Written Answers of 11 November 1992

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  British Citizens (Trials)
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for(a) Fiji, (b) Cyprus, (c) Papua New Guinea and (d) Turkey, the number of British citizens known to his Department to be (i) detained and awaiting trial, (ii) undergoing trial and (iii) tried and in prison.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  As at 30 September the number of British citizens known to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to be:

  (a) Detained and awaiting trial are:

  Number

  (i) Fiji

  0

  (ii) Cyprus

  0

  (iii) Papua New Guinea

  0

  (iv) Turkey

  2

  (b) Undergoing trial:

  None

  (c) Tried and in prison:

  (i) Fiji

  0

  (ii) Cyprus

  5

  (iii) Papua New Guinea

  0

  (iv) Turkey

  0

  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for each sovereign country in(a) south America, (b) the middle east, (c) central America and Puerto Rico, (d) the Caribbean, other than Commonwealth countries and (e) Asia, other than former Soviet republics, the number of British citizens known to his Department to be (i) detained and awaiting trial, (ii) undergoing trial and (iii) tried and in prison.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  As it would take a disproportionate amount of time to answer this question completely acccurately, I have arranged for the right hon. Member to receive a written reply from the consular department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible, with the information that it has to hand.

  Bosnia- Herzegovina
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Bosnian government following attacks by forces loyal to them on United Nations agencies operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We deplore all attacks on United Nations agencies operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina., and are constantly pressing all parties to the conflict to respect the United Nation's impartiality.

  Russian Nuclear Industry
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department has taken to investigate attempts by Iraq to purchase Russian plutonium in Bulgaria.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We are currently following up with all relevant authorities reports in a Sunday newspaper of alleged attempts to sell plutonium from the Commonwealth of Independent States to the Iraqi embassy in Sofia. The Bulgarian authorities have seized some material which they assess to be of no significant proliferation concern. Our own test of a sample which we have received supports this conclusion. But our investigations are continuing.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to raise at the next meeting of the European Foreign Affairs Council the clandestine smuggling of nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union to countries in the middle east.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave on 23 October 1992, at column 404.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the new export restrictions on military sensitive equipment and nuclear materials to be imposed under the provisions of the Council regulations on the control of exports of certain dual-use goods and technologies and of certain nuclear products and technologies (COM(92) 317 final).

  Mr. Needham
  I have been asked to reply.

  The proposed Council regulation on the control of exports of certain dual-use goods and technologies is currently the subject of negotiations between member states. The Government's aim is to ensure that there will be no weakening of this country's export controls on such goods as a result of the implementation of this regulation, and that the interests of United Kingdom exporters will be protected. The House will be informed of the outcome of the negotiations.

  Visas
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that all applicants for visas at the British high commission in Delhi are granted a formal interview.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  More than 15,000 non-settlement applications have been approved in New Dehli this year without the need for a formal interview. A further 7,000 have been approved after a short informal interview lasting less than six minutes.

  All other persons applying for visas have been granted a formal interview. However, prior to an application being formally lodged, if the entry clearance officer has reason to believe that it might not succeed, for example, if forged documentation is presented or the person has previously come to adverse attention, the applicant is given an opportunity to decide whether or not to pursue the application before paying the non-refundable visa fee. If the applicant decides to continue with the application, a formal interview is arranged.

  Kenya
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what conditions local election monitors will observe the forthcoming elections in Kenya; and what assessment has been made of how likely they are to be honoured.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We welcome the announcement by the Kenyan Electoral Commission on 2 November that the National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU), made up of three local Kenyan organisations, will take part in the monitoring exercise. We understand that NEMU is discussing with the Electoral Commission the practical arrangements and guidelines for monitoring the election alongside international observer groups.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Politically Motivated Crime
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to combat politically motivated vandalism, arson and sabotage in Wales; if he will create a Welsh serious crime squad for this purpose; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  These are operational matters for the chief constables of the areas concerned, who are ensuring that the police effort against such criminal acts is effectively co-ordinated.

  Police Authorities (Local Representatives)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make it his policy to maintain the link between local communities and their police forces through the presence of elected representatives on police authorities in England and Wales.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  We are considering a range of issues concerning the future of the police service, including the role and composition of police authorities. We have yet to reach firm conclusions.

  Wolds Prison
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 4 November,Official Report, columns 223–24, on Wolds prison, if he will list (a) the number of employees in each of the categories referred to and (b) the number of employees on each grade.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is subject to commercial confidentiality.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to extend the Data Protection Act 1984 to apply to manual records.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Government have no present plans to extend the Act to manual files.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the prison population for each of the last 18 months for which figures are available.
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  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  On 9 November, the latest date for which figures are available, the prison population was 43,787, including 465 in police cells. Figures for the last Friday in each of the last 18 months are in the table.

  Date

  Total prison population including police cells

  Police cells

  31 May 1991

  45,566

  593

  28 June 1991

  45,921

  872

  26 July 1991

  46,393

  1,190

  30 August 1991

  46,701

  1,534

  27 September 1991

  47,069

  1,665

  25 October 1991

  47,306

  1,807

  29 November 1991

  47,443

  1,667

  30 December 1991

  45,388

  969

  31 January 1992

  46,598

  1,247

  28 February 1992

  47,581

  1,626

  27 March 1992

  47,684

  1,774

  24 April 1992

  47,605

  1,632

  29 May 1992

  47,009

  1,306

  26 June 1992

  47,070

  1,301

  31 July 1992

  46,934

  1,110

  28 August 1992

  46,692

  932

  25 September 1992

  46,120

  809

  30 October 1992

  44,287

  502

  Police Overtime
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount budgeted for financial year 1992–93 for police overtime in(a) the Metropolitan police area, (b) the rest of England and Wales and (c) in each police authority in England and Wales; and what is the extent to which these figures have been revised since the commencement of the current financial year.

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

  Arrests
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a table showing the total number of persons(a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) processed during each of the last six months in (i) the Metropolitan police area, (ii) England and Wales and (iii) each police authority area in England and Wales.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information on arrests is not collected centrally. Court proceedings data for the period requested will not be available until autumn 1993.

  Parole
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were released on parole in England and Wales in each of the last 24 months.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Figures for those paroled in each of the months October 1990 to September 1992 are as follows:

  Number

  1990

  October

  1,100

  November

  1,200

  December

  800

  779

  Number

  1991

  January

  1,100

  February

  800

  March

  1,000

  April

  800

  May

  900

  June

  1,000

  July

  1,000

  August

  1,000

  September

  900

  October

  1,200

  November

  1,100

  December

  800

  1992

  January

  900

  February

  1,000

  March

  1,100

  April

  1,000

  May

  800

  June

  1,200

  July

  1,300

  August

  1,100

  September

  1,100

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for each local authority area in south Yorkshire, how many residential properties are currently owned by his Department; and if he will list, by location, those residential properties which are empty, giving the type of accommodation available, the length of time each property has been vacant and its intended future use.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The prison service owns 48 residential properties in south Yorkshire used by prison officers and staff serving at the prison establishments of Lindholme, Moorland and Hatfield. All the properties are in the local authority area of Doncaster metropolitan borough council.

  Of these properties, 11 are at present vacant. One is a detached, four-bedroom house, which has been vacant for two weeks, and the remaining 10 houses are three-bedroom semi-detached or terraced houses which have been empty for more than 12 months. Six of these houses are retained for reallocation to incoming agricultural staff or farm managers and the remaining five houses are on the market for sale.

  Prisoners (Condoms)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by sex, and by Her Majesty's prison establishment, for the past 12 months, the number of free condoms issued to(a) inmates going on home leave and (b) inmates being released at the end of their sentence.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Guidelines issued to governors of all establishments in November 1991 advised them to consider introducing local schemes under which prisoners about to be released or to go on home leave would have discreet access to a small supply of free condoms. It is for individual governors to decide whether and how condoms are available in such circumstances, and how they monitor the level of take-up. Comprehensive information is not held centrally.

  Public Record Office
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many papers his Department has currently withdrawn from the Public Record Office; if he will list their titles; and when he estimates that they will be returned.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  On 6 November the Home Office had 370 records, amounting to over 1,000 files and sub-files, on loan from the Public Record Office. The number of records on loan fluctuates daily and to list them all would involve disproportionate cost. The records are returned as soon as departmental action has been completed.

  Electoral Administration
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) of 30 October,Official Report, columns 931–32, what input political parties will have to the membership and the proceedings of the joint committee and working groups on electoral administration; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  We held meetings with representatives of the political parties and the local authority associations in the summer as part of the process of reviewing electoral procedures. The remits for the working groups which we have set up as the next stage of that process reflect the concerns expressed by the political parties. Membership of the working groups is drawn from experienced electoral administrators and returning officers. The meetings with the representatives of the political parties and of the local authorities will be reconvened in due course to consider the findings of the working groups.

  Frontier Controls
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings he has held with the Kangaroo group on abolition of frontier controls; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend has had no formal meetings with the Kangaroo group, but we have had opportunities to acquaint ourselves with the views of members of the group on this matter.

  Immigration (Entry Exclusions)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the individuals who have been excluded since 1979 from entry into the United Kingdom by Her Majesty's Government on grounds of likelihood to incite racial hatred by their presence in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Under the provisions of the Immigration Act 1971 and the immigration rules, a person without the right of abode in the United Kingdom may be excluded on the ground that his exclusion is conducive to the public good.

  In forming a view on whether a person's exclusion would be conducive to the public good, a variety of matters may be taken into account, including the likelihood of their presence giving rise to offences under

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  the Public Order Act 1986 and/or the offence likely to be given to public sensitivities by racialist statements. These considerations informed the decision in respect of the following individuals excluded since 1979 on the Home Secretary's personal directions:

  Mr. Stokely Carmichael

  Mr. Louis Farrakhan

  Mr. Manfred Roeder

  Mr. Fred Leuchter

  Police (Salaries)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the commencement salary in London for each of the following in(a) 1981 and (b) 1991, (i) main grade probation officer, (ii) prison officer, (iii) police constable and (iv) police sergeant.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [holding answer 30 October 1992]: The information is in the table.

  Commencement Salaries including London Payments

  1981 £

  1991 £

  Probation Officer

  30 and under

  7,510

  15,402

  over 30

  7,936

  15,939

  Prison Officer

  6,139

  16,895

  Police Constable

  Under 22

  7,209

  14,070

  22 or over

  8,298

  17,121

  Police Sergeant

  10,092

  21,099

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average of remuneration in England and Wales for(a) a chief probation officer, (b) a police sergeant and (c) a police inspector in (i) 1981 and (ii) 1991.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [holding answer 30 October 1992]: The average remuneration of a chief probation officer in 1981 was £16,218 and in 1991 it was £37,738. Information is not available in the form requested for police sergeants and police inspectors and the figures in the table relate to average salaries.

  1981 £

  1991 £

  Police sergeant

  9,504

  21,039

  Police inspector

  10,755

  23,820

  Note:

  Police officers not living in provided accommodation are entitled to receive an allowance, which is paid in addition to salary. The value of the allowance varies according to individual circumstances, for example, whether an officer is married or single, and between police force areas. The range of the value of the allowance in 1981 was £567 —£2,271, and in 1991 it was £853–£4,836.

  Car Crime
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies he has undertaken or commissioned in relation to the theft and racing of cars in the Oxford area; and if he will outline the aspects being examined.

  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 10 November 1992]: Although no studies have so far been undertaken or
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  commissioned specifically in relation to the theft and racing of cars in the Oxford area, a number of important lessons have been learned from the incidents which have occurred on the Blackbird Leys estate. In particular, they illustrated the need for the law to be strengthened in this area. The Aggravated Vehicle-Taking Act 1992, which came into force on 1 April, significantly increased the courts' power to deal with the menace of car taking.

  Moreover, the Home Office has supported or carried out a number of more general research studies on issues relating to car crime, including the nature of offending. These include crime prevention unit paper 32 "Tackling Car Crime: The Nature and Extent of the Problem" and paper 34 "Preventing Car Crime in Car Parks", copies of which are in the Library.

  The results of studies completed to date are being used to help develop the car crime prevention strategy and the need for further research in this area will be closely monitored.

  Criminal Records
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he has taken to implement each of the short-term recommendations in annex M of his Department's efficiency scrutiny into the national collection of criminal records published in October 1991;.

  (2) what progress has been made in implementing the five-day limit for police notification to the national identification bureau of all pending prosecutions after arrest and the 13-day limit for all court convictions being notified after the court decisions as recommended by his Department's efficiency scrutiny into the national collection of criminal records published in October 1991.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  [holding answer 10 November 1992:] The position on recommendations 63 to 68 of the "Efficiency Scrutiny of the National Collection of Criminal Records", which together constitute annex M, is as follows:

  1. It was recommended in the scrutiny report that microfiche collection of court results be stopped for post–1980 offenders. Further work revealed that this could not be done immediately without loss of information, but the conversion of all criminal records for inclusion in the computerised National Criminal Record System will ensure the provision of a more comprehensive record than is currently available on the Police National Computer (Recommendation 63).

  2. It has long been the practice for NIB to mark the manual records that any acquittal should not be cited as a conviction (Recommendation 66).

  3. Copies of the scrutiny report were sent to all chief constables and, without imposing rigid time limits, NIB will continue to encourage forces to improve the time taken to notify them of arrests (Recommendation 64).

  4. Since the scrutiny was completed, the Government has re-examined the arrangements under which court results are notified to the NIB and the police notify the courts and the Crown Prosecution Service of defendants' and prosecution witnesses' criminal records; revised proposals to improve those arrangements are being taken forward (Recommendations 65, 67, 68).

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to appoint the advisory committee to the national identification bureau at New Scotland Yard which was recommended by his Department's efficiency scrutiny into the national collection of criminal records published in October 1991.
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  Mr. Charles Wardle
  [holding answer 10 November 1992]: Oversight of the national identification bureau is being considered in the context of wider changes in the management of police information services. We hope to announce new arrangements shortly.

  Foreign Workers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to ensure effective implementation of article 19(6) of the Council of Europe's European social charter, signed on 18 October 1961, requiring contracting parties to facilitate family reunion of foreign workers on their territory.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Article 19(6) of the social charter provides that contracting parties undertake to facilitate as far as possible the reunion of the family of a foreign worker permitted to establish himself in the territory. We believe that the provisions of the immigration rules and our ability to exercise discretion in exceptional cases keep us in compliance with article 19(6).

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to give effect to convention No. 143 of the International Labour Organisation, facilitating the reunification of families of migrant workers legally residing in its territory.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  [holding answer 9 November 1992]: The United Kingdom has not ratified International Labour Organisation convention No. 143.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary. Lord Chancellor's Department how many times legal aid has been granted to enable a person convicted of a criminal offence to receive a transcript of their trial for the purposes of an appeal.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  It is not necessary to make a separate application for legal aid to obtain a copy of a transcript of a trial. If the appellant to the Court of Appeal is covered by a legal aid order, the costs of the transcript may be claimed as a disbursement. These claims are not separately identified, and the information requested is therefore not available.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the total numbers of(a) established and (b) unestablished civil servants, including those in next steps agencies on (i) 1 January 1970, (ii) 1 January 1989, (iii) 1 January 1990 and (iv) 1 January 1992, including those on short-term contracts.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The number of civil servants including, where appropriate, those in next steps agencies, at the respective dates, is as follows:784

  Staff in post—industrial and non-industrial civil servants1

  Number

  1 January 1970

  702,056

  1 January 1989

  571,649

  1 January 1990

  565,017

  1 January 1992

  561,770

  1 Full-time equivalents (part-time staff count as half units).

  The concept of unestablished service was abolished with effect from 1 April 1991. No breakdown between numbers of established and unestablished staff is available for earlier years in any case.

  Taxation
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total revenue to the Exchequer from(a) income tax, (b) national insurance, (c) VAT, (d) vehicle excise duty and (e) excise duty in each of the English regions for 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I regret that information is not available on a regional basis for the taxes and duties requested.

  Double Taxation Agreement (Italy)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to negotiate a double taxation agreement with Italy which would give United Kingdom based businesses exemption from extraordinary levies on all bank balances by the Italian Government; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The matter is currently being discussed with the Italian authorities.

  VAT
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the rates of value added tax on sanitary protection in each member state of the EC.

  Sir John Cope
  The rates of value added tax charged in each member state are as follows:

  Per cent.

  Belgium

  19·5

  Denmark

  25·0

  France

  18·6

  Germany

  14·0

  Greece

  18·0

  Ireland

  0·0

  Italy

  19·0

  Luxembourg

  15·0

  Netherlands

  6·0

  Portugal

  16·0

  Spain

  15·0

  United Kingdom

  17·5

  Betting Duty
  Mr. Page
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue he expects the horse and greyhound racing industry to receive in the current financial year as a result of the 0–25 per cent. reduction in betting duty.

  Sir John Cope
  The reduction in general betting duty in the last Budget was from 8 to 7·75 per cent. This was
  785
  expected to reduce the revenue yield by £15 million in the current financial year, and the Chancellor announced his intention that the benefit of the reduction should be channelled back to the horse racing and greyhound industries themselves. The Home Secretary took account of the duty cut in determining this year's horserace betting levy; and discussions are still in progress between the greyhound industry and the bookmakers over voluntary arrangements to be made to help greyhound racing.

  Negative Equity
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the increase in the number of households who have negative equity.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We have received a number of representations on this subject. The Government have responded by announcing two measures which will help borrowers with negative equity who wish to move house,Official Report, 20 October, column 243.

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which European Community countries treat capital and revenue on the same basis within the actual public expenditure planning totals;.

  (2) what plans he has to secure a common definition of public expenditure and Government borrowing between European Community countries.

  Mr. Portillo
  European Community countries use varying definitions for their own public expenditure planning and control purposes. However, these countries make returns to the statistical office of the European Communities covering general Government current expenditure, capital expenditure and the financial deficit, based on the European system of integrated economic accounts. This publication is available in the House of Commons Library.

  Growth
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average annual rate of economic growth of the United Kingdom and each other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country since 1979.

  Mr. Portillo
  Data of OECD countries' economic growth since 1979 can be found in the June 1992 edition of the OECD "Economic Outlook".

  Books (VAT)
  Mr. Kenneth Baker
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to extend VAT to the purchase of second-hand books.

  Sir John Cope
  We have no proposals to extend VAT to the purchase of second-hand books.

  Public Sector Borrowing Requirement
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the first official estimate which was published of the public sector borrowing requirement for 1992–93 and 1993–94, respectively; what subsequent estimates were published; and if he will give the date of publication in each case.
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  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 9 November 1992]: Forecasts of the PSBR for the year ahead are published annually in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report", and then updated in the subsequent "Autumn Statement". Estimates given in the FSBR for years beyond the year ahead are projections, rather than forecasts, based on illustrative assumptions about the medium-term path of the economy.

  A forecast of £28·1 billion for 1992–93 was made in the 1992 FSBR published on 10 March. A revised estimate will be given in the 1992 "Autumn Statement". No forecasts have yet been published for 1993–94.

ENVIRONMENT

  English House Condition Survey
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the English house condition survey.

  Mr. Baldry
  The results of the English house condition survey will be published next year.

  Disabled Facilities Grants
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the provision of disabled facilities grants.

  Mr. Baldry
  Disabled facilities grants assist disabled people with the cost of adaptations to enable them to live more independently in their own homes. Since the new grant system was introduced in July 1990, more than 30,000 grants have been approved at a total cost of £103 million.

  House Building
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to assist house builders to increase the supply of new, affordable houses.

  Sir George Young
  The Government are investing £1·7 billion this year through the Housing Corporation, nearly double the level of three years ago, and supplemented by £0·5 billion of private finance, for affordable housing provided by housing associations. A substantial proportion of the corporation's programme is devoted to new build. Recent falls in interest rates and in land prices will stimulate demand for new private housing, which is now more affordable than for many years.

  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total expenditure committed to public house-building programmes by housing associations, local authorities and others in this current financial year; and what percentage he estimates has been placed with(a) large volume-build contractors and (b) small- and medium-sized companies, respectively.

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 10 November 1992]: Gross capital expenditure by housing associations financed through the Housing Corporation in 1992–93 will be over £1·7 billion, supplemented by private loans of £0·5 billion; the large majority of this is spent on new house-building. It is estimated that local authorities will spend around £125 million on new council housing in

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  1992–93. In addition, authorities are estimated to spend £250 million on support for housing associations, much of which will be on new house building. No information is available centrally about the size of contractors used by associations and authorities.

  Unleaded Petrol
  Mr. Chisholm
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take with regard to benzene levels in unleaded petrol.

  Mr. Maclean
  The benzene content of petrol, both leaded and unleaded, is already limited to a maximum of 5 per cent. by volume under EC directive 85/210/EEC. New European Community vehicle emission standards which apply from the end of this year will greatly reduce emissions of benzene from new cars.

  Renovation Grants
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities are able to make discretionary awards in respect of renovation grants for home improvements.

  Sir George Young
  All local housing authorities.

  Opencast Mining
  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new measures he proposes to limit the impact of opencast coal mining on the natural environment.

  Mr. Howard
  My Department announced on 15 July that the planning guidelines for opencast coal will be revised. We expect to bring forward a draft for public consultation next year following completion of the Government's coal review. I hope that the hon. Member will appreciate that I cannot pre-empt what the revised guidelines will say.

  Mr. Eric Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to issue new planning guidance in relation to the development of opencast coal mining.

  Mr. Howard
  We hope to be in a position to issue draft revised guidance for public consultation following the outcome of the recently announced coal review.

  Mr. John Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received on the review of minerals planning guidance note 3 on opencast coal operations.

  Mr. Howard
  We received a number of representations as part of a wide-ranging consultation on the practical operation of the guidelines earlier this year. Summaries of the responses to that exercise were placed in the Library when my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning announced our intention to revise the guidelines on 15 July.

  Urban Regeneration Agency (Headquarters)
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether a decision has been reached on the location of the headquarters of the Urban Regeneration Agency.
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  Mr. Redwood
  It is too early to say where the headquarters of the agency will be located. We will look closely at the merits of each region before coming to a decision in consultation with Lord Walker.

  New Age Travellers
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next expects to meet representatives of the Association of County Councils to discuss the problem of itinerant new age travellers.

  Mr. Baldry
  I will shortly be meeting representatives of the Association of County Councils to discuss the Government's proposals to reduce illegal camping set out in the consultation paper, "Reform of the Caravan Sites Act 1968". These proposals do not address the public order issues which may arise when huge numbers of new age travellers congregate. Those issues are being considered by my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary, in consultation with other Government Departments and chief police officers.

  Local Government Boundaries
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made with the review of local government boundaries.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Local Government Commission has begun its reviews of local government structure, boundaries and electoral arrangements in all of the areas in the first tranche of its work programme.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Gunnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the total cost of transitional relief for the operation of the first year of the council tax in 1993–94.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave earlier this afternoon to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Leighton).

  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the expected effect on household bills of the introduction of the council tax in London.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have made no predictions of the level of council taxes in London or elsewhere. Council tax is a local tax and bills will be set locally.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for changes in the standard spending assessment allocation formula when the council tax is introduced.

  Mr. Redwood
  My right hon. and learned Friend hopes shortly to announce proposals for SSAs for 1993–94, together with details of the provisional revenue support grant settlement.

  Illegal Camping
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is planning to deal with illegal camping by travelling people.

  Mr. Baldry
  We issued on 18 August a consultation paper, "Reform of the Caravan Sites Act 1968" which contains proposals for reducing illegal camping. The closing date for responses is 13 November.

  Sustainable Development Plan
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will outline the process by which the United Kingdom's first sustainable development plan will be drawn up; and what provisions will be made for the involvement of Parliament in that process.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government intend to prepare a report to the new United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development by the end of 1993. I want us to have a full national debate so that everyone with a concern for the environment can join in with views on how we can balance the need for economic activity with protection of the environment. It will be essential that this House contributes to that debate.

  Local Authority Tendering
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on local authority tendering for large capital projects.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Local authority tendering for large capital projects is governed by EC regulations and local authorities' own standing orders as well as by the compulsory competitive tendering provisions of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, the Local Government Act 1988, and the Local Government Act 1992.

  Right-to-repair Scheme
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for improving the right-to-repair scheme for council tenants.

  Sir George Young
  Provisions for a new right to repair are included in the Housing and Urban Development Bill which was introduced on 22 October.

  Property Services Agency Projects
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to offer PSA Projects for sale and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  [pursuant to the answer of 22 May 1992, c. 273]: A total of 860 staff of PSA Projects have chosen to transfer with the business on its sale to Tarmac Construction Ltd. I expect the sale to be completed on 1 December. A further announcement to Parliament will be made shortly giving the financial details of the sale once the implications of staff choice have been assessed.

  Norbreck Parade, London (Access)
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment ( I) if he will make a statement about the outcome of the proceedings held at Ealing town hall on 14 October in connection with the appeal against the refusal by the local planning authority to grant planning permission for an access to Norbreck parade, London NW 10, from the north circular road;.

  (2) what was the advice given on 14 October by his Department to the inspector in connection with the proceedings at the Ealing town hall relating to the appeal against the refusal of the local planning authority to grant planning permission for an access to Norbreck parade, London NW10, from the north circular road.
  790
  Mr. Baldry
  This planning appeal is the responsibility of the planning inspectorate. I have asked the inspectorate's chief executive, Mr. Stephen Crow, to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from H. S. Crow to Mr. Paul Boateng, dated 27 October 1992:
  The Secretary of State for the Environment has asked me to provide the reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions to him, as their subject matter has been delegated to the Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency.You ask what advice was given to the Inspector holding the inquiry on 14 October into the planning appeal relating to access to Norbreck Parade, London NW10, from the North Circular Road, and about the outcome of the proceedings.The Inspector sought advice on a submission, made at the inquiry, that the Secretary of State had no jurisdiction in this matter. He was advised that, by reference to S.79(6) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the Secretary of State had the discretionary power to decline to determine this appeal, in view of the fact that the local planning authority had been directed [by the Secretary of State for Transport] to refuse planning permission. The Secretary of State was not however bound to exercise this power and, therefore, it was within the Inspector's discretion to allow the inquiry to continue.However, since the parties wished to consider further both the procedural issue and evidence on the merits of the case, the Inspector agreed to adjourn the inquiry until 20 November next.Following the hearing of the case at the re-convened inquiry, the Inspector will report to the Secretary of State, both on the procedural issue and on the merits of the appeal proposals.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he will take to introduce new wildlife legislation in order to protect sites of special scientific interest for the purposes of implementing the new EC habitats directive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  We are currently considering what measures are necessary to implement the EC habitats directive and we expect to put our proposals to public consultation in the next few months.

  Habitats Directive
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what assessment he has made of the amendments required to sections 36 and 37 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to meet the obligations under the new EC directive on the conservation of flora, fauna and habitats relating to the marine environment;.

  (2) if he will introduce new legislative measures to guard against the degradation of sites of special scientific interest and other areas requiring special conservation measures under the EC directive on the conservation of flora, fauna and habitats.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will strengthen the marine nature reserve provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in order to meet the obligations of the new EC habitats directive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government's response to the Select Committee report on coastal zone protection and planning recognises the difficulties in application of sections 36 and 37 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. We shall
  791
  ensure that the proposals for implementation of the marine conservation aspects of the habitats directive fully meet the directive's requirements.

  Hazardous Substances Regulations
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications for deemed consent under part 4 of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 1992 have been made since the introduction of the regulations.

  Mr. Baldry
  This information is not available at present. However, my Department intends to seek the relevant information from local authorities next April, as part of an annual statistical return on hazardous substances consents.

  Council Houses (Windows)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what surveys he has conducted into the replacement of metal-framed windows in council-owned housing stock and the consistency of the programme in various parts of England and Wales; and what provisions are extended to those who have already purchased a council house under government regulations.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Department has conducted no surveys of local authority activity in this area. Private owners who are advised that work of this kind is required may be eligible for assistance under the provisions of the house renovation grant scheme.

  Mortgage Arrears
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people in Britain are in arrears with their mortgages.

  Mr. Baldry
  Figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that 305,140 mortgages in the United Kingdom were six months or more in arrears at the end of June.

  Derelict Land
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what sums have been spent on the clearance of derelict and contaminated land and the area covered by the Dearne valley city grant project in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Maclean
  The amounts spent on the clearance of derelict and contaminated land in the area covered by the Dearne Valley Partnership in each of the last five years is as follows.

  £

  1988–89

  326,401

  1989–90

  1,454,482

  1990–91

  3,244,522

  1991–92

  5,414,519

  11992–93

  4,834,158

  1 From 1 April 1992 to 5 November 1992.

  Mr. Ward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many acres of land in England and Wales are vacant or derelict.
  792
  Mr. Redwood
  In England, based on the 1988 derelict land survey, there are 100,035 acres of derelict land. The 1990 national survey of vacant land in urban areas of England estimates that there are about 150,000 acres of vacant land in English towns and cities. There will, of course, be overlap between those two figures. Statistics are not available for vacant land in non-urban areas of England.

  Vacant and derelict land in Wales are matters for the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Earth Summit
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for the international conference for non-governmental organisations announced by the Prime Minister at the Earth summit.

  Mr. Howard
  The Government will host a three-day international conference next year to enable voluntary bodies, local government and the business community to exchange experience on the practical implementation of the Earth summit agreements. The conference will take place in Manchester in September 1993.

  The commitment and involvement of all the independent sectors are critical to the effective implementation of the agreements signed at the Earth summit. I am today issuing a consultation note on the conference and welcome views on our proposals from all interested sectors. I have invited Dr. Martin Holdgate, Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, to chair an international steering group to guide the preparation for the conference.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the use of chlorofluorocarbons in the United Kingdom refrigeration and air conditioning industry.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department commissioned a study, from the March Consulting Group, on CFC use in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry, which is published by HMSO today. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. The report shows that the United Kingdom market for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment has grown from £339 million in 1986 to £632 million in 1990. The industry has cut its consumption of CFCs over this period by some 15 per cent. overall.

  The report also shows that 72 per cent. of new CFCs are used for servicing existing equipment. Users of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment must act quickly to set up leak detection systems, to monitor the refrigerant they use, and to recover and recycle. If they do not act quickly and responsibly, they could experience a severe shortage of CFCs after production has stopped, which will be at the end of 1995 at the latest.

  Uniform Business Rate
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals are still outstanding relating to bills received under the uniform business rate as at 1 November in England.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  [holding answer 9 November 1992]: At the end of September 1992, the latest date at which

  793
  information is available for England, in respect of the 1990 non-domestic rating list there were about 550,000 outstanding proposals of which around 500,000 had been passed by valuation offices to valuation tribunals as appeals. This follows the clearance of over 400,000 cases.

  Rating Appeals
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many appeals are still outstanding relating to bills received under the old domestic rating system in England.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  [holding answer 9 November 1992]: At the end of September 1992, the latest date at which information is available for England, there were about 2,500 outstanding appeals relating to the old rating system. These related to both domestic and non-domestic cases and separate figures are not available.

  Most of the outstanding appeals were awaiting decisions by the Lands Tribunal.

  Water Disconnections
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what emergency access arrangements are made to the water supply in properties where the supply has been disconnected for non-payment.

  Mr. Maclean
  None. However, local authorities are required to be notified of the disconnection of a supply of water to any inhabited house if the supply is not restored within 24 hours. They have powers under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to make such arrangements as they think fit for the supply to be restored in certain circumstances.

  Water Companies
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions a water undertaker has been challenged in the courts under section 63 of the Water Industry Act 1991.

  Mr. Maclean
  This information is not collected by my Department, or by the Office of Water Services, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library, in hard copy and on floppy disk, the data of each local authority's tax base for the council tax purposes supplied to his Department on form CTB.1.

  Mr. Redwood
  [pursuant to the answer 30 October 1992, c.863]: I have today placed in the Library of the House the information requested.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Zambia and Zimbabwe
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (I) how much money is currently allocated by the Overseas Development 794
  Administration to assist drought-affected areas of Zambia and Zimbabwe; and what is the total tonnage of cereals which has been pledged to date to each country by the United Kingdom;.

  (2) what is the timetable for the delivery of pledges granted by the Overseas Development Administration to the draught-affected areas of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have pledged and fully disbursed £10 million each to Zambia and Zimbabwe in balance of payments grants to help with the cost of additional imports, including food, for drought relief. We are also providing £804,000 for Zambia and £2·475 million for Zimbabwe to assist with emergency water schemes and food distribution.

  Apart from small amounts through these ongoing projects, we are not providing food aid directly on a bilateral basis. However, the EC has committed 100,000 tonnes for Zambia and 80,000 tonnes for Zimbabwe this year, mainly in cereal form. We expect this to be delivered over the next 10 weeks. Britain's share of the cost is about £5·5 million.

  Madagascar
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much overseas aid has been given by the Overseas Development Administration to counter crop damage by swarms of locusts in Madagascar.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have committed £17,000 towards a field trial of insect growth regulators in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation. In addition, the ODA is currently putting together a package of items to address the specific short-term recommendations of the FAO's locust consultant: the value and extent of that package has yet to be finalised.

  Green Issues
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who, in the Overseas Development Administration, has been appointed to oversee and develop green issues; how many civil servants have been allocated new or additional responsibilities to deal with the management and development of green issues; and what additional allocation of resources has been made to support programmes related to green issues in the Overseas Development Administration.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The ODA has a well-established organisational and policy-making structure to ensure environmental and natural resources issues are taken fully into account in its work. General environmental policy and environmental research is co-ordinated by the natural resources and environment department. All ODA staff involved in the examination of project proposals are required to assess them for environmental impact, using the ODA's own "Manual of Environmental Assessment".

  The concept of sustainable development, which was promoted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and set out in "Agenda 21", is central to the ODA's policies. Co-ordinating action on "Agenda 21" is the responsibility of the aid policy department.

  We are mobilising the aid programme in further support of the goals of "Agenda 21" and we will contribute

  795
  our share of the 3 million ecu pledged by the European Community at UNCED. We shall also contribute our share to a replenishment of the global environment facility.

  Africa (Aid)
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to advocate an initiative for Africa encompassing debt reductions, improved terms of trade and increased overseas aid.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Africa is already a priority for the United Kingdom aid programme; 40 per cent. of our bilateral aid goes to African countries.

  In 1990, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister launched the Trinidad terms debt initiative. As a result, seven countries in Africa have benefited from substantial reductions in their official debt. The Trinidad terms currently reduce eligible payments due to governments by as much as 50 per cent. None the less, we continue to press for even greater relief to be made available to poorest countries. All new United Kingdom aid to low-income African countries is on grant terms.

  We believe developing countries must be allowed to trade freely. The GATT Uruguay round is the key to this. We are pressing the European Commission to continue discussions with the USA and to work for the earliest possible resolution of outstanding difficulties on the round.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what help is currently offered by the Overseas Development Administration to establish and support food reserves in African countries to help prevent future food shortages.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Food reserves set up in developing countries with international food aid can be expensive to establish and maintain and difficult to protect. For this reason, we give priority to meeting food shortages with food aid, by obtaining food quickly either by purchases from donor countries or surplus-holding countries in the region; or by reallocation of food aid consignments on the high seas.

  Some African countries do have food stocks generated by surpluses from their own harvests. In these cases, we will continue to provide help on crop storage at village, district and national level.

  Mozambican Refugees
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance is currently granted by the Overseas Development Administration to assist the Government of Zimbabwe to deal with refugees from Mozambique.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Most of our aid for Mozambican refugees is channelled through the co-ordinating offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, from where it is allocated to relief programmes in refugee host countries, including Zimbabwe. We have made cash grants of £10·5 million in this form since 1989. We are also supporting British non-governmental organisations, including Help Age which is running a programme to address the urgent needs of elderly and disabled Mozambican refugees in Zimbabwe.

  Aid Target
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the exact date in 1974 when the Government accepted the 0·7 per cent. of the gross national product target for overseas aid.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The target was accepted in principle by the newly elected Government of February 1974.

PRIME MINISTER

  Hill livestock Compensatory Allowance
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the average hill livestock compensatory allowance payment to eligible farmers in Wales and the comparable figures for England; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  The average payment during the 1991–92 financial year was £2,570 in Wales and £2,781 in England.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Civil Service
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he is taking to ensure that the civil service maintains the progress of its equal opportunities policies by appointing more women on merit to top posts.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  The civil service is committed to equal opportunity. It seeks to offer staff at all levels the opportunity to develop their career successfully, combining this where they choose with family commitments. Our aim is to ensure that this opportunity is open to all women, so that those with the ability to reach the top can realise their full potential, to their benefit and that of the service and the public it serves.

  Maintaining the principle of selection and promotion on merit, we have concluded that the achievement of our equal opportunity aims will be helped by setting a benchmark, against which progress can be judged. We believe that, if our efforts are sustained, we can realistically expect at least to double the representation of women in the top three grades across the Civil Service as a whole by the year 2000. This will mean a proportion of 15 per cent. or more compared with the 7 per cent. when Opportunity 2000 was launched and under 4 per cent. in 1987. We will review progress each year.

  Charter Marks
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many applications for charter mark awards were rejected after their contents were subjected to verification procedures.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  This year's charter mark scheme attracted 296 applications from public sector organisations throughout the United Kingdom. Following assessment by the Prime Minister's advisory panel, and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 36 charter marks were awarded.

  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what procedures were followed to verify the claims of the shortlisted charter mark applicants; and how many of the applications were submitted to such scrutiny.
  797
  Mr. Robert Jackson
  All organisations that submitted applications were required to provide evidence against the six charter mark standards, one of which was evidence of independent validation of performance. They had to demonstrate that they had satisfied their customers, and achieved measurable improvements in the quality of the services they provide. They also had to offer a new idea for improving their service at no additional cost to the public purse.

  The Prime Minister's citizens charter advisory panel and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster were responsible for judging the charter mark applications. All applications were carefully scrutinised and shortlisted organisations were visited by members of the advisory panel of their representatives, as part of the verification procedures.

EDUCATION

  Capital Credit
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will state for each local education authority in England the amount of capital credit approval they have applied for, for use in 1993–94.

  Mr. Forth
  The information requested is set out in the table.

  Total capital bid 1993–94

  Local education authority

  £000s

  Barking

  3,455

  Barnet

  19,479

  Bexley

  7,058

  Brent

  12,047

  Bromley

  7,614

  Croydon

  6,200

  Ealing

  34,145

  Enfield

  7,989

  Haringey

  6,296

  Harrow

  12,242

  Havering

  5,593

  Hillingdon

  13,070

  Hounslow

  12,997

  Kingston

  1,664

  Merton

  8,303

  Newham

  8,252

  Redbridge

  6,562

  Richmond

  8,151

  Sutton

  3,538

  Waltham Forest

  13,158

  City

  0

  Camden

  2,099

  Westminster

  1,618

  Greenwich

  8,229

  Hackney

  7,240

  Hammersmith

  4,157

  Islington

  10,818

  Kensington

  3,250

  Lambeth

  7,231

  Lewisham

  18,440

  Southwark

  7,080

  Wandsworth

  12,386

  Tower Hamlets

  31,542

  Birmingham

  27,337

  Coventry

  3,157

  Dudley

  8,532

  Sandwell

  8,283

  Solihull

  7,094

  Walsall

  4,676

  Wolverhampton

  14,681

  Knowsley

  6,437

  Liverpool

  9,086

  St. Helens

  5,868

  798

  Local education authority

  £000s

  Sefton

  5,049

  Wirral

  8,678

  Bolton

  3,242

  Bury

  2,668

  Manchester

  30,727

  Oldham

  4,755

  Rochdale

  16,770

  Salford

  10,142

  Stockport

  3,208

  Tameside

  9,405

  Trafford

  8,072

  Wigan

  7,498

  Barnsley

  6,472

  Doncaster

  4,714

  Rotherham

  9,807

  Sheffield

  21,985

  Bradford

  29,964

  Calderdale

  4,440

  Kirklees

  12,195

  Leeds

  36,185

  Wakefield

  25,688

  Gateshead

  5,701

  Newcastle

  24,769

  North Tyneside

  9,818

  South Tyneside

  4,489

  Sunderland

  10,699

  Isles of Scilly

  40

  Avon

  13,012

  Bedfordshire

  5,219

  Berkshire

  23,390

  Buckinghamshire

  13,360

  Cambridgeshire

  22,773

  Cheshire

  31,186

  Cleveland

  10,050

  Cornwall

  16,439

  Cumbria

  20,626

  Derbyshire

  40,570

  Devon

  22,500

  Dorset

  20,280

  Durham

  40,715

  East Sussex

  41,607

  Essex

  45,942

  Gloucester

  29,660

  Hampshire

  27,187

  Hereford and Worcester

  10,917

  Hertford

  18,824

  Humberside

  25,101

  Isle of Wight

  6,214

  Kent

  39,346

  Lancashire

  38,376

  Leicester

  16,815

  Lincoln

  22,446

  Norfolk

  9,997

  North Yorkshire

  11,547

  Northamptonshire

  9,298

  Northumberland

  4,238

  Nottinghamshire

  13,001

  Oxfordshire

  26,064

  Shropshire

  4,884

  Somerset

  15,251

  Staffordshire

  18,470

  Suffolk

  21,470

  Surrey

  26,511

  Warwickshire

  12,411

  West Sussex

  19,201

  Wiltshire

  7,519

  Total

  1,526,651

  Discretionary Awards
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many discretionary awards were made by the Inner London education authority in its last full year; and how many have been made by the successor local education authorities in inner London in 1992–93.

  Mr. Forman
  In the academic year 1989–90 there were 8,373 discretionary awards made by the ILEA. In 1990–91, the latest year for which data are available, the successor authorities—the London residuary body and the boroughs —made 6,375 discretionary awards.

  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many discretionary awards were made nationally in 1989 and 1992.

  Mr. Forman
  In 1990–91 academic year, the latest for which data are available, there were 157,000 discretionary awards in England and Wales—the same as in 1988–89.

  Research
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to instruct the higher education inspectors to produce an annual assessment on the use made of funds granted to the Higher Education Funding Council via the dual support scheme for university research.

  Mr. Forman
  The Government have asked the higher education funding councils to secure increased accountability for the use of council funds for research. It is for the councils themselves to determine how to take this forward. The Higher Education Funding Council for England has recently launched an initiative to achieve this.

  Governors
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce legislation to repeal section 15(14) of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 relating to the minimum age of governors.

  Mr. Forth
  No.

  University Teachers
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from the Association of University Teachers on the establishment of a salary review board for university teachers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forman
  The AUT has mounted two parliamentary lobbies and a letter campaign which have supported a pay review body for university teachers. The Government have consistently replied—most recently in my reply to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) on 19 October,Official Report, column 23—that they have no intention of establishing such a body.

TRANSPORT

  British Transport Police
  Mr. Trotter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future status of the British Transport police after the privatisation of British Rail.
  800
  Mr. MacGregor
  Paragraph 98 of the White Paper "New Opportunities for the Railways", Cm 2012, announced the Government's broad intentions for the British Transport police—BTP—and promised further consultation.

  The Department has today published a document, "The Future Status of the British Transport Police" which considers how the BTP may need to adapt to the proposed new structure of the railways.

  The document confirms the Government's intention to maintain the BTP as one force and seeks the views of interested parties on its future accountability; the scope for private operators to make alternative arrangements for some functions; the extent to which functions could be contracted out; and the means of controlling and allocating costs.

  I have placed copies of this document in the Library of the House and in the Vote Office.

  Fishing Boats
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fishing boats are registered in the ports of Ayr, Troon and Girvan; and how many are owned by other than United Kingdom citizens.

  Mr. Norris
  The information requested is as follows:

  Port

  Number of registered fishing vessels

  Number Non-United Kingdom owned

  Ayr

  27

  9

  Troon

  5

  Nil

  Girvan is not a port of registry.

  Cohesion Fund
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions have taken place in the Transport Council during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Council of Ministers, on the application of the cohesion fund to(a) the European transport infrastructure and (b) environmental projects as proposed by draft article 130d of the treaty of Rome under the treaty of European Union.

  Mr. MacGregor
  The Transport Council has not discussed the cohesion fund, but, following its Luxembourg meeting on Monday 26 October, the Council is able, subject, of course, to the views of Parliament, to agree in principle the extension of the current transport infrastructure funding programme for a maximum of two years.

  Public Record Office
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many papers his Department has currently withdrawn from the Public Record Office; if he will list their titles; and when he estimates they will be returned.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department of Transport holds 21 records withdrawn temporarily from the Public Record Office for current administrative use. The policy is to return records as soon as the relevant department action is completed.

  The titles are:

  801

  Harbour Department Papers — Foreshores

  Harbour Department — North British Railways Bill

  Harbour Department — Correspondence on proposed construction Harbours and Foreshores

  Harbour Department — Wrecks and Foreshores

  Harbour Department — Wrecks: assents to structures on piers and Foreshores

  Channel Tunnel Study Group

  Channel Tunnel — Contract Details

  Channel Tunnel — Contract Details

  Channel Tunnel — Discussions with interested bodies (financial)

  Fire applicances - Richards Ltd., Aberdeen — production of unlined and rubber latex lined hoses. (3 records)

  Orders made under Town and Country Planning Acts SIs 1113–1303

  Transport Bill 1961/62, clauses 69–71

  Ministry of Transport organisation and procedures for reviewing old records

  Amendments and additions to be made to the ICE conditions of contract when used for works on classified roads

  The north of Twyning-North of Lydiate Ash special road (improvement) order. (2 records)

  Reorganisation of Civil Aviation and Common Services Groups

  Organisation and staffing, Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Directory

  Motor Vehicle: Licensing: Electrically propelled vehicles

  Road Surfaces
  Ms. Coffey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent the use of noise-reducing road surfaces such as porous asphalt are used in the United Kingdom; what assessment he has made of the effect of using such road surfaces on the level of road noise on the mainland of Europe; and if he will consider introducing more of this type of surface.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The use of noise-reducing surfaces in the United Kingdom has until recently been confined to full-scale road trials.

  Contacts are well established between officials of the Department and other European countries that use these surfaces selectively depending on the site conditions. Assessment of the noise reduction effect of these surfaces indicates overseas performance similar to the United Kingdom trials.

  A specification for porous asphalt which has particular noise-reducing characteristics is about to be issued by my Department. The material may now be used on trunk roads, including motorways, where it can be shown to be suitable and cost effective. At the same time other forms of surface treatment are being developed.

  It is a matter for local highway authorities to decide the particular choice of surface for use on their own roads.

  Tunnels (Lights)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the effect of relying upon motorists using their lights in tunnels rather than a high quality of public lighting on the number of accidents; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Tunnel lighting requirements depend on a range of factors including the tunnel length and the traffic flows and vehicle speeds; they are set out fully within a British Standard code of practice. For road safety reasons, lighting provision needs to overcome the adaptation problem for drivers when entering a tunnel 802
  from bright daylight conditions, but the numbers of accidents are too small to allow reliable studies of the direct relationship between lighting levels and accident causation.

  Channel Tunnel
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the effect of rail freight traffic from the channel tunnel on south-east London on the frequency of rail journeys in that area.

  Mr. Freeman
  With the infrastructure and signalling improvements currently being undertaken on lines in Kent and London, BR believes that it will be able to operate international services without adversely affecting domestic traffic.

  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the environmental impact statement of the channel tunnel and rail link on south-east London.

  Mr. Freeman
  Although an environmental statement was not a requirement of the House for the Channel Tunnel Bill, a report "Channel Fixed Link: Environmental Appraisal of Alternative Proposals" was published in December 1985. Copies were placed in the Library. Eurotunnel also provided supporting documents to the Select Committee that considered the Bill. An environmental statement for the new rail link will be published in support of an application for statutory approval. The rail link is not planned to pass through south-east London.

  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of studies on noise and vibration with particular reference to south London carried out by the Derby railway research study centre since 1985.

  Mr. Freeman
  The studies requested were carried out by British Rail Research on a commercial in confidence basis. The Department cannot therefore deposit the studies in the Library.

  A40
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what works are currently being undertaken on the A40 between the start of Westway and the Target roundabout, Northolt; at what cost; when they are due to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department is not currently undertaking any works along the A40 between the western end of Westway and its junction with the A312, at the Target roundabout. However, it has been necessary to close the nearside lane of the westbound carriageway of the A40 between Alperton lane and Perivale lane since 7 September to enable Southern Electric to replace a high-voltage cable. These works are expected to be completed by early December.

  Severn Bridge (Tolls)
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what will be the increase in the Severn bridge toll in January 1993 in(a) cash terms and (b) real terms.
  803
  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Severn bridge tolls will be increased on 1 January 1993 by 10·7 per cent. in cash terms. This will represent a year-on-year increase of 6·9 per cent. in real terms.

  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make arrangements for regular users of the Severn bridge to he able to buy block books of tickets for use after 31 December.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  This is a matter for the concessionaire, Severn River Crossing Plc. I understand that the company will be offering for sale books of tickets at the 1993 rates from 7 December onwards.

  Emergency Vessels
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 2 November,Official Report, column 89, when he expects the assessment of emergency or standby vessels in the offshore oil and gas industry to be completed.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 10 November 1992]: The new standby vessel code jointly agreed by the Department and the Health and Safety Executive includes a staged approach with the simpler requirements being completed by 1 January 1992 and 1 May 1992, and with full compliance by 31 December 1992. New vessels and new conversions are to comply before entering service. The timing of preparation and presentation of vessels is a matter for owners.

  The present situation is that: 86 fully comply with the new code; 41 have applied for and are in the process of assessment; 46 may be put forward for assessment or withdrawn from service.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Public Record Office
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many papers his Department. has currently withdrawn from the Public Record Office; if he will list their titles; and when he estimates that they will be returned.

  Mr. Curry
  Government Departments have a statutory right under the Public Records Acts to retrieve records temporarily from the Public Record Office for their administrative use. My Department currently has 50 records out on loan. A list of titles is being sent out to the hon. Member. Records are returned as soon as departmental action has been completed.

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, for each local authority area in South Yorkshire, how many residential properties are currently owned by his Department; and if he will list, by location, those residential properties which are empty, giving the type of accommodation available, the length of time each property has been vacant, and its intended future use.

  Mr. Curry
  The Ministry owns no residential property in South Yorkshire.

  Poultry
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the voltages normally used for stunning poultry in British slaughterhouses.

  Mr. Gummer
  The legislation requires that birds must be instantaneously rendered insensible to pain until death. The code of practice on welfare of poultry at slaughter gives guidance on stunning currents. For broilers, it recommends a minimum, average stunning current of 105 milliamperes per bird to produce an adequate period of insensibility.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what statistics are available to indicate the sales to developing countries by each EC country in volume, nature and value of goods produced, under the common agricultural policy in the latest convenient period.

  Mr. Curry
  The latest statistics on the trade of EC member states with developing countries is given in "Eurostat's External Trade, Analytical Tables, 1990" which is available in the House of Commons Library.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of confirmed cases of BSE, by county, for October.

  Mr. Gummer
  The information as requested for Great Britain from 3 October to 30 October 1992 is as follows. All these cases will have a date of clinical onset of disease and date of report before 3 October.

  County/ Region

  Confirmed cases

  England

  Avon

  37

  Bedfordshire

  10

  Berkshire

  7

  Buckinghamshire

  14

  Cambridge

  3

  Cheshire

  165

  Cleveland

  3

  Cornwall

  222

  Cumbria

  109

  Derbyshire

  53

  Devon

  302

  Dorset

  110

  Durham

  16

  Essex

  11

  Gloucestershire

  37

  Hampshire

  31

  Hereford & Worcester

  45

  Hertfordshire

  16

  Humberside

  11

  Isle of Wight

  9

  Kent

  18

  Lancashire

  146

  Leicestershire

  41

  Lincolnshire

  9

  London

  1

  Manchester

  7

  Merseyside

  1

  Norfolk

  25

  Northamptonshire

  16

  Northumberland

  19

  805

  County/Region

  Confrmed cases

  Nottinghamshire

  7

  Oxfordshire

  22

  Shropshire

  67

  Somerset

  151

  Staffordshire

  93

  Suffolk

  15

  Surrey

  12

  Sussex East

  10

  Sussex West

  28

  Tyne and Wear

  1

  Warwickshire

  16

  West Midlands

  2

  Wiltshire

  109

  Yorkshire North

  115

  Yorkshire South

  10

  Yorkshire West

  17

  Wales

  Clwyd

  54

  Dyfed

  149

  Glamorgan Mid

  0

  Glamorgan South

  8

  Glamorgan West

  0

  Gwent

  19

  Gwynedd

  13

  Powys

  41

  Scotland

  Borders

  9

  Central

  2

  Dumfries

  41

  Fife

  2

  Grampian

  23

  Highland

  6

  Lothian

  5

  Orkney

  3

  Shetland

  0

  Strathclyde

  47

  Tayside

  17

  Western Isles

  0

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  European Law (Breaches)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Attorney-General what has been the total cost to the Exchequer since 1979 arising from United Kingdom legal representation at the European Court in cases brought against Her Majesty's Government by the European Commission for alleged breaches of European law.

  The Attorney-General
  The information sought by the hon. Member is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Defence Diversification
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to meet with the armaments and military equipment manufacturers to discuss options available to diversify into civil technology and engineering business.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and I are strongly committed to 806
  meeting and continuing a dialogue with companies from all sectors including with defence suppliers on the problems of adjustment that they currently face.

  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to secure an international GATT meeting to examine the implications of trading policies upon environmental concerns.

  Mr. Needham
  The GATT already has a group on environmental measures and international trade, which meets regularly in Geneva. The group has met four times in 1992, most recently in October. The European Community, including the United Kingdom, plays an active role in the work of this group. Separately, the United Kingdom plays a leading role in the work of a special Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development group, which brings together trade and environmental policy-makers. This group is formulating policy guidelines to help ensure the proper interaction of trade and environmental policies.

  Tropical Timber
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to raise import duties on tropical timber and tropical timber products imported into the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Needham
  No. The United Kingdom applies the European Community's common external tariff, which is negotiated and agreed by all EC member states and cannot be changed on an individual national basis. If the EC were to raise its import duties, it would be obliged under the rules of the general agreement on tariffs and trade, to offer offsetting tariff reductions on items of interest to the countries affected by such increases.

  Furthermore, restricting trade in tropical timber would mean that forest dwellers who depend on such trade would be forced to seek alternative ways to exploit the forests for economic gain, possibly including using the timber for fuel or clearing the land for cultivation. The Government therefore aim rather to promote the sustainable management of tropical forests which takes into account the needs of their animal, plant and human inhabitants. In this context, the European Community will shortly begin the renegotiation of the international tropical timber agreement.

  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the importation of tropical hardwoods.

  Mr. Needham
  Except as provided for under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, there are no restrictions on the import of tropical hardwoods into the United Kingdom. The Government pursue a coherent policy to encourage sustainable management of tropical forests and do not consider that any wider restrictions on timber imports are practicable or desirable.

  EC Single Market
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to call for the establishment of new mechanisms to monitor reports on the trade diversion effects of the single market on poorer developing countries during the United Kingdom's presidency of the EC.

  Mr. Needham
  No. The Government do not consider that completion of the single market will have the effect of diverting trade away from developing countries. Removal of internal barriers within the European Community will make it easier for all traders, including developing country exporters, to do business throughout the Community. The trade policy review mechanism —TPRM—of the general agreement on tariffs and trade already provides a forum in which the effects of contracting parties' trade policies and practices on other countries and on the multilateral trading system as a whole can be examined in detail. The Community's trade policy is subject to biennial review under the TPRM.

  Ozone Depletion
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what trade restrictions on goods made with or containing ozone-depleting substances exist with European Free Trade Association countries.

  Mr. Needham
  The United Kingdom does not impose any controls on trade in these products with EFTA countries. However, all EFTA countries except Switzerland have notified the EC of their intention to introduce bans on the use of these products and these will equally apply to imports from other countries.

  Company Accounts
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade in what circumstances his Department takes action when a company's accounts are qualified by auditors.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  Auditors' reports on companies' accounts may be qualified for various reasons, and such qualifications do not necessarily imply financial difficulty or breaches of the law. Routine consideration of every qualified report would require resources that we do not believe could be justified. However my Department considers for appropriate action any case where a qualification is drawn to its attention as indicating a matter for concern.

  Aerospace Industry
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what plans he has to meet the chairmen of the major aerospace companies;.

  (2) what plans he has to meet the employees of major aerospace companies, their trade union and professional association representatives.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has no immediate plans to meet the employees or professional association representatives of the major aerospace companies. However, he and I have visited a number of companies and we have had meetings with the Society of British Aerospace Companies and with the chairmen of several companies including British Aerospace, GEC, Rolls-Royce and Westland.

  Textiles
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what representations he has received from the textile industry about the effect of subsidies by the Wallonian region to textile companies in Belgium; and if he will make a statement;.

  (2) what assessment he has made of the uniformity of a common policy in the European Community on control of state aids to the textile and clothing industry.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 4 November 1992]: Representations have been made by the British Textile Confederation about alleged subsidies. We are considering these allegations carefully.

  There continue to be isolated cases of aid approved to manufacturers in the textile and clothing industries on which we make our concerns known to the Commission. In general, progress appears to be being made in the enforcement of the EC treaty obligations controlling and limiting state aid.

  Arms Exports
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many licences were(a) applied for and (b) granted under the export control system for arms exports in 1991 and to date in 1992.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 9 November 1992]: The following figures are in respect of export licences for goods covered by group 1 of part II of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1991:

  1991

  1992

  (a) Export licences applied for

  13,832

  12,907

  (b) Export licences issued

  13,216

  12,005

  Coal Uses
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what publicly-funded bodies are currently carrying out research, within the United Kingdom, into alternative uses for coal.

  Mr. Eggar
  Research into alternative uses of coal funded by the public sector in the United Kingdom is mainly undertaken at British Coal's coal research establishment—CRE—near Cheltenham and at its Point of Ayr coal liquefaction pilot plant, north Wales. Work in recent years has focused principally on coal liquefaction, the production of chemicals from coal by prrolysis, coal gasification and carbonisation undertaken at CRE. Both British Coal and my Department are contributing to the £41 million Point of Ayr project with additional public sector funding from the European Commission.

  Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, research into alternative uses of coal is undertaken at a number of universities with funding from the British Coal Utilisation Research Association, Science and Engineering Research Council and the European Commission.

  A substantial amount of research into alternative uses of coal has also been undertaken by the private sector in the United Kingdom with European Commission funding over the past few years. This includes work by British Gas on producing a synthetic natural gas from coal and work by British Steel on coal carbonisation.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Disability Living Allowance
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what are the actual clearance times on average for disability living allowance claims; and what is the proposed target for new claims and for reviews of earlier claims;.

  (2) on how many claims for disability living allowance the adjudication officer decided to send an examining doctor to the claimant's home rather than a home visit officer;.

  (3) what percentage of new claims for disability living allowances are successful; what percentage of successful claimants received each component of the benefit; and what percentage of unsuccessful claims are followed by an application for a review;.

  (4) what is the current backlog for reviews of disability living allowance claims.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from M. Bichard to Mrs. Bridget Prentice, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about claims and reviews for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), their outcome and the types of evidence used in the adjudication officers decisions. I will deal with each of your points in turn.
  National clearance times
  The Benefits Agency introduced a standard performance measure across benefits some time ago. This is expressed in terms of clearance targets rather than average clearance times as was previously the case.The primary target set for the clearance of DLA claims is 60 per cent. of claims to be cleared in 30 days. Since the launch of DLA in February 1992 the performance to date has been 33 per cent. of claims cleared in 30 days. The latest performance for the month of October shows 39 per cent. of claims cleared in 30 days.The success of the advertising campaign and the policy initiatives surrounding the launch of the benefits attracted a much larger number of applications in the early stages than was expected. Backlogs of work arose as a result and this has undoubtedly affected our ability to meet the clearance targets.I can assure you, however, that whilst we arc still some way from meeting the target, firm actions have been taken to reduce the backlog and thereby significantly improve the clearance times. Extra staff have been deployed and overtime is being worked to a considerable extent. We are also reviewing our working practices to ensure the most efficient procedures are in place consistent with our customers' needs. These measures have already borne fruit with the number of claims being cleared rising steadily from approximately 15,600 in April to 57,700 in October.
  Reviews
  You asked about the target times for reviews of claims to DLA. This is also expressed in the same way as new claims but the primary target for these cases is 60 per cent. in 55 days.You also asked about the current backlog for reviews of DLA claims. At the end of October 1992 there were 25,085 applications for review still to be cleared. The number of applications for review has been steadily rising as the recovery programme to clear the backlog of new claims has been successfully completed.810 The build-up of these reviews has also been affected by the diversion of resources to clear those outstanding Attendance Allowance and Mobility Allowance review and appeal cases inherited at 6 April 1992 when DLA was introduced. I am confident that these inherited cases will be cleared by the end of December 1992, as mentioned in my letter of 19 October 1992 to all MPs, and further resources are now being diverted to tackle the DLA reviews.Number of claims adjudicated upon after a medical examination has been requested.From February to the end of October just under 270,000 decisions have been made on new claims to DLA, of these nearly 160,000 decisions were made to award DLA, with almost 110,000 rejections. Over 54,400 decisions, representing 22 per cent., were made based on evidence obtained by way of a medical examination and over 400 decisions, less than 1 per cent., were made using information obtained by a home visit officer.
  Numbers and percentages of successful claims
  During the period February to October there were around 342,000 new claims to DLA, of these nearly 160,000 were awarded, this is reflected as a success rate of 59 per cent. The table below shows a breakdown by each component and rate:

  Rate

  Number

  As a percentage of successful claims

  Higher rate care

  5,300

  3

  Middle rate care

  7,900

  5

  Lower rate care

  15,700

  10

  Higher rate mobility

  45,600

  29

  Lower rate mobility

  11,300

  7

  Higher rate care plus higher rate mobility

  18,300

  11

  Higher rate care plus lower rate mobility

  3,700

  2

  Middle rate care plus higher rate mobility

  10,200

  6

  Middle rate care plus lower rate mobility

  9,100

  6

  Lower rate care plus higher rate mobility

  16,800

  10

  Lower rate care plus lower rate mobility

  15,900

  10

  I should explain that it is not possible to identify the number of review applications received following a decision to reject a claim to DLA as customers may ask for a review on any decision whether it is favourable or not. However, the total number of review applications received between February and October was 29,664 which is less than 10 per cent. of the total number of decisions made during the same period.All figures quoted are provisional and may be subject to amendment.
  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies arc also being placed in the Library.
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people have used the benefit inquiry line or his Department's local offices for help in completing the application form for disability living allowance; and what percentage of total claims are dealt with in this way;.

  (2) how many claimants have requested home visits for help in completing the disability living allowance form; what percentage of total claims this represents; and, of those requesting such visits, how many claimants were visited by his Department's officers.
  811
  Mr. Scott
  The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from M. Bichard to Mrs. Bridget Prentice, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about how many customers have requested home visits for help in completing the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claim form, what percentage of total claims this represents and how many visits were actually made. You also asked how many people have used the Benefit Enquiry Line or his Department's local offices for help in completing DLA forms and what percentage of total claims are dealt with in this way.Information is not available on the number of requests made for visits. However, since the launch of DLA in February 1992 to the end of October approximately 1,950 home visits had been made by the Customer Service staff in the Disability Benefit Centres.In this same period over 51,000 claims were completed with the assistance of telephone calls from Benefits Agency staff, which represents approximately 15 per cent. of the total of 342,000 new claims received.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security at what intervals claimants are advised on the progress of their claims or reviews for disability living allowance.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter,, from M. Bichard to Mrs. Bridget Prentice, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking at what intervals claimants are advised on the progress of their claims or reviews for Disability Living Allowance (DLA).New claims to DLA are administered by 10 Disability Benefit Centres (DBCs) around the country. When a new claim is registered on the computer system an acknowledgment is automatically issued. The claim is then referred to an adjudication officer who may decide that further information is required and if this is the case then the customer will be informed. If the claim has not been cleared after 35 days then the computer system issues a letter automatically informing the customer of the delay.I should explain that the volume of claims received has resulted in much longer delays in clearance and unfortunately we have been unable to keep customers fully informed of the progress of their claim in the latter stages. However now that the recovery programme to clear the backlog of claims has been successfully completed, clearance of claims will be accelerated and extended delays should not normally occur.In the case of reviews, which are dealt with at the DLA Unit in Blackpool, due to the volume of work currently on hand customers have not been kept fully informed of the progress of their case. Action is being taken to address the outstanding review cases and staff will be keeping customers informed of any further delays which might arise when they action those cases.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.

  Fraud
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the total number of cases of social security fraud detected in each of the last three years; and how many of these have resulted in prosecutions.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The investigation of social security fraud is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Graham Allen, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for the total number of cases of social security fraud detected in each of the last three years; and how many of these have resulted in prosecutions.
  The number of cases which have resulted in a weekly benefit saving and those that have resulted in prosecutions for the years 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92, are given below. I should explain that a weekly benefit saving is where benefit is reduced or terminated as a result of the work of fraud staff.

  Weekly benefit saving cases

  Prosecution cases

  1989–90

  159,372

  8,671

  1990–91

  158,178

  7,911

  1991–92

  181,870

  4,379

  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies of this letter are being placed in the Library.

  Cold Weather Payments
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households in the Doncaster area currently qualify for payments under the cold weather payments scheme; what percentage this is of the total number of households eligible to claim benefits from his Department; and what have been the comparative figures for each year since the scheme was introduced.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many households in the Doncaster area qualify for payments under the cold weather payments scheme; what percentage this is of the total number of households eligible to claim benefits from his Department; and what have been the comparative figures for each year since the scheme was introduced.Doncaster is covered by the Agency's Doncaster District. It is not possible to give an exact figure of how many customers would qualify for a Cold Weather Payment except at disproportionate cost. However, based on figures for those claiming Income Support in August 1992, it is estimated that approximately 18,900 customers in the Doncaster District may qualify for a Cold Weather Payment, should the area be triggered. This represents approximately 50 per cent. of Income Support Customers.813 The only period available for comparison is 1 November 1991 to 31 March 1992, when up to 12,820 (approximately 47 per cent. of Income Support customers) were paid during the four periods when the area was triggered. All other local statistics have been destroyed in accordance with standing instructions.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.

  Medical Examinations
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by month since January for the Doncaster area, how many claims for(a) invalidity benefit, (b) sickness benefit, (c) severe disablement allowance and (d) income support were referred to the regional medical services; how many of these cases resulted in medical examinations; and what was the outcome (i) where examination took place and (ii) where they did not.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Annex

  Number of cases referred to BA medical services: From Doncasier area by benefit type

  1992 year to date

  Invalidity benefit

  Sickness benefit

  Severe disablement allowance

  Not in receipt of an incapacity benefit1

  Total referred

  January

  438

  172

  17

  81

  708

  February

  486

  191

  9

  97

  783

  March

  504

  162

  12

  103

  781

  April

  466

  193

  10

  85

  754

  May

  619

  199

  19

  128

  965

  June

  575

  164

  17

  109

  865

  July

  545

  224

  15

  79

  863

  August

  527

  168

  12

  86

  793

  September

  541

  208

  14

  58

  821

  October

  574

  194

  4

  46

  818

  The results of the above references received to date are:

  Incapable of all work

  5,545

  Capable of work

  218

  Incapable of normal occupation but capable of work within certain limits

  471

  Did not attend

  263

  1 Included in this column are customers who do not receive a National Insurance Incapacity Benefit but may qualify for Income Support based on incapacity for work.

  Community Care Grants
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many DSS offices in each region had, halfway through the year, exhausted their funding provision for community care grants(a) for children, (b) for the elderly and (c) for the disabled.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from M. Bichard to Mrs. Helen Jackson, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about community care grant funding in DSS offices.814
  Letter from Mr. Bichard to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 10 November 1992:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking by month since January for the Doncaster area, how many claims for (a) invalidity benefit, (b) sickness benefit (c) severe disablement allowance and (d) income support were referred to the regional medical services; how many of these cases resulted in medical examinations; and what was the outcome (i) where examinations took place and (ii) where they did not.
  The complete range of such information is not available except at disproportionate cost. This is because statistics covering decisions made following references to the Benefits Agency Medical Services are not available in the requested form.Listed in the annex are the figures available for Invalidity Benefit, Sickness Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance. There have been no references directly from Income Support sections but customers in receipt of the incapacity benefits which I have mentioned may also be in receipt of Income Support.The above information covers customers of the Agency's Doncaster East, Doncaster West and Mexborough offices.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.Annual allocations are made to each Benefits Agency District for community care grants. No District has exhausted its grants allocation for 1992–93.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.

  Incomes
  Ms. Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what statistical information about low incomes it is his practice to give, other than that provided in the households below average income stocktaking report.

  Mr. Burt
  It is the practice of this Department to give such information as is available within cost constraints. This may be by reference to any published data or from other information collected by the Department.

  All statistical information from HBAI data is presented in line with the recommendations of the stocktaking report.

  Ms. Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons 1988 and 1989 data in the
  815
  households below average income stocktaking report were combined, but not data for any two of the previous years covered in the report; and if for future years he will ensure that trend data are consistent, whether for individual years or two years combined.

  Mr. Burt
  Data for 1988 and 1989 are combined in the most recent edition of the households below average income statistics in order to reduce the effect of sampling error. This change in methodology was discussed in the HBAI stocktaking report, published in December 1991, and in appendix 5 of the latest edition. Earlier years were not combined since the effect of sampling error was much smaller: in fact the sampling error for 1988 and 1989 combined was larger than for 1979 alone.

  There is no statistical inconsistency in comparing HBAI data for a single year's family expenditure survey with HBAI data based on two combined years' FES data. Future HBAI figures will remain based on combined years post–1988.

  Wages Councils
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the change in his Department's spending, on family credit and other benefits, of the proposed abolition of wages councils.

  Mr. Burt
  It is not possible to predict the effects of the abolition of wages councils on benefit expenditure. In any case, variations in the level of wages are not the major determinant of family credit expenditure.

  War Pensions
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for war pensions were not determined before the applicant's death in each year over the last 10 years; how many applicants died before they received their benefit and arrears; and how long before the death each application had been made.

  Miss Widdecombe
  This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

WALES

  Health Service
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) when he last reviewed the relevance and appropriateness of the criteria for selecting people for the boards of Welsh health authorities in accordance with the procedure in paragraph 52 of "Guidelines of Procedure for Ministers";.

  (2) what steps he took to solicit suggestions of names for membership of the boards of Welsh health authorities, prior to the announcement of the names appointed by him to those authorities on 30 October, pursuant to the recommendations of paragraph 52 in "Guidelines of Procedure for Ministers"; and what consultations he undertook.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 6 November, at column 473.

  Labour Statistics
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the percentage rates of male unemployment in(a) the valleys of south Wales and (b) Wales as a whole, for each year since 1988.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Rates for the valleys programme area and Wales are given in the table.

  Male unemployment rates1 expressed as a percentage of the workforce

  September

  Valleys area

  Wales

  1988

  16·8

  12·0

  1989

  13·7

  8·6

  1990

  13·5

  8·5

  1991

  18·4

  12·2

  1992

  18·7

  13·3

  Source: Employment Department.

  1Unadjusted.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the change in the level of unemployment in Wales over the last 12 months.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Between September 1991 and September 1992 the number of unemployed claimants increased by 10,365.

  Venture Capital
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to establish a venture capital fund for Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  A venture capital fund for Wales already exists.

  Manufacturing Industry
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policies concerning the encouragement of manufacturing industry in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I will continue to take every possible opportunity to encourage manufacturing industry in Wales, both in respect of locally based companies arid inward investors. This will include making full use of schemes of Government financial assistance and of the wide-ranging activities of the Welsh Development Agency and Development Board for Rural Wales.

  NHS Research and Development Director
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends to announce the appointment of the research and development director of the national health service in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Details of the arrangements for managing the proposed NHS Wales research and development strategy will be given in the strategy document, which I am to publish in December.

  Assisted Areas
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received from(a) Clwyd and (b) Wales concerning his review of the assisted areas map.
  817
  Mr. David Hunt
  Eighty-eight representations have been received from Wales as a whole. Of these, 12 were from Clwyd.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received concerning his review of the assisted areas map in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have received a number of representations concerning the review of the assisted areas map from a variety of sources, including hon. Members, local authorities, local businesses, chambers of commerce and a number from all-Wales bodies.

  Opencast Mining
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many opencast coal applications for Wales are lodged with his Department.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  There are four planning appeals and one called-in application in respect of opencast coal mining proposals by the British Coal Corporation and four appeals relating to opencast coal mining proposals by private operators.

  Contaminated Land
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidelines he has issued to local authorities in Wales on the format and the details to be included in the contaminated land registers.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  A consultation exercise on contaminated land registers was undertaken in May 1991 and a copy of the consultation paper has been placed in the Library of the House. The Government have recently consulted on revised proposals in the light of responses to that paper and further guidance is planned for issue to local authorities in due course. A copy will he placed in the Library of the House at that stage.

  Domestic Water Connections
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many domestic water connections there have been in each of the last 10 years in each of the borough and district council areas of Clwyd.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information requested is not held centrally. The collection of data on domestic water connections is the responsibility of Dwr Cymru Cyfngedig, Wrexham and East Denbighshire Water Company and Chester Waterworks Company as the water undertakers servicing Clwyd.

  Health Promotion
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of national health service Wales overall budget is spent on health promotion.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In 1991–92, identifiable expenditure on health promotion was £7,442,000 and this represented 0·4 per cent. of the total national health service budget in Wales.

  Student Grants
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each local education authority the number and proportion of mandatory student grants not paid by 31 October.

  Mr. Forman
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 5 November 1992, Official Report, column 344.

  Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to increase hill livestock compensatory allowances for farmers in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The payment arrangements for the hill livestock compensatory allowance scheme are considered within the context of the autumn review of economic conditions and prospects for our hill and upland farmers. As part of this process I have met representatives from the National Farmers Union (Wales) and the Farmers Union of Wales who have outlined their views and priorities. The HLCA payment arrangements to apply from 1 January 1993 will be announced as soon as possible.

  Tourism
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the amount of revenue from tourism to Wales in 1980, 1990 and 1991; what proposals he has to facilitate increased tourism in 1992–93; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Estimates of expenditure by overnight visitors to Wales are given in the following table. Since 1989, information on United Kingdom visitors to Wales has been obtained from the United Kingdom tourism survey. It is not possible to make a direct comparison between the results of this and earlier surveys. Information on overseas visitors is not available prior to 1981.

  Estimates of expenditure by day visitors are available only for the financial year ending on 31 March 1989 when an estimated £22 milion was spent in Wales.

  Expenditure by overnight visitors to Wales1

  £ million

  Year

  United Kingdom visitors

  Overseas visitors

  1980

  2—

  3—

  1981

  2—

  50

  1990

  900

  130

  1991

  900

  130

  Sources: United Kingdom Travel Survey, International Passenger Survey.

  1 These estimates, derived from sample surveys and thus subject to potential random sampling errors, have been rounded to the nearest £5 million.

  2 Not available on a comparable basis.

  3 Not available prior to 1981.

  In order to further promote tourism in Wales, the Government uplifted support for Wales tourist board by 20 per cent. in 1992–93 to a record £13·529 million.

  Acid Rain
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement concerning the report of the Countryside Council for Wales on acid rain.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The report makes a useful contribution to our understanding of the potential threats posed by acid rain to the aquatic environment of sites of special scientific interest in upland Wales; and underlines the importance of the substantial reductions that the Government are seeking in the emissions which lead to acidification. The report acknowledges that more work is needed to identify more clearly the overall effects of acid rain within the Welsh environment and to this end the Welsh Office is currently sponsoring research with the Countryside Council for Wales.

  Sheep Quotas
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from farmers in Wales regarding sheep quotas.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Several.

  Education Authorities (Capital Credit)
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state for each local education authority in Wales the amount of capital credit approval they have applied for, for use in 1993–94.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Welsh local education aujthorities do not bid for or receive specific capital credit approvals for education services. County councils receive resources within their annual basic credit approvals which are unhypothecated to particular services. Spending priorities are a matter for them.

DEFENCE

  Anti-ballistic Missiles
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department is conducting into the prospects for implementing a limited anti-ballistic missile system.

  Mr. Aitken
  The potential ballistic missile risk and possible ways of countering it are being reviewed in consultation with the United States and other NATO allies.

  Krypton-85
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been conducted by the Meteorological Office on the potential effects on the atmospheric balance of the release of radioactive Krypton-85.

  Mr. Aitken
  This is a matter delegated to the Meteorological Office under its framework document. I have therefore asked the chief executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

  Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Llew Smith, dated 9 November 1992:
  820 The Meteorological Office has considered the possible impact of the release of radioactive Krypton-85, but has conducted no specific studies. Although the release affects the electrical conductivity of the atmosphere by a small amount, there are as yet no accepted theories to suggest that this minor effect has a significant influence on weather phenomena such as thunderstorms.

  Mammoth Vehicles
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the mammoth major transporter will be replaced; and how many more trips are planned for the mammoth major vehicles.

  Mr. Aitken
  Replacements for the truck cargo heavy duty Mk 1—sometimes referred to as the mammoth major transport vehicle—are now in service. There are currently no plans for further use of the mammoth major.

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answers of 25 June,Official Report, column 299, if the figures for nuclear waste include radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning of disused facilities at the atomic weapons establishment Aldermaston; and how much radioactive waste will arise at Aldermaston up to the year 2000 as a result of decommissioning old facilities.

  Mr. Aitken
  The estimated volumes of nuclear waste arising at the atomic weapons establishment Aldermaston up to the year 2001 which I quoted in my answer of 25 June included radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning of disused facilities at the atomic weapons establishment Aldermaston.

  The current estimated volumes of intermediate and low-level waste to be generated at the atomic weapons establishment Aldermaston by the decommissioning programme between January 1992 and March 2001 are 450 cu m and 3,300 cu m respectively.

  On-site Inspections
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list the on-site inspections made in the United Kingdom under the Stockholm and Vienna documents; what has been the annual cost of providing escorts for on-site inspections made in the United Kingdom under the Stockholm and Vienna documents; and from which subheads of which votes these funds are taken;.

  (2) if he will list the on-site inspections made by the United Kingdom under the Stockholm and Vienna documents; what has been the annual cost of carrying out on-site inspections under the Stockholm and Vienna documents; and from which subheads of which votes these funds are taken.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United Kingdom has received one inspection under the Stockholm and Vienna documents; to south-west district in October 1990. The United Kingdom has conducted two inspections, to Minsk in September 1990 and Moscow in September 1992. It is not possible to identify the costs associated with individual outgoing inspections, or against particular arms control agreements. Provision for the joint arms control implementation group—JACIG—which provides inspectors and escorts for all United Kingdom arms control activity, is made from vote 1, subheads A, B, C, D, E, F and L.

  Nuclear Warhead Containers
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the expected timetable for delivery of nuclear warhead containers by the United Kingdom to the Russian Federation.

  Mr. Aitken
  On 10 November my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence signed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Foreign Minister which sets out the terms for the supply to Russia of 250 nuclear weapons containers and 20 nuclear weapons transport vehicles. The design process is well advanced and delivery of these equipments is scheduled to commence in late 1993, with completion expected by the end of 1994. Preliminary equipment is due to be delivered later this year.

  Deep Space Tracking Station
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current status of the United States Air Force deep space tracking station at RAF Feltwell; and when it was first declared operational.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United States Air Force deep space tracking system at RAF Feltwell has been working up to operational status since 1 October 1990. It is expected that the system will become operational in the spring of 1993.

  Search and Rescue
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the numbers of search and rescue helicopters that will be deployed at each base under his latest proposals; and what steps he will take to guarantee the availability of helicopters at the extremities of the areas covered where there is no longer an overlap between those areas.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the open government document "The Future Provision of Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Helicopters", copies of which are in the Library of the House.

  Shipping Orders
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all the(a) assault ships, (b) helicopter landing ships and (c) frigates that have been ordered in each of the last five years, for 1992–93 and estimated for 1993–94; if he will give the type and cost of the order in each case; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The following type 23 frigates have been ordered during the last five years:

  Date

  HMS Iron Duke

  11 July 1988

  HMS Monmouth

  11 July 1988

  HMS Montrose

  11 July 1988

  HMS Westminster

  22 December 1989

  HMS Northumberland

  22 December 1989

  HMS Richmond

  22 December 1989

  HMS Somerset

  23 January 1992

  HMS Grafton

  23 January 1992

  HMS Sutherland

  23 January 1992

  822
  No assault ships or helicopter landing ships were ordered during this period. We invited tenders for a helicopter carrier earlier this year and we plan to invite tenders in the spring of next year for the first of two assault ships.

  It is not our policy to make the costs of orders public as they are commercially confidential. All these orders were placed as a result of competition.

  Seminars
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a list of the dates, titles and venues of the seminars that his officials have attended on the subject of defence diversification over the last 24 months.

  Mr. Aitken
  Officials of my Department have not attended any seminars devoted to the subject of defence diversification. They have attended each of a series of six regional seminars organised by the Department of Trade and Industry earlier this year under the title "Changing Tack—New Perspectives for Defence Suppliers", which was designed to assist small and medium-sized companies supplying the defence market to assess the strategic issues to be faced in the light of current and projected reductions in global expenditure on defence equipment.

  The dates and venues of these seminars were:

  Venue

  29 April

  Tring

  12 May

  Blackburn

  18 May

  Southampton

  20 May

  Solihull

  1 June

  Bristol

  3 June

  London

  WE177
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the expenditure by his Ministry for each year to date, including 1992–93, on studies of the possible replacements for the WE177 tactical nuclear weapon; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Expenditure on studies of possible vehicles is as follows:

  £

  1989–90

  928,518

  1990–91

  1,372,329

  1991–92

  1,870,285

  11992–93

  1,563,918

  1To end of October.

  Expenditure on the warhead programme is classified.

  Long-Term Costings
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he is now prepared to reconsider his policy relating to the release of information on long-term costings of his Ministry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No. I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) on 13 May 1992,Official Report, column 155.

  Fraud
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimates he has of the amount of his Ministry's expenditure which has been lost due to fraud in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;.

  (2) how many incidents of suspected fraud have been reported by his officials to the Ministry of Defence police in each of the last five years; in each year, how many resulted in (a) prosecution and (b) conviction; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Diversification
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a copy of each paper that his officials have delivered to outside bodies on defence diversification over the last two years in the Library.

  Mr. Aitken
  Officials of my Department have not delivered any such papers.

  Trident
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the outturn cost of the Trident programme in 1991–92; and what is the estimated outturn for 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Mr. Aitken
  Actual capital expenditure on the Trident programme during financial year 1991–92 was £1,163 million. Our current estimate for capital expenditure on the Trident programme for the financial years 1992–93 and 1993–94 is £1,019 million and £827 million respectively.

SCOTLAND

  Woodland
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to encourage woodland in the United Kingdom.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The two main aims of the Government's forestry policy are the steady expansion of tree cover to increase the many, diverse benefits that forests provide, and the sustainable management of our existing woods and forests. The Government provide a range of incentives to support this policy, chiefly through the woodland grant scheme administered by the Forestry Commission.

  This scheme provides grants for establishing new woodlands and replanting felled woodlands, with higher grants for broadleaved trees and native pinewoods and for woodlands of less than 10 hectares. Special supplements

  Executive agency: Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Number

  Cost £

  Number

  Estimated cost £

  Chief Executive

  1·0

  42,933

  1·0

  45,220

  Unified Grade 6

  2·0

  75,726

  2·0

  78,434

  Marine Superintendent

  1·0

  36,175

  1·0

  38,635

  Engineer Superintendent

  1·0

  35,230

  1·0

  37,626

  Unified Grade 7

  3·0

  87,021

  3·0

  91,878

  Commanding Officer

  4·0

  136,440

  4·0

  144,628

  824
  are also available for planting on improved agricultural land and for the creation of new woodlands close to towns and cities. In addition, the scheme provides annual grants for managing existing woodlands, with higher rates for broadleaved woodlands and for woodlands of special environmental value.

  The farm woodland premium scheme was introduced earlier this year as a successor to the farm woodland scheme and offers annual payments for new woodlands planted by farmers under the woodland grant scheme.

  The Government have recently launched several other projects to encourage the establishment and management of woodland in the United Kingdom. These include a community forests programme, proposals for a national forest in the midlands, a central Scotland woodlands initiative, a Welsh valleys forest initiative and a programme to restore the traditional Sherwood forest.

  Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services Scheme
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future of the highlands and islands veterinary services scheme.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 10 November]: The Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department commissioned management consultants to review the highlands and islands veterinary services scheme last year. The consultants' report made a number of useful recommendations, which have required further detailed study. I hope to consult interested parties on revised proposals for the future of the scheme shortly.

  Water and Sewerage
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the terms of reference for the Quayle Munro report on water and swerage services; what was the fee for this consultancy; and if he will place a copy of the report in the Library.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 27 October 1992]: I refer the hon. Member to the replies which were given to the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. McLeish) on 26 October at columns 530–31 and on 6 November at column 424.

  Agencies
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by grade the numbers of staff and their cost for 1991–92 and the estimated figures for 1992–93, for each executive agency for which he is responsible.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 5 November]: The information set out in the tables has been supplied by the chief executives of the agencies.
  825

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Number

  Cost

  Number

  Estimated cost

  £

  £

  First Officer

  12·0

  279,804

  12·0

  296,592

  Second Officer

  22·0

  439,296

  22·0

  465,674

  Chief Engineer

  4·0

  115,548

  4·0

  122,480

  Second Engineer

  4·0

  93,268

  4·0

  98,864

  Third Engineer

  19·0

  379,392

  19·0

  402,173

  Chief Petty Officer

  8·0

  77,896

  8·0

  81,584

  Seaman

  20·0

  157,240

  20·0

  167,920

  Chief Steward

  4·0

  44,944

  4·0

  48,540

  Cook Steward

  18·0

  168,642

  18·0

  176,742

  Motorman

  12·0

  101,292

  12·0

  100,752

  Inspector of Sea Fisheries

  8·0

  181,048

  8·0

  186,720

  Fishery Officer I

  21·0

  386,148

  21·0

  399,147

  Fishery Officer II

  34·0

  458,558

  37·0

  546,934

  Senior Executive Officer

  2·0

  45,112

  1·0

  23,340

  Higher Executive Officer

  4·0

  73,224

  4·0

  76,028

  Executive Officer

  8·0

  112,392

  8·0

  118,256

  Administration Officer

  6·0

  62,436

  6·0

  65,052

  Administrative Assistant

  9·5

  69,378

  14·5

  113,796

  Personal Secretary

  3·0

  39,378

  3·0

  40,992

  Storeman

  2·0

  16,916

  2·0

  17,610

  Typist

  1·0

  10,502

  1·0

  10,933

  Total

  233·5

  3,725,939

  240·5

  3,996,550

  Note: Costs include earnings-related national insurance contributions.

  Executive agency: Scottish Agricultural Science Agency

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Grade

  Number

  Cost

  Number

  Estimated cost

  £

  £

  5

  1·0

  42,970

  1·0

  44,732

  6

  2·0

  75,208

  3·0

  117,438

  7

  14·0

  427,560

  13·0

  413,296

  SEO

  2·0

  47,708

  1·0

  24,832

  HEO

  0·0

  —

  1·0

  19,177

  EO

  3·0

  45,456

  3·0

  47,319

  AO

  4·0

  43,472

  5·0

  56,570

  AA

  5·0

  40,125

  6·0

  50,124

  PS

  3·0

  41,793

  3·0

  43,505

  SSO

  12·5

  296,050

  11·5

  283,532

  HSO

  19·0

  353,248

  22·0

  425,788

  SO

  19·5

  300,495

  18·0

  288,758

  ASO

  17·5

  214,392

  24·5

  300,150

  SG Band 2

  3·0

  26,985

  5·0

  46,820

  Ind Band 2

  1·0

  7,684

  2·0

  15,998

  Ind Band 6

  7·0

  55,244

  8·0

  65,728

  Ind Band 10

  3·0

  24,495

  3·0

  25,500

  Ind Band 18

  1·0

  8,712

  1·0

  9,069

  Typist

  2·5

  30,173

  3·0

  37,692

  Sen Photo

  1·0

  15,793

  1·0

  16,441

  P&TO

  1·0

  14,380

  1·0

  14,970

  Farm Worker

  7·0

  59,535

  6·0

  53,124

  Farm Manager (HPTO)

  1·0

  19,200

  2·0

  39,974

  Shepherd/Grieve

  1·0

  10,365

  1·0

  10,790

  Tractorman

  3·0

  27,639

  4·0

  38,364

  Total

  134·0

  2,228,682

  149·0

  2,489,691

  Note:

  1. Costs include earnings-related national insurance contributions.

  2. Staff costs are increased by the employment of casual-seasonal labour.

  Executive Agency: Historic Scotland

  1991–92

  1992–93 (budgeted)

  Number

  Cost

  Number

  Cost

  (£ million)

  (£ million)

  Management

  31

  1·4

  31

  1·4

  Administrative

  123

  1·9

  122

  2·3

  Professional/Technical

  87

  2·1

  92

  2·1

  826

  827

  1991–92

  1992–93 (budgeted)

  Number

  Cost

  Number

  Cost

  (£ million)

  (£ million)

  Custodial

  99

  1·3

  116

  1·7

  Industrial

  284

  3·5

  299

  3·8

  Totals

  624

  10·2

  660

  11·3

  Notes:

  1. A breakdown of costs into each grade could only be done at disproportionate cost.

  2. Costs include earnings-related national insurance contributions, superannuation and overheads.

  3. Numbers and costs exclude casual staff and work carried out by contract.

  4. Staff number fluctuate throughout each year with higher seasonal staff during the summer tourist season.

  5. The functions and outputs related to these numbers and costs are higher in 1992–93 than in 1991–92.

  Executive Agency: Registers of Scotland

  Grade

  1991–92

  1992–931

  Grade 4

  1

  1

  Grade 5

  1

  2

  Grade 6

  3

  2

  Grade 7

  22

  21·5

  SEO

  45

  48

  HEO

  200

  208

  EO

  424

  414·5

  AO

  267

  269

  AA

  167

  169

  Chief Typing Manager

  1

  1

  Typing Manager

  5

  5

  Typist

  108

  111

  Support Manager 2

  1

  1

  Support Manager 3

  6

  8

  Support Grade 1

  43

  45

  Support Grade 2

  68

  68

  Personal Secretary

  2

  3

  Total

  1,364

  1,377

  Cost

  £20,201,000

  1£22,000,000

  Note: Costs include allowances, overtime, superannuation and earnings-related national insurance contributions.

  1 Estimated.

  Governance
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations his office received from CBI Scotland regarding possible improvements in the governing of Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  I have received one recent representation from CBI Scotland.

EMPLOYMENT

  Wages Councils
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many establishments in the Sheffield area have been(a) investigated and (b) prosecuted under the wages council legislation since 1979.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Statistics for the number of establishments that have been investigated in the Sheffield area since 1979 are not available. There have been two prosecutions under wages council legislation since 1979 in the Sheffield area; one in 1990 and one in 1991.
  828
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which employers have complained that wages council settlements have a significantly detrimental effect on industry or service sectors.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We have received a number of representations complaining about the detrimental effect wages council settlements have on their business. These include letters from the British Hospitality Association, Butlin's Holidays, the National Association of Master Bakers, Gateway Food Markets Ltd., Grand Metropolitan plc, Trust House Forte plc, Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ltd., the Unquoted Companies Group and the Rank Organisation.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations she has received on wages councils from Conservative and from other not-for-profit clubs.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We have received two representations from Conservative clubs in the last year, both about the adverse effects of wages council settlements.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which employers and organised groups of employees have determined pay levels at or below wages council rates.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I regret that this information is not available.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list for each main wages council industry the lowest detected rate of pay in the past three years.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people employed in(a) Pendle and (b) Lancashire are in occupations covered by the wages councils.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I regret that information on the number of workers covered by wages councils is not available for geographical areas smaller than a wages inspectorate division.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the Government last consulted on wages councils.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  From December 1988 to February 1989.
  829
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many job vacancies currently notified to the jobcentres in Nelson and Colne are in occupations covered by the wages councils.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated November 1992:
  As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about the number of current vacancies notified to Jobcentres in Nelson and Colne which are in occupations covered by the Wages Councils. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.On the 6 November, there were 14 local vacancies available in Nelson Jobcentre and 15 available in Colne Jobcentres covered by the Wages Council.I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what evidence she has of the extent of opposition to wages councils.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We continue to receive complaints from employers about the adverse effect which wages council settlements have on industry.

  Skilled Labour
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the labour force is skilled in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Spain and (e) Portugal.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The skills held by people in the labour force vary widely and are often a product of informal training and job experience rather than formal courses. It is not possible, therefore, to provide statistical measures which are comprehensive and comparable between countries.

  Training
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps she plans to prevent employers who provide adequate training losing staff to those who do not.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We have no plans to interfere with the free movement of trained people between employers. The Government recently consulted about the possibility of changing the law on the enforceability of training contracts.

  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 5 November, Official Report, column 343, to my hon. Friend the Member for Teignbridge (Mr. Nicholls), which annnounced the outcome of that consultation.

  Wages, Lancashire
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will state separately for full-time, part-time and all workers(a) the number and (b) the percentage earning less than £120 excluding overtime for (i) men and (ii) women in (1) Lancashire and (2) the United Kingdom for the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The available information on the numbers of full-time employees in Great Britain earning less than £120 per week in April 1992 is published in table 14 of part A of the new earnings survey 1992. A copy of the publication is available in the Library. The available information on the percentages of employees earning less than £120 per week in April 1992 is as folllows:

  Lancashire

  Great Britain

  Northern Ireland1

  Full-time

  Men

  2·6

  2·0

  5·O

  Women

  9·4

  7·3

  14·1

  Adults

  5·0

  3·9

  8·5

  Part-time

  Men

  2—

  76·4

  85·0

  Women

  2—

  79·9

  80·3

  Adults

  2—

  79·4

  81·1

  1 Denotes including overtime.

  2 Denotes information not available.

  Job Search Seminar
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the job entry rates for those who have attended a job search seminar, in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated November 1992:
  As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about job entry rates for those who have attended a job search seminar. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.Over the period October 1991 to September 1992, 12,935 people found jobs during the seminars, giving a job entry rate of 17 per cent.It may be helpful if I explain the background and aim of the job search seminar programme. Job search seminars were introduced in July 1991 as part of a package of measures to provide additional help for people who had been unemployed for 13 weeks. The aim of the seminars is to enhance people's prospects of finding work, and avoid becoming 'long term unemployed', by widening their job search activity and improving their job search techniques.Job search seminars normally last for a period of four days spread over five weeks. This usually takes the form of two days in the first week and half a day in each of the subsequent four weeks. No detailed tracking takes place to see whether people who take part in a seminar eventually start work. For management information purposes, rather than as a performance measure, details are recorded of people who have found work over the five week period of the seminar. Many people will take longer than this to actually get a job and will often have applications still pending at the point when the management information is recorded An evaluation of job search seminars is currently being undertaken. It will include an assessment of the number of people finding work over a longer period of time. Results are expected by the end of 1992.I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the current numbers and the changes that have occurred in the male unemployment figures for Coventry over the past 12 months.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  In September 1992 the number of male unemployed claimants in the local authority district of Coventry was 15,483, and increase of 2,214 over the last 12 months. The figures are on the unadjusted basis.

  Maternity Pay
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement on the changes in the rights of women to maternity pay and to return to work after giving birth since 1980.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Changes to the right to return to work after having a baby have been made since the Employment Act 1980 as follows: the initial notification of 832
  the woman's intentions must be in writing, rather than in writing only if requested; an additional power has been introduced for an employer to seek confirmation, after a woman has given birth, of her intention to return; the woman's notification of her intended date of return must be written and provided at least 21, rather than seven, days in advance, and her ability to postpone that date for a period in specified circumstances has been increased accordingly from 14 to 28 days; where it is not reasonably possible for an employer to take the woman back in her original job, he may now offer a suitable alternative or, if he has no suitable work and has only five or fewer employees, he may be relieved of the duty to reinstate her.

  In April 1987, maternity pay, administered by employers under employment legislation, was replaced by statutory maternity pay—SMP. Employers pay a statutory minimum amount of maternity pay for a maximum of 18 weeks to employees whose average earnings are above the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions and who at the qualifying week —the 15th week before the baby is due—have worked for them for at least six months. The statutory minimum rate of SMP has increased by 3·4 per cent. in real terms since 1987 from £32·85 to £46·30 per week.

  Running Water
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many establishments in the Sheffield area have been(a) investigated and (b) prosecuted under the health and safety legislation relating to the provision of running water.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  During routine visits to premises for which they are the enforcing authority, Health and Safety Executive factory inspectors will inquire about the provision of running water if they have any reason to believe that the facilities may be inadequate. However, no comprehensive record of such inquiries is kept.

  A search of records for the last five years has shown that there have been no prosecutions in the local authority district of Sheffield under health and safety legislation relating to the provision of running water.

  Equal Opportunities
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the European social directives concerning the equal treatment of men and women which, at the most recent date, were the subject of infringement proceedings initiated by the European Commission for faulty application; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  There are no infringement proceedings under article 169 of the treaty before the European Court of Justice against the United Kingdom in relation to European social directives concerning the equal treatment of men and women.

  Job Interview Guarantee Scheme
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if she will list those jobcentres in Scotland where no provision is made for the job interview guarantee scheme;.

  (2) what has been the total level of expenditure in Scotland on the job interview guarantee scheme.
  833
  Mr. McLoughlin
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mrs. Margaret Ewing, dated November 1992:
  As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Questions about Jobcentres in Scotland where no provision is made for the Job Interview Guarantee (JIG) initiative and about expenditure on JIG in Scotland. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.The Job Interview Guarantee initiative is not a feature of Jobcentre services in the following locations:Annan, Lockerbie, Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Sanquhar, Girvan, Stranraer, Newton Stewart, Oban, Campbeltown, Rothesay, Dunoon, Peebles, Galashiels, Hawick, Kelso, Eyemouth, Banff, Elgin, Forres, Fort William, Kirkwall, Nairn and Peterhead.The initiative offers a range of services to people looking for jobs and to employers with vacancies to fill. The most popular service involves matching unemployed people to notified vacancies and whilst this is not available under the Job Interview Guarantee initiative in the above locations, many of these Jobcentres do offer services which match unemployed people against employer's vacancies. My area managers also keep the position under review and if they identify a demand for the initiative in a particular location, they do their best to meet it Turning to your question about expenditure on the Job Interview Guarantee initiative in Scotland. Since April 1991 when Job Interview Guarantee was launched we estimate that expenditure amounts to £1,660,000 I hope this is helpful As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  RUC Officers Appeal
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking against the RUC officers responsible for the convictions of Noel Bell, Winston Allen and James Hegan following the appeal judgment.

  The Attorney-General
  I have been asked to reply.

  On 29 July 1992 the Court of Appeal directed that its judgment in the appeal of R v. Neil Fraser Latimer, James Irwin Hegan, Noel Richmond Bell and Alfred Winston Allen be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland so that he could consider the bringing of prosecutions against officers who he considered had committed criminal offences in connection with the trial of the appellants.

  I am informed that on 5 August 1992 the Director issued an interim direction to the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary requesting that certain reports and information be obtained. When these matters have been received and considered the Director will take decisions as to whether or not to institute proceedings.
  834
  Once the Director has taken these decisions, and subject to them, it wil be for the Chief Constable of the RUC to decide whether disciplinary charges should be brought against any police officer.

HEALTH

  Chlorofluorocarbons
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Healh what discussions she has had with the British Medical Association on the use of CFCs in prescription items; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have not discussed the use of chlorofluorocarbons in prescription items with the British Medical Association.

  The Licensing Authority has drawn to the attention of product licence holders the public statement by major suppliers of certain CFCs that they intend to cease production of these materials in the foreseeable future. We understand that the pharmaceutical industry is investigating the suitability of alternatives to CFCs, particularly for metered dose aerosol inhalations. Any company proposing to market a medicinal product using recycled or alternative materials in their manufacture would need first to satisfy the Licensing Authority as to the safety, quality and efficacy of the product by submitting a licensing application with the necessary supporting data.

  Health Services, Coventry
  Mr. Geoffrey Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many have been waiting in total and by main specialty(a) six months, (b) 12 months, and (c) over 12 months for treatment in the Coventry health authority area;

  (2) what was the patient waiting list for Coventry health authority each month from January 1991 to date.

  Mr. Sackville
  Waiting time information by district health authority is published twice a year. The most recent figures, for 31 March 1992, are given in "Hospital Waiting List, In-patient and Day Cases—ISBN 1 85839 003 6—copies of which are in the Library. Monthly waiting time figures for individual district health authorities are not collected centrally.

  Asthma
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was(a) the expenditure and (b) the expenditure per head on general practitioner prescribed drugs for the relief of asthma and asthma-related conditions in 1991–92 in each family health service association area, and for each NHS region.

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

  The data included in the table are for bronchodilators as defined in chapter 3.1 of the British National Formulary. The period covered is April 1991 to March 1992 and the figures are for the net ingredient cost of prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, prescriptions dispensed by doctors and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered.
  835

  Bronchodilalors

  FHSA No.

  FHSA name

  NIC (pounds)

  NIC/head £

  321

  Cleveland

  1,669,706·81

  3·04

  322

  Cumbria

  1,355,331·59

  2·73

  323

  Durham

  2,136,343·82

  3·59

  324

  Northumberland

  957,161·33

  3·14

  325

  Gateshead

  622,778·57

  3·04

  326

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  864,079·51

  3·13

  327

  North Tyneside

  567,180·48

  2·96

  328

  South Tyneside

  493,550·71

  3·19

  329

  Sunderland

  1,073,062·47

  3·62

  Northern

  9,739,195·29

  3·17

  341

  Humberside

  2,658,963·82

  3·09

  342

  North Yorkshire

  1,856,821·52

  2·53

  343

  Bradford

  1,346,838·83

  2·86

  344

  Calderdale

  609,625·81

  3·07

  345

  Kirklees

  1,028,628·15

  2·74

  346

  Leeds

  2,130,440·45

  2·99

  347

  Wakefield

  1,219,805·73

  3·87

  Yorkshire

  10,851,124·31

  2·96

  361

  Derbyshire

  2,659,395·24

  2·84

  362

  Leicestershire

  2,562,079·96

  2·84

  363

  Lincolnshire

  1,996,616·78

  3·35

  364

  Nottinghamshire

  2,903,519·19

  2·84

  365

  Barnsley

  677,550·64

  3·05

  366

  Doncaster

  1,073,446·55

  3·64

  367

  Rotherham

  816,403·35

  3·21

  368

  Sheffield

  1,573,501·72

  3·01

  Trent

  14,262,513·43

  3·00

  381

  Cambridgeshire

  1,684,666·15

  2·51

  382

  Norfolk

  2,047,795·40

  2·70

  383

  Suffolk

  1,600,230·16

  2·46

  East Anglia

  5,332,691·71

  2·56

  401

  Bedfordshire

  1,434,323·96

  2·66

  402

  Hertfordshire

  2,685,494·47

  2·71

  403

  Barnet

  633,568·95

  2·04

  404

  Brent and Harrow

  1,053,122·56

  2·34

  405

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

  1,589,867·45

  2·48

  406

  Hillingdon

  563,668·64

  2·38

  407

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  699,548·30

  2·28

  North West Thames

  8,659,594·33

  2·49

  421

  Essex

  3,677,334·05

  2·38

  422

  Barking and Havering

  927,474·10

  2·45

  423

  Camden and Islington

  498,741·06

  1·41

  424

  City, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets

  1,485,270·18

  2·59

  425

  Enfield and Haringey

  969,222·08

  2·14

  426

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest

  968,776·19

  2·19

  North East Thames

  8,526,817·66

  2·28

  441

  East Sussex

  2,094,533·13

  2·90

  442

  Kent

  3,514,824·86

  2·29

  443

  Bexley and Greenwich

  815,618·46

  1·88

  444

  Bromley

  606,366·05

  2·00

  445

  Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark

  1,896,531·43

  2·78

  South East Thames

  8,927,873·93

  2·43

  461

  Surrey

  2,191,410·73

  2·19

  462

  West Sussex

  1,746,588·38

  2·44

  463

  Croydon

  626,240·47

  1·97

  464

  Kingston and Richmond

  724,604·87

  2·38

  465

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

  1,441,755·91

  2·47

  South West Thames

  6,730,600·36

  2·30

  481

  Dorset

  1,806,522·47

  2·69

  836

  837

  FHSA No.

  FHSA name

  NIC (pounds)

  NIC/head £

  482

  Hampshire

  3,585,354·46

  2·29

  483

  Wiltshire

  1,420,044·23

  2·49

  484

  Isle of Wight

  356.593·25

  2·70

  Wessex

  7,168,514·41

  2·44

  501

  Berkshire

  1,846,457·84

  2·43

  502

  Buckinghamshire

  1,628.332·02

  2·51

  503

  Northamptonshire

  1,621,906·31

  2·76

  504

  Oxfordshire

  1,389,659·24

  2·37

  Oxford

  6,486,355·41

  2·51

  521

  Avon

  2,406,280·28

  2·51

  522

  Cornwall

  1,519,497·90

  3·21

  523

  Devon

  2,832,277·29

  2·70

  524

  Gloucestershire

  1,645,135·93

  3·07

  525

  Somerset

  1,055,096·10

  2·25

  South Western

  9,458,287·50

  2·72

  541

  Hereford and Worcester

  2,085,177·18

  3·04

  542

  Salop

  1,431,789·11

  3·48

  543

  Staffordshire

  3,092,397·40

  2·95

  544

  Warwickshire

  1,819,330·85

  3·74

  545

  Birmingham

  2,978,763·66

  3·01

  546

  Coventry

  935,532·31

  3·10

  547

  Dudley

  765,4400·16

  2·50

  548

  Sandwell

  1,114,751·60

  3·80

  549

  Solihull

  582,544·58

  2·84

  551

  Walsall

  767,798·39

  2·92

  552

  Wolverhampton

  613,154·02

  2·48

  West Midlands

  16,186,639·26

  3·09

  561

  Cheshire

  2,821,837·36

  2·91

  562

  Liverpool

  1,590,608·60

  3·51

  563

  St. Helens and Knowslcy

  1,187,757·55

  3·46

  564

  Sefton

  884,525·50

  2·96

  565

  Wirral

  1,058,606·31

  3·15

  Mersey

  7,543,335·32

  3·14

  581

  Lancashire

  4,850,765·25

  3·47

  582

  Bolton

  881,691·66

  3·31

  585

  Bury

  655,155·46

  3·71

  584

  Manchester

  1,739,761·89

  3·96

  585

  Oldham

  731,376·69

  3·31

  586

  Rochdale

  911,667·39

  4·36

  587

  Salford

  979,012·36

  4·24

  588

  Stockport

  852,145·89

  2·93

  589

  Tameside

  699,991·07

  3·20

  591

  Trafford

  781,247·00

  3·65

  592

  Wigan

  1,059,568·76

  3·41

  North Western

  14,142,383·42

  3·56

  England

  134,015,926·34

  2·79

  Expenditure
  Mr. Cleland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total revenue expenditure in each of the English regions by her Department in the years 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information derived from the 1990–91 annual accounts of regional and district health authorities in England is shown in the table. Figures from 1991–92 accounts will be available later in the year.
  838

  Total revenue expenditure on hospital and community health services (HCHS): 1990–91

  Region

  £ million cash

  Northern

  931·4

  Yorkshire

  1,058·0

  Trent

  1,303·1

  East Anglian

  580·2

  North West Thames

  1,102·7

  North East Thames

  1,373·2

  South East Thames

  1,216·5

  South West Thames

  960·1

  Wessex

  796·1

  Oxford

  635·7

  South Western

  934·3

  West Midlands

  1,510·1

  839

  Region

  £ million cash

  Mersey

  753·7

  North Western

  1,267·2

  Total

  14,422·3

  Notes:

  1. HCHS covers all the services provided or managed by the health authorities concerned including hospital, community health, patient transport (ie ambulance), blood transfusion and other services.

  2. The table excludes expenditure by family health services authorities and the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals which, although funded by the Department, is not strictly attributable to particular regions. Expenditure by other special health authorities and bodies comprising the NHS, and expenditure met directly by the Department are generally incurred on a national rather than a regional basis, and are also excluded.

  Benzodiazepines
  Ms. Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest estimate of the number of people who have been taking benzodiazepines for longer than the recommended 28-day maximum period.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Ms. Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the current level of benzodiazepine prescribing in England; and if she will make it her policy to reduce benzodiazepine prescribing.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Government are aware that prolonged prescribing of benzodiazepines can lead to dependence and severe problems with withdrawal. Because of this, we have ensured that information on both prescribing and withdrawal from these drugs is freely available to doctors. There has been a steady reduction in the number of benzodiazepine prescriptions, from about 24·51 million in 1982 to around 15·71 million in 1991.

  1 The figures are based on prescriptions dispensed by chemist and appliance contractors in England.

  Ms. Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued for benzodiazepine for individuals by community pharmacists in England in 1991.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested is as follows:

  Anti-Depressants

  FHSA No.

  FHSA name

  NIC (pounds)

  NIC/head £

  321

  Cleveland

  828,021·14

  1·51

  322

  Cumbria

  744,159·16

  1·50

  323

  Durham

  1,013,008·03

  1·70

  324

  Northumberland

  435,540·59

  1·43

  325

  Gateshead

  341,020·58

  1·67

  326

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  409,386·05

  1·48

  327

  North Tyneside

  314,643·04

  1·64

  328

  South Tyneside

  188,621·92

  1·22

  329

  Sunderland

  405,151·08

  1·37

  Northern

  4,679,551·59

  1·52

  341

  Humberside

  1,078,67805

  1·25

  342

  North Yorkshire

  923,863·60

  1·26

  840

  Benzodiazepines England 1991

  Drug group

  Prescriptions (thousands)

  Temazepam

  6,039

  Diazepam

  3,063

  Nitrazepam

  3,000

  Lorazepam

  1,080

  Triazolam

  1,076

  Chlorodiazepoxide

  504

  Oxazepam

  360

  Loprazolam

  180

  Lormetazepam

  171

  Clonazepam

  128

  Clobazam

  61

  Total

  15,662

  Notes:

  1. These figures are actually based on 100 per cent. prescriptions dispensed by chemist and appliance contractors in England.

  2. 1991 figures are based on the new prescription cost analysis statistical returns and refer to the number of prescription items as opposed to fees used in previous years.

  Prescriptions
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sums were allocated to each family health services authority in respect of indicative prescribing budgets for 1991–92 and 1992–93; and what were the outturn figures for 1991–92.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 30 June 1992 at column 459. The information requested for 1992–93 has been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the(a) expenditure and (b) expenditure per head on general practitioner prescribed anti-depressant drugs in each family health services association area, and for each NHS region during 1991–92.

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

  The data included in the table are for anti-depressant drugs as defined in chapter 4.3 of the British National Formulary. The period covered is April 1991 to March 1992 and the figures are for the net ingredient cost of prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists, prescriptions dispensed by doctors and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered.
  841

  FHSA No.

  FHSA name

  NIC (pounds)

  NIC/head £

  343

  Bradford

  725,352·81

  1·54

  344

  Calderdale

  265,855·87

  1·34

  345

  Kirklees

  542,287·98

  1·45

  346

  Leeds

  1,053,494·95

  1·48

  347

  Wakefield

  426,202·89

  1·35

  Yorkshire

  5,015,736·15

  1·37

  361

  Derbyshire

  1,057,830·65

  1·13

  362

  Leicestershire

  1,196.084·57

  1·32

  363

  Lincolnshire

  985,719·90

  1·65

  364

  Nottinghamshire

  1,061,107·70

  1·04

  365

  Barnsley

  265,608·38

  1·20

  366

  Doncaster

  367,296·56

  1·25

  367

  Rotherham

  266,533·44

  1·05

  368

  Sheffield

  648,018·70

  1·24

  Trent

  5,848,199·90

  1·23

  381

  Cambridgeshire

  717,480·09

  1·07

  382

  Norfolk

  1,186,088·89

  1·56

  383

  Suffolk

  900,273·01

  1·38

  East Anglia

  2,803,841·99

  1·35

  401

  Bedfordshire

  584,461·66

  1·08

  402

  Hertfordshire

  1,155,851·33

  1·17

  403

  Barnet

  295,723·11

  0·95

  404

  Brent and Harrow

  377,773·67

  0·84

  405

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

  618,615·23

  0·97

  406

  Hillingdon

  207,923·05

  0·88

  407

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  442,361·00

  1·44

  North West Thames

  3,682,709·05

  1·06

  421

  Essex

  1,735,054·88

  1·12

  422

  Barking and Havering

  333,532·00

  0·87

  423

  Camden and Islington

  417,284·60

  1·18

  424

  City, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets

  497,474·60

  0·87

  425

  Enfield and Haringey

  374,180·24

  0·83

  426

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest

  330,082·81

  0·74

  North East Thames

  3,684,014·13

  0·98

  441

  East Sussex

  994,457·73

  1·38

  442

  Kent

  1,693,801·69

  1·10

  443

  Bexley and Greenwich

  352,122·88

  0·81

  444

  Bromley

  318,490·05

  1·05

  445

  Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark

  618,071·71

  0·90

  South East Thames

  3,976,944·06

  1·08

  461

  Surrey

  1,254,371·60

  1·26

  462

  West Sussex

  887,010·05

  1·24

  463

  Croydon

  303,492·04

  0·96

  464

  Kingston and Richmond

  378,917·45

  1·25

  465

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

  636,867·68

  1·09

  South West Thames

  3,460,658·82

  1·18

  481

  Dorset

  988,409·03

  1·47

  482

  Hampshire

  1,979,490·63

  1·27

  483

  Wiltshire

  771,882·06

  1·35

  484

  Isle of Wight

  202,366·98

  1·53

  Wessex

  3,942,148·70

  1·34

  501

  Berkshire

  897,119·05

  11·18

  502

  Buckinghamshire

  566,879·97

  0·87

  503

  Northamptonshire

  642,954·11

  1·09

  504

  Oxfordshire

  587,035·25

  1·00

  Oxford

  2,693,988·38

  1·04

  521

  Avon

  920,270·05

  0·96

  522

  Cornwall

  622,828—17

  1·32

  842

  843

  FHSA No.

  FHSA name

  NIC (pounds)

  NIC/head £

  523

  Devon

  1,299,214·25

  1·24

  524

  Gloucestershire

  714,334·09

  1·33

  525

  Somerset

  490,277·15

  1·04

  South Western

  4,046,923·71

  1·16

  541

  Hereford and Worcester

  778,074·01

  1·13

  542

  Salop

  500,953·72

  1·22

  543

  Staffordshire

  1,285,380·26

  1·23

  544

  Warwickshire

  525,118·54

  1·08

  545

  Birmingham

  1,199,510·76

  1·21

  546

  Coventry

  301,278·02

  1·00

  547

  Dudley

  291,902·90

  0··95

  548

  Sandwell

  379,663·60

  1·29

  549

  Solihull

  255,828·91

  1·25

  551

  Walsall

  120,055·97

  0·46

  552

  Wolverhampton

  362,307·84

  1·47

  West Midlands

  6,000,074·37

  1·15

  561

  Cheshire

  1,309,186·53

  1·35

  562

  Liverpool

  715,289·61

  1·58

  563

  St. Helens and Knowslcy

  434,182·92

  1·26

  564

  Sefton

  439,425·34

  1·47

  565

  Wirral

  531,423·10

  1·58

  Mersey

  3,429,507·50

  1·43

  581

  Lancashire

  1,957,186·68

  1·40

  582

  Bolton

  328,191·44

  1·23

  583

  Bury

  270,736·24

  1·53

  584

  Manchester

  733,955·48

  1·67

  585

  Oldham

  210,640·55

  0·95

  586

  Rochdale

  376,689·32

  1·80

  587

  Salford

  386,218·93

  1·67

  588

  Stockport

  521,839·22

  1·79

  589

  Tameside

  279,193·86

  1·27

  591

  Trafford

  369,634·35

  1·73

  592

  Wigan

  438,181·41

  1·41

  North Western

  5,872,467·48

  1·48

  England

  59,136,765·83

  1·23

  St. Bartholomew's Hospital
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health ( 1 ) if she will list the number of patients, for whom Basildon and Thurrock district health authority is responsible, by age and gender, currently undergoing treatment at St. Bartholomew's hospital, London;

  (2) if she will list the number of patients, for whom Basildon and Thurrock district health authority is responsible, by age and gender, that have been referred to St. Bartholomew's hospital for treatment since 1987.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. George Gould, chairman of Basildon and Thurrock health authority, for details.

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each local authority area in south Yorkshire, how many residential properties are currently owned by her Department; and if she will list, by location, those residential properties which are empty, giving the type of accommodation available, the length of time each property has been vacant, and its intended future use.
  844
  Mr. Sackville
  The management of residential property owned by the Department of Health has been fully delegated to local health authorities, and the information requested is not held centrally.

  Public Record Office
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many papers her Department has currently withdrawn from the Public Record Office; if she will list their titles; and when she estimates that they will be returned.

  Mr. Sackville
  Government Departments have a statutory right under the Public Record Acts to retrieve material, temporarily, from the Public Record Office for their own administrative use.

  The number of items and frequency of such retrievals can vary considerably but, as at 5 November 1992, the Department of Health had 275 files out on loan to it. A list of these could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Such records arc returned to the Public Record Office as soon as departmental action has been completed.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 October,Official Report, column 81, if she will make it her policy to collect statistics on the numbers of national health service trust staff who arc currently in national health service pension schemes and those who elected to change to a private pension scheme run on behalf of a trust.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No. National health service trusts have been established with the minimum of bureaucratic constraints. A requirement to collect statistical data about the exercise of free pension choice would run counter to that principle.

  Extra-contractual Refunds
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 October,Official Report, column 71, if she will make it her policy to collect from each regional health authority the number of extra-contractual referrals returned in each financial year.

  Mr. Sackville
  Extra-contractual referrals account for approximately 1·2 per cent. of expenditure in England. The vast majority of referrals being made within contracts. The management of the extra-contractual referral process is the responsibility of district health authorities as agreed with regional health authorities. It would not, therefore, by appropriate managerially or administratively to collect this information centrally.

  North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will increase the West Midlands regional health authority's capital expenditure limits in order to finance the bringing forward of plans for magnetic resonance imaging facilities at the North Staffordshire royal infirmary.

  Mr. Sackville
  West Midlands regional health authority has received a capital allocation for 1992–93 of £155,550,000. Decisions on how to allocate these funds are a matter for the authority.

  Healthtrac and Qa Business Services
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health further to her answer of 3 November to the hon. Member for Birmingham. Northfield,Official Report, column 184, if she will ensure that the Audit Commission report on Healthtrac and Qa Business Services Ltd. is published without any delay.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 10 November. It is not for the Secretary of State for Health to intervene in the work or timetable of the independent statutory auditor.

  Community Care
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy that the money transferred to local authorities to fund the community care changes from April 1993 is ring fenced by each local authority.

  Mr. Yeo
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North-East 846
  (Mr. Butler) on 10 November. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced on 2 October that local authorities would receive a ring-fenced special transitional grant for community care.

  Victory House, London
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Department of Health and national health service staff have been or will be relocated from Victory house, Tottenham Court road, London, to Bristol.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None.

  Diabetes
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will announce the membership of the joint task force she has established with the British Diabetic Association to advise on the implementation of the World Health Organisation/European regional committee of the International Diabetes Federation St. Vincent declaration on the improvement of diabetic care.

  Mr. Sackville
  The task force will be chaired by Professor Shaw CBE, lately dean of medicine, university of Newcastle, who will be supported by a multi-disciplinary expert team.

  The task force will advise on the implementation of the World Health Organisation/International Diabetic Federation St. Vincent declaration on the improvement of diabetic care.

  It is expected that the task force will need to seek further expert assistance on the range of specialist areas covered by the St. Vincent declaration.

  The membership of the task force is as follows:

  Professor David Shaw, CBE, Lately Dean of Medicine University of Newcastle.

  Dr. Clive Buxton, Chairman, Director of Public Health, North Durham Health Authority.

  Dr. Michael Hall, General Practitioner.

  Mrs. Margaret Hunter, Area Co-ordinator (Tyne and Wear), British Diabetic Association.

  Mrs. Mary MacKinnon, Diabetes Nurse Specialist, Northern General Hospital Sheffield.

  Dr. Robert Young, Consultant Diabetologist, Salford

  Dr. Rhys Williams, Lecturer in Community Medicine, University of Cambridge.

  Professor Harry Keen, British Diabetic Association.

  Mr. Michael Cooper, British Diabetic Association.

  Miss Susan Knibbs, British Diabetic Association.

  Dr. Doreen Rothman, Department of Health.

  Mrs. Patricia Edwards, Department of Health.

  Mr. John Garlick, Department of Health.

  Crown Car Scheme
  Ms. Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of national health service employees who use the Crown car scheme, or similar schemes, broken down between(a) nurses, (b) midwives, (c) health visitors, (d) community dental officers, (e) community medical officers. (f) managers and (g) works officers and other professional and technical staff.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not held centrally.

  Contact Lenses
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment her Department has made of the risks of acanthamoeba and related eye infections to
  847
  users of extended-wear disposable contact lenses; and when these risks were first brought to the attention of her Department;

  (2) what steps she has taken to warn the public of the risks of acanthamoeba and related eye infections to users of extended-wear disposable contact lenses; and if she will review the procedures for warning the public of risks of this nature;

  (3) what discussions she has had with representatives of (a) the ophthalmic professions and retail outlets and (b) lens manufacturers about the risks of acanthamoeba and related eye infections from certain types of contact lenses; and which hospitals have supplied her Department with figures relating to such cases.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Department has been made aware of the risks of acanthamoeba and related eye infections to users of extended-wear disposable contact lenses from:

  A study published late last year from Moorfield.'s Eye Hospital;

  reports to the Department from the Manchester Eye Hospital, of a number of incidents of extended-wear contact lenses associated keratitis; and

  three separate studies currently being carried out or completed at Moorfield's Eye Hospital. These are not yet fully analysed but preliminary results indicate that the incidence of contact lens associated keratitis is increasing as a result of a number of different factors.

  These risks were first brought to the attention of the Department at the end of last year. The Department subsequently asked the College of Ophthalmologists to set up a working party to assess how these risks could be addressed. Since this time, meetings have been held with representatives of the College of Ophthalmologists, the British College of Optometry, the Institute of Optometry, the Association of British Dispensing Opticians and the Association of Optometrists. At these meetings it was
  848
  agreed that information documents should be produced to help both eye care practitioners and the wearers of contact lenses.

  A working group has been established under the chairmanship of the Department to discuss the detailed wording of these documents. The next meeting will take place at the beginning of December and this will be followed by discussions with the relevant contact lens manufacturers.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had about the use of disclaimer forms by opticians to deprive extended-wear contact lens users of redress.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None.

  NHS Information
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 October,Official Report, column 87, what consultations will take place during her Department's review of NHS information with individuals and organisations outside her Department and the NHS management executive who make use of information currently collected by her Department.

  Mr. Sackville
  The current review of the Department of Health's requirements for information from the national health service included a study by management consultants of the uses made by the NHS of information collected on behalf of the Department and the burden it imposes. Proposals for reducing this burden are currently being drawn up by the Department. In considering these, I shall examine what wider consultation might be appropriate.

  COLOMBIAN COAL IMPORTS
  COLOMBIAN COAL IMPORTS
  EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CRITERIA for ACTION
  EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CRITERIA for ACTION
  LOCAL AUTHORITY PROPERTY LEASES: CAPITAL SPENDING CONCESSION
  LOCAL AUTHORITY PROPERTY LEASES: CAPITAL SPENDING CONCESSION
  TOMLINSON REPORT: RESEARCH
  TOMLINSON REPORT: RESEARCH
  INFANT DEATHS FROM BURNING
  INFANT DEATHS FROM BURNING
  SEA FISH (CONSERVATION) ACT 1967: SECTION 4 POWERS
  SEA FISH (CONSERVATION) ACT 1967: SECTION 4 POWERS
  EC PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTIVE
  EC PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTIVE
  PIT CLOSURE PROGRAMME: EFFECT ON BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
  PIT CLOSURE PROGRAMME: EFFECT ON BALANCE OF PAYMENTS