Written Answers of 26 April 1993

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Mental Incapacity
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to review legislation concerning the withdrawal of money from a bank account by a relative or carer on behalf of a mentally incapacitated adult; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Law Commission is reviewing the law and procedures relating to decision making on behalf of mentally incapacitated adults. The commission's initial consultation in 1991 produced a large number of responses in the light of which the commission decided to embark on a second round of separate consultations on particular topics before publishing final proposals. The commission has now published the first of three further consultation papers, "Mentally Incapacitated Adults and Decision-Making: A New Jurisdiction" (L.C.C.P. No. 128) which canvasses proposals for reform of the private law aspects, including financial decision making.

  Police Stations, Northern Ireland
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 19 April,Official Report, column 28, if he will place in the Library the results of the survey carried out by the Northern Ireland court service into advice at police stations.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The survey referred to is not in a form which could readily be placed in the Library. However, I will write to the hon. Member enclosing a summary of the results of the survey for his information. The hon. Member will already have received some of this information in the answer provided to his earlier question on 21 April 1993,Official Report, column 93.

  Boundary Commission for Wales
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he intends to appoint a deputy chairman for the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) on 20 April,Official Report, column 45.

  Lease Law
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress has been made on reform of lease law; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 31 March by myself to my hon. Friend the 260
  Member for High Peak (Mr. Hendry), Official Report, column 197, and to the answer given on the same date by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Thomason), Official Report, columns 293–94.

PRIME MINISTER

  Energy Bills (Pensioners)
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the reply he has sent to the letter of Mr. E. B. Glover QC, on the subject of the effect of VAT on energy bills for pensioners.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 14 April 1993]:A reply has been sent on my behalf by the Department of Social Security. It is not my normal practice to publish correspondence, but it explains that the annual uprating of benefits will in due course reflect the increases in fuel bills; that we will be making available extra help to people on income support and income-related benefits which we will announce in the autumn and which will be paid from April 1994 before the bills have to be paid; and that the Government are not taking back the extra help they gave to pensioners on income support to assist them in paying the community charge, even though the community charge has now been abolished.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Scott Inquiry
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Attorney-General what evidence the Law Officers have submitted to the Scott inquiry on exports to Iraq.

  The Attorney-General
  My Department has provided Lord Justice Scott with copies of all documents relevant to the range of issues which he has identified.

  Phoenix Companies
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions in 1992–93 the Serious Fraud Office has launched in relation to possible offences involving the use of phoenix companies.

  The Solicitor-General
  None. Such cases are more likely to be handled by other prosecuting authorities.

  Crown Prosecution Service (Recruitment)
  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement about the recruiting policy of the Crown Prosecution Service.

  The Solicitor-General
  The Crown Prosecution Service continues to recruit on merit in open competition high-quality applicants for a comparatively small number of vacancies for lawyers.

  Serious Fraud (Prosecutions)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Attorney-General what was the success rate in prosecutions by the Serious Fraud Office which were concluded within the last six months.

  The Attorney-General
  Eleven Crown court trials involving 22 defendants have been concluded since 1
  261
  October 1992. Seventeen defendants have been convicted and two acquitted and three were discharged without the jury having to return a verdict. In one further trial in the magistrates court the defendant was acquitted. This decision is the subject of appeal to the divisional court.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Escaped Prisoners
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will detail, by category of prisoner, the number of prisoners who escaped while under prison escort for the last five years for which figures are available.

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Category 'A' Adult Male

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  Category 'B' Adult Male

  13

  13

  33

  19

  28

  Category 'C Adult Male

  5

  18

  25

  31

  38

  Unsentenced Adult Male

  29

  39

  26

  54

  43

  Sentenced Young Offender Male

  4

  8

  14

  9

  9

  Unsentenced Young Offender Male

  8

  35

  16

  25

  25

  Sentenced Female

  2

  1

  1

  5

  4

  Unsentenced Female

  —

  4

  4

  —

  —

  Total

  61

  118

  119

  144

  147

  The information relates to those prisoners who escaped whilst under prison escort between 20 June 1988 and 31 December 1992. Information was not collated centrally prior to June 1988. The information is derived from incidents reported to the Incident Management Support Unit, a part of the Directorate of Custody.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will detail, by category of prisoner, the number of prisoners who escaped while under prison escort during the months of April 1990, April 1991 and April 1992.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Paddy Tipping, dated 26 April 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question asking, by category of prisoner, the number of prisoners who escaped whilst under prison escort during the months of April 1990, April 1991 and April 1992.

  The information is as follows:—

  April 1990

  April 1991

  April 1992

  Category "B" adult male

  5

  3

  1

  Category "C" adult male

  1

  4

  2

  Unsentenced adult male

  2

  4

  1

  Sentenced young offender

  3

  —

  —

  Unsentenced young offender

  2

  6

  2

  Sentenced female

  —

  —

  2

  Unsentenced female

  —

  1

  1

  Total

  13

  18

  9

  The above information is derived from incidents reported to the Incident Management Support Unit, a part of the Directorate of Custody.
  262
  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service who has been asked to arrange a reply.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Paddy Tipping, dated 26 April 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, by category of prisoner, the number of prisoners who escaped whilst under prison escort for the past five years for which figures are available.

  The information you requested is as follows:

  Prisons
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) to what extent prisons provide non-smoking recreation and eating areas; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) whether prisoners who do not smoke are required to share cells with those who do;

  (3) what action his Department has taken to reduce the amount of tobacco smoking by prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons.

  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.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Mackinlay dated 22 April 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to the three Parliamentary Questions on this subject which you tabled for written answer on Wednesday 21 April.
  Prison Standing Orders require governors to arrange as far as is practicable for non-smokers not to be compelled to share living accommodation with smokers, and for non-smoking areas to be available in visiting accommodation and association rooms as long as this does not reduce access to these areas. Smoking is prohibited in areas where food is being prepared or served. Practice in dining areas is a matter for individual governors.
  We acknowledge the importance of measures to encourage prisoners who smoke to break the habit and this is reflected in our corporate plan. Medical advice is available in all prisons and structured health education and counselling facilities are increasingly being provided. A new health care standard for clinical and related health promotion services will be introduced later this year which will provide a further stimulus to the promotion of healthier lifestyles. We are also planning a number of pilot projects to develop models for co-ordinated health promotion programmes. I would expect measures to reduce smoking to feature in these.

  Angling
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has made or plans to undertake about the policing difficulties arising in connection with the protection of anglers taking part in official and legitimate angling competitions from disruption from anti-angling demonstrations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The policing of any event is an operational matter for chief officers.

  Wheel Clamping
  Mr. Callaghan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received about wheel clamping from persons in the Rochdale metropolitan borough and in the Greater Manchester area.

  Mr. Jack
  Since 1 April 1992, the Home Office has received 10 letters from hon. Members representing constituencies in the Greater Manchester area concerning the use of wheel clamps on private land. In the same period, five members of the public living in that area have written direct to this office on the same issue. Since the publication of the Home Office consultation paper on 23 February this year, we have received three requests for that document from individuals living in the Greater Manchester area.

  Wheel clamping on the public highway currently takes place only in London, and we are not aware of any representations from people in Greater Manchester on that issue.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received from hon. Members regarding wheel clamping on cars; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  In the 12 months up to 31 March this year, I received 117 letters from hon. Members in relation to

  Reported racial incidents

  Forces

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Avon and Somerset

  57

  71

  83

  148

  98

  Bedfordshire

  21

  25

  33

  n/a

  57

  Cambridge

  52

  60

  71

  107

  110

  Cheshire

  0

  0

  0

  3

  29

  City of London

  4

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Cleveland

  29

  55

  57

  68

  73

  Cumbria

  0

  4

  1

  9

  13

  Derbyshire

  17

  20

  53

  143

  60

  Devon and Cornwall

  2

  3

  6

  9

  7

  Dorset

  6

  12

  3

  9

  10

  Durham

  43

  23

  41

  70

  40

  Dyfed Powys

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Essex

  2

  26

  43

  59

  80

  Gloucestershire

  17

  20

  51

  25

  33

  Greater Manchester

  28

  40

  123

  204

  401

  Gwent

  1

  4

  5

  12

  31

  Hampshire

  45

  n/a

  42

  141

  139

  Hertfordshire

  49

  49

  51

  n/a

  106

  Humberside

  49

  52

  67

  81

  68

  Kent

  88

  81

  88

  120

  115

  Lancashire

  75

  93

  201

  119

  231

  Leicestershire

  84

  190

  287

  369

  338

  Lincolnshire

  1

  2

  2

  4

  5

  Merseyside

  136

  123

  144

  162

  134

  Norfolk

  8

  22

  23

  45

  30

  North Wales

  3

  1

  0

  3

  4

  North Yorkshire

  5

  6

  12

  20

  22

  264
  wheel clamping. One hundred and twelve of these concerned clamping on private land, the others related to clamping on public roads.

  A Home Office consultation paper concerning wheel clamping on private land was published on 23 February this year and sent to all hon. Members. The closing date for comments is 31 May.

  Cults
  Mr. Dickens
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider setting up a working party to conduct a study of the recruitment methods used by secret cults in the United Kingdom and to advise if legislation would be appropriate.

  Mr. Jack
  The Government do not plan to set up such a working party. Nor do the Government consider it appropriate to legislate specifically in this area. The existing criminal law is adequate to deal with any offences committed by members of a new religious movement or sect.

  Racial Assaults
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in how many cases brought to court during the last year of assault involving racial motivation the defendants were juveniles;

  (2) what information his Department has as to the numbers of reported or recorded racial attacks for the latest three years (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in London; and in how many of these cases a conviction was obtained;

  (3) in how many cases brought to court during the last year involving racial motivation the defendants were granted bail; and how many of these were cases of murder.

  Mr. Jack
  The only information held centrally relates to the number of reported racial incidents in England and Wales and is given in the table.
  265

  Forces

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Northamptonshire

  n/a

  72

  66

  60

  120

  Northumbria

  242

  217

  289

  376

  349

  Nottinghamshire

  4

  27

  135

  221

  222

  South Wales

  86

  94

  308

  385

  311

  South Yorkshire

  n/a

  52

  117

  124

  151

  Staffordshire

  15

  44

  101

  158

  95

  Suffolk

  46

  62

  74

  75

  55

  Surrey

  13

  7

  7

  50

  61

  Sussex

  15

  141

  92

  98

  98

  Thames Valley

  94

  128

  171

  201

  195

  Warwickshire

  27

  21

  44

  32

  35

  West Mercia

  0

  6

  13

  3

  19

  West Midlands

  382

  169

  268

  445

  379

  West Yorkshire

  386

  306

  254

  322

  218

  Wiltshire

  37

  19

  25

  29

  24

  Provincial total

  2,169

  2,347

  3,451

  4,509

  4,566

  Metropolitan police

  2,214

  2,697

  2,908

  3,373

  3,227

  England and Wales total

  4,383

  5,044

  6,359

  7,882

  7,793

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Soviet Union
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will increase the proportion of the Overseas Development Administration's budget devoted to the problems currently being experienced in the former Soviet Union; what criteria he uses to allocate priorities between different parts of the world; and if the will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We provide substantial assistance to the former Soviet Union and recently announced the doubling of our bilateral aid for Russia.

  Baltic States
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new proposals he has to extend the scope of the know-how fund in the Baltic states.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The know-how fund is considering new proposals which will benefit the agriculture, finance and small business and energy sectors and promote good government.

  Nagorno-Karabakh
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department is playing in helping the Azeris of Nagorno-Karabakh.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  It is not possible to identify assistance specifically provided to the Azeris of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, since December 1992 the ODA has provided £750,000 in response to appeals by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Through these organisations we have provided relief assistance to both Azeris and Armenians displaced by the conflict whether they be in Azerbaijan, Armenia or Norgorno-Karabakh itself.

  Food Aid
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people are estimated now to be receiving British food relief on a regular basis; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Most United Kingdom food aid is for relief purposes and is not targeted to any group of people on a regular basis. In 1992–93 the United Kingdom supplied over 244,000 tonnes of food aid to developing countries, in addition to paying for our share of European Community food aid. This would in theory be enough to provide around 1·4 million people with their basic needs for a year. But in practice no single group is wholly dependent on food aid from the United Kingdom.

  Yugoslavia
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are to send humanitarian convoys to Goradze and Zepa in Bosnia.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which co-ordinates the international relief effort to the former Yugoslavia, is making every effort to deliver relief supplies to Gorazde and Zepa. But over the last few months it has only been possible to reach these towns sporadically by road convoy because of the continuing hostilities. The United Kingdom has contributed 58 vehicles plus support staff to UNHCR's road convoys.

  However, supplies are presently being airdropped to Gorazde, Srebrenica and Zepa. The United Kingdom has provided almost £600,000 of food for the air drops.

EDUCATION

  Environmental Studies
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what plans he has to introduce environmental studies into the national curriculum;

  (2) what initiatives promoting environmental awareness in schools his Department supports; and what funding is available for these initiatives.
  267
  Mr. Forth
  All pupils receive education about the environment through the national curriculum core and foundation subjects, the terms of which are set out in the statutory orders and associated documents issued by the Department. The Government will support £85 million of local education authority expenditure on the basic curriculum and assessment in 1993–94 which will be mainly devolved to schools to spend either on training or on books and equipment; and a further £25 million on training to enhance primary teachers' knowledge in specific subjects, including geography which has particular relevance to environmental education.

  Tests
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what rights under statute and remedy against failure parents of children at each of the key stages have to see that their children are tested this term; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Section 10 of the Education Reform Act 1988 imposes a duty on head teachers of maintained schools to secure the implementation of the national curriculum, including the assessment arrangements at the end of the key stages. Local education authorities and governing bodies are under a corresponding duty to exercise their functions so as to secure its implementation.

  Teachers' conditions of employment require them to assess, record and report on the development, progress and attainment of pupils, under the reasonable direction of the head teacher, and having regard to the curriculum for the school.

  Parents who believe that LEAs or governing bodies are failing to discharge a statutory duty associated with the national curriculum should in the first instance complain through the local complaints machinery, provided for in section 23 of the Education Reform Act. If their complaint is not satisfactorily dealt with, they may then complain to the Secretary of State who may give directions to the LEA or governing body concerned, under section 99 of the Education Act 1944, if he considers this is appropriate.

  Special Educational Needs
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what action he is taking to ensure that children's special educational needs are being identified and met at the earliest possible stage;

  (2) what action he is taking to improve the information and support available to parents during the full assessment and drawing up of statements on children with special educational needs.

  Mr. Forth
  The Education Bill, currently before Parliament, provides for the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice which will give practical guidance to which LEAs must have regard when fulfilling their duties towards children with SEN. The Government have tabled amendments in another place, which, if accepted, would ensure that the code applied to all LEA maintained and self-governing (GM) schools and offered those schools guidance on early action to identify, assess and monitor pupils with special educational needs. The Government envisage one of the guiding principles of the code will be that it should promote partnership between LEAs and parents, not least by ensuring that parents are kept fully informed of the authority's thinking and the reasons 268
  behind an authority's decisions at all stages of the process of making assessments and statements. The guidance will be tightly defined to ensure that all children who need an assessment and subsequently a statement are properly safeguarded and will ensure that full parental involvement is encouraged at all stages.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Road Schemes
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the costs and benefits of(a) the Comber bypass, (b) the Balloo road stage 3 Bangor, (c) the A5 Burndenneth, (d) the Ann street/Thomas street, Dungannon, (e) the A5 Magheramason, (f) the A5 Leckpatrick, (g) the Antrim-Ballymena stage 2, (h) the Greenmount link, Coleraine, (i) the Omagh throughpass stage 2, (j) the Belfast urban area plan roads (95/96) and (k) the Belfast urban area plan roads (96/97) road schemes.

  Mr. Atkins
  Economic and environmental assessments of these road improvement schemes have been undertaken. The assessments showed that each scheme was good value for money.

  House Conversion, Donaghadee
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date Donaghadee urban district council, as planning authority, gave planning permission for the conversion of Warren house, Warren avenue, Donaghadee, into two flats.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Department does not have records of the planning decisions made by Donaghadee urban district council.

  Rates
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the outstanding demand for rates unpaid in due time; and what steps are being taken for this collection.

  Mr. Atkins
  Responsibility for rate collection has been delegated to the Rate Collection Agency under its chief executive, Mr. D. Gallagher. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from D. W. Gallagher to Mr. Peter Robinson dated 26 April 1993:
  You recently asked a Parliamentary Question about overdue outstanding rates and the steps that are taken to collect them. As I am responsible for the Rate Collection Agency the Secretary of State has asked me to reply.
  Overdue outstanding rates in Northern Ireland at 31 March 1993 amounted to £6·71 million or 1·84 per cent. of a total collectable rate of £364·97 million. At 31 March 1992 overdue outstanding rates were £7·24 million or 1·99 per cent. of a total collectable rate of £364·8 million.
  If rates are not paid on time by one of the prescribed payment methods a ratepayer will be sent a Final Demand following which he/she will be issued with a summons (Process in Debt Proceedings) for the Magistrates Court where the Agency will seek a Decree for the amount outstanding. Ratepayers who remain unwilling or unable to discharge their debts then become liable to enforcement action by the Enforcement of Judgments Office or to further legal action under Insolvency Legislation.

  269
  Copies of the Rate Collection Agency's 1991/92 Annual Report have been placed in the House of Common's Library. This report contains statistical information about rate collection and recovery activity.
  Should you require further information please let me know.

  Terrorism
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has sent copies of the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland" to the Northern Ireland Law Society and the Northern Ireland Bar Council.

  Mr. Mates
  I am not prepared to disclose to whom copies of this confidential consultative paper have been sent.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland" has been discussed by the Anglo-Irish secretariat.

  Mr. Mates
  I am not prepared to disclose with whom the Government have had discussions about this confidential consultative paper.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those organisations which received copies of the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland", indicating the date which they were dispatched and the date and from whom responses were received.

  Mr. Mates
  No.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will now forward to the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, NIACRA, the constitutional political parties in Northern Ireland and parties represented in this House, copies of the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland".

  Mr. Mates
  I will consider requests for copies from individuals and organisations as they arise.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights was not sent a copy of the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland".

  Mr. Mates
  I am not prepared to disclose whether or not a particular individual or organisation received a copy of the confidential consultative paper.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place copies of the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland" in all the public libraries in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Mates
  No.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will extend the period for responses to the consultation paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the 270
  Construction Industry in Northern Ireland" until 30 June to enable those bodies and persons previously unaware of the paper to make responses.

  Mr. Mates
  I will be grateful to receive responses at any time.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to introduce legislation based on his proposals contained in the consultative paper "Terrorist Exploitation of the Construction Industry in Northern Ireland" and the responses to it.

  Mr. Mates
  Our ideas are at a formative stage, and it would be premature to announce our intention to legislate or to establish a timetable for possible legislation.

  Cormorants
  Mr. A. Cecil Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cormorants were killed under licence to prevent serious damage to fisheries in Northern Ireland in each year since 1985 and 1993 to date.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information is as follows:

  Cormorants recorded as being killed under licence

  Year

  Number

  1985

  5

  1986

  24

  1987

  99

  1988

  41

  1989

  36

  1990

  35

  1991

  87

  1992

  82

  1993

  1—

  1 Not yet available.

  Mr. A. Cecil Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many licences were(a) applied for and (b) issued, under section 18 of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 to permit the killing of cormorants to prevent serious damage to fisheries in Northern Ireland for each year since 1985 and 1993.

  Mr. Atkins
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  Licences applied for

  Licences issued

  1985

  1

  1

  1986

  6

  6

  1987

  14

  14

  1988

  18

  15

  1989

  18

  18

  1990

  24

  20

  1991

  17

  17

  1992

  18

  18

  11993

  12

  11

  1 To 22 April.

  Rates
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show the rateable value of(a) each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland, (b) each council area in Northern Ireland, (c) each district electoral area in each council area

  271
  and (d) each ward; and if he will indicate the rates due from each of the areas and the average sum due per elector in each such area or as much of such information as is conveniently available to him.

  Mr. Atkins
  Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Rates Collection Agency under its chief executive, Mr. David Gallagher.

  Letter from D. W. Gallagher to Mr. William Ross, dated 26 April 1993:
  As I am responsible for the Rate Collection Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to a Parliamentary

  District council

  Rateable value

  Gross collectable rate

  Number of electors1

  Average sum due per elector £

  Antrim

  13,086,494

  10,905,708

  30,958

  352

  Ards

  15,968,462

  12,620,098

  49,716

  254

  Armagh

  9,827,200

  7,901,448

  36,703

  215

  Ballymena

  14,165,158

  11,592,839

  42,640

  272

  Ballymoney

  4,777,996

  3,761,182

  17,865

  211

  Banbridge

  7,477,586

  5,946,285

  27,052

  220

  Belfast

  121,120,370

  108,778,912

  208,590

  521

  Carrickfergus

  9,510,523

  8,005,775

  25,124

  319

  Castlereagh

  14,062,542

  10,944,271

  47,998

  228

  Coleraine

  14,517,282

  11,619,154

  37,328

  311

  Cookstown

  5,393,031

  4,276,577

  21,813

  196

  Craigavon

  19,153,959

  16,036,148

  54,814

  293

  Downpatrick

  12,448,020

  10,053,421

  41,228

  244

  Dungannon

  7,930,857

  6,238,648

  32,669

  191

  Fermanagh

  10,293,054

  8,410,694

  39,608

  212

  Larne

  8,327,225

  7,152,082

  22,601

  316

  Limavady

  5,523,861

  4,442,493

  19,683

  226

  Lisburn

  23,603,567

  18,922,139

  70,664

  268

  Derry

  26,976,839

  22,307,967

  64,136

  348

  Magherafelt

  6,154,202

  4,833,848

  25,856

  187

  Moyle

  3,234,579

  2,483,773

  10,710

  232

  Newry

  16,080,018

  12,843,613

  57,339

  224

  Newtownabbey

  21,181,377

  17,892,255

  56,106

  319

  North Down

  19,738,968

  15,649,106

  55,057

  284

  Omagh

  9,299,768

  7,777,179

  31,404

  248

  Strabane

  6,060,584

  4,942,891

  25,542

  194

  Total

  425,913,522

  356,338,506

  1,153,204

  309

  1 Information provided by Electoral Office.

HEALTH

  Medicines (Licences)
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many licences the Medicines Control Agency has(a) issued and (b) refused each year since April 1989; and how many licences have been issued each year since 1989' in response to applications from other EC countries.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The figures shown in the table relate to product licences only for the three years up until March 1992. Figures from April 1992 to March 1993 are not yet available. Manufacturers' licences, wholesale dealer and parallel import product licences have been excluded. The numbers of refusals relate to formal refusals; in many cases, applicants chose to withdraw their applications rather than pursue them to a formal refusal. No separate records are maintained which would enable the Medicines Control Agency readily to identify product licence applications arising from other EC countries.272
  Question recently put down by you. This related to rateable value, rates due and the average sum due per elector in each parliamentary constituency, district council area, each district electoral area and each ward in Northern Ireland.
  Unfortunately all of the information you seek is not available. However I am able to provide statistics on a district council basis, and these are set out on the attached schedule.
  Rateable values and the number of electors, but not rates data can be provided on a ward basis. However rating due is at present being revised to reflect the outcome of the recent Local Government Boundaries Commission Review and this information will become available during July.
  I will write to you again at that time.

  Product licences issued

  Applications refused

  April 1989 to March 1990

  663

  3

  April 1990 to March 1991

  728

  0

  April 1991 to March 1992

  883

  5

  Mental Health
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her Department's forthcoming survey on mental health.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is carrying out the first national survey to assess the extent of psychiatric morbidity in Great Britain. The survey, due to be completed in 1995, will provide information on the nature and extent of psychiatric illnesses among adults and will enquire into any associated social disabilities; the variation in the use of health, social and voluntary care services; and the risk factors associated with mental illness. The survey information will form a baseline against which changes in the health and social functioning of people with a mental illness can be
  273
  measured, thus providing a means of assessing progress towards achieving the targets set out in our White Paper, "The Health of the Nation" (Cm 1986).

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 5 February,Official Report, column 377–78, if she will give details of the ethnic origin of those detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 during each year from 1984 to 1986 in the North West Thames, North East Thames, South East Thames and South West Thames areas; what assessment she has made of the extent of and the reasons for the discrepancy between such detentions in those areas compared with other regions; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  This information is not available centrally.

  Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will introduce regulations for the registration of hypnotherapists and psychotherapists.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have no such plans.

  Community Care
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking to improve access to community care services for elderly people of Asian origin and other ethnic minorities.

  Mr. Yeo
  Responsibility for ensuring proper access to community care services for all groups rests with local authorities. To help local authorities do this the Department:

  (a) issued policy guidance about ensuring that assessment of community care needs is accessible to people from ethnic minority backgrounds and that services are appropriate (copies are available in the Library);

  (b) issued practice guidance on care management and assessment which draws specific attention to the needs of ethnic minority communities and is developing further practice guidance on ethnic minority issues (copies are available in the Library);

  (c) produced audio cassettes about community care in seven minority languages;

  (d) grant aids the race equality unit, which advises local authorities on good practice in the delivery of personal social services to people from minority groups.

  Psychologists
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received concerning the statutory registration of psychologists; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received concerning the statutory registration of psychologists; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  We have received representations from the British Psychological Society and are considering whether psychologists employed by the national health service should be required to be chartered.

  Orthopaedics Units
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many small orthopaedic specialised hospital units have been closed in the past two years.
  274
  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commissioned on the effect of the closure of small hospital units that specialise in orthopaedics on waiting times for hip or knee replacements.

  Mr. Sackville
  None. The patients charter guarantees that all patients waiting for hip or knee replacement operations will be treated within a maximum of 18 months. Latest waiting time figures show that the number of orthopaedic patients waiting more than a year fell by over 45 per cent. in the year to September 1992.

  Pharmacists
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will review the working practices of the Prescription Pricing Authority in respect of the remuneration of pharmacists; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No.

  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about the proposed changes to community pharmacists' pay.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have received a number of representations about our proposals for restructuring pharmacists' remuneration. We shall take these into account in the further discussions we shall be having with the pharmacists' representatives.

  General Practitioners
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to restrict the ability of general practitioners to work in single-handed practices; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None.

  Dentistry
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many salaried dentists are currently employed within each health district in England.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information provided by the Dental Practice Board by family health services authority area at 31 December 1992 is shown in the table. The information relating to the first quarter of 1993 is not yet available.

  Salaried dentists for each family health services authority 31 December 1992

  Family Health Services Authority

  Number of salaried dentists employed

  Buckinghamshire

  1

  Cambridgeshire

  2

  City and East London

  8

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  2

  Derbyshire

  1

  Essex

  2

  Greenwich and Bexley

  8

  Kensington, Westminster and Chelsea

  8

  Kent

  3

  275

  Family Health Services Authority

  Number of salaried dentists employed

  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham

  27

  Liverpool

  2

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth

  1

  Salford

  1

  Somerset

  4

  West Sussex

  1

  Total

  71

  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health where the pilot scheme is operating which has been agreed between her Department and the British Dental Association for financial assistance towards the setting up or expansion of dental practices within family health services authorities; what is the cost to date of the scheme; how many practices have been awarded assistance; what plans there are to extend the scheme; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The 68 family health services authorities taking part in the pilot scheme, aimed at encouraging dentists to set up or expand their practices in areas which need more dentists, are:

  Avon

  Barking/Havering

  Barnet

  Barnsley

  Bedfordshire

  Berkshire

  Birmingham

  Buckinghamshire

  Calderdale

  Cambridgeshire

  Camden/Islington

  City/East London

  Cornwall/Isles of Scilly

  Coventry

  Cumbria

  Derbyshire

  Devon

  Doncaster

  Dorset

  Durham

  Ealing/Hammersmith/Hounslow

  East Sussex

  Enfield/Haringey

  Essex

  Gateshead

  Greenwich/Bexley

  Hampshire

  Hillingdon

  Humberside

  Isle of Wight

  Kensington/Chelsea/Westminster

  Kent

  Kingston/Richmond

  Kirklees

  Lambeth/Southwark/Lewisham

  Lancashire

  Leeds

  Leicestershire

  Lincolnshire

  Liverpool

  Manchester

  Merton/Sutton/Wandsworth

  Norfolk

  Northamptonshire

  North Yorkshire

  Nottingham

  Oxfordshire

  Redbridge/Waltham Forest

  Rotherham

  276

  St. Helens/Knowsley

  Salford

  Sandwell

  Sefton

  Sheffield

  Shropshire

  Solihull

  South Tyneside

  Staffordshire

  Stockport

  Surrey

  Suffolk

  Sunderland

  Trafford

  Wakefield

  Walsall

  West Sussex

  Wiltshire

  Wolverhampton

  Since 1989 when the scheme started, the Department has spent over £720,000 and 140 practices have benefited. An assessment of the scheme is being undertaken and any decisions about its future will be made in the light of the outcome of the assessment.

  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the number of dentists who offer NHS patients the option of a Denplan care programme as an alternative.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None. Private dental treatment is entirely a matter between individual patients and dentists.

  Child Migrants
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the present level of funding for the Child Migrants Trust; and what future support is envisaged;

  (2) what action she will take to advise relatives of child migrants of the present locations of persons who left the United Kingdom prior to 1967; and if she will make a statement;

  (3) what action she will take to assist child migrants living abroad to receive details of family background and to re-establish United Kingdom family contact.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Department has no information regarding the location of former child migrants. There are no plans to assist directly. The Department has provided funds to the Child Migrant Trust which provides a record tracing and advisory service. The trust has been awarded a grant of £25,000 for this year. Decisions about future funding will be taken at the appropriate time.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what dialogue she has undertaken with health departments in(a) Australia, (b) New Zealand and (c) Canada concerning the welfare of United Kingdom child migrants;

  (2) what dialogue she has undertaken with the (a) Australian, (b) New Zealand and (c) Canadian Governments in order to identify and provide support services and advice to United Kingdom child migrants.

  Mr. Yeo
  None.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has available identifying the number of child migrants who have located and rejoined their families in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Yeo
  None.

  Ambulance Service
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes are planned in the pay of the ambulance service in the 1993–94 financial year.

  Mr. Sackville
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in her letter of 12 November 1992 to national health service employing bodies, including NHS trusts, the limits she expected to be applied to pay settlements throughout the NHS in the year from that date, a copy of which was deposited in the Library. In that context, offers of an increase of 1·5 per cent. in pay and allowances for the 1993–94 year have been made for those ambulance personnel whose pay is negotiated centrally. Information is not available about pay settlements for staff on NHS trust-specific terms and conditions.

  Drug Prescribing
  Mr. Couchman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sources, independent of her Department and of the pharmaceutical industry, have been used by the Advisory Committee on National Health Service Drugs since 1985 to obtain advice on the costs of the products considered for inclusion on the selected list or on the impact of their actions on other national health service costs.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Advisory Committee on National Health Service Drugs is an independent body of experts whose members use whatever sources they consider necessary to obtain advice and information for their deliberations.

  Mr. Couchman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what are the elements of the costs of administering the selected list scheme;

  (2) what has been the cost of the administration of the selected list in each year of its operation; and what is the estimated cost for 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The cost elements of administering the selected list scheme are those incurred in running the Advisory Committee on National Health Service Drugs and of providing departmental administrative support for the Committee. This amounted to £55,000 in 1991–92. Figures for earlier years are not available but the costs have remained constant in real terms since the inception of the scheme in 1985. An increase of around 50 per cent. is forecast for 1993–94 to deal with the extra work of reviewing the 10 new categories of drugs. Costs thereafter are expected to reduce to the earlier levels.

  Hepatitis and Dysentry
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of hepatitis and dysentery there have been in England for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information is shown in the tables.

  Number of cases notified for Viral Hepatitis in England, 1987–1991

  Hepatitis A

  Hepatitis B

  Non A-Non B

  Other/Not Known

  Total

  1987

  1,797

  420

  241

  823

  3,281

  1988

  3,093

  374

  334

  1,067

  4,868

  1989

  5,210

  409

  249

  1,074

  6,942

  1990

  7,165

  419

  162

  1,002

  8,748

  1991

  7,186

  471

  149

  693

  8,499

  278

  Number of cases notified for dysentery in England, 1987–91

  Number

  1987

  3,333

  1988

  3,601

  1989

  3,162

  1990

  2,521

  1991

  8,963

  Health Authorities
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each family health services authority the remuneration paid to chief executives and non-executive directors.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Chief executives of family health services authorities (FHSAs) are remunerated in range of £33,160 to £60,650 per year according to the size of the FHSA. All non-executive directors are remunerated at the rate of £5,000 per year.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the remuneration paid to chief executives and non-executive directors of district health authorities.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Chief executives of district health authorities (DHAs) are remunerated in the range of £41,830 to £69,990 per year according to the size of the DHA. All non-executive directors are remunerated at the rate of £5,000 per year.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list for each family health services authority the names of the chief executives and all non-executive directors;

  (2) if she will list for each district health authority the names of the chief executive and all non-executive directors.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally. The appointment of chief executives to family health services authorities (FHSAs) and district health authorities (DHAs) is not carried out by Ministers, but is a matter for the FHSAs and DHAs themselves. Non-executive directors of FHSAs and DHAs are appointed by the appropriate regional health authority.

  AIDS
  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the United Kingdom have developed AIDS.

  Mr. Sackville
  Up to 31 March 1993, 7,341 AIDS cases had been reported.

  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total Government expenditure on HIV/AIDS medical research; and if she will provide an estimate of total expenditure from all sources on HIV/AIDS medical research.

  Mr. Sackville
  The cumulative total of Government funding for AIDS research for the financial years 1986–87 to 1992–93 is £105,239,000. Information about expenditure from non-governmental sources is not available centrally.
  279
  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total expenditure from her Department in support of HIV and AIDS counselling, awareness and education programmes.

  Mr. Sackville
  Between 1985–86 and 1993–94 the Government have allocated £85 million to the development of the national AIDS public education campaign, including the running costs of the national AIDS helpline and related telephone services. The sum of 11·5 million is being made available in 1993–94.

  The table shows the Department of Health and health education authority spend for the development of the national HIV and AIDS public education work including the running costs of the national AIDS helpline and related telephone information services. Not shown in the table are the sums spent by other Government Departments on HIV prevention work within their own spheres of interest.

  HIV and AIDS public education

  Department of Health (£ million)

  HEA (£ million)

  1984–85

  Nil

  —

  1985–86

  0·52

  —

  1986–87

  7·60

  —

  1987–88

  6·74

  4–47

  1988–89

  —

  10·00

  1989–90

  —

  12·00

  1990–91

  —

  10·00

  1991–92

  —

  11·00

  1992–93

  —

  11·225

  Since 1989–90 contributions have also been made towards the costs incurred by regional and district health authorities in the development of local HIV prevention activities. Regional AIDS (Control) Act 1987 reports since 1989–90 record expenditure on local HIV prevention initiatives as follows:

  £ million

  1989–90

  13·4

  1990–91

  23·4

  1991–92

  27·95

  Figures for 1992–93 are not yet available though they are expected to reflect a steady increase in the development of district based HIV prevention work.

  Figures recording the total spent on all aspects of health promotion are not collected centrally. However, the Government continue to spend more on HIV and AIDS education than on any other single health promotion programme.

  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many United Kingdom citizens are HIV positive.

  Mr. Sackville
  Up to 31 March 1993, 19,524 reports of persons testing positive for HIV had been received. The true number of infected people will undoubtedly be higher as some will not have been tested.

  Immunisation
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage uptake of immunisations in each year since 1980 by district health authorities and FHSAs 280
  for (a) MMR, (b) rubella, (c) under-two diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and (d) pre-school diphtheria, tetanus and polio and BCG, together with the source of this information.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information on vaccination and immunisation by family health services authority is not available centrally.

  Figures for the two-year uptake of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio by district health authority have been published in the Department of Health publication "Vaccination and Immunisation" since 1987–88, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the latest edition of "Vaccination and Immunisation" based on forms KC50, KC50A and KC51.

  Mr. Sackville
  The latest edition available is for the period 1990–91, a copy of which is in the Library.

  Comfrey
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement indicating the total number of cases in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the world of human veno-occlusive liver disease attributable directly to comfrey consumption; and what percentage of the total incidence of this condition these figures represented in the years in which they arose.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally. However, table 15, pages 184–191, of the World Health Organisation's "Environmental Health Criteria 80", 1988, lists cases of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning and human reports of veno-occlusive disease from the United Kingdom and many other countries. All these cases are linked to the consumption of plants, including comfrey, which contain the toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, in its recent statement on the safety-in-use of comfrey, refers to an additional two cases of veno-occlusive disease reported since 1988, one in the USA and one in New Zealand.

  Copies of the World Health Organisation publication, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's analysis of comfrey products, the advice of the Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment and the Food Advisory Committee together with a draft information note are available in the Library.

WALES

  Forestry Commission
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to change the existing status for the Forestry Commission in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I refer the hon. and learned Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, Moorlands (Mr. Knox) on 30 March 1993,Official Report, column 150.

  Unadopted Sewers
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make funding available to enable water public limited companies and local authorities to upgrade existing unadoptable sewers to adoptable standards; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Responsibility for uprating unadopted sewers to adoptable standards rests with the owners. Sections 104 and 105 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended) provide an adequate mechanism to allow unadopted sewers to be adopted by the relevant authority and include provision for appeals to the Director General of Water Services in the event that adoption is refused.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to set up and fund a programme of survey work designed to measure the extent of unadopted sewers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  None.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has as to how many households in Wales have unadopted sewers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  This information is not available centrally.

  Water Disconnections
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give figures for the number of disconnections of domestic water supply for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information the hon. Member requested is set out in the following table. Separate data for domestic disconnections are not available for 1987–88 and 1988–89. Information on statutory water company disconnections was not collected prior to 1988–89.

  Disconnections by water companies in Wales1

  Number

  Domestic and non-domestic disconnections

  21987–88

  2,067

  1988–89

  1,249

  Domestic disconnections

  1989–90

  1,356

  1990–91

  1,305

  1991–92

  2,951

  31992–93

  1,072

  1 Dwr Cymru Cyf, Chester Waterworks Company and Wrexham and East Denbighshire Water Company.

  2 Excluding Chester Waterworks Company and Wrexham and East Denbighshire Water Company.

  3 Half year ended 30 September 1992.

  Hepatitis and Dysentery
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of hepatitis and dysentery there have been in each year since 1987.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The numbers of notifications of viral hepatitis and dysentery in Wales in each year since 1987 are shown in the table:282

  Viral hepatitis

  Dysentery

  1987

  98

  283

  1988

  194

  91

  1989

  129

  115

  1990

  257

  235

  1991

  360

  972

  19921

  481

  676

  1 1992 data are provisional.

  Notes:

  Viral hepatitis, which includes all forms of hepatitis, was notifiable as infective jaundice prior to 1989.

  Dysentery includes amoebic and bacillary dysentery.

  Source: Office of Population Censuses and Surveys Communicable Disease Statistics (MB2 series).

  Careers Services
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many careers services organisations of the eight county councils have opted to become(a) part of the nearest training and enterprise council, (b) free-standing organisations, (c) partnership organisations and (d) other; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Voluntary partnerships between training and enterprise councils and the careers services of local education authorities have been established in all Welsh counties. We shall be looking closely at the progress of these partnerships before deciding on what arrangements might apply in the future, as a result of legislation proposed in the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Roger Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he intends to cap any Welsh authorities for 1993–94; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Local authorities in Wales have now set their budgets and council tax for 1993–94. Almost all have budgeted within or very close to the limits implied by the provisional capping criteria I announced last December.

  The provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 require me to determine capping principles for a class of authority prior to announcing a decision to cap any authority of that class.

  In the light of careful consideration of their budgets and all other relevant considerations I have now decided my capping principles for district councils.

  The principles I have adopted broadly give effect to the provisional criteria I announced to the House last December with one modification. I have included a de minimis proviso to avoid designation in cases where the reduction which could be secured by capping would be less than £1·50 per band D household. Full details of my principles have, this afternoon, been placed in the Library of the House.

  On the basis of these principles I have designated Aberconwy borough council for capping. Its 1993–94 budget is £8,734,695 and I have proposed a cap of £8,566,950. The original council tax for a two adult band D dwelling was £69. The reduction implied by the proposed cap is £8.
  283
  On the basis of all the information currently available to me, I am satisfied that my proposed cap is reasonable and appropriate in all the circumstances of the authority and that the reduction I propose is achievable this year.

  If Aberconwy wishes to accept the amount proposed, it now has 28 days in which to do so. It can also challenge my proposal within 28 days, suggesting an alternative figure together with reasons for it, and in those circumstances it is open to me to set the final cap at a different level from the one I originally proposed. If Aberconwy does not accept my proposed cap, I will seek the approval of the House for a draft order confirming the cap.

  Within 21 days of the final cap having been set, Aberconwy must set a new budget requirement reflecting the cap; and this will feed through to the council tax. I expect that by the end of June Aberconwy will have calculated a new budget requirement leading to a reduced level of council tax.

  I propose shortly to apply to the High Court for leave to seek a judicial review of the council tax calculations made by Gwent county council for 1993–94. If leave is granted by the court, the judicial review could result in the authority making new budget requirement and council tax calculations. For this reason, I do not consider it appropriate to make a decision on my capping principles for county councils until such time as this matter is resolved. However, on the basis of the budgetary information available to me, I see no reason to pursue the matter of designation in respect of the other county councils in Wales.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Grey Herons
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many grey herons were killed under licence in England and Wales in each year since 1988, to prevent serious damage to fisheries.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  Number

  1988

  0

  1989

  0

  1990

  0

  1991

  5

  1992

  11

  1993

  11

  1 Returns of action taken under licence still awaited, so figures may not be final totals.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice on non-lethal preventive measures is given to those applying for licences to kill grey herons under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to prevent serious damage to fisheries.

  Mr. Soames
  All applicants receive a site visit carried out by the Agricultural Development Advisory Service which advises on the appropriate use of methods to prevent or deter herons from feeding at the site. These can include the use of physical proofing, such as netting over of small ponds, and the use of audible and visual bird scarers, including pyrotechnic devices.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many licences were(a) applied
  284
  for and (b) issued under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to permit the killing of grey herons in England and Wales for each year since 1988, to prevent serious damage to fisheries.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Applications received

  Licences issued

  1988

  3

  1

  1989

  3

  1

  1990

  2

  0

  1991

  1

  1

  1992

  6

  14

  Totals

  15

  7

  1 In two of these cases the applications were received in 1992 but the licences were not issued until January 1993.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence of serious damage to fisheries is required before a licence under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to permit killing of grey herons is issued.

  Mr. Soames
  Applicants are required to demonstrate that herons are causing serious economic damage to their fishery enterprise and that other methods of preventing or reducing that damage have been tried or are impractical.

  Fishery Inspectors
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fishery inspectors have been employed in total in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how many fishery inspectors or their equivalent have been employed in each of the other EC countries in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Curry
  The number of British sea fisheries officers employed by the fisheries Departments in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years is as follows:

  Number

  1990

  181

  1991

  182

  1992

  205

  Comparable information is not readily available for other EC countries.

  Comfrey
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to meet in the near future representatives of the Action Group for the Relief of Pain and Distress or the Society for the Promotion of Nutritional Therapy to discuss the ban on the sale of comfrey products.

  Mr. Soames
  I met last month with representatives of a number of organisations, including the Society for the Promotion of Nutritional Therapy, in relation to the withdrawal of certain comfrey products. I have no plans for further meetings in the near future.

  EC Agriculture Spending
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will set out the amounts of the five main EC agricultural spending programmes for the last
  285
  year in which figures are available for each EC country, with the best available estimate in each case of the amount that has been fraudulently misapplied.

  Mr. Curry
  It is not possible to estimate the extent of fraud in the common agricultural policy since, by definition, undetected fraud cannot be measured. However, all member states report cases of EAGGF guarantee-funded irregularity—the definition of which goes wider than fraud). Details of the number and value of cases reported in 1991 are given in annex 20 of the 21st financial report on the European agricultural guidance and guarantee Fund—1991—guarantee section and food aid accounts clearance, a copy of which was placed in the Library. Annex 2 of this report also contains details of expenditure charged by sector and by member state against the 1991 EC Budget.

  Agricultural Land (Maps)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the Prime Minister's answer to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) of 20 April,Official REeport, column 181 on the integrated administration control system, what mapping documentation can be used as alternatives by farmers if they have difficulty obtaining maps of the right scale; and what further advice on this he has issued to his Ministry's offices and farmers' organisations.

  Mr. Curry
  We made clear in the IACS explanatory booklet sent to all farmers the procedure to be followed if they could not obtain the required maps or field reference numbers by the 15 May deadline for submission of the IACS application form. The advice to such farmers was to make sure they submitted the application before the deadline, together with an explanation of why any supporting detail could not be supplied, and give details of each field area and its location. Full details would be required later. My right hon. Friend the Minister has since announced that where existing maps of forage areas do not give field sizes, we will accept estimates. The location could be identified through a 1:25,000 map which is readily obtainable. The advice we have given to the Department's offices and farming organisations is that we should be as reasonable as we possibly can, within the rules of the scheme, over the submission of mapping documentation.

  Green Belt Farms
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what guidelines and advice his Department has published to encourage farms situated in the green belt to sell their own produce and that of their neighbours.

  Mr. Baldry
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given him today.

SCOTLAND

  Prison Stores
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland(a) if he will make a statement on the costs so far of market testing in relation to the central prison stores at Fauldhouse, West Lothian and what is his policy in relation to the future operation of prison stores.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The best estimate of cost to date, including staff time and consultancy fees, in connection with the market testing of the central prison stores is approximately £92,000. The future operation of the stores will be determined by the outcome of the market test.

  Hepatitis and Dysentery
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of hepatitis and dysentery there have been in each year since 1987.

  Mr. Stewart
  The number of cases of viral hepatitis and bacillary dysentery notified in Scotland since 1987 are as follows:

  Year

  Viral hepatitis

  Bacillary dysentery

  1987

  511

  344

  1988

  848

  196

  1989

  831

  154

  1990

  546

  235

  1991

  556

  1,526

  1992

  316

  3,506

  Infertility Treatment
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the implications for the funding secured for in vitro fertilisation treatment centres of his decision to cancel the funding of such centres; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 23 April 1993]:No decision was ever taken to provide central funding for in vitro fertilisation services in Scotland. There are therefore no funding implications.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Deaths, Waco
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the deaths of 24 British citizens in the inferno at Waco, Texas, on 19 April.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The 51-day siege by the FBI of the Branch Davidian compound headquarters in Waco, Texas, ended tragically on 19 April with the reported deaths of more than 80 men, women and children, 24 of them British citizens, including a six-year-old girl. Two British men and one British women survived. Throughout the siege we maintained close contact with the United States authorities, including the FBI. The President of the United States has ordered an inquiry into these events.

  International Criminal Court
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy toward the establishment of an international criminal court.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  It is clear that there are substantial legal, political and practical obstacles to establishing an international criminal court. The International Law Commission has for the last three years been actively addressing many of them. At the General Assembly last year, we supported the commission's request to be granted a mandate to draft a statute of an international criminal court as a matter of priority. We now await that draft and will give it careful consideration.

  Sellafield
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have received from(a) foreign Governments, (b) foreign parliamentarians and (c) foreign non-governmental organisations in regard to the proliferation and nuclear materials safeguards problems posed by the planned opening of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Since the THORP project was approved by Parliament in 1978 we have received a number of such representations from abroad, especially in categories B and C of the question. We recognise their non-proliferation responsibilities and would not permit any plutonium to be exported from THORP unless they were satisfied that the material would not be misused.

  Nuclear Non-proliferation
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation his Department had at the non-proliferation seminar at Rhodes house. Oxford on 21 April.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials attended the seminar.

  Iraq
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will reconsider Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the imposition of restrictions on the supply of medicines to Iraq.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  There are no restrictions on the supply of medicines to Iraq and they have never been prohibited under the terms of the United Nations sanctions regime against Iraq.

  China
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding Lord Howe's visit to China to discuss human rights; and if Lord Howe raised the matter of population control with the Chinese authorities.

  Mr. Goodlad
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) on 15 288
  March, Official Report, column 33. During his visit to China in December last year my right hon. and learned Friend Lord Howe raised a wide number of issues including questions relating to reducing China's population growth.

  EC Treaties
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the titles, dates signed and scope of each treaty unaffected by the Maastricht treaty in force between the United Kingdom and(a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Italy, (d) Spain, (e) Greece, (f) the Netherlands and (g) Portugal.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The information requested by the hon. Gentleman is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Yugoslavia
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of he will make a statement on his assessment of the British interest in the former Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have an important interest in peace and stability in the Balkans. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made clear in his statement to the House on 19 April, our objectives are to make the Bosnian Serbs and the Serb Government abandon the pursuit of their aims by the use of force; to prevent the fighting from spreading to Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia or elsewhere; to provide the wherewithal, through the Vance-Owen process, for a just political solution; and to relieve the needs of the hungry and sick.

  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received regarding protection of those Bosnian Muslims in Sebrenica who have surrendered their weapons to the United Nations from subsequent attack by the Serbs.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  None. UN Security Council resolution 819 demands the immediate cessation of attacks against Srebrenica and that all parties treat the town and its surroundings as a safe area. We have called on all parties to comply fully with this resolution and to co-operate with UNPROFOR in its efforts to monitor the humanitarian situation.

  EC Fraud
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which bodies and institutions can bring about investigations as to fraud in the European Commission; and which institutions can initiate publicity on fraudulent activities within the European Commission.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  It is open to any individual, company or other body to bring to the Commission's attention any perceived irregularities, and to publicise such changes as they wish. The Commission itself, like member states, has the main responsibility to ensure adequate controls are in place to prevent fraud and to bring to light any fraud that occurs. In addition to the Commission's internal controls, the Court of Auditors has a responsibility to examine all Community expenditure, including the Commission's
  289
  administrative budget, and report to the Council of Ministers and European Parliament. Largely as the result of United Kingdom proposals, the Maastricht treaty would introduce measures aimed at improving the protection of the Community's financial interests. These include:

  (i) enhanced status for the Court of Auditors as a Community institution, emphasising the importance of the court's role (Art 4);

  (ii) an explicit reference to the Commission's responsibility to implement the Budget with regard to the principles of sound financial management (Art 205);

  (iii) a requirement for the court to provide the Council and European Parliament with a statement of assurance on the reliability of the Community's accounts and on the legality and regularity of underlying transactions (Art 206s);

  (iv) appointment of an ombudsman, able to receive complaints from citizens of the union and others concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of the Community institutions (Art 138e);

  (v) enhanced powers for the European Parliament in scrutinising the implementation of the EC Budget and the discharge procedure (Art 206b), and in setting up temporary committees of inquiry (Art 138c);

  (vi) an explicit reference to the obligation on member states to counter EC fraud (Art 209a).

  Nepal
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the latest situation concerning human rights in Nepal.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We welcome the considerable improvement in Nepal's human rights record since the restoration of democracy in 1990.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Public Sector Pensions
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total unfunded liability of civil service and other public sector pensions and the amount by which that liability has increased or decreased in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Portillo
  The latest figures available for the liabilities of the main unfunded public service pension schemes in the United Kingdom relate to 31 March 1991. The estimated total liabilities of the present and former members accrued to that date are around £170 billion. The comparative figures requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Department

  1 April 1979 Staff

  1979–80 Pay £ million

  1991–92 Staff

  1991–92. Pay £ million

  Defence (including Armed Forces)

  577,000

  3,917

  445,000

  8,921

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office (including ODA)

  12,000

  135

  10,000

  362

  Agriculture

  15,000

  93

  11,000

  236

  Trade and Industry

  19,000

  145

  12,000

  271

  Employment

  54,000

  300

  53,000

  778

  Transport

  14,000

  80

  11,000

  205

  Environment

  53,000

  450

  24,000

  673

  Home Office

  34,000

  225

  48,000

  938

  Legal Departments

  18,000

  100

  29,000

  504

  Education

  21,000

  143

  3,000

  67

  Heritage

  1,000

  62

  1,000

  192

  Health (including NHS)

  929,000

  5,023

  879,000

  11,880

  Social Security

  94,000

  443

  78,000

  1,199

  Scotland

  13,000

  600

  13,000

  1,872

  Wales

  3,000

  400

  2,000

  826

  Northern Ireland

  29,000

  175

  29,000

  524

  290

  Valuation Office
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets will be set for the Valuation Office executive agency for the year 1993–94.

  Mr. Nelson
  I have set the following key targets for the agency in 1993–94.

  OPERATIONAL TARGETS
  Council tax
  To clear 280,000 appeals against the new council tax lists.
  Non-domestic rates
  To clear 295,000 appeals against the 1990 rating valuation lists.
  Direct taxes
  To undertake 112,000 valuation cases for the Inland Revenue concerning inheritance and capital gains taxes.
  Other
  To undertake 130,000 valuations for other government departments, public bodies and local authorities.
  Financial performance and cost efficiency
  To ensure that the agency's net operating costs are at least fully covered by receipts and to achieve efficiency savings of approximately 2·5 per cent. on its gross expenditure.
  Citizen's charter
  To reply to 90 per cent. of all correspondence within 28 days of receipt; and to achieve continuing improvements in timeliness and valuation standards in connection with casework of 1 per cent. per annum.
  Further details of the performance measures and targets are set out in the agency's business plan for 1993–94 and in its corporate plan, copies of which will be placed in the Library of the House on publication.

  Public Servants
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the numbers and costs of public servants paid out of the Consolidated Fund and local authorities revenues by (i) each Government Department and agency, (ii) all local authorities and (iii) other public bodies in 1979 and at the latest available date.

  Mr. Portillo
  The information is set out in the table. Executive agencies did not exist in 1979; agency figures for 1991–92 are included within the relevant departmental total.
  291

  Department

  1 April 1979 Staff

  1979–80 Pay £ million

  1991–92 Staff

  1991–92 Pay £ million

  Chancellor's Departments

  128,000

  600

  105,000

  1,738

  Cabinet Office and Other Central Government

  56,000

  138

  50,000

  381

  Total Central Government

  2,070,000

  13,029

  1,803,000

  31,568

  Local Authorities

  2,368,000

  12,843

  2,267,000

  34,311

  Debtor Countries
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further plans he has to alleviate the burden of debt owed by developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The United Kingdom has an excellent record of helping those developing countries with debt problems. It was a direct result of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's initiative for the poorest and most indebted countries following International Monetary Fund sponsored programmes of reform, that the Paris Club of major creditor Governments began implementing the Trinidad terms in December 1992. These provide for the equivalent of the cancellation of up to 50 per cent. of eligible bilateral official debt and a commitment on the part of creditors to examine the whole stock of such debt after a period of proven economic and financial responsibility. So far, 15 of the very poorest and most indebted countries have benefited, resulting in the equivalent debt cancellation of almost $1¾ billion. More will follow.

  The Government are, however, aware that for some of the most desperate cases the terms as currently applied will not be enough. For this reason, we are pursuing with our creditor country colleagues improvements in the terms. Specifically, we would like to see the degree of concessionality increased for those countries that need it and quicker action on the stock of debt for those countries that already have a proven track record of reform.

  The rationale for the policy is threefold: first, to protect as best we can the interests of taxpayers because their money is at risk when countries cannot repay their debts; secondly, to reduce debt to realistically manageable levels and thereby increase the recoveries received; thirdly, to promote development—for which simply writing off debt is not sufficient. Countries must practise sound social and economic policies to benefit from debt reduction as a catalyst for development.

  Insider Dealing
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of(a) prosecutions and (b) successful prosecutions under insider dealing control legislation in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Nelson
  In the last 12 months the prosecution of nine individuals, under the Companies Securities (Insider Dealing) Act 1985, has been concluded. Five prosecutions led to conviction.
  292

  Tax Refunds
  Mr. Madel
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the annual interest paid by the Exchequer caused by delay in making refunds on excessive assessments made by the Inland Revenue; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Inland Revenue aims to make repayments promptly as it recognises that hardship can occur if repayment is delayed whatever the reason. Interest on delayed repayments of overpaid tax—called repayment supplement—is added automatically where appropriate.

  The total amount of repayment supplement paid for 1991–92 was £76,116,026·51.

  Maastricht Treaty
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether moneys paid through the EC cohesion fund in advance of ratification of the Maastricht treaty are repayable if the treaty is not ratified; and if he will set out the relevant text.

  Sir John Cope
  The EC cohesion fund envisaged by the Maastricht treaty cannot be established before the treaty has been ratified. Accordingly, the Edinburgh European Council invited the Council to adopt, before 1 April 1993, a regulation to establish an interim cohesion financial instrument, based on article 235 of the present treaty. Since the regulation is based on the present treaty, the question of repayment of expenditure incurred under the interim instrument, if the Maastricht treaty were not to be ratified, does not arise.

  Fuel Bills (VAT)
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the revenue raised from his proposal to charge value added tax on supplies of fuel and power for domestic, residential and charity non-business use will be attributable to the standing charges paid by customers in their gas and electricity bills.

  Sir John Cope
  Standing charges account for around 12 per cent. of total expenditure on domestic fuel and power.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the revenues raised from his proposal to charge value added tax on supplies of fuel and power for domestic, residential and charity non-business use he expects to be paid(a) by charities and (b) by private households.

  Sir John Cope
  It is estimated that around 1 per cent. of the additional yield from extending VAT to all fuel and power is likely to be paid by charities. We expect almost all of the remaining additional yield will be in respect of private housholds, although there is no reliable information on the expenditure by non-private households on fuel and power.
  293
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Director General of Gas Supply or the Director General of Electricity Regulation on his proposal to charge value added tax on supplies of fuel and power for domestic, residential and charity non-business use.

  Sir John Cope
  My right hon. Friend has had no such discussions.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has met representatives of organisations for elderly people to discuss his proposal to charge value added tax on supplies of fuel and power for domestic, residential and charity non-business use.

  Sir John Cope
  No such meetings have been held.

  Football Pool Betting Duty
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the precise text of the terms of the agreement entered into by his Department with the Foundation for Sport and the Arts regarding the distribution of funds made available through the reduction in the football pool betting duty in 1991.

  Sir John Cope
  The conditions for the distribution of funds by the foundation are set out in its trust deed. My right hon. Friend's implementation of the reduction in pool betting duty from 40 per cent. to 37·5 per cent. indicated that he was content with these arrangements.

  Income Tax
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals he expects to become liable for income tax as a result of his proposal to freeze allowances in 1993–94; how many individuals he expects to cease to be liable for income tax at the standard rate as a result of his proposal to widen the lower rate band of income tax by £500 in 1993–94; and how many individuals he expects to become liable for the higher rate of income tax as a result of his proposal to freeze the basic rate limit in 1993–94.

  Mr. Dorrell
  About 300,000 more people will pay tax in 1993–94 under Budget proposals compared with statutory indexation of personal allowances. Increasing the lower rate band by £500 brings about 700,000 more taxpayers into the lower rate than if the lower rate limit had been indexed. Not changing the basic rate limit increases the number of higher rate taxpayers by 100,000 compared with indexation.

  Public Sector Finance
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table setting out the value of the public sector borrowing requirement in 1991–92 and 1992–93 together with the forecasts of each of these made in the budgets of 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993.

  Mr. Portillo
  The figures are set out in the table. The "Financial Statement and Budget Report" contains forecasts of the PSBR for only the current year and for the year ahead. PSBR estimates for 1991–92 and 1992–93 given in successive FSBRs prior to 1991 were projections, rather than forecasts, based on illustrative assumptions about the medium-term path of the economy.
  294

  £ billion

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Forecast made in:

  1991 FSBR

  7·9

  n.a.

  1992 FSBR

  13·8

  28·1

  1993 FSBR

  n.a.

  35·1

  Outturn

  13·8

  36·5

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish a table setting out the value of the public sector borrowing requirement as a proportion of gross domestic product at market prices for each financial year from 1963–64 onwards together with the value of public sector capital expenditure, including capital grants to the private sector, as a proportion of GDP at market prices over the same period.

  Mr. Portillo
  The figures requested are set out in the table. The size of the public sector has been reduced significantly over the past decade as a result of the privatisation programme.

  Public sector capital expenditure1 2

  PSBR2

  1963–64

  7·9

  3·4

  1964–65

  8·4

  2·7

  1965–66

  8·4

  2·6

  1966–67

  9·4

  3·0

  1967–68

  10·7

  5·0

  1968–69

  10·0

  0·8

  1969–70

  9·7

  -1·3

  1970–71

  10·0

  1·5

  1971–72

  9·2

  1·7

  1972–73

  8·7

  3·7

  1973–74

  9·6

  5·9

  1974–75

  10·4

  9·1

  1975–76

  10·3

  9·4

  1976–77

  9·2

  6·5

  1977–78

  7·5

  3·6

  1978–79

  7·0

  5·4

  1979–80

  6·8

  4·8

  1980–81

  6·3

  5·4

  1981–82

  5·4

  3·4

  1982–83

  5·7

  3·2

  1983–84

  5·8

  3·2

  1984–85

  5·3

  3·1

  1985–86

  4·5

  1–6

  1986–87

  3·9

  0·9

  1987–88

  3·4

  -0·8

  1988–89

  3·1

  -3·1

  1989–90

  3·9

  -1·5

  1990–91

  3–7

  -0·1

  1991–92

  3·7

  2·4

  1 On a national accounts basis. Comprises gross domestic fixed capital formation—net of receipts from asset sales—increase in stocks, and capital grants to the private sector.

  2 As percentage of GDP at market prices adjusted for the abolition of domestic rates.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Departmental Contracts
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the duration, value and nature of contracts awarded by his Department to Arthur Andersen, Kleinwort Benson, Denton, Hall, Begrie and Warren.
  295
  Mr. Key
  My Department has not awarded any contracts to these firms.

  Foundation for Sport and the Arts
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will set out the precise criteria governing organisations' eligibility for receiving grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Foundation for Sport and the Arts trust deed states that the main and primary purpose for which the foundation can give grant aid is for"the promotion, support, encouragement or assistance in such manner of such athletic sports or athletic games in the United Kingdom as the Trustees may from time to time in their absolute discretion think fit".

  The secondary purpose for which the trustees are able to give grants with absolute discretion is for the promotion, encouragement or assistance of the arts in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the eligibility of angling to receive grant from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.

  Mr. Brooke
  It is for the trustees to decide whether or not an activity is eligible for support under the terms of the trust deed.

TRANSPORT

  Chlorine
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safety regulations govern the transportation of chlorine by road tanker; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The regulations for the transport of dangerous goods by road are made under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974. They include the Dangerous Substances (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Road Tankers and Tank Containers) Regulations 1992 and the Road Traffic (Training of Drivers of Vehicles Carrying Dangerous Goods) Regulations 1992.

  Among other things, these regulations require that road tankers carrying dangerous goods such as chlorine meet the appropriate construction standards and are regularly inspected, and that the dangerous goods carried are accompanied by information in writing to indicate the nature of the danger to which they could give rise. Vehicles must display a hazard warning panel and drivers must be properly trained and hold a valid vocational training certificate.

  Rail Freight
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the tonnage of goods and materials transported by rail in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  This information is contained in "Transport Statistics", Great Britain, 1992, tables 9.3 and 1.9 and in British Rail's annual reports and accounts for the years in question, copies of which are in the Library.
  296
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward legislation to enable him to control British Rail charges to freight customers.

  Mr. Freeman
  No. Charges are set by negotiation with customers in the light of market pressures.

  Power Station, Humberside
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about traffic problems arising from the construction of a gas-fired power station at Keadby, Humberside; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  A petition to the Prime Minister with over 150 signatures was received by my Department on 20 April. The petition calls for action mainly by the construction contractors and also the local highway authority.

  Railways Bill
  Mr. Adley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish notes on each of the amendments made and the new clauses added to the Railways Bill by Standing Committee B in the same form as the notes printed on clauses relating to the Bill as committed.

  Mr. Freeman
  Revised notes on clauses for the Railways Bill will be prepared for the introduction of the Bill in the House of Lords in the normal way. The record of proceedings in Committee record the reasons I gave in Committee for Government amendments.

  Jubilee Line
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport further to the answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan) of 20 April,Official Report, column 70, what guarantee or underwriting has been undertaken by the Government in respect of the loan from the European investment bank to Canary wharf in connection with the Jublilee line project; and whether he will make a statement.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government or any other public body has incurred a contingent liability as a result of the agreement by the European investment bank to provide £98 million to finance the extension of the Jubilee line.

  Mr. Norris
  Detailed arrangements for funding the Jubilee line extension are for agreement between London Transport/London Underground Ltd. and the parties involved in the financing of Canary wharf. These arrangements are currently under discussion and are subject to the normal rules of commercial confidentiality.

  Dounreay
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what notification his Department receives of(a) dates, (b) route and port or airport of arrival and (c) transport mode of nuclear fuel rods imported from continental Europe for treatment or storage at the nuclear power establishment at Dounreay.

  Mr. Norris
  Notification is given to the Department under the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations—paragraph 456—for the safe transport of radioactive material.

  Plutonium Flights
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statutory or voluntary arrangements are made for the operators responsible for the plutonium flights from Carlisle to inform his Department of the timing and routing of the flights; what is the date and route of the next plutonium flight from Carlisle; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  Notification is made to the Department under the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations—paragraph 456—for the safe transport of radioactive material.

  The date and route of the next plutonium flight are matters for the operators.

  Family Railcard
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the family railcard will be available throughout the rail network after privatisation.

  Mr. Freeman
  BR's current range of railcards have proved successful in attracting more passengers to off-peak services. Private sector operators will clearly wish to achieve the same result and there is every reason to believe that they will introduce new initiatives in order to increase this market still further. The Government, therefore, see no need to impose specific requirements on operators to offer particular types of discount facility, with the exception of the disabled persons railcard which is provided voluntarily by British Rail and does not make a profit.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Cutlery
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee when was the last occasion that House of Commons cutlery was sold off by auction; what was the revenue gained; what was the reason for the sale; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  This is a matter for the Director of Catering Services and I shall ask her to write to the hon. Member.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Natural Environment Research Council
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which component body of the Natural Environment Research Council carries out its geological activities; and which other bodies carry on geological activities of a substantially similar kind to those carried on by the Natural Environment Research Council.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  The British Geological Survey, within the Natural Environment Research Council,298
  undertakes geological activities. There is no other comparable organisation in the United Kingdom, although there are equivalent bodies in various other countries.

DEFENCE

  M3 BR90 Bridging Equipment
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with procurement of M3 BR90 bridging equipment; which companies are the principal contractors and subcontractors; what is the timetable for development and production; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Anglo-German development programme of the M3 amphibious bridge has now been completed. An invitation to tender was issued in February 1993 for the production of bridges to meet United Kingdom and German requirements. Following completion of the tender exercise we plan to take a decision on production in mid-1994. A number of European companies have been invited to tender, including ALVIS and GKN from the United Kingdom and EWK, the German contractor which carried out the development. Interested subcontractors have been advised to approach the potential prime contractors.

  The BR90 development contract with Thompson Defence Projects (TDP), part of the Rolls-Royce Industrial Power Group, is approximately 75 per cent. complete. Negotiations are now taking place with the company for the production phase of this family of bridges. If these are successful, production is planned to commence in 1993. The principal subcontractor is Unipower, which supplies the common bridge carrying vehicles for the project.

  Mr. John Anderson
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to investigate the arrest of Mr. John Anderson by MOD police in February 1992.

  Mr. Aitken
  Mr. Anderson was arrested by the Ministry of Defence police not in February 1992 but in April 1990. He was detained in connection with a possible case of corruption, interviewed and released without charge. Subsequently, he made a number of complaints concerning the circumstances of his arrest. These have been investigated in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the report currently rests with the Police Complaints Authority whose decision is awaited.

  Al Yamamah Contract

  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries, other than Saudi Arabia, which received materials under the terms of the Al Yamamah 1 contract.

  Mr. Aitken
  There are none.
  299

  Atomic Weapons Establishment
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now order an independent safety investigation into the AWE.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 February 1993,Official Report, column 182.

  RAF Wittering
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the incident on Thursday 15 April at RAF Wittering involving threatening action by a soldier towards women protesters; what was the position of the women relative to the barbed wire perimeter fence at the time; and what instructions are given to soldiers in such circumstances.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The women protesters were about 60 yd inside the station perimeter fence when they were challenged. I am satisfied that the action taken by the RAF and MOD police in removing them from the station was in accordance with MOD regulations.

  Unoccupied Dwellings
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many dwellings owned by his Ministry in Plymouth are currently unoccupied.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  As at 31 March 1993 the Ministry of Defence owned 250 vacant houses and flats in Plymouth, of which 243 were service married quarters and seven were Ministry of Defence civilian houses. Of these properties, 116 were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation and 63 were already allocated to service families who were due to move in shortly. In addition, some 277 vacant service married quarters were in the process of being sold.

  Yugoslavia
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what instructions have been given to British participants in the European Community monitoring mission to Yugoslavia on the receipt and wearing of medals presented by the European Community; what rules apply to the receipt and wearing of medals awarded by the United Nations for peacekeeping duties; whether British participants in current operations in Croatia, Bosnia, the Adriatic and in enforcing the no-fly zone qualify for British campaign or gallantry medals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  British participants in the European Community monitoring mission in the former Yugoslavia have been advised that they should not accept the medal awarded by the European Community. Decisions on the acceptance and wearing of medals instituted by other countries are a matter for the sovereign, who is advised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Permission is not normally granted if the award is offered more than five years after the event it commemorates, or if an official British award has been instituted for the same period of service. The question of British awards for service in the former Yugoslavia, the Adriatic and in enforcing the no-fly zone is currently under consideration.300
  The approval of the sovereign is required for British personnel to accept and wear medals awarded by the United Nations for peacekeeping duties. Her Majesty the Queen has recently agreed that British personnel who meet the qualifying criteria may receive the United Nations medal for service in the former Yugoslavia.

  Queen Victoria School, Dunblane
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what investigation was made by service personnel or persons employed by his Department into allegations of bullying at the Queen Victoria school, Dunblane, made by Mr. G. Harrison in December 1991; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  This is a matter for the chief executive of Queen Victoria school, and I have asked him to reply.

  Letter from Julian Hankinson to Mr. James Wallace, dated April 1993:
  I have been asked to answer to you directly the following Parliamentary Question regarding Queen Victoria School. Date of Order Paper: 21 April 1993

  "6. Mr. James Wallace (Orkney and Shetland): To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what investigation was made by service personnel or persons employed by his Department into allegations of bullying at the Queen Victoria School, Dunblane, made by Mr. G. Harrison in December 1991; and if he will make a statement."

  Answer:

  As a result of the allegations of bullying at Queen Victoria School made by Mr. G. Harrison in December 1991, Central Region Police carried out an immediate investigation and concluded that there was no cause for further action on their part. At the same time, the Chairman of Her Majesty's Commissioners called for an independent enquiry which took the form of a full pastoral inspection carried out by the Scottish Schools Inspectorate. No investigation was made by Service personnel or persons employed by the Department for the very reason that all enquiries were to be completely independent and impartial.

  I trust this answer is satisfactory. I would be happy to supply any further information if you require it.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Pit Closures
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total projected cost of the package of aid which is to be made available to the coal communities affected by his pit closure programme.

  Mr. Eggar
  As indicated in "Prospects for Coal", £200 million of additional measures has been available to English areas affected by major job losses in mining. There is a separate package of £43 million available to corresponding areas in Wales.

  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will guarantee that coal miners working at a mine scheduled for closure, mothballing or development under the Government's review who elect to put the colliery into the modified review procedure do not suffer any financial loss over the period whilst awaiting the decision of the review.
  301
  Mr. Eggar
  Decisions on the future of individual collieries, including consultation arrangements, and the remuneration and redundancy terms for its work force, are a matter for British Coal.

  British Coal Pension Scheme
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met representatives of(a) British Coal and (b) the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union to discuss the future of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  There have been no such discussions.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what representations he has recently received concerning the proposal by British Coal to withhold from the British Coal staff superannuation scheme the payment of the £500 million which had been previously agreed for the funding of enhanced redundancy pensions;

  (2) what recent representations he has received concerning the British Coal staff superannuation scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have received a number of letters from the public and Members of Parliament about British Coal's staff superannuation scheme.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy on the decision of British Coal to withhold from the British Coal staff superannuation scheme the payment of the £500 million which had been previously agreed; when that policy was communicated to British Coal; and what assurances he has given to British Coal relating to legal or other costs which might be incurred in resisting moves to force the release of the funds to the superannuation scheme.

  Mr. Eggar
  The management of British Coal's staff superannuation scheme is a matter for the corporation and the scheme's trustees. British Coal is seeking a court direction on the application of its share of the surplus in the scheme before it proceeds. No indemnity has been given or offered to the corporation in respect of its legal other costs. The Department will make grant payments for additional contributions that are made by British Coal.

  Methane
  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the ownership of methane within coal seams in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Petroleum (Production) Act 1934 vests all petroleum in the Crown. For the purposes of this Act the definition of petroleum includes any natural gas—such as methane—existing in its natural condition in strata.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to clarify the rights of British Coal in relation to the coal bed methane industry.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Government announced in their White Paper "The Prospects for Coal" (Cm 2235) that when the coal industry is privatised, it is intended that there will be a new coal authority. The authority's powers and duties 302
  would be set out in the relevant legislation. Meanwhile, as the owner of the coal, British Coal's consent is required before any coal bed methane operations can take place.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether methane extracted under a methane drainage licence under schedule 8 of the Petroleum (Production) Regulations 1982 may be commercially exploited by the holder of that licence.

  Mr. Eggar
  Methane drainage licences are granted incorporating the model clauses in schedule 8 of the Petroleum (Production) Regulations 1982 for the purposes of making and keeping mines safe. The terms of the licence do not prohibit the commercial exploitation of the methane obtained in this way.

  Dr. Kim Howells
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what basis British Coal assesses the value of coal that has been damaged by methane extraction.

  Mr. Eggar
  This is a matter for British Coal.

  Offshore Oil Industry
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what conditions have been attached to oil exploration licences granted to the oil company for blocks 102/10, 103/1, 103/6, 106/27, 106/18, 106/19 and 106/23.

  Mr. Eggar
  The conditions attached to the oil and gas production licences granted to a consortium led by Marathon Oil for blocks 102/10, 103/1, 103/6, 106/27, 106/18, 106/19 and 106/23 are not significantly different from those shown in the indicative conditions circulated in October 1992. A copy of this document was placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the shortest distance in nautical miles between(a) RAF Chivenor and (b) RAF Valley and blocks 102/10, 103/1, 103/6, 106/27, 106/18, 106/19 and 106/23.

  Mr. Eggar
  The shortest distances are approximately 70 nautical miles from RAF Chivenor to block 103/6 and 53 nautical miles from RAF Valley to block 106/19.

  Sir Michael Grylls
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he treats licences granted by his Department to oil companies under previous United Kingdom continental shelf licensing rounds as contractually binding agreements.

  Mr. Eggar
  Yes. Licences granted to oil companies offer specified rights, subject to conditions where appropriate, over the areas comprised by the licence, for a period stipulated in the licence. In return, companies undertake to obeserve the terms of the licence and to perform any programme of work agreed with my Department.

  Credit
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will bring forward proposals for legislation to prevent companies sending credit offers to minors; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Leigh
  My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms has asked the Director General of Fair Trading to
  303
  review consumer credit legislation and the proposals for amending it. The need to tighten up the existing provisions which prohibit the sending of credit circulars to minors will be reassessed in the light of the Director General's advice.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to review the current laws relating to credit; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Leigh
  I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Sir K. Speed) on 12 March 1993,Official Report, columns 777–78.

  Packaging
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has any plans to introduce legislation designed to reduce the amount of materials and energy used, and the by-products generated in the manufacture of packaging for goods; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have no plans to introduce legislation along the lines described. There has been a move towards lightweighting of packaging in recent years for both environmental and commercial reasons. This has been achieved without compromising the essential functions of packaging including protecting and preserving food, which itself reduces waste.

  Market Overt
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to review the law of market overt; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Leigh
  I hope shortly to issue a consultation paper on the law relating to transfer of title. This will invite opinions on whether reform is needed to the rule of sales in market overt.

  Post Offices
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which Post Office Counters offices he has visited in Wales.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have made no recent visits to any Post Office Counters offices in Wales.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which Post Office sorting offices he has visited in(a) Scotland, (b) England and (c) Wales.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have made no recent visits to any Post Office sorting offices in Scotland, England or Wales.

  Coal Subsidies
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects the subsidy to the British Coal Corporation described in the White Paper "The Prospects for Coal" to become payable.

  Mr. Eggar
  The subsidy to the British Coal Corporation will become payable during the current financial year.

  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how his Department intends to finance the proposed subsidies to be made available to the British Coal Corporation as detailed in his recent White Paper.
  304
  Mr. Eggar
  I shall be seeking finance for the proposed subsidy through the usual Supply estimates procedure.

  Chemical Weapons Convention
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the United Kingdom will ratify the chemical weapons convention signed in Paris in January.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Primary legislation is necessary to enable the United Kingdom to fulfil its obligations under the convention. We intend to ratify the convention when this legislation has been adopted.

  Energy Tax
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposal has been made by the European Community for a tax on energy designed to reduce the threat of global warming; what consideration the Government have given to this; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Although the Department of Trade and Industry has an interest in the proposed directive for a carbon/energy tax, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for taxation matters.

  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General on 15 January, Official Report, columns 835–36; and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget Statement on 16 March, Official Report, columns 182–83.

  Waste Disposal Contracts
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether a municipal waste-to-energy scheme which had been granted a waste disposal contract before a third tranche of the non-fossil fuel obligation is announced would be eligible to bid into the new order when it is announced.

  Mr. Eggar
  [holding answer 23 April 1993] My Department is considering the arrangements for a third renewables order under the non-fossil fuel obligation, including the technologies to be included. However, other things being equal, a scheme that was able to demonstrate a secure supply of the renewable energy resource needed to drive the generation facility would be eligible to bid, and would be better placed to meet the requirements of the legislation, than one that was not.

EMPLOYMENT

  Underpayment
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 15 March,Official Report, column 65, if she will name the eight companies prosecuted for illegal underpayment in 1992 and give the penalties incurred and the company names and business locations of all 5,165 establishments in England who paid less than statutory minimum remuneration for their workers in 1992; and if she will show how many employees were underpaid at each establishment.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The names of the employers in England prosecuted in 1992 by the wages inspectorate for
  305
  underpayment of wages, together with particulars of penalties imposed by the courts, are set out in the table.

  Prosecutions by the Wages Inspectorate in England in 1992 under section 16 of the Wages Act 1986: Failure to pay Statutory Minimum Remuneration (SMR)

  Employer

  Number and type of offences

  Number of workers

  Penalties imposed

  American Fried Chicken, Barnsley

  1. Failure to pay SMR.

  20

  Fined £600; costs £75

  M. T. Fisher, Jump, Barnsley

  1. Failure to pay SMR.

  4

  Fined £100; costs £117·50

  Fosters Yard Hotel, Polesworth, Staffordshire

  1. Failure to pay SMR.

  2

  Fined £400; costs £750

  Fountain Stores, South Shields

  2. Failure to pay SMR; keeping false records

  2

  Fined £300; costs £300

  Haircut 100, Blaydon, Tyne and Wear

  2. Failure to pay SMR; keeping false records

  2

  Fined £600; costs £250

  Mark's Bakery, Mexborough

  1. Failure to pay SMR.

  8

  Bound over for 12 months

  Mark's Bakery, Mexborough

  1. Failure to pay SMR.

  2

  Fined £50; costs £50

  G. Pickersgill, Peckfield, Leeds

  1. Failure to pay SMR.

  1

  Fined £100; costs £175

  Training Programme
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer of 23 June 1992,Official Report, columns 169–78, if she will provide an updated table of her Department's training programmes for 1992–93.

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

  Social Affairs Council
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Mr. Forman) of 16 April,Official Report, columns 739–40, what were the voting figures for each member state recorded in the meeting of the European Community's Social Affairs Council on 6 April.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  None of the items on the agenda for discussion at the 6 April Social Affairs Council was brought to a conclusion, and consequently no votes were taken on them.

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many claimants for unemployment benefit were advised to seek sickness or invalidity benefit instead in each month since January 1992.

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

  Letter from Mr. M. Fogden to Mr. Frank Dobson, dated 26 April 1993:
  As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about the
  306
  The detailed results of inspections carried out by the wages inspectorate and which do not reach court, are disclosed only to the employers and workers concerned.

  number of clients on Unemployment Benefit (UB) who were advised to seek sickness or invalidity benefit instead in each month since January 1992. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
  The statistics in the attached table show the number of people claiming UB who left the register to start another, more appropriate, benefit in each month since April 1992. This information was only collected quarterly prior to that date. Figures are not held centrally on the numbers moving into each of the alternative benefits. As you will appreciate, Sickness and Invalidity Benefit are only two in a wide range of benefits to which former UB claimants can transfer.
  As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.

  Other benefit starts

  Q/E

  Number

  March 1992

  24,432

  April 1992

  8,029

  May 1992

  9,581

  June 1992

  8,641

  July 1992

  10,142

  August 1992

  8,174

  September 1992

  7,808

  October 1992

  10,231

  November 1992

  8,855

  December 1992

  6,055

  January 1993

  8,824

  February 1993

  8,902

  March 1993

  8,405

  Workstart
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what area will be included in the Tyneside workstart pilot scheme.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  This is a matter for Tyneside training and enterprise council to determine. Officials from the Employment Department are currently negotiating with the training and enterprise council to develop a proposal.

  The conditions of the workstart scheme, however, mean that the pilot scheme cannot extend to residents outside the Tyneside training and enterprise council area.
  307
  Ms Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to locate a workstart pilot scheme in Liverpool.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 23 March to the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms Ruddock),Official Report, column 567.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  European Court of Justice
  Mr. Hague
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases in the European Court of Justice have been won by his Department.

  Mr. Lilley
  Since the beginning of 1992 the European Court of Justice has decided in favour of my Department in two cases in which I was a party.

  During this time there was a total of nine ECJ cases involving the United Kingdom social security system.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the outcome of recent European Court of Justice cases affecting his Department's policies.

  Mr. Burt
  Since the beginning of last year, nine cases involving the United Kingdom's interpretation of EC law as it affects social security have been referred to the European Court of Justice. The European Court confirmed the United Kingdom's policy interpretation of EC legislation in six of these cases. Two cases involved the clarification of issues as they affected the individual concerned and did not require changes in United Kingdom policy. One case has required a change in the United Kingdom rules governing whether family credit may be given to workers whose families are not resident in the United Kingdom. The remaining case has been referred back to the House of Lords for final determination.

  The Department can also be affected by cases involving other member states, although there have been no such recent judgments.

  Fraud
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals his Department has to reduce fraudulent claims for social security benefits.

  Mr. Lilley
  For 1993–94 I have set a target for fraud identified and stopped by the Benefits Agency and by local authorities administering housing benefit and council tax benefit of nearly £1 billion.

  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many prosecutions have been brought for social security fraud in the last five years.

  Mr. Burt
  In the five years ended March 1993 more than 34,000 people were prosecuted for social security fraud.

  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures his Department is taking to tackle fraud and the abuse of benefits.

  Mr. Burt
  The Benefits Agency will be building upon the excellent base established in 1992–93, when over £500 million of fraud savings were achieved. Among the 308
  initiatives planned for this year are the deployment of more investigators and greater use of new technology. In addition, new financial incentives for local authorities are expected to result in a clamp down on housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud.

  Unemployment Benefits
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much in total has been paid in unemployment benefits and to how many claimants in 1982, 1987 and 1992; and how many claimants he expects to receive what total in 1993.

  Mr. Burt
  In 1982–83 just under 2·5 million claimants received £5 billion in unemployment benefits. For 1987–88 there were 2·6 million recipients and a total of £6·6 billion was paid in benefits. For 1992–93 it is estimated that 2·5 million claimants received £9·3 billion. The forecast for 1993–94, in the Department's third annual report, is for 2·8 million unemployed people to receive just under £10·4 billion.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons over the age of 55 years received reduced unemployment benefit as a result of occupational pension payments of £35, in the last financial year.

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

  At November 1992, the number of people whose unemployment benefit was reduced or extinguished due to their receipt of an occupational and/or personal pension was:

  Number

  Unemployment Benefit reduced

  18,200

  Unemployment Benefit extinguished

  11,800

  Source: Half yearly analysis of unemployed claimants: November 1992

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to ensure that all employees made compulsorily redundant receive full unemployment benefit.

  Mr. Burt
  We have no plans to change the rules governing entitlement to unemployment benefit of employees made compulsorily redundant.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to raise or abolish the £35 per week threshold for over-55s' pension income when claiming unemployment benefit.

  Mr. Burt
  We have no plans to do so.

  Availability for Work
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the minimum hours under the availability for work requirement necessary for entitlement to income support.

  Mr. Burt
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question on 8 March, column 460.
  309

  Benefits
  Mr. Thomason
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to promote a debate on the balance between selective and universal benefits.

  Mr. Lilley
  I am always keen to encourage public debate on social security issues. I would particularly welcome any interesting ideas which could inform the ongoing review of the social security system.

  Mr. Enright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what benefits are currently under review; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  In the course of the long-term expenditure review, we shall be examining all aspects of the social security programme. No decisions have been taken yet; there would be no point in conducting a long-term review if we already knew the outcome. It is our policy, at this stage of the review, to keep all options open.

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Milligan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress he has made in setting up the Child Support Agency.

  Mr. Burt
  The Child Support Agency began operations on 5 April as planned. Operating within the framework of the Child Support Act 1991, the agency will provide a clear focus for the assessment, collection and enforcement of maintenance payments, and ensure that many more parents meet their responsibility to maintain their children.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the proposals for the Audit Commission for improving the administration of housing benefit in so far as they apply to his Department.

  Mr. Burt
  We welcome the Audit Commission's view that authorities can do much to improve the delivery of housing benefit.

  Departmental Budget
  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of total Government expenditure is currently taken by his departmental budget; and what the proportion was in 1979.

  Mr. Scott
  Total social security expenditure as a proportion of general Government expenditure:

  Percentage

  1978–79

  25·42

  1992–93

  32·20

  Invalidity Benefit
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the practical and financial implications of the implementation of the 310
  judgment of the European Court of Justice, case C-328/91 (30 March 1993), in respect of the resumption of the payment of invalidity benefit to women aged 60 to 65 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  The European Court's ruling specifically concerned the age conditions for entitlement to two non-contributory benefits—severe disablement allowance and invalid care allowance—and the Court expressly referred to this fact. Contributory invalidity benefit for women aged 60 to 65 was not at issue in the case before the European Court. That is the subject of a joint appeal by the Chief Adjudication Officer and the Secretary of State for Social Security in a separate case; the appeal follows the decision by a social security commissioner to allow payment of standard rate invalidity benefit to women aged 60 to 65.

  Adjudication officers are currently following the commissioner's interpretation of the law in deciding invalidity benefit cases, but payment of any additional benefit awarded as a result of the commissioner's decision is being suspended by the Secretary of State until this appeal has been resolved.

  Elderly People
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures his Department has taken to maintain support for the elderly.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Since 1979 the Department has maintained the real value of the basic retirement pension; improved choice and flexibility in pension provision so that now 67 per cent. of recently retired pensioners have income from occupational pensions; and targeted additional resources to poorer pensioners—now totalling some £1 billion extra each year. Spending on benefits for the elderly has increased in real terms by 40 per cent. since 1979, to nearly £34·5 billion in 1992–93.

  Income Support (Pensioners)
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many low-income pensioners his Department estimates have gained from the extra increases in income support that have taken effect since the start of 1991.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Around 3 million pensioners on low incomes have gained from these increases.

  Social Fund (Temporary Accommodation)
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review Government and local office DSS policy on the allocation of the social fund to people resident in, or leaving, temporary accommodation.

  Mr. Scott
  We are currently carefully considering the operation of the social fund in response to a number of authoritative reports and our own close monitoring of the fund.

  Value Added Tax (Fuel)
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received on the impact on benefit claimants arising from the imposition of VAT on domestic fuel and power; and if he will make a statement.
  311
  Mr. Burt
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply earlier today to the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh).

  Disability Claims
  Mr. Skinner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he is now able to announce the removal of the backlog of backdated disability claims; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  The situation on outstanding claims has improved significantly. Of new claims received prior to 1 December 1992, 99·99 per cent. have now been cleared.

  Pensioners
  Mrs. Roe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total value of extra help which has been directed to pensioners on low incomes since 1989.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The total value of such extra help is now worth around £1 billion a year.

  Benefits (Automated Credit Transfer)
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what has been the cost, for each year since 1987, of seeking to persuade recipients of benefits, pensions and other allowances to switch to payment by automated credit transfer;

  (2) what would be the saving to his Department for each category of benefit, pension or other allowance if all recipients in each category were to switch to payment by automated credit transfer;

  (3) how many people draw benefits, pensions or other allowances in cash weekly at (a) main post offices and (b) sub-post offices;

  (4) if he will list, for each category of benefit, pension or other allowance, the percentage, and actual number of

  Estimate of number of recipients by method of payment (at December 1992) Number (millions) and percentage of beneficiaries paid by:

  Benefit

  Four weekly orderbook

  Fortnightly girocheque

  Weekly orderbook

  millions

  per cent.

  millions

  per cent.

  millions

  per cent.

  Retirement pension

  n/a

  n/a

  6·5

  70

  Child benefit

  2·25

  33

  n/a

  3·0

  45

  Income support

  n/a

  n/a

  3·5

  100

  Unemployment benefit (including income support cases paid by Employment Services)

  n/a

  2·8

  100

  n/a

  Invalidity benefit

  n/a

  n/a

  1·8

  100

  Note: There are some circumstances when payment may be made by weekly girocheque for limited periods—these have been excluded from the table.

  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security at what intervals benefits on credit transfer are paid; and whether these are in advance or arrears.

  Miss Widdecombe
  People who choose to have their retirement pension, widowed mother's allowance, widows benefit or widows pension paid by automated credit transfer also have a choice of receiving their benefit every four or 13 weeks, paid in arrears. War pensions are also payable either 13 or four-weekly, and if the latter three weeks are in arrears and one in advance. Child benefit, family credit, disability living allowance, disability working allowance and attendance allowance paid by automated credit transfer are paid four-weekly in arrears.
  312
  recipients who are paid by automated credit transfer, the percentage and actual number of recipients who are paid by Giro, and the percentage and actual number of recipients who are paid in cash weekly at post offices;

  (5) what proposals he has to seek to persuade recipients of benefits, pensions or other allowances to switch to payment by automated credit transfer; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Details of the precise number of beneficiaries paid by particular methods of payment are not available. However, the estimated totals for the number of recipients for the main benefits receiving payment other than by automated credit transfer are shown in the table. The number of recipients who are paid at the post office includes all those beneficiaries paid by order book, but Girocheques may of course be cashed either at the post office or through a bank or building society account.

  It is estimated that 20 million social security beneficiaries use sub-post offices and 4 million use main post offices.

  Information is not available which allows a costing on a benefit basis of the savings that would be made if all beneficiaries were paid by ACT, but the total estimated administration savings from converting all payments of social security benefits to ACT is about £475 million a year.

  The estimated costs of the actions taken to encourage beneficiaries to switch to payment by ACT were £535,000 in 1987–1988; £1,500,000 in 1988–1989; and £4,000 in 1990–91. No costs were incurred in the years 1989–1990, 1991–1992 and 1992–1993. During the next year, we will be making changes to form design and to leaflets, and to other information available from the Benefits Agency. These will be introduced gradually and after the appropriate research and piloting.

  British Coal
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to refer to the Pensions Law Review Committee matters relating to the British Coal staff superannuation scheme.

  Miss Widdecombe
  None. Matters relating to the British Coal staff superannuation scheme are for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

  Emphysema and Bronchitis
  Mr. Eric Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will launch a campaign to publicise the new rights for people affected by emphysema and bronchitis.
  313
  Mr. Scott
  The addition of chronic bronchitis and emphysema to the list of prescribed diseases, for which industrial injuries disablement benefit is payable, will be well publicised. Details of how people can claim will be announced well before the implementation date of 13 September 1993.

  Mr. Eric Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will have consultations with the mining trade unions and other interested parties prior to starting up the processing of claims for bronchitis and emphysema.

  Mr. Scott
  Discussions are already under way with British Coal and officials will shortly be writing to the mining trade unions about the arrangements for handling claims. Discussions will be held with other interested parties as necessary.

  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if the procedures for diagnosing coal miners suffering from emphysema and bronchitis will be carried out by the Pneumoconiosis Medical Board;

  (2) if the appeals procedure for coal miners suffering from emphysema and bronchitis will be carried out by the Pneumoconiosis Medical Appeals Tribunal.

  Mr. Scott
  Diagnosis will be carried out by specially qualified adjudicating medical practitioners or special medical boards at the Department's medical boarding centres. Appeals will be dealt with by the independent tribunal service; those against the decision of a SQAMP or SMB will be dealt with by medical appeal tribunals; those against the decisions of the Department's adjudication officers will be dealt with by social security appeal tribunals.

  Mr. Eric Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to provide a pension for widows and dependents and for posthumous claims to be processed by the Pneumoconiosis Medical Appeal Tribunal.

  Mr. Scott
  There is provision in the industrial injuries disablement benefit scheme for widows to make posthumous claims for benefit. Widows may also qualify for widows benefit where the death of their husband was caused by occupational injury or prescribed disease.

  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security from what date the procedures for diagnosing coal miners suffering from emphysema and bronchitis will come into force.

  Mr. Scott
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 29 March 1993 at column 77.

  Sickness and Invalidity Benefits
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people received(a) sickness benefit and (b) invalidity benefit in each month since January 1992.

  Mr. Scott
  Information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is in the table, and is obtained from a 100 per cent. count of cases by benefit offices at the end of each month, rounded to the 314
  nearest thousand. In particular, the sickness benefit figures include cases registered sick that are not receiving benefit but are receiving national insurance credits.

  Date

  Sickness benefit

  Invalidity benefit

  January 1992

  461,000

  1,393,000

  February 1992

  474,000

  1,404,000

  March 1992

  479,000

  1,413,000

  April 1992

  465,000

  1,437,000

  May 1992

  472,000

  1,443,000

  June 1992

  472,000

  1,456,000

  July 1992

  487,000

  1,466,000

  August 1992

  489,000

  1,487,000

  September 1992

  496,000

  1,503,000

  October 1992

  505,000

  1,513,000

  November 1992

  513,000

  1,523,000

  December 1992

  521,000

  1,536,000

  January 1993

  525,000

  1,550,000

  February 1993

  535,000

  1,565,000

  March 1993

  538,000

  1,576,000

  Benefits Agency (Inquiry Number)
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent representations he has received regarding the frequency of engagement of the Benefits Agency free telephone inquiry number 0800 666 555; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Benefits Agency inquiry line is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive. He will write to my hon. Friend and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Atkinson, dated 23 April 1993;
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what recent representations he has received regarding the frequency of engagement of the Benefits Agency free telephone number 0800 666 555.
  The Benefits Agency Freeline was set up to offer comprehensive advice and information on the whole range of Social Security benefits. However, whilst customer surveys have found a high degree of satisfaction with the quality of the service, it is clear from our ongoing monitoring of this exercise that over the last few months a significant proportion of calls have been unsuccessful because demand for the service has increased. Representations have been received regarding the Freeline service but the numbers about particular subjects are not routinely recorded.
  I am determined to bring about an improvement in the service. The telephone is increasingly the preferred means of contact for the Agency's customers and I am able to tell you that in the last week for which figures are available 18,185 calls were answered successfully by the Freeline. Last year the Agency began a thorough review of the Freeline service, and customers are being consulted on their requirements. The results of this review will inform our thinking about how the service should evolve in the future. However, to ensure that the service is improved in the short term, five Freeline centres have installed Automatic Call Distribution, which allocates calls to lines on a strictly first come first served basis. The early indications are that the Automatic Call Distribution has been effective in reducing call waiting times.
  The Freeline Service is also available in Punjabi, Urdu, Cantonese, and Welsh, as well as a free telephone service giving advice and information to people with disabilities and to those caring for them.
  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of the reply will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

ENVIRONMENT

  Enterprise Zones
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the planned expenditure in respect of all current or planned enterprise zones in(a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95 and (c) 1995–96.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  . The principal costs of enterprise zones are rate relief and capital allowances. Neither can be accurately calculated in advance as they are dependent upon the rate of development on the individual zones. Current forecasts are as follows:

  1993–94 £ million

  1994–95 £ million

  1995–96 £ million

  Rate relief

  21·2

  8·7

  7·9

  Capital allowances

  30·8

  7·9

  8·0

  Plans for enterprise zones for colliery closure areas are still being formulated and are not therefore included in the above figures.

  Homelessness
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many applications or inquiries under part III of the Housing Act 1985 were first recorded by local authorities for England as a whole during each quarter of 1991 and 1992; and whether he will arrange for this category of information to be published as a national statistic in his Department's homelessness statistics.

  Sir George Young
  Local authorities report the number of applications or inquiries under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985 in their quarterly P1(E) return.

  In the second quarter of 1991, the return was revised to collect information on the total number of applications or inquiries made; previously information had been collected on inquiries completed.

  The coverage of the data now collected depends on the administrative practices of individual local authorities. These vary widely between districts and over different periods of time, making it impossible to provide reliable national and regional estimates.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many decisions were issued by local housing authorities in England under section 64 of the Housing Act 1985 during each of the four quarters of 1991 and each of the first three quarters of 1992 in relation to households of specific ethnic origin who were(a) found not to be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 28 days, (b) found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 28 days, but not in priority need, when advice and assistance only were given, (c) found to be intentionally homeless and not accepted for permanent rehousing and (d) accepted for rehousing on a permanent basis; and whether he will arrange for these categories of information to be published as part of his Department's homelessness statistics;

  (2) how many applications or inquiries were first recorded in England during each of the four quarters of 1991 and each of the first three quarters of 1992 concerning applications for accommodation under part III of the
  316
  Housing Act 1985 in relation to households of specific ethnic origin; and whether he will arrange for these categories of information to be published as part of his Department's homelessness statistics.

  Sir George Young
  Local authorities provide information on their activities under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985 in their quarterly P1 (E) return.

  Since the second quarter of 1991, local authorities have been asked to report the ethnic origin of all those households who applied to them as being homeless and about whom they made a decision under section 64 of the 1985 Housing Act.

  Many local authorities have yet to provide information on ethnic origin and my Department is currently assessing whether the available data are sufficiently reliable for publication.

  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the total number of households accepted, by each local authority in Northamptonshire for each year since 1979, for securing permanent accommodation under the homeless provisions of the Housing (Homeless Provisions) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985.

  Mr. Baldry
  Local authorities report the number of households for whom they accept responsibility to secure permanent accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Acts in their quarterly P1 (E) returns.

  For the information for the years 1979 to 1991 inclusive, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh) on 17 June 1992, Official Report, columns 569–70.

  The information for 1992 is in the table:

  Households accepted as homeless in 19921

  Number

  Corby

  72

  Daventry

  88

  East Northamptonshire

  107

  Kettering

  78

  Northampton

  519

  South Northamptonshire

  133

  Wellingborough

  131

  1 Excluding intentionally homeless households.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is currently taking to ensure that his Department is fully aware of the needs, problems and potential of the construction industry.

  Mr. Baldry
  We maintain close links with the industry through a wide range of formal and informal contacts. Last year I established fortnightly meetings at which industry representatives can discuss with me any matters of concern to them. The Department's construction policy directorate holds regular meetings with industry organisations to consider European issues, and has recently set up a similar forum to discuss domestic issues. The Department is represented on many industry bodies. We are increasing secondments between the civil service and the industry to help improve mutual understanding.

  The Department is currently undertaking a review, in close consultation with the industry, to examine how the

  317
  construction policy directorate can develop its established sponsorship activities to meet the present and future needs of the industry and its constituent interests.

  Further and Higher Education
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he issues on the position of those employed in institutions of further and higher education and the remit of section 80(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 1992 as a result of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have issued no such guidance. Staff employed in institutions of further and higher education are no longer covered by the disqualification from standing for election to local authorities imposed by section 80(1)(a) of the Local Government Act 1972.

  Tyne and Wear Development Corporation
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, by site and workplace, the new jobs that have been created by the Tyne and Wear urban development corporation.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The new jobs that have been created by Tyne and Wear development corporation since its inception are as follows:

  Development sites

  Jobs

  Royal Quays

  270

  St. Peter's Riverside

  55

  Sunderland Enterprise Park

  200

  Newcastle Central Business and Technology Park

  150

  Newcastle Business Park

  3,738

  Closegate

  100

  Dolphin Quay

  35

  Viking Industrial Park

  192

  Walker Technology Park

  482

  Sunrise Enterprise Park

  375

  5,597

  Companies' own sites1

  4,213

  TOTAL

  9,810

  1 These are sites within the urban development area which are not part of the corporation's main development projects but which have otherwise been supported by the corporation (e.g. by business development grant).

  More detailed information relating to "workplace" cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.

  Heating Efficiency
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to promote the improvement of the insulation of existing stock of pre-1981 dwellings and to improve the efficiency of their boilers or other heating sources; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department sponsors various programmes which promote improvements in domestic heating and insulation.

  Insulation grants for households on low incomes are available under the Energy Efficiency Office's home energy efficiency scheme. Under the green house demonstration programme, the Government have made special funding
  318
  available to local authorities to show the scope for securing energy efficiency improvements in council housing. Grants for heating and insulation may be available to private householders under the renovation grant system administered by local authorities.

  In addition, householders are being encouraged to take energy efficiency measures through the Energy Efficiency Office's national television and press advertising campaign, "Helping the Earth Begins at Home". A free booklet, "Heating Your Home", offers advice on the replacement of old boilers nearing the end of their life with one of three types of more efficient boiler, including the condensing boiler.

  Farm Shops
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what guidelines and advice exist for local authorities when determining planning applications for farm shops situated within the green belt;

  (2) what guidelines and advice exist for local authorities when determining planning applications to permit retailing in farm shops situated in the green belt; and what proportion of goods sold can be the produce of neighbouring farms.

  Mr. Baldry
  Advice on development control matters within the green belt is given in planning policy guidance note 2. Paragraph 13 of that document states that approval should not be given, except in very special circumstances, for the construction of new buildings or for the change of use of existing buildings for purposes other than uses appropriate to a rural area.

  It is normally assumed that the use of a farm shop only for the sale of goods produced on that farm is a use which is ancillary to the use as a farm not requiring planning permission, whereas use as a farm shop selling a significant amount of "imported" produce amounts to a use in its own account and is therefore subject to planning control. This advice is contained in paragraph B2 of annex B to planning policy guidance note 7.

  It will be for that local planning authority to take this advice into account, together with all other material planning considerations, in making planning decisions concerning farm shops in green belts.

  Opencast Mining
  Mr. Stevenson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current status of outstanding appeals against refusal to grant permission to extract coal by opencast mining in Stoke-on-Trent.

  Mr. Baldry
  There is one such appeal outstanding which is by British Coal Opencast in relation to the Berryhill site. A decision on this case will be issued as soon as possible.

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his Department's plans for the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste.

  Mr. Maclean
  Government policy is that high-level radioactive waste is treated and stored at the surface for a period of at least 50 years, which will allow heat generated by the decay of radioactivity to reduce.
  319

  Green Belt
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice or guidance his Department has published to local authorities and other agencies with a view to promoting and maintaining employment in farms and related areas of agriculture, situated in the green belt.

  Mr. Baldry
  It is our policy to encourage the rural economy to prosper and expand. This policy is set out in full in planning policy guidance note 7. While green belts have a special status where there is a presumption against "inappropriate" development, agriculture would not come into that category—see paragraph 13 of planning policy guidance note 2.

  Radiation Units Committee
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent meetings he has had with the British committee on radiation units and measurements; and what plans he has to meet the committee.

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. and learned Friend has not recently met and has no plans to meet the British Committee on Radiation Units and Measurements.

  National Association for Urban Studies
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what financial support he will provide to the National Association for Urban Studies in the year 1993–94; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  My Department has provided funding for the National Association for Urban Studies for the past four years from the special grants programme. A new three-year grant, awarded in 1990–91, was tapered to encourage the association to broaden its trading base and reduce the reliance on the Department's grant. In that time, the association failed to demonstrate adequate progress towards self-sufficiency. As a result, and because the programme is heavily oversubscribed, I have decided that the scarce resources available would be better spent on other projects.

  ReChem International
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to enforce the 1982 EC Seveso directive on the company ReChem International Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  Directive 82/501/EEC, the so-called Seveso directive, is implemented in Britain by the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984. These currently exclude installations for the disposal of toxic and dangerous waste that are in possession of a licence under the relevant provisions of the Control of

  Total ozone (Dobson units)

  Camborne

  Lerwick

  Year

  5 March

  6 March

  7 March

  5 March

  6 March

  7 March

  1993

  262

  240

  261

  267

  250

  291

  1992

  351

  327

  345

  341

  320

  323

  1991

  384

  429

  1990

  358

  308

  314

  1989

  333

  382

  384

  354

  499

  1988

  411

  420

  352

  375

  436

  340

  320
  Pollution Act 1974. The Health and Safety Executive will shortly be going out to consultation with proposals to remove this exclusion. ReChem International operates plants falling within the current exclusions.

  Waste Exports
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what position he took regarding the possible amendment of the Basel convention to ban waste exports to non-OECD countries, discussed at the EC Council of Ministers on 23 and 24 March;

  (2) what investigations his Department has undertaken to ascertain what environmental damage will occur as a result of the export of toxic waste from Humberside;

  (3) what action he will take to ensure the toxic waste currently stored at the Capper Pass site in Humberside will not be exported to Mexico or Bolivia;

  (4) what investigations his Department has undertaken to ascertain the toxicity of the toxic waste due to be exported from Capper Pass, Humberside;

  (5) what steps he will take to ensure that companies exporting waste complete the required documentation for the export of non-ferrous materials under the EC directive on the transfrontier shipment of hazardous wastes.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 25 March,Official Report, column 710.

  Under existing regulations the United Kingdom has no powers to ban exports of non-ferrous metal waste. However, consignments must meet certain conditions; for example, the holder must have entered into a contract with the consignee for the recovery of the non-ferrous metal content and made a declaration to this effect on the uniform document which is copied to the Waste Regulation Authority. Compliance with these conditions is a matter for the Waste Regulation Authority. We have ensured that Mexico is aware of its obligations under the Basel convention.

  Ozone
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what were the degrees of deviation from the normal recorded figures of total column ozone over Lerwick and Camborne for 5, 6 and 7 March;

  (2) what were the levels of total column ozone over Lerwick and Camborne on 5, 6 and 7 March; and what they were for the same dates in each of the last 10 years;

  (3) what was the average March level of total column ozone for 1993; and what degree of variation there was from the normal recorded levels for this period.

  Mr. Maclean
  Results of ozone column measurements made at Camborne and Lerwick on 5, 6 and 7 March for 1993 and for the same dates over the past 10 years are:
  321

  Total ozone (Dobson units)

  Camborne

  Lerwick

  Year

  5 March

  6 March

  7 March

  5 March

  6 March

  7 March

  1987

  354

  389

  1986

  301

  373

  383

  389

  400

  1985

  392

  351

  320

  345

  1984

  287

  301

  293

  328

  1983

  359

  279

  1982

  392

  362

  416

  393

  427

  1981

  361

  399

  441

  444

  1980

  378

  436

  Blanks indicate days when measurements could not be made due to weather conditions. Recent data are subject to final calibration corrections. The measurements for 5, 6 and 7 March this year include the four lowest for March in the record, the previous lowest levels being 267 and 270 Dobson Units measured on 1 March 1983. The average ozone measurements for March this year are 335 Dobson Units at Camborne and 347 Dobson Units at Lerwick. These values are respectively 12·6 per cent. and 10·4 per cent. below the average for the last 10 years.

  Flats Over Shops Initiative
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much of his Department's £5 million allocation for Living Over the Shop in 1992–93 was spent; what was the average allocation per flat; and how many new homes were produced.

  Mr. Baldry
  The outturn for the first year of the Department's flats over shops initiative will not be known until all final claims have been returned by local authorities. Provisional information from local authority fourth quarterly monitoring returns indicates that some £4,093,000 has been spent in 1992–93 producing some 292 new homes at an average grant cost per unit of £14,000.

  Waste Incinerator, Ealand
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what costs were incurred by his Department in preparing for the public inquiry scheduled for 30 March into a planning application for a waste incinerator plant by S. and J. Engineering at Ealand; and when he was notified the appeal had been withdrawn.

  Mr. Maclean
  The staff and other internal costs of arranging, and preparing for, individual planning inquiries are not separately identified within the overall cost of the administration of the appeals system. The Department incurred no external costs in this case. The appeal was withdrawn on 24 March.

  Devon County Structure Plan
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the reason for the lapse of time since the examination in public of selected matters arising on the third alteration to the Devon county structure plan; why it has been necessary to delay publication of his proposed modifications; and when he intends to publish the proposed modifications to the structure plan.

  Mr. Baldry
  I expect to publish proposed modifications to the Devon structure plan third alterations very shortly.

  The preparation of the modifications has taken longer than I hoped, but this is an important matter which requires proper consideration.

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the panel conducting the public examination of selected matters arising on the third alteration of the Devon county structure plan in March/April 1992 submitted its report and recommendations.
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  Mr. Baldry
  The panel submitted its report and recommendations on 26 May 1992.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about landlords passing on council tax charges to their tenants.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have received 83 representations about landlords passing on council tax charges to their tenants. Thirty three of these were in direct response to a consultation letter issued on 5 January 1993 on proposals to amend the landlord and tenant legislation to cater for the situation where the landlord, rather than the tenant, is liable for the tax.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to the rent officer service about determining rents in cases where landlords have been found to be passing council tax costs on to their tenants.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Rent officers are independent of Government and neither Ministers nor officials are able to advise them about determining rents. In making their assessments of fair rents rent officers follow the requirements of the Rent Act 1977. These provisions have been amended to allow for the liability for council tax to be taken into account where appropriate. Rent officers also assess market rents for housing benefit subsidy purposes under the Rent Officer (Additional Functions) Order 1990. Again, these assessments will now take account of council tax where appropriate. The Department has issued procedural guidance notes to rent officers to alert them to these changes, copies of which have been placed in the Library today. In addition, the Institute of Rent Officers has issued a practice note to its members, copies of which are also available in the Library.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is(a) the average rent level determined by the rent officer service in each region and (b) the average council tax bill in each region.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The regional figures on rent levels determined by the rent officer service in the fourth quarter of 1992, the latest period for which figures are available, are given in table 1.3 of the "Rent Officer Statistics—Fourth Quarter" publication, copies of which are available in the Library.

  The average council tax by region is as follows:

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  Average Council Tax per dwelling

  £

  Northern

  445

  North West

  464

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  423

  East Midlands

  416

  West Midlands

  439

  East Anglia

  397

  South East

  477

  London

  494

  South West

  458

  England

  456

  Authority

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  (a)

  (b)

  (a)

  (b)

  (a)

  (b)

  (a)

  (b)

  Corby

  4,714

  89

  10,652

  95

  13,293

  89

  9,445

  95

  Daventry

  2,607

  94

  3,639

  97

  8,246

  89

  5,194

  94

  East Northamptonshire

  7,882

  94

  11,138

  94

  7,309

  87

  4,652

  91

  Kettering

  10,131

  93

  9,722

  90

  8,509

  90

  7,809

  95

  Northampton

  5,558

  89

  n/a

  —

  10,208

  94

  20,144

  89

  South Northamptonshire

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  —

  2,793

  83

  3,540

  92

  Wellingborough

  n/a

  —

  n/a

  —

  10,725

  91

  9,198

  96

  Notes:

  (a)= total claims received

  (b)= Percentage of claims allowed

  n/a = Not available

  Information for 1987–88 is not available

  Source: Housing Benefit Management Information System

  Police Houses
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many police houses have been bought or leased over the past three years in the London borough of Ealing by housing associations; if he will state the associations concerned and the cost to the public funds in each case; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  [holding answer 30 March 1993]: I have been asked to reply.

  The receiver for the Metropolitan police district is to transfer three blocks of flats in Ealing to Housing 21, the housing association arm of the Royal British Legion. Housing 21 will manage the flats for a fee and rents will be paid on to the receiver.

  Number of council house sales and value by region (£000)1

  April to June 1992 (provisional)

  July to September 1992 (provisional)

  October to December 1992 (provisional)

  Number of sales

  Undiscounted value of sales

  Value (1981 prices)

  Number of sales

  Undiscounted value of sales

  Value (1981 prices)

  Number of sales

  Undiscounted value of sales

  Value (1981 prices)

  DOE Regions

  North (excluding Cumbria)

  1,080

  30,538

  16,280

  1,249

  33,753

  17,929

  1,038

  28,249

  15,108

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  974

  32,635

  17,398

  1,074

  36,639

  19,462

  789

  26,950

  14,414

  East Midlands

  690

  24,554

  13,090

  821

  28,661

  15,224

  723

  26,280

  14,055

  Eastern

  1,179

  56,981

  30,377

  1,556

  76,565

  40,670

  1,203

  54,758

  29,286

  London Boroughs

  2,177

  128,753

  68,640

  2,751

  173,054

  91,923

  1,964

  105,301

  56,318

  South East

  1,040

  52,747

  28,120

  1,408

  71,583

  38,023

  1,035

  55,282

  29,566

  South West

  715

  30,442

  16,229

  933

  39,961

  21,226

  788

  33,996

  18,182

  West Midlands

  1,064

  40,196

  21,429

  1,109

  41,593

  22,093

  973

  36,984

  19,780

  North West (including Cumbria)

  1,263

  39,488

  21,051

  1,303

  38,501

  20,451

  1,143

  37,251

  19,923

  England

  10,182

  436,334

  232,614

  12,204

  540,310

  287,002

  9,656

  405,051

  216,633

  1 The figures exclude some 12,300 dwellings, valued at about £120 million, transferred from Bromley Borough Council to Broomleigh Housing Association in April 1992.

  324

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of applications for housing benefit and the proportion allowed for each local authority in Northamptonshire for each year since 1987–88.

  Mr. Burt
  I have been asked to reply.

  The available information is in the table.

  Housing 21 has the option to acquire the freeholds within five years.

  Council House Sales
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 8 February,Official Report, columns 519–20, what was the number and value of council house sales by region for the latest available quarters (a) at current prices and (b) at 1981 prices.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 22 April 1993]:The latest available information, which is for the period October to December 1992, is given in the table. The table also gives updates of the figures for the preceding two quarters given in my reply of 8 February.
  325

  Special Needs Management Allowance
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the special needs management allowance.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 20 April 1993]: Special needs management allowance is paid to housing associations by the Housing Corporation, through funding provided by my Department, to contribute to the housing management costs of accommodation providing for people with special needs. When the scheme was introduced in April 1991, as a replacement for the existing hostel deficit grant arrangements, housing associations were informed that it would be reviewed as soon as there was sufficient evidence of the operation of the scheme. The Housing Corporation will therefore be reviewing this year the working of the scheme, taking account of the results of a study mounted by my Department which will compare the effects of the special needs management allowance arrangements with those of the old hostel deficit grant scheme.

  Dioxins
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the maximum tolerable concentrations of dioxins and furans which are allowable for differing types of incinerators, power station operations, leachates, sludges and for the aquatic environment; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 April 1993]:Authorisations issued by Her Majesty's inspectorate of
  326
  pollution under integrated pollution control legislation require the operator to use the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost to prevent, or minimise and render harmless the release of prescribed substances, including dioxins, to any environmental medium.

  Power stations, compared with other combustion and incineration processes, produce only very small quantities of dioxins and furans so that concentration limits are neither appropriate or specified.

  Guidance notes published by the chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution relating to combustion and incineration processes subject to IPC control suggest an initial limit of 1 ng/M3 TEQ dioxins in releases to air while requiring operators to aim ultimately to achieve one tenth of that limit by the use of progressive techniques. The relevant CI guidance notes are numbered IPR 5/1 to 5 inclusive, IPR 5/7 and IPR 5/11, all of which are in the Library of the House.

  As part of the statutory IPC authorisation process the NRA can, in addition to any limits Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution itself imposes on an operator, require Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution to impose further limits where the release is directly to controlled waters. Discharges of dioxins and furans to water are typically extremely low and since they are normally bound to particulates, strict control of particulates in the discharge will minimise the release of these pollutants to the environment.

  The best solution must be to avoid the generation of dioxins in the first place by employing appropriate operating conditions within the combustion or incineration process and this is what IPC aims to achieve.

  SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT
  SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO: SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT
  EC ASSOCIATION AGREEMENTS: RATIFICATION
  EC ASSOCIATION AGREEMENTS: RATIFICATION
  SUNDAN: PEACE TALKS
  SUNDAN: PEACE TALKS
  HOUSE OF LORDS COLLECTION TRUST
  HOUSE OF LORDS COLLECTION TRUST
  ADAS: PROMOTIONAL MAILING
  ADAS: PROMOTIONAL MAILING
  FARMERS' RIGHTS UNDER DATA PROTECTION ACT 1984
  FARMERS' RIGHTS UNDER DATA PROTECTION ACT 1984
  FARMERS: MAPPING ASSISTANCE
  FARMERS: MAPPING ASSISTANCE
  ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS: COPYING FEE
  ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS: COPYING FEE
  SIZEWELL B PWR: PRESSURE VESSEL PROBLEMS
  SIZEWELL B PWR: PRESSURE VESSEL PROBLEMS
  BCG IMMUNISATION FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN
  BCG IMMUNISATION FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN
  HEARING AIDS: NHS PURCHASING ARRANGEMENTS
  HEARING AIDS: NHS PURCHASING ARRANGEMENTS
  ROAD PRICING
  ROAD PRICING
  BREWING INDUSTRY AND LICENSED TRADE: EMPLOYMENT FIGURES
  BREWING INDUSTRY AND LICENSED TRADE: EMPLOYMENT FIGURES
  SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS
  SCHOOL EXCLUSIONS
  FLOATING HELIPORTS
  FLOATING HELIPORTS