Written Answers of 13 July 1992

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  European Year of the Elderly
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has for his Department to celebrate in 1993 the European Year of the Elderly; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  I have no such plans.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Attorney-General what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  The Attorney-General
  I have no plans to relocate any civil servants in the legal secretariat to the Law Officers or the Serious Fraud Office. The property division of the Treasury Solicitor's Department—nearly one quarter of the total staff—was relocated to Taunton in August 1991 but no further parts of the office are suitable for relocation. Some 90 per cent. of the staff of the Crown prosecution service are located near to the courts throughout England and Wales which deal with the criminal cases prosecuted by the service. The scope for devolving headquarters posts to locations outside London is kept continuously under review.

  British National Party
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the evidence submitted to the Crown prosecution service following the search of the British National party premises in Welling in January.

  The Attorney-General
  A police report was submitted to the Crown prosecution service following the execution of a search warrant on 9 January 1992 at premises at 154 Upper Wickham lane, Welling in Kent.

  Having given careful consideration to this report and taken the advice of Treasury Counsel, the Crown prosecution service decided not to initiate proceedings, on the basis that the available evidence was not such as to give rise to a realistic prospect of conviction for offences contrary to part III of the Public Order Act 1986.

  I have also considered this matter and have concluded that the decision by the Crown prosecution service is entirely justified.

ENVIRONMENT

  Caravan Sites Act 1968
  Sir Anthony Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to publish a consultation document on the Caravan Sites Act 1968; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir George Young
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) on 19 June,Official Report, column 693.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to review the outstanding permission for mineral extraction which affect sites of special scientific interest.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Town and Country Planning (Minerals) Act 1981 placed a duty on mineral planning authorities to review mineral sites in their area, including environmentally sensitive sites such as SSSIs, and to make such orders revoking or modifying permissions as they considered necessary. The Government announced in the environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance" their intention to review the legislative framework governing the updating of minerals permissions. We have already taken action in the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 to deal with the problems caused by Interim Development Order permissions granted in the 1940s and we are consulting on options for updating mineral permissions granted in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

  Protected Birds
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will strengthen statutory provision for protection for vulnerable habitats and protected species in the United Kingdom along the lines proposed to him by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

  Mr. Maclean
  The RSPB has made a number of representations to my right hon. and learned Friend, to me and to my officials about the protection of habitats and species. I am always pleased to receive its proposals and take them fully into account in my considerations of policy for nature conservation.

  Vacant Public Land
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to develop vacant and derelict public land for recreation purposes.

  Mr. Baldry
  We have recently announced our intention to establish an Urban Regeneration Agency with powers to reclaim vacant, derelict and underused land in urban areas. As indicated in planning policy guidance note 17 "Sport and Recreation", published in September 1991, the Government encourage the development of sport and recreation in the widest sense and advises local planning authorities on the policies they should incorporate in their development plans for the provision of space and facilities for sport and recreation. The Urban Regeneration Agency will promote the use of land it reclaims for these purposes where appropriate.

  "Agenda 21"
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new United Kingdom contributions to international scientific programmes he proposes to establish as a result of the "Agenda 21" chapter on science for sustainable development agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

  Mr. Maclean
  This chapter has four programme areas—strengthening the scientific basis for sustainable development, enhancing scientific understanding, improving long-term scientific assessment, and building up scientific capacity and capability. The United Kingdom is already extremely active in these areas working with developing countries both directly and through governmental and non-governmental international bodies. We are, for example, playing leading roles in a range of international programmes on climate change and its consequences. Some of the additional funds committed by the United Kingdom by replenishing the global environmental facility will no doubt be deployed on projects covered by chapter 35. More specifically. the United Kingdom initiatives on satelite monitoring, on technology, transfer, and on biodiversity—the Darwin initiative—will add significantly to our inputs to promoting science for sustainable development. I understand that new Natural Environment Research Council initiatives in training and research in taxonomy and in biodiversity, are designed to strengthen the United Kingdom science base thus underpinning existing and new applied work with developing countries.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Howard
  The need for civil servants in my Department to be located in central London is kept under review, in accordance with Government policy. We continue therefore to look for further opportunities to move posts to other parts of the country, in addition to looking at the suitability of posts to be moved to docklands.

  Gipsy Sites
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, pending the publication of his consultation paper on the law relating to gipsy sites, he will suspend further approval of local authority applications for the funding of pitches on council sites and any decisions on applications for designation of areas under sections 10 and 12 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968.

  Mr. Baldry
  I do not think that it would be appropriate to do so.

  Abstraction Licences
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent discussions he has had with the chairman of the National Rivers Authority about the provision of funds for the revocation of abstraction licences.
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  Mr. Maclean
  The funding implications of the authority's proposals for this and other water resources capital expenditure were among the issues I discussed with my right hon. and noble Friend at our recent meeting on the authority's corporate plan.

  Household Waste
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of household waste has been recycled by Chelmsford borough council in each of the last three available years.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information on the recycling activities of individual local authorities is not held centrally at present. Recycling plans are now being prepared by every waste collection authority in the country as a result of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The plans are due to be submitted in draft to the Secretary of State by 1 August. they will contain information on the quantities of waste which the council expects to deal with by separating, baling or otherwise packaging it for the purpose of recycling it. The plan for Chelmsford has not yet been received.

  Council House Exchanges
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council tenants sought advice from their council about how to exchange their home with a tenant in a different local authority area in the six months from October 1991 to March 1992; and how many mutual exchanges took place in this period.

  Mr. Baldry
  Information is not collected centrally about the number of council tenants who seek advice from their local authority about exchanging their home.

  Information about the number of mutual exchanges is reported by local authorities on their annual housing investment programme returns—HIP1. The latest available information records that 46,100 dwellings were let through mutual exchanges in the period 1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991.

  Private Sector Leases
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to assist local authorities in tackling homelessness by reducing the cost of private sector leases.

  Mr. Baldry
  No. It is for local authorities to negotiate the cost of leases with landlords on an individual basis. My Department is, however, providing assistance of £20 million this year to the local authorities most affected by the recent change to finance short-term leases from outside the housing revenue account.

  Council House Waiting Lists
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many names are on the waiting lists for tenancies of council houses in England.

  Mr. Baldry
  Local authorities report the number of households on their council housing waiting lists in their annual housing investment programme—HIP1—returns.

  The figures as at 1 April 1991 are in colum B5 of the "1991 HIP1 All Items Print", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Vacant Public Sector Land
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many years it would take to get rid of the surplus vacant public sector land; and how much it would cost to run the register for that period if no extra land was added to the register;

  (2) what is the regional breakdown of land on the surplus vacant public sector land register with no potential, low potential and moderate/high potential, on a percentage basis;

  (3) how many acres of unused and underused land are at present in the ownership of British Rail, the urban development corporations, local authorities, government departments, the residuary bodies and British Coal;

  (4) how many acres of unused and underused land have been entered onto and also removed from the surplus vacant public sector land register in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Secretary of State's register of unused and underused land has for most purposes been superseded by registers maintained by each public sector owner and since 1989 has been maintained only in connection with requests to order the disposal of sites. The central register is therefore too out of date to be used as a basis for meaningful analysis.

  The Department does not hold detailed information about the amount of land on the registers maintained by owners or the quality and development potential of individual sites. Nor can we make estimates of the costs incurred by owners in maintaining the registers.

  Town and Country Planning
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what benefits he expects to accrue to the United Kingdom from the inclusion of town and country planning in the Maastricht treaty as a new EC competence.

  Mr. Baldry
  The benefit to the United Kingdom is that the inclusion clarifies the competence of the Community on this aspect of environmental policy as well as the decision-making procedures to he followed on proposals from the Commission.

  Urban Development Corporations
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many permanent jobs have been created in each urban development area(a) since 1981–82 and (b) since 1987–88, net of losses.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Estimates of employment in urban development areas are derived from surveys commissioned periodically by urban development corporations, and refer to the period since the designation of the areas. The figures below give the latest net estimate of permanent jobs created since inception in all UDAs except Merseyside. The figures for Merseyside UDA relate to the period since the area was extended in 1988.

  UDA

  Date Established

  Estimated number of permanent jobs created (net of losses)

  London Docklands

  1981

  26,000

  Merseyside

  extended 1988

  2,000

  Trafford Park

  1987

  8,231

  402

  UDA

  Date Established

  Estimated number of permanent jobs created (net of losses)

  Black Country

  1987

  3,000

  Teesside

  1987

  6,025

  Tyne & Wear

  1987

  9,237

  Central Manchester

  1988

  750

  Leeds

  1988

  3,875

  Sheffield

  1988

  5,902

  Bristol

  1989

  4,483

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what levels of borrowing have been undertaken by each urban development corporation in each year since 1985–86.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information is as follows:

  Amount

  Bristol

  —nil

  Black Country

  —nil

  Central Manchester

  —£350,000 in 1991–92

  Leeds

  —nil

  London Docklands

  —£3,100,000 in 1985–86

  Merseyside

  —£605,000 in 1985–86

  —£55,000 in 1986–87

  —£10,000 in 1987–88

  Sheffield

  —nil

  Teeside

  —£227,000 in 1988–89

  Trafford Park

  —nil

  Tyne and Wear

  —nil

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much grant in aid has been made available to each urban development corporation since 1981 as a cash sum(a) at current prices and (b) 1981 prices.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Only two urban development corporations have been in existence since 1981, London Docklands and Merseyside. Their total grant in aid since 1981 is:

  £ million

  (a) at current prices;

  London Docklands

  1,317.51

  Merseyside

  268.22

  (b) at 1981 prices;

  London Docklands

  1,994.65

  Merseyside

  361.68

  For the total grant in aid made available to the other urban development corporations from their inception, I refer to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member on 24 June 1992, Official Report, columns 195–96.

  Area Cost Adjustment Scheme
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will redistribute the money made available under the area cost adjustment scheme to south-east authorities outside London in a manner which would treat all local authorities equally; and what sums would be made available to other authorities by such redistribution.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The area cost adjustment within standard spending assessments reflects the additional
  403
  employment costs faced by authorities in London and the south-east in providing the services for which they are responsible at a standard level. There are no plans to remove this adjustment for authorities in the south-east but we are always willing to consider any evidence brought forward.

  If the money made available under the area cost adjustment to south-east authorities outside London were to be redistributed to all authorities outside London the sum available would be £15 per adult.

  Planning and Compensation Act 1991
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to bring into force the remaining enforcement provisions of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991.

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: On 27 July we shall bring into force—

  (1) the new breach of condition notice (section 2 of the Act), enabling the local planning authority to enforce compliance with planning conditions more economically and efficiently;

  (2) the revised enforcement "immunity" rules (section 4 of the Act), establishing new time-limits for the planning authority to initiate enforcement action; and

  (3) the new "lawful development certificate" provisions (section 10 of the Act), enabling the planning authority to decide, on an application to them, whether present or proposed development of land is lawful for planning control purposes.

  A joint Department of the Environment and Welsh Office circular is being issued today, explaining how these provisions are intended to operate.

  These provisions complete the implementation of the Government's thorough overhaul of planning authorities' powers for enforcing planning control over all types of unauthorised development of land. Provided that planning authorities use these new and strengthened powers vigorously and quickly, whenever their use is justified, they should now be able to remedy unlawful development whenever it is unacceptable on planning grounds. We intend to review the effectiveness of the strengthened enforcement regime once it has been in operation for a reasonable period.

  Recycling
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements will be made for evaluating the environmental impact of recyclable materials in products before a Europewide standard for recycling comes into force.

  Mr. Leigh
  I have been asked to reply.

  I have no reason to believe that a Europewide standard for recycling is coming into force, or being contemplated. However, my Department has commissioned Warren Spring laboratory to carry out research into the environmental impact of recycling. In addition, the recyclability of materials used in products may feature as one of the criteria for the award of ecolabels under the recently agreed EC ecolabelling regulation.

  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements have been made for exchange of manufacturing information relating to recyclable materials across Europe.

  Mr. Leigh
  I have been asked to reply.
  404
  No arrangements of a formal nature have been put in place, but my Department and the Department of the Environment participate in international and EC conferences, seminars and workshops at which recycling issues generally are debated, and views exchanged.

TRANSPORT

  Shipping
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of(a) foreign earnings by British shipping, (b) earnings of British shipping from the United Kingdom cabotage trade and (c) the City of London's maritime earnings, for each of the last 20 years;

  (2) what estimate he has made for the earnings of United Kingdom-owned vessels from cross-trades for each of the last 20 years, respectively;

  (3) what latest figure he has for the percentage of United Kingdom shipping earnings that come from cross-trade.

  Mr. Norris
  The table sets out the available figures. It does not include estimates of earnings on United Kingdom cabotage, information on which is not readily available.

  (1) Total International Revenue

  (2) Revenue from Cross Trades

  (3) Cross Trades as percentage of total

  (4) City of London Maritime earnings

  1970

  1,648

  848

  51

  —

  1971

  1,921

  1,023

  53

  —

  1972

  1,863

  928

  50

  —

  1973

  2,357

  1,215

  52

  —

  1974

  2,993

  1,413

  47

  —

  1975

  2,875

  1,205

  42

  —

  1976

  3,447

  1,527

  44

  —

  1977

  3,558

  1,594

  45

  —

  1978

  3,174

  1,427

  45

  —

  1979

  3,840

  1,812

  47

  218

  1980

  3,747

  1,776

  47

  204

  1981

  3,577

  1,754

  49

  319

  1982

  3,184

  1,303

  41

  283

  1983

  2,993

  1,205

  40

  279

  1984

  3,191

  1,308

  41

  297

  1985

  3,175

  1,125

  35

  254

  1986

  3,260

  1,309

  40

  245

  1987

  3,444

  1,390

  40

  249

  1988

  3,683

  1,406

  38

  352

  1989

  4,076

  1,678

  41

  450

  1990

  3,957

  1,465

  37

  694

  Notes:—Column 1 includes earnings from United Kingdom passengers and freight on United Kingdom imports.

  Column 3 covers ONLY earnings from overseas residents by Baltic Exchange and Lloyd's Register of Shipping. Estimates of earnings from maritime insurance are not readily available.

  Estimates for 1991 will be available in the latest edition of the CSO Pink Book ("UK Balance of Payments"), to be published within the next two months.

  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many seafarers are currently employed on vessels which are beneficially British-owned on, respectively, the United Kingdom register, the Crown dependencies register, British dependent territories register, and any other register, on the latest date for which he has figures, and on each year for the last 20 years.

  Mr. Norris
  Employment figures which distinguish between United Kingdom and non-United Kingdom flagged ships are not available for years prior to 1986. Separate statistics for the Crown dependencies and
  405
  dependent territories registers are not produced. The annual statistics available to the Department do not include seafarers employed by companies which do not belong to the Chamber of Shipping.

  With these provisos, the table shows the information requested:

  Total

  31 December

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  19911

  United Kingdom flag

  14,969

  12,500

  11,671

  9,996

  10,053

  Non-United Kingdom flag

  6,742

  7,799

  8,485

  9,296

  10,343

  Back-up United Kingdom flag

  8,308

  8,473

  8,460

  7,136

  8,056

  Back-up non-United Kingdom flag

  2—

  2—

  2—

  2—

  3,595

  Registry:

  France

  Germany, FR

  Greece

  Norway2

  Denmark3

  1972

  1,390

  2,546

  2,241

  2,826

  1,331

  1973

  1,376

  2,234

  2,536

  2,758

  1,362

  1974

  1,341

  2,088

  2,651

  2,689

  1,349

  1975

  1,393

  1,964

  2,743

  2,706

  1,371

  1976

  1,388

  1,957

  2,921

  2,759

  1,413

  1977

  1,327

  1,975

  3,344

  2,738

  1,407

  1978

  1,317

  1,999

  3,666

  2,646

  1,397

  1979

  1,247

  1,926

  3,827

  2,531

  1,315

  1980

  1,241

  1,906

  3,922

  2,501

  1,253

  1981

  1,199

  1,820

  3,710

  2,409

  1,169

  1982

  1,171

  1,782

  3,501

  2,409

  1,152

  1983

  1,173

  1,769

  3,169

  2,340

  1,112

  1984

  1,174

  1,813

  2,904

  2,271

  1,101

  1985

  1,136

  1,816

  2,599

  2,219

  1,070

  1986

  984

  1,752

  2,255

  2,107

  1,063

  1987

  954

  1,414

  1,948

  1,979

  1,256

  1988

  930

  1,233

  1,874

  2,078

  1,240

  1989

  921

  1,185

  1,839

  2,304

  1,256

  1990

  900

  1,179

  1,814

  2,557

  1,260

  1991

  910

  11,522

  1,863

  2,577

  1,290

  1 Includes the former German Democratic Republic.

  2 Includes the Norwegian International Register, NIS.

  3 Includes the Danish International Register, DIS.

  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what figure he has for the number of beneficially British-owned vessels registered, for each of the last 20 years respectively in(a) the Crown dependencies, (b) British dependent territories, (c) the United Kingdom and (d) none of the above;

  (2) if he will list the number of vessels, not beneficially British owned, which have been registered on the United Kingdom register, the registers for Crown dependencies and the registers of British dependent territories, in each of the last 20 years respectively.

  Mr. Norris
  Information is only available from 1988 onwards, as follows—vessels over 100 gross registered tons:

  Number of United Kingdom parent owned vessels, by registry and year1

  Registry

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  21992

  United Kingdom

  1,720

  1,668

  1,584

  1,557

  1,542

  Crown Dependency

  83

  68

  87

  91

  91

  Dependent Territories

  149

  141

  117

  120

  119

  Foreign

  528

  536

  674

  698

  709

  TOTAL

  2,480

  2,413

  2,462

  2,466

  2,461

  1 As at 31 December.

  2 As at 31 March 1992.

  406

  Total

  31 December

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  19911

  Total

  30,019

  28,772

  28,616

  26,428

  32,047

  1 1 June 1991.

  2 Not available.

  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the number of vessels registered on the(a) French, (b) German, (c) Greek, (d) Norwegian and (e) Danish registers in each of the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The information requested, as at 1 July, is given in the table.

  Number of non-United Kingdom parent owned vessels, by registry and year1

  Registry

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  21992

  United Kingdom

  290

  268

  279

  262

  257

  Crown Dependency

  79

  69

  49

  46

  45

  Dependent Territories

  779

  660

  619

  603

  604

  1 As at 1 January.

  2 As at 31 March 1992.

  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what calculation he has made of the average age of the United Kingdom-owned fleet registered in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the Crown dependencies and (c) the dependent territories at the latest date for which figures are available; and what estimate he has of the average age of vessels of the United Kingdom's main merchant navy competitors.

  Mr. Norris
  Figures for British-registered fleets and for the fleets of other major shipping registers, are shown in the tables:
  407

  Average age1 of the United Kingdom owned trading2 fleet: by registry: 31 March 1992

  Average age

  Registry

  Years

  Months

  United Kingdom

  16

  1

  Crown Dependencies

  14

  2

  Dependent territories

  12

  7

  Foreign registries

  15

  5

  All United Kingdom owned ships

  14

  8

  1 Average age of total deadweight.

  2 Trading vessels are those which carry cargo or passengers for commercial purposes. Certain vessel types, for example, dredgers and fishing vessels, are therefore deemed "non trading".

  Average age1 of trading2 fleets owned in other countries: 31 March 1992

  Average age

  Years

  Months

  United Kingdom

  14

  8

  Denmark

  8

  9

  France

  13

  6

  Germany

  9

  6

  Greece

  15

  6

  Italy

  12

  9

  Netherlands

  9

  6

  Spain

  13

  4

  All European Community owned ship;

  12

  5

  Liberia

  13

  3

  Panama

  12

  1

  United States of America

  19

  3

  Cyprus

  15

  11

  Norway

  13

  0

  Japan

  8

  10

  All ships

  13

  4

  1 Average age of total deadweight.

  2 Trading vessels are those which carry cargo or passengers for commercial purposes. Certain vessel types, for example, dredgers and fishing vessels, are therefore deemed "non-trading".

  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage of, respectively, officers and ratings who are British nationals on United Kingdom vessels on(a) the United Kingdom register, (b) Crown dependency registers, (c) British dependent territory registers and (d) foreign registers.

  Mr. Norris
  The most recent figures relating to seafarers employed by companies which belong to the Chamber of Shipping show that, at 1 June 1991, 97 per cent. of officers and 90 per cent of ratings of United Kingdom-flagged, British-owned, vessels were United Kingdom nationals. The equivalent figures for British-owned, foreign-flagged, vessels, were 85 and 63 per cent. respectively.

  Merchant Navy
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will list the regulatory requirements currently laid upon the British Merchant Navy which he is currently examining with a view to their possible removal or easing;

  (2) if he will list the regulatory requirements laid upon the British Merchant Navy which have been removed or eased in each year, respectively, for the last 20 years.

  Mr. Norris
  We are committed to reducing the regulatory burden on the shipping industry as far as is compatible with continued high safety standards. This is a continuous process. Recent achievements include the 408
  introduction of new type approval arrangements to facilitate the entry of vessels into the United Kingdom register. We are also currently reviewing the rules which govern the nationality of senior officers on British merchant vessels.

  Vehicle Testing
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the regional information held by all district offices of his Department's vehicle inspectorate about public vehicle testing, including the percentage failure rates at initial annual tests and re-tests and the most common failure items.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The information will be placed in the House Library at the earliest opportunity.

  M6
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will arrange for the renovation of the sign on the northbound cross carriageway of the M6 at exit 20.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Yes.

  Cycling
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory provisions regarding cycling on the pavement; what are the exemptions for young riders on very dangerous roads; and when the law was enacted.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Cycling on the footway is an offence under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, as amended by section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1888. It currently carries a maximum penalty of £100. There are no exemptions for young riders.

  Alternative Fuels
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress the national transport laboratory has made in the field of alternative fuels for transport.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  My Department's Transport Research Laboratory is currently reviewing national and international research and experience in the use of a wide range of alternative fuels and engines for road vehicles. The review is scheduled for completion by end of November 1992 and the findings will be published in due course.

  In addition to the TRL review, my Department continues to keep abreast of developments worldwide and to encourage technological developments aimed at reducing the environmental impact of vehicles.

  Fishing Vessels
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage of the British-registered shipping fleet which is owned by the 20 largest British-owned shipping companies(a) by number of vessles and (b) by tonnage, at the latest available date.

  Mr. Norris
  The 20 largest British direct-owned shipping companies own 40 per cent. by number and 77 per cent. by tonnage of the total United Kingdom registered fleet.

  Medical Advisory Council
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who are the members of the Medical Advisory Council who advise him on withdrawal of driving licences on medical grounds; and what are their qualifications.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Secretary of State is advised by a number of expert medical panels. I understand that the question specifically relates to the Secretary of State's honorary advisory panel on driving and disorders of the nervous system. Its membership and individuals' qualifications are:

  Dr. C. J. Ear (Chairman)—Consultant Neurologist

  Mr. J. G. Brice—Consultant Neurosurgeon

  Dr. S. D. Shorvon—Consultant Neurologist

  Dr. D. W. Chadwick—Consultant Neurologist

  Dr. R. A. Cooper—Consultant Physician

  Professor C. P. Warlow—Professor of Medical Neurology

  Mr. A. E. Richardson—Consultant Neurosurgeon

  Dr. M. J. Parsonage—Consultant Neurologist

  Professor W. B. Jennett—Professor of Neurosurgery

  The chairman is nominated by the president of the Royal College of Physicians and appointed by the Secretary of State.

  Railway Preservation
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage the railway preservation movement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The railway preservation movement has been growing in strength and importance. The Government acknowledge the movement's contribution to the railway heritage. The Department made 10 light railway orders for steam railway lines in 1991 and expects to determine perhaps a further six in 1992. We welcome this evidence that the movement is thriving.

  London Underground
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's 5 July 1991 report on London Underground Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  London Underground Limited is today publishing its 12-month response to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report detailing the progress which has been made in implementing the report's recommendations.

  Since the publication of the report last year, LUL has made good progress with implementing the wide-ranging recommendations made by the MMC. Work on 58 of the report's 114 recommendations is now complete. Of the others, only one has been rejected altogether, and work is under way to implement the others, which are of a longer-term nature.

  In its report, the MMC identified scope for improvement in a number of important areas which have subsequently been addressed by both the Government and the management of the underground.

  The MMC concluded that the underground was suffering from the effects of long-term underfunding. In response to this, last year's IFR settlement provided for a record £3.7 billion grant to be given to London Transport over the three years from 1992–93, the vast bulk of which
  410
  will go towards investment on the Underground. The MMC also identified scope for management improvements and efficiency savings. The underground responded to that finding with the publication last November of its company plan, designed to bring about a step change in the efficiency and quality of underground services, through improvements to working practices and an extension of contracting out. This plan has the Government's support.

  Another key finding in the MMC's report was that there was inadequate political commitment to the underground's planning processes. As was announced at the publication of the Government's three-month response to the report, the Government and LUL are now working together on the preparation of a 10-year strategic plan for the underground.

  On 27 May, the Government set the underground 12 new quality-of-service targets. These took on board the MMC's recommendation that new targets should be based on outputs rather than inputs and, where possible, should be measured in terms of customer satisfaction.

  I am confident that LUL is committed to continuing to build on all these initiatives, and fulfilling the promise made in its response to
  "transform the services provided so that London will have an Underground to be proud of".

  Copies of LUL's response have been placed in the Library. I will be continuing to pay close attention to progress on implementing the remaining recommendations. A third and final response will be made in two years' time.

  Car Alarms
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to issue amendments to the construction and use regulations to improve noise standards from car alarms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: The Government have approached representative organisations for their views on a consultative draft of the regulations. We have also been awaiting possible regulatory developments in the European Community. The draft regulations are currently being revised to take account of progress in both these areas, and I expect to make them later this year.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; which of these are audited by the National Audit Office; which firms of private accountants audits each of the others; by what method of tendering contracts to such firms are awarded; and for what duration.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: Bodies for which my right hon. Friend is responsible, and their audit arrangements are listed in "Public Bodies 1991", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Since the entries were prepared, the only executive body then not subject to audit by the National Audit Office, the Red Sea Lights Company, has been dissolved and a new non-departmental public body, the Traffic Director for

  411
  London. has been established. The latter will be audited by private accountants to be appointed by competitive tender. The initial appointment will be for two years.

  Transpennine Roads
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department received the transpennine roads study; and when it will be published.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on Friday 3 July at column 730. The Department received the consultants' findings on the transpennine roads study during February 1992.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Norris
  About 85 per cent. of the Department's staff are now located outside London. Next year, we plan to relocate up to 250 posts in marine to Southampton and 200 posts in central services to Hastings. There are separate reviews under way of the future location of 525 posts in highways, safety and traffic command and the Department's headquarters accommodation needs and options. Decisions are expected to be taken later this year.

  Liverpool Air Travel
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assistance he is prepared to give to the establishment of a regular Liverpool to London docklands air flights service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  It is a matter for airlines' commercial judgment which services they should operate. Any application for a new air service between Liverpool and

  1991

  January to March 1992

  Type of decision

  Appeals allowed

  Appeals dismissed

  Appeals allowed

  Appeals dismissed

  1. Exclusion—Appeal at port

  20

  243

  3

  81

  2. Exclusioiv—External appeals

  64

  1,277

  13

  268

  3. Refusal of Certificate entitlement

  41

  233

  6

  41

  4. Refusal of entry clearance for temporary purposes (not husbands or wives or fiances or fiancees)

  1,495

  6,515

  524

  2,233

  5. Refusal of entry clearance for employment, business or independent means (not husbands, wives, fiances or fiancees)

  27

  217

  10

  40

  6. Refusal of entry clearance requested by wives and children, other dependent relatives and returning residents

  466

  1,405

  150

  457

  7. Refusal of entry clearance requested by female fiancees

  27

  42

  11

  27

  8. Refusal of entry clearance requested by husbands

  598

  1,313

  138

  434

  9. Refusal of entry clearance requested by male fiances

  221

  523

  34

  107

  10. Variation of landing conditions (including curtailment of stay or duration of conditions of leave to remain given to persons previously exempted (S.14(2))

  21

  179

  8

  50

  11. Refusal to vary leave to enter

  198

  5,691

  57

  1,332

  12. Decision to make deportation order

  23

  661

  6

  187

  13. Refusal to revoke deportation order

  1

  20

  1

  11

  14. Giving of removal directions

  2

  21

  1

  6

  15 Destination only appeal

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Total

  3,204

  18,340

  962

  5,274

  412
  London would be for the Civil Aviation Authority to decide on, in accordance with its statutory air transport licensing responsibilities.

  I cannot comment on the merits of such an application, since it could he the subject of an appeal to the Government under statutory procedures.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Immigration Appeals
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide a table of the number of appeals to the immigration appeals tribunal allowed and dismissed in 1991 and the first quarter of 1992.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information requested is as follows:

  Appeals to the immigration appeals tribunal

  Allowed

  Dismissed

  19911

  130

  224

  January to March 1992

  60

  103

  1 Because of an administrative error at the immigration appellate authorities no figures are available for the period October to December 1991. Estimated figures have therefore been provided for 1991 based on the number of appeals allowed and dismissed from January to September 1991.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will provide a table showing the number of appeals to the immigration adjudicators allowed and dismissed in 1991 and the first quarter of 1992 broken down according to the nationality of the appellant and the type of decision appealed against.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information concerning the nationality of appellants is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The number of appeals to immigration adjudicators allowed and dismissed in 1991 and the first quarter of 1992, broken down according to the type of decision, is given in the table.
  413
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average delay, listed by each immigration appeals hearing centre, (i) between receiving the explanatory statement and papers about a case(a) from a British post overseas and (b) from the Home Office and sending those papers to an appellant or his or her authorised representative and (ii) between the hearing of an immigration appeal by an adjudicator and the dispatch of the determination to the appellant or authorised representative.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The immigration appellate authorities are able to dispatch copies of the explanatory statement and case papers to an appellant or his or her authorised representative within five says of their receipt from a British post overseas or the Home Office. The current average time between the hearing of an immigration appeal by an adjudicator and the dispatch of the determination to the appellant or authorised representative is as follows for each hearing centre:

  Weeks

  Thanet House, London

  5

  Harmondsworth

  5

  Birmingham

  6

  Manchester

  10

  Leeds

  7

  Glasgow

  4

NATIONAL FINANCE

  European Monetary Union
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had in the EC Council of Ministers about progress towards the Madrid conditions for moving to stage III of European monetary union; and what priority he attaches to this matter during the EC presidency.

  Mr. Nelson
  Progress towards convergence is covered at Ecofin's bi-annual discussions on multilateral surveillance, the last of which took place in February. Also, since last September Ecofin has examined the convergence programmes of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Germany and Spain.

  The United Kingdom attaches a high priority during its presidency of the EC to encouraging member states to take the necessary action to achieve convergence.

  VAT (Heritage Buildings)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remove VAT on the repair of heritage buildings; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  When we agreed the EC sixth VAT directive we accepted that we would not extend the scope of our current zero-rating. Our policy is to use discretionary repair grants to target help where it is most needed.

  Business Investigations
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the manner in which inspectors are appointed to investigate businesses under the Financial Services Act 1986.
  414
  Mr. Nelson
  Persons may be appointed by the Securities and Investments Board under sections 94 and 106, and by the Secretary of State for Trade under sections 94, 106 and 177 of the Act.

  Taurus Programme
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account has been taken of the requirements of private shareholders in the Taurus development programme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The needs of the private shareholder are being very much taken into account in the development of Taurus. The London stock exchange, as Taurus operator, has built high levels of system security and investor protection into the system. The Uncertificated Securities Regulations 1992, which set out the legal and regulatory framework for Taurus, contain a number of safeguards for private shareholders. These include the requirement for each company to appoint a company controller who will hold a person's entitlements to shares at no cost to himself, together with the 'locking up' arrangement, the complaints commissioner and the compensation scheme.

  EC Budget
  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the ratio between receipts from and contributions to the European Community budget for each of the member states in the current year.

  Sir John Cope
  The ratio for the United Kingdom in 1992 is forecast to be 1:1.9—taking account only of receipts coming to the public sector. As no details of individual member states' receipts in the current year are available, it is not possible to calculate the ratio for other member states.

  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the United Kingdom's net contribution to the EC budget this year and what it was in each of the last 10 years; and what it would have been if the Fontainebleau rebate mechanism had not been in operation.

  Sir John Cope
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Net contribution before abatement £ million

  Net contribution after abatement £ million

  1982

  606

  606

  1983

  647

  647

  1984

  656

  656

  1985

  1,974

  1,808

  1986

  2,273

  572

  1987

  2,874

  1,721

  1988

  2,956

  1,362

  1989

  3,469

  2,315

  1990

  4,172

  2,475

  1991

  3,042

  545

  11992

  4,480

  2,599

  1 Forecast.

  Source: Relevant Statement on the Community Budget.

  European Community Legislation
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the direct consequence of the implementation of EEC legislation on United Kingdom public expenditure in each year ending 31 March since 1987.

  Sir John Cope
  The United Kingdom public expenditure costs of EC legislation with a direct effect on Community budget spending are best measured by reference to the United Kingdom's gross contribution to the Community budget, less abatement, as follows:

  United Kingdom gross contribution less abatement

  Year

  £ million

  1986–87

  3,778

  1987–88

  3,769

  1988–89

  3,567

  1989–90

  4,487

  1990–91

  4,573

  1991–92

  3,700

  United Kingdom public sector receipts, mainly in the form of agricultural support and the structural funds, generally offset increased United Kingdom public expenditure resulting from Community programmes.

  No central estimate is available of the aggregate effect on United Kingdom public expenditure of the implementation of Community legislation which does not have a direct effect on Community budget spending.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Nelson
  Following the review in 1991 the then Economic Secretary announced on 18 December that about 200 posts in CCTA—the Government centre for information systems—would be relocated to Norwich over the next three years.

  Overseas Assets
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total of the United Kingdom's net assets overseas—assets less liabilities—at the end of each calendar year from 1987 to 1991; and what is the latest estimate.

  Mr. Portillo
  The estimated levels of identified overseas assets and liabilities from the end of 1987 to the end of 1990 are shown in table 8.1 of the Pink Book, "1991 UK Balance of Payments", published by the Central Statistical Office. Further estimates for the levels of identified net overseas assets at the end of 1990 and 1991, based on information available at March 1992, are shown in paragraph 3.47 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1992–93, the Red Book. Copies of these publications are in the Library.

  Joint Nature Conservation Committee
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the findings of the Treasury's recent staff review of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
  416
  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: The chief executives of English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales commissioned a report from the Treasury's consultancy and inspection services division. The review covered a number of organisational and management issues as well as staffing in the Joint Nature Conservation Committee's scientific and secretarial support unit. The report is an internal management document and it is for the chief executive to consider how to take it forward.

  Bingham Report
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Lord Justice Bingham concerning the timing of the receipt of his report.

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: Lord Justice Bingham's inquiry is independent of the Government and the timing of his report is a matter for him. I understand that he hopes to complete his report before the end of this month.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; which of these are audited by the National Audit Office; which firms of private accountants audit each of the others; by what method of tendering contracts to such firms are awarded; and for what duration.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: All the NDPBs sponsored by Her Majesty's Treasury are audited by the NAO. These are the National Economic Development Council, and various pay review bodies: the Armed Forces Pay Review Body, the Doctors and Dentists Review Body, the Nurses Midwives and Other NHS Professionals Review Body, the Pharmacists' Review Body and the Top Salaries Review Body.

  Customs Searches
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from hon. Members about the treatment of constituents at(a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick and (c) Manchester airports by customs officers.

  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 9 July 1992]: During April, May and June of 1992 my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received representations from hon. Members concerning the treatment at Heathrow on behalf of seven of their constituents. These related to one complaint about customs clearance of a postal package and six by passengers. No representations have been received in respect of Gatwick or Manchester airports during this period.

  EC Agricultural Reform
  Mr. Biffen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions have been held in the Council of Finance Ministers of the comments by the Court of Auditors on the potential for fraud in the MacSharry proposals for agricultural reform; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lamont
  [holding answer 9 July 1992]: The Council of Economic and Finance Ministers had a preliminary

  417
  discussion of the Court of Auditors' special opinion, which was produced in connection with the review of Community future financing, on 9 June. However, it was not possible on that occasion to discuss all aspects of the report and the Council did not focus on the potential for fraud in the reformed common agricultural policy.

  The Government are committed to the fight against fraud and welcomes the warning note given by the Court of Auditors about the control risks associated with CAP reform. We are pressing strongly for the inclusion of robust anti-fraud provisions in the regulations governing the reformed CAP.

  Tackling fraud in the Community is a priority for the United Kingdom presidency.

  VAT (Whisky)
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what offset agreements in respect of harmonisation of VAT rates were agreed to in the Council of Ministers as part of the agreement on Scotch whisky; and what effect the VAT agreement will have on the maintenance of each existing zero rate.

  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 8 July 1992]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Chancellor gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 3 July 1992, at columns 755–56.

  All the United Kingdom's existing zero rates are fully safeguarded by the sixth VAT directive. That protection is reinforced by a provision in the draft VAT rates and structures directive.

  Currency
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the date for the issue of the reduced size 10p piece; and when he expects standard versions of the new £2 currency coin to be available from banks.

  Mr. Nelson
  The new, smaller 10p coin will be issued on 30 September 1992. A £2 coin to commemorate the tercentenary of the Bank of England will be issued during 1994. No decision has been made as to the exact date that the standard version of this coin will be available from banks.

  Consultancy and Research Costs
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on consultancy and outside research capacity in his Department for the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Nelson
  My Department spent some £2.69 million on consultancy and outside research in 1991–92. This figure includes the costs of consultants working for CCTA—the Government centre for information systems—economic research and other consultancies.

  Ministerial Transport
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on ministerial transport in his Department, for the last year for which the information is available.
  418
  Mr. Nelson
  My Department spent £360,661 on ministerial transport in 1991–92. This covers travel abroad and within the United Kingdom and payments to the Government car service.

  Hospitality Costs
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on hospitality in his Department for the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Nelson
  The total expenditure on entertainment by my Department in 1991–92 was £115,541. This includes the costs of the several international conferences and other large intergovernmental meetings.

  Exchange Rate Mechanism
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional loans, support credits and other facilities are made available to countries entering the narrower bands of the ERM; and what additional responsibilities fall on the member Governments.

  Mr. Nelson
  If one currency is at its limit against another in the ERM, the central banks of both currencies each have an unlimited obligation to buy or sell at the limiting rates during European business hours. The EMS provides for a very short-term facility (VSTF) under which credit is automatically available in unlimited quantities to finance such obligatory intervention at the limiting rates. If intervention is undertaken when one currency is not at its limit against another in the ERM, the VSTF can be made available, but not automatically. VSTF credits have to be repaid within a period of three months.

  The amounts available under the VSTF do not differ between wide band and narrow band currencies.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what loans, support credits and other facilities are made available under the terms of ERM entry to Britain to maintain the pound within the 6 per cent. bands; to what extent these have been called on since Britain joined; and at whose cost these aids are provided.

  Mr. Nelson
  On the first part of his question, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today.

  Since becoming a member of the exchange rate mechanism, the United Kingdom has not had recourse to these credit facilities.

  Where intervention is carried out at the limits of the ERM bands, interest on drawings under the very short-term facility (VSTF) is paid by the central bank of the currency at its lower limit.

  Balance of Trade
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the method of calculation of the British balance of trade and payments figures following the inauguration of the single market; how deficits with the whole of the EEC and with individual countries in it will be measured; how British external balances with countries outside will be assessed; and how borrowing and regional aid levels necessary to balance trade flows can then be assessed.

  Mr. Nelson
  The only change in the methodology used to estimate the United Kingdom balance of payments
  419
  accounts resulting directly from the completion of the single market at the end of this year concerns the data on trade in goods.

  A new system, known at Intrastat, linked to VAT returns is being introduced throughout the European Community to measure trade in goods between member states. The present system, based on custom's documents, will continue to be used to measure trade with countries outside the Community.

  There will be a transitional period while Intrastat becomes fully established, but after this the trade figures will be available in the same detail as at present.

  Advisory Staff
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of staff employed in directly providing advice, research and policy development for Ministers in his Department; and what is the cost of such staff for the last year for which the figures are available.

  Mr. Nelson
  As noted in my departmental report—Cm. 1918—some 860 staff in central Treasury are engaged in the process of providing policy advice to Ministers. CCTA—the Government centre for information systems-also employs a further 300 staff in non-support roles, bringing the total to 1,160. The pay costs of these staff amount to some £28.4 million.

  These figures do not include staff in central support services within central Treasury and CCTA. Staff in Forward—the civil service catering organisation—and in Chessington computer centre—which deals largely with payroll—have also been excluded.

  Financial Services
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the grounds on which recognised professional bodies are permitted to have a different authorisation procedure under the Financial Services Act 1986; and if he will review these.

  Mr. Nelson
  The arrangements for authorisation of members of recognised professional bodies reflect the fact that their members' investment business is incidental to the practice of their profession, in which they are subject to the rules of the body concerned. I have no plans to review these arrangements.

  Mr. Bowls
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning the new rules on disclosure of the Securities and Investments Board; what discussions he has had with the SIB about these; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  Rules on disclosure are a matter for the Securities and Investments Board. As part of its review of retail regulation under the Financial Services Act, the board published a policy statement on disclosure and standards of advice in May 1992.

  Mr. Bowls
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the workings of the Financial Services Act 1986 as it affects the retail sector; and what discussions he has had with a view to changing the rules governing the disclosure of commission by tied agents and the disclosure of commission, charges and expenses by all financial retailers and intermediaries.
  420
  Mr. Nelson
  Rules on disclosure are a matter for the Securities and Investments Board. As part of its review of retail regulation under the Financial Services Act, the board published a policy statement on disclosure and standards of advice in May 1992.

  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on consumer protection and consumer understanding of requiring providers of bundled products to disclose separately how much of an investor's money goes to each constituent part.

  Mr. Nelson
  This is a matter for the Securities and Investments Board.

  Iraqi Funds
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total of Iraqi funds currently blocked in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Nelson
  The total sum of Iraqi assets held by United Kingdom banks is estimated to be £580 million.

  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps are being taken to release blocked Iraqi funds in order to settle the claims of creditors who conducted legitimate business in Iraq prior to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

  Mr. Nelson
  Any company who conducted legitimate business in Iraq prior to 4 August 1990 and is owed money, should apply to the Bank of England for permission for payment to be made. The bank will normally grant permission in these circumstances. However, the request for payment also has to be made by the Iraqi entity involved, and we have no powers to compel them to make such an approach.

  Trinidad Terms
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to extend the remit of the Trinidad agreement to cover middle-income countries.

  Mr. Nelson
  No. Trinidad terms are specifically designed to address the debt problems of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries.

  Manufactured Goods
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 24 June,Official Report, column 226, on imports and exports of manufactured goods whether he will now publish in the Official Report the figures requested.

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 9 July 1992]: Further to my reply of 24 June, Official Report, column 226, the information is regularly published in table A9 of the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics" and table D5 of its annual supplement. The latest figures available from the Central Statistical Office database are as follows:

  United Kingdom Trade in Manufactures Balance of Payments basis

  Exports

  Imports

  £ billion

  Per cent, of total trade

  £ billion

  Per cent, of total trade

  1977

  25.6

  81

  19.7

  57

  1978

  27.7

  79

  22.7

  62

  1979

  31.0

  76

  28.2

  64

  421

  Exports

  Imports

  £ billion

  Per cent, of total trade

  £ billion

  Per cent, of total trade

  1980

  34.9

  74

  29.4

  64

  1981

  34.9

  69

  30.4

  63

  1982

  37.3

  67

  35.2

  66

  1983

  40.1

  66

  42.9

  68

  1984

  46.6

  66

  51.1

  67

  1985

  52.2

  67

  56.0

  69

  1986

  54.4

  75

  60.6

  73

  1987

  60.5

  76

  68.8

  75

  1988

  64.6

  81

  80.0

  78

  1989

  75.1

  81

  92.3

  79

  1990

  82.6

  81

  94.2

  78

  1991

  85.1

  82

  88.5

  78

  Audio Tapes
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has had from voluntary associations representing the blind in regard to the difficulties that would be posed by the European Commission's proposal to levy tax on all blank audio tapes.

  Mr. Leigh
  I have been asked to reply. There have been numerous representations from both national and local voluntary groups since the European Commission's intention to propose a levy on blank recording tapes, to compensate copyright owners for home taping, became known in January 1991. The Royal National Institute for the Blind, the Talking Newspaper Association of the United Kingdom, many local talking newspaper associations and numerous individuals have made their concerns known. The Government will take these representations fully into account when deciding its negotiating position on the proposal, which has not yet been published.

WALES

  Pembroke Power Station
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the probable effect on acid rain in Wales of an increase in utilisation of Pembroke power station from recent levels of 10 to 15 per cent. capacity to 60 per cent. capacity; and how this would be affected by the burning of orimulsion rather than other fuels.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The environmental effects of the burning of orimulsion fuel at Pembroke power station including the consequences of any increase in utilisation of the station are currently being considered by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in relation to the application by National Power under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. It would not be appropriate for me to comment, in view of the Secretary of State's appellate role under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice he has received from Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution about the pollution control equipment that would need to be installed at Pembroke power station, in particular to reduce levels of sulphur dioxide emissions, if orimulsion were to be burnt al this station.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  This issue is currently under active consideration by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution 422
  which is considering under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, National Power's application to burn orimulsion at the Pembroke power station. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further in view of the Secretary of State's appellate role under the Act.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the value of financial assistance offered or given by his Department towards the cost of drawing up the application for trust status or any other ways of promoting a move to trust status by(a) Clwyd Community and mental health services, (b) Glan Clwyd district general hospital and associated hospitals and (c) Wrexham Maelor hospital; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Following the invitation to prepare a formal application to become an NHS trust in April 1993, a contribution of £38,000 was made available to each of the three health units in Clywd to help meet costs incurred within the application process.

  Health Targets
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will publish targets for Wales which are directly comparable to each of the targets set by the Government in the document "The Health of the Nation".

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The aim in setting targets across a wide range of health gain areas is to take Wales into the 21st century with a level of health on course to compare with the best in Europe. This forms the cornerstone of all our efforts in Wales and to accomplish this we intend to reach and if possible surpass the range of health goals we have set outselves.

  We have identified 10 health gain areas for specific attention against five in England. The targets already set reflect the specific circumstances of Wales with technical differences noticeably in starting points/levels, age groupings, classification categories and time series. Where direct comparisons with the English strategy are possible, for example in smoking and alcohol, our targets are more ambitious than those in "The Health of the Nation".

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends to revise his targets for health gain in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  It is my intention that targets contained in the Welsh Health Planning Forum's protocols for investment in health gain and in the Health Promotion Authority for Wales's "Health for all in Wales" strategy will be reviewed approximately every three years in the light of advances in health care and developments elsewhere.

  Acid Deposition
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the(a) current and (b) future levels of acid deposition in Wales; and what action he (i) has taken or (ii) proposes to reduce levels of acid deposition in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 22 June, at column 66.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those schools in each education authority which have expressed interest in grant maintained status; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  There has been a significant increase in the number of schools interested in grant-maintained status. My Department has received inquiries from around 40 schools since April. It would not, however, be appropriate for me to make such information public until such time as the views of parents on whether to apply for grant-maintained status have been sought through the ballot box. Ballots have already taken place at Ysgol Emrys ap Iwan, Abergele, and Ysgol Caergeiliog, Anglesey.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  UNCED
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what will be the effect on projects in Africa supported or sponsored by the Overseas Development Administration of the agreement achieved at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of(a) the statement on forestry principles and (b) the desertification initiative.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  There will be no direct effect on current projects, which we believe to be consistent with the UNCED forest principles. We will respond to requests from developing countries for assistance with implementing the agreements reached at UNCED, including in the areas of forests and land degradation or desertification.

  Zimbabwe
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are taking to reduce the financial crisis and debt burden faced by the Government of Zambia.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have pledged or disbursed £40 million in balance of payments grants, in addition to a programme of technical assistance costing some £15 million this year, and have rescheduled service payments totalling £4.1 million due in 1992 on past British aid loans. We have also told the Zambian Government that, provided its economic reform programme remains in place, we are prepared to consider cancellation of all its outstanding aid debt to the United Kingdom.

  Other official debt owed to the United Kingdom and other government creditors will be considered in the context of the Paris club. Subject to International Monetary Fund approval of Zambia's economic reform programme, adherence to which would result in the clearance of Zambia's arrears to the IMF, we shall be pressing for Zambia to receive Trinidad terms at the Paris club's July meeting. These terms resulted directly from proposals made by the Prime Minister, in 1990, to relieve the burden of debt on the poorest, most heavily indebted countries.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the attitude of Her Majesty's Government regarding 424
  debt relief for Zimbabwe; and if it is his intention that Zimbabwe should be eligible for the full Trinidad terms following the meeting of the Paris club on 23 July.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Zimbabwe has consistently serviced her debts in full and, as a result, has maintained her creditworthy status. Our understanding is that the Government of Zimbabwe are determined to continue this policy, and do not intend to apply for any debt relief.

  Our approach has been to focus on Zimbabwe's overall financing needs. We are supporting Zimbabwe with a substantial aid programme which totalled over £53.4 million in 1991.

  Guyana
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that none of the environmental projects that the Overseas Development Administration funds in Guyana should involve logging or deforestation.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I gave details of the projects the ODA is currently funding in my reply to the hon. Lady on 9 July.

  The ODA's policy on development projects in tropical forest areas is set out in our manual of environmental appraisal, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House. The manual makes it clear that natural forests should be managed on a sustainable basis and that aid projects should aim to conserve forest resources and should avoid indiscriminate logging or deforestation. It would not be right, however, to rule out all forms of tree-felling, for example logging on a trial or experimental basis, designed to demonstrate that controlled economic use is compatible with conservation, and part of sustainable management.

  European Parliament Development Committee
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings of the European Parliament Development Committee will be held, and when, during the course of the British presidency; and what are the key themes that Her Majesty's Government will be raising at these meetings.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The Development Committee of the European Parliament will meet five times during our presidency; 13 to 15 July, 21 to 23 September, 14 to 16 October, 4 to 6 November, and 1 to 3 December. The Minister for Overseas Development will address the committee at its July and December sessions, and will take the opportunity to discuss the main themes which will feature in the Development Council on 18 November: Community development policy to the year 2000, population, the follow-up to UNCED, the untying of aid, and the use of non-governmental organisations in Community aid.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in the Overseas Development Administration who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentalising Government departments.
  425
  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The location of the work of the ODA has been reviewed on a number of occasions, most recently before the ODA's London HQ moved in 1991 to new accommodation. A number of additional functions were then transferred to ODA's HQ in East Kilbride. Over 60 per cent. of ODA staff work outside London. The ODA's London HQ comprises an integrated core of policy and programme departments which must remain together and with the Minister.

  South Africa
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money in pound sterling the European Commission contributed to the South African Council of Churches and related bodies between 1986 and 1990; what was the purpose of this funding; and what steps have been taken by the European Commission to establish how the cash has been used.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The European Community committed the equivalent of a total of £77 million, at current exchange rates, during the period 1986–90 for specific projects recommended by the South African Council of Churches, the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference, the Kagiso Trust and certain trades unions. The purpose of this expenditure was to support organisations providing assistance to South Africans disadvantaged by apartheid, focusing largely on education and community and social development. All the funds were channelled through European non-government organisations, which were required by the European Commission to report on their use and to provide satisfactory accounts. The Commission also carried out physical monitoring on a sample basis.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Research Councils
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the research councils will be allocated from the science budget 1992–93; and what percentage increase is proposed for the next two years.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  In 1992–93 the research councils will for the first time be allocated £1 billion—£1,030 million. The science budget for 1993–94 and 1994–95 is planned to increase in real terms by 1.8 per cent. and 2.6 per cent., excluding the effect of the dual support transfer.

  British-trained Scientists
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps are being taken to encourage British-trained scientists to remain in this country.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  There have always been British scientists living abroad whom we would like to see back working in Britain; just as there are non-British scientists working in Britain who will be welcomed back home by their countries of origin. The fact remains, however, that the guidance of university appointments indicates that Britain has consistently had a favourable net balance of trade at all levels in the brain trade in the 1980s.

  Science and Technology
  Mr. Duncan-Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met the Vice-President of the European Commission to discuss science and technology issues.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I met Vice-President Pandolfi on 23 June, to discuss the European Commission's research and development framework programme, and again on 1 July, when the European Commissioners visited London on the United Kingdom's assumption of the presidency of the European Community.

  British Rail
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to extend the charter promulgated by British Rail.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Revised performance targets for 1993 will be set during the autumn. The Government and British Rail will also be reviewing the achievements of the current passengers charter once we have had more experience of its operation to see how these can be built upon.

  Scientific Research
  Mr. Tredinnick
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps have been taken to promote science research and activity in Leicestershire.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Government provide funds for the promotion of science research and activity in, and for the benefit of, the United Kingdom as a whole, including Leicestershire.

  Citizens Charters
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if citizens charters will be published in looseleaf form to permit amendments.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We intend to set increasingly tougher standards for public services; and further improve their quality and responsiveness to the public. Each public service organisation will determine bow best to publicise its own improved standards of service.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many times so far he estimates that individuals have availed themselves of provisions in citizens charters; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The citizens charter aims to provide better quality service, greater customer choice, published standards of service and accessible means of redress, to all users of public services. Published, measurable standards ensure the public know what quality of service they can expect to receive; compare this with other service providers, and measure performance in achieving the standards required.

  Over time, we will set even tougher service standards; and further improve the quality and responsiveness of public services. For example, the patients charter set maximum two-year waiting times for NHS operations; these will be reduced to 18 months from April 1993 for hip and knee replacements and cataract operations.

  Research and Development
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when Her Majesty's Government will publish the 1992 annual review of Government-funded research and development; and what steps will be taken to ensure widespread distribution of the report.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The "1992 Annual Review of Government Funded Research and Development" will be published on 28 July. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and made available to relevant Select Committees and to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Publication will be marked by a press conference and the review will be on sale at HMSO bookshops.

  Intestacy
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the charitable donations for the last five years arising from funds of intestate deceased residents of the county palatine.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  A list of charitable donations made by the Duchy over the last five years would run to several hundred items.

  Donations made from the duchy benevolent fund during the last five years are as follows:

  £

  1987

  61,063

  1988

  81,122

  1989

  99,805

  1990

  119,124

  1991

  129,653

  1992

  178,814

  1Up to 30 June 1992.

  The duchy's policy has been not to reveal the identity of a recipient or the amount given. This is the usual policy of charitable foundations. However, the duchy would of course have no objection to a recipient giving this information.

  Substantial amounts have been given to educational establishments, including universities, in the county palatine; to ecclesiastical causes, to the elderly and infirm and various youth projects.

  Many small donations have also been made, usually after seeking local advice, to individuals or to causes worthy of assistance.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Parts of my Department have already been relocated to provincial centres. The headquarters of the Occupational Health Service was relocated to Edinburgh in August 1989. In addition, the Civil Service College, Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency and Her Majesty's Stationery Office are based outside London: at Sunningdale, Basingstoke and Norwich respectively. The Central Office of Information has a regional network across the country. I see no scope for further relocation of the remaining small central core.

  Nuclear Structure Facility, Daresbury
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Hall) of 2 June,Official Report, column 417, what representations he has received from the scientific community about the successor arrangements for nuclear physics research following the closure of the nuclear structure facility at Daresbury.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  My office has received two letters on this subject.

PRIME MINISTER

  Whaling
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will undertake to raise Japan's continuing whaling activity with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Kiichi Miyazawa, when he meets him this week; and if he will make a statement.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Prime Minsiter if he will discuss the ban on commercial whaling and the proposed whale sanctuary in the Antarctic with the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Miyazawa, during his visit to London; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I expressed the Government's concern at the continued hunting of Minke whales and urged Japan to continue to work within the International Whaling Commission.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to veto entry into the EC of any country which carries out commercial whaling; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The United Kingdom supports membership of the Community for European countries which want to join and can take on the obligations. Commerce in whale products by EC member states was prohibited by a specific Council regulation—348/81—which was subsequently subsumed and extended by EC CITES regulations 3626/82 and 3418/83, implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species—New applicants will be expected to apply the EC CITES regulation.

  European Year of the Elderly
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) what action Her Majesty's Government will be taking to mark 1993 as the European Year of the Elderly;

  (2) what plans he has for his Department to celebrate in 1993 the European Year of the Elderly; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government are well advanced with plans for the European Year of the Elderly. The Department of Health, in co-operation with the Department of Social Security, has overall co-ordinating responsibility in the United Kingdom. Following wide consultations, a group has been set up to advise on the programme for the year. The group involves representatives of a wide range of organisations reflecting the interests of older people, including the National
  429
  Pensioners' Convention, and will take direct account of the views of older people themselves. The programme in the United Kingdom will focus on four major themes: combating "agism" and promoting positive images of aging; volunteering; health promotion and active leisure, including remaining mentally active; social integration, including problems of isolation and loneliness, information needs and housing, transport and community care issues.

  Four task groups have been set up to put forward specific proposals, and to implement them once agreed, with particular reference to promoting better relations between the generations and multicultural aspects.

  There will he a core programme involving high-profile national events and a general programme, including activities being organised by individual organisations, but not co-ordinated through the official structure.

  The Departments of Health and of Social Security are providing funds for the costs of a secretariat, based at Age Concern England's headquarters, to co-ordinate the official programme and disseminate information. A total of £65,000 has already been committed in the current year.

  The European year 1993 will be launched in the United Kingdom at the Age Resource awards presentation in London later this year.

  Age Discrimination
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to remove the age limit of 70 years on membership of(a) community health councils, (b) jury service and (c) other similar bodies; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The age limit of 70 for appointment to community health councils is a recommendation of the Department of Health, not a requirement. Active participation in CHC affairs can be both time-consuming and taxing, and those appointing members must ensure that the individuals appointed can remain active and committed without detriment to themselves or the work of the CHC, during their term of office.

  The upper age limit for jury service was increased from 65 to 70 in 1988. We have no current plans to make further changes.

  Age limits for appointment to other bodies will depend on the nature of the tasks carried out by those bodies.

  Citizens Advice Bureaux
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will transfer responsibility for funding citizens advice bureaux from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Office of Public Service and Science.

  The Prime Minister
  Citizens advice bureaux are funded directly by local authorities. The Department of Trade and Industry provides grant-in-aid to the National Association of Citizens' Advice Bureaux and Citizens' Advice Scotland which provide the support services to citizens advice bureaux. The Government do not believe that it would be helpful to separate the funding of either body from the wider consumer protection role of the Department of Trade and Industry.

  British National Party
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Prime Minister what the outcome was of the submission of evidence to the Crown prosecution service, to which he referred in his answer of 20 February,Official Report, column 462.

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General today.

  Environmental Protection Agency
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister when he will announce his timetable for the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

  The Prime Minister
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside on 13 May to the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones) at column 125.

  Libya
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations he has received about the effects of United Nations sanctions upon Libyan health services.

  The Prime Minister
  None.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister under what circumstances Libya may seek a temporary lifting of the United Nations sanctions against it.

  The Prime Minister
  Sanctions will be lifted when Libya has complied in full with United Nations Security Council resolutions 731 and 748.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister what information he has on the number of occasions which Libya has sought permission from the United Nations sanctions committee to operate flights on grounds of significant humanitarian need.

  The Prime Minister
  According to the information made available to us by the United Nations, Libya has not sought such clearance.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the monitoring by the United Nations of sanctions against Libya.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 9 July 1992]: United Nations Security Council resolution 748 established a sanctions committee to oversee the efficient implementation of the sanctions against Libya. The committee relies on member states to provide its information on national enforcement of the regime and in highlighting any reported breaches. It has met eight times to date.

  Maastricht Treaty
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister what steps he is taking to inform the public about the implications for them of the Maastricht treaty; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  Memoranda produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Her Majesty's
  431
  Treasury outlining the content of the treaty have been published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office and are publicly available. The Government are considering whether to issue additional information about the treaty and its benefits.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister how many letters he has received from the general public supporting a national referendum on the Maastricht treaty.

  The Prime Minister
  I have received approximately 700 representations supporting a national referendum on the Maastricht treaty.

  Sunday Trading
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Prime Minister, following the interim ruling of the European courts, on Sunday trading, if he will make a statement; and whether the Government will now provide official support for the Bill of the hon. Member for Ogmore (Mr. Powell) which seeks to amend the Shops Act 1950.

  The Prime Minister
  On 8 July, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice—ECJ—gave his opinion in the cases concerning the law on Sunday trading in England and Wales which had been referred to the ECJ by English courts. The opinion is not a judgment of the ECJ, and the cases before it remain sub judice. Our position on the Bill in question therefore remains as I explained in my reply on 30 June at column 709.

  EC Meetings (Publicity)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 6 July 1992,Official Report, column 17, if he will set out the reasons why he does not intend to seek to change the rules concerning publicity for Council and COREPER meetings held during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Council.

  The Prime Minister
  The proceedings of the Council and of COREPER cannot be made public without the unanimous agreement of all member states. I therefore see no prospect of a change to these rules in the foreseeable future.

  Subsidiarity
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his intention during the EC presidency to promote acceptance of the definition of subsidiarity as the minimum of interference.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 7 July 1992]: The principle of subsidiarity is clearly defined in article 3b of the treaty on European union. It contains a presumption of activity at national level. Work will be undertaken during our Presidency on practical steps for implementing the principle of subsidiarity in line with the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council.

  Brazil (Street Children)
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to launch his personal initiative to raise funds for the Brazilian street children; what follow-up initiatives he has taken since his visit to Sao Martinho in Rio de Janeiro; and what information he has about the well-being and 432
  whereabouts of street children removed from the streets of Rio de Janeiro in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 7 July 1992]: I am looking into what might be done to help Brazilian street children and am in touch with a number of interested parties. This is a serious problem which requires sympathetic handling.

  Uruguay Round
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he has given to the communique on the Uruguay round issued by the Cairns group Ministers on 28 June; what further action the Government will be taking; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 7 July 1992]: The Government welcome the communique issued by the Cairns group Ministers, and support the points they make about the importance of the Uruguay round. At the Munich summit, the G7 leaders recognised the progress made in recent months. We expressed their conviction that an agreement is now within reach, and could be achieved before the end of 1992. The United Kingdom will continue to work hard for this during our presidency of the European Community.

  EC and EEC
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the different ways in which the initials EC have been used(a) by Government and by Government Departments and (b) by European institutions, giving the dates between which each usage has been current and the source and meaning of each alternative usage.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 8 July 1992]: The initials EC are used by the Government and other bodies mentioned to stand for the European Communities, for example, the European Coal and Steel Community—ECSC—established in 1951, the European Economic Community—EEC—and the European Atomic Energy Committee—Euratom—both established in 1957. This is the correct usage. The Maastricht treaty on European union contains an article saying that the term European Economic Community will be replaced by the term European Community abbreviated as EC.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the different ways in which the initials EEC have been used(a) by Government and by Government Departments and (b) by European institutions, giving the dates between which each usage has been current and the source and meaning of each alternative usage.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 7 July 1992]: The initials EEC are used by the Government and other bodies mentioned to stand for the European Economic Community, established by the treaty of Rome in 1957. Since at least the Single European Act, however, the initials EC have been used as a convenient shorthand. The Maastricht treaty on European union contains an article saying that the term European Economic Community is to be replaced by the term European Community, abbreviated as EC.

  Tibet
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has recently held with the leaders of other member states of the Security Council of the United Nations concerning the issue of human rights in Tibet; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 9 July 1992]: I raised human rights in Tibet with Premier Li Peng in Peking last September. I also raised human rights in his discussions with him in New York in January and in Rio de Janeiro in June. At the recent Munich summit leaders of the G7 countries called on the Chinese to make considerable further improvements in human rights.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Cameroon
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has discussed the subject of human rights recently with the Government of Cameroon.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The Government of the Cameroon are aware of the importance we attach to human rights. We have made representations to them about human rights, on several occasions both in Yaoundé and to the Cameroon ambassador in London. We shall continue to monitor the situation closely, and make representations whenever necessary.

  Radiation Research
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what technical or financial support the United Kingdom has pledged to the radiation research programme of the International Sakharov College of Radioecology in Minsk.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  None. The British Government have not been approached to pledge technical or financial support.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the other signatories of the partial test ban treaty of 1963, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty of 1970 and the threshold test ban treaty of 1974 to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  None.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 3 July 1992, at column 757.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about progress being made for a comprehensive nuclear weapons test ban treaty to be negotiated.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  A comprehensive test ban treaty is a long-term objective. We participate actively in discussion 434
  of test ban issues in the conference on disaramament in Geneva. These take place on the basis of a non-negotiating mandate. Progress can only be made on a step-by-step basis taking into account a number of factors including verification.

  India
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what opportunities he has taken to raise with the Indian authorities the human rights concern of widespead custodial violence.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I raised this with the Indian high commissioner in May and our high commissioner did so with the Indian Home Minister in New Delhi in early June.

  Bosnia
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will be reimbursing the Ministry of Defence for transporting humanitarian aid to Bosnia.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The extra costs to the MOD of providing airlift to the interim operation to relieve Sarajevo will fall to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Financial responsibility for the provision of aid once the airport is open to non-military flights will lie with the Overseas Development Administration.

  West Tripura
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest information he has on the mass rape in Ujan Maidan village, West Tripura, by members of the Assam Rifles, during a cordon and search operation in the district between 31 May and 2 June 1988; and what information he has about investigations into the circumstances of the women's rape and measures taken to bring those responsible to justice.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  An Indian commission of inquiry into this incident submitted its report in December 1991. This confirmed that at least eight tribal women in Ujan Maidan had been raped by soldiers of the Assam Rifles. We do not know how or whether those responsible were punished and have asked the Indian Government for information.

  Czechoslovakia
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what details he has received from the Government of Czechoslovakia of particular ecclesiastical items stolen, and placed on the west European art market.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  At the request of my right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State for National Heritage, our embassy in Prague has approached the Czechoslovak Ministry of the Interior to obtain details of stolen ecclesiastical items. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister also raised the issue with senior colleagues of President Havel during his visit to Czechoslovakia in May. The embassy subsequently followed this up with a further call on the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry has confirmed that it is in the process of drawing up a list which should be completed shortly. This will be forwarded to the relevant authorities and art trade associations in London upon receipt.

  Immigration
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the present waiting times until first interview for all categories of applicant in each country and at each post in the Indian subcontinent.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The estimated present waiting times to first interview (in months) are:

  Settlement

  Subcontinent post

  Q1

  Q2

  Q3

  Q4

  Islamabad

  3

  3

  6

  9

  Karachi

  1

  3

  4

  7

  Dhaka

  3

  6

  8

  9

  New Delhi

  0

  3

  7

  10

  Bombay

  0

  4

  9

  12

  Madras

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Calcutta

  1 week

  1 week

  1 week

  1 week

  Visitors

  Due to seasonal high demand, applicants for visit visas in Islamabad requiring a full interview can expect to wait between five and seven days. Elsewhere they are dealt with on day of interview.

  Settlement queues are organised as follows:—

  Q1 Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.

  Q2 All spouses and all children under 18 years.

  Q3 Fiance(e)s and others applying for the first time.

  Q4 Re-applicants.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance for settlement at the British post in(a) Manila, (b) Accra, (c) Lagos, (d) Kingston, (e) Nicosia, (f) Cairo, (g) Bangkok and (h) Rabat on 31 March or the lastest convenient date could expect to wait for (i) interview, (ii) referral of the case to the Home Office and the requested information being received by the post, (iii) decisions and (iv) an explanatory statement prepared by the post in the event of an appeal against a refusal to be despatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  As at 30 June the timings required at (i), (ii) and (iv) were as follows.

  The information requested at (iii) is not available. Times vary according to the circumstances of individual cases. Many decisions are made on the day of interview.

  Post

  (i)

  (ii)

  (iv)

  Manila

  4 weeks

  3 months

  5 months

  Accra

  2 days

  2 months

  3 months

  Lagos

  1 day

  3 months

  3 months

  Kingston

  4 weeks

  2–3 months

  1 week

  Nicosia

  1 day

  3 months

  3 months

  Cairo

  1 day

  3 months

  1 month

  Bangkok

  8 weeks

  2–3 months

  2 months

  Rabat

  1–14 days

  4 months

  3 months

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a), men, (b) women and (c) children were waiting in each queue at each post in the Indian subcontinent on 31 March or the latest convenient date.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The number of men, women and children waiting in the settlement queues for interviews in the Indian sub-continent posts at 30 June is:

  Q1

  Q2

  Q3

  Q4

  Islamabad

  Men

  2

  520

  83

  498

  Women

  6

  405

  82

  50

  436

  Ql

  Q2

  Q3

  Q4

  Children

  9

  64

  l

  45

  Total

  17

  989

  166

  593

  Karachi

  Men

  0

  38

  9

  7

  Women

  0

  53

  11

  0

  Children

  0

  5

  0

  0

  Total

  0

  96

  20

  7

  Dhaka

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Total

  351

  1,580

  214

  275

  New Delhi

  Men

  0

  85

  99

  64

  Women

  0

  194

  142

  44

  Children

  0

  44

  10

  1

  Total

  0

  323

  251

  109

  Bombay

  Men

  0

  16

  106

  74

  Women

  0

  315

  125

  33

  Children

  1

  139

  0

  8

  Total

  1

  470

  231

  115

  Madras

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Total

  0

  11

  0

  0

  Calcutta

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Total

  0

  2

  0

  0

  Totals ISC

  370

  3,471

  882

  1,099

  1 Breakdown not available.

  Queue 1. Persons with a claim to the right of abode. Dependent relatives over 70 years old. Special compassionate cases.

  Queue 2. All spouses and all children over 18 years.

  Queue 3. Fiance(e)s and others applying for the first time 101 settlement.

  Queue 4. Reapplicants.

  There are no queues for visit applications other than in Islamabad, where due to seasonaly high demand, applicants requiring a full interview can expect to wait 5–7 days.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long a person applying for entry clearance on 31 March or the latest convenient date at each post in the Indian subcontinent could expect to wait, in each queue, for(a) first interview, (b) referral of the case to the Home Office and the requested information being received by the post, (c) decision after first interview and (d) the explanatory statement prepared by the post in the case of appeal against any refusal to be dispatched to the immigration appellate authorities in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  (a) As at June the estimated waiting times for settlement interviews (in months) were:

  Q1

  Q2

  Q3

  Q4

  Islamabad

  3

  3

  6

  9

  Karachi

  1

  3

  4

  7

  Dhaka

  3

  6

  8

  9

  437

  Ql

  Q2

  Q3

  Q4

  New Delhi

  0

  3

  7

  10

  Bombay

  0

  4

  9

  12

  Madras

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Calcutta

  1 week

  1 week

  1 week

  1 week

  Settlement queues are organised as follows:

  Q1 Persons with a claim to the right of abode, dependent relatives over 70 years, special compassionate cases.

  Q2 All spouses and all children under 18 years.

  Q3 Fiance(e)s and others applying for the first time.

  Q4 Re-applicants.

  Visit visa applications are dealt with within 24 hours except in Islamabad which, due to seasonal high demand, applicants requiring a full interview can expect to wait five to seven days.

  (b) If referred to the Home Office, inquiries concerning applications may take from one to 12 months depending on individual circumstances.

  (c) Decisions after first interview are taken within 24 hours in the majority of cases in Indian Sub-Continent posts.

  (d) Dispatch times of explanatory statements are, at 30 June:

  Settlement

  Non-Settlement

  Islamabad

  12 weeks

  4 weeks

  Karachi

  8 weeks

  4 weeks

  Dhaka

  12 weeks

  12 weeks

  New Delhi

  12 weeks

  4 weeks

  Bombay

  8 weeks

  4 weeks

  Madras

  12 weeks

  4 weeks

  Calcutta

  4 weeks

  4 weeks

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many explanatory statements related to entry clearance appeals were awaiting typing at each post in the Indian subcontinent in Manila, Lagos and Accra, on the latest available date; how many staff are employed, both full-time and part-time, to type statements; and when he expects any backlogs to be cleared.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The information requested is given in the following table, as at 30 June,:

  Post

  Number1

  Number2

  Islamabad

  0

  11

  Karachi

  1

  1

  Dhaka

  176

  5(3)

  New Delhi

  41

  4

  Bombay

  4

  (11)

  Madras

  Nil

  1

  Calcutta

  11

  (1)

  Manila

  83

  2

  Lagos

  4

  3

  Accra

  22

  1

  1 Number of explanatory statements awaiting typing

  2 Staff whose duties include typing explanatory statements; staff also employed on other typing duties shown in brackets.

  The posts in Dhaka and Manila estimate that they should clear the backlogs in three months and two months respectively.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British Dependent Territories' citizens from Hong Kong have(a) applied for and (b) been granted the status of British national (overseas) in each year since 1989.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Details of the number of British dependent territories' citizens applying for British national (overseas) status are as follows:

  1989

  1990

  1991

  11992

  Applications

  53,222

  80,213

  101,534

  67,947

  Granted

  49,519

  78,265

  107,423

  64,080

  1 To 30 June 1992

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for naturalisation as British dependent territories citizens on the basis of a connection with Hong Kong have been(a) received, (b) granted and (c) refused for each year since 1989 and to the nearest available date.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Details of the number of applications for naturalisation as British dependent territories citizens by virtue of a connection with Hong Kong are as follows:

  1989

  1990

  1991

  11992

  Received

  3,098

  12,543

  7,588

  1,293

  Granted

  1,098

  11,699

  11,463

  5,673

  Refused

  73

  95

  399

  310

  1 To 30 June.

  In any one year the number of British dependent territories citizens naturalisation applications received and the numbers approved/rejected cannot be compared directly. This is because the processing time can result in applications from one calendar year being finalised in a different year.

  Tibet
  Mr. Cormack
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the parliamentary delegation announced in March by the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Qichen is leaving for China; how long they will spend in Tibet; what parts of Tibet and Tibetan autonomous areas in Qinghai and Sichuan provinces they propose to visit; whether they will be free to visit any place they wish and if he will provide an independent translator fluent in Tibetan, Chinese and English and an independent expert on Tibetan affairs to accompany them.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The high-level study group agreed between the Prime Minister and Premier Li Peng under the leadership of Lord Howe is to visit China later this year. Details of its itinerary and membership have still to be settled.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Goodlad
  An internal investigation in 1988 into the viability of relocating parts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office diplomatic wing outside central London considered a number of relocation sites, including Glasgow and Cardiff. Hanslope Park, an estate near Milton Keynes owned by the FCO, was chosen for the 245 posts then identified for possible relocation. The number of posts has since fallen to 166 because of the subsequent abolition of some posts and reorganisation of FCO departments. This relocation programme is well advanced and is due to be completed by mid-1994.

  European Political Parties
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made on the effects for the United Kingdom of article 138a of the treaty of Rome, inserted by the treaty of Maastricht, dealing with pan-European political parties.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  We welcome contacts at the European level between national political parties, including in the European Parliament. But there is no provision in article 138a of the treaty on European union for any specific action by member states or the Community in relation to political parties.

  Iraq
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions are taking place with his European Community counterparts about their release of blocked Iraqi funds for(a) the financing of trade in goods not embargoed under United Nations Security Council resolutions 706 and 712 and (b) for settling creditors' claims; and what sums have been released in the case of each Community country, including the United Kingdom under each head.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We regularly exchange views with our European Community partners about all aspects of policy towards Iraq. Iraq continues to refuse to export oil to pay for essential humanitarian supplies and to meet claims for compensation as provided for in UN Security Council resolutions 706 and 712.

  In conformity with the ruling of the United Nations sanctions committee we released £70 million of Iraqi funds frozen in the UK for the purchase of humanitarian goods of British origin following the release of Mr. Ian Richter in November 1991. We do not plan to release further assets.

  There is a general agreement among our EC partners that Iraqi funds should remain frozen until Iraq meets its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions. We have no figures of any frozen Iraqi funds released by our partners.

  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current state of the Vienna talks between representatives of the United Nations and the Iraqi Government.
  440
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Despite a further round of talks between the United Nations and the Iraqi Government in Vienna in June the Iraqi Government still refuse to export oil to finance the purchase of essential humanitarian supplies as provided for in United Nations Security Council resolutions 706 and 712.

  Vietnam
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Vietnam about the detention of prisoners of religious conscience; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We continue to raise with the Vietnamese authorities, both bilaterally and with our EC partners, individual human rights cases, including prisoners of religious conscience. I also raised our concern about Vietnam's human rights record with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister during the latter's visit to Britian in June.

  France (Road Blockades)
  Mr. George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the French authorities on behalf of those British citizens stranded in France as a consequence of the blockade of roads by demonstrating farmers and truckers.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  I have been asked to reply.

  I am glad to say that the blockades have almost all now been lifted. My right hon. Friend has kept in close and regular contact with his French counterpart Mr. Bianco on behalf of British coach and lorry drivers and British holiday-makers caught up in the blockades. Consular staff in France have given assistance to British citizens where necessary.

EDUCATION

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Forman
  The Department keeps under review the balance between its staff in central London and those in its Darlington offices.

  Schools Information
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of parents have received in the past 12 months(a) a written report on their child's progress in school, (b) a publication with comparable information about all schools in their locality including examination results, truancy rates and destination of school leavers and (c) a reminder of their right of appeal and how to use it in cases where the local education authority or school governors refuse them a place for their child in the school of their choice.

  Mr. Forth
  The parents charter, published in September 1991, promised that steps would be taken to ensure that all
  441
  parents would receive or have access to the information mentioned. All these promises have been or are in the process of being implemented. New reporting regulations, introduced in May, require annual written reports to be sent to all parents on their child's educational progress. Comparative tables of public examination results will be produced this autumn; in 1993 these will also cover national curriculum assessment results, truancy rates and school leavers' destinations. Since February of this year, all LEAs and governing bodies of LEA-maintained schools have been required by law to remind parents of their right of appeal when informing them of a decision not to allocate a place for their child at their preferred school. The model articles of government for grant-maintained schools were amended in January this year to include this requirement.

  Computer Networks
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what steps are being taken to draw together the research in the United Kingdom and other European countries on high band width computer networks;

  (2) if he will use Britain's presidency of the European Community to initiate an EC-wide network for connecting basic and applied research laboratories and universities.

  Mr. Forman
  The information systems committee of the Universities Funding Council—UFC—is participating in a European multi-protocol project to connect European countries via high band width computer networks. Fifty of the 200 sites connected to the United Kingdom joint academic network—JANET—already have full multi-protocol access. The United Kingdom and Germany are taking the lead in the European multi-protocol project. Several other European countries have expressed an interest in joining.

  The SuperJANET initiative will enhance United Kingdom development providing very high band width multi-protocol computer networking to United Kingdom academic sites.

  The UFC and the DTI have jointly funded United Kingdom participation in the EUREKA COSINE project. This has recently completed a successful pilot project in academic computer networking across Europe and will move to a higher performance production service later this year.

  The European Community is actively pursuing the provision of pan-European networks for academic sites through its consultations with the European Consultative Forum on Research Networking, which represents academic and research networking interests in the Community.

  Schools, Isle of Wight
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he will write to the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight to provide the advice which he undertook to supply following the meeting on 26 February and the visit of his regional team to Lake, Sandham and Nodehill schools.

  Mr. Forth
  I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

  Youth Service Funding
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on his Department's plans for funding the voluntary sector youth service in London.

  Mr. Forman
  I have nothing to add to what my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Baroness Blatch, said in another place on 6 July,Official Report, columns 981–84.

  Rural Primary Schools
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has had about the consequences of future trends in devolved school budgets under local management of schools for the viability of small rural primary schools; what safeguards exist to protect such schools; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  The Department has received a number of representations within the last four weeks on issues arising from the local management of schools—LMS—including the funding of small rural schools. Under LMS, local education authorities—LEAs—can provide additional support to small schools in two ways: they may offer salary protection to schools with fewer than 330 pupils, and they may build factors into their formulae which allow for the higher costs of providing a balanced curriculum in small schools.

  Special Needs
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the 10 local education authorities in England which spent most per pupil on the education of pupils with special needs, with the average amounts spent for each such authority and(b) the 10 local education authorities with the greatest number of pupils with special needs, with the number in each case, for the last year for which the information is available.

  Mr. Forth
  The latest year for which information on local education authorities—LEAs—actual spending is available is 1989–90. Information is not collected separately on LEAs' spending on special needs within mainstream schools, nor on support services for special needs. Table 1 lists the 10 LEAs in England which spent most per pupil in maintained or non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, or receiving education other than at school. Table 2 indicates the 10 LEAs providing education for the greatest number of such pupils. To provide a reasonable match with spending data, pupil number data are for January 1990.

  Table 1

  Special education spending1 per pupil2

  1989–90

  Local education authority

  £

  Solihull

  14,665

  Harrow

  13,970

  Merton

  13,750

  Barking and Dagenham

  13,090

  Cumbria

  12,455

  Somerset

  12,330

  Ealing

  12,205

  Bradford

  12,180

  Oxfordshire

  12,035

  Waltham Forest

  11,480

  443

  Table 2

  Number of pupils2 receiving special education

  January 1990

  Local education authority

  Number

  Inner London education authority

  6,954

  Kent

  4,160

  Hampshire

  4,132

  Lancashire

  3,968

  Essex

  3,047

  Birmingham

  2,721

  Nottinghamshire

  2,321

  Hertfordshire

  2,232

  Avon

  2,133

  Devon

  2,114

  1 Total expenditure other than capital financing costs and inter-authority recoupment payments, less income other than from specific Government grants and inter-authority recoupment receipts.

  2 Pupils in special schools, hospital schools or receiving education other than at school, January 1990.

  Pupil Numbers
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many primary schools there are in England with(a) fewer than 50 pupils and (b) between 50 and 75 pupils; and how many secondary or middle schools there are with (i) fewer than 200 pupils and (ii) between 200 and 300 pupils, at the latest date for which figures are available.

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

  Maintained schools in England by size: January 1991

  Full-time pupils

  Schools

  Primary

  0 to 50

  1,293

  51 to 75

  1,247

  Over 75

  15,955

  Middle

  0 to 200

  154

  201 to 300

  378

  Over 300

  511

  Secondary

  0 to 200

  45

  201 to 300

  69

  Over 300

  3,292

  Subjects Allied to Medicine
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what criteria will be used by the Higher Education Funding Council for the funding of subjects allied to medicine; and what account such funding will take of the relative costs of the subjects within that category;

  (2) what steps he will take to ensure adequate funding for the clinical training of university students of optometry under the future arrangements proposed by the Higher Education Funding Council.

  Mr. Forman
  The Higher Education Funding Council for England is consulting institutions on the funding methodology for teaching and on the academic subject categories to be adopted from 1993–94. The council has adopted the general principal that the number of subject categories should be relatively small so as to maximise institutions' management freedom. The precise coverage of academic subject categories will be the subject of further 444
  consultation. It will be for individual institutions to determine the level of funding for particular courses within each category, taking account of cost differences.

  Sex Education
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what aims and standards his Department has for the teaching of sex education to all children; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Section 1 of the Education Reform Act 1988 requires the curriculum of maintained schools to prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. As part of that preparation, all pupils are now required to be taught those aspects of sex education contained in national curriculum science. Beyond that statutory requirement, school governing bodies are responsible, under the provisions of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986, for deciding whether any further sex education should be included in their school's curriculum; and for maintaining a written record both of that decision, and the content and organisation of any sex education they decide should be provided. In addition, section 46 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 requires that any sex education which schools provide—whether or not it is required as part of the national curriculum—should be given in such a manner as to encourage pupils to have due regard to moral considerations and the value of family life. Detailed decisions about how such education is delivered in the classroom should take full account of local circumstances, the particular needs of pupils and the views of parents.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) in what circumstances sex education can be excluded from the teaching of human biology within the national curriculum;

  (2) if he will give details of the circumstances in which teachers and parents may withdraw children from lessons about HIV and AIDS.

  Mr. Forth
  There is no statutory right of withdrawal from the secular curriculum: pupils may not be withdrawn from the teaching of any aspects of sex education provided by their school, whether or not these are required by the national curriculum. Schools should be ready to discuss with parents both their policies and approaches to sex education, and to consider any anxieties or suggestions which individual parents may have.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of school children at the ages of 11, 14 and 16 years have received sex education.

  Mr. Forth
  This information is not available.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Environmental Initiatives
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new environmental initiatives he intends to promote for the European Community during his term as President of the European Agriculture Council.

  Mr. Curry
  We intend to press forward our initiative to integrate environmental protection requirements into the common agricultural policy.

  Seagulls, Sellafield
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what radiological surveys of the seagulls killed by British Nuclear Fuels at Sellafield in the cull carried out in June have been carried out by the scientific services in his Department.

  Mr. Curry
  None.

  Set-aside
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what flexibility will be applied to the new 15 per cent. set-aside scheme to take into account field layout and cost structure.

  Mr. Curry
  We have stressed to the Commission the importance of providing flexibility in the implementing regulations for the scheme. I hope that this will be reflected in the final text of these regulations.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what experiments have been undertaken to see if meat from bovines suffering from BSE is infective; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  Experiments in which mice have been inoculated with muscle tissue from cows confirmed to have BSE are in progress. Two of these have passed the end point for these studies and no clinical evidence of a scrapie or BSE-like disease has resulted. The results so far show that, as in all other naturally occurring transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, there is no detectable infectivity in muscle tissue and thus meat.

  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy for each year since 1986, and the latest figure for 1992 for the total number of cattle diagnosed that were(a) under two years of age, (b) aged two to three years, (c) aged three to four years, (d) aged five to six years and (e) aged seven or more years.

  Mr. Soames
  There were 847 cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain prior to the disease becoming notifiable on 21 June 1988. Since then the number of confirmed cases is as follows by year of report.

  Number

  1988

  2,185

  1989

  7,136

  1990

  14,179

  1991

  25,013

  19921

  13,430

  1 to 3 July.

  The distribution of confirmed cases of BSE as at 10 July 1992 with a date of onset of disease between January and June 1992 of known age is as follows:

  Age band (yrs)

  Number of cases

  2 and less than 3

  1

  3 and less than 4

  1225

  4 and less than 5

  3,734

  446

  Age band (yrs)

  Number of cases

  5 and less than 6

  2,132

  6 and less than 7

  737

  7 and over

  340

  1 These animals will have been born during the period from 1 January 1988 to 30 June 1989.

  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will invite the Royal Society and the Royal Colleges of Medicine to carry out a wholly independent study of the epidemiology of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mr. Soames
  No. The spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee—the Tyrrell committee—already exists to look at all matters relating to spongiform encephalopathies.

  Dogs and Cats
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) dogs and (b) cats are exported and imported for breeding purposes each year; and how many (i) dogs and (ii) cats are imported for scientific experiments each year.

  Mr. Soames
  This information is not available.

  Sugar Quota
  Mr. Cann
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to protect the British sugar industry from cuts in its quota.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on July 6,Official Report, column 62.

  Agricultural Support
  Mrs. Currie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of Government spending was allocated to agricultural support in(a) 1962, (b) 1972 and (c) the most recent year available; and what equivalent proportion is estimated to be required in 1995.

  Mr. Curry
  The figures for 1962 and 1972 are not readily available. The most recent year for which figures have been published is the financial year 1991–92 when the proportion of Government spending allocated to agriculture was 0.7 per cent. There are no estimates available for what the equivalent proportion will be in 1995.

  Fisheries Conservation
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he sent his consultation paper for new fish conservation proposals to(a) the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation Ltd. and (b) the Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation Ltd.

  Mr. Curry
  The Department of Agriculture, for Northern Ireland issued the consultation paper on effort control and decommissioning to both Northern Ireland producer organisations on 30 April 1992.

  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he received any representations from(a) the Northern Ireland Fish Producers

  447
  Organisation Ltd. and (b) the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation Ltd. prior to the publication of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Bill and after he published his consultation paper for the fishing industry.

  Mr. Curry
  The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland received comments from both organisations in June after the publication of the Sea Fisheries (Conservation) Bill.

  National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions when, where and with whom in each of the last five years he, his predecessors in that office, Ministers in his Ministry and their predecessors have officially met representatives of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations.

  Mr. Curry
  I have had regular meetings with the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations since I came to the Ministry three years ago. I recently attended its executive committee in Cheltenham on July 4 and I offered the federation a further meeting on 7 July.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and dencentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Curry
  Some 78 per cent. of the Ministry's staff are based outside London. Planning is at various stages of development for moving 1,000 posts away from a number of locations in London and the south-east.

  Salmon
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland about further measures to protect British salmon stocks.

  Mr. Curry
  The Department maintains close and regular contacts with the Scottish Office on matters relating to British salmon stocks and their protection.

  Farm Workers
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the average number of farm workers employed per hundred hectares on farms of(a) under 100 hectares, (b) 100 to 200, (c) 200 to 300, (d) 300 to 400, (e) 400 to 500, (f) 500 to 600 and (g) 600 and over hectares.

  Mr. Curry
  The information is as follows for the latest available date, with separate details for the total farm labour force and regular hired workers.

  Average number of persons per 100 hectares of total area England and Wales June 1991

  Total area of holding1 (hectares)

  Total labour force2

  Regular hired workers3

  Under 100

  7.8

  1.4

  100—<200

  2.9

  0.8

  200—<300

  2.3

  0.9

  448

  Total area of holding1 (hectares)

  Total labour force2

  Regular hired workers3

  300—<400

  2.1

  1.0

  400—<500

  1.7

  0.9

  500—<600

  1.7

  1.1

  600 and over

  1.3

  0.8

  All holdings

  4.5

  1.1

  NUMBER OF PERSONS ('000s)

  486.0

  115.0

  1 Based on main holdings in the annual June census.

  2 Includes all whole-time and part-time workers on the holding in June 1991, i.e. farmers, partners, directors, spouses, managers, regular family and hired workers, seasonal and casual workers.

  3 Whole-time and part-time.

  Cerone
  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the approved shelf life of the pesticide product(a) Union Carbide cerone, (b) Embetec cerone and (c) ICI cerone, MAFF registration numbers 3467, 04416 and 00463, respectively;

  (2) how long the approved shelf life of the Union Carbide product cerone was for the years 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986.

  Mr. Soames
  For a pesticide product to gain full approval under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 evidence of two years storage stability at ambient temperature must be supplied. Only if such evidence is not forthcoming will a shelf life be specified on the approved product label. The information on cerone is as follows:

  (a) Union Carbide cerone (MAFF 00464)—This product has been commercially withdrawn. From 1981 to 1986 it held approval (No. 3467) for efficacy under the former Agricultural Chemicals Approval Scheme (ACAS) with no specified shelf life on the label.

  (b) Embetec cerone (MAFF 04416)—This has been replaced by Rhone-Poulenc's cerone which holds provisional approval, with no specified shelf life on the label.

  (c) ICI cerone (MAFF 00463)—This has provisional approval with no specified shelf life on the label.

  Badger Baiting
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of badger baiting there have been in Essex in each of the last three available years; and what action is being taken to enforce the laws against badger baiting in Essex.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I have been asked to reply.

  In 1988 there were seven prosecutions and one conviction in Essex under the Badgers Act 1973, although it is not possible to say how many of these involved alleged cases of badger baiting. There were no prosecutions under the 1973 Act in Essex in 1989 or in 1990, the last year for which statistics are available.

  The enforcement of the law in Essex is an operational matter for the chief constable.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Residential Requirements
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what residential requirements he sets for the payment of DSS benefits; whether he plans any changes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  People who do not have a fixed abode, and who meet the entitlement conditions for a benefit, will often have to come to a social security or Employment Service office in person to collect their girocheque or notification to pick up their order book from a post office. In some cases they are posted to an address nominated by claimants. For unemployed people the entitlement conditions include being available for, and actively seeking work. These conditions are rigorously checked by Employment Service staff. Social security and Employment Service staff are careful to verify the identities of all claimants, and our computer systems will show if someone is making a duplicate claim at another office.

  Disability Living Allowance
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 29 June,Official Report, column 428, to the hon. Member for Harwich, (Mr. Sproat) about appeals against disability living allowance decisions, if he will make a statement on the factors which account for the delay in resolving the appeal of the constituent of the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough, Ref. YR691 179c.

  Miss Widdecombe
  An appeal to the social security commissioner was made by the hon. Member's constituent on 18 November 1991 and leave to appeal was granted by the commissioner on 23 January 1992. A submission by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was sent to the office of the social security commissioners on 19 February 1992 and the appeal is now awaiting a date for hearing. Hearings by the social security commissioners are a matter for my noble Friend, the Lord Chancellor.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the. Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people with learning difficulties have been awarded the lower rate of the mobility component of the disability living allowance;

  (2) how many people with visual impairments have been awarded (a) the lower rate care or (b) the lower rate mobility component of the disability living allowance;

  (3) how many awards of the higher rate mobility components made since 3 February were made (a) on the grounds that the person was severely mentally impaired and displayed severe behavioural problems and (b) under the deaf-blind provisions;

  Miss Widdecombe
  The latest available figure for the number of people awarded the higher rate mobility component on the grounds of severe mental impairment is 116. The other information is not yet available.

  Mr. Flynn
  'To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers awarded the disability living allowance to date by(a) those awarded the higher rate of the care component, (b) those awarded the middle rate of the care component, (c)
  450
  those awarded the lower rate of the care component, (d) those awarded the higher rate of mobility component and (e) those awarded the lower rate of the mobility component.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The latest available figures for components awarded on new claims and top-up claims, including claims made on the grounds of terminal illness, are as follows:

  Numbers

  Highest rate of the care component

  8,700

  Middle rate of the care component

  9,900

  Lowest rate of the care component

  27,800

  Higher rate of the mobility component

  24,400

  Lower rate of the mobility component

  31,600

  There is some overlap the categories because some new claims result in dual awards of both a care and mobility component.

  Mr.Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many requests for a review of an adjudication officer's decision on attendance allowance and mobility allowance received by his Department prior to 3 February remain outstanding; how many have been decided: and how many, and what percentage, of reviews decided resulted in the award of the lower rate of disability living allowance.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of successful disability working allowance applicants by(a) people already working and (b) people who started working shortly before making an application for benefit.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Up to 30 June the number of successful applications for disability working allowance was 1,130. Of these we estimate that about 5 per cent. started work as employees in the week of the claim.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown of successful disability working allowance applicants by(a) average hourly earnings, (b) average hours worked, (c) average age, (d) sex, (e) marital status, (f) householder status and (g) qualifying benefit.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Information on the householder status of applicants is not available. The table provides estimated figures derived from a provisional analysis of claims up to 31 May.

  Successful claims

  Average hourly earnings

  £3.12

  Average hours worked a week

  29.8

  Average age

  36

  Number of awards to men

  468

  Number of awards to women

  357

  Number of awards to single people

  536

  Number of awards to couples

  289

  Householder status

  not available

  Qualifying benefits:

  Invalidity benefit

  80

  451

  Successful claims

  Severe disablement allowance

  43

  Income support with disability premium

  118

  Housing benefit with disability premium

  70

  Disability living allowance

  86

  Attendance allowance and other benefits

  659

  NOTE: Customers may have more than one qualifying benefit.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people claiming the disability living allowance had help completing their claim forms either(a) from the telephone claims completion service of a regional disability benefits centre or (b) from his Department's visiting service;

  (2) how many applications for the disability living allowance have been received by his Department to date; and if he will provide a breakdown by (a) the number and percentage of these that resulted in an award, (b) the number and percentage of these that were refused broken down by grounds for refusal and (c) the number and percentage of these that are awaiting a decision;

  (3) what is his Department's policy regarding the notification of income support, housing benefit and community charge departments when someone is awarded the disability living allowance; and whether such notification distinguishes between the mobility and care component and the rate of these components, respectively;

  (4) how many applications for the disability working allowance have been received by his Department to date; and if he will provide a breakdown by (a) the number and percentage of these that resulted in an award, (b) the number and percentage of these that were refused and (c) the number and percentage of these that are awaiting a decision;

  (5) if he will provide a breakdown by number and percentage of the total number of claims for disability working allowance received by his Department that were refused on the grounds that (a) the claimant was not in remunerative work, (b) the claimant's income was above the limit, (c) the claimant was not in receipt of a qualifying benefit, (d) the claimant was receiving family credit, (e) the joint income of the claimant and his or her partner exceeded the limit, (f) the claimant was working less than 16 hours a week or (g) for other reasons;

  (6) how many claims for disability living allowance included a report by an examining medical practitioner; and if he will break this down by (a) the number and percentage of successful claims, (b) the number and percentage of unsuccessful claims and (c) the number and percentage of cases where the claimant had already completed the self-assessment application form;

  (7) how many requests for reviews of disability living allowance have been received by his Department breaking these down by (a) numbers seeking a review of a decision to refuse benefit and (b) numbers seeking a review of the rate of benefit awarded; and if he will provide a breakdown of this total by (i) successful reviews, (ii) unsuccessful reviews and (iii) reviews not yet decided.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Low Incomes
  Ms. Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the recommendations made in the publications of the University of Bristol's statistical monitoring unit in 1991 and 1992 about the measurement of low incomes have been followed by his Department in preparing the report on households below average income in 1989.

  Mr. Burt
  The methodology of the forthcoming report on households below average income—HBAI—in 1989 is based on the recommendations of a technicl stocktaking exercise in 1991. During this exercise external analysts were consulted, including Professor Peter Townsend of the university of Bristol. A member of the Bristol statistical monitoring unit also attended a follow-up seminar in February 1992, along with independent analysts from established and authoritative institutions. The use in HBAI of equivalence scales, allied to sensitivity testing, was supported by all independent analysts from other institutions. This methodology has accordingly been adopted in the forthcoming edition of HBAI.

  Although the university of Bristol statistical monitoring unit's views on some key issues are not shared by the majority of independent or Government expert opinion, the Department has of course given them due weight, as it does all advice on methodological issues.

  Ms. Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he plans to make available and publish the results of the households below average income analysis for 1991.

  Mr. Burt
  The households below average income analysis based on 1990–91 data should be available in mid-1993.

  Ms. Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the other countries which have adopted his Deparrtment's equivalence scale in measuring low incomes.

  Mr. Burt
  Equivalence scales can be expected to vary from country to country. However, I understand that equivalence scales, with relative rates for singles and couples similar to those employed by the households below average income analysis—HBAI—have been employed in studies in Finland, Sweden, Ireland and France. The approach incorporated in the 1992 edition of HBAI is to produce results on a central set of equivalence scales and subject these to extensive sensitivity testing. This approach was recommended in the report of last year's HBAI stocktaking review, a copy of which is available in the Library. It has been endorsed by almost all the external analysts consulted.

  Disability Allowances
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications have been submitted to date for(a) disability working allowance and (b) disability living allowance from claimants in Wales; and, of these claims, how many have been refused since the introduction of the allowances.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The administration of disability working allowance and disabilty living allowance are
  453
  matters for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Miss Widdecombe
  There are 662 posts being relocated from the south-east to Leeds over the next year; the first staff from DSS moved into the new Leeds building, Quarry house, last week. In addition 3,000 new posts will be created outside London in 1993, when Child Support Agency centres are established in Belfast, Birkenhead, Dudley, Falkirk, Hastings and Plymouth.

  Disability Tribunals
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals have been heard by disability appeal tribunals to date; and if he will provide a breakdown of these by(a) outstanding mobility allowance, (b) outstanding attendance allowance arid (c) disability living allowance appeals.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The administration of disability appeal tribunals is the responsibility of the president of the Independent Tribunal Service, his honour Judge Holden, and the hon. Member may wish to contact his office to obtain this information.

  Table 1

  Unemployment benefit actual rates

  Date

  Single unemployed person

  With dependent spouse

  With dependent spouse and two children

  (£)

  (£)

  (£)

  November 1979

  18.50

  29.95

  33.35

  November 1980

  20.65

  33.40

  35.90

  November 1981

  22.50

  36.40

  38.00

  November 1982

  25.00

  40.45

  41.05

  November 1983

  27.05

  43.75

  44.05

  November 1984

  28.45

  46.00

  —

  November 1985

  30.45

  49.25

  —

  July 1986

  30.80

  49.80

  —

  April 1987

  31–45

  50–80

  —

  April 1988

  32.75

  52.95

  —

  April 1989

  34.70

  56.10

  —

  April 1990

  37.35

  60.40

  —

  April 1991

  41.40

  66.95

  —

  April 1992

  43.10

  69.70

  —

  Table 2

  Equivalent value of unemployment benefit at April 1992

  Date

  Single unemployed person

  With dependent spouse

  With dependent spouse and two children

  (£)

  (£)

  (£)

  November 1979

  42.62

  68.99

  76.83

  November 1980

  41.25

  66.72

  71.72

  November 1981

  40.14

  64.94

  67.80

  November 1982

  41.98

  67.92

  68.93

  November 1983

  43.32

  70.07

  70.55

  November 1984

  43.42

  70.20

  —

  Benefit Claims
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for invalidity benefit, sickness benefit, severe disablement allowance and income support were referred to the regional medical services in each month since January 1992; how many of these cases resulted in medical examinations; and what were the outcomes(a) where examinations took place and (b) where they did not.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available for these benefits is in the table.

  References to the regional medical services cleared during quarter ending 31 March 1992

  Number

  Incapable of work (without examination)

  127,745

  Claim terminated before examination—no opinion given

  3,571

  Failed to attend examination

  14,664

  Incapable of work (after examination)

  51,545

  Capable of work (after examination)

  9,332

  Capable of work within limits (after examination)

  14,785

  Total number of references cleared

  221,642

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will show the level of unemployment benefit(a) in real terms at 1992 prices and (b) as a percentage of the equivalent average wage for (i) a single unemployed person, (ii) an unemployed person with a dependent spouse and (iii) an unemployed person with a spouse and two children for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Burt
  The information is in the tables:
  455

  Date

  Single unemployed person

  With dependent spouse

  With dependent spouse and two children

  (£)

  (£)

  (£)

  November 1985

  44.06

  71.27

  —

  July 1986

  43.84

  70.88

  —

  April 1987

  42.88

  69.33

  —

  April 1988

  42.97

  69.47

  —

  April 1989

  42.14

  68.12

  —

  April 1990

  41.44

  67.01

  —

  April 1991

  43.17

  69.82

  —

  April 1992

  43.10

  69.70

  —

  Table 3

  Unemployment benefit as percentage of average earnings

  Date

  Single unemployed person

  With dependent spouse

  With dependent spouse and two children

  per cent.

  per cent.

  per cent.

  November 1979

  16.21

  26.25

  29.23

  November 1980

  15.28

  24.72

  26.57

  November 1981

  15.05

  24.35

  25.42

  November 1982

  15.57

  25.19

  25.56

  November 1983

  15.69

  25.38

  25.55

  November 1984

  15.18

  24.55

  —

  November 1985

  15.26

  24.69

  —

  July 1986

  14.60

  23.61

  —

  April 1987

  14.04

  22.70

  —

  April 1988

  13.32

  21.54

  —

  April 1989

  12.88

  20.82

  —

  April 1990

  12.64

  20.43

  —

  April 1991

  12.98

  20.99

  —

  April 1992

  12.77

  20.65

  —

  Notes:

  1. Child dependency additions were abolished from 26 November 1984.

  Average earnings are taken from Gross Adult Males All Occupations (New Earnings Survey).

  Over 70 per cent. of those registered unemployed are in receipt of Income Support.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to publish the study on the social fund by York university; and if he will make a statement.
  456
  Miss Widdecombe
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Wells) on 8 July at column 224.

SCOTLAND

  Tourism
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the budget of the Scottish tourist board is currently spent outside the United Kingdom on the marketing of Scotland as a tourist location.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  In 1991–92, 19.6 per cent. of the Scottish tourist board's gross expenditure was spent on overseas promotion. The estimate for 1992–93 is 20.3 per cent.

  Health Service (Consultants)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each health board the names of the consultants holding a merit award and its grade.

  Mr. Stewart
  The information requested is of a personal and confidential nature and cannot therefore be made publicly available.

  Prison Population
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the prison population in Scotland at the latest available date.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  As at Friday 3 July 1992, the prison population in Scotland was 5,294.

  Grampian Healthcare
  Mr. Robert Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received an application for national health service trust status from Grampian Healthcare; and if he will say from which date the statutory 90 days consultation period will commence.

  Mr. Stewart
  I can confirm that an application for NHS trust status has been received from Grampian Healthcare. The Secretary of State intends shortly to instruct Grampian health board to carry out formal consultation on the application on his behalf. The board will decide the date on which the three month consultation period will commence.

  Training
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each local enterprise company area in Scotland and for Scotland and Great Britain as a 'whole, for the latest available period, the wages earned by employment training trainees who three months after leaving were(a) in a full-time job, (b) in a part-time job and (c) self employed.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 2 June 1992]: The information requested is not available, in all the categories requested, for individual local enterprise company areas. Data about leavers are obtained through a survey which started in July 1989. Returns from leavers are incomplete; and information is therefore only available at the level of Scotland and for Great Britain. The survey shows that for trainees leaving the programme between August 1990 and July 1991 and in employment six months afterwards net weekly earnings were as follows:
  458

  percentage

  Area

  up to £100

  up to £200

  £200 and over

  prefer not to say

  Scotland

  Full-time work

  26

  47

  13

  15

  Part-time work

  81

  7

  1

  11

  Self-employment

  54

  17

  6

  23

  Great Britain

  Full-time work

  24

  53

  10

  14

  Part-time work

  78

  10

  1

  11

  Self-employment

  42

  19

  8

  30

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has about the level of private sector financial contributions to government training schemes; how many youth training places have been offered by the private sector in each of the past five years; and what has been the average cost to public funds of a youth training place in real and actual terms in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 16 June 1992]: Information about the level of private sector financial contributions to Government training schemes in the last five years and about the number of youth training places offered by the private sector from 1987–88 to 1990–91 is not available. The number since April 1991 is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the youth training leavers survey—to which not all leavers respond—shows that, in Scotland in 1991–92, an estimated 61 per cent. of youth training leavers trained with employer-led organisations or other private sector training providers. Information about the average cost to public funds in each of the past five years of a youth training place, in actual terms and at 1992–93 price levels, is available only for Great Britain as a whole and is set out in the table.

  Youth Training unit price per annum in Great Britain for 1987–88 to 1991–92

  £

  Actual

  At 1992–93 price levels

  1987–88

  2,600

  3,595

  1988–89

  2,527

  3,258

  1989–90

  2,620

  3,169

  1990–91

  2,375

  2,656

  11991–92

  2,732

  2,855

  1 Provisional figure, subject to revision.

  A 1991–92 figure for Scotland will be available when checking of the relevant information has been completed and I will write to the hon. Member on that point.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are currently on(a) youth training and (b) employment training in Scotland; and how many of these training programmes involve work experience with an employer.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: In Scotland, the latest available information indicates that at the end of May 1992 there were 35,206 people on youth training and 16,402 on employment training. The majority of trainees receive work experience as part of their training; however information about the exact numbers receiving such experience is not held centrally.

  Green Minister
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will outline the priorities for future action of the green Minister in his Department(a) over the next year and (b) over this Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: As the responsible Minister I shall, over the next 12 months, follow-up commitments in the White Paper Cm 1200 "This Common Inheritance" and its successor CM 1655 "The First Year Report". In particular, the Scottish Office will develop an environmental housekeeping strategy for its accommodation and purchasing.

  Over the next year and beyond I shall seek to achieve greater integration of environmental concerns into wider policy-making. I shall also continue to ensure that Scotland's environment is further safeguarded through the influence of Scottish Natural Heritage, Historic Scotland and the creation of a Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

  Region/Supply Zone

  Standards not fully met

  Compliance Date for Zone

  Borders

  Ale

  Aluminium

  1998

  Cockburnspath

  Iron

  2005

  Earnscleugh

  Aluminium

  1995

  Tweedsmuir

  Bact1

  1994

  Watch

  Iron

  2005

  West Linton

  Trihalomethanes

  1993

  Central

  Alloa

  Aluminium, Lead

  1997

  Ardeonaig

  Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Balquhidder

  Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Bo'ness, Blackness Whitecross

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Bonnybridge, Camelon, High Bonnybridge

  Aluminium

  1995

  Bridge of Allan

  Aluminium

  1995

  Cowie, Plean, Airth Stirling (part)

  Aluminium

  1992

  Cumbernauld

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Falkirk, Larbert, Carron Stenhousemuir, Skinflats

  Aluminium

  1997

  Kirkintilloch (part), Lenzie

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Kirkintilloch-Waterside

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Lennoxtown, Milton of Campsie Torrance, Balmore

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Dumfries and Galloway

  Areeming (Lochenkit) North

  Iron, pH, Colour, Manganese, Aluminium, Bact1

  1992

  Areeming (Lochenkit) South

  Iron, pH, Colour, Manganese Aluminium, Bact1

  1992

  Auchnneel

  Aluminium, pH, Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Black Esk

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1995

  Carsphairn

  Bact1

  1992

  Castle Douglas

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Creetown

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Euchan

  Aluminium, pH, Bact1, Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Glengap

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Glengap/Ringford Borehole

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Killylour

  Aluminium

  1994

  Killylour/Terregles Borehole

  Aluminium

  1994

  Lochfoot

  pH, Aluminium

  1995

  Lochinvar

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  New Abbey

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Newton Stewart

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Palnure

  pH, Trihalomethanes, Bact1

  1992

  Penwhirn

  pH, Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Sanquhar

  Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Winterhope

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1995

  Fife-

  Water Supplies
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state, by region or island water authority, the water supply zones which do not fully comply with the requirements of the EC drinking water directive, stating for each the parameters concerned and expected compliance date in each case; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The Water Supply (Water Quality) (Scotland) Regulations 1990 incorporate the requirements of the EC drinking water directive. The zones listed in the table are currently subject to improvement undertakings given by water authorities because one or more of the standards set in the regulations has been infringed in the past. Details of current water quality in individual supply zones are available in public registers maintained by water authorities.

  In the zones listed, reported results continue to show that, in many cases, breaches of the standard are marginal or infrequent. It is also clear that many of the zones listed are not experiencing difficulty in achieving the standards concerned, and in these cases the undertakings are simply precautionary. In the majority of zones the contravention relates to only one of the 57 standards set.
  461

  Region/Supply Zone

  Standards not fully met

  Compliance Date for Zone

  Auchterderran

  Iron

  2008

  Buckhaven

  Iron

  2018

  Cleish

  Iron

  2002

  Cowdenbeath

  Iron

  2001

  Dunfermline

  Iron

  1999

  Dunfermline South

  Iron

  1995

  East Neuk

  Iron

  2003

  Falkland

  Iron

  2017

  Fordell

  Iron

  2007

  Glenrothes North

  Iron

  2014

  Glenrothes South

  Iron

  2017

  Kinross

  Iron

  2017

  Kirkcaldy

  Iron

  2013

  Newburgh

  Iron

  2019

  North East Fife

  Iron

  2007

  North Fife

  Iron

  2003

  St. Andrews/Pipeland

  Iron

  2019

  Tayport

  Iron

  2020

  Grampian

  Auchengoul

  Iron

  2010

  Buckie

  Iron, Aluminium

  2010

  Cairnbulg

  Iron

  2010

  Forehill (Except Peterhead)

  Trihalomethanes

  1994

  Fraserburgh (Bogensourie)

  Aluminium

  1993

  Fraserburgh/Hillhead

  Iron

  2010

  Glendye

  Aluminium

  1996

  Glenlatterach

  Aluminium

  1994

  Keith (Herricks)

  Aluminium

  1994

  Kennethmont

  Iron

  2010

  Largie (Insch)

  Iron

  2010

  Lossiemouth (High Level)

  Aluminium

  1994

  Peterhead-Forehill

  Trihalomethanes

  1994

  Highland

  Achaphubuil

  Bact1

  1997

  Acharacle

  Bact1

  1994

  Achiltibuie

  Iron, Colour, Aluminium Turbidity, Manganese, Bact1

  1997

  Achmelvich

  Bact1

  1995

  Achmore

  Bact1

  1995

  Achnasheen

  Bact1

  1995

  Aird of Sleat

  Bact1

  1997

  Altnaharra

  Bact1

  1997

  Applecross

  Bact1

  1995

  Ardgour

  Bact1

  1995

  Ardneaskin

  Bact1

  1997

  Ardvasar/Daraich

  Bact1

  1997

  Ardvasar/Uisdein

  Bact1

  1997

  Armadale

  Bact1

  1997

  Arnisdale

  Bact1

  1997

  Aultbea

  Bact1

  1994

  Badachro

  Bact1

  1994

  Badcaul/Dundonnel

  Bact1

  1994

  Ballaculish (South)

  Bact1

  1992

  Balmacara

  Bact1

  1994

  Balnain/Bearnock

  Bact1

  1995

  Beasdale

  Bact1

  1997

  Bettyhill/Meadie

  Bact1

  1995

  Bettyhill/Mor

  Bact1

  1997

  Blaich

  Bact1

  1995

  Bohuntin

  Bact1

  1997

  Bonar Bridge/Ardgay

  Iron, pH, Aluminium, Colour, Turbidity, Bact1

  1996

  Bracadale

  Iron, Colour, Bact1

  1995

  Braes

  Bact1

  1995

  Caithness except Wick

  Iron, Aluminium, Manganese

  1996

  Cannich

  Bact1

  1995

  Carbost

  Bact1

  1995

  Carnoch/Glencoe

  Bact1

  1994

  Corpach

  Iron, Colour, Manganese

  1998

  Corpach/Caol/Loy

  Aluminium, Colour, Iron, pH, Turbidity, Manganese

  1998

  Culrain

  Aluminium, Bact1, Colour, Iron, pH, Manganese

  1997

  Diabeg

  Bact1

  1997

  Dores

  Bact1

  1997

  Dornie

  Bact1

  1994

  Dornoch

  Aluminium, Colour, Iron, Manganese, Turbidity

  1996

  Drimnin

  Bact1

  1997

  Drumbeg

  Bact1

  1997

  462 463

  Region/Supply Zone

  Standards not fully met

  Compliance Dale for Zone

  Drumfearn

  Bact1

  1997

  Durness

  Bact1, Turbidity

  1995

  Easter Ross and Black Isle/Assynt

  Aluminium, Bact1, Colour, Iron, Manganese, Turbidity

  1994

  Elgol

  Bact1

  1997

  Elphin

  Bact1

  1995

  Fassfearn

  Bact1, Colour, Iron, Manganese

  1997

  Ferness

  Bact1

  1997

  Fort Augustus

  Bact1

  1994

  Fort William

  Colour, Iron

  1998

  Foyers

  Bact1

  1994

  Gairloch

  Bact1

  1992

  Garve

  Aluminium, Bact1, Colour, Iron, Manganese, Turbidity

  1995

  Glenachulish

  Bact1

  1994

  Glendale

  Bact1

  1995

  Glenelg

  Bact1

  1995

  Glenfinnan

  Bact1

  1995

  Glenuig

  Bact

  1997

  Glenurquhart/Allt Coilte

  Bact1

  1994

  Glenurquhart/Nam Bat

  Turbidity

  1998

  Golspie, Brora

  Aluminium, Colour, Turbidity

  1996

  Gorthleck

  Bact1

  1994

  Grantown on Spey (Dreggie)

  Colour, Iron, pH, Turbidity

  1995

  Harrapool/Broadford

  Bact1, Colour, Iron, Manganese

  1994

  Helmsdale Ord

  Bact1

  1992

  Helmsdale/Caen

  Bact1

  1992

  Inveralligin

  Bact1

  1997

  Inverasdale

  Bact1

  1995

  Invergarry

  Bact1

  1994

  Inverinate

  Bact1

  1997

  Inverinate (Forestry)

  Bact1

  1997

  Inverrnoriston Ness

  Bact1

  1995

  Inverness/Balmore

  Colour, Iron, Manganese Turbidity

  1998

  Inverness/Oldtown

  Colour, Iron, Manganese, Turbidity

  1908

  Isle of Ornsay

  Bact'

  1995

  Kentallen

  Turbidity

  1992

  Kilchoan

  Bact1

  1994

  Kilmaluag

  Bact1

  1997

  Kilmuir

  Bact1

  1994

  Kingussie

  Bact1

  1994

  Kinlochewe

  Bact1

  1995

  Kinlochleven

  Bact1

  1992

  Kishorn

  Bact1

  1997

  Kyleakin

  Bact1, Turbidity

  1995

  Kylesku

  Bact1

  1997

  Laggan Bridge

  Bact1

  1997

  Laid

  Bact1

  1997

  Laide

  Bact1

  1995

  Lairg

  Bact1, Colour, Iron, Manganese, Turbidity

  1992

  Letterfearn

  Bact1

  1997

  Lochaline

  Bact1

  1994

  Lochend

  Bact1

  1997

  Lochinver

  Bact1

  1992

  Loth, Portgower

  Bact1

  1997

  Mellon Udrigle

  Bact1

  1997

  Melness

  Bact1

  1995

  Melvich, Strathy

  Bact1

  1994

  Nairn

  Aluminium, Colour, Turbidity

  1995

  Nedd

  Bact1

  1997

  North Erradale

  Bact1

  1997

  Onich

  Bact1

  1992

  Oykel Bridge

  Bact1

  1997

  Penifiler

  Bact1

  1997

  Poolewe

  Bact1

  1995

  Raasay

  Bact1

  1995

  Ratagan

  Bact1

  1997

  Rogart Muidhe

  Bact1

  1995

  Rogart Upper

  Bad1

  1994

  Rosehall/Invercassley

  Bact1, Colour, Iron, Manganese, Turbidity

  1997

  Rosemarkie

  Bact1

  1994

  Roskhill, Dunvegan

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1992

  Roybridge

  Bact1

  1995

  Salen

  Bact1

  1997

  Sallachy

  Bact1

  1997

  Sconser

  Bact1

  1997

  Scourie

  Bact1

  1994

  Shiel Bridge

  Bact1

  1997

  Shieldaig

  Bact1

  1997

  464 465

  Region/Supply Zone

  Standards not fully met

  Compliance Date for Zone

  Skerray

  Bact1

  1997

  Spean Bridge

  Bact1

  1994

  Stoer

  Bact1

  1994

  Strath Halladale

  Bact1

  1997

  Strath Naver

  Bact1

  1997

  Strathcarron

  Bact1

  1997

  Strathnairn

  Aluminium, Colour, Iron Manganese

  1994

  Strollamus

  Bact1

  1997

  Strontian

  Bact1

  1994

  Tarscavaig

  Bact1

  1997

  Teangue

  Bact1

  1997

  Tomich

  Bact1

  1997

  Tongue

  Bact1

  1994

  Torridon

  Bact1

  1997

  Torrin

  Bact1

  1997

  Trislaig

  Bact1

  1997

  Uig/Glenuig/Earlish

  Bact1

  1994

  Uig/Idrigill

  Bact1

  1997

  Waternish

  Bact1

  1995

  Waterstein

  Bact1

  1997

  Wick

  Aluminium, Colour, Iron, Nitrite, Manganese, Turbidity

  1996

  Lothian

  Alnwickhill Joppa

  Bact1, pH

  1992

  Alnwickhill, Leith

  Bact1, pH

  1992

  Alnwickhill, Newington

  Bact1, pH

  1992

  Alnwickhill, Portobello

  Bact1, pH

  1992

  Balgreen

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Castlehill

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Chalkieside

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Deans

  Aluminium, Bact1, Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Dechmont

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Dechmont Law

  Aluminium, Bact1, Trihalomethanes

  1998

  East Craigs

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Fairmilehcad Direct

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Fairmilehead Gilmerton

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Firhill Mid

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Firhill North

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Firhill South

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Firhill West

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Fountainhall

  Aluminium, Bact1, pH

  1995

  Garleton

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1995

  Harburnhead

  Bact1

  1993

  Harlaw, Marchbank

  Bact1

  1993

  Hillend

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1997

  Hopes

  Aluminium

  1995

  Kingslaw

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Kinleith

  Bact1

  1993

  Latch

  Bact1

  1993

  Pateshill Direct

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Pateshill District

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Pateshill Longridge

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Preston

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Stobshiel

  Aluminium, pH

  1995

  Torduff

  Bact1, pH

  1993

  Traprain

  Aluminium, Bact1,

  1995

  Waterston

  Aluminium, Bact1 Trihalomethanes

  1998

  West Mains

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Whittinghame

  Aluminium, Bact1

  1994

  Orkney

  Mainland North and West

  Aluminium

  1997

  Mainland South and East

  Aluminium

  1994

  Mainland, Kirkwall

  Aluminium

  1996

  Sanday

  Aluminium

  1995

  Westray

  Aluminium

  1994

  Shetland

  Aith

  Aluminium

  1995

  Burra Isle

  Aluminium

  1993

  Gulberwick and Quarff

  Aluminium

  1995

  Reawick and Skeld

  Aluminium

  1997

  Sandness

  Aluminium

  1996

  Sandwick

  Manganese

  1994

  Walls

  Aluminium

  1996

  Whalesay

  Aluminium

  1996

  466 467

  Region/Supply Zone

  Standards not fully met

  Compliance Date for Zone

  Strathclyde

  Airdrie (South), Calderbank, Coatbridge (South)

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Alexandria, Bonhill, Renton, Balloch (Leven Valley)

  Trihalomethanes

  1999

  Ardeer

  Aluminium Lead

  1993

  Ardrishaig, Lochgilphead

  Aluminium Lead

  1995

  Ardrossan and Environs

  Aluminium

  1992

  Ayr

  Aluminium

  1993

  Baillieston

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Bearsden, Faifley, Yoker, Clydebank

  Aluminium

  1996

  Bellshill, Mossend and Holytown

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Blackwaterfoot, Shiskine, Machrie

  Trihalomethanes

  2002

  Bowling, Bonhill, Old Kilpatrick

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Bowmore, Port Ellen (Islay)

  Aluminium

  1993

  Brodick

  Trihalomethanes

  2000

  Caldercruix and Plains

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Campbeltown

  Aluminium

  1994

  Carradale

  Aluminium

  1992

  Catacol

  Trihalomethanes

  1997

  Clachan

  Aluminium

  1994

  Coatbridge

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Craighouse (Jura)

  Trihalomethanes

  1999

  Croofur, Newton Mearns

  Aluminium

  1995

  Darvel Valley

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1993

  Dervaig

  Trihalomethanes

  1994

  Dumbarton Town

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Furnace, Minard

  Aluminium

  1994

  Garelochhead, Rhu, Rosneath

  Trihalomethanes

  2003

  Girvan and Environs (South)

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1994

  Girvan and Environs (North)

  Aluminium, Lead

  1993

  Greenock Town

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1996

  Holyloch, Kilmun, Inellen and Dunoon and Environs

  Aluminium

  1993

  Inverary, Bridge of Douglas

  Aluminium

  1994

  Inverclyde West

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1996

  Irvine

  Aluminium, Lead

  1993

  Kilbirnie (North)

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1992

  Kilmarnock (North)

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1993

  Kilmarnock (South)

  Aluminium, Lead

  1993

  Kilmaurs

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1993

  Kilmelford

  Trihalomethanes

  1993

  Kilmory (Legg) Sliddery

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Lamlash

  Trihalomethanes

  1996

  Lenzie, Millerston, Muirhead and Stepps

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Motherwell (Loch Lomond Supply)

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Muirkirk

  Trihalomethanes

  2001

  Neilston/Uplawmoor

  Aluminium

  1996

  Newarthill (East)

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Paisley (North)

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Paisley (Town)

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1994

  Pirnmill

  Trihalomethanes

  1997

  Prestwick

  Aluminium, Lead

  1993

  Renfrew East, Clarkston, Giffnock, North Mearns area

  Aluminium

  1995

  Renfrewshire South

  Aluminium

  1994

  Renfrewshire West

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Ross of Mull

  Trihalomethanes

  1994

  Rothesay

  Aluminium

  1994

  Saddell

  Trihalomethanes

  1998

  Saltcoats and Stevenston

  Aluminium, Lead

  1993

  Skelmorlie

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1995

  Stewarton and Environs

  Aluminium, Trihalomethanes

  1993

  Strachur

  Aluminium

  1995

  Tarbert

  Aluminium

  1994

  Tayinloan

  Trihalomethanes

  1999

  Tayvallich

  Trihalomethanes

  2000

  Tobermory

  Aluminium

  1993

  Troon, Dundonald (Kilwinning)

  Aluminium, Lead

  1993

  Whitehouse

  Trihalomethanes

  2001

  Western Isles

  Leverburgh

  Lead

  1997

  Northton

  Lead

  1997

  Rodel

  Lead

  1997

  1 "Bact."—microbiological parameters.

  Note: "Compliance dates" are latest dates by which all parameters in zones will comply. Individual parameters may comply earlier.
  468

  Hospitals (Tertiary Referrals)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provision is made for the enumeration of tertiary referrals in hospital(a) in-patient and (b) out-patient treatment as separate consultant episodes; from what date this was done and what arrangements were made for reference back to fund-holding general practitioners for renewed authorisation; if he will estimate the impact of the change in recording and enumeration methods on achieving consistent time-series statistics on numbers of cash treated in hospital; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: Provision for the recording of information on in-patient tertiary referrals is included in the SMR 1 scheme which was introduced in 1961. The scheme, which records the information by consultant episode, has identified the referring general practitioner practice number since 1 January 1991.

  Type of birth

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  Twin

  658

  611

  607

  677

  665

  681

  721

  721

  706

  617

  731

  709

  Triplet

  4

  7

  6

  2

  10

  9

  10

  10

  9

  13

  16

  24

  Quadruplet

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  1

  2

  Quintuplet

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Sextuplet

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Total maternities

  68,689

  68,865

  65,963

  64,776

  64,800

  66,342

  65,456

  65,839

  65,842

  63,090

  65,556

  66,630

  Information on the number of multiple births in Scotland attributed to assisted reproduction is not available. Some information on these matters is published in the first annual report of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and in earlier annual reports of the interim licensing authority, copies of which are available in the Library.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Sporting Attainment
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has for improving levels of sporting attainment among young people in inner cities.

  Mr. Key
  We want to encourage young people to higher levels of sporting achievement both in inner city areas and elsewhere. The Sports Council promotes good practice and partnerships in the inner cities by supporting a range of local initiatives. I am greatly encouraged that the 1993–94 city challenge bids contain significant proposals for improving sports provision.

  English Heritage
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what discussions he has held with the chairman of English Heritage about the proposed move to Nottingham.

  Mr. Key
  My right hon. and learned Friend and I discussed the proposed move with the chairman in May.
  470
  Tertiary referrals to out-patient departments are separately identified on the SMR 0 return which was introduced on 1 April 1991. The return identifies the referring general practitioner practice number.

  It is for individual health boards or trusts to consider what arrangements shall be introduced for reference back to fund holding general practitioners for renewed authorisation.

  There have been no recent changes to the data collection methods which have affected the consistency of time-series on the number of cases treated in hospitals.

  Multiple Births
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the total numbers of(a) sets of (i) twins, (ii) triplets, (iii) quadruplets, (iv) quintuplets and (v) sextuplets born in Scotland in each year from 1980 to 1991, (b) maternities in Scotland in each year and (c) multiple births of each type in each year which were conceived as a result of (1) IVF, (2) GIFT and (3) other forms of assisted conception.

  Mr. Stewart
  The information is as follows:

  Sports Participation
  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what survey his Department has carried out of the proportion of adults in the United Kingdom regularly participating in sporting activities.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what study his Department has carried out of the proportion of adults in the United Kingdom regularly participating in sporting activities.

  Mr. Key
  My Department pays for the inclusion on a three-year cycle of questions in general household survey relating to participation in sport. These questions will next appear in the 1993–94 survey. In addition the Sports Council, which is funded by my Department, was a joint sponsor of the Allied Dunbar national fitness survey the results of which were published on 15 June.

  European Festival of Arts
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will outline his plans for the European festival of arts taking place during the British presidency of the EC.

  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will outline his plans for the European festival of arts taking place during the British presidency of the EC.

  Mr. Mellor
  I have sent each hon. Member a personal copy of the programme for the European arts festival, which contains details of more than 600 events across the United Kingdom.
  471
  In addition, a schools and youth programme is being prepared for publication for the start of the autumn school term. This will include special workshops, visits to exhibitions and performances, competitions for special curriculum awards and a wide range of topic and project work. More than 2,000 schools have so far expressed interest in taking part. I shall send hon. Members a copy when it is available.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consultation was undertaken to determine the programme for the European arts festival.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Festival Director, John Drummond CBE, has consulted extensively in preparing the programme for the European arts festival, including the four arts councils, the regional arts boards, the Museums and Galleries Commission and a large number of arts organisations and others. He has also been supported by a widely based festival committee. In addition, all primary and secondary schools have been invited to participate in the education and youth programme.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consideration was given to the scheduling of more than one event in the European arts festival for North Staffordshire; and if he will make it his policy to consult Staffordshire county council and the Stoke on Trent city council twinning officer to ensure that youth events and events in schools are scheduled for Stoke on Trent, North constituency.

  Mr. Mellor
  The festival programme has very wide coverage. North Staffordshire is one of 250 locations attracting 600 events. Two thousand primary and secondary schools are also involved in the education and youth programme. The festival organisers have been in touch with all local education authorities in the United Kingdom.

  Tourism
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage whether he will take steps to encourage the flow of tourists to Leicestershire.

  Mr. Key
  Nearly half the Government's grant in aid to the English tourist board is devolved, under contract, to help the developmental and promotional work of the regional tourist boards. The East Midlands tourist board, which covers Leicestershire, will this year receive over £400,000 from the ETB. That is a more than 12 per cent. increase over 1991–92.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps the Government are taking to encourage a wider regional spread of tourism.

  Mr. Mellor
  It has always been the policy of this Government to encourage the widest possible geographical spread of tourism. This is reflected in the policies and activities of the British Tourist Authority and the English tourist board. Nearly half of the English tourist board's grant-in-aid received from my Department goes to support the work of the regional tourist boards. This year these boards will receive a total of £6.89 million—double the sum of only three years ago.

  BBC
  Mr. Grocott
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to meet the chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation to discuss the method of appointment of the director general.

  Mr. Mellor
  None. This is a matter for the BBC governors.

  Departmental Functions
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last met representatives of local authority organisations to discuss the functions of his Department.

  Mr. Mellor
  I met the Association of County Councils on Wednesday 17 June.

  Football
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consultations he has had about the implementation of the Taylor report.

  Mr. Mellor
  I completed on 3 July a round of consultations with interested parties on proposals to re-examine the all-seating requirement for Football League grounds. I announced the conclusions of my re-examination last Friday, in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry).

  Public Art
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what initiatives he is considering to promote public art and support for art schemes.

  Mr. Key
  The Department of National Heritage already funds a scheme administered by the Royal Society of Arts known as "Art for Architecture" to encourage the integration of works of art and craftwork into new and refurbished buildings at the planning stage. Since its launch in 1990 the scheme has contributed to 17 projects and has received Government funding totalling over £0.25 million.

  In addition, I welcome the lead taken by the Arts Council in promoting the principles of support for art which also emphasises the fact that art should be integral, rather than peripheral, aspect of new buildings. But at the same time I would like to reaffirm the Government's view that these schemes must be voluntary.

  Arts Funding
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what estimate he has made of the ratio of public to private funding for the arts for the most recent available period.

  Mr. Mellor
  Total Government funding for the Arts in the current year stands at £253 million. Annual business sponsorship of the arts, including corporate membership, was more than £57 million in 1990–91—the latest year for which firm figures are available. The arts also gains substantially from the patronage of businesses and individuals; from grants made by the Foundation for Sport and the Arts; and through the gift aid scheme.
  473
  Mr. Brandreth
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of his Department's spending on the arts goes to the professional arts and what proportion to the voluntary or amateur arts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  Precise figures are not available. The Arts Councils and, particularly, the regional arts boards support the amateur arts in a variety of ways, for example by making grants to festivals and other community events, and by meeting the costs of the involvement of professional artists with amateur groups.

  National Lottery
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what percentage of the national lottery income he expects to be spent in Wales.

  Mr. Mellor
  Arrangements for the distribution of national lottery funds have not yet been decided. The proceeds will be used to benefit good causes and worthwhile projects throughout the nation.

  Fitness
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has had regarding the recent Sports Council-Health Education Authority national fitness survey.

  Mr. Mellor
  The Allied Dunbar national fitness survey was published on 15 June 1992. To date we have received no representations.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Mellor
  It is the Government's policy to relocate Government offices outside London in those cases where it is possible and appropriate to do so, taking into account such factors as effectiveness, efficiency, value for money and accessibility of the site. Of the approximately 1,000 civil servants in the Department of National Heritage, 397 are appropriately located in the Historic Royal Palaces Agency at Hampton Court Palace and other royal palaces, 168 are members of the Royal Parks constabulary and 40 are royal parks staff also appropriately located on site in the royal parks. The remaining 360 senior officials and other policy staff form the central core of DNH. A variety of options for rehousing them are currently under consideration and I shall be making a statement in due course.

  British Sports Forum
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what support he intends to give to the British Sports Forum.

  Mr. Key
  I welcome the formation of the British Sports Forum which will create a tough, authoritative voice for non-governmental sports organisations in the United Kingdom. I itend to invite a member of the forum to sit on the proposed United Kingdom Sports Commission.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total amount spent by public sector employers on training in each year from 1979 to the latest date available on the same basis as shown in "Training Statistics 1991 for 1986–87", published by her Department.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the current unemployment rates in each of Allendale, Corby, Dudly, Glanford, Hartlepool, Isle of Dogs, Middlesbrough, North-east Lancashire, North-west Kent, Rotherham, Salford/ Trafford, Scunthorpe, Speke, Telford, Tyneside, Wakefield, Wellingborough, Delyn, Milford Haven, Swansea, Clydebank, Inverclyde, Invergordon, Tayside, Belfast and Londonderry.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The smallest geographical areas for which unemployment rates are officially compiled are travel-to-work areas—TTWAs. Information for each of these can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Those areas requested for which no matching TTWA exists are listed, along with their nearest equivalent TTWA.

  Area

  "Best fit" TTWA

  Allendale

  Carlisle

  Workington

  Kcswick

  Glanford

  Scunthorpe

  Isle of Dogs

  London

  North East Lancashire

  Clitheroe

  Pendle

  North West Kent

  Medway and Maidstone

  Sittingbourne and Sheerness

  Salford and Trafford

  Manchester

  Speke

  Liverpool

  Tyneside

  Newcastle

  South Tyneside

  Delyn

  Flint and Rhyl

  Milford Haven

  Haverfordwest

  Clydebank

  Glasgow

  Inverclyde

  Greenock

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment she has made of the number of civil servants in her Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Roxborough and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 6 November 1989,Official Report, columns 471–72.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Naturalisation
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 65,623 applications for naturalization made under the provisions of the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 were(a)decided, (b)

  Class

  Decided

  Granted

  Refused

  Principal beneficiaries

  Principal beneficiaries

  Dependents

  Principal beneficiaries

  April-June 1991

  Sensitive Service

  121

  121

  204

  —

  July-September 1991

  General occupational

  Managers and administrators

  37

  37

  80

  —

  Approved occupations

  Statistical assistants

  28

  28

  51

  —

  Disciplined Service

  Independent Commission Against Corruption

  15

  15

  39

  —

  Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

  3

  3

  7

  —

  Entrepreneurs

  31

  31

  24

  —

  Sensitive Service

  500

  500

  954

  —

  October-December 1991

  General occupational

  Managers and administrators

  1

  1

  3

  —

  News Editors and journalists

  58

  58

  88

  —

  Medical doctors

  274

  274

  605

  —

  Legal professionals

  109

  109

  177

  —

  Teaching professionals

  43

  43

  51

  —

  Educational administrators

  24

  24

  46

  —

  Approved occupations

  Statistical assistants

  6

  6

  14

  —

  Translators/Interpreters

  21

  21

  40

  —

  Disciplined Service

  Customs and Excise

  201

  201

  410

  —

  Fire Service

  152

  152

  329

  —

  Independent Commission Against Corruption

  42

  42

  89

  —

  Sensitive Service

  603

  603

  1,129

  —

  General Occupational

  Managers and administrators

  430

  12

  26

  418

  Business professionals

  297

  —

  —

  297

  Accountants and auditors

  861

  —

  —

  861

  Accounting associate professionals

  309

  —

  —

  309

  Information science professionals

  24

  24

  41

  —

  News editors and journalists

  120

  35

  55

  85

  Medical doctors

  505

  57

  128

  448

  Physical & life science professionals

  98

  25

  44

  73

  Nurses and midwives

  885

  527

  967

  358

  Other medical professionals

  120

  —

  —

  120

  Legal professionals

  10

  10

  23

  —

  Legal associate professionals

  109

  —

  —

  109

  Teaching professionals

  206

  96

  162

  110

  Educational administrators

  232

  73

  143

  159

  Other teaching personal

  758

  —

  —

  758

  Approved occupations

  Social work professionals

  29

  29

  60

  —

  Translators/interpreters

  3

  3

  7

  —

  Disciplined Service

  Correctional Service

  332

  332

  711

  —

  Customs and Excise

  59

  59

  121

  —

  Fire Service

  386

  386

  869

  —

  Immigration Service

  22

  22

  45

  —

  Royal Hong Kong Police Force

  31

  31

  82

  —

  Garrison (Army)

  83

  83

  193

  —

  Entrepreneurs

  25

  25

  48

  —

  Sensitive Service

  309

  290

  535

  19

  476
  granted, (c) refuded and (d) withdrawn, under each class and category of the scheme, in each quarter since March 1991; and how many of these applications were from (i) heads of households or (ii) family members.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information about family members is not available for refusals or withdrawals of applications. The remaining information requested is as follows:
  477

  Class

  Decided

  Granted

  Refused

  Principal beneficiaries

  Principal beneficiaries

  Dependents

  Principal beneficiaries

  April-June 1992

  General Occupational

  Managers and administrators

  775

  38

  80

  737

  Business professionals

  775

  315

  459

  460

  Business and administration associate professionals

  2,133

  —

  —

  2,133

  Accountants and auditors

  1,896

  409

  731

  1,487

  Accounting associate professionals

  576

  —

  —

  576

  Engineers and related professionals

  2,900

  —

  —

  2,900

  Architects, planners and surveyors

  1,088

  171

  325

  917

  Engineering associate professionals

  2,894

  63

  121

  2,831

  Information science professionals

  1,778

  834

  986

  944

  News editors and journalists

  207

  15

  19

  192

  Medical doctors

  748

  21

  51

  727

  Physical and life science professionals

  125

  —

  —

  125

  Nurses and midwives

  939

  440

  788

  499

  Other medical professionals

  205

  —

  —

  205

  Health associate professionals

  481

  —

  —

  481

  Legal professionals

  928

  17

  35

  911

  Legal associate professionals

  213

  —

  —

  213

  Teaching professionals

  217

  38

  65

  179

  Educational administrators

  326

  —

  —

  326

  Other teaching personnel

  1,139

  —

  —

  1,139

  Approved occupations

  Computing equipment controllers

  49

  —

  —

  49

  Life science technicians

  17

  —

  —

  17

  Physical science technicians

  92

  —

  —

  92

  Social work professionals

  435

  19

  35

  416

  Statistical assistants

  76

  —

  —

  76

  Translators/interpreters

  214

  —

  —

  214

  Disciplined Service

  Correctional Service

  322

  246

  482

  76

  Customs and Excise

  126

  22

  44

  104

  Fire Service

  442

  174

  429

  268

  Immigration Service

  588

  74

  133

  514

  Independent Commission against corruption

  105

  —

  —

  105

  Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

  3

  —

  —

  3

  Royal Hong Kong Police Force

  402

  402

  906

  —

  Garrison (Army)

  471

  31

  85

  440

  Garrison (Navy)

  36

  —

  —

  36

  Entrepreneurs

  42

  8

  9

  34

  Sensitive Service

  92

  92

  166

  —

  Applications withdrawn up to 30 June 1992

  Class-

  Principal beneficiaries

  General Occupational

  Managers and administrators

  20

  Business professionals

  2

  Business and administration associate professionals

  6

  Accountants and auditors

  7

  Architects, planners and surveyors

  2

  Engineering associate professionals

  5

  Information science professionals

  7

  News editors and journalists

  3

  Medical doctors

  5

  Physical and life science professionals

  1

  Nurses and midwives

  13

  Other medical professionals

  2

  Health associate professionals

  2

  Legal associate professionals

  1

  Teaching professionals

  5

  Educational administrators

  1

  Other teaching personnel

  10

  Approved occupations

  Social work professionals

  2

  Statistical assistants

  2

  Translators/Interpreters

  2

  Disciplined Service

  478

  Class

  Principal beneficiaries

  Correctional Service

  7

  Customs and Excise

  2

  Fire Service

  13

  Immigration Service

  7

  Royal Hong Kong Police Force

  16

  Garrison (Army)

  3

  Entrepreneurs

  2

  Sensitive Services

  14

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for British citizenship under section 4(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981 have been(a) made, (b) granted and (c) refused in each quarter since January 1991; and how many of those granted have been on the grounds of service in the armed forces.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Five applications were received in May 1991 and two in December 1991. Of these, two have been granted, three have been refused and two have not yet been decided. Neither of the two granted was on grounds of service in the armed forces.
  479
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his best estimate as to how many applications for(a) adult registration with entitlement, (b) naturalisation and (c) registration of minors his Department (i) will receive and (ii) expects to grant in 1992–93.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The latest estimate of the numbers of citizenship applications likely to be received and granted in 1992–93 is as follows:

  Intake

  Applications granted

  Adult registration

  4,000

  4,000

  Naturalisation

  25,000

  28,500

  Minor registration

  5,000

  9,500

  Total

  34,000

  42,000

  Visas
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for entry clearance from(a) wives, (b) husbands, (c) fiancés and(d)

  Table 1

  Spouses and fiance(e)s in the Indian sub-continent applying for entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom

  Number of persons or percentage

  Husbands

  1991

  1992

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter

  4th quarter

  Year

  1st quarter

  New Delhi (including Calcutta)

  Applications received1

  70

  70

  50

  60

  240

  80

  Applications granted2

  40

  40

  20

  30

  130

  50

  Applications refused initially

  50

  40

  40

  30

  150

  30

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  52

  n/a

  Bombay (including Madras)

  Applications received

  100

  80

  80

  70

  320

  80

  Applications granted2

  30

  40

  40

  30

  140

  50

  Applications refused initially

  40

  30

  50

  60

  170

  60

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  48

  n/a

  Dhaka

  Applications received1

  130

  190

  200

  280

  800

  210

  Applications granted2

  70

  60

  60

  40

  220

  70

  Applications refused initially

  60

  40

  50

  60

  200

  50

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  43

  n/a

  Islamabad (including Karachi)

  Applications received1

  560

  480

  600

  630

  2,270

  840

  Applications granted2

  380

  440

  300

  380

  1,500

  340

  Applications refused initially

  400

  330

  410

  470

  1,610

  460

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  42

  n/a

  Number of persons or percentage

  Fiances

  1991

  1992

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter

  4th quarter

  Year

  1st quarter

  New Delhi (including Calcutta)

  Applications received1

  50

  50

  50

  30

  180

  40

  Applications granted2

  20

  30

  10

  20

  60

  30

  Applications refused initially

  40

  20

  30

  40

  120

  30

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  67

  n/a

  Bombay (including Madras)

  Applications received1

  70

  50

  20

  30

  180

  70

  Applications granted2

  10

  20

  20

  40

  80

  10

  Applications refused initially

  30

  10

  20

  80

  140

  50

  Refusal rate (percentage)1

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  54

  n/a

  Dhaka

  Applications received1

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  10

  10

  Applications granted2

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  480
  (d) financeées made at British posts in (i) New Delhi, (ii) Bombay, (iii) Calcutta, (iv) Madras, (v) Dhaka, (vi) Islamabad, (vii) Karachi and (viii) Colombo for each quarter since January 1991 were (A) received, (B) granted and (C) refused; how many refusals at each post were (1) wholly and (2) partly because the visa officer was not satisfied that the primary purpose of the marriage was not immigration; how many refusals at each post were (x) wholly and (y) partly because the visa officer was not satisfied that the couple could support and accommodate themselves without recourse to public funds; what was the refusal rate at each post; and what percentage of those refusals were wholly and partly on primary purpose grounds.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information for the Indian sub-continent for each quarter of 1991 and for the first quarter of 1992 is given in the tables. Where the numbers are small, the figures for individual posts have been combined. Information on refusals which takes account of successful appeals is not compiled for periods shorter than 12 months. Corresponding information for Colombo is not available centrally.
  481

  Fiances

  1991

  1992

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter

  4th quarter

  Year

  1st quarter

  Applications refused initially

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  4—

  n/a

  Islamabad (including Karachi)

  Applications received1

  70

  40

  60

  50

  220

  60

  Applications granted2

  50

  50

  70

  40

  220

  30

  Applications refused initially

  70

  30

  50

  40

  190

  20

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  28

  n/a

  Number of persons or percentage

  Wives

  1991

  1992

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter

  4th quarter

  Year

  1st quarter

  New Delhi (including Calcutta)

  Applications received1

  200

  170

  140

  170

  680

  210

  Applications granted2

  130

  110

  150

  160

  540

  180

  Applications refused initially

  20

  20

  40

  20

  90

  30

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  14

  n/a

  Bombay (including Madras)

  Applications received1

  450

  260

  220

  260

  1,180

  420

  Applications granted2

  320

  270

  300

  270

  1,160

  330

  Applications refused initially

  30

  20

  20

  30

  100

  50

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  7

  n/a

  Dhaka

  Applications received1

  240

  290

  320

  290

  1,130

  280

  Applications granted2

  240

  180

  220

  190

  840

  220

  Applications refused initially

  30

  20

  20

  20

  100

  40

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  8

  n/a

  Islamabad (including Karachi)

  Applications received1

  800

  640

  720

  740

  2,900

  910

  Applications granted2

  890

  650

  700

  780

  3,010

  830

  Applications refused initially

  90

  60

  120

  100

  360

  110

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  8

  n/a

  Number of persons or percentage

  Fiancees

  1991

  1992

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter

  4th quarter

  Year

  1st quarter

  New Delhi (including Calcutta)

  Applications received1

  50

  60

  70

  50

  230

  60

  Applications granted2

  40

  10

  30

  30

  110

  30

  Applications refused initially

  30

  10

  20

  20

  70

  20

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  40

  n/a

  Bombay (including Madras)

  Applications received1

  50

  50

  40

  30

  160

  40

  Applications granted2

  30

  20

  10

  60

  130

  30

  Applications refused initially

  10

  5—

  5—

  10

  30

  10

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  10

  n/a

  Dhaka

  Applications received1

  10

  10

  5—

  5—

  20

  5—

  Applications granted2

  5—

  10

  10

  5—

  20

  5—

  Applications refused initially

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  5—

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  4—

  n/a

  Islamabad (including Karachi)

  Applications received1

  40

  60

  60

  60

  210

  50

  Applications granted2

  50

  40

  40

  30

  160

  40

  Applications refused initially

  5—

  10

  20

  20

  50

  10

  Refusal rate (percentage)3

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  24

  n/a

  1 Including applications subsequently withdrawn or lapsed.

  2 Granted initially or on appeal.

  3 Applications refused initially, minus applications granted on appeal, as a percentage of applications decided.

  4 Percentage not calculated for five or fewer applicants refused.

  5 Five or fewer.

  n/a = not available.
  482 483

  Table 2

  Spouses and fiance(e)s in the Indian sub-continent refused1 entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom in 1991

  Number of persons or percentage

  Number refused because couple could not accommodate and/or maintain themselves without recourse to public funds:

  Number refused because primary purpose of the marriage was to obtain admission to the United Kingdom

  Primary purpose refusals as a percentage of all refusals:

  Solely for these reasons

  Partly for these reasons

  Solely for this reason

  Partly for this reason

  Solely on primary purpose grounds

  Partly on primary purpose grounds

  New Delhi (including Calcutta)

  Husbands

  4—

  10

  110

  10

  76

  10

  Fiances

  —

  10

  80

  10

  69

  12

  Wives

  —

  10

  60

  10

  75

  9

  Fiancees

  —

  —

  40

  20

  60

  20

  Bombay

  Husbands

  —

  —

  110

  —

  82

  3

  Fiances

  —

  10

  90

  10

  88

  8

  Wives

  —

  10

  40

  10

  52

  10

  Fiancees

  —

  —

  10

  —

  267

  27

  Ohaka

  Husbands

  20

  30

  70

  40

  43

  21

  Fiances

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3—

  3—

  Wives

  20

  10

  —

  —

  5

  2

  Fiancees

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3—

  3—

  Islamabad (including Karachi)

  Husbands

  20

  380

  550

  380

  52

  35

  Fiances

  —

  20

  40

  30

  52

  34

  Wives

  100

  40

  40

  30

  16

  11

  Fiancees

  20

  10

  —

  —

  6

  4

  Total Indian sub-continent

  Husbands

  40

  430

  840

  430

  56

  29

  Fiances

  —

  40

  210

  50

  70

  17

  Wives

  120

  60

  150

  50

  30

  9

  Fiancees

  20

  10

  60

  20

  40

  13

  1 Applications refused initially, minus applications granted on appeal.

  2 Percentage based on fewer than 15 applications refused.

  3 Percentage not calculated for five or fewer applications refused.

  4 Five or fewer, or ½ per cent, or less.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for entry clearance from(a) wives, (b) husbands, (c) fiancés and (d) fiancées in each British post in all countries apart from those of the Indian sub continent were (a) granted and (b) refused in each quarter since January 1991; how many such applications in each category, at each post and in each quarter were refused (i) wholly and (ii) partly because of the primary purpose rule; what was the refusal rate at each post; and what percentage of those refusals were (x) wholly and (y) partly on primary purpose grounds.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The only information requested which is available centrally is that on applications granted and refused in Hong Kong, and is given in the table.

  Applications in Hong Kong for entry clearance to the United Kingdom

  Number of persons

  Applications

  Granted1

  Refused initially

  Wives

  1991

  1st quarter

  50

  3—

  2nd quarter

  40

  3—

  3rd quarter

  40

  —

  4th quarter

  30

  3—

  1992

  1st quarter

  40

  —

  484

  Applications

  Granted1

  Refused initially

  Husbands, fiances2

  1991

  1st quarter

  20

  3—

  2nd quarter

  20

  3—

  3rd quarter

  30

  3—

  4th quarter

  20

  —

  1992

  1st quarter

  10

  3—

  Fiancees

  1991

  1st quarter

  3—

  3—

  2nd quarter

  10

  —

  3rd quarter

  3—

  —

  4th quarter

  3—

  3—

  1992

  1st quarter

  3—

  —

  —Nil.

  1Granted initially or on appeal.

  2Data for husbands and fiances separately are not available.

  3 Five or fewer.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for(a) single entry and (b) multiple entry visit visas were (A) received, (B) granted and (C) refused at each post in the Indian

  485
  subcontinent, Ghana, Nigeria and Jamaica in each quarter of 1991 and the first quarter of 1992; what was the delay between application and interview for those whose applications were felt to need a second or long interview at each of the above posts in (i) June 1991, (ii) January 1992, (iii) June 1992 or (iv) the nearest available date.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information on applications in Jamaica for a visit entry clearance, and separate information on applications in the other countries for single entry and multiple entry visit visas, are not available centrally. The other information requested is given in the tables.

  Table 1: Persons applying for a visit visa to the United Kingdom

  Number of persons Applications

  Newly received1

  Granted

  Refused initially

  Dhaka

  1991

  1st quarter

  1,700

  1,230

  400

  2nd quarter

  3,180

  2,470

  580

  3rd quarter

  3,730

  2,790

  810

  4th quarter

  2,830

  1,980

  750

  Year

  11,450

  8,480

  2,530

  1992

  1st quarter

  2,450

  1,780

  560

  New Delhi

  1991

  1st quarter

  7,360

  5,620

  600

  2nd quarter

  16,750

  13,330

  1,400

  3rd quarter

  13,130

  9,770

  1,190

  4th quarter

  6,460

  5,040

  620

  Year

  43,700

  33,750

  3,810

  1992

  1st quarter

  7,190

  5,580

  760

  Bombay

  1991

  1st quarter

  6,700

  5,400

  1,140

  2nd quarter

  16,660

  14,350

  2,060

  3rd quarter

  9,760

  8,840

  1,390

  4th quarter

  5,360

  4,520

  720

  Year

  38,480

  33,120

  5,300

  1992

  1st quarter

  6,770

  5,870

  790

  Calcutta

  1991

  1st quarter

  980

  920

  40

  2nd quarter

  2,890

  2,770

  50

  3rd quarter

  2,020

  1,940

  30

  4th quarter

  870

  850

  40

  Year

  6,760

  6,480

  160

  1992

  1st quarter

  1,130

  1,080

  30

  Madras

  1991

  1st quarter

  1,540

  1,490

  50

  2nd quarter

  3,440

  3,380

  70

  3rd quarter

  3,040

  2,970

  60

  4th quarter

  1,230

  1,180

  60

  Year

  9,250

  9,010

  230

  1992

  486

  Number of persons Applications

  Newly received1

  Granted

  Refused initially

  1st quarter

  1,960

  1,900

  40

  Islamabad

  1991

  1st quarter

  6,930

  4,600

  2,040

  2nd quarter

  14,050

  9,570

  3,420

  3rd quarter

  14,470

  8,770

  4,150

  4th quarter

  8,650

  4,620

  3,050

  Year

  44,110

  27,570

  12,650

  1992

  1st quarter

  7,870

  4,350

  2,430

  Karachi

  1991

  1st quarter

  2,720

  2,510

  250

  2nd quarter

  8,410

  7,290

  830

  3rd quarter

  7,310

  6,220

  900

  4th quarter

  4,630

  3,660

  910

  Year

  23,070

  19,680

  2,890

  1992

  1st quarter

  3,660

  2,910

  540

  Accra

  1991

  1st quarter

  3,280

  2,320

  520

  2nd quarter

  5,990

  4,840

  1,060

  3rd quarter

  6,690

  4,920

  1,530

  4th quarter

  3,590

  2,470

  1,130

  Year

  19,550

  14,550

  4,240

  1992

  1st quarter

  2,710

  1,920

  820

  Lagos

  1991

  1st quarter

  13,520

  8,960

  3,160

  2nd quarter

  14,340

  8,960

  3,400

  3rd quarter

  7,090

  9,030

  2,530

  4th quarter

  17,810

  12,150

  4,980

  Year

  52,760

  39,090

  14,070

  1992

  1st quarter

  11,410

  7,210

  2,590

  Kaduna

  1991

  1st quarter

  1,320

  1,060

  170

  2nd quarter

  2,040

  1,550

  360

  3rd quarter

  2,660

  2,150

  360

  4th quarter

  1,960

  1,440

  520

  Year

  7,980

  6,210

  1,420

  1992

  1st quarter

  1,670

  1,160

  400

  1 Including applications subsequently withdrawn.

  Table 2: Waiting time for persons applying for a visit visa who required a lengthy interview

  Number of days

  Post

  Waiting time for person interviewed at end of period

  June 1991

  January 1992

  May 1992

  Dhaka

  1—

  1—

  1—

  New Delhi

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Bombay

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Calcutta

  1—

  1—

  1—

  487

  Post

  Waiting time for person interviewed at end of period

  June 1991

  January 1992

  May 1992

  Madras

  1

  1—

  1—

  Islamabad

  1

  8

  9

  Karachi

  1—

  3

  414

  Accra

  5

  22

  39

  Lagos

  15

  25

  32

  Kaduna

  8

  28

  38

  2 Same day.

  2 At end of December 1990.

  3 At end of March 1991.

  4 At end of April 1992.

  Admissions to the United Kingdom of BDTCs and BN(O)s from Hong Kong

  Number

  Admission category

  1991

  1992

  1st quarter

  2nd quarter

  3rd quarter

  4th quarter

  Year

  1st quarter1

  Visitors

  ordinary

  4,950

  9,050

  18,400

  7,140

  39,600

  7,700

  business

  1,090

  1,410

  1,480

  1,400

  5,390

  1,590

  Students

  460

  300

  7,320

  1,010

  9,100

  490

  Husbands and fiances2

  10

  20

  20

  20

  60

  10

  Wives and Fiances2

  40

  40

  50

  30

  170

  30

  Parents and Grandparents2

  10

  3—

  3—

  10

  30

  3—

  Children2

  50

  50

  120

  30

  240

  20

  1 Provisional figures.

  2 Seeking, or accepted for, settlement in the United Kingdom.

  3 Five or fewer.

  Immigration
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding immigration applications there are at Lunar house from(a) students, (b) family members in the United Kingdom applying for variation of stay, (c) settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts and (d) asylum-seekers; and what are the average times applicants in each category might expect to wait before a decision.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The available information is that at end of June 1992 there were in total about 20,700 cases in the general immigration caseworking groups—including eastern European cases and referred entry clearance applications—the majority of which were under consideration or the subject of further inquiries, and about 59,700 cases in the asylum and special cases division.

  The estimated average length of time between the receipt of an application and the decision, for cases decided in caseworking groups and the public inquiry offices, in the first quarter of 1992, was two months for students and 17½ months for asylum applications. Information on average waiting times for family members in the United Kingdom for variation of leave and for settlement entry clearance applications referred from overseas posts is not available.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were received into prison department establishments under Immigration Act powers during(a) 1991 and (b) 1992 to the latest convenient date, by individual prison establishment; what was the average daily population of persons so detained in each of those years; what was the average length of time

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) British nationals and (b) holders of certificates of identity from Hong Kong have been admitted to the United Kingdom in each quarter since January 1991 as (i) persons of independent means, (ii) self-employed persons, (iii) business people (iv) visitors (v) students (vi) husbands and fiancés, (vii) wives and fiancées and (viii) other dependent relatives.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The available information for British dependent territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) from Hong Kong is given in the table. Data on admissions of holders of certificates of identity from Hong Kong are not available.

  spent in detention by persons so detained in each of those years; and whether he will give a breakdown by nationality of persons so detained for each of those years.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information about detainees received into prison service establishments in England and Wales under the Immigration Act 1971 in 1991 and the first quarter of 1992 is given by establishment and nationality in the tables.

  The provisional average population in 1991, including persons originally received for a criminal offence, was 222. The average period of detention in 1991 is provisionally estimated as about eight weeks. The corresponding averages for the first quarter of 1992 are 216 and just over nine weeks.

  Receptions of persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 into prison service establishments in England and Wales: by establishment, 1991 and March quarter 1992

  Number of persons

  Establishment

  March quarter

  11991

  11992

  Remand Centres

  Brinsford

  —

  2

  Brockhill

  1

  —

  Dorchester

  —

  1

  Feltham

  10

  4

  Glen Parva

  1

  —

  Haslar

  443

  84

  Hindley

  1

  —

  Low Newton

  —

  2

  Moorland

  —

  1

  Local Prisons

  Bedford

  3

  1

  Belmarsh

  14

  6

  Birmingham

  71

  26

  Bristol

  19

  5

  Brixton

  16

  1

  Canterbury

  36

  —

  489

  Establishment

  March quarter

  11991

  11992

  Cardiff

  4

  —

  Chelmsford

  5

  —

  Dorchester

  6

  6

  Durham

  5

  1

  Exeter

  4

  8

  Gloucester

  8

  1

  Holloway

  34

  13

  Hull

  16

  2

  Leeds

  18

  7

  Leicester

  55

  6

  Lewes

  4

  2

  Lincoln

  10

  2

  Liverpool

  4

  3

  New Hall

  2

  —

  Norwich

  18

  2

  Oxford

  6

  —

  Pentonville

  378

  68

  Preston

  14

  13

  Pucklechurch

  2

  —

  Reading

  2

  —

  Risley

  2

  —

  Shrewsbury

  —

  2

  Swansea

  6

  —

  Winchester

  2

  1

  Wormwood Scrubs

  4

  9

  All establishmenls

  1,224

  279

  1 The figures, which are provisional are those recorded centrally and are approximate: detailed checking of individual cases would involve disproportionate cost.

  Receptions of persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 into prison service establishments in England and Wales: by nationality, 1991 and March quarter 1992

  Number of persons

  Nationality

  March quarter

  11991

  21992

  Algeria

  8

  14

  Angola

  3

  9

  Bangladesh

  36

  7

  Colombia

  8

  2

  Cyprus

  —

  2

  Ethiopia

  5

  —

  France

  6

  5

  Germany

  2

  2

  Ghana

  33

  19

  Hong Kong

  11

  7

  India

  70

  48

  Jamaica

  12

  9

  Liberia

  —

  3

  Mauritius

  —

  2

  Morocco

  11

  5

  Netherlands

  —

  2

  Nigeria

  76

  50

  Pakistan

  29

  13

  Romania

  6

  1

  South Africa

  1

  4

  Turkey

  26

  19

  United States of America

  2

  3

  Yugoslavia

  4

  3

  Zaire

  28

  16

  Other nationalities

  275

  312

  Not recorded

  772

  22

  All nationalities

  1,224

  279

  1 The figures, which are provisional are those recorded centrally and are approximate: detailed checking of individual cases would involve disproportionate cost.

  2 Where fewer than five were recorded.

  3 Where fewer than two were recorded.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were detained 490
  under Immigration Act powers for a period of more than two months on completion of a custodial sentence during 1991.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  During 1991, 36 people were so detained for a period of more than two months. This figure excludes the subjects of deportation orders who served a custodial sentence of seven days or less and in relation to whom the information is not readily available.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons detained under Immigration Act powers applied to the Home Office to be allowed to depart voluntarily under(a) the supervised departure provisions and (b) the voluntary departure provisions of the immigration rules in each quarter since January 1991.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The readily available information relates to persons subject to deportation action who were removed under the supervised departure procedures, or left voluntarily, and persons dealt with as illegal entrants who left voluntarily. This information is given in tables 14 and 15 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration; Statistics—Third and Fourth Quarters and Year 1991", a copy of which is in the Library. In the first quarter of 1992, 227 persons subject to deportation action were removed under the supervised departure procedures and 15 left voluntarily, and 82 persons dealt with as illegal entrants left voluntarily; these figures are provisional. Most of these persons will have been detained prior to departure. A number will have been subject to restrictions as an alternative to detention, but such cases could be separately identified only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the(a) passengers in total and (b) persons treated as illegal entrants who were granted temporary admission in 1991 subsequently absconded.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The available information relates to the number of persons who absconded, either from detention or by failing to respond to the terms of temporary admission/release, and is given in the table. Separate information on these two types of absconder is not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Absconders in 1991

  Category of person

  Number of persons

  Passengers 1

  601

  Illegal entrants

  168

  1Includes some absconders recorded as "illegal entrants"

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the European Commission about the entitlement of persons visiting or seeking asylum in other European Community countries to enter the United Kingdom as from 1 January 1993; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I have had no discussion with the Commission specifically on these matters, which are considered among the Twelve on an intergovernmental basis outside the treaty of Rome.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the
  491
  decision by the European Court of Justice in the case of Surinder Singh with regard to the enforcement of United Kingdom immigration rules under the treaty of Rome; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The case of Mr. Surinder Singh will now be considered by the High Court in the light of the decision by the European Court of Justice on the relevant point of Community law. It would not be appropriate for me to comment in detail on this particular case in advance of the High Court's judgment.

  I will carefully study the judgments of both Courts and consider their wider implications, but at present I see no need to amend the immigration rules in the light of the case.

  Deportation
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were recommended for deportation with no custodial sentence during(a) 1991 and (b) 1992 to the latest convenient date; and in how many such cases the courts directed release (i) subject to conditions and (ii) without conditions.

  Table 1

  Persons applying for a special voucher for entry to the United Kingdom

  Country

  Applications newly received1

  Vouchers issued

  Applications awaiting a decision at end of quarter

  1991

  1992 1st quarter

  1991

  1992 1st quarter

  Quarter 2 1991

  Quarter 4 1991

  India

  370

  110

  600

  220

  560

  480

  Kenya

  200

  50

  220

  40

  550

  520

  Tanzania

  30

  10

  20

  3—

  80

  70

  Malawi

  3—

  4—

  10

  4—

  10

  4—

  Zambia

  20

  10

  20

  10

  10

  3—

  Rest of the world

  20

  4—

  20

  3—

  10

  3—

  Total

  640

  180

  890

  270

  1,220

  1,070

  1 Including applications subsequently withdrawn or lapsed.

  2 Total may differ from sum of countries due to rounding.

  3 Five or fewer.

  4 Nil.

  Table 2

  Waiting times for persons applying for a special voucher

  Months

  Waiting time to main interview for:

  Persons interviewed at end of quarter

  Persons applying at end of quarter1

  Quarter 2 1991

  Quarter 4 1991

  Quarter 1 1992

  Quarter 1 1992

  India2

  15.00

  6.00

  6.00

  6.00

  Kenya

  3—

  3—

  n/a

  1.25

  Tanzania

  1.00

  1.00

  1.00

  1.00

  Malawi

  0.25

  0.25

  0.25

  0.25

  Zambia

  1.00

  1.00

  1.00

  1.00

  Rest of the world

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1 Data relate to expected waiting time.

  2 Data relate to non-priority applicants. Priority applicants—widows with a child in the United Kingdom, heads of household aged 65 or over, and special compassionate cases—are interviewed within three months.

  3 = within a week.

  n/a Not available.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.
  492
  Mr. Charles Wardle
  During 1991, 27 people were recommended for deportation by the courts with no custodial sentence and six during the first half of 1992. The other information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Special Quota Vouchers
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were waiting for special quota vouchers in(a) India, (b) east Africa and (c) the rest of the world in (i) May 1991 and (ii) December 1991; when those issued with vouchers on those dates had applied; how many vouchers were issued in (1) India, (2) east Africa and (3) the rest of the world in (A) 1991 and (B) the first quarter of 1992; when those applying can now expect to receive vouchers; and how many applicants there were for vouchers in (v) India, (w) east Africa and (x) the rest of the world in (y) 1991 and (z) the first half of 1992.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The information which is currently available is given in the tables.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The Home Office has completed a number of relocation reviews as part of the Government's programme to move civil service posts away from London and the south-east. Plans are well advanced for relocation of the prison service headquarters to Derby in 1993–95, the directorate of telecommunications headquarters to Ruddington—near Nottingham—in 1992 and accounts branch to Merseyside in 1991–92—which involve over
  493
  1,600 posts moving from the south-east and others from elsewhere in the country. The police national computer organisation is looking at relocation as part of a wider review. The Home Office keeps under review the location of work in accordance with central guidelines.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 16 June,Official Report, column 428, whether inquiries made by anyone other than the subject of the record cause such temporary records to be retained; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  It is whether inquiries have been made by the Security Service since the coming into force of the Security Service Act 1989 which determines whether temporary records need to be retained for tribunal purposes in order to comply with the view of the Security Service Commissioner.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the Security Service's policy in relation to temporary records made since the coming into effect of the Security Service Act 1989 after they become more than three years old.

  Property

  Type

  Number of units

  Period vacant months

  Future use

  Haverlock house. Forest Hill

  Flat

  1

  15

  Awaiting allocation

  Flat

  1

  11

  Awaiting allocation

  Flat

  1

  10

  Awaiting allocation

  Flat

  1

  9

  Awaiting allocation

  Flat

  1

  8

  Awaiting allocation

  Flat

  2

  6

  Awaiting allocation

  The Hermitage, Forest Hill

  Flat

  1

  2

  On offer

  Flat

  1

  1 week

  Awaiting allocation

  Moore house, Willow way, Sydenham

  Flat

  1

  13

  Under review

  Flat

  1

  9

  Under review

  Flat

  1

  5

  Under review

  Flat

  1

  2 weeks

  Under review

  103 Ronver road

  House

  1

  8

  On offer

  44 Ravensbourne park

  House

  1

  9

  On offer

  10 Forestholme close

  House

  1

  7

  On offer

  21 Forestholme close

  House

  1

  3

  On offer

  1 Arne walk

  House

  1

  3 weeks

  Under review

  44 Longton grove

  House

  1

  5

  On offer

  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of empty residential properties in the London borough of Lewisham in the ownership of his Department, the type of accommodation available and how long each property has been vacant; and what is the intended future use.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  There are no empty residential properties owned by the Department in the London borough of Lewisham.
  494
  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  If they have not by that time been converted into permanent files, or destroyed because no inquiries had been made on the subject since the coming into force of the Act, such temporary records are retained for the purposes of the complaints tribunal.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many records in the categories referred to in paragraph 24 of the Security Service Commissioner's report for 1991 (Cm 1946) have not been destroyed.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  In cases where no inquiries have been made since the coming into force of the 1989 Act, the Security Service's policy, in accordance with the view of the commissioner, is that no files in the cateogories referred to should be retained.

  Empty Housing
  Ms. Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of empty residential properties in the London borough of Lewisham in the ownership of the Metropolitan police and the type of accommodation available; how long each property has been vacant; and what is the intended future use.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The information is as follows:

  Overseas Voters
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of sending annual reminders to overseas voters wishing to register under the Representation of the People Act 1989 for each year since 1980 and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Annual reminders are sent to overseas electors by electoral registration officers. Details of the costs are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the Government's total
  495
  budget for advertising and publicising the new provisions for overseas voting (a) in the Representation of the People Act 1985 and (b) in the Representation of the People Act 1989; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The total costs of advertising the provisions of the Representation of the People Acts 1985 and 1989 were £279,000 and £705,000 respectively. In addition, £1,400 was spent in 1991 on updating posters used in British diplomatic posts abroad.

  British National Party
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the seizure of literature from the BNP headquarters in Welling earlier in the current year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  On Thursday 9 January, the Metropolitan police searched the headquarters of the British National party. A search warrant had been granted in the belief that material inciting racial hatred might be found there.

  A number of magazines were seized and submitted to the Crown prosecution service for advice as to whether the possession and distribution of them constituted offences under the Race Relations and Public Order Acts.

  The police have been informed that, in counsel's opinion, the articles were insufficient to justify prosecution.

  Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 as amended by section 1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1964, 1981 to 1990

  England and Wales

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  Total prosecuted

  347

  282

  491

  583

  275

  129

  121

  158

  125

  174

  Total found guilty

  211

  234

  370

  429

  226

  126

  93

  130

  96

  116

  Total sentenced

  208

  235

  370

  429

  225

  129

  93

  130

  96

  118

  Absolute discharge

  —

  —

  2

  —

  1

  —

  —

  3

  —

  —

  Conditional discharge

  10

  9

  6

  13

  11

  3

  4

  8

  1

  5

  Fine

  136

  128

  248

  291

  130

  80

  63

  77

  53

  57

  Probation order

  —

  —

  1

  —

  3

  1

  2

  3

  2

  1

  Community service order

  2

  1

  3

  3

  4

  1

  4

  1

  1

  4

  Fully suspended sentence

  39

  39

  60

  77

  50

  20

  10

  17

  17

  30

  Immediate custody

  21

  56

  50

  42

  25

  15

  10

  18

  19

  19

  Otherwise dealt with

  —

  2

  —

  3

  1

  9

  —

  3

  3

  2

  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many items have been seized under section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 by the Metropolitan police in each year of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Jack
  Figures for 1982 to 1984 are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures for 1985 to 1992 are as follows:

  Year

  Warrants executed

  Items seized

  1985

  52

  286,511

  1986

  46

  560,047

  1987

  90

  813,243

  1988

  101

  655,119

  1989

  166

  356,478

  1990

  142

  120,821

  1991

  116

  34,696

  11992

  36

  5,007

  1January to May only.

  The decline in numbers of items seized, as opposed to the number of warrants executed, is accounted for by the

  Female Circumcision
  Mrs. Roe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government are taking to prevent young girls being taken out of the United Kingdom to be circumcised.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  A person may apply to a court for an order to prohibit the removal of a child from the country, if he has reasonable grounds to believe that the child if taken abroad would suffer harm. The police at airports and seaports maintain a list, which is also given to the immigration service, of children who are believed to be under threat of removal. Immigration officers are instructed to check this list when a child embarks alone or in the company of one parent or an adult who is not a parent, and to notify any identified subject of the list to a police officer.

  Obscene Publications Act 1959
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959; and of those found guilty what sentence was imposed.

  Mr. Jack
  The information is given in the table.

  obscene publications branch's concentration of effort on cases involving child pornography, in which typical seizures involve fewer individual articles.

  South Wales Police
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 7 July,Official Report, column 131 if he will make a statement on the reasons for deciding not to revise his assessment of uniform needs of the south Wales police following the undertaken assessment of the urban/rural split in the south Wales area.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  We have undertaken to include the definition of urban and rural areas in our review of the allocation formula. Decisions on the next round of allocations to individual forces will be informed of the outcome.

  Michael Shirley
  Sir Dudley Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce the result of the inquiry into the conviction for murder of Michael Shirley.

  Mr. Jack
  Mr. Shirley's case is currently being considered in the light of a recently received police report and representations from his solicitor. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as a decision has been reached.

  Sir Dudley Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to end the hunger strike of Michael Shirley at Long Lartin prison.

  Mr. Jack
  The medical officer is closely monitoring Mr. Michael Shirley's condition in the prison hospital and, although he has refused food since 26 June, he is accepting liquids. Physically, he is stable and staff continue to counsel him to persuade him to end his protest.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Ms. Hoey) of 15 June,Official Report, column 376, if he will provide comparable information for the periods (a) I October 1990 to 31 March 1991 and (b) 1 October 1991 to 31 March 1992; and what changes in policy with regard to asylum decisions there have been since April 1991.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information on decisions on asylum applications taken in the periods I October 1990 to 31 March 1991 and 1 October 1991 to 31 March 1992 is given in the table.

  There have been no changes in policy in making decisions: applications continue to be determined according to article 1 of the 1951 United Nations refugees convention. Procedural measures were introduced in

  Air support unit

  Type of helicopter

  Owner

  Operator

  Maintenance

  Pilotage

  Estimated cost 1992–93 £000s

  West Mercia and Staffordshire

  MBB BO 105 DB

  Veritair Ltd.

  Veritair Ltd.

  Veritair Ltd.

  Veritair Ltd.

  570

  Devon and Cornwall

  MBB BO 105 DBS4

  Devon and Cornwall Police Authority

  Devon and Cornwall Constabulary

  Devon and Cornwall Constabulary

  Aeromega Helicopters

  516

  Dyfed Powys

  Aerospatiale AS 355N

  Dyfed Powys Police Authority

  Dyfed Powys Police

  McAlpine Helicopters

  Dyfed Powys Police Authority

  295

  Essex

  Aerospatiale AS 355 F1

  Aeromega Ltd.

  Aeromega Ltd.

  Aeromega Ltd.

  Aeromega Ltd.

  455

  Greater Manchester

  Aerospatiale AS 355 F2

  Greater Manchester Police

  Greater Manchester Police

  McAlpine Helicopters

  Operational Support Services Ltd.

  466

  Merseyside

  Aerospatiale AS 355

  Merseyside Police Authority

  Operational Support Services Ltd.

  McAlpine Helicopters

  Operational Support Services Ltd.

  487

  Metropolitan

  3 x Bell 222

  Metropolitan Police

  Metropolitan Police

  Metropolitan Police

  Bristow Helicopters

  1,800

  Northumbria

  Aerospatiale AS 355 F1

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  800

  498
  November 1991 to require all undocumented applicants to attend an interview to establish identity, and to reduce other opportunities for fraud.

  Decisions1 on asylum applications, excluding dependants

  October 1990 to 31 March 1991

  21 October 1991 to 31 March 1992

  Granted asylum

  350

  250

  Granted exceptional leave

  1,435

  2,035

  Refused asylum and exceptional leave after determination of case

  510

  1,165

  Refused on safe third country grounds

  320

  250

  Refused under paragraph 101 of the Immigration Rules4 5

  —

  4,730

  1 Provisional figures rounded to nearest 5.

  2 Figures may understate because of delays in recording.

  3 Figure for 1 January 1991–31 March 1991 only. These refusals for 1 October 1990–31 December 1990 are included in "Refused asylum and exceptional leave after determination of case".

  4 For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitations to interview to establish identity.

  5 Separate figures only available from 1 December 1991. Prior to this, these refusals are included in "Refused asylum and exceptional leave after determination of case".

  Police Helicopter Use
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the contracts for each police force in England and Wales for the full-time or part-time use of helicopters; what is the availability for each area; and what is the annual cost in each area.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The operation of police air support units is a matter for chief constables. The table shows the information which is available centrally on the 14 air support units which operate helicopters.

  It would not be in the operational interest of the police to disclose details of the availability of helicopters.
  499

  Air support unit

  Type of helicopter

  Owner

  Operator

  Maintenance

  Pilotage

  Estimated cost 1992–93 £000s

  Sussex

  MBB BO 105 DBS-4

  Police Aviation Services

  Sussex Police

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  707

  Thames Valley

  Aerospatiale AS 355 F1

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  500

  Warwickshire

  Schweizer 300C

  Warwickshire Constabulary

  Warwickshire Constabulary

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  110

  West Midlands

  Aerospatiale AS 355 F2

  West Midlands Police Authority

  West Midlands Police

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  570

  West Yorkshire

  MBB BO 105 DBS4

  West Yorkshire Police Authority

  West Yorkshire Police

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  439

  Wiltshire

  MBB BO 105D

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  Police Aviation Services

  490

  Prison Visitors
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many black and ethnic minority people were appointed to the board of visitors of prisons in England and Wales in the financial year 1990–91.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  In 1990–91, 195 appointments were made to boards of visitors.

  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken by his Department to increase black and ethnic minority representations on the boards of visitors of prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  In making appointments to a board of visitors, consideration is given to the abilities of the individual candidate to discharge the duties effectively and the desirability of maintaining, so far as possible, a representative balance on the board in terms, for example, of age, sex and social and ethnic background. No fewer than two members of the board are required to be justices of the peace. The membership of individual boards is reviewed every three years.

  Advice on the selection and appointment of new members forms part of the training of chairmen of boards of visitors and is also included in the "Notes for the guidance of Chairmen" in the "Handbook for Members of Boards of Visitors", a copy of which I have placed in the library.

  The current ethnic make-up of boards is as follows:

  Percentage of members in post on 7 July 1992

  Ethnic origin

  Percentage

  Asian

  2.31

  Black

  3.80

  White

  64.15

  Other

  0.25

  Not known

  29.49

  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appointments were made to the boards of visitors of prisons in England and Wales in the financial year 1990–91.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The figures for 1990–91 are given. These do not include those 63 members who were 500
  appointed during the relevant period but have since resigned; this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Number appointed to Boards of Visitors 1990–91

  Ethnic Origin

  Number

  Asian

  1

  Black

  2

  White

  59

  Other

  0

  Not known1

  70

  1 The figures are based upon self-assessment and not all members choose to disclose their ethnic origin.

  Bail
  Mr. Stephen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to give the prosecution the right of appeal to a judge in chambers on the ground that bail has been unreasonably granted by magistrates.

  Mr. Jack
  We have no immediate plans to do so; but we have received a representation on this point and it will be considered as part of our wider exercise of examining the issues affecting the bail decision-taking process.

  Miss Megan Bloem
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the appeal by Miss Megan Bloem case B 500534 will be determined.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  [holding answer 9 July 1992]: When the Home Office has prepared an explanatory statement setting out the facts and the reasons for the decision, it will be for the immigration appellate authorities to arrange for the appeal to be heard.

  Police Retirements
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the number of early retirements from the police on medical grounds for each police force for each of the last three years.

  Mr. Wardle
  I will write to the hon. Member.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Protective Equipment
  Mr. Hawksley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if a thimble is too small to carry a mechanical pictogram CE mark as described in annex 11, section 2.12 of the personal protective equipment directive, how big it should be before it is exempt.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  All PPE units covered by the personal protective equipment directive 89/686/EEC are required to bear the CE mark both on the unit, regardless of its size, and its packaging. Thimbles for private use are not covered by the directive. Those for professional use are.

  A Commission proposal on the CE mark currently under discussion would, if adopted as currently drafted, amend the directive and other new approach directives to provide for the mark to be affixed to the packaging or other associated documentation where for practical reasons it cannot be placed on the unit itself.

  Paragraph 2.12 of annex II of the directive relates to identification or recognition marks other than the CE mark.

  Green Minister
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will outline the priorities for future action of the green Minister in his Department(a) over the next year and (b) over this Parliament;and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Over the next 12 months, I shall continue to follow up specific commitments relevant to my Department in the White paper Cm 1200 "This Common Inheritance" in the subsequent "First Year Report", Cm 1655, and in the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio on 12June. I shall also be giving priority to the further development of a strategy for integrating environmental considerations into the day-to-day management of my Department.

  For the longer term, I will continue to ensure that environmental considerations are integrated into the development of all the policies and programmes of my Department where relevant. I shall also continue the practice established by my predecessor of including a report on the environmental aspects of my Department's activities in the annual trade and industry expenditure plans.

  Certification Industry
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resources available to the National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies to enable it to respond to the expansion in the certification industry both in Europe and internationally;

  (2) in what circumstances Government purchasers and regulatory bodies are willing to accept third party certification in lieu of separate supplier assessments;

  (3) what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the measures that were introduced in 1985 to improve the competence of certification bodies;

  (4) what is the Government's policy in respect of competition amongst certification bodies;
  502
  (5) what restrictions exist on a certification body which has received Government accreditation as attestation of competence for a function from offering a non-accredited service for the same function;

  (6) what assessment his Department has made of the sufficiency of information technology expertise in the National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies and supporting industry structures, to ensure continued development and expansion of certification services in the field of information technology.

  Mr. Leigh
  Since accreditation of certification bodies in the United Kingdom, is confined to United Kingdom bodies or others under United Kingdom jurisdiction, the role of the National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies is limited to providing advice on the suitability or otherwise of such bodies. There is therefore no direct resource implication for the NACCB resulting from the expansion of the certification industry in Europe and internationally. In addition, the NACCB recoups the full economic costs of its assessments through the fees it charges; and increase in its workload which might occur would therefore generally be self-financing.

  The NACCB has adequate resources to finance its consequential work to promote the development of and co-operation between national accreditation systems throughout Europe including participation in international discussion of accreditation issues.

  Information Technology
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration his Department has given to possible confusion concerning the status and standing of BSi QA within the information technology industry.

  Mr. Leigh
  BSi Quality Assurance is a commercial business offering certification services. As it forms part of the British Standards Institution it could he perceived that BSi QA is the only body which may offer certification to British Standards. In fact, a number of other certification bodies have also been accredited to offer such services and yet others may apply in the future. Officials in my Department take every opportunity to advise enquirers from the IT industry that competition exists in the market for certification services, and that the DTI QA register contains names and addresses of all the certification bodies and the services they offer. The register is available from HMSO and a copy is located in the House of Commons Library.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment has been made of the costs of establishing IT certification conducted by qualified IT-literate specialists relative to the costs of damage done by low IT-skilled auditors.

  Mr. Leigh
  IT-literate specialists are now able to qualify as auditors for software quality management system certification following introduction of the TickIT scheme. This scheme was initiated at the behest of both the United Kingdom information technology industry and IT users more widely. My Department has supported development of the TickIT Guide, TickIT auditor qualifications, a professional auditor register, and auditor training course material. The scheme seeks to improve the standard of IT
  503
  quality management system—QMS—auditing and to date more than 35 auditors have qualified under the TickIT scheme.

  Both IT suppliers and users perceive considerable benefit in the use of qualified IT professionals as auditors, because added value can accrue through having experienced IT practitioners examine and comment on company QMS. The cost/benefit of this approach is also evident through the enthusiasm with which industry at large is beginning to adopt TickIT, and more than 60 companies have achieved certification under this scheme.

  A copy of the TickIT guide is located in the House of Commons Library.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of the number, and names of all TickIT-accredited bodies which have gained full acceptance by the European Organisation for Testing and Certification.

  Mr. Leigh
  EOTC is the European Organisation for Testing and Certification. It is an umbrella body which oversees ECITC—the European Committee on information technology certification—a sectoral committee which in turn oversees the ITQS agreement group, the recognition arrangement for assessment and certification of quality systems in information technology. Agreement groups comprise signatories to arrangements for the mutual recognition of certificates relating to the provision of services. ITQS has as its remit the certification of IT quality management systems, using a common set of rules based on European and International standards.

  There are four certification bodies accredited for TickIT in the United Kingdom—BSi Quality Assurance, Bureau Veritas Quality International Ltd, Det Norske Veritas Quality Assurance, of which the first named is also a member of EOTC.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what current or planned initiatives exist aimed at developing the European information technology industry.

  Mr. Leigh
  In accordance with the EC Industry Council resolution on electronics, information and communications technologies of 18 November 1991, the European Commission is carrying out a number of studies in this field; and is setting up a centralised point of information to monitor marketing, market access and distribution practices. In addition the Community's ESPRIT and Telematics R and D programmes aim to strengthen the European science and technology base in IT.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the relationship and possible competition between the TickIT scheme and BSi QA(a) domestically and (b) in the international community.

  Mr. Leigh
  TickIT is a scheme which provides for accredited independent certification of quality management systems—QMS—in the software development process in the United Kingdom. Its use internationally is also welcome and there is growing interest from outside the UK.

  BSi QA is a commercial business, offering certification services, including services within the TickIT scheme. It is understood that BSi QA offer TickIT accredited
  504
  certification both domestically and internationally. BSI QA has also offered non-accredited certification in the information technology field; it has furthermore received accreditation by the relevant authority in the Netherlands for provision of certification services in IT.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans his Department has to further information technology certification, to underpin the interoperability of telecommunications, computer and software technology.

  Mr. Leigh
  My Department's approach is that credible IT conformance testing can greatly assist progress towards interoperability. It may be expected that as conformance testing becomes increasingly adopted by the market, so should certification become increasingly influential in promoting user confidence in interoperable products. Therefore my Department is already providing support in establishing a testing infrastructure including the establishment of an United Kingdom open systems interconnection test service.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of the arrangements his Department is making to permit other countries to use the Tick IT mark.

  Mr. Leigh
  TickIT-accredited certification bodies can assess and certificate company quality management systems in any country in the world. Following a successful assessment, the certification body issues a certificate and permits use of the TickIT mark on that certificated company's stationery and literature. My powers do not extend to accreditation of bodies which are not legal entities in the United Kingdom.

  The United Kingdom has been approached by several countries wishing to participate in the TickIT scheme. This they are able to do either by use of the existing TickIT accredited certification bodies or by agreeing to a suitable reciprocal arrangement between their national accreditation body and the United Kingdom National Accreditation Council for Certification Bodies.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of the measures his Department has taken to encourage TickIT-accredited bodies to join the Information Technology Quality Systems arrangement.

  Mr. Leigh
  BSi QA is a TickIT accredited certification body and a founder member of ITQS. My Department has explained fully the benefits of joining the ITQS agreement group to the other TickIT certification bodies.

  CFCs
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what research he has commissioned into substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons in technologies where CFCs are currently regarded as essential components; and what chemicals are involved.

  Mr. Leigh
  There is a continuous programme of research by industry worldwide into ozone-benign alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons. The programme has had a number of successes including the announcement by ICI on 1 July of their new ozone-benign refrigerant, KLEA 32.
  505
  The DTI encourages industry-led research into environmentally-friendly technologies through a number of schemes of financial support and these schemes are open both to producers of alternatives to CFCs and to those developing cleaner process technologies which reduce or eliminate the need for CFC-based substances.

  Nuclear Levy
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received from the Major Energy Users Council over the level of profits accruing to Nuclear Electric as a result of the nuclear levy.

  Mr. Eggar
  I recently met representatives of the Major Energy Users Council to discuss electricity prices for their members. The non-fossil fuel levy was one of a number of matters raised.

  North Sea Oil and Gas
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his latest estimate of the cost of abandonment of oil and gas production related structures in the British sector of the North sea.

  Mr. Eggar
  The cost of abandonment of oil and gas production installations, currently producing or under development in the United Kingdom continental shelf, is estimated to be in the region of £6 billion in 1992 money. The expenditure will take place over a long period, extending well into the next century.

  Business Expansion
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the availability of long-term finance to small and medium-sized businesses seeking funding for expansion and capital reconstruction.

  Mr. Leigh
  The vigour and dynamism of small and medium-sized businesses over the past 12 years show that their capital needs for start-up, expansion and reconstruction are largely being met from the expanding range of public and private sources. Government initiatives have complemented the role of the banks and other financial institutions. We will continue to encourage everyone concerned to take account of the special needs and potential of this sector, including the need for long-term finance.

  Enterprise Funds
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what provision is currently available for unquoted companies in(a) north Staffordshire, (b) Staffordshire, (c) west midlands and (d) all other regions wishing to secure enterprise funds for investment.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Companies in all regions have access to a variety of sources of capital for investment. In certain areas, including parts of the west midlands but not the North Staffordshire travel-to-work areas, certain regional industrial incentives, are available from my Department, notably regional selective assistance.

  Fuel Cell Technology
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what consideration he is giving to a combination of combined heat and power technology, and solid oxide fuel cells;

  (2) what support he is giving to research on solid oxide fuel cells;

  (3) if he will make a statement on the work of the energy support unit at Harwell in relation to fuel cell technology;

  (4) what action he is taking to promote the use of existing skills in the United Kingdom to promote the development of solid polymer fuel cell technology.

  Mr. Eggar
  On 11 March this year, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State announced a research programme to accelerate the development of fuel cell systems for early application in the United Kingdom. He also announced the appointment of a fuel cell advisory panel with members who are experts from industry, to advise and provide guidance on the content of the programme.

  In forming this programme, the Department of Energy, now the DTI, consulted with researchers and industry and commissioned studies which indicate that the United Kingdom has technical skills and industrial interests needed to advance the development of two fuel cell types, the solid oxide and solid polymer. While this programme is likely to concentrate on the development of the technologies, it will he guided by potential applications such as combined heat and power.

  The energy technology support unit at Harwell will act as the DTI's agent for managing the programme.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will institute a study of legislation in the state of California relating to zero pollution emissions, and the use of fuel cells in hydrogen.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department has already undertaken a number of studies on fuel cells and I refer the hon. Member to my answers to his other questions today. On the matter of californian state emissions regulations, these are well documented in technical publications and are available to the public.

  Steel Production
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the volume of steel production in the United Kingdom in the first quarter of this year and in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Information on steel production is regularly published in "Economic Trends" which is available in the Library of the House.

  Government Departments (Payment of Bills)
  Sir Michael Marshall
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the outcome of the survey of prompt payment by Government Departments.

  Mr. Leigh
  During the financial year 1991–92, major purchasing Government Departments and agencies undertook sample surveys to determine the percentage of invoices paid within the agreed credit period, or within 30 days where no credit period had been set. All but two departments reported results in the range 70 to 100 per cent.
  507
  The full details are:

  Department

  Invoices paid within contract terms or 30 days percentage

  Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  77.0

  Customs and Excise

  83.0

  Defence

  89.3

  Education and Science

  83.2

  Employment Service

  83.0

  Energy

  91.8

  Foreign and Commonwealth

  86.0

  Health

  85.0

  Health and Safety Executive

  86.6

  Inland Revenue

  99.0

  Lord Chancellor's Department

  82.5

  National Savings

  93.0

  Northern Ireland Office

  74.0

  Overseas Development Administration

  87.6

  Property Services Agency

  Building Management

  41.6

  Projects

  80.6

  Scottish Office

  82.0

  Social Security

  90.4

  Trade and Industry

  80.0

  Transport

  83.0

  Welsh Office

  65.0

  I have asked that Departments continue to monitor their payment performance and that individual Departments report that performance on request.

  Regional Financial Assistance
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the public sector cost per additional permanent job created as a result of regional financial assistance schemes, excluding multiplier effects.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 6 July 1992]: I refer the hon. Member to the report published in 1990 by HMSO, "Regional Selective Assistance an evaluation by DTI, IDS and WOID", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

  National Economic Development Office
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what initiatives he intends to take following the decision to wind up the National Economic Development Office.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 8 July 1992]: I announced on 3 July my plans to reorganise the Department of Trade and Industry to enable it to concentrate more on promoting the competitiveness of British industry and commerce, and to relate more closely to industry, sector by sector. The new organisation will encourage the establishment of a flexible and direct dialogue with industry. The Department is inviting inward secondees from industry to join civil servants in the new sectorial divisions, and I also expect to fill a small number of posts with staff drawn from the National Economic Development Office.

  RETEX
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons(a) he has decided not to forward the Nottinghamshire county council's bid for funding
  508
  under the RETEX programme and (b) he has not offered Nottinghamshire country council and explanation of his decision; and how many such bids so far have met the EC's criteria for the programme, indicating which bids.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 8 July 1992]: No decisions have yet been taken about any requests for RETEX funding. The RETEX scheme of European Community grants was announced on 4 June 1992. The UK and other member states have until 4 December to present operational programmes to the Commission. The Commission will have six months to consider them. When it has approved them, applications for funding can be considered.

  Mr. Straw
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which travel-to-work areas in Lancashire are eligible for consideration under the EC RETEX initiative; what representations he has received in respect of Blackburn's eligibility; and by what dates decisions have to be made by Her Majesty's Government, and by the EC Commission.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: The European Commission has decided that RETEX grants for textile dependent areas will not be available outside areas designated under structural funds objectives 1, 2 and 5(b). The travel to work areas of Accrington and Rossendale, Blackburn, Bolton and Bury, Burnley, Liverpool, Pendle, Rochdale and Wigan and St. Helens, which lie wholly or partly in Lancashire, are so designated.

  Representations about Blackburn have been received from a number of local interests.

  The United Kingdom and other member states have until 4 December 1992 to present operational programmes to the European Commission. Pursuant to article 14(3) of Council regulation EEC 4253/88, the European Commission wil have six months from the receipt of the programmes to decide on the assistance.

  Timeshare Act 1992
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he now expects to lay the necessary orders to bring the Timeshare Act 1992 into effect.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: I expect to lay the printed notices orders required under the Act within the next two to three weeks. It is intended that the Act should enter into force two months after the laying of these orders.

  Coal Industry
  Mr. Patchett
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the European Energy Council last discussed the British coal industry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  [holding answer 10 July 1992]: Prospects for the coal industry were last discussed by the Energy Council in 1986 in the context of the current state aids decision which commenced the following year.

HEALTH

  NHS Statistics
  Mr. Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the numbers of(a) general practitioners, (b) hospital doctors and dentists and (c) nurses and midwives have changed since 1979.
  509
  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested at 30 September for England is shown in the table.

  1979

  1990

  Per cent. change

  General Practitioners

  21,357

  25,622

  20.0

  Hospital Doctors and Dentists

  32,749.1

  40,576.2

  23.9

  Nurses and Midwives:

  Including agency staff

  358,446.5

  402,066.4

  12.2

  Excluding agency staff

  354,421.5

  395,361.0

  11.6

  All figures are in whole-time equivalents except for general practitioners, where whole-time equivalents are not available for 1979; actual numbers are used instead for both years. 30 September is the latest date for which this information is available.

  Psychologists
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is her Department's target figure for training places for clinical psychologists; what assessment her Department has made of the projected demand from(a) the NHS and (b) local authorities for clinical psychologists; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) what assessment she has made of the demand for clinical psychologists (a) currently and (h) in 1991; and what estimate she has made of the extent to which the demand was met in each of these periods.

  Mr. Yeo
  It is for national health service employers to determine the work force they require and the training staff they need, in the light of the services they are contracted to provide. Regional health authorities, in consultation with employers, which include family health services authorities and local authority social services departments, calculate the overall demand for training and purchase the required number of training places from the educational and training institutions on behalf of the employers.

  Regional health authorities purchased 178 training places for clinical psychologists in 1991 and have signed contracts to purchase 215 places in 1992.

  Brain Damage
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is currently taking to assist individual districts and units to provide an adequate service to meet the needs of long-term brain-damaged people; if she will provide central funding in each region above and beyond normal allocations for such patients; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  We have recently launched an initiative to improve national health service services for the rehabilitation and long-term support of people with brain injury. Central funding of £1 million per year is being provided to 12 sites around the country to develop model services. The selected sites, with funding for 1992–93, are:

  Regional rehabilitation centre, Hunters Moor hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (£40,000);

  Leeds general infirmary and Leeds community services (£80,000);

  Derbyshire royal infirmary and Derby city hospital (£75,000);

  Nottingham health authority (£75,000);

  Central Sheffield university hospitals (£70,000); Regional Neurological rehabilitation unit, Homerton hospital, London (£150,000);

  510

  Rayners Hedge physical rehabilitation service, Aylesbury (£40,000);

  Stroke and rehabilitation unit, Royal Cornwall hospital (City), Truro (£65,000);

  Frenchay healthcare services, Bristol (£200,000);

  Neurobehavioural rehabilitation unit, St. Edward's hospital, Cheddleton, and Neurological rehabilitation unit, Haywood hospital, Burslem (£90,000);

  Community unit, Worcester district health authority (£90,0000).

  Out-patient Treatment
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider including as a further national charter standard in the patients charter to ensure continuity of care that health authorities should require that when a patient has a series of out-patient appointments, then whenever possible the same doctor should attend the patient; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Patients attending hospital out-patient clinics are under the care of a named consultant who provides continuity of care. The consultant oversees a team of doctors, including junior doctors on rotation, and is responsible for ensuring that they undertake work within their competence.

  Service Committee Decisions
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will take steps to ensure that family health service authorities give reasons to the patient for decisions reached when cases are disposed of by service committees without an oral hearing; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) if she will ensure that when an appeal from a family health service authority service committee is heard by her, the patient is given reasons for the decision reached by her; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992 govern the investigation of complaints against family practitioners. These require service committees, whether or not an oral hearing is held, to give reasons for their findings in their reports to family health services authorities which are sent to the patients involved. Similarly, the regulations require my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to give reasons for her decisions on appeals and it is standard practice to do so.

  Community Health Councils
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that where district health authorities are merged there is(a) an adequate period for consultations between the regional health authority and community health councils involved in any possible merger and (b) a formal appeals machinery independent of the regional health authority to handle any appeals from community health councils with the appeals panel having powers to impose its judgment which would be binding on both parties; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Regional health authorities which propose to merge district health authorities should allow an adequate period for consultation with interested parties, including community health councils.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will not approve a proposal for merger unless she is satisfied that

  511
  it commands a broad measure of support locally. In these circumstances, we do not see a need for a separate appeals panel.

  Regional Secure Units
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will introduce legislation, in the light of the Reed committee's recommendations on regional provision for seriously mentally disordered offenders placed in regional secure units,(a) to separate these units from the purchaser or provider system, (b) to arrange their funding through regional health authorities and (c) to arrange for the monitoring of agreed standards of provision; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  We expect the steering committee for the review of services for mentally disordered offenders to submit its final report at the end of July. We will announce decisions when we have considered both the final report and the responses to consultation on the recommendations the committee has already made.

  The performance of health authorities in achieving any standards adopted or objectives set in the light of the review will be monitored through the existing accountability arrangements.

  Diabetes
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Novopen syringe tips can be provided to diabetics free of charge under the national health service.

  Mr. Sackville
  Syringe tips, which incorporate needles, may be provided free of charge through hospital consultants if they are judged to be clinically necessary and the health authority, having regard to its other priorities, is able to meet the cost. We are considering authorising general practitioners to prescribe both injection pens and needles free of charge providing resources allow.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the number of civil servants in her Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Sackville
  The relocation of the national health service management executive and the National Health Service Estates agency to Leeds has started. Some 1,000 posts up to the highest management levels are involved. The first moves from London took place on 6 July as planned. By October this year, over 500 posts will have relocated, with the remainder following next spring. The whole move is expected to have been completed by the summer of 1993.

  Growth Hormone
  Miss Joan Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she has any plans to compensate the families of victims of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease contracted from growth hormone injections extracted from cadavers.

  Mr. Yeo
  We have no plans for specific compensation but the full range of support services and benefits appropriate to people with disabilities and their families is available.

  Tobacco Advertising
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the breaches of the voluntary agreements on tobacco advertising reported in the third and fourth annual reports of the committee for monitoring the agreements on tobacco advertising and sponsorship occurred in Oxford.

  Dr Mawhinney
  The proportion reported in the third annual report was 35 per cent—seven out of a total of 20. In the fourth report, this proportion was 77 per cent.—21 out of 27.

  Community Care
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS patients had written community care plans at the time of their discharge from hospital in 1991–92.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not held centrally.

  Accident and Emergency Services
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average waiting time for initial assessment in accident and emergency departments in 1991–92; and what proportion of people attending accident and emergency departments had to wait(a) five minutes or more, (b) 15 minutes or more and (c) 30 minutes or more.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Health Authority Amalgamations
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy towards the amalgamation of district health authorities with family health service authorities; whether consultation with the medical profession is required before proposals are submitted to her; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Merger between district health authorities and family health services authorities was identified in "Working for Patients" as a possible long-term option. However, this would require changes to primary legislation, and we have no immediate plans for taking this forward. Primary and secondary care have complementary roles in implementing the "Health of the Nation" strategy. District health authorities and family health services authorities will need to work closely together to improve health. There is substantial scope for this within the current arrangements, for example joint strategies, health investment plans, managerial and public health appointments.

  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy towards the amalgamation of district health authorities in the North West Thames region; what evidence she has that larger purchasing authorities are more effective in obtaining services from NHS trust hospitals; what consideration she is giving to the need for co-terminosity in a borough such as Hillingdon; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  North West Thames regional health authority has been consulting locally on proposals for
  513
  changing district health authorities boundaries to match those of family health services authorities and social services. A public meeting was held on 9 June 1992. We expect any proposals for changing the boundaries of district health authorities to have local support and to demonstrate clear benefits for patients.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of NHS hospitals and trusts had published on or before 1 April their current maximum admission times for each specialty; and which hospital or trust had the longest and which one had the shortest waiting time at 1 April in each specialty;

  (2) if she will list the health authorities in England which at 1 April (a) had and (b) had not published detailed information on local health services including quality standards and maximum waiting times.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally. From 1 April. under the patients charter, patients have a right to be given detailed information on local health services. Health authorities are required to publish information about local health services including national and local charter standards and maximum waiting times. From 1 April 1993, health authorities will also have to publish information about their performance in relation to national and local charter standards.

  The national health service management executive will be asking regional health authorities to notify them of any instances where information as set out in the patients charter is not made freely available to the public.

  Complaints Procedure
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS complaints received between 1 April 1991 and 31 March 1992 were dealt with within(a) one week, (b) one month, (c) three months and (d) more than three months.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the health authorities and NHS trusts in England which at 1 April(a) had and (b) had not published a complaints procedure allowing members of the public to have any complaint investigated and to receive a prompt written reply from the chief executive or general manager; and which authorities had, at 1 April, published the number of complaints received and the time taken to deal with them.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not collected centrally. However, all health authorities are required. by directions issued under the Hospital Complaints Procedure Act 1985, to make formal arrangements for dealing with complaints and for publishing these. The proper investigation of complaints is very important to patients and the national health service, and is one of the three new rights given in the patients charter. From 1 April 1992, under the patients charter, health authorities and NHS hospitals will have to publish details of the numbers of complaints received and the time taken to deal with them.

  Wheelchair Accessibility
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the floor space of NHS buildings was accessible to people in wheelchairs as at 1 April.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not held centrally.

  Surgery Cancellations
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients had their operations cancelled on the day they were due to arrive in hospital in 1991–92.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Ambulance Service
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what proportion of cases an emergency ambulance arrived within 14 minutes in an urban area and within 19 minutes in a rural area in 1991–92.

  Mr. Sackville
  The latest available figures for England for 1990–91 are given in the table.

  percentage

  Emergency calls: Response times: Metropolitan authorities

  —

  Percentage of calls where response within 14 minutes

  83.2

  Emergency calls: Response times: Non-metropolitan authorities

  —

  Percentage of calls where response within 20 minutes

  94.8

  Before 1991–92, ambulance services in England were categorised as metropolitan and non-metropolitan. Figures were collected for the number of emergency ambulances arriving within 14 and 20 minutes repsectively.

  Appointment System
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS out-patients were given specific appointment times in 1991–92; and what proportion were seen within 30 minutes of their appointment time.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Abortion
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the country of residence of women listed as overseas residents in the abortion statistics for the last year in which the information is available.

  Mr. Sackville
  In the publication of abortion statistics, a distinction is made between those abortions carried out on women resident in England and Wales and those on women not resident in England and Wales. Of the latter, the statistics are classified by three main areas of residence: British Isles, other European, and rest of the world. Within each of these three categories, individual countries of residence are shown where the number of abortions to residents of that country exceeds 24. Countries listed in this way are shown in table 25 of the publication "Abortion Statistics 1990", a copy of which is held in the library.
  515
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average charge approved by his Department for a non-NHS abortion in 1990.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available in the form requested. The Department approves scales of charges.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates in the year preceding 15 November 1991, the South Manchester abortion clinic, Stockport was inspected by her Department; and if she will list the recommendations that were made regarding the clinic in the report produced by her inspectors.

  Mr. Sackville
  The South Manchester private clinic was inspected by the Department's officers on 13 March 1991, and 30 October 1991. The contents of inspection reports are not made public as they contain information which relates or could be related to individual patients.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what scale of charges she has approved for an abortion conducted in a private clinic through the use of RU486.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information required from places seeking approval under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 is supplied to the Department on an "in confidence" basis.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations regarding care of the mother she has made concerning abortions conducted with RU486.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Barking (Ms. Richardson), on 3 July at column 746.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made by her Department in investigating the state of the South Manchester Abortion Clinic Stockport, following the presentation of the report by Stockport health authority dated 15 November 1991 by the hon. Members for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton) and for Liverpool, Mossley Hill to her predecessor.

  Mr. Sackville
  Following the discovery of deficiencies contravening the requirements of the Registered Homes Act 1984, Stockport health authority set the owners of the South Manchester private clinic a strict timetable for completion of remedial work. All necessary work was completed on time.

  Dentistry
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the average waiting time for a course of dental treatment which requires prior approval because it costs more than £200.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We are discussing with the Dental Practice Board the mechanisms for dealing with the likely increased numbers of applications.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her estimate of the average dentists' annual income took account of the implications of delayed treatment plans and the other implications of the reduction in the figure for costs of treatment requiring prior approval.
  516
  Dr. Mawhinney
  Yes.

  Drug Dispensing
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she proposes to publish her consultation paper on the introduction of original pack dispensing; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We are considering the options and will make an announcement in due course.

DEFENCE

  Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service Ships
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the lifting equipment recently removed from RMAS Goosander was last subjected to a safety test; and how frequently it has undergone such safety checks in the past.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No lifting equipment has been removed recently from RMAS Goosander. All RMAS vessels, including salvage and mooring craft, are bound by the Health and Safety Act, etc. Act 1974 and the Docks Regulations 1988.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the accidents reported or recorded on board RMAS Goosander while it was stationed at Greenock.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  During 1991, the last year for which complete statistics are available, RMAS Goosander was based at Rosyth and Greenock. During that period, two reportable accidents resulting in minor injuries occurred. There has been one fatal accident in 1992.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the accidents reported or recorded on board RMAS Pochard whilst stationed at Greenock.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  During 1991, the last year for which complete statistics are available, there were two reportable accidents on board RMAS Pochard resulting in minor injuries.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the reasons RMAS Pochard was taken out of service at Greenock and RMAS Goosander deployed in its place.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  In 1991, the RMAS fleet of seven salvage and mooring vessels was reduced to four. RMAS Pochard, not being in such good material condition as her sister ship RMAS Goosander, was placed in reserve.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual rate of accidents on(a) RMAS Pochard, (b) RMAS Goosander and (c) the average for RMAS vessels.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  In 1991, the last year for which complete statistics are available, there were 94 reportable accidents for all 412 RMAS vessels and 11 shore bases. This includes the two reportable accidents for RMAS Goosander and the two for RMAS Pochard.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how often lifting equipment used on board RMAS vessels is required to undergo safety checks; and what steps he takes to ensure that such requirements are complied with.
  517
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Statutory safety checks are undertaken in accordance with Docks Regulations 1988. All vessels are regularly inspected to ensure that lifting equipment meets these regulations.

  Jet Skis
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many jet skis the Royal Navy possesses.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None.

  Fisheries Protection
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the fishery protection services currently provided by Royal Navy vessels in the waters around Scotland and the financial arrangements in force.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Royal Navy provides one vessel from the fishery protection squadron for patrols in Scottish waters. The Royal Navy ship, together with the vessels of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, is responsible for monitoring compliance with UK and EC fishing regulations in Scottish waters. This task is carried out on behalf of the Scottish Fishery Protection Agency from which payment of approximately £1.3 million is received annually.

  Aid, Bosnia
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence to which expenditure category the cost of providing and transporting humanitarian aid items to Bosnia has been debited.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Financial responsibility for humanitarian aid relief to Bosnia lies with the Overseas Development Administration which will meet the additional costs that the MOD incurs providing service assistance.

  Relocation
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of civil servants in his Department who could be relocated to provincial centres as part of the policy of devolving and decentralising Government Departments.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Ministry of Defence is already a well-dispersed Department. Currently, 87 per cent. of civilian staff are based outside London and 60 per cent. are outside London and the south-east. Since 1979, some 2,500 staff have been relocated from London and the south-east to sites in Glasgow, south Wales, Sutton Coldfield, Cheadle Hulme and Swindon, amongst others. A recent review of MOD headquarters, together with the planned collocation of the procurement executive in Bristol, will result in the relocation of further 6,000 to 7,000 posts from London by the mid-1990s, leaving only about 3 per cent. of MOD civilian staff in London.

  Menwith Hill
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason it has been decided to site the Thistle and Steeplebush 2 operations centres at Menwith Hill in underground bunkers hardened against airborne attack.
  518
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There are neither underground nor hardened facilities at Menwith Hill station.

  Questions on Contracts
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his practice to answer questions seeking the disclosure of the amount payable for contracts between his Department and(a) the Crown Estate, (b) the Duchy of Cornwall and (c) the Duchy of Lancaster.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No.

  European Fighter Aircraft
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has held with the United States of America on alternatives to the European fighter aircraft; and how many jobs in the aircraft-building industries he expects to be created or preserved in the United Kingdom as a consequence.

  Mr. Aitken
  In the light of Germany's decision not to proceed with production of the European fighter aircraft, the first priority is to consider the implications for the programme jointly with Spain and Italy. The Government hope that it will not be necessary to fall back on alternatives. However, before final decisions are taken on the production of EFA, we will, as a matter of course, examine all the alternatives to ensure that the Royal Air Force operational requirement is met in the most cost-effective way.

  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated cost of the European fighter aircraft programme prior to the German withdrawal; what estimate he has made of the cost consequence of the Germany withdrawal; and how this is calculated.

  Mr. Aitken
  The United Kingdom's share of the four nation EFA programme is estimated at £11.7 billion. The German Government have said that they do not intend to proceed with production of EFA but will continue to honour their obligation to complete the development phase. We are now discussing with the other EFA partners—Italy and Spain—the implications of the German decision. The cost of any revised programme will depend on the arrangements eventually agreed.

  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what alternatives to the European fighter aircraft have been considered; and what are the direct cash implications.

  Mr. Aitken
  A range of possible alternatives has been considered. The US F22 would offer better performance than EFA in the air defence role, but would not meet the RAF's requirement for a ground attack capability and is estimated to be up to three times more expensive. The US F16 and Swedish Gripen are cheaper than EFA; but have a much inferior capability. The French Rafale and developments of the US F14, F15 and F18 also fall short of the RAF requirement in significant respects, while being no cheaper—and in some cases significantly more expensive.

  Merchant Navy
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to complete the detailed review, which is being conducted by his Department, of the defence
  519
  requirement for British merchant ships and seamen in times of crisis; if he will list the main individual areas of the overall subject he is reviewing; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The review has now been completed and a statement was made to the house by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement on 9 July,Official Report, columns 567–68.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make public the conclusions of the Oxburgh report.

  Mr. Rifkind
  The report of Professor Oxburgh's working group on the safety of United Kingdom nuclear weapons has been given careful consideration within the Ministry of Defence. On the basis of this consideration, I have now decided that the report should be published—subject only to a small number of excisions required to preserve national security. Publication will take place today: copies of the report are being placed in the Library of the House.

  This report provides welcome corroboration of our confidence in the safety of our nuclear weapons, and handling and transport arrangements. The report's recommendations, which we have set about implementing, will help us ensure that the high safety standards confirmed by the review are maintained for the future. The decision to publish the report reflects both the Government's emphasis on avoiding unnecessary secrecy on issues of legitimate public interest, and our belief that the report will provide substantial reassurance to those concerned with nuclear safety issues.

  Hon. Members will recall that in June 1990 the US house armed services committee commissioned a panel of experts under Dr. Sidney Drell to examine the safety of US nuclear weapons. The Drell report was published in December 1990. The safety of United Kingdom nuclear weapons has long been ensured both by internal audit and control procedures, and by the scrutiny of the MOD's permanently constituted independent advisory body, the nuclear weapon safety committee (NWSC)—a body which Drell recommended the US to replicate. Nonetheless, following publication of the Drell report, the Government decided to ask MOD's chief scientific adviser, Professor Sir Ronald Oxburgh, to lead a review of the safety of United Kingdom nuclear weapons. Professor Oxburgh was supported by a group of distinguished experts drawn form both inside and outside government. The working group's terms of reference were:
  "To review, in the light of any relevant aspects of the report of the Drell Panel in the United States, the safety of the present and prospective UK nuclear armoury."

  The review was therefore allowed to range freely over all aspects of United Kingdom nuclear weapon safety.
  520
  Like the Drell team, the United Kingdom review addressed the overall organisational aspects of the management of safety, as well as the specifics of the current and future stockpile. Whole weapon systems were considered, including associated handling and transportation arrangements.

  Reviewing the safety of the United Kingdom nuclear stockpile, the working group found that
  "procedures have been effective, well implemented and rigorously inspected".

  The group was able to identify a number of areas whre improvements could be made in the overall management of safety. However, the group
  "found no indication that every practicable step to optimise weapon safety at the design stage had not been taken, and once in service to make weapon handling and storage as safe as possible".

  On transport and weapon handling, the review concluded that the approach to safety and security was "sensible and practical". It noted the mechanical unreliability of the current weapon transport vehicles, which are due for replacement later this year; but in all other respects it described road transport arrangements as "a well-run operation". As to the weapon systems themselves, the group found no evidence to suggest that in-service or planned weapons required any significant redesign. Discussing the Trident system, the working group concluded that Trident safety levels would be
  "comparable to and in some ways higher than those associated with the Polaris system."

  Therefore, provided that the full UK safety case and its assessment are completed, the group saw no reason to suggest that it should not be accepted into service.

  The published report contains some 20 recommendations, all of which the Government have accepted. These recommendations cover a wide range of procedural and organisational issues, from the proposal that a formal design review of each in-service weapon system should be held every seven years, to the suggestion that a "champion" of nuclear weapon safety should be established as a central auditor of the various nuclear safety functions undertaken within the MOD. The Ministry is already at work on putting the recommendations into effect, including determining the exact fashion in which the proposal for a "champion" can best be implemented. Three further recommendations, which cannot be published for security reasons, have also been accepted.

  The Government would like to record their thanks to Professor Oxburgh and the other members of his team for the thorough review they have undertaken. Their report confirms the Government's confidence in the standards adopted in maintaining the safety of our nuclear weapons. We welcome the group's recommendations to ensure these standards are continued in the future.

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