Written Answers of 20 April 1993

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Welsh Boundary Commission
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the deputy chairman of the Parliametary Boundary Commission for Wales is to be appointed.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The appointment of the deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales will be made as soon as possible, following consultation with Opposition parties.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  BCCI
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Attorney-General if the Serious Fraud Office is still pursuing inquiries into possible criminal conduct of individuals connected with the Bank of Credit and Commerce International; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  Yes. Three persons have already been indicted at the Central Criminal Court on charges connected with the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. It is expected that a fourth person will be extradited from France in the near future. Other lines of inquiry are being pursued and the investigation will continue while there is still a realistic prospect of bringing criminal charges against persons in England.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Attorney-General what steps have been taken by the Serious Fraud Office to interview(a) the British citizens in Abu Dhabi and (b) the persons in Pakistan who have indicated that they will co-operate with the Serious Fraud Office in furnishing information about BCCI.

  The Attorney-General
  Requests have been made to interview detainees and view documents in Abu Dhabi. So far, it has not been possible to arrange for such access.

  I have taken the persons mentioned at (b) to be those about whom the hon. Member wrote to my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General. His letter of 29 July 1992 to the hon. Member explained the basis on which it would be possible to interview those persons and, since the Serious Fraud Office is unable to contact the individuals save through the hon. Member, sought assistance in confirming their willingness to be interviewed on that basis. No such confirmation has been received.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Students
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of Northern Ireland students obtain employment outside college or university term time annually.

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

  Labour Relations Agency
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons are employed by the Labour Relations Agency; and how many employees are(a) Roman Catholic and (b) Protestant.

  Mr. Atkins
  As at 15 April 1993, 54 persons were employed by the Labour Relations Agency, of whom 25 were Roman Catholic and 29 were Protestant.

  Electricity Interconnector
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards establishing the electricity interconnector between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.

  Mr. Atkins
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply gave to the hon. Member for Wigan (Mr. Stott) on 15 March,Official Report, column 47.

  Housing
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the amount of money spent on(a) new build, (b) improvement schemes and (c) maintenance schemes by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in each of the estates under its control in the seven housing districts of Belfast in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Atkins
  This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, but I have been advised by the chief executive that the information is not readily available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Squatters
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many squatters have had court proceedings taken against them by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for illegal occupancy in each year since 1988.

  Mr. Atkins
  The chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive has advised that details of the number of squatters who have had court proceedings taken against them are available for only the last three years. The numbers are as follows:

  Number

  1990–91

  133

  1991–92

  227

  1992–93

  172

  Punishment Shootings
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many punishment shootings occurred in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990.

  Mr. Mates
  There were 106 casualties as a result of terrorist shooting attacks within own communities in 1990, 76 in 1991 and 133 in 1992.

  Explosions
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many explosions occurred in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990; and how many deaths and injuries were sustained by the security forces in these years.

  Mr. Mates
  The number of explosions which have occurred and the number of members of the security forces who have been killed or injured in each year since 1990 in Northern Ireland as a result of the security situation is as follows:

  Year

  Explosions1

  Security force deaths

  Security force injuries

  1990

  167

  27

  428

  1991

  230

  19

  302

  1992

  222

  9

  468

  1 Excludes incendiary devices

  Local Government Personnel
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total number of local government personnel in Northern Ireland in each year since 1990; and what was the total cost in salaries and wages in each case.

  Mr. Mates
  The information, which is available only for financial years, is as follows:

  Year

  Number of personnel

  Salary/Wages cost £million

  31 March 1990

  9,324

  95·2

  31 March 1991

  9,082

  97·6

  31 March 1992

  8,935

  101·0

  Information for the year ended 31 March 1993 is not yet available.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Capital Projects
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements he has made to monitor the extent to which the private sector is participating in the Government's programme of capital projects.

  Mr. Portillo
  Departments are being asked to notify the Treasury on a regular basis of cases being considered, or in hand, where the total expenditure involved by the public 48
  and/or private sector exceeds £5 million. In addition, the Treasury expects to obtain information about other projects through its normal contacts with Departments.

  Value Added Tax
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement as to the reasons for the increase in value added tax write-offs between 1990 and 1991.

  Sir John Cope
  The increase in value added tax write-offs between 1990 and 1991 was attributable primarily to an increase in the number of VAT registered traders being declared insolvent. The figures for 1991 also include some £80 million written off following a special review of long standing debts on the VAT ledger.

  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances the 20 per cent. penalty on value added tax debt is incurred.

  Sir John Cope
  The maximum rate of surcharge affects only those who persistently fail to submit returns and pay tax on time. As a result of proposals announced in the recent Budget statement and subject to the passage of the Finance Bill, no surcharges of 20 per cent. will be issued for tax periods ending on or after 1 April 1993. Prior to 1 April 1993, a taxpayer would incur a 20 per cent. surcharge only if at least six returns or payments were submitted late.

  Exchange Rates
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the current rate of currency exchange to the pound sterling for(a) Bermuda, (b) Gibraltar, (c) Hong Kong, (d) the Cayman Islands, (e) Montserrat, (f) St. Helena and (g) Turks and Caicos.

  Mr. Nelson
  At the close of the London Market on Friday 16 April the sterling exchange rates were:

  Area

  Currency

  (a) Bermuda

  Bermudian $ 1·52

  (b) Gibraltar

  Gib £ 1·00

  (c) Hong Kong

  HK $ 11·7898

  (d) the Cayman Islands

  CI $ 1·2551

  (e) Montserrat

  E Carr $ 4·1099

  (f)St. Helena

  £ 1·00

  (g) Turks and Caicos

  US $ 1·5250

  The Gibraltar pound is fixed at parity with sterling. The currency in St. Helena is sterling, and that in Turks and Caicos is the US dollar.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Dioxins
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what maximum levels of concentrations of dioxins and furans within samples of soil and herbage are allowable before these trigger further surveys within an area into the concentrations of dioxins and furans in food and beverages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  No specific maximum concentrations of dioxins and furans in soil and herbage have been set as a
  49
  trigger for a corresponding survey of locally produced foods. The Ministry's general approach is to consider the need for a survey of local foodstuffs only when the concentrations or patterns of dioxins and furans in soil or herbage in a specific area differ significantly from normal background levels.

  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the maximum tolerable concentrations of dioxins and furans which are allowable in differing types of milk, milk products, meat, meat products, fish, fats, oils, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cereals, cereal products, water and other beverages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  The Ministry has established a maximum tolerable concentration—MTC—of dioxins and furans in whole milk of 0·7 ng TEQ/kg. Action is necessary to prevent direct consumption of milk if it contains dioxins and furans at concentrations above the MTC. No MTCs have been set for dioxins and furans in other foods listed.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of confirmed cases of BSE during the first three months of 1993 that were(a) under two years of age, (b) aged two to three years, (c) aged three to four years, (d) aged five to six years and (e) aged seven or more years.

  Mr. Soames
  The number of cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain in cattle in which the age has so far been determined in the first three months of 1993 by age at onset of clinical signs of disease, is as follows:

  Age Band (Years)

  Number of cases

  Under 2

  0

  2 and less than 3

  5

  3 and less than 4

  189

  4 and less than 5

  1,803

  5 and less than 6

  3,266

  6 and less than 7

  1,206

  7 and over

  437

  The majority of these cases will have been clinically affected and reported in 1992, and consequently the data cannot be used as an expression of incidence in the first quarter of 1993.

  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give his Ministry's estimated annual figures for BSE in beef cattle for the next five years.

  Mr. Soames
  The number of cases of BSE occurring in beef cattle has always been a small part of the total. However, because it is still not possible to calculate accurately the extent to which the national herd was exposed to BSE agent through feed, accurate predictions of future incidence cannot be made.

  Slaughterhouses
  Mr. Nicholls
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is able to report on the outcome of the independent review of slaughterhouses, and of the recent consultations on the Government's proposals to limit meat inspection charges; and if he will make a statement.
  50
  Mr. Gummer
  [pursuant to his reply, 31 March 1993, c. 251–52]: I have now considered recommendations from my officials to refuse to grant licences to slaughterhouses in England. I am delighted that, following very thorough scrutiny of all the applications and an intensive programme of advice from my veterinary officers specialising in meat hygiene, we have been able to license 438 slaughterhouses, almost all the premises for which applications were made. I have refused only seven applications, all of them from premises which had failed on successive inspections to comply with the basic hygiene requirements of the regulations.

  A small number of slaughterhouses which have not yet agreed a work plan to upgrade their premises have been given a time-limited licence to 31 May to enable outstanding problems to be resolved. No further licence will be issued unless by the end of that period the operator has agreed to a satisfactory work plan. The state veterinary service will continue to be flexible in finding practical solutions in individual premises. But we will not allow businesses which have invested in meeting the new structural standards to be disadvantaged by unfair competition from plants where structure-related hygiene problems persist.

  Marine Pollution
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in fulfilment of paragraphs B4.1 and B4.2 on radioactive substances in annex 3 of the action plan of the ministerial meeting of the Oslo and Paris Commissions on the Prevention of Marine Pollution, 21 and 22 September 1992.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have been asked to reply.

  The question of criteria for assessing and/or reporting on best available techniques for the prevention and elimination of pollution by radioactive substances in the north-east Atlantic—paragraph B.4.1—is one which has been the subject of extended debate among the contracting parties of the Paris convention. Further discussion of the possibility of developing such criteria will no doubt continue. The adoption of further measures—paragraph B.4.2—will be considered as and when necessary. The United Kingdom is applying the best available techniques and sees no need for any measures to be adopted by the Paris commission.

DEFENCE

  Departmental Property (Scotland)
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the disposal of his Department's property in Scotland.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is the Government's policy that the defence estate should be no larger than necessary for defence purposes. In order to ensure the best return is achieved for the taxpayer it is our normal policy to offer surplus property for sale on the open market although special provisions apply to the sale of surplus housing.

  Army Personnel Centre
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the relocation of the Army personnel centre; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Work is still in hand to determine the location of the Army personnel centre, but I hope to be in a position to make an announcement soon.

  United Kingdom Air Defence
  Mr. Bill Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the Royal Air Force assets which are deployed in the air defence of the United Kingdom; and what they were in(a) 1983 and (b)

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Currently we have seven Tornado air defence variant squadrons, three Rapier squadrons and one Sentry airborne early warning squadron deployed in the air defence of the United Kingdom. In addition, 50 dual-role Hawk trainer aircraft are available as interceptor day fighters. This compares to a United Kingdom air defence force in 1983 of five Phantom and two Lightning squadrons, one Bloodhound and three Rapier squadrons and one Shackleton airborne early warning squadron. Seventy two dual-role Hawk trainer aircraft were then available as interceptor day fighters. In 1973 we had one Phantom and five Lightning squadrons, one Bloodhound squadron and one Shackleton AEW squadron.

  Amphibious Warfare
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he intends to take to improve the United Kingdom amphibious warfare capability.

  Mr. Aitken
  We are committed to improving Britain's amphibious warfare capability. We recently announced that we are going ahead with a new helicopter carrier and we expect to place an order later this year. We are proceeding with our plans to upgrade our three older landing ships logistic, Sir Bedivere, Sir Percival and Sir Geraint. We are also continuing with project definition studies for replacements for our two assault ships.

  Nuclear Tests
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the discussion his Department's ministers and officials have had with the United States Government about nuclear tests.

  Mr. Rifkind
  We are in close contact with the United States Government on nuclear testing, at both ministerial and official level.

  Mr. Connarty
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his United States counterpart regarding nuclear testing.

  Mr. Rifkind
  I shall be discussing a wide range of issues with Mr. Aspin later this week.

  Communications with Industry
  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to improve its communications with industry.
  52
  Mr. Aitken
  We have taken a number of initiatives to improve communications between my Department and industry. They include special conferences, meetings, briefings and industrial visits all with a new emphasis on providing the maximum information to industry, subject to the constraints of security and commercial confidentiality.

  Infantry Strength
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the total infantry strength in 1994; and what the figure was in 1984.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The total trained strength of the infantry on 1 April 1994 is expected to be about 29,000. The total trained strength of the infantry on 1 April 1984 was 38,373.

  Bosnia
  Dr. Blackburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many tons of food and other humanitarian aid have been escorted by United Kingdom forces on behalf of the United Nations in Bosnia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As at 18 April, 474 convoys escorted by British troops have carried 33,224 tonnes of humanitarian aid. A further 6,751 tonnes of aid have been flown into Sarajevo by 449 sorties of RAF Hercules.

  Scott Inquiry
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pages of evidence he has submitted to Lord Justice Scott's inquiry.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) on 26 March 1993,Official Report, column 759.

  European Fighter Aircraft
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next expects to meet the Spanish Defence Minister to discuss the EFA.

  Mr. Aitken
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans at present to discuss Eurofighter 2000 with Senor Garcia Vargas. I met my Spanish opposite number, Senor Flos Bassols, along with the German and Italian State Secretaries on 5 April. We reviewed the progress that has been made in the task of reorientating the Eurofighter 2000 project in line with the agreement reached between my right hon. and learned Friend and the other three Ministers of Defence on 10 December 1992.

  Nuclear Missile Capabilities
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those countries which possess a nuclear missile capable of striking Britain.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Within the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus have such missiles on their territories—these are centrally controlled. The only other country outside NATO with such a capacity is China.

  Peace Dividend
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the peace dividend.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Under the plans set out in the 1992 Autumn Statement, Cm 2096, the underlying defence budget will decline by around 12 per cent. in real terms between 1990–91 and 1995–96.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will report on progress with market testing in the armed forces.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 March 1993,Official Report, columns 547–48.

  Aldermaston
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what inquiries were made about the health and safety record of companies bidding to take over the running of the Aldermaston nuclear weapons plant; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Comprehensive and detailed inquiries were made about all aspects of the companies which bid for the contract to operate the atomic weapons establishment. These included health and safety factors, which were particularly important in judging the competition.

  British Army of the Rhine
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops are currently serving in Germany; at what cost to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The military manpower strength of the British Army of the Rhine is currently about 40,000 and the defence budget provision for BAOR is some £1,275 million for 1993–94.

  Yugoslavia
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions to date British troops have come under fire in former Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  To date, there have been about 70 incidents in which British troops or the convoys they were escorting have come under fire or sustained injury or damage as a result of military type activities by indigenous forces. Except in a small number of cases it is not possible to distinguish between incidents in which UNPROFOR vehicles and/or personnel have been deliberately aimed at and those where they have sustained collateral damage as a result of an attack on a nearby target.

  Outrider Laser Weapon
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his intention to procure for British forces the Outrider laser weapon system.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Outrider combat protection system is a United States research programme involving laser 54
  technology. The United Kingdom is also involved in research in this field, including in collaboration with the United States. No decisions have been taken on the procurement by the United Kingdom of systems which might result from such research.

  Reserve Forces
  Sir Keith Speed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the present and proposed tasks for(a) the Royal Naval Reserve, (b) the Royal Marines Reserve, (c) the Territorial Army and (d) the RAF Reserve; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Royal Naval Reserve exists to augment the Royal Navy with trained personnel in times of tension and general war. Its present major tasks are the defence of ports and anchorages; naval control of shipping; the provision of naval parties for ships taken up from trade; and the manning of ships of the 10th mine counter-measures squadron. The main purpose of the Royal Marines Reserve is to provide trained reinforcements to bring units of commando forces up to full war establishment on mobilisation. The Territorial Army provides formed units and sub-units, and some individuals, to complete the mobilised army order of battle. Some units would form part of the Allied Command Europe rapid reaction corps, and others contribute to the direct defence of the United Kingdom. The mobilisation tasks of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force and Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve are to support the Royal Air Force with units, squadrons and flights in the maritime headquarters, ground defence, am movements, aeromedical evacuation, intelligence support, photographic interpretation, foreign language interrogation, and public relations roles, and with a small number of air electronics operators for Nimrod maritime patrol duties.

  Work is continuing on the future role of the Reserves and proposals will be announced to the House later in the year.

  Transport Aircraft
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the future development of large transport aircraft and the replacement of the Hercules C130; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  We have received a number of representations on this subject from hon. Members and industry. I can confirm that we intend to replace or modernise the Royal Air Force's C-130 fleet. We have no plans to participate in a new development programme, as we believe that the technology already exists to meet our requirements.

WALES

  Dredging
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date the Llanelli Sand Dredging Company commenced dredging on the Helwick bank; and if he will indicate the tonnage of sand dredged on a weekly basis to date.
  55
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The dredging licence issued by the Crown Estate commenced on 1 February 1993. Monitoring of the licence is the responsibility of the Crown Estate, but I understand that so far only limited extraction has taken place.

  Junior Doctors
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what guidelines he has issued and will issue to Welsh health authorities and trusts in relation to the work and rest period within the 83-hour maximum for junior hospital doctors;

  (2) what provisions he will make regarding the work content and rest period content within the 83-hour maximum working time for junior hospital doctors.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The new limit on junior hospital doctors' hours came into effect and has been operated by all hospitals involved since 1 April 1993. Guidance agreed by all parties represented on the ministerial group on junior doctors hours on the new limits on total and continuous duty periods for junior doctors together with details of minimum periods of off duty had previously been distributed to all health authorities, NHS trusts and individual doctors. A copy is in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional medical staff have been appointed by Welsh health authorities and trusts to facilitate adherence to the 83-hour maximum hours for junior hospital doctors.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Funds for a total of 78 posts have been provided to health authorities and trusts to facilitate the 83-hour target for junior hospital doctors. This is in addition to any staff that authorities and trusts may have appointed from their own resources.

  Crime Prevention
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will incorporate the recommendations of the Morgan report relating to the local delivery of crime prevention in the functions of the new unitary local authorities in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Ms Jackson) by the Minister of State, Home Department, on 16 December 1992,Official Report, column 220.

  Welsh Coast
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what response he has made to Friends of the Earth, Cymru, in regard to their report, "The Threats to the Welsh Coasts", published in March, a copy of which was sent to him.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I have not as yet received a copy of the report.

  Timeshare Dwellings
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has had concerning people in Wales and the orders relating to council tax and timeshare dwellings—S.I., 1993, Nos. 526 and 542; and if he will make a statement.
  56
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I have received 16 letters.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet representatives of those people in Wales who are concerned about the impact of orders relating to council tax and timeshare dwellings—S.I., 1993, Nos. 526 and 542.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Before the order for England and Wales was made full consultation was undertaken with representatives of the timeshare industry.

  South Glamorgan Health Authority
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority concerning the cost to the authority's 1993–94 budget of further proposed moves towards trust status; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In the event of a formal invitation to prepare an application for NHS trust status, health authorities are aware that the Welsh Office is prepared to consider bids for a financial contribution towards the cost of the application process.

  Orthopaedic Operations
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the total cost in Wales of(a) hip replacement and (b) knee replacement operations during the last 10 years for which records are available.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Health Service Costs
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has agreed with the directors of finance of the Welsh health authorities for the rise in health prices for 1993–94.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The allocations to health authorities for 1993–94 includes provision for pay increases of up to 1·5 per cent. and forecast price inflation of 2·75 per cent. It is for directors of finance to calculate the effects of inflation locally taking into account the composition of pay and non-pay costs within their respective authorities' expenditure on services.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received in relation to the level of cost adjustments required to compensate health authorities for the Towards 2000 proposals.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The introduction of the Towards 2000 arrangements for the central planning and funding of pre-registration education and training have been preceded by extensive research and detailed discussion with all health authorities.

  This research and subsequent discussions have addressed changes in the methodology of funding education and training together with other matters of detail. All adjustments of funds have been undertaken based on data provided by health authorities.

  Departmental Reports
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what were the total costs of the 10 most expensive reports published by his Department during the financial years(a) 1991–92 and (b) 1992–93.
  57
  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Comprehensive information about reports and similar documents produced by my Department could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Wind Power
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his calculation of the amount of electricity produced in Wales from wind power during each of the past five years and his projection of the output during the next five years.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Since 1990, figures on the amount of electricity produced in Wales from wind power have been collected by the Welsh Office, but cannot be released for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Prior to 1990, there was no centrally recorded generation of electricity from wind power in Wales.

  Planning Inspectorate
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what performance targets he has set for the Planning Inspectorate agency's work in Wales for the financial year 1993–94.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The key objectives for the agency in Wales in 1993–94 will be to continue to preserve the impartiality and quality of the inspectorate's work while seeking further to improve efficiency. The agency's key performance targets in Wales will be:

  Timeliness

  (a) Eighty per cent. of planning appeals by written representations to be decided within 18 weeks.

  (b) To provide an inspector for local plan inquiries on request within 26 weeks of the end of the objection period.

  Financial

  (a) Unit costs of planning appeals decided by written representations not to exceed £690.

  (b) Recover 90 per cent. of receipts due within eight weeks of invoice date.

  Efficiency

  Generate a 3 per cent. efficiency improvement in the use of running costs as compared with 1992–93.

  Quality

  High Court appeals and/or other justified complaints allowed against Inspectors' decisions not to exceed 1 per cent. of intake.

  Volume

  To determine 1,150 planning and enforcement appeals, subject to intake not declining.

  Information and Guidance

  To complete a second satisfaction survey by 31 December 1993.

  These and other performance targets for the agency's work in Wales will be included in its business plan for 1993–94 which will be published shortly.

  Separate timeliness and volume targets for the agency's work in England are being announced today by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing, Planning and Construction.

EDUCATION

  Students
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the numbers of undergraduate university students taking up employment during term time; and if he will increase student grants and end student loans.

  Mr. Boswell
  The student income and expenditure survey currently under way on behalf of the education Departments seeks information about the income of full-time and sandwich students, including term-time earnings. My right hon. Friend has no plans to change the current student support arrangements which work well and which have provided substantially increased resources to students.

  Pupil Costs
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to have available details of the unit cost per pupil in each local education authority for 1991–92 for(a) nursery, (b) primary and (c) secondary pupils.

  Mr. Forth
  Figures for expenditure on nursery and primary pupils are not collected separately. The table gives the unit cost for nursery and primary combined, and secondary pupils by local education authority for 1991–92 for those English LEAs that have returned details of their expenditure to the Department of the Environment. The figures are subject to final checking by the Department of the Environment and the Department for Education.

  Unit cost per pupil in each LEA in England 1991–92 (£)

  Local Education Authority

  Nursery/ Primary

  Secondary

  City

  2,595

  0

  Camden

  1,943

  2,432

  Greenwich

  1,830

  2,296

  Hackney

  n/a

  n/a

  Hammersmith

  2,047

  2,739

  Islington

  n/a

  n/a

  Kensington and Chelsea

  2,287

  3,200

  Lambeth

  2,083

  2,978

  Lewisham

  1,717

  2,376

  Southwark

  1,828

  2,460

  Tower Hamlets

  2,253

  2,946

  Wandsworth

  2,174

  3,215

  Westminster

  3,544

  2,579

  Barking

  1,528

  2,247

  Barnet

  1,654

  2,295

  Bexley

  1,372

  2,097

  Brent

  1,573

  2,477

  Bromley

  1,399

  2,437

  Croydon

  1,554

  2,356

  Ealing

  1,754

  2,621

  Enfield

  1,607

  2,287

  Haringey

  n/a

  n/a

  Harrow

  1,646

  2,376

  Havering

  1,375

  2,234

  Hillingdon

  1,597

  2,628

  Hounslow

  1,579

  2,168

  Kingston upon Thames

  1,496

  2,447

  Merton

  1,562

  2,676

  Newham

  1,603

  2,433

  Redbridge

  1,481

  2,281

  Richmond upon Thames

  1,655

  2,111

  Sutton

  1,448

  2,221

  Waltham Forest

  1,603

  2,609

  Birmingham

  1,370

  2,151

  Coventry

  1,380

  2,192

  59

  Local Education Authority

  Nursery/Primary

  Secondary

  Dudley

  1,416

  2,137

  Sandwell

  1,488

  2,284

  Solihull

  1,346

  2,109

  Walsall

  n/a

  n/a

  Wolverhampton

  1,515

  2,342

  Knowsley

  1,435

  2,271

  Liverpool

  1,410

  2,387

  St. Helens

  1,302

  2,073

  Sefton

  1,286

  2,021

  Wirral

  1,312

  2,140

  Bolton

  1,358

  2,119

  Bury

  1,269

  1,868

  Manchester

  1,399

  2,293

  Oldham

  1,535

  2,193

  Rochdale

  1,300

  2,137

  Salford

  1,293

  2,183

  Stockport

  1,334

  2,122

  Tameside

  1,409

  2,119

  Trafford

  1,271

  2,113

  Wigan

  1,242

  2,271

  Barnsley

  1,350

  2,047

  Doncaster

  1,286

  1,962

  Rotherham

  1,473

  2,161

  Sheffield

  1,484

  2,228

  Bradford

  1,628

  1,804

  Calderdale

  1,551

  2,001

  Kirkless

  1,384

  2,036

  Leeds

  1,631

  1,979

  Wakefield

  1,457

  2,076

  Gateshead

  1,573

  2,140

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  1,615

  2,028

  North Tyneside

  n/a

  n/a

  South Tyneside

  1,389

  2,088

  Sunderland

  1,412

  2,065

  Isles of Scilly

  n/a

  n/a

  Avon

  1,410

  2,063

  Bedfordshire

  1,475

  2,020

  Berkshire

  1,480

  2,165

  Buckinghamshire

  1,399

  2,160

  Cambridgeshire

  1,401

  2,007

  Cheshire

  1,329

  2,094

  Cleveland

  1,353

  2,221

  Cornwall

  1,380

  1,944

  Cumbria

  1,443

  2,173

  Derbyshire

  1,411

  2,165

  Devon

  1,376

  1,999

  Dorset

  1,371

  1,945

  Durham

  1,384

  2,051

  East Sussex

  1,388

  2,067

  Essex

  1,324

  2,111

  Gloucestershire

  1,379

  1,811

  Hampshire

  1,395

  2,108

  Hereford and Worcester

  1,446

  1,955

  Hertfordshire

  1,472

  2,175

  Humberside

  1,417

  2,082

  Isle of Wight

  1,447

  1,926

  Kent

  n/a

  n/a

  Lancashire

  1,477

  2,168

  Leicestershire

  1,444

  2,210

  Lincolnshire

  1,330

  2,096

  Norfolk

  1,427

  2,104

  North Yorkshire

  1,381

  2,153

  Northamptonshire

  1,332

  1,965

  Northumberland

  1,455

  1,942

  Nottinghamshire

  1,591

  2,482

  Oxfordshire

  1,574

  2,092

  Shropshire

  1,469

  2,332

  Somerset

  1,322

  1,927

  Staffordshire

  1,384

  2,043

  Suffolk

  1,561

  2,016

  Surrey

  1,486

  2,254

  Warwickshire

  1,277

  2,111

  West Sussex

  1,292

  2,156

  Wiltshire

  1,402

  2,017

  Notes to tables

  1. n/a indicates that returns of expenditure have not yet been
  60
  received from the local education authority, or that returns are subject to follow-up inquiry.

  2. Figures are derived from local education authorities' returns of their net institutional expenditure to the Department of the Environment and of their pupil numbers to the Department for Education.

  3. Net institutional expenditure covers the direct costs in schools of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services. It does not include the costs of school meals, home to school transport, local education authority central administration, and financing costs of capital expenditure. Figures include unspent balances held by schools at the year end under local management of schools schemes.

  Universities (Research)
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will bring forward proposals to alter the criteria used in the universities research assessment exercise to ensure that those universities whose work is geared towards the needs of the industry and the economy are favoured; and if he will take steps to alter the membership of assessment panels to increase representation from industry.

  Mr. Boswell
  Arrangements for research assessment are a matter for the higher education funding councils. They will be consulting institutions and others on arrangements for future assessment exercises. Universities and colleges were free to submit evidence of the full range of their research in the research assessment exercise undertaken last year by the Universities Funding Council, including that related to the needs of industry.

  Fuel (VAT)
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will uprate students' mandatory grants from April 1994 to take account of the imposition of value-added tax on fuel; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Deptford (Ms Ruddock) on 24 March,Official Report, column 603.

PRIME MINISTER

  Council of Ministers
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Prime Minister what were the details of the last formal vote that was taken in a meeting of a Council of Ministers in the European Community; and if he will list the date of each subsequent meeting at which no formal votes were taken.

  The Prime Minister
  The last formal vote in the Council of Ministers was that taken on the proposed arrangements for bananas in the single market during the Agriculture Council on 13 February. Details were given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, on 3 March at column 192. No formal votes were taken at the following Councils: ECOFIN on 15 February, Consumer Affairs on 2 March, Foreign Affairs on 8 and 9 March, ECOFIN on 15 March, Transport on 15 March, Agriculture on 16 and 17 March, Fisheries on 18 March, Environment on 22 and 23 March, Foreign Affairs on 5 April, Employment and Social Affairs on 6 April, and ECOFIN on 19 April.

  49 Whitehall
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those Government Departments having offices at No. 49 Whitehall, London SW1.

  The Prime Minister
  There is no Government occupation of 49 Whitehall. I assume that the hon. Member refers to 49/53 Parliament street, SW1 which is occupied by the Office of Public Service and Science—major occupier—the Inland Revenue and the Department of Social Security.

  Derbyshire
  Q10. Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Prime Minister if he plans to pay an official visit to Derbyshire.

  The Prime Minister
  I am making plans for a series of visits to all parts of the country and hope to include Derbyshire among them.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Tourist Boards
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 8 March,Official Report, column 390, when the hon. Member for Don Valley can expect a letter from the chief executives of the English Tourist Board and the British Tourist Board in respect of their future.

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

  Tourism
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many visits of four nights' duration or longer were undertaken by British tourists in(a) Britain and (b) abroad on each year since 1985.

  Mr. Key
  The available information is contained in the table.

  (a) Domestic tourists in the Great Britain1/United Kingdom2The number of visits of four nights' duration or longer is as follows:

  Trips millions

  19851

  47

  19861

  51

  19871

  49

  19881

  49

  19892

  43

  19902

  39

  19912

  40

  Sources:

  1985–1988 figures—British Tourism Survey Monthly.

  1989–1991 figures—United Kingdom Tourism Survey.

  1 The British Tourism Survey Monthly (covering the period 1985–1988) refers to tourist trips in Great Britain.

  2 The United Kingdom Tourism Survey (covering the period1989–1991) refers to tourist trips in the United Kingdom.

  (b) Visits by United Kingdom residents Abroad1The number of visits of five nights' duration or longer2 are shown below:
  62

  Trips (millions)

  1985

  15

  1986

  18

  31987

  —

  1988

  21

  1989

  22

  1990

  17

  1991

  21

  Source:

  International Passenger Survey.

  1 The figures exclude visits to the Irish Republic.

  2 It is not possible to provide figures for trips of four nights' duration or longer from 1985 to 1991. The International Passenger Survey does, however, supply data on trips of five nights' duration or longer for the period.

  3 The 1987 figure for the number of visits of five nights' duration or longer is not available.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Sex Trade, Thailand
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Thailand about the sex trade in women and children in that country; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Her Majesty's ambassador in Bangkok has raised on several occasions with the Thai authorities our concern about the problem of the sex trade in Thailand, particularly the forced prostitution of children. We have been assured that the Thai Government are looking seriously at ways of tackling the problem. We will continue to encourage them to take effective measures.

  Abu Dhabi
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken since 1 March to secure the release of the British citizens detained in Abu Dhabi.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have made two further representations to the Abu Dhabi authorities about the British citizens detained in Abut Dhabi pending conclusions of the investigation into the affairs of BCCI. On 21 March, Her Majesty's ambassador in Abu Dhabi called on the United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. On 6 April the Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg) called the UAE ambassador in London to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We were told by the UAE ambassador on 16 April that the prosecution case should be ready by mid-July. We will continue to press the UAE authorities either to charge or release the men.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit Abu Dhabi.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has at present no plans to do so.

  East Timor
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had on the issue of East Timor at his recent meeting with the Foreign Minister of Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  In my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs' discussions with the Indonesian Foreign Minister in Jakarta earlier this month, he reiterated our concern about human rights in East Timor. He encouraged the Indonesians—as we similarly encourage the Portuguese—to continue to seek an acceptable solution to the East Timor issue through their dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General.

  Inhumane Weapons
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans exist for the British Government to ratify the United Nations inhumane weapons convention 1981.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The situation remains as set out in my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's reply to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 9 March,Official Report, column 517.

  Bosnia
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings he has had with hon. Members about the situation in Bosnia; and how many requests have been made for such meetings.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Since the London conference in August 1992, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, has held 11 meetings involving hon. Members specifically to discuss the situation in the former Yugoslavia. The conflict in Bosnia was discussed at all of these meetings and many others. Records are not kept of the number of requests for meetings.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Manchester Prison
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile and non-mobile staff at Manchester prison have thus far opted not to be redeployed within the Prison Service in the event of contracting out.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 19 April 1993:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many mobile and non-mobile staff at Manchester prison have thus far opted not to be redeployed within the Prison Service in the event of contracting out.

  Staff have not yet been asked to state their preference for redeployment in the prison service or transfer to the contractor should a private operator win the market test of Her Majesty's Prison Manchester.
  64
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 has been given to companies tendering for Manchester prison; and what additional costs will be involved.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 19 April 1993:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your recent Parliamentary Question about the advice on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 1981 given to companies tendering for Manchester Prison.

  Tenderers have been informed that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE) will apply to the market testing of HM Prison Manchester. They have been informed that should a private operator win the contract the Prison Service intends to give staff at Manchester the option of redeployment and have been asked to provide information on the effect the application of TUPE will have on their bids.

  Any effect on costs will not be known until the tendering exercise has concluded and the number of staff transferring, in the event of a private operator winning the contract, is known.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which staff and union agreements will now be taken into account by companies tendering for Manchester prison.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 19 April 1993:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking which staff and union agreements will now be taken into account by companies tendering for Manchester Prison.

  Companies tendering for the operation contract for HM Prison Manchester have been supplied with information about numbers of staff in-post, pay and the main agreements with the trades unions so that they can adjust their bids in the light of the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. Full details of the terms and conditions of staff and agreements with the trades unions will be made available to the preferred bidder before any contract is awarded.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance was offered by the prison department to staff preparing the in-house bid at Manchester prison.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 19 April 1993:
  65
  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about guidance to the Manchester prison in-house bid team.

  The Prison Service bid for the management of Manchester Prison has made appropriate use of an extensive range of central services—including guidance and advice from headquarters. It has received the same advice and guidance from the Unit responsible for the competitive tendering process as has been available to other tenderers.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the companies that have been invited to submit tenders for the running of Manchester prison.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

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

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question about the companies that have been invited to tender for the running of Manchester Prison.

  In October 1992 the following organisations were invited to tender for the operating contract at HMP Manchester:

  — HM Prison Service

  — Premier Prison Services Ltd.

  — Securicor Custodial Services Ltd.

  — Group 4 Remand Services Ltd.

  — Securiguard Services Ltd.

  — UK Detention Services Ltd.

  — Contract Prisons plc

  — Reliance Security Services Ltd.

  — Sodexho

  Contract Prisons plc and Reliance Security Services Ltd withdrew at an early stage.

  Racial Attacks
  Ms Abbott
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of reported or recorded racial attacks in the latest year available; what are the rates of prosecution and conviction; in what number of cases racial motivation has been raised by the Crown prosecution service during court proceedings; out of the total number of cases of assault involving racial motivation, how many defendants were juveniles; and how many defendants in cases recorded as involving racial motivation were granted bail, and of these, how many were defendants in cases of murder.

  Mr. Jack
  The only information held centrally relates to the number of reported racial incidents and I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms Ruddock) on 23 March at column 529.

  Contracting Out
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether existing trade union negotiating rights and agreements will be recognised in the event of Manchester prison or any other Home Office function or division being contracted out.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
  66
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 19 April 1993:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question about trade union recognition if the management of Manchester prison were to be contracted out.

  When the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE) apply to the contracting out of a Home Office activity existing trade union recognition and collective agreements will transfer to the new employer. As a general rule whether or not TUPE applies depends on the facts of each case. Should a private operator win the market test for HM prison Manchester, TUPE will apply.

  Police Vehicles (Accidents)
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many accidents involving Metropolitan police vehicles there were during the last three years; and how many fatalities and injuries there were as a result.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Total incidents

  5,621

  5,958

  6,263

  (i)

  1,638

  1,954

  1,962

  (ii)

  2,409

  2,399

  2,268

  (iii)

  1,178

  1,331

  1,097

  (iv)

  393

  274

  936

  Number of fatalities

  7

  3

  8

  Number of injuries

  1,171

  1,222

  1,307

  Notes:

  (i) Police driver assessed as blameworthy.

  (ii) Police driver assessed as not blameworthy.

  (iii) Assessed as "For Record Only"—eg: The police driver was not in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

  (iv) Liability not yet determined or incidents not followed up.

  Prisoner Escort Services
  Mr. Blair
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet Group 4 Security concerning the prison escort services it is providing.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  No. The director general of the Prison Service met Group 4 Court Services Ltd. on 15 April and a further meeting is scheduled for a month's time.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had about the prison escort service in the east midlands; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I have been kept fully informed of the position by the director general of the Prison Service.

  Police and Fire Services (Radio Communications)
  Sir John Wheeler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he received the report of the major review into radio communications in the police and fire services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Copies of this report have been placed in the Library, and will be made available to those with an interest, both in the emergency services and industry. I welcome this report. It sets out a strategy for
  67
  the development of radio communications for the police and fire services which would enable these services to make the most efficient use of the radio spectrum and take advantage of the latest advances in technology and thus to ensure that their radio systems operate as effectively and efficiently as possible, and give good value for money.

  There are, however, a number of issues which require further work before decisions can be taken on which new systems are best suited to emergency service use and how they might best be implemented. This work will constitute a development programme which would be undertaken by my Department under the direction of a steering group including representatives from the police and fire services.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish(a) the Coopers and Lybrand Study of 1992 and (b) the privatisation return of the same year which identified Home Office businesses thought suitable for market testing.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  No. Both documents were produced for internal management purposes and the former was classified "commercial-in-confidence".

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of Home Office jobs will be the subject of market testing exercises with a view to contracting out between September 1993 and March 1995.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  A provisional Home Office market testing programme for 1993–94 has been drawn up, but I have not yet settled the final programme which I will announce in due course.

  Fire Services
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to merge and create larger fire services; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Apart from any combinations of fire authorities which appear necessary as a consequence of the reviews of local government in England and Wales, my right hon. and learned Friend has no present plans to combine fire authorities. Our proposals to replace the present eight fire authorities in Wales with three combined fire authorities are set out in the White Paper on the future of local government in Wales.

  Explosion (Liverpool)
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Merseyside police on their investigations into the explosion in Liverpool 8; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I am not aware of any such explosion.

  Criminal Injuries
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time taken by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to reach a decision and advise a client's solicitor; and if he will make a statement.
  68
  Mr. Jack
  The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board does not maintain detailed statistics on the time taken for a first decision to be made on cases. However, it has been established that some 80 per cent. of cases reach that stage within one year of the application having been received. The number of cases in which a first offer is made and accepted stands at about 50 per cent.

  Long Lartin Prison
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attempted escapes there have been at Long Lartin prison over the last five years; and what category of prisoners were involved.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director-general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Michael Spicer, dated 20 April 1993:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question asking for details of how many incidents of attempted escape there have been at HM Prison Long Lartin over the last five years and what categories of prisoner were involved.

  I regret that this information was not recorded centrally until 1 January 1990, but from information derived from the number of incidents reported to the Incident Management Support Unit, a part of the Directorate of Custody, the information available is as follows:

  Date

  Number of prisoners involved

  Category of prisoner

  April 1990

  9

  Not recorded

  September 1991

  2

  Both 'A'

  October 1991

  1

  'B'

  Election Deposits
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out by political party how many deposits were lost in the 1992 general election.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 19 April 1993]: The table gives details of lost deposits by party. A deposit is forfeited if a candidate fails to secure 5 per cent. of the total valid votes polled in the parliamentary constituency.

  Political party

  Number of lost deposits

  Conservative

  8

  Labour

  5

  Liberal Democrat

  11

  Liberal

  70

  Plaid Cymru

  25

  Green

  251

  Natural Law

  307

  National Front

  14

  Sinn Fein

  5

  Others1

  207

  1Political parties with less than five lost deposits.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Falkland Islands
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total spending by the Government in providing aid, assistance and investment in the Falkland Islands in each of the past 10 years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Gross public expenditure on aid to the Falkland Islands since 1983–84 is as follows. Information on expenditure in 1992–93 is not yet available.

  £ thousand

  1983–84

  7,469

  1984–85

  8,394

  1985–86

  10,198

  1986–87

  11,021

  1987–88

  6,735

  1988–89

  3,389

  1989–90

  2,487

  1990–91

  1,430

  1991–92

  1,286

  Total

  52,409

  Additional assistance was provided by the diplomatic wing as follows:

  Assistance Under-Secretary's Programme Budget

  £ thousand

  1989–90

  2

  1990–91

  10

  1991–92

  11

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office scholarship awards scheme

  £'000

  1990–91

  10

  1991–92

  3

  1992–93

  12

  Further investment in the Falkland Islands has come from the presence of the British forces garrison since the end of the war in 1982. The construction of living accommodation and the new airfield at Mount Pleasant have resulted in some capital expenditure in the local economy. Similarly, the presence of the garrison has resulted in personal expenditure by service men in the local economy, and the new airfield has allowed the expansion of tourism. These benefits are difficult to quantify. Detailed information on Ministry of Defence expenditure on defence of the Falkland Islands can be found in the statements on the defence estimates for the years in question. Much of this expenditure would have been incurred in the United Kingdom.

EMPLOYMENT

  Unpaid Women Workers
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make it her policy to collect data on the number of women working unpaid within family enterprises in the United Kingdom.
  70
  Mr. McLoughlin
  Such data are already collected by the labour force survey, quarterly for Great Britain and annually for Northern Ireland.

TRANSPORT

  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the environmental appraisal appendix to Union Railways' report on the channel tunnel rail link to be published.

  Mr. Freeman
  The appendix has now been published and copies are available in the Vote Office.

  Jubilee Line
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 January,Official Report, column 800, what information he has received from London Transport and the administrators of Olympia and York in relation to (a) the private sector contribution, (b) European investment bank contribution and (c) United Kingdom public sector funding to the Jubilee line, set out in each of the first 10 years after any decision to proceed, and the residual figures for those three categories for the period thereafter.

  Mr. Norris
  The European investment bank has agreed to finance some £98 million—the first and largest instalment—of the private sector's contribution to the cost of the Jubilee Line extension. I hope that it will enable the private sector to conclude with London Transport and London Underground Ltd a satisfactory funding agreement covering the basis on which the contribution will be made. Government funding has been ready for some time, and once the private sector funding agreement is in place we will be able to authorise the start of construction.

  Railway Rolling Stock
  Sir Keith Speed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 15 March,Official Report, column 98, what proposals he has now received from British Rail about the rolling stock it wishes to order using the leasing facilities announced in the autumn statement.

  Mr. Roger Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Mr. Hoyle) on 19 April, at column 7.

  M1/M62 Link
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement on the results of the public consultation exercise concerning proposals for an M1/M62 motorway link; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The implications of the large number of responses to the public consultation are still being assessed. When this work is complete we shall make a decision on the way forward with the proposed new road. It will be a few more months before we are able to announce the outcome.

  Tugboat Crews
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to strengthen controls on the qualifications, including local knowledge and experience, of tugboat crews.

  Mr. Norris
  None. Masters, mates and engineer officers of sea-going tugs are required to hold certificates of competency in accordance with the deck or marine engineer officer regulations. Tugs that do not proceed beyond the limits of smooth or partially-smooth waters are not required to carry any officers with formal qualifications. The accident record of these vessels does not give cause to impose further legislative requirements.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reports he has received of accidents and dangers arising from the employment of labour inexperienced in the area in operating tugs from Newport docks in the past four weeks.

  Mr. Norris
  None that involved any lack of local knowledge.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will recommend that recordings of messages between tugs and coastguards be retained for at least six months during the period of industrial action at Newport docks.

  Mr. Norris
  It is HM coastguard's policy to retain archive tape recordings of rescue centre telephone and radio messages for 30 days. Should an incident occur that may require the submission of a tape or associated transcript to an appropriate inquiry, such recordings are kept for a period dictated by the particular case. I see no reason to change this policy during industrial action at Newport docks.

  Roads and Bridges (Damage)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest assessment of the percentage of damage and wear to motorways, roads and bridges caused by(a) lorries, (b) other vehicles and (c) other reasons.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  For motorways and other roads, the vast majority of damage and wear is caused by vehicles over 1·5 tonnes unladen weight such as heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches. Damage and wear from motor cars and from other causes including weather and spillages is negligible compared with that from commercial vehicles. Bridges deteriorate for a variety of reasons not necessarily related to traffic. No percentage breakdown is readily available.

  Road Safety (Blind People)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from, and what discussions he had with, the Royal National Institute for the Blind in preparation of his new code of practice for signing and guarding road and pavement works.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  In July 1991, the Department consulted a large number of organisations, including the RNIB, on its proposal to issue a code of practice on safety measures under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. Comments were received from organisations 72
  representing visually impaired people, but not directly from the RNIB. In February 1992, the Department convened a meeting of manufacturers of pedestrian barrier systems and visually impaired pedestrians, at which a representative of the RNIB was present. The views expressed by the RNIB on this occasion were taken into account in drawing-up the code of practice, now published as "Safety at Street Works and Road Works".

  Marine Archaeology
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Libary the letter of 31 March from the Minister for Aviation and Shipping to the hon. Member for Linlithgow regarding marine archaeology, ref. L/PSO/6890/93.

  Mr. Norris
  I have done so today.

  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his proposals for marine archaeology in relation to the current discussions on the special salvage convention 1990.

  Mr. Norris
  It is our intention to ratify the 1989 salvage convention and to consult relevant bodies prior to ratification. The convention allows any state to reserve the right not to apply the convention when the property involved is maritime cultural property of prehistoric, archaeological or historic interest. At the conference that adopted the convention, we supported the view that material of this nature should be excluded from the scope of the convention. That remains our view.

  MV Braer
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received urging him to set up a formal investigation under merchant shipping legislation into the grounding of the MV Braer on Shetland in January.

  Mr. Norris
  In addition to the one from the hon. Member, representations have been received from the hon. Member for Stoke on Trent, North (Ms Walley) and jointly, from the Shetland Conservative Association, the Shetland Labour party, the Shetland Liberal Democrats, the Shetland Movement and the Shetland Scottish National party. My right hon. and noble Friend, the Minister for Aviation and Shipping, has also received several representations. In addition to those made to him directly by islanders in the course of his three visits to Shetland following the grounding of the Braer, he has also received a petition containing some 6,000 names which calls for a formal investigation.

  Road Pricing
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent studies he has published on road pricing and the technological options for its implementation.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Department of Transport published "London Congestion Charging—A Review of Technology for Road Use Pricing in London" on 31 March. This was an independent report commissioned by the Department from the University of Newcastle.

  Her Majesty's Coastguard Helicopters
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions in the past three years on which(a) Ministers and (b) hon. Members have been conveyed by Her Majesty's coastguard helicopter, or by private helicopter companies on contract to Her Majesty's coastguard.

  Mr. Norris
  The information is as follows:

  (a) Minister:

  Occasion

  Location of coastguard helicopter

  Minister

  10 June 1990

  Lee on Solent

  Cecil Parkinson

  11 September 1991

  Stornoway

  Patrick McLoughlin

  1 May 1992

  Lee on Solent

  Lord Caithness

  6 January 1993

  Sumburgh

  Lord Caithness

  8 January 1993

  Sumburgh

  Lord Caithness and John MacGregor

  9 January 1993

  Sumburgh

  Ian Lang and Sir Hector Monro

  30 March 1993

  Sumburgh

  Lord Caithness

  (b) Hon. Member - Nil.

  Leicester Eastern Bypass
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to receive the report by Travers Morgan into the proposal for an eastern bypass for Leicester.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  A technical appraisal report should be submitted early in 1994.

  Minches (Tankers)
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take action in addition to the voluntary control arrangements for tankers using the Minches pending the recommendations of the Donaldson inquiry.

  Mr. Norris
  Any further action to control the movement of tankers must have regard to the outcome of the maritime safety committee meeting at the International Maritime Organisation, Lord Donaldson's inquiry and international law on the right of innocent passage.

  Feja Svea
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further tanker control mechanisms he has recommended to avoid pollution incidents following the grounding of the tanker Feja Svea off the Teesside coast.

  Mr. Norris
  The grounding of the Feja Svea in severe weather conditions is being investigated by the marine accident investigation branch. The report and any recommendations will be considered when they are available.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Export Controls
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what powers he has to ensure that equipment granted an export licence so that it may be displayed at an arms exhibition or in trials overseas is returned to the United Kingdom.
  74
  Mr. Needham
  It is a condition of licences granted for temporary export that the exporter return the goods within a specified period. Under article 5(3) of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1992, failure to comply with any condition attaching to a licence is an offence, punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. If necessary, my Export Control Organisation may ensure compliance by visits to exporters' premises to check documentation and/or physical presence of the goods.

  Car Imports
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement regarding agreement with the Japanese vehicle manufacturers on car imports.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  In accordance with the EC/Japan cars agreement reached in July 1991, the EC Commission and MITI have agreed forecasts for Japanese car and light van exports to the Community for 1993. The figure agreed for the United Kingdom is in line with the levels agreed under the previous arrangements between the United Kingdom and Japanese manufacturers.

  "The Prospects for Coal"
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the Government will publish a full outline of their renewable energy strategy document as stated in the White Paper, "The Prospects for Coal."

  Mr. Eggar
  The Government will publish a renewable energy strategy review document later this year, in the light of the report of the Renewable Energy Advisory Group and the coal review.

  Astra plc
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his inspectors have received all papers removed from Astra plc by the MoD police.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The inspectors have confirmed to me that they have had access to papers of the company held by the Ministry of Defence police.

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the DTI inspectors began work on Astra plc; and what reasons account for the time taken by the inspectors to prepare their report.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The inspectors commenced work on appointment on 16 August 1990 and their report was signed on 7 April 1993. In particular, the inspectors considered substantial representations received during the course of fairness procedures.

  British Coal Superannuation Scheme
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what considerations underlay his Department's decision to indemnify British Coal against any adverse legal consequences of its action in respect of the trustees of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme.

  Mr. Eggar
  No indemnity has been given or offered to British Coal for such legal costs.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent discussions he has had with the chairman of British Coal about the staff superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement.
  75
  Mr. Eggar
  None.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had recently with the chairman of British Coal about surpluses in the corporation's staff superannuation fund.

  Mr. Eggar
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today.

  Defence Diversification
  Mr. Chisholm
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much money has been provided by the EC Konver initiative for defence diversification in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 15 April 1993,Official Report, column 715.

  Postal Services
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to publish his response to the European Green Paper on Post.

  Mr. Leigh
  Following wide-ranging consultations on the Green Paper, the Government are completing a detailed response which will shortly be put to the European Commission. I will at that time arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has given to maintaining current exemptions from the provisions of(a) road traffic, (b) customs and excise and (c) health and safety legislation for the Post Office after privatisation.

  Mr. Leigh
  No decision has been taken as to whether to privatise the Post Office. If such a decision where made, these matters would need to be considered in detail.

  Regulations
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a list of the regulations of all Departments which impact on business.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  A consolidated list of all regulations and forms, grouped by Department, which Departments have identified as having an impact on business has today been placed in the Library of the House.

  Post Office
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answers of 25 February,Official Report, columns 705–6, if he will express the values of the Post Office 1993–94 capital investment programme in September 1992 prices.

  Hospital and community health services paybill costs

  £ billion

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  11992–93

  21993–94

  Nurses and midwives

  3·92

  4·64

  4·90

  5–26

  5·77

  6·4

  n/a

  Consultants

  0·59

  0·66

  0·71

  0·79

  0·89

  n/a

  n/a

  Junior doctors

  0·48

  0·53

  0·60

  0·64

  0·71

  n/a

  n/a

  Other medical

  0·15

  0·16

  0·17

  0·18

  0·25

  n/a

  n/a

  76
  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 15 April 1993]: The value of the Post Office's planned capital investment programme for 1993–94, expressed in 1992–93 prices, is £312·4 million.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will provide a breakdown of current Post Office employee numbers by British standard region and nation.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 15 April 1993]: A breakdown of Post Office employees by British standard region is not available since the Post Office businesses do not operate on such a regional basis. The breakdown by nation of the March 1993 employee figure was:

  Number

  England

  164,800

  Scotland

  14,300

  Wales

  7,800

  Northern Ireland

  3,600

  Total

  190,500

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total number of Post Office employees in each year since 1988.

  Mr. Leigh
  [holding answer 15 April 1993]: The total number of Post Office employees in each year since 1988, rounded to the nearest thousand and excluding Girobank, was:

  At 31 March

  Number

  1989

  201,000

  1990

  205,000

  1991

  206,000

  1992

  197,000

  1993

  191,000

  All part-time staff counted as half.

HEALTH

  NHS Wages
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the total wage bill of the national health service in each of the last five years, and projected for the next two years, broken down into the principal groups of staff, including consultants, junior doctors, and nurses.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The available information is shown in the table and applies to hospital and community health services staff only.
  77

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  11992–93

  21993–94

  Combined medical and dental

  1·22

  1·35

  1·48

  1·61

  1·85

  2·1

  n/a

  Administration and clerical

  0·89

  0·98

  1·04

  1·19

  1·38

  n/a

  n/a

  Professional science and technology

  0·86

  0·95

  1·03

  1·19

  1·30

  n/a

  n/a

  Ancillary

  0·83

  0·84

  0·85

  0·87

  0·90

  n/a

  n/a

  General and senior managers

  0·03

  0·03

  0·16

  0·25

  0·38

  n/a

  n/a

  Ambulance staff

  0·21

  0·22

  0·20

  0·24

  0·28

  n/a

  n/a

  Other3

  0·50

  0·55

  0·60

  0·60

  0·71

  n/a

  n/a

  Administration and clerical to other total3

  3·32

  3·57

  3·88

  4·34

  4·95

  5·3

  n/a

  TOTAL

  8·46

  9·56

  10·25

  11·21

  12·57

  13·8

  14·0

  1 1992–93 estimated.

  2 1993–94 projected.

  3 Includes nurses and midwives and medical and dental agency staff costs.

  NHS Beds
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) national health service hospital beds and (b) national health service private hospital beds there were in each region in each year since 1979.

  Average of daily number of available beds, 1979 to 1991–92

  Regions

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  Northern

  25,305

  25,283

  24,192

  24,679

  24,728

  24,332

  23,773

  23,240

  22,469

  21,520

  21,024

  20,195

  19,456

  Yorkshire

  29,946

  29,298

  28,959

  28,488

  28,034

  27,470

  26,793

  25,676

  24,001

  22,731

  21,702

  20,387

  18,968

  Trent

  31,712

  31,516

  30,944

  30,744

  30,481

  30,000

  29,391

  28,902

  27,568

  25,992

  24,554

  22,882

  21,723

  East Anglian

  13,094

  13,088

  13,038

  12,914

  13,001

  12,727

  12,534

  12,452

  12,180

  11,827

  11,291

  10,797

  10,418

  North West Thames

  27,905

  27,116

  26,947

  25,852

  25,342

  24,529

  23,816

  22,905

  21,119

  20,145

  19,221

  18,105

  17,414

  North East Thames

  29,443

  28,703

  28,357

  29,298

  28,741

  27,951

  26,854

  25,982

  24,369

  23,290

  22,199

  20,608

  18,727

  South East Thames

  28,408

  27,720

  27,217

  26,816

  26,357

  25,260

  24,297

  23,096

  21,250

  19,552

  18,461

  17,333

  16,442

  South West Thames

  26,242

  25,417

  25,267

  24,021

  23,719

  22,994

  22,210

  21,141

  20,140

  19,073

  17,888

  16,980

  16,678

  Wessex

  19,021

  18,844

  18,662

  18,547

  18,310

  18,074

  17,654

  17,170

  15,316

  14,826

  14,458

  13,939

  13,701

  Oxford

  13,664

  13,422

  13,247

  13,113

  12,817

  12,722

  12,555

  12,216

  11,584

  11,027

  10,746

  10,220

  9,693

  South Western

  24,456

  24,245

  24,143

  23,861

  23,459

  22,676

  21,932

  21,259

  20,145

  19,166

  18,310

  17,511

  16,677

  West Midlands

  36,263

  35,782

  35,437

  35,228

  34,544

  33,761

  33,108

  32,286

  30,351

  28,784

  27,897

  26,591

  24,774

  Mersey

  21,982

  21,332

  21,025

  20,519

  19,849

  19,028

  18,464

  17,959

  16,665

  15,776

  14,685

  13,290

  12,091

  North Western

  30,812

  30,839

  30,662

  30,677

  30,384

  29,756

  29,021

  28,406

  27,320

  26,409

  25,204

  24,057

  22,974

  Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors

  3,419

  3,376

  3,407

  3,346

  3,327

  3,236

  3,086

  3,025

  2,860

  2,780

  2,669

  2,544

  2,619

  England1

  361,670

  355,978

  351,505

  348,104

  343,091

  334,513

  325,487

  315,714

  297,338

  282,897

  270,309

  255,438

  242,356

  1 Numbers may not add up to England total due to rounding.

  Source: SD2A, SH3 returns for years (1979, 1980, 1981.)

  KHO3 returns for years 1982 to 1992.

  Number of authorised pay beds in NHS hospitals

  Regions

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Northern

  56

  56

  78

  103

  103

  105

  95

  101

  96

  99

  97

  97

  Yorkshire

  140

  140

  154

  182

  199

  199

  193

  193

  187

  192

  188

  188

  Trent

  130

  130

  150

  143

  143

  143

  138

  136

  128

  136

  136

  136

  East Anglian

  90

  90

  94

  106

  106

  108

  108

  108

  96

  108

  108

  108

  North West Thames

  339

  339

  352

  292

  292

  292

  287

  285

  271

  285

  283

  283

  North East Thames

  278

  278

  286

  398

  404

  410

  413

  411

  347

  393

  411

  411

  South East Thames

  263

  263

  302

  332

  337

  337

  339

  341

  322

  333

  333

  333

  South West Thames

  156

  156

  168

  180

  182

  194

  182

  180

  141

  180

  180

  180

  Wessex

  99

  99

  106

  117

  120

  120

  116

  116

  105

  115

  116

  116

  Oxford

  164

  164

  180

  180

  180

  180

  183

  193

  188

  193

  194

  194

  South Western

  78

  78

  82

  102

  104

  104

  104

  102

  96

  100

  100

  100

  West Midlands

  181

  181

  217

  258

  267

  276

  273

  270

  209

  281

  276

  276

  Mersey

  67

  67

  92

  112

  123

  123

  123

  129

  123

  129

  129

  129

  North Western

  170

  170

  214

  231

  244

  245

  243

  237

  207

  233

  233

  227

  Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors

  194

  194

  202

  183

  183

  183

  178

  178

  177

  160

  178

  178

  England1

  2,405

  2,405

  2,677

  2,919

  2,987

  3,019

  2,975

  2,980

  2,693

  2,937

  2,962

  2,956

  1 Numbers may not add to England total due to rounding.

  78
  Mr. Sackville
  The information is shown in the tables. Over the same period, total hospital in-patient activity rose by 29 per cent.

  Prescribing Errors
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) men, (b) women and (c) children are known (i) to have been injured and (ii) to have died as a result of pharmacists' errors in the provision of drugs or medicines, in each of the last five years for which records are available.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally. All the evidence suggests that professional standards in community pharmacies remain high and dispensing errors are kept to a minimum. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society employs a team of inspectors whose role is to ensure that those standards are maintained.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will now institute new requirements for pharmacists, whether by checking or otherwise, to minimise or to remove the risks of error in their provision of drugs or medicines in accordance with doctors' prescriptions;

  (2) what assessment she has made of whether United Kingdom requirements for the checking of prescriptions issued by doctors before the drugs or medicines are given to patients are (a) adequate and satisfactory and (b) in accordance with EC requirements;

  (3) if she will carry out an inquiry into the methods for checking of prescriptions by pharmacists, to remove or minimise the possibility or error in the provision of drugs or medicines in accordance with doctors' prescriptions.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The code of ethics of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society includes guidance which is designed specifically to eliminate errors in the checking and dispensing of prescriptions. The society employs a team of inspectors whose role is to identify any lapses in standards of performance. These arrangements have helped to keep errors in the dispensing of prescriptions to a minimum and I see no reason to change them.

  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records she keeps to ascertain how many pharmacists query doctors' prescriptions, whether because the same are illegible or otherwise.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally. Pharmacists are encouraged to maintain good communications with general practitioners to ensure that, where questions arise, patients get their correct medicine.

  Health Boards
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision there is for chairmen of health authorities or trusts to be paid a financial settlement on termination of office.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Paragraph 9(3) of schedule 5 to the National Health Service Act 1977 provides for the Secretary of State to make a payment of compensation to chairmen of health authorities, with the approval of the Treasury, where it appears that there are special circumstances for that person to receive compensation.

  There is no such legislative provision in respect of chairmen of NHS trusts.
  80
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to start reviewing the actual time contribution of chairmen and non-executive directors of national health service trusts and the basis on which their emoluments are assessed; if her review will be published; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 8 March at column 386.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider holding centrally information on the professional qualifications and previous employment of national health service trust and health authority chairmen.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We do not specifically seek information on the professional qualifications of chairmen of health authorities and national health service trusts. However, these details and previous employment are usually included in a candidate's curriculum vitae. Those appointed are not required to notify any changes to such personal details after their appointment. I do not propose to alter these arrangements.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider holding centrally information on the number of chairmen and non-executive directors who declined to receive emoluments in respect of membership of(a) regional health authorities, (b) district health authorities, (c) family health service authorities and (d) hospital trusts.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No.

  Nurses
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider holding centrally information on(a) newly qualified nurses seeking employment and(b) nursing vacancies.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have no plans to do so. Managing the recruitment of qualified nurses is a matter for regional health authorities and local employers.

  Drug and Alcohol Misuse
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the new projects which are being funded in 1993 from the specific grant for drug and alcohol misusers.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The alcohol and drugs specific grant awards for 1993–94 were announced on 1 April. A copy of the press release is available in the Library and the 43 projects receiving an award for the first time have been identified. A further 65 projects which received funding in 1992–93 are also being supported.

  NHS Trusts
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what opportunities there are for public scrutiny of self-governing trusts; and how many trusts hold open public meetings.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  National health service trusts are obliged by law to hold at least one public meeting each year at which they present their annual report and
  81
  accounts. They are also required to publish their strategic direction and business plans. The local community health council has the right to visit NHS trust facilities and service contracts with health authorities are publicly available. Many trusts go beyond these requirements.

  NHS Sight Tests
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will extend the exemption from payments for NHS sight tests to deaf and hard of hearing people.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have no plans to do so.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Social Fund
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many applicants to the social fund in Nottinghamshire have two or more social fund loans outstanding;

  (2) what percentage of social fund loans are (a) being repaid at 5 per cent. of the income support applicable amount and (b) have been rescheduled to allow for a lower repayment rate in each of the West, East and North Nottinghamshire benefit areas during 1992–93.

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

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to introduce a regulatory grant system to replace the social fund.

  Mr. Scott
  We have no plans to do so.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review access to social fund loans and grants for(a) applicants who cannot demonstrate an ability to repay loans and (b) applicants who have an income just above the income support threshold but who do not qualify for social fund help.

  Mr. Scott
  We have no such plans to change the basic principles of the current social fund scheme which has succeeded in helping very large numbers of needy people while helping to keep expenditure under control.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to increase the social fund budget in line with unemployment.

  Mr. Scott
  The social fund gross discretionary budget has risen by over 50 per cent. since April 1991. This substantial increase is substantially greater than the rise in unemployment.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average waiting time from first application for a social fund local review to decision by the social fund inspectorate for(a) budgeting loans, (b) crisis loans and (c) community care grants.

  Mr. Scott
  The information is not available.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will implement the recommendation of the 82
  Social Security Advisory Committee in connection with crisis loans, in respect of the payment in advance rather than in arrears of income support.

  Mr. Scott
  We have no plans to do so.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from welfare rights advisers in Nottinghamshire on the working of the social fund; and what response he has made.

  Mr. Scott
  We receive many representations on the working of the social fund. We have received none recently from Nottinghamshire welfare rights advisers. I understand that there is regular liaison between the district offices and many of the advisers in the area.

  Pensions
  Mr. Booth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioner households were below the 1979 supplementary benefit level in 1979; and how many were below the 1979 level in the latest year for which the figure is available.

  Mr. Burt
  Official estimates of the number of pensioner households below the 1979 supplementary benefit levels are only available for 1979. They were published in the low income families—LIF—series. Following a technical review in 1988, LIF was superseded by the households below average income—HBAI—series which provides estimates of the pattern of disposable income across the United Kingdom population and analyses change over time. The latest edition of HBAI, published in 1992, shows a reduction in the number of pensioners in the bottom 10 per cent. of the income distribution from 31 per cent. in 1979 to 14 per cent. in 1988–89, when measured after housing costs—36 and 23 per cent. respectively before housing costs—after adjustment for inflation. Copies of both publications are in the Library.

  Giro Cheques
  Ms. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will introduce legislation to ensure that Giro cheques that are reported lost can be stopped.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Under current legislation, the Department has the power to stop Giro cheques at any time before they are cashed.

  War Widows
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensions are currently being paid to war widows; and how many of those relate to service up to 30 September 1921.

  Miss Widdecombe
  On 31 March 1993, there were 50,886 war widows' pensions in payment; of these, 2,274 related to service between 4 August 1914 and 30 September 1921.

  Pensioners Living Abroad
  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of extending full inflation-proofed state retirement pensions to those British pensioners aged 80 years and over living in countries with which there is no agreement allowing the payment of United Kingdom pension increases.
  83
  Miss Widdecombe
  The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  European Court
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the names and addresses of all the newspapers to which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State sent a copy of his letter dated 7 April to the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow concerning, inter alia, the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice in case C328/91.

  Mr. Scott
  The letter was copied to the editors of the Evening Times, 195 Albion street, Glasgow G1 1QP, the Greenock Telegraph, 2 Crawfurd street, Greenock, and the West Highland Free Press, Industrial Estate, Broadford, Isle of Skye, IV49 9AP.

  A copy of the letter was also sent to the news and current affairs editor at Scottish Television.

ENVIRONMENT

  Greenhouse Gases
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent decisions have been taken at the European Environment Council in regard to the monitoring of the production and discharge of greenhouse gases in the European Community.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, West (Sir A. Durant) on 26 March 1993,Official Report columns 737–39.

  Carbon Dioxide Emissions
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what calculations he has made concerning the contributions that each of the various policy measures now in place could contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions between 1990 and 2000, as compared to the predictions made in Energy Paper 59.

  Mr. Maclean
  The annex to the climate change discussion document, placed in the Library of the House, described measures already in hand at the end of 1992 to reduce CO2 emissions. The effect of most of these measures were included in the CO2 projections set out in "Energy Paper 59"—EP 59.

  The discussion document also identified a number of new measures, the effect of which would be to reduce emissions below the projected trend in EP 59, by some 3 to 5 MtC. The most important of these is the establishment of the Energy Saving Trust. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) for a description of these measures and their estimated effect on emissions—Official Report, 22 March 1993, column 495.

  In his March Budget statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced two measures which will play a significant part in the CO2 programme. The introduction of VAT on domestic fuel and power, is estimated to lead savings in CO2 emissions of some 1·5 MtC. The strategy of rising transport fuel duties, with a commitment to increase duties on average by at least 3 per
  84
  cent. in real terms in future Budgets in addition to the 10 per cent. increases announced in the March Budget, is similarly expected to lead to savings in CO2 emissions of some 1·5 MtC.

  On the basis of EP 59 a projection for CO2 emissions in the year 2000 of 170 MtC provides a reasonable baseline for our programme. This implies that savings of some 10 MtC will be needed to meet the convention commitment. Taking all the above developments together, some two thirds of Britain's programme is now in place.

  Energy Efficiency
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines he has issued to Greater London council successor bodies on energy efficiency.

  Mr. Maclean
  No guidelines were issued to GLC successor bodies on energy efficiency. However, my Department actively promotes cost effective energy efficiency measures throughout the public sector, including organisations in London. For example, on 10 March, the Energy Efficiency Office organised a conference on energy efficiency in buildings at the Guildhall in the City of London to which the chief executives of all London boroughs were invited.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's current strategy on promoting energy efficiency in both new and existing public and private buildings across London.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department has a number of programmes in place to promote cost effective energy efficiency measures in the industrial, commercial, domestic and public sectors of the economy. These are not targeted at specific geographical locations; however, events are held in London to directly influence people in the London area, and the south-east regional Energy Efficiency Office promotes energy efficiency in the region. The Office is also involved with many local energy management groups which provide a forum for energy managers to identify their common problems and to find solutions.

  Packaging Standards Council
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent communications he has received from, and what recent meetings he has had with, the Packaging Standards Council.

  Mr. Maclean
  My officials met representatives of the Packaging Standards Council on 15 April to discuss the council's first half-yearly report.

  European Environment Ministers
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution his Department plans to make to the second pan-European conference of Environment Ministers, to be held in Lucerne on 28 to 30 April; what information he has received on the agenda of the meeting to date; and what documentation relevant to the conference he has received from the organising secretariat.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department has participated fully in the preparatory process for the "Environment for Europe" conference in Luzern from 28 to 30 April. We have also
  85
  helped with a number of analytical studies for the environmental action programme for central and eastern Europe. I shall attend the conference on 28 and 29 April. My right hon. and learned Friend will attend from 29 to 30 April.

  The main items on the agenda for discussion are the environmental action programme for central and eastern Europe; innovative instruments of environmental policy; and monitoring, compliance and enforcement in environmental policy.

  The executive secretariat has circulated a text of an environmental action programme for central and eastern Europe.

  Peat
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to introduce a levy on peat extraction to fund peat-free substitute products.

  Mr. Maclean
  None at present.

  Development Control
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many copies of his Department's joint publication, "Development Control—A Charter Guide", have been published; at what cost; and to whom it has been distributed.

  Mr. Baldry
  Just over 55,000 of this charter guide have been published, at a total cost of £9,400. Copies have been sent to all planning authorities in England and Wales, to the local authority associations, and to the relevant professional bodies.

  Standard Spending Assessment
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which components used in calculation of standard spending assessments are being revised in the current review being undertaken.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The primary aim of the current review of standard spending assessments is to incorporate detailed information from the 1991 census into the underlying SSA formulae. We are taking this opportunity in consultation with local authority representatives to consider more widely the range of social factors used within SSAs and the weight placed upon them, the basis of the area cost adjustment, measures of population density and sparsity and the inclusion of day visitors. We are also prepared to consider representations about other aspects of SSAs.

  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on the method of calculation of standard spending assessments.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have so far received 33 letters from local authorities responding to our invitation to make representations on the review of standard spending assessments for 1994–95 and to provide evidence to support any proposed changes.

  There will be regular meetings between my officials and representatives of the local authority associations until September to discuss the technical aspects of the review.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what estimate he has made as to the amounts payable by his Department to each of the London boroughs for transitional relief in 1993–94;

  (2) what estimate he has as to the total amount which will be payable to local authorities in 1993–94 in respect of the transitional relief scheme which accompanied the introduction of the council tax.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Using information on household liability drawn from the family expenditure survey, we estimated that the cost of transitional relief nationally would be £340 million in 1993–94. We have made no estimates of the amount of transitional relief grant payable to individual authorities. Local authorities are currently submitting claims in respect of income forgone in respect of 1993–94. Ninety per cent. of each authority's claim will be paid in the current financial year, and the remainder in 1994–95.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what amount, and in respect of which authorities, his estimate of the amount payable in transitional relief to London boroughs has varied as a result of the changes to the transitional relief scheme of which local authorities were notified by his Department in a letter dated 1 March.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have made no revised estimate of the cost of the scheme since issuing the changes to the grant conditions in the letter of 1 March. A revised estimate of the cost of the scheme will be available once initial claims have been received from all authorities.

  Council of Ministers
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what matters will be discussed at the meeting of Europe's Environment and Energy Ministers in Luxembourg on 23 April; which Minister will represent his Department; and what target will be put before the meeting as Britain's accepted commitment for carbon dioxide reduction.

  Mr. Maclean
  The joint Council meeting is expected to be devoted principally to discussion of the Community's strategy on climate change, although there may also be some discussion of controls on ozone-depleting substances. I shall be representing the United Kingdom, along with my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy. Under the framework convention on climate change, the United Kingdom will be committed to taking actions aimed at returning emissions of carbon dioxide to their 1990 levels by 2000.

  Private Water Supplies
  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance has been given on the treatment of private water supplies.

  Mr. Maclean
  A manual on the treatment of private water supplies is being published today by HMSO. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library.

  It has been produced by the Water Research Centre under a contract steered by the drinking water inspectorate and gives guidance on assessing the suitability of small scale treatment processes.

  Housing Transfers
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the names of the authorities to be included in the programme for housing transfers by councils in 1993–94.

  Sir George Young
  I am today announcing the names of the 13 local authorities that will be able to proceed with proposals to transfer their housing stock, on a voluntary basis subject to the approval of their tenants, to housing associations during 1993–94, in the first year of the new annual transfer programme.

  I am delighted that 22 authorities responded to our invitation and am pleased that, because of lower than anticipated Exchequer costs of disposal, it has proved possible to programme 43,000 dwellings compared to the 25,000 dwellings I mentioned when I announced the programme arrangements last February.

  The 13 authorities which have successfully gained a place on the 1993–94 disposals programme, together with the intended recipient housing associations are as follows:

  Castle Morpeth District Council (3,430 dwellings) to Cheviot Housing Association;

  Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (1,773 dwellings) to Rosebury Housing Association;

  Hambleton District Council (4,262 dwellings) to Hambleton Housing Association;

  Hart District Council (2,504 dwellings) to Hart Housing Association;

  Havant Borough Council (3,587 dwellings) to Hermitage Housing Association;

  Leominster District Council (1,874 dwellings) to Leomister Marches Housing Association;

  Maidstone Borough Council (4,040 dwellings) to Hazlitt Housing Associations and (4,009) dwellings to Lenway Housing Association;

  Mendip District Council (5,262 dwellings) to Mendip Housing Association;

  Penwith District Council (3,431 dwellings) to Penwith Housing Association;

  Rother District Council (3,479 dwellings) to Downland Housing Association;

  South Ribble District Council (3,600 dwellings) to Progress Housing Association;

  South Shropshire District Council (1,632 dwellings) to South Shropshire Housing Association; and

  Westminster (partial transfer of 649 dwellings) to the Peabody Trust.

  The programme comprises some 43,000 dwellings in total, valued at more than £375 million.

  Clause 121 of the Housing and Urban Development Bill, currently before Parliament, enables the Secretary of State to control housing stock disposals through such an annual programme. The Bill also contains transitional provisions which allow my right hon. and learned Friend to ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place for the introduction of the first year's programme, once the Bill has received Royal Assent.

  Planning Inspectorate
  Dr. Blackburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what performance targets he has set for the Planning Inspectorate agency for the financial year 1993–94.
  88
  Sir George Young
  The key objectives for the agency in 1993–94 remain to preserve the impartiality and quality of the inspectorate's work while seeking further to improve efficiency. I have set the following further key targets for the agency's work in England:

  Timeliness:

  (a) 80 per cent. of planning appeals by written representations to be decided within 19 weeks;

  (b) To provide an inspector for local plan inquiries on request within 26 weeks of the end of the objection period;

  Financial:

  (a) Unit costs of planning appeals decided by written representations not to exceed £690;

  (b) Recover 90 per cent. of receipts due within eight weeks of invoice date;

  Efficiency:

  Generate a 3 per cent. efficiency improvement in running costs, as compared with 1992–93;

  Quality:

  High Court Appeals and/or other justified complaints allowed against inspector's decisions not to exceed 1 per cent. of intake;

  Volume:

  To determine 19,000 appeals, subject to intake not declining;

  Information and Guidance:

  To complete a second customer survey by 31 December 1993.

  These and other performance targets for the agency will be included in its business plan for 1993–94 which will be published shortly.

  Separate targets for the agency's work in Wales are being announced today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales.

  Regulations
  Mr. Sproat
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a list of all the regulations for which his Department is currently responsible with a descriptive title for each individual regulation.

  Mr. Redwood
  [pursuant to the reply, 12 February 1993, c. 831]: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs has today placed in the Library a consolidated list for all Departments of regulations which affect business. The Department's entry includes an explanation of the purpose and impact of each regulation.

  Housing (Chelmsford)
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for the environment how many additional housing units have been made available in the Chelmsford parliamentary constituency by(a) Chelmsford borough council and (b) housing associations in the latest three available years.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 19 April 1993]: The information is not collected by parliamentary constituency. The figures for the Chelmsford local authority district are as follows.
  89

  Additional housing units (completions): Chelmsford

  Provided by

  Chelmsford BC

  Housing Associations

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1990

  1991

  1992

  New house building

  113

  146

  34

  10

  11

  4

  Other1

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0

  92

  Total

  113

  146

  34

  12

  11

  96

  1 "Off the shelf" purchases and properties rehabilitated for rent or sale.

  Source:

  DOE P2 return; Housing Corporation.

SCOTLAND

  Forestry
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the proceedings of the group charged with reviewing certain aspects of Government forestry policy whose existence was announced by him on 30 March;

  (2) whether members of the public may, at their own cost, attend as observers meetings of the group charged with reviewing aspects of Government forestry policy announced by him on 30 March.

  Sir Hector Monro
  No. As is the usual practice, the policy advice offered by the forestry review group and the discussions and papers on which it is based will be confidential to Ministers.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions exist for professional foresters, experts, other interested parties and members of the public to give evidence for the consideration of the group charged with reviewing aspects of Government forestry policy announced by him on 30 March.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The forestry review group, which held its first meeting on 31 March, will not be taking formal evidence but those bodies or members of the public who wish to make representations may write to the secretary of the group at the following address:

  G S Pearson

  Secretary, Forestry Review Group

  Room 6/61

  New St Andrew's House

  EDINBURGH

  EH1 3TG

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he estimates he will receive a report from the group charged with reviewing aspects of Government forestry policy announced by him on 30 March; and if he will publish that report.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The forestry review group held its first meeting on 31 March. My right hon. Friend and his fellow forestry Ministers expect to receive a report on a timetable consistent with the existing commitment to complete the review of the effectiveness of incentives for forestry investment by the end of this year.

  There are no present plans to publish any of the advice offered by the group to Ministers.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of and posts held by the members of the group charged with reviewing aspects of Government forestry policy announced by him on 30 March.
  90
  Sir Hector Monro
  The forestry review group, established by forestry Ministers, includes the following officials:

  Mr. H. H. Mills, Secretary, The Scottish Office Environment Department (Chairman);

  Mr. T. R. Cutler, Director General, Forestry Commission;

  Mr. D. S. Grundy, Commissioner, Forestry Commission;

  Mr. M. L. Williams, Head of Industry, Agriculture and Employment Group, HM Treasury;

  Dr. S. Harding, Director of Policy and Resources, Forestry Commission;

  Mr. T. J. Osmond, Head of Land Use and Tenure Division, Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food;

  Mr. D. R. Thomas, Head of Land, Agricultural Subsidies and Grants Division, Welsh Office Agriculture Department;

  Dr. R. Shaw, Head of Rural Development Division, Department of the Environment;

  Mr. T. G. Birley, Head of Rural Affairs Division, The Scottish Office Environment Department;

  Mr. D. Green, Prime Minister's Policy Unit;

  Mr. G. S. Pearson, Rural Policy Coordinator, The Scottish Office Environment Department.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 30 March,Official Report, column 150, to the hon. Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox) on forestry (a) when the group of officials charged with examining forestry first met and on what subsequent dates meetings were held, (b) what dates have been arranged for future meetings, (c) how often it will meet and (d) what is the estimated cost of the meetings and how this is shared between different Government Departments.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The forestry review group met first on 31 March and will meet again on 5 May. No firm dates have been set for further meetings. The group will meet as often as necessary to fulfil its task, consistent with the commitment to complete the review of the effectiveness of incentives for forestry investment by the end of this year. No estimates of the cost of its meetings have been made and any such costs will be met, as appropriate, by the Departments represented on the group.

  Hunting
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of whether all fox hunts that have licences or permits to hunt on Forestry Commission land are fully aware of the terms and conditions; and what arrangements are made to supply copies in writing.

  Sir Hector Monro
  All permits issued to fox hunts by the Forestry Commission clearly set out the terms and conditions on which they are granted. Copies are signed and retained by the commission and the master or secretary of each hunt. The fox hunts are therefore fully aware of the terms and conditions.
  91
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what monitoring and supervision procedures are in place to ensure that the terms and conditions of licences issued to hunt on Forestry Commission land are adhered to.

  Sir Hector Monro
  Forestry Commission staff carry out random checks on hunt days to ensure that the conditions of the licences are being followed.

  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the terms and conditions of licences or permits given to(a) the New Forest Buckhounds and (b) the Surrey Union hunt to hunt on Forestry Commission land; and to which areas of land the licences or permits apply.

  Mr. Curry
  I have been asked to reply.

  Copies of the permits issued by the Forestry Commission to the New Forest Buckhounds and the Surrey Union hunt for the 1992–93 season have been placed in the Library of the House. These incorporate maps which show the areas of land covered by the permits.

  Housing
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many properties have been transferred from public sector landlords to landlords approved under section 57(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988;

  (2) how many of the approvals in terms of section 57(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 which have been issued by Scottish Homes have been issued to housing associations registered with Scottish Homes;

  (3) how many approvals in terms of section 57(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 have been issued by Scottish Homes.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 14 April 1993]: Thirteen approvals have been issued by Scottish Homes, including 11 to registered housing associations and co-operatives. Two thousand two hundred and twenty-five properties have been transferred from public sector landlords to approved landlords.

  Home Improvement Grants
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications for home improvement grants made before 1984 remain outstanding in(a) Edinburgh, (b) Glasgow, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 15 April 1993]: Information on the number of outstanding applications for home improvement grants received by local authorities is not held centrally.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to take to reduce the backlog of applications for home improvement grants in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 15 April 1993]: The Government make available substantial resources to local authorities to fund improvement grants and other investment in private housing. The non-HRA capital allocations for 1993–94 announced on 29 March total £120·5 million. These include £9·030 million which is earmarked to deal with the backlog of pre-1984 improvement and repairs grant applications in Edinburgh.

  Language Teaching (Primary Schools)
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to make any resources available to education authorities in Scotland to promote the teaching of modern languages in primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 19 April 19931: Funds of £1·45 million have been allocated in this financial year, as the first stage of our major initiative to extend the teaching of modern languages into primary schools throughout Scotland; £450,000 of that allocation forms part of the specific grant available to education authorities for the in-service training of teachers in 1993–94. The funding provided will allow training packages to be prepared and substantial numbers of primary teachers to begin the courses that will enable them to teach modern languages in their schools.

  FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL, 5th APRIL
  FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL, 5th APRIL
  ROAD PRICING
  ROAD PRICING
  UTTOXETER BYPASS
  UTTOXETER BYPASS