Written Answers of 18 May 1993

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Charters
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the definition of citizen used by his Department for the purposes of conferring benefits through the charter programme.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Anyone who uses, or might use, a public service.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Polly Peck
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the cost to date to public funds of the investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into Polly Peck.

  The Solicitor-General
  The cost to date of the investigation into Polly Peck by the Serious Fraud Office is approximately £2·6 million but not including work undertaken by police officers.

TRANSPORT

  Trans-Pennine Railway Link
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement about the electrification of the trans-Pennine railway link.

  Mr. Freeman
  A consultant's report has been commissioned by a consortium of local authorities and passenger transport executives in the area. The report is currently under discussion with the Department. We are currently awaiting the consortium's response to a number of detailed questions. It would be for British Rail to bring forward an investment case for this project.

  Tanker Routing
  Mr. Cyril D. Townsend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what further developments have taken place on tanker routing following the consultations on the United Kingdom proposals submitted to the International Maritime Organisation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  Following consultations with representatives of the Shetland and Orkney local authorities, local and national fishing interests, United Kingdom shipping interests, international tanker operators and others we have submitted amended proposals to the IMO calling for an extended area to be avoided around the Shetland Islands, new areas to be avoided around the Fair Isle and Orkneys and recommended routes in the Fair Isle channel. In combination these measures should provide a standard 86
  of protection broadly equivalent to our original proposals while respecting the traditional rights of fisher men in that area. Proposals are also being submitted in respect of restrictions on laden tanker movements in the Pentland Firth and Isles of Scilly. We are placing copies of our amended proposals in the Library of the House.

  Submarines (Safety Scheme)
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with representatives of the Clyde fishermen on the operation of the Subfacts scheme; what future discussions he has planned; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  No ministerial meetings have taken place with representatives of the Clyde fishermen concerning Subfacts, but my noble Friend the Minister for Shipping and Aviation, the Earl of Caithness, is soon to meet with representatives of the fishing industry, to discuss the matter, on a date and venue yet to be agreed.

  No decisions will be made on the future nature of the Subfacts scheme until this consultation takes place.

  Level Crossings
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the level crossing accidents in 1992 and 1993 to the most recent practicable date, the causes of the accidents and the remedial action where taken.

  Mr. Freeman
  Details of level crossing accidents and any remedial action are published in HSE's annual report on railway safety, which is now prepared on the basis of financial years. Details for the first quarter of 1992 are available in the latest published report, for 1991–92, which is available in the House Library. Collated details of accidents since March 1992 are not yet available and will be published in the 1992–93 report in due course.

  London Underground
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about London Underground's plans for the future of the line between Epping and Ongar; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have had two representations about London Underground's plans for the future of the line between Epping and Ongar. The line is the subject of statutory closure procedures under sections 54 and 56 of the Transport Act 1962. Objectors will be able to give their views to the London regional passengers committee, whose report, among other things, will be taken into account by the Secretary of State when making a decision on the closure proposal.

  Birmingham Northern Relief Road
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give figures for the construction costs and interest payments associated with the Birmingham northern relief road.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The construction costs of the road are estimated at some £300 million at current prices. The cost of finance is a matter for the concessionaire.
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  Buses
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate as a percentage the number of K registration buses currently in use in Britain.

  Mr. Freeman
  By the end of March, K registrations comprised 3 per cent. of the bus stock—approximately 44 per cent. of the stock was under one year old.

  Waste Transportation
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to promote non-road based methods of waste transportation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The transport of waste is treated no differently from that of other commodities. We encourage the use of rail and water where practicable. Our enhancement of the freight facilities grant scheme and new track charges grant may help to divert some more waste from being moved throughout by road. I am chairing a group that is examining the scope for making more use of the River Thames for both passenger and freight transport. In addition my Department is considering more generally how best to encourage greater use of inland and coastal water transport.

  Rail and Bus Fares
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at what rate(a) the retail prices index, and (b) the retail prices of rail and bus fares have increased since January 1987; what effect Government policy has had on the level of rail and bus fares; and if he will publish a table showing the corresponding increase in real earnings in the rail and bus industries compared with the increase in earnings of white collar workers in the private sector.

  Mr. Freeman
  The data requested are shown in the tables. Detailed rail and bus fare levels are a matter for the operators. Ministers are consulted when British Rail fares are revised in view of their role in setting the financial framework within which British Rail operates. Bus deregulation outside London has promoted competition and reduced operating costs, thereby leading to downward pressure on bus fares.

  Fare indices and the RPI: United Kingdom, 1987–93

  January 1987=100

  Dale

  Rail fares1

  Local bus fares in Great Britain

  Retail Prices Index

  January 1987

  100·0

  100·0

  100·0

  January 1988

  107·1

  106·4

  103·3

  January 1989

  117·4

  112·8

  111·0

  January 1990

  117·4

  120·7

  119·5

  January 1991

  140·3

  136·8

  130·2

  January 1992

  150·7

  145·8

  135·6

  January 1993

  161·6

  153·5

  137·9

  1 Supplied by the Central Statistical Office. Includes rail fares other than British Rail.

  88

  Average earnings,1 by industry and sector: Great Britain, 1987–92

  1992 prices2

  £ per week at April

  Date

  Railways industry

  Scheduled road passenger transport and urban railways industry

  Private sector non-manual

  April 1987

  284

  260

  304

  April 1988

  293

  261

  325

  April 1989

  296

  253

  331

  April 1990

  274

  264

  333

  April 1991

  301

  264

  332

  April 1992

  307

  275

  338

  1 Full-time employees on adult rates. Derived from the New Earnings Survey published by the Department of Employment.

  2 Constant prices derived using the RPI deflator.

  Rail Privatisation
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what protection he proposes to give to private passenger train franchise operators from takeovers by companies deemed not suitable for the award franchises.

  Mr. Freeman
  Our intention is that the franchising director will assess the suitability of bidders to become franchisees. He will include terms in the franchise agreement under which the franchising director's consent will be required to changes in ownership of a franchisee.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what obligations will be placed on the new owner of British Rail's freight and parcels subsidiaries to ensure their continued use of rail transport following privatisation.

  Mr. Freeman
  Decisions about whether to use rail will be taken by the customers, as now, on the basis of price and quality of service.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with how many parties he is in negotiation for the franchising of rail passenger services.

  Mr. Freeman
  None. Negotiations on franchises will be conducted by the franchising director when he is appointed. I have had discussions with various parties about our franchising proposals.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many British Rail employees will be transferred to the employment of Railtrack;

  (2) which assets currently owned by the British Railways Board he proposes to transfer to Railtrack.

  Mr. Freeman
  It is too early to say. Railtrack will not be established as a Government-owned company until April 1994.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional resources he intends to make available for the Health and Safety Commission, the Health and Safety Executive and Her Majesty's railway inspectorate for the discharge of their duties arising from the Railways Bill after April 1994.

  Mr. Freeman
  Agency funds for HSE have been increased by about 60 per cent. in 1993–94 compared with
  89
  the previous year, in recognition of HSE's increased railway safety workload, including British Rail privatisation. Funds for 1994–95 will be agreed following this year's public expenditure discussions. We are committed to ensuring that adequate resources are made available.

  Nuclear Materials
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what issues are covered in Working Paper 30 on a draft code for the safe carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high level radioactive wastes in flasks on board ship, as agreed at the second technical committee meeting of the joint IAEA/IMO/UNEP working group on the safe carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel by sea held in Vienna on 26 to 30 April; and if he will place a copy in the Library;

  (2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the Working Paper No. 17, dealing with exports of plutonium from the United Kingdom to Japan, submitted to the technical committee meeting of the joint IAEA/IMO working group on the safe carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel by sea held in Vienna on 26 to 30 April.

  Mr. Norris
  I am placing copies of the working papers in the Library of the House.

  Trans-Pennine Rail Service
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the electrification of trans-Pennine rail services will have on local rail services at Mossley Hill and West Allerton; what discussions he has had with British Rail about the provision of a South Liverpool Parkway station; and what discussions he is holding with BR about the Liverpool to Crewe service and the stopping of trains at West Allerton station.

  Mr. Freeman
  Any decision to electrify the Trans-Pennine rail service would have an effect on local services. British Rail, in conjunction with the passenger transport executive, would need to give the matter due consideration.

  Decisions on the opening of new stations and the timetabling of existing services are for British Rail, and, where appropriate, the local PTE and not something in which Ministers directly intervene.

  Motor Rescue Services
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy towards restrictions on access to new motorway service areas for motor rescue services including the RAC and AA.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The operators of existing motorway service areas are required under the terms of their leases to permit access at all times to the employees or agents of the AA and the RAC to carry out emergency repairs to members' vehicles. I have decided that this right should be continued under the new regime announced on 6 August last year, and that they should also apply in new motorway service areas. My Department will therefore not agree to provide signs to a new motorway service area unless the operator agrees to permit access to the AA and the RAC. I am considering whether similar rights should be extended to other motor rescue services.
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  West Coast Main Line
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evidence has been submitted to him of the numbers of jobs in the United Kingdom railway manufacturing and supply industry which would be created by the total route modernisation of British Rail's west coast main line.

  Mr. Freeman
  None. Any estimate of the number of jobs created by modernising the west coast main line would depend in part on assumptions about the precise nature of the work to be done, which has yet to be finalised.

  Heathrow (Regional Airlines)
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for the protection of slots for regional airlines at Heathrow.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: I have at present no plans for measures in respect of Heathrow slots for regional air services. I note the operator's announcement that the service from Plymouth and Newquay to Heathrow will continue after Brymon Aviation has become a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways.

  Heavy Lorries
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total number of licensed lorries of 38 tonnes gross vehicle weight for each year from 1985.

  Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
  The figures for Great Britain are as follows:

  Maximum weight (38 tonne gross) vehicles licensed at end of year

  (000)

  1985

  26·2

  1986

  32·8

  1987

  39·7

  1988

  50·3

  1989

  57·9

  1990

  60·1

  1991

  58·6

  1992

  61·7

  East London River Crossing
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make available to hon. Members a copy of the reasoned opinion issued by the European Commission in connection with the complaint under EC directive 85/337 in relation to the east London river crossing and the threat to Oxleas wood in Woolwich.

  Mr. Norris
  Correspondence between the Commission and member states is regarded as confidential by both parties, and the United Kingdom will continue to respect this convention.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received the reasoned opinion from the European Commission in connection with the complaint under the European directive 85/337 in relation to the east London river crossing and the threat to Oxleas wood in Woolwich; and if he will make a statement.
  91
  Mr. Norris
  The European Commission's reasoned opinion was received on 27 April. We are considering it carefully but remain confident that we will convince the Commission of the merits of our case.

  Road Schemes (Grant)
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list, by London borough, and with totals for inner london, outer London and London as a

  Borough

  Major schemes

  Local safely schemes

  Other minor works

  Structural maintenance of carriageways and bridges

  Inner London

  Brent

  0

  390

  738

  898

  Camden

  0

  400

  372

  3,200

  City

  0

  50

  298

  1,696

  Greenwich

  0

  200

  433

  865

  Hackney

  1,334

  244

  296

  532

  Hammersmith

  0

  500

  740

  1,420

  Haringey

  371

  300

  495

  1,958

  Islington

  0

  440

  494

  1,004

  Kensington

  974

  200

  256

  298

  Lambeth

  0

  90

  495

  445

  Lewisham

  7,162

  390

  702

  250

  Newham

  5,324

  350

  799

  3,377

  Southwark

  4,068

  390

  459

  125

  Tower Hamlets

  0

  380

  292

  7,486

  Wandsworth

  610

  790

  562

  3,446

  Westminster

  974

  380

  381

  3,145

  TOTAL

  20,817

  5,494

  7,812

  30,145

  Outer London

  Barking

  734

  290

  375

  1,155

  Barnet

  0

  390

  590

  270

  Bexley

  4,921

  300

  233

  1,144

  Bromley

  3,615

  280

  1,018

  627

  Croydon

  3,500

  490

  814

  1,570

  Ealing

  1,523

  290

  1,276

  677

  Enfield

  3,510

  370

  971

  1,505

  Harrow

  12,310

  230

  217

  747

  Havering

  0

  200

  321

  737

  Hillingdon

  10,334

  690

  1,212

  620

  Hounslow

  4,305

  244

  494

  485

  Kingston

  856

  210

  246

  988

  Merton

  1,238

  390

  906

  235

  Redbridge

  0

  350

  488

  988

  Richmond

  0

  290

  251

  657

  Sutton

  577

  330

  659

  790

  Waltham Forest

  1,167

  390

  666

  515

  TOTAL

  48,590

  5,734

  10,737

  13,710

  GRAND TOTAL

  69,407

  11,228

  18,549

  43,855

  Note: All figures quoted are in £ thousands and represent gross accepted expenditure for transport supplementary grant support. Grant is paid at 50 per cent. of accepted expenditure.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Escorted Prisoners
  Mr. Blair
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement regarding the use of staff not trained as prison custody officers to escort prisoners in the east midlands and Humberside regions; if he will list all cases where such staff have been used; and whether the use of such staff breaks the terms of section H of the tender documents or his Department's contract with Group 4.
  92
  whole, the amount of transport supplementary grant payable for 1993–94 for (a) major schemes over 1 million, (b) minor road safety schemes, (c) other minor schemes and (d) other schemes accepted for transport supplementary grant.

  Mr. Norris
  The information is as follows:

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tony Blair, dated 15 May 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply directly to your recent Parliamentary Question about the use by Group 4 of staff not trained as prisoner custody officers in the court escort service in the East Midlands and Humberside.No untrained staff have been used by Group 4 to escort prisoners. All staff escorting prisoners have been prisoner custody officers certificated under the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.93 On certain days during the first two weeks of the contract, Group 4 used persons other than prisoner custody officers to drive vehicles on which prisoners were being escorted by prisoner custody officers. This was in response to an unforeseen level of prisoner movements and was not Group 4's original intention, which was to use PCOs as drivers. At no time did these arrangements break the contract, nor are they different to current practice in some police forces and some parts of the Prison Service where civilians are used as drivers.

  Mr. Rajanathan (Gun Licence)
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the circumstances under which a gun licence was recently issued to the late Mr. Rajanathan of 58 Horsenden crescent, Greenford; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Mr. Rajanathan was granted a shotgun certificate on 3 April. An inquest into the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Rajanathan was opened on 30 April and has been adjourned to a date to be fixed.

  Police, Staffordshire
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is in receipt of the submission from Staffordshire county council setting out the Staffordshire police authority's view of the need for the police authority to be accountable through a democratically elected police authority; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend received a copy of the document referred to on 7 May. A reply will be sent shortly.

  Mr. Brian Parsons
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on behalf of Brian Parsons, Ref. 089, Her Majesty's prison, Kingston; and when he expects to respond.

  Mr. Jack
  We received a number of representations between March 1991 and January 1993 suggesting that Mr. Parsons had been wrongfully convicted. These have all been the subject of detailed inquiries carried out on behalf of the Home Office by Devon and Cornwall police. However, in the light of the results of those inquiries and all the information available to me, I have not been able to find sufficient grounds to justify referring the case back to the Court of Appeal. Those who made representations to the Home Office have been informed accordingly.

  Car Crime
  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with(a) insurance companies and (b) vehicle manufacturers about measures to reduce car crime.

  Mr. Jack
  Both the insurance industry and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders are represented on my advisory committee on car crime prevention. This committee met in October last year and in March this year. A further meeting is scheduled for later in the summer. One of the central concerns of the committee is the measures that should be taken—by the motor manufacturers and the insurance industry, among others—to reduce the opportunities for car crime.
  94
  I have also held separate discussions with senior representatives of the Association of British Insurers to consider what more the insurance industry could do to help combat car crime. The most recent meeting was on 10 May.

  In addition, I have attended numerous motoring events around the country, where I have discussed the question of car security with individual motor manufacturers.

  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to encourage the fitting of immobilisers to cars.

  Mr. Jack
  The Home Office has for some time been seeking to encourage motor manufacturers to improve vehicle security and, in particular, to fit effective immobilisers which would prevent the unauthorised use of vehicles. I welcome recent progress in this area, and will continue to encourage the fitting of immobilisers as standard equipment.

  The police scientific development branch of the Home Office is providing significant support in this area through its work on examining and testing the effectiveness of vehicle immobilisers, in conjunction with the motor manufacturers and the insurance industry, and through its technical input into the emerging British standards on vehicle immobilisers.

  It is equally important that the security of vehicles already on the road should be upgraded and encouraging motorists to fit security devices, such as immobilisers, is a central feature of our extensive car crime prevention campaign, which is being continued this year to build on the success achieved in 1992.

  Prison Escort Services
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statutory provisions apply to the use of mechanical restraints such as handcuffs by private security firms carrying out prison escort services; and if he will make a statement.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 15 May 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply directly to your recent Parliamentary Question about the use of restraints by contractors carrying out prisoner escort duties under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.There are no statutory provisions relating to the use of mechanical restraints by prisoner custody officers.Section 82(1) of the 1991 Act gives prisoner custody officers (PCOs) powers of search. Section 82(3) gives PCOs duties to prevent the escape of prisoners from lawful custody; to prevent the commission by prisoners of other unlawful acts; to ensure good order and discipline on the part of prisoners; and to give effect to any directions as to their treatment which are given by a court. Section 82(4) gives PCOs on court premises in which the Crown court is sitting the duty to give effect to any order of that court made under Section 34A of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 (power of Crown court to order search of persons before it).Section 82(5) states that the various powers mentioned above shall include power to use reasonable force where necessary and it follows that force may include, in appropriate circumstances, the use of restraints.95

  Bosnian Refugees
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what efforts are currently being undertaken by his Department to ensure that families of Bosnian refugees are entitled to join refugees who have settled within the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Spouses and minor children are admitted to join those recognised as refugees under the terms of the 1951 convention on the status of refugees. In such cases Bosnian family members would need first to obtain visas from a British diplomatic post. Close dependants are also admitted to join former detention camp inmates evacuated to the United Kingdom, and we are in close liaison with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate their entry.

  In common with all other nationalities, Bosnian asylum applicants may not bring their families here while their applications are under consideration.

  Applications1 received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, and decisions2, 1987 to 1992

  Number of principal applicants

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Total applications received

  4,256

  3,998

  11,640

  22,000

  44,840

  24,610

  Decisions2

  Total decisions

  2,432

  2,702

  6,955

  4,015

  5,965

  34,900

  Recognised as refugee and granted asylum3

  266

  628

  2,210

  900

  505

  1,115

  Not recognised as refugee, but granted exceptional leave4

  1,531

  1,578

  3,860

  2,400

  2,230

  15,325

  Refusals

  Total refused

  635

  496

  890

  710

  3,240

  18,465

  Refused asylum and exceptional leave after full consideration

  635

  496

  890

  710

  2,185

  2,680

  Refused on safe third country grounds5

  —

  —

  —

  —

  270

  595

  Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration Rules6

  —

  —

  —

  —

  785

  15,195

  1 Includes applications made at ports on arrival and those made in-country.

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

  3 Excluding South East Asian refugees.

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

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

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

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

  Civil Defence
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he intends to publish the draft Civil Defence (General Local Authority Functions) Regulations.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The regulations were laid before Parliament today.

  Pathology Service
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where the Home Office pathologist Dr. John Rutherford is based; and if he will make a statement.
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  Immigration
  Mr. Dicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants and refugees have been admitted into the United Kingdom in each year since 1987.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information on persons accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom in the years 1987–91 is given in table 9 of the 1991 volume of the annual Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom" (Cm 2063). Information for 1992 is given in table 3 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue 14/93 "Control of Immigration: Statistics—Third and Fourth Quarters and Year 1992". These figures are of persons subject to immigration control who are granted indefinite leave to remain here. Copies of the publications are in the Library.

  Information on the number of applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom, and on decisions made, in the years 1987–92 is given in the following table. The fall in applications in 1992 followed measures introduced in late 1991 to deter multiple and other fraudulent claims.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Dr. John Rutherford, MRCPath, DMJ(Path), is a Home Office accredited forensic pathologist based at the North Manchester general hospital, Crumpsall, Manchester.

  Victim Support
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the total Home Office budget is spent on victim support; and what actual sums have been allocated for 1992–93 and the current financial year.

  Mr. Jack
  In 1992–93 Home Office grant aid to the national charity Victim Support amounted to £7·3 million, while provisional outturn expenditure by the Home Office on criminal injuries compensation amounted to £145 million. The Scottish Office contributed a further £21·7
  97
  million. In 1993–94 Home Office grant aid to Victim Support will increase by 15 per cent. to £8·4 million, while Home Office vote provision for criminal injuries compensation is £187·9 million.

  Home Office vote provision for supporting victims of crime in the current year accordingly amounts to 3·3 per cent. of the total Home Office vote provision of £5·9 billion.

  Passport Agency
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation with staff unions occurred prior to the announcement on 28 April that the Passport Agency was to be privatised or market tested.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The trade union side of the Home Office departmental Whitley Council was informed in a letter of 23 April 1993 of plans to review future options for the activities of the United Kingdom Passport Agency, including an examination of the scope for privatisation or market testing, as part of the process leading to a review of the agency's framework document. The trade union side of the Whitley Committee for the Passport Agency were informed of these plans at the same time.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if staff unions will have an opportunity to study either the emerging findings or the scoping, report prior to any market-testing exercises at the Passport Agency.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Emerging findings and scoping study reports of any market tests associated with the Passport Agency will be made available to the unions provided they do not bear any security or confidentiality classification.

  Employment Protection Regulations
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department intends to take legal advice on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981(a) initially at the point of identification of a business, (b) at the conclusion of the scoping study, (c) prior to invitations to tender and (d) prior to the award of a contract; and what is the estimated cost of such advice.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Home Office legal advisers will be consulted at the outset of a market test to establish whether the regulations are likely to apply. They will be consulted at the scoping study stage if that study has identified any material change which might affect the applicability of the regulations. Legal advisers will be consulted prior to the issue of an invitation to tender, and prior to the award of contract. The time spent on the advice will depend on the complexity of the market test and it is not, therefore, possible to estimate this in advance.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if companies involved in future Home Office market-testing exercises will be required to state their policy on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 and to take into account the consequences of any such application.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Yes. The invitation to tender documents will require companies to indicate whet her the regulations would apply to their bids.
  98

  Civil Protection Regulations
  Mr. Bowis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he gives to local authorities on the levels of expenditure needed to meet their obligations under the civil protection regulations.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The grant allocation proposed by the Home Office to local authorities is intended to be a contribution to the costs involved in meeting their responsibilities under the Civil Defence Regulations. It will be for each authority to decide upon the actual level of expenditure needed to meet all of its obligations.

ENVIRONMENT

  Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what performance targets he has set for the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre for 1993–94.

  Mr. Baldry
  The centre's key performance measure is the net balance on its trading account. The target for 1993–94 is a trading deficit of £0·866 million.

  The centre also has a projected overall room occupancy target of 49 per cent., a room hire revenue target of £3·584 million and a revenue: cost ratio target of 1:1·17. The centre will be expected to meet or better all of these projections.

  Waste-to-Energy Schemes
  Mr. O'Neill
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the effect of waste-to-energy schemes in reducing demand for landfill waste disposal sites; what assessment his Department has made of the impact on demand for landfill sites of the closure of existing waste incineration plants after 1996; and what plans he has to review existing requirements to dispose of inert ash residues from waste-to-energy plants via landfill.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 11 May 1993]: The proportion of waste destined for landfill is expected to fall as a result of the Government's waste minimisation and recycling policies and the development of new waste-to-energy schemes. Some municipal waste incinerators will have to close within the next few years because it will not be cost effective for them to be upgraded in order to achieve the requirements of the directive 89/429/EEC. Others are being upgraded and new plants are being constructed. The directive itself is not thought likely to have a significant effect on the proportion of waste disposed of by incineration. At present, my Department has no plans to review the use of landfill as a disposal option for inert incinerator ash—there is no alternative disposal option.

  Coastal Zone Management
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what views his Department has expressed to institutions of the European Community on the EC directive on coasts and the community strategy for integrated coastal zone management as highlighted in the fifth environmental action programme.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The Government will take an active part in ensuring that any

  99
  proposals which come forward from the Community on coastal zone planning and management are workable and effective.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the presentation by the European Commission of the coastal zone directive to the Council of Ministers.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: At present, the Commission has not published any directive on the coastal zone.

  Waste Management
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) of 29 April,Official Report, column 470, what assessment he has made of the burdens that the proposed new waste management licensing system will place on industry; and what consideration he has given to them in the light of the deregulation exercise.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: In considering proposals for new regulations, the Government place great importance on giving due weight to business' perception of the proposal's likely impact on business. To that end, the Department's consultation papers on waste management licensing issued on 10 August and 18 December contained estimates of certain costs that would arise and an invitation to consultees to provide information on additional costs that the proposals would impose on business. No usable information was provided by consultees. A compliance cost assessment will therefore be produced in due course on the basis of official estimates of additional costs; and industry will be invited to comment specifically on that.

  The main consideration relevant to the deregulation exercise is the range and scope of the exemptions from licensing provided in the waste management licensing regulations. We have received a large number of representations on this point and are giving them sympathetic consideration where we can achieve our environmental objectives without licensing.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans)Official Report, column 470, on further revisions to the waste management licensing timetable, if he will list those technical problems which have not yet been fully resolved concerning the relationship between waste management licensing and European Community measures dealing with waste; and for what reasons these problems were not identified at the time the EC measures were adopted.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: As well as considering the impact of the EC framework directive on waste (91/156/EEC) on part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, we have had to give further consideration to the effect of the directive on other regulatory regimes which control the handling, keeping, treatment and disposal of waste; particularly where the scope for providing exemptions from the proposed Waste Management Licensing Regulations relies on such regulatory regimes for the implementation of the directive. These are technical problems which affect the detailed
  100
  drafting of the regulations, and could not have been reasonably foreseen when the directive was adopted. It is regrettable that this has delayed implementation of the waste licensing provisions, but it is essential that the implications of the framework directive are properly reflected in the regulations before they are laid, to ensure both that we meet our EC obligations and that we do not place burdens on industry by unnecessarily exceeding them.

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the findings of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's report on the timetable for opening an underground store at Sellafield.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The timetable for establishing a deep disposal facility for low and intermediate level radioactive waste is a matter for Nirex.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to delay any decisions on THORP until the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee has completed its review of radioactive waste disposal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: A decision about THORP will be taken by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as soon as the necessary procedures have been completed.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the implications of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's report for storage of low and medium-level waste from(a) Magnox nuclear reactors and (b) the proposed THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: Low-level radioactive waste is, and will continue to be, disposed of at British Nuclear Fuels' site at Drigg. Intermediate level radioactive waste will be stored until it can be disposed of in Nirex's deep disposal facility.

  Waste Managers
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what preparations are to be made for the introduction of certificates of technical competence for waste managers and associated guidance on assessing technical competence under part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  Mr. Maclean
  Following the further delay in the introduction of waste management licensing under the Environmental Protection Act which I announced on 29 April at column 4708, my Department has been discussing the position of the provisions on technical competence with the waste management industry training and advisory board (WAMITAB).

  The issues delaying the waste management licensing regulations do not throw any doubt on the provisions

  101
  regarding technical competence. I have therefore published today the text of provisions that the Government will bring forward as part of waste management licensing in due course. These provisions would prescribe WAMITAB certificates as evidence of technical competence and include transitional provisions for existing waste managers, and will be embodied in regulations under the 1990 Act to be put before the House as part of the waste management licensing regulations. I have also published an advance extract from the associated statutory guidance on assessing technical competence. I have deposited a copy of this material in the Library of the House.

  This advance information will enable waste managers, waste regulators and WAMITAB to make early preparations for this important part of the 1990 Act.

  My Department has now let a contract with WAMITAB under which it will complete its system for awarding certificates of technical competence based on national vocational qualifications.

  The certificates of technical competence to be offered by WAMITAB will be an important component of the improved environmental standards in waste management to be achieved by the waste regulation provisions of the Environmental Protection Act, and the Government fully endorse the work of the board.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  UN Funds
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the United Nations to secure non-governmental organisation representation on(a) the United Nations development programme and (b) on the executive council of the United Nation's children's fund.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  International non-governmental organisations can gain observer status on the governing bodies of both the UN development programme and the UN children's fund through the existing arrangements for accreditation of NGOs to the UN Economic and Social Council. We are playing an active role in moves to obtain easier access for NGOs to UN bodies following the success of the wider involvement of NGOs at the Rio summit last year.

  Landmines Protocol
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government intend to ratify the 1981 landmines protocol; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The situation remains as set out in my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's reply to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 9 March at column 517.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what investigations the diplomatic and aid wings of his Department have been subject by the Data Protection Register in relation to a suspected breach of a data protection principle; if he will 102
  summarise the nature of each complaint and state when the complaint was made; and what remedial action was taken by his Department to ensure future compliance with the principle subject to the investigation.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  There has been one complaint, in 1989, to the Data Protection Registrar in respect of the diplomatic wing of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The registrar found against the complainant, who was requesting access to paper files outwith the act. There has been no complaint in respect of the aid wing of the FCO.

  East Timor
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received on the subject of East Timor; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We have received numerous representations on the subject of East Timor. We welcome the resumption, tinder the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General, of the Indonesian-Portuguese dialogue on East Timor and have encouraged both sides to be as constructive as possible. We maintain a regular dialogue on human rights with the Indonesian authorities, bilaterally and together with our EC partners. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised our concerns most recently when he visited Indonesia in early April.

  Western European Union (Greece)
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Western European Union the future of the union in the light of the application by Greece for membership.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  The next WEU Council of Ministers in Rome on 19–20 May will discuss inter alia enlargement and the future role of the WEU. Enlargement, including Greek accession, Turkey, Iceland and Norway becoming associate members and Denmark and Ireland observers, will enable the WEU better to develop its role. Greece, as a future member state, and the future associates and observers will participate in the Rome ministerial meeting.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what ultimate responsibility is held by Her Majesty's Government for debts incurred by the Government of Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Garel-Jones
  Under the constitution the Governor has responsibility to maintain the financial and economic stability of the territory. But it is the responsibility of the Government of Gibraltar to service its own debts.
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OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Africa
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the Overseas Development Administration's budget will be spent on aid and assistance to Africa, and to each other continent, in the current financial year.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Of the ODA's external assistance vote, as approved in the main supply estimates 1993–94, 36 per cent. is provided, within bilateral programmes, specifically for country programmes, including the aid and trade provision and bilateral assistance to central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

  This proportion can be broken down by continent as follows:

  Per cent.

  Africa

  44

  America

  8

  Asia

  39

  Europe (including former Soviet Union)

  8

  Oceania

  1

  British Dependencies
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the proportion of overseas aid allocated to each of the British overseas dependencies.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The proportions of gross bilateral aid allocated to British dependencies in 1991–92 were as follows:

  Dependency

  Per cent.

  Anguilla

  0·2

  Bermuda

  1—

  British Virgin Islands

  0·2

  Cayman Islands

  0·2

  Falkland Islands

  0·1

  Gibraltar

  0·1

  Hong Kong

  1—

  Montserrat

  0·3

  Pitcairn Island

  1—

  St. Helena and Dependencies

  1·0

  Turks and Caicos Islands

  1·1

  TOTAL

  3·3

  1— means less than 0·05 per cent.

  Source: British Aid Statistics 1987–88–1991–92.

  Cambodia
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much overseas aid money has been provided to Cambodia to pay for mine clearance to date; and what plans his Department has to increase such aid without using money from existing budgets.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Since 1991–92 we have provided some £260,000 for mine clearance in Cambodia. A further £232,520 has been committed for expenditure this financial year.
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  Self-build Projects
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what level of overseas development funding for each year from 1979–80 was allocated to self-build projects in developing countries.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  ODA does not maintain separate records of expenditure on self-build projects. These come within the category of low-cost housing. Figures for expenditure on low-cost housing are only available from 1987–88 and are as follows:

  £

  1987–88

  768,000

  1988–89

  1,232,000

  1989–90

  1,137,000

  1990–91

  1,239,000

  1991–92

  1,080,000

  In addition Commonwealth Development Corporation expenditure in the housing sector has been:

  £

  1987–88

  2,290,000

  1988–89

  1,670,000

  1989–90

  1,250,000

  1990–91

  1,600,000

  1991–92

  Nil

  East Timor
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what aid has been given to the people of East Timor in the years following its annexation by Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  None of Britain's aid to Indonesia has been used for projects in East Timor in the years since its annexation in 1975, but we are prepared to consider providing financial support for non-governmental organisations who might operate there.

  With our EC partners, HMG continues to follow developments, including human rights, in East Timor closely and welcomes the resumption, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, of the Indonesian-Portuguese dialogue.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Information Technology
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee if he will make a statement on the information technology facilities currently available to hon. Members.

  Mr. Waller
  It is for Members to acquire their information technology facilities, making use of the office costs allowance.

  The computer officer is available to offer Members informal advice on the acquisition and use of IT equipment. The Information Committee has also published guidelines for Members, which have recently been updated and are incorporated in the "Members' Handbook".
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  In my reply to the hon. Member on 19 January:1993 at columns 154–55 I referred to computer services accessible via the Library. In the course of that response I also drew attention to the pilot project for a parliamentary data and video network (PDVN) at present being undertaken at 7 Millbank. This is available to Members and their staff whose offices are located at 7 Millbank and who have direct cabling to the network. In addition to database services, which include POLIS and Hansard on CD-ROM, the network also provides electronic mail and outgoing fax facilities.

  The PDVN pilot project is to be reviewed by the Information Committee towards the end of the year as part of its current inquiry into the network.

EDUCATION

  University Colleges
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when a decision will be taken about submissions made by the Standing Conference of Principals in Higher Education about the use of the title university college in their nomenclature; when the submissions were first received by his Department; how many colleges will be affected by the changes; and what criteria are to be used in determining the right of a college to such a title.

  Mr. Boswell
  The submission of the Standing Conference of Principals was received on 19 March 1993. Under its proposals, all publicly funded higher education colleges would be eligible to adopt a "university college" title. I hope to be in a position to reply shortly to the chairman of the standing conference.

  Student Loans
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received on the subject of student loans; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  My right hon. Friend receives occasional representations on the subject of student loans.

  Computers
  Mr. Steinberg
  TO ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the average ratio of computers to students in secondary schools and further and higher education establishments.

  Mr. Forth
  In March 1992, the latest date for which information is available, the average micro:pupil ratio in maintained secondary schools in England was 1:13. Information for further education establishments is not available on the same basis. It is estimated that the workstation:student ratio in further education colleges in March 1992 was generally in the range from 1:10 to 1:15. Information for higher education establishments is not collected centrally.

  Special Educational Needs
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of children with special educational needs had their needs first identified by(a) parents, (b) doctors/paediatricians, (c) educational psychologists, (d) school staff and (e) others.
  106
  Mr. Forth
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of children with special educational needs had their needs identified at(a) below the age of five years and (b) above the age of five years in the latest convenient period.

  Mr. Forth
  In the calendar year 1991 11 per cent. of children for whom statements of special educational needs were made for the first time were under the age of five whilst the majority—89 per cent.—were five or over. It is not possible to tell how many of the total number of children aged five and over who currently have statements received them for the first time when they were under five.

  Bullying
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will consider appointing special staff to deal with the problem of bullying in schools: and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Headteachers are responsible for securing acceptable standards of behaviour and conduct by pupils. The Government expect schools to deal firmly with bullying. To, help them do so, the Department issued "Action Against Bullying" packs to all schools in England in July 1992. Further guidance material is in preparation. The Department has no plans to appoint specialist staff, but local education authorities could bid for support for whole-school action on bullying under the reducing truancy category of the Department's grants for education support and training (GEST) scheme for 1993–94. A number of approved projects incorporate such a component.

  Science Exchanges
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the proportion of science exchanges proposed in the expanded TEMPUS programme of the European Commission; and how many expanded TEMPUS programme of the European Commission; and how many science-based exchanges involving United Kingdom projects are currently in place.

  Mr. Boswell
  Although applications for projects under the extended TEMPUS programme, TEMPUS II, have not yet been made, United Kingdom institutions are currently participating in 158 projects in science and related subjects under the existing programme.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Mortgage Tax Relief
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for South Hams dated 15 March concerning the treatment for tax relief purposes by the Inland Revenue of the interest payable on home mortgages.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I wrote to my hon. Friend on 14 May.

  Corporation Tax
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will publish a table setting out the total foreign exchange liabilities, broken down by currency, of companies liable to United Kingdom corporation tax;
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  (2) if he will publish a table setting out the total foreign exchange liabilities of companies liable to United Kingdom corporation tax, broken down by category of business of those companies;

  (3) what estimate he has made of the ratio of foreign exchange liabilities of companies liable to United Kingdom corporation tax to their total liabilities.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Comprehensive information is not available in the form requested. But information is given on total financial liabilities and foreign currency lending from United Kingdom banks along with a breakdown of foreign currency bank lending. Dollars represent the main foreign currency for bank lending.

  Liabilities at end 1992 Q4 (£ billion)

  Total

  Lending by banks

  Industrial and commercial sector

  1,117·3

  36·9

  Other financial institutions

  1,108·5

  28·3

  Source: Financial Statistics May 1993, Tables 14.6 and 14.7

  As regards the industry breakdown, information is available only on foreign currency lending by United Kingdom banks to United Kingdom residents. This is given for March 1993.

  £ million

  Energy and Water supplies

  4,649

  Construction

  1,956

  Garages distribution, hotels and catering

  8,750

  Transport and communications

  2,948

  Manufacturing industry

  11,615

  Agriculture, forestry, fishing

  94

  Financial

  32,009

  Business and other services (excluding central and local government services)

  5,325

  Total of above

  67,346

  Source: Bank of England Press Notice 14 May 1993.

  Charities
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of tax credits on share dividends becoming available to charities in each of the years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93 were claimed in the same year.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I regret that the information requested is not available.

  Tax Computations
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will set out the criteria on which the Board of Inland Revenue will accept tax computations rounded to the nearest £1,000.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Inland Revenue is prepared to accept computations of business profits for tax purposes in figures rounded to the nearest £1,000 from single businesses or companies with an annual turnover of not less than £5 million, where rounding at least to that extent has been used in preparing their accounts. The turnover of members of a group will not be aggregated for applying this £5 million threshold. Where turnover fluctuates either side of 108
  the threshold, rounding can be used for a period of account if the turnover for either that year or the immediately previous year is above the limit. Turnover comprises gross receipts including investment and estate income, as well as trading receipts.

  The Inland Revenue will only accept rounding in any particular case if the basis adopted is satisfactory. Rounded computations from such businesses must be accompanied by a certificate made by the person preparing the computations which:
  states the basis on which the rounding has been done; confirms that this basis is unbiased, that it has been applied consistently and that it has been used in a manner which, in all the circumstances, produces a fair result for tax purposes; and if the rounding was done by computer, states the progam or software used.

  In subsequent years if there have been no changes in the basis or in the software, the certificate need only confirm that the rounding has been done on the same basis as before.

  The Inland Revenue is prepared to accept rounded figures only in relation to the computation of the profits of the business, including in the case of companies, non-case I items. They, cannot accept rounded figures in relation to the computation of tax payable or of any other figure of tax.

  Nor can they accept rounded figures, in relation to any other aspect of the tax computations, where rounding would impede the proper application of the relevant legislation or where it would normally be necessary to go back to the underlying records to do the computation, and thus there would be no reduction in the compliance burden in allowing the use of round sums. Rounding is not therefore acceptable in the following:

  —computations of chargeable gains (since precise dates on which expenditure is incurred are needed for indexation allowances purposes); rounding can however be accepted in relation to the incidental costs of acquisition and disposal;

  —computations of tax credit relief: while individual items of foreign income (including profits of overseas branches and, for the purpose of calculating underlying tax rates, dividends paid by overseas companies and the profits of those companies) may be rounded, computations of credit relief must continue to distinguish the individual items of income and to show the exact amounts of foreign tax for which credit is claimed so that the rules for limiting the credit can be properly applied;

  —computations required for purposes of the Accrued Income Scheme (Section 710–728, ICTA 1988);

  —aspects of capital allowances computations where precise figures are required, for example by the statute or where rounding might work unfairly because more than one taxpayer is involved and different bases could be used by each. One case where the statute requires the use of precise figures is the expensive car provisions in Sections 34–36 CAA 1990. However in any capital allowances apportionment case it would be open to the taxpayer to demonstrate to the Inspector that, taking all the circumstances into account, including those of any other party, the use of rounded figures did not lead to a result that was materially different from the statutory position. For example, in the case of the industrial buildings one-quarter rule (section 18(7) CAA 1990), the Inspector would want to be satisfied that the use of rounding alone did not reduce the non-qualifying expenditure to one-quarter or less of the total expenditure (and thereby enable the whole of the expenditure to attract allowances).

  —the application of the statutory amount in Section 748 (i) (d) ICTA 1988 in relation to a controlled foreign company.

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  Exceptionally other circumstances may arise where rounding would not satisfy the tests in the preceding paragraph. In those circumstances the inspector may insist that roundings are not used.

  These arrangements will continue into pay and file. Subject to the exceptions provided in the two previous paragraphs, rounded figures from the accounts may be used in the computation of trading profits and losses, each category of income, management expenses and charges. Where appropriate, these figures will of course require adjustments to the "received" or "paid" basis. Group relief or relief for losses from other periods should be on the actual sums surrendered or brought forward, or carried back. No rounding should take place in the return form itself—for example, in the allocation of profits to financial years—or in any arithmetic that precedes such entries, for example, a computation of marginal small companies relief.

  Where arrangements on the use of rounding have already been agreed, locally with inspectors these may continue to operate in the short term, but must come to an end for all periods ending after 31 May 1995.

  African Debt
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the British Government have to assist Africa in reducing its debt burden; and if he will make it his policy to secure international agreement for Africa's debt burden being written off.

  Mr. Nelson
  At the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in September 1990, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, then Chancellor, proposed a reduction in the stock of eligible debt of two thirds. In December 1991, the Paris Club of creditor countries agreed to allow creditors to provide the equivalent of 50 per cent. cancellation of eligible debts consolidated under each agreement. Seventeen countries have so far benefited from Trinidad terms, including 13 of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Under these agreements over $3 billion of sub-Saharan African debt has been rescheduled by the Paris Club, cancelling over $1 billion during the lifetime of the agreements. The Trinidad terms also include an undertaking by creditors to consider a reduction in the stock of eligible debt after a period of proven financial and economic responsibility of three to four years.

  The Government are, however, aware that for some of the poorest and most severely indebted countries Trinidad terms as currently applied will not be enough. For this reason we are pursuing with our creditor country colleagues improvements in the terms. Specifically, we would like to see the full Trinidad terms implemented and earlier action on reducing the total stock of debt for debtors who have a good track record.

  The Government have also cancelled nearly £200 million of old aid debts owed by sub-Saharan African countries which are successfully pursuing sound policies of reform. Altogether, we have relieved developing countries of the burden of about £1·1 billion of old aid loans. New aid to such countries is now provided only in the form of grants.
  110

  Audio-visual Goods
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentage the retail price of audio-visual goods has fallen since January 1987; and what has been the market share of British industry in the supply of such goods in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Nelson
  The retail prices index for audio-visual equipment fell by 17·2 per cent. between January 1987 and March 1993, the latest date for which information is available. Information on the market share of British industry in the supply of such goods is not available in the form requested.

  Treasury Costs
  Mr. Dicks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the cost of running the Treasury in each year since 1987.

  Mr. Nelson
  The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  £ million

  1987–88

  34·673

  1988–89

  38·040

  1989–90

  39·326

  1990–91

  44·969

  1991–92

  55·927

  11992–93

  55·675

  1 Forecast outturn.

  Exchange Rates
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of rises in exchange rates on output and employment in(a) manufacturing industry and (b) the rest of the economy since February.

  Mr. Nelson
  There are a large number of influences on economic activity at any one time, and it is impossible properly to assess the effect of exchange rate changes in isolation. But there are encouraging signs, in the figures for manufacturing output and GDP as well as in other indicators, that the economy is beginning to recover across a broad front.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Britain was free to determine its own monetary policy as a member of the exchange rate mechanism; and what proposals he has for changing the rules of the exchange rate mechanism to allow the pursuit of an independent monetary policy.

  Mr. Nelson
  Membership of the exchange rate mechanism (ERM) is a matter of choice, not obligation. It is not possible to pursue an independent monetary policy without regard to the exchange rate, inside or outside the exchange rate mechanism.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what policy objectives underlie the Government's purpose in raising nominal and real exchange rates; and if he will estimate by how much the public sector borrowing requirement increased as a result of the increase in nominal and real exchange rates since February.
  111
  Mr. Nelson
  The objective of the Government's monetary policy is to keep underlying inflation with a range of 1 to 4 per cent. and to bring it down to the lower part of that range by the end of the current Parliament. Short-term interest rates are set in order to meet this objective. The exchange rate is one of the indicators taken into account in assessing monetary conditions, but there is no target for the nominal or real exchange rate. A higher exchange rate reduces the sterling cost of public expenditure incurred in foreign currencies, but this is only one of a number of influences affecting the size of the PSBR.

  Tourism
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has of the effect on the balance of payments on tourism of changes in the real exchange rate measured in terms of export unit values; and if he will publish a table showing imports and exports of tourism in cash terms and as a percentage of gross overseas products for each year since 1970, together with the balance of payments in current account on a corresponding basis; to what extent the figures are likely to be affected by the fall in the real exchange rate since September 1992, as measured by changes in the nominal exchange rate and in the real exchange rate weighted by the percentage change in import and export unit values in trade on manufactures with non-EC countries; and what is his forecast for the increase in output in the United Kingdom tourist industry for 1993 and 1994.

  Mr. Nelson
  The most recent figures for the balance of payments including the analysis of the components of services trade, are shown in CSO's "UK Economic Accounts", tables B1 and B5. The FSBR forecast that the balance on services trade, which includes travel and tourism, would improve in volume terms in 1993, in part because of the improvement in competitiveness since last September. Forecasts for output and employment at the tourist industry level are not available.

  Outstanding Tax Liabilities
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange a meeting between the collector of taxes at the Inland Revenue south-west offices and Dr. M. R. Cross of the Diving Disease Research Centre at Fort Bovisand to discuss payment, in instalments, of outstanding tax liabilities.

  Mr. Dorrell
  It is not for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to arrange such meetings. However, I understand that the collector of taxes will be contacting Dr. Cross to arrange a meeting.

  House Prices
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much(a) house prices and (b) the cost of dwelling insurance and ground rent, as measured by the retail prices index, have risen since January 1987; and if he will provide separate figures for dwelling insurance and ground rent.

  Mr. Nelson
  House prices are not used directly in the compilation of the retail prices index. The United Kingdom all dwellings mix-adjusted house price index,112
  published by the Department of the Environment, rose by 48 per cent. between the first quarter of 1987 and the first quarter of 1993.

  Between January 1987 and March 1993, the latest date for which information is available, the dwelling insurance and ground rent section of the retail prices index increased by 97·9 per cent. Separate figures for dwelling insurance and for ground rent are not available.

  Foreign Holidays
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on United Kingdom employment and on the balance of payments since 1986 of the increase in the price of foreign holidays since 13 January 1987.

  Mr. Nelson
  A price index for foreign holidays has only been compiled from January this year following the recommendation of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee. The price of foreign holidays is but one factor among many which may affect the balance of payments and the level of employment.

  Economic and Monetary Union
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what distinction he makes between United Kingdom monetary policy and membership of the exchange rate mechanism in the context of stage two of economic and monetary union.

  Mr. Nelson
  Article 3(1) of the protocol to the Treaty on European Union (Cm 1934) setting out the statutes of the European Monetary Institute provides that monetary policy would remain the responsibility of national authorities in stage 2 of economic and monetary union. It would remain a matter for national authorities to decide whether they wished their currency to participate in the exchange rate mechanism.

  Insider Dealing
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government propose to take to stop insider trading; and if he will introduce legislation(a) requiring public companies to notify their shareholders of significant changes in their circumstances to reach them not later than the information is released to the stock exchange and (b) prohibiting meetings with representatives of such companies by investment analysts able to acquire information about a company which is not made available earlier or at exactly the same time to all the company's private shareholders.

  Mr. Nelson
  Insider dealing has been illegal since 1980. The Criminal Justice Bill which is currently before Parliament will replace the existing legislation and bring our law on insider dealing into line with the EC directive on the subject.

  Requirements already exist to ensure that information relating to significant changes in the circumstances of a company which is listed on the stock exchange is made available to the company's actual and potential shareholders: a company must make available to the public any information necessary to enable shareholders and the public to appraise the position of the company and

  113
  to avoid the establishment of a false market. By virtue of part IV of the Financial Services Act, this requirement has statutory effect.

  Such information is notified by companies to the stock exchange which has arrangements for disseminating it through news vendors and press agencies. Information may also be given directly by a company to news vendors, press agencies and others at the same time as it is given to the stock exchange.

  The Government believe that contact between a company and investment analysts and institutional investors can play a useful and valuable role in improving their understanding of its businesses and strategies. Information which should be the subject of a public announcement should not be disclosed at such meetings.

  Retail Prices Index
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what period the new retail prices index for foreign holidays measures the increase in the price of such holidays; for what reason table 18.2 of the "Monthly Digest of Statistics" did not give figures for the period before February; if he will publish(a) the corresponding figures for January 1987 and August 1992 and (b) the items which are covered under this heading; how the information is obtained; and what weight is given to different kinds of such holidays.

  Mr. Nelson
  Foreign holidays were introduced into the retail prices index with effect from February 1993. Table 18–2 of the "Monthly Digest of Statistics" should have made it clear that the price index for foreign holidays is calculated on the base January 1993 =100. No earlier figures are available. The holidays included in the foreign holidays index, as indicators, are carefully chosen to be representative of those holiday destinations visited by United Kingdom citizens. The importance of individual holidays is determined by information from the international passenger survey, tour operators and travel agents. In 1993 the weight attached to foreign holidays in the retail prices index is 30 out of 1,000. This reflects expenditures reported by households in the continuous family expenditure survey.

  The report of the Retail Prices Index Advisory Committee (Cm 2142) includes a description of the method used to construct the index for foreign holidays. Copies of the report are available in the House Library.

  Value Added Tax
  Mr. Waller
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies are now being required to lodge security by guarantee or a cash deposit with Customs and Excise towards future VAT returns, in order to continue to supply goods and services under the Value Added Tax Act 1983.

  Sir. John Cope
  For the year ending 31 March 1993, Customs and Excise required 1,176 of the 1·6 million (0·07 per cent.) VAT registered businesses to provide security.

  VAT Division (Jobs)
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the value added tax division, Customs and Excise to be completed in Liverpool; and how many jobs will be provided.
  114
  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The VAT headquarters building at Queens dock, Liverpool is expected to be completed in August 1993.

  Three-hundred-and-fifty jobs have already been relocated from Southend to Liverpool and during the next 18 months some 300 further jobs will follow. The new building will also house the VAT headquarters staff currently located in Bootle.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 29 April,Official Report, column 507, regarding the length of time taken to hear council tax banding appeals, if he will now make it his policy to set (a) a target by which time all appeals must be determined and (b) a target for the maximum length of time an individual appeal will take from submission to determination.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I have been asked to reply.

  I am anxious to ensure that appeals are dealt with as quickly and effectively as possible. What can be achieved will depend on how many proposals are received, but I intend to set firm targets as soon as the likely caseload can be estimated with reasonable certainty.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  BST Products
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Harborough (Mr. Gamier), of 22 January,Official Report, column 427, if he will set out the reason he was given by the Medicines Commission for its decision that BST products manufactured by the companies Lilly Industries Ltd. and Monsanto SA/NV meet the medicines licensing criteria.

  Mr. Gummer
  The additional data presented to the Medicines Commission by the companies in support of their applications for licences for BST products were judged as satisfying the concerns previously expressed by the Veterinary Products Committee, particularly in relation to the incidence of mastitis. On this basis the Commission advised that the Medicines Act licensing criteria of safety, quality and efficacy were met.

  Food Supplements
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to commission a second report from an impartial working group on those issues covered by the Denner report.

  Mr. Soames
  I have no plans to commission a second report on dietary supplements. The Denner report has been used as a basis for consultation and it allowed us to gather a wide range of views on the question of dietary supplements.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the purpose of the recent meeting between his officials and Mr. G. Latham and Mr. M. Hanssen of the Health Food
  115
  Manufacturers Association and at which the Denner report was discussed; what conclusions were reached at the meeting; what was agreed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  Officials were asked to meet the President of the Health Food Manufacturers' Association, Mr. Hanssen, and the Chairman of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, Mr. Latham, to discuss a range of subjects of interest to these organisations. The meeting was essentially an exchange of information.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement setting out the procedure which he will adopt and the organisations which will be consulted in future on any proposal to restrict the availability of food supplements.

  Mr. Soames
  It is MAFF policy to consult widely on all food safety matters. Our consultations on dietary supplements have involved over 160 organisations. However, the Government must retain the right to act immediately if necessary to protect consumers.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to ensure that the House is made aware of any consultation process which he undertakes on food supplements and that right hon. and hon. Members have the opportunity to submit their views and those of their constituents prior to any decisions being taken; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  A public announcement was made on 27 March 1991 that the report on the working group on dietary supplements and health foods had been published and that the next step would be a wide public consultation. Copies of the report were placed in the Library of the House together with a copy of a statement summarising the recommendations and the Government's proposed follow up action. This included details of a review of certain herbal ingredients by the Committee on Toxicity and the Food Advisory Committee.

  On 2 March this year I announced to the House the action I had taken in respect of comfrey products—Official Report, column 79. The Government will continue to keep the House fully informed of developments in this area.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what plans he has to seek to introduce a ban on substances mentioned in the Denner report in addition to comfrey; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what plans he has to restrict the availability of (a) fennel, (b) blue flag, (c) juniper oil, (d) lobelia, (e) uvaursi, (f) zanthxylum, (g) pokeroot, (h) berberis/ hydrastis, (i) berberis, (j) black cohose, (k) blue cohose, (1) bloodroot, (m) fumaria, (n) helonias, (o) hydrastis, (p) juniper, (q) kelp, (r) mugwort and (s) pennyroyal, or products containing extracts or concentrations of these foodstuffs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  I have no such plans. A review of the substances referred to in the Denner report which includes all those listed by the hon. Member is continuing. No decision has yet been taken on their continued availability.
  116

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Bank of Credit and Commerce International
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he expects to receive any report from the liquidators of BCCI concerning the meeting on 27 May.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  My officials have asked the liquidators to report the outcome of the meeting summoned pursuant to the provisions of section 142 of the Insolvency Act, 1986 to be held on 27 May 1993.

  Ammunition
  Mr. Rogers
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to investigate the explosives propellants and related end products—EPREP—ammunition cartel; and what agreements have been made by his Department in relation to this agreement.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I am aware of no such ammunition cartel. The EPREP agreement expired in March this year.

  Trade Boycotts
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to assist British companies trading with Israel to ensure that United Kingdom companies are now placed on the same basis as United States companies in respect of the lifting of the secondary and tertiary boycotts by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

  Mr. Needham
  Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, are obliged by the EC/GCC co-operation agreement, 1988, to give most-favoured nation treatment to EC member states. This means that any concessions on the Arab boycott granted to United States companies by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or other members of the GCC must be extended to exports form the United Kingdom and other EC member states.

  Member countries of the GCC also have a treaty obligation not to discriminate between EC member states.

  We take advantage of bilateral contacts with GCC countries to point out that we object to the boycott as an unwelcome trade barrier and to remind them of their obligations not to discriminate against or between EC member states.

  Company Directors (Disqualifications)
  Ms Corston
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions in the last five years for which records are available he has exercised his discretionary power in applying to the courts for a disqualification order against a company director.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The Secretary of State has issued the following number of directions to proceed under sections 6 and 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

  Number of directions to proceed

  Financial year

  Section 6

  Section 8

  1988–89

  416

  2

  1989–90

  462

  —

  1990–91

  499

  9

  1991–92

  700

  —

  1992–93

  564

  7

  117

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people are employed in the British(a) aero engine and (b) airframe industries.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The latest official employment figures from the "Report on the Census of Production"—available in the House of Commons Library—show employment of 174,000 in the aerospace industry in 1990. The figures do not differentiate between the aeroengine and airframe industries.

  Aerospace Industry
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the amount of financial backing given to the aerospace industry in each year since 1979 at constant prices.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Financial support given to the aerospace industry by DTI for each year since 1979 in constant (1991–92) prices are as follows. The figures include launch aid', civil aircraft research and development, regional assistance, and other miscellaneous DTI schemes. Figures are calculated by using the GDP deflator whole economy in financial years published by HM Treasury (Autumn Statement).

  DTI support for Aerospace sector Constant prices for price levels in 1991–92 Real terms

  Financial year

  £ million

  1979–80

  278·2

  1980–81

  153·4

  1981–82

  256·6

  1982–83

  141·7

  1983–84

  174·7

  1984–85

  163–9

  1985–86

  176·6

  1986–87

  184·3

  1987–88

  71·3

  1988–89

  130·1

  1989–90

  143·6

  1990–91

  136·0

  1991–92

  37·1

  1992–93

  1—6·9

  1 Launch Aid is repayable by levy payments on aircraft sales. Net Launch Aid figures for each year have been used (i.e. payments to companies minus levy receipts). For 1992–93 levy receipts exceeded payments.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the amount of money earned by aerospace exports in each year since 1979 at constant prices.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Aerospace exports—civil and military —in each year since 1979 in constant, 1985, prices are:

  Real exports

  Year

  £ billion

  1979

  4·0

  1980

  4·6

  1981

  3·2

  1982

  3·3

  1983

  3·3

  1984

  3·4

  1985

  3·8

  118

  Year

  £ billion

  1986

  4·6

  1987

  4·7

  1988

  5·2

  1989

  7·1

  1990

  6·4

  1991

  6·3

  1992

  5·5

  Figures are derived by calculating an implied retail price index from:

  Business Monitor MQ10 for 1992

  Business Monitor PAS 3640 for 1984–1991

  Business Monitor PQ 3640 for 1981–1983

  Business Monitor PQ 383 for 1979–1980

  Overseas Trade Fairs
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing expenditure by his Department on supporting participation by United Kingdom apparel and textile companies in overseas trade fairs in each of the last three years; and what comparable information is available on expenditure by the Governments of Germany, France and Italy.

  Mr. Needham
  The requested information is as follows:

  Year

  Net expenditure £

  Percentage of total support

  1990·91

  1,145,676

  9·7

  1991–92

  1,336,051

  10·7

  1992·93

  1,595,332

  12·2

  No comparable information is available on expenditure incurred by the the Governments of Germany, France and Italy on supporting participation by apparel and textile companies at overseas trade fairs.

  Export Promotion
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to complete his review of the three-times rule for export promotion; and what representations he has received from industry calling for(a) its retention and (b) its ending.

  Mr. Needham
  The three times rule, which limits the number of times a company may receive financial support under the trade fairs support scheme, will be taken into account in a planned evaluation which is expected to be completed during this financial year. Representations from industry have focused mainly on the modification, rather than retention of this rule.

  German Packaging Ordinance
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade to what effect he raised the issue of the German packaging ordinance with his colleagues at the Industry Council on 4 May.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North-East (Mr. Congdon) on 13 May,Official Report, columns 533–34.
  119

  Regional Assistance
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 5 June 1992,Official Report, columns 675–78, on regional financial assistance, if he will update the table, to include spending on regional financial assistance at current and 1978–79 prices.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  Updated information on regional financial assistance from 1990–91 to 1992–93 at current prices and at 1978–79 prices is set out in the following tables. Information for the period 1978–79 to 1988–89 remains unchanged. The expenditure is gross of recoveries.

  Table 1

  Government Expenditure on Regional Financial Assistance to Industry at Current Prices1

  £ million

  Region

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Northern5

  85·0

  63·8

  48·3

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  29·4

  18·2

  13·7

  East Midlands

  5·5

  2·6

  1·2

  South West

  9·0

  8·3

  8·2

  West Midlands23

  18·0

  8·7

  10·8

  North West

  57·5

  49·5

  36·8

  England

  204·4

  151·1

  119·0

  Wales6

  133·7

  153·9

  140·9

  Scotland6

  159·1

  128·9

  103·4

  Great Britain6

  497·2

  433·9

  363·3

  Northern Ireland6

  134·3

  140·4

  108·5

  United Kingdom6

  631·5

  574·3

  471·8

  Table 2

  Government Expenditure on Industry at Regional Financial Assistance to 1978·79 prices14

  £ million

  Region

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Northern5

  33·6

  23·7

  17·3

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  11·6

  6·7

  4·9

  East Midlands

  2·2

  1·0

  0·4

  South West

  3·6

  3·0

  2·9

  West Midlands23

  7·1

  3·2

  3·9

  North West

  22·7

  18·4

  13·2

  England

  80·8

  56·0

  42·6

  Wales

  52·9

  57·1

  50·5

  Scotland

  62·9

  47·8

  37·0

  Great Britain

  196·6

  160·9

  130·1

  Northern Ireland

  53·1

  52·1

  38·8

  United Kingdom

  249·7

  213·0

  168·9

  1 All figures are gross and include payments to Nationalised Industries.

  2 Includes some minor expenditure in West Midlands in respect of Oswestry TTWA which ceased to be an Assisted Area in 1982·83.

  3 Certain TTWAs in the West Midlands were designated as Assisted Areas on 29 November 1984.

  4 Expenditure on a 1978–79 price basis for each year is calculated by applying the appropriate deflator to expenditure at current prices.

  5 Includes expenditure in Cumbria, otherwise shown within the totals for Northern Region.

  6 The figures given are provisional for 1992·93.

  The items included in the expenditure are Regional Development Grants, Regional Selective Assistance and Regional Enterprise Grants; expenditure on Land and Factories by the English Industrial Estates Corporation, the Scottish and Welsh Development Agencies, the Development Board for Rural Wales, and the Highlands and Islands Development Board.

  Northern Ireland has a different range of financial incentives available and the items included are Industrial Development Board
  120
  grants and loans, expenditure on land and factories, Share Capital Standard Capital Grants and Local Enterprise Development Unit grants and loans.

  Table 3

  Index

  1978–79 prices

  1978–79

  100·0

  1979–80

  116·7

  1980–81

  138·1

  1981–82

  151·4

  1982–83

  162·2

  1983–84

  169·7

  1984–85

  178·2

  1985–86

  188·0

  1986–87

  194·2

  1987–88

  204–8

  1988–89

  219·6

  1989–90

  234·0

  1990–91

  252·8

  1991–92

  269·7

  1992–93

  279·1

  River Safety
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps his Department is taking to publish an account of progress in the implementation of recommendations made after major disasters as recommended in the Hayes report on river safety.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 11 May 1993]: My Department has not been involved in the preparation of any Government response to the Hayes report.

  Group 4
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade where the head offices of Group 4 Remand Services Ltd., Group 4 Remand Services Holdings Ltd. and Group 4 Securitas NV are registered.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The registered office address for both Group 4 Remand Services Limited and Group 4 Remand Services Holdings Limited is:

  Farncombe House

  Broadway

  Worcestershire

  WR12 7LJ

  Group 4 Securitas NV is a foreign company and is not registered with Companies House.

  Ice-cream
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the terms of reference, purpose and timetable for reporting on the current Monopolies and Mergers Commission investigation into alleged monopolistic practices in the ice-cream industry.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: On 7 May the Director General of Fair Trading referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the supply in the United Kingdom of ice cream for immediate consumption. The Commission has been asked to report to the President of the Board of Trade, within 10 months, on whether a monopoly situation exists and whether practices in the market operate against the public interest.
  121
  A copy of the Director General's press release on the reference, which includes a copy of the terms of reference, is available in the House of Commons Library.

  Trade (Croatia)
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give a breakdown of import and export trade between the United Kingdom and Croatia in the year beginning 1 April 1992.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 17 May 1993.]: Detailed information on United Kingdom trade with Croatia since January 1993 is published in "Business Monitor MM20, overseas trade statistics of the United Kingdom" which is available in the Library. Information is not available for earlier periods because Croatia was not separately identified from the rest of former Yugoslavia.

  Investment (Advertisements)
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will place in the Library the statistics used in the advertisement placed by Her Majesty's consulate general in Düsseldorf in the German business newspaper Handelsblatt promoting investment in Britain;

  (2) if he will outline the principles governing the promotion of investment in Britain, through advertising in foreign newspapers;

  (3) what was the cost of the advertisement recently placed in the German business newspaper Handelsblatt entitled "Niedrigere Lohnkosten in Grossbritannien";

  (4) what discussions took place with the European Commission on the advertisements relating to inward investment placed in the German newspaper by Her Majesty's consulate general in Düsseldorf;

  (5) if he will make a statement on the campaign by the Invest in Britain Bureau on inward investment including the annual costs of press and television advertising in Europe, America and Japan and the sources of information used; and which Government Department is responsible for the placing of advertising material.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The Department of Trade and Industry's Invest in Britain Bureau (IBB) is the principal Government organisation charged with the responsibility for attracting inward investment into the United Kingdom.

  As part of a much wider promotional and marketing effort designed to maintain our position as the preferred location in Europe for internationally mobile investment projects, the bureau has undertaken regular advertising campaigns in North America and more recently in Europe.

  During the 1992–93 financial year the IBB spent a total of £860,000 on press advertising in North America and Europe. No advertising was commissioned in Japan. No television advertising has been placed.

  The cost of each of the IBB advertisements placed in Handelsblatt was around £4,600. Copies of the survey prepared by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Cologne, from which the statistics used in the Handelsblatt advertisement were taken, have been placed in the Library.

  There have been no discussions with the European Commission about the advertising campaign.
  122

PRIME MINISTER

  Chevening House
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list and describe the items belonging to Chevening house which were auctioned on 10 May with their reserve price and the amounts which were received for each item at the auction.

  The Prime Minister
  The disposal of items of property from Chevening house is a matter for the trustees and not the Government.

  My right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Privy Seal is the ex-officio chairman of the Chevening trustees and will arrange for him to write to the hon. Member.

  Security Services
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will introduce legislation to make the security services the subject of an annual debate in Parliament on the basis of an annual report; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  There will be an opportunity for Parliament to debate such matters when legislation on the secret intelligence service and the Government communications headquarters is brought forward.

  Salman Rushdie
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list(a) the place, time and date when he met Salman Rushdie and (b) the length of the meeting; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I met Mr. Rushdie at the House of Commons on 11 May for about 40 minutes. Mr. Rushdie briefed me about the problems he faced and his approach to them. I underlined the Government's full support for Mr. Rushdie's fundamental rights as a British citizen and expressed concern that the Iranian authorities had failed to repudiate the incitement to his murder in the "fatwa" and the bounty which an Iranian organisation had offered. Mr. Rushdie expressed appreciation of the Government's support for him. The United Kingdom has a deep respect for Islam. I believe that Iran's behaviour towards Mr. Rushdie has done a disservice to that great religion.

  Engagements
  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 18 May.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 18 May.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Television (Employment)
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will estimate the employment in television in each of the past 10 years in(a) the BBC, (b) regional commercial broadcasters, (c) independent production companies and facilities and (d) in total.
  123
  Mr. Brooke
  The number of staff employed by the BBC in each of the past 10 years is recorded in the BBC's annual reports, which are available in the Library. Information on(b), (c) and (d) is not held centrally; but I understand some 13,800 were employed by the ITV companies in 1982 and 11,100 in 1992.

  Television Companies (Commitments)
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will give a summary of the commitments made by successful television company bidders, including regional programming and programme origination.

  Mr. Brooke
  Each Channel 3 licence contains a summary of the commitments made. Copies are available from the Independent Television Commission.

  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how the Independent Television Commission may vary or accept variations in commitments by or requirements of regional television companies; and how often he receives reports from the ITC.

  Mr. Brooke
  Section 33 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 makes provision for the Independent Television Commission to vary licence conditions. The procedures were described in the invitation to apply for the relevant licences and are in the issued licence. The ITC's annual reports must include reports on the extent to which ITV licensees have failed to comply with their licence conditions. The ITC also publishes a programme complaints and interventions report quarterly, and a television advertising complaints report monthly.

  Television Licence Fees
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will allow residential homes for the elderly to make a single application for a reduced rate television licence covering all residents.

  Mr. Brooke
  Responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system, including the concessionary licence scheme, rests with the BBC. The existing application form for concessionary licences already provides for the managers of residential homes to make a single application covering all the residents. Each unit of accommodation in eligible homes requires a concessionary licence. We have no plans to amend the regulations on this, or any other, aspect of the concessionary scheme.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage in respect of how many parliamentary questions a substantive answer was not provided by his Department wholly or partly on the ground of disproportionate cost in each month(a) in total and (b) as a proportion of questions answered.

  Mr. Key
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: Only one parliamentary question has not received a substantive answer on the ground of disproportionate cost since this Department was set up in April 1992.
  124

  Radio (Asian Language)
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many licences have been granted by the Radio Authority for stations broadcasting in an Asian language.

  Mr. Brooke
  Independent local radio provides eight 24-hour services for ethnic minorities. The extent to which they broadcast in an Asian language varies according to their promises of performance.

  Radio Licences
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many applications for licences have(a) been granted by the Radio Authority, (b) been rejected by the Radio Authority and (c) what is the cost of licence application.

  Mr. Brooke
  The number of licences granted in any year by the Radio Authority are published in the annual report. On two occasions, the Radio Authority has decided not to award a local radio licence which it had advertised. The cost of a licence application fee varies according to the type of licence and the extent of the population coverage.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many licences the Radio Authority has granted; and what is the current licence fee.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Radio Authority's annual report for 1992 will be published soon and will give figures for the licences it issued during that year. By 11 January 1993, I understand that the Radio Authority had, since it was established, awarded two licences for national services, 25 local licences, 419 restricted service licences, eight licences for licensable sound programme services and 11 satellite licences. The authority also licensed 126 local radio services, which had earlier operated under contract to the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Licence fees are charged according to a tariff, published by the authority, which relates to the number of potential listeners for each service.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the Radio Authority is going to make a decision about the west midlands franchise.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Radio Authority advertised the licence for the regional ILR service for the west midlands on 18 March. The closing date for applications is 6 July. The Radio Authority expects to announce who has been granted the licence by October 1993.

  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many franchises have been awarded by the Radio Authority.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Radio Authority does not award franchises. The annual report of the Radio Authority gives figures for the number of licences issued each year.

  Palaces (Safety)
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who is responsible for compliance with(a) fire regulations and (b) health and safety regulations in each of the historic palaces.
  125
  Mr. Key
  Responsibility for compliance with fire safety legislation and health and safety legislation in the royal palaces for which I have a financial responsibility rests with the following bodies:

  Royal Household

  Buckingham Palace

  Windsor Castle

  St. James's Palace

  Clarence House

  Kensington Palace (private apartments)

  Historic Royal Palaces Agency (an Executive Agency responsible to the Secretary of State for National Heritage)

  Hampton Court Palace

  Tower of London

  Kensington Palace (State Apartments)

  Banqueting House, Whitehall

  Kew Palace and

  Queen Charlotte's Cottage.

  In the Tower of London, the Royal Armouries and the Ministry of Defence have some responsibilities in the areas which they occupy.

  Everyman Theatre, Liverpool
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received about the future of the Everyman theatre, Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Brooke
  I have received two letters about the Everyman theatre, one from the chief executive of Liverpool city council and the other from the hon. Member. I am therefore aware of the financial difficulties confronting the theatre. However, central Government funding of the arts is undertaken, at arm's length, through 126
  the Arts Council. I understand that the council and the local authorities on Merseyside are currently engaged in constructive discussions about future funding arrangements for the Everyman and Playhouse theatres. I hope there will be a positive outcome.

  Tourism
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage by what percentage(a) rail fares, bus and coach fares, (b) non-food prices generally and (c) foreign holidays have changed since 13 January 1987; and what assessment he has made of the effect of relative price changes on employment and output in the United Kingdom tourist industry.

  Mr. Key
  The information on retail prices is published in the RPI "Business Monitor", in table 2, which is available in the Library. The Department has made no formal assessment of the effects of changes in public transport fares on tourism within the United Kingdom, but according to the United Kingdom tourism survey, the proportion of domestic tourism trips on one night or more that used train, bus or coach as their main mode of transport has been the same in each of the years 1989, 1990 and 1991, at 19 per cent. Between December 1986 and December 1992, the number of employees in employment in tourism-related industries rose by 19 per cent. The foreign holiday component of the retail prices index has only been in existence since January this year and so it is too early to assess any relationship between the price of foreign holidays and tourism employment and expenditure in the United Kingdom.
  127

EMPLOYMENT

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what considerations she is taking into account in his review of statutory instruments on health and safety at work; if she will consolidate them into a smaller number of comprehensive documents, each covering a range of activities; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Health and Safety Commission has been invited to conduct a review of all existing health and safety legislation in order to: assess whether the law is still relevant and needed; assess the compliance and enforcement burdens on business of legislation which is still relevant and needed; to determine whether the potential benefits still justify these burdens; and whether repeal or simplification is possible without endangering acceptable health and safety standards. The Commission has been asked to take particular account of the needs of small firms.

  The review is being taken forward in consultation with interested parties.

  The Commission is aiming to substantially complete the review by April 1994, at which time my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, will receive a report on their findings and recommendations for the further rationalisation and modernisation of health and safety legislation.

  Employment Statistics
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many men and women, distinguishing between full-time and part-time employees and excluding all in training, were in employment in(a) June 1979 and (b) the latest date for which figures are available, in each travel-to-work area that covers an enterprise zone; and what were the figures for those unemployed in each case.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Travel-to-work areas which wholly or partly cover enterprise zones are listed. Information on full-time and part-time employees and claimant unemployment for these areas can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Data on employment by ward-based travel-to-work area is available since September 1981 from the periodic censuses of employment. Monthly ward-based claimant count information is available on the unadjusted basis from June 1983 onwards.

  Travel-to-work areas in the United Kingdom wholly or partly covering enterprise zones:

  Medway and Maidstone

  Dudley and Sandwell

  Telford and Bridgenorth

  Wellingborough and Rushden

  Rotherham and Mexborough

  Wakefield and Dewsbury

  Accrington and Rossendale

  Burnley

  Pendle

  Workington

  Hartlepool

  Sunderland

  Haverfordwest

  Shotton Flint and Rhyl

  South Pembrokeshire

  Swansea

  Dundee

  Greenock

  128

  Invergordon and Dingwall

  Lanarkshire

  Londonderry

  Benefit
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployment benefit(a) payments and (b) applications were made in each month since April 1990 in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) England.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Information on the numbers of people in receipt of each type of benefit are available only on a quarterly basis and relate to the stock of claimants at a point in time and not the number of new claimants each month. This shows that about one in four of all unemployed claimants in each of England, Scotland and Wales is in receipt of unemployment benefit.

  Information on the flows into claimant unemployment in each month by area is available from the NOMIS database in the Library. This information relates to the total numbers of people claiming unemployment-related benefits and national insurance credits at the employment service. Figures are not seasonally adjusted.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Haselhurst
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people are currently on YT schemes; and how many are awaiting places on YT schemes for each training and enterprise council area in England.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The number of young people who are currently on youth training (YT), and the number who are guaranteed a place and have been waiting for eight weeks or longer, for each training and enterprise council area in England, are provided in the following table.

  In April there were 5,300 young people who had been waiting for a YT place for more than eight weeks compared with 32,500 last September. This is a commendable achievement which I hope will continue.

  Young people on YT or wailing for a place on YT: 1993

  TEC

  Number in training January 19931

  Waiting for more than 8 weeks April 19932

  Avon

  4,525

  117

  AZTEC

  1,314

  95

  Barnsley and Doncaster

  3,988

  35

  Bedfordshire

  2,301

  5164

  Birmingham

  35,188

  131

  Bolton and Bury

  2,624

  19

  Bradford

  3,199

  18

  Calderdale and Kirklees

  3,306

  15

  CAMBSTEC

  1,158

  54

  Central England

  1,495

  19

  Central London

  1,628

  5152

  CEWTEC

  3,419

  12

  CILNTEC

  2,322

  109

  County Durham

  4,188

  71

  Coventry and Warwicks

  4,283

  586

  Cumbria

  3,755

  6

  Devon and Cornwall

  6,945

  571

  Dorset

  2,658

  15

  Dudley

  1,863

  1

  ELTEC

  4,214

  29

  Essex

  6,572

  329

  Gloucester

  3,023

  11

  Greater Nottingham

  3,670

  35

  Greater Peterborough

  1,611

  17

  129

  TEC

  Number in training January 19931

  Waiting for more than 8 weeks April 19932

  Hampshire

  6,085

  5304

  HAWTEC

  2,076

  530

  Heart of England

  2,139

  24

  Hertfordshire

  3,479

  164

  Humberside

  6,245

  36

  Isle of Wight

  576

  28

  Kent

  5,695

  183

  LAWTEC

  5,643

  28

  Leeds

  2,799

  26

  Leicestershire

  5,020

  531

  LETEC

  4,534

  380

  Lincolnshire

  3,789

  39

  Manchester

  6,504

  593

  Merseyside

  7,848

  47

  METROTEC

  2,184

  6

  Milton Keynes and North Bucks

  1,515

  542

  Norfolk/Waveney

  3,963

  31

  NORMIDTEC

  33,289

  9

  North Derbyshire

  1,825

  39

  North London

  1,657

  579

  North Nottinghamshire

  3,043

  55

  North West London

  879

  107

  North Yorkshire

  2,843

  559

  Northamptonshire

  2,478

  539

  Northumberland

  2,094

  58

  Oldham

  1,840

  48

  QUALITEC

  1,621

  16

  Rochdale

  1,729

  15

  Rotherham

  1,811

  9

  Sandwell

  1,951

  20

  South and East Cheshire

  2,640

  0

  Sheffield

  3,494

  147

  Shropshire

  2,491

  24

  SOLOTEC

  2,656

  194

  Somerset

  2,374

  5114

  South Derbyshire

  3,172

  529

  South Thames

  2,744

  451

  Staffordshire

  7,934

  6

  Stockport and High Peak

  2,534

  19

  Suffolk

  2,837

  13

  Surrey

  1,934

  599

  Sussex

  4,425

  86

  Teesside

  5,716

  56

  Thames Valley Enterprise

  3,327

  5198

  Tyneside

  43,289

  559

  Wakefield

  1,872

  18

  Walsall

  1,350

  12

  Wearside

  2,689

  0

  West London

  2,415

  48

  Wiltshire

  2,385

  568

  Wolverhampton

  1,858

  6

  Sources:

  1 Information from TEC Management Information return 31 January 1993 (Provisional).

  2 Information from Careers Service Management return January (Supplement) 17 April 1993.

  3 Information from TEC Management Information return 3 January1993.

  4 Information from TEC Management Information return 6 December 1992.

  5 These figures are subject to final confirmation.

  Health and Safety Regulations
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is her estimate of the cost to British industry of health and safety regulations.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  No estimate of the cost to British industry of health and safety regulations as a whole exists at present.
  130

  Health and Safety Executive (Prosecutions)
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many prosecutions were brought by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years; and what percentage of(a) cases and (b) contested cases resulted in prosecutions.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The following table gives the information requested for the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) factory, agricultural and quarry inspectorates. Figures for 1992–93 will be available later this year. Information for the other HSE inspectorates is not readily available. Prosecutions have been interpreted as informations laid.

  Number of informations laid by HSE's Factory, Agricultural and Quarry Inspectors and the percentage of informations that resulted in conviction 1987–9223

  Year

  Number of informations laid

  Percentage of informations resulting in conviction

  Percentage of not-guilty pleas resulting in conviction

  1987–88

  2,321

  88

  41

  1988–89

  2,298

  90

  61

  1989–90

  2,547

  88

  49

  1990–91

  2,278

  86

  47

  11991–92

  2,388

  88

  47

  Notes:

  1 = provisional.

  2 Years are from 1 April to 31 March.

  3 Quarries Inspectorates are only included from 1990–91.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment in respect of how many parliamentary questions a substantive answer was not provided by her Department wholly or partly on the grounds of disproportionate cost in each of the last 18 months(a) in total and (b) as a proportion of questions answered.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The figures for parliamentary questions not answered wholly on the grounds of disproportionate cost, in each of the last 18 months, are given in the following table:

  Month

  Number

  1991

  November

  0

  December

  1

  1992

  January

  0

  February

  0

  March

  1

  April

  0

  May

  1

  June

  0

  July

  3

  August

  0

  September

  0

  October

  0

  November

  8

  December

  8

  1993

  January

  0

  February

  1

  March

  3

  April

  1

  Total

  27

  131
  This represents less than 1 per cent. of all parliamentary questions asked in the same period.

  The figure for parliamentary questions where a substantive answer was not provided partly on the grounds of disproportionate cost is not recorded.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list the monthly United Kingdom unemployment figures for 1990–91 and 1991–92 for(a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the United Kingdom.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The information requested can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the level of unemployment in the construction industry in(a) the Riverside constituency,(b) the Liverpool travel-to-work area and (c) Merseyside at the latest available date; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: Available estimates from the autumn 1992 labour force survey show that in Merseyside there were 11,000 people unemployed on the ILO definition whose last previous employment had been in the construction industry.

  Information for the other areas is not available from the labour force survey.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans Her Majesty's Government have to reduce unemployment on Merseyside; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The overall policy of the Department, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, is to promote a free and flexible labour market that is designed to help encourage employment in Merseyside as in all areas. In addition the Department provides a range of employment and training programmes and local initiatives, through the employment service and training and enterprise councils, to help people increase their skills, and equip themselves for work. From April 1993 this range of measures was enhanced by an extra half million opportunities.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the level of unemployment in the Liverpool, Riverside constituency at the latest available date.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: In March 1993, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 7,427 claimant unemployed people in the Liverpool Riverside constituency. This figure is on the unadjusted basis.

  Unemployed Graduates
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many work training schemes specifically for unemployed graduates are currently in operation; how many graduates are currently participating in such schemes; and if she will make a statement.
  132
  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993.]: None of the Department's training schemes for unemployed people is aimed specifically at graduates. Training and enterprise councils may support individual programmes designed to cater for unemployed graduates but information on such programmes is not held centrally.

  Co-operatives
  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment her Department has made of the employment potential of co-operatives.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The Department has made no such assessment.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the numbers of young people currently on youth training schemes and the numbers awaiting places on youth training schemes in each TEC area in England and Wales and LEC area in Scotland.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 19 April 1993.]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I am giving to my hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden today.

  The information for Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales.

  Youth Unemployment
  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the youth unemployment rates in actual numbers and percentages for each United Kingdom standard planning region and for each of the past five years.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: Information on the level of claimant unemployment by age in each region is available from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Information on claimant unemployment by age, expressed as a percentage of the work force in a particular age band, are available on a quarterly basis but only at national level, and only for standard age bands. These data are published in the Employment Gazette—table 2.15.

  Labour force survey data on regional unemployment rates by age and sex, using the ILO measure of unemployment, are published regularly in table 7.15 of "Regional Trends".

  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will supply figures for the youth unemployment rates, by actual numbers and by percentages, in each EC country for the five most recent years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The extent of the readily available, comparable information is given in the following tables:
  133

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  Unemployment levels amongst 14·24 year olds in EC countries (ILO Definition)

  Belgium

  130

  99

  79

  71

  68

  Denmark

  52

  51

  66

  64

  63

  Germany

  411

  365

  280

  232

  173

  Greece

  125

  135

  135

  128

  134

  Spain

  1,411

  1,334

  1,047

  956

  895

  France

  888

  784

  670

  672

  615

  Ireland

  85

  80

  66

  59

  70

  Italy

  1,388

  1,419

  1,305

  1,151

  1,180

  Luxembourg

  2

  11

  11

  11

  11

  Netherlands

  248

  196

  181

  156

  154

  Portugal

  180

  146

  116

  103

  82

  United Kingdom

  1,026

  828

  642

  618

  712

  Unemployment rates amongst 14–24 year olds in EC countries (ILO definition)

  Belgium

  25·4

  11·1

  11·5

  11·5

  11·0

  Denmark

  8·9

  8·5

  11·5

  11·5

  11·5

  Germany

  7·5

  6·8

  5·5

  4·6

  3·7

  Greece

  24·8

  25·8

  24·8

  23·2

  24·6

  Spain

  43·5

  41·1

  32·3

  31·8

  30·5

  France

  23·4

  22·1

  19·6

  19·6

  19·6

  Ireland

  26·0

  25·3

  21·9

  19·5

  23·2

  Italy

  33·9

  33·4

  31·9

  29·0

  28·2

  Luxembourg

  5·4

  14·7

  13·3

  13·6

  12·6

  Netherlands

  17·1

  14·4

  13·4

  11·4

  11·3

  Portugal

  17·4

  14·4

  11·7

  10·4

  8·7

  United Kingdom

  16·2

  13·2

  10·3

  10·4

  13·9

  1 Estimate.

  Source: EUROSTAT Labour Force Survey 1983–1991.

  Note: These statistics are compiled from each country's Labour Force Survey and relate to "14–24 year olds" at the time of the survey. The ILO definition of unemployment used in the Labour Force Survey relates to people who are; (a) without a paid job; (b) available to start work in the next fortnight; and (c) have looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained.

SCOTLAND

  Local Government Consultation
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the consultation process he will apply during the six-week period following receipt of recommendations from the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  On submission of its report the commission notifies interested parties, by way of public notice and by letter to all those who participated in the review, that there is a further six-week period during which written representations may be made to my right hon. Friend.

  Children (Speech Disorders)
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library a copy of the report by Mr. Michael Gibson of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools on educational provision for children with speech and language disorders in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 17 May 1993]: The inspection of the educational provision for children with speech and language disorders in Scotland by HM inspectorate of schools is still in progress. Once it is complete and a report published I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.
  134

WALES

  Small Businesses
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate has been made of the percentage contribution small businesses in Wales have made to the Welsh gross domestic product in each year since 1983.

  Mr. David Hunt
  No such estimate has been made. But figures published in the "Business Monitor—Size analysis of United Kingdom Businesses" (PA 1003) since 1989 show that businesses with a turnover below £250,000 have consistently accounted for over 80 per cent. of the number of businesses in Wales.

  Dental Services
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on dental service provision in Gwynedd; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Welsh Office has received 68 representations since 1 April 1992 about dental services in Gwynedd. The Government are committed to a full NHS dental service and the Secretary of State has given approval for the Gwynedd family health services authority to employ four salaried dentists to help meet NHS service needs within its area.

  Health Service (Industrial Relations)
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was his response to the request from staff side officers of the joint staff consultative council for the Welsh health service for a meeting to discuss industrial relations; and what were the reasons for giving that response.
  135
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave on the 11 May at column 440 to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith).

  Local Government Reform
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a Green Paper on strategic planning in Wales as part of the reform of local government.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.

  Local Government White Paper
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has received on the resolution passed at the European Assembly of the Regions bureau meeting in Hungary on 30 April regarding his White Paper, "Local Government in Wales", Cm 2155.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have just seen a copy of the press release issued by the Assembly of Welsh Counties following the meeting in Budapest.

  Agri-environmental Agency
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to establish an agri-environmental agency in Wales to oversee the work undertaken by each agri-environmental scheme operational in Wales.

  Mr. David Hunt
  No.

  Tourism
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what matters in regard to protection and enhancement of the environment in Wales have been taken into account in the preparation of his Tourism 2000 strategy report.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  In preparing the "Tourism 2000 Strategy" the Wales tourist board issued a series of consultative papers and held several seminars on key themes and principles to be covered by the strategy. Tourism and the environment was one such theme.

  As the hon. Gentleman may be aware my right hon. Friend is to launch the WTB's consultative strategy on the 26 May, which will give all those within the industry a further opportunity to comment on all aspects of the strategy. The final strategy will issue in the autumn.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy were confirmed in(a) Pembrokeshire and (b) Wales in each quarter since 1989.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Figures for BSE are recorded on a county basis, and thus separate figures for Pembrokeshire are not produced. The numbers of confirmed cases of BSE reported in Dyfed and Wales by quarter year periods since 1989 are as follows:

  Year

  Quarter

  Dyfed

  Wales

  1990

  1

  154

  264

  1990

  2

  130

  233

  1990

  3

  128

  236

  136

  Year

  Quarter

  Dyfed

  Wales

  1990

  4

  171

  350

  1991

  1

  240

  436

  1991

  2

  261

  462

  1991

  3

  345

  576

  1991

  4

  411

  761

  1992

  1

  554

  1,000

  1992

  2

  443

  768

  1992

  3

  345

  892

  1992

  4

  518

  1,013

  1993

  1

  487

  906

  The figures for the first quarter of 1993 are necessarily incomplete as the basis of the statistics is confirmed cases by report in the appropriate period.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Income Support
  Mr. Peter Shore
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants receive income support in the London borough of Tower Hamlets; and what is the total number of people dependent upon income support within the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief ececutive 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 Michael Bichard to Mr. Peter Shore, dated 17 May 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benfits 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 claimants receive Income Support in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and what is the total number of people dependent upon Income Support within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.The complete range of information requested could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. This is because statistics relating to Income Support are not routinely collected to reflect either the number of recipients or their dependents by Borough area. Nor are statistics routinely collected reflecting the number of dependents of Income Support recipients.However, I have appended information showing the number of recipients in the Benefits Agency districts which cover the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. I should emphasise that the boundaries of the offices concerned do not correspond with those of the Borough of Tower Hamlets.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

  District office

  Income Support Live Load

  City East

  32,469

  Hackney and Islington

  59,782

  Total

  92,251

  137

  Benefits (Bank Accounts)
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to require pensioners to have their pensions paid via bank accounts; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in the House on 12 November 1992, our policy is to encourage pensioners and others who have a bank, building society or girobank account to receive their social security benefits directly into their accounts.

  Recipients of the following benefits already have the choice of receiving their benefit by automated credit transfer (ACT):

  Disability Living Allowance

  Disability Working Allowance

  Attendance Allowance

  Pensions/Widows Benefit

  Child Benefit

  One Parent Benefit

  Family Credit

  War Pensions

  In addition, the facility to pay benefit by ACT is being extended to invalidity benefit, sickness benefit and severe disablement allowance on a rolling implementation between May 1993 and January 1994; to unemployment benefit between May 1993 and October 1994; and to income support in October 1993.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to continue to allow pensions and benefits to be paid otherwise than directly into a bank or building society account; what representations he has received from those wishing to retain the payment of pensions and benefits through local post offices; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  We have no intention of ceasing to use the network of post offices for payment of benefit and pensions. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received a variety of representations about the steps taken to increase awareness of the advantages of automated credit transfer, including a number of letters from members of the public.

  Self-employed People
  Mr. leuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will review the position of the self-employed within the social security system;

  (2) if he will bring forward legislation to extend entitlement to (a) the state earnings-related pension scheme and (b) industrial injuries scheme benefits to the self-employed.

  Miss Widdecombe
  We have no plans to review the position of the self-employed within the social security system, or to amend the existing provisions of the state earnings-related pension scheme in relation to self-employed people. We shall be responding shortly to a report which the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council submitted to us in November last year on bringing the self-employed in construction and agriculture into the industrial injuries scheme.
  138

  Children in Hospital
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what financial assistance is available from his Department to parents who fall(a) within and (b) without income support entitlement to allow them to visit sick children in hospitals distant from their place of residence; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  The social fund can help people with reasonable travel expenses to visit someone who is ill. Payments are discretionary, but grants and budgeting loans for this purpose are often given high priority. As with previous schemes, help is focused on those least able to meet these costs.

  Independent Living Fund
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people he estimates would be brought into the independent living (1993) fund if the £500 upper cash limit were removed; and how much this would cost in real cash terms.

  Mr. Scott
  It would not be possible to provide such estimates.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security to what investigations his Department has been subject by the Data Protection Registrar in relation to a suspected breach of a data protection principle; if he will summarise the nature of each complaint and state when the complaint was made; and what remedial action was taken by his Department to ensure future compliance with the principle subject to the investigation.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Between 11 November 1987 and 31 March 1993 the Department has responded to 15,094 requests from data subjects for access to its computer files. In this same period, 44 complaints concerning suspected breaches of data protection principles have been received from data subjects via the Office of Data Protection Registrar. The principles involved and the dates on which the complaints were made are in the table.

  Complaint type

  Number received

  Dates received

  Principle 1

  4

  21 June 1990

  30 September 1991

  8 June 1992

  21 July 1992

  Principle 3

  4

  7 March 1988

  11 July 1988

  13 February 1989

  19 March 1991

  Principle 4

  1

  12 April 1992

  Principle 5

  13

  11 November 1988

  31 July 1989

  1 March 1990

  5 March 1990

  24 July 1990

  18 March 1991

  14 May 1991

  20 July 1991

  22 July 1991

  29 July 1992

  30 September 1992

  27 October 1992

  3 March 1993

  139

  Complaint type

  Number received

  Dates received

  Principle 7

  17

  3 February 1988

  7 March 1988

  3 June 1988

  15 June 1988

  22 August 1988

  26 October 1988

  26 April 1990

  24 October 1990

  20 December 1990

  18 December 1991

  13 May 1992

  9 June 1992

  6 July 1992

  8 December 1992

  25 January 1993

  9 March 1993

  19 March 1993

  Principle 8

  5

  26 September 1990

  26 November 1991

  3 December 1991

  7 July 1992

  14 January 1993

  In all cases the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Data Protection Registrar and no changes to any of our computer systems have been made necessary in order to comply with the Data Protection Act.

  Residential Homes
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has had from the independent nursing and residential homes about the effects of rules which reduce pensions for pensioners who are hospitalised for longer than 42 days.

  Miss Widdecombe
  None.

  Pension Schemes
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the pension schemes approved by his Department which provide for the open enrolment of employees throughout a particular industry or service, irrespective of employer.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The following pension schemes, approved by the Occupational Pensions Board for the purposes of contracting out, are regarded as industry-wide schemes.

  The Joint Industry Board Pension Scheme

  Footwear Industry Pension Scheme

  Engineering Industry Pension Scheme

  Batjic Contracted-Out Money Purchase Scheme

  Scotselect Pension Plan

  Printing Industry Pension Scheme Option 88

  Printing Industry Pension Scheme Option Two

  Design Business Association Pension Scheme

  IPA Portable Pension Plan

  The Naid Members Retirement Benefit Scheme

  National Association of Master Bakers Scheme

  H & V Pensions

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Hall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the amount of housing benefit paid(a) to council house tenants, (b) to housing association tenants, (c) to private rented tenants and (d) in total in (i)
  140
  the Runcorn area of the Warrington, South constituency and (ii) the whole of the constituency in each year since 1986.

  Mr. Burt
  Information on expenditure on housing benefit is collected on a local authority basis. Information is available neither for the Runcorn area of the Warrington, South constituency nor for the Warrington, South constituency as a whole.

  The available information for the borough councils of Warrington and Halton, which form part of the Warrington, South constituency, is in the table.

  Housing benefit expenditure (£ thousands)1

  Year

  Rent rebate2

  Rent allowance3

  Rate rebate4

  Total

  Local Authority

  Halton

  1986–87

  4,040

  1,043

  4,640

  9,723

  1987–88

  4,401

  1,137

  5,115

  10,653

  1988–89

  4,541

  1,232

  4,167

  9,940

  1989–90

  4,563

  3,168

  4,155

  11,886

  1990–91

  5,037

  6,920

  —

  11,957

  1991–92

  6,254

  8,285

  —

  14,539

  Warrington

  1986–87

  5,362

  1,184

  4,472

  11,018

  1987–88

  5,508

  1,264

  4,894

  11,666

  1988–89

  5,670

  1,329

  4,199

  11,198

  1989–90

  5,749

  1,597

  4,382

  11,728

  1990–91

  6,334

  2,104

  —

  8,438

  1991–92

  6,720

  2,960

  —

  9,680

  1 The expenditure figures are from information supplied by local authorities and represent the authorities' claims for benefit paid and not subsidy received.

  2 Rent rebates are awarded to tenants in the council sector.

  3 Rent allowances are paid to tenants in the private sector and include those paid to tenants of Housing Associations: separate information in respect of Housing Associations is not available.

  4 From 1986–87 to 1989–90 inclusive, Housing Benefit included rate rebates. As rate rebates were paid to qualifying council and private tenants, in addition to owner occupiers, total rate rebate expenditure has been included in the table. It is not possible to separate out that part of the rate rebate expenditure which was received by tenants.

  Income Support
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many income support applications in each month in 1990–91 and 1991–92, were not granted on the grounds that a partner/wife was employed for 16 or more hours per week in(a) the United Kingdom as a whole, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland; and if he will also publish comparable figures for 1986–87 with a cut-off point of 24 hours per week.

  Mr. Burt
  The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Matters relating to Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

DEFENCE

  Bosnia
  15. Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the implications for "Options for Change" of the situation in Bosnia.
  141
  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The Government's plans for force restructuring recognise that new peacetime commitments, including United Nations operations, could arise. We keep force structures under review and, while we will make adjustments if necessary, we have no current plans to do so.

  24. Mr. Channon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the role of United Kingdom forces in Bosnia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The role of British forces deployed to the former Yugoslavia in support of the United Nations operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina is to assist the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees with the passage of humanitarian aid and refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross with the exchange of detainees. Other tasks, such as the evacuation of the sick and wounded, in the spirit of United Nations Security Council resolutions 770 and 776 are also carried out as requested and as circumstances permit. So far 536 convoys escorted by British troops have delivered 36,265 tonnes of humanitarian aid. In addition 7,137 tonnes of aid have been flown into Sarajevo by the RAF.

  21. Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution Britain is making to policing the no-fly zone in Bosnia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The United Kingdom is taking part in the NATO operation to monitor and enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia in accordance with the provisions of United Nations Security Council resolution 816. We have provided eight Tornado F3 aircraft, with their air-to-air refuelling support to the multinational force. United Kingdom E3-Ds, as part of the NATO airborne early warning force, continue to monitor the no-fly zone.

  26. Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what military contribution Britain is making to promote peace in Bosnia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer my hon. Friend the answers I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) and for Croydon, North-East (Mr. Congdon).

  North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
  16. Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a further statement on the NATO rapid reaction corps.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The headquarters of the Allied Command Europe rapid reaction corps was established on 2 October 1992 and full operational capability will be achieved by 1995.

  United Nations Operations
  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to ensure that there are sufficient British contributions to future United Nations operations.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Our plans for current and future force levels take account of the requirement to respond to requests from the United Nations for military contributions to peacekeeping operations. We already provide over 3,500 troops for United Nations operations worldwide, making us the second largest troop contributor.
  142

  Helicopters
  Sir Roger Moate
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy with regard to the joint use of helicopters and other facilities for defence and civilian purposes including air ambulance and police work.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Service helicopters and associated facilities are made available for non-military purposes under arrangements with other Government Departments and subject to operational commitments. A typical example is the provision of civilian search and rescue.

  Expenditure
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of how recent representations on defence expenditure differ from those received by his Department during the mid-1980s.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  There have been major changes in the strategic environment since the mid-1980s. These changes have been reflected in our defence expenditure plans and, of course, in the representations received on them.

  Service Housing
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received concerning his policy on service housing.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  My Department has received a number of representations recently from hon. Members, local authorities, and housing associations on service housing policy.

  Shipbuildings
  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has provided to the shipbuilding industry concerning the timing of future orders.

  Mr. Aitken
  My Department maintains regular contacts with the shipbuilding industry. One of our main aims is to keep the industry as well informed as possible about future requirements, including timing.

  Merlin Programme
  Mr. Mark Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the Merlin programme.

  Mr. Aitken
  Good progress is being made on our order for 44 of the Merlin anti-submarine warfare variant of the EH101 for the Royal Navy. The collaborative development with Italy of the basic EH101 aircraft is also progressing well, and the flight test programme is some two thirds complete.

  Somalia
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the United Kingdom is to provide military forces in support of Unosom II in Somalia.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  We have no plans to do so.
  143

  Development Areas
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service and civilian personnel were based at his Department's establishments located in areas designated by the Department of Trade and Industry as development areas in(a) 1989 and (b)

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Manpower statistics are not collected for the development areas and the information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Belize
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Royal Air Force undertook training in low flying in Belize in 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  RAF aircraft are stationed in Belize for operational rather than training purposes. From time to time these aircraft will fly low-level training sorties, but only to qualify the aircrew stationed in theatre for operational duties. It is not our practice to comment on operational details.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will hold urgent talks with the Government of Belize about the maintenance of order on their border with Guatemala in the event of withdrawal of British troops.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Bosworth (Mr. Tredinnick) by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 13 May at column 561. The Government of Belize were consulted closely about the changes announced. These consultations included discussion on the question of the future security of the border between Belize and Guatemala.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation he is undertaking with Commonwealth countries about the security of Belize in the light of "Options for Change."

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The changes announced by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 13 May, at column 561, are in response to the greatly improved relations between Belize and Guatemala, and not "Options for Change". We have made clear to the Government of Belize that we are prepared to play a full part in any consultations that they may request on Belize's future security. It is for them to decide which countries they wish to involve in any such discussions.

  Low Flying
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints he received from hon. Members in the last five years about low flying by the RAF in their constituencies.

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

  Year

  Number

  1988

  595

  1989

  763

  1990

  697

  144

  Year

  Number

  1991

  353

  1992

  323

  1993

  185

  TOTAL

  2,816

  1Up to 30 April 1993.

  Jungle Training
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many courses in jungle training were undertaken by the British Army in 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  Nine in each year.

  Yugoslavia
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the(a) shortest and (b) longest time served in the former Yugoslavia by members of Her Majesty's armed forces currently engaged there.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  The standard length of tour for British armed forces personnel serving in the former Yugoslavia is six months. To date the longest tour, for a few key personnel, has been 6·5 months and the shortest, for specialist personnel deployed for a specific task, two days.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the cost to date of the British presence in the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  It is assessed that the additional cost of the United Kingdom presence in the former Yugoslavia amounts to date to some £78,000,000.

  Rosyth Minesweeper Flotilla
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to move the minesweeper flotilla stationed at Rosyth to Greenock harbour; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Archie Hamilton
  None.

  Rolls-Royce
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the value of research and development support to Rolls-Royce plc from his Department in the last financial year; under what programmes the support was provided; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  In 1992–93, payments made by my Department to Rolls-Royce plc and its subsidiary companies for research and development totalled £42,869,505, through some 175 active contracts. Details of these are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  The subjects of the nine contracts placed during the year were research into: cables, electrical connectors and associated items for naval use; high pressure gas cylinders for naval use; future ship propulsion systems; and aero engine future technology.
  145

  Swan Hunter
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money is owed by his Department to Swan Hunter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  My Department does not accept that it owes the company any money. Payments on MOD contracts are fully up to date in accordance with the terms of those contracts.

  Negotiations are in progress with the receiver over a claim against my Department by the company in respect of the auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel—AOR-02. The maximum amount currently justifiable has already been paid to the company.

  Negotiations on the completion of the three type 23 frigates currently under construction at the yard also continue. Progress payments are being made in accordance with the terms of the contracts. Arrangements are being made for one such payment to be made today.

HEALTH

  Clinical Grading Appeals
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of registered clinical grading appeals for nurses and midwives which remains outstanding at(a) regional and (b) national levels.

  Mr. Cryer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of outstanding regrading appeals by nurses in the national health service.

  Mr. Sackville
  The total outstanding clinical grading appeals at 30 April was 20,440; of these there were 15,020 outstanding at regional level, and 2,006 at national level, in England.

  Sight Tests
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many eye examinations were carried out in England in each year since 1985.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The numbers of national health service sight tests paid for in each financial year in England are shown in the table. The number of private sight tests carried out since the introduction of sight test charges is not available.

  Numbers of children in the care of and fostered by local authorities and numbers of adoption orders made 1979 to 1991

  Children in care, England at 31 March

  Adoption orders made1 in England and Wales

  Children in care2

  Fostered3

  Year

  Male

  Female

  Male

  Female

  Male

  Female

  1979

  56,459

  38,629

  17,609

  16,587

  5,593

  5,277

  1980

  56,144

  39,153

  18,187

  17,054

  5,428

  5,181

  1981

  54,459

  37,811

  18,659

  17,090

  4,799

  4,485

  1982

  52,083

  36,580

  19,302

  17,574

  5,305

  4,935

  1983

  48,072

  34,093

  19,203

  17,321

  4,640

  4,389

  1984

  43,513

  31,332

  19,032

  17,059

  4,437

  4,211

  1985

  39,985

  29,565

  18,421

  16,589

  3,856

  3,587

  1986

  38,139

  29,187

  18,385

  16,731

  4,042

  3,634

  1987

  36,518

  29,250

  18,137

  16,903

  3,545

  3,505

  1988

  35,259

  29,093

  18,108

  16,818

  3,675

  3,513

  146

  Year

  Millions

  1984–85

  9·89

  1985–86

  10·25

  1986–87

  10·62

  1987–88

  11·70

  1988–89

  12·49

  1989–90 Old scheme

  1·63

  New scheme1

  3–65

  1990–91

  4·15

  1991–92

  4–98

  1 From 1 April 1989 NHS sight tests were restricted to certain groups in the population. The sight tests paid for in 1989–90 include some conducted prior to 1 April 1989 (old scheme) when sight tests were universally available. The remainder paid for in 1989–90 do not represent a full year under the new system, because of the delay in payments. The figure for 1989–90 is not, therefore directly comparable with that for 1990–91.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what investigations her Department has been subject by the Data Protection Registrar in relation to a suspected breach of a data protection principle; if she will summarise the nature of each complaint and state when the complaint was made; and what remedial action was taken by her Department to ensure future compliance with the principle subject to the investigation.

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Select Committee Recommendations
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Select Committee recommendations have been made about her Department since April 1989; and how many of them have been accepted.

  Mr. Sackville
  Reports by the Health Select Committee and the Government's responses to these reports are recorded for each parliamentary Session, in the sessional information digests, compiled by the Public Information Office, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Children in Care
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of children of each sex(a) in local authority care, (b) fostered and (c) adopted for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Yeo
  The information is shown in the table.
  147

  Children in care, England at 31 March

  Adoption orders made1 in England and Wales

  Children in care2

  Fostered3

  Year

  Male

  Female

  Male

  Female

  Male

  Female

  1989

  33,737

  28,411

  17,556

  16,604

  3,480

  3,352

  1990

  32,506

  28,026

  17,675

  16,873

  3,362

  3,171

  1991

  31,955

  27,879

  17,859

  16,907

  3,372

  3,799

  41992

  55,000

  32,100

  —

  1 Source: OPCS publication "Marriage and Divorce Statistics, series FM2, October 19xx". Adoption order made in England and Wales.

  2 Source: "Children in care of local authorities year ending 31 March 19xx, England".

  3 The number of children in local authority care in foster placements at 31 March.

  4 Figures for 1992 refer to estimation of the total number of children looked after by local authorities. Breakdown by sex is not yet available.

  Dementia
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are currently produced by her Department for general practitioners and other community-based professionals concerning the identification of dementia and the availability and effectiveness of dementia-related services.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Department has not produced guidelines.

  Skin Cancer
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what quantified estimates have been produced by her Department on the impact of the depletion of the ozone layer upon future numbers of skin cancer cases in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 19 October 1992 at column 80.

  Medical Negligence
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) of 15 December 1992,Official Report, column 184, when the cost to the NHS of medical negligence claims in 1991–92 will be made available; and what is the reason for their earlier non-availability.

  Mr. Sackville
  The cost of claims settled during 1991–92 is estimated at around £58 million. This information had not been received from health authorities when my hon. Friend the Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox) asked his question in December 1992.

  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to collect and collate details of NHS medical negligence claims to identify patterns and trends to enable advice to be given to health authorities, NHS trusts and general practitioners.

  Mr. Sackville
  We require health authorities and national health service trusts to provide annual returns of the costs of claims settled each financial year. A working group with representatives of the Department and the NHS is to be set up to look at the handling of medical negligence claims in the NHS, and will consider the adequacy of information collected.

  Play Groups
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated financial value of the contribution provided by her Department in England to pre-school play groups in respect of each pupil per season for a year.
  148
  Mr. Yeo
  The Department does not make grants directly to individual playgroups.

  Total grant aid from central Government to the Pre-school Playgroups Association (PPA) in 1993–94 is over £1·5 million, of which £570,000 is given by the Department towards PPA's headquarters costs and implementation of a major reorganisation. The PPA also takes part in the Department's small grants scheme, in which small capital grants are dispersed to playgroups.

  Broadgreen Hospital
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the text of the copy letter sent to her by the leaders of Liverpool and Knowsley councils, dated 28 April, concerning the future of Broadgreen hospital accident and emergency unit, a copy of her response, the final number of objections received to this proposal and an estimate of when she will publish her conclusions.

  Mr. Sackville
  Liverpool health authority, at a meeting on 12 May, accepted a series of proposals for the future development of national health services in the city, including the closure of Broadgreen hospital's accident and emergency department. The authority's decision may have to be considered by Mersey regional health authority and referred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for a decision if the local community health councils object. The proposals were the subject of full public consultation, during which time all views expressed were passed to Liverpool health authority to be taken into account before a final decision was reached. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. D. H. Tod, chairman of Liverpool health authority, for details.

  Prescription Pricing Authority
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the budget for the Prescription Pricing Authority in each year since August 1988.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information is shown in the table.

  PPA gross expenditure

  £'000s

  Financial year

  Revenue

  Capital

  1988–89

  17,382

  1,965

  1989–90

  19,792

  1,588

  1990–91

  25,268

  12,505

  1991–92

  28,043

  1,278

  1992–93

  131,644

  16,882

  1 Provisional outturn.

  149

  Childhood Cancer
  Sir Anthony Durant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has received from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment on the recently published study into the relationship between work in the nuclear industry and the incidence of childhood cancer in west Berkshire and north Hampshire.

  Mr. Sackville
  The committee's broad conclusion was to agree, with the authors of the study that parental employment in the nuclear industry could not account for the excess incidence of childhood leukaemia observed in the area.

  The full text of the advice is as follows.

  Statement from COMARE regarding the Aldermaston and Burghfield Case-control Report

  1. The COMARE third report "On the incidence of Childhood Cancer in the West Berkshire and North Hampshire area, in which are situated the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston and the Royal Ordnance Factory, Burghfield", concluded that:
  "there is a small but statistically significant increase in registration rates of childhood leukaemia in the age group 0–14 over the period 1972–85, in the areas within 10km of AWRE Aldermaston and ROF Burghfield, compared with both the national rates, and the regional rates of Oxford and Wessex."To investigate whether this increased childhood leukaemia incidence was related to parents' employment in the nuclear industry, COMARE recommended that a case-control study be undertaken. Government accepted the recommendation and the Department of Health provided funding for the work to be undertaken by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Epidemiology Unit. The results of this "Case control study of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among children aged 0–4 years living in West Berkshire and North Hampshire Health Districts" have now been published (British Medical Journal 1993 Vol. 306 pages 615–621) and considered by COMARE.2. The subjects were 54 children aged 0–4 years who had leukaemia or non-Hodgkins lymphoma diagnosed during 1972–89 who were horn in the study area and were resident there when the cancer was diagnosed. They were compared with six controls selected for each case. Five of the fifty four cases and fourteen out of the 324 controls had fathers or mothers or both who had been employed by the nuclear industry, a difference which was not significant. The main finding of the study was that three fathers of cases and two fathers of controls (and no mothers of either) had undertaken work which required radiation monitoring at some time (but in no instance in the 4 years immediately preceding) the conception of the child.
  3. The study concluded that:
  "These results suggest that the children of fathers who had been monitored for exposure to external penetrating ionising radiation in the nuclear industry may be at increased risk of developing leukaemia before their fifth birthday. The finding is based on small numbers and could be due to chance.If the relationship is real the mechanisms are far From clear, except that the effect is unlikely to be due to external radiation; the possibility that it could be due to internal contamination by radioactive substances or some other exposure at work should be pursued. The above average rates of leukaemia in the study area cannot be accounted for by these findings."4. COMA RE welcomed the study. It was agreed that the study design, which had been commissioned to determine whether there was an association between childhood cancer and parental employment in the nuclear establishments of the study area, adequately addressed its aims in terms of subject, disease and control selection and methods of data collection and analysis. The stated conclusions were accepted by the Committee.5. The Committee noted that whereas their third report had found 53 cases of childhood leukaemia in the age group 0–4 years in the study area when only 34 would have been
  150
  expected on the basis of national rates, the current study had identified only 5 cases that could have been at any possible risk because a parent had worked in the nuclear industry. The Committee, after taking into account the different time periods considered by COMARE's third report and the current study, therefore agreed with the authors that employment in the nuclear industry of the parents of cases could not account for the excess incidence of childhood leukaemia observed in the area.6. COMARE noted the authors statement "our results can be interpreted as supporting Gardner and colleagues' finding" that the children of men who had been exposed to external penetrating ionising radiation before their child was conceived were at an increased risk of leukaemia. The Committee did not feel that conclusions regarding pre- and post-contraception exposure could be drawn from this study in view of the very small number of families affected. Furthermore it was agreed that the study provided no new evidence to distinguish between the various hypotheses previously suggested regarding causative agents or chance effects in relation to childhood cancer incidence in the vicinity of certain nuclear installations.7. COMARE noted that further studies of the occupational histories of the parents are currently being undertaken. The Committee considered that the further work proposed in the conclusion of the study was already being conducted in two studies now in progress. The first of these is the Nuclear Industries Family Study being undertaken by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and jointly funded by the Department of Health and the Health and Safety Executive. The second study, involving the National Radiological Protection Board and the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology at Birmingham University, will analyse the relationship between records of the National Register of Radiation Workers and those of the Childhood Cancer Registry Group.

  "Choosing with Care"
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about the Government's progress with implementation of the Warner report "Choosing with Care".

  Mr. Yeo
  I will be announcing the Government's further response to the Warner report "Choosing with Care" at the Association of Directors of Social Services seminar on 19 May. When the report was published on 7 December 1992, local authorities were asked to take urgent action to implement the recommendations aimed at improving personnel practices and procedures, and the arrangements for the supervision and appraisal of staff. Reports asked for by Easter indicated that good progress is being made.

  Tomorrow I shall be responding in more detail to the remaining recommendations of the Warner report. This will cover the following areas: training, vetting and police checks; a campaign to raise public awareness of residential child care; a code of employment practice; a code of practice on national standards and a modified proposal for a development action group.

  I will be placing a copy of that response in the Library tomorrow morning, 19 May, at 11 am.

  In addition, the Department will also be discussing with the local authority associations a phased programme of action for implementation by local authorities of the remaining recommendations addressed to employers. This is to be set in train by July this year.
  151

  Public Health Guidance
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will publish the findings of the review undertaken by Mr. Michael Abrams for the public health guidance to the national health service; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The committee chaired by Dr. Michael Abrams aims to complete its work within the next few months. Decisions on further action will be taken at that time.

  NHS Management Executive
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to turn the NHS management executive into a next steps agency; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have no such plans. I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North-East (Mr. Congdon) on 12 May at columns 483–84, which sets out the terms of reference of the national health service management functions and manpower review.

  The conclusions of this review will be relevant to the future organisation of the NHS management executive.

  Mineral Hydrocarbons
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration has been given by the Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment to the use of mineral hydrocarbons in food packaging, baking and related applications; what account the committee has taken of studies reported by the British Biological Research Association on the use of hydrocarbon oils and waxes; what further studies are recommended; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) advised in 1988 that mineral hydrocarbons should no longer be permitted in food because of evidence from laboratory animal experiments that they could accumulate in certain organs and cause damage to these organs.

  It is now reviewing its advice following subsequent receipt of the toxicity studies carried out by the British Industrial Biological Research Association (BIBRA) on mineral hydrocarbon oils and waxes. Their advice, and any recommendations for further research studies, will be considered by Ministers together with advice on this subject from the Food Advisory Committee.

  Hospital Admissions
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of finished consultant episodes in acute, geriatric and maternity specialties; how many were(a) elective admissions, (b) emergency admissions, (c) maternity admissions, (d) well babies born in hospital, (e) transfers from other departments in the same hospital and (f) transfers from another hospital, in each financial year since 1988–89.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 23 April 1993]: Figures from the hospital episode system (HES) for 1989–90 have
  152
  recently been published. More detailed analysis by method of admission showing the percentage distribution of episodes is shown in the table. Comparable data for 1988–89 and for 1990–91 and subsequent years is not yet available.

  Method of admission 1989–90

  Specialty groups

  Specialty

  Acute

  Maternity

  Geriatric3

  Number (000's)

  6,941

  977

  449

  Method of admission:

  3Per cent.

  3Per cent.

  3Per cent.

  Elective

  46

  1—

  13

  Emergency

  37

  1—

  71

  Maternity

  3

  1—

  0

  Well babies

  8

  1—

  0

  Transfers from other district

  1

  1—

  1

  Transfers within the district2

  5

  1—

  16

  1 The distribution of admissions in the maternity sector are not shown since the deficiency of maternity records in HES makes estimates liable to large errors.

  2 Transfers within districts include transfers from departments in the same hospital.

  3 Percentages do not add up to 100 due to rounding.

  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics 1989–90.

  Consultant Episodes
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the total number of finished consultant episodes in acute, geriatric and maternity specialties; how many finished with(a) discharge to the patient's usual place of residence, (b) discharge to another domestic address, (c) transfer to another department in the same hospital, (d) transfer to another hospital, (e) death or (f) discharge to a non-domestic address outside the NHS, for each financial year since 1988–89.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 23 April 1993]: Figures from the hospital episode system (HES) for 1989–90 are to be published shortly. These will show total finished consultant episodes—ordinary admissions plus day cases —in that year by specialty group. The table shows, for each specialty group, the percentage distribution among valid discharge destination codes. Comparable data for 1988–89 and for 1990–91 and subsequent years are not yet available.

  Admissions in 1989–90

  Specialty groups

  Specialty

  Acute

  Maternity

  Geriatric

  Number (000's)

  6,491

  977

  449

  Discharged to:

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Per cent.

  Usual residence

  91

  96

  62

  Other domestic

  1

  0

  2

  Other department, same hospital

  4

  3

  12

  Other hospital

  1

  1

  1

  Death

  3

  0

  19

  Non-domestic outside NHS

  1

  0

  4

  Source: Hospital Episode System 1989–90.

  Migraine
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the relative costs of drugs used to treat migraine.
  153
  Dr. Mawhinney
  None. Section 4.7.4 of the "British National Formulary" lists the costs of all preparations used in the treatment of migraine. This publication is issued free to all doctors within the national health service.

  Health Promotion Staff
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health promotion staff were employed by each English and Welsh health authority in 1992–93 and what was the figure for 1982–83.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 10 May 1993]: The latest information available will be placed in the Library.
  154
  The figures relate only to those health promotion staff falling within administrative and clerical grades—there is no information available centrally on health promotion staff from other staff groups. Health promotion work is also undertaken by most national health service personnel at a local level, for example, general practitioners, dieticians, health visitors, and by non-NHS organisations including local authorities. In addition to health promotion staff employed in health authorities, staff are also employed in NHS trusts and other provider units.

  Health promotion matters in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  TANKER ROUTING
  TANKER ROUTING
  ORGANOPHOSPHATE SHEEP DIPS: EC DIRECTIVE
  ORGANOPHOSPHATE SHEEP DIPS: EC DIRECTIVE
  ORGANOPHOSPHATE SHEEP DIPS: ALTERNATIVES
  ORGANOPHOSPHATE SHEEP DIPS: ALTERNATIVES
  PENALTY SET-ASIDE
  PENALTY SET-ASIDE
  IACS: PROCEDURE
  IACS: PROCEDURE
  GATT: PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FOODSTUFFS
  GATT: PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN FOODSTUFFS
  BOSNIA
  BOSNIA
  LAW OF THE SEA: CONVENTION
  LAW OF THE SEA: CONVENTION
  EAST TIMOR
  EAST TIMOR
  IRAQ: KUWAITI PRISONERS
  IRAQ: KUWAITI PRISONERS
  TERRITORIAL SEAS
  TERRITORIAL SEAS
  WEST BANK AND GAZA: RELIEF AID
  WEST BANK AND GAZA: RELIEF AID
  EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONES
  EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONES
  NHS ABORTION SERVICES
  NHS ABORTION SERVICES
  BYWAYS OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC: VEHICULAR RIGHTS
  BYWAYS OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC: VEHICULAR RIGHTS
  6–7 OLD PALACE YARD: PROPOSED WORKS
  6–7 OLD PALACE YARD: PROPOSED WORKS