Written Answers of 14 April 1993

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Contracting-out
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Attorney-General whether he has sought external advice on whether the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 and the acquired rights directive apply to any central or local government businesses that have been contracted out during the last 10 years; and whether any Department will be liable to compensation.

  The Attorney-General
  It is not the normal practice to disclose whether the Law Officers have advised on a matter. Likewise, the Law Officers would not normally disclose whether they had advised in conjunction with other counsel or had requested that external advice be obtained.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Court Listing
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is his policy in respect of whether a company which is conducting a court listing field trial under the supervision of his Department should be allowed to sell dedicated computer software and equipment to trial participants as a condition of participation in the trial.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The role of the Lord Chancellor's Department is to co-operate in the court listing field trial through provision of listing information in electronic form. Overall supervision is the responsibility of the General Council of the Bar which is sponsoring the trial. The Department has no formal relationship with the trial participants.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department whether it is intended that one company only will be licensed to distribute court listing information after the current field trials of a computerised court listing system have ended.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  At present the Lord Chancellor's Department has no plans for licensing companies to distribute court listing information. In the event of any such licensing being arranged, there is no reason in principle why this should be limited to a single company.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the amount of the legal aid budget(a) distributed to applicants and (b) spent on administration in the most recent year for which figures are available.
  526
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The net amount paid to solicitors and barristers in 1991–92 in respect of work done for legal-aided clients was £906 million. The administrative costs incurred by the Legal Aid Board in the same year amounted to £40·7 million. In addition, some administrative costs will have been incurred by the courts in respect of those parts of the legal aid scheme—chiefly criminal legal aid—for which they are responsible. These costs cannot be identified separately.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the application of his plans for legal aid to people on income support.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  People receiving income support are presently eligible for free legal aid, advice and assistance and assistance by way of representation, and this will continue to be the case under the regulations which came into force on 12 April.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many of the appointments made by the Lord Chancellor as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Three of the current appointments made by the Lord Chancellor to public bodies listed under his Department in "Public Bodies" were made after a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Landlord Mortgages
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department whether he has any plans to bring forward legislation as proposed by the Law Commission in its November 1991 report "Transfer of Land: Land Mortgages".

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  No. The Law Commission's report on "Transfer of Land: Land Mortgages", Law Com. No. 204, contains extensive proposals for reform, which are still being considered by the Government.

  Child Abuse
  Mr. French
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department in how many court proceedings concerning child abuse video-taped evidence has been admitted.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The provision for the giving in evidence of a video recording of an interview with a child witness in certain specified proceedings is contained in section 54 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. This provision came into force on 1 October 1992. Since that date there have been nine cases in the Crown court where applications under section 54 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to admit a pre-recorded video interview with a child witness have been granted. In two of these cases the defendant pleaded guilty and, therefore, the video tapes were not required in court.

  Mr. French
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list those courts where video-taped evidence has been(a) admitted and (b) refused in child abuse cases.
  527
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The provision for the giving in evidence of a video recording in certain specified proceedings is contained in section 54 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. This provision came into force on 1 October 1992. Since that date pre-recorded video-taped interviews with child witnesses have been admitted and used in evidence in proceedings in the Crown court at Cardiff, Croydon, Newcastle and Wolverhampton. According to centrally collected statistics, no applications to admit video-taped evidence in child witness proceedings have been refused.

ENVIRONMENT

  Caravan Sites
  Mr. Temple-Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to make a statement on the response to his consultation paper, "Reform of the Caravan Sites Act 1968"; when he expects to announce his conclusions; and in what form he will announce them.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Sir C. Onslow) on 31 March 1993,Official Report, column 291.

  Contaminated Land
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Halesowen and Stourbridge (Mr. Hawksley),Official Report, 24 March, columns 663–64, on contaminated land, what additional resources he will make available to local authorities in support of their statutory powers to locate and deal with contaminated land while the new interdepartmental review group he announced today conducts its study.

  Mr. Maclean
  Local authorities already receive general support through revenue support grant for their expenditure on environmental services. This includes expenditure in connection with their duties to identify contaminated land and to ensure that remedial measures are taken where necessary. The Government give additional support to authorities by means of supplementary credit approvals for investigation and remedial works on authorities' own sites or where it is impracticable to recover treatment costs from those responsible.

  Home Insulation Grants
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many home insulation grants have been given in the last five years; and what was their value.

  Mr. Maclean
  There have been several different grant schemes for home insulation over the last five years.

  The home efficiency scheme provides grants for loft, tank and pipe insulation, draughtproofing and energy advice. Since its inception in January 1991, some 387,000 grants have been provided at a cost of £55·6 million. Under the house renovation grant system, minor works assistance grants are available for thermal insulation. Since their introduction in April 1990, 11,300 homes have been treated at a cost of £3·8 million. Insulation is also sometimes installed as part of wider works under house renovation grants.

  The energy grant scheme provided for draughtproofing materials. Between April 1988 and December 1990 some
  528
  360,000 homes were treated at a cost of £25·65 million. The homes insulation scheme provided some 185,800 grants at a cost of £19·4 million between April 1988 and March 1990.

  Enterprise Zones
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the total cost of the enterprise zone scheme in terms of rate relief and capital allowances in each year since 1981 at current prices.

  Mr. Redwood
  Approximate costs in 1992–93 prices are given in the table.

  Year

  Capital Allowances1

  Rates Relief 2

  £ million

  £ million

  1981–82

  35

  9

  1982–83

  35

  19

  1983–84

  25

  23

  1984–85

  50

  33

  1985–86

  85

  42

  1986–87

  120

  57

  1987–88

  95

  73

  1988–89

  195

  82

  1989–90

  160

  106

  1990–91

  170

  90

  1991–92

  —

  80

  Notes:

  1The method of calculating capital allowance costs is currently being reviewed by Inland Revenue and final estimates will not be available until the summer. The estimated costs incurred in 1991–92 are not yet known.

  2The cost of rate relief in 1990–91 and 1991–92 has been estimated, following the introduction of the Uniform Business Rate.

  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what schemes for enterprise zones are in the process of preparation and adoption but not yet designated;

  (2) what plans he has to invite local authorities or corporations to draw up schemes for enterprise zones in the near future.

  Mr. Redwood
  Proposals for up to three new enterprise zones were announced by the President of the Board of Trade on Monday 29 March,Official Report, columns 30–31.

  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the planned winding-up dates of all current enterprise zone schemes.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information is as follows:

  Date

  Delyn

  20 July 1993

  Wellingborough

  25 July 1993

  Rotherham

  15 August 1993

  Londonderry

  12 September 1993

  Scunthorpe

  22 September 1993

  Wakefield (Dale Lane and Kinsley)

  22 September 1993

  Workington

  3 October 1993

  Invergordon

  6 October 1993

  North West Kent Nos. 1–5

  30 October 1993

  Middlesbrough

  7 November 1993

  North East Lancashire

  6 December 1993

  Tayside

  8 January 1994

  Telford

  12 January 1994

  Glanford

  12 April 1994

  Milford Haven Waterway

  23 April 1994

  529

  Date

  Dudley (Round Oak)

  2 October 1994

  Lower Swansea Valley No. 2

  5 March 1995

  North West Kent Nos. 6 and 7

  9 October 1996

  Inverclyde

  2 March 1999

  Sunderland

  26 April 2000

  Lanarkshire

  31 January 2003

  London Buses
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions his Department has had on the effect of the age of the London bus fleet on air quality in the capital.

  Mr. Maclean
  Emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles, including buses, were the subject of the 15th report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (Command 1631) published in September 1991. The Government's response was published in October 1992. Among other things, this refers to measures already taken to improve the in-service testing of vehicles and the introduction of a telephone hotline to enable the public to report smoky vehicles. The response also stated that improvements would be made to the Department of Transport guide for maintaining roadworthiness. These would require operators to make regular engine management and maintenance checks in order to retain satisfactory emissions performance. Steps would also be taken to ensure that the public is made more aware of the existence of the telephone hotlines. These publicity measures will be implemented in the near future.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his latest estimates of(a) the cost to a local authority of housing a homeless family for a year in a property which has been leased from a private owner, and (b) the average annual rent charged to homeless families for the occupation of a property which a local authority has leased from a private owner, (i) in London and (ii) in the rest of England.

  Sir George Young
  The information is not available centrally and my Department has no estimates.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of homeless people in the Greater London area on 31 March.

  Mr. Baldry
  Local authorities in England report the number of households for whom they accept responsibility to secure permanent accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985 in their quarterly P1 return.

  The latest estimate for London appears in table 1 of "Households found accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act 1985: England. Statistics for the fourth quarter 1992", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Mortgages
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what survey he has carried out of the extent to which mortgage lenders do not make loans available on property of a specific type or in a specified area; and if he will make a statement.
  530
  Sir George Young
  No such survey has been carried out by my Department.

  Rents to Mortgages
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he has taken to prevent properties which are the subject of rent-to-mortgage arrangements being used as collateral for loans.

  Sir George Young
  Purchasing under rents to mortgages will normally be financed by borrowing and an advance from an approved lending institution to fund the purchase price will take priority over the charge which secures the landlord's share. The purchaser will be free to borrow for other purposes on the security of the property, but such advances will take priority only if the landlord consents. It will be required to consent if the advance is for works to the property or another approved purpose.

  Rough Sleepers
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the responses he has received to the consultation paper on the future of the rough sleepers initiative.

  Sir George Young
  Recipients of this discussion paper were not advised that responses would be published and I have no plans to do so. We are considering carefully some 90 responses we have received, and I hope to announce a strategy for the rough sleepers initiative 1993–96 shortly.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were resident in the severe weather shelters at the point of closure; and how many have(a) returned to sleeping on the street as a result of the closures and (b) been offered accommodation on 31 March.

  Sir George Young
  Under the Government's £96 million rough sleepers initiative we have provided funding of £1·5 million for this year's winter shelter programme, which at its height provided 400 extra bedspaces in nine winter shelters in central London. The purpose of the winter shelter programme was specifically to provide shelter for people in central London who would otherwise sleep rough over the winter months. The shelters closed, as planned, at the end of March.

  At 31 march some 145 of the 400 places were still in use: Around 100 people had other accommodation to move on to and at least 10 people had refused offers of further assistance.

  My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Planning undertook to make these figures available in the Official Report during the debate on affordable housing on 1 April.

  Housebuilding, London
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the number of(a) council houses and (b) private houses built in the Greater London area in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Baldry
  Estimates are shown of the total numbers of housebuilding completions by sector in Greater London for 1990 to 1992. Housing associations are now the main providers of new housing for the social sector.
  531

  Year

  Private enterprise

  Housing associations

  Local authorities

  Total

  1990

  13,100

  2,100

  1,900

  17,000

  1991

  10,800

  2,500

  700

  14,000

  19921

  10,100

  3,600

  100

  13,800

  1 Estimates for 1992 are provisional.

  Regional Arts Boards
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will list by regional arts board areas the contributions made by each named local authority in England towards Arts Council spending in their areas.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information is not available centrally.

  Council Rented Houses
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present policy of the Government towards the building of local authority rented dwellings.

  Mr. Baldry
  The provision of new social housing is now mainly the responsibility of housing associations, with local authorities increasingly concentrating on the management of their existing stock and on their broad enabling role.

  Sellafield
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many names were on petitions received from the United Kingdom during the public consultation period for the proposed new Sellafield discharge authorisation which were(a) in favour of the proposal and (b) opposed to the proposal;

  (2) how many letters were received during the public consultation period for the proposed new Sellafield discharge authorisation which were (a) in favour of the proposal and (b) opposed to the proposal; and if he will detail in each case how many were from (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) overseas.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 1 April 1993]: My Department has received approximately 80,000 responses, including a number of petitions following the public consultation on the proposed new Sellafield discharge authorisation. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have not as yet finished their report on the consultation which provide the details the hon. Member requests. When the report is completed it will be made available to the public. I expect to receive the report by the end of April; this is later than I reported to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 15 February.

  Devon Structure Plan
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many months' delay there was in preparing the Devon county structure plan, third alteration; how many months' delay there has been since the public consultation took place because of his Department's uncertainty; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The consultation draft of the third alteration to the Devon
  532
  county structure plan was published in October 1990 and the alteration was formally submitted to the Secretary of State in May 1991. An examination in public of selected matters arising on the alteration took place in March-April 1992. The panel which conducted the examination has since submitted its report and its recommendations are being considered. The report will be made public when the Secretary of State's proposed modifications are published.

  Air Quality
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of times the hourly and daily averages of concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide and ozone in the atmosphere have exceeded the safety thresholds set by EC directives 92/72/EEC, 89/427/EEC, 88/76/EEC, 84/360/ EEC and the Air Quality Standards Regulations 1989 in the cities of Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff, London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leicester, Southampton and Kingston upon Hull since January 1991.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: Limits provided in EC air quality directives for smoke and sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide have been breached in the United Kingdom since January 1991 only in the case of smoke and sulphur dioxide in Belfast, for which there was a temporary derogation until 31 March this year. Directive 92/72/EEC sets public information levels rather than limit values, for ozone. Monitoring for ozone in cities other than London is at an early stage, but preliminary tests suggest that the levels specified are not likely to be exceeded in urban centres. EC legislation does not prescribe any limit values or thresholds for ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide.

  Environment Council
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Reading, West (Sir A. Durant) of 26 March,Official Report, columns 737–39, what votes were taken and what was the position of each country in the European Community's Environment Council on 22 and 23 March.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: No formal votes were taken.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  School Leavers
  Mr. Pope
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he has taken to promote the use of the records of achievement of school leavers in the recruitment policies(a) in his Department and (b) in other Government Departments.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  The Cabinet Office in London, which includes the Office of Public Service and Science, is one of the employers involved in the Central London Education Business Partnership. Students of schools involved in the partnership are able to submit their London records of achievement when applying for jobs. The LRA, together with other information, is taken into account in the selection process.
  533
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for recruitment policy, including educational qualifications, in other Government Departments.

  Equal Opportunities
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he has taken to recruit women, members of ethnic minorities and disabled people, respectively, in top grades of employment at the Duchy of Lancaster and at the Office of Public Service and Science.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Duchy of Lancaster is an equal opportunities employer. Appointments are made on grounds of merit and of suitability for the post, regardless of an individual's sex or race. There are currently no members of ethnic minorities or disabled people holding senior positions. The Duchy has employed a disabled senior grade in the past.

  Recruits to the senior grades of the civil service, as to any grade in the civil service, are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, unless one of the exceptions permitted under the Civil Service Order in Council 1991 applies. Various steps have been taken by the Civil Service Commissioners to aid recruitment from all sectors of the community, including:

  extending links with institutions of higher education;

  equal opportunities training for all those involved in selection;

  using validated selection procedures.

  The Office of Public Service and Science is part of the Cabinet Office, which has signed up domestically to Opportunity 2000, and is working towards achieving the civil servicewide benchmark of increasing the proportion of women in the top three grades to 15 per cent. or more by the year 2000. The Department continually seeks to encourage the employment of people from the ethnic minorities and those with disabilities.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Duchy of Lancaster and the Office of Public Service and Science last conducted surveys of(a) ethnic origins and (b) the number of women among their employees; when they next plan to do so; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Duchy of Lancaster employs only 37 people. Consequently, it is not necessary to ask employees to declare their ethnic origins, nor to conduct surveys of the number of women employees.

  The Office of Public Service and Science is part of the Cabinet Office. A survey of the origins of all non-industrial civil servants was completed in 1988. The Cabinet Office introduced a computerised personnel database in 1991. All staff were given the opportunity to update their own entries, which include sections on ethnic origins. There are no firm plans to conduct further surveys. The sex of employees is identified in staff records.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in the Duchy of Lancaster and in the Office of Public Service and Science are(a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The Duchy employs a total of 37 people, of whom 15–41 per cent.—are women. Of the 37 employees one is registered as a disabled person.
  534
  The Office of Public Service and Science forms part of the Cabinet Office. The figures for women employed in the Cabinet Office, including its executive agencies, are as follows:

  Grade (and) equivalents)

  Women

  Total

  Per cent.

  Women

  1

  0

  5

  0

  2

  2

  8

  25

  3

  1

  25

  4

  4

  0

  3

  0

  5

  16

  41

  39

  6

  19

  45

  42

  7

  63

  264

  24

  Overall

  1,330

  2,634

  50

  The ethnic monitoring programme was carried out on a voluntary basis and did not extend to the Cabinet Office's agencies. Of those who responded, 62 people—2·3 per cent. of the total—chose to register as non-white. One of these people is at grade 7 level.

  The Cabinet Office's figures on staff with disabilities include only those who have chosen to register as disabled. Twenty-eight people—1 per cent. of the total—are so registered. None is at grade 7 level or above. The Cabinet Office employs other staff with disabilities who have chosen not to register.

  Travellers
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the application of the information provisions in the citizens charter to consultation with gipsy communities.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The citizens charter calls on all public services regularly and systematically to seek customers' views about the quality of service provided and priorities for improvements. Consultation should involve all client groups, including, where appropriate, gipsy communities.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster makes appointments to the following non-departmental public bodies included in "Public Bodies 1992": the Civil Service Appeal Board; Agricultural and Food Research Council; Economic and Social Research Council; Medical Research Council; Natural Environment Research Council; Science and Engineering Research Council; and the Advisory Board for the Research Councils.

  In keeping with the provisions of paragraph 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", the Prime Minister is consulted about the appointment of the chairman of the research councils, and about the appointment of the chairman and independent members of the Advisory Board for the Research Councils.

  Appointments to the Civil Service Appeal Board do not come within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 and appointments are not required to be submitted to the Prime Minister.
  535

  EC Science Funding
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the total amount of funding for science research coming to the United Kingdom from European Community sources in each of the last three years for which information is available; and how much of these funds has gone to the research councils.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The information on total funding for science research coming to the United Kingdom from European Community sources is not available in the form requested. I refer the hon. Member to the data given in tables C and D of my answer of 18 February,Official Report, columns 300–04. This gives the total funds awarded to United Kingdom research organisations over the period 1987–91 under the EC framework programme. These funds, which exclude sums relating to fusion and JRC, amounted to £444·62 million—586·90 mecu translated at the rate £1 =1·32 ecu.

  The funding of research council institutes from EC sources in the financial years 1989–90 to 1992–93 is as follows:

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–933

  £'000

  £'000

  £'000

  £'000

  SERC

  676

  1,756

  2,018

  3,274

  NERC

  1,641

  1,788

  2,655

  3,109

  MRC1

  700

  800

  1,500

  1,600

  AFRC2

  1,487

  1,083

  2,724

  4,200

  ESRC

  15

  25

  25

  19

  Total

  4,519

  5,452

  8,922

  12,202

  1 Excludes awards made directly to MRC units.

  2 Includes AFRC grant-aided institutes.

  3 Provisional.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Portillo
  Of the bodies for which the Chancellor is responsible that are listed in "Public Bodies 1992" only appointments to the Top Salaries Review Body require a submission to the Prime Minister.
  536

  European Investment Fund
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 10 February,Official Report, columns 631–32, if he will list projects that are to be financed through the European investment fund and the total level of the loan facilities to be provided.

  Mr. Nelson
  The United Kingdom, together with other EC member states, is currently taking forward the administrative and legal procedures necessary to establish the European investment fund. Individual projects will not be put forward for financing until the fund is established. It is envisaged that the EIF will provide guarantees on loans to trans-European networks and to small and medium-sized enterprises within the Community. The total amount of lending which the fund may guarantee is under consideration.

  European Monetary Institute
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a decision has been taken on the location of the seat of the European Monetary Institute in accordance with article 13 of the protocol on the European Monetary Institute of the treaty on European union, p188, Cm. 1934; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  No decision has yet been reached as to the location of the seat of the European Monetary Institute, but we continue to press the strong market case for locating both the EMI and the future European central bank in the United Kingdom.

  Departmental Contracts
  Mr. Haselhurst
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what procedures contract award procedures applied by Government Departments already implementing Council directive 92/50/EEC may be reviewed and challenged.

  Mr. Portillo
  Government Departments and other public bodies have no obligation to comply with directive 92/50/EEC until it comes into force on 1 July 1993 and equally until then there will be no procedures under which their decisions can be challenged and reviewed.

  Public Sector Borrowing Requirement
  Mr. Jopling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions for economic growth, inflation and interest rates were built for each year until 1997–98 into his estimates for the public sector borrowing requirement and other economic trends, published at the time of his Budget.

  Mr. Portillo
  Table 2·2 of the 1993–94 "Financial Statement and Budget Report" provides illustrative assumptions for output, inflation and money GDP growth for each year until 1997–98. These assumptions are set out in the table. It is not our practice to publish assumptions for interest rates.
  537

  Table 2.2 Money GDP growth, output growth and inflation1

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  Money GDP

  3¼

  4¾

  7

  6½

  5½

  4¾

  Real GDP:

  Non-North Sea

  -¼

  1½

  2¼

  2¾

  3

  3

  Total

  —

  2

  2½

  2¾

  2¾

  2¾

  Inflation:

  GDP deflator

  3½

  2¾

  4¼

  3¾

  2½

  2

  RPI excluding MIPs2

  3¾

  3¾

  3¾

  3¼

  2½

  2

  1 Percentage changes on previous financial year; forecasts for 1993–94 and assumptions thereafter.

  2 Percentage change in year to 1992q4 1993q4; percentage change on previous financial year thereafter.

  VAT
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to charge a positive rate of VAT on a proportion only of each domestic electricity bill based on the proportion of the national electricity consumption generated from fossil fuels.

  Sir John Cope
  No.

  Recruitment Policies
  Mr. Pope
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to promote the use of school leavers' records of achievement in the recruitment policies of Government Departments.

  Mr. Portillo
  As from 4 May, Departments and agencies will be given delegated responsibility for setting recruitment criteria for entrants to all but their senior grades. When the delegation is made, guidance will be issued to encourage the use of individuals' records of achievement as a valuable source of information, both of their academic and vocational qualifications and their attainments in other areas.

  Civil Service Relocation
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil service relocations have been agreed(a) to Nottingham and (b) Leicester, in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Portillo
  Since March 1988 departmental Ministers have announced the following relocations or locations to Nottingham and Leicester:—

  year

  Posts

  Department

  Designation

  1988

  180

  Land Registry

  Leicester

  8

  OFFER

  Nottingham

  1989

  120

  Transport

  Nottingham

  1,800

  Inland Revenue

  Nottingham

  1990

  125

  Inland Revenue

  Leicester

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account is being taken on decisions on civil service relocations of the quality of Leicester's transport links and of its need for investment.

  Mr. Portillo
  The key factors in deciding whether and where to relocate civil service work are achieving best value for money and operational efficiency. Under the Treasury's guidance on relocation of work initiative, Departments considering relocating consult the 538
  Department of Trade and Industry about possible locations to ensure that the Government's regional and inner city policies are taken into account.

  Business Rents
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tenancies established under business expansion scheme funding contain clauses stating that on the fifth anniversary of the contract of assured tenancy the rent will increase by more than 25 per cent.

  Mr. Dorrell
  This information is not available.

  Finance (No. 2) Bill
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make available to hon. Members the customary notes on the Finance (No. 2) Bill's clauses.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Yes. Notes on clauses are today being placed in the Vote Office and in the Library of the House of Commons.

PRIME MINISTER

  Green Minister
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Prime Minister how many times the green Ministers nominated from each Government Department have met as a group during the past year.

  The Prime Minister
  It is a fundamental principle of our approach to green issues that environmental considerations are taken into account in all policies and at every level. Green Ministers are charged with integrating environmental considerations into the strategy and policies of their own Departments. They have met once in the past year. Mechanisms for co-ordinating policies between Departments include the annual White Paper process and official networks. There is a separate Ministerial Committee on the Environment, EDE, to handle major cross-departmental issues.

  Irish Republic
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Prime Minister what representations he plans to make to the Irish Government regarding the present policy in the Irish Republic of bail for terrorists, following the murder of Special Constable Glenn Goodman and the attempted murder of Police Constable Sandy Kelly.

  The Prime Minister
  We have made clear to the Irish Government the very serious implications of judicial
  539
  decisions in extradition cases in which bail has been granted. The Irish Government have informed us that, while decisions on bail applications in individual cases are a matter for the courts, Irish law relating to bail is governed by the provisions of the constitution. We will continue to express our concerns on this subject, with a view to a wider area of discretionary judgment being afforded to the judiciary in such cases, for the greater protection of the public.

  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of security co-operation with the Irish Republic following the murder of Special Constable Glenn Goodman and the attempted murder of Police Constable Sandy Kelly; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  Security co-operation between the RUC and Garda Siochana is at a high level. British and Irish Ministers are determined to maximise the effectiveness of co-operation and will continue to seek ways to enhance it.

  Nuclear Test Veterans
  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that all files relevant to the claim for compensation by United Kingdom nuclear test veterans will be released; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  Much information about the British nuclear test programme is already in the public domain and further files are being reviewed for possible release in due course. Dose records and medical data on each participant are available to the individual concerned. Successive Governments have confirmed that appropriate safety precautions were taken at the time of the tests to protect the participants from harm.

  Service Pensions
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to amend levels of service pensions to take account of the effect of pay restrictions in force from 1976 to 1978.

  The Prime Minister
  The retired pay or pensions awarded to personnel of the armed forces whose service ended during the period of pay restraint from 1976 to 1978 were calculated in accordance with the rules of the armed forces pension scheme in force at the time. We have no plans to modify the awards that were made.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Prime Minister which businesses have been identified for market testing by more than four Government Departments since January 1992; and what percentage of the work force in each Department is(a) female, (b) part-time and (c) clerical or administrative grade.

  The Prime Minister
  Departments are responsible for their own market testing programmes and definitive information is not held in the form requested. However, the information available centrally indicates that the following broad areas are included in the programmes of more than four Departments.

  Accountancy

  Estate and Building Management

  540

  Information Technology

  Hardware Maintenance

  Software Design and Maintenance

  Internal Audit

  Legal

  Conveyancing

  Library Services

  Office Services

  Payroll

  Record Storage and Retrieval

  Recruitment

  Reprographic

  Security Guarding

  Statistical Surveys

  Training

  Typing

  The information on staff numbers cannot be given except at disproportionate cost, but statistics on staff, including breakdowns by gender, grade and department, are contained in "Civil Service Statistics 1992 Edition", published by Her Majesty's Treasury.

  Egypt
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Prime Minister what steps he took during his recent discussions with President Mubarak, of Egypt to raise the issue of human rights abuses and curtailment of religious practices among Coptic Christians in Egypt.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: I discussed a wide range of subjects with President Mubarak, including the situtation in Egypt. He is determined to maintain law and order in Egypt in the interests of all Egyptians. The position of the Copts was discussed with the Egyptian Foreign Minister who accompanied President Mubarak.

  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has made to President Mubarak about the Egyptian authorities' refusal to redress the grievances of the United Kingdom company WENA Hotels.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The Foreign Secretary raised the question of WENA Hotels with the Egyptian Foreign Minister during President Mubarak's recent visit to London, urging the Egyptian authorities to encourage the Egyptian party to the dispute to go to arbitration as soon as possible. Our embassy in Cairo is following this up.

  Bosnia-Herzegovina
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Prime Minister what recent communications he has received from Dr. Radovan Karadzic regarding the current situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: Dr. Karadzic wrote to me on 31 March about the peace process under the international conference on the former Yugoslavia and about the ban on flights in the airspace of Bosnia-Herzegovina. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is replying to Dr. Karadzic, stressing the urgent need for a peaceful settlement and the importance of the Bosnian Serbs signing the peace package. He is also emphasising the further pressure which will be put on the Serbs if they refuse to sign.
  541

WALES

  Environmental Digest for Wales
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he plans to take to improve the quality and currency of data in his Department's next Environmental Digest for Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The digest is reviewed on an annual basis. The edition published last month contained 18 new tables and four new diagrams with an improved format being adopted for all tables. I shall certainly consider possible additions and improvements to the publication to be produced next year.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many copies of his Department's Environmental Digest for Wales 1992 have been published; at what cost; and what steps have been taken to distribute the digest to interested organisations.

  Mr. David Hunt
  A total of 430 copies of the latest "Environmental Digest for Wales" have been printed at a cost of £3,800. The cost to the Welsh Office and other organisations of preparing material for inclusion in this publication cannot be identified separately.

  Publicity for the digest is arranged through advertisements, brochures, and the issue of a statistical press notice which coincides with the issue of the publication.

  Mink Farms
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many mink farms are currently licensed in Wales; and in which counties they are located.

  Mr. David Hunt
  None.

EDUCATION

  Further Education
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the cost of publishing and distributing his speech given on 9 December 1992 on further education in its printed form as a leaflet; and how many copies were printed.

  Table 12

  Teachers by years of teaching experience1

  Full-time teachers

  Pay scale

  Head teacher

  Deputy head teacher

  Pay scale Standard scale with allowance

  Standard scale, no allowance

  Other scales2

  Total

  E

  D

  C

  B

  A

  Total teaching experience:

  Men:

  Less than 1 year

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  14

  4

  3

  1 year

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  8

  23

  2

  2 years

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  4

  7

  5

  2

  3 years

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  5

  6

  4

  2

  4 years

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  4

  4

  6

  2

  5 years

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  5

  4

  4

  2

  6 to 10 years

  1

  1

  2

  7

  15

  17

  23

  15

  13

  12

  11 to 15 years

  3

  12

  11

  18

  27

  21

  23

  13

  11

  18

  16 or more years

  95

  86

  87

  75

  54

  55

  35

  30

  30

  57

  TOTAL

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  542
  Mr. Boswell
  Five thousand copies of the leaflet were printed at a cost of £420. The cost of the initial distribution was £144.

  Teachers' Pay
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish the data from the Secondary School Staffing Survey 1992 showing teachers' pay scales and allowances by length of teaching experience; what assessment his Department has made of the data in respect of updating the conclusions in paragraph 28 of the Statistical Bulletin No. 18/91, in respect of the difference in promotion rates of men and women; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  The table shows the distribution of full-time secondary school teachers by pay scale and allowance, length of teaching experience and sex. It is derived from the 1992 secondary school staffing survey which covered a representative sample of teachers in maintained secondary schools in England.

  The proportion of male full-time secondary teachers paid as heads, deputies or higher allowance holders—D or E—is 37 per cent., compared with 16 per cent. of women. The proportion of men in these posts is therefore 2·3 times greater than the proportion of women; compared with a ratio of 2·6 in 1988. After standardising by length of teaching experience, the ratio becomes 1·9, compared with a standardised ratio of 2·0 in 1988. Excluding those teachers who have taken a career break, by restricting the analysis to those whose age minus their years of teaching experience comes to less than 25, the standardised ratio becomes 1·7, the same as in 1988.

  Decisions on promotion to head, deputy head and higher allowance posts are taken by local education authorities and, under LMS, by the governing bodies of schools with delegated budgets. The Department's guides for school governors stress the importance of equal opportunities issues.

  The most recent figures for new promotions to head and deputy head show that 35 per cent. of such promotees in the secondary sector were women; since women hold 28 per cent. of existing head and deputy head posts—reflecting previous promotions, going back over several years—the outlook for the future of women in the profession looks more encouraging.
  543

  Pay scale

  Head teacher

  Deputy head teacher

  Pay scale Standard scale with allowance

  Standard scale, no allowance

  Other scales2

  Total

  E

  D

  C

  B

  A

  All men (thousands)

  3·5

  6·2

  6·5

  17·3

  10·6

  18·9

  9·0

  18·8

  0·4

  91·1

  Women:

  Less than 1 year

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  12

  —

  4

  1 year

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  8

  33

  3

  2 years

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  1

  5

  7

  14

  4

  3 years

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  2

  4

  5

  9

  3

  4 years

  —

  —

  1

  —

  2

  3

  4

  4

  12

  3

  5 years

  2

  —

  —

  1

  2

  4

  5

  3

  5

  3

  6 to 10 years

  —

  4

  4

  12

  16

  18

  19

  16

  11

  16

  11 to 15 years

  6

  12

  21

  24

  30

  24

  26

  20

  12

  23

  16 or more years

  92

  85

  73

  64

  48

  47

  35

  26

  5

  41

  TOTAL

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  100

  All women (thousands)

  0·7

  3·0

  2·1

  7·6

  8·1

  19·0

  14·0

  29·4

  0·7

  84·7

  All teachers (thousands)

  4·2

  9·1

  8·5

  24·9

  18·6

  37·9

  23·0

  48·3

  1·2

  175·8

  1 Including full and part-time service.

  2 Includes scales for unqualified teachers.

  —Less than 0·5.

  National Curriculum
  Ms Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to implement a code of ethics in the national curriculum.

  Mr. Forth
  My right hon. Friend is consulting about his proposal to require schools to include within their prospectus a statement on schools' ethos and values, including details of the way in which they meet their duty to secure the moral, spiritual, social and cultural development of their pupils, through the national curriculum, through religious education, and more generally.

  Local Management of Schools
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether consultation with a view to making new or revised local management of schools schemes for schools in local education authorities in England which are to undergo a structural reorganisation following the Local Government Commission recommendations will be undertaken before or after such a reorganisation; under which statutory provisions such consultations will take place; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  It is too soon to assess the impact of local government reorganisation on LMS; it will differ from area to area, depending on the Local Government Commission's recommendations on structure.

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the latest figures his Department has on the number of three and four-year-olds in each London borough; and how many of them are in nursery schools and classes.

  Mr. Forth
  The information requested is given in the following table.
  544

  Estimated 3 and 4 year old population and pupil numbers and participation rates in maintained nursery and primary schools in London at January 1992

  Population estimates1

  Pupil numbers

  Participation rates2 (percentage)

  Camden

  4,000

  1,012

  26

  Greenwich

  6,600

  3,103

  47

  Hackney

  6,200

  2,212

  36

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  3,600

  1,509

  42

  Islington

  4,700

  1,797

  38

  Kensington and Chelsea

  2,800

  826

  29

  Lambeth

  7,400

  2,294

  31

  Lewisham

  6,900

  2,569

  37

  Southwark

  6,900

  2,707

  39

  Tower Hamlets

  6,100

  2,687

  44

  Wandsworth

  6,000

  2,211

  37

  Westminster3

  3,400

  1,078

  31

  Barking and Dagenham

  4,400

  1,750

  40

  Barnet

  8,000

  2,351

  29

  Bexley

  6,000

  1,127

  19

  Brent

  6,800

  2,390

  35

  Bromley

  7,200

  154

  2

  Croydon

  8,800

  1,159

  13

  Ealing

  7,600

  3,246

  43

  Enfield

  7,200

  1,484

  21

  Haringey

  5,900

  2,546

  43

  Harrow

  5,500

  958

  17

  Havering

  6,000

  247

  4

  Hillingdon

  6,500

  3,150

  48

  Hounslow

  5,900

  2,469

  42

  Kingston upon Thames

  3,300

  1,173

  35

  Merton

  4,500

  2,593

  57

  Newham

  7,700

  4,445

  58

  Redbridge

  6,000

  987

  16

  Richmond upon Thames

  4,000

  706

  18

  Sutton

  4,700

  1,684

  36

  Waltham Forest

  6,200

  2,502

  40

  Greater London

  186,700

  61,126

  33

  1 Rounded to the nearest 100.

  2 Calculated on unrounded population estimates.

  3 Includes City LEA.

  545

  National Curriculum English Order
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he will publish proposals for a new National Curriculum English Order; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Patten
  With my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, I am publishing tomorrow proposals for a revised English curriculum, as the basis for extensive consultation. They are based on the recommendations for attainment targets and programmes of study made in the report of the National Curriculum Council, which will be published with the proposals.

  As required by the Education Reform Act, I am asking the National Curriculum Council to conduct the consultation exercise in England. The schools, education authorities, professional organisations and other bodies consulted will have until 30 July 1993 to submit their views and make representations to the NCC. A parallel consultation will take place in Wales. Subject to further advice from the NCC and the Curriculum Council for Wales, my right hon. Friend and I will then publish in November a draft order for further consultation.

  Copies of the report, the proposals, and my letter to the chairman of the NCC will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Education Staff
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list for each local education authority in England(a) the number of teachers employed and (b) the number of non-teaching staff employed; and if he will express each figure as a percentage of the total staff of each local education authority.

  Mr. Boswell
  The first column of the table shows the full-time equivalent number of teaching staff employed in the LEA-maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector in England at January 1992. The second column shows the number of full-time equivalent education support, administrative and clerical staff employed in LEA-maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England at January 1992. Information for other types of non-teaching staff, such as school meals or premises-related staff or LEA central administrative staff, is not centrally recorded. It is therefore not possible to express the figures in the table as a percentage of total staff in the schools sector.

  Full-time equivalent numbers of teachers, education support staff and administration/clerical staff in LEA-maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in each LEA in England, January 1992

  Teachers

  Education support and administration/ clerical staff

  City

  11

  4

  Camden

  1,299

  279

  Greenwich

  2,234

  464

  Hackney

  1,604

  402

  Hammersmith

  950

  233

  Islington

  1,338

  360

  Kensington and Chelsea

  753

  184

  Lambeth

  1,502

  418

  Lewisham

  1,411

  320

  Southwark

  1,661

  457

  Tower Hamlets

  2,063

  523

  Wandsworth

  1,544

  481

  Westminster

  1,147

  305

  546

  Teachers

  Education support and administration/ clerical staff

  Barking

  1,322

  302

  Barnet

  2,456

  502

  Bexley

  1,711

  268

  Brent

  1,967

  364

  Bromley

  1,554

  255

  Croydon

  2,436

  487

  Ealing

  2,143

  558

  Enfield

  2,292

  423

  Haringey

  1,605

  462

  Harrow

  1,570

  348

  Havering

  2,049

  344

  Hillingdon

  1,348

  405

  Hounslow

  1,891

  444

  Kingston upon Thames

  988

  219

  Merton

  1,268

  261

  Newham

  1,994

  489

  Redbridge

  1,796

  297

  Richmond upon Thames

  1,135

  187

  Sutton

  1,147

  219

  Waltham Forest

  1,909

  377

  Birmingham

  9,031

  1,728

  Coventry

  2,795

  630

  Dudley

  2,738

  423

  Sandwell

  2,870

  620

  Solihull

  1,795

  381

  Walsall

  2,619

  615

  Wolverhampton

  2,514

  496

  Knowsley

  1,398

  325

  Liverpool

  4,152

  712

  St. Helens

  1,656

  286

  Sefton

  2,479

  442

  Wirral

  2,924

  408

  Bolton

  2,446

  417

  Bury

  1,461

  268

  Manchester

  3,974

  899

  Oldham

  2,253

  402

  Rochdale

  1,987

  353

  Salford

  2,052

  487

  Stockport

  2,332

  521

  Tameside

  2,037

  404

  Trafford

  1,611

  226

  Wigan

  3,015

  381

  Barnsley

  1,714

  414

  Doncaster

  2,691

  506

  Rotherham

  2,464

  431

  Sheffield

  3,937

  813

  Bradford

  5,027

  1,346

  Calderdale

  1,717

  390

  Kirklees

  3,519

  653

  Leeds

  6,300

  1,490

  Wakefield

  2,748

  589

  Gateshead

  1,731

  279

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  2,285

  493

  North Tyneside

  1,768

  357

  South Tyneside

  1,385

  203

  Sunderland

  2,692

  502

  Isles of Stilly

  27

  6

  Avon

  7,900

  1,721

  Bedfordshire

  4,908

  1,119

  Berkshire

  5,532

  1,224

  Buckinghamshire

  4,756

  1,252

  Cambridgeshire

  5,409

  1,483

  Cheshire

  7,934

  1,551

  Cleveland

  5,546

  994

  Cornwall

  3,697

  947

  Cumbria

  4,052

  788

  Derbyshire

  7,771

  1,677

  Devon

  7,044

  1,720

  Dorset

  4,343

  803

  Durham

  5,007

  967

  East Sussex

  4,673

  931

  Essex

  12,047

  2,335

  Gloucestershire

  3,856

  790

  Hampshire

  11,403

  2,793

  547

  Teachers

  Education support and administration/ clerical staff

  Hereford and Worcester

  5,451

  771

  Hertfordshire

  7,850

  1,794

  Humberside

  7,676

  1,592

  Isle of Wight

  1,021

  267

  Kent

  10,896

  2,048

  Lancashire

  11,509

  1,978

  Leicestershire

  7,807

  1,723

  Lincolnshire

  4,270

  803

  Norfolk

  5,585

  1,067

  North Yorkshire

  5,803

  943

  Northamptonshire

  5,236

  984

  Northumberland

  2,791

  487

  Nottinghamshire

  8,530

  1,691

  Oxfordshire

  4,150

  1,120

  Shropshire

  3,681

  743

  Somerset

  3,524

  952

  Staffordshire

  8,798

  1,726

  Suffolk

  5,277

  1,021

  Surrey

  6,235

  1,502

  Warwickshire

  3,816

  713

  West Sussex

  5,210

  1,214

  Wiltshire

  4,525

  927

  England

  387,753

  80,699

  Pupil Exclusions
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the statutory provisions governing the position of parents whose children do not attend school because they are permanently excluded.

  Mr. Forth
  Under section 36 of the Education Act 1944, parents of children of compulsory school age are responsible for ensuring that they receive education, whether by attendance at school or otherwise. The fact that a pupil has been permanently excluded does not release parents from this obligation. Failure to comply can lead to prosecution under section 40 of the 1944 Act. Early application should therefore be made to a neighbouring school or, if necessary, arrangements made for the child to be educated otherwise than at school, for example, in a unit. The Government have announced their intention to place local education authorities under a duty to provide education otherwise than at school where necessary to meet a pupil's individual needs: amendments to the Education Bill will be tabled shortly.

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Education SSAs and Education Budget Figures for 1992–93

  £ million

  LEA

  Primary

  Secondary

  Post 16

  Under 5s

  Others

  Total

  Budget

  City of London

  0·10

  0·07

  0·38

  0·01

  0·09

  0·65

  2·12

  Camden

  21·47

  20·14

  12·23

  5·17

  5·90

  64·92

  70·04

  Greenwich

  38·87

  40·73

  15·55

  6·51

  5·80

  107·46

  105·98

  Hackney

  39·53

  38·59

  21·99

  9·81

  7·47

  117·39

  112·93

  Hammersmith

  18·18

  18·28

  11·58

  4·75

  4·97

  57·75

  61·19

  Islington

  29·05

  28·97

  15·94

  6·42

  6·08

  86·45

  85·07

  Kensington

  11·05

  11·25

  7·57

  4·00

  4·46

  38·33

  47·22

  Lambeth

  48·46

  42·82

  27·32

  11·32

  9·48

  139·39

  132·04

  Lewisham

  40·91

  38·66

  19·70

  7·80

  7·00

  114·07

  112·63

  548
  Mr. Boswell
  There have been no certificates issued by this Department under section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 since 1987.

  Medical Students
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will require medical schools to publish the number of applicants each year to medical school by ethnic origin and sex and the number who are eventually successful in their application.

  Mr. Boswell
  We have no plans to require medical schools to publish this information.

  Education Expenditure
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list for each local education authority, in the last year for which figures are available,(a) the budgeted expenditure and (b) the standard spending assessment for (i) under-fives, (ii) five to 11, (iii) 11 to 16 and (iv) post-16 education.

  Mr. Forth
  Reliable information on local education authorities' budgeted expenditure is available nationally only at the level of their overall education budgets and is taken from their own returns to the Department of the Environment. For the purpose of determining standard spending assessments, the education component of standard spending, net of specific grants, is divided into five sub-blocks—under fives, 5–10, 11–15, 16+; and other education. The figures for local authorities' education budgets for 1992–93, together with the figures for their overall education standard spending assessments, are set out in the table.

  For several reasons, it is necessary to be cautious when drawing conclusions from the figures. First, the budget figures were provided at the beginning of the 1992–93 financial year. Outturn expenditure may well be different. Local education authorities may also not recognise the budget figures because their budget returns have been adjusted by the Department of the Environment to make them comparable with their education standard spending assessments. Secondly, the standard spending assessment system is a mechanism for distributing grant between authorities. Because authorities have discretion to decide their own spending priorities between and within services, the sub-blocks are in no sense spending targets. Thirdly; the sub-blocks notionally include provision for children in the relevant age groups in special schools, related central services and related functions such as home to school transport which do not have to be delegated to schools. Therefore, they are not comparable with the budgets of primary or secondary schools.
  549

  LEA

  Primary

  Secondary

  Post 16

  Under 5s

  Others

  Total

  Budget

  Southwark

  41·39

  37·85

  16·15

  9·23

  7·74

  112·36

  103·23

  Tower Hamlet

  46·75

  44·38

  17·16

  8·77

  6·64

  123·69

  118·55

  Wandsworth

  32·76

  32·30

  19·23

  8·02

  8·31

  100·62

  105·83

  Westminster

  16·46

  16·15

  11·98

  5·23

  6·10

  55·93

  77·25

  Barking

  23·26

  23·85

  7·76

  3·48

  3·19

  61·55

  66·26

  Barnet

  36·67

  38·61

  24·45

  6·68

  6·89

  113·29

  110·16

  Bexley

  29·82

  34·02

  14·69

  4·03

  3·99

  86·54

  77·33

  Brent

  43·42

  44·13

  30·02

  8·70

  7·95

  134·22

  125·90

  Bromley

  32·47

  35·66

  19·39

  4·73

  5·36

  97·61

  93·29

  Croydon

  43·75

  44·63

  26·29

  7·53

  7·21

  129·40

  132·56

  Ealing

  44·03

  43·94

  26·72

  8·08

  8·04

  130·81

  122·72

  Enfield

  37·99

  42·06

  21·70

  6·01

  5·93

  113·70

  115·86

  Haringey

  33·85

  34·43

  21·59

  7·47

  6·46

  103·80

  96·20

  Harrow

  26·93

  28·60

  16·41

  4·05

  3·90

  79·91

  80·81

  Havering

  30·19

  36·62

  15·01

  3·55

  3·81

  89·17

  89·57

  Hillingdon

  30·72

  33·01

  15·45

  4·55

  4·38

  88·11

  87·97

  Hounslow

  31·18

  33·01

  16·34

  5·11

  4·61

  90·25

  86·55

  Kingston

  14·83

  16·53

  9·85

  2·36

  2·61

  46·18

  50·16

  Merton

  19·87

  20·47

  11·67

  3·71

  3·59

  59·31

  61·47

  Newham

  49·44

  46·31

  21·90

  9·04

  6·51

  133·21

  111·28

  Redbridge

  30·60

  35·05

  17·33

  4·58

  4·88

  92·45

  90·02

  Richmond

  14·97

  14·18

  9·08

  2·90

  3·23

  44·36

  44·56

  Sutton

  20·97

  23·10

  11·21

  2·98

  3·05

  61·32

  55·39

  Waltham Forest

  36·12

  37·75

  18·53

  6·62

  5·84

  104·85

  100·55

  Birmingham

  174·58

  178·42

  79·70

  28·06

  24·39

  485·14

  428·05

  Coventry

  43·89

  44·42

  21·57

  6·82

  6·28

  122·99

  132·46

  Dudley

  37·75

  42·52

  18·76

  4·66

  5·06

  108·75

  117·67

  Sandwell

  43·64

  46·99

  21·89

  6·54

  6·25

  125·30

  128·19

  Solihull

  24·78

  27·61

  13·49

  3·04

  3·35

  72·26

  73·29

  Walsall

  37·84

  41·73

  17·49

  5·12

  4·99

  107·18

  106·39

  Wolverhampton

  38·31

  42·37

  18·15

  6·00

  5·82

  110·65

  112·80

  Knowsley

  29·15

  29·65

  12·06

  4·35

  3·68

  78·89

  74·56

  Liverpool

  76·55

  77·94

  37·10

  12·23

  11·15

  214·97

  206·93

  St Helens

  23·58

  28·57

  15·13

  2·89

  3·17

  73·34

  76·65

  Sefton

  37·50

  40·93

  21·64

  5·01

  5·37

  110·45

  110·25

  Wirral

  46·72

  51·49

  24·08

  6·67

  6·71

  135·67

  132·23

  Bolton

  37·98

  40·23

  17·04

  5·38

  5·02

  105·65

  105·87

  Bury

  22·57

  23·62

  11·98

  2·91

  2·84

  63·93

  68·74

  Manchester

  74·88

  70·43

  33·30

  13·29

  11·76

  203·67

  198·76

  Oldham

  34·61

  36·59

  13·75

  4·75

  4·38

  94·07

  95·63

  Rochdale

  31·50

  33·38

  13·36

  4·36

  3·86

  86·46

  84·40

  Salford

  30·75

  31·49

  17·69

  4·77

  4·63

  89·33

  87·54

  Stockport

  33·87

  36·63

  20·40

  4·34

  4·59

  99·82

  105·97

  Tameside

  30·28

  32·55

  14·38

  4·18

  3·98

  85·35

  82·69

  Trafford

  26·79

  28·21

  15·21

  3·60

  3·77

  77·58

  78·55

  Wigan

  40·48

  44·88

  21·41

  4·91

  4·96

  116·64

  124·23

  Barnsley

  29·27

  31·87

  11·99

  3·68

  3·86

  80·67

  77·08

  Doncaster

  43·03

  46·98

  18·17

  5·52

  5·36

  119·05

  121·43

  Rotherham

  35·54

  40·22

  16·46

  4·65

  4·53

  101·40

  104·55

  Sheffield

  60·79

  68·25

  32·90

  8·81

  10·04

  180·80

  190·79

  Bradford

  81·83

  85·64

  32·02

  12·14

  10·22

  221·85

  213·28

  Calderdale

  27·02

  29·84

  13·17

  3·64

  3·58

  77·24

  77·61

  Kirklees

  55·00

  59·35

  28·74

  7·35

  7·20

  157·65

  153·04

  Leeds

  90·63

  99·48

  45·32

  13·14

  13·38

  261·96

  267·68

  Wakefield

  41·53

  44·53

  17·69

  5·38

  5·40

  114·54

  120·62

  Gateshead

  25·70

  28·81

  10·77

  3·55

  3·95

  72·77

  80·07

  Newcastle

  35·59

  36·42

  15·97

  5·60

  5·84

  99·42

  104·88

  North Tyne

  25·38

  28·13

  13·26

  3·33

  3·58

  73·66

  75·25

  South Tyne

  21·67

  23·25

  9·61

  2·98

  3·03

  60·54

  63·62

  Sunderland

  42·72

  47·52

  17·02

  5·65

  5·46

  118·37

  113·41

  Isles of Scilly

  0·46

  0·52

  0·23

  0·04

  0·05

  1·30

  1·36

  Avon

  109·54

  119·11

  56·26

  14·59

  15·74

  315·24

  350·59

  Bedfordshire

  78·75

  84·39

  39·16

  10·67

  9·74

  222·71

  220·25

  Berkshire

  97·85

  107·10

  55·63

  13·65

  12·91

  287·14

  272·03

  Buckinghamshire

  86·53

  101·97

  50·56

  10·63

  10·27

  259·97

  255·58

  Cambridge

  85·08

  92·56

  44·10

  10·33

  10·14

  242·20

  249·28

  Cheshire

  121·92

  137·84

  70·54

  14·34

  14·72

  359·37

  370·99

  Cleveland

  90·06

  96·83

  37·94

  11·94

  11·05

  247·82

  253·42

  Cornwall

  59·35

  67·86

  34·30

  6·50

  7·41

  175·42

  170·01

  Cumbria

  60·82

  69·21

  29·24

  6·54

  7·54

  173·35

  183·70

  Derbyshire

  113·98

  130·19

  57·68

  13·55

  14·45

  329·86

  370·13

  Devon

  117·43

  132·59

  62·28

  14·25

  16·56

  343·10

  347·72

  Dorset

  67·40

  77·73

  36·34

  8·25

  10·40

  200·12

  203·35

  Durham

  80·13

  89·11

  35·10

  9·41

  10·20

  223·95

  234·13

  East Sussex

  74·41

  79·40

  40·43

  10·21

  12·52

  216·96

  224·66

  Essex

  196·38

  232·81

  102·76

  23·91

  24·94

  580·81

  557·99

  Gloucestershire

  62·19

  70·31

  35·23

  7·57

  8·10

  183·41

  192·54

  Hampshire

  193·50

  209·81

  109·32

  24·83

  25·18

  562·64

  576·19

  550 551

  LEA

  Primary

  Secondary

  Post 16

  Under 5s

  Others

  Total

  Budget

  Hereford and Worcester

  81·89

  93·97

  46·71

  9·32

  9·99

  241·88

  241·87

  Hertfordshire

  124·08

  142·39

  71·61

  15·80

  16·30

  370·18

  383·25

  Humberside

  119·39

  136·33

  55·27

  15·20

  15·12

  341·30

  361·53

  Isle of Wight

  15·39

  18·00

  10·13

  1·76

  2·26

  47·54

  46·24

  Kent

  192·77

  225·97

  100·21

  24·14

  25·05

  568·13

  539·75

  Lancashire

  191·44

  20·22

  102·65

  24·92

  25·01

  553·25

  563·79

  Leicestershire

  120·51

  130·40

  62·22

  15·86

  15·49

  344·49

  361·69

  Lincolnshire

  73·56

  89·15

  41·99

  8·05

  9·22

  221·98

  219·32

  Norfolk

  88·29

  103·64

  46·83

  10·04

  11·81

  260·61

  261·97

  North Yorkshire

  81·31

  92·43

  50·54

  9·02

  10·54

  243·84

  252·93

  Northamptonshire

  78·25

  88·34

  38·49

  9·55

  9·17

  223·80

  225·98

  Northumberland

  39·04

  45·98

  17·80

  3·99

  4·58

  111·40

  119·79

  Nottinghamshire

  132·00

  146·38

  68·43

  17·96

  18·65

  383·42

  402·22

  Oxfordshire

  66·18

  68·80

  34·76

  8·83

  8·95

  187·52

  201·34

  Shropshire

  52·38

  61·35

  28·19

  5·89

  6·21

  154·01

  164·61

  Somerset

  54·20

  61·35

  30·70

  6·17

  6·81

  159·23

  172·71

  Staffordshire

  132·41

  146·45

  64·11

  15·61

  16·05

  374·64

  380·42

  Suffolk

  73·97

  84·98

  37·60

  9·42

  9·29

  215·27

  229·66

  Surrey

  105·58

  117·17

  73·17

  14·61

  16·01

  326·54

  327·78

  Warwickshire

  57·98

  66·23

  34·43

  6·72

  7·41

  172·77

  182·07

  West Sussex

  78·19

  90·17

  47·25

  9·36

  11·07

  236·04

  225·49

  Wiltshire

  70·36

  77·57

  37·49

  8·57

  8·46

  202·44

  210·12

  Notes:

  1. Information on budgeted expenditure is taken from Local Authorities' returns to the Department of Environment on forms RA92/93 and RA(SG)92/93. Figures have been repriced to outturn.

  2. The education budgets for Inner London authorities have been adjusted to take account of the education grant for Inner London authorities, and make them comparable with education SSAs. Inner London education grants are paid to provide, through the support of expenditure on education, transitional help to local tax-payers in Inner London boroughs and in the City of London where the authorities inherited responsibility for the education service from the Inner London Education Authority.

  3. Figures have been rounded to two decimal places.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Boswell
  Five of the appointments listed in "Public Bodies 1992" required clearance with the Prime Minister.

  Pupil-teacher Ratios
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the average pupil-teacher ratio in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England.

  Mr. Forth
  In January 1992 the pupil:teacher ratios in maintained primary and secondary schools in England were 22·2:1 and 15·8:1 respectively.

  Truancy
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the latest figures for truancy; and if he will make a statement on measures to reduce its incidence.

  Mr. Forth
  Truancy data will be published in local school performance tables for the first time this autumn. We will then have a clearer understanding of the levels of truancy nationally. My right hon. Friend looks to schools to make maximising attendance one of their key tasks. Unauthorised absences should be pursued with vigour, bringing in LEA education welfare officers as appropriate. A major boost to the fight against truancy has been given by the Government's new reducing truancy initiative under the grants for education support and training scheme for 1993–94. Projects to a total value of some £9 million are being supported in over 70 LEAs.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools within Greater London have opted out of local authority control; and how many have applications being considered by his Department.

  Mr. Forth
  A total of 86 schools in Greater London are operating as self-governing (GM) state schools. My right hon. Friend has indicated that he is minded to approve a further two schools for GM status. Applications from 26 Greater London schools are under consideration in the Department.

  Special Needs Education
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students at teacher training colleges are on courses which include training for special needs education.

  Mr. Boswell
  My right hon. Friend's criteria for the approval of teacher training courses require that by the end of their courses all students should have developed the capacity to identify pupils with special educational needs or learning difficulties. They should also have an understanding of the ways in which such pupils' potential can be developed.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Regional Services
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the regional services organised by his Department.

  Mr. Leigh
  One of the Department's objectives is to ensure that its policies respond to the needs of different regions and areas with special difficulties. It has, to this
  553
  end, a network of eight regional offices which are responsible for delivering a wide range of business support schemes and other activities, including work in support of inward investment, the application of European structural funds, action for cities and liaison with business support organisations for small firms. The regional offices are also the Department's main channel of communication with business, monitoring business developments and helping to shape the Department's policies for business. Their work is subject to regular monitoring against targets, ensuring that they contribute effectively to the Department's objectives. Performance targets for the delivery of the main business support schemes are published in accordance with citizens charter principles.

  Direct Selling
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade in how many instances trading standards officers took action through the Department of Trade and Industry to enforce the regulations regarding direct selling.

  Mr. Leigh
  Trading standards officers have no enforcement powers under part XI of the Fair Trading Act 1973. Nevertheless trading standards officers around the country regularly draw the Department's attention to schemes that may be in breach of the legislation.

  European Community (Contracts)
  Sir Michael Grylls
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the progress made in the enforcement of the opening up of public contracts in the EC.

  Mr. Needham
  Enforcement of the EC rules on procurement in the public and utilities sector is largely a matter for the EC suppliers and contractors who benefit from the directives. There are associated directives which require member states to establish review systems under which suppliers can seek legal remedies if harmed or at risk of harm by a breach of EC law. The associated directives also require member states to provide information in case of clear and manifest infringement of the EC rules so that the Commission can consider whether to bring proceedings against the member states under article I 69/EEC. The implementation of the directives is monitored closely by the Commission. In the United Kingdom, the EC rules on the procurement of supplies and works and the associated provisions on remedies have been given effect in SI 91/2679, SI 91/2680 and SI 92/3279.

  Employees (Religious Affiliation)
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of the Post Office.

  Mr. Leigh
  The Post Office is unable to disaggregate the costs of monitoring the religious affiliations of its employees in Northern Ireland from the overall costs of complying with the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989.

  Aerospace Industry
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from British companies involved in aerospace and aero engines concerning future Government support for the development of leading edge materials technologies.

  Mr. Heseltine
  My officials are constantly in touch with the aerospace and aeroengine companies in the United Kingdom, discussing a wide range of issues, including future Government support through the Department's civil aircraft research and demonstration programme. My Department is grant-funding essential pre-competitive work in advanced materials technology, both in metallics and non-metallics, for the aeroengine and airframe manufacturers.

  Business Development, Greater London
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he intends to take to support and encourage the small business sector in the Greater London area; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  My Department provides substantial help to small businesses in London through the overseas trade services, consultancy initiative and technology support available through the south-east regional office. The small firms loan guarantee scheme is available throughout London. In 1993–94 my Department will be providing financial support through the training and enterprise councils in London for a wide range of information, advice and other support to small firms.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of inward investment for industrial development in the Greater London area in 1992; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The information cannot be provided in the form requested by the hon. Gentleman. I will write to him.

  Strategic Technology
  Mr. Ingram
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his Department received the national strategic technology acquisition plan prepared by his Department's aviation committee; and if he will make a statment.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The national strategic technology acquisition plan for aeronautics was formally presented to my Department on 4 November 1992.

  Postal Services
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he proposes to ask the European Commission to consult the public and the European Parliament on any postal services directive under article 100(a) of the treaty of Rome.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: Directives issued by the European Commission under article 100(a) of the treaty of Rome are subject to consultation with the European Parliament. There is also a consultation process with interested parties during the negotiation period of such directives and before their implementation.
  555
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the Government's policy on whether direct mail should be part of the European Community's postal service obligation.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The Government are of the view that direct mail should be encompassed within the definition of a universal service obligation.

TRANSPORT

  Railway Investment
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will show for each year since 1963 the level of railway investment, excluding track renewals, expressed in 1991–92 prices.

  Mr. Freeman
  Figures for expenditure on railway investment excluding track renewals are shown in the following table.

  Year

  £ million 1991–92 prices

  1963

  745

  1964

  821

  1965

  863

  1966

  729

  1967

  565

  1968

  488

  1969

  309

  1970

  352

  1971

  399

  1972

  458

  1973

  473

  1974

  526

  1975

  639

  1976

  621

  1977

  595

  1978

  579

  1979

  635

  1980

  618

  1981

  497

  1982

  430

  1983

  442

  1984–85

  558

  1985–86

  584

  1986–87

  546

  1987–88

  626

  1988–89

  680

  1989–90

  812

  Bus

  Underground

  British Rail

  Type of ticket

  Journeys (millions)

  Per cent.

  Journeys (millions)

  Per cent.

  Journeys (millions)

  Per cent.

  Travelcard

  334

  30

  533

  72

  245

  55

  Bus Pass

  203

  18

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Concessionary Fares

  252

  22

  28

  4

  2

  0·5

  Notes:

  1. The British Rail figures cover 1 march 1992 to 27 February 1993: they include all journeys in the Network South East area; separate figures for journey within London are no available.

  2. The figures for concessionary fares are for the local authorities' concessionary fares scheme.

  Road Transport, London
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to speed up road transport in London; and if he will make a statement.
  556

  £ million

  1991–92

  Year

  prices

  1990–91

  765

  1991–92

  869

  Search and Rescue
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 31 March, if he will list the areas within his responsibility not covered by the SAR coverage proposals in(a) day time and (b) night time; and if he will set out the steps he intends to take to improve cover.

  Mr. Norris
  The helicopter criteria for day time and night time coverage is set out in the defence open government document on the "Future Provision of Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Helicopters", annexes A to D, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library. The Department of Transport has no plans to change its contribution to SAR helicopter coverage.

  Road Traffic, London
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the level of road traffic flows in London in each year to 2010; what are the methods of calculation; and if he will separately identify the flows for private cars.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department has not made estimates of road traffic flows for each year for 2010. However, recent trends indicate that car traffic and hence all motor traffic could grow by less than 1 per cent. per annum in the central area and by between 1 and 2 per cent. per annum in other parts of London.

  Travelcard
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of all bus, rail and underground journeys within London are made using the travelcard; if he will list all three both in figures and as a percentage; how many of all bus, rail and underground journeys are made by concessionary fares in London and how many of all bus journeys are made using bus passes.

  Mr. Norris
  Estimates provided by London Transport and by British Rail for 1992–93 are:

  Mr. Norris
  Government policies for road traffic in London are not designed to increase traffic speeds significantly but rather to ease congestion so that traffic moves freely and safely, with more reliable journey times. These policies include the development of priority, red, routes, improved traffic control systems, the use of cameras to monitor speed and red light offences, stricter
  557
  parking enforcement, and road improvements to remove bottlenecks, facilitate orbital movement and provide access to docklands and east London.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what road improvement and new road building schemes are currently being undertaken in Greater London; what is their cost; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Norris
  The following major road improvement schemes on trunk roads for which the Secretary of State is responsible are being undertaken currently in the Greater London area.

  £ million

  A406

  Hangar Lane to Harrow Road

  116·60

  A40

  Long Lane Junction Improvement

  43·75

  A further £9·5 million has been spent during the financial year 1992–93 on a rolling programme of minor trunk roads scheme. Local authorities in London were provided with transport supplementary grant support of £51 million cash grant towards their schemes. Their programme for 1992–93 included the following major schemes. Each scheme has a total cost in excess of £1 million, and grant is 50 per cent. of accepted expenditure.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what road improvement and new road building schemes are planned in London for the next financial year; what is their cost; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Norris
  The following major road improvement schemes on trunk roads for which the Secretary of State is responsible are due to start work in the 1993–94 financial year.

  £ million

  A406

  East of Falloden Way to Finchley High Road

  42

  A406

  Dysons Road/Hall Lane

  63

  A406

  Ml Junction 1 Improvement

  5

  A13

  West of Heathway to Thames Avenue

  54

  A13

  Thames Avenue to Wennington

  58

  A13

  Blackwall Tunnel/Cotton Street

  8

  A13

  Butcher Row Junction

  1

  A12

  Hackney—Mil Contract 2

  62

  A12

  Hackney—Mil Contract 4

  60

  A40

  Long Lane to West End Road

  4

  There is further rolling programme of minor trunk road schemes costing about £12 million. In addition, there is a transport supplementary programme of about £150 million of local authority schemes.

  In addition to continuing work on schemes started in earlier years, the following schemes are due to start in 1993–94.

  New TSG Major Schemes Accepted for 1993–94

  Authority

  Scheme

  Total Cost £000

  Croydon

  A232 Chepstow Road/Fairfield Road/ Barclay Road

  6,100

  Hillingdon

  A437 Bournes Bridge Hayes

  1,150

  Hounslow

  A315 Hounslow Town Centre Urban Relief Road

  8,247

  Merton

  A219 Wimbledon Town Centre/Alexandra Road Junction Improvement

  5,775

  558

  Authority

  Scheme

  Total Cost £000

  Newham

  All Stratford Gyratory Modifications

  1,500

  Waltham Forest

  A503 Forest Road/Blackhorse Road Junction

  1,100

  Public Service Vehicle Test
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds disaggregated by individual operator for the annual PSV test conducted at his Department's testing stations.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The testing of both heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles is conducted by the vehicle inspectorate, on behalf of the Secretary of State. The inspectorate keeps a database on individual vehicle test histories. While the operator of each vehicle is normally included in each test history file, as the test applicant, this information is not, at present, cross-referenced to provide PSV test data for individual operators. Individual test results are released by VI only to other enforcement bodies or the owner of the vehicle.

  Severn Bridge
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will relocate the sign board on the M4 on the eastern side of the Severn bridge welcoming motorists to England to its correct geographical position.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  I have no proposals to move the sign.

  The sign is located immediately to the east of the toll plaza. This is the first place where it can be safely and practically sited on the English side of the border.

  London Commuter Services
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has undertaken on the effect of international rail services on London's commuter services; and if he will publish them.

  Mr. Freeman
  No such studies have been undertaken by the Department of Transport as international rail services are a matter for British Rail. British Rail gave an assurance to Parliament during the passage of the Channel Tunnel Act that commuter services would not be adversely affected by the introduction of international trains. British Rail has every intention of standing by that assurance.

  Nuclear Materials (Transport)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department issued a licence for the use of truck cargo heavy duty II vehicles by the Ministry of Defence to transport nuclear materials under the International Atomic Energy Agency Safety Series No. 6 Regulations 1985, as amended in 1990.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  No such licence is required.

  London Buses
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger journeys were made on London Buses Ltd. for each year since 1979.
  559
  Mr. Norris
  The available information is shown in the table. The figures for London Buses Ltd. exclude passengers carried on tendered services, as this information is not readily available. Figures for London Transport bus services comprise all services operated by London Buses Ltd., tendered and non-tendered, together with tendered routes operated by other companies.

  Passenger journeys

  Millions

  London Buses Ltd. (non-tendered services)

  London Transport bus services

  1979

  1,234

  1,234

  1980

  1,183

  1,183

  1981

  1,079

  1,079

  1982

  1,039

  1,039

  1983

  1,089

  1,089

  1984–851

  1,153

  1,153

  1985–86

  1,139

  1,146

  1986–87

  1,094

  1,158

  1987–88

  1,072

  1,211

  1988–89

  985

  1,206

  1989–90

  920

  1,183

  1990–91

  846

  1,180

  1991–92

  745

  1,149

  1 Since 1985–86 London Transport have put an increasing number of routes in their bus network out to tender.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of London buses are beyond their current design life; and how many will be beyond their design life by 1996.

  Mr. Norris
  Some 13 per cent. of London Buses Ltd.'s vehicles are currently beyond their original design life. The majority of these are the popular Routemaster vehicles, with an average age of 28 years. There is a refurbishment programme under way to extend the life of 500 Routemaster vehicles into the next century at a cost of £10 million. All vehicles are regularly maintained to ensure their reliability and continued safe operation. It is not possible to forecast the position for 1996.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much bus mileage the managing directors of London Buses Ltd. subsidiaries expect to be lost as a result of his Department's proposals for deregulation; and what efforts he has made to maintain the current level of mileage.

  Mr. Norris
  It is not for me to comment on the views of the managing directors of the subsidiaries of London Buses Ltd.

  Upon deregulation we shall establish a central bus authority to ensure that routes which are socially necessary but which are not operated commercially are provided on a subsidised basis. As a guide, deregulation outside London has led to an increase of 20 per cent. in bus mileage.

  Thames (Transport Potential)
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Government's planned working party to explore the Thames transport potential expects to hold its first meeting; if he will name its members; and when it expects to make its first report.

  Mr. Norris
  I am planning to hold the first meeting of the working group next month. In addition to officials 560
  from my Department and the Department of the Environment, the working group will comprise Mr. David Jeffrey, chief executive of the Port of London Authority, Mr. Dick Barker representing London First, Mr. Eric Sorensen, chief executive of the London Docklands development corporation, Mr. Robin Clement of the London Planning Advisory Committee and Mr. David Bayliss of London Transport. I hope to publish a report towards the end of 1993.

  Vehicle Inspectorate
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement updating his proposals for the Vehicle Inspectorate.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion) on 10 February,Official Report, column 659.

  Bus Engines
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fiscal incentives are planned for the bus industry following deregulation to encourage investment in new, cleaner engines.

  Mr. Norris
  Fiscal incentives are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider. Large diesel engines of the type fitted to London buses will have to conform with the requirements of EC directive 91/542/EEC in respect of emissions, the first stage of which came into force in July 1992.

  Development Control Guidance
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library details of all transport considerations in development control guidance notes.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Development control guidance notes include in them relevant transport considerations. Copies of such notes are placed in the Library of the House.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Norris
  Appointments of chairmen of the three nationalised industries listed on page 70 of "Public Bodies 1992"—British Rail, the Civil Aviation Authority and London Transport—came within the category set out in paragraph 50(ii)(a) of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required submissions to the Prime Minister. None of the other appointments listed came within categories requiring a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Thames Crossing
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what considerations have been taken into account by his Department on the need for the east London river crossing, in the light of his Department's proposals for a further Thames crossing between Poplar and Greenwich;
  561
  (2) what bodies have already been consulted by his Department over proposals for the further Thames crossing between Poplar and Greenwich;

  (3) when the consultants employed by his Department to look at the proposed Thames crossing between Poplar and Greenwich are expected to report; and when the proposals will go out to public consultation.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department's consultants have reported on their study into a third crossing of the River Thames at Blackwall. The Department has since consulted on an informal basis the London boroughs of Greenwich and of Tower Hamlets and the London Docklands development corporation about the study's findings. It has had similar informal consultation with British Gas because of its wide-ranging Port Greenwich development proposals on its lands at Blackwall peninsula. A public consultation exercise is planned for later next month, and detailed arrangements will be announced shortly.

  The need for the east London river crossing, fully debated at public inquiries in 1985–86, is not diminished by the possibility of a third crossing at Blackwall. It is required to provide a missing strategic link in the trunk road system by completing the extension of the North Circular road from the A13 to the A2.

  Heavy Goods Vehicles
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many heavy goods vehicle drivers have been killed in 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  There were 55 heavy goods vehicle drivers killed in personal injury road accidents in 1990 and 50 were killed in 1991. A figure for 1992 is not available yet.

  MOT Diesel Smoke Test
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning the introduction of the MOT diesel smoke test.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  There has been much support for emissions checking during roadworthiness tests, although there has been concern that the diesel smoke test can cause damage to engines which have not been properly maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. That is why we have temporarily suspended the test.

  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether all examiners and testers authorised for the purpose of carrying out MOT tests on diesel-powered cars will be required to have access to on-site diesel smoke meters.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  Yes.

  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which individuals and organisations he consulted when drawing up smoke meter specifications and test procedures for use in the MOT diesel smoke test; and what was their response.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Department consulted representatives of the vehicle and equipment manufacturers about the smoke meter specification and a much wider group of organisations about the test procedure,562
  including representatives of vehicle users and operators, local authority associations, the garage trade and environmental groups. The response to consultation on the smoke meter specification was of a technical nature. Respondents to the proposal to introduce the check, and the associated test procedure, supported this environmental initiative although some concern was expressed about a slight risk of engine damage, which was reflected by the Department in advice to MOT testing stations on how to minimise the risk.

  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 16 February to the hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, North (Ms Walley),Official Report, column 151, when he hopes to reinstate MOT diesel smoke tests by meter.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Department is currently investigating reports that the smoke test has caused damage to some engines and, although it would be premature to give a firm date, I hope that the test can be reinstated later in the year.

  Passenger Rail Services (Finance)
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the franchise director will have responsibility from 1 April 1994 for making grants out of the public service obligation to all passenger rail services; and what assessment he has made out of the implications for British Rail of that transfer of responsibility.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Government intend that the franchising director should from 1 April 1994 assume responsibility for all subsidy to rail passenger services in Great Britain including those which continue to be provided by British Rail. We are discussing the details of implementation with the board and the franchising director-designate.

  Air Transport Operators' Licences
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the travel companies which failed to renew their ATOL licence by 5 pm on 31 March; and what steps he has taken to protect holidaymakers from the consequences of this.

  Mr. Norris
  The Civil Aviation Authority, which administers the air travel organisers' licence, ATOL, system, carries out an annual review of all ATOL holders. Details of travel organisers which did not have their ATOL renewed by 31 March 1993 are given in the lists, which were published by the CAA on 1 April. The lists cover travel organisers which have applied for renewal but which had not then fulfilled the necessary conditions and those which have not applied for renewal.

  Inclusion in the list of travel organisers which have applied for their licences to be renewed does not necessarily mean that the CAA has doubts about an organiser's financial resources. The authority has agreed arrangements where necessary for other ATOL holders to provide cover on a temporary basis until the organisers concerned are able to fulfil the conditions for renewal of their own licences.

  (i) Travel organisers who have applied to have their ATOL renewed but whose licences had not been renewed as at 31 March 1993

  563

  Abbeysun (NI) Limited

  Agricultural Travel Bureau Limited (Barfield Travel, Barfield Business Travel)

  Airline Limited (The Holiday Store)

  Airlink Holidays Limited (Airlink Holidays)

  Aisling Travel (NI) Limited

  Alan Dickson and Co. Limited (Alan Dickson Flights, Alan Dickson Travel, Commodore Flights)

  Allez France Holidays Limited

  Callers-Pegasus Travel Service Limited

  Cerviola Holidays Limited

  Cityjet Travel Limited (Cityjet, Rafaello Holidays)

  Contiki Travel (UK) Limited

  Edwin Doran Travel Limited (Edwin Doran's Travel World, Edwin Doran Sports Travel)

  Emsdale Air Holidays Limited

  Fairs Travel Limited

  Farnell R. A., Farnell Mrs. A. (Sun-Air Flight Line)

  Finlays Skiing Limited

  Gibraltar Travel Limited (Gibraltar Tours, Eagle Tours, Gibraltar Tourism)

  Guardian Travel Limited

  Intergroup Securities Limited (Inter-Air, Inter-Air Holidays and Travel, Mainsale Travel, Volare)

  Islands in the Sun Limited (Islands in the Sun, Island Flights)

  Italian Options Limited (Portuguese Options)

  John Cory Limited (John Cory Travel)

  Justravel Limited

  Kartal, D. (Bigfoot Travel)

  Leisure Villas Limited

  Lotus Travel Limited (Lotus Holidays, Lotus Supertravel)

  Magnum Travel Co. Limited (Magnum Leisure)

  Modern Travel Centre Limited (Jersey Direct, Modernline Holidays, Modern Hotels, Modern Group, Modern Airways)

  Phoenix Holidays Limited

  President Holidays Limited (President Travel, President Flights)

  Savile Row Tours and Travel Limited (Savile Row Tours and Travel)

  Siesta International Holidays Limited (Siesta International)

  Skanza Limited (Express Travel and Tours)

  Skybus Holidays Limited (Euro Skybus, Italy Cityrama, Italy Skybus)

  Strata Travel Limited

  Suntours Holidays Limited (Suntours)

  Sunway Leisure Limited (Sunway Travel, Sunway Holidays)

  Superski Limited (Superski)

  The Travel Centre (Norwich) Limited

  The Weekend Ski Company Limited (Flexiski)

  Transcontinental Travel Service (Scotland) Limited

  Travelines Tour Limited (Travelines)

  Travelwise International (Manchester) Limited

  Travtel International Limited (Travtel)

  Trend Travel Limited (Stakis Holidays, Stakis Hotels)

  Villmar Travel Limited

  Worldspan International Plc

  Zodiac Way Limited (Exclusive Travel)

  (ii) Air Travel Organisers who have not applied for renewal and therefore no longer hold valid licences

  Altours Travel Limited

  Contact Travel Limited

  Paradise Tours and Travel Limited (Paradise Tours and Travel)

  Sports Instruction Schools Limited (SIS Golf Schools, SIS Holidays, The European School of Golf)

  Sunwheel Travel Limited (Sunwheel Holidays, Air Savers, Greek Island Holidays)

  Susi Madron's Cycling Holidays Limited (Cycling for Softies)

  Topflight Holidays Limited (Topflight)

  Travac Tours and Charters (UK) Limited (Travac, The Imaginative Traveller)

  Travel Economy Limited

  (iii) Licence holders who were due to have their ATOLs renewed but who have ceased to trade

  Novotour Limited (Novotours, Cyprus Passport, Passport USA, Florida Passport, Turkey Passport, Flight Passport, Airspace, Family Fun Passport, Passport to Florida,
  564
  American Passport)

  Gigantes Villas and Travel Limited (Ski Mondial)

  Euro Express limited (Daybreaks Europe, Euro Express, Euro America, Kaleidoscope Travel, Distinctive Villas, Euro Canada, Corsican Gold)

  Riva Travel Limited (Riva Travel, Riva Holidays, Riva Seats, Riva, Riva Beachlife)

  Medina Holidays (Europe) Limited (Medina Holidays, Greek Express, Beach Comber Holidays, Corfu Holiday Centre)

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Foie Gras
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to press for an EC ban on foie gras.

  Mr. Soames
  The Government are committed to seeking improvements in welfare standards and the use of humane production methods throughout the Community at every suitable opportunity. A European Parliament resolution is under consideration which would recommend a ban on force feeding of animals in the Community.

  Set-aside Land
  Mr. Onslow
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to encourage farmers to apply for exemption from 1 July cutting requirements on rotational set-aside land; what assessment he has made of the environmental damage which this requirement will otherwise cause; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  It is open to any farmer to apply for an exemption from any of the set-aside management rules, including the cutting requirement, on environmental grounds. The arable area payments scheme explanatory booklet explains how to do this. The booklet also gives general advice on how to manage set-aside land to achieve environmental benefits.

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on restrictions on the spraying of chemicals to reduce noxious weeds on set-aside land in the United Kingdom; and in particular whether similar restrictions are imposed upon farmers in other EC countries.

  Mr. Curry
  The management rules for 1992–93 allow the application of non-residual herbicides by spot treatment or with a wick applicator on set-aside land. Any farmer can also seek permission to apply herbicides by other methods in order to control severe infestations of weeds. The management rules in other member states vary. Most include restrictions or a complete ban on the use of herbicides on set-aside land.

  Dog Poisoning
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 2 March,Official Report, column 77, about the death of a pet dog through a suspected poisoned carcase, if he will inform the hon. Member for Taunton of the outcome of his inquiries into a second such suspected poisoning in the same area on or around 20 March.

  Mr. Soames
  Yes.

  Mink Farms
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink farms are currently licensed, by county, in England.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  Number

  Northumberland

  1

  Lancashire

  9

  West Yorkshire

  2

  Staffordshire

  1

  Suffolk

  2

  Hampshire

  1

  Isle of Wight

  1

  Cornwall

  1

  Comfrey
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consultation period was permitted for consumers and users of comfrey tablets and capsules to assess the relevant toxicological reports, prior to the withdrawal of these products.

  Mr. Soames
  My hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside, the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean), announced in March 1991 that the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment and the Food Advisory Committee would undertake a review of various herbal ingredients including comfrey. During the course of the COT's review of the toxicity of comfrey a number of organisations, including the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, made submissions to this Department and the Department of Health. The advice from both committees to me on the completion of their reviews was unequivocal. I could not, therefore, allow a further period for consultation before acting to secure the withdrawal of those comfrey products containing the highest concentrations of toxic alkaloids.

  Potatoes
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Workington of 23 March,Official Report, column 863, if he will place in the Library all information he has had made available to him or his officials concerning the payment of subsidies both direct and indirect paid by national Governments and the European Commission to potato processors and producers in the European Community in the last three years.

  Mr. Curry
  I am not aware that any information has been made available in the way the hon. Member suggests.

  Under EC regulation 866/90 United Kingdom potato processors have been awarded £6 million in grants towards the capital cost of new investment over the three years 1991–93. Nationally financed grant of £l·2 million has also been made available in conjuction with the EC scheme. Similar information for other member states is not available.

  Certain other assistance is also available to potato processors from Industry Departments in England, Scotland and Wales under a number of schemes.
  566
  United Kingdom potato producers may also benefit from the group marketing grant.

  Since November 1991 the EC Commission has published in the C series of the Official Journal brief details of the state aids to which it has raised no objection. These include our own potato marketing scheme and are summarised as follows:

  Aids to potato processors and producers in the EC

  Denmark

  1. 1988 Expenditure and 1990 Draft Budget for potato trade association funds.
  Adopted: 30 October 1991 Published: OJ C 18/8 of 24 January 1992

  2. Aid for potato quality control.
  Adopted: 25 March 1992 Published: OJ C 155/7 of 20 June 1992

  Italy

  1. Aid to support the horticulture sector (potatoes).
  Adopted: 21 January 1992 Published: OJ C 185/6 of 22 July 1992

  2. Special intervention by AIMA for new potatoes for consumption.
  Adopted: 31 August 1992 Published: OJ C 286/9 of 4 November 1992

  3. AIMA national programme for private storage of potatoes for consumption 1992 marketing year.
  Adopted: 15 October 1992 Published: OJ C 316/6 of 3 December 1992

  Luxembourg
  1. Assistance to farmers suffering from natural disasters in 1991 (including potato producers).
  Adopted: 11 March 1992 Published: OJ C 185/6 of 22 July 1992

  United Kingdom

  1. 1991 Crop arrangements.
  Adopted: 29 October 1991 Published: OJ C 32/7 of 8 February 1992

  2. 1992 Crop arrangements.
  Adopted: 16 July 1992 Published: OJ C 286/6 of 4 November 1992

  During the 1992 season, France, Italy and Spain have provided assistance to their potato growers but we do not know the sums involved. In Great Britain, the Potato Marketing Board has operated the statutory guarantee arrangements. The cost to the Government is expected to be in the region of £1·5 million.

  Beef
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to introduce legislation ensuring all beef is marked or labelled at the point of sale showing its country of origin; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  I have no plans to do so.

  European Community rules on labelling already require the place of origin to be given on food if its omission could mislead the consumer. The Government are keen that consumers should be given information about the origin of all food products so that they can make informed choices and have been encouraging retailers to provide this information where appropriate.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the
  567
  categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Curry
  The Prime Minister is consulted on appointments where necessary. Currently, three appointments made by my right hon. Friend and listed in "Public Bodies 1992" were referred to the Prime Minister.

  Intervention Beef
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tonnes of British beef were held in intervention stores at 31 March and at the equivalent date in each of the past four years.

  Mr. Curry
  The information requested is set out in the table:

  Date

  Tonnes (Product weight)

  31 March 1989

  27,044

  31 March 1990

  13,141

  31 March 1991

  95,007

  31 March 1992

  140,799

  31 March 1993

  1164,537

  1 Provisional

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total cost of the common agricultural policy for 1992–93; how much of this will be paid by the United Kingdom; and how much of its proceeds will be derived as income for British farmers.

  Mr. Curry
  Table 22 of the 1993 departmental report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Intervention Board provides the relevant information on the EC budget, the United Kingdom contribution, and United Kingdom receipts from it in relation to the CAP. Table 20 of the same publication provides information on expenditure within the United Kingdom. A copy of the departmental report has been lodged in the House of Commons Library.

  Environmental and Conservation Programmes
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all the major environmental and conservation programmes administered by his Department, giving the budget for each for 1992–93.

  Mr. Curry
  The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food administers the following environmental and conservation schemes:

  Forecast payments to fanners in 1992–93
  (£ million)

  Environmentally sensitive areas

  10·8

  Farm and conservation grant scheme

  28·9

  Farm woodland schemes

  1·5

  Pilot nitrate sensitive areas

  1·4

  568
  It also administers the following schemes which have environmental conditions and benefits:

  Forecast payments to farmers in 1992–93 (£ million)

  Hill livestock compensatory allowances

  34·0

  Pilot extensification scheme

  0·4

  Set-Aside

  25·8

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Curry
  None.

  Oil Dispersants
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why oil dispersants are not tested on marine animal and plant life present in surface waters.

  Mr. Curry
  Oil dispersants are tested using the brown shrimp Crangon crangon, for the sea test, and the common limpet Patella vulgata, for the rocky shore test. These marine animal species are considered to be suitably representative of marine life for the tests, which are intended to assess the toxicity of a dispersant, or a dispersant mixed with oil, in comparison with the toxicity of oil alone. However, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 1 April at column 329 which announced a review of the current arrangements for the testing and approval of oil dispersants.

  Departmental Forms
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his plans for reducing the number of forms which have to be filled in by farmers produced by his Department.

  Mr. Curry
  A baseline list of forms associated with Ministry regulations which impose a burden on industry has been established. Forms listed in the baseline are subject to review under Ministry deregulation plans. The aim is to identify those which might be simplified or abolished in order to reduce the burden that can be imposed on industry.

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many forms he produced to be filled in by farmers for any purpose including making claims for quotas and grants in(a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c)

  Mr. Curry
  The number of forms filled in specifically by farmers in 1993 is not available. Nor is this information available on a historical basis. However, the total number of forms associated with Ministry regulations which impose a burden on industry which the agriculture and food sectors taken as a whole are currently asked to complete is just under 450.

DEFENCE

  Atomic Weapons Establishments
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the report, "Brown and Root: The Track Record", a copy of which has been sent to him, in regard to the contractorisation of the atomic weapons establishments from 1 April.

  Mr. Aitken
  The report refers to Brown and Root Inc, which is a United States-managed and operated company. Its allegations do not relate to Brown and Root Ltd., which is a member of the Hunting-BRAE consortium selected to operate AWE. Brown and Root Ltd. is the lead partner in the consortium running Devonport dockyard, where their nuclear safety record has been first class. In selecting Hunting-BRAE Ltd. as the contractor to operate AWE, careful account was taken of the corporate experience of all members of the consortium including their commitment to safety.

  Nuclear Tests
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) of 19 March,Official Report, column 391, if he will make it his practice to itemise the costs levied on each nuclear test conducted by the United Kingdom in Nevada to cover the management and disposal of radioactive wastes associated with each respective test.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on the 29 March 1993,Official Report, column 16.

  Nuclear Submarines
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements he has made for the establishment of Z-berths for nuclear-powered submarines operating in the Persian gulf.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None. The term "Z-berth" applies only to locations within the United Kingdom or United Kingdom dependent territories.

  Surplus Departmental Properties
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties are currently surplus to the long-term requirements of his Department; and if he will list the number of such properties at each of his Department's sites.

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

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of his Department's properties were purchased by(a) housing associations, (b) private developers, (c) under do-it-yourself shared ownership schemes, and (d) under shared-ownership schemes in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The information requested is as follows:
  570

  Number

  (a) housing associations

  1990–91

  96

  1991–92

  221

  1992–93

  299

  (b) private developers

  1990–91

  875

  1991–92

  392

  1992–93

  110

  As far as my Department is aware no properties have been purchased directly from the MoD under the DIYSO or shared-ownership schemes. These schemes are run by the Housing Corporation and housing associations. Some of the properties purchased by housing associations or private developers may subsequently have been resold under such schemes.

  Helicopter Carrier
  Mr. Jopling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons a limit of three weeks has been set for the contenders to modify their bids for the helicopter carrier; whether he will allow extra time, if this proves to be insufficient time to make the necessary adjustments; and if he will make it his policy to assess the rival bids purely on merits and price.

  Mr. Aitken
  In response to requests from the tenderers, additional time has been allowed for them to respond to the invitation to clarify their bids. We will hold a full and fair competition for the contract using our normal technical and value for money criteria.

  Journalists (Transport and Accommodation)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy relating to(a) the provision of funding for the transport of journalists, and (b) the provision of MoD accommodation for journalists; and if he will make a statement.

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

  MPs (Transport and Accommodation)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy relating to(a) the provision of funding for the transport of hon. Members and (b) the provision of MoD accommodation for hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

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

  Scott Inquiry
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 March,Official Report, column 759, what was the number of documents requested by the Scott inquiry and that he was unable to provide: if he will state their nature; if he will divide his answer into those documents that he was unable to provide because (a) they had been destroyed, (b) they had been lost and (c) for other reasons; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Lord Justice Scott's inquiry has requested a wide range of documents from my Department and no
  571
  document requested is being witheld. As Lord Justice Scott made clear at his press conference on 31 March 1993, these requests are continuing and a great deal of work is being done to meet them. It would be inappropriate for me to comment in detail on the number and nature of these requests, which are matters between my Department and Lord Justice Scott's inquiry.

  Bosnia No-fly Zone
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what consideration has been given to the deployment of Tornado aircraft to enforce the no-fly zone in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what recent consideration has been given to the deployment of British military forces to enforce the no-fly zone in Bosnia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Up to 12 Tornado F3 fighter aircraft and their air-to-air refuelling support have been offered to NATO as part of operations to implement Security Council resolution 816 to enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia. The force for the initial deployment is made up of French, Dutch and American aircraft. British and other allies' aircraft are on standby to augment the force if requested to do so.

  Falkland Islands
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) journalists and (b) hon. Members have visited the Falklands since 1982; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There is no MoD requirement for a permanent record of visits to the Falklands Islands by journalists and hon. Members. No detailed lists are therefore maintained.

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None.

  War Crimes
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training is given to Her Majesty's forces about war crimes.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Army's common military syllabus, the basis of all initial training, contains a module on the law of armed conflict, part of which embodies the correct treatment of prisoners of war.

  In addition, individual and collective training, prior to relevant operations, highlights instruction in the law of armed conflict, the Geneva convention and the rules of engagement specific to the operation in question.

  Grade

  Registered disabled1

  Percentage of staff in grade

  Non-registered disabled1

  Percentage of staff in grade

  Ethnic minority2

  Percentage of staff in grade

  Women

  Percentage of staff in grade

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  —

  —

  2

  4·2

  —

  —

  2

  4·3

  4

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  4·0

  5

  —

  —

  9

  2·9

  11

  3·5

  14

  4·5

  Redundancies
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel will now be made redundant under "Options for Change"; how many of those being made redundant are from Scottish regiments or have been previously posted to Scotland; and of those, how many are currently in single accommodation within the services and how many are in family accommodation.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  To date, a total of 12,440 service personnel have been selected for redundancy. In addition, in my answer to the hon. Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight) on 1 April,Official Report, column 323, I said that a maximum in the order of 2,300 redundancies would take place in the Royal Navy between April and November 1994. Further redundancies in each of the services beyond these will depend on the manning situation.

  A total of 486 personnel from Scottish regiments have been selected for redundancy in phases 1 and 2 of the Army's redundancy programme. Information about the number of personnel selected for redundancy who have served in Scotland and about the type of accommodation occupied by personnel made redundant is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Army Houses
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of unoccupied houses owned by the armed services in Scotland which are(a) uninhabitable and (b)inhabitable.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As at 31 December 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, 270 unoccupied service married quarters in Scotland were uninhabitable and 547 inhabitable. The uninhabitable properties were either undergoing or awaiting major works services while many of the inhabitable ones were either allocated to service families who were due to move in shortly or under consideration for disposal. In addition, 171 surplus married quarters were in the process of being sold.

  Equal Opportunities
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of officers in each grade from 1 to 7 and overall in his Department are(a) women, (b) from ethnic minorities and (c) disabled people.

  Mr. Aitken
  The numbers of women, disabled and ethnic minority staff in grade levels 1 to 7 and overall are given in the table. These figures exclude our executive agencies, the Meteorological Office and the Defence Research Agency. I have asked the chief executives to write to the hon. and learned Member.
  573

  Grade

  Registered disabled1

  Percentage of staff in grade

  Non-registered disabled1

  Percentage of staff in grade

  Ethnic minority2

  Percentage of staff in grade

  Women

  Percentage of staff in grade

  6

  —

  —

  10

  1·9

  <10

  <1·0

  15

  2·9

  7

  3

  0·1

  77

  3·8

  31

  1·5

  130

  6·4

  Total3

  1,439

  1·1

  3,312

  4·0

  1,849

  1·5

  40,634

  32·0

  1 Figures based on responses to voluntary disability surveys.

  2 Figures based on responses to voluntary ethnic origin survey.

  3 Non-industrial and industrial staff.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Greville Janner, dated 14 April 1993;

  In his written reply to your Parliamentary Question on the

  (1)

  (1)

  (2)

  Grade

  Registered disabled

  Percentage of staff in Grade

  Non-registered disabled

  Percentage of staff in Grade

  Ethnic minority

  Percentage of staff in Grade

  Women

  Percentage of staff in grade

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  4

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  5

  —

  —

  1

  2·40

  —

  —

  1

  2·40

  6

  —

  —

  8

  3·80

  —

  —

  3

  1·40

  7

  1

  0·10

  33

  3·80

  10

  1·2

  29

  3·30

  Total Non-industrial staff (3)

  69

  0·86

  253

  3·18

  133

  1·67

  2,824

  35·50

  Notes:

  (1) Figures based on responses to voluntary disability surveys.

  (2) Figures based on responses to voluntary ethnic origin survey.

  (3) Statistics on the 2,606 Industrial staff cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost and administrative effort.

  Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Greville fanner, dated 5 April 1993:

  The figures below give the details for the Meteorological Office, as requested in your recent Parliamentary Question:

  Grades 1–4

  : 0 (out of 3)

  Grade 5

  : 1 disabled (12·5 per cent.)

  Grade 6

  : 2 women (6·5 per cent.)

  Grade 7

  : 2 disabled (1·3 per cent.), 1 from an ethnic minority (0·7 per cent.), 7 women (4·1 per cent.)

  Overall

  : 10 disabled (0·9 per cent.), 23 from ethnic minorities (1·0 per cent.), 447 women (17·7 per cent.).

  Note: Only those registered disabled are included in the 'disabled' figures.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Correspondence
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Lord President of the Council when the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow can expect to receive a reply to his letter dated 27 January anent certain matters relating to ministerial statements.

  Mr. Newton
  I replied to the hon. Member today.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Middle East
  Mr. Boyce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps he is taking in support of the middle east peace process.
  574
  numbers of women, people from ethnic minorities and disabled people working in MOD, the Secretary of State for Defence informed you that I would be replying directly to you in respect of the Defence Research Agency. The information you request, a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library, is as follows:

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Our priority is an early resumption of the middle east peace process. The United Kingdom was represented on a European Community troika mission to the middle east from 30 March to 2 April. The troika urged all parties to accept the co-sponsors' invitation to the next round of negotiations in Washington on 20 April.

  Russia
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet his Russian counterpart to discuss United Kingdom-Russian relations.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans at present for a further meeting with Mr. Kozyrev, but we keep in regular contact. They discussed British-Russian relations when they met in Moscow earlier this month.

  Maastricht Treaty
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received to date about holding a referendum on the Maastricht treaty; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  There have been several such calls. We do not believe that a referendum on the treaty is either necessary or appropriate.

  Singapore
  Mr. Milligan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current status of Britain's relations with Singapore.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Our relations with Singapore are excellent, as I was able to confirm during my visit from 5 to 7 April.

  While in Singapore, I had talks with the Prime Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, the senior Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and other Ministers on a range of issues. I also met leading figures in the economic and commercial sectors, and was able to reiterate the growing interest of British firms in doing business with Singapore, now the United Kingdom's 19th largest export market with two-way trade in 1992 totalling over £2 billion.

  Relations are strong, too, in the fields of English language teaching and education, with some 3,000 Singaporean students attending tertiary courses in the United Kingdom. We continue to attach importance to defence co-operation, through the five power defence arrangements and the Royal Navy's use of two berths at Sembawang.

  South Africa
  Mr. Deva
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards the holding of multiracial elections in South Africa.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  A multi-party planning conference was held on 5–6 March which agreed that multi-party talks will resume on 1 April. All major parties, except the Azanian People's organisation, are represented in the 26-member committee which is preparing for the talks. These talks are expected to lead to the establishment of a transitional executive structure later this year, followed by free non-racial elections.

  Sir Michael Grylls
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the status of talks aimed at the establishment of an interim Government in South Africa.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Constitutional negotiations involving all significant political groupings in South Africa are due to begin on 1 or 2 April. These talks are expected to lead to the establishment of a transitional executive structure in June, followed by elections to a constitution-making body and the establishment of an interim government of national unity.

  Iran
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the links between Iran and international terrorism.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We and our European partners made clear at the Edinburgh summit in December our concern at Iranian behaviour in a number of areas, particularly the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and terrorism.
  576

  Bosnia
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the situation in Bosnia.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We and our EC partners have welcomed the Bosnian Muslim and Croat agreement to the international conference's peace plan for Bosnia. The Bosnian Serbs must now sign. Urgent work is in hand in New York to apply pressure on the Serbs to secure their agreement.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will detail the remit, which he and other EC Foreign Ministers gave at the Edinburgh summit, to the team charged with investigating allegations of rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The remit of the EC investigative mission into allegations of abuse of women in Bosnia-Herzegovina is set out in the declaration issued by the EC Foreign Ministers at the conclusion of the Edinburgh summit. The declaration was issued as a UN Security Council document. A copy is in the Library.

  European Community (Responsibility)
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the principal areas of policy or administration for which the European Community has exclusive responsibility.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The European Community has exclusive competence where that is conferred upon it by treaty provision or measures taken under the treaty. It is not possible to draw up an exhaustive theoretical list. Current examples include the common agricultural policy, the common commercial policy and the external tariff.

  Japan
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Japan.

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about United Kingdom relations with Japan.

  Mr. Goodlad
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Japan from 6 to 7 April. Following his discussions with the Japanese Government as well as with a wide range of people from different walks of life, we remain strongly of the view that our relations with Japan are excellent. We hold similar views on the major world issues. We shall be working hard to make the relationship yet closer and more productive.

  Angola
  Mr. Hoon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he is planning through the United Nations to end the fighting in Angola.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  In accordance with the mandate conferred by United Nations Security Council resolution
  577
  811 of 12 March, the United Nations Secretary General is now consulting the Government of Angola and UNITA to establish the date, place and agenda for direct UNITA/Government of Angola talks under United Nations auspices. We are actively supporting his efforts.

  Sudan
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department last made representations about human rights to the Government of Sudan.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I last raised Sudan's human rights performance with the Sudanese ambassador on 22 February. My right honourable and noble Friend Baroness Chalker of Wallasey also raised the issue with him on 1 April. We were in the lead in securing a resolution adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on 10 March providing for a public investigation of the human rights situation in Sudan.

  United Nations (Reform)
  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what view Her Majesty's Government take of current proposals for reform of the structures and powers of the United Nations.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have long worked for and support steps to reform the workings of the United Nations which promote efficiency and streamline the organisation. We have backed the Secretary-General's reforms of the secretariat. With our European Community partners, we have been at the forefront of moves to restructure and revitalise the Economic and Social Council and to promote good management and administration in the United Nations specialised agencies.

  Yugoslavia
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met his ministerial colleagues from other member states of the Security Council of the United Nations to discuss the enforcement of UN resolutions 713, 757 and 787 relating to trade and arms embargoes against the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs last discussed these issues with the US Secretary of State on 25 March. We are in regular contact with other member states represented at the Security Council.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's ambassador to the United Nations will propose enforcement. of the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The United Kingdom co-sponsored UN Security Council resolution 816, which authorises enforcement of the no-fly zone established by Security Council resolutions 781 of 9 October 1992 and 786 of 11 November 1992.

  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his 578
  answer to the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell) of 25 March, Official Report, column 653, if he has received a copy of the UNPROFOR report on the recent breach of the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina; what was the origin, destination and type of the aircraft concerned; and on what basis it was identified as a Bosnian-Serb aircraft.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  We have received a copy of Note Verbale S/24900/Add.27 of 16 March from the United Nations Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council, which gives details of the three aircraft observed bombing the village of Gladovici.

  The report does not specify the origin of the aircraft. One aircraft was a single-engined propellor-driven biplane, the other two being single-engined propellor-driven monoplanes. It was not possible to determine the precise type of destination of the aircraft, but all three withdrew towards the Bosnian/Serbian border. The circumstantial evidence therefore suggests that the aircraft were operated by the Bosnian Serbs.

  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Nations monitors are in place at each Bosnian-Serb airfield in the republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and each airfield in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and how many combat missions have departed from any of these airfields since their installation.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  UNPROFOR airfield monitors are stationed in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at Batajnica/Surcin, Ponikve, Kraljevo, Berane, Podgorica, Pristina and Nis and in Bosnia at Mahorljani, Zaluzahi, Cazin and Tuzla.

  No sorties positively identified as for combat purposes have been recorded departing from any of the airfields at which UNPROFOR monitors are stationed.

  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement concerning the enforcement of the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the oral answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement on 1 April 1993 to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark), c. 499.

  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when was the last occasion on which fixed wing or propeller aircraft from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia crossed into Bosnia-Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The last occasions on which aircraft unauthorised by UNPROFOR were observed crossing from Serbian airspace into Bosnia-Herzegovina were on 14 March, when violations by three separate aircraft—one helicopter, one biplane and one monoplane—were reported.

  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the total number of violations of the no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina by(a) Bosnian-Serb fixed wing aircraft, (b) Bosnian-Serb helicopters, (c) Bosnian-Muslim fixed wing aircraft, (d) Bosnian-Muslim helicopters, (e) Croatian fixed wing aircraft and (f) Croatian helicopters since its introduction.
  579
  Mr. Garel-Jones
  UNPROFOR reports of violations of the no-fly zone do not normally attribute individual violations to parties. Nor is it in many cases possible to determine whether the violating aircraft is fixed or rotary wing.

  Kenya
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on relations with Kenya following the policy decisions of the international financial institutions.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We are urging the Kenyan Government to reopen discussions with the IMF/World Bank with a view to reaching agreement at the earliest opportunity.

  Know-how Funds
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the know-how funds for the Confederation of Independent States, central and eastern Europe.

  Mr. Douglas-Hogg
  The know-how fund is kept regularly under review. The fund is well regarded for its effective and flexible contributions to economic and political reform.

  Israel
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to assist the ending of the Arab trade boycott of Israel.

  Mr. Douglas-Hogg
  We consider the Arab boycott to be iniquitous and incompatible with the spirit of the peace process. Calls on the Arab League to lift the boycott were made at the 1991 London economic summit, at the Lisbon European Council of June 1992, and in a series of European Community demarches in September 1992. We shall continue to pursue this issue with Arab Governments.

  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications he has had with the Israeli Government on whether Israeli settlements in the west bank, Gaza strip, Golan heights and East Jerusalem are continuing; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Ministers have regularly discussed the settlement issue with the Israelis; most recently with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and the Israeli Minister of Housing who were both in London last month. The Israeli Government instituted some curbs on settlement activity in the west bank and Gaza shortly after its formation last year. This was a welcome move, but fell short of the total ban on settlements in the occupied territories which we, and other members of the international community, had called for. It remains our view that all settlements in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace.

  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has 580
  recently received on changes in Israeli settlements in the west bank, Gaza strip, Golan heights and east Jerusalem; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The Israeli Government instituted some curbs on settlement activity in the west bank and Gaza shortly after its formation last year. This was a welcome move but fell short of the total ban on settlements in the occupied territories which we, and other members of the international community, had called for. Settlement activity continues in East Jerusalem. It remains our view that all settlements in the occupied territories, including east Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information Her Majesty's Government possess on the violation of the human rights of Palestinians in Israel in each month since January 1992.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  We receive regular information from a variety of sources on the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories. The situation there remains a matter of great concern as my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg), made clear in a speech to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on 9 February.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Israel concerning the imprisonment of Mordechai Vanunu; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have raised with the Israelis concerns over humanitarian aspects of this case. They have assured us that the conditions under which Mr. Vanunu is detained have now improved. We have no formal locus to intervene.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action has been taken within the nuclear non-proliferation treaty concerning Israeli nuclear capability; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  As Israel is not a party to the non-proliferation treaty, it is not subject to its provisions. We are, however, concerned by reports that Israel has a nuclear weapons programme, although we have no direct evidence to confirm that this is the case, and would like Israel to accede to the treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state as soon as possible.

  Nuclear Testing
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department was represented at the meeting launching the appeal for a nuclear test ban held in Committee Room 6 on 30 March.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  No.

  Weapons Conventions
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what legislation is required before(a) the 1977 additional protocols to the Geneva convention and (b) the 1981 inhumane weapons convention can be ratified by Her Majesty's Government.
  581
  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Should we decide to ratify the 1977 additional protocols to the Geneva conventions, legislation would be needed at least in the form of an amendment to the Geneva Conventions Act of 1957, to create criminal offences in respect of grave breaches of additional protocol I, as required by article 85 of that protocol. The need for legislation on any further points is under consideration.

  It is not thought that legislation would be required to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the 1981 United Nations weaponry convention.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  One.

  Norway
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Norway's application to join the European Community, in regard to environment and foreign and security policy.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  We welcome Norway's application to join the Community and look forward to the swift conclusion of accession, negotiations, which began on 5 April. Norway has said that she is ready to participate fully in the common foreign and security policy and has played a full role in international environment policy. The precise terms of accession in these and other areas will be the subject of negotiation.

  St. Helena
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 22 March,Official Report, column 441, how many vehicles were imported free of tax into St. Helena owned by United Kingdom or St. Helena Government employees.

  Mr. Garet-Jones
  The available figures for private vehicles imported free of tax, on first arrival, by employees of the United Kingdom and St. Helena Governments are as follows:

  Vehicles imported free of tax by employees of the United Kingdom and St. Helena Governments

  Year

  Number

  1987

  3

  1988

  21

  1989

  4

  1990

  11

  1991

  10

  1992

  8

  TOTAL

  57

  Nuclear Non-proliferation
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters in regard to nuclear non-proliferation were discussed during his recent meetings in the United States of America.
  582
  Mr. Garel-Jones
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed nuclear non-proliferation matters in the context of preparations for the 1995 nuclear non-proliferation treaty extension and review conference, notably current problems with North Korea and Ukraine.

  Iraq
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Iraqi interests section of the Jordanian embassy about the release of funds for Iraqi students and their host academic institutions in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  We have urged the Iraqi interests section of the Royal Jordanian embassy on many occasions to settle outstanding bills in respect of students sponsored by the Iraqi Government. We have recently assisted them to set up a mechanism which facilitates the settlement of these bills. This mechanism conforms to the provisions of the United Nations sanctions regime.

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the latest position over the UN-supervised programme of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and if he will itemise what has so far been destroyed and the likely number yet to be dealt with.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  UN inspectors continue to carry out inspections and monitoring in Iraq in accordance with Security Council resolution 687.

  Destruction on prohibited items, facilities and components is under way. The UN estimates that destruction of chemical agents will continue for a further nine to 10 months; the extent of other destruction activity has yet to be determined.

  Inspectors have so far supervised the destruction of:

  62 Ballistic Missiles and Supergun

  62 ballistic missiles

  10 ballistic missile launchers

  18 fixed sound launch pads

  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government and the UN towards the sale of oil by the Iraqi regime; what response there has been so far from the regime; and what steps have been taken to publicise the reasons for the present UN policy among the populations of UN member states.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The sale of oil by the Iraqi regime is forbidden under the terms of United Nations Security Council resolution 687 until the Government of Iraq comply with the provisions of that resolution which laid out the terms of the ceasefire. But under the provisions of two subsequent UN Security Council resolutions, 706 and 712, Iraq is able to export up to $1·6 billion worth of oil in exchange for the financing of humanitarian imports. The Iraqi Government have chosen not to implement these resolutions. We have consistently called on Iraq to implement all relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We also hope that Iraq will take advantage of the opportunity to export oil. We have made our position clear on frequent occasions, notably with other members so the Security Council at the regular reviews of UN sanctions against Iraq.

  Korea
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the report made by the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the IAEA's board of governors on 31 March on the nuclear status of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  In accordance with the IAEA board of governors' resolutions of 25 February and 18 March, the Director-General of the IAEA made a statement to the board of governors on 31 March on safeguards in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Dr. Blix reported that the IAEA was unable to verify that there has been no diversion by the DPRK of nuclear material to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, and that the DPRK was in non-compliance with its safeguards agreement with the agency.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give an estimate of the number of retired pensioners of the Hong Kong Government there will be at the date when control of the colony passes to China.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Based on present retirement patterns, the estimated number of Hong Kong Government pensioners at the end of June 1997 should stand at some 51,000.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bradford, West about the murder of Mrs. Hamida Mattoo by security forces in Indian-occupied Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I shall be writing to the hon. Gentleman shortly about the death of Mrs. Hamida Mattoo.

  Cyprus
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Nations talks on Cyprus.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The United Nations Secretary-General held a formal meeting with the leaders of the two Cypriot communities in New York on 30 March. The two leaders expressed their willingness to resume talks in New York on 24 May and to use the "Set of Ideas" for the purpose of reaching a mutually acceptable overall framework agreement. We continue actively to support the UN initiative.

  Somalia
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Somali asylum seekers have been interviewed at the British embassy in Cairo for each of the past 12 months.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  No Somali asylum-seekers have been interviewed at the British embassy in Cairo in the last 584
  12 months. However, the number of Somali nationals interviewed in the British embassy, Cairo in connection with their applications to join sponsors who have claimed asylum in the United Kingdom is as follows:

  Numbers interviewed

  Dependents of applicants

  April 1992

  1

  3

  May 1992

  1

  4

  June 1992

  1

  0

  July 1992

  2

  1

  August 1992

  1

  0

  September 1992

  0

  0

  October 1992

  1

  1

  November 1992

  0

  0

  December 1992

  0

  0

  January 1993

  0

  0

  February 1993

  0

  0

  March 1993

  2

  3

  Total

  9

  12

SCOTLAND

  Local Government Reform
  Mr. Davidson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect he expects the transfer of undertakings (protection of employees) legislation to have on the proposed local government reforms; what cost implications there will be and on which bodies they will fall; and what account was taken of the calculations prepared for his Department by Touche Ross.

  Mr. Stewart
  The question of whether the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations will apply can be determined only in the light of individual circumstances and following careful legal consideration. We envisage that most local authority staff who are currently employed by local authorities will in any case, by one means or another, become the employees of the new authorities. In preparing its report on costs, Touche Ross assumed that all staff would transfer to the new authorities and that any surplus staff would be made redundant by those authorities.

  Mr. Davidson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has made of the implications for public sector expenditure over the next five years of the proposed reform of local government in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  The Scottish Office engaged consultants last year to estimate the costs and savings likely to arise from a move to a single-tier structure of local government in Scotland. The consultants' findings are at present being refined in the light of comments on their report. The available evidence suggests that our reform proposals will give rise to transitional costs which will be quickly recovered by savings arising from the new structure. An indication of the likely financial consequences of reform will be included in due course in a White Paper setting out our proposals.

  Mr. Davidson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provision he will make for accountability when transferring existing local authority powers from directly elected Scottish local councils to the Scottish Office and to non-elected bodies.
  585
  Mr. Stewart
  Local authority functions are regularly reviewed. New duties are placed on local government in appropriate circumstances and some functions are assumed at other times by other bodies or agencies. Questions of accountability, service delivery and a range of other issues are given full consideration in each case.

  Mr. Davidson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will specify the reasons which underlay the Government's decision to establish a local government commission to inquire into local government reform in England but not in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  The fact that a commission has been appointed in England to consider local government restructuring is not itself a necessary reason for adopting a similar procedure in Scotland. It is appropriate to adopt Scottish solutions to Scottish problems. Similarly, no such commission has been appointed in Wales. The present structure of local government in Scotland and the evidence available from previous reviews mean that the current reform exercise is of a smaller scale and less complex than that in England. The Government have recently completed a very full consultation exercise about the shape of the new single-tier structure to which over 3,300 responses were submitted. These are now being carefully analysed.

  Transplants
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many patients are on waiting lists for bone marrow transplants, and for transplants for cases of genetic and metabolic disorders;

  (2) what provision is made for patients who require a bone marrow transplant; and what provision is made for funding transplants for genetic and metabolic disorders.

  Mr. Stewart
  It is for health boards to negotiate contracts for the provision of bone marrow transplant services. As at 31 March 1993 there were four adult patients waiting for bone marrow transplants in Scotland. There is no waiting list for bone marrow transplants for genetic or metabolic disorders.

  Agency Nurses
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to ensure that agency nurses employed in NHS hospitals are always suitably qualified and experienced for the wards to which they are allocated.

  Mr. Stewart
  In Scotland agencies for the supply of nurses are licensed under part III of the Nurses (Scotland) Act 1951. The licensing authority for nurses agencies in Scotland is the health board for the area in which the agency's premises are situated.

  Conditions attached to the granting of a licence are stringent and include a requirement that agencies supply only nurses on the register of the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. These, and other conditions, are enforced by the licensing authority. In addition, my noble Friend the Minister of State announced on 15 June 1992 the intention that all patients would have a named nurse to ensure that in all circumstances suitably qualified and experienced nurses are available to patients.

  European Community
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 25 March,Official Report, column 687, what is the total number of persons, and of what grade or level, seconded to (a) the European Commission and (b) the UKREP to the EC since 1973; and how many of those who have completed their secondment are still employed by his Department.

  Mr. Stewart
  Between 1981 and 1993 13 Scottish Office staff between higher executive officer and unified grade 7 level or professional equivalent have been seconded to the European Commission, of whom 11 are still employed by the Department. Figures for the period 1973–81 are not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate expense.

  Since 1973, seven Scottish Office staff have been seconded to UKREP, of whom six are still employed by the Department. Two were at higher executive officer level, two at unified grade 7 and three at unified grade 5 level.

  Forestry Commission
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are Her Majesty's Government's current intentions in relation to(a) the future of the Forest Enterprise wing of the Forestry Commission and (b) the future of the regulatory functions of the Forestry Commission in England, Wales and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands, (Mr. Knox) on 30 March 1993,Official Report, column 150. We have no plans at present to change the regulatory functions of the Forestry Commission.

  Pupil-teacher Ratio
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average pupil-teacher ratio in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The average pupil-teacher ratio at September 1991 in education authority schools in Scotland was 19·5 in primary and 12·4 in secondary.

  This information was published in the Scottish Office Education Department statistical bulletin, "Schools, Pupils and Teachers in Scotland" (Edn/A1/1993/1), tables 4 and 6. A copy of the bulletin is in the House of Commons Library.

  Countryside (Access)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what plans he has to charge for access to parts of the countryside in public ownership; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what discussion he has had with land owners concerning access to the countryside; and if he will make a statement;.

  (3) what representations he has received concerning access to the countryside.

  Sir Hector Monro
  All aspects of access to the countryside, whether in public or private ownership, are
  587
  currently under active review by Scottish Natural Heritage. SNH issued a public consultation paper in January 1993. The consultation period ends on 16 April 1993, following which it will be developing policy proposals for the consideration of Government and other interests. I cannot anticipate at this stage what these might be.

  Fishing Exclusion Zone
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he intends to extend the fishing exclusion zone to encompass areas where high levels of oil contamination have been found associated with sediment south of the current exclusion zone.

  Sir Hector Monro
  Detailed monitoring has been carried out by Government scientists since oil-contaminated sediments were first found to the south-east of Fair Isle. Results have shown that while sediments have been contaminated by Braer oil, hydrocarbon concentrations in the water column and in samples of fish from the vicinity have been within background levels. In these circumstances I see no need to extend the existing exclusion zone.

  Al (Upgrading)
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his plans for upgrading the Al road in Scotland, giving the timetable for construction and completion of each section and the estimated costs.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Government consider that it would be desirable for the A 1 to be dualled over its full length in Scotland. Work is currently under way on the £1·6 million dualling scheme at Marshall Meadows which will tie into a Department of Transport improvement at the national border. This scheme will be completed during the summer. The major route priority is the construction of a dual carriageway from Tranent to Haddington. Draft orders for this scheme were published on 30 March and, subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures, construction of this £33 million scheme will commence in 1994–95. The preparation of the Haddington-Dunbar scheme, which is also estimated to cost in excess of £30 million, is following the earlier scheme at an interval of about 12 months.

  Between Dunbar and the Border, some six further dualling schemes are being prepared along the route for early construction. Subject to satisfactory completion of the necessary procedures, up to three of these should start this financial year with the remainder planned to follow in the current public expenditure period. The schemes are:

  £ million

  Cement Works-Innerwick

  2·6

  Tower-Penmanshiel

  1·5

  Howburn-Lemington

  2·1

  Thistly Cross-Broxburn

  4·4

  Broxburn-Cement Works

  1·75

  Houndwood-Howburn

  1·75

  In addition to the above, local schemes to provide early safety and operational improvements on the route will continue to be brought forward.
  588
  The timing of all the above schemes will be dependent on the completion of the necessary preparatory work and statutory procedures and, for the later schemes, the availability of finance.

  Further schemes will be identified and constructed as they compete for, and find, places in future programmes.

  Child Care
  Mr. Chisholm
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money has been given to Scottish Enterprise in 1993–94 for the new after-school child care initiative.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: Resources for a new programme for the provision of out-of-school child care have been included in the overall budget for Scottish Enterprise for 1993–94. The relevant resources have not been separately identified, in accordance with normal budgeting arrangements for these bodies. The detailed allocation of resources to specific activities is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and for the local enterprise companies.

  Health Board Staff
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish a list of companies employing staff transferred from employment with health boards; and what information he has on the wage rates they are offering new employees;

  (2) how many health boards have been advised by the Central Legal Office to provide private contractors with details of length of service of their employees.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: Information about companies employing transferred staff is not collected. Under the terms of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981., existing rates and conditions of service would apply in the case of any staff affected by such a relevant transfer.

  No advice has been given by the central legal office of the NHS to health boards to provide contractors with details of service of employees.

  Forestry
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what input has been received from non-governmental organisations in relation to the development of the national plan to implement the non-binding statement of forest principles agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development;

  (2) what progress has been made with regard to the development of the national plan to implement the non-binding statement of forest principles agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 1 February 1993, Official Report, column 18. The national plan is still in course of preparation. We have not yet sought the views of non-governmental organisations, but will do so later this year before the plan is completed.
  589
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what incentives exist for the production of hardwoods from broadleaved woodlands in the United Kingdom.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The Government provide grants, through the woodland grant scheme, to encourage the establishment of new broadleaved woodlands and the better management of existing broadleaved woodlands to meet a range of objectives, including the production of quality hardwood timber. The grants are supported by advice, which is summarised in Forestry Commission Handbook No. 9, "Growing Broadleaves for Timber", a copy of which is in the Library of the House

  Untreated Cream
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to allow low capacity establishments with a proven hygiene record to sell untreated cream in Scotland.

  Sir Hector Monro
  Scottish milk hygiene legislation is being reviewed in the context of implementation of EC directive 92/46 which lays down health rules for the production and marketing of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products. The Government will invite views on all aspects of the present legislation in the course of consultation on new draft regulations later this year.

  Hunting
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the cost of a permit or licence to hunt on Forestry Commission land.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 January 1993,Official Report, column 247.

  Historic Scotland
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the key performance targets he has set for Historic Scotland for 1993–94.

  Mr. Lang
  I have set Historic Scotland the following key performance targets for 1993–94:

  Protecting the built heritage

  Target

  i. Number of ancient monuments of national importance to be scheduled

  340

  ii. Number of listed buildings resurvey units to be completed

  150

  iii. Number of historic building repair grants accepted

  135

  iv. Conservation of monuments in care

  reduce maintenance backlog

  Promoting and presenting the built heritage

  i. Number of visitors to monuments in care

  2·4 million

  ii. Total income

  £7·5 million

  Management

  i. Value for money savings on maintenance of monuments in care (per cent.)

  3·5

  Mink
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mink farms are currently licensed in each region of Scotland.

  Sir Hector Monro
  There is one licensed mink farm operating in Scotland, in Grampian region.

  Offshore Oil and Gas
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail the time it took between reports of incidents involving breaches of health and safety laws in the offshore oil and gas industries and referrals made to the procurator fiscal in each of the past seven years; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding Answer 24 March 1993]: Problems have been experienced in recovering data stored on computer and many records formerly held by the procurator fiscal's office at Aberdeen were destroyed by fire in April 1989. Information for each of the past seven years is therefore not fully available.

  In such highly technical cases it can also be difficult to select a single point as marking the date of the start of the procurator fiscal's investigations, but in a survey of 10 cases the time taken between the receipt of cases by the procurator fiscal and the start of court proceedings varied as shown in the table. Much depended on the complexity of the technical evidence and on the scale of the specialised investigation required.

  In addition there are two substantial investigations which have been in progress since 1990, and two dating from 1991, in which decisions on prosecution will shortly be taken.

  After Receipt of Reports

  Proceedings Begun

  Number of Cases

  within 1 month

  1

  within 3 months but over 1 month

  2

  within 6 months but over 3 months

  0

  within 1 year but over 6 months

  3

  within 18 months but over I year

  2

  within 2 years but over 18 months

  1

  within 2½ years but over 2 years

  l

  Care in the Community
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the additional funds for the care in the community programme, announced on 23 March, relates to(a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95 and (c) 1995–96.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The additional £28 million for the care in the community programme will be used for bridging finance and distributed as follows: (a) £4 million 1993–94, (b) £9 million 1994–95 and (c) £15 million 1995–96.

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the additional allocation to the care in the community programme over the period 1993–94 to 1995–96, announced on 23 March(a) is bridging finance to health boards and (b) is in addition to bridging finance for the period 1992–93 to 1994–95 announced on 23 January 1992.
  591
  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The £28 million which I announced on 23 March for the care in the community programme is for bridging finance to health boards and is additional to that announced on 23 January 1992.

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the bridging finance for the care in the community programme, announced on 23 January 1992, relates to(a) 1992–93, (b) 1993–94 and (c) 1994–95.

  Mr. Lang
  In addition to an original £15 million bridging finance provision, apportioned equally over the three each financial years 1992–92 to 1993–94, the 23 January 1992 announcement confirmed an additional £18 million of bridging finance to be allocated on the basis of £6 million for each financial year, 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much of the bridging finance for the care in the community programme, announced on 23 January 1992, relates to(a) care of the mentally ill, (b) care of the mentally handicapped and (c) care of the elderly;

  (2) how much of the additional funds for the care in the community programme announced on 23 March relates to (a) care of the mentally ill, (b) care of the mentally handicapped and (c) care of the elderly.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 2 April 1993]: The amounts of bridging finance announced are available for distribution to all three client groups. Allocations to individual health boards reflect differing demands at their local level and so may be directed to any one or more of the client groups.

  River Clyde (Dredging)
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the overall cost of the dredging of the channel of the River Clyde in each of the past eight years; which organisation is responsible for the maintenance of the channel; which organisations make an annual financial contribution to the dredging operations; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 1 April 1993]: The gross costs incurred by the Clyde Port Authority in dredging the River Clyde in each of the past eight years were as follows:

  £ million

  1984

  918,000

  1985

  931,000

  1986

  884,000

  1987

  1,012,000

  1988

  1,043,000

  1989

  1,068,000

  1990

  1,209,000

  1991

  1,112,000

  Clydeport Ltd., as successor to the former Clyde Port Authority, has a permissive power to dredge the river channel to the extent that it is considered necessary for the maintenance and improvement of the port, but has no statutory duty to dredge.

  Strathclyde regional council, Glasgow district council, Yarrow Shipbuilders and Kvaerner Govan have all made
  592
  contributions towards the cost of dredging in recent years. It remains the Government's policy that port authorities, including Clydeport Ltd. should manage their businesses on a commercial basis and that the costs of dredging should be met by charges to the users of ports, or by other parties who benefit from the dredging.

  Young People
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to publish statistics and other information about the number of persons aged 16 to 17 years in each local enterprise company area who are(a) without a job, (b) not on an approved training course and (c) not undertaking a full-time education course.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 1 April 1993]: None. This information is not available in the form requested.

  Employment Protection
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from the Cleaning and Support Services Association in relation to the implementation of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 and compulsory competitive tendering by regional, island and district councils and health boards; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 1 April 1993]: I received a number of representations from the Cleaning and Support Services Association about the implementation of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. My right hon. Friend made his position clear in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Kynoch) on 11 March 1993, c. 716–17.

  Edinburgh Dental School
  Mr. Alistair Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if his Department will meet the cost incurred by the University of Edinburgh in making redundant the staff employed at the Edinburgh dental school following the decision that the school will close in 1994; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I shall write to the hon. Member.

EMPLOYMENT

  Unemployed Young People
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether children between the age of 16 and 18 years who are estranged from their parents and receiving income support while unemployed are excluded from the total unemployment monthly figures.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Those aged 16 to 17 who receive unemployment-related benefits as special hardship cases are included in the headline total of the monthly claimant unemployment count, but not in the corresponding consistent, seasonally adjusted series. In order to maintain consistency, over time the latter is restricted to those aged 18 and over.

  Job Schemes
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the age requirements that govern eligibility for each job scheme; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  For each of the job programmes run by the Employment Service, the lower age limit is the 18th birthday and there is no upper age limit.

  Unemployment, Llanfair Caereinion
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals she has for reducing unemployment in Llanfair Caereinion; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Employment Service and training and enterprise councils deliver a wide range of employment, enterprise and training programmes to help the employment prospects of unemployed people. These are available to people living in Llanfair Caereinion, as elsewhere, to help them find the quickest and best route back to employment.

  Lost Working Days
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many days were lost per 1,000 workers in the United Kingdom during each of the last two years.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  There were 24 working days lost per 1,000 workers in labour disputes in 1992, compared with 34 working days lost per 1,000 workers in 1991.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the appointments made by her as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Within the non-departmental public bodies covered by the Employment Department group, seven appointments came within the categories referred to in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers". These seven were given approval by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, although actually appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment.

  Gas Boilers
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to review safety standards for domestic gas boilers and flues; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I am advised by the Department of Trade and Industry that the safety requirements for all non-industrial gas applicances were reviewed recently during the development of the EC Gas Appliance Directive, adopted on 29 June 1990 and due to come fully into effect on 1 January 1996. In accordance with the requirement of this directive, European harmonised product safety standards for all gas appliances within the scope of the directive are currently under consideration by the European standardisation body, CEN.

  Vocational Training
  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will respond to the recommendations of the Equal Opportunity Commission's formal investigation into the publicly funded vocational training system in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We welcome the Equal Opportunities Commission's report as a positive contribution to promoting equality of opportunity for women. We are pleased to see that the report contains many examples of effective and innovative training practice introduced by the training and enterprise councils. We look forward to continued partnership with the commission in considering its recommendations.

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I am aware of two such certificates so far as the Employment Department group is concerned.

  Family Size
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 17 March,Official Report, column 267, on families with four or more children, if she will indicate what is meant by a one plus child family.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  This phrase was used to describe families with one or more children in order to provide a concise answer to my hon. Friend's original question; I regret any misunderstanding that this may have caused.

  Training Programmes
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people participated in(a) employment training, (b) youth training and (c) employment action in Great Britain in 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92; and at what average cost per trainee in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1992–93 prices.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested is given in the following tables:

  Table 1

  Great Britain—Number of Starts Employment training, youth training and employment action April 1989 to March 1992

  (Numbers)

  April 1989-March 1990

  April 1990-March 1991

  April 1991-March 1992

  Employment training

  430,600

  394,100

  291,600

  Youth training

  383,800

  347,800

  293,000

  Employment action

  n/a

  n/a

  19,300

  Source: SPECTRUM, OSMOSIS, Scotland and Wales management Information and ET Starts Database.

  Notes:

  Employment action did not start until 1 October 1991, therefore no figures are available for 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  1991–92 figures are provisional estimates.

  Youth training includes youth credits.
  595

  Table 2

  Great Britain Employment training, youth training and employment action April 1989 to March 1992

  Cost per trainee in(i) cash terms and (ii) 1992–93 prices

  (£'s)

  April 1989-March 1990

  April 1990-March 1991

  April 1991-March 1992

  Employment training

  (i)

  5,404

  5,384

  6,014

  (ii)

  6,443

  5,944

  6,224

  Youth training

  (i)

  2,620

  2,375

  2,735

  (ii)

  3,124

  2,622

  2,831

  Employment action

  (i)

  n/a

  n/a

  6,100

  (ii)

  n/a

  n/a

  6,314

  Source: Departmental Report and HM Treasury's GDP deflators.

  Notes: Unit cost figures are calculated from the average numbers in training over the year.

  Employment action did not start until 1 October 1991, therefore no figures are available for 1989–90 and 1990–91.

  The EA unit cost figure for 1991–92 is an accruals unit cost, which takes the expenditure back to the year in which the participant weeks are delivered.

  Unit cost figures for Employment Training and Employment Action differ slightly from the figures published in the 1993 departmental report as the departmental report figures covered England only. All figures at 1992–93 prices were calculated using the latest published version (17/3/93) of HM Treasury's GDP deflators.

  Youth training includes youth credits.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list every training programme and employment initiative by her Department with the month and year of its inception and demise and the number of participants since 1979.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested is not kept centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment further to the answer of 3 March,Official Report, column 209, about amounts spent on training programmes, what are the equivalent figures for 1992–93.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  This information is not yet available. I shall write to the hon. Member giving the figures requested, when the information for 1992–93 is complete.

  Part-time Employment
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will estimate the percentage of part-time(a) male and (b) female employees in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) Great Britain who earned less than (1) £3·80 an hour, (2) £4.00 an hour, (3) £5.20 an hour and (4) £5.40 an hour in 1992.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The available information for part-time women closest to that requested is given in the following table. Information for part-time men is not available.
  596

  Part-time women on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. Percentage with average gross hourly earnings less than the following amounts: April 1992.

  £3·80

  £4·00

  £4·80

  £5·40

  Scotland

  46·5

  52·6

  69·4

  77·0

  Wales

  54·6

  62·1

  75·9

  82·8

  England

  42·9

  49·3

  68·3

  77·5

  Northern Ireland

  54·3

  59·4

  73·9

  78·4

  Great Britain

  43·8

  50·2

  68·8

  77·7

  Source: New Earnings Survey, Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will estimate the number of(a) male and (b) female employees in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) England, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) Great Britain who work part-time.

  Mr. McLoughlin: The latest information is as follows:

  Part-time employees in employment: December 1992

  (Thousand)

  Not seasonally adjusted

  Males

  Females

  Scotland

  95

  436

  Wales

  60

  220

  England

  1,009

  4,025

  Northern Ireland

  35

  107

  Great Britain

  1,163

  4,681

  Job Search
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in Great Britain took part in(a) job clubs, (b) job interview guarantee and (c) job search seminars in 1990–91; and at what average cost per participant in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1992–93 prices.

  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 Mr. M. Fogden to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 14 April 1993:

  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 to her about Jobclubs, Job Interview Guarantee and job search seminars. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.

  1,140,774 people joined Jobclubs in 1990–91. The average cost per participant in cash terms, excluding fares to attend Jobclub and VAT, was £141. The cost in 1992–93 prices is £158.

  The Job Interview Guarantee (JIG) initiative was not generally available until April 1991 but was piloted in 20 inner city areas from September 1989 to March 1991. During this time 16,661 people were assisted through JIG. The average cost per participant is not available because the pilot phase was not costed separately.

  Job search seminars were not introduced until July 1991, therefore the data you request does not exist.

  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.

  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the maximum daily travelling
  597
  expenses that can be claimed by unemployed people who participate in job search seminars or in job review workshops when they travel by (a) public or (b) private transport; whether participants in both schemes are entitled to travel expenses to enable them to attend the follow-up support sessions provided by the seminars and workshops; and if she will make a statement.

  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 Mr. M. Fodgen to Ms Clare Short, dated 14 April 1993:
  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 to her about travel expenses for participants who attend job search seminars and Job Review Workshops.
  Both programmes are of short duration, normally lasting two full days with some additional follow up. They are designed to help short term unemployed people find work more quickly. The seminars and workshops are run by organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, under contract to the Employment Service. People who attend are paid their travelling expenses to the main sessions and to the follow up events. This is done by the programme providers who re-imburse participants the cost of travelling from their homes to the seminar or Workshop. The providers then recover this money from the Employment Service.
  Participants are expected to travel by the most cost effective mode of transport, normally standard class public transport. If participants prefer to use their own car or motorcycle they are paid a mileage allowance of 16p per mile provided this is cost effective, for example, where public transport is poor or there is good reason to use a vehicle. Otherwise if they choose to use their own transport they will receive the equivalent public transport cost.
  People with a disability problem which affects their mobility may claim travelling expenses at the mileage rate if they wish to use their own private vehicle. They may also be re-imbursed parking fees. Taxi fares will also be paid where a person's disability prevents them using either public transport or private vehicle.
  There is no upper limit laid down which states the maximum daily travelling allowance that can be claimed by participants. There is however a network of job search seminar and Job Review Workshop provision throughout the country and we would expect people to be offered places at a convenient location.
  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.

  Career Development Loans
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people took up career development loans in 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Information on the number of people taking out a career development loan in 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92 is as follows:

  Number

  1989–90

  5,805

  1990–91

  8,116

  1991–92

  10,432

  Workplace Nurseries
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans her Department has to encourage employers in the London area to adopt or maintain workplace nurseries.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Department encourages employers throughout the country to consider family-friendly employment policies including flexible working and help with child care, through publications such as "The Best of Both Worlds". The new out-of-school child care grant delivered by training and enterprise councils will create some 50,000 new child care places for school aged children over the next three years, which may include workplace facilities.

  Employment Schemes
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the average amount spent per person on(a) ET, (b) YT, (c) the job interview guarantee scheme and (d) job clubs for each year for which figures are available.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [pursuant to his reply, 3 March 1993, c. 209–10]I regret that my original reply contained an error. The figures given for the average amount spent per participant on YT for Great Britain given in my reply of 3 March 1993,Official Report, col. 209–10; were incorrect, due to a clerical error. The correct information for the average amount spent per person on employment training (ET), youth training (YT), the job interview guarantee scheme (JIG) and job clubs, in Great Britain, for each year for which figures are available is as follows:

  £ thousands

  Programme

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  ET

  n/a

  5,540

  5,404

  5,384

  6,014

  YT

  n/a

  n/a

  2,620

  2,375

  2,735

  JIG

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  57

  Jobclub

  1247

  1190

  140

  141

  147

  1 External Providers (contracted by the Employment Service) only. Figures exclude job clubs run by the Employment Service.

HEALTH

  GP Prescribing
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the annual saving achieved in the NHS hospital sector by general practitioners' prescribing of oral contraceptives in respect of prevention of unwanted pregnancies and of abortions;

  (2) what assessment she has made of the annual savings achieved in the NHS hospital sector by general practitioners' prescribing of (a) anti-hypertensive medicines, (b) medicines for treatment of late onset diabetes, (c) medicines for treatment of psoriasis and eczema and (d)medicines for the treatment of peptic ulcers.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Department has made no such specific assessment. General practitioners are aware that the cost-effective use of drugs can lead both to better patient care and to financial savings elsewhere in the national health service and in the public sector generally.
  599
  Policies on prescribing are designed to encourage such cost-effective prescribing while maintaining the pressure to cut out wasteful expenditure on drugs.

  Health Checks
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it remains her policy for automatic health checks to be given to people who reach the age of 75 years; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  It remains policy that family doctors should offer all their patients aged 75 and over an annual health check.

  Medicines
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many cases in 1991–92 the licensing authority determined an application for the grant of a licence under the Medicines Act in a way which differed from the advice of the Medicines Commission; and if she will identify each of those cases.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None.

  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will place in the Library a copy of the Committee on Safety of Medicines' policy on the disclosure of information about adverse drug reactions;

  (2) if she will place in the Library a copy of the Medicines Control Agency's policy on disclosure of information.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Medicines Control Agency has access to company data about medicinal products to carry out its functions under the provisions of the Medicines Act 1968. The Act places a responsibility on Ministers to protect the confidentiality of that information and makes it an offence for anyone to disclose it except in the performance of their duty.

  It is the policy of the Medicines Control Agency to maintain the commercial confidentiality of information provided by the pharmaceutical industry and to protect the anonymity of individuals identified in information to which it has access; this applies to information made available to the Committee on Safety of Medicines. Information on adverse drug reactions is disclosed by the agency to doctors, pharmacists and related groups when relevant to specific safety concerns.

  Pharmacies
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received regarding the effect on small pharmacies of the limit on the rise for 1993–94 in the global amount paid by her Department for pharmaceutical services.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have offered to increase the global sum out of which pharmacists' fees are paid by 1·5 per cent. in 1993–94. This accords with the Government's wider policy on public sector pay. How this money is allocated is a matter for discussion with the pharmacists' representatives. Those discussions are continuing.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what survey her Department has undertaken on the number of pharmacies closing in the Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth areas; and if she will make a statement.
  600
  Dr. Mawhinney
  Three pharmacies have closed between 1 October 1990 and Septemper 1992.

  London Ambulance Service
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, further to her statement of 25 February,Official Report, column 1005, when she expects the South West Thames regional health authority to report on its proposals for strengthening accountability of the London ambulance service.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Surbiton (Mr. Tracey) on 31 March at cols.241–42.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many outpatients' appointments have been cancelled by the London ambulance service for each month since October 1992.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Martin Gorham, chief executive of the London Ambulance Service, for details.

  Drugs
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the 10 established drug substances and six drug classes investigated in 1991–92 because of potential safety hazards not previously recognised; and what are the findings of each of the investigations.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information requested on the potential drug safety hazards investigated by the Medicines Control Agency is as follows:

  The six drug classes

  Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs, used to treat arthritis, can cause rare cases of meningitis of a non-infective origin, and in some patients, kidney damage. The findings of investigations into these issues were published in Current Problems No. 32, issued in October 1991.

  Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Anaphylactoid reactions can occur when patients on ACE inhibitors, undergo renal dialysis with a particular type of dialysis membrane. The findings of an investigation into this issue were published in Current Problems No. 33, issued in February 1992.

  Beta-agonists. Following concerns regarding a possible association between the use of beta-agonists in the treatment of patients with asthma and an increase in asthma mortality and morbidity, a Working Party was set up by the Committee on Safety of Medicines to review information on the safety of beta-agonists in asthma patients. They concluded that available evidence did not support a causal link between beta-agonist use and death from asthma. The findings of the Working Party were published in a report published in early 1992, and summarised in Current Problems No. 33, issued in February 1992.

  Radiographic contrast media. Concerns have been expressed in Europe regarding the comparative safety of intravascular use of high- and low-osmolar contrast media. After review of the data it was concluded that there was no convincing evidence to suggest a difference between these types of media with respect to life-threatening or fatal reactions. The review has been published in Pharmaceutical Medicine 1993, 7; 47–55.

  Quinolones. These antibiotics can cause convulsions in patients with or without a history of epilepsy; this reaction can also be induced by an interaction between these antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The findings of an investigation into this issue have been published in Current Problems No. 32, issued in October 1991.
  601
  Cephalosporins. These antibiotics can cause rare cases of pseudomembraneous colitis, a severe inflammatory condition of the colon. The findings of an investigation into this issue have been published in Current Problems No. 32, issued in October 1991.

  The 10 drug substances

  Gadolinium. Concern was raised from in vitro studies that gadolinium (Magnevist), a radiographic contrast medium, could affect viral infectivity. After review of the data it was concluded that the findings were unlikely to have relevance to the in vivo use of the agent.

  Vitamin K. Concern arose from epidemiological studies reporting an association between intramuscular administration of vitamin K to newborn babies and the subsequent development of childhood cancer. After review of the studies the Committee on Safety of Medicines concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support the conclusions reached in the study. A letter was sent to all doctors by the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Nursing Officer in December 1992 informing them about this matter. This issue is being kept under review.

  Terodiline. This drug, used in the treatment of urinary incontinence, can cause rare but serious disturbances of cardiac rhythm. As a result of an investigation into this issue, the Chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines wrote to all doctors, dentists and pharmacists in July 1991, informing them of their findings. Following further reports of such reactions, the drug was withdrawn voluntarily by the pharmaceutical company. The findings of the review of the data were published in Current Problems Number 32, issued in October 1991.

  Triazolam (Halcion). This drug is used in the short-term treatment of severe insomnia. Following a review of the data by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) this drug was withdrawn from the market in the United Kingdom in October 1991 and all doctors, dentists and pharmacists were informed by a letter from the Chairman of the CSM. The manufacturer of Halcion has appealed against the proposed action to revoke the product licences for Halcion, this matter is still under appeal.

  Atenolol. Concern was raised by an epidemiological study which revealed that men receiving antenolo, had a higher death rate from cancer than those receiving diuretic or placebo. On review of the data it was concluded that it was unlikely that atenolol treatment was causally associated with increased cancer mortality in men and no action was considered necessary. This issue has been kept under review and the decision has been lent further support by two further studies which failed to find an association between alenolol treatment and increased cancer mortality.

  Fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine. These drugs can cause the rare but serious adverse effect of pulmonary hypertension. The findings of an investigation into this issue were published in Current Problems Number 34, issued in June 1992. An epidemiological study is underway to investigate this matter further.

  Carbimazole. This drug, used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, can cause rare cases of serious white blood cell disorders. The findings of an investigation into this issue were published in Current Problems No. 32, issued in October 1991.

  Flecainide. This drug, used in the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders, can cause rare long-term adverse effects on the eyes, lungs or nervous system. The findings of an investigation into this issue were published in Current Problems No. 31, issued in June 1991.

  Omeprazole. This drug, used in the treatment of peptic ulcers, can cause skin rashes, diarrhoea and headache, which can be severe. The findings of an investigation into these side effects were published in Current Problems No. 31, issued in June 1991.

  Flucloxacillin. This antibiotic can cause jaundice. The findings of an investigation into this issue were published in Current Problems No. 35, issued in November 1992.

  Copies of all the publications referred to will be placed in the Library.

  Child Health Services
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) to what extent hospitals are meeting the guidelines suggested in "Welfare of Children and Young People in Hospital" regarding(a) the provision of a named nurse for each child admitted, (b) the provision of accommodation for parents of children admitted to hospital, (c) education and play facilities for children, (d) separate facilities for adolescents and (e) the provision of separate facilities for children in (i) accident and emergency departments and (ii) out-patients departments;

  (2) what plans she has for monitoring child health services; and if she will make a statement;

  (3) what progress is being made towards ensuring that all children admitted to hospital are accommodated in separate wards.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not available centrally. A recent study by the Audit Commission, "Children First" (HMSO 1993), concluded that the standards set in our good practice guide, "Welfare of Children and Young People in Hospital" have not been fully implemented. We intend to address this through the review procedure whereby the national health service management executive holds health authorities to account for specified aspects of their performance.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce inequalities in child health.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Government's approach to variations in the health of children and other groups was set out in "The Health of the Nation" Green and White Papers (Cm. 1523 and 1986), copies of which are available in the Library. The five key areas include accidents as the most common cause of death in children over the age of one year, but the White Paper recognises that in other fields too success with children will be crucial to the long-term success of the strategy.

  Our aim is to reduce variations by tackling specific issues and needs which can be targeted for effective action. Examples of such action within the field of child health include national and local initiatives to reduce perinatal death, including cot deaths, which area is already showing significant results; improved immunisation, already at record levels, to ensure protection against death and disability from preventable disease; and increased participation by general practitioners in child health surveillance, thereby providing screening and health promotion for children individually as part of integrated family health care.

  In making such changes, the Government will continue to make the best use of improved arrangements for the delivery of health care. We have provided guidance and are undertaking monitoring to support health authorities in assessing children's health care needs locally, and in integrating family, community and hospital services.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that children engaged in sufficient levels of physical activity to establish good health in later life.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have recently announced the setting up of a "Health of the Nation" task force on physical activity which will consider how to encourage people to
  603
  obtain lifelong benefits from such activity. The task force will be able to build on the Government's recent initiative whereby physical education is a compulsory subject for all pupils in maintained schools between the ages of five to 16. It serves to give young people a knowledge of the long-term benefits of a healthy lifestyle and encourages the practice of health-related exercise.

  NHS Pay
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations she has made to managers of trust hospitals in Leeds concerning pay awards for(a) professional and technical staff and (b) nursing staff;

  (2) what guidelines have been provided to trust hospitals concerning pay awards for ancillary workers.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  A copy of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's letter of 12 November 1992 to chairmen of all health service-employing bodies which set out arrangements for implementing the policy of public sector pay restraint throughout the national health service, is available in the Library. We have made no specific representations to Leeds NHS trusts. Management guidance has been issued by the chief executive of the national health service management executive relating to all staff in health authorities and trusts.

  Child Psychologists
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many child psychologists were working in the NHS in each of the last five years, by region.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally.

  Drugs (Side-effects)
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to establish a national computer record of the side-effects of drugs.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Such a computer record already exists. Under the yellow card scheme introduced in 1964, doctors are requested to report suspected adverse drug reactions, and pharmaceutical companies have a statutory requirement to report these reactions to the licensing authority. Such reports are entered on to a computer database operated by the Medicines Control Agency. In 1991, a new computer system, adverse drug reactions on-line information tracking—ADROIT—was introduced to improve the speed and effectiveness of monitoring adverse drug reactions.

  Female Circumcision
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Redcar, Ms Mowlam of 18 February,Official Report, column 322, what further guidance she plans to issue to GPs on female circumcision.

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Special Health Authorities
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the budget of each special health authority for(a) 1992–93 and (b) 1993–94; and what is the projected distribution of funds for these authorities for 1994–95.
  604
  Mr. Sackville
  The budget allocations for 1992–93 and 1993–94 for special health authorities are given in the table. The figures include both capital and revenue.

  SHA

  1992–93

  1993–94

  (see notes

  (£ million)

  (£ million)

  Central Blood Laboratory Authority/ National Blood Authority (CBLA/NBA)

  4·550

  8·649

  NHS Supplies Authority

  20·767

  16·630

  UK Transplant Special Services Authority (UKTSSA)

  4·479

  5·372

  Bethlem Royal & Maudsley (BR&M)

  36·366

  36·643

  Eastman Dental Hospital (EDH)

  9·092

  9·926

  Hammersmith & Queen Charlotte's (& Acton) (HQC)

  81·408

  83·648

  Moorfields Eye Hospital (MEH)

  22·111

  22·871

  Hospitals for Sick Children (Gt Ormond St & Queen Elizabeth's) (HSC)

  61·467

  67·653

  National Heart & Lung Hospitals (Brompton & London Chest) (NH&LH)

  52·245

  50·562

  National Hospitals for Neurology & Neurosurgery (Queen Square, Maida Vale, Finchley & Chalfont) (NHNN)

  41·356

  37·307

  Royal Marsden Hospital (Fulham & Sutton) (RMH)

  38·085

  39·982

  The figures for UKTSSA do not include money allocated to the SHA for reimbursement of donor hospitals as the money does not contribute to the running costs of the organisation. The HA in effect manages the funds used to reimburse donor hospitals for maintaining cadavers prior to transplantation, for the Department.

  The figures for 1992–93 are subject to validation by audit. The figures for 1993–94 are initial allocations, which will be added to by in-year adjustment, as appropriate.

  Figures for 1994–95 cannot be projected at this early stage. The CBLA became the NBA with effect from 1 April 1993.

  Hepatitis B
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's estimate of the number of hepatitis B carriers in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Sackville
  It is estimated that about one person per 1,000 of the population in the United Kingdom is a carrier of hepatitis B. This proportion is unlikely to have changed significantly over the past five years. The number of cases of hepatitis B has been falling over the same period and was at the lowest level recorded in 1991, the latest year for which figures are available, at 517 cases.

  NHS Information
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 26 March,Official Report, column 751, how information is classified as validated; and what other kinds of information are held by the NHS management executive but not regarded as information held centrally.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Validated information is that which has been checked by the Department for accuracy,
  605
  consistency and statistical reliability. The national health service management executive also holds a disparate range of administrative and management data obtained from a number of sources which may not be compiled on a comparable basis or use common definitions, or which may contain subjective judgments.

  NHS Pay Award
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effects upon recruitment to the national health service of the 1·5 per cent. pay award.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We do not expect recruitment or retention of national health service staff to be adversely affected.

  Child Protection Teams
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many child protection teams were working in the NHS in each of the last five years, by region.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not available centrally. The organisation of child protection teams and the planning of the investigations is a matter for local authority social services departments and police, with other agencies which have specialist knowledge such as medical services with the national health service.

  Drug Licences
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average test period for new drugs granted a licence in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other EC states.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  For the period January 1992 to December 1992, the average gross time taken to grant a product licence for new drugs was 17 months.

  Comparable statistics for other EC states are not available.

  Hospital Waiting Lists
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to conduct an inquiry into the numbers and causes of deaths among patients on waiting lists for national health service treatment.

  Mr. Sackville
  None. Patients may die from a wide range of causes, in common with the rest of the population, while waiting for non-urgent treatment. Emergencies are always treated immediately and patients who need urgent treatment are given priority.

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Sackville
  There have been none so far as the Department of Health is concerned.

  Paediatric Waiting Lists
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide details of paediatric waiting lists for each of the last five years by region.
  606
  Mr. Sackville
  Waiting time information by speciality is given in "Hospital Waiting Lists, In-patients and Day Cases", published twice a year, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Child Accident Prevention
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is being spent by her Department on child accident prevention in the current financial year.

  Mr. Yeo
  The cost of the accident prevention work carried out within the national health service cannot he precisely calculated. In 1992–93 we awarded a grant of £103,000 per year for three years to the Child Accident Prevention Trust towards its central administrative costs. In 1993–94 we have awarded the trust a project grant of £10,000 per year for three years towards the cost of a project to promote the adoption of accident prevention measures by health and local authorities.

  GP Fund Holders
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the up-to-date guidance given to GP fund holders about how they construct their budget.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Budget setting guidance was issued in November 1992 under cover of EL (92)83. A copy is available in the Library.

  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the guidelines for the financial arrangements governing GP fund holders were last updated.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The updated general practitioner fund holder manual of accounts was issued in March 1993.

  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to ensure that GP fund holders' budgets and accounts are kept in a common form.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The general practitioner fund holder manual of accounts sets out the accounting rules to he followed by all fund holders. It includes common formats for monthly budget monitoring reports and annual accounts.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued by her Department to general practitioners wishing to become fund holders with regard to prior consultation with the patients of the practice concerned.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None.

  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what audit her Department has carried out to assess the quality of patient care administered by general practitioner fund-holding practices and non-fund holding practices.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Every family health services authority was required to establish a medical audit advisory group by 1 April 1991 to direct, co-ordinate and monitor medical audit activities within all general medical practices in its area. In exercising their purchasing role, general practitioner fund holders are also subject to monitoring and scrutiny by regional health authorities, which are responsible for the management of the fund-holding scheme.
  607
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department has received from the Audit Commission in relation to its study of GP fund-holding in 1991–92.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Apart from discharging its statutory audit responsibility, the Audit Commission did not undertake a study of general practitioner fund-holding in 1991–92.

  Hip Replacement
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to issue advice to patients regarding the most reliable hip replacement implants;

  (2) which hip replacement implants which have been used in the NHS in the last 14 years have the highest (a) failure rate and (b) success rate.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information on the outcome of hip replacement operations is not available centrally. It is the responsibility of clinicians to give advice to patients on the various types of hip implants available, based upon the individual needs of the patient.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tests are carried out on hip replacement implants before they can be marketed.

  Mr. Sackville
  There are no statutory requirements for the marketing of hip replacements implants.

  Since 1986, hip implants have been controlled by the voluntary Department of Health manufacturer registration scheme, which requires that new designs should undergo appropriate testing prior to their release for general sale. There are currently 27 registered manufacturers of hip implants and the vast majority of these products implanted in the United Kingdom are from registered sources.

  From 1 January 1995, the European directive on medical devices will place the control of hip implants on a formal statutory basis, and manufacturers will be required to submit details of manufacturing and design to third party assessment.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to introduce a national register of hip replacements and revisions to provide an accurate measure of revision rate.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have no such plans. The national reporting and investigation centre, part of the Department, investigates problems with medical devices notified to them by clinicians.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hip replacement operations carried out in the last 14 years have required revision.

  Mr. Sackville
  It is not possible to identify precisely what proportion of operations required revision, but in 1989–90 and 1990–91 respectively, an estimated 9·6 per cent. and 9·5 per cent. of hip joint replacements were revisions.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what study she has made of the legal settlement reached by Theresa Aspinall and Wigan council in regard to the council's statutory duties under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970; what steps she is taking to draw the implications of this case and the settlement for other disabled people to the attention of other local authorities with legal duties under the Act; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  We have seen a report of this case, indicating that the difficulties have now been resolved. Local authorities are fully aware of their duties under the 1970 Act.

  Wessex RHA (Computers)
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on Government policy on the development of the RISP project by Wessex regional health authority.

  Mr. Sackville
  As the district auditor made clear in his report published in July 1992, the RISP project was characterised by a lack of project and management control. The Government accept this judgment, as does Wessex regional health authority, which has taken extensive remedial action.

  The Department launched a national information management and technology strategy in December 1992. A key component is the need for health authorities to assess all proposed IT investment against an approved criteria to ensure that future IM and T investment obtains value for money.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the state of discussions between her Department and the Wessex regional health authority on the RISP project.

  Mr. Sackville
  Officials from the Department continue to have discussions with Wessex regional health authority on a range of matters including RISP, which was abandoned in April 1990.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library all correspondence from Ministers to the Wessex regional health authority on the subject of RISP from 1 January 1989 to the present; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  A copy of the correspondence has been placed in the Library.

  Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a list of the membership of the Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs indicating the area of medical expertise of each member.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The names of the members and their areas of medical expertise are:
  609

  Advisory Committee on National Health Service Drugs Membership

  Name

  Position

  Chairman

  Dr. J. S. Metters

  Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health.

  Members

  Professor A. M. Breckenridge

  Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool.

  Professor C. M. Castleden

  Professor of Medicine for the Elderly, University of Leicester.

  Mr. D. L. Coleman

  Community pharmacist, Norfolk.

  Professor H. D. Edmondson

  Professor of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Dental School, University of Birmingham.

  Dr. P. R. Fellows

  General Practitioner, Gloucestershire, Chairman of Gloucester LMC.

  Professor D. Ganderton

  Visiting Professor in pharmacy, King's College, London. Chairman of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission.

  Miss A. F. Glasier

  Consultant gynaecologist, Director of Family Planning, Lothian Health Board.

  Dr. C. Grattan

  Consultant dermatologist, Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

  Dr. G. Hargreaves

  Former GP with experience of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

  Dr. I. C. Heath

  General Practitioner, London.

  Professor S. Holgate

  Specialist in allergic disorders, Southampton University.

  Dr. D. F. Jones

  General Practitioner, South Wales.

  Professor R. M. Jones

  Professor of Anaesthetics, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London.

  Mr. A. G. Kerr

  Consultant ENT surgeon, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

  Mrs. S. Noyce

  Pharmacist adviser to Sefton FHSA.

  Dr. E. M. E. Poskitt

  Senior Lecturer in Child Health, Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital.

  Dr. S. J. Richards

  General Practitioner, Exeter.

  Dr. C. H. Swan

  Consultant physician (gastro-enterology) City General Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent.

  Professor P. J. Tyrer

  Professor of Community Psychiatry, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London.

  Dr. D. M. B. Ward

  General Practitioner, Glasgow.

  Regional Health Authorities
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the chairs, executive and non-executive members of English regional health authorities, indicating(a) the gender of each member and (b) which members are direct appointments by the Secretary of State.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  All chairmen and non-executive members of the 14 English regional health authorities are appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and are as follows. The appointment of executive members is a matter for regional health authorities.

  Northern

  Mr. P. D. Carr (Chairman)

  Mr. A. G. Brown

  Professor Michael Rawlins

  Mr. R. C. Spoor

  Ms J. Flanagan

  Vacancy

  Yorkshire

  Sir Bryan Askew (Chairman)

  Mr. J. A. Fergusson

  Professor Stanley Brown

  Mrs. J. A. Barden

  Mr. M. A. J. Morgan

  Vacancy

  Trent

  Sir Michael Carlisle (Chairman)

  Mr. M. Dassau

  Dr. Kenneth Edwards

  Mrs. P. B. Wildgoose

  Mr. G. R. H. Clemons

  Mr. D. Bertram

  East Anglia

  Sir Colin Walker (Chairman)

  Mrs. J. L. Hopwood

  610

  Professor Sir David Peters

  Mr. J. B. Mowson

  Mr. L. Rice

  Mrs. S. E. Sida-Lockett

  North West Thames

  Sir William Doughty (Chairman)

  Mr. D. Bucks

  Mrs. J. B. Hanham

  Mrs. E. J. Davies

  Professor Stewart Sutherland

  Mr. J. Taylor

  North East Thames

  Sir William Staveley (Chairman)

  Maj. Gen. R. P. W. Wall

  Mr. P. Holwell

  Baroness Gardner of Parkes

  Dr. Mollie McBride

  Vacancy

  South East Thames

  Mr. P. W. Barker (Chairman)

  Mr. A. J. L. Barnes

  Mr. I. D. Gainsford

  Mrs. J. Rodin

  Mr. R. F. Holland

  Mrs. W. Mitchell

  South West Thames

  Professor Marian Hicks (Chairman)

  Dr. Memos Spathis

  Mr. J. R. Harris

  Mr. G. J. Howe

  Mrs. M. McNaughton

  Vacancy

  Wessex

  Sir Robin Buchanan (Chairman)

  Mrs. J. Perons

  Mrs. F. Sheldon

  Mr. R. C. Donnelly

  Mr. A. S. D. Service

  Mr. P. A. Waring

  611
  Oxford

  Dr. J. S. Burgess (Chairman)

  Mr. P. D. M. Gell

  Professor Sir David Weatherall

  Mr. C. J. N. Ward

  Mrs. V. Rubenstein

  Mr. W. A. Rooke

  South Western

  Ms R. Fritchie (Chairman)

  Mr. D. F. Strachan

  Sir John Kingman

  Mr. U. A. Woodburn

  Dame Margaret Fry

  Vacancy

  West Midlands

  Sir Donald Wilson (Chairman)

  Mr. B. Stoten

  Professor Sir Michael Thompson

  Mr. E. M. Worley

  Mr. T. D. Morris

  Ms J. Cravos

  Mersey

  Professor A. M. Breckenridge (Chairman)

  Mrs. R. H. Hawley

  Mr. J. R. Halliday

  Mr. B. Jenkins

  Mrs. J. Timms

  Vacancy

  North Western

  Sir Bruce Martin (Chairman)

  Professor Robert Boyd

  Dr. Arup Banerjee

  Professor Janet Finch

  2 Vacancies

  Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will conduct an urgent review of the funding arrangements of drug and alcohol rehabilitation services.

  Mr. Yeo
  We have no plans at present to conduct such a review.

  Schizophrenia
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 17 February, to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam Lady Olga Maitland,Official Report, column 202, if she will make it a requirement to register patients suffering from schizophrenia.

  Mr. Yeo
  We have no plans for this type of registration. District health authorities, in collaboration with local social services departments, are required to initiate individually tailored care programmes for all in-patients about to be discharged from mental illness hospitals and all new patients accepted by the specialist psychiatric services.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what communications she has had with the World Health Organisation on schizophrenia.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Department has regular contact with the World Health Organisation to discuss issues of common concern and exchange information on mental health issues including schizophrenia.

  Care Providers
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to establish minimum national standards of care for care providers.

  Mr. Yeo
  Standards in social care are set in legislation, in codes of practice and formal guidance, and increasingly through contract specification. There are no plans to replace this wide range of controls with a single set of national minimum standards.

  Community Care
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to monitor the way community care is being implemented in practice;

  (2) if she has any plans to review the amount of money that has been allocated to local authorities to provide community care.

  Mr. Yeo
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) on 10 November 1992, column 772.

  Health Visitors
  Ms Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what security measures will be adopted to protect health visitors who visit drug or alcohol users in their homes as part of the community care programme; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The security measures provided to support health visitors in the course of their employment are a matter for their employing authorities. We would expect procedures to be agreed locally to take account of all potentially dangerous situations.

  Hospital Services
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is being undertaken or commissioned by her Department or the NHS management executive on the possibility of charging for any hospital services.

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to monitor the availability of drug and alcohol rehabilitation services following the full implementation of community care.

  Mr. Yeo
  Goldsmiths' college has been commissioned to undertake a special exercise to monitor the impact of community care on independent sector providers of services to alcohol and drugs misusers. Monthly progress reports will ensure that the Government have information on how these service providers will be affected by the implementation of community care.

  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to ensure that guidance issued by her Department to local authorities regarding assessment, admission and fast track procedures for people with drug and alcohol problems is being adhered to.
  613
  Mr. Yeo
  Two guidance circulars have been issued to local authorities which address the needs of this client group: LAC(93)2, which encourages local authorities to pay particular attention to the needs of alcohol and drug misusers within community care, and LAC(93)7, which addresses the question of local authority responsibility for clients whose "ordinary residence" is in their area.

  In addition we have asked the local authority associations to collaborate with independent sector providers in the development of good practice advice on fast track assessment and out-of-area referrals. This was circulated to local authorities on 26 March 1993.

  The performance of local authorities in implementing community care is being monitored by the social services inspectorate.

  Needs Assessment
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to rescind guidelines that were issued to local authorities that the extent of a person's needs should not be assessed unless those needs could be met.

  Mr. Yeo
  No such guidelines have been issued.

  Miss Gibelli
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inquiries she has made into the circumstances under which Miss Gibelli(a) was taken into a public house and (b) escaped whilst on a visit to the ideal home exhibition while under the secure custody of her Department.

  Mr. Yeo
  As soon as officials from the national health service management executive were made aware of these events they contacted clinicians and managers and obtained full details of the circumstances of the two incidents referred to. Ministers have been kept informed.

  AIDS
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each London borough bid for AIDS support grant for 1993–94; and how much they were awarded.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information is shown in the table. For comparison purposes, details of 1992–93 allocations are also provided.

  1993–94

  1993–94

  1992–93

  Bid

  Allocation

  Allocation

  £

  £

  £

  Barking and Dagenham

  28,396

  28,000

  32,236

  Barnet

  45,277

  40,000

  40,000

  Bexley

  47,643

  46,000

  46,000

  Brent

  429,500

  400,000

  400,000

  Bromley

  43,260

  30,000

  10,500

  Camden

  745,396

  745,000

  730,000

  City of London

  49,990

  47,000

  47,000

  Croydon

  88,406

  49,000

  49,000

  Ealing

  311,200

  290,000

  290,000

  Enfield

  74,170

  50,000

  50,000

  Greenwich

  348,025

  190,000

  190,000

  Hackney

  549,200

  468,000

  460,000

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  1,155,000

  1,155,000

  1,129,000

  Haringey

  593,522

  562,000

  500,000

  Harrow

  45,960

  42,000

  42,000

  Havering

  16,100

  16,000

  —

  Hillingdon

  369,330

  120,000

  120,000

  Hounslow

  423,967

  320,000

  320,000

  Islington

  475,693

  360,000

  360,000

  614

  1993–94

  1993–94

  1992–93

  Bid

  Allocation

  Allocation

  £

  £

  £

  Kensington and Chelsea

  1,041,000

  988,000

  970,000

  Kingston Upon Thames

  43,871

  43,000

  64,000

  Lambeth

  1,341,600

  948,000

  930,000

  Lewisham

  299,000

  245,000

  240,000

  Merton

  118,146

  66,000

  66,000

  Newham

  411,248

  300,000

  250,000

  Redbridge

  56,371

  30,000

  15,374

  Richmond Upon Thames

  225,000

  220,000

  200,000

  Southwark

  451,200

  355,000

  300,000

  Sutton

  67,916

  57,000

  57,000

  Tower Hamlets

  609,300

  500,000

  481,000

  Waltham Forest

  288,680

  140,000

  135,000

  Wandsworth

  215,614

  190,000

  188,000

  Westminster

  988,838

  958,000

  940,000

  Administrative Costs
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the administrative costs in each of the national health service regions in each year since 1987–88(a) in cash prices, (b) in 1987–88 prices and (c) as a percentage of total expenditure.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 17 March 1993]: Figures for headquarters administration for hospital and community health services in England have been placed in the Library.

  The figures for 1991–92 are provisional and are not comparable with those for earlier years. They include health authorities' expenditure on the purchaser function and, for some regions, other significant costs.

  Wolds Prison
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prison service practice or procedures are not required to be followed by the contractor under the terms of the contract of HM prison Wolds.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April 1993.

  PRISON SERVICE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES AT HM PRISON WOLDS

  The Secretary of State has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking which Prison Service practices or procedures do not have to be followed by the contractor at HM Prison Wolds.

  2. In response to an earlier Question answered on 23 March, the Minister of State supplied you with a list of Prison Service practices and procedures which Wolds management must follow under the contract. The contractor is bound by the Prison Act 1952, the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Prison Rules 1964 as amended and the contract. But beyond those items listed in the earlier reply, which are mandatory under the contract, he does not have to follow any other Prison Service practices or procedures. These are numerous and are contained in standing orders, circular instructions, various manuals and other forms of advice to governors. I am afraid that we do not have a consolidated compilation of all this material and it would not be practicable to list it all out. It is up to contractors to draw up their own such instructions.

  Foreign Nationals
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals were held(a) on remand and (b) sentenced in each prison in March; what proportion of these were men; and how many came from (i) Nigeria, (ii) Ghana, (iii) other African countries, (iv) Columbia, (v) other South and Central American countries, (vi) India, (vii) Pakistan, (viii) Bangladesh, (ix) the Irish Republic, (x) the United States of America, (xi) the Netherlands, (xii) other European countries, (xiii) the middle east and (xiv) Jamaica.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April 1993.

  I have been asked to reply to your question about the numbers of unconvicted and sentenced men and women in our prisons broken down by nationality.

  The latest available provisional figures are for 28 February and are given in the table, which has been placed in the Library.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals were in British prisons for drug-related offences in March; and what proportion this represents of all those in prison for drugs-related offences.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April 1993.

  I have been asked to reply to your question about foreign nationals in British prisons for drugs-related offences.

  The latest available provisional figures are for 28 February and cover just over 90 per cent. of the prison population. On that date about 680 foreign nationals were recorded centrally as being under sentence for drugs offences in England and Wales, excluding any where drugs offences were not the principal offence. They accounted for 27 per cent. of the total population under sentence for drugs offences. The nationality of some further 70 prisoners under sentence for drugs offences was not recorded.

  Prisoners
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to implement the recommendation in the Woolf report that there should be a new prison rule that no establishment should hold prisoners in excess of its certified normal accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April 1993:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question, for priority written answer on 14 April, on the implementation of the Woolf report recommendation on overcrowding.

  The recommendation was for there to be a Prison Rule that no establishment should hold more prisoners than is
  616
  provided for in its certified normal level of accommodation, with provision for Parliament to be informed if exceptionally there is to be a material departure from that rule. It was decided however that it would not be practicable to operate such a system at this stage. Instead the Prison Service has improved the overcrowding information provided for Parliament (see annexes 4 and 5 of the Report of the Work of the Prison Service April 1991-March 1992, cm 2087).

  As the white paper on Custody, Care and Justice (cm 1647) explained, the Prison Service plans to provide an estate able to operate in equilibrium without particular prisons or areas suffering from overcrowding. A significant improvement in the situation has already taken place. There are at present nearly 3,000 vacancies in the estate as a whole. Overcrowding is now largely confined to the older local prisons and remand centres and further expansion of this part of the estate is planned. In addition the actual level of overcrowding being experienced has been greatly reduced in recent years. The Prison Service's business plan also includes a commitment to end trebling in cells by the end of March 1994.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) Indian, (b) Pakistani, (c) Bangladeshi, (d) Afro-Caribbean and (e) other ethnic minority people were (i) on remand and (ii) sentenced in each prison in March; and how many in each case were (x) men and (y) women.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April 1993.

  I have been asked to reply to your question about numbers of unconvicted and convicted men and women in our prisons broken down by nationality.

  The latest available provisional figures are for 28 February and arc given in the table which has been placed in the Library.

  Woolf Report
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to date to implement the recommendations of the Woolf report; and what steps he intends to take to implement its outstanding recommendations.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April 1993.

  Implementation of the Woolf Report

  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your Question about the steps taken to implement the recommendations of the Woolf Report.

  The Government's response to the Woolf Report is set out in its White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice" (Cm 1647), published in September 1991. This described an ambitious programme of reforms. Our progress in implementing these is set out in the Home Secretary's letter of 8 February responding to Mr. Amess' Question on 14 January, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Our plans for the future are set out in the Prison Service's Corporate Plan, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. This makes it clear that one of the Service's key themes for the next three years will be the implementation of futher reforms flowing from the White Paper.

  Re-offenders
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about re-offending rates for(a) men and (b) women who have served a prison sentence; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  Information on reconviction rates of those who have served a prison sentence is published regularly. The latest figures can be found in chapter 9 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1989", Cm 1221. Of those discharged in 1986, 63 per cent. of male young offenders, 42 per cent. of adult males and 34 per cent. of adult females were convicted of a further standard list offence within two years of release.

  Prison Accommodation
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the certified normal level of accommodation for each prison in England and Wales; and what was the actual population for each prison in March.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the prison service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 14 April:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question, for priority written answer on 14 April, on CNA and population.

  The attached table shows certified normal accommodation (CNA) and population for all Prison Service establishments in England and Wales on 31 March 1993.

  Establishment CNA and Population figures for 31 March 1993

  Establishment

  CNA

  Population

  Acklington

  676

  545

  Albany

  222

  241

  Aldington

  133

  81

  Ashwell

  404

  378

  Askham Grange

  129

  81

  Aylesbury

  241

  218

  Bedford

  170

  244

  Belmarsh

  841

  671

  Birmingham

  638

  844

  Blantyre House

  95

  94

  Blundeston

  338

  312

  Brinsford

  336

  386

  Bristol

  374

  418

  Brixton

  621

  633

  Brockhill

  156

  148

  Bullingdon

  635

  433

  Bullwood Hall

  125

  104

  Camp Hill

  481

  327

  Canterbury

  104

  179

  Cardiff

  328

  395

  Castington

  300

  214

  Channings Wood

  594

  502

  Chelmsford

  244

  305

  Coldingley

  222

  129

  Cookham Wood

  120

  104

  Dartmoor

  560

  490

  Deerbolt

  432

  325

  Dorchester

  136

  179

  Dover

  316

  160

  Downview

  286

  279

  Drake Hall

  255

  121

  Durham

  364

  492

  East Sutton Park

  85

  74

  Elmley

  635

  614

  618

  Establishment

  CNA

  Population

  Erlestoke

  206

  203

  Everthorpe

  228

  219

  Exeter

  317

  357

  Featherstone

  599

  549

  Feltham

  874

  731

  Finnamore Wood

  112

  63

  Ford

  536

  389

  Frankland

  339

  297

  Full Sutton

  494

  426

  Garth

  512

  505

  Gartree

  258

  236

  Glen Parva

  854

  702

  Gloucester

  207

  220

  Grendon

  216

  182

  Guys Marsh

  300

  143

  Haslar

  136

  134

  Hatfield

  180

  124

  Haverigg

  345

  318

  Hewell Grange

  136

  154

  High Down

  485

  450

  Highpoint

  679

  525

  Hindley

  317

  305

  Hollesley Bay

  629

  265

  Holloway

  517

  436

  Holme House

  649

  520

  Hull

  269

  358

  Huntercombe

  240

  167

  Kingston

  104

  93

  Kirkham

  644

  465

  Kirklevington

  30

  33

  Lancaster

  186

  241

  Lancaster Farms

  115

  120

  Latchmere House

  131

  122

  Leeds

  591

  816

  Leicester

  194

  318

  Lewes

  258

  334

  Leyhill

  410

  415

  Lincoln

  444

  589

  Lindholme

  706

  569

  Littlehey

  543

  520

  Liverpool

  931

  1,224

  Long Lartin

  362

  334

  Low Newton

  199

  228

  Maidstone

  513

  493

  Manchester

  291

  315

  Moorland

  641

  572

  Morton Hall

  168

  164

  The Mount

  484

  424

  New Hall

  122

  130

  North Sea Camp

  204

  198

  Northallerton

  146

  187

  Norwich

  429

  409

  Nottingham

  218

  210

  Onley

  456

  377

  Parkhurst

  286

  204

  Pentonville

  695

  633

  Portland

  424

  328

  Prescoed

  20

  20

  Preston

  324

  484

  Pucklechurch

  56

  50

  Ranby

  331

  275

  Reading

  182

  174

  Risley

  692

  565

  Rochester

  303

  182

  Rudgate

  300

  279

  Send

  113

  107

  Shepton Mallet

  158

  194

  Shrewsbury

  168

  286

  Spring Hill

  210

  203

  Stafford

  476

  524

  Standford Hill

  384

  325

  Stocken

  396

  387

  Stoke Heath

  300

  275

  Styal

  180

  166

  Sudbury

  509

  432

  Swaleside

  504

  486

  Swansea

  213

  234

  Swinfen Hall

  167

  161

  619

  Establishment

  CNA

  Population

  Thorn Cross

  240

  221

  Thorp Arch

  166

  158

  Usk

  221

  179

  The Verne

  552

  487

  Wakefield

  662

  649

  Wandsworth

  965

  772

  Wayland

  580

  485

  Wellingborough

  284

  282

  Werrington

  110

  106

  Wetherby

  120

  105

  Whatton

  217

  212

  Whitemoor

  534

  469

  Winchester

  355

  329

  The Wolds

  320

  309

  Woodhill

  492

  458

  Wormwood Scrubs

  472

  506

  Wymott

  816

  671

  Squatting
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to announce changes to the legislation on squatting; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to his question of 3 February at column 203. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes that he will be in a position to announce his proposals on squatting shortly.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the responses to the consultation paper on squatting.

  Mr. Jack
  I have already given a general account of the response made to the consultation paper in my reply of 17 June 1992 to a question from the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford) at column 522. Respondents were not asked to agree to publication when their comments were invited. It would not therefore be appropriate to publish the 216 replies which we received.

  Police Training College
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what would be the security implications of contracting out the police training college; and what safeguards would be introduced.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Careful consideration will be given to any security implications before a decision is made to contract out any of the services which are currently provided by the police staff college.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff who have in the past been employed in the market testing unit at the Home Office and who were involved in the commissioning of the Coopers and Lybrand study of 1992 into businesses suitable for market testing now work for Coopers and Lybrand; and when those appointments were referred to the Permanent Secretary.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  We are aware of only one, whose appointment was referred under the normal procedures to my right hon. and learned Friend in October 1992. The civil service cannot apply blanket bans of the subsequent 620
  employment of people who leave the civil service but if the hon. Member is seeking to imply that there was anything irregular or unusual in this case I strongly refute that implication.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given since 3 February to whether the 1993–94 market testing programme should continue in its originally planned form.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  A provisional Home Office market testing programme for 1993–94 has been drawn up. Once the details have been finalised, we will make an announcement in the summer.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the provisional market testing list for the period September 1993 to March 1995; and what is the current annual cost of each function.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  No. I intend to announce in the summer the Home Office programme for the period October 1993 to September 1994.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken to ensure that operation and financial matters of any function will remain accountable to Parliament in the event of the contracting out of any Home Office function during the market testing period September 1993 to March 1995.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Subject to respect for commercial confidentiality, contracting out does not affect accountability to Parliament for services provided by the Home Office.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation there has been with Home Office unions since the market testing initiative of January 1992; whether the Home Office has published a code of practice on market testing consultation; and whether the first draft of any such document has been issued to the staff associations.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  There have been consultations with Home Office unions, including a meeting of the market testing sub-committee of the Home Office departmental Whitley Council. A draft code of practice has been produced and consultation with the unions continues.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 on the Home Office functions that are to be market tested during 1993–94.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  We consult Home Office legal advisers as necessary about the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a comprehensive list of all Home Office functions which will be market tested during 1993 and 1994; and if he will give details of the savings he expects to make or has set as a target.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  We have drawn up a provisional Home Office market testing programme for 1993–94, but I
  621
  propose to consider it further before finalising it. The functions being market tested to 30 September 1993 were published on 25 November 1992 in the "Citizen's Charter First Report: 1992".

  Contracting Out
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost to the Home Office of defending the judicial review in respect of the contracting out of prison education.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The application by Kent county council for judicial review of decisions taken by the Department on competitive tendering for the future provision of education services in prison establishments in England and Wales has yet to be heard. To date, additional legal costs of just over £8,000 have been incurred by the prison service in connection with the action.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed in the market testing unit at the Home Office for the latest date available; and how may of them are legally trained.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  On Tuesday 6 April 1993 the equivalent of 41·7 full-time staff were employed in the Home Office market testing unit. None has any legal training but they consult Home Office legal staff as necessary on legal problems.

  Police National Computer
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what would be the security implications of contracting out the police national computer organisation; and what safeguards would be introduced.

  Applications by Somali nationals for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and decisions, 1990 to 1992

  Number of principal applicants

  Applications received

  Decisions1

  Year

  Total applications

  Applied at Port

  Applied in country

  Total decisions

  Recognised as refugee and granted asylum

  Not recognised as refugee, but granted exceptional leave2

  Refusals

  Total refused

  Refused asylum and exceptional leave after determination

  Refused on safe third country grounds3

  Refused under para 101 of Immigration Rules4 5

  1990

  1,920

  1,440

  475

  380

  280

  75

  25

  25

  ..

  ..

  1991

  1,995

  910

  1,085

  380

  160

  180

  45

  20

  20

  ..

  61992

  1,575

  890

  685

  2,550

  25

  2,210

  320

  *

  50

  270

  1 Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

  2 Where it would have been unreasonable or impractical to seek to enforce return to country of origin.

  3 Figures from 1 January 1991 only. Prior to this, these refusals are included in the column "Refused asylum and exceptional leave after determination".

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

  5 Figures from 1 December 1991 only. Prior to this, these refusals are included in the column "Refused asylum and exceptional leave after determination".

  6At end 1992, 2,755 applications were outstanding.

  Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2, and = not separately identifiable.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dependants of Somali asylum seekers have been granted residence in the United Kingdom(a) within the rules and (b) exceptionally for each of the past three years

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information on acceptances for settlement of dependants of persons who had applied for asylum is not identified separatley in the statistics.
  622
  Mr. Charles Wardle
  If, as a result of the market testing programme, the operation of the Hendon data centre, which is responsible for maintaining the police national computer service, is contracted out, the contract will be placed only with an organisation which is able to maintain at least the present levels of security. The security requirements will be specified in detail if and when bids for the contract are invited.

  Emergency Planning Strategy
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend London's emergency planning strategy; and what plans he has to give the LFCDA extra emergency planning powers.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Draft new civil defence regulations were published last December and comments received are being considered. We have no plans to give the LFCDA extra emergency planning powers.

  Emergency plans are drawn up locally by the emergency services, local authorities and other agencies where necessary. The authorities in London have recently agreed, and published, a major disaster plan.

  Somali Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the total numbers of Somali asylum seekers for each of the past three years who have(a) been granted refugee status, (b) been given exceptional leave and (c) leave pending his consideration.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information for 1990–92 (excluding dependants) on applications for asylum by Somali nationals, and on decisions, is given in the table. No applicant is required to leave the United Kingdom until his case has been decided.

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I am aware of none so far as the Home Office is concerned.

  Burglaries
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral answer of 11 February,Official Report, column 1101, if he will give details of the 90 per cent. reduction in burglary in the Sparkbrook area that he quoted.

  Mr. Jack
  The reduction in question occurred on the Primrose estate in the hon. member's constituency. I regret that I mistakenly referred to Sparkbrook in my previous answer.

  Child Abuse
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to amend the provisions in the Criminal Justice Acts concerning video-taped evidence in child abuse cases;

  (2) how many representations he has received concerning the use of video-taped evidence in child abuse hearings.

  Mr. Jack
  Since October 1992, section 54 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 has allowed for video recordings of interviews with children to be admitted as evidence-in-chief in certain criminal proceedings. My Department regularly receives requests for advice both orally and in writing about the operation of this provision. The general impression which they give is that the changes introduced by the Act command widespread support. We have also recently received representations from the NSPCC generally about the needs of abused children in the legal process.

  Although we have no present plans to amend the Act, we have commissioned independent research into the use of video recorded evidence from children in criminal proceedings. We will review the current law in the light of the results of that research and of any representations made to us.

  Safer Cities
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if local authorities are being encouraged to apply for safer city project funding.

  Mr. Jack
  In areas which have safer cities projects, local authorities may apply for grant support to assist with the implementation of local crime prevention initiatives. The safer cities progress report for 1991–92 shows that, since grant funding began in April 1989, £5·3 million out of a total of £16 million has been paid to local authorities for this purpose.

  It is the Government's intention to expand the safer cities programme in line with my statement of 7 January. I am not yet in a position to provide further details of the arrangements for the next phase. However, I would expect local authorities to continue to benefit from safer cities grant funding.

  Domestic Fires
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of fires have occurred in(a) furnished rented accommodation in a single family dwelling and (b) furnished accommodation in houses in multiple occupation since March 1988.
  624
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Information is not collected in the form requested. The table gives the available information on dwelling fires attended by local authority fire brigades in the United Kingdom from April 1988 to the end of 1991.

  Table

  Dwelling fires attended by local authority fire brigades1 in the United Kingdom by occupancy

  April-December 1988, 1989–91

  Year

  Single occupier dwellings2 3

  Multiple occupation

  Houses2

  Other dwellings3

  April-December

  1988

  26,084

  4,411

  13,665

  1989

  34,947

  6,466

  19,048

  1990

  33,535

  6,433

  18,895

  19914

  33,876

  6,466

  19,166

  Source: Home Office Fire Statistics, based on reports from local authority fire brigades.

  2 Includes detached, semi-detached and terraced houses.

  3 Includes flats and maisonettes, etc.

  4 1991 is the latest year for which data are available.

  Body Searches
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of methods for the detection of weapons, metal implements, drugs or explosives concealed within a person's clothing or body as an alternative to strip searching.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The police scientific development branch, on behalf of the Home Office, has carried out extensive research into the effectiveness of metal detectors. A hand-held search tool exists which will locate metal objects which are concealed under clothing when run over the body of a fully clothed person. However, trials have shown that this machine is unable to detect syringe needles and the police scientific development branch has been commissioned to consider a design for a hand-held device which will be capable of detecting them.

  There are methods to detect whether people have been in contact with explosives or drugs, but these do not establish whether an individual is still in possession of them.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Eight.

  American Visitors (Ethical Beliefs)
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to question passengers on arrival from the USA on their ethical beliefs, and to deny entry to any person who sanctions the use of violence in pursuit of their anti-abortion beliefs.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  It is not generally the practice of the immigration service to question passengers about their ethical beliefs and it would be both oppressive and
  625
  impractical to require them routinely to do so. The immigration piles provide that a passenger requiring leave to enter, except the wife or child under 18 of a person settled in the United Kingdom, may be refused entry on the ground that his exclusion is conducive to the public good. This may arise either because my right hon. and learned Friend has personally so directed or where, from information available to the immigration officer, it seems right to refuse leave to enter on that ground. These powers will continue to be exercised in appropriate cases.

  Entry Decisions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now make it his practice to disclose the reasons why individual passengers have been admitted, or refused entry, to the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to change existing practice. Reasons for. the grant or refusal of leave to enter are normally only given to the individual concerned or his nominated representative. We do however reserve the right to comment on the reasons for any decision where the person affected by it has sought to publicise the matter, or where it appears to be in the public interest to do so.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Fair Employment Tribunal
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate the total cost to 31 December 1992 of cases brought(a) against local authorities, (b) other public bodies and (c) private businesses, alleging religious and political discrimination, since the establishment of the Fair Employment Tribunal.

  Mr. Atkins
  Estimates cannot be provided as no information is available on the total costs to parties involved in such cases.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by(a) the Industrial Development Board and (b) the Local Enterprise Development Unit.

  Mr. Atkins
  At 31 March 1993 the Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland employed directly 387 people, including 10 on a part-time basis, and the Local Enterprise Development Unit 232 people, including three on a part-time basis.

  Infant Mortality Rates
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the perinatal and infant mortality rates for Northern Ireland within the last year up to the present date.

  Mr. Hanley
  Mortality rates are determined and recorded by calender year. For 1992, the perinatal mortality rate was 8·2 per 1,000 total births. This rate includes still-births of 24 to 27 completed weeks' gestation registered from 1 October 1992, when the gestation period was reduced to 24 weeks. For 1992, the infant mortality rate was 6·0 per 1,000 live births.

  General Consumer Council
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by the General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Atkins
  Eight full-time and two part-time staff.

  Road Gritting
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent by the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment on road gritting in the province during each of the last five years.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information is as follows:

  Financial Year

  Amount (£ million)

  1988–89

  22·2

  1989–90

  22·7

  1990–91

  24·0

  1991–92

  32·8

  11992–93

  33·3

  1Provisional.

  2including VAT.

  3Excluding VAT.

  EC Secondments
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 23 March,Official Report, column 559, how many of those who have completed their secondment to the European Commission or UKREP are still employed by his Department.

  Mr. Mates
  All the officers who have completed their period of secondment to the EC Commission or UKREP are still employed by the Northern Ireland civil service.

  One officer, having completed the maximum three years period allowed for detached national experts, was given special leave from the NICS to enable him to continue working for the Commission for a further period of five years. The officer is expected to return to the NICS on completion of his current contract with the Commission.

  Another officer was also given special leave to enable him to undertake a period contract with the Northern Ireland centre in Europe, which is located in Brussels.

  Deaths on Duty
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) soldiers, (b) policemen and (c) civil servants have been killed on duty in Northern Ireland during the last 10 years.

  Mr. Mates
  A total of 76 police officers and 71 soldiers have been killed on duty in Northern Ireland in terrorist-related incidents in the period from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 1992. Information on civil servants killed is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Investment
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many international firms are employed by the department of commerce, directly or indirectly through Government Departments, to promote investment in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland, acting through the Department of Economic Development, has responsibility for attracting inward investment to Northern Ireland. Across its global target markets, the IDB currently employs the services of:

  (a) three international public relation firms to promote Northern Ireland as an inward investment location. These are, Kommunikation and Burson-Marsteller in Germany; Burson-Marsteller in Korea; and K-Concepts in Taiwan. In both the United States and Japan the selection of a PR agency is underway at present and appointments are expected to be made shortly; and

  (b) two promotional support agencies who represent IDB in Asia Pacific and Brussels. These are Torne Investments Ltd. in Japan and Brussels and Jadehouse Investment Ltd. in Taiwan.

  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what efforts have been made to attract industrial development to Northern Ireland from the United States of America within the past four years; and what have been the results of such efforts.

  Mr. Atkins
  The search for new investment is spearheaded by IDB staff located in the USA. Until March
  629
  1990 the small team in New York was complemented by other Northern Ireland staff assigned to the British consulate general network throughout the USA.

  With effect from April 1990 Northern Ireland established its own network of offices in New York, Los Angeles and a headquarters in Chicago reflecting the main centres of manufacture within the USA.

  The core work of identifying and meeting potential investors is supported by a continuing promotional programme of cultivation of media, trade organisations and other key business contacts aimed at raising the profile of IDB activities within the USA.

  In the past four years IDB representatives have visited 1,019 companies and encouraged 248 potential investors to visit Northern Ireland. Five major projects entailing an investment to £189 million and promoting 1,600 new jobs have been announced in the last four years.

  In addition to the search for new investors close contact is maintained with the parent companies of the 34 United States-owned operations in Northern Ireland with a view to encouraging further investment. In the past four years 14 of these companies committed to investment programmes totalling £250 million which will provide 1,200 new jobs and safeguard a further 1,850 jobs.

  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are made by his Department for publishing information about financial assistance to industry within Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Mates
  The Department of Economic Development has available a wide range of publications on financial assistance which is available to industry. These are obtainable from the DED businesses—the Industrial Development Board, the Local Enterprise Development Unit, the Training and Employment Agency, the Northern Ireland tourist board, the Industrial Research and Technology Unit and the Energy Efficiency Service.

  The Department of Agriculture produces a wide range of information on the financial assistance available to the agricultural industry in Northern Ireland. This can be obtained from the Department's headquarters or from local county agricultural development offices. The Department also issues press releases on schemes of financial assistance when these are introduced or modified. In addition, the Department is currently updating its "At Your Service" booklet, a guide to the Department's services including financial assistance available and points of contact for further information.

  Belfast Harbour
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the size of the Belfast harbour estate; and how many persons are employed therein.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Belfast harbour estate comprises 765 hectares of land and 440 hectares of water. Approximately 17,000 people are employed therein.

  Prison Visits
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total sum of public money paid in social benefits to dependent relatives resident in Northern Ireland for the purpose of prison visits in Great Britain.
  630
  Mr. Hanley
  Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Alec Wylie, who wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 6 April.

  Letter from Alec Wylie to Mr. Peter Robinson dated 6 April 1993:

  As I am responsible for Social Security operational matters your recent Parliamentary Question on the amount of benefit paid to dependent relatives resident in Northern Ireland for the purpose of prison visits in Great Britain has been passed to me for reply.

  During the twelve months ended 31 December 1992 there was a total sum of £30,730 paid under the Prison Visits scheme to people visiting relatives in prisons in Great Britain.

  I hope you find this information helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the official report and copies will be placed in the Library.

  Housing
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the present number of first and second preference applicants on the waiting list for each Northern Ireland Housing Executive estate in the borough of Castlereagh.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that at 1 March 1993 the information was as follows:

  Number of first and second preference applicants

  Estate

  1st preference applicants

  2nd preference applicants

  Housing Executive District—Castlereagh 1

  Ballybeen

  80

  20

  Braniel

  92

  54

  Brooklands

  3

  9

  Coronation Park

  5

  1

  Geary Road

  0

  1

  Mawhinney Park

  0

  3

  Moatview Park

  3

  4

  Tullycarnet

  25

  17

  Vionville Rural Cottages

  4

  1

  Any estate in District

  17

  9

  Housing Executive District—Castlereagh 2

  Belvoir

  177

  107

  Bests hill

  2

  2

  Carryduff

  41

  31

  Castlereagh

  20

  37

  Cregagh

  174

  107

  Downshire Park

  3

  7

  Labourers Cottages Rural Area

  4

  0

  Milltown Gray's Park

  1

  4

  Milltown/Shaw's Bridge

  2

  15

  Moneyrea

  6

  7

  Newtownbreda Village

  31

  47

  Rosewood Park, Castlereagh

  4

  5

  Ryan Park, Castlereagh

  1

  5

  Sunderland Road Flats

  2

  7

  Any estate in District

  22

  7

  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the number of squatters in each of the Cregagh, Ballybeen, Belvoir, Tullycarnet, Downshire, Braniel, Carryduff and Twinbrook estates; and what percentage these squats represent of the total housing stock in each estate.

  Mr. Atkins
  This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and I am advised by its chief executive
  631
  that at 1 March 1993 there were no squatters in Cregagh, Ballybeen, Belvoir, Tullycarnet, Downshire, Braniel or Carryduff estates. There were 44 squatters in the Twinbrook estate which represents 3·2 per cent. of the total housing stock in that estate.

  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are employed in the special debt recovery unit of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive; and how many staff go out to tenants to collect rent arrears.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that the executive does not maintain a special debt recovery unit.

  The executive employs 486 housing officers in its offices throughout the Province to deal with estate management issues, including arrears recovery.

  Transport
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by(a) Ulsterbus, (b) Citybus, (c) Flexibus and (d) Northern Ireland Railways.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am advised by the companies that the number of people employed by them at 31 March 1993 were:

  Number

  Ulsterbus

  2,107

  Citybus

  751

  Flexibus

  34

  Northern Ireland Railways

  805

  Assistance to Industry
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Government or Government agency loans to industry have been written off and what was the total amount involved, in each of the last six years; and how many firms were involved.

  Mr. Atkins
  The numbers and amounts of loans to industry written off in each of the last six years were as follows:

  Financial year

  Number of loans written off

  Total amount

  Number of firms involved

  £

  1987–88

  30

  928,534

  30

  1988–89

  10

  77,020

  10

  1989–90

  10

  1391,212,635

  10

  1990–91

  38

  2,101,612

  38

  1991–92

  38

  399,722

  38

  1992–93

  57

  2432,744,752

  57

  Notes

  1 Includes £390 million written off in respect of Short Bros Plc.

  2 Includes £414,895,848 written off in respect of Harland and Wolff Plc and £17,370,632 in respect of Lear Fan Ltd.

  The amounts given for each year are for principal only and do not include interest which in some cases was also written off.
  632

  Young Offenders
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the daily or weekly cost of maintaining a person in(a) a young offenders centre, (b) borstal or (c) prison.

  Mr. Mates
  The average weekly costs in 1991–92, the last year for which confirmed figures are available, and excluding headquarters and other central costs which cannot be readily attributed to individual prison establishments, were as follows:

  Per week

  (i) Young Offenders Centre

  £880

  (ii) Prison

  £1,279

  The cost for the young offenders centre relates specifically to the male young offenders centre at Hydebank Wood; female young offenders are located in Maghaberry prison and separate figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  There is no borstal in Northern Ireland.

  Roads
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on(a) road construction and (b) road maintenance in Northern Ireland each year since 1988; and how much is budgeted for 1993.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information is as follows:

  (a)

  (b)

  Financial Year

  Road Construction Expenditure £ million

  Road Maintenance Expenditure £ million

  1988–89

  319·5

  354·3

  1989–90

  325·2

  363·1

  1990–91

  324·9

  367·8

  1991–92

  428·3

  462·2

  11992–93

  424·0

  465·1

  21993–94

  435·1

  463·4

  1 Provisional.

  2 Planned.

  3 Including VAT.

  4 Excluding VAT.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons in Northern Ireland receive more than £100 per week in respect of invalidity benefit.

  Mr. Hanley
  Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Alec Wylie, who wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 6 April.

  Letter from Alec Wylie to Mr. Peter Robinson, dated 6 April 1993:

  As I am responsible for Social Security operational matters your recent Parliamentary Question on the number of persons receiving more than £100.00 per week in respect of Invalidity Benefit has been passed to me for reply.
  633
  At 1 April 1993 the number of people in Northern Ireland receiving more than £100.00 per week Invalidity Benefit was 8,559.

  I hope you find this helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the official report and copies will be placed in the Library.

  Sports Council
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future role of the Sports Council for Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Hanley
  The Sports Council for Northern Ireland is a statutory body which operates under the provisions of the Recreation and Youth Service (NI) Order 1986. Under the order, it has duties related to the promotion of sport and physical recreation in Northern Ireland. In addition,

  Permanent

  Temporary

  Totals

  Non-Manual

  Manual

  Non-Manual

  Manual

  Non-Manual

  Manual

  Total

  District Council

  F/T

  P/T

  F/T

  P/T

  F/T

  P/T

  F/T

  P/T

  Antrim

  49

  6

  89

  5

  5

  1

  22

  1

  61

  117

  178

  Ards

  85

  16

  135

  43

  3

  19

  7

  12

  123

  197

  320

  Armagh

  106

  6

  74

  11

  9

  5

  19

  2

  126

  106

  232

  Ballymena

  164

  3

  118

  33

  15

  7

  28

  2

  189

  181

  370

  Ballymoney

  30

  3

  47

  16

  3

  —

  4

  —

  36

  67

  103

  Banbridge

  34

  1

  38

  14

  6

  —

  8

  30

  41

  90

  131

  Belfast

  814

  81

  1,127

  200

  62

  17

  197

  39

  974

  1,563

  2,537

  Carrickfergus

  53

  6

  79

  16

  —

  —

  2

  3

  59

  100

  159

  Castlereagh

  123

  10

  118

  103

  2

  1

  4

  56

  136

  281

  417

  Coleraine

  61

  9

  116

  42

  5

  1

  31

  8

  76

  197

  273

  Cookstown

  29

  3

  57

  10

  1

  1

  2

  —

  34

  69

  103

  Craigavon

  151

  6

  187

  7

  —

  —

  —

  —

  157

  194

  351

  Derry

  191

  8

  267

  24

  9

  2

  23

  38

  210

  352

  562

  Down

  124

  4

  121

  21

  7

  10

  16

  108

  145

  266

  411

  Dungannon

  35

  —

  80

  23

  5

  1

  31

  —

  41

  134

  175

  Fermanagh

  75

  5

  100

  15

  11

  —

  20

  36

  91

  171

  262

  Larne

  28

  1

  89

  18

  —

  —

  12

  6

  29

  125

  154

  Limavady

  31

  1

  59

  11

  3

  —

  23

  7

  35

  100

  135

  Lisburn

  118

  13

  134

  20

  2

  1

  22

  —

  134

  176

  310

  Magherafelt

  27

  7

  70

  38

  1

  —

  1

  5

  35

  114

  149

  Moyle

  20

  1

  45

  4

  2

  —

  5

  8

  23

  62

  85

  Newry & Mourne

  85

  2

  154

  23

  11

  2

  41

  1

  100

  219

  319

  Newtownabbey

  109

  18

  139

  34

  4

  31

  42

  31

  162

  246

  408

  North Down

  89

  9

  156

  28

  1

  3

  20

  8

  102

  212

  314

  Omagh

  140

  —

  60

  25

  38

  13

  141

  50

  191

  276

  467

  Strabane

  42

  2

  75

  15

  4

  1

  10

  1

  49

  101

  150

  TOTAL

  2,813

  221

  3,734

  799

  209

  116

  731

  452

  3,359

  5,716

  9,075

  F/T = Full Time.

  P/T = Part Time.

  Equal Opportunities
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the employees of(a) Enterprise Ulster, (b) the Fishery Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland and (c) the Milk Marketing Board for Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Hanley
  The annual cost of monitoring in each instance is negligible.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by(a) the Fair Employment Commission, (b) the Northern Ireland tourist board and (c) the Equal Opportunities Commission.
  634
  it has executive and advisory functions, providing financial and other assistance to a wide range of bodies in connection with sport and physical education.

  A new council has recently been appointed, but its role and responsibilities will remain the same, with the exception that, in due course, it will have the additional responsibility of distributing the funds from the national lottery allocated to sport in Northern Ireland.

  District Councils
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed by each district council in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Atkins
  The number of employees of each district council as at September 1992 is as set out in the table:

  Mr. Atkins
  At 30 March 1993 the Fair Employment Commission had 66 employees; the Northern Ireland Tourist Board 121; and the Equal Opportunities Commission 32.

  Civil Service
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons now in the civil service in Northern Ireland became civil servants as a result of the reorganisation of local government.

  Mr. Mates
  Approximately 1,280.

  Royal Ulster Constabulary
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the expenditure on arms and ammunition by the Royal Ulster Constabulary over the past year.
  635
  Mr. Mates
  Expenditure by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland on the purchase of arms and ammunition for the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the financial year ended 31 March 1993, amounted to £1,273,975.

  Tourism
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money has been spent on the promotion of tourism in Northern Ireland in each of the past six years.

  Mr. Atkins
  Government expenditure on the promotion of tourism in Northern Ireland has increased significantly over the six years as is evidenced by the table:

  Year

  £'000s

  1987–88

  4,960

  1988–89

  5,387

  1989–90

  5,695

  1990–91

  7,357

  1991–92

  7,094

  1992–93

  11,662

  1991 Quarter

  1992 Quarter

  1

  2

  3

  4

  Total

  1

  2

  3

  4

  Total

  Receivership

  1

  15

  14

  3

  33

  6

  2

  6

  4

  18

  Wound-up

  53

  69

  39

  78

  239

  41

  69

  41

  57

  208

  Terrorism
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been killed by terrorists in Northern Ireland since the beginning of the year; and what were the dates and locations of these murders.

  Mr. Mates
  The police are currently investigating 21 incidents in which terrorist organisations are believed to

  Date

  Location

  Number of Deaths

  1.

  3 January

  Lisnagleer

  2

  2.

  11 January

  Dungannon

  1

  3.

  14 January

  Belfast

  1

  4.

  17 January

  Belfast

  1

  5.

  21 January

  Belfast

  1

  6.

  23 January

  Londonderry

  1

  7.

  28 January

  Cookstown

  1

  8.

  2 February

  Ballyronan

  1

  9.

  9 February

  Armagh

  1

  10.

  11 February

  Moy

  1

  11.

  12 February

  Castlederg

  1

  12.

  15 February

  Belfast

  1

  13.

  24 February

  Loughgall

  1

  14.

  25 February

  Crossmaglen

  1

  15.

  8 March

  Keady

  1

  16.

  10 March

  Belfast

  1

  17.

  15 March

  Newtownabbey

  1

  18.

  17 March

  Forkhill

  1

  19.

  24 March

  Belfast

  1

  20.

  25 March

  Castlerock

  4

  21.

  25 March

  Belfast

  1

  Total 25

  636

  Bankruptcies
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firms have gone bankrupt in Northern Ireland each year since January 1991; how many firms went bankrupt in the previous two years; and how many firms have(a) gone into receivership and (b) been wound up in each quarter of the past two years.

  Mr. Atkins
  The numbers of bankruptcies and companies wound up in the calendar years 1989–1992 are as follows:

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Bankruptcies

  238

  286

  366

  404

  Companies wound up

  176

  180

  239

  208

  The quarterly statistics on receiverships and companies wound up for the past two years are shown as follows:

  have killed 25 people in Northern Ireland in the period 1 January 1993 to 31 March 1993. Details of the date and location of these incidents are given in the table below.

  Old People's Homes
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the daily or weekly cost to his Department of maintaining a person in an old people's home.
  637
  Mr. Hanley
  For the year ended 31 March 1992 the average cost of maintaining a resident in a home for the elderly administered by the Northern Ireland health and social services boards was £227 per week. This figure excludes capital and central administration costs.

  Unemployment
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are registered as unemployed in Belfast East and West and of these how many are(a) males over 18 years, (b) males under 18 years, (c) females over 18 years and (d) females under 18 years; and what is the total number of people under 18 years unemployed in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Atkins
  The number of unemployed claimants disaggregated by age and sex for the parliamentary constituencies of Belfast East and Belfast West is set out in the table. The figures given relate to those unemployed on 11 February 1993, the latest date for which information is available.

  Unemployed claimants

  Belfast East

  Belfast West

  Males over 18 years

  3,024

  7,726

  Males 18 years and under

  62

  156

  Females over 18 years

  949

  1,397

  Females 18 years and under

  49

  98

  TOTAL

  4,084

  9,377

  The total number of unemployed aged 18 years and under in Northern Ireland is 3,043.

  Company name

  Product

  Mainland British

  Lynjoy Ltd.

  Telecommunications components

  Forte Airport Services

  In flight meals

  Rumenco Ltd.

  Animal feed stuff additives

  Bowater (NI) Ltd.

  Printing

  D. Evans Assemblies

  Telecommunications components

  ISA Poultry Services Ltd.

  Poultry breeding

  Tensator (NI) Ltd.

  Backwound springs

  Avery Label (NI) Ltd.

  Self adhesive labels

  Audio Processing Technology Ltd.

  Music coding systems

  USA

  Irlandus Circuits

  Printed circuit boards

  Sentronics

  Digital tyre pressure gauges

  DDL Electronics Ltd.

  Circuit boards

  Fruit of the Loom Manufacturing

  Textile products

  Inward Investing Firms
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the number of inward investing firms which have pulled out of Northern Ireland during each of the past four years and on the number of jobs affected.

  Mr. Atkins
  Information on inward investng firms which had accepted offers of selective financial assistance form the Industrial Development Board and subsequently closed is as follows:
  638

  Student Grants
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students from Northern Ireland received grants towards their studies in the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Hanley
  The total number of students from Northern Ireland in receipt of awards in the 1991–92 academic year was 35,777.

  Manufacturing Plants
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the number of(a) mainland British and (b) United States firms which have set up manufacturing plants in Northern Ireland since 1963; and, in each case, what information he has on the sum total of grants paid out and the number which are still in the Province, listing the names and the products produced by each.

  Mr. Atkins
  Information is available only from September 1982 when the Industrial Development Board was established. Sixteen mainland British and eight USA firms have set up manufacturing plants in Northern Ireland since that date with selective financial assistance from the Industrial Development Board. Grants totalling £5·3 million have been paid to the mainland British firms and £15·8 million to the USA firms. Nine mainland British and four USA firms still operate in Northern Ireland. Details of these are as follows:

  Closures of Inward Investing Firms

  Number of closures

  Employment at date of closure

  1989–90

  4

  257

  1990–91

  9

  352

  1991–92

  13

  552

  1992–93

  12

  1,065

  Gaelic Athletic Association
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in persuading the Gaelic Athletic Association to end its ban on membership of those who have served in the Royal Navy, the Army or the police.
  639
  Mr. Hanley
  As a voluntary sports organisation which receives grant aid, Government officials meet representatives of the GAA from time to time. The Government's regret for GAA membership restrictions is already in the public record but changes on GAA membership rules are a matter for that organisation.

  Belfast International Airport
  Mr. Stott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much(a) public money and (b) money originating from European funding programmes has been invested in Belfast international airport over the last three years; what proportion of the total sum invested has been spent on improving the infrastructure of the airport; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Direct Government financial assistance to Belfast international airport ceased in 1989. Over the last three years over £7·5 million of grant aid from the European regional development fund transportation programme has been received, all of which has been spent on improving the airport infrastructure.

  Mr. Stott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to announce the sale of Belfast international airport; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government's decision to privatise the airport was announced by my predecessor in November 1991.

  Mr. Stott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many airport police operate at Belfast international airport; under whose control they currently operate; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  A total of 59 airport police are employed at Belfast international airport. They are all employees of Northern Ireland Airports Ltd. and operate fully under their control.

  Mr. Stott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list(a) the numbers of flights and (b) the numbers of passengers passing through Belfast international airport over the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  There were 96,510 aircraft movements at Belfast international airport in 1990; 97,213 in 1991; and 96,991 in 1992. Passenger movements in the same three years were 2,293,749; 2,168,226; and 2,245,618 respectively.

  Mr. Stott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were employed at Belfast international airport on 1 January; and if he will make a statement.

  Cost per pupil

  Belfast

  North eastern

  South eastern

  Southern

  Western

  £

  £

  £

  £

  £

  i. Centrally provided services

  307

  321

  317

  368

  389

  ii. Central administration

  61

  42

  47

  62

  60

  640
  Mr. Atkins
  The figure is 363.

  Port of Belfast
  Mr. William O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received regarding the privatisation of the port of Belfast; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  As part of the consultation process on the draft Ports (NI) Order 1993 I have received 38 responses. These included 10 which expressed reservations about the possibility of privatising the port of Belfast. I will be considering each of these responses in detail.

  Sex Offenders
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his policy on placing sex offenders selected for community service on schemes in the community.

  Mr. Mates
  Sentencing decisions in individual cases are matters for the courts. Where the courts impose a community service order for a sexual offence, or on an offender who has previously been convicted for sexual offences, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland places the offender on a scheme in which the risk to others and to the offender is minimised, and in which the offender can be closely supervised.

  Ports (Northern Ireland) Order 1993
  Mr. William O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will amend the draft Ports (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 in order to subject it to the affirmative resolution procedure.

  Mr. Atkins
  The draft Ports (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 is already subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

  School Budgets
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average cost per pupil of(a) centrally provided services, (b) such centrally provided services as form part of the potential schools budget and (c) central administration, in each local education authority in the last year for which information is available.

  Mr. Hanley
  There is no Northern Ireland equivalent to the potential schools budget used by local education authorities in England and Wales. The remaining information, obtained from the Northern Ireland education and library boards' 1991–92 local management of schools outturn statements, is as follows:
  641

  Trust Ports
  Mr. William O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement concerning the procedure for privatising trust ports in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government propose to make an Order in Council to enable the privatisation of trust ports in Northern Ireland. As the proposed order has just concluded its consultation stage I have not yet considered the responses made and accordingly a statement on procedures would be premature.

  Days Lost
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total number of days lost per 1,000 workers in Northern Ireland during each of the last two years.

  Mr. Atkins
  A total of 32 in 1991 and 15 in 1992.

  Pupil-teacher Ratios
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average pupil-teacher ratio in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Hanley
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North(Mr. Greenway) on 18 March 1993,Official Report, columns 397–98.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Mr. Mates
  The appointments made by my right hon. and learned Friend which require a submission to the Prime Minister are as follows:

  Chairman

  —Industrial Development Board

  Chairman

  —Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights

  Deputy Chairman and two members

  —Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland

  Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research has been conducted in hospitals in the Province on myalgic encephalomyelitis.

  Mr. Hanley
  Over the last five years research has been carried out at the Royal Victoria hospital, Belfast, into the physical causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis and the possibility of devising an objective diagnostic test for the condition.
  642

  Students
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will give further consideration to student financial hardship associated with summer rent demands and the absence of housing benefit entitlement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  In general it is the student support system which is designed to provide financial help for full-time students. Housing benefit, which helps with both rent and rates, is available to vulnerable group students throughout their courses, including the summer vacation.

  There are no plans to change this policy.

  Industrial Development
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show for each council area the number of visits sponsored by the Industrial Development Board by prospective investors, together with the sums invested in(a) manufacturing industry, (b) service industry and (c) banking, in each such area in each of the last three years for which figures are available, by (i) overseas investors, (ii) United Kingdom investors, (iii) Northern Ireland investors and (iv) investors from the Republic of Ireland or as much of such information as is available.

  Mr. Atkins
  Details of visits by prospective investors and planned investments in manufacturing industry and tradeable services are set out in the tables. There have been no investments by the banking sector.

  Visits by prospective investors

  District councils

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Antrim

  61

  81

  38

  Ards

  3

  9

  5

  Armagh

  3

  2

  3

  Ballymena

  3

  10

  3

  Ballymoney

  1

  1

  4

  Banbridge

  1

  —

  —

  Belfast

  188

  213

  141

  Carrickfergus

  13

  19

  7

  Castlereagh

  9

  14

  8

  Coleraine

  4

  28

  4

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  1

  Craigavon

  14

  12

  15

  Derry

  23

  28

  23

  Down

  4

  4

  6

  Dungannon

  1

  1

  3

  Fermanagh

  1

  1

  4

  Larne

  11

  10

  5

  Limavady

  2

  1

  2

  Lisburn

  10

  12

  11

  Magherafelt

  1

  —

  1

  Moyle

  1

  —

  1

  Newry and Mourne

  4

  4

  10

  Newtownabbey

  40

  46

  30

  North Down

  10

  25

  7

  Omagh

  4

  —

  1

  Strabane

  3

  1

  —

  TOTAL

  415

  522

  333

  643

  Planned investment in manufacturing industry 1990–91

  £ thousands

  District councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Antrim

  —

  —

  2,178

  —

  2,178

  Ards

  623

  —

  729

  —

  1,352

  Armagh

  —

  —

  2,846

  —

  2,846

  Ballymena

  60,449

  —

  1,221

  —

  61,670

  Ballymoney

  11,777

  9,653

  623

  —

  22,053

  Banbridge

  —

  4,875

  —

  —

  4,875

  Belfast

  22,220

  809

  3,809

  733

  27,571

  Carrickfergus

  —

  —

  1,214

  —

  1,214

  Castlereagh

  —

  —

  3,810

  —

  3,810

  Coleraine

  —

  —

  1,117

  —

  1,117

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  35,747

  3,428

  28,711

  853

  68,739

  Derry

  4,035

  356

  11,235

  —

  15,626

  Down

  —

  459

  —

  —

  459

  Dungannon

  —

  63

  18,864

  —

  18,927

  Fermanagh

  —

  —

  3,725

  2,571

  6,296

  Larne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  —

  1,757

  13,586

  —

  15,343

  Magherafelt

  1,240

  —

  4,117

  —

  5,357

  Moyle

  12,021

  —

  —

  —

  12,021

  Newry and Mourne

  —

  6,129

  1,093

  —

  7,222

  Newtownabbey

  —

  —

  1,516

  —

  1,516

  North Down

  —

  4,073

  2,282

  —

  6,355

  Omagh

  —

  —

  4,688

  —

  4,688

  Strabane

  —

  13,445

  —

  478

  13,923

  TOTALS

  148,112

  45,047

  107,364

  4,635

  305,158

  Planned investment in tradeable services

  £ thousands

  District councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Antrim

  —

  —

  —

  1,152

  1,152

  Ards

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Armagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ballymena

  —

  86

  —

  —

  86

  Ballymoney

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Banbridge

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Belfast

  —

  1.520

  1,849

  —

  3,369

  Carrickfergus

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Castlereagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Coleraine

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  —

  —

  219

  —

  219

  Derry

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Dungannon

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Fermanagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Larne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Magherafelt

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne

  3,733

  —

  —

  —

  3,733

  Newtownabbey

  —

  949

  —

  —

  949

  North Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Omagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Strabane

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  TOTALS

  3,733

  2,555

  2,068

  1,152

  9,508

  Planned Investment in Manufacturing Industry 1991–92

  £ thousands

  District Councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Antrim

  —

  —

  900

  —

  900

  Ards

  —

  2,837

  5,404

  —

  8,241

  Armagh

  —

  —

  4,574

  —

  4,574

  Ballymena

  —

  1,810

  1,315

  —

  3,125

  Ballymoney

  —

  10,722

  826

  —

  11,548

  Banbridge

  —

  —

  3,489

  —

  3,489

  644 645

  District Councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Belfast

  5,386

  —

  4,666

  4,450

  14,502

  Carrickfergus

  —

  —

  210

  —

  210

  Castlereagh

  —

  4,870

  1,592

  —

  6,462

  Coleraine

  3,774

  —

  2,649

  —

  6,423

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  6,029

  19,603

  84,561

  4,812

  115,005

  Derry

  3,627

  —

  1,815

  —

  5,442

  Down

  —

  —

  1,390

  —

  1,390

  Dungannon

  —

  —

  5,379

  —

  5,379

  Fermanagh

  —

  6,217

  3,735

  —

  9,952

  Larne

  —

  —

  221

  —

  221

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  —

  7,345

  2,727

  —

  10,072

  Magherafelt

  657

  —

  —

  —

  657

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newtownabbey

  11,897

  —

  4,270

  —

  16,167

  North Down

  13,419

  200

  1,481

  —

  15,100

  Omagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Strabane

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  TOTALS

  44,789

  53,604

  131,204

  9,262

  238,859

  Planned investment in tradeable services 1991–92

  £ thousands

  District councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Antrim

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ards

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Armagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ballymena

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ballymoney

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Banbridge

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Belfast

  —

  1,253

  —

  317

  1,570

  Carrickfergus

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Castlereagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Coleraine

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Derry

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Dungannon

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Fermanagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Larne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Magherafelt

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newtownabbey

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Omagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Strabane

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  TOTALS

  —

  1,253

  —

  317

  1,570

  Planned investment in manufacturing industry 1992–93 (to end February 1993) £ thousands

  District councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Antrim

  56,717

  1,012

  1,600

  —

  59,329

  Ards

  —

  896

  6,084

  —

  6,980

  Armagh

  —

  —

  1,610

  —

  1,610

  Ballymena

  4,954

  1,741

  1,789

  —

  8,484

  Ballymoney

  —

  2,075

  —

  —

  2,075

  Banbridge

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Belfast

  —

  275

  4,859

  —

  5,134

  Carrickfergus

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Castlereagh

  10,653

  —

  —

  —

  10,653

  Coleraine

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  23,433

  950

  12,429

  2,164

  38,976

  Derry

  69,984

  —

  2,512

  —

  72,496

  Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  646 647

  District councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Dungannon

  —

  705

  1,176

  —

  1,881

  Fermanagh

  —

  3,081

  3,228

  —

  6,309

  Larne

  —

  1,359

  —

  —

  1,359

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  —

  7,974

  2,026

  —

  10,000

  Magherafelt

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne

  —

  1,336

  1,458

  3,012

  5,806

  Newtownabbey

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Omagh

  —

  —

  577

  —

  577

  Strabane

  —

  10,797

  —

  —

  10,797

  TOTALS

  165,741

  32,201

  39,348

  5,176

  242,466

  Planned investment in tradeable services 1992–93 (to end February 1993)

  £ thousands

  District councils

  Overseas

  GB

  NI

  ROI

  Totals

  Antrim

  —

  2,107

  —

  —

  2,107

  Ards

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Armagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ballymena

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ballymoney

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Banbridge

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Belfast

  —

  10,543

  934

  —

  11,477

  Carrickfergus

  —

  260

  —

  —

  260

  Castlereagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Coleraine

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Derry

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Dungannon

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Fermanagh

  —

  2,349

  —

  —

  2,349

  Larne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Magherafelt

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newtownabbey

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North Down

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Omagh

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Strabane

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  TOTALS

  —

  15,259

  934

  —

  16,193

  Job Creation
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show what sums of public money have been(a) paid or (b) committed in each of the last five years per job (i) created and (ii) sustained in each parliamentary constituency in Belfast and in each of the other 25 local council areas; and from which Government agency the money was provided, or as much of such information as is readily available.

  Mr. Atkins
  The following tables show the assistance offered in recent years by the Industrial Development Board and the Local Enterprise Development Unit to promote and sustain employment.

  Industrial Development Board

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  1988–89

  Antrim

  712

  160

  6,773

  Ards

  164

  —

  1,105

  Armagh

  110

  —

  599

  648

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  Ballymena

  90

  138

  1,310

  Ballymoney

  16

  147

  450

  Banbridge

  99

  —

  775

  Belfast

  303

  705

  13,288

  Carrickfergus

  452

  121

  2,189

  Castlereagh

  95

  175

  2,859

  Coleraine

  115

  —

  1,182

  Cookstown

  16

  42

  332

  Craigavon

  169

  176

  4,511

  Derry

  432

  48

  7,877

  Down

  318

  33

  3,830

  Dungannon

  108

  —

  1,291

  Fermanagh

  296

  71

  4,033

  Larne

  148

  25

  3,763

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  1,039

  19

  33,321

  Magherafelt

  155

  4

  1,075

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  Newry & Mourne

  82

  72

  1,248

  Newtownabbey

  720

  331

  14,412

  North Down

  14

  163

  554

  Omagh

  —

  —

  —

  Strabane

  —

  —

  —

  649

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  Total

  5,653

  2,430

  106,777

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  1989–90

  Antrim

  798

  524

  6,829

  Ards

  67

  152

  3,570

  Armagh

  34

  —

  268

  Ballymena

  206

  83

  2,554

  Ballymoney

  40

  —

  195

  Banbridge

  —

  75

  195

  Belfast

  601

  293

  11,069

  Carrickfergus

  100

  —

  3,974

  Castlereagh

  404

  1,234

  5,634

  Coleraine

  127

  30

  2,706

  Cookstown

  70

  20

  1,001

  Craigavon

  417

  107

  7,700

  Derry

  827

  60

  18,774

  Down

  24

  —

  393

  Dungannon

  136

  —

  1,567

  Fermanagh

  76

  521

  4,043

  Larne

  78

  111

  1,277

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  85

  250

  2,652

  Magherafelt

  53

  100

  1,442

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne

  32

  109

  353

  Newtownabbey

  743

  195

  14,245

  North Down

  147

  275

  1,751

  Omagh

  36

  —

  510

  Strabane

  30

  45

  548

  Total

  5,131

  4,184

  93,250

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  1990–91

  Antrim

  139

  16

  1,333

  Ards

  50

  31

  269

  Armagh

  60

  100

  816

  Ballymena

  411

  25

  10,376

  Ballymoney

  49

  248

  3,549

  Banbridge

  —

  480

  1,459

  Belfast

  1,098

  793

  15,319

  Carrickfergus

  129

  —

  420

  Castlereagh

  68

  —

  873

  Coleraine

  —

  32

  273

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  474

  876

  16,964

  Derry

  371

  2

  4,929

  Down

  —

  24

  146

  Dungannon

  463

  90

  6,677

  Fermanagh

  156

  —

  2,250

  Larne

  —

  —

  —

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  288

  2

  3,746

  Magherafelt

  62

  50

  1,505

  Moyle

  —

  101

  991

  Newry & Mourne

  172

  132

  2,421

  Newtownabbey

  46

  26

  573

  North Down

  —

  215

  1,439

  Omagh

  93

  111

  1,349

  Strabane

  273

  700

  4,648

  Total

  4,402

  4,054

  82,325

  650
  Note:

  The figures relating to new jobs include 1,036 jobs for which no Selective Financial Assistance was offered.

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  1991–92

  Antrim

  77

  —

  246

  Ards

  149

  50

  1,650

  Armagh

  33

  85

  898

  Ballymena

  50

  30

  669

  Ballymoney

  57

  315

  1,771

  Banbridge

  29

  87

  1,428

  Belfast

  458

  585

  5,560

  Carrickfergus

  —

  52

  75

  Castlereagh

  84

  61

  1,205

  Coleraine

  50

  164

  1,648

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  716

  831

  33,022

  Derry

  103

  —

  1,285

  Down

  —

  60

  300

  Dungannon

  76

  —

  1,832

  Fermanagh

  101

  73

  3,333

  Larne

  25

  —

  51

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  Lisbum

  155

  —

  2,249

  Magherafelt

  10

  —

  304

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  Newry & Mourne

  —

  —

  40

  Newtownabbey

  114

  16

  3,226

  North Down

  54

  280

  3,048

  Omagh

  —

  —

  —

  Strabane

  —

  —

  500

  Total

  2,341

  2,689

  64,340

  Note: The figures relating to new jobs include 350 jobs for which no Selective Financial Assistance was offered.

  District council area

  New jobs

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered £'000

  1992–93 (11 months to end of February 1993)

  Antrim

  869

  —

  17,218

  Ards

  49

  20

  1,298

  Armagh

  20

  5

  366

  Ballymena

  136

  20

  2,598

  Ballymoney

  131

  30

  471

  Banbridge

  —

  —

  —

  Belfast

  294

  184

  6,044

  Carrickfergus

  5

  —

  36

  Castlereagh

  —

  500

  3,365

  Coleraine

  —

  —

  —

  Cookstown

  —

  —

  —

  Craigavon

  683

  240

  12,065

  Derry

  644

  223

  14,489

  Down

  —

  —

  —

  Dungannon

  25

  —

  436

  Fermanagh

  200

  182

  2,777

  Larne

  2

  28

  185

  Limavady

  —

  —

  —

  Lisburn

  39

  100

  1,941

  Magherafelt

  —

  —

  350

  Moyle

  —

  —

  —

  Newry & Mourne

  75

  115

  1,500

  Newtownabbey

  —

  —

  —

  North Down

  —

  —

  80

  Omagh

  25

  —

  200

  Strabane

  150

  —

  3,400

  Total

  3,347

  1,647

  68,819

  Note: The figures relating to new jobs include 100 jobs for which no Selective Financial Assistance was offered.
  651

  Local enterprise development unit

  District councils

  Promoted jobs

  Assistance offered

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered

  £'000

  £'000

  1987–88

  Antrim

  80

  369

  0

  0

  Ards

  55

  219

  0

  43

  Armagh

  142

  633

  0

  0

  Ballymena

  143

  494

  24

  93

  Ballymoney

  10

  121

  0

  0

  Banbridge

  10

  42

  0

  0

  Belfast

  918

  3,907

  116

  360

  Carrickfergus

  246

  999

  0

  0

  Castlereagh

  10

  490

  0

  0

  Coleraine

  168

  690

  0

  0

  Cookstown

  61

  384

  0

  0

  Craigavon

  218

  816

  22

  98

  Derry

  361

  1,572

  73

  326

  Down

  112

  673

  0

  0

  Dungannon

  261

  1,099

  112

  440

  Fermanagh

  62

  250

  20

  36

  Larne

  42

  135

  0

  0

  Limavady

  48

  96

  0

  0

  Lisburn

  142

  440

  49

  112

  Magherafelt

  146

  683

  0

  0

  Moyle

  43

  60

  0

  0

  Newry and Mourne

  347

  1,868

  20

  65

  Newtownabbey

  143

  511

  0

  0

  North Down

  149

  589

  0

  0

  Omagh

  47

  359

  0

  12

  Strabane

  143

  688

  52

  322

  Totals

  4,047

  8,187

  488

  1,907

  Local enterprise development unit

  District councils

  Promoted jobs

  Assistance offered

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered

  £'000

  £'000

  1988–89

  Antrim

  127

  592

  0

  0

  Ards

  107

  426

  7

  17

  Armagh

  107

  487

  0

  23

  Ballymena

  100

  388

  20

  38

  Ballymoney

  39

  192

  0

  0

  Banbridge

  67

  269

  0

  0

  Belfast

  1,108

  4,424

  113

  471

  Carrickfergus

  207

  880

  0

  0

  Castlereagh

  60

  262

  0

  0

  Coleraine

  61

  267

  0

  0

  Cookstown

  126

  615

  0

  0

  Craigavon

  281

  1,303

  19

  70

  Derry

  326

  1,322

  44

  151

  Down

  120

  623

  0

  0

  Dungannon

  311

  1,890

  31

  53

  Fermanagh

  164

  778

  8

  34

  Larne

  85

  305

  15

  49

  Limavady

  80

  456

  0

  0

  Lisburn

  115

  475

  25

  56

  Magherafelt

  87

  413

  55

  263

  Moyle

  10

  52

  0

  0

  Newry and Mourne

  440

  2,322

  0

  0

  Newtownabbey

  115

  325

  14

  33

  North Down

  137

  5,986

  0

  0

  Omagh

  136

  676

  0

  0

  Strabane

  65

  264

  20

  114

  Totals

  4,581

  25,992

  371

  1,372

  652 653

  Local enterprise development unit

  District councils

  Promoted jobs

  Assistance offered

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered

  £'000

  £'000

  1989–90

  Antrim

  220

  1,514

  0

  0

  Ards

  100

  580

  12

  83

  Armagh

  297

  419

  3

  IS

  Ballymena

  160

  364

  0

  0

  Ballymoney

  48

  117

  0

  0

  Banbridge

  66

  75

  15

  60

  Belfast

  1,510

  5,877

  66

  333

  Carrickfergus

  103

  823

  10

  39

  Castlereagh

  13

  243

  0

  0

  Coleraine

  123

  164

  0

  0

  Cookstown

  40

  179

  0

  10

  Craigavon

  232

  1,612

  34

  152

  Derry

  540

  2,192

  47

  274

  Down

  190

  307

  10

  48

  Dungannon

  252

  1,746

  40

  101

  Fermanagh

  200

  269

  20

  63

  Larne

  46

  366

  0

  0

  Limavady

  28

  299

  0

  0

  Lisburn

  256

  582

  9

  34

  Magherafelt

  108

  906

  0

  0

  Moyle

  16

  233

  0

  0

  Newry and Mourne

  425

  541

  62

  228

  Newtownabbey

  189

  133

  28

  90

  North Down

  154

  1,281

  0

  0

  Omagh

  163

  752

  55

  239

  Strabane

  31

  80

  0

  0

  Totals

  5,510

  21,654

  411

  1,769

  Local enterprise development unit

  District councils

  Promoted jobs

  Assistance offered

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered

  £'000

  £'000

  1990–91

  Antrim

  195

  300

  19

  81

  Ards

  242

  812

  74

  261

  Armagh

  170

  686

  64

  182

  Ballymena

  178

  574

  64

  153

  Ballymoney

  47

  310

  0

  0

  Banbridge

  35

  515

  0

  0

  Belfast

  1,514

  5,347

  242

  728

  Carrickfergus

  154

  1,333

  0

  0

  Castlereagh

  54

  247

  0

  0

  Coleraine

  170

  480

  0

  0

  Cookstown

  76

  131

  0

  o

  Craigavon

  302

  1,174

  77

  88

  Derry

  329

  597

  97

  226

  Down

  172

  935

  49

  264

  Dungannon

  278

  2,124

  0

  0

  Fermanagh

  148

  361

  0

  0

  Larne

  67

  163

  0

  0

  Limavady

  86

  345

  0

  0

  Lisburn

  216

  943

  0

  0

  Magherafelt

  209

  1,539

  0

  0

  Moyle

  6

  52

  0

  0

  Newry and Mourne

  466

  1,304

  227

  632

  Newtownabbey

  341

  946

  0

  0

  North Down

  208

  713

  0

  16

  Omagh

  254

  684

  0

  0

  Strabane

  87

  309

  54

  64

  Totals

  6,004

  22,924

  967

  2,695

  654 655

  Local enterprise development unit

  District councils

  Promoted jobs

  Assistance offered

  Safeguarded jobs

  Assistance offered

  £'000

  £'000

  1991–92

  Antrim

  81

  237

  0

  0

  Ards

  174

  739

  0

  0

  Armagh

  80

  321

  14

  60

  Ballymena

  59

  220

  0

  0

  Ballymoney

  4

  14

  0

  0

  Banbridge

  34

  316

  0

  0

  Belfast

  844

  4,105

  22

  87

  Carrickfergus

  36

  102

  0

  0

  Castlereagh

  40

  53

  0

  0

  Coleraine

  33

  112

  0

  0

  Cookstown

  94

  376

  0

  0

  Craigavon

  162

  851

  95

  301

  Derry

  181

  713

  0

  0

  Down

  88

  314

  35

  125

  Dungannon

  156

  627

  0

  0

  Fermanagh

  133

  554

  0

  0

  Larne

  26

  80

  0

  0

  Limavady

  23

  68

  0

  0

  Lisburn

  150

  438

  0

  0

  Magherafelt

  66

  217

  0

  0

  Moyle

  17

  111

  0

  0

  Newry and Mourne

  268

  1,047

  25

  80

  Newtownabbey

  174

  624

  8

  48

  North Down

  137

  418

  0

  0

  Omagh

  100

  332

  0

  0

  Strabane

  62

  414

  0

  0

  Totals

  3,222

  13,403

  199

  701

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many jobs will be created by the Seagate investment in Londonderry; what he expects the catchment area for employees to be; how many(a) Roman Catholic and (b) Protestant employees, will represent the balance in the work force consistent with fair employment practices; and what are the proportions of Roman Catholics and Protestants in the expected catchment area of employment.

  Mr. Atkins
  Over the next four years, employment at the Seagate investment in Londonderry is expected to reach 506. Responsibility for recruitment rests with the employer. Under the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, all employers are required to afford fair participation in employment to members of both communities. The Fair Employment Commission will provide information and advice on any aspect of fair employment practices, including catchment areas, to any employer.

  Potato Crop
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the acreage of the 1992 potato crop which was not harvested at(a) 1 December 1992, (b) 1 January 1993, (c) 1 February 1993, (d) 1 March 1993 and (e) 1 April 1993; and what percentage of the total acreage this represented at each date of (i) the seed and (ii) the ware crop acreage.

  Mr. Hanley
  Estimates of unharvested potatoes are as follows:
  656

  Week ended

  Area not harvested (acres)

  Unharvested seed as a percentage of total seed area

  Unharvested ware as a percentage of total ware area

  5 December 1992

  6,250

  17·4

  24·3

  2 January 1993

  4,670

  12·6

  18·3

  6 February 1993

  3,909

  9·9

  15·7

  6 March 1993

  2,676

  6·6

  10·8

  27 March 19931

  1,575

  4·5

  6·1

  1 Latest available date.

  Correspondence
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reply he has sent to Mr. Jim McCormick of the East Belfast Conservative Association to a letter that was sent to him on 19 March.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  I wrote to Mr. McCormick on 31 March confirming that the Government remained committed to the objective of finding an effective and permanent solution to the problem about which he had written to me.

  University Funding
  Mr. Mallon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what funding has been made available for(a) teaching, (b) research and (c) other activities in Queen's university, Belfast and the New University of Ulster in the years 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992, respectively;

  (2) what is the total quantity of Government funding made available for Queen's university, Belfast and the New University of Ulster in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992.

  Mr. Hanley
  The amounts made available by Northern Ireland Departments to each university are as follows:
  657

  Financial year

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Queen's University

  Teaching

  31,272

  31,993

  32,181

  32,125

  31,225

  17,207

  Research

  14,837

  Other activities

  10,122

  12,592

  14,305

  13,442

  14,871

  14,754

  Total funding

  41,394

  44,585

  46,486

  45,567

  46,096

  46,798

  University of Ulster

  Teaching

  29,091

  32,118

  34,626

  34,347

  31,646

  18,136

  Research

  13,775

  Other activities

  8,490

  10,708

  13,308

  14,800

  15,227

  16,037

  Total funding

  37,581

  42,826

  47,934

  49,147

  46,873

  47,948

  Notes:

  1. Departmental funding is not held on calendar year basis and tables give amounts in financial years.

  2. Prior to the 1992–93 financial year, Departmental records do not identify funding for teaching and research separately.

  3. Amounts exclude tuition fees paid under the Northern Ireland Students' Awards Regulations.

  4. The reduction in teaching and research funding between 1990–91 and 1991–92 is accounted for by the shift in funding from these areas to cover increases in tuition fees.

  "Growing a Green Economy"
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many copies of his Department's publication "Growing a Green Economy" have been published; to which organisations and individuals it has been distributed; and what is the cost of the first print run.

  Mr. Atkins
  Ten thousand copies of "Growing a Green Economy" have been printed at a cost of £25,500. The document is being distributed widely within Northern Ireland to industry and commerce, business representative bodies, environmental interest groups and local councils. It is also available on demand at HMSO and a copy has been sent to each Member of Parliament for information.

  Mink Farms
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many mink farms are currently licensed in each county in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Hanley
  There are no mink farms in Northern Ireland.

  Scale Maps
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will arrange with the Ordnance Survey for the publication of a version or versions of the 1–50,000 scale maps of Northern Ireland showing(a) the townland boundaries, (b) local Government boundaries and (c) parliamentary boundaries.

  Mr. Hanley
  The decision whether to publish a particular type of map is a matter for the director and chief executive of Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland. I understand that some of the maps to which the hon. Gentleman refers are already available.

  Fair Employment Tribunal
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases have been brought against private companies alleging religious and political discrimination, since the establishment of the Fair Employment tribunal until 31 December 1992, indicating the nature of each allegation and the tribunal's decision.
  658
  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 1 April 1993]: It is not possible, until cases are heard, to distinguish between private companies, public limited companies, individuals and partnerships. However, in the period to 31 December 1992, 404 complaints were brought against private employers as distinct from public bodies. The nature of the allegations in such cases and the decisions of the tribunal, where available, are set out in the table.

  Number

  Nature of allegation

  Alleged discriminatory dismissals

  204

  Alleged discriminatory non-appointments

  133

  Alleged discriminatory non-promotions

  14

  Alleged discriminatory harassments

  24

  Alleged discriminatory victimisations

  29

  404

  Decisions of tribunal

  Decisions—dismissed on merits

  49

  Decisions—dismissed following withdrawal

  138

  Decisions—applications allowed

  7

  Decisions—applications conciliated

  14

  Decisions—awaiting hearing

  196

  404

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Maintenance Payments
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the average loss of benefit per claimant if maintenance could no longer be offset against income from 1 April.

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

  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims are currently made for housing and community charge benefit where maintenance payments are offset against income for benefit calculation.

  Mr. Burt
  In May 1991, there were an estimated 3,000 housing benefit cases and 4,000 community charge benefit cases.
  659
  Note: Figures apply to Great Britain and were derived from a small number of sample cases supplied by local authorities for the housing benefit and community charge benefit information system annual 1 per cent. sample of cases without income support.

  Some cases received both housing benefit and community charge benefit.

  Child Support Act
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of claims which will be made for housing and council tax benefit where maintenance payments will be offset against income in the first year of operation of the Child Support Act 1991.

  Mr. Burt
  There is no such provision in housing benefit or council tax benefit.

  Boarder Premium
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the cost of a boarder premium of £10 for each member of a homeless family living in(a) bed-and-breakfast accommodation and (b) hostel accommodation, including women's refuges; and if he will give a breakdown of the costs involved.

  Mr. Burt
  The information requested is not available.

  Industrial Disablement
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claimants seeking disability compensation for pneumoconiosis has been successful in each year since 1979; and what has been the annual disability benefit paid in each year.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the numbers of industrial injuries disablement pensions for pneumoconiosis in payment at the end of the statistical period since 1979 are in the table.

  Period

  Pensions current at end of period

  1 October 1978 to 30 September 1979

  28,610

  1 October 1979 to 30 September 1980

  27,580

  1 October 1980 to 30 September 1981

  26,040

  1 October 1981 to 30 September 1982

  24,800

  1 October 1982 to 30 September 1983

  23,770

  1 October 1983 to 30 September 1984

  22,810

  1 October 1984 to 30 September 1985

  22,140

  1 October 1985 to 30 September 1986

  20,740

  1 October 1986 to 4 April 19871

  19,620

  6 April 1987 to 2 April 1988

  18,820

  4 April 1988 to 1 April 1989

  17,830

  3 April 1989 to 31 March 1990

  16,680

  2 April 1990 to 31 March 1991

  15,990

  I April 1991 to 4 April 1992

  214,610

  Note: These figures are rated up from a 10 per cent. sample.

  1Period covers six months only.

  22 Provisional figures only.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles), of 29 March,Official Report, column 77, what consideration he gave to adopting a period of less than the 20 years aggregate of working underground to establish eligibility for industrial injury disablement.
  660
  Mr. Scott
  In its report (Cm 2091) the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, which advises the Secretary of State on the prescription of occupational diseases for industrial injuries disablement benefit purposes, recommended extending the list of prescribed diseases to include chronic bronchitis and emphysema in coal miners who meet specified criteria. The Government have accepted the council's recommendation in full.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brentford and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 29 March,Official Report, column 77, on industrial injuries disablement benefit for coal miners with bronchitis and emphysema, what decisions underlay the choice of 13 September 1993 as the date from which the regulations will take effect.

  Mr. Scott
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, in his reply to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) mentioned the very large number of claims expected from miners and ex-miners when chronic bronchitis and emphysema are added to the list of prescribed industrial diseases; 13 September is the earliest date that the necessary medical and administrative arrangements can be put in place to deal with these claims.

  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to include ceramic workers in the list of workers who may claim compensation for chronic bronchitis and emphysema under the arrangements for payment of industrial injury disablement benefit.

  Mr. Scott
  The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council advises the Secretary of State on the prescription of diseases for industrial injuries disablement benefit purposes. I understand that the council has not received any scientific evidence to suggest that bronchitis and emphysema should be recommended for prescription in relation to ceramic workers.

  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of underground coal miners with emphysema and chronic bronchitis who would have qualified for benefit from the recommendation in the report sent to him by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council in August 1992 but have died since he received the report.

  Mr. Scott
  No such estimate has been made.

  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost of his decision on the recommendation of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Committee in regard to underground miners with emphysema and chronic bronchitis; and how the cost has been computed.

  Mr. Scott
  The current estimate of the net additional full-year benefit cost of implementing the council's recommendation to prescribe chronic bronchitis and emphysema in underground coal miners is in the region of £6 million. This estimate is based on the assumption that around 9,000 awards will be made. Some 4,000 of these will be to miners and ex-miners currently receiving industrial injuries disablement benefit for pneumoconiosis but who, following the prescription of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, will qualify for extra benefit. The remainder will be to those miners and ex-miners who newly qualify for benefit.
  661
  These estimates have drawn upon departmental records concerning pneumonoconiosis cases and upon the assistance of British Coal.

  EC Social Affairs Council
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he intends to put to the European Social Affairs Council on 5 April.

  Mr. Scott
  None.

  Public Appointments
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the appointments made by him as listed in "Public Bodies 1992" came within the categories set out in paragraphs 49 and 50 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" and required a submission to the Prime Minister.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Two—the chairman of the Occupational Pensions Board, Sir Jeremy Rowe, and the chairman of the Social Security Advisory Committee, Sir Peter Barclay.

  Social Security Research Yearbook
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements he has made to distribute to interested non-governmental organisations copies of his Department's social security research yearbook 1991–92.

  Mr. Scott
  Copies of the yearbook have been sent to the main research organisations and others who have expressed an interest in the Department's research programme.

  Retirement Pensions
  Mr. Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 18 March,Official Report, column 376, if he will publish an updated version of the table attached to the letter from the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Maidstone (Miss Widdecombe). dated 26 September 1992, showing the percentages of men aged 65 and women aged 60 years who were in receipt of a full category A retirement pension in 1980 and 1991 as a percentage of (a) the relevant population in those years, and (b) category A pensioners; and if he will also publish the explanatory notes in the letter.

  Percentage of Pensioner Unit Age Groups with Gross Income of Less than £5000 per annum in 1989

  Age

  60–64

  65–69

  70–74

  75–79

  80+

  All

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Single pensioners

  68

  67

  71

  82

  87

  77

  Pensioner couples

  1—

  13

  18

  23

  27

  18

  All pensioner units

  68

  38

  48

  62

  76

  55

  Notes:

  1. A pensioner unit is defined as a single person aged at or above state pensionable age (SPA) or a couple where the husband is aged at or above SPA.

  2. The age of the pensioner couple is taken to be the age of the husband.

  1—Under the above definitions there are no pensioner couples in the 60–64 age band.

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the additional cost or saving
  662
  Miss. Widdecombe
  The information requested is in the table.

  Entitlement to full category A pension

  Column 1 as percentage of population

  Column 2 as percentage of category A pensioners

  At 28 November 1980

  Men aged 65

  79·47

  96·86

  Women aged 60

  20·01

  53·35

  At 30 September 1992

  Men aged 65

  68·1

  91·8

  Women aged 60

  16·3

  37·1

  Notes:

  1. Great Britain residents only.

  2. Population estimates from mid-1991 based on population projection.

  3. Equivalent figures for invalidity benefit are not currently available.

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the impact on the support ratio in 2030 of(a) maintaining the current state pension ages and (b) equalising state pension age at (i) 60, (ii) 65 and (iii) 67 years.

  Miss Widdecombe
  On the same basis as the estimates set out in the discussion document, "Options for Equality in State Pension Age", but incorporating the latest Office of Population Census and Surveys population projections, the effects on the support ratio in 2030 are in the table:

  Ratio

  Current state pension ages

  2·2

  Age 60

  1·8

  Age 65

  3·0

  Age 67

  3·2

  Note:

  The support ratio is defined as the number of people of working age per pensioner.

  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of pensioner tax units had incomes less than £5,000 per annum in the age bands(a) 60 to 64 years, (b) 65 to 69 years, (c) 70 to 74 years, (d) 75 to 79 years, (e) 80 years and over and (f) all ages, in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information is in the table:

  to the Exchequer of equalising the state pension age at (a) 60, (b) 65 or (c) 67 years compared with the current arrangements
  663
  Miss Widdecombe
  On the same basis as the estimates set out in the discussion document "Options for Equality in State Pension Age," the effects on the Exchequer are in the table:

  1992–93 prices £ billion

  Cost + ve, savings - ve

  2025

  2035

  Age 60

  4·6

  3·6

  Age 65

  -3·7

  -3·1

  Age 67

  -6·4

  -5·7

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the state pension age in(a) Sweden and (b) the United States of America.

  Miss Widdecombe
  State pension age in Sweden is currently 65 for both men and women. In 1992 the Government passed legislation to raise the state pension age to 66. The new pension age will be phased in gradually over a four-year period ending in 1998.

  State pension age in the United States of America is currently 65 for both men and women. In 1983 the Government passed a law to raise the age at which full benefits are payable from 65 to 67. The new age will be phased in very gradually during the first quarter of the next century.

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the impact on the economically active ratio in 2030 of(a) maintaining the current state pension ages and (b) equalising the state pension age at (i) 60, (ii) 65 and (iii) 67 years.

  Miss Widdecombe
  On the same basis as the estimates set out in the discussion document, "Options for Equality in State Pension Age," the effects on the economically active ratio in 2030 are in the table.

  Ratio

  Current state pension ages

  1·4

  Age 60

  1·4

  Age 65

  1·5

  Age 67

  1·6

  Note: The economically active ratio is defined as the number of active adults per inactive adult.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of recipients of(a) full state retirement pension and (b) reduced state retirement pension for each year since 1979–80.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The number of retirement pension recipients resident in Great Britain receiving 100 per cent. of the basic pension (full) or less than 100 per cent. (reduced rate) is as follows:

  Thousands

  Category A1

  Category B2

  Full

  Reduced rate

  Full

  Reduced rate

  November 1979

  4,301·5

  344·3

  3,761·0

  116·7

  November 1980

  4,359·2

  401·6

  3,802·8

  111·8

  November 1981

  4,414·9

  452·5

  3,844·6

  106·3

  September 1982

  4,427·3

  516·3

  3,849·9

  106·3

  September 1983

  4,444·6

  588·6

  3,840·9

  103·7

  March 1984

  4,411·9

  627·3

  3,788·1

  100·1

  664

  Category A1

  Category B2

  Full

  Reduced rate

  Full

  Reduced rate

  September 1985

  4,539·3

  674·9

  3,848·9

  99·4

  September 1986

  4,605·3

  700·7

  3,857·9

  94·7

  September 1987

  4,650·1

  712·5

  3,838·3

  93·5

  September 1988

  4,678·2

  717·2

  3,818·3

  92·9

  March 1989

  4,677·6

  720·2

  3,796·8

  92·1

  September 1990

  4,748·3

  756·3

  3,774·5

  92·0

  September 1991

  4,773·2

  780·7

  3,749·7

  93·2

  September 1992

  4,803·9

  816·4

  3,720·3

  99·7

  1 Men and women on own insurance.

  2 Wives and widows on husband's insurance.

  Note:

  Further details can be found in the six-monthly "Retirement Pension: All Cases Tables" available in the Library.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total weekly cost of the state retirement pension for 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The information is in the table.

  Year

  Basic RP (estimated)

  SERPS (estimated)

  Total weekly cost (estimated)

  1992–93

  £488 million

  £26 million

  £514 million

  1993–94

  £504 million

  £30 million

  £534 million

  Notes:

  1. Source—Departmental Report 1993.

  2. Excludes the cost of the non-contributory over-80 pension.

  3. Weekly cost is based on the number of pension paydays in the year 1 April-31 March.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the operative date for the uprating of the state retirement pension in each year from 1980 to 1993.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The operative dates for uprating—that is, since 1987, the first Monday in the tax year—are as follows:

  Year

  Uprating date

  1980

  24 November 1980

  1981

  23 November 1981

  1982

  22 Novemberr 1982

  1983

  21 November 1983

  1984

  26 November 1984

  1985

  25 November 1985

  1986

  28 July 1986

  1987

  6 April 1987

  1988

  11 April 1988

  1989

  10 April 1989

  1990

  9 April 1990

  1991

  8 April 1991

  1992

  6 April 1992

  1993

  12 April 1993

  Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what evaluation has been made by his Department of the physical and organic nature of myalgic encephalomyelitis, and of differences from other chronic fatigue syndromes, in his setting of guidelines for benefit support;
  665
  (2) what disability benefits are available for sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis who are required to take off extensive periods from work as part of a recovery programme.

  Mr. Scott
  The Department accepts that there may be a physical and organic basis for the condition known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). It may well be that only a small proportion of people with chronic fatigue syndromes meet criteria which have been used to describe ME as a distinct entity. Although there may be aetiological differences between ME and other chronic fatigue syndromes, their disabling effects and the needs arising from them are often similar.

  Eligibility for receipt of disability or incapacity benefits does not depend upon the person being affected by a particular disease or diagnosis, but on the disabling effects of the clinical condition and the care and mobility needs which arise from them; or the effect of the disablement or illness on the capacity for work.

  A wide range of benefits is available to sick and disabled people, including sufferers of myalgic encephalomyelitis, provided they meet the conditions of entitlement.

  Data Protection Act 1984
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many certificates have been signed under the terms of section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 for each year since 1987.

  Miss Widdecombe
  None.

  Fuel Bills
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what analysis his Department has made of the fuel bills of disabled people and carers, and the effects of a value added tax charge on those bills, in his consideration of the uprating of(a) income-related benefits and (b) other benefits for disabled people and carers.

  Mr. Burt
  Our conclusions in regard to the impact of VAT on people on low incomes, including those who are disabled or carers, will be made public in the normal way in the autumn statement on benefit uprating. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made it clear that extra help will be given to poorer pensioners and others on low incomes.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures his Department will take to ensure that disabled people and carers on income-related benefits who have higher than average fuel bills are fully compensated for the introduction of a value added tax charge on domestic fuel.

  Ms Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps are being taken to assist single mothers to afford the new tax provision on heating; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  In his budget statement the Chancellor said that there would be extra help for poorer pensioners and those on low incomes. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be announcing the details of this extra help in the autumn.

  Schizophrenia
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what benefits are available to schizophrenics; what plans he has to extend these; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  A wide range of benefits is available to sick and disabled people, including people with schizophrenia, provided they meet the conditions of entitlement. Many such people will have already benefited from the introduction of disability living allowance in April 1992. We have no plans to further extend benefit provision for schizophrenics.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications have been made in the past year for judicial review on social fund decisions; and what percentage were successful.

  Mr. Scott
  In 1992–93, five judicial review applications were made. So far, two of these have been heard; neither was successful.

  There have been 12·5 million applications for discretionary social fund payments since they became available in 1988; of these, only 25 have resulted in judicial review applications. Of the 20 applications that have been heard, only three have been successful.

  Domestic Fuel Expenditure
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures for estimated domestic fuel expenditure by households on income support giving figures separately for expenditure on(a) oil, (b) piped gas, (c) bottled gas, (d) electricity and (e) coal.

  Mr. Burt
  [holding answer 26 March 1993]Estimates of average reported fuel expenditure by households headed by an income support (IS) recipient are given in the table. The estimates will include cases where the household fuel expenditure is partly incurred on behalf of other family units not in receipt of IS within the same household. IS recipients who are not heads of households are not included. The estimates are based on the combined 1990 and 1991 Family Expenditure Surveys and so reflect average levels of expenditure for that two-year period.

  Average weekly expenditure on fuel by households headed by a recipient of IS, from the 1990 and 1991 Family Expenditure Surveys

  £

  All domestic fuel

  11·00

  Of which:

  (b) piped gas

  3·70

  (d) electricity

  6·00

  (e) coal, coke

  0·80

  The number of IS households reporting expenditure on oil is too small for a reliable estimate to be given. A separate estimate of expenditure on bottled gas is not available from the Family Expenditure Survey data. Both these items, together with other minor fuels, are included in the estimate of total fuel expenditure.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average level of housing benefit per recipient, in English and Welsh local authorities payable to(a) local authority tenants, (b) local housing association tenants and (c) private sector tenants for 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1992–93.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The available information is in the table.

  England

  Wales

  Local authority tenants

  Private tenants1

  Local authority tenants

  Private tenants1

  Year

  £

  £

  £

  £

  21990

  20·18

  25·86

  20·37

  22·24

  21991

  23·35

  32·96

  22·57

  29·44

  31992

  27·72

  39·02

  27·03

  34·31

  1 Separate information on the average amount of housing benefit received by housing association tenants is not collected separately. It is therefore included with that of private tenants.

  2 The data source is the housing benefit and community charge

  668
  benefits annual 1 per cent. sample for May.

  3 The data source is the quarterly caseload count for May 1992.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the administrative cost of housing benefit for each English local authority for 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  Miss Widdecombe
  A copy of a table showing local authorities' estimates of their housing benefit administration costs for 1991–92 and 1992–93 will be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received concerning the method of payment of housing benefit to local authorities and their administrative costs.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Both the Department of the Environment and this Department receive representations about housing benefit payments and Government subsidy on these payments, which are most frequently made by tenants, local authorities and local authority associations.

  MAASTRICHT TREATY
  MAASTRICHT TREATY
  EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: SOLE COMPETENCE
  EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: SOLE COMPETENCE
  EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: SUBSIDIARITY
  EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: SUBSIDIARITY
  SEVERE HARDSHIP PAYMENTS TO 16 AND 17 YEAR-OLDS
  SEVERE HARDSHIP PAYMENTS TO 16 AND 17 YEAR-OLDS
  POTATO SUBSIDIES
  POTATO SUBSIDIES
  BENOMYL
  BENOMYL
  PESTICIDES: ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
  PESTICIDES: ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
  PESTICIDES: ADVISORY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATIONS
  PESTICIDES: ADVISORY COMMITTEE INVESTIGATIONS
  PESTICIDE USAGE SURVEYS
  PESTICIDE USAGE SURVEYS
  PESTICIDES: ACCIDENTAL MISUSE SURVEYS
  PESTICIDES: ACCIDENTAL MISUSE SURVEYS
  PESTICIDES: REPORTING OF ACCIDENTAL MISUSE
  PESTICIDES: REPORTING OF ACCIDENTAL MISUSE
  BEEF SPECIAL PREMIUM SCHEME
  BEEF SPECIAL PREMIUM SCHEME
  EXCLUSIONS FROM SCHOOLS
  EXCLUSIONS FROM SCHOOLS
  GRANT-MAINTAINED SCHOOLS: DUTIES OF GOVERNORS
  GRANT-MAINTAINED SCHOOLS: DUTIES OF GOVERNORS
  TOWER OF LONDON
  TOWER OF LONDON
  YEOMAN WARDERS—TOWER OF LONDON
  YEOMAN WARDERS—TOWER OF LONDON
  DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991: POLICE POWERS OF DESTRUCTION
  DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991: POLICE POWERS OF DESTRUCTION
  WHITCHURCH SCHOOL
  WHITCHURCH SCHOOL
  LEGAL AID, NORTHERN IRELAND
  LEGAL AID, NORTHERN IRELAND
  ELECTRICITY ACT 1989: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS UNDER SECTION 22(1)
  ELECTRICITY ACT 1989: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS UNDER SECTION 22(1)
  SUB-POST OFFICES
  SUB-POST OFFICES
  POST OFFICE CONTRACTS WITH THE PASSPORT AGENCY
  POST OFFICE CONTRACTS WITH THE PASSPORT AGENCY
  DEBENHAMS: TAKEOVER
  DEBENHAMS: TAKEOVER
  ASSOCIATED ENGINEERING: TAKEOVER
  ASSOCIATED ENGINEERING: TAKEOVER
  JOINT LOCAL AUTHORITY TENANCIES
  JOINT LOCAL AUTHORITY TENANCIES
  LEASEHOLD FLATS: TENANT ENFRANCHISEMENT
  LEASEHOLD FLATS: TENANT ENFRANCHISEMENT
  MILITARY BANDS AND THE REGIMENTAL SYSTEM
  MILITARY BANDS AND THE REGIMENTAL SYSTEM
  ROYAL NAVY: MANPOWER REDUCTIONS
  ROYAL NAVY: MANPOWER REDUCTIONS
  BANK OF ENGLAND SUPPORT OPERATIONS: APPROVAL
  BANK OF ENGLAND SUPPORT OPERATIONS: APPROVAL
  NON-THOROUGHBRED HORSE BREEDERS: LIABILITY TO VAT
  NON-THOROUGHBRED HORSE BREEDERS: LIABILITY TO VAT
  EUROPEAN COHESION: FUNDING OF COSTS
  EUROPEAN COHESION: FUNDING OF COSTS
  THE MONARCH: LIABILITY TO VAT
  THE MONARCH: LIABILITY TO VAT
  CONGESTION CHARGING IN LONDON
  CONGESTION CHARGING IN LONDON
  ROAD SCHEMES: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
  ROAD SCHEMES: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
  MANUFACTURES: TRADE BALANCE
  MANUFACTURES: TRADE BALANCE
  TAX AND EXCISE REVENUE
  TAX AND EXCISE REVENUE
  JUNIOR DOCTORS' WORKING HOURS
  JUNIOR DOCTORS' WORKING HOURS
  NORFOLK DISTRICT HEALTH AUTHORITIES: STAFFING
  NORFOLK DISTRICT HEALTH AUTHORITIES: STAFFING