Written Answers of 11 June 1992

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Heveningham Hall
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his policy towards Heveningham hall.

  Mr. Key
  My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, when he was responsible for this matter as the Secretary of State for the Environment, decided on 10 December 1991 not to exercise his right to purchase Heveningham hall. I fully share his view about the outstanding importance of this grade I building and the need to maintain the integrity of the house, its decorative scheme and the grounds, and firmly believe that these objectives should be met, where possible, by responsible private ownership. It is for the official receivers to explore this possibility and I understand that they intend to market the hall later this summer. The hall will remain subject to the full rigour of planning and listed building controls and to advice from English Heritage and the local planning authorities. The costs of restoration work to the house and the grounds which is still outstanding should be well within the financial capacity of a new owner.

  Departmental Expenditure
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much is being spent on sport by his Department, compared with May 1979, in real and cash terms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mellor
  My Department is responsible for grant in aid to the Sports Council (GB). The table shows that there has been a significant increase in grant in aid to the council in both real and cash terms.

  Grant in aid to the Sports Council (Great Britain)

  £ million

  Year

  Cash

  At 1992–93 prices

  1979–80

  15.580

  37.798

  1992–93

  48.762

  48.762

  In addition to this, a new business sponsorship scheme for sport, which will provide £3 million per annum for sport in England, is to be established this year.

  A further £55 million, to be channelled through the Department of the Environment, has been committed to sport in support of the Manchester Olympic bid. Government funding for sport is also provided through unhypothecated revenue support grant to local authorities and the Department of the Environment's inner-city programmes. The three territorial sports councils also receive grant in aid from their respective sponsoring Departments.
  230
  By reducing the rate of pool betting duty, an extra £60 million per annum has been made available to sport through the foundation for Sport and the Arts and the Football Trust.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Manufactured Goods
  Mrs. Chaplin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest trend in the United Kingdom's share of world trade in manufactured goods.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest trend in the United Kingdom share of world trade in manufactured goods.

  Mr. Lamont
  I am pleased to report that decades of decline have been halted. The United Kingdom's volume share of world trade in manufactured exports was estimated in the Financial Statement and Budget Report to have risen in 1991 for the third successive year.

  Financial Services
  Mr. French
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes he proposes in the regulation of financial services following the transfer of responsibilities to his Department.

  Mr. Nelson
  No changes are proposed in the way financial services are regulated as a result of the transfer.

  Public Spending
  Dr. Howells
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the public spending planning total for 1993–94.

  Mr. Portillo
  The public expenditure planning total for 1993–94 has been set at £244.5 billion.

  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the total of Government spending for the current financial year which is statutorily or otherwise determined by reference to the retail prices index.

  Mr. Portillo
  The principal areas of Government expenditure determined by reference to the retail prices index are certain social security benefits and expenditure on public service pensions. For 1992–93, the total of this expenditure falling within the planning total that can be readily identified is £53.1 billion, 23£4 per cent. of the planning total.

  Lloyd's Names
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the tax position of names in the Lloyd's insurance market.

  Mr. Nelson
  I have no plans to make such a statement.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the small business sector on the effect of interest rates; and if he will make a statement.
  231
  Mr. Nelson
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of such representations.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to diminish allowances against income tax as a means of reducing the basic rate.

  Mr. Nelson
  Our objective remains to move towards a basic rate of 20p when it is prudent to do so.

  Borrowing Requirement
  Mr. Cann
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the public sector borrowing requirement excluding privatisation receipts in 1991–92.

  Mr. Portillo
  The public sector borrowing requirement excluding privatisation proceeds in 1991–92 was £21.8 billion.

  Manufacturing Trade
  Ms. Short
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when was the last year in which Britain's manufacturing trade was in surplus.

  Mr. Nelson
  The United Kingdom's balance of trade in manufactures is published by the Central Statistical Office in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics", May 1992.

  Inflation
  Mr. John Townend
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest assessment of the outlook for inflation.

  Mr. Nelson
  My right hon. Friend's Budget forecast was for RPI inflation to fall to 3¾ per cent. by the fourth quarter of 1992 and to 3¼ per cent. by the second quarter of 1993.

  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current level of inflation.

  Mr. Nelson
  In April the headline rate of RPI inflation was 4.3 per cent.

  Government Auctions Directory
  Mr. Thomason
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received concerning national press advertisements placed by City Trading Ltd. for a publication described as the Official Directory of Government Auctions; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  None. Several Government Departments use actions for the occasional disposal of goods and each Department makes its own arrangements. There is no official directory of Government auctions.

  Intelligence Data
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has held with the Data Protection Registrar with respect to the integration of the existing system customs enforcement network or customs 232
  information system within the European Community; whether the system forms part of the Schengen or Trevi arrangements; and whether he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  Her Majesty's Customs and Excise have consulted the Data Protection Registrar on several occasions during the development of a Community-wide customs information system, an enhancement of the current system customs enforcement network. The system does not form part of either the Schengen or Trevi arrangements.

  Companies (Financial Regulations)
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessments the Government have made of the impact and additional costs on companies after 1993 of the additional requirements for(a) VAT returns, (b) INTRASTAT, (c) appointment of fiscal agents and (d) the United Kingdom's adoption of the maximum limit of £70,000 for fiscal agents.

  Sir John Cope
  The abolition of routine and systematic formalities at internal frontiers after 1992 means that, overall, United Kingdom industry will benefit from a reduction in business compliance costs incurred currently in intra-EC trade.

  Compliance cost assessments—CCA—have not been produced for individual single market requirements owing to difficulties in identifying the different elements of the costs associated with a single administrative document.

  Some of the new requirements have only recently been agreed and Customs and Excise are now in the course of preparing a global CCA covering indirect tax, statistical and customs issues.

  Drug Imports
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange for(a) Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to carry out sampling of all imports of drugs as a matter of routine and (b) all drug imports to have documentation certifying their manufacture; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  Customs and Excise check imports of drugs on behalf of the Department of Health's Medicines Control Agency. Where appropriate these checks include sampling. Routine sampling and extended documentary requirements for all consignments, however, are not considered necessary by the agency. Testing is also carried out to the agency's standards in the country of origin or after importation.

  Debtor Countries
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made towards the complete write-off of official debts of lower income countries to the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Nelson
  To date, five countries have benefited from the Prime Minister's Trinidad terms debt reduction initiative—Benin, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. A number of other heavily indebted, low-income countries are expected to receive Trinidad terms in the coming months. Under current Trinidad terms agreements, 50 per cent. of eligible debt is written
  233
  off, and creditors commit to consider reducing the whole stock of debt in three to four years' time if the debtor country keeps to its agreements with the International Monetary Fund and the Paris club. The Government also participated in a Paris club agreement in 1991 to write off 50 per cent. of the whole stock of Egypt's official bilateral debt.

  The Government believe that Trinidad terms should be further developed, along the lines of the Prime Minister's original proposals for the poorest and most heavily indebted countries—all creditors should participate in debt reduction, debt reduction should be increased from 50 per cent. to a benchmark of two thirds, and debt stock reductions should be brought forward. While the Government do not believe that it is necessary, or in the long-term interests of the debtors themselves, to write off their debts completely, the Overseas Development Administration has cancelled most of the debt of the poorest countries arising from aid loans.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to look at the feasibility of debt-for-nature swaps as a part of the debt retirement process

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government welcome debt-for-nature swaps as an innovative approach to market-based debt reduction in cases where additional resources are made available for environmental projects. As far as the Government's own programmes are concerned, we have to date judged it more effective to deal with debt relief and assistance for environmental projects overseas separately, through the Paris club and through our aid programme.

  Company Writs
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will make a statement as to why writs issued by his Department last December to financial advisers concerning James Ferguson Holdings of Bradford had not been served within the four-month time limit;

  (2) how many Yorkshire and Humberside-based companies face being sued by his Department in connection with the Barlow Clowes affair.

  Mr. Nelson
  I cannot comment on individual cases.

  Manufactured Exports
  Mr. Cran
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much manufactured exports have changed between 1981 and 1991.

  Mr. Portillo
  The value of UK exports of manufactures was £86 billion in 1991, £51 billion more than in 1981.

  Overseas Postings (Housing)
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assistance with regard to housing costs is provided for civil servants posted overseas.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Civil servants posted overseas are provided with rent-free accommodation appropriate to their grade or status.

  Auditing
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those non-departmental public bodies which are annually and comprehensively audited(a) by the
  234
  National Audit Office and (b) by private firms of accountants; if he will list the criteria on which such accountants are selected and for what length of time they are appointed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  The Treasury does not maintain a central list of the auditors of non-departmental public bodies. The publication "Public Bodies 1991" prepared by the Cabinet Office lists the non-departmental public bodies by sponsoring department and indicates those executive bodies which are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The legislation governing the individual bodies will normally determine whether the Comptroller and Auditor General is the statutory auditor or whether a firm of accountants is to be appointed. In the latter case, the appointment is normally the responsibility of the sponsoring Department.

  Tax Statistics
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount, in cash, the bottom quintile of households, ranked by unadjusted disposable income, paid out in income tax; and what they paid out in value added tax in 1989.

  Sir John Cope
  In 1989, the average payments for households in the bottom quintile ranked by unadjusted disposable income were about £95 in income tax, and £270 in VAT.

  Greyhound Racing
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what agreement has been reached with the British Greyhound Racing Board and the off-course betting industry on how the allocation of greyhound racing's proportion of the 0.25 per cent. reduction in general betting duty will be administered;

  (2) what is his estimate of the proportion of the £15 million resulting from the reduction in general betting duty in 1992–93 which would be returned to greyhound racing.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I have been asked to reply.

  The size and administration of any voluntary payments by bookmakers to greyhound racing following the reduction in general betting duty are matters for negotiation between the two industries. We understand that those negotiations are under way and have asked to be informed of the outcome in due course.

  GDP Growth
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest forecast for gross domestic product growth in 1992.

  Mr. Portillo
  At Budget time the Chancellor forecast that GDP would grow by 1 per cent. in 1992.

TRANSPORT

  Rail Electrification
  Mr. Waller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about funding arrangements relating to the acquisition of rolling stock for the Leeds-Bradford rail electrification project.
  235
  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 9 June, at column 116.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department's officials are aware of the need to consult the registrar at the appropriate stage of any initiative involving personal data, to establish whether there will be a need for registration. It is the practice to remind directorates from time to time of their responsibilities under the Act. I am satisfied that these arrangements are effective.

  Road Closures, Blackheath
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he is likely to come to a decision with regard to the minor road closures in and around Blackheath.

  Mr. Norris
  The Secretary of State for Transport has received an application from the London borough of Lewisham to stop up lengths of London Pond road, Whitfield road and Duke Humphrey road. The borough council has been asked to provide further information relating to the application. The Secretary of State is unable to decide upon the application until this information has been received.

  Greater Manchester Buses
  Sir Fergus Montgomery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received the consultants' report into the possible splitting of Greater Manchester Buses Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have received the consultants' report into the possible splitting of Greater Manchester Buses Ltd. It is now being carefully considered. I propose to discuss the report with the Greater Manchester passenger transport authority.

  British Rail (Finance)
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the level of Government investment in British Rail provided in(a) million pounds, (b) the amount needed to equal the 1979 allocation in real terms and (c) the percentage excess or shortfall compared to the 1979 allocation in real terms; and if he will provide a breakdown by the following (i) investment ceiling, (ii) total investment by BR and subsidiaries and (iii) railways for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 8 June 1992] British Rail's investment ceiling for 1992–93 is currently set at £983 million for the existing railway and at £755 million for the new railway. The combined ceiling for both existing and new railways therefore stands at £1,738 million. Rail investment by BR in 1979 was £620 million in 1992–93 prices. The ceiling for 1992–93 therefore represents an increase of 180 per cent. on the figure for 1979.
  236
  The annual breakdown by investment ceiling, total investment and rail investment appears in the table.

  British Rail Investment 1979 to 1991–92

  £ million in 1992–93 prices

  Investment Ceiling

  Group Investment

  Rail Investment

  1979

  n/a

  n/a

  620

  1980

  730

  693

  635

  1981

  744

  576

  519

  1982

  750

  469

  423

  1983

  n/a

  465

  417

  1984–85

  n/a

  511

  438

  1985–86

  n/a

  605

  590

  1986–87

  n/a

  625

  572

  1987–88

  n/a

  751

  715

  1988–89

  n/a

  762

  692

  1989–90

  n/a

  868

  831

  1990–91

  n/a

  932

  959

  1991–92

  1,202

  n/a

  1,045

  Notes:

  1. Rail investment excludes non-rail business such as BR Property Board, ships and hotels.

  2. 1984–85 was a 15-month period. The figure given is a 12-month equivalent.

  3. The figure for rail investment for 1991–92 is a DTp estimate.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are disseminated within his Department.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Reports prepared by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration are always shown to the permanent secretary and seen by the Department's senior managers. Where necessary, local managers are asked to comment on the matters raised by the Parliamentary Commissioner.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many investigations have been initiated by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in connection with the work of his Department for each year since 1986; and how many complaints have been upheld in whole or in part in each of those years.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration was extended on 1 January 1991 by section 110 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 to include administrative duties carried out by staff of courts and tribunals appointed by the Lord Chancellor.

  Three cases had been referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner in 1986; one in 1987; seven in 1988; eight in 1989, and three in 1990 of which it was decided 14 fell outside his jurisdiction. The remaining seven did not result in recommendations. In 1991, nine cases were investigated of which five resulted in findings against the Department. During 1992 three cases have been referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner, but none of those investigations has yet been completed.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what disciplinary action
  237
  has been taken by his Department in relation to matters referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in each year since 1986.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  No disciplinary action has been found necessary as the result of a case being referred to the Parliamentary Commission for Administration during the period from 1986.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for each year since 1986 in respect of the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration where financial payment or payments will or should be made by his Department as directed or indicated,(a) aggregate amount for all investigations, (b) the highest amounts for any one investigation, (c) the length of time taken between his Department indicating that a payment will be made or informing that a payment should be made and such payments being made and (d) how many such payments were not made within seven days and what reasons there are for such delays.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  No payments were recommended by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in the years 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 1992. In 1989 one payment of £75 was made and in 1991 payments totalling £1,467.61 were made. The largest of these payments was £1,009.42.

  The time taken between acknowledging the Parliamentary Commissioner's recommendation and making payment is kept to a minimum.

  Northern Circuit
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary Lord Chancellor's Department what costs were incurred in(a) court fees, (b) counsel fees, (c) agents, (d) expense rates, (e) charging rate, (f) additional costs and (g) total claimed by any solicitor or the Treasury Solicitor, in relation to matters involving the administration of the courts on the northern circuit, the northern circuit administrator or members of his staff in each year since 1986.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information in the form requested could he obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions solicitors or the Treasury Solicitor have been instructed to advise or act for his Department, and by whom, in respect of matters relating to the northern circuit administrator, his staff or any matter involving the administration of the courts on the northern circuit, in each year since 1986.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Vehicle Clamping
  Mr. Tony Banks
  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 number 238
  of vehicles clamped by private companies operating under the jurisdiction of the police in each of the last three years for which complete figures are available; and what payments were made to the companies.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I understand from the commissioner that the information requested is as follows:

  Financial Year

  Clamps applied

  Total payment £

  1989–90

  157,401

  1,680,289

  1990–91

  149,766

  1,512,093

  1991–92

  128,079

  1,322,155

  Prisons Reports
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the last five years the date on which he received each report from his inspector of prisons and the date on which each report was published.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Details covering the last five years can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The dates of all reports delivered to the Secretary of State from January 1991 are given in the tables.

  Establishment

  Date report submitted to Secretary of State

  Dale report published

  Short Inspections1

  Swinfen Hall

  24 January 1991

  20 June 1991

  Castington

  15 February 1991

  25 July 1991

  Liverpool

  8 March 1991

  6 August 1991

  Pentonville

  11 March 1991

  6 August 1991

  Downview

  25 March 1991

  15 October 1991

  Ford

  26 March 1991

  27 August 1991

  Drake Hall

  25 April 1991

  27 August 1991

  Send

  3 May 1991

  8 October 1991

  Shrewsbury

  8 May 1991

  9 January 1992

  Northeye

  20 May 1991

  9 January 1992

  Deerbolt

  8 July 1991

  31 march 1992

  Parkhurst

  11 July 1991

  6 February 1992

  Hull

  15 July 1991

  11 February 1992

  Camp Hill

  6 September 1991

  2 June 1992

  Huntercombe

  23 September 1991

  —

  Risley

  23 October 1991

  2 June 1992

  Rudgate

  8 November 1991

  2 April 1992

  Werrington House

  8 November 1991

  2 April 1992

  Stanford Hill

  13 January 1992

  —

  Feltham

  11 February 1992

  28 may 1992

  Leyhill

  11 February 1992

  —

  Stoke Heath

  14 February 1992

  —

  Styal

  26 February 1992

  —

  Birmingham

  5 March 1992

  —

  Latchmere House

  24 March 1992

  —

  Stafford

  15 April 1992

  —

  Manchester

  15 April 1992

  —

  Wymott

  30 April 1992

  —

  Full Inspections1

  Stafford

  17 January 1991

  9 July 1991

  Thorp Arch

  11 February 1991

  6 August 1991

  The Verne

  14 February 1991

  25 July 1991

  Hollesley Bay Colony

  28 February 1991

  24 September 1991

  North Sea Camp

  14 March 1991

  24 September 1991

  Littlehey

  25 March 1991

  5 September 1991

  Full Sutton

  17 April 1991

  17 December 1991

  Swaleside

  30 April 1991

  6 February 1992

  Wormwood Scrubs

  14 May 1991

  19 December 1991

  Lindholme

  30 May 1991

  30 January 1992

  New Hall

  10 June 1991

  20 February 1992

  Canterbury

  10 September 1991

  9 January 1992

  Garth

  26 September 1991

  11 February 1992

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  Establishment

  Date report submitted to Secretary of State

  Date report published

  Haverigg

  18 September 1991

  27 February 1992

  Aylesbury

  30 September 1991

  2—

  Bedford

  11 October 1991

  31 March 1992

  Dartmoor

  31 October 1991

  2 June 1992

  Holloway

  31 October 1991

  11 March 1992

  Frankland

  25 November 1991

  2 April 1992

  Glen Parva

  29 November 1991

  —

  Wakefield

  31 January 1992

  —

  Grendon

  13 February 1992

  —

  Leicester

  12 March 1992

  —

  Sudbury

  31 March 1992

  —

  Lewes

  30 April 1992

  —

  Long Lartin

  29 May 1992

  —

  Other Reports

  HMCIP's Annual Report

  7 November 1991

  11 December 1991

  Report by HMCIP into the escape by two category A inmates from HMP Brixton

  31 July 1991

  5 August 1991

  1 Once publication has been approved it normally takes a month to arrange.

  2 To be published on 25 June 1992.

  Prevention of Terrorism
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were(a) the number and length of detentions in Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism Acts since 1 January and (b) the number and length of detentions in Greater Manchester since 1 January.

  Mr. Jack
  Statistics on the number of people detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 in Great Britain during the first quarter of 1992 are published in "Home Office Statistical Bulletin 9/92". A copy of this bulletin is in the Library. Details of the length of detentions for all detainees from 1 January to 9 June are given in the table:

  Persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism legislation by length of detention

  Great Britain, 1 January-9 June 1992

  Number of Persons

  Less than 2 hours

  2

  2 hours and less than 4

  4

  4 hours and less than 8

  20

  8 hours and less than 12

  7

  12 hours and less than 24

  18

  24 hours and less than 36

  9

  36 hours and less than 48

  7

  Total under 48 hours

  67

  2 days and less than 3

  3

  Population of Nottingham closed training prison on 31 March 1979–1992 Adult sentenced males

  Year

  Up to and including 18 months

  Over 18 months and up to 4 years

  Over 4 years

  Total as at 31 March

  Sentence length

  1979

  4

  188

  64

  256

  1980

  1

  168

  89

  258

  1981

  4

  170

  81

  255

  1982

  7

  159

  84

  250

  1983

  10

  159

  89

  258

  1984

  5

  185

  108

  298

  1985

  3

  151

  124

  278

  1986

  2

  133

  157

  292

  1987

  1

  111

  179

  291

  1988

  3

  100

  191

  294

  240

  Great Britain, 1 January-9 June 1992

  Number of persons

  3 days and less than 4

  5

  4 days and less than 5

  —

  5 days and less than 6

  —

  6 days and less than 7

  —

  7 days

  —

  Total 48 hours or more

  8

  Total detained

  75

  One person has been detained in Greater Manchester under the Act since 1 January. The detention in this case was for nine hours.

  Carriers' Liability
  Ms. Hoey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total sum of fines issued to carriers since the introduction of the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987; and what is the total in outstanding fines.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The total sum is £44.01 million, of which £21.78 million is outstanding.

  Housing Services for the Elderly
  Ms. Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make arrangements for Housing Services for the Elderly to have free access to fire control ex-directory telephone numbers.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I have no reason to believe that the current arrangements whereby emergency telephone calls are routed through the public telephone operators are unsatisfactory. Exceptionally, fire control ex-directory numbers may be made available by a chief fire officer to high-risk establishments and to emergency alarm receiving companies at their expense in order to receive calls directly in the brigade area.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give figures for the total number of prisoners held in HMP Nottingham in 1979 and in each following year until 1992; and what category of prisoner they were.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The readily available information is given in the table. The population has been taken as at 31 March for each of the years requested in order to include the latest figures for 1992. All inmates held were in the category adult sentenced males.
  241

  Year

  Up to and including 18 months

  Over 18 months and up to 4 years

  Over 4 years

  Total as at 31 March

  Sentence length

  1989

  4

  97

  189

  290

  1990

  3

  89

  176

  268

  1991

  3

  74

  153

  230

  1992

  2

  36

  174

  212

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by prison establishment for the past 12 months, the number of inmates that have had self-inflicted wounds; and what was the comparative figure for(a) 24 months, (b) 36 months and (c) 48 months previously.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The number of self-inflicted injuries at each prison service establishment in 1991 is listed in the table. Information for earlier years is not available.

  Incidents of self-injury in prison service establishments during 1991

  Establishment

  Total

  Acklington

  4

  Albany

  —

  Aldington

  —

  Ashwell

  2

  Askham Grange

  1

  Aylesbury

  19

  Bedford

  20

  Belmarsh

  6

  Birmingham

  48

  Blantyre House

  —

  Blundeston

  7

  Brinsford

  10

  Bristol

  5

  Brixton

  29

  Brockhill

  35

  Bullwood Hall

  29

  Camp Hill

  11

  Canterbury

  15

  Cardiff

  29

  Castington

  3

  Channings Wood

  5

  Chelmsford

  17

  Coldingley

  1

  Cookham Wood

  33

  Dartmoor

  29

  Deerbolt

  23

  Dorchester

  I

  Dover

  20

  Downview

  Drake Hall

  2

  Durham

  66

  East Sutton Park

  —

  Eastwood Park

  1

  Elmley

  —

  Erlestoke House

  4

  Everthorpe

  20

  Exeter

  35

  Featherstone

  10

  Feltham

  106

  Ford

  —

  Frank land

  18

  Full Sutton

  20

  Garth

  8

  Gartree

  5

  Glen Parva

  76

  Gloucester

  17

  Grendon

  38

  Guys Marsh

  2

  Haslar

  2

  Hatfield

  1

  Haverigg

  3

  Hewell Grange

  —

  Highpoint

  10

  Hindley

  70

  Hollesley Bay

  15

  242

  Establishment

  Total

  Holloway

  95

  Hull

  116

  Huntercombe

  21

  Kingston

  —

  Kirkham

  1

  Kirklevington Grange

  15

  Lancaster

  5

  Latchmere House

  —

  Leeds

  130

  Leicester

  27

  Lewes

  25

  Leyhill

  3

  Lincoln

  117

  Lindholme

  12

  Littlehey

  13

  Liverpool

  74

  Long Lartin

  22

  Low Newton (Male)

  55

  Low Newton (Female)

  3

  Maidstone

  6

  Manchester

  35

  Moorland

  117

  Morton Hall

  2

  The Mount

  1

  New Hall

  113

  Northallerton

  17

  Northeye

  2

  North Sea Camp

  —

  Norwich

  6

  Nottingham

  4

  Onley

  34

  Oxford

  14

  Parkhurst

  2

  Pentonville

  8

  Portland

  39

  Preston

  7

  Pucklechurch (Female)

  112

  Ranby

  4

  Reading

  9

  Risley (Male)

  —

  Risley (Female)

  50

  Rochester

  68

  Rudgate

  1

  Send

  —

  Shepton Mallet

  4

  Shrewsbury

  34

  Stafford

  36

  Standford Hill

  1

  Stocken

  8

  Stoke Heath

  29

  Styal

  304

  Sudbury

  5

  Swaleside

  2

  Swansea

  10

  Swinfen Hall

  4

  Thorn Cross

  4

  Thorp Arch

  —

  Usk

  3

  The Verne

  3

  Wakefield

  12

  Wandsworth

  9

  Wayland

  7

  Wellingborough

  —

  Werrington

  3

  Wetherby

  19

  Whatton

  1

  Whitemoor

  —

  Winchester

  10

  243

  Establishment

  Total

  Wormwood Scrubs

  32

  Wymott

  9

  Total

  1,615

  Deportation Orders
  Ms. Hoey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken on applicants for asylum who have received paragraph 101 refusals on the basis of non-appearance at interviews; and how many of those refused since 1 December 1991 have been served with removal or deportation orders.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Unless an asylum applicant refused under paragraph 101 of the immigration rules is subsequently in touch with the Department, he remains liable to arrest and administrative action to enforce his departure. Information about the numbers subject to such action is not collected in the form requested.

  Rape
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in rank order for each police force in England and Wales, the number of females who have reported being raped during the last 12 months.

  Mr. Jack
  The available information held centrally relates to the number of notifiable offences of rape recorded by the police and is given in the table. Although there are no figures for the number of offences reported, recent Home Office research shows that 61 per cent. of allegations of rape were recorded by the police in 1989.

  Notifiable offences of rape recorded by the police by police force area—1991

  England and Wales

  Police force area

  Number of offences

  Metropolitan police district

  1,158

  Greater Manchester

  227

  West Midlands

  214

  West Yorkshire

  213

  Hampshire

  136

  Kent

  115

  Nottinghamshire

  111

  Thames Valley

  99

  Avon and Somerset

  98

  Northumbria

  93

  South Wales

  91

  Essex

  83

  South Yorkshire

  74

  Sussex

  73

  Merseyside

  63

  Cambridgeshire

  62

  Norfolk

  62

  Suffolk

  61

  Humberside

  61

  Devon and Cornwall

  60

  Lancashire

  58

  North Wales

  55

  Staffordshire

  53

  West Mercia

  50

  Dorset

  49

  Dyfed-Powys

  47

  Cleveland

  47

  Wiltshire

  46

  Bedfordshire

  46

  Hertfordshire

  46

  Durham

  45

  Northamptonshire

  44

  244

  Police force area

  Number of offences

  Surrey

  41

  Gwent

  38

  Lincolnshire

  38

  Leicestershire

  38

  Cheshire

  37

  Derbyshire

  34

  Gloucestershire

  23

  Cumbria

  19

  North Yorkshire

  19

  Warwickshire

  18

  City of London

  —

  England and Wales

  4,045

  Aquatic Environment
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the responsibilities and duties of his Department and any agency which reports to his Department in relation to inshore waters, intertidal areas and maritime land; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I refer the hon. Member to the Government's memorandum on this subject which was submitted to the Environment Committee of this House in the previous Session. It has now been published by HMSO as part of the Environment Committee's report on coastal zone protection and planning, volume II, minutes of evidence and appendices.

  Intelligence Data
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement, in the form that does not jeopardise national security, on the criteria used by the Security Service to help it decide whether personal data should be retained by it; and how such criteria have varied since 1989.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I have nothing to add to the Security Service Commissioner's report on Security Service record-keeping policy in his annual report for 1991 and his conclusion that the general policy on retention of records was acceptable.

  Subversion
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide, in a form that does not jeopardise national security, generalised examples of subversive activities that do not involve law breaking; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  No.

  Ethnic Minorities
  Ms. Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what means and through what channels section 11 resources will be allocated to colleges of further education following their removal from local authority control.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  After further education and sixth form colleges leave local authority control on 1 April 1993, they will be eligible to receive, and to apply for, section 11 grant direct. Posts already approved for funding from 1 April 1992 will continue to be eligible for grant, with the
  245
  contribution previously made by the local authority being met by the Further Education Funding Council. Detailed administrative arrangements are under consideration.

HEALTH

  Eye Tests
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the circumstances under which pensioners may be asked to pay for eye tests.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Pensioners as a group have never been automatically exempted from payment of optical costs, including those for sight tests. Pensioners who receive income support are entitled to free NHS sight tests. Pensioners on a low income can claim help with their optical costs under the NHS low-income scheme.

  Community Health Services
  Mr. Stephen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how spending on health and community health services(a) for elderly people and (b) for mentally ill people has changed since 1979.

  Mr. Yeo
  Available data are given in the table. Estimated spending on services for elderly people does not include spending on the acute hospital services which are used by people in all age groups including elderly people.

  Estimated Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) spending on services for elderly people and for mentally ill people 1979–80 and 1990–91.

  Spending(£ million cash)

  Real terms increase 1

  1979–80

  1990–91

  (per cent.)

  Services for elderly people

  651

  1,927.6

  36.5

  Services for mentally ill people

  592.8

  1,763.5

  37.1

  Total HCHS expenditure (excluding joint finance)

  5,309.5

  14,745.8

  28.0

  1 After allowing for changes in general inflation as measured by the GDP deflator.

  Breast Cancer
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the clinical trials at London's Royal Marsden hospital that are planned to discover if patients suffering from breast cancer would benefit from hormone replacement therapy; and when she expects the results will be published.

  Mr. Sackville
  There are no firm plans to hold such a trial at the Royal Marsden hospital.

  Organophosphates
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been carried out into the effects of organophosphates on the human body and methods of entry into the human body; who carried out that research; and who is carrying out research currently.

  Mr. Sackville
  Organophosphate toxicology is a very heavily researched area and many papers reporting such research are published each month in the world's scientific journals. Organophosphate research was recently reviewed by Ballantyne and Marrs—"Clinicaland experimental toxicology of organophosphates and carbamates", published by Butterworth—Heinemann, Oxford, 1992.
  246
  A number of groups are carrying out research into the action of organophosphates including, in the United Kingdom:

  (a) Medical Research Council Laboratories, Carshalton (Dr. Martin Johnson).

  (b) University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Professor Peter Blaine).

  (c) Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down, Salisbury.

  In addition, clinical research has been carried out at the poisons units, particularly by Dr. Virginia Murray in London and Dr. Allister Vale in Birmingham, and the Health and Safety Executive is proposing to carry out a study of farm staff and contract workers using organophosphate sheep dips.

  Outside the United Kingdom, there are numerous groups working on organophosphates, notably:

  Belgium — University of Ghent (Dr. Willems).

  Canada — DRES, Suffield, Alberta (Dr. Clements).

  Hungary — Szent-Gyorgy University, Szeged (Professor Desi).

  Italy — University of Padua (Professor Lotti).

  Portugal — Coimbra University Hospital (Dr. Pimentel).

  USA — Vanderbilt University, Nashville (Professor Dettbarn).

  Trust Hospitals
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all trust hospitals together with their postal addresses and the names of their chief executives.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested has been placed in the Library.

  Nursing Beds
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing beds within the private sector there are within the Seaham, Murton, Easington, Peterlee, Shotton, Horden, Blackhall and South Hetton area.

  Mr. Yeo
  Information is not available in the form requested.

  Dentistry
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health
  if she will give the membership and remuneration of the members of the Dental Estimates Board.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Dental Practice Board—DPB—
  previously known as the Dental Estimates Board, comprises five dental members, two lay members and the chief executive, who is also a lay member. Current membership is as follows:

  Chairman (dentist)

  Mr. T. H. Farrell

  Vice Chairman (dentist)

  Mr. W. H. Evans

  Dental Members

  Mr. D. W. Lester

  Mr. R. A. Gorham

  Mr. H. G. Lewis

  Lay Members

  Mr. D. A. Dryer

  Mrs. C. A. Osborne

  Chief Executive

  Mr. J. A. Taylor

  The chairman receives remuneration of £23,658.18 per annum for an average attendance of 2.5 days per week, plus £182 for each additional day of attendance. He is also entitled to travel and subsistence payments for attendance at meetings held away from the DPB site at Eastbourne.
  247
  Other members, with the exception of the chief executive, receive a fee of £124.68 for each day of attendance at the DPB. They are also entitled to travel and subsistence payments.

  The chief executive is a full-time employee of the DPB. He is not remunerated separately as a board member.

  Community Care
  Mr. Godsiff
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she last met the Association of Directors of Social Services to discuss community care.

  Mr. Yeo
  My hon. Friend the Minister for Health last met the Association of Directors of Social Services on 4 June.

  Child Care
  Mr. Leighton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to improve child care provision, following the EC child care recommendations.

  Mr. Yeo
  The EC child care recommendation, adopted on 31 March 1992, will contribute to the continuing debate on child care. The Department's latest statistics, "Children's day care facilities at 31 March 1991, England."; a copy of which is available in the Library, show that in England between 1988 and 1991 registered day nursery places grew by 112 per cent. from 36,000 to 77,000 and the number of registered child-minders by 42 per cent. from 73,600 to 104,900. The Children Act 1989 gives a new duty to local authorities to review the child-care services used by children aged under eight in their area every three years and publish a report. This requirement gives local authorities a strategic role in child care and provides a legal framework for production of a local child care plan which will result in sensible expansion and development.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients had been waiting for hospital treatment(a) under one year, (b) one to two years and (c) over two years at the latest date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby), on 10 June at columns 219-20.

  Community Psychiatric Nursing
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the current review of community psychiatric nursing will be completed; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  [holding answer 9 June 1992]: The review of mental health nursing was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in her speech to the Royal College of Nursing congress on 27 April 1992.

  The precise terms of reference, the chairmanship and membership of the steering group for the review, together with its method of working, are being finalised.

  The review will be concerned with all aspects of mental health nursing including community psychiatric nursing and will examine practice, leadership and education.
  248
  The review will be taken forward by a multidisciplinary steering group. The chairmanship and membership of the group will be announced by mid-July. The first meeting of the group will take place in September and the work will be completed within a year.

  The work of this review will feed into that of the mental health task force which was announced at the end of February.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Personal Data
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Officials are aware of the need to consult the registrar about proposed legislation or other initiatives which might affect or be affected by the Data Protection Act 1984, and will consult him as necessary when planning the collection, use or disclosure of automated personal data.

  Developing Nations (Trade)
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policies Her Majesty's Government pursue to promote trade between developing nations and the EC.

  Mr. Needham
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Government support the Community's efforts, as in the current GATT Uruguay round negotiations, to create open trading conditions which will increase trade with all countries, including the developing nations. In addition, the European Community gives preferential access to most products from developing countries under its generalised system of preferences scheme. This provides especially generous treatment for the least developed. The trade provisions of the Lomé convention also provide access to Community markets at zero duty for most products from the African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

  Clothing and Textiles
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the position of the United Kingdom Government regarding the import of Bangladeshi textiles and clothing into the EC after the creation of the single market; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  I have been asked to reply.

  Regulation of textiles and clothing imports from Bangladesh into the European Community is governed by the multi-fibre arrangement bilateral agreement on trade in textiles between the two parties, the provisions of which are unlikely to be significantly affected by completion of the single market.

  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the current quotas for textile and clothing imports into the United Kingdom from countries covered by the multi-fibre arrangement.
  249
  Mr. Needham
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to EC regulation 369/92 published in the "Official Journal of the European Communities", No. L45 of 20 February 1992, copies of which are in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION

  Student Grants
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the cost of producing and distributing "student grants and loans"; and how many copies are being produced.

  Mr. Forman
  We plan to produce and distribute at least 900,000 copies of "Student Grants and Loans: A brief guide 1992–93" at an estimated cost of about £88,000. We shall produce additional copies if there is sufficient demand.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Greenwich Generating Station
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 19 May,Official Report, column 104, how many of the representations he has received about the MetroPower proposals to redevelop Greenwich generating station have supported the proposal and how many have objected to it.

  Mr. Eggar
  Under the Electricity (Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990 an opportunity must be given for objections to the MetroPower proposals to be registered with my Department. More than 100 objections were so registered by the date specified under the regulations. The regulations do not provide for support for proposals to be registered.

  Waste Strategy
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to prepare a United Kingdom-wide strategy for the commercial energy industry covering extraction, conversion, transport and waste over the next 30 years.

  Mr. Eggar
  No. The Government have set out their policy designed to ensure that consumers obtain energy efficiently. Strategy blueprints on the lines proposed by the hon. Member do not work and have been rejected even by the former socialist economies.

  Natural Gas
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action is being undertaken by his Department to reduce the flaming of natural gas in the oil extraction process.

  Mr. Eggar
  My consent is required to the flaring of any gas produced in association with oil in the United Kingdom. In granting such consents, my policy is to ensure that flaring is restricted to the minimum amounts which are consistent with maintaining safe and economic operations.

  Energy
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much has been allocated during each of the last five years by his Department to fund research and development on(a) energy produced from fossil fuel sources and (b) the development of energy from renewable sources.

  Mr. Eggar
  Following is the information requested:

  (a)

  £ million

  >1987–88

  9.8

  >1988–89

  7.9

  >1989–90

  5.6

  >1990–91

  15.9

  >1991–92

  8.4

  (b)

  >

  £ million

  >1987–88

  16.1

  >1988–89

  16.3

  >1989–90

  17.9

  >1990–91

  20.9

  >1991–92

  24.0

  Notes:

  1 1987–88 and 1988–89 figures are taken from the annual review of Government-funded research and development. These figuress relate essentially to Frascati research and development.

  2 1989–90 and 1990–91 figures are final outturn.

  3 1991–92 figures are taken from main estimates.

  Coal Imports
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what were the tonnages of coal imports into the ports of Sunderland, Seaham, Hartlepool and Teesside during the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91; and what were the points of origin.

  Mr. Eggar
  Coal imports for these areas are shown in the table. Imports at Seaham are recorded under the port of Sunderland. Imports at Teesside are shown for the port of Middlesbrough.

  Thousand tonnes1

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Sunderland

  United States

  58

  109

  63

  Australia

  184

  35

  0

  Venezuela

  104

  34

  9

  Soviet Union

  49

  0

  56

  Canada

  29

  9

  22

  Germany

  16

  24

  7

  Other countries

  64

  41

  42

  Total

  503

  251

  198

  Hartlepool

  Colombia

  22

  44

  101

  Poland

  67

  25

  14

  Soviet Union

  57

  5

  0

  Australia

  51

  2

  0

  Other countries

  26

  5

  0

  Total

  224

  82

  115

  Middlesbrough

  Australia

  1,393

  1,254

  1,407

  United States

  1,130

  1,106

  722

  Poland

  322

  71

  20

  251

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Canada

  117

  169

  25

  Other countries

  48

  181

  215

  Total

  3,010

  2,781

  2,388

  1 Figures are rounded independently and a total may therefore differ from the sum of its constituent parts.

  Waste
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to announce the public inquiry into the Cory waste-to-energy incinerator proposal in Belvedere; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Arrangements for the public inquiry are nearing completion and I expect to announce the details shortly. I will write to my hon. Friend once they are finalised.

  Renewable Energy
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the United Kingdom has set a target for the percentage of total electricity supply from renewable resources.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Government are working towards the establishment of 1,000 MW of new renewables-based electricity generation capacity in the United Kingdom by the year 2000. Targets for the exploitation of renewable energy resources are under consideration, as part of the current review of the Government's renewable energy programme.

  Earth Summit
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the impact for fuel choice and generating plant capacity, investment, mothballing and permanent retirement of treaty undertakings on global warming on offer at the Rio de Janeiro Earth summit conference; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  [holding answer 9 June 1992]: The Government's commitments to the control of carbon dioxide emissions under the framework convention on climate change will take into account a wide range of issues, which in the electricity sector include the expected installation of high-efficiency gas-fired plant, the fostering of renewables under the non-fossil fuel obligation, and the retirement of some existing generating plant.

  Barlow Clowes
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the result to date of the writs issued by his Department to the Midland bank and other financial intermediaries in respect of the Barlow Clowes affair.

  Mr. Nelson
  I have been asked to reply.

  A number of proceedings have been commenced following the statement by the Secretary of State to the House on 19 December 1989. I cannot comment on individual cases.

WALES

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the last date on which he considers it would be reasonable to indicate that his plans for local government reorganisation will go forward in a time scale that woud make it convenient to cancel the county council elections currently planned for May 1993.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on Friday 5 June 1992, at column 662.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether it is his intention to introduce legislation to give effect to his plans for local governmnent reorganisation in Wales during the current session of Parliament.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on Wednesday 10 June, at column 182.

  A483 (Bridge Repairs)
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the reasons for the bridge repairs at Rosset, near Wrexham on the A483; and who is to pay for them.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The bridge is not being repaired. Concrete sections of the bridge are being treated with a chemical to protect the surfaces from the harmful effects of winter salting. The Welsh Office will pay for the work.

  Singleton Hospital
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will announce his decision about the night casualty service at Singleton hospital, Swansea.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  As soon as possible.

PRIME MINISTER

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 11 June.

  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 11 June.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is in Rio de Janeiro to attend the Earth summit and will have bilateral meetings later today with various Heads of Government.

  Women
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to increase the number of women in the Cabinet.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister considers all the excellent candidates available on merit at the appropriate times.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the actions he intends to take to promote the interests of women.
  253
  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has recently set up a new ministerial sub-committee on women's issues to review and develop the Government's policy and strategy on issues of special concern to women. The committee will be chaired by the Secretary of State for Employment, who now has overall responsibility for co-ordinating women's issues within Government. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has also appointed Baroness Denton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms, as Government co-chair of the Women's National Commission which will continue to represent the concerns of women to the Government.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the measures being taken to increase the number of women in the upper levels of the civil service.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  Appointements and promotions at all levels in the civil service are made on the basis of merit, qualifications and suitability for the job. Under a new programme for action to achieve quality of opportunity for women in the civil service, launched in March this year, Departments and agencies are developing and implementing action plans tailored to their own needs. The plans aim at improving the quality and quantity of women's opportunities at senior and all other levels.

  Family Conciliation
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has for funding family conciliation services; which departmental budget funds such services at present; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  Local family conciliation services in England and Wales are currently funded by the voluntary and private sectors with assistance in some areas from the probation service and local authorities. No Department currently funds such services directly and the Government have no current plans to introduce such funding.

  The Lord Chancellor's Department is considering the role of conciliation services in England and Wales as part of the wider review of family law announced earlier this year.

  Conservation Unit
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to develop an interdepartmental conservation and development co-ordinating unit with a mandate to examine departmental policy and investment proposals prior to their presentation to Cabinet.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  This is not necessary. Cabinet procedure already requires that all papers which are prepared for Cabinet and ministerial committees should, where appropriate, cover any significant costs or benefits to the environment. There is a ministerial committee on the environment, whose terms of reference are
  "to consider questions of environmental policy".

  Each Government Department has a Minister responsible for environmental matters in his or her Department. There is also other co-ordinating machinery.

  CIS (Research)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his response to the recommendations of the report he commissioned last year from the Royal Society on ways to assist scientists in the Commonwealth of Independent States to maintain their research base.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 20 May at column 137.

  Environmental Audit
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to ensure that all Government Departments are subject to periodic environmental audits.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  Government Departments publish accounts of their environmental performance in their annual departmental reports. This follows a commitment set out in the 1990 environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance", Cm 1200, and reaffirmed in the 1991 first-year report on that White Paper, Cm. 1655.

  Earth Summit
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister what resource commitments have been made by Her Majesty's Government to support the institutional requirements to implement United Nations Conference on Environmental and Development decisions.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  We expect agreement to be reached during the Earth summit on the most effective and efficient institutions to follow up recommendations made at the UN Conference on Environment and Development. We believe that a sustainable development commission is the right mechanism. We will consider what financial resources are appropriate once the institutional framework has been agreed.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North (Mr. Dafis) of 2 June,Official Report, column 392, if he will list the heads of Government he has met since 9 April, and the date on which he discussed with them the Earth summit.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has nothing further to add to the answer he gave to the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North on 2 June at column 392.

  Secret Services
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list all the present and past locations in Britain of the secret intelligence service and of the Security Service.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  It would not be in the interests of national security to provide this information.

  Honours System
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the latest estimated annual cost to public funds of operating the honours system.

  Mr. Newton
  I have been asked to reply.

  Figures for the cost of operating the honours system could not be provided other than at disproportionate cost.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Rape
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the number of females who have reported being raped during the last 12 months in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Mates
  I am informed by the Chief Constable that the most recent figures available show that during the 12-month period 1 May 1991 to 30 April 1992 the Royal Ulster Constabulary received 108 reports of rape from females.

  Chemical Waste
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the chemicals and the amounts of such chemicals removed from the old Mackies factory in Belfast after the factory was vacated; by whom the materials were removed; by what means final disposal was effected and by whom; what steps he has taken to assure himself that the disposal was safe and effective; what role his Department had in the clearing of such chemicals from the site; and why the chemicals were not removed and disposed of before the premises were vacated.

  Mr. Atkins
  Lummus Mackie Ltd. has not yet fully vacated its old factory in Belfast. The move to new premises should be completed by the end of August this year, by which time it is understood that all potentially harmful chemicals will have been removed.

  Fire Regulations
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects all premises registered under the Northern Ireland tourism legislation to comply with the necessary fire regulations; and when he expects the Northern Ireland Fire Service to complete inspection of all such existing premises for compliance with such regulations as are required under the 1984 order.

  £' thousand

  Major capital roadworks

  Increase/decrease on main estimates

  Road maintenance

  Increase/decrease on main estimates

  Minor capital roadworks

  Increase/decrease on main estimates

  1988–89

  Main estimates

  10,905

  —

  26,951

  —

  6,330

  —

  Spring supplementary estimates

  13,830

  +2,925

  32,168

  +5,217

  6,535

  +205

  Outturn

  12,159

  +1,254

  34,571

  +7,620

  7,303

  +973

  1989–90

  Main estimates

  18,365

  —

  40,415

  —

  7,050

  —

  Spring supplementary estimates

  17,849

  -516

  41,200

  +785

  7,100

  +50

  Outturn

  16,315

  -2,050

  41,584

  +1,169

  8,624

  -1,574

  256
  Mr. Atkins
  Applications for the grant of a fire certificate have been made on behalf of 372 premises in the categories covered by Northern Ireland tourism legislation. Of these, 69 remain to be inspected and this process is expected to be completed by December 1993. Sixty-four premises have so far been refused certificates.

  Traffic
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the traffic volume on(a) the Belfast road into Larne and (b) the Dublin road south of Newry to the border.

  Mr. Atkins
  The average daily traffic flow is 13,850 vehicles and 6,000 vehicles respectively.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Mates
  The Northern Ireland Office and each of the Northern Ireland Departments have appointed a data protection officer responsible for the maintenance of the Department's data protection register. Recently, with the assistance of the office of the Data Protection Registrar, all Departments reviewed their effectiveness in fulfilling the requirements of the Act and subsequently initiated a number of minor refinements to existing practice. There is an inter-departmental data protection officers' forum in Northern Ireland which ensures regular review of requirements as well as the effective read-across of departmental experiences.

  Road Schemes
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show the total sums projected in the appropriate orders for(a) major capital road works, (b) road maintenance and (c) minor capital road works in each of the financial years (i) 1988–89, (ii) 1989–90, (iii) 1990–91 and (iv) 1991–92 and the sums actually expended under each of those headings in those years; and if he will indicate any increases and decreases from the sums initially projected in each year and also any differences from the longer term estimates for those years.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information requested is as follows:
  257

  Major capital roadworks

  Increase/decrease on main estimates

  Road maintenance

  Increase/decrease on main estimates

  Minor capital roadworks

  Increase/decrease on main estimates

  1990–91

  Main estimates

  16,560

  —

  43,180

  —

  9,030

  —

  Spring supplementary estimates

  16,560

  —

  44,394

  +1,214

  9,030

  —

  Outturn

  16,046

  -1,514

  45,936

  +2,756

  9,612

  +582

  1991–92

  Main estimates

  18,730

  —

  42,151

  —

  8,502

  —

  Spring supplementary estimates

  20,382

  -1,652

  41,250

  -901

  8,002

  -500

  Outturn

  19,892

  +1,162

  40,277

  -1,874

  7,910

  -592

  Note:—Long term planning figures are subject to annual refinement before inclusion in the Estimates booklets.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Road Schemes
  Mr. Clifford Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the major capital road schemes programmed(a) in 1988 for the years 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92 and (b) in 1990 for the years 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94; and if he will indicate the cost of each scheme.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information requested is as follows:

  Major capital road schemes programmed in 1988

  £ million at 1988 prices

  Financial year and proposed schemes

  Total estimated cost

  1988–89

  A26 Antrim/Ballymena Dualling: Stage 1

  3.8

  A57/B101 Oldstone Road

  0.7

  Eastlink Dundonald

  0.5

  Longwood Road, Newtownabbey

  0.5

  Castlecourt, Belfast

  1.5

  Buncrana Road, Londonderry

  0.3

  Banbridge By-pass Dualling

  1.3

  Newry 8A (Canal Street/Downshire Road Link)

  1.0

  Balloo Road, Bangor: Stage 2

  0.8

  Omagh Through-pass: Stage 1

  3.7

  1989–90

  Frederick Street, Belfast

  1.5

  Greenmount Link Roundabout, Coleraine

  0.2

  Crossnadonnell Limavady

  0.4

  Strand Road, Londonderry

  0.2

  Culmore Road, Londonderry

  0.3

  Bridge Street/Tavanagh Avenue, Portadown

  0.4

  Dunmurry By-pass: Stage 2C

  1.8

  A48 Donaghadee Road, Newtownards

  0.4

  T4 Hillsborough By-pass junction

  0.4

  Strabane By-pass: Stage 1

  2.6

  Church Street/Scotch Street, Downpatrick

  0.6

  1990–91

  Castledawson By-pass

  2.5

  Belfast schemes arising from Belfast Urban area plan

  3.0

  Greenmount Link: Stages 3 and 4 Coleraine

  0.4

  Bushmills Road, Coleraine

  0.5

  T4 Mullan's Corner Dualling

  1.3

  Dunmurry By-pass Stage 20

  1.7

  Enniskillen Through-pass Stage 3B

  1.0

  High Street/Hamilton Road, Bangor

  0.5

  1991–92

  Killead By-pass

  1.2

  A26 Antrim/Ballymena Dualling Stage 2

  2.6

  Belfast schemes arising from Belfast Urban area plan

  3.0

  Strand Road, Londonderry: Stage 2

  0.6

  Newry By-pass: Stage 2

  2.5

  North Road/Talbot Street, Newtownards

  0.3

  Comber By-pass Stage 2

  1.0

  258

  Major capital road schemes programmed in 1990

  £ million at 1990 prices

  Financial year and proposed schemes

  Total estimated cost

  1990–91

  T8 Castledown By-pass

  3.1

  Ballymaconaghy Road, Belfast: Phase 1

  0.1

  Purdysburn Road, Belfast

  0.8

  Ballymaconaghy Road, Belfast: Phase 2

  0.6

  Castlereagh Roundabout, Belfast

  0.6

  Jordanstown Road, Belfast

  0.2

  Greenmount Link, Coleraine: Stage 5

  0.6

  Bushmills Road, Coleraine

  0.7

  Queen's Quay Repairs Londonderry

  0.2

  A48 Donaghadee Road, Newtownards

  1.0

  Dunmurry By-pass: Stage 2D

  2.8

  Strabane By-pass: Stage 1 (bridge)

  1.0

  T3 Strategy

  0.3

  1991–92

  Killed By-pass

  1.5

  M2 Crosskennan Slip Roads

  0.6

  Great Victoria Street/Sandy Row, Belfast

  1.5

  Forester Green Junction, Belfast

  0.9

  Queen's Quay, Londonderry

  2.0

  T4 Mullan's Corner Dualling

  1.8

  Church Street/Scotch Street, Downpartick

  1.0

  High Street/Hamilton Road, Bangor

  1.3

  Balloo Road, Bangor: Stage 3

  0.3

  Strabane By-pass: Stage 1 (Roadworks)

  2.1

  T3 Strategy

  0.3

  1993–94

  A26 Antrim/Ballymena Dualling: Stage 2

  3.1

  A2 Shore Road, Belfast

  4.1

  Purdysburn Road, Belfast: Stage 2

  0.8

  Knock Road, Belfast: Stage 1

  5.6

  Strand Road, Londonderry: Stage 2

  1.0

  Newry By-pass: Stage 3 (Roadworks)

  3.9

  A29 Carland Bridge, Dungannon

  1.5

  T3 Strategy

  0.3

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the number of civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office,(a) in Belfast and (b) in London, indicating in each case how many are of Northern Ireland origin and how many of Great Britain origin.

  Mr. Mates
  As at 1 April 1992 there were 106 staff working in London and 1,435 in Northern Ireland. The information on origin is not held by the Northern Ireland Office.

  Airports Authority
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he requested the board of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company Ltd. to reconsider its new nominee for the chairmanship of the Northern Ireland Airports Authority Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  I wrote to the chairman of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company on 1 June, asking to be reassured that the board had been able to cast its net sufficiently widely before a decision was taken on approval of any appointment as chairman. I also asked if the board would be prepared to make at least three names available for consideration.

EMPLOYMENT

  Youth Unemployment
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons under the age of 21 are unemployed in the Morpeth-Northumberland travel-to-work area at the most recent date.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Unemployment figures by age and duration are available on a quarterly basis, but only for standard age bands. In April 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 695 claimant unemployed persons aged under 20 in the Morpeth and Ashington travel-to-work area.

  Long-term Unemployment
  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment she has made of the impact of Government policies on long-term unemployment.

  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment she has made of the impact of Government policies on long-term unemployment.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We are firmly committed to helping long-term unemployed people get back to work. We have in place a wider than ever range of measures to help unemployed people, including the long-term unemployed, find jobs as quickly as possible. These measures are part of a coherent package of policies which are setting a sound economic framework for sustainable non-inflationary growth.

  Local Office, Newport
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether she will instruct the manager of the Newport, Gwent, unemployment benefit office to report how many unemployed people were disqualified for unemployment benefit and for what periods, under each paragraph of section 20(1) of the Social Security Act 1975, in the area covered by that office in the week commencing 15 June; and if she will place this information in the Library.

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

ENVIRONMENT

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to improve the monitoring of sites of special scientific interest.

  Mr. Maclean
  In England the responsibility for monitoring individual sites of special scientific interest lies with English Nature which is giving particular attention to improving its performance in this area. For example in 1991–92 some 51 per cent. of SSSIs in England received site integrity monitoring involving a basic check on whether major loss or damage has occurred. English Nature is also developing its existing system of site quality monitoring which surveys a sample of SSSIs for its detailed scientific value each year.

  Greenhouse Gases
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to develop and implement a United Kingdom plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural processes.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government intend to consider the scope for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from all sources, including the agricultural sector, in drawing up their national programme under the framework convention on climate change.

  Methane
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what efforts are currently being undertaken by his Department to improve the maintenance of oil and natural gas production systems as a means of reducing methane leakage.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department is participating in a study led by the Department of Trade and Industry aimed at improving knowledge of methane emissions from all sources, including oil and natural gas production.

  Social Housing
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department will take to counteract the recent Audit Commission's optimistic forecast of a shortfall of 12,000 social lettings each year; and if he will comment on the report.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Audit Commission's report "Developing Local Authority Housing Strategies", including the discussion of supply and demand for social housing, is a useful contribution to public debate on housing policy. Besides the recommendations addressed to central Government, which we shall consider carefully, the report contains many recommendations for local authorities on how they could make more effective use of their existing stock of housing and other resources.

  Mr. Lester
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the Audit Commissioner's report on the shortfall of 12,000 homes per year; and what effect this has on waiting lists.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for St. Helens, North (Mr.
  261
  Evans). Local authorities' practices in maintaining waiting lists for council housing vary widely, and they are therefore not an accurate indicator of unmet need for social housing.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the cost to Easington district council of collecting the community charge 1991–92 and the estimated costs involved to Easington council in collecting the council tax.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The cost in 1991–92 to Easington district council of collecting the community charge was £696,000. No estimate is available of the cost of collecting the council tax.

  Water Extraction
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the National Rivers Authority in respect of limiting new, and renewing, licences for water extraction by non-domestic users; and what was the result of those discussions.

  Mr. Maclean
  It is for the NRA to consider applications on their merits in the light of the authority's general duty to take steps to conserve, redistribute or otherwise augment water resources in England and Wales, and to secure their proper use.

  City Challenge
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he now expects to make announcements on the second wave of city challenge bids.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 20 May,Official Report, column 148.

  Council Tax (Valulation List)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce regulations that would prevent a person from making copies of the council tax valuation list for a purpose not associated with an appeal with respect to a valuation.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have made it quite clear that valuation lists will not be made available to commercial organisations. Valuation lists are, however, public documents and it would be wrong to restrict interested parties' rights to obtain information from them.

  Radiation Monitoring
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans there are for local authorities to have access to the Government radiation incident monitoring network.

  Mr. Maclean
  Under current arrangements lead local authorities have electronic mail access to RIMNET information bulletins and data summaries. Under the next phase of the RIMNET project, due for completion later 262
  this year, it will be possible for more local authorities, with the necessary expertise, to enter radiological measurements and receive information and data summaries over public data network and electronic mail links.

  Local Authority Land Sales
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the total assets by local authority which local authorities have raised from the sale of open land and playing fields in the last two years.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information requested is not available. However, returns to the Department from local authorities give information on sales of fixed assets in the service categories "parks and open spaces" and "other outside sports and playing fields". I have arranged for the data for the latest available years to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Council House Sales
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has available to him concerning the current level of service charges payable to local authorities in respect of flats purchased by sitting tenants under the right-to-buy legislation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Department does not collect this information from local authorities. The protections against unreasonable service charges in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 apply to all leaseholders, including those who bought under the right to buy. In addition, purchasers of flats under the right to buy are given pre-sale estimates of service charges covering the first five years of the lease, and cannot be charged more than the amounts estimated for repairs and improvements.

  Water Charges
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the Office of Water Supply in affecting water companies' charges.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Devon, North (Mr. Harvey) on 19 May 1992,Official Report, column 73.

  Orimulsion
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects Her Majesty' inspectorate of pollution to make a decision with regard to the burning of orimulsion at Padiham power station.

  Mr. Maclean
  National Power has agreed to a request from HMIP for an extension of the determination period for this application to 30 September. Unless further extensions are required, the authorisation will be issued by this date.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secetary of State for the Environment if he will list the companies who have applied to use orimulsion fuel on a commercial basis; and if he will show in his answer those which have been(a) granted and (b) refused permission.

  Mr. Maclean
  National Power has applied under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to HMIP to burn
  263
  orimulsion in its power stations at Pembroke in Wales and Padiham in Lancashire. Both applications are currently being considered.

  PowerGen has permission under previous legislation to burn limited amounts of orimulsion in its power stations at Ince in Cheshire and at Richborough in Kent. The company has applied to burn orimulsion in these stations under the 1990 Act. These applications are the subject of an appeal to my right hon. and learned Friend about commercial confidentiality. They cannot be determined until after the appeal decision, which will be made as soon as possible.

  Maiden Down Common
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received in respect of the mass protest walk held on Maiden Down common, east Cornwall in April; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  We have not received any representations in respect of a mass protest walk on Maiden Down common, east Devon, in April.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many homeless people in the Easington district council area are aged(a) 17 and 18 years, (b) 18 and 19 years, (c) 19 years, (d) 20 years and (e) 20 and 21 years; and what extra resources are being made available to Easington district council to tackle the problem.

  Mr. Baldry
  Local authorities report the number of households for whom they accept responsibility to secure permanent accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985 in their quarterly P1(E) return. The quarterly P1(E) returns identify such households by the category of need but not by age. The total number of all households accepted by Easington under these provisions in the fourth quarter of 1991 was 27.

  In the second quarter of this year the return was revised to identify for the first time:
  (i) households in priority need who were accepted as homeless because the household contained vulnerable young person(s) (aged 16 and over) and,
  (b) young single homeless people who were not in priority need for whom the authority nevertheless agreed to secure permanent accommodation.

  Since then, Easington has reported accepting only one such household, in the first of these two categories during the second quarter of 1991.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the number of families accepted as homeless for each housing authority area in England in(a) 1978–79 and (b) 1991–92.

  Mr. Baldry
  Information on homeless households for whom local authorities have accepted responsibility to secure accommodation under the provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and part III of the Housing act 1985 is reported quarterly to the Department —half-yearly before 1984.

  The available information can be found in the following publications:
  "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales", Edition No. 52 (Table 12), acceptance figures for both halves of 1978.
  264
  "Households found accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act: England. Results for the first quarter 1991. Supplementary Tables" (Table 7), number of acceptances in the first quarter 1991.
  "Local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act. Supplementary Table", acceptances in the second, third and fourth quarters of 1991.

  From the second quarter of 1991 the definition of acceptances was altered to exclude intentionally homeless and the guidance to local authorities on completion of their returns was expanded. The acceptance figures for quarters 2, 3 and 4 of 1991 are not therefore strictly comparable with those for quarter 1, 1991 and earlier years.

  Copies are in the Library.

  Hedgerows
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many miles of hedgerow have been planted in the northern region for the years 1989–90 and 1990–91; and at what cost in grants.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information is not available in this form. however, grants for the planting of hedgerows are available from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Countryside Commission as part of their wider grant schemes.

  Environmental Impact Assessments
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to ensure that environmental impact assessments take social and economic costs and benefits of projects into account.

  Mr. Maclean
  Where a project which is the subject of a planning application requires environmental assessment, the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988 provide that the environmental statement submitted by the applicant shall include a description of the likely significant effects on the environment. These include the impact on human beings as well as on flora, fauna, water, air and the landscape, and beneficial effects as well as adverse effects.

  In deciding whether to grant consent the decision-taking authority must have regard to the environmental information—that is, the applicant's environmental statement and any comments on it from the statutory consultees and the general public-and also to any other material considerations.

  Similar provisions apply where environmental assessment is required for projects which are subject to other approval procedures, for example, under the Highways and Electricity Acts.

  United Nations
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to support the production of an annual statement on the environment by the United Nations.

  Mr. Maclean
  The United Nations Environment Programme already issues an annual report on the state of the world environment. The Government fully support the production of this informative document.

  International Meetings
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to encourage the full participation of non-governmental organisations in international environmental meetings.

  Mr. Maclean
  It is already our policy to encourage participation of non-governmental organisations in international environmental meetings. For instance the United Kingdom's delegation to the Earth summit includes representatives of environment and development groups, industry, youth, trades unions, local government and scientists.

  Global Environment Facility
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of financial contribution granted by his Department to the global environment facility.

  Mr. Maclean
  None.

  Earth Summit
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the specific roles of each Minister in his Department in the preparatory meetings leading up to the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Environment and Development conference.

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and previous Secretaries of State as well as other Ministers in this Department have been involved in the negotiations made at each stage of the process leading up to the UN Conference on Environment and Development. My right hon. Friend, the then Secretary of State for the Environment, attended a preparatory meeting in New York in March. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and I attended UNCED in Rio.

  Sheep Dip
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research has been carried out into the entry of organophosphates into the water table, as a result of their use in sheep dips.

  Mr. Maclean
  The National Rivers Authority, in conjunction with regulatory bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland, has recently completed a research programme on the extent of pollution caused by disposal of spent sheep dip to soakaway. A report is expected shortly which will outline the findings and recommend appropriate disposal practices.

  Nitrous Oxide Emissions
  Mrs. Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the increase in nitrous dioxide emissions in the past five years in London; and whether there will be official Government warnings issued or advice proffered to Londoners to minimise health risks.

  Mr. Maclean
  Total United Kingdom emissions of oxides of nitrogen from motor vehicles—the principal 266
  source—are estimated to have risen by 38 per cent. between 1986 and 1991. The increase is likely to have been similar in the London area. Advice on the health implications of episodes of high nitrogen dioxide concentrations is available on a free telephone line—0800 556677—and from general practitioners. Daily air quality bulletins and forecasts are available on the same telephone line, on Ceefax and in some newspapers.

  Mineral Planning Guidance
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet decided whether there is a need to revise mineral planning guidance 3 following the recent consultation.

  Mr Baldry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 2 June,Official Report, column 377.

  Mortgages
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about his meeting with representatives of mortgage lenders on 2 June and the information they provided him with about the underlying position with respect to arrears and possessions.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 4 June, at column 611.

  Chlorofluorocarbons
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice his Department has issued to owners of domestic appliances which contain chlorofluorocarbons who wish to ensure that chlorofluorocarbons are not released into the atmosphere; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  On 21 May, I launched a leaflet on CFCs, entitled "You and the Ozone Layer", which advises consumers about products which may contain CFCs or other ozone-depleting substances. The leaflet also gives information about the safe disposal of domestic appliances, such as fridges and freezers, urges owners to ensure that the CFC coolant will be safely removed for recycling and advises owners who are having their fridges or freezers serviced to check that the service engineer is trained to handle the coolant, and is prepared to send any coolant that is removed for recycling.

  Halons
  Mr. Hawksley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the use of halons 1211 and 1301 in fire-fighting equipment will be banned; and if he will make a statement on their use.

  Mr. Maclean
  The UK's policy is to control the production and supply of halons rather than their use. We are pressing for a phase-out of halons by the end of 1995 internationally, and the end of 1994 in the EC. Users who will still need halons after the phase-out of production and supply should consider now how they will meet these needs. The Government are working closely with users and the fire industry to see what might be done to facilitate halon recycling and banking.

  Standard Spending Assessments
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further information he has made available to local authorities about standard spending assessments.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  A publication "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1992/93" has been produced to provide details of the standard spending assessment of each local authority. Copies of the publication have today been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Copies are also being sent to every local authority in England and to the local authority associations.

  Uniform Business Rate
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average length of time for appeals to be heard against uniform business rates in(a) south Cumbria and (b) the rest of England and Wales.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Information is not available centrally on the time taken to deal with non-domestic rating appeals.

  Following revaluation on 1 April 1990, tribunals in England initially received some 600,000 appeals, including transitional cases. Most of these were received by tribunals towards the end of that financial year. By the end of March 1992 about 220,000 appeals had been resolved.

  Cumbria valuation tribunal initially received about 7,800 appeals and by the end of March 1992 some 4,200 had been resolved.

  "Pollution and Waste Management"
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the planning policy guidance, "Pollution and Waste Management".

  Sir George Young
  On Tuesday this week, my right hon. and learned Friend published for public consultation a new draft planning policy guidance note on planning and pollution control, which fulfils a commitment in the environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance". We also published the results of a research study, commissioned to inform in the preparation of the draft PPG. My right hon. and learned Friend expects to issue the final version of the PPG, in the light of responses to the consultation draft, later this year.

  Ozone Layer
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what efforts have been made by his Department to encourage other countries to implement the revised Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer since June 1990.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government took a leading role in the negotiations to revise the Montreal protocol in 1990, including the provisions for funding and technology transfer for developing countries which are designed to encourage maximum participation. We are fully committed to providing our contribution to the funding mechanism, and have also made considerable diplomatic efforts to encourage other countries to ratify the protocol. We also played an active role in negotiating the EC regulation which ensures the implementation of the revised protocol throughout the Community.

  Renewable Energy Systems
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action will be taken by his Department to accelerate the development and adoption of solar and other low-impact renewable energy systems and more efficient energy storage devices.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have been asked to reply.

  My Department has a wide-ranging programme to support the development, promotion and commercialisation of renewable energy in the United Kingdom, including solar energy. This includes a technical programme covering R and D, demonstration and technology transfer (costing £24.3 million in 1992–93) and action, under the Electricity Act 1989, setting non-fossil fuel obligation orders to provide a premium market for electricity-generating renewables in England and Wales.

  There is a continuing dialogue with industry on the development of advanced battery technology. A project on superconducting magnetic energy storage, with an estimated total cost of around £1 million, is currently being considered for support by the Department.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Footpaths
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what account he intends his Department to take of the needs of disabled people who are currently denied access to footpaths on account of their construction.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have been asked to reply.

  Access to public footpaths is primarily the responsibility of local highway authorities. However, as part of its "Enjoying the Countryside: Policies for People" initiative, the Countryside Commission is commissioning an advisory service for its own regional office staff on how to open up the countryside to the disabled; it is also revising its advisory booklet "Informal Countryside Recreation for Disabled People".

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Resettlement
  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what criteria his Department uses to approve closure of resettlement units; and which of the remaining 15 are currently being considered for replacement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The management of the Resettlement Agency, and the development of replacement proposals for resettlement units is a matter for Mr. Tony Ward, the chief executive, although no unit is closed unless Ministers are satisfied with replacement proposals. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Mr. Tony Graham
  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will set out for the case of Mr. Tony Graham, Christopher court, Hemel Hampstead, reference BS/M 2/39342, the date on which his war pension increase was awarded by the tribunal and the date on which payment of the arrears and continuing increase were made.
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  Miss Widdecombe
  The payment of war pensions 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.

  Disability Benefits
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which benefits for people with disabilities are denied to anyone over 65 years of age.

  Mr. Scott
  Disability living allowance (DLA) may be claimed up to a person's 66th birthday, providing that the disability occurred before his or her 65th birthday. There is no upper age limit for receipt: once awarded, the benefit may remain payable indefinitely. Attendance allowance is available to people becoming disabled after age 65, or claiming after age 66.

  The provisions of the following benefits change at ages 60 or 65 for women and ages 65 or 70 for men, to take account of the ending of an individual's liability to pay national insurance contributions and the availability of retirement pension.

  On sickness and invalidity benefits, from age 60 for women and age 65 for men the standard rates of benefit are replaced by the rate at which retirement pension would be payable—abated by 5 per cent. in the case of sickness benefit. The upper age limit for receipt of benefit is 64 for women and 69 for men.

  On severe disablement allowance, the upper age limit for claims is 59 for women and 64 for men, although currently women aged 60-64 are also able to claim as a result of a decision by the Court of Appeal. Once awarded, benefit is payable for life if the qualifying conditions continue to be satisfied up to age 65 for women or age 70 for men.

  On industrial injuries benefits, from age 60 for women and age 65 for men, people who are receiving reduced earnings allowance and who give up regular employment are paid retirement allowance. Retirement allowance is payable for life.

  On war pensions, the upper age limit for qualifying for unemployability supplement and allowance for lowered standard of occupation is 59 for women and 64 for men. Once entitlement has been established, however, both can continue for life.

  Sir John Hannam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants of(a) income support, (b) housing benefit and (c) community charge benefit, were in receipt of severe disability premium as of 31 March.

  Mr. Burt
  The information requested is not avaiable.

  Distribution of Wealth
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the impact of Government policies on the economic well-being of the poorest decile of the income distribution.

  Mr. Burt
  We continue to monitor the effectiveness of the social security system, as we have done since introducing the major reforms of 1988.

  National Insurance Cards
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many plastic national insurance number cards have been issued; and how much each national insurance number card costs.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The issue of plastic national insurance number cards is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency. She will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Maxwell Pensioners
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) who will administer his temporary Maxwell pensioner rescue package;

  (2) what information he has on the numbers of pensioners who could be assisted, and the amount to which they could be assisted, by his temporary Maxwell pensioner rescue package;

  (3) what guidelines he will be giving to the administrators of his temporary Maxwell pensioner rescue package as to (a) the circumstances in which payments should be made and (b) the levels to be paid;

  (4) if he will publish a telephone number where advice on claiming grants under his Maxwell pensioners emergency package can be obtained;

  (5) when the first payments under his Maxwell pensioners emergency package will be made.

  Miss Widdecombe
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 8 June the setting up of a special unit within the Department of Social Security and the establishment of a trust. Individual pensioners need take no action as funds will be made available directly to the independent trustees. Those funds are intended to assist Maxwell schemes that find themselves in difficulties. Funds will be used to protect the pensions of Headington pension scheme members, including the payment for May, to assist schemes that are unable to continue full payment of pensions and to allow schemes to commence payment of pensions to recently retired pensioners. Discussions have already been held with the independent trustees of the Headington pension scheme and we expect the first payments to be made soon.

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumptions about the duration of disqualification for unemployment benefit were made in estimating the cost of reducing the maximum to six weeks, for the purpose of replying to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 21 January,Official Report, column 180; and on what evidence these assumptions were based.

  Mr. Burt
  The estimate was based upon the actual number of disqualifications in force on 9 May 1991 and an assumption that around two thirds of those disqualified would still be unemployed and disqualified after six weeks. The average length on the unemployment register by claimants disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit has been assumed to be 11 weeks, based upon current unemployment benefit statistics. This is less than the 21-week average period of disqualification—one of the
  271
  findings of a departmental survey published in 1989 entitled "An Analysis of Voluntary Unemployed Claimants", a copy of which is available in the Library.

  Leaflet FB31
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will publish the letter sent to Mr. Martin Baillie of the Islington welfare rights unit in reply to his letter of 9 January to the chief executive of the Benefits Agency concerning leaflet FB31.

  Mr. Burt
  The handling of correspondence from the Benefits Agency is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member regarding the publication of the letter and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total expenditure on discretionary grants and loans, respectively, from the social fund for each month in 1991–92: and what are the monthly equivalents of the amounts allocated for such expenditure in 1992–93.

  Mr. Scott
  Separate monthly allocations are not made within the financial year. Information concerning discretionary social fund expenditure for each month in 1991–92 is in the Library.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Lobster Fisheries
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to amend the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, particularly concerning the creation of enhanced lobster fisheries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  Officials from the Department have held discussions with fishing industry representatives in England and Wales about the possibility of extending the power to grant several and regulating orders so as to cover crustacean species in addition to the molluscan species already covered. In the light of the views expressed, I intend to introduce legislation to this affect when the opportunity arises.

  Broiler Chickens
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his response to the Farm Animal Welfare Council's report on the welfare of broiler chickens.

  Mr. Soames
  The Government welcome this report. We will be consulting interested organisations on it shortly and will issue a response when all the comments have been carefully considered.

  Farm Waste Management
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his proposed pilot study on farm waste management plans.
  272
  Mr. Gummer
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I have decided that a pilot study should be undertaken to see if pollution could be cut by farmers drawing up tailor-made plans for disposing of manure, slurry and other organic wastes on their holdings. These plans will advise when, where and in what quantities farmers should spread wastes in order to avoid water pollution and get the most benefit from the nutrients in them. The areas we have chosen for the study comprise parts of the following river catchments: the River Weaver in Cheshire; the River Frome in Somerset; the River Clyst in Devon; and the Afon Ceri in Wales.

  The catchments were chosen, following consultation with the National Rivers Authority, to represent typical dairy farming areas.

  The National Farmers Union, the Country Landowners Association and the Farmers Union of Wales have indicated their full support for this pilot study and their wish that as many farmers as possible will agree to participate in it.

  Agricultural Development Advisory Service project officers nominated for each catchment will be contacting some 100 or so farmers in each of the areas concerned to ask them to take part in the pilot study. They will be available to help farmers involved in the study.

  We very much hope that this study will be a great success and that it will prove of direct benefit to those farmers in the selected areas who will end up with a free farm waste plan to consultancy standard. It will benefit both farmers and the community generally by providing an assessment of the possible future value of farm waste plans. This development underlines our commitment to protecting the environment.

  Aquatic Environment
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the responsibilities and duties of his Department and agencies which report to his Department in relation to inshore waters, intertidal areas and maritime land; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer the hon. Member to the Government's memorandum on this subject which was submitted to the Environment Committee of this House in the last Session. It has now been published by HMSO as part of the Environment Committee's report on coastal zone protection and planning, volume II, minutes of evidence and appendices.

  Chernobyl
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his current estimate of when there will he no restriction on the movement of farm animals arising from radioactive contamination following the Chernobyl disaster.

  Mr. Curry
  It is not possible to be precise about the length of time that post-Chernobyl restrictions will have to remain in place. However, only 138 holdings remain under restriction in Cumbria. This represents a reduction of over 90 per cent. in the number of holdings originally restricted. We hope to be able to identify further holdings for derestriction this year.
  273
  We shall continue our monitoring and research efforts to enable all restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible, consistent with the need to ensure the continued protection of the food chain.

  Eggs (Marketing)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has of any circumstances under which the egg marketing regulations are regularly breached.

  Mr. Curry
  The egg marketing regulations are strictly enforced and where necessary prosecutions are taken. There were four prosecutions in England by my Department in 1991–92.

  Nematodes
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the extent of anthelmintic resistant nematodes in farm animals.

  Mr. Soames
  A commercially sponsored survey in 1990 by the central veterinary laboratory covering three southern English counties demonstrated the presence of anthelmintic-resistant nematodes in sheep and goats. The central veterinary laboratory is to carry out a Government-funded survey this year to determine the extent of the condition.

  Whales
  Mr. Chisholm
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the Government will support a total and permanent ban on commercial whaling at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Glasgow and back a proposal to declare Antarctic waters a whale sanctuary.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 8 June 1992 to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Mr. Walley),Official Report, column 11.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to seek a ban on whaling in EC waters and by EC nationals.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 4 June 1992 to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes),Official Report, column 642.

  Animal Welfare
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many animal welfare inspections were made by state veterinary officers in each year since 1985.

  Mr. Soames
  The figures record the number of welfare inspections carried out on farms by the State Veterinary Service. They do not include the visits made to farms for other purposes when welfare will have been monitored.

  Number

  1985

  6,064

  1986

  5,804

  1987

  5,219

  274

  Number

  1988

  5,670

  1989

  3,902

  1990

  4,168

  1991

  4,584

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's arrangements for consulting the Data Protection Registrar during the planning stage of any initiative involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal data; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  Officials maintain regular contact with the Office of the Data Protection Registrar about proposals for legislation which may be sensitive in the area of personal data, and the effectiveness of the arrangements is kept under review.

  EC Presidency
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are his Department's current priorities for the United Kingdom presidency of the Community.

  Mr. Gummer
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 4 June, column 936.

  Battery Hens
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to support the abolition of battery hens; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  Proposals for revised welfare standards for egg-laying hens are expected to be published by the EC Commission later this year. In the negotiations, the Government will be pressing for major improvements in the welfare standards for laying hens in all systems of production.

  Set-aside
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the conditions beneficial to the environment which will be placed on farmers who will enter into the set-aside scheme agreed in the common agricultural policy reform package in May; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  Environmental conditions are a vital element of the new set-aside arrangements. They will be drawn up as soon as the detailed Commission implementing regulations have been agreed. I appreciate that this will not leave as much time as I would have liked to consult on and implement the new conditions before the start of the first set-aside period and there may have to be some flexibility in this first year. More detailed measures may then be necessary for the second and subsequent years, when farmers will be in a position to decide between rotational and non-rotational set-aside.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 8 June,Official Report, column 14, on bovine spongiform encephalopathy, if he will give the terms of reference of the committee chaired by Dr. Tyrrell.

  Mr. Gummer
  The terms of reference of the spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee are to advise the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Health on matters related to spongiform encephalopathies.

  Milk Marketing Board
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about his response to the milk marketing board's plans for reform.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 8 June,Official Report, column 12.

  Clenbuterol
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will ask the Veterinary Products Committee to conduct a full review of clenbuterol; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  No. The Veterinary Products Committee is already reviewing licensed veterinary products containing clenbuterol to ensure they meet up-to-date standards of safety, quality and efficacy as part of its current review of veterinary pharmaceutical product licences.

  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Corbett) on 22 May,Official Report, column 322, when he expects to complete his review of licences for clenbuterol; what evidence is being used for this review; whether he will make this evidence public; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gummer
  It is not possible to estimate when the review of licensed veterinary medicinal products containing clenbuterol will have been completed. Licence holders are required to provide such evidence as is necessary to satisfy the Veterinary Products Committee that the products meet up-to-date standards of safety, quality and efficacy. Under the terms of section 118 of the Medicines Act 1968, the licensing authority cannot publish this information on grounds of commercial confidentiality.

DEFENCE

  Defence Lands
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide tables for the United Kingdom, for England and Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland of(a) the number of defence forces based there, (b) the area of defence lands, (c) the area of defence lands acquired and (d) the area of defence lands released for each year since 1962.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State will write to the hon. Member.
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  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many miles of new permissive footpaths have been opened up over defence lands since 1974.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Records of permissive footpaths are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total area of defence lands contaminated with mines, unexploded bombs and ammunition which have been cleared in each year since 1974; and when it is expected all lands not now used for live firing will be cleared.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The area of land cleared each year since 1974–75 is as follows:

  Financial Year

  Area Cleared (hectares)

  1974–75

  1,232

  1975–76

  1,220

  1976–77

  2,042

  1977–78

  1,905

  1978–79

  1,526

  1979–80

  1,993

  1980–81

  1,909

  1981–82

  1,923

  1982–83

  1,250

  1983–84

  1,138

  1984–85

  2,173

  1985–86

  1,586

  1986–87

  1,825

  1987–88

  1,384

  1988–89

  936

  1989–90

  2,272

  1990–91

  1,599

  1991–92

  1,183

  On current plans, work will continue into the next century.

  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many foreign troops have used United Kingdom defence lands for training exercises other than in small numbers training alongside United Kingdom troops, in each year since 1974.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

  Training Sites
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the main sites used for training for United Kingdom troops outside the United Kingdom since 1974; and if he will list those for which future use is under review.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Under long-established arrangements, troops from the British Army currently train at various locations in the following countries outside the United Kingdom: Australia; Belize; Botswana; Brunei; Canada; Cyprus; Denmark; Falkland Islands; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Hong Kong; Hawaii; Italy; Jamaica; Jordan; Kenya; Malaysia; New Zealand; Norway; Oman; Portugal; Spain; Thailand; and the USA.

  The precise date when training in each country commenced could only be made available at disproportionate cost.

  The use of all training areas outside the United Kingdom is kept under regular review.

  Exercise Allegiance Exchange
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the aims and objectives of the NATO exercise, Allegiance Exchange, due to commence on 6 June.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The purpose of the Allegiance Exchange exercise was to test and exercise the operational and logistic capabilities of the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (AMF) northern contingent and allow NATO to demonstrate solidarity by the efficient deployment, employment and subsequent redeployment of the force.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by country, the number of(a) service personnel and (b) aircraft that will be taking part in the NATO exercise Allegiance Exchange commencing on 6 June.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The approximate number of service personnel and the number of aircraft which participated in the exercise Allegiance Exchange is listed by nation as follows:

  Service personnel (all ranks)

  Aircraft

  Belgium

  203

  4 F16, 1 Bell 206 helicopter

  Germany

  679

  4 Alpha Jet, 8 UH1D helicopters

  Italy

  388

  6 G91

  Netherlands

  109

  4 F16

  United Kingdom

  1,506

  4 Jaguar, 4 Puma helicopters, 6 Gazelle helicopters

  United States

  198

  4 A10, 3 UH1D helicopters

  Civil Fire Officers
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list for the next 12 months the dates and venues of his Department's training courses laid on for civil fire officers;

  (2) if he will list for the last 24 months the dates and venue of his Department's training courses laid on for civil fire officers; and if he will show by fire and civil defence authority those who were notified and the response obtained.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

  Aquatic Environment
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the responsibilities and duties of his Department and agencies which report to his Department in relation to inshore waters, intertidal areas and maritime land; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the Government's memorandum on this subject which was submitted to the Select Committee on the Environment in the last session. It has now been published by HMSO as part of that Committee's report on coastal zone protection and planning, volume II, minutes of evidence and appendices.

  Accommodation
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the cost evaluations arrived at in the course of his review into RAF MOD establishments for the provision of accommodation in the Harrogate area and at RAF Wyton and RAF Brampton.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The consultative document published on 4 June sets out the options considered and a summary of the economic appraisal. The detailed costings for each option contain information which is commercially or otherwise sensitive.

  Coroner's Inquest
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to this answer of 3 June,Official Report, column 569, what were the nature and contents of his recent brief discussion with Secretary Cheney about the recent verdict of the coroner's inquest.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My right hon. and learned Friend and Secretary Cheney discussed press reports that the chairman of the House armed services sub-committee on investigations was making preliminary inquiries to see if an investigation would be appropriate.

  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 3 June,Official Report, column 569, how many changes he has made to his policy relating to the release of information since 6 May.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 3 June,Official Report, column 569.

  WE177 Replacement
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 20 May,Official Report, column 188, whether he has used the different estimated development costs for a possible WE177 replacement to calculate an average estimated development cost for a possible WE177 replacement.

  Mr. Aitken
  No, Sir. Differences in estimated potential development costs are a result of differences betweeen the programmes on which they are based. An average of such figures would be meaningless.

  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 20 May,Official Report, column 188, whether he has considered releasing an estimated development cost for a possible WE177 replacement which is sufficiently imprecise to avoid prejudicing his future negotiating position with potential suppliers.

  Mr. Aitken
  I have considered the hon. Member's suggestion, but the relatively large difference in cost between the options being evaluated means that any published estimates would be misleading.

  Defence Estimate
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the contents of volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Following a review of the dissemination of defence statistics, it has been decided to
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  replace volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates with a similar publication called Defence Statistics. The new publication will in many cases provide a longer historical perspective as well as containing more up-to-date information. Some tables in volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates contained information that was of only specialist interest or was obtainable from other sources. These tables will be omitted from the new publication but the information they contain will either be published elsewhere or will be available on request from the Defence Statistical Organisation.

  Courts Martial
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has sought or received from Commander in Chief, Fleet, about the court martial of Lieutenant-Commander Peter McDonnell; what consideration has been given to further action arising from the sinking of the Antares; what action is being taken on the information arising from the court martial concerning command of HMS Trenchant at the time of the sinking; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Commander in Chief, Fleet has kept me fully informed of the reasons for and circumstances leading to the court martial of Lieutenant Commander Peter McDonnell. Both the verdict and the sentence are subject to review and Lieutenant Commander McDonnell has the right to appeal.

  The Commander in Chief will also be fully reviewing the proceedings of the court martial to decide what further action, if any, might be appropriate.

  Little Ferry Bomb
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the dropping of a target bomb by a United States air force plane. near Little Ferry, Sutherland on Thursday 4 June.
  280
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  On Thursday 4 June, a practice bomb was inadvertently released from a United States Air Force (USAF) F111 aircraft using RAF Tain range. The practice bomb fell into woods near Little Ferry causing a fire. The USAF is currently conducting an investigation to establish the cause of the incident.

  Maintenance Group
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what performance targets have been set for the Maintenance Group defence support agency for the financial year 1992–93.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Maintenance Group DSA's key management targets for 1992–93 cover four areas of activity: performance of the group; the use of resources; the development of management systems; and management initiatives.

  The group's performance aims are to achieve at least 98 per cent. of the task which represents 75 per cent. of the group's activity to standard and on time. All operational support tasks will be performed to RAF or NATO standards.

  The group's resources will be managed to keep within the agreed budget and efficiency measure savings amounting to 0.5 per cent. of the cash allocation will be made.

  The group plans to install prototype management accounting systems at one of its units and in the headquarters by 31 March 1993. The management accounting system will be extended to the other seven basic level budgeting units by 31 March 1994. Asset registers will be installed at all the basic level budgeting units by 31 March 1993.

  The Maintenance Group management initiatives will centre on the installation of formal quality systems and the development of a total quality approach to management. Planning including investment appraisals for the rationalisation of functions and estate will continue.

  Hydrographic Office
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what performance targets have been set for the Hydrographic Office defence support agency for the financial year 1992–93.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Chief of Fleet Support, acting as the owner of the agency on behalf of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence under the terms of the agency's framework document, has revised the key targets for this year and beyond. These reflect the continuing need to secure economies in defence spending and the progress already made by the agency towards meeting those targets set at the time of its launch as a DSA in April 1990 and since.

  On quality of service, the chief executive is required to continue to ensure that all immediate dangers are promulgated by radio navigational warnings within 20 hours of the receipt of information. He is also required to improve the state of revision of Admiralty navigational charts so that at 1 April 1993 73 per cent. will have been published within the past 30 years and 68 per cent. will have been revised within the past 10 years. The chief executive is also required to deliver funded RN hydrographic and oceanographic programmes to agreed cost, time and quality standards.

  As regards commercial sales, the existing target to increase the revenue from commercial sales by at least 13 per cent. over the first five years of the operation of the agency will remain in force.

  As regards an overall efficiency target to which the above key targets and other targets in the agency's business plan will contribute, the assumption will be that the disciplines of the "next steps" approach and the additional freedoms and flexibilities which agencies receive will allow them to do better in terms of efficiency than the rest of the Department. The chief executive is, therefore, being required to achieve an efficiency target of 3.5 per cent.—this is 1 per cent. higher than the 1992–93 target set for the Department as a whole. Additionally, the chief executive will be required to operate within the net cash allocation, which assumes achievement of those targets, as provided by the Chief of Fleet Support under the terms of his role as the agency's owner. Key targets were set at the time of the launch in April 1990 regarding the development of an improved management information and management accounting system. The implementation of the target in respect of the financial and management accounting information system will be completed early in 1992–93 and the target for the installation of a fully integrated IT-supported management information system by 1 April 1994 remains in force.

  Meteorological Office
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what performance targets have been set for the Meteorological Office executive agency for the financial year 1992–93.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The agency has been set a range of targets to ensure that it delivers progressive improvements in the quality and efficiency of weather-related services it provides to defence, civil aviation, commercial customers and the general public.

  The targets set for the Meteorological Office during the period 1992–93 are to: achieve high standards of quality of
  282
  service for each of the major groupings of customer; reduce net operating costs to £36.2 million—this being more than a 5 per cent. reduction on the 1991–92 forecast—increase efficiency by 3 per cent. through improvements in quality of service, increased service volumes and reduced unit costs; achieve a 9 per cent. increase in uptake of meteorological services to £16.5 million, as measured by cash revenue generated from commercial services to the public, industry and commerce, excluding CAA; achieve an 11 per cent. increase to £5.9 million in the gross contribution of commercial services invoiced revenue to offsetting core costs and overheads; and provide authoritative advice on climate change issues to Ministers and the general public, in particular to provide the most up-to-date assessment for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

  Performance against key targets is published in the Meteorological Office annual report and accounts, a copy of which is placed in the House of Commons Library.

SCOTLAND

  Crime
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the current state of crime and offences in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Details of the numbers of crimes and offences recorded in Scotland in 1991 are contained in the Scottish Office statistical bulletin "Recorded Crime in Scotland, 1991", published on 22 May 1992, a copy of which was placed in the Library. I am naturally disappointed that recorded crime continues to rise, but part of the reason for this is that the public are reporting more crimes to the police. I welcome this, as we all have a part to play in the fight against crime.

  Urban Aid
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether police authorities are eligible to apply for(a) capital and (b) recurring finance for community projects within areas of priority treatment through the urban aid programme; what precedents have been set for such projects; what criteria he uses to assess such applications; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Following a review of the urban programme, revised eligibility and priority criteria under which financial support can be given were published on 20 February 1992. Police authorities are eligible to apply for capital and current funding under the urban programme. Projects that supplement main programmes and other provisions under statutory obligations, or duplicate programmes of other agencies, will be ineligible.

  Rented Housing
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing how many new houses for rent were constructed by(a) district councils, (b) Scottish Homes, or its predecessor and (c) housing associations in each year since 1970; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Table 5 in the statistical bulletin HSG/1992/2, "Housing Trends in Scotland—
  283
  Quarter ended 30 September 1991", gives the number of new dwellings completed by (a) district councils, (b) Scottish Homes or its predecessor and (c) housing associations for each year from 1979 to 1990, the latest year for which estimates are available. Statistics for the period up to 1979 were published in "Scottish Housing Statistics". Copies of these publications are available in the Library.

  Adult Illiteracy
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what figures are available for adult illiteracy in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not held centrally.

  There is no standard definition of adult literacy and it is therefore difficult to collect comprehensive information. The Scottish Community Education Council was funded by the Scottish Office in 1990 to undertake a small-scale study of literacy and numeracy issues which indicated that 9 per cent. of a sample of adults had difficulties with either reading, writing or numeracy.

  The Government give high priority to basic skills education for adults. Local authorities are currently the main providers but the Scottish Office Education Department also gives support by way of grant to organisations such as the Scottish Community Education Council as well as supporting local initiatives such as the Number Shop, the Whitfield adult basic education trust in Dundee and the Upper Nithsdale adult basic education project in Sanquhar. Support was also given earlier this year to adult learners' week.

  The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 strengthens the position on basic skills by conferring on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State a duty in securing the provision of further education to have regard to the requirements of persons over school age who have learning difficulties.

  Rents
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the average weekly rent charge for(a) local authority housing stock by each district council and (b) Scottish Homes stock for the financial year 1992–93.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is shown in the table.

  Average weekly rent for Scottish local authorities and Scottish homes—1992–93

  £

  Berwickshire

  22.46

  Ettrick and Lauderdale

  19.51

  Roxburgh

  26.27

  Tweeddale

  19.75

  Clackmannan

  24.69

  Falkirk

  21.21

  Stirling

  25.10

  Annandale and Eskdale

  25.97

  Nithsdale

  23.72

  Stewartry

  27.00

  Wigtown

  27.33

  Dunfermline

  22.84

  Kirkcaldy

  24.63

  North East Fife

  23.21

  Aberdeen

  20.65

  284

  £

  Banff and Buchan

  22.17

  Gordon

  25.33

  Kincardine and Deeside

  21.84

  Moray

  22.86

  Badenoch and Strathspey

  22.31

  Caithness

  24.72

  Inverness

  27.37

  Lochaber

  26.14

  Nairn

  26.99

  Ross and Cromarty

  28.53

  Skye and Lochalsh

  28.92

  Sutherland

  27.42

  East Lothian

  22.35

  Edinburgh

  30.63

  Midlothian

  16.31

  West Lothian

  19.82

  Argyll and Bute

  26.45

  Bearsden and Milngavie

  27.58

  Clydebank

  26.77

  Clydesdale

  21.82

  Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

  24.15

  Cumnock and Doon Valley

  22.61

  Cunninghame

  22.05

  Dunbarton

  27.94

  East Kilbride

  23.70

  Eastwood

  20.97

  Glasgow

  29.02

  Hamilton

  23.70

  Inverclyde

  24.25

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun

  19.38

  Kyle and Carrick

  20.46

  Monklands

  24.11

  Motherwell

  21.09

  Renfrew

  22.44

  Strathkelvin

  23.14

  Angus

  17.90

  Dundee

  30.43

  Perth and Kinross

  21.94

  Orkney Islands

  27.45

  Shetland Islands

  27.81

  Western Isles

  30.63

  Scottish Homes

  29.14

  Scottish Council for Civil Liberties
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of the Scottish Council for Civil Liberties; what matters he intends to discuss; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. Friend has no present plans to meet representatives of the Scottish Council for Civil Liberties. If there are particular issues which the council wishes to raise with us, we shall ensure that any approach receives careful consideration.

  Scottish Homes
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing(a) the name, (b) occupation and (c) honoraria, salary or allowance of each member of the board of Scottish Homes.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is set out in the table:
  285

  Scottish Homes Board Members

  Name and Occupation

  Salary £ per annum

  Sir James Mellon KCMG (Chairman)

  33,970

  Former Diplomat

  John Richards CBE PPRIAS (Deputy Chairman)

  15,430

  Architect with John Richards Associates

  Norman Lessels CA

  5,900

  Partner in Chiene and Tait, also non-executive

  Chairman of Standard Life Assurance Company

  Mrs. Frances McCall MBE

  5,900

  Chairperson of the Confederation of Scottish

  Housing Co-operatives

  Professor Duncan MacLennan

  5,900

  Director of the Centre for Housing Research at Glasgow University

  Tom Begg JP BA OBE

  5,900

  Lecturer in Economics at Queen Margaret

  College, Edinburgh

  Mrs. Healther Sheerin

  5,900

  Co-Director of family-owned retail carpet business

  Mrs. Daphne Sleigh

  5,900

  Freelance Market Researcher

  Cameron Parker

  5,900

  Non-executive Vice-Chairman of Lithngows Ltd.

  All the appointments listed are held on a part-time basis and are on an estimated time commitment of half a day per week for members, one and a half days per week for the deputy chairman and three days per week for the chairman. In addition the chief executive, Peter McKinley, is an ex-officio member of the board. His salary is linked to civil service grade 2.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish a table showing the(a) gross and (b) net capital allocation in outturn figures for Scottish Homes housing in each (i) district and (ii) area, expressed as a cost per dwelling unit; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will publish a table showing the (a) gross and
  (b) net housing revenue allocation in outturn figures for Scottish Homes housing in each (i) district and (ii) area, expressed as a cost per dwelling unit; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information sought is not held by the Scottish Office Environment Department as allocations to Scottish Homes regions or districts are a matter for Scottish Homes itself.

  History
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to promote the learning of local history in Scottish(a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) further education establishments; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The content and delivery of the curriculum in schools are primarily matters for the education authorities. Studies based on local history are common in the early stages and guidance on the five to 14 curriculum issued by the Scottish Office Education Department will take account of the place of local history in the development of wider historical understanding. Courses for standard grade and higher grade may draw on local history as appropriate to 286
  illustrate topics and themes. The modular national certificate, introduced under the Government's action plan facilitates the inclusion of local history in a large number of programmes run by further education centres. Further education centres also provide bases for groups with an interest in local history.

  Lord Lieutenants
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list(a) the names and (b) the occupations of each lord-lieutenant and deputy lord-lieutenant in Scotland; who is responsible for their nomination; what salary, honoraria, allowance or expenses each receives; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Lord lieutenants in Scotland are appointed by Her Majesty. Deputy lieutenants are appointed by the lord-lieutenant, once he has been informed by the Secretary of State that Her Majesty does not disapprove of the appointments which the lord-lieutenant proposes. No salary, honoraria or allowances are paid, but lord-lieutenants may claim reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of their official duties. Current information about occupations is not held centrally. The names of lord-lieutenants and deputy lieutenants are as follows.

  HER MAJESTY'S LORD-LIEUTENANTS IN SCOTLAND

  Aberdeenshire

  Captain Cohn A. Farquharson

  Angus

  The Right Hon. The Earl of Airlie KT GCVO

  Argylle and Bute

  The Most Hon. The Marquess of Bute

  Ayrshire and Arran

  Major Richard Y. Henderson TD

  Banffshire

  James A. S. McPherson Esq. CBE

  Berwickshire

  Major General Sir John Swinton KCVO OBE

  Caithness

  The Right Hon. The Viscount Thurso

  Clackmannan

  The Right Hon. The Earl of Mar and Keillie

  Dumfries

  Captain Ronald C. Cunningham-Jardine

  Dunbartonshire

  Brigadier Donald D. G. Hardie TD

  East Lothian

  Sir Hew Fleetwood Hamilton-Dalrymple Bt KCVO

  Fife

  The Right Hon. The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine TD

  Inverness

  Lt. Cdr. Lachlan R. D. Mackintosh of Mackintosh OBE

  Kincardineshire

  The Right Hon. The Viscount of Arbuthnott CBE DSC FRSE

  Lanarkshire

  Hutchinson B. Sneddon Esq. CBE

  287
  Midlothian

  Captain George W. Burnet LVO

  Morayshire

  Captain Sir Iain M. Tennant KT

  Nairn

  The Right Hon. The Earl of Leven and Melville

  Orkney

  Brigadier Malcolm G. Dennison

  Perth and Kinross

  Major Sir David H. Butter KCVO MC

  Renfrewshire

  Major J. David M. Crichton Maitland

  Ross and Cromarty

  Captain Roderick W. K. Stirling of Fairburn TD

  Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale

  His Grace The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KT VRD

  Shetland

  Magnus M. Shearer Esq.

  Stewartry of Kirkcudbright

  Sir Michael ARY Herries OBE MC

  Stirling and Falkirk

  Lt. Col. James Stirling of Garden CBE TD

  Sutherland

  Major General David Houston CBE

  Tweeddale

  Lt. Col. A. M. Sprot of Haystoun MC

  Western Isles

  The Right Hon. The Earl Granville MC

  West Lothian

  The Right Hon. The Earl of Morton

  Wigtown

  Major Edward S. Orr Ewing

  The Lord Provosts of the four city districts—Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow—are lord-lieutenants of those districts ex officio.

  Lord Lieutenants

    HER MAJESTY'S DEPUTY LIEUTENANTS IN SCOTLAND
    Aberdeenshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Angus D. M. Farquharson Esq.

    Deputy Lieutenants

    The Lord Provost of Aberdeen

    The Most Hon. The Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair CBE DStJ LLD FRCM FRSMAD FRSE

    Marc Ellington of Towie Barclay

    William J. Ferguson Esq.

    The Right Hon. The Lord Forbes KBE

    Major Laurence R. K. Fyffe MC

    The Right Hon. The Lord Glenarthur

    Mrs. Patricia M. Godsman

    Major Francis C. Q. Irvine

    Colonel John W. Nicol DSO

    Captain Alexander A. A. A. D. M. Ramsay of Mar

    James M. M. Humphrey Esq. OStJ

    Colonel Rodney F. M. Windsor CBE

    Angus

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Lt. Col. Andrew B. Houston OBE MC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    The Lord Provost of Dundee

    288

    Colonel John G. Mathieson CBE TD ADC

    John R. W. Stansfield Esq.

    Miss Ruth Dundas

    Robert S. S. Fothringham Esq.

    Major General Roderick J. Ephraums CB OBE

    The Right hon. The Baroness Carnegy of Lour

    The Right Hon. The Lord Lyell

    Brevet-Colonel David Carnegy-Arbuthnott of Balnamoon TD LLD

    The Right Hon. Mary Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne

    Graham N. J. Smart Esq.

    David L. Laird Esq.

    Argyll and Bute

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Colonel Archibald I. Fletcher OBE

    Deputy Lieutenants

    His Grace The Duke of Argyll

    Colonel Tom B. M. Lamb OBE

    Captain P. L. Mackie-Campbell

    Captain Robert N. L. Malcolm of Poltalloch

    Colonel Hector L. R. MacNeal OBE TD

    Captain Sir Charles E. McGrigor Bt

    Patrick L. M. Stewart Esq.

    Lt. Col. R. M. T. Campbell-Preston OBE MC Td

    Ayrshire and Arran

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Sir Claud Hagart Alexander of Ballochmyle Bt

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Lt. Col. The Most Hon. The Marquess of Ailsa OBE

    W. Aitken Esq. MBE

    Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas H. E. Baird KCB

    Sir William D. Coats Kt CStJ LLD

    Captain R. W. F. Cuninghame

    Captain N. E. F. Dalrymple-Hamilton CVO MBE DSC R

    Lady Jean Fforde

    Captain J. R. Findlay

    John de C. E. Findlay Esq.

    John A. H. Gow Esq.

    J. H. Hodge Esq. BEM

    James Hunter-Blair Esq.

    Major P. N. B. Kennedy TD

    Lt. Commander J. T. Lorimer DSO RNR

    The Right Hon. The Lord Maclehose of Beoch KT GBE KCMG KCVO KStJ

    James McCosh Esq.

    Colonel W. W. McHarg Esq. OBE MC TD

    Peter McK Robertson Esq. OBE

    Major E. A. I. Young

    Colonel John Henderson TD

    Banffshire

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Captain Francis W. C. Hay OBE

    Colonel G. B. Kynoch CBE TD

    Dr. David F. Clark OBE

    Mrs. Clare N. Russell

    Berwickshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Lt. Col. Simon J. Furness

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Kenneth H. Candlish Esq.

    Hon. Lavinia Douglas-Home

    Captain James Evans RD

    Major John F. Mackinnon MC

    Gilbert B. Millican Esq.

    James Stobo Esq. OBE

    David Thomson Esq.

    Alexander R. Trotter Esq.

    Douglas K. Tweedie Esq.

    >
    Caithness

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Major Graham Dunnett TD

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Major Sir Ralph Anstruther Bt KCVO MC

    Captain C. D. Farley-Sutton RN

    Major A. G. Ferrier TD

    Mrs. J. P. M. Grenfell

    Major A. S. McKay

    L. G. Rowe Esq.

    Dr. K. M. Swanson PhD

    J. G. Walford Esq. MBE

    Sir David Black Bt

    City of Aberdeen

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Joseph R. Carry Esq. MBE TD

    Richard T. Ellis Esq. OBE MA LLB

    Lt. Col. Charles J. H. Mann OBE OStJ TD

    Captain Kenneth J. Peters CBE

    Major David M. Proctor OBE

    Frank Ramsay Esq.

    Lt. Col. James Shankley TD

    James F. Watt Esq.

    City of Dundee

    Deputy Lieutenants

    James Cameron Esq.

    Charles D. P. Farquhar Esq.

    James P. Gowans Esq.

    The Right Hon. The Lord Hughes PC CBE LLD

    George W. Buckman Esq.

    James F. Hoey Esq.

    City of Edinburgh

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Lt. Col. Thomas D. S. Bell TD

    Colonel Hugh Rose CBE DSO TD

    Colonel William A. Dalziel TD CBE OStJ TD

    Captain Kenneth Ryden MC

    J. Gilmour Gray Esq.

    Captain John Christie MC

    W. D. H. Gregson Esq. CBE

    Brigadier Francis H. Coutts CBE

    Sir Peter Heatly CBE

    Sir Donald McCallum CBE

    Mrs. Nansi H. Mansbridge

    Colonel Douglas N. Spratt CBE TD

    William T. Stevenson Esq. CBE

    Thomas Morgan Esq. CBE

    Mrs. Helen M. Crummy MBE

    James Hastie Esq.

    Dr. Thomas L. Johnston FRSE

    Dr. John McKay CBE

    City of Glasgow

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Mrs. Jean McFadden

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Sir Samuel C. Curran PhD DSc LLD FRS

    Lt. Col. Leonard E. Dickson CBE MC TD

    Ian J. A. Dyer Esq. MBE

    The Right Hon. The Lord Galpern of Shettleston LLD FEIS

    Peter M. Gemmill Esq.

    Robert Gray Esq. CBE OStJ LLD

    Sir William S. Gray LLD

    Air Vice-Marshal AVR Johnstone CB DFC MBIM RAF (Ret'd)

    Dr. Michael Kelly CBE OStJ PhD LLD

    Patrick Lally Esq.

    Bashir A. Maan Esq.

    Captain John Mallard MBE VRD RNR

    Peter T. McCann Esq. CBE OStJ JP

    Gerald McGrath Esq.

    James Mullen Esq.

    Colonel A. Walker Naddell ERD KStJ

    Philip O'Rouke Esq.

    Miss A. M. Patrick

    John K. Richmond Esq.

    Colonel Lachlan Robertson OBE TD

    Group Captain Marcus Robinson CB AFC AE

    290

    William L. Smith Esq. MC TD

    Colonel A. T. Wilson VRD

    Lord Wallace of Campsie KStJ

    John H. Young Esq. OBE

    Clackmannan

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Captain John Stephens

    James E. M. Aitkinson Esq.

    Lord Erskine

    Alistair B. Cruickshanks Esq.

    Dumfries

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    The Right Hon. The Earl of Annandale and Hartfell

    Deputy Lieutenants

    His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KT VRD

    Major Sir Rupert Buchanan-Jardine Bt. MC

    The Earl of Dalkeith

    Hon. Air Commodore Sir Hector Monro AE MP

    David W. N. Landale Esq.

    David D. Stevenson Esq. OBE

    Charles Tyrrell Esq.

    Mrs. Amelia S. Weatherall

    Dunbartonshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    A. M. MacKenzie Esq.

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Lieutenants Commander R. M. Barge DSC VRD

    Wing Commander G. Campbell MBE

    Sir Ivar I. Colquhoun Bt.

    Colonel T. R. Craig CBE TD OSt.J LLD

    Mrs. M. B. A. Denny OBE

    Mrs. Morag M. Hart

    Captain M. C. Henry RN (Retd.)

    Major Robert Kyle MBE TD

    Major J. A. Lumsden MBE TD

    Lt. Cdr. Ian Lyall DSC VRD RNR (Retd.)

    J. M. Mearns Esq.

    Stephen P. Newall Esq.

    Major P. T. Telfer Smollet MC

    Colonel P. D. Stewart

    G. R. Strachan Esq. CBE

    Captain E. J. D. Turner CBE DSO DSC RN (Retd.)

    M. Turner Esq. OBE

    Hugh John Arbuthnott Esq.

    William Petrie Esq.

    Major James Macrae

    Robert Scott Esq.

    Martin A. Wedgwood Esq.

    East Lothian

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Colonel Victor C. V. Cowley TD

    Sir Charles Fraser KCVO

    George B. R. Gray Esq.

    Elizabeth The Dowager Duchess of Hamilton

    James B. Miller Esq.

    William G. Morrison Esq.

    Sir David Ogilvy of Inverquarity

    Lady Stormonth-Darling

    Fife

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Major J. C. Balfour OBE MC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Major Sir Ralph Anstruther Bt KCVO MC

    Lady Martha Bruce OBE TD

    The Hon. Ralph H. V. Cochrane

    The Right Hon. The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres

    Captain D. 0. Fairlie of Myers

    John Gilmour Esq.

    Lt. Col. Neil G. Mathewson TD

    Sir James Morrison-Low Bt

    R. F. Murison Esq. OBE QPM

    A. D. Robertson Esq

    Squadron Ldr. Willis Roxburgh OBE DFC

    291

    Sir George Sharp OBE

    Lt. Col. Brian H. Thomson TD

    Dr. R. G. Whitelaw

    Inverness

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Major Colin Mackenzie of Farr MBE MC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Mrs. L. P. R. A. Cameron-Head OBE

    George A. D. Chalmer Esq.

    Ian F. H. Grant Esq.

    Patrick H. M. Grant Esq. MC

    John P. Grant Esq. of Rothiemurchus

    Evan H. A. E. Fraser Esq.

    George C. Rafferty Esq.

    Iain Thornber Esq.

    Captain Kenneth W. Walker of Leys

    Colonel Iain Wotherspoon TD

    Donald A. Cameron Younger of Lochiel

    The Right. Hon. The Lord Gray of Contin PC

    Richard T. Sidgwick Esq.

    Kincardineshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Angus M. Pelham-Burn Esq.

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Captain James Irvine-Fortescue

    Dr. Fiona J. Lyall

    Major John F. M. Singleton

    Major Nigel S. Thornton-Kemsley

    Wing Commander George D. Swapp OBE

    Lanarkshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Lt. Col. Robert C. M. Monteith OBE MC TD

    Deputy Lieutenants

    James Burns Esq.

    Gilbert K. Cox Esq.

    William W. McNay Esq. OBE

    Squadron Leader Ian V. Paterson CBE

    Major David B. Reeks

    Alexander Sinclair Esq. OBE

    Lt. Col. Thomas Smith TD

    Midlothian

    Deputy Lieutenants

    The Right Hon. The Lord Borthwick of Borthwick TD

    Colonel Charles H. K. Corsar of Cairniehill LVO OBE TD

    Major The Hon. C. J. Dalrymple

    Colonel Brian A. Fargus OBE

    The Right Hon. The Earl of Rosebery

    Mrs. Althea E. P. Dundas-Bekker

    Morayshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Rear Admiral D. A. Dunbar-Nasmith CB DSC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    James M. Anderson Esq.

    William G. Baxter Esq. OBE

    Alexander A. Dunbar Esq.

    Grenville S. Johnston Esq. TD CA

    Archibald MacDonald Esq. MBE

    John R. Maclean Esq.

    Dr. Mora J. Scott

    James A. White Esq.

    Captain Hamish Lochore

    Mrs. Joan K. Mitcalfe

    James F. Royan Esq. OBE

    Nairn

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    The Right Hon. The Lord Campbell of Croy MC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Montagu N. A. Brodie of Brodie

    Ewen J. Brodie Esq.

    Orkney

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Colonel Edgar M. Gibson MBE TD

    John M. F. Groat Esq. MBE

    George R. Marwick Esq.

    John Scott Esq.

    James W. Spence Esq.

    Captain Magnus S. Work DSC RNR

    Brigadier S. P. Robertson MBE TD

    Perth and Kinross

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Lt. Col. Archibald M. Lyle of Riemore

    Deputy Lieutenants

    His Grace the Duke of Atholl

    Major Peter O. Carmichael

    Captain Hugh L. Dewhurst

    Donald S. Erskine Esq.

    Captain The Hon. Henry E. Alexander, MBE TD

    Major William G. Gordon DFC TD

    Lewis D. H. Maitland Esq. TD

    The Right Hon. The Earl of Mansfield

    John M. Mathieson Esq. OBE

    Major Ian A. D. Millar CBE MC

    Sir David Montgomery Bt.

    The Hon. Mrs. Helen Service MBE

    Sir Alan Smith CBE DFC

    Alexander D. Stewart of Ardvorlich

    David K. Thompson Esq. CBE TD OStJ

    Colnel A. J. Watt MBE TD OStJ

    Lady Jean Wemyss

    Renfrewshire

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Colonel Sir Houston Stewart of Greenock and Blackhall Bt MC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Commander Henry C. Abram VRD OStJ

    Lt. Col. A. Leonard Aitkenhead MBE TD

    Brigadier John Brown OBE MM TD

    G. W. N. H. Clark Esq.

    Sir Ian Denholm CBE

    Alan R. Devereux Esq. CBE

    The Right Hon. The Lord Goold CA

    Capital William H. Hunter CBE

    Captain David A. Kerr MC TD

    Mrs. Helen M. Laird OBE PhD

    Sir William J. Lithgow Bt of Ormsary

    Wing Commander C. Hector MacLean BL AE

    Sir Robert A. Maclean KBE LLD

    The Right Hon. The Lord Maclay

    George G. MacMillan of MacMillan and Knap

    James R. Minto Esq. OBE PhD

    The Right Hon. The Viscount Muirshiel CH CMG

    Group Captain George C. Pinkerton OBE DFC AE

    Major John G. Stewart TD

    Sir Eric G. Yarrow Bt MBE

    Sir Simpson Stevenson LLD

    Ross and Cromarty

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Major A. J. Cameron OBE

    J. A. Douglas-Menzies Esq.

    Commander P. Dalziel-Job RNR

    Mrs. Isobel J. Dewing

    Major J. L. MacDonald

    A. S. MacDonald Esq. CBE

    The Right Hon. Lord Macdonald of Macdonald

    J. A. Mackenzie Esq.

    A. M. H. Matheson Esq.

    David Lockett Esq.

    Lady Elizabeth Melville

    Mrs. Helen Lindsay

    Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    The Right Hon. The Earl of Minto OBE

    Deputy Lieutenants

    The Earl of Ancram

    The Right Hon. The Earl Haig of Bemersyde OBE

    The Right Hon. The Lord Sanderson of Bowden

    The Most Hon. The Marquess of Lothian KCVO

    Captain The Hon. Gerald Maitland-Carew

    Captain The Right Hon. The Lord Napier and Ettrick KCVO

    James B. Pate Esq.

    Dr. June Paterson-Brown CBE

    The Right Hon. Sir David Steel MP

    Major Michael Strang Steel

    Shetland

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    J. J. Scott Esq.

    Deputy Lieutenants

    John A. W. Fraser Esq.

    Sheriff Alistair A. MacDonald

    Charles G. D. Sandison Esq.

    Stewartry of Kirkcudbright

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Captain John M. A. Yerburg

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Lt. General Sir Norman Arthur KCB

    Admiral Sir Nigel Henderson GBE KCB

    John V. M. Jameson Esq.

    John Nelson Esq. TD

    Stirling and Falkirk

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Captain William F. E. Forbes of Callendar

    Deputy Lieutenants

    James F. G. Anderson Esq. CBE OStJ

    Colin D. Donald Esq.

    Brian D. Fairgrieve Esq. OBE

    William F. Howie Esq.

    Sir David W. Nickson KBE

    Major Alastair N. B. Ritchie

    Major Robert J. Sandeman

    Lt. Col. Gordon R. Simpson DSO MVO TD

    Alastair Stein Esq.

    Robert M. Sherriff Esq.

    Major The Right Hon. George K. H. Younger TD MP

    Lt. Col. George P. Wood MC

    James Parker Esq.

    Sutherland

    Deputy Lieutenants

    C. N. Janson Esq.

    Major J. N. Ledingham TD

    John G. Rutherford Esq.

    Major A. Shaw

    Lord Strathnaver

    Mrs. Leila MacKenzie

    Tweeddale

    Domestic subjects on the valuation roll by tenure 31 March 1989

    Local authority

    SSHA

    New town

    Privately owned (incl. HA other than SSHA)

    All domestic subjects

    Area

    Number

    Per cent.

    Number

    Per cent.

    Number

    Per cent.

    Number

    Per cent.

    Number

    Scotland

    807,615

    38.4

    75,710

    3.6

    44,166

    2.1

    1,175,804

    55.9

    2,103,295

    Strathclyde

    426,002

    45.5

    43,579

    4.7

    27,451

    2.9

    438,234

    46.9

    935,266

    Renfrew

    35,120

    43.2

    6,351

    7.8

    —

    —

    39,878

    49.0

    81,349

    Waste Disposal
    Mr. McMaster
    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the disposal of industrial, commercial and domestic waste in Scotland.
    294
    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Major Douglas J. Anderson MBE MC

    Deputy Lieutenants

    John J. Ballantyne Esq.

    Captain Christopher A. W. Leng OBE

    Henry B. Marshall Esq.

    Mrs. Kathleen M. McCall

    Dr. Alastair G. P. Paton

    Colonel David G. C. Sutherland CBE MC TD

    William G. Watson Esq.

    John D. B. Younger Esq.

    Western Isles

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Captain Colin Scott Mackenzie

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Lt. Cdr. William A. J. Cunningham VRD RNR

    Lt. Cdr. James H. Downie RN (Retd)

    Major Donald R. MacAulay

    Major Malcolm J. MacIver

    Captain J. McLeod OBE

    J. A. J. MacLeod Esq.

    The Right Hon. The Viscount Dunrossil CMG

    West Lothian

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    Air Commodore Colin S. Cadell CBE

    Deputy Lieutenants

    William A. Cadell Esq.

    John Calder Esq.

    Lt. Col. Robert Crichton MC

    Group Captain George L. Denholm DFC

    James S. Findlay Esq.

    Peter C. Macdonald Esq.

    David A. M. Morrison Esq.

    Mrs. R. Schaw-Miller

    Wigtown

    Vice Lord-Lieutenant

    John M. A. Wallace Esq.

    Deputy Lieutenants

    Miss Christian Dalrymple-Hamilton

    Lt. Col. A. S. Nelson

    The Right Hon. the Countess of Stair

    Thomas C. McCreath Esq.

  Housing Tenure
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the most up-to-date analysis of housing tenure type in(a) the Paisley, South parliamentary constituency, (b) Renfrew district, (c) Strathclyde and (d) Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Information on housing tenure type by parliamentary constituency is not collected centrally. The latest available information for Renfrew district, Strathclyde, and Scotland is set out in the table.

  Sir Hector Monro
  Responsibility for regulating the disposal of industrial, commercial and domestic waste in Scotland rests with the district and islands councils. Around 93 per cent. of such wastes are landfilled with the
  295
  remainder being incinerated, recycled or transported to specialist facilities in England and Wales. The most recent report of the hazardous waste inspectorate, Scotland, a copy of which is lodged in the Library, describes waste disposal arrangements in Scotland in more detail.

  Agricultural Colleges
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the development of the Scottish agricultural colleges.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The Scottish agricultural college was established on 1 April 1990 by bringing together into a single structure the North of Scotland college of agriculture, the East of Scotland college of agriculture and the West of Scotland college. This was in keeping with one of the principal recommendations of the Williams committee of inquiry which reported in September 1989. The college continues to operate from three centres of study at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Auchincruive near Ayr. The college's administrative headquarters were recently transferred from Perth to Edinburgh. The college is a private company controlled by a board of directors. It is funded by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department—AFD—to provide agricultural education and advisory services and to conduct agricultural research and development. The directors of the college have made significant progress towards developing the college as a body with a single corporate identity and in developing new services for the agricultural and related industries. In the financial year 1990–91, the last complete year for which published accounts are available, income was £33.3 million, of which £18.6 million was AFD grant.

  Deprivation Relief
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to consider the implications of the 1991 census on the award of urban aid finance and other special initiatives to relieve deprivation; what criteria he intends to apply in deciding which communities should benefit from such finance in future; when he expects to announce his decisions; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Details should be available by the middle of 1993 of changes to the geographical targeting of the urban programme, following the results of the 1991 census. A final decision on the criteria by which individual areas will be assessed has yet to be taken.

  Paisley College
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with representatives of Paisley college to discuss university status; when he next plans to meet representatives of Paisley college to discuss university status; and if he will make a statement.
  296
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  On 23 October 1991 my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mr. Forsyth), who was then Minister of State, met representatives of Paisley college of technology to discuss a number of issues, including university title. I have no plans at present to meet representatives of the college.

  Foxbar River Women's Centre
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current position regarding urban aid assistance in relation to the Foxbar Rivers women's centre; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas Hamilton
  Urban aid of £81,997 for construction costs, £20,361 for equipment and, for four years, £94,308 for running costs was approved in May 1991. In view of difficulties in finding a suitable site the date by which a start must be made has been put back until 30 September 1992.

  Solvent Abuse
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his plans to discourage solvent abuse.

  Mr. Allan Stewart
  Solvent abuse is being tackled with particular emphasis on education and prevention and, where practicable, the restriction of sales of products containing volatile substances to young people. A £1.4 million GB-wide media campaign to inform parents was run during February this year. The impact of that campaign in Scotland is being evaluated. Schools will be encouraged to play their part. Re-Solv, the national charity, with Government support, recently launched a campaign to make retailers aware of the problem, the law and its requirements.

  Aquatic Environment
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the responsibilities and duties of his Department and any agency which reports to his Department in relation to inshore waters, intertidal areas and maritime land; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I refer the hon. Member to the Government's memorandum on this subject which was submitted to the Environment Committee of this House in the previous Session. It has now been published by HMSO as part of the Environment Committee's report on coastal zone protection and planning, volume II, minutes of evidence and appendices.

  A.1 DUAL CARRIAGEWAY: TIMETABLE
  A.1 DUAL CARRIAGEWAY: TIMETABLE
  GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN CENTRAL LONDON: REFURBISHMENT COSTS
  GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN CENTRAL LONDON: REFURBISHMENT COSTS
  CITY CHALLENGE
  CITY CHALLENGE
  "PARTNERSHIP IN DEALING WITH OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY": CONSULTATION RESULTS
  "PARTNERSHIP IN DEALING WITH OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY": CONSULTATION RESULTS
  LETTER OF 23rd MARCH TO CHARITY COMMISSIONERS
  LETTER OF 23rd MARCH TO CHARITY COMMISSIONERS
  ATTENDANCE CENTRE ORDERS: AVERAGE COST
  ATTENDANCE CENTRE ORDERS: AVERAGE COST
  BAIL AND PROBATION HOSTEL PLACES: AVERAGE COST
  BAIL AND PROBATION HOSTEL PLACES: AVERAGE COST
  AFTER-CARE HOSTEL PLACES: AVERAGE HOME OFFICE GRANT
  AFTER-CARE HOSTEL PLACES: AVERAGE HOME OFFICE GRANT
  PRISONERS' HEALTH CARE
  PRISONERS' HEALTH CARE
  MAXWELL COMPANIES: PENSIONS
  MAXWELL COMPANIES: PENSIONS