Written Answers of 29 January 1993

HOME DEPARTMENT

  South Yorkshire Fire Service
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the budget of the South Yorkshire fire service(a) in the current financial year and (b) for 1993–94; and what estimate he has made of the effect of compliance with the capping requirement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority's revenue budget for the financial year 1992–93 is £31.614 million. The authority has yet to set a budget for the financial year 1993–94. In doing so, it must have regard to the intended designation criteria for council tax capping announced on 26 November 1992 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, to the nationally recommended minimum standards of fire cover, and to its statutory duties under the Fire Services Act 1947.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the establishment level of the South Yorkshire fire service; and what the forecast actual manning level is for March 1994.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The establishment scheme notified to me on 26 February 1992 by the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority provided for a whole-time establishment for the South Yorkshire fire service on 1 January 1992 of 1,084 posts, and for a retained establishment on that date of 192 posts. The authority has not yet notified me of the establishment scheme for 1 January 1993. Any forecasts of actual staffing levels in the future are a matter for the authority.

  Naturalisation
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he expects to make in the procedures related to application for naturalisation to become British citizens consequent to the implementation of the treaty on European union; and what information he has on the principal differences in the procedures adopted from those of other member states.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to amend the requirements for naturalisation. He is aware of the broad principles governing naturalisation in member states of the European Community.

  Danish Citizens
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the rights and obligations of(a) a Danish citizen resident in the United Kingdom and (b) a United Kingdom citizen resident in
  856
  Denmark occasioned by implementation of the inter-governmental decision agreed at Edinburgh and how they differ from those currently obtaining.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  When the treaty on European union enters into force, Danish nationals resident in the United Kingdom—like other European Community nationals—will, in addition to the existing rights of free movement and residence as provided in the treaty of Rome and in measures adopted to give it effect, gain the rights to vote and stand in local and in European parliamentary elections, to petition the European Parliament and to apply to a European ombudsman.

  United Kingdom and other European Community nationals resident in Denmark already enjoy the right to vote in local elections.

  The Edinburgh decision does not affect this position but makes clear that union citizenship does not replace national citizenship and the rights and obligations accruing from it, which will continue to be decided by reference to the national law of the member state concerned.

  Police Statistics
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilian staff there were in each police force in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991; and what percentage of total employees these figures represented in each year.

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

  Civilian strength in England and Wales as at 31 December

  Force

  1981

  1991

  Avon and Somerset

  711

  909

  Bedfordshire

  291

  387

  Cambridgeshire

  309

  451

  Cheshire

  419

  510

  Cleveland

  258

  434

  Cumbria

  259

  403

  Derbyshire

  701

  487

  Devon and Cornwall

  808

  1,038

  Dorset

  309

  557

  Durham

  480

  532

  Dyfed Powys

  197

  250

  Essex

  721

  1,055

  Gloucestershire

  231

  367

  Greater Manchester

  1,507

  2,259

  Gwent

  214

  304

  Hampshire

  725

  1,039

  Hertfordshire

  379

  551

  Humberside

  511

  676

  Kent

  871

  1,018

  Lancashire

  881

  1,095

  Leicestershire

  430

  676

  Lincolnshire

  334

  457

  Merseyside

  1,036

  1,569

  Norfolk

  267

  442

  Northamptonshire

  258

  420

  Northumbria

  835

  1,193

  North Wales

  323

  444

  North Yorkshire

  335

  439

  Nottinghamshire

  581

  706

  South Wales

  847

  1,079

  South Yorkshire

  637

  892

  Staffordshire

  623

  749

  Suffolk

  337

  500

  Surrey

  359

  565

  Sussex

  717

  932

  Thames Valley

  975

  1,410

  Warwickshire

  187

  323

  West Mercia

  541

  843

  857

  Force

  1981

  1991

  West Midlands

  1,489

  2,270

  West Yorkshire

  1,294

  1,833

  Wiltshire

  257

  473

  City of London

  288

  295

  Metropolitan

  13,824

  14,131

  Total

  37,556

  46,963

  Civilian staff represented 24 per cent. and 26 per cent. respectively of total strength of the police service in those years.

  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police force in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991 the number and percentage of entrants who were over the age of(a) 30 years and (b) 40 years.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The information requested is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Judiciary (Training)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total cost of training for the judiciary for each year since 1979.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Judicial Studies Board, which is responsible for training the judiciary, was established in 1979. Until 1987 it had no separate budget and expenditure on training for the judiciary in that period cannot be discretely identified. Since 1987–88 the Judicial Studies Board has had its own budget. Annual expenditure has been as follows:

  £

  1987–88

  604,330

  1988–89

  601,100

  1989–90

  977,909

  1990–91

  1,535,720

  1991–92

  1,765,460

  1992–93

  11,800,000

  1 Estimate.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many days training per year were undertaken by the judiciary in(a) the Court of Appeal, (b) the High Court and (c) the circuit bench for each year since 1987.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Training for the judiciary is organised by the Judicial Studies Board. The numbers of judges trained at courses and seminars arranged by the Judicial Studies Board since January 1987 were as follows:

  Days

  (a) 1987

  Circuit judges

  300

  (b) 1988

  Court of appeal judges

  4

  High court judges

  34

  858

  Days

  Circuit judges

  519

  (c) 1989

  High court judges

  16

  Circuit judges

  383

  (d) 1990

  Court of appeal judges

  41

  High court judges

  116

  Circuit judges

  936

  (e) 1991

  Court of appeal judges

  31

  High court judges

  19

  Circuit judges

  840

  (f) 1992

  High court judges

  19

  Circuit judges

  546

  (g) 1993 (to date)

  Court of appeal judges

  30

  High court judges

  72

  Circuit judges

  56

  In addition, each circuit judge attends an annual circuit conference chaired by the presiding judges. Precise figures for these are not available.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the names of those judges who have not undertaken any training(a) since their appointment to the bench, (b) in the last five years and (c) in the last 12 months.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information required is not available. Each year conferences are arranged on each Circuit for all circuit judges. Recorders and assistant recorders and also for district judges and deputy district judges. In addition a wide range of training is available through the Judicial Studies Board in the form of courses, seminars and other training events. When they are appointed all assistant recorders and deputy district judges attend induction courses and thereafter attend refresher seminars. If the hon. Member has a more specific question I invite him to write to me.

  Justices of the Peace
  Mr. Hoon
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the composition of the advisory committee for the appointment of JPs in the Mansfield area.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The membership of the Mansfield advisory sub-committee of the Nottinghamshire advisory committee is:

  J. Archer Esq JP

  Mrs. J. Dennis JP

  Mrs. C. M. Gaster JP

  Mrs. M. Harper JP

  E. Higham Esq JP

  T. King Esq JP

  P. R. Marsh Esq JP

  Mrs. K. Winson

  The membership of the Nottinghamshire advisory committee is:

  Sir Andrew Buchanan JP

  C. M. Dennis Esq JP

  R. A. Hassett Esq JP

  T. King Esq JP

  859

  Mrs. J. E. Latham JP

  P. R. Marsh Esq JP

  Mrs. J. M. Parry JP

  Colonel A. R. Ripley TD, DL

  Mr. Hoon
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many(a) women, (b) trade union members and (c) members of ethnic minorities have been appointed as JPs in the last five years.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  During the five-year period ending 31 December 1992 a total of 9,823 persons were appointed to the magistracy, of whom 4,832 were women. Figures for appointment of members of ethnic minorities have been collected only since January 1989 since when a total of 375 persons has been appointed. No records are kept of trade union membership.

EDUCATION

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list, for each local education authority, the latest available figures for the numbers of pupils attending(a) schools which have grant-maintained status, (b) schools which have had proposals to acquire grant-maintained status approved and (c) the total of (a) and (b).

  Mr. Forth
  The numbers of pupils in schools currently operating as grant-maintained and in schools which have had proposals to acquire grant-maintained status formally approved and the total for each LEA in England are given in the table. Authorities with no such schools are left blank. Pupil numbers shown relate to January 1992, the latest date for which information is available.

  Pupils in schools operating as grant-maintained or in schools with proposals approved in England.

  LEA

  GM schools operating

  Schools with proposals approved

  Total

  City

  —

  —

  —

  Camden

  —

  —

  —

  Greenwich

  —

  —

  —

  Hackney

  —

  —

  —

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  1,197

  —

  1,197

  Islington

  —

  —

  —

  Kensington and Chelsea

  622

  —

  622

  Lambeth

  838

  877

  1,715

  Lewisham

  198

  —

  198

  Southwark

  389

  413

  802

  Tower Hamlets

  879

  —

  879

  Wandsworth

  4,605

  —

  4,605

  Westminster

  —

  —

  —

  Barking

  —

  —

  —

  Barnet

  3,117

  —

  3,117

  Bexley

  448

  —

  448

  Brent

  1,891

  —

  1,891

  Bromley

  11,065

  —

  11,065

  Croydon

  958

  1,047

  2,005

  Ealing

  5,301

  —

  5,301

  Enfield

  —

  —

  —

  Haringey

  —

  —

  —

  Harrow

  —

  —

  —

  Havering

  —

  —

  —

  Hillingdon

  9,176

  —

  9,176

  Hounslow

  —

  —

  —

  Kingston upon Thames

  894

  —

  894

  Merton

  —

  —

  —

  860

  LEA

  GM schools operating

  Schools with proposals approved

  Total

  Newham

  574

  —

  574

  Redbridge

  —

  —

  —

  Richmond upon Thames

  —

  —

  —

  Sutton

  4,012

  1,660

  5,672

  Waltham Forest

  1,058

  —

  1,058

  Birmingham

  4,827

  3,352

  8,179

  Coventry

  —

  —

  —

  Dudley

  564

  —

  564

  Sandwell

  652

  —

  652

  Solihull

  495

  —

  495

  Walsall

  2,363

  —

  2,363

  Wolverhampton

  1,777

  —

  1,777

  Knowsley

  —

  —

  —

  Liverpool

  1,043

  —

  1,043

  St. Helens

  —

  —

  —

  Sefton

  —

  —

  —

  Wirral

  —

  —

  —

  Bolton

  1,158

  —

  1,158

  Bury

  —

  —

  —

  Manchester

  —

  —

  —

  Oldham

  —

  —

  —

  Rochdale

  242

  —

  242

  Salford

  —

  —

  —

  Stockport

  —

  —

  —

  Tameside

  794

  759

  1,553

  Trafford

  —

  821

  821

  Wigan

  —

  —

  —

  Barnsley

  —

  —

  —

  Doncaster

  —

  —

  —

  Rotherham

  —

  —

  —

  Sheffield

  71

  —

  71

  Bradford

  938

  828

  1,766

  Calderdale

  1,415

  —

  1,415

  Kirklees

  1,192

  —

  1,192

  Leeds

  —

  —

  —

  Wakefield

  —

  —

  —

  Gateshead

  —

  —

  —

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  —

  —

  —

  North Tyneside

  —

  —

  —

  South Tyneside

  —

  —

  —

  Sunderland

  —

  —

  —

  Isles of Scilly

  —

  —

  —

  Avon

  1,455

  —

  1,455

  Bedfordshire

  2,851

  272

  3,123

  Berkshire

  8,203

  —

  8,203

  Buckinghamshire

  4,625

  1,834

  6,459

  Cambridgeshire

  6,285

  1,830

  8,115

  Cheshire

  547

  1,786

  2,333

  Cleveland

  —

  —

  —

  Cornwall

  —

  —

  —

  Cumbria

  5,012

  —

  5,012

  Derbyshire

  4,198

  2,619

  6,817

  Devon

  1,381

  844

  2,225

  Dorset

  5,836

  —

  5,836

  Durham

  —

  —

  —

  East Sussex

  —

  —

  —

  Essex

  27,087

  9,253

  36,340

  Gloucestershire

  13,529

  —

  13,529

  Hampshire

  6,285

  2,981

  9,266

  Hereford and Worcester

  —

  —

  —

  Hertfordshire

  6,266

  —

  6,266

  Humberside

  76

  —

  76

  Isle of Wight

  —

  —

  —

  Kent

  26,522

  2,043

  28,565

  Lancashire

  4,121

  —

  4,121

  Leicestershire

  364

  747

  1,111

  Lincolnshire

  14,333

  —

  14,333

  Norfolk

  7,273

  770

  8,043

  North Yorkshire

  —

  —

  —

  Northamptonshire

  9,185

  384

  9,569

  Northumberland

  —

  —

  —

  Nottinghamshire

  334

  —

  334

  Oxfordshire

  —

  —

  —

  Shropshire

  481

  —

  481

  861

  LEA

  GM schools operating

  Schools with proposals approved

  Total

  Somerset

  612

  —

  612

  Staffordshire

  917

  —

  917

  Suffolk

  —

  —

  —

  Surrey

  8,619

  —

  8,619

  Warwickshire

  3,650

  1,086

  4,736

  West Sussex

  —

  —

  —

  Wiltshire

  1,795

  —

  1,795

  England

  236,595

  36,206

  272,801

  Further Education
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the most recent figures for revenue spending by each local education authority in England and Wales per full-time student aged 16 to 19 years at(a) further education colleges, (b) sixth-form colleges and (c) sixth forms in secondary schools.

  Mr. Boswell
  This information is not collected centrally for local education authorities in England. Expenditure returns from LEAs contain information about their total spending on all secondary education, including sixth-form education, and on further education, but this information cannot be disaggregated between particular age ranges.

  Dyslexia
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the available facilities for pupils with dyslexia problems in the London boroughs.

  Mr. Forth
  Comprehensive information about such facilities is not held centrally.

TRANSPORT

  Signal Failures
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will tabulate the number of reported signal failures on the railways of(a) the British Railways Board and (b) London Underground Ltd., giving the number of reported wrong side failures of signals for each year since 1981; and what steps have been taken to reduce their numbers.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate began recording reported wrong side failures in 1990, following recommendations in Sir Anthony Hidden's report of the investigation into the Clapham junction accident.

  The figures available are:

  Figures

  1990

  BR

  1,298

  LUL

  0

  1991–92

  BR

  698

  LUL

  4

  Of those, only one in 1990 and five in 1991–92 led to reportable accidents. Also, of the respective years' totals,
  862
  847 and 277 incidents involved failures of position light signals which are usually located in yards and sidings not used by passenger trains, and where speeds are low.

  The reduction is due largely to BR's total quality campaign whereby a systematic approach to quality is closely aligned with safety management.

  Level Crossings
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the railways inspectorate to publish its requirements for level crossing of railway lines by footpaths and bridleways.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Health and Safety Executive's railway inspectorate expects this section of its revised requirements to be published shortly. The full title will be "Railway Construction and Operation Requirements, Part F Level Crossings, Protection of Footpath and Bridleway Level Crossings (Section 18)" (ISBN 0–11–882115–6).

  Company Cars
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of total car mileage is shown by the national travel survey to be accounted for by company cars; and what proportion of company car mileage is shown to be for commuting and other personal, as against business, purposes.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  In 1985–86, the national travel survey showed that 20 per cent of total car mileage was by company-owned cars, of which 57 per cent. was for commuting and other personal purposes as against 43 per cent. for business purposes.

  Newly Qualified Drivers
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research or evidence his Department has commissioned on the casualty reduction consequences of restrictions on driving on the display of "P" or "R" plates by newly qualified drivers in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  We are considering the available evidence on the effectiveness of probationary driving schemes in Northern Ireland and overseas. The Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) has commissioned a study by Queen's university, Belfast into the working of the "R" plate system in Northern Ireland.

  Railways Bill
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out details of his calculations for the numbers of staff required in the offices of the rail regulatory and the franchising director respectively under the Railways Bill; and what estimate he has made of the changes in personnel(a) required in the railway section of the Department of Transport and (b) to occur in the British Railways board and combined new companies relative to those currently employed by the board.

  Mr. Freeman
  The number of staff estimated for the offices of the rail regulator and the franchising director reflects their expected workloads and is broadly comparable with the numbers working in other regulators'
  863
  offices. Once the new regime for the railways is established, we expect there to be a small saving in the number of departmental staff concerned with the railway industry. It is not possible to predict with any accuracy future employment levels within the railway industry.

  Concessionary Rail Travel
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will tabulate the number of people entitled to concessionary travel from British Rail in total and categorised as(a) employees, (b) pensioners, (c) employees' dependants and offspring, (d) former employees of British Transport Docks Board, (e) former employees of British Transport Hotels, (f) former employees of Sealink, (g) former employees of Wightlink, (h) British Transport police and (i) pensioners of British Transport police; and what estimate he has of the cost in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Freeman
  I understand that the number of people entitled to concessionary travel, as at 9 January, totals 561,922, made up as follows:

  Numbers

  (a) Employees

  137,488

  (b) Pensioners

  262,825

  (c) Employees dependants and offspring

  150,669

  (d) Former employees of British Transport Docks Board

  3,611

  (e) Former employees of British Transport hotels

  431

  (f) Former employees of Sealink

  2,340

  (g) Former employees of Wightlink

  Nil

  (h) British Transport police

  1,677

  (i) BTP pensioners

  2,881

  The extra costs to British Rail of providing concessionary travel arrangements are not quantifiable.

  Biofuels
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action is currently undertaken by his Department to promote the production and use of biodiesel in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The Government are sponsoring a number of research projects looking at a wide range of alternative fuels, including biodiesel.

  Although biodiesel offers the possibility of reduced carbon dioxide emissions through the growth of plant feedstock, available evidence regarding exhaust emissions and other environmental impacts suggests that the case for its use is not obvious. Current technology biodiesel is also some two and a half to three times as expensive as conventional diesel. It would therefore be premature to encourage its widespread use. Further study is needed.

  To improve our understanding of this fuel the Department is carrying out emissions tests on one of the vehicles being used in the Reading Buses biodiesel fuel trial. The results will be made available when testing is complete.

  Cycle Routes
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to increase the marking of cycle priority routes in London.
  864
  Mr. Norris
  There are no cycle priority routes in London. My hon. Friend may be referring to the proposed 1,000-mile strategic cycle network. Provision of cycle routes falls to the Department on trunk roads and the London borough councils on local roads. The traffic director for London is responsible for approving cycling facilities which may be contained in local plans for priority red routes. There are no current plans to change marking requirements for cycle routes.

  Bus Deregulation
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy that his proposals for bus deregulation will give priority to tendering for existing services by the private sector.

  Mr. Norris
  London Transport will be offering at least a further 5 per cent. of London's bus routes to competitive tender this year. We have also announced plans to begin privatisation of all London Buses Ltd. subsidiaries by the end of the year. All bus routes will therefore be operated by private operators competing on level terms before deregulation of the London bus market.

  Rail Electrification
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy, under the Government's policy with regard to the additionality of funding of projects by the EC, that offers of funding from EC sources for the electrification of railway lines will not be netted off from other funds earmarked by the Government for transport projects; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The policy for the treatment of European regional development fund grants remains that which was announced by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to the House on 17 February 1992,Official Report, columns 22–37.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the policy which was adopted by Her Majesty's Government towards the suggested EC funding for the electrification of the north Wales railway line from Crewe to Holyhead; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  It would be for British Rail, in conjunction with local authorities as appropriate, to apply for European funding of any electrification of the Crewe to Holyhead line. British Rail is upgrading the line to allow 90 mph running and is financing this itself. It has no plans at present for electrifying the line.

  Official Travel
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions he has used trains for his official duties since being appointed to his present position.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I have travelled by train for my official duties on several occasions since becoming Secretary of State for Transport.

  Estuarial Rail Bridges
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will publish the maintenance and upkeep costs of(a) the Tay rail bridge and (b) the Forth rail bridge in each year since 1980;

  (2) if he publish the number of safety checks carried out, and their cost, on (a) the Tay rail bridge and (b) the Forth rail bridge since 1980;

  (3) if he will publish the cost of maintaining estuarial rail bridges in the BR network in each year since 1980.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Department does not hold this information. These are matters for British Rail.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Shining Path
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken to extradite to Peru known members of the Shining Path terrorist organisation.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  I am not aware of any extradition request from Peru. Any such request would have to satisfy the conditions set out in schedule 1 of the Extradition Act 1989 and the terms of the UK/Peru extradition treaty of 1904.

  Human Rights
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the status of the European convention on human rights in each signatory state.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The European convention on human rights has been incorporated into domestic law in all signatory states except Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

  Hong Kong
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to revise the Hong Kong Emergency Regulations Ordinance.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The Hong Kong Government have no immediate plans to revise the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, but it is examining its provisions to ensure that there is no conflict with the Bill of Rights Ordinance.

  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Radio Television Hong Kong to become an incorporated company.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The corporation of Radio Television Hong Kong remains under consideration by the Hong Kong Government.

  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to repeal the broadcasting authority ordinance in Hong Kong before the handover of the colony in 1997.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The Hong Kong Government have no immediate plans to repeal the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance. They are, however, reviewing all aspects of the law relevant to freedom of information.

  International Events
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the major international events in the United Kingdom and overseas in which Her Majesty's Government will participate in 1993; and which Minister will attend in each case.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  On present plans, in 1993, we will participate in the following major international events overseas:

  (a) two Western European Union ministerial meetings attended by the Foreign Secretary;

  (b) two North Atlantic Council meetings attended by the Foreign Secretary;

  (c) two European Council meetings attended by the Prime Minister accompanied by the Foreign Secretary;

  (d) the G7 economic summit attended by the Prime Minister accompanied by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary;

  (e) the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting attended by the Prime Minister accompanied by the Foreign Secretary;

  (f) the United Nations General Assembly attended by the Foreign Secretary.

  We have no current plans to participate in any major international events in the United Kingdom in 1993.

  Yugoslavia
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been decided by the EC Council of Ministers on establishing an ad hoc war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; what action has been taken by the French and Italian Governments on drafting a statute for the tribunal; what action has been taken by Her Majesty's Government; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  EC Foreign Ministers expressed their readiness on 13 January to support the creation of an international criminal court at the United Nations to deal with war crimes in former Yugoslavia. We understand that, separately, the French and Italian Governments have tasked committees of national legal experts to examine options to bring those responsible to justice.

  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will establish a committee of United Kingdom experts to draft the statute for an ad hoc war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  No. A United Kingdom initiative along these lines would unnecessarily duplicate work being done by Ambassador Corell, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe human rights rapporteur, and in other forums on a draft statute.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Mastitis Research Centre
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what funding the mastitis research centre at Compton, Berkshire receives from sources other than the Government.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  As well as receiving Government funding from the Office of Science and Technology and the
  867
  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the milking and mastitis centre has recently received a three-year grant of £140,000 from commercial sources.

  Non-departmental Public Bodies
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many non-departmental public bodies are currently in existence; and when the annual list of such bodies will be published.

  Mr. Robert Jackson
  On 1 April 1992 there were 369 executive bodies, six fewer than in 1991; 846 advisory bodies, 28 fewer than in 1991, 66 tribunals, two more than in 1991; and 131 boards of visitors, the same as in 1991. In total there are 1,412 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)—a fall of 32 over 1991. Details can be found in "Public Bodies 1992" published today. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Details are also included of the number of appointments to boards and tribunals which are held by women. The figures show that at 1 September 1992, 26 per cent. of such appointments were held by women.

  Included for the first time are details of the number of public appointments held by members of the ethnic minorities. Ethnic monitoring of all public appointees has now been introduced and statistics will be published each year. The first figures show that, at 1 September 1992, 2 per cent. of all appointments were held by members of the minority groups.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will publish a table of annual income and expenditure for each training and enterprise council since its inception.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested from these accounts is not recorded by the Department and the cost of doing so would be disproportionate to the information supplied.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many members of the public in training and enterprise council areas are informed about TEC's spending priorities and projects.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  A summary of the TEC's business plan and a full copy of the corporate plan are available at the TEC's business premises and can be accessed by any member of the public. Over and above this, every TEC is required to hold a public meeting once a year to explain their plans and activities and to produce an annual report.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will provide a table showing the total allocation to training and enterprise councils for 1993–94 for each programme or activity and the allocation for each programme or activity to each TEC.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information that the hon. Member has requested is not yet available. We are currently in negotiations with TECs on targets and funding for 1993–94 and have not yet agreed TEC 1993–94 budgets.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Mr. Stefan Kiszko
  Ms. Lynne
  To ask the Attorney-General for what reasons he has decided that he will not publish the papers relating to the investigations into the wrongful imprisonment of Stefan Kiszko; and if he will make it his policy to place the papers in the Library.

  The Attorney-General
  I have taken no such decision. Police inquiries into the events that led to the prosecution and conviction of Mr. Kiszko are continuing and a report is shortly to be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

  Such reports are by their nature confidential and should not therefore be placed in the Library of the house.

  Local Government Corruption
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Attorney-General how many local government(a) councillors and (b) employees have been convicted of corruption in connection with their council duties in each year since 1979.

  The Attorney-General
  My Department does not keep records sought by the hon. Member.

ENVIRONMENT

  Climate Change Convention
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration his Department has given to the financial consequences for the United Kingdom of the climate change convention agreed at the Earth summit; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The cost of complying with the convention's commitments on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases will depend on what measures the Government decide to take—the Government issued a consultation paper on possible measures to limit carbon dioxide emissions last month. The United Kingdom will also be expected to contribute to the costs of the bodies established to administer the convention and towards the costs that developing countries incur in complying with their commitments.

  Tropical Timber
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 3 December,Official Report, column 317, what assessment he has made of the research carried out by the world conservation monitoring centre for the International Tropical Timber Organisation on the conservation status of African and Asian tropical timber species threatened by trade; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  We expect to assess all relevant scientific information on tropical timber later this year, when deciding whether to propose further species for listing in the appendices to the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES). Our proposal at the last CITES conference to list Pericopsis elata in appendix II was based on a report undertaken for the European

  869
  Commission by the world conservation monitoring centre. It is the first significantly traded tropical timber species to be listed in this appendix.

  Climate Change
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action is being undertaken by his Department to secure test baseline data collected by the United Kingdom for the first conference of the parties to the climate convention distinguishing between naturally occurring and anthropogenic changes.

  Mr. Maclean
  The United Kingdom is making a major contribution to the second assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change which is scheduled to be produced in 1995. This will include the latest information on the extent and impact of naturally occurring and human-induced climate change.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to make representations to the first conference of the parties to the climate convention to secure the establishment of an independent body of experts under the statutory body for implementation in order to(a) review the implementation of the convention and (b) devise an effective greenhouse gas monitoring regime.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government believe that effective procedures for reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the convention are vital. Consideration of the precise mechanisms for achieving this is still at an early stage, but we will be pressing for these matters to be resolved at the first conference of the parties.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to make representations to the first conference of the parties to the climate convention to secure that a new baseline date is established for collecting information on emission levels.

  Mr. Maclean
  The framework convention on climate change includes a requirement for all parties to develop and periodically update national inventories of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as sinks for their removal. Developed countries will be required to take steps aimed at returning emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2000, so 1990 is in effect the initial baseline date for the inventories. The conference of the parties will decide how frequently inventories should be updated in the future.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make representations to the first conference of the parties to the climate convention to secure that greenhouse gas emissions are categorised according to sector.

  Mr. Maclean
  In the United Kingdom emissions are already categorised by sector, and we will be encouraging others to adopt a similar approach.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy on the EC proposal Com 92 508 final, 14 December 1992 for all EC nations to ratify the climate change convention simultaneously before 30 June; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The United Kingdom is committed, with our G7 partners, to seeking to ratify the convention by the 870
  end of 1993. We would hope to do so alongside our Community partners, and are currently discussing with them what the earliest practicable date might be.

  Toxic Waste Imports
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to announce a cut-off date for imports of toxic waste into the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 9 November 1992,Official Report, column 570.

  The Government are also intending to use powers under the EC waste shipments regulation to reduce the amount of waste imported for disposal in the United Kingdom particulary from developed countries. Potential imports from developing countries will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the potential pollution of water supplies to Sunderland and the River Wear resulting from ceasing pumping operations at Easington and Vane Tempest collieries.

  Mr. Maclean
  None. It is for British Coal and the National Rivers Authority in the first place to assess any environmental effects of pit closures in the north-east. This will allow the water companies to assess any consequences for water supplies.

  Builders (Infrastructure Charges)
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the infrastructure charges currently imposed on builders of new developments.

  Mr. Baldry
  Responsibility for water and sewerage infrastructure charges rests with the Director General of Water Services. He is aware of concern over the level of these charges, and has announced his intention to undertake a fundamental review as part of the overall review of water company charges in 1994. He will shortly be issuing a consultation paper which will set out the options for change to the basis of infrastructure charges. The results of this review will be reflected in infrastructure charges payable from 1 April 1995.

  Property Purchases
  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many additional purchases of properties from the private sector by housing associations have so far taken place using the additional funding announced in the autumn statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  Of the £750 million announced in the autumn statement to boost the housing market in the United Kingdom, £577 million went to the Housing Corporation to enable housing associations to purchase new, empty and repossessed properties in England. The latest figures from the corporation show that by 22 January approvals had been granted for the purchase of 11,812 properties: 11,746 of these are for purchases from the private sector.
  871
  Another £20 million was made available to the corporation to support the tenants incentive scheme and £30 million to local authorities to support the cash incentive scheme, to encourage housing association and local authority tenants in England to move out and buy their own homes. This is expected to result in some 3,500 additional first-time buyers.

  Woodland
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to offer statutory protection to all remaining areas of ancient forest and woodland in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Maclean
  Adequate statutory provision is already available.

  My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, the Member for Dumfries (Sir Hector Monro), has today set out the operation by the Forestry Commission of the felling licence provisions of the Forestry Act 1967 in an answer to the hon. Member.

  The felling of woodland associated with development proposed under the planning system is exempt from felling licensing arrangements and is dealt with under normal planning procedures.

  Where appropriate, specific protection can be afforded to individual woodlands under the provisions of conservation legislation. Such woodlands can be designated by the relevant agencies as sites of special scientific interest, protecting them against damaging operations of all types: some are also declared and managed as national nature reserves. In addition local authorities have powers to safeguard woods of amenity value by the making of tree preservation orders.

  Community Charge Leaflets
  Mr. Charles Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he issues to community charge registration officers and other relevant local authority officials, with regard to the distribution of registration forms and related explanatory leaflets in languages other than English; whether similar provisions are intended in respect of the council tax; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  There is no statutory requirement for community charge registration forms in England, and we do not issue guidance about the language in which they should be written. There will be no registration for the council tax.

  We leave the design of forms and local information material to local authorities, which are best placed to identify the needs of their own areas. Questions relating to the production of such material should therefore be addressed to them.

  The Department of the Environment is producing a series of general information leaflets about the council tax. These are being translated into 11 ethnic minority languages, as well as Braille, large print and audio tape.

  Numbers employed in local authorities in Northamptonshire At June of each year

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  Authority

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Northamptonshire County

  11,784

  9,751

  11,832

  9,735

  11,857

  10,254

  11,890

  10,934

  11,594

  11,223

  Corby

  527

  122

  550

  112

  582

  108

  572

  141

  583

  170

  Daventry

  268

  48

  268

  43

  275

  53

  287

  54

  298

  59

  Northern Hemisphere Ozone
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reasons his Department has decided not to ask EASOE—the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment—to research any assessment of northern hemisphere ozone loss this year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  My Department supports the decision of the EC/EFTA task group on stratospheric ozone research that the results of the 1991–92 EASOE experimental campaign should be fully analysed before mounting a further campaign in 1993–94. Monitoring of northern hemisphere stratospheric ozone will continue by the participating EASOE groups, including important contributions by scientists funded by my Department.

  Fire Hydrants
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what arrangements the fire services are charged for the use of water from hydrants; to whom payments are made; and what levels of payment have been in force for each of the last four years.

  Mr. Maclean
  Under section 147 of the Water Industry Act 1991 no charge may be made by a water undertaker for water used by a fire authority for extinguishing fires or any other emergency purpose. But under section 57 of the Act, the expenses incurred by a water undertaker in providing and maintaining fire hydrants requested by a fire authority are chargeable to the fire authority concerned. Information on the level of these charges is not held centrally.

  Contaminated Land
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans Her Majesty's Government have to exempt land owned by British Rail from the register of contaminated land.

  Mr. Maclean
  There is no power under section 143 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to exempt sites from registers of land subject to contaminative uses on the basis of their ownership.

  Local Government Employees
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were employed(a) full-time and (b) part-time in local government in Northamptonshire in each year since 1983.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information is given in the table for each authority in Northamptonshire. Totals have not been given because data for some authorities are not available centrally.
  873

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  Authority

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  East Northamptonshire

  263

  70

  266

  73

  264

  73

  265

  72

  261

  69

  Kettering

  509

  92

  494

  105

  486

  103

  485

  108

  478

  109

  Northampton

  1,606

  172

  1,608

  159

  1,599

  183

  1,606

  178

  1,482

  216

  South Northamptonshire

  261

  35

  263

  34

  257

  34

  252

  37

  255

  43

  Wellingborough

  386

  67

  389

  73

  384

  77

  376

  79

  378

  83

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Northamptonshire County

  11,819

  11,477

  11,536

  11,295

  11,032

  12,365

  10,943

  10,966

  10,752

  10,409

  Corby

  580

  135

  613

  134

  667

  153

  621

  135

  613

  133

  Daventry

  311

  79

  n/a

  n/a

  314

  106

  312

  118

  315

  86

  East Northamptonshire

  260

  80

  267

  78

  213

  57

  200

  57

  203

  57

  Kettering

  478

  96

  468

  104

  464

  105

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  Northampton

  1,431

  235

  n/a

  n/a

  1,554

  192

  1,602

  281

  1,518

  151

  South Northamptonshire

  255

  26

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  342

  43

  Wellingborough

  384

  90

  388

  93

  388

  105

  392

  100

  383

  119

  n/a = Data not available.

  Source: Joint Staffing Watch for England.

  Note: Education, passenger transport, fire services, police and social services are administered by Northamptonshire County Council. The other authorities shown are District Councils which, amongst other services, administer housing and refuse collection.

  Urban Programme
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the voluntary organisations and associations which he consulted before reducing urban programme funding from the planned totals announced in February 1992.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  It became clear only at a very late stage of the public expenditure negotiations for 1993–94 that changes to the urban programme were necessary. Because of the timing of the decisions and the fact that the new arrangements for the urban programme formed part of the autumn statement, consultation was not possible. However, since then, I have met representatives of the voluntary sector to discuss the impact of these changes.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money has been given under the urban programme to projects aimed at the ethnic minorities for each of the last three years.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information requested is as follows:

  £ million

  1990–91

  27

  1991–92

  25

  1992–93

  28

  Source: Department of the Environment departmental reports.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of urban programme schemes run by the voluntary sector were(a) capital projects and (b) revenue projects for the past three years.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information is not available.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library the urban programme standard output measures for each authority for each of the last three years.
  874
  Mr. Robin Squire
  It is not our policy to publish output data for each individual authority under the urban programme. However, national output data for the urban programme are available in the Department's annual reports.

  Standard Spending Assessment, Tower Hamlets
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much the standard spending assessment for the London borough of Tower Hamlets in 1993–94 has been reduced as a result of the reduction in population density due to the borough assuming responsibility for the whole of Victoria park; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  There has been no reduction in the standard spending assessment for Tower Hamlets for 1993–94 due to that authority assuming responsibility for the whole of Victoria park. The boundary change giving effect to the change in responsibility is not intended to take place before 1 April 1994.

  Local Government Finance
  Ms. Armstrong
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what information the estimate of population numbers for the calculation of standard spending assessments is based.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The population numbers used in the calculation of standard spending assessments for 1993–94 are those provisionally estimated by the Registrar General for 30 June 1991. The estimates are based primarily on information collected in the 1991 census on numbers of residents in each local authority area, but adjustments have been made to allow for differences in definition and reference dates and to take account of under-enumeration in the census.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a table showing for each authority(a) its 1992–93 standard spending assessment with and without adjustments for changes in local authority functions, (b) the 1993–94 standard

  875
  spending assessment consistent with the local government finance report laid before the House on 28 January and (c) the percentage changes between both versions of the 1992–93 standard spending assessment.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have today placed in the Library a table providing the information requested.

  Inland Quarries
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his draft planning guidelines in respect of inland quarries will be published; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  My Department published draft revised planning guidelines for provision of aggregates in England and Wales (Minerals Planning Guidance Note 6) for consultation on 4 January. These were accompanied by a policy issues paper. The draft guidelines set out policies for aggregates provision from a range of sources including inalnd quarries and seek views on how future requirements should be met. A copy is in the Library, but I will arrange for a copy to be sent to the hon. Member.

  Recycling
  Mr. Tim Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce his conclusions about the use of economic instruments for promoting the recycling of solid waste.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 27 January 1993]: We are currently considering a consultants' report on "Economic Instruments and Recovery of Resources from Waste", commissioned by my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry. The DTI have invited comments on the report, which is available from HMSO, by 1 March. I intend to publish and invite comments on a related report, on landfill pricing, next month. We will announce our conclusions on economic instruments for solid waste once we have received and considered comments on both of those reports.

  Cetaceans
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the numbers, species and location of cetaceans found washed ashore and reported to his Department since 1 January; together with details of cause of death from any post-mortem or examination his Department has carried out.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 25 January 1993]: The natural history museum has advised that it received reports of five common dolphins and one dolphin of species unknown found dead on the south coast of England since 1 January 1993. It also received reports of a harbour porpoise and a whale, possibly a minke whale, found dead in Wales. The species and locations are as follows:

  Species

  Location

  Date found

  Common dolphin

  Mullion, Cornwall

  5 January

  Common dolphin

  Mullion, Cornwall

  8 January

  Harbour porpoise

  Llanclli, Dyfed

  9 January

  Common dolphin

  Portwrinkle, Cornwall

  11 January

  Common dolphin

  Portwrinkle, Cornwall

  Precise date not known

  876

  Species

  Location

  Date found

  Whale (possibly minke)

  Tal-y-Bont, Gwynedd

  12 January

  Dolphin (species unknown)

  Porthleven, Cornwall

  14 January

  Common dolphin

  Bournemouth, Dorset

  17 January

  Postmortem examination of three of the common dolphins has been carried out by veterinary pathologists at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries investigation centre at Truro and at the Institute of Zoology, London. Further laboratory examination will be necessary to see whether the cause of death can be established.

  Native Forests
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce legislation to minimise clearfelling of native forests within the United Kingdom.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I have been asked to reply.

  The felling of trees and woodland in Great Britain is already effectively controlled through the licensing system operated by the Forestry Commission under the Forestry Act 1967. When considering applications for felling licences, the Commission follows a strict policy of protecting ancient and semi-natural woodlands, and operates a general presumption that felling licences will be granted only on condition that felled areas are replanted.

  Pylon Line, Cleveland
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the decision on the pylon line from Lockerby to Picton across Cleveland.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Lackenby-Picton-Shipton overhead line public inquiry proceedings and inspections were concluded on 11 December 1992. It is now for the inspectors to prepare their report and submit it to my right hon. and learned Friend who will deal with it and give his decision in a timely manner.

SCOTLAND

  Shetland Oil Spill
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to monitor the effects of the Shetland oil spill and publish the results.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I have nothing to add to my replies of 28 January.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many soil, air, water and sediment samples have been taken by, or on behalf of, his Department for analysis of oil and oil breakdown products following the wreck of MV Braer; and if the results will be published.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer of 27 January 1993]: Very extensive sampling is being undertaken in the course of a range of studies of the Shetland environment which are now being pursued: work by the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, for example, involves taking hundreds of samples over a 5 to 10 acre area of each of seven

  877
  different soil types. Shetland Islands council also has an extensive programme in hand. All this work will be drawn together by the ecological steering group which my right hon. Friend announced on 11 January. Results will be published in due course or, if of a technical and complex nature, made available on request.

WALES

  Management Charter Initiative
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the companies within Wales which have adopted the management charter initiative code of practice to date; and if he will indicate which of the companies are officially designated as small and medium-sized enterprises.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The list I have is for organisations, including companies, which are not differentiated by size. List of MCI Members in Wales

  Acom Business Services

  Amethyst Learning and Development

  Anglesey Aluminium Ltd.

  Antur Teifi

  ASW Holdings Plc

  Barry College

  BREFI Group Ltd.

  Bridges Ltd.

  Cardiff Group Training

  Carmarthenshire College of Technology and Art

  CCTA

  Central Statistical Office

  Cardiff City Cardiff

  Coleg Pencraig

  Coleg Powys

  Companies House

  D. C. Gardner and Co. Ltd.—Human Resource Development Group

  East Dyfed Health Authority

  Epitaxial Products International Ltd.

  Gwent College of Higher Education

  Gwent County Council

  Gwent Education Committee

  Gwent Health Authority

  Gwent Network

  Gwent School of Business

  Gwynedd County Council

  Gwynedd Health Authority

  Health Care Gwent

  Hill Training and Management Consultancy Services

  Imperial Tobacco Ltd.

  Institute for Financial Education and Training

  Integrated Business Services Ltd.

  International Baccalaureate Organisation

  Landsdowne Hospital

  Laura Ashley Ltd.

  Llandrillo College

  Mainport Training

  MCS

  Menter Gwynedd CYF

  Mid and North Wales Training Group Ltd.

  Mid Glamorgan County Council Social Services Department

  Mid Glamorgan TEC

  Mid Glamorgan Health Authority

  Mid-Wales Training Ltd.

  Minerva Enterprises Development Ltd.

  Minerva Training

  Multitrain

  Myrick Training Services Ltd.

  Network Training Services Ltd.

  Newport and Gwent Chamber of Commerce

  North East Wales Institute

  North Wales Training Agency

  Open Learning Centre

  Peckham, Shepstone and Associates

  878

  Pembrokeshire College

  Philip Williams—Personnel Consultants

  Powys County Council

  Powys Health Authority

  Powys TEC

  Powys Training

  Rhymncy Valley District Council

  South East Wales Institute of Nursing and Midwifery

  South Glamorgan County Council

  South Glamorgan Health Authority

  South Glamorgan Network

  South Glamorgan TEC

  Targed, North West Wales TEC

  University College of North Wales

  University Hospital of Wales

  Welsh Health Common Services Authority

  Welsh Office

  School Discipline
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many local education authorities have developed strategies for supporting the behaviour policies of their schools which meet the standards expected by his Department;

  (2) how many LEAs have schools which have whole school behaviour policies as recommended in the Elton report on discipline in schools; what information he has on the percentage of such schools in each LEA; and to what extent they meet the standards expected by his Department.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research he has commissioned on the impact of imposing on parents civil liabilities for the acts of their children in schools.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  None.

  Grant-Maintained Schools
  Mr. Ron. Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what financial provision he has made for the years 1993–94 and 1994–95 for the construction of new school buildings as described in schedule 5 of the Education (Grant-maintained Schools) (Finance) Regulations 1990.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  While it is open to grant-maintained schools to include such proposals in their bid for capital grants under these regulations, no money has been specifically set aside for the construction of new school buildings.

  Teachers (Professional Development)
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many local education authorities provide management consultancy services for head teachers and support services for the professional development of teachers which meet the standards expected by his Department.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  This information is not available centrally.

  Urban Expenditure
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list public expenditure per head on urban regeneration in Wales for each year since 1980 in(a) cash prices and (b) real terms—1992 prices.
  879
  Mr. David Hunt
  A wide variety of programmes contributes to urban regeneration in Wales and it is not possible to calculate total spend per head except at disproportionate cost. However, spend on the main

  £ million

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  Urban Programme/Urban Development Grant

  8.70

  9.10

  17.40

  1 15.00

  1 20.80

  1 29.30

  1 27.40

  1 30.40

  1 24.60

  25.00

  229.90

  235.40

  Urban Investment Grant

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  6.30

  6.70

  3.20

  Welsh Development Agency Urban Renewal

  — Not available on a programmed basis —

  0.30

  1.00

  4.70

  7.85

  11.90

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  11.50

  18.20

  29.00

  33.30

  32.50

  Total

  8.70

  9.10

  17.40

  15.00

  20.80

  29.30

  27.40

  42.20

  43.80

  65.00

  77.75

  83.00

  1991–92 prices

  17.02

  16.24

  28.99

  23.88

  31.52

  42.11

  38.15

  55.70

  53.88

  75.03

  83.12

  83.00

  1 Including Urban Development Grant.

  2 From 1990–91 figures exclude local authorities' 25 per cent. revenue contribution.

  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the urban expenditure per capita in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  A very wide variety of programmes contribute to urban expenditure in Wales and it is not possible to calculate total spend per head except at disproportionate cost. However, spend in 1991–92 on the main central Government and agency programmes, that is, urban programme, urban development grants/urban investment grants, Welsh Development Agency—urban development and Cardiff Bay development corporation was £83.0 million which represents £28.75 per head of total population.

  Gwent County Council
  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from Gwent county council concerning its allocations of funds from central Government for the forthcoming financial year; what response he has made; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have received representations from Gwent county council on provisional proposals for its 1993–94 standard spending assessment, its 1992–93 notional amount and capping. I have announced my final decisions on the 1993–94 local government revenue settlement. These take account of the representations made to me by Gwent county council, in particular those concerning its notional amount. I propose to lay the Local Government Finance Report (Wales) 1993–94 and the Limitation of Council Tax and Precepts (Relevant Notional Amounts) Report (Wales) 1993–94 before the House, for its approval, early next week. I will make my final decisions on capping in the spring.

  Littlewoods Pools
  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will visit the Littlewoods Pools operation in Cardiff.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Yes.
  880
  programmes, that is, urban programme, urban development grants/urban investment grants, Welsh Development Agency—urban development (1987–88 onwards) and Cardiff Bay development corporation is shown in the table.

  Publicity
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) of 2 June 1992,Official Report, column 430, what is his current estimate of expenditure on publicity in the present financial year.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I estimate that my Department will spend in the region of £2.5 million on information and publicity this financial year.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement in relation to the instruction dated 27 April 1992 to all heads of division not to invite the Wilprint Group to tender for printed publicity-related material until further notice; whether the instruction is still in force; what proposals he has to review it; and what consultations he has had with non-departmental public bodies in relation to recommended lists of supplies of such material;

  (2) what policy considerations led to the instruction of 27 April 1992 to all heads of division to delete the Wilprint Group from the recommended list of suppliers of printed publicity-related material.

  Mr. David Hunt
  No. The information requested is commercial in confidence.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) of 2 June 1992,Official Report, column 430, what are the main components of publicity expenditure in the "other" category.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The main components of the "other" category in my reply to the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) on 2 June 1992,Official Report, column 435 are the costs of publications, films and videos and exhibitions.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of 27 April 1992 from the head of establishments to all heads of division, deleting the Wilprint Group from the recommended list of suppliers.

  Mr. David Hunt
  No.

  Hospital Beds
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those occasions on which Welsh hospitals and bed bureaux have had yellow and red alerts in the year 1991–92 and in the first half of 1992–93.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  This information is not held centrally. The system of red and yellow alerts is operated at the discretion of individual health authorities.

  Welsh Development Agency
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to advertise the post of chairman of the Welsh Development Agency.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Advertisements have been placed in The Times, Financial Times, Western Mail and Liverpool Daily Post.

  Valleys (Job Creation)
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales(a) how many new jobs have been created and (b) how many new companies have been attracted to (i) Merthyr Tydfil borough, (ii) Rhymney Valley district, (iii) Rhondda Valley district, (iv) Cynon Valley district and (v) Blaenau Gwent district as a result of his Department's and the Welsh Development Agency's support in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Comprehensive information in the form requested is not available.

  Printing Costs
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 19 November 1992,Official Report, columns 323–24, what was his total expenditure on printing, publicity and stationery for school governors in Wales in each year since 1988 and in the first-half year of 1992–93.

  Mr. David Hunt
  [holding answer 22 January 1993]: The information is as follows:

  £

  1989–90

  92,929.77

  1990–91

  16,036.41

  1991–92

  37,240.92

  19921

  50,450.11

  1 April-September

  Details for the years preceding 1989 are not readily available.

HEALTH

  Pharmaceutical Prices
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average rate of return of historic capital produced by the pharmaceutical price regulation system for the pharmaceutical industry in each year since 1979.
  882
  Dr. Mawhinney
  I shall write to the hon. Member.

  Ophthalmology, Leeds
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the size of the ophthalmology waiting list at St. James's hospital, Leeds, for each year since 1985.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information on waiting times by specialty for each district health authority and national health service trust is given in "Hospital Waiting List, In-Patient and Day Cases" published twice a year, copies of which are available in the Library. Waiting time information on St. James' university hospital was not collected centrally prior to its becoming an NHS trust on 1 April 1991.

  Cancer Treatment
  Ms. Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS specialist cancer centres there are in Britain; if she will list their locations; and what is their average annual running cost.

  Mr. Sackville
  Services for people with cancer are provided in most district general hospitals in England. Specialist centres are not separately identified.

  Information relating to Scotland and Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively.

  Dentistry
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to reduce delays in delivering dental treatment to patients with a disability particularly those who require domiciliary visits.

  Mr. Mawhinney
  The Department has no information suggesting that people with disabilities are experiencing undue delays in getting dental treatment or domiciliary visits.

  Hospital Creches
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service hospitals operate creches for(a) staff and (b) patients and visitors.

  Mr. Yeo
  Full information on the number of national health service hospitals that operate a creche is not held centrally. In 1991 a survey showed that at least 181 health authorities and hospitals in the NHS provided a workplace nursery for their staff.

  Expenditure
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures showing capital receipts as a proportion of capital expenditure in the national health service for each year since 1988.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information requested is given in the table.
  883

  National health service capital expenditure

  Gross

  Net

  Receipts

  Capital receipts as a proportion of gross NHS capital expenditure per cent.

  1987–88

  1,129

  926

  204

  18.1

  1988–89

  1,221

  921

  300

  24.6

  1989–90

  1,454

  1,221

  232

  16.0

  1990–91

  1,603

  1,425

  178

  11.1

  1991–92

  1,668

  1,502

  167

  10.0

  Note Figures are derived from the appropriation accounts.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures showing health expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information requested is in the table.

  United Kingdom NHS1 expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product

  Gross expenditure as a percentage of GDP

  1978–79

  4.7

  1979–80

  4.7

  1980–81

  5.3

  1981–82

  5.5

  1982–83

  5.5

  1983–84

  5.3

  1984–85

  5.4

  1985–86

  5.2

  1986–87

  5.2

  1987–88

  5.1

  1988–89

  5.1

  1989–90

  5.1

  1990–91

  5.3

  1991–92

  5.7

  1992–932

  5.8

  1 NHS includes HCHS, FHS, CHMS, Departmental Administration and NHS trusts.

  2 Figures for 1992–93 are estimates.

  Blood Donors
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she will take to ensure that all blood donors are aware of the possibility of giving bone marrow; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Regional transfusion centres are able to supply blood donors with information on how they can become bone marrow donors. Awareness of the possibility of giving bone marrow has increased among blood donors in recent years. The British bone marrow and platelet donor panel recruits donors exclusively through the blood transfusion services and in 1992 recorded a net increase of 12,000 donors.

  Community Care
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures showing community care expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Yeo
  Available figures are given in the table. Figures for earlier years are not comparable due to 884
  changes in the method of data collection for expenditure on community health services. Figures for 1991–92 are not yet available.

  Expenditure on core services for community care (cash) England

  £ million

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  Community care expenditure

  5,755

  6,494

  7,653

  GDP (nearest equivalent calendar year)

  336,022

  370,662

  402,422

  Per cent.

  1.71

  1.75

  1.90

  Notes:

  1. Percentages are based on gross domestic product (GDP) for England in the calendar years 1988 to 1990. GDP figures for England only are not available on a financial year basis.

  2. Community care expenditure is taken to mean expenditure on domiciliary and residential care provided by local authorities for adults; community health services provided by the NHS for adults; and certain social security and housing benefits which support community care objectives.

  3. Local authority expenditure is in gross terms before any income from charges is taken into account.

  Prescription Charges
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for changes to the standard prescription charge; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on Tuesday 12 January at column 699.

  Selected List Prescribing
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received with regard to the Government's proposals to expand the selected list prescribing system; and when she expects to make a full statement on those specific drugs to be added to the selected list.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  We have received a number of representations about the extension of the selected list scheme from hon. Members, various organisations and members of the public. The timing of announcements about specific products in the new categories will depend on the future work programme of the advisory committee on national health service drugs, which I understand that the committee will be considering shortly.

  Patients with Learning Disabilities
  Mr. Fabricant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will establish an inquiry into the standards of management of, and the safety of in-patients at hospitals for people with learning disabilities;
  885
  (2) if she will establish an independent inquiry into the management of Stallington hospital, with particular reference to the case of Freda Latham and other examples of maltreatment of in-patients which have recently come to light.

  Mr. Yeo
  No. We have seen no evidence that there is a national problem regarding the standards of management of, or the safety of patients in hospitals for people with learning disabilities.

  Any further inquiry into the Stallington hospital is a matter for West Midlands regional health authority in conjunction with North Staffordshire district health authority. A review team has been set up by North Staffordshire health authority to oversee the implementation of the findings of their inquiry into the death of Freda Latham.

  South Birmingham Health Authority
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the letters of 25 November 1992 and 5 January about South Birmingham health authority.

  Mr. Sackville
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State received two letters from the hon. Member dated 25 November 1992 about South Birmingham district health authority, and I replied on 14 and 17 December respectively. I will be responding to the letter of 5 January 1993 very shortly.

  West Midlands RHA
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the full remuneration paid each year since 1983 to the former chairman of the West Midlands regional health authority.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: The annual rates of remuneration paid to regional chairman since 1983 are as follows:

  £

  To 31 July 1983

  7,590

  1 August 1983

  8,122

  1 January 1984

  8,424

  1 April 1984

  8,626

  1 November 1984

  8,970

  1 July 1985

  9,651

  1 March 1986

  10,326

  1 July 1986

  10,749

  1 April 1987

  11,205

  1 October 1987

  11,259

  1 April 1988

  11,709

  1 October 1988

  11,868

  1 April 1989

  12,462

  1 April 1990

  18,921

  1 January 1991

  19,110

  1 April 1991

  20,545

  1 December 1991

  20,925

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Arts Councils
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the annual income received by the Arts Councils of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is spent on administration.
  886
  Mr. Brooke
  Of its grant-in-aid in 1992–93 of £221.2 million, the Arts Council of Great Britain spends £7.97 million, or 3–6 per cent. on administration. It also funds the Scottish and Welsh Arts Councils and the regional arts boards in England, all of which incur administrative expenditure; this, like that of ACGB, is subject to cash limits. For the funding system as a whole in 1992–93, administration accounts for £20.47 million, or 9.25 per cent., of the grant-in-aid, although these costs are partly offset by income RABs receive from other sources.

  Sports Council
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the annual income received by the Sports Council is spent on administration.

  Mr. Brooke
  The forecast expenditure by the Sports Council on salaries and running costs in 1992–93 is £18 million. This represents approximately 34 per cent. of forecast income and 37 per cent. of the Government's grant-in-aid.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the annual income received by the Sports Council is spent on parliamentary lobbying.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Sports Council estimates that its expenditure over the last twelve months on parliamentary lobbying was £43,650, or less than one tenth of 1 per cent. of its current grant-in-aid.

  Football Stadiums
  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many jobs have been created in the construction industry as a result of the implementation of the recommendations of the Taylor report on football stadium safety.

  Mr. Brooke
  The information requested is not available from Government sources.

  Royal Collection
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many people are employed in the royal collection department of the royal household; and if he will list their grades and duties;

  (2) if he will publish the work in progress on the inventory of the royal collection;

  (3) pursuant to his answer of 11 January, Official Report, column 540, what items in the royal collection are the personal property of the sovereign; and whose consent is required for the sale or other disposal of items in the royal collection;

  (4) pursuant to his answer of 11 January, Official Report, column 540, what items in the royal collection are located in the private residences of the sovereign.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Government have no funding or supervisory responsibility for the royal collection. The questions raised are matters for the Director of the Royal Collection, to whom the hon. Member may wish to write.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Chancellor (Legal Fees)
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what cost benefit analysis he has made into the Exchequer contribution to the cost of the legal fees he incurred in relation to his former tenant.

  Mr. Nelson
  The basis on which this payment was made was set out in the answer which I gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Aberavon (Mr. Morris) on 8 December,Official Report, column 571. It was subsequently described in the memorandum to the PAC by the Comptroller and Auditor General and covered in oral evidence given by the accounting officer at the PAC hearing on 25 January. I have nothing further to add.

  Social Security
  Mr. Davidson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what considerations underlay his choice of the benefits to be included in the definition of cyclical social security in paragraph 2107 in the autumn statement, Cm 2096; and if he will provide ready reckoners of the effects of(a) the new control total by Department, as in table 2A.5 and (b) on the new control total by spending sector and on the other components of general Government expenditure, as in table 2A.4, of each increment of 100,000 on unemployment above the working assumptions of table 2D.1 of the autumn statement, Cm 2096.

  Mr. Portillo
  In defining the new control total the intention has been to include as many elements of public spending as possible to ensure that it is effective in restraining the trend in growth of public spending below the trend rate of growth of the economy as a whole. Only as much cyclical spending has been excluded from the NCT as is necessary to capture most of the cyclical variation in public expenditure.

  Ready reckoners on the effects of an additional 100,000 unemployed are due to be published on 11 February in the Department of Social Security's departmental report.

  Set-aside Land
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to adjust the tax regime on bio-fuels to encourage British farmers to grow the appropriate crops on set-aside land.

  Sir John Cope
  Under the EC mineral oils duties structure directive agreed last year, all substitutes for mineral oils are required to be subject to duty at the same rates as the oils themselves, although there is an optional provision under which member states can introduce a duty exemption for pilot projects. How this directive is implemented in the United Kingdom is a matter which my hon. Friend will consider in the run-up to the Budget. In view of this it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

  The European Commission has also made a proposal on reduced rates of excise duty for biofuels but this has not yet been agreed. The Government are carrying out detailed analysis of the proposals.

  Manufacturing Industry
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement outlining those steps which have been taken by his Department since 9 April 1992 specifically to assist the United Kingdom manufacturing industry; and what future action he intends to take to assist manufacturing industry.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: Specific measures outlined in the autumn statement included substantial help for manufacturing industry. Examples are:

  a temporary increase in first-year capital allowances;

  the abolition of the car tax;

  the relaxation of the rules for private financing of public sector projects; and

  additional ECGD cover to help exporters in certain important but risky markets.

  There is evidence that businesses now recognise the opportunities created by the measures in the autumn statement, low inflation and lower interest rates, and the lower exchange rate. This is reflected in the CBI economic situation report for January, which shows business optimism at its highest level since April 1988.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement outlining those steps which have been taken by his Department since 9 April 1992 specifically to assist the United Kingdom construction industry; and what future action he intends to take to assist the construction industry.

  Mr. Portillo
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: The measures outlined in the autumn statement included substantial help for the construction industry:

  assistance to the housing market, such as extra spending by the Housing Corporation;

  local authorities allowed to spend 100 per cent. of all capital receipts realised between 12 November 1992 and the end of 1993;

  priority given to investment and construction expenditure within public expenditure plans wherever possible;

  over £1.2 billion allocated to the Jubilee Line Extension over next three years. The project will go ahead, subject to successful outcome of negotiations with the administrators of Canary Wharf;

  the roads programme baseline was protected, allowing an increase in the volume of work, given lower construction prices;

  relaxation of rules on private sector financing of public sector projects should encourage a wider range of joint ventures

  additional £700 million of ECGD cover in 1992–93 and 1993–94 in important but risky markets will help construction projects run by United Kingdom companies abroad.

  In conjunction with the other measures in the autumn statement to help industry in general, as well as low inflation, recent reductions in interest rates, and the lower exchange rate, this package should have a beneficial impact on construction.

  Economic Policy Advisers
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what period of time will be spent in an average month by his seven new advisers on economic policy; what remuneration package has been set for their work; and how often he expects to meet them in the average year.

  Mr. Lamont
  [holding answer 28 January 1993]: The primary role of the panel of forecasters is to provide an

  889
  independent source of advice on Britain's economic prospects. The panel will produce a report three times a year. Meetings of the forecasting panel will be chaired by the chief economic adviser, and other Treasury officials will put the report together on the panel's behalf. I look forward to receiving the panel's reports.

  The amount of time spent per month on this work by panel members will vary according to when and how often they produce forecasts independently. For those members who publish forecasts frequently the time required will be less than those who do not. At this stage it is not possible to estimate the time spent. Remuneration will be £125 plus expenses per meeting attended.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Set-aside Land
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the total amount of money paid to farmers in settlement for set-aside in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Curry
  The total amount of set-aside payments to farmers in England and Wales in each of the last three years was:

  £

  1990–91

  15,533,000

  1991–92

  20,654,000

  1992–93

  139,176,000

  1 Estimate.

  Notes:

  Payments in 1990–91 and 1991–92 were under the five year scheme.

  Payments in 1992–93 were under the five year and one year set-aside schemes.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total acreage of farm land in England and Wales in set aside as of 18 January.

  Mr. Curry
  Around 91,000 hectares, 222,950 acres, of arable land were set aside under the five-year set-aside scheme on England and Wales as of 18 January 1993. Information on land set aside under the new arable area payments scheme will not be available until growers have to declare the area later this year.

  Fishing Industry
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for involving the fishing industry organisations in the process of decision making about the future of the industry.

  Mr. Curry
  It is the Department's policy formally to consult the fishing industry on matters affecting its future.

  Abattoirs
  Mr. Ancram
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received about small rural abattoirs; what he intends to do to promote their viability; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Minister gave to a question from 890
  the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 2 December 1992, Official Report, columns 223–24. Many right hon. and hon. Members have written to me about small abattoirs since 2 December.

  On the initiative of my right hon. Friend the Minister, the December Council of Agriculture Ministers agreed to increase the throughput limit for small slaughterhouses from 12 to 20 units per week until 31 December 1994. The Commission has been asked to review during 1993 the implications of the meat hygiene directives for small businesses. The Government will work closely with the Commission as it carries out this review.

  No small business was forced to close on 1 January because it did not comply with the structural standards required by the fresh meat directive. The agriculture departments have issued time-limited licences to all businesses which have not completed the licensing process provided for in the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1992. The arrangements for temporary derogations will ensure that no small premises is required to comply with the full structural requirements of the directive until the Commission has completed its review.

  My right hon. Friend the Minister and I intend to look in detail at any recommendations from officials to refuse or revoke licences. We will not hesitate to take action where there are real hygiene problems, but we are not prepared to see small businesses closed as a result of over-zealous application of the regulations.

  We issued further guidance on 30 November 1992 making it easier for local authorities to provide a cost-effective veterinary ante-mortem inspection service at small abattoirs. We are also consulting on proposals to set statutory limits on the amount local authorities can charge for the inspection service based on the reasonable cost of providing the inspection service required by the new regulations. We remain concerned about some of the veterinary costs being quoted. We consider that work carried out on a guaranteed contract basis should be charged at a lower hourly rate than ad hoc visits. We shall continue to monitor the level of inspection costs very closely.

  Green Pound
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how far the green pound has depreciated against the ecu since sterling left the exchange rate mechanism.

  Mr. Curry
  The answer is 15.3 per cent.

  Fishing Vessels
  Mr. Ausin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether vessels owned abroad will be eligible for finance from his decommissioning fund.

  Mr. Curry
  The scheme will be confined to fishing vessels registered and licensed in this country. Rules on ownership will have to respect Community law.

  Beef
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons the passport system for cattle was introduced; and what is the estimated cost to the farming industry.
  891
  Mr. Curry
  It is a requirement of the EC rules that cattle on which beef special premium is claimed must be accompanied by an administrative document showing the animal's premium status. The system of cattle identification documents which we are introducing is designed to meet this requirement. Since the industry will not have to pay for the issue of cattle identification documents the cost to the industry will be minimal.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will instruct his Department to make the advance payment of the beef special premium scheme within 28 days of application.

  Mr. Curry
  No. EC rules require that no advance payment is made on this scheme until after 1 November in the year of claim.

  KPMG Management Consultants
  Ms. Mowlam
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the contracts awarded by his Department to KPMG Management Consultants over the past 12 months.

  Mr. Gummer
  No such contracts have been awarded by my core-Department. The appointment of consultants by Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food agencies is a matter delegated to chief executives. The chief executives of ADAS and the Central Science Laboratory advise me, however, that they made use of KPMG in 1992 and will write to the hon. Member with details.

  Letter from P. Stanley to Ms. Marjorie Mowlam, dated 21 January 1993:
  The contracts awarded to KPMG Management Consultants by the Central Science Laboratory over the past 12 months are as follows:

  (1) Appraisal of laboratory information management systems

  (2) Pay and Grading: Initial consideration of options

  (3) Human resource database: User requirement definition

  Letter from J. Walsh to Ms. Marjorie Mowlam, dated 29 January 1993:
  I am responding on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to your Parliamentary Question regarding contracts awarded by his Department to KPMG Management Consultants over the past 12 months.
  The following consultancy services were commissioned from KPMG by ADAS over that period:

  Software support for the Toolbox runtime package.

  UNIX system configuration.

  A review of ADAS networking,

  Food Irradiation
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state his policy towards the irradiation of food.

  Mr. Soames
  The Government have accepted the advice of expert bodies, including the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, that food irradiation is a safe and effective preservation process which can play a valuable role in enhancing food safety and extending consumer choice.
  892
  Accordingly, and taking account also of further advice from an independent scientific committee in the United Kingdom, the Government introduced the Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1990 which lay down detailed licensing controls for the application of the process.

  It is the policy of the Government to permit the irradiation of the foods listed in the regulations under the strict controls provided and to reach agreement on proposals from the EC Commission for a control measure covering the whole of the European Community.

DEFENCE

  Trident
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence from which countries his Department is purchasing the Mk IV and Mk V bus for the Trident system.

  Mr. Aitken
  The United Kingdom is purchasing the bus, which forms part of the Trident D5 missile, from the United States.

  Contracts
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department has with(a) Submarine Dismantlers Ltd. and (b) ENSC Ltd.

  Mr. Aitken
  My Department has no record of any contracts with either of these companies.

  Nuclear Facilities
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his Department's outstanding liabilities for future decommissioning of nuclear facilities at(a) Calder hall, (b) Chapelcross and (c) Capenhurst.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. is responsible for assesssing the costs of decommissioning facilities at its sites. My Department's share of these costs is either subsumed in prices paid on supply contracts or is met when the costs are actually incurred, which in most cases will not be for some considerable time. It is not possible accurately to determine the cost of these liabilities as they will depend on a number of factors including future usage of the facilities by other customers.

  Procurement Budget
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of his Department's procurement budget was spent in the United Kingdom for each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The percentage of defence equipment expenditure spent with British companies in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available is estimated to be:

  Year

  Per cent.

  1981–82

  96

  1982–83

  96

  1983–84

  93

  1984–85

  93

  1985–86

  90

  1986–87

  91

  1987–89

  92

  893

  Year

  Per cent.

  1989–90

  92

  1990–91

  90

  Nuclear Submarines
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications for disposal of nuclear submarines of the decisions of the meeting of the London dumping convention held in November 1992.

  Mr. Aitken
  I am not aware that there were any implications affecting disposal of our nuclear submarines. Our policy remains that when nuclear-powered submarines have been decommissioned the hulls should be stored afloat at a suitable berth, pending eventual disposal. This policy is kept under review.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department has commissioned with commercial organisations regarding the disposal of nuclear submarines; and with which organisations these contracts were placed.

  Mr. Aitken
  The details of studies on the disposal of nuclear submarines undertaken by commercial organisations on MOD's behalf since 1986 are as follows:

  Year and company

  Study

  1986

  National Radiological Protection Board

  Assessment of radiological impact of land disposal of radioactive wastes from a decommissioned nuclear submarine.

  1986

  Rolls-Royce and Associates

  Services in support of project manager nuclear submarine disposal.

  1987

  National Radiological Protection Board

  Assessment of radiological impact of land and sea disposal of radioactive wastes from a decommissioned nuclear submarine.

  1988

  Taywood Engineering Ltd.

  Feasibility of decommissioning submarine components by concrete encasement.

  1988

  Osel Ulvertech Ltd.

  Design and development of a recoverable underwater instrumental package.

  1988

  Taywood Engineering Ltd.

  Concrete encasement of submarine reactor compartments.

  1988

  Electrowatt Engineering Services (UK) Ltd.

  Environmental assessment document for the disposal of HMS Dreadnought.

  1988

  British Maritime Technology

  HMS Dreadnought—support contract.

  1988

  894

  Year and company

  Study

  Jet Research Centre

  Linear cutting charge procurement.

  1992

  Babcock Thorn Ltd.

  Design study into the safe storage of submarine reactor compartments.

  Note: Information is not available on any studies undertaken before 1986.

  Herald Reactor
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's outstanding liability for decommissioning of the Herald reactor at AWE Aldermaston.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Herald reactor at AWE Aldermaston is in the initial stages of decommissioning in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Authority's guidelines. Defuelling has been completed. It is expected that that full decommissioning will take some considerable time to complete.

  Parachute Training
  Ms. Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures exist for the reporting, monitoring and investigation of falls of, and accidents sustained by, service personnel undergoing parachute training.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  A record of all military training descents is kept, including a note of all abnormalities and injuries. Unusual incidents are subject to further investigation and action as appropriate. Incidents resulting in death or serious injury are governed by regulations which set out the full investigative procedure to be taken, up to and including boards of inquiry.

  Iraq
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the threat to allied aircraft from(a) Iraqi aircraft and (b) Iraqi surface-to-air missile installations.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The recent coalition air attacks have seriously degraded the Iraqi ground-based air defence system in the south, and since 27 December the Iraqi air force has lost a number of its most sophisticated fighters in air-to-air engagements with coalition aircraft. As a result coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone can do so in greater safety. We are continuing closely to monitor the potential threat posed to coalition aircraft from the Iraqi air defences.

  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the number of Iraqi(a) military personnel and (b) citizens who were killed or were injured and required hospital treatment as a result of the recent bombing raids on Iraq.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  We do not have definitive casualty figures. Figures released by the Iraqi authorities indicate that 27 people died and eight were injured in the coalition military action on 13, 17 and 18 January. From the information available it is not possible to separate these figures into military civilian totals.

  Nuclear Proliferation Number
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) of 19 January,Official Report, column 202, what measures have been taken by his Department in fulfilment of obligations under article VI of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Government's policy continues to be to work for secure defence at the lowest possible level of armaments, both conventional and nuclear. To that end, we announced in 1991 substantial reductions in our nuclear weapons holdings including the giving up of the Lance missile and nuclear artillery roles; the reduction of the nuclear capable RAF squadrons from 11 to eight; the reduction of our WE177 bomb stockpile by more than half; and, in 1992, the elimination of our maritime sub-strategic capability. We are also party to, and are implementing, the conventional forces in Europe treaty and earlier this month we signed the chemical weapons convention.

  Royal Yacht Britannia
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 January,Official Report, columns 645–46, on expenditure on the refit of the royal yacht Britannia, if he will give a breakdown of the category listed as "other".

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The category listed as "other" contained the following elements:

  Cold, cool and provision rooms

  Galley and laundry

  Crew accommodation

  Navigation and communications

  Lobbies and passageways

  Air conditioning and ventilation plant and systems

  Asbestos removals in areas other than royal apartments

  Anchors, cable and rigging

  Opening and closing shipping routes

  Docking and undocking the ship

  Safety, security and other general activities

  Ladders and brows

  Jack and ensign staffs and upper deck lockers

  Davits derricks and booms

  Awnings and stanchions

  Fixed eyeplates and miscellaneous lifting appliances

  Auxiliary boiler and domestic steam system

  Steering gear

  Stabilisers

  Winches

  Lubrication oil systems and coolers

  Feed systems and pumps

  Fuel filling, storage and transfer systems including pumps

  Fresh water system

  Lifts

  General fire protection

  Rewiring outside royal apartments

  Diesel and steam generators and associated switchboards

  Conversion machinery

  Miscellaneous update of equipment and systems.

  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the ranks and numbers serving within each rank on the Royal yacht Britannia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The current personnel complement of Her Majesty's yacht Britannia is as follows:
  896

  Number

  Officers

  Rear admiral

  1

  Commander

  4

  Lieutenant commander

  8

  Lieutenant

  6

  Sub lieutenant

  1

  Total officers

  20

  Ratings

  Warrant officer

  2

  Charge chief petty officer

  4

  Chief petty officer

  22

  Sergeant

  1

  Petty officer

  26

  Corporal

  1

  Leading hand

  60

  Marine

  7

  Able rate

  106

  Total ratings

  229

  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the cost of the Royal yacht Britannia includes the cost of the support vessels which accompany her.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  No, nor is it possible to identify such support element costs without incurring disproportionate cost.

  Royal Flight
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 January,Official Report, column 646, on flights by the royal flight in 1991, how many of the flights were made by members of the royal family and how many by Ministers; and how many flights undertaken by members of the royal family were for public duties.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Of the 1,200 passenger-carrying flights made by the Queen's Flight in 1991, 1,149 were for members of the royal family and 71 were for other entitled passengers such as the Prime Minister and other Government Ministers. Her Majesty the Queen, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales are entitled to use the Queen's Flight on all occasions, and we do not therefore maintain records which indicate the purpose of journeys undertaken by them. Other members of the royal family are entitled to use the Queen's Flight only when travelling in pursuance of their royal functions.

  RAF Brawdy
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 22 January,Official Report, column 464, what account he took of the relative numbers of flying days lost at RAF Valley, RAF Chivenor and RAF Brawdy on reaching his decision to end flying training at RAF Brawdy.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I regret to say that due to an administrative error in my Department the answer given to the hon. Member on 22 January was incorrect. The figures for RAF Brawdy and RAF Valley were transposed and the correct figures for days lost are shown below:
  897

  Per cent.

  RAF Brawdy

  RAF Valley

  RAF Chivenor

  1987

  26.5

  12.7

  8.7

  1988

  20.8

  8.8

  5.6

  1989

  16.5

  8.9

  4.1

  1990

  16.8

  7.1

  6.9

  1991

  24.0

  10.0

  6.9

  The relative numbers of flying days lost at the above stations were a contributory, but not determining factor in reaching our decision to end flying training at RAF Brawdy.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Nuclear Industry
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many representations he has received on the thermal oxide reprocessing plant at Sellafield since November 1992; and how many came from abroad.

  Mr. Eggar
  Since the beginning of November 1992, my Department has received some 70 letters about the thermal oxide reprocessing plant constructed by British Nuclear Fuels plc at Sellafield. Two of these letters came from abroad.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has evaluated the report, "Fuel Reprocessing at Thorp" by Dr. Frans Berkhout, a copy of which has been sent to him.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department has received a number of reports on Thorp, including the one referred to by the hon. Member, and these are being considered.

  Concessionary Fuel
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he was consulted by British Coal over its decision to reduce by about 20 per cent. anthracite tonnage supplied to mining pensioners and widows in receipt of concessionary fuel; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  The administration of concessionary fuel agreements is a matter for British Coal. The corporation will be writing to the hon. Member on the issue raised.

  Oil and Gas Exploration
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he hopes to announce the names of the successful applicants who have been granted licences in respect of the 14th round of coastal oil and gas exploration.

  Mr. Eggar
  An announcement on awards of licences offered in the 14th offshore licensing round is expected to be made in May 1993.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list by(a) location and (b) name of applicant, the applications his Department has received in respect of the 14th round of coastal oil and gas exploration.

  Mr. Eggar
  Details of applications received in all offshore oil and gas licensing rounds are regarded as commercially confidential. The names of successful applicants will be announced.
  898
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the names of the organisations he consulted before making his final decision on granting licences in respect of the 14th round of coastal oil and gas explorations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  No decisions have yet been made on granting licences in respect of the 14th round of offshore licensing. Although a number of statutory and non-statutory bodies are consulted regarding their interests before blocks are announced to be available for licensing, any decision on the award of licences is a matter of ministerial discretion, based on the published criteria for awards.

  GATT
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to propose amendments to the proposals to establish a multi-lateral trade organisation set out in the draft final act of the Uruguay round of the general agreement on tariffs and trade to secure(a) explicit commitments to the protection of the environment and incomes of the poor in third-world countries and (b) revisions to the disputes procedures enabling increased accountability of panel members.

  Mr. Needham
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 11 January,Official Report, col 567.

  British Coal
  Ms. Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a copy of each report by Boyds concerning British Coal.

  Mr. Eggar
  Boyds has produced two reports concerning British Coal and is currently working on a third.

  The 1992 report into productivity improvements and cost reductions at selected collieries has not been placed in the Library. It was commissioned on a confidential basis and contains detailed information which is commercially confidential. However, a copy was provided to the Trade and Industry Select Committee on a confidential basis.

  A copy of the report published on 22 January on the viability of the 21 pits proposed for closure by British Coal has been placed in the Library.

  Boyds is currently undertaking a review on whether British Coal's criteria for the closure of the 10 pits were met in relation to all or any of them. I have proposed to British Coal and the unions that the report be published and, if it is, it will of course be placed in the Library.

  Ms. Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give(a) the terms of reference and (b) the full cost of each contract entered into by his Department with Boyds in connection with the coal industry, for the last five years.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department and the former Department of Energy have engaged the John T. Boyd Company to undertake three studies in connection with the coal industry. The terms of reference of the first study provide for Boyds to give advice on the technical issues which need to be taken into account when considering the future privatisation of the industry. In respect of the other two studies I refer to the reply my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade gave to my hon. Friend
  899
  the Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter) on 20 November 1992, Official Report, column 433 and to my reply to the hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) on 22 January 1993, Official Report, column 498. On grounds of commercial confidentiality, the cost of individual contracts is not released.

  International Co-operation and Development
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what policy initiatives he is planning to undertake in the next six months to promote international co-operation and development; what meetings he is planning to attend; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Needham
  I and my ministerial colleagues and officials play a full part in all the relevant international bodies such as GATT, OECD and UNCTAD, including in this case participation in the restructuring of the organisation following UNCTAD VIII. We work in these bodies both through the European Community and in our own right. In the coming months my colleagues and I will make a number of overseas visits to strengthen the United Kingdom's trading links.

  Constituency

  Registered unemployed

  Change

  Jobs lost through colliery closures since June 1987

  June 1987

  December 1992

  Per cent.

  Dover

  3,868

  4,827

  24.8

  794

  Mid Staffordshire

  3,673

  3,791

  3.2

  832

  Newcastle-under-Lyme

  3,682

  3,706

  0.7

  557

  North Warwickshire

  4,740

  4,849

  2.3

  1,984

  Coventry North West

  4,510

  4,475

  –0.8

  Bolsover

  5,251

  4,436

  –15.5

  861

  North East Derbyshire

  4,982

  4,624

  –7.2

  129

  South Derbyshire

  3,907

  3,811

  –2.5

  529

  Bosworth

  2,998

  3,471

  15.8

  918

  North West Leicestershire

  3,902

  3,520

  –9.8

  Ashfield

  4,900

  4,863

  –0.8

  457

  Bassetlaw

  5,359

  4,509

  –16.0

  927

  Gedling

  3,544

  3,943

  11.3

  591

  Mansfield

  5,200

  4,681

  –10.0

  1,686

  Sherwood

  4,946

  4,475

  –9.5

  1,514

  Barnsley Central

  5,658

  4,295

  –24.1

  215

  Barnsley East

  5,353

  3,824

  –28.6

  926

  Barnsley West and Penistone

  5,479

  3,909

  –28.7

  480

  Doncaster North

  7,967

  6,371

  –20.0

  1,087

  Rother Valley

  5,698

  4,751

  –16.6

  1,042

  Wentworth

  6,130

  4,655

  –24.1

  497

  Elmet

  3,150

  3,051

  –3.1

  309

  Selby

  3,195

  3,120

  –2.3

  Hemsworth

  5,329

  4,102

  –23.0

  1,298

  Pontefract and Castleford

  5,711

  4,483

  –21.5

  550

  Wakefield

  4,835

  4,260

  –11.9

  1,276

  Eccles

  5,045

  4,135

  –18.0

  436

  Leigh

  5,510

  4,453

  –19.2

  534

  Makerfield

  5,722

  4,158

  –27.3

  St. Helens South

  7,088

  5,339

  –24.7

  310

  Easington

  5,703

  3,761

  –34.1

  1,487

  Wansbeck

  5,370

  4,148

  –22.8

  304

  Llanelli

  4,146

  3,328

  –19.7

  269

  Blaenau Gwent

  4,799

  3,473

  –27.6

  756

  Islwyn

  3,597

  2,403

  –33.2

  851

  Caerphilly

  4,945

  4,453

  –9.9

  310

  Cynon Valley

  3,919

  3,690

  –5.8

  591

  Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

  4,598

  4,221

  –8.2

  1,101

  Gower

  3,004

  2,573

  –14.3

  595

  Neath

  3,649

  2,771

  –24.1

  599

  Clackmannan

  4,406

  3,019

  –31.5

  112

  Kirkcaldy

  4,781

  3,745

  –21.7

  647

  Midlothian

  4,336

  3,414

  –21.3

  596

  General Insurance Intermediaries
  Mr. Conway
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the regulation of general insurance intermediaries.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have received a copy of the report of the code monitoring committee that, under the chairmanship of Sir Kenneth Clucas, has been monitoring the operation of the Association of British Insurers code of practice for the selling of general insurance. I am grateful to Sir Kenneth and his committee for their work. I shall be discussing the report with the Association of British Insurers.

  I am placing a copy of the report in the Library of the House.

  Mining Industry
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give a list of the mining jobs lost in each constituency and the percentage change in unemployment for each such constituency since June 1987.

  Mr. Eggar
  The information is given in the following table:
  901

  Constituency

  Registered unemployed

  Change

  Jobs lost through colliery closures since June 1987

  June 1987

  December 1992

  Per cent.

  Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

  6,288

  4,583

  –27.1

  403

  Perth and Kinross

  3,715

  2,791

  –24.9

  422

  Sources: Employment data—Department of Employment NOMIS database.

  Job losses due to colliery closures—British Coal.

  Notes:

  1. The constituencies listed are those where closures of coal mines have been identified. Colliery employees would not necessarily have resided in the same constituency.

  2. The number of jobs lost through colliery closures may not reflect jobs lost in the run-down prior to closure.

  3. The figures do not include reductions in employment at coal mines which remain open.

  Manufactured Goods
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has concerning the level of manufacturing output as a percentage of gross

  Manufacturing output as a percentage of GNP

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  Denmark

  17.0

  17.1

  17.4

  18.0

  17.8

  17.5

  16.9

  16.8

  16.4

  1—

  France

  23.1

  22.6

  22.6

  22.0

  22.1

  22.2

  21.5

  21.4

  21.3

  21.1

  Germany

  31.8

  31.6

  31.3

  31.0

  31.8

  32.1

  31.3

  31.1

  31.0

  1—

  Greece

  17.1

  16.1

  16.2

  16.1

  16.4

  16.7

  15.7

  15.4

  15.5

  1—

  Italy

  26.8

  26.0

  24.8

  24.5

  24.3

  23.6

  23.1

  23.4

  1—

  1—

  Netherlands

  17.0

  17.6

  17.7

  18.2

  18.0

  19.5

  19.0

  20.0

  1—

  1—

  Portugal

  32.7

  31.3

  31.0

  32.7

  32.2

  30.3

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Spain

  1—

  1—

  1—

  1—

  28.0

  26.8

  25.8

  28.3

  1—

  1—

  United Kingdom

  21.4

  21.1

  20.3

  20.4

  20.6

  20.7

  19.8

  1—

  1—

  1—

  Belgium

  22.8

  23.8

  23.8

  23.5

  23.9

  23.5

  23.1

  23.4

  23.5

  1—

  1 Data not available.

  Notes:

  Figures for Luxembourg and Ireland are not available.

  Figures calculated on a market prices basis.

  Manufacturing industry is defined as division 3 of the International Standard Industrial Classifications.

  Source: OECD International Structure Statistics, International Accounts.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has concerning the

  Exports of manufactures (US$ billion) at current prices

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  Denmark

  8.7

  9.2

  9.3

  10.0

  12.9

  15.7

  16.8

  17.6

  22.4

  22.8

  Greece

  2.2

  2.3

  2.5

  2.4

  3.2

  3.8

  3.3

  4.1

  4.4

  4.6

  Ireland

  4.9

  5.3

  6.0

  6.6

  8.1

  10.2

  12.2

  13.9

  16.4

  16.9

  Portugal

  3.0

  3.3

  3.8

  4.2

  5.6

  7.2

  8.2

  9.7

  13.0

  13.2

  Spain

  14.9

  14.2

  16.7

  17.5

  20.1

  24.6

  29.7

  33.2

  42.6

  46.2

  United Kingdom

  65.2

  60.7

  62.1

  68.0

  80.0

  100.3

  117.9

  124.9

  150.3

  152.0

  France

  70.0

  68.7

  70.5

  73.7

  92.2

  111.7

  126.1

  134.6

  169.6

  172.5

  Germany

  152.6

  146.5

  148.6

  161.6

  217.3

  264.5

  293.2

  309.6

  360.8

  352.7

  Italy

  61.5

  62.3

  63.1

  67.8

  86.1

  104.0

  115.8

  127.2

  151.7

  150.4

  Netherlands

  32.9

  33.2

  33.8

  35.5

  46.8

  56.9

  63.6

  65.5

  84.0

  84.5

  Belgium/Luxembourg

  37.4

  37.6

  37.2

  39.8

  52.0

  64.1

  73.8

  80.4

  94.5

  93.1

  Note: Manufactures are defined in terms of sections 5 to 8 of the Standard International Trade Classification.

  Source: OECD series A and C, national sources converted into United States dollars using annual average exchange rates.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has concerning the current level of per capita productivity in the manufacturing industry in each member country of the European Community.
  902
  national product in each member country of the European Community in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: The figures requested are shown in the following table.

  value of exports of manufactured goods from each member country of the European Community in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: The figures requested are shown in the following table.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: The figures requested are shown in the table.

  Per capita productivity in the manufacturing industry (US dollars)

  1989

  Denmark

  4,343

  France

  4,267

  Germany

  6,945

  903

  1989

  Greece

  3778

  Italy

  2,191

  Netherlands

  2,783

  Portugal

  2742

  Spain

  1,698

  United Kingdom

  13,929

  Belgium

  3,473

  1 Latest year 1987.

  2 Latest year 1986.

  3 Latest year 1988.

  Notes:

  Manufacturing is defined in terms of division 3 of the International

  Imports of manufactures as a percentage of total domestic expenditure

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  Belgium/Luxembourg

  35.0

  35.3

  37.6

  39.8

  41.8

  42.8

  42.5

  42.2

  42.2

  45.3

  43.6

  Denmark

  17.1

  17.6

  18.1

  18.3

  20.3

  20.9

  20.4

  18.6

  18.2

  18.9

  19.2

  France

  11.4

  11.3

  11.9

  11.8

  12.4

  12.8

  12.5

  13.1

  14.1

  15.1

  15.0

  Germany

  12.8

  13.2

  13.3

  13.7

  14.9

  15.7

  15.2

  15.2

  16.0

  17.6

  18.1

  Greece

  14.7

  13.0

  12.8

  13.5

  14.9

  14.8

  16.2

  16.2

  15.1

  19.4

  19.1

  Italy

  10.3

  9.5

  9.2

  8.5

  9.4

  10.1

  9.7

  10.1

  10.7

  11.3

  10.7

  Ireland

  34.4

  33.9

  32.1

  33.2

  37.9

  37.9

  33.9

  35.9

  39.4

  43.6

  41.2

  Netherlands

  24.8

  25.3

  24.9

  26.0

  29.0

  31.5

  30.9

  30.6

  32.2

  34.7

  34.5

  Portugal

  17.4

  17.7

  18.2

  18.3

  17.7

  17.6

  19.8

  24.6

  28.6

  28.0

  28.6

  Spain

  6.0

  6.3

  6.8

  7.1

  7.5

  8.0

  9.4

  10.9

  12.1

  12.8

  12.3

  United Kingdom

  13.8

  13.0

  13.6

  14.9

  16.4

  16.8

  16.4

  16.8

  17.3

  18.0

  17.6

  Notes:

  Manufactured goods are defined in terms of divisions 5 to 8 of the Standard International Trade Classifications.

  Imports converted from United States dollars to local currency using annual average exchange rates.

  Source: OECD series C and Annual National Accounts Vol. I.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Disability Allowances
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what are the national average clearance times for(a) new claims, (b) top-up claims and (c) requests for review of disability living allowance for each month since September 1992; and if he will break down the figures by disability benefit centre;

  (2) if he will list the number of appeals against a disability living allowance and attendance allowance decision broken down by outcome of appeal heard by the new disability appeal tribunals, and the number and percentage of appeals waiting to be heard;

  (3) in how many cases a person has lost either a care or mobility component of the disability living allowance following a review of the other component;

  (4) if he will provide details of in which parts of the Benefits Agency the 800 additional staff taken on to help clear the backlog of disability living allowance and attendance allowance cases were previously employed; what training on disability living allowance and attendance allowance they received, and the number and percentage that had to be relocated; and if he will make a statement on the Benefits Agency's future plans with regard to the employment of these additional staff to work on disability living allowance and attendance allowance;

  (5) what number and percentage of (a) new claims and (b) top-up claims for disability living allowance claims to date have (i) resulted in an award, (ii) been rejected, broken down by whether (1) further evidence was requested or (2) the claim was decided solely on the statement of disability evidence provided by the claimant;
  904
  Standard Industrial Classification.

  Figures for Luxembourg and Ireland are not available.

  Total resident population used as denominator.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has concerning the level of imports of manufactured goods in terms of percentage of total domestic expenditure in each member country of the European Community in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 26 January 1993]: The figures requested are shown in the table.

  (6) how many staff, divided into full and part-time and permanent and temporary, have been employed by his Department at each disability benefit centre in each month since the beginning of February 1992;

  (7) for what number and percentage of claims for disability living allowance and attendance allowance the adjudicating officer required further evidence; and if he will list the number and percentage requiring (a) an examining medical practitioner report, (b) evidence other than an examining medical practitioner report and (c) both;

  (8) how many requests for reviews of disability living allowance and attendance allowance have been received by his Department since the introduction of self-assessment: and what number and percentage of these (a) resulted in an increase in the amount of benefit payable, (b) resulted in an orginal award being maintained, (c) resulted in a reduction in benefit and (d) remain outstanding;

  (9) how many claims for the disability living allowance and attendance allowance have been received by the Department to date in total and in each month since the beginning of February 1992; and if he will provide a breakdown by (a) the number and percentage of these that resulted in an award, (b) the number and percentage of these that were refused broken down by grounds for refusal (c) the number and percentage of these that required further evidence broken down by type of evidence and (d) the number and percentage of these that are awaiting a decision; and if these can be broken down by the totals for the country as a whole and by each of the regions covered by the 10 disability benefit centres.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of disability benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
  905
  Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 28 January 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA). I will deal with each of your points in turn.

  Number of claims made and decided
  You asked for the number of new claims and "top-up" claims for DLA together with the number and percentage of awards and refusals, including reasons for refusal. Annex 1 shows a breakdown of this information together with details of decisions based upon information provided on the claim form, medical examinations and other forms of evidence.
  A further breakdown showing the complete picture of the outcome of claims within each of the DBC's from May 1992 to date for AA claims is shown at Annex 2 and Annex 3 for DLA claims from February 1992 to date. The first half of each Annex shows the actual numbers and the remainder reflects the percentages.

  National average clearance times
  Since the launch of DLA in February 1992 the performance to date has shown a 37 per cent. clearance rate against the primary target of 30 days. Performance has been improving steadily over recent months and the latest performance for the month of December shows 55 per cent of claims cleared within 30 days. The table at Annex 4 shows the clearance times for each Disability Benefit Centre (DBC) between February and December inclusive for new claims and those made under the special rules, for both the primary target (60 per cent. in 30 days for normal; 80 per cent. for special rules) and the secondary target (95 per cent. in 55 days for normal; 90 per cent. in 15 for special). The clearance of top-up claims is shown at Annex 5.

  Reviews of decisions on DLA
  You have asked how many requests for review of DLA and AA claims have been received. To date just under 56,000 requests for DLA reviews have been received whilst in the case of AA around 92,000 have been received. At the end of December 47,000 DLA reviews were outstanding and 30,000 AA reviews.
  I should explain that figures are not routinely gathered to show instances whereby a claimant loses either a care or mobility element following a review of the other component. However, these occurrences are not thought to be significant, as protection exists within the Regulations so that the Adjudication Officer need not consider the other component to that which he is reviewing. Annex 6 shows details of the number and percentage of reviews that have resulted in (a) an increase, (b) an award maintained and (c) reduction in benefit.

  Number of appeals against a DLA and AA decision
  The number of appeals received by the AA Unit between 6 April 1992 and 31 December 1992 is 782. This figure includes both Disability Appeal Tribunal cases as well as Social Security Appeal Tribunal cases. Of these, 372 are still awaiting submission to the Independent Tribunal Service. For DLA the number of appeals registered by the end of December 1992 was 2,375. 246 have so far been cleared and 2,129 remain outstanding.

  Staffing
  You asked how many staff, divided into full-time, part-time, permanent and temporary have been employed at each of the DBC's since the beginning of February 1992. I presume you are referring to those staff employed on DLA and AA65+ operations within the Centres. This information is shown in Annex 7 attached.
  The figures show a steady increase in the manpower deployed on the new benefits. Across the DBCs and Fylde Units, this increase amounts to around 800 additional staff. Approximately half of this total were redeployed from within the Agency, with just over 300 from the District Office network around the country and almost 100 from other operations within the Fylde Directorate. The remaining 400 are temporary staff recruited to assist in the clearance of the backlogs of cases which existed in the months surrounding the benefits' launch.
  906
  I am of course conscious of the need to ensure that the valuable support these additional resources have provided is not removed too early. We are constantly monitoring this situation and reviewing staff needs therefore on an ongoing basis.
  You also asked about the training which these staff received. In most areas extra staff were taken on to deal with specific areas of work. In the main, training was therefore specifically designed to meet the needs of the individual circumstances which prevailed, often covering specific tasks. Formal computer system and adjudication training courses were arranged as appropriate.
  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library. The information has been placed in the Library.

  Samuel Skinnard
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when Mrs. J. Skinnard of 29 Bowers Park drive, Woolwell, Plymouth PL6 7SH, will know the outcome of her appeal against the decision to refuse disability living allowance for her son, Samuel Skinnard.

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

  Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Anthony Steen, dated 28 January 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking when Mrs. J. Skinnard will know the outcome of her appeal against the decision to refuse Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for her son, Samuel.
  As Mrs. Skinnard's letter of appeal was received within three months of the original decision, the claim fell to be reviewed under the new DLA adjudication procedures.
  I can confirm that a review decision was given on 5 January 1993 and Mrs. Skinnard has now been notified of the outcome. I have replied to you separately in greater detail about the case.
  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.

  Rosaleen Foster
  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the consequences for his Department of the recent House of Lords judgment in the case of Rosaleen Foster; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lilley
  The judgment given in the House of Lords on 28 January in this case confirmed that the regulations under which the severe disability premium had been awarded in income support housing benefit and community charge benefit were validly made.

  The Government have always intended that the severe disability premium should provide extra help to those particularly vulnerable severely disabled people who live independently of their families, and do not have anyone caring for them who receives invalid care allowance. The decision has put beyond doubt that the law enables Secretary of State to make such conditions. I am pleased that this matter has now been finally resolved, and I continue to believe that the SDP is an effective way of helping those severely disabled people who live independently and who are, therefore, most likely to have to rely on bought-in care.

  Departmental Accounts
  Mr. Geoffrey Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is taking to produce the accounts of his Department in a form which is acceptable to the Comptroller and Auditor General; on how many occasions the accounts of his Department have been subject to a qualified audit report; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The appropriation account recording expenditure of income support, family benefits and pension and disability benefits has been qualified on each occasion by the Comptroller and Auditor General for the years 1981–82 to 1991–92. There were a number of factors which caused the account to be qualified over the period. The main one, relating to the use of issues and encashment data, has not been a factor since 1989–90

  The 1991–92 account was subject to a qualified audit report due to errors in the assessment and recording of payments of income support and inaccuracies in the awards of family credit. Action is in hand seeking to improve performance in these areas.

  The reformed housing benefit scheme came into effect in 1982 and since that time the housing benefit appropriation account has been qualified by the Comptroller and Auditor General on three occasions; 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1991–92. To improve the Department's performance tighter subsidy arrangements have been introduced.

  Since 1981–82 the administration and miscellaneous services account has been qualified on four occasions; 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1986–87; the last occasion on which the account was subject to a qualified audit report from the Comptroller and Auditor General.

  Claimants' Files, Liverpool
  Mrs. Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many files relating to claims for social security benefits have been destroyed in each year since 1985 at the(a) Huyton, (b) Edge Hill, (c) Breckfield and (d) Childwell Valley social security offices in Liverpool.
  908
  Mr. Burt
  The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from M. Bichard to Ms. Jane Kennedy, dated 28 January 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many files relating to claims for social security benefits have been destroyed in each year since 1985 at the (a) Huyton, (b) Edge Hill, (c) Breckfield and (d) Childwall Valley social security offices in Liverpool.
  The information you requested is not available as offices do not record either the details of the numbers of records destroyed over any particular period or the names of the customers concerned. I have outlined below the normal practice for destruction of documents in Income Support and Contributory Benefit records.
  The records of customers in receipt of Income Support are kept intact as long as they receive benefit. Only when a customer's benefit ceases and all outstanding action has been completed will clerical records be transferred to the dormant file. If the records are dormant for 18 months, they are destroyed but only if there is no ongoing activity such as an outstanding appeal or overpayment.
  Contributory Benefit files are normally destroyed 18 months after death or 18 months after the final payment of benefit. However, from 1987 there has been an embargo on the destruction of any files relating to claims for Contributory Benefits. Such records are called General Benefit Units (GBUs).
  In 1986 a national "one off" exercise allowed the destruction of all GBUs which had been inactive, (i.e. not the subject of claims or change of circumstances) for 5 years or more with certain exceptions.
  If there is a particular case that is causing you concern please let me know the details and I will be happy to look into it for you.
  A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.