also have detection equipment and wind indicators.

  Yugoslavia
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consulation is undertaken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and UNPROFOR prior to the departure of each convoy in the former Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Prior consultation about individual convoys is conducted between Bosnia-Herzegovina command and UNHCR officials at Kiseliak. Instructions about convoy tasks and delivery points are passed to UNHCR warehouses and to the national contingents. This is supplemented by constant liaison at working level.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action is being taken by UNPROFOR in the former Yugoslavia to protect the chemical plant near Tuzla; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  UNPROFOR is deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina under the terms of United Nations Security Council resolutions 770 and 776 for the purpose of escorting humanitarian convoys. The mandate does not include the protection of any part of the local infrastructure or facilities, such as the industrial chemical plant at Tuzla.

  Iraq and Iran
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of British defence equipment exports on(a) Iraqi and (b) Iranian military capabilities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Ministry of Defence studies Iraqi and Iranian military capabilities and their military procurement activities. Apart from case by case assessments of individual export licence applications, no specific studies have been undertaken on the effect of United Kingdom defence equipment exports on the Iraqi and Iranian military capabilities.

  Gulf Trust
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution has been made to the Gulf Trust from the polo day at Windsor in July 1991; what representations his Department has made on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The event did not generate any income for the Gulf Trust.

  Historic Military Buildings Committee
  Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the membership, responsibilities and achievements of the Historic Military Buildings Committee since its inception.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Historic Military Buildings Committee was formed in October 1987 and comprises members who are experts in their fields from both the private and public sectors. It is an advisory group and its terms of reference are"To consider issues concerning the upkeep of historic buildings on the Defence Estate; to consider the future of historic buildings on the Defence Estate for which there is no current defence use; and to advise on ways in which they might be preserved, either through a new defence use or through disposal in a manner sympathetic to their character".
  The committee has provided advice on a number of individual sites as well as advising on more general issues such as maintenance of historic buildings. Current membership is:

  Viscount Cranborne—Under Secretary of State for Defence.

  Professor W. Whitfield—Architect, William Whitfield and Partners and Commissioner, Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission.

  Mr. S. A. Lipton—Chief Executive, Stanhope Properties Plc.

  Dr. J. R. B. Taylor—Architect and Research Consultant.

  Head of London Region, English Heritage.

  Head of Heritage Division, Department of the Environment.

  Director General of Design Services and Adviser on Architectural Matters, Department of the Environment.

  Head of Infrastructure and Logistics (Infrastructure), Ministry of Defence.

  Head of Defence Lands Service, Ministry of Defence.

  Additional representatives from within the Ministry of Defence attend as required.

  Historic Buildings
  Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which organisations are responsible for advising his Department on the care of historic buildings and ancient monuments in the ownership of his Department; and what role is played by the statutory bodies with general responsibilities in this area in(a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The organisations which advise the Ministry of Defence on the care of historic buildings are:

  (a) The Department of National Heritage;

  (b) The Department of Environment (Conservation Unit);

  (c) English Heritage;

  (d) Historic Scotland;

  (e) Cadw;

  (f) Department of Environment for Northern Ireland.

  168
  The Department obtains advice and clearance from the relevant bodies when it intends to either demolish, alter or extend an historic building.

  Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to ensure that historic buildings and ancient monuments in his Department's ownership or care are maintained and protected to the same standards as if they were in private ownership.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My Department is fully aware of the important responsibilities which come with the ownership of historic buildings on the defence estate and aims for the highest standards of conservation.

  British Legion Centre, Tidworth
  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has to provide financial support for the British Legion training centre at Tidworth.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My Department has no such proposals. The Royal British Legion has however, been successful in securing a grant from the European Community PERIFRA programme towards the cost of building the centre.

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 November,Official Report, columns 1005–6, how much revenue his Department hopes to raise from (a) the sale of 97 housing properties at Finningley and (b) the transfer of the additional 119 housing properties at Finningley to a housing association; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The method of sale for the 97 housing properties at Finningley has yet to be decided and it would be inappropriate to disclose a figure which could prejudice any negotiations or tender action. The price for the sale of the 119 housing properties at Finningley has been recommended by the district valuer, but it remains commercial in confidence.

  Iraq
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has about the use of United Kingdom technology in the Iraqi centrifuge uranium enrichment plant at Al-Farat.

  Mr. Aitken
  [holding answer 25 November 1992]: As indicated in the IAEA reports which are available in the House of Commons Library, the Al-Farat sites intended use was as a centrifuge machine manufacturing plant. It was still under construction at the start of the Gulf War. No United Kingdom manufacturing equipment has been found at the facility.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has about the role of the Taji and Hutteen factories in Iraq prior to 15 January 1991.

  Mr. Aitken
  [holding answer 25 November 1992]: From United Nations inspection reports, we now know that Taji was a military installation serving armaments production as well as missile storage, support and modification. Al Hutteen was an ammunition plant producing and testing a variety of armaments including artillery rockets and shells.

  Space Research Corporation
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on all meetings held between Ministers and officials of his Department and the Space Research Corporation since 1985.

  Mr. Aitken
  [holding answer 25 November 1992]: I am not aware of any such meetings.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Information Technology
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 30 October,Official Report, columns 922–23, what has been the cost to the Exchequer of the Information Technology Services Agency's visits to the United States Social Security Administration during the last 12 months; and what was the purpose of the visits.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for the administration of the Information Technology Services Agency is a matter for the chief Executive, Mr. F. J. Kenworthy. He will reply to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from F. J. Kenworthy to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 1 December 1992.
  The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to the Parliamentary Question tabled by you on 24 November 1992, concerning my fact finding visit to the United States Social Security Administration. As Chief Executive of the Information Technology Services Agency I have responsibility for the Agencys travel expenditure.
  The visit referred to in the Secretary of States answer of the 30th of October, Official Report, columns 922–3, took place in July 1992. The main purpose of the visit was to attend a meeting of the 5 Countries IT sub-committee which took place in Ottawa, Canada. This is a group comprised of representatives from the Information Technology Divisions of the Social Security Departments of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The purpose of setting up the 5 countries meetings was to create a forum which is conducive to the sharing of knowledge and pooling of experience. The sub-committee meets a little less than once a year.
  Whilst in North America, I took the opportunity to visit the offices of the United States Social Security Administration in Baltimore to look at some of the technical advances that they have made in their utilisation of Information Technology. I was particularly interested in their use of kiosk technology and optical imaging and was keen to look at the improvements in service that this type of technology could offer to the public.
  Also during my visit to the US SSA I met with the Deputy Commissioner of Systems, Mr. DiPentima, to discuss the possibility of an exchange of technical staff between our two organisations. ITSA has already been involved in a number of exchanges with the other members of the 5 Countries and these have proved extremely worthwhile; resulting in a sharing of expertise which could otherwise only have been gained through the employment of consultants at, a considerable greater cost.
  The total cost of my visit to Canada and America was £5,341·03.

  Independent Living Fund
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has for the future of the independent living fund.
  170
  Mr. Scott
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) on 24 November at column 597.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements have now been made to replace the independent living fund in Nottingham after March 1993; and if he will state whether(a) the replacement for the ILF will continue to be based in Nottingham, (b) curent levels of staffing and finance will be maintained and (c) existing staff in the ILF will be transferred to the replacement unit.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Canterbury on 24 November (Mr. Brazier) at column 597.

  Details of the administrative arrangements for the two bodies will be announced in due course.

  Child Support Act 1991
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to ensure that a woman will not be compelled to claim maintenance from her child's father(a) before the implementation of the Child Support Act 1991 and (b) afterwards.

  Mr. Burt
  There is currently no requirement for a mother to co-operate with the Department of Social Security in seeking maintenance from the father of her child, though the great majority do so willingly. From April 1993, parents with care who are getting income support, family credit or disability working allowance will be required to co-operate with the Child Support Agency in seeking maintenance, unless the agency is satisfied that compliance would risk causing harm or undue distress to the parent with care or to any child living with her.

  Agencies
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to amend targets set for his next steps agencies for 1992.

  Miss Widdecombe
  By a combination of increasing expertise and improved efficiency, the Contributions Agency is having increasing success in identifying the previously unregistered self employed. Accordingly my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has raised the agency's 1992–93 target to identify those with class 2 liability from 40,000 to 70,000 persons. This will be a more challenging target for the agency's staff to meet.

  War Pensions
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations his Department has received from the national chairman of the Royal British Legion concerning his announcement on 12 November on the uprating of war pensions and allowances; what reply is being sent; what action he will be taking; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  A letter on the subject has been received from the national chairman of the Royal British Legion. A reply has been sent advising that the views expressed in that letter, and the views of others representing the interests of ex-servicemen and women, will be discussed at the meeting of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions on 3 December.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Miss Widdecombe
  This information is in the table:

  Quarter

  Number of letters

  Average working days taken

  1 January 1992–31 March 1992

  4,464

  19·0

  1 April 1992–30 June 1992

  2,284

  18·5

  1 July 1992–30 September 1992

  3,169

  21·0

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Department is well on the way to achieving its target of 1·5 per cent. efficiency savings in 1992–93. Approximately £66 million has already been achieved to meet the cash target of £78 million and we expect to exceed that by around £20 million by the end of the year.

  The main achievement in efficiency measures to date include, within the Benefits Agency, staff savings from computerisation of IS and pensions. Better education for the Contributions Agency's customers has led to greater efficacy in NIC collection whilst further savings have been made in the transfer of work from IT consultants to civil servants and contractors.

  Families
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the cost of the survey on families with children being carried out on behalf of his Department by the Policy Studies Institute;

  (2) what is the purpose of the survey of families with children being carried out for his Department by the Policy Studies Institute; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  The survey of families with children is being carried out for the Department as part of a programme of studies by the Policy Studies Institute. The programme looks at the role of family credit for a range of different families, and will provide better information than is presently available on movements in and out of low income.

  The cost of the survey is £20,000.

  Child Support Act
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the numbers of parents with care who will incur the 78-week benefit penalty under the Child Support Act 1991.

  Mr. Burt
  It is not possible to estimate this number within acceptable levels of accuracy. However, it is 172
  anticipated that in all but a tiny minority of cases of parents with care on benefit will either voluntarily co-operate with the Child Support Agency or will not be required to co-operate because there would be a risk of harm or undue distress to her or her children, were she to do so.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the numbers of families divided into lone parents and couples, who will be lifted off income support as a result of receiving child support maintenance under the Child Support Act 1991 in the first year of implementation and the following three years.

  Mr. Burt
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox) on Thursday, 26 November at column 803.

EMPLOYMENT

  Wages Councils
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations she has received against her proposal to abolish the wages councils.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Since 5 November, I have received a number of representations for and against the proposal. Some 94 per cent. of representations from employers support abolition of the wages councils.

  Sir Fergus Montgomery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the impact on incomes following the abolition of wages councils.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The abolition of wages councils will free up the labour market, increase job opportunities and improve the prospects for many individuals to increase their income.

  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees have conditions of work and remuneration covered by wages councils; and what percentage of these employees are women.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  It is estimated that the wages councils set minimum pay and overtime rates which cover some 2,561,000 workers, aged 21 or over, about two thirds of whom are women.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 19 November,Official Report, column 332, if she will estimate (a) the number of wages councils employers in 1988, (b) the number of them who responded directly with support for abolition and (c) the ratio of (b) to (a).

  Mr. McLoughlin
  It is estimated that some 250,000 employers were covered by wages councils in 1988. The 1988 consultation document, resulted in 36 individual employers and 37 employers' organisations writing in support of abolition. It is not possible to estimate the ratio of all employers covered by the councils which these letters represent.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of Britain's work force is currently unemployed; and what percentage of the European Community's work force is currently unemployed.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The latest available and most up to date figures are published by the OECD. These show an unemployment rate for the United Kingdom of 10·2 per cent. for October 1992 compared with an EC average, excluding Denmark, Greece and Luxembourg, of 9·4 per cent. for September 1992.

  Ms. Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies there have been in the west midlands in the last three months.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The latest available figures from the quarterly labour force survey show that 32,000 people were made redundant in the west midlands in the three months prior to the spring 1992 survey.

  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the change has been in the numbers unemployed for a year or longer since 1 December 1991.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Claimant unemployment figures by duration are available on a quarterly basis and are not adjusted for seasonal influences. Between January 1992 and October 1992 the number of claimants unemployed for more than one year rose by 208,635.

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of unemployed people in the United Kingdom, using the same counting base as in May 1979.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  No such figures are available from the Department. Attempting to estimate how many people would now be registered as unemployed at jobcentres and careers offices if voluntary registration had not been introduced in October 1982 would involve speculation about economic, demographic and other factors.

  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest unemployment figures; and what the figures were in May 1979.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  On the consistent, seasonally adjusted basis, there were 2,867,600 claimant unemployed people in the United Kingdom in October 1992 compared with 1,087,000 in May 1979.

  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people in the Carlisle travel-to-work area are not in employment, not on a youth training scheme and not in full-time education.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  In October 1992 there were 1,143 unemployed claimants aged under 25 in the Carlisle travel-to-work area.

  Job Clubs
  Mr. Brandreth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the performance indicators used in the evaluation of job clubs.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The overall indicator for job clubs is the degree to which they improve unemployed people's174
  chances of finding work. Our most recent survey (1989), found that attending a job club increased an individual's chance of finding a full-time job by about 50 per cent. Information is also collected monthly to measure the performance of individual job clubs. This includes the number of entrants to the programme and the number of job placings. Information on costs is collected quarterly.

  Pay Levels
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when she last met representatives of the Low Pay Unit to discuss average pay levels in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  There has been no meeting with the Low Pay Unit.

  TECs
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the contribution of the training and enterprise councils covering Surrey in helping those out of work.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Surrey TEC has developed a range of innovative approaches to help people get back into work. This is true of TECs up and down the country.

  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures she is taking to meet the concerns which have been expressed by TECs.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  I refer my hon. Friend to my reply given earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Milligan).

  Careers Service
  Mr. Pope
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations she has received regarding the future of the careers service.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Following public consultations on the future of the careers service in spring 1991, my right hon. Friend has received representations from local education authorities, training and enterprise councils, the Institute for Careers Guidance, local authority associations and others.

  Coal Industry (Health and Safety)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment she has made of the reasons for the increse in the death and injury rate in the coal mining industry for the years 1987–88 and 1989–90.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Any increase in accident rates is of concern, but it is not appropriate to compare two years in isolation. A relatively small change in the number of accidents can disproportionately effect accident rates.

  The British Coal "all accident rate" for 1990–91 of 29·34 per 100,000 manshifts is the lowest ever recorded and this is the clearest indication of the continuing progress in reducing accidents achieved by British Coal in cooperation with the workforce, worker's representatives and the Health and Safety Executive's mines inspectorate.

  Pesticides
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 19 November,Official Report, column 337, when she expects the review of the pesticides incident appraisal panel to be complete; and if she will publish its findings.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The review by the Health and Safety Executive of the pesticide incidents appraisal panel is now underway. Details of the findings will be made publicly available, and an interim statement of progress is anticipated by the end of June 1993.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 19 November,Official Report, column 336, if she will give the procedural changes undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive in its dealings with the public.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Health and Safety Executive has introduced the following procedural changes relating to its dealings with members of the public:guidance on the procedure for dealing with complaints has been revised and re-issued to all staff in the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Field Operations Division (FOD);
  new instructions have been issued to all professional staff in FOD on responsible and considerate relations with private individuals; and
  arrangements have been made to improve the internal organisations of HSE area offices to provide nominated public inquiry officers and duty inspectors.
  HSE has also issued two booklets which tell both the general public and the employer about the HSE and about the way its staff go about their work. They explain what the public can expect from HSE and what to do if they are not happy with the way they have been dealt with.

  Passenger Congestion
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals her Department has to encourage employers to stagger the work hours of employees as a means of alleviating passenger congestion.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  None. It is for employers and employees to agree between themselves what patterns of work best suit their needs.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Gwitym Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by reference to what costs to the trainee the youth training allowance is calculated; and when it was last increased.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The minimum weekly allowances paid to young people on youth training are £29·50 for 16-year-olds and £35 for those who are 17 or older. The minimum allowance for 16-year-olds was last increased in July 1988; the £35 was set in April 1986.

  Many trainees receive more than these minimum allowances because employers are encouraged to supplement payments to trainees. It is in their interests to do this because it helps them to recruit and retain trainees in whom they are investing quality training.

  A young person who is living at home with their parents should find the allowance adequate for their needs. Young people who find the allowance to be insufficient may be able to obtain additional support by making a claim for income support.

  Training
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what funds will be made available for further employment training schemes in areas affected by coal mine closures; and if she will make a statement concerning allocations to Seaham and Easington.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  A total of £75 million will be made available for additional labour market measures to alleviate the effects of the colliery closures. Final details of the action plan for County Durham training and enterprise council for the Seaham—Vane Tempest—colliery and Easington areas, including the proportion of the £75 million available, have yet to be agreed and will depend on the closures going ahead.

  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list all the Government and Government-financed agencies which have provided employment, skills training, or other courses, to job seekers in the Seaham and Peterlee areas during the past five years.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  County Durham training and enterprise council and formerly the Employment Department's Durham area office have provided training programmes in Seaham and Peterlee areas through a wide range of organisations during the past five years. These are listed. The list also includes other Government Departments and Government supported organisations which have been active in Employment creation and enterprise support in these areas.

  Training providers in Seaham/Peterlee in last five years

  Northern Training Trust

  Peterlee College

  Key Colleges

  Easington District Council

  Council for Voluntary Services

  Easington Unemployment Committee

  Seaham and District Adult Training Trust

  Seaham Action

  Training providers based outside Peterlee/Seaham hut Operating in these areas

  LINK

  AC Training

  Action Training

  ASTRA Training

  Sedgefield District Council

  Other Employment Departments/Government supported organisations

  Department of Trade and Industry

  Employment Department

  Employment Service

  County Durham Training and Enterprise Council

  The Northern Development Company

  East Durham Development Agency

  East Durham Task Force

  British Coal Enterprise Ltd

  English Estates North

  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations she has received from organisations within the Easington constituency to increase and improve employment training schemes.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I understand that several recent representations relating to employment training provision have been made by Easington organisations to the County Durham training and enterprise council.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) informations were laid and

  177
  (b) convictions were obtained under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 in the coal mining industry in each of the last five years; and what was the average fine.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Informations: laid

  Convictions

  1987

  9

  3

  1988

  3

  2

  1989

  51

  6

  1990

  24

  3

  1991

  0

  0

  The average fine for the convictions was £1,543.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will implement a refrigerant recycling and reclaim policy covering all departmental equipment currently using chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons; if she will publish targets for departmental reuse and recycling; if she will implement an equipment conversion and replacement programme for all departmental uses of CFCs and HCFCs; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  It is part of the Department's environmental policy to eliminate where possible the use of toxic or ozone-depleting chemicals. This is being achieved by replaceing equipment which uses such substances with alternatives which do not contain ozone-depleting chemicals, as and when they are due for replacement. The use by the Department of ozone-depleting chemicals is minimal but we pay due regard to proper disposal methods and are taking steps to ensure that all staff are aware of them.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will introduce a leakage prevention programme for all refrigeration and air conditioning equipment owned and operated by her Department; if she will publish targets for reductions in leakages; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Where such systems are a part of properties occupied by the Department they are regularly checked as a part of planned maintenance.

  Women
  Ms. Hoey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures the Government are taking to improve training and promotion prospects for women.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Government are committed to the improvement of training and promotion prospects for everyone in the labour market. It has welcomed the national education and training targets and the emphasis they place on acquiring skills.

  The introduction of the training and enterprise councils (TECs) has meant a training environment which is flexible and geared towards the achievement of vocational qualifications for everyone. The work that has been clone on the accreditation of prior learning is particularly helpful to women who are less likely to have achieved vocational qualifications in their working lives.
  178
  Labour market returners, the majority of whom are women, have and will continue to have special access arrangements within adult training programmes run by TECs. The programmes also provide flexible training that allows women to reconcile their domestic commitments with their training.

  The Government take every opportunity to encourage employers to make the best use of their resources. This includes supporting the employer-led Opportunity 2000 campaign. We promote the development of people in work through the investors in people initiative, which applies to all people. In addition this year, we have introduced a new national training award that recognises training and development of specific benefit to women.

  In the new year, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, intends to launch a series of regional 'opportunity shops' to promote women's participation in the world of work and beyond.

  European Community Social Affairs Council
  Ms. Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what matters will be discussed at the next EC Social Affairs Council; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  At the meeting of the Social Affairs Council on 3 December, among the main items to be considered are the United Kingdom presidency initiatives concerning employment growth; effective implementation and enforcement of Community legislation; vocational qualifications; and the portability of occupational pensions.

  A number of other important matters will be on the agenda, including Community instruments on:

  free movement of workers:

  the posting of sub-contracted workers in the Community;

  health and safety in mines and quarries;

  the proposed European Health and Safety Agency; action for the disabled.

  This agenda will take forward the aim of the United Kingdom presidency of making sensible progress on the business of the Community and of securing a positive social dimension that brings real benefits to the citizens of the Community.

  The Council will also discuss the current state of play on the working time directive.

  Health and Safety Research
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money was received from the European Commission in respect of health and safety research undertaken for the Commission by the Health and Safety Executive; who was the recipient of that money in each year since 1990–91; and what is the corresponding information for the current year.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Money received from the European Commission in each year for research related projects was:

  £000s

  1990–91

  50

  1991–92

  176

  1992–93

  100

  These receipts were retained by the Health and Safety Executive.

  Agricultural Inspectors
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the number of agricultural inspectors in the Health and Safety Executive area offices in Scotland in each year since 1978.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The number of agricultural inspectors employed in Scotland in each year since 1978 was:

  Number

  1978

  15

  1979

  16

  1980

  18

  1981

  17

  1982

  15

  1983

  17

  1984

  16

  1985

  16

  1986

  18

  1987

  21

  1988

  20

  1989

  19

  1990

  19

  1991

  18

  1992

  23

  Note: Figures are for 1 April each year and show full-time equivalent staff.

  Health and Safety Executive
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the money allocated to the Health and Safety Executive following the transfer of the offshore safety division was spent in 1991–92; and what proportion of it has been spent in 1992–93.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Information is not available in the precise form requested. However HSC/E's direct expenditure on its offshore safety division in 1991–92 was £11·5 million; the forecast for 1992–93 is currently £19·9 million.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the number of factory inspectors in the Health and Safety Executive area offices in Scotland in each year since 1978.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The number of factory inspectors employed in Scotland in each year since 1978 was:

  Year

  Number

  1978

  62

  1979

  65

  1980

  67

  1981

  64

  1982

  63

  1983

  55

  1984

  51

  1985

  53

  1986

  48

  1987

  48

  1988

  46·5

  1989

  46

  1990

  49

  1991

  50·5

  1992

  62·5

  Note:

  Figures are for 1 April each year and show full-time equivalent staff.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the contribution for the Health and 180
  Safety Executive to the European Commission in relation to European health and safety directives and standards for each year since 1990–91; and what is the contribution for the current year.

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

  The HSE plays a very active part in the development and negotiation of all health and safety directives and standards at European level.

  Employment Prospects
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations she has received about the effect of the autumn statement on future employment prospects.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has not, as yet, received any representations about the effect of the autumn statement on employment prospects. However it is our belief that the series of measures proposed in the autumn statement aimed at rebuilding confidence, helping industry and strengthening the economy will help to boost employment prospects.

  Employment Action
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the implementation of the employment action programme.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Since its introduction in 1991 employment action has played a valuable role in providing temporary work to help unemployed people maintain their existing skills. This will continue to be one of the options in the new training for work provision that will be introduced in April 1993.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average time taken by the Ministers in her Department including herself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The average time taken to reply to hon. Members letters in the first three-quarters of 1992 was as follows: first quarter 9·28 working days; second quarter 8·57 working days; third quarter 10·4 working days.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress she has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in her Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of her responsibility.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Department's spending plans for 1992–93, including its proposals for achieving at least a 1·5 per cent. reduction in administrative costs through efficiency gains during 1992·93 are summarised in the departmental report (Cm. 1906) published in February 1992. We hope to make efficiency gains in a number of areas including:
  181

  Improved procurement procedures;

  Rationalisation of the estate;

  Improved administration procedures;

  Investment in and better control of telecommunications;

  Implementation of Internal Audit and Management Services reviews;

  Improvements in staff training; Investment in Information Technology.

  Savings will be generated over a full 12-month period and the attainment of planned targets is assessed following the end of each financial year. Specific figures on savings to date are unavailable. However, at the end of the first six months of the current financial year there is every indication that the anticipated savings will be realised.

  Medical Examinations
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether she will introduce proposals to require that individuals whose application for employment is refused on the basis of a medical examination, are sent the results of such an examination and informed of the medical reason why employment has been refused.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  No. This is a matter for employers to decide.

  Long-term Unemployment
  Mr. Turner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will visit Bradley redundancy action group to discuss the psychological and emotional effects of long-term unemployment.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Employment Ministers have no plans to visit this group; but the employment service regional director will shortly be arranging for contact to be made with the group, as will Wolverhampton training and enterprise council.

  Unemployment
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to increase the opportunities available to help unemployed people.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  On 12 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, announced a new framework of employment and training measures to help unemployed people back to work. The new arrangements, which will begin in April 1993, offer the widest range of help to unemployed people that we have ever provided. We expect there to be almost half a million more opportunities on our programmes in 1993–94 than in this year.

  Acquired Rights Directive
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate she has made of the effects of the acquired rights directive on(a) services her Department contracts out and (b) services she plans to contract out in the future; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The possible effects of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, which implement the acquired rights directive in the 182
  United Kingdom, have always been taken into account in any consideration of the contracting out of my Department's services.

  The main functions to be market tested to September 1993 were published in the citizens charter White Paper (Cm 2101) on 25 November.

SCOTLAND

  Glasgow
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss with the Glasgow city liaison group the needs of those who are victims of violence.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. Friend recognises the needs of victims of violence but has no plans to meet the Glasgow city liaison group. Government funding of some £642,000 is being provided in the current financial year for the Scottish Association of Victim Support Schemes. The association provides general assistance and counselling for all victims of crime through a network of local support schemes. There are a number of such schemes based in Glasgow.

  Fact-finding Visits
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 3 November,Official Report, columns 156–57, if he will list for each of his Department's agencies, and by date and venue for the last 12 months, the cost to the Exchequer of the chief executives' fact-finding visits.

  Mr. Lang
  The hon. Member's earlier question elicited replies from the four agencies for which I am responsible, indicating that only the chief executive of Historic Scotland had made such fact finding visits. I have therefore asked Mr. G. Munro, chief executive of Historic Scotland to reply to the hon. Member directly.

  Letter from Graeme N. Munro to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 1 December 1992
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent question about the costs of 'fact-finding' visits.
  My reply of 30 October sought to explain in general terms the types of visit I have undertaken in the last 12 months from which I have gained useful insights into various matters relating to my responsibilities as Director and Chief Executive of Historic Scotland. However, none of these visits was arranged specifically as a 'fact-finding' visit.
  I should be very happy to provide further information on any particular area of our work of interest to you.

  Forest Policy
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to develop an integrated forest policy for Britain, ensuring that all aspects of deforestation at home and abroad are taken into account; and what mechanism exists to ensure that each Government Department adopts a coherent and complementary approach to forestry and deforestation issues.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Prime Minister gave the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 3 November at column 133.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average time taken by the Ministers in his Department, including himself, to answer letters from hon. Members, in each of the first three quarters of 1992, measuring the time from the receipt of the letter to the dispatch of the substantive reply.

  Mr. Lang
  The Scottish Office has a target of issuing replies to letters from hon. Members within 17 days of their receipt. My Department's performance in meeting this target during 1992 will be published in the Official Report in due course, and be made available to the House Libraries.

  Running Costs
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he has made in achieving the target of a reduction of 1·5 per cent. in his Department's running costs for the present financial year, in the first half of this financial year; and what specifically has been saved, by what means and in what areas of his responsibility.

  Mr. Lang
  The overall level of running costs for my Department is agreed with Treasury each year on the basis that efficiency gains of 1·5 per cent. must be delivered. Departments must then ensure they operate within the overall running cost limit set, and my Departments are on target to do so in 1992–93.

  Delivery of specific savings and improvements in efficiency is the responsibility of managers throughout each of my Departments working within designated budgets and performance targets which reflect the need to produce efficiency gains through increased output and reduction in costs. In identifying opportunities for savings, managers can call on support and expert advice from specialists in areas such as organisation of work and purchasing. Internal management plans define prospective savings and check on the delivery of what was planned for the previous year. The specific details requested are not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Higher Education
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of the Higher Education Funding Council for Scotland's budget is expected to be spent on supporting research activities in 1992–93; and what are the planned totals for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council will not begin distributing funds to higher education institutions until 1 April 1993. It therefore has no budget to support research activities in

  Year Sold

  Name and Location of Properly

  Area (ha)

  Name of Purchaser

  Sale Price

  1988

  Grinkle Park (part), Whitby

  134·5

  Bass North Ltd

  £40,000

  1988

  Grinkle Park (part), Whitby

  35·8

  Cleveland Potash Ltd

  £20,000

  1988

  Skipster Hagg Wood, Pickering

  10·0

  1989

  Arden, Hawnby and Bilsdale, Helmsley

  225·0

  1989

  Back Plantation, Skipton

  13·4

  H. S. Davidson

  1989

  Birk Bank Wood, Helmsley

  14·9

  1989

  Black Beck Wood, Scarborough

  8·7

  1989

  Bullen Wood, Tadcaster

  17·1

  Mr. and Mrs. Richmond-Watson

  £21,501

  184
  1992–93. Decisions on the level of support for research in future years will be made after my right hon. Friend has announced in the near future his decisons on expenditure on higher education from 1993–94 onwards and in the light of the council's assessment of the needs of the higher education sector in Scotland.

  Forestry Commission Land
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list(a) the name, location and Ordnance Survey map reference and (b) the area in hectares of each piece of Forestry Commission land in North Yorkshire; and which of these are currently for sale.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 16 November 1992]: On 31 March 1992, the Forestry Commission managed 23,200 hectares of land in north Yorkshire, of which 20,300 hectares were woodland. The detailed information about each piece of land is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  The woodlands which are currently for sale on the open market are listed; the sales of a further seven woodlands are currently being negotiated.

  Name of property

  Area (ha)

  Grid reference

  East Bank, Chop Gate

  27·0

  NZ 575 001

  Gateforth (East), Selby

  28·0

  SE 568 283

  Gateforth (Main/West), Selby

  46·5

  SE 548 283

  Kelfield, York

  14·0

  SE 586 395

  Longrush, York

  12·5

  SE 592 418

  Low Paradise Wood and Grazings, Boltby

  10·1

  SE 504 883

  Raisdale Estate, Stokesley

  180·0

  NZ 529 027

  Stillingfleet, York

  10·5

  SE 585 410

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list(a) the name, location and Ordnance Survey map reference, (b) the area in hectares, (c) the price obtained, (d) the name and address of the purchaser and (e) the date of sale for each piece of Forestry Commission land sold in the county of North Yorkshire since 1 January 1988.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 16 November 1992]: The areas of forest land sold between 1 January 1988 and 30 September 1992 are listed; details of sales of land other than forest land, and the grid references of forest land, are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Forestry Commission sought the purchaser's permission in each case to disclose the price paid and the name (but not the address) of the purchaser. Where such permission was given, the information is provided.
  185

  Year Sold

  Name and Location of Property

  Area (ha)

  Name of Purchaser

  Sale Price

  1989

  Camblesforth Woodlands, Selby

  43·8

  1989

  Constable Burton, Northallerton

  74·3

  M. C. A. Wyvill

  £130,000

  1989

  Elleron Lodge, Flamborough

  13·6

  1989

  Hollin Head and Piney Moor, Ripon

  29·9

  1989

  Pits Wood, Scarborough

  9·0

  1989

  Plumpton Wood, Helmsley

  7·7

  1990

  [No sales recorded]

  1991

  Burnt Gill Plantation, Helmsley

  11·4

  1991

  Darncombe Shelter Belt, Scarborough

  0·2

  1991

  Grimston Woods Lot 1, York

  5·0

  Landmatch PLC

  £26,527

  1991

  Grimston Woods Lot 2, York

  24·6

  1991

  Grove Wood, Terrington

  5·9

  1991

  Hambleton Hough, Selby

  1·0

  1991

  Hornby Freehold, Bedale

  56·1

  1991

  Naburn Wood, York

  18·0

  1991

  Osmotherley Catchment, Northallerton

  93·4

  1991

  Staker Wood, Selby

  4·0

  1992

  High Plumps, York

  8·3

  1992

  Miry Sike Wood and Paddock, Darncombe

  5·0

  Mr. A. Harford

  £18,000

  1992

  Fish Pond, Wet Carr and Hebdon Woods, Sawley

  27·6

  Community Care
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of local authority social work authorities to discuss the implementation of care in the community legislation in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: The secretary of State has no plans but Lord Fraser of Carmyllie met representatives of the COSLA social work committee on 2 October and the Association of Directors

  Land

  Buildings

  Non Operational Property

  Total

  £000

  £000

  £000

  £000

  Stracathro Hospital

  210

  9,629

  —

  9,839

  Arbroath Infirmary

  225

  3,175

  —

  3,400

  All other Tayside Health Board Property

  18,077

  255,321

  2,548

  275,946

  Tayside Health Board Total

  18,512

  268,125

  2,548

  289,185

  Recycling
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to encourage the newspaper and textile industries to promote and participate in recycling schemes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: The Government encourage recycling wherever it makes commercial and environmental sense, and have set the target of recycling 50 per cent. of the recyclable fraction of domestic waste by the year 2000. Paper accounts for approximately 33 per cent. of the domestic waste stream and textiles for around 5 per cent; high recycling rates for both materials will make a significant contribution towards achieving the target. In 1991, following discussions with the Government, the Newspaper
  186
  of Social Work on 20 November for discussions on community care matters. Further meetings will be arranged as the need arises.

  Land and Buildings
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the present capital values of land and buildings at(a) Stracather hospital, (b) Arbroath infirmary and (c) Tayside health board.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: The information requested is shown as at 1 April 1992.

  Publishers Association agreed to aim to increase the proportion of waste paper used in newsprint consumed in the United Kingdom to at least 40 per cent. by 2000. I am also aware that the textile reclamation industry has been actively pursuing with local authorities the means of increasing existing re-use and recycling rates.

  Children's Hospice
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to encourage or assist the development of a Scottish children's hospice; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 November 1992.] At the request of my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State, the Scottish Office Home and Health Department has been actively encouraging the various voluntary sector groups seeking to establish a children's hospice in Scotland

  187
  to combine their efforts. We hope that, as a result, agreement can be reached on a co-ordinated and united approach which provides a national facility conveniently located and fully integrated with local networks of care. We believe that this initiative is primarily for the voluntary sector, but the Government will continue to monitor developments. Until more definite proposals emerge any consideration of further Government assistance would be premature.

  National health service Average available staffed beds by selected specialty By health board area and hospital Quarter ending 30 June 1992

  Health board area/hospital

  General surgery

  Orthopaedic surgery

  General medicine1

  Scotland

  3,241

  2,302

  4,641

  Argyll and Clyde

  304

  141

  399

  Oban County Hospital

  —

  —

  41

  Dunoon and District General Hospital

  6

  3

  —

  Victoria Hospital

  6

  —

  —

  West Highland Hospital

  32

  1

  —

  Vale of Leven District General Hospital

  48

  3

  74

  Inverclyde Royal Hospital

  100

  61

  119

  Royal Alexandra Hospital

  112

  75

  166

  Ayrshire and Arran

  238

  200

  302

  Ayrshire Central and Maternity Hospital

  —

  —

  1

  Crosshouse Hospital

  118

  107

  167

  Ballochmyle Hospital

  45

  45

  43

  Ayr Hospital

  74

  48

  92

  Borders

  68

  46

  82

  Bordes General Hospital

  68

  46

  82

  Dumfries and Galloway

  107

  64

  93

  Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary

  86

  64

  93

  Garrick Hospital

  21

  —

  —

  Fife

  168

  130

  170

  Cameron Hospital

  8

  17

  —

  Victoria Hospital

  76

  59

  90

  Hunter Hospital

  14

  —

  —

  Adamson Hospital

  —

  1

  —

  St. Andrews Memorial Hospital

  1

  1

  —

  Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital

  2

  —

  5

  Dunfermline and West Fife Hospital

  57

  43

  —

  Milesmark Hospital

  9

  10

  75

  Forth Valley

  138

  106

  181

  Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary

  64

  55

  88

  Stirling Royal Infirmary

  74

  51

  93

  Grampian

  266

  228

  475

  Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

  191

  78

  341

  Woodend General Hospital

  —

  132

  40

  City Hospital

  —

  —

  31

  Hyperbaric Centre

  —

  —

  1

  Royal Aberdeen Childrens Hospital

  —

  9

  —

  Tor-na-dee Hospital

  15

  8

  21

  Jubilee Hospital

  —

  —

  —

  Chalmers Hospital

  —

  —

  —

  Dr. Grays Hospital

  60

  —

  17

  Leanchoil Hospital

  —

  —

  24

  Greater Glasgow

  664

  449

  1,181

  Glasgow Royal Infirmary

  154

  92

  296

  Ruchill Hospital

  —

  —

  16

  Stobhill Hospital

  98

  36

  162

  Philipshill Hospital

  —

  69

  —

  Royal Samaritan Hospital

  35

  —

  54

  Victoria Infirmary

  120

  9

  135

  Southern General Hospital

  84

  79

  174

  Gartnavel General Hospital

  95

  99

  144

  Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital

  —

  —

  20

  Royal Hospital for Sick Children

  —

  25

  34

  Hospital Beds
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the current numbers of staffed beds for(a) orthopaedic surgery, (b) general surgery and (c) general medicine for (i) each Scottish health board, (ii) in total for Scotland and (iii) for each hospital.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 26 November 1992]: The information requested is shown in the table.
  189

  Health board area/hospital

  General surgery

  Orthopaedic surgery

  General medicine1

  Glasgow Western Infirmary

  77

  40

  145

  Highland

  197

  99

  200

  Caithness General Hospital

  24

  —

  24

  Lawson Memorial Hospital

  7

  —

  —

  Raigmore Hospital

  119

  99

  122

  Town and County Hospital Nairn

  —

  —

  10

  Belford Hospital

  29

  —

  17

  Mackinnon Memorial Hospital

  18

  —

  2

  Ross Memorial Hospital

  —

  —

  10

  Nicolson Mackenzie Hospital

  —

  —

  15

  Lanarkshire

  341

  249

  412

  Monklands District General Hospital

  83

  72

  91

  Law Hospital

  119

  99

  164

  Hairmyres Hospital

  97

  45

  93

  Stonehouse Hospital

  43

  33

  63

  Lothian

  371

  333

  711

  Eastern General Hospital

  52

  —

  95

  Edenhall Hospital

  —

  —

  15

  Roodlands General Hospital

  8

  —

  14

  Western General Hospital

  89

  —

  166

  Astley Ainslie Hospital

  —

  24

  —

  Liberton Hospital

  8

  —

  —

  Princess Margaret Rose Hospital

  —

  184

  —

  Royal Infirmary

  151

  88

  345

  St. Johns Hospital at Howden

  63

  36

  75

  Orkney

  39

  —

  —

  Balfour Hospital

  39

  —

  —

  Shetland

  26

  —

  20

  Gilbert Bain Hospital

  26

  —

  20

  Tayside

  272

  258

  379

  Ninewells Hospital

  144

  —

  194

  Dundee Royal Infirmary

  —

  113

  —

  Royal Victoria Hospital

  2

  2

  3

  Dundee Limb Fitting Centre

  —

  17

  —

  Bridge of Earn Hospital

  —

  74

  —

  Perth Royal Infirmary

  77

  6

  86

  Arbroath Infirmary

  —

  —

  26

  Forfar Infirmary

  14

  —

  —

  Stracathro Hospital

  34

  47

  71

  Western Isles

  42

  —

  35

  Lewis Hospital

  35

  —

  27

  Daliburgh Hospital

  7

  —

  8

  1 Includes the following sub-specialties: Cardiology, Metabolic diseases, Gastroenterology, Poisons, Nephrology, Rheumatology, Genito-urinary medicine, Medical oncology, Haematology, Homeopathy.

  Foreign Landowners
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the proportion of the land area of Scotland, by region, owned by foreign nationals.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: None. Information on land transactions is however available from the registers of Scotland Executive Agency.

  Disability
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he has in place to liaise regularly with representatives of disability interests; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: Officials have frequent contact, in meetings and more
  190
  informally, with many of the voluntary sector organisations representing people with disabilities. In particular, officials sit as assessors on the executive committee of Disability Scotland and on the council of the Scottish Society for Mental Health. They also sit as observers on Disability Scotland's Access and Mobility Committee and on the Disabled Person's Transport Advisory Committee.

  Police
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of serving(a) chief police officers and (b) the Scottish Police Federation to discuss community policing and combating crime; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: My right hon. Friend meets chief police officers and representatives of the Scottish Police Federation from time to time but has at present no plans for meetings on the lines proposed.
  191
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet the Chief Constable of Strathclyde police to discuss community policing and initiatives to combat crime; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: My right hon. Friend meets the chief constable of Strathclyde police from time to time, but has at present no plans for a meeting on the lines proposed.

  Court Refurbishment
  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) when Aberdeen sheriff court will be equipped with closed circuit television and video recording equipment for use in trials;

  (2) how many sheriff courts in Scotland have (a) closed circuit television and (b) video recording equipment for use in trials.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 17 November at column 377 about closed circuit television links for child witnesses. Video playback equipment is provided by the party which wishes to use video material in evidence.

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what has been the total cost of court refurbishment work in Scotland since 1990;

  (2)what was the final cost for the refurbishment of Aberdeen sheriff court.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 17 November at column 377.

  Licensing Laws
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has available on any correlation between crime and licensing laws; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: Liquor licensing statistics for 1991 were published in August this year (Scottish Office Statistical Bulletin CRJ/1992/5) following the enactment of stricter statutory controls in the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990. Since 1 January 1991, licensing boards have been required to take account of tighter criteria for the grant of extensions of permitted hours and of any observations made on an application by the chief constable. There are indications that some boards have already reduced the numbers and/or length of regular extensions awarded in their areas. Any trends may become clearer when 1992 figures are available.

  Manufacturing Output, Paisley
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the percentage change in the output of the manufacturing sector in the Paisley postcode area for each of the past 15 years.
  192
  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: Gross output data for the manufacturing sector are available for the Paisley postcode area from 1984 onwards. These are set out in the table.

  Gross output1

  Per cent. change

  £m

  1984

  372·2

  —

  1985

  368·8

  —0·9

  1986

  356·3

  —3·4

  1987

  432·1

  21·3

  1988

  501·1

  16·0

  1989

  513·0

  2·4

  1 Only available in current prices.

  Source: Annual Census of Production 1984–1989.

  Poll Tax
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish, for the last three years for which information is available, a breakdown by poll tax collecting authority showing the number of warrants taken out against poll tax payers in arrears, the total cost involved in pursuing these warrants, the number and amount involved in warrants abandoned and subsequently written off, the number and value of warrants withdrawn due to error on the part of the local authority and the number and value withdrawn due to error on the part of the sheriff officials.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: This information is not available centrally.

  Carpet Industry
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the state of the carpet manufacturing industry in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 November 1992]: Six carpet manufacturing plants currently operate in Scotland—four of which are owned by Stoddart Sekers International plc. Scotland also has several yarn spinning and dyeing companies which supply the carpet industry. Employment in the industry in Scotland is approximately 1,600.

  Community Care
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ring-fence or earmark resources allocated under the care in the community legislation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: The sums announced by my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State on 2 October for implementation of our community care reforms will not be formally ring fenced but will be clearly identified in the distribution of grant-aided expenditure as resources which have been made available for local authorities to spend on community care. We expect local authorities in Scotland to spend all these resources on community care and will be monitoring the use of these resources carefully.

  Industrial Policy
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the initiatives taken on industrial policy and the governance of Scotland by him during the United Kingdom's presidency of the EC; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 30 November 1992]: On 12 November following the Chancellor's autumn statement, my right hon. Friend announced initiatives totalling some £340 million to boost the construction industry, to increase resources for housing and to reduce the rate burden on Scottish business.

  In the course of his stock taking on constitutional issues, the Prime Minister heard a useful range of views when he visited Scotland in September. He will be announcing his conclusions in due course.
  194
  As the hon. Member will be aware, the Select Committee on Scottish Affairs has been re-established.

  Forestry Commission Land
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the lands in Scotland proposed for sale by the Forestry Commission, access to which is over private land and for which agreements for continuation of access will not be concluded.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 25 November 1992]: The information is not available at present in the detail requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. I shall write to the hon. Member with the information within the next two months.

  DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991
  DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991
  REMAND PRISONERS: CUSTODIAL SENTENCES
  REMAND PRISONERS: CUSTODIAL SENTENCES
  PRISONERS REMANDED BY MAGISTRATES: ACQUITTALS
  PRISONERS REMANDED BY MAGISTRATES: ACQUITTALS
  AIR CARRIERS IN THE EC: COMPULSORY INSURANCE
  AIR CARRIERS IN THE EC: COMPULSORY INSURANCE
  LONDON UNDERGROUND: FINANCIAL SUPPORT
  LONDON UNDERGROUND: FINANCIAL SUPPORT
  PUBLIC TRANSPORT
  PUBLIC TRANSPORT
  EDUCATION AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN
  EDUCATION AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN
  EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN
  EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN
  DRIFT NET FISHING LICENCES
  DRIFT NET FISHING LICENCES
  NON-DOMESTIC RATES: DISTRIBUTABLE AMOUNT
  NON-DOMESTIC RATES: DISTRIBUTABLE AMOUNT
  WILDLIFE TRADE: CONTROLS
  WILDLIFE TRADE: CONTROLS