Written Answers of 1 November 1993

ENVIRONMENT

  Packaging
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will make representations to the European Community to secure that the European directive on packaging and packaging waste is amended(a) to include reference to measures to encourage the use of reusable packaging, (b) to delete arbitrary assertions of equivalence and to secure that priority is given to source reduction, reuse and recycling in that order and (c) to ensure that consumer information and labelling distin-guishes packaging for which there is an established recycling route;

  (2) if he will make representations to the European Community to secure the inclusion of a timetable for the reduction of waste at source within the European directive on packaging and packaging waste;

  (3) if he will make representations to the European Community to ensure that those parts of the proposed directive on packaging and packaging waste setting standards for packaging systems are also applied to packaging exported from member states to non-EC countries;

  (4) if he will make representations to the European Community to secure that information submitted under article 8 and annex III of the European directive on packaging and packaging waste includes information on toxic substances;

  (5) if he will make representations to the European Community to secure that the European directive on packaging and packaging waste is amended to include (a) specific targets for the recycling of collected material, (b) targets for reuse and source reduction and (c) measures to increase the proportion of recycled materials used in packaging.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Government support the proposed directive as a means of harmonising the basis on which member states take measures relating to packaging and packaging waste, in order to avoid distortion to competition and restrictions to trade. We also see the proposal as environmentally beneficial. We have argued strongly for the directive to establish broad targets which are both realistic and challenging and for it to contain sufficient flexibility for individual member states to choose the waste management option which makes most sense in the light of local circumstance.

  The directive proposed by the Commission establishes an overall target for the recovery of waste packaging and sets out specific targets for material recycling. The Government accept the concept of a waste management hierarchy which covers reduction, re-use, recycling and energy recovery and final disposal, in that order, but do not believe that it makes environmental or economic sense to impose it rigidly in all cases. There will be some
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  circumstances where the economic and environmental considerations point to an option towards the bottom of the hierarchy. We therefore oppose the incorporation of a rigid hierarchy in the directive and the inclusion of specific targets or timetables for individual aspects of the hierarchy. These could prevent the choice of the most appropriate option in individual cases. We believe that it would be more sensible to adopt a general target for recovery and allow local decisions on what constitutes the best combination of management options in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity.

  The proposed directive also establishes a regime of essential requirements with which packaging must conform and ensures free circulation for packaging which conforms with the requirements. It requires the creation of mechanisms to ensure that suitable information is provided so that consumers and producers can contribute to the attainment of its objectives and to assist in compliance monitoring. We believe that it is essential for those mechanisms, relating either to the marking of packaging material to the provision of information to consumers, or to providing data for monitoring performance against the directive's objectives, to be as simple and clear as possible. They should take into account other national or EC legislation dealing, for example, with safety, performance or quality issues. Furthermore these requirements should be established in a manner which facilitates trade within the European Community and with other countries and takes account of the need for standards to be set in a world-wide context.

  We believe that the pragmatic approach we have adopted during the negotiation of the directive has support among many of our EC partners and that many of our concerns are being taken on board. There remain significant difficulties with the amended proposal and we will be continuing to press for further changes before we can consider the text to be acceptable; we do, however, believe that the negotiations are going in the right direction and that we now have the foundations for a successful outcome.

  Homelessness
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans the Government have to make all providers of social housing statutorily responsible for providing accommodation for the homeless; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir George Young
  In a reply to the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford) on 21 October,Official Report, column 281, I said that the Government propose to reform the homelessness legislation. We will be consulting about our proposals in due course.

  Power Stations
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the anti-pollution equipment that is installed at the(a) Ince, Merseyside and,(b) Richborough, Kent power stations.

  Mr. Yeo
  Both power stations are currently fitted with electrostatic precipitators to reduce emissions of par-ticulate matter to atmosphere. In respect of other emissions, the authorisations recently issued by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution require the operator to provide, by 1 April 1994, an improvement plan using
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  BATNEEC—best available techniques not entailing excessive cost—to bring the stations up to the standards appropriate for new plant.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he is giving under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to rescinding the order to burn orimulsion at the(a) Ince, Merseyside and (b) Richborough, Kent power stations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  Part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires the inclusion of conditions in authorisations designed to prevent or minimise pollution of the environment and prohibits HMIP from granting an authorisation unless it is satisfied that an operator will be able to comply with such conditions.

  Authorisations allowing the burning of orimulsion at these power stations were issued by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on 30 July 1993. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no reason to believe that they were not granted in accordance with the requirements of the Act and has no plans therefore to direct that they should be revoked.

  Carbon Emissions
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of how far the duties and powers of the Director General of Gas Supply are sufficient duties to enable the post to assist the Government fully in achieving their declared international commitments on carbon emission reductions.

  Mr. Yeo
  Using his existing powers as prescribed by the Gas Act 1986, the Director General of Gas Supply has introduced changes to the gas supply tariff formula—the "E factor"—which have already permitted funding of two initial energy efficiency schemes of Energy Saving Trust. The trust's target of achieving, through energy efficiency measures, annual fuel savings equivalent to 2.5 million tonnes carbon emissions by 2000 will form an important part of the Government's national programme on CO2 emissions.

  Council Housing
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those councils whose tenants have voted in favour of a new approved landlord from the private sector; what is the number and value of the properties; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir George Young
  The tenants of 30 local authorities have voted in favour of the large scale voluntary transfer of the ownership of all or most of their council's housing stock to registered housing associations. Of these, the following 23 councils have already transferred all or most of their stock:

  Number of dwellings transferred

  Transfer price £ million

  Breckland DC

  6,781

  60.2

  Broadland DC

  3,721

  25.1

  London Borough of Bromley

  12,393

  117.6

  Chiltern DC

  4,650

  32.9

  Christchurch DC

  1,621

  15.4

  East Cambridgeshire DC

  4,266

  31.5

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  Number of dwellings transferred

  Transfer price £ million

  East Dorset DC

  2,245

  21.6

  Hambleton DC

  4,268

  33.5

  Medina DC

  2,825

  27.9

  Mid Sussex DC

  4,426

  44.2

  Newbury DC

  7,053

  47.0

  North Bedfordshire DC

  7,472

  64.3

  Rochester upon Medway DC

  8,029

  77.0

  Ryedale DC

  3,353

  28.3

  Sevenoaks DC

  6,526

  65.5

  South Buckinghamshire DC

  3,319

  34.0

  South Wight DC

  2,119

  22.8

  Suffolk Coastal DC

  5,272

  34.0

  Surrey Heath DC

  2,885

  28.7

  Swale DC

  7,352

  55.2

  Tonbridge and Mailing DC

  6,382

  54.4

  Tunbridge Wells DC

  5,519

  58.1

  West Dorset DC

  5,279

  40.3

  The remaining seven councils listed below have not yet transferred their stock, but are expected to submit applications to do so by the end of March 1994:

  Number of dwellings to be transferred

  Epsom and Ewell DC

  1,773

  Hart DC

  2,504

  Havant DC

  3,587

  Hertsmere DC

  6,383

  Leominster DC

  1,874

  Penwith DC

  3,413

  South Ribble DC

  3,600

  The transfer price for these dwellings is not yet known.

  In addition, tenants in the City of Westminster and London borough of Merton have voted in favour of two tenants' choice transfers involving a total of 830 dwellings. In both of these cases the stock had a negative value, and a disposal cost was paid to the new approved landlord.

  The progress of the large-scale voluntary transfer programme is very encouraging. Large-scale voluntary transfer can bring advantages to existing and future tenants, local authorities and council tax payers and I would like to see a continuing programme in future. There are also a number of tenants' choice transfers in the pipeline, four of which are well advanced.

  Local Government Boundaries
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 25 October,Official Report, column 414, whether the Local Government Commission requested at any stage a variation in his direction on the North Yorkshire review to include the West Craven area of Lancashire.

  Mr. Baldry
  No.

  Elections, Avon
  Dr. Berry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects that elections will be held for the new unitary authorities in Avon.

  Mr. Baldry
  Decisions about the implementation date for any changes to local government structure in Avon are dependent on the nature of the Local Government Commission's final recommendations for the area. We
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  expect the Commission to make its final report on Avon, Gloucestershire and Somerset to my right hon. Friend in January 1994.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Peter Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change his Department's cash limits and running costs limit for 1993–94.

  Mr. Gummer
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:

  (i) the cash limit for Class VII, Vote 5 (Central Environmental Services etc.) will be increased by £663,000 from £390,673,000 to £391,336,000. The increase provides for the transfer of responsibility for the Oslo Commission from MAFF to DoE, for additional resources for the Environmental Action Fund, for additional grant in aid for the United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board, for additional provision for Energy Efficiency, and for additional expenditure on the Environmental Protection research programme;

  (ii) the cash limit for Class VII, Vote 8 (Revenue Support Grant, payments of non-domestic rates, Valuation Office Services, etc., England) will be decreased by £54,000 from £28,808,833,000 to £28,808,779,000. This reflects the transfer of savings from the Valuation Tribunals subhead to Class VII, Vote 12, subhead D1: Emergency financial assistance to local authorities;

  (iii) The DoE/UA non-voted cash limit will be increased by £33,765,000 from £962,907,000 to £996,672,000. Capital End-Year Flexibility take up of £28,255,000 will fund Docklancls Light Railway, deferred Local Authority claims for City Challenge and other deferred claims for Derelict Land Grant. Increases totalling £47,814,000 are necessary to establish the Urban Regeneration Agency, to cover additional expenditure on the Manchester Olympic Bid and for Urban Development Corporations to carry out redevelopment and reclamation work.

  These increases will be offset by savings, transfers, and retained PES and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  PSA Businesses
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he proposes to make to the cash limit on the sale of the PSA Businesses vote in 1993–94.

  Mr. Curry
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VII, vote 13 will be increased by £38,950,000 from £401,000 to £39,351,000. The increase will not constitute a claim on the Reserve as it will be netted off the proceeds from the Government's privatisation programme.

  The provision is sought mainly to fund the subscription of shares and other expenses in connection with the sale of the five building management businesses to the private sector during September and October 1993; partly offset by an increase in receipts representing that part of the proceeds of sale payable in 1993–94.

  Landfill Waste
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amendments Her Majesty's Government have proposed to the draft proposal of the European Commission for a Council directive on the landfill of waste.
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  Mr. Yeo
  The draft proposal for a Council directive on the landfill of waste was introduced by the European Commission in May 1991. An amended proposal was produced in June this year following the European Parliament's opinion. The present proposal was drawn up before the principle of subsidiarity was strengthened in the Maastricht treaty and endorsed at the Edinburgh Council and is very detailed and prescriptive. That principle requires that Community legislation deals only with issues that can be better attained at the level of the Community than at the level of individual member states. Accordingly the proposed directive fails the subsidiarity test.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the European Community directive on the landfill of waste will be implemented.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Belgian presidency of the European Community is giving priority to the draft proposal for a Council directive on the landfill of waste. Considerable negotiations lie ahead and it is not yet clear when Council will be able to agree a common position. The present draft requires member states to take the necessary steps to comply with the directive within one year of its notification.

  Nuclear Waste
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he currently considers to be the best environmental disposal option for large items of bulky decommissioning waste such as nuclear submarine reactor compartments.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Government's position was set out in the White Paper, "This Common Inheritance" (Cm. 1200). This said that the Government had not ruled out sea disposal for large items such as boilers, but would keep under review whether this disposal option needed to be maintained. Decommissioning wastes from nuclear-propelled submarines are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

  Methane
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research has been carried out into methane migration at(a) open and (b) closed waste rubbish tips (i) in England and Wales, (ii) the London borough of Havering, (iii) the borough of Thurrock and (iv) the district of Basildon.

  Mr. Yeo
  Work on the phenomenon of methane migration from landfill sites has been an integral part of the Department's controlled waste management and contami-nated land research programmes for many years. Projects have ranged from theoretical modelling, through laboratory work, to site monitoring and investigation. The aim of this work is to provide an improved understanding of landfill gas generation and migration as support for the Department's technical guidance on best practice for gas monitoring and control. None of the research work has been carried out at sites in Havering, Thurrock and Basildon.

  Research on methane is also carried out in a programme of work managed by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association jointly funded by the Department and industry.

  Housing, Lancashire
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing association properties have been built in each local authority area in Lancashire over the last three years for(a) general need and (b) sheltered housing; and how many properties have been acquired by housing associations and renovated for renting over the same period.

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 22 October 1993]: Estimates of the total numbers of housing association housebuilding completions within each local authority area in Lancashire are shown in the publication "Local Housing Statistics", table 1. Figures for 1990 are in issue No. 101 and for 1991 and 1992 are in issue No. 105.

  The Department collects information about specialised housing for the elderly, including sheltered dwellings. Figures of sheltered housebuilding completions for housing associations within individual local authority areas are also shown in "Local Housing Statistics". Annual data for 1990 and 1991 are in issues Nos. 99 (table 10) and 102 (table 11) respectively. Figures for 1992 are to be published shortly in issue No. 106.

  Figures for numbers of housing association dwellings which were renovated with local authority loans are shown in "Local Housing Statistics". Figures for 1990 are in issue No. 101 (table 4) and for 1991 and 1992 in issue No. 105 (table 3). The figures for dwellings renovated with funding from the Housing Corporation are not readily available.

  Local Government Reform
  Sir Cranley Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the sums committed by(a) county councils and (b) other local authorities in England and Wales on representations about the proposed reform of local government.

  Mr. Curry
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: This is a matter for authorities themselves; we have no information on which to base an estimate for England. Local government reorganisation in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Abandoned Coal Mines
  Sir Cranley Onslow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with British Coal and the National Rivers Authority about pollution from abandoned coal mines.

  Mr. Yeo
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: There have been discussions and exchanges of information between my officials and those of the NRA, and between the chairman of the NRA and myself. It is for British Coal in consultation with the NRA to assess any environmental effects of pollution from abandoned mines.

  Mineral Planning Guidance Note
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the new draft mineral planning guidance note 3.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: I intend to publish the new draft minerals planning guidance note 3 for public consultation as soon as possible.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Archaeological Site, Bedfordshire
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the decision not to prosecute the person caught plundering an archaeological site west of Bedford in June this year.

  The Attorney-General
  The Director of Public Prosecutions has no knowledge of any case in 1993 in which the CPS has been asked to consider the prosecution of any person for any offence under the Theft Act 1968 or under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 in respect of theft from, or damage to, an archaeological site. A case of this nature which the hon. and learned Member may have in mind was considered in 1991, but no sufficient admissible and reliable evidence was available to found a prosecution.

TRANSPORT

  Nuclear Transport
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received regarding the risks of transporting nuclear materials by air, land or sea.

  Mr. Norris
  During this month my Department has received two questions and three letters from Members of the House of Commons, and four letters from other bodies on the transport of radioactive materials.

  M62
  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received in relation to his proposals for the M62 relief road; and how many such representations have been in favour and how many against.

  Mr. Key
  On 29 October 732 completed comment sheets, 175 letters and 650 printed pro-formas had been received so far. Most expressed concern about the proposals.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will hold a public inquiry into all methods of reducing traffic congestion on the M62 motorway.

  Mr. Key
  If the scheme goes ahead following the public consultation a public inquiry would be held at which alternative solutions would be debated.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many years after completion of the proposed M62 relief road it is expected that traffic flows will have reached capacity levels on(a) the proposed M62 relief road and (b) the M62 motorway.

  Mr. Key
  I expect the design capacity of the M62 motorway to be reached again 15 years after the opening of the relief road. It will be some years after that before the relief road reaches its design capacity.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what economic appraisal he has made of the proposed M62 relief road using the cost-benefit technique COBA9; and if he will publish the appraisal during the public consultation process ending in February 1994.
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  Mr. Key
  The Department used its standard methodology to produce an economic appraisal for the relief road. This was published as part of the documents available at the consultation exhibition.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the average daily traffic flow on the M62 motorway at junction 17.

  Mr. Key
  A total of 123,400 vehicles per day based on 1992 figures.

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what average daily traffic flow is forecast for the M62 in the opening year of the proposed M62 relief road.

  Mr. Key
  Average daily traffic flow forecast for M62, between junctions 15 and 17, in the opening year of the relief road is:

  low growth—105,600 vehicles per day

  high growth—126,000 vehicles per day

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of Stale for Transport to what extent the public and elected representatives at local and national level have been consulted over the traffic congestion on the M62 motorway and on possible methods of reducing that congestion other than the proposed M62 relief road.

  Mr. Key
  Local authorities and others were consulted last year on options for improving transport links across the Pennines. The Options, identified in a study commissioned from consultants, were published in the document "Trans-Pennine Study: Strategy Report".

  Mr. Sumberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what average daily traffic flow is forecast for the proposed M62 relief road in the opening year.

  Mr. Key
  Average daily traffic flow forecast for opening year is:—

  Vehicles per day

  Low growth

  63,000

  High growth

  75,200

  Jet.Aircraft
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of Stale for Transport if he will make a statement on(a) the certification requirements and (b) the pilot qualification requirements for persons seeking to operate former military fast jet aircraft on the United Kingdom civil register.

  Mr. Norris
  Aircraft certification requirements and pilot qualification requirements are matters for the Civil Aviation Authority in the first instance. I have therefore passed the hon. Member's question to the chairman of the authority and asked him to write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all accidents to civil-registered former military fast jet aircraft on the United Kingdom register, since 1980, giving in each case an indication of the number of injuries or fatalities and the cause of the accidents.
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  Mr. Norris
  The records of the Civil Aviation Authority's safety data and analysis unit show that since 1980 there has only been one accident involving a civil registered former military fast jet aircraft on the United Kingdom register. This accident was that which occurred on 11 June 1993 to a Hawker Hunter T7, near Sheffield.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the accident to a civil-registered Hunter T7 aircraft in the Peak district on 13 June.

  Mr. Norris
  The accident in which a Hawker Hunter T7 crashed in open country northwest of Sheffield, Yorkshire, occurred on 11 June 1993. The only fatality was that of the pilot who died in the crash. My Department's air accident investigation branch carried out a field investigation and has produced a report of this incident. Its analysis suggests that there had been no failure of the aircraft or its systems to explain the accident. There was, however, bad weather on the route of the flight.

  A copy of the AAIB's report (AAIB Bulletin No. 10/93 —Ref: EW/C93/6/4) is held in the House of Commons Library.

  Road Improvement, London
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each of the current road improvement programmes covering the Greater London area that qualify for Government funding.

  Mr. Norris
  The Government are responsible for funding the trunk road improvement programme and provide support for local authority road improvement programmes of more than local significance.

  In addition, the Traffic Director for London receives Government funding for the development of the priority (red) route initiative.

  M25
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake a study of delays to traffic on the M25 motorway(a) distinguishing the causes of all delays over a period of at least three months and (b) indicating approximate vehicle or person-hours occasioned by each cause of delay.

  Mr. Key
  We carry out continuous monitoring of traffic flows and delays on the M25. This information contributes to cost benefit assessments of improvements to the route.

  Harwich-Fishguard Link
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has about the proposed corridor linking Harwich with Fishguard to be funded in part by the European Community; and whether this will involve the lengthening or enhancing of the M50.

  Mr. Key
  A route between Harwich and Fishguard forms part of the trans-European road network that has now been agreed within the European Community. The M50 is not part of this route, but it is part of the M4—A449 — A40—M50—M5 TERN route between South Wales and the west midlands. Its inclusion in the network does not involve any lengthening or enhancement.

  Unleaded Fuel
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will update the answer to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) of 25 February,Official Report, columns 692–93, relating to unleaded fuel and catalytic converters.

  Mr. Key
  All new cars manufactured since 1 October 1990 have had to be capable of running on unleaded petrol. Of the 1.927 million tonnes of petrol sold in the month of September 1993 53.7 per cent. was unleaded. The number and proportion of older cars converted to use unleaded petrol is unknown. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders estimates that there are some 2.5 to 3 million cars that cannot be converted out of a total petrol car fleet of some 21 million. Since 31 December 1992 nearly all new petrol-engined cars have been fitted with catalysts. The total number of catalyst car sales to the end of September 1993 was approximately 2.31 million or some 10 per cent. of the total car fleet. The number of car owners who have had a catalyst fitted to their vehicle is unknown, but is estimated to be negligible.

  Exhaust Emissions, Wales
  Dr. Howells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the number and location of vehicle exhaust emissions testing points in Wales.

  Mr. Key
  Statutory in-service emission checks on HGVs and PSVs are carried out at the eight vehicle inspectorate testing stations in Wales and at 17 testing stations which are designated for the purposes of testing PSVs. Statutory in-service emission checks on other classes of vehicle are carried out at all 1,132 MOT testing stations in Wales. I will write to the hon. Member with details of the locations.

  East Coast Main Line
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposal has been submitted to his Department for the opening of passenger stations on the east coast main line in Berwickshire.

  Mr. Freeman
  None, but such proposals would not necessarily need the approval of my Department.

  Thurrock Service Area
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what geological surveys were made in relation to the site of the Thurrock service area serving the M25 prior to its construction; and to what extent methane or similar gases were found on the site or in the immediate location.

  Mr. Key
  The Department was aware that part of the Thurrock motorway service area site had previously been used for landfill waste and studies carried out before bids were invited for its development confirmed the presence of both methane and carbon dioxide. Further studies were carried out by the selected developer before construction began to determine the best method of treatment.

  The Department took expert advice, and consulted the relevant authorities, before approving the landfill gas control system and the associated monitoring equipment now installed at the site. The safety of service area users is
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  of paramount importance and the control and monitoring procedures are therefore subject to regular review. I am satisfied that these arrangements provide adequate protection for MSA staff and users.

  Taxis, London
  Mr. Bendall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the right of London's taxis to ply freely for hire at railway stations serving London commuters will be maintained following rail privatisation.

  Mr. Norris
  Following privatisation, British Rail stations will be owned by the new body, Railtrack, which will remain in the public sector for some time. There are no plans to change the Act of 1907 which gives taxis free access to stations within the Metropolitan police district, but this is one of the topics discussed in the consultation paper on the future of taxi and private hire services which was published on 27 October.

  A38
  Mr. Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when it is intended work should start on the Dobwalls bypass section of the A38 trunk road improvement between Liskeard and Bodmin; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  Construction of the A38 Liskeard to Bodmin improvement scheme, including a bypass for Dobwalls, could start in the latter part of the decade, depending upon satisfactory completion of the statutory procedures and the availability of funds at the time.

  Mr. Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is his intention to give further consideration to a route option through the Glynn valley as part of the consultation procedures for the A38 trunk road improvement between Liskeard and Bodmin; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  We are considering all the responses to the supplementary public consultation on this scheme, including suggestions for an alternative route through the Glynn valley. We hope to announce the preferred solution shortly.

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices at 2 Marsham street.

  Mr. Norris
  According to the Department's com-puterised staff record, 1,352 Department of Transport staff are currently employed in 2 Marsham street.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Prison Privatisation
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales that are now being considered by his Department for possible privatisation.

  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.
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  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 1 November 1993:

  PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT IN PRISONS
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the prisons in England and Wales that are now being considered for possible privatisation.
  On 2 September 1993 the Home Secretary announced that 10 per cent. of prisons, about 12, are to be managed by the private sector. This total includes the two already operated by the private sector, the new prison at Doncaster, which is due to open next year, and the six new prisons the building of which was announced on 6 October. About three prisons currently managed directly by the Prison Service will therefore need to be brought under private sector management following a market testing programme. As indicated at the time of the September policy announcement, no decision has yet been taken on which prisons will be market tested.

  Prisoner Support Groups
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the role of voluntary family support groups in respect of the enhancement of family-prisoner links and the successful resettlement of prisoners on release;

  (2) how much money and what proportion of the prison service budget was allocated in (a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993 to fund prisoners' families support groups.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for these matters 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. Simon Hughes, dated 1 November 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the role of voluntary support groups in enhancing prisoners' family links, and about the amount and proportion of the Prison Service Budget which has been allocated to prisoners' family support groups in the years 1991 to 1993 inclusive.
  The Prison Service gives a high priority towards helping prisoners to maintain close and meaningful links with their families which will help them to resettle in the community on release. We recognise that prisoners' family support groups can play an extremely valuable part in this process.
  There is no provision in the Prison Service Vote for making regular grants to these voluntary groups. However, over the two most recently completed financial years the Minister of State has authorised one-off payments totalling £75,000 to assist groups in exceptional circumstances.

  Driving Bans
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many lifetime driving bans were imposed by the courts in the years 1991 and 1992; and for what offences.

  Mr. Maclean
  The information required is published in "Offences relating to motor vehicles England and Wales 1991 Supplementary tables", tables 13 and 14. A copy of this publication can be found in the Library.

  The figures for 1992 are not yet available.

  Hit and Run Offences
  Mr. Gerrrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded incidents of hit and run offences involving injury or death occurred in 1991 and 1992; and in how many cases the driver was not subsequently traced.

  Mr. Maclean
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Prisoner Transfers
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been transferred(a) temporarily and (b) permanently from prisons in England and Wales to prisons in Scotland in each of the past three years.

  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 A. J. Butler to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 1 November 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners transferred to Scotland.
  The number of prisoners permanently and temporarily transferred to Scotland, under sections 26 and 27 of the Criminal Justice Act 1961 in the last three years were as follows:

  1990

  1991

  1992

  11993

  Temporary

  19

  18

  20

  13

  Permanent

  13

  19

  18

  9

  1 End of September.

  Pregnant Prisoners
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pregnant women were on remand or serving prison sentences in each year since 1987.

  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. Harry Cohen, dated 1 November 1993:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of pregnant women who were on remand or serving prison sentences in each year since 1987.
  I am afraid that the information you have requested is not available. As you will know from my reply to you on another Question we do know the number of pregnancies which result in a birth during the time a prisoner is on remand or serving a sentence. But we do not know, for example, the number of women prisoners who are pregnant when they are received into custody but are released before their pregnancy has come to term. A women may choose to keep the fact of her pregnancy confidential between her and the doctor. There is no requirement, nor would it be possible, for central records of pregnancies to be kept.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women gave birth while serving a prison sentence or on remand in each of the past five years.
  15
  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. Harry Cohen, dated 1 November 1993:
  Births to Women Serving Prison Sentences or on Remand The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of women who have given birth while serving a prison sentence or on remand in each of the past five years.
  The annual reports on the work of the Prison Service record the number of women temporarily removed to outside hospitals for delivery and returning to establishments afterwards. The figures are:

  Number

  1987–88

  75

  1988–89

  63

  1989–90

  74

  1990–91

  65

  1991–92

  56

  In addition there were three deliveries within Prison Service establishments, one in 1987–1988 and two in 1988–1989. We have no records of births having taken place in establishments in recent years.

  Sunrise and sunset times Current British summer time arrangements

  21 December 1993

  1994 GMT plus 1 hour from 27 March to 23 October March

  GMT

  January

  February

  March

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  November

  December

  Lerwick

  Sunrise

  09.08

  09.08

  08.20

  07.04

  06.31

  05.53

  03.53

  03.45

  04.43

  05.58

  17.09

  07.27

  08.40

  Sunset

  14.57

  15.08

  16.17

  17.31

  19.48

  21.03

  22.13

  22.31

  21.37

  20.09

  18.38

  16.09

  15.06

  Thurso

  Sunrise

  09.03

  09.04

  08.21

  07.11

  06.42

  05.20

  04.17

  04.10

  05.03

  06.12

  07.18

  07.30

  08.38

  Sunset

  15.21

  15.31

  16.35

  17.43

  19.55

  21.04

  22.08

  22.25

  21.36

  20.15

  18.49

  16.25

  15.28

  Stornoway

  Sunrise

  09.12

  09.13

  08.31

  07.21

  06.54

  05.33

  04.31

  04.25

  05.17

  06.24

  07.29

  07.40

  08.46

  Sunset

  15.36

  15.46

  16.48

  17.55

  20.06

  21.14

  22.16

  22.33

  21.45

  20.25

  19.00

  16.38

  15.42

  Inverness

  Sunrise

  08.57

  08.58

  08.19

  07.12

  06.47

  05.28

  04.29

  04.23

  05.13

  06.17

  07.20

  07.28

  08.33

  Sunset

  15.33

  15.43

  16.43

  17.48

  19.57

  21.02

  22.02

  22.18

  21.33

  20.15

  18.52

  16.32

  15.39

  Aberdeen

  Sunrise

  08.46

  08.48

  08.09

  07.02

  06.38

  05.20

  04.22

  04.17

  05.05

  06.09

  07.11

  07.19

  08.22

  Sunset

  15.27

  15.36

  16.36

  17.40

  19.47

  20.52

  21.51

  22.06

  21.22

  20.06

  18.44

  16.24

  15.32

  Dundee

  Sunrise

  08.45

  08.46

  08.09

  07.05

  06.43

  05.27

  04.31

  04.26

  05.13

  06.15

  07.15

  07.20

  08.21

  Sunset

  15.35

  15.45

  16.43

  17.45

  19.50

  20.53

  21.49

  22.05

  21.22

  20.08

  18.48

  16.30

  15.40

  Glasgow

  Sunrise

  08.46

  08.48

  08.12

  07.09

  06.49

  05.34

  04.40

  04.36

  05.21

  06.21

  07.19

  07.23

  08.23

  Sunset

  15.44

  15.54

  16.50

  17.51

  19.55

  20.55

  21.50

  22.05

  21.24

  20.12

  18.53

  16.37

  15.49

  Edinburgh

  Sunrise

  08.42

  08.44

  08.08

  07.05

  06.44

  05.30

  04.35

  04.31

  05.16

  06.17

  07.15

  07.19

  08.19

  Sunset

  15.40

  15.49

  16.46

  17.47

  19.51

  20.51

  21.47

  22.02

  21.21

  20.08

  18.49

  16.33

  15.44

  Stranraer

  Sunrise

  08.43

  08.44

  08.11`

  07.11

  06.53

  05.41

  04.50

  04.46

  05.29

  06.26

  07.22

  07.23

  08.20

  Sunset

  15.54

  16.03

  16.57

  17.55

  19.57

  20.55

  21.47

  22.01

  21.23

  20.13

  18.57

  16.44

  15.58

  Note:Figures reproduced with permission from data supplied by the Science and Engineering Research Council.

  Crime and Unemployment
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what analysis of the relationship between crime levels and unemployment underlay the statement in his consultation paper, "Disclosure of Criminal Records for Employment Vetting Purposes," on the relative likelihood of reoffending by(a) an ex-offender with suitable work and (b) one who is unemployed.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The relevant passage says only that commonsense suggests that an ex-offender with suitable work is less likely to re-offend than one who is unemployed. It did not derive from any general analysis of a possible link between levels of crime and unemployment.

  British Summer Time
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the times of sunrise and sunset on 21 December and on the first day of each month in 1994 in(a) Lerwick, (b) Thurso, (c) Stornoway, (d) Inverness, (e) Aberdeen, (f) Dundee, (g) Glasgow, (h) Edinburgh and (i) Stranraer, respectively, under (i) the present arrangements of British summer time and Greenwich mean time and (ii) under BST plus one hour and GMT plus one hour.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is as follows:
  17

  Sunrise and sunset times Single/double summer time (aka central European time)

  21 December 1993

  1994 GMT plus 2 hours from 27 March to 25 September, GMT plus 1 hour the rest of the year

  GMT +1 hour

  January

  February

  March

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  November

  December

  Lenvick

  Sunrise

  10.08

  10.08

  09.20

  08.04

  07.31

  06.03

  04.53

  04.45

  05.43

  06.58

  07.09

  08.27

  09.40

  Sunset

  15.57

  16.08

  17.17

  18.31

  20.48

  22.03

  23.13

  23.31

  22.37

  21.09

  18.38

  17.09

  16.06

  Thurso

  Sunrise

  10.03

  10.04

  09.21

  08.11

  07.42

  06.20

  05.17

  05.10

  06.03

  07.12

  07.18

  08.30

  09.38

  Sunset

  16.21

  16.31

  17.35

  18.43

  20.55

  22.04

  23.08

  23.25

  22.36

  21.15

  18.49

  17.25

  16.28

  Stornoway

  Sunrise

  10.12

  10.13

  09.31

  08.21

  07.54

  06.33

  05.25

  05.25

  06.17

  07.24

  07.29

  08.40

  09.46

  Sunset

  16.36

  16.46

  17.48

  18.55

  21.06

  22.14

  23.16

  23.33

  22.45

  21.25

  19.00

  17.38

  16.42

  Inverness

  Sunrise

  09.57

  09.58

  09.19

  08.12

  07.47

  06.28

  05.29

  05.23

  06.13

  07.17

  07.20

  08.28

  09.33

  Sunset

  16.33

  16.43

  17.43

  18.48

  20.57

  22.02

  23.02

  23.18

  22.33

  21.15

  18.52

  17.32

  16.39

  Aberdeen

  Sunrise

  09.46

  09.48

  09.09

  08.02

  07.38

  06.20

  05.22

  05.17

  06.05

  07.09

  07.11

  08.19

  09.22

  Sunset

  16.27

  16.36

  17.36

  18.40

  20.47

  21.52

  22.51

  23.06

  22.22

  21.06

  18.44

  17.24

  16.32

  Dundee

  Sunrise

  09.45

  09.46

  09.09

  08.05

  07.43

  06.27

  05.31

  05.26

  06.13

  07.15

  07.15

  08.20

  09.21

  Sunset

  16.35

  16.45

  17.43

  18.45

  20.50

  21.53

  22.49

  23.05

  22.22

  21.08

  18.48

  17.30

  16.40

  Glasgow

  Sunrise

  09.46

  09.48

  09.12

  08.09

  07.49

  06.34

  05.40

  05.36

  06.21

  07.21

  07.19

  08.23

  09.23

  Sunset

  16.44

  16.54

  17.50

  18.51

  20.55

  21.55

  22.50

  23.05

  22.24

  21.12

  18.53

  17.37

  16.49

  Edinburgh

  Sunrise

  09.42

  09.44

  09.08

  08.05

  07.44

  06.30

  05.35

  05.31

  06.16

  07.17

  07.15

  08.19

  09 19

  Sunset

  16.40

  16.49

  17.46

  18.47

  20.51

  21.51

  22.47

  23.02

  22.21

  21.08

  18.49

  17.33

  16.44

  Stranraer

  Sunrise

  09.43

  09.44

  09.11

  08.11

  07.53

  06.41

  05.50

  05.46

  06.29

  07.26

  07.22

  08.23

  09.20

  Sunset

  16.54

  17.03

  17.57

  18.55

  20.57

  21.55

  22.47

  23.01

  22.23

  21.13

  18.57

  17.44

  16.58

  Note: Figures reproduced with permission from data supplied by the Science and Engineering Research Council.

  Recreation Grounds
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take early action to strengthen the powers of the police and local authorities to prevent or deal with the nuisance and damage arising from unlawful use of motor cycles or other motor vehicles on recreation grounds in public open spaces.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend is satisfied that there are sufficient byelaw-making and enforcement powers available.

  Secure Accommodation
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had from the area criminal justice liaison committee for Mid, South and West Glamorgan, Dyfed and Gwent in relation to secure accommodation for young offenders and remandees.

  Mr. Maclean
  No such representations have been made directly to the Home Office; but on two occasions—at the end of 1992 and in August 1993—concern about the lack of secure accommodation for juveniles was expressed, respectively by the secretary and chairman of the area committee, in letters to the secretariat of the national 18
  Criminal Justice Consultative Council. These concerns were brought to the attention of Government Departments and replies to these letters were sent respectively from the Home Office and the Welsh Office.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he issued invitations to tender for the secure training centre or centres in Wales; if he will list the principal elements in the specification; what consultations he has had with regard to the drawing up of these specifications; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  Invitations to tender have not yet been issued in relation to any particular site. The time at which any such invitation can be issued will be dependent upon the progress made by the Bill which will be necessary to implement the Government's proposal to introduce secure training orders. Draft specifications for secure training centres were issued on 30 July to potential providers covering separately design and construction, and regime. These specifications were produced with the intention of indicating the likely requirements and to enable those with expertise or experience in dealing with persistent juvenile offenders to offer informed comments. The specifications were drawn up in close consultation with the Department of Health and social services inspectorate and endorsed by an interdepartmental steering group with representation from the Home Office, Department of Health, social services inspectorate, Department for Education, Lord
  19
  Chancellor's Department, Treasury and Welsh Office. The content of the specifications was also informed by views submitted as part of an earlier consultation exercise about the scope of the new secure training order.

  New Prisons
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing for each of the prisons referred to in his answer of 19 October,Official Report, column 214, (a) the date on which the possibility of a new prison was announced by a Minister, (b) the date on which a commitment was announced by a Minister, (c) the date on which the general location was made public, (d) the dates on which planning permission was given in outline and in detail, (e) the date on which a contract was let, (f) the date on which work started on site, (g) the date of completion, (h) the date on which the prison started to accept prisoners, with estimated dates when the relevant stage has not yet been reached and (i) the number of prisoners for which the prison was designed.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The information requested is not readily available and can be obtained only at dispropor-tionate cost.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Private Pensions
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reduction in(a) local government and (b) central Government costs would result from public sector employees being required to obtain contributory private pensions in respect of benefits above (i) twice the average weekly wage, (ii) thrice the average weekly wage and (iii) the earnings cap for tax relief operating for private sector pensions, if pension benefits were no longer paid for by the public sector above those levels.

  Mr. Dorrell
  If the earnings on which public service pension scheme benefits are based were limited as described, the Government Actuary's Department estimates that the annual savings to central Government would be as follows:

  Limit on earnings

  £ million

  Twice the average weekly wage

  175

  Thrice the average weekly wage

  43

  Earnings cap for tax relief introduced in the Finance Act 1989

  11

  These estimates assume that all future accruals of pension benefit would be subject to the limitations but that benefits accrued to date would not be so affected.

  Data needed to prepare corresponding estimates of the savings for local government is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  New Banks
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications have been made since 1 January to establish new banks.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Bank of England has received five such applications this year. Three related to the establishment of new entities; the other two came from 20
  overseas banks which required new authorisations for their presence in the United Kingdom: one because of a merger; the other following a group restructuring.

  Banks
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on proposals to assist the creditors of(a) Mount bank and (b) Equatorial bank.

  Mr. Nelson
  Mount Banking Corporation and Equatorial bank are both in administration. A partial distribution has already been made to Mount's creditors and the administrators of both banks propose to make further distributions. The deposit protection fund has been activated in both cases and payments have begun to be made to depositors.

  Taxation
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update the answer of 22 April,Official Report, columns 172–74 to provide similar estimates of the burden of direct and indirect taxes for 1994–95 based on the assumption of statutory indexation and including measures already announced in the 1993 Budget.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The available information is contained in the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on 22 April 1993,Official Report, columns 176–78.

  Tax Changes
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 19 April,Official Report, columns 6–7, if he will publish estimates for 1994–95 based on the assumption of statutory indexation and including measures already announced in the 1993 Budget.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Latest estimates of the annual change in income tax liability in 1994–95, assuming statutory indexation and inclusion of measures already announced, are in the table. The 1978–79 income tax regime has been indexed to 1994–95 levels by reference to the statutory formula and allowing for independent taxation.

  For the purposes of these calculations the indexed regime of 1978–79 is applied directly to the income base of 1994–95. In practice, retention of the regime indexed as appropriate, for the intervening years would have led to changes in the income base.

  Average reduction in income tax per individual1 in 1994–95 compared with the 1978–79 indexed regime

  Range of individual's income in 1994–95

  Number of individuals 1994–951

  Total reduction

  Average reduction

  (£)

  (million)

  (£ million)

  (£ per annum)

  Under 5,000

  3.1

  420

  140

  5,000 to 10,000

  8.2

  3,100

  380

  10,000 to 15,000

  6.1

  4,200

  700

  15,000 to 20,000

  4.0

  4,100

  1,020

  20,000 to 30,000

  3.3

  5,100

  1,510

  30,000 to 50,000

  1.5

  3,400

  2,240

  50,000 to 80,000

  0.33

  2,400

  7,250

  Over 80,000

  0.19

  9,000

  47,300

  Total

  26.6

  31,700

  1,190

  1 Individuals liable to income tax under the 1978–79 indexed regime.

  Annuality
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what work his Department has done on the cost to public funds of annuality.

  Mr. Portillo
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer keeps this under review. We are anxious in this, as in all areas of public spending, to prevent inefficiency.

  Literacy
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what response he has made to the report by Ernst and Young entitled, "Literacy, Education and Training: Their Impact on the United Kingdom Economy", a copy of which has been sent to him: and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  I have read this report with interest. It would not be appropriate to comment further in advance of my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget statement.

  Alcohol and Tobacco
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received opposing tax increases in the Budget on beer and tobacco; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has received a number of such representations in recent weeks, all of which are considered carefully. It would not be appropriate to comment further in advance of the Budget.

  Banknotes
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the status in England and Wales of banknotes in pounds sterling issued at Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  Banknotes isued by the commercial issuing banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland may be used in transactions anywhere in the United Kingdom so long as both parties to the transaction agree that they are acceptable.

  Central Statistical Office
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there will be to the Central Statistical Office's cash or running costs limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XVII, vote 14 will be increased by £850,000 from £42,701,000 to £43,551,000 and the running costs limit by £317,000 to £42,211,000. These increases reflect the take up of both running costs and capital end year flexibility entitlements, and a transfer from Cabinet Office: Other Services (£155,000), class XIX, vote 1. The increase will be charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there will be to the Treasury's cash and running costs limits for 1993–94.
  22
  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessasry supplementary estimates, two changes are proposed:

  (a) the cash limit for class XVII, vote 1 1993–94 will be increased by a token £1,000 from £76,467,000 to £76,468,000. The net increase is required to meet the gross costs, estimated to be £400,000 in connection with the privatisation of Forward: Civil Service Catering. These gross costs have been offset by increased appropriations-in-aid.

  (b) the cash limit for class XVII, vote 3 1993–94 will be increased by a £258,000 to £259,000 and the net running costs limit for Forward from zero to £258,000. This increase is required to meet an underpayment by Forward of PAYE contributions to the Inland Revenue in respect of prior year payments to casual employees.

  This increase will be fully offset by a reduction in the Bank of England's non-voted cash limit to £87 996 million and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  EC Public Procurement Directive
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to discuss with the European Commission and member states the level of implementation of EC public procurement directive (90/521/EEC) by other member states; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Portillo
  I refer the hon. and learned Member to the replies which my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade gave to the hon. Member for Stafford (Mr. Cash) on 21 October,Official Report, cols. 301–2.

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices in Parliament street.

  Sir John Cope
  On 1 October there were 1,076.

  Fruit Juice Industry
  Dr. Howells
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment his Department made of the likely financial impact of the Value Added Tax (Beverages) Order 1993 on the freshly squeezed fruit juice industry before the order was laid before the House; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what consultations took place between his Department and the freshly squeezed fruit juice industry before his Department laid the Value Added Tax (Beverages) Order 1993 before the House; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Cope
  Tax changes of this nature are not normally discussed in advance. The order followed careful consideration of the relevant factors and is designed to clarify an area of the law where there is now no coherent borderline between directly competing products following conflicting VAT tribunal decisions. It will put all fruit juices, however produced, on the same tax footing so that the VAT system does not favour one competing product over another.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  London Orchestras
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what representations he has received about the Arts Council's decision to reduce its funding to the London orchestras; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will make a statement on the method which the Arts Council has proposed for deciding on the level of its future funding of London orchestras.

  Mr. Brooke
  I have received approximately 20 letters on the Arts Council's decision to adopt a different approach to its funding of the London orchestras.

  1989–90 £

  1990–91 £

  1991–92 £

  1992–93 £

  1993–94 £

  LPO

  450,000

  465,000

  461,920

  1,062,000

  1,128,500

  LSO

  600,150

  600,000

  1,048,000

  1,110,880

  1,128,500

  Philharmonia

  450,000

  540,000

  568,940

  700,000

  711,500

  RPO

  435,050

  450,000

  459,140

  400,000

  400,000

  The Arts Council has asked its clients to plan for a 2 per cent. grant reduction in 1994–95 and for standstill grants in the subsequent two years. The Council did, however, write to all its clients at the beginning of this financial year to say that it could no longer give revenue-funded organisations 12 months' notice of any intention to cease or substantially reduce its funding. The letter also stated that the Arts Council was undertaking a review of its activities.

  London Orchestras
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the members of the Arts Council's music panel and their relevant qualifications to judge the future funding of the London orchestras.

  Mr. Brooke
  The music advisory panel is constituted to be able to consider authoritatively the wide range of music supported by the Arts Council. Each year the council writes to a wide range of professional bodies, including the Association of British Orchestras, seeking nominations for the music advisory panel. Its current members are as follows:

  Bryan Magee (chairman):
  a member of the Arts Council appointed by myself;

  Professor Margaret Bent:
  early music specialist, All Souls', Oxford;

  Richard Bernas:
  conductor;

  Dr. Graham Dixon:
  producer, Music Department, BBC Radio 3;

  Evelyn Glennie:
  percussionist;

  Dr. Jonty Harrison:
  composer, lecturer at University of Birmingham;

  Dr. Jane Manning:
  soprano, Director of Jane's Minstrels;

  Priti Paintal:
  composer;

  Dr. Jane Ritterman:
  Director, Royal College of Music;

  Janis Susskind:
  Head of Promotions at the music publishers, Boosey and Hawkes;

  Gail Thompson:
  jazz musician

  As its name implies, the panel's role is advisory. Decisions about the future funding of the London orchestras rest with the Arts Council alone.
  24
  It is for the Arts Council to formulate its artistic policies and to determine the means by which its decisions are implemented. I am assured that the council has given the most careful consideration to its approach to the funding of the London orchestras.

  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what has been the level of grant from the Arts Council to the four London orchestras in each of the past five years; and what are the projected figures for the next three years.

  Mr. Brooke
  The information requested is as follows:

  Millennium Fund
  Mr. Viggers
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will state the dates being treated for the purposes of the Millennium Fund as the end of the 20th century and the commencement of the 21st century.

  Mr. Brooke
  The 20th century will come to an end on 31 December 2000, and the 21st century and third millennium will begin on 1 January 2001. However, we recognise that many people will wish particularly to mark the beginning of the year 2000, and for that reason the Millennium Commission's terms of reference, as laid down in the National Lottery Act 1993, are to support projects which mark the year 2000 and the beginning of the third millennium.

  Transvestite Television
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he is taking to ban the transvestite television channel.

  Mr. Brooke
  I am aware of reports of a new satellite television channel catering for transvestites. There is little evidence to indicate when broadcasts will commence, or whether they will do so at all.

  It is the duty of the Independent Television Commission to bring to my attention any foreign satellite television service it considers goes beyond the limits of what is acceptable. My actions against the pornographic television channel "Red Hot Television" earlier this year should be sufficient warning to anyone who considers overstepping those limits.

  National Lottery
  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he will issue guidelines for the distribution and potential recipients of the national lottery revenue assigned to sport; and if they will be published.

  Mr. Sproat
  It is for the distributing bodies to issue guidelines to applicants for lottery money. These will need to be consistent with the directions which my right hon. Friend will issue under section 26 of the National Lottery
  25
  etc Act. In the case of sport, I expect that the sports councils will publish their guidelines for applicants next summer.

  Mr. Peter Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage whether Oflot will operate an inspectorate across the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Sproat
  The operation of Oflot will be a matter for the Director General. The Director General wall have powers to regulate the operation of the national lottery throughout the United Kingdom.

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices at 2–4 Cockspur street.

  Mr. Brooke
  The figure is 283.

  Office Costs
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the estimated amount to be spent in 1993–94 on rent and other costs associated with the offices of his Department in 2–4 Cockspur street, London.

  Mr. Brooke
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: The rents paid for Government offices are a commercial-in-confidence matter between the Government and their landlords. The Department will pay £255,000 to Property Holdings in respect of services charges for Cockspur street and £797,000 in contributions in lieu of rates in 1993–94.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Hospitality
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer of 20 October, column 236, if he will specify the amount spent by his Department on official hospitality in respect of the Prime Minister's office.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council on 25 October,Official Report, col. 426.

  Cash Limits
  Dr. Liam Fox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals there are to change the 1993–94 cash limit or running costs limit for the Office of Public Service and Science.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate the cash limit for the Office of Public Service and Science (class XVIII, vote 1) will be increased by £50,000 from £73,458,000 to £73,508,000 and the gross running cost limit will also be increased by £50,000 from £90,518,000 to £90,568,000. This takes account of a transfer from the Department of Trade and Industry (class IV, vote 1) of £50,000 in respect of the running costs of the Link Secretariat which is being transferred from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Office of Public Service and Science.
  26
  The net running cost limit for the Civil Service college has been decreased by £758,000 from £1,800,0000 to £1,042,000 reflecting greater than anticipated receipts from the provision of training courses.

  The changes will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  PHARE Programme
  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on United Kingdom involvement in the EC's PHARE programme.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The EC's PHARE programme finances, mainly, the provision of know-how to Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The European Commission expect to spend around 450 mecu—approximately £345 million—in 1993. The United Kingdom contributes over 16 per cent. of these funds.

  We discuss policy and management issues on a regular basis both with the Commission and other member states. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development has met Sir Leon Brittan on several occasions to consider these issues.

  British companies play an active part in the programme by providing know-how and services. They are well regarded by both recipients and the Commission. Companies and other entities from the United Kingdom bid successfully for about 20 per cent. of the value of contracts awarded under the programme.

  Kenya
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the current aid projects that have been approved for Kenya for 1993–94.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The following table lists the capital and technical co-operation projects approved since June this year. These are additional to the projects listed in the table provided in response to the hon. Member's question on 14 June, cols 413–14.

  Project

  Total Cost of Project £000

  Roads

  Bailey Bridging

  170

  Small Scale Enterprise

  Business Growth Training

  320

  Small Enterprise Awards Scheme

  514

  Education

  Polytechnics Information Technology

  370

  Health and Population

  Provision of Contraceptives

  950

  Peru
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what development aid has been given to Peru by Her Majesty's Government in each of the past five years; and for what purposes it was dedicated.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The latest available figures for gross bilateral aid in each of the past five years are: 1988–89 £1.1 million, 1989–90 £0.9 million, 1990–91 £1.6 million, 1991–92 £1.4 million, 1992–93 £2 million (provisional).

  This aid has mainly focused on technical co-operation, and specific humanitarian aid—disaster relief. Recent activities have included technical training in the United Kingdom, projects in support of veterinary services to livestock farmers, English language materials and teacher training in secondary schools, and the commissioning of small hydro-electric power plants; and jointly funded projects with British non-governmental organisations in agriculture, community development and health care. Other activities now completed include development of fish products, water leakage control techniques and quality surveillance and cotton pest control.

  Commonwealth Institute
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's decision to withdraw funding from the Commonwealth Institute.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary's decision was taken in the light of the pressing need to finance other forms of aid which are of higher priority. We very much hope that the Commonwealth Institute will use the period until March 1996, when grant support will cease, to reconstitute itself as a fully independent body, thus enabling it to continue some, if not all, of its existing activities. We shall do all we can to assist the board and the Director General to secure a sound future.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Departmental Advice
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice is currently offered by his Department to persons proposing to visit(a) Egypt, (b) Tanzania and (c) Uganda.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The current Foreign and Commonwealth consular travel advice for Egypt is:"Since the summer of 1992 there have been a number of violent incidents in Cairo and Upper Egypt, aimed at embarrassing the Government, including attacks on tourist targets by Islamic groups in which three foreigners, one a Briton, have been killed and several others injured. In early June, five Britons on a tourist bus in Cairo were injured in a bomb explosion. In August a River Nile cruise boat, carrying British tourists, was fired on between Assiut and Dairut, and in mid-September another, carrying French tourists, was fired upon in the Assiut area. In late October, three foreigners were killed when a gunman opened fire in a Cairo hotel. Islamic groups have threatened more violence in Cairo and further incidents there and elsewhere in Egypt must be expected.
  The Egyptian authorities are giving the highest priority to protecting visitors, and the great majority experience no security
  28
  difficulty, but complete security cannot be guaranteed. Visitors should be vigilant at all times, avoid the areas of Dairut and Assiut unless they have essential business there, and are reminded to behave and dress discreetly."

  For Uganda the travel advice is:
  "There has been an increase in incidents of armed robbery in Uganda, including Kampala. If possible, do not drive at night, and, in particular:

  (i) Avoid the border areas with Rwanda, Zaire and Sudan

  (ii) Exercise extra caution in Northern Urganda (Karamoja, Teso, Lango, Acholi, Madi and West Nile), and

  (iii) Avoid travel in Murchison Falls National Park north of the River Nile.

  Before travelling up-country, inform the British High Commission in Kampala (Telephone: 257054/9). Please report to them any known incidents involving British travellers."

  We do not issued a travel advice notice for Tanzania.

  Prisoners (British Nationals)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the known number of British nationals at present serving prison sentences in prisons overseas; and if he will list the countries and the number of United Kingdom citizens detained in each country.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I have arranged for the hon. Member to receive a written reply from the Consular Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible, with the information that it has to hand.

  BBC Overseas Service
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the funding of the BBC overseas service.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The BBC World Service is funded on a triennial basis by grants-in-aid administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There are no plans for any change to this arrangement.

  Grants-in-aid in the current triennium—1991–92 to 1993–94—have risen from £159.58 million to £175.86 million this year. Funding for the 1994–95 to 1996–97 triennium is subject to the outcome of this year's public expenditure survey.

  Thailand
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Thai Government regarding child prostitution in Thailand; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We regularly raise our concerns about child prostitution with the Thai authorities. We are glad to note that the Thai Government have committed themselves to combatting child prostitution, and are enacting legislation to punish the customers, procurers and owners of brothels.

  UNESCO
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has for the United Kingdom to rejoin UNESCO; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We continue to keep membership of UNESCO under close review, but have not yet taken any decision about rejoining the organisation.

  British Youth Council
  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of his Department's total spending is taken up with expenditure on the British Youth Council.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Total FCO expenditure in 1992–93 —Diplomatic Wing plus ODA—was £3,302,729,000, of which BYC funding amounted to £42,000.

  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the level of grant-in-aid funded to the British Youth Council in real terms, for each year since 1987–88; and what plans he has for the future funding of the British Youth Council.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  FCO funding in real terms, at 1987 prices has been:

  £

  1987–88

  42,964

  1988–89

  41,014

  1989–90

  38,484

  1990–91

  34,011

  1991–92

  31,886

  1992–93

  30,517

  1993–94

  29,984

  The FCO has notified the British Youth Council that its funding will be terminated from April 1994. However, the possibility of a limited amount of transitional funding for financial year 1994–95 only is currently under discussion.

  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the percentage change in the level of grant, in cash terms and in real terms, funded by his Department to the British Youth Council for each year from 1987–88 to 1994–95.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Percentage changes:

  In cash terms:

  Per cent.

  1988–89

  +2.4

  1989–90

  0.0

  1990–91

  -4.5

  1991–92

  0.0

  1992–93

  0.0

  1993–94

  0.0

  In real terms:

  Per cent.

  1988–89

  -4.5

  1989–90

  -6.2

  1990–91

  -11.6

  1991–92

  -6.3

  1992–93

  -4.3

  1993–94

  -1.7

  The possibility of limited funding for 1994–95 only will be discussed with the British Youth Council on 2 November.

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the level of grant-in-aid to the British Youth Council in each year since 1979; what plans he has for funding after the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.
  30
  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The information prior to 1986–87 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Grant-in-aid levels post-1985–86 are:

  £

  1986–87

  43,876

  1987–88

  42,964

  1988–89

  44,000

  1989–90

  44,000

  1990–91

  42,000

  1991–92

  42,000

  1992–93

  42,000

  The British Youth Council's FCO grant will be terminated from April 1994. However, the possibility of a limited amount of transitional funding for financial year 1994–95 only is currently under discussion.

  Russia
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the assistance to be given to the Russian Federation in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We shall be sending a small team to observe the elections; we hope to include eight parliamentarians, whom the British group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union have agreed to select on behalf of the Government. I very much hope that hon. Members will actively consider volunteering to participate. We have also offered assistance and advice directly linked to the election preparations and are discussing requirements with the Russian Government. To underline our long-term support for democratic reform in Russia, we have established a British programme for democracy, worth £500,000, to provide training for the new institutions in place after the elections.

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices at King Charles street.

  Mr. Goodlad
  A total of 871.

  Cash Limits
  Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes he proposes to make in his Department's diplomatic wing cash limits and running cost limits for 1993–94.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate the following changes will be made.The cash limit for class II, vote 1, (Overseas Representation) will be reduced by £10,319,000 from £828,928,000 to £818,609,000.
  The gross running costs limit on class II, vote 1 will be reduced by £5,537,000 from £585,414,000 to £579,877,000 following a transfer of provision to class II, vote 2 (non-running costs).
  The cash limit for class II, vote 2 (Other External Relations) will be increased by £98,121,000 from £203,109,000 to £301,230,000. The increase will be met by savings of £10.3 million on vote 1, by savings of £2 million on vote 2 and by increased appropriations in aid on vote 2 of £1.7 million and the balance will be charged to the Reserve.

  31
  The cash limit for class II, vote 3 (External Broadcasting and Monitoring) will be increased by £2,597,000 in respect of the take up of end year flexibility entitlement announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, c. 512–17.
  32
  None of the proposed changes will add to the planned total of public expenditure.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Sheep Dips
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date the operative research protection group in her Department first received indications or evidence about adverse reaction following exposure by humans to organo-phosphate sheep dips.

  Mr. Soames
  The operator protection group forms part of the pesticides and contaminants group of the Central Science Laboratory. It deals with potential hazards to operators arising from the use of pesticides. Sheep dips are classified as veterinary medicines and do not fall directly within the group's remit. Information on suspected adverse reactions to organophosphorus sheep dips is collected by the veterinary medicines directorate. The first suspected adverse reaction report recorded on the data base involving human exposure to an OP sheep dip was received by the VMD in July 1985.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what date she now expects for the introduction of the fourth round of environmentally sensitive areas in(a) Blackdown hills, (b) Cotswold hills, (c) Dartmoor, (d) Essex coast, (e) Shropshire hills and (f) upper Thames tributaries.

  Mr. Jack
  We still plan to introduce these new environmentally sensitive areas next year.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how procedures for isolating, monitoring and reporting BSE livestock suspects born after 18 July 1988 differ from those born prior to that date; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  Suspect cases of BSE reported in cattle born after 18 July 1988, when the ban on the use of ruminant protein in ruminant feed was introduced, is with all suspect BSE cases, are compulsorily slaughtered only when a confident clinical diagnosis of the presence of the disease can be made. Slaughter may be carried out sooner if necessary to prevent suffering: this affects compensation arrangements but not the way in which the case is handled and laboratory diagnosis carried out.

  Particular care is taken in the clinical assessment of BSE suspects born after the feed ban because it was found, at an early stage, that more than 90 per cent. of such cases were negative on laboratory examination, compared with a negative rate of 15 per cent. for all cattle. In February 1992, Ministry field staff were therefore instructed that suspects born after the ban should not normally be slaughtered at the first visit, but that a further visit should be made, at least seven days later, to reassess the progress of the case. An earlier revisit was to be made if the owner reported that the animal had deteriorated, and immediate action was to be taken to protect the welfare of the suspect animal. This observation period allowed many of the suspects to return to normal, or an alternative diagnosis to be made and treatment given by the owner's veterinary surgeon. This change has resulted in an improvement in the negative rate in this group of animals from 90 per cent. in 1991 to 28 per cent. in 1993.
  34
  Animals which are suspected to have BSE do not have to be isolated except when calving.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information is available from the outcome of tests on mink to establish the potential for transferring BSE to this species.

  Mr. Soames
  Although mink have been shown to be susceptible to BSE in experimental studies using brain material from confirmed BSE cases, this does not relate to risk of transmission of the disease in the natural situation.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why specified offals excluded from the food chain in November 1989 did not include bone marrow, liver and kidney.

  Mr. Soames
  The specified bovine offals ban was introduced to remove from the food chain those tissues which, by analogy with natural scrapie in Suffolk sheep were most likely to contain the infective agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in significant quantities.

  Bone marrow, liver and kidney were excluded as they show minimal or no detectable scrapie infectivity. Subsequent studies in mice with tissue from BSE-infected cattle have shown that only the brain and cervical spinal cord have any detectable infectivity. The BSE agent has not been detected in bone marrow, liver and kidney from cattle which were clinically affected with BSE.

  The specified bovine offals ban has been endorsed by indpendent experts in this country, and by the scientific veterinary committee of the European Commission, the World Health Organisation and the Office International des Epizooties.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many confirmed cases of BSE were reported between 1 January 1992 and 30 September 1992 from each county in England;

  (2) how many confirmed cases of BSE were reported between 1 January 1992 and 30 September 1992 from each county in Scotland;

  (3) how many confirmed cases of BSE were reported between 1 January 1992 and 30 September 1992 from each county in Wales.

  Mr. Soames
  The number of confirmed cases in Great Britain by county by date of notification of suspicion of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to the Ministry for the period requested is as follows:

  Number of confirmed cases 1 January 1992 to 30 September 1992

  Region and county

  Number

  Eastern

  Bedfordshire

  77

  Cambridgeshire

  74

  Essex

  116

  Hertfordshire

  80

  Lincolnshire

  151

  Norfolk

  641

  Northamptonshire

  199

  Suffolk

  289

  Midlands and Western

  Cheshire

  1,240

  Derbyshire

  687

  Hereford and Worcestershire

  442

  Lancashire

  958

  Leicestershire

  470

  35

  Region and county

  Number

  Manchester

  43

  Merseyside

  23

  Nottinghamshire

  156

  Shropshire

  678

  Staffordshire

  747

  West Midlands

  24

  Warwickshire

  227

  Northern

  Cleveland

  29

  Cumbria

  866

  Durham

  128

  Humberside

  99

  Northumberland

  181

  Tyne and Wear

  7

  Yorkshire North

  1,109

  Yorkshire South

  85

  Yorkshire West

  142

  Scotland

  Borders

  73

  Central

  27

  Dumfries

  379

  Fife

  38

  Grampian

  206

  Highland

  39

  Lothian

  31

  Orkney

  16

  Shetland

  1

  Strathclyde

  311

  Tayside

  82

  South Eastern

  Berkshire

  146

  Buckinghamshire

  204

  Hampshire

  566

  Isle of Wight

  127

  Kent

  304

  London

  18

  Oxfordshire

  355

  Surrey

  212

  Sussex East

  293

  Sussex West

  512

  South Western

  Avon

  498

  Cornwall

  1,832

  Devon

  2,467

  Dorset

  1,480

  Gloucestershire

  519

  Somerset

  2,076

  Wiltshire

  1,127

  Wales

  Clwyd

  401

  Dyfed

  1,477

  Glamorgan Mid

  29

  Glamorgan South

  84

  Glamorgan West

  25

  Gwent

  183

  Gwynedd

  113

  Powys

  356

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of confirmed BSE have been reported from(a) the Isle of Man, (b) Jersey and (c) Guernsey, annually for each year since 1988.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested, kindly provided by the island authorities, is as follows:

  Isle of Man

  Jersey1

  Guernsey2

  1988

  6

  1

  34

  1989

  6

  4

  49

  1990

  22

  8

  73

  36

  Isle of Man

  Jersey1

  Guernsey2

  1991

  68

  15

  75

  1992

  108

  23

  92

  19933

  73

  19

  94

  1 For Jersey, the information is shown by the year in which the animals were slaughtered as it is not available by the date when they were reported.

  2 For Guernsey, only early cases and cases born after the ruminant feed ban in July 1988 have been confirmed by histopathological examination of brain material. All other confirmed cases are based solely on diagnosis by clinical signs.

  3 To 26 October 1993.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the accuracy of current methods to identify tissues infected with BSE outside the brain and spinal cord.

  Mr. Soames
  The bioassay used to detect infectivity in cattle tissues is the most sensitive method currently available. That the test is effective is shown by the fact that it does detect infectivity in brain tissue and cervical spinal cord from confirmed BSE cases, and that incubation periods were shorter than for the equivalent transmission experiments in cattle.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when she will publish the results of the monitoring study described in paragraph 8.1 of the Southwood report.

  Mr. Soames
  The monitoring study described in paragraph 8.1 of the Southwood report has not produced any results yet as it is being conducted as a blind experiment and has a number of years to run. However, field evidence derived from the BSE epidemic as a whole shows that to 4 October 1993 there are 347 confirmed BSE cases in animals which were offspring of previously confirmed cases. This incidence is not statistically different from the incidence in cattle whose dams are unaffected.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what modifications to the announced programme for new environmentally sensitive areas, and to the expansion in resources for ESAs generally, she now proposes.

  Mr. Jack
  Six of the new English environmentally sensitive areas were launched earlier this year and we plan to launch the remaining six next year when full details of each individual scheme will be published. An announcement on the planned expansion of resources for all our agri-environment schemes, including ESAs, will be made in the context of the Chancellor's unified Budget statement.

  Dairy Cattle
  Mr. Hinchiffe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total number of dairy cattle in England, for each year from 1984 to 1993 for each county.

  Mr. Jack
  The information requested for the years 1984 to 1992 is shown in the following table. Figures for 1993 are not yet available.
  37

  Total number of dairy cattle by county 1984–1992

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  North Region

  Cleveland

  4,940

  4,810

  4,908

  4,705

  4,667

  4,557

  4,388

  4,083

  3,990

  Cumbria

  159,750

  155,279

  156,453

  152,833

  148,001

  146,024

  145,258

  143,688

  138,698

  Durham

  21,942

  20,184

  20,193

  18,686

  17,920

  17,537

  17,411

  16,783

  16,616

  Northumberland

  15,482

  14,575

  14,622

  13,525

  13,244

  12,977

  12,978

  12,430

  11,583

  Tyne and Wear

  2,668

  2,608

  2,560

  2,363

  2,330

  2,198

  2,197

  2,024

  1,777

  204,782

  197,456

  198,736

  192,112

  186,162

  183,293

  182,232

  179,008

  172,664

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  Humberside

  15,639

  14,184

  13,774

  13,132

  11,938

  11,425

  11,394

  10,856

  10,105

  North Yorkshire

  125,515

  120,353

  120,959

  115,457

  111,064

  108,499

  108,774

  107,459

  104,174

  South Yorkshire

  14,816

  14,000

  14,274

  13,527

  12,961

  12,895

  12,811

  12,169

  11,726

  West Yorkshire

  33,237

  31,035

  30,490

  29,468

  28,280

  27,273

  27,522

  26,758

  25,655

  189,207

  179,572

  179,497

  171,584

  164,243

  160,092

  160,501

  157,242

  151,660

  East Midlands Region

  Derbyshire

  75,723

  72,670

  71,808

  68,813

  66,575

  66,189

  66,524

  63,302

  62,140

  Leicestershire

  47,966

  45,509

  45,041

  43,249

  41,488

  40,785

  40,711

  39,349

  38,058

  Lincolnshire

  21,776

  19,670

  18,960

  18,047

  17,069

  16,583

  16,951

  16,628

  15,375

  Northamptonshire

  19,170

  17,969

  17,598

  16,709

  15,943

  15,853

  15,669

  14,970

  14,303

  Nottinghamshire

  19,822

  18,837

  18,336

  17,889

  16,934

  17,263

  16,983

  16,380

  15,353

  184,457

  174,655

  171,743

  164,707

  158,009

  156,673

  156,838

  150,629

  145,229

  East Anglia Region

  Cambridgeshire

  4,964

  4,454

  4,229

  4,067

  3,780

  3,382

  3,373

  3,516

  3,073

  Norfolk

  29,597

  27,437

  27,253

  25,849

  23,830

  22,777

  23,358

  21,832

  20,678

  Suffolk

  20,535

  18,269

  17,751

  16,713

  14,971

  14,384

  14,654

  13,463

  12,729

  55,096

  50,160

  49,233

  46,629

  42,581

  40,543

  41,385

  38,811

  36,480

  South East Region

  Bedfordshire

  5,476

  5,337

  5,125

  5,128

  4,800

  4,719

  4,654

  4,687

  4,604

  Berkshire

  14,502

  13,326

  12,573

  12,466

  11,482

  10,784

  10,954

  9,911

  8,865

  Buckinghamshire

  24,166

  22,721

  22,857

  21,504

  20,798

  19,869

  18,817

  17,852

  17,139

  East Sussex

  28,480

  26,137

  26,619

  24,491

  23,293

  22,235

  20,675

  19,812

  18,431

  Essex

  16,107

  14,790

  14,288

  14,219

  13,582

  12,995

  12,422

  11,732

  10,564

  Greater London

  2,633

  2,519

  2,478

  2,512

  2,386

  2,104

  2,266

  2,129

  2,040

  Hampshire

  49,398

  47,421

  45,776

  44,350

  41,406

  40,790

  40,087

  38,432

  36,407

  Hertfordshire

  11,416

  10,259

  10,389

  9,936

  9,535

  9,404

  8,489

  7,442

  6,953

  Isle of Wight

  10,164

  9,260

  8,821

  8,558

  7,574

  7,671

  7,311

  6,774

  6,454

  Kent

  25,627

  24,663

  23,473

  21,585

  19,850

  19,077

  18,435

  17,110

  16,286

  Oxfordshire

  33,408

  31,503

  31,534

  30,277

  28,810

  28,071

  27,965

  26,127

  25,561

  Surrey

  20,551

  19,011

  18,565

  17,288

  16,734

  16,423

  15,523

  13,703

  12,258

  West Sussex

  34,498

  33,980

  33,490

  31,449

  29,772

  26,703

  26,504

  25,066

  24,015

  276,426

  260,927

  255,988

  243,763

  230,022

  220,845

  214,102

  200,777

  189,577

  South West Region

  Avon

  48,121

  46,876

  47,083

  44,489

  43,268

  42,451

  41,581

  40,069

  36,805

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly

  116,548

  111,818

  113,270

  110,433

  105,084

  103,439

  103,115

  100,630

  98,801

  Devon

  208,527

  199,781

  199,374

  197,738

  190,435

  188,121

  185,808

  181,522

  176,537

  Dorset

  115,926

  112,405

  111,890

  108,822

  104,247

  102,589

  102,602

  98,177

  95,544

  Gloucestershire

  58,365

  56,139

  55,832

  54,990

  51,898

  50,521

  49,481

  47,840

  46,293

  Somerset

  159,175

  152,810

  151,479

  146,358

  141,797

  140,890

  140,541

  136,475

  132,465

  Wiltshire

  93,706

  90,131

  90,764

  86,444

  82,038

  81,323

  81,523

  77,681

  74,354

  800,368

  769,960

  769,692

  749,274

  718,767

  709,334

  704,651

  682,394

  660,799

  West Midlands Region

  Hereford and Worcester

  62,802

  59,619

  59,253

  57,204

  54,842

  52,405

  52,352

  50,107

  48,796

  Shropshire

  109,357

  105,803

  105,346

  102,892

  99,447

  99,100

  98,399

  95,995

  93,219

  Staffordshire

  113,838

  109,414

  110,613

  105,861

  102,318

  101,901

  102,316

  100,253

  99,607

  Warwickshire

  30,898

  29,745

  29,479

  27,711

  258,811

  25,993

  25,911

  24,982

  23,517

  West Midlands

  4,582

  4,326

  4,210

  4,029

  3,790

  3,762

  3,644

  3,419

  3,221

  321,477

  308,907

  308,901

  297,697

  286,208

  283,161

  282,622

  274,756

  268,360

  North West Region

  Cheshire

  152,268

  145,976

  146,958

  144,893

  138,046

  138,673

  138,818

  137,139

  134,428

  Greater Manchester

  15,956

  14,887

  14,891

  13,904

  13,185

  13,009

  12,703

  12,674

  11,759

  Lancashire

  114,443

  110,297

  109,796

  106,401

  102,237

  99,749

  100,688

  99,889

  97,429

  Merseyside

  3,369

  3,276

  3,311

  3,086

  3,070

  2,830

  3,100

  2,997

  2,955

  286,036

  274,436

  274,956

  268,284

  256,538

  254,261

  255,309

  252,699

  246,571

  38 39

  1984

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  England Total

  2,317,849

  2,216,073

  2,208,746

  2,134,050

  2,042,530

  2,008,202

  1,997,640

  1,936,316

  1,871,340

  Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food June Agricultural and Horticultural Census

  Note: The data in this table relate to main holdings only i.e. excludes data on minor holdings.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes are proposed in her Department's cash limits for 1993–94.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The cash limit for class III, vote 5 (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: Departmental Research, Advisory Services and Administration) will be decreased by £341,000 from £312,934,000 to £312,593,000. This change is the result of transfers of £288,000 to the Intervention Board—Executive Agency (class III, vote 2) and £53,000 to the Welsh Office (class XV, vote 9) and will reduce the department's gross running cost limit from £309,410,000 to £309,069,000.

  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Intervention Board Executive Agency (class III, vote 2) will be increased by £932,000 to £52,932,000. The transfer from class III, vote 5 contributes towards a proposed increase in provision for the agency's administration vote (class III, vote 2) following the announcement—Official Report, 24 June 1993, columns 244–45—that it shall assume operational responsibility for the administration of milk quotas in the United Kingdom. Capital will be increased by £295,000 to £1,456,000 and agents' fees will be reduced by £1,000,000 to £19,831,000. The supplementary estimate will also give effect to the running costs end-year flexibility entitlement announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 512–17.

  The running costs limit for the Intervention Board executive agency will be increased by £1,637,000 to £32,372,000 to reflect the necessary preparations for the administration of milk quotas (£1,552,000) and additional costs of computer conversion (£85,000). These increases will be met in part by the transfer from class III, vote 5 (£288,000) and end-year flexibility provision of £144,000.

  The transfer of funds from MAFF to the Welsh Office takes account of that department assuming responsibility for the administration of grants and subsidy payments in Wales. It is included in a number of changes to class XV, vote 9 (Welsh Office Administration) which contribute to a net reduction in the cash limit for that vote as detailed in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  The cash limit for class III, vote 4 (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: Agricultural, Food and Fishing Services) will be reduced by £19,171,000 from £385,985,000 to £366,814,000. Within this limit, expenditure will be reduced by £15,423,000 on agricultural schemes, by £3,295,000 on coast protection and by £453,000 on sea fishery support. These reductions reflect a predicted decrease in demand and delay in implementation in further areas of these schemes. The remaining reduction (£82,000) reflects the transfer of responsibility for the Oslo Commission to DOE.
  40
  The increases will be offset by savings and charges to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Brucellosis
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 25 October,Official Report, column 512, how many cattle affected with brucellosis were imported; from which countries and on which date; and if she will make a statement.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Two cattle in Anglesey and two in Cheshire which reacted positively to serological tests for brucellosis are known to have been imported. One of these came from the Netherlands in August and three came from France: one in May, one in June and one in July. Brucella abortus has been cultured from post mortem samples only from one French animal imported in June and found on the farm in Anglesey. Detailed epidemiological investigations to determine the source and origin of infection are continuing, and it cannot be assumed that any of these cattle were infected before they were imported.

  Fish Conservation
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps she is taking to protect the interests of United Kingdom fishermen in exploring options for the conservation of fish stocks in the Irish Box-ICES areas VIIa, VIIb, VIIf, VIIg, VIIj and part VIa-in the current discussions on the implementation on the EC treaty of accession for Spain and Portugal.

  Mr. Jack
  At the June Fisheries Council, when Iberian arrangements were discussed, it was agreed that relative stability should be respected and that there must be no increase in effort. The Commission proposals presented at the October Council asked the Council to agree major changes to the present Iberian access and effort arrangements but discussion of what is to replace them and meet the conditions agreed at the June Council by way of controls, exemptions and obligations would only take place at some point in the next two years.

  I said that this was asking the Council to sign up to the equivalent of a blank cheque. The new arrangements must in practice confine Spanish and Portuguese fishing activities as closely as possible to their current pattern and not enable expansion or diversion of effort beyond that. We wanted the Council to agree continuation of the present restrictions on access to the Irish box and the North sea. Also, all the arrangements must be dealt with simultaneously. This would be fairer to all concerned. It could be done before the end of the year or the whole issue could be rolled forward. At whatever point we settle this issue the United Kingdom aim will be to secure considerable improvements to what is now on the table.

  Food From Britain
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the principal functions of the agricultural development division of Food From Britain and give figures of the funding and staffing levels used by each function.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The table shows information based on Food From Britain's 1993–94 budget. Outturn figures will be lower because of savings resulting from the closure of the division, but final details are not yet available.

  Function

  Funding1(£'000)

  Staffing2(man years)

  Administration of co-operation grants (remaining work)

  120

  2.5

  Advice on applications for group marketing grant

  210

  4.5

  Business development advice

  320

  7

  1 Staff costs including travel and subsistence and overheads.

  2 Includes part-time staff.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many civil servants are working in his Ministry's offices at Whitehall place.

  Mr. Jack
  There are at present 657 officials working in Whitehall place and 111 in the adjacent office at 55 Whitehall. These numbers include 20 casual staff.

  Agriculture Development Division
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) where the principal functions of the agriculture development division of Food From Britain will be allocated in the future;

  (2) what funding and staffing will be made available to a successor to the agricultural development division; and in which areas and for what projects those funds will be directed.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The division is being closed down as a result of the refocusing of FFB on exports following the Stevenson report. The functions it formerly carried out will be discontinued, apart from remaining work on the administration of co-operation grants which will transfer to Agriculture Departments. I am, however, continuing to work closely with the agriculture and food industries to address the needs for improvement of marketing on the domestic market.

  Waste Dumping at Sea
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if she will make it her policy to support amendments to the London convention to permanently ban the dumping of radioactive waste at sea at the meeting of contracting parties being held in London on 8 to 12 November.

  (2) if she will make it her policy to support amendments to the London convention to permanently ban the dumping of industrial waste at sea;

  (3) if she will make it her policy to support amendments to the London convention to permanently ban ocean incineration of waste.
  42
  Mr. Jack
  At the forthcoming consultative meeting of the London convention we will seek to facilitate the use of the best practical environmental option for the disposal of all types of wastes.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Agricultural Development Operational Programme
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people made applications in respect of the agricultural development operational programme scheme from 1 April 1988 to 31 March 1993; and, of these, how many were approved and how many were refused.

  Mr. Ancram
  The number of applications received under the agricultural development operational programme to 31 March 1993 was 12,070, of which 160 have been refused and 11,511 have been approved to date.

  Internment
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration he has given to re-introducing internment in Northern Ireland.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The power of executive detention remains on the statute book. However, it would be brought into force only in particular circumstances and it is not the policy of the Government to discuss what those circumstances might be.

  Maternity Services
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the members' names of the departmental review committee reviewing maternity services in Northern Ireland; when it was set up; how often it has met; when it will report; and what opportunity has been given for submissions to the departmental review committee.

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: The Department of Health and Social Services announced the establishment of the maternity unit study group on 28 October 1993. The group will meet for the first time on 25 November and is expected to report by the end of March 1994. The group will consider what evidence and submissions it should invite from interested organisations and individuals in due course. The members of the group are:

  Mrs. Brenda McLaughlin, Chairman

  Mr. Derek Baker

  Dr. Henrietta Campbell

  Mrs. Fionnuala Cook

  Miss Eileen MacBrinn

  Dr. Denis Martin

  Miss Maeve McConville

  Dr. Agnes McKnight

  Mr. Douglas Smyth

  Mrs. Gladys Smyth

  Miss Mary Uprichard

  Severely Disadvantaged Areas

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many farmers in the United Kingdom were in receipt of hill livestock compensatory allowances in the severely disadvantaged areas according to the most recent figures for each year since 1978.
  43
  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: The number of farmers in severely disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland who were paid hill livestock compensatory allowances is as follows:

  Year

  Number of farmers

  1978

  12,882

  1979

  12,596

  1980

  12,410

  1981

  12,090

  1982

  11,977

  1983

  11,959

  1984

  11,861

  1985

  12,255

  1986

  12,268

  1987

  12,160

  1988

  12,100

  1989

  12,205

  1990

  12,309

  1991

  12,333

  1992

  12,326

  1993

  112,200

  1 Provisional.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the net farm income for mainly sheep and sheep and cattle farms in severely disadvantaged areas, in both nominal and real terms for each year since 1978.

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: Information for mainly sheep farms is not available. Estimated income figures for cattle and sheep farms in the severely disadvantaged areas are given in the tables. The basis of farm typology was changed in 1992–93 and the data are therefore, presented in two tables, one covering the period 1978–79 to 1991–92 (old classification) and the other the period 1986–87 to 1992–93 (new classification).

  Average net farm income on cattle and sheep farms in the Severely Disadavantaged Area in Northern Ireland (old classification)1

  £'000 per farm

  Indices2

  Current prices

  1991–92 prices3

  Current prices

  Real terms3

  1978–794

  4.6

  12.2

  152

  374

  1979–804

  1.1

  2.5

  35

  75

  1980–814

  1.6

  3.2

  30

  55

  1981–824

  5.3

  9.4

  108

  178

  1982–834

  4.9

  8.0

  96

  147

  1983–84

  4.4

  6.9

  104

  153

  1984–85

  5.9

  8.8

  127

  177

  1985–86

  2.3

  3.2

  52

  69

  1986–87

  2.1

  2.9

  58

  74

  1987–88

  8.1

  10.6

  190

  232

  1988–89

  6.2

  7.7

  159

  186

  1989–90

  3.9

  4.5

  96

  104

  1990–91

  42

  4.4

  98

  97

  1991–92

  4.4

  4.4

  106

  99

  Average net farm income on cattle and sheep farms in the Severely Disadavantaged Area in Northern Ireland (old classification)1

  £'000 per farm

  Indices2

  Current prices

  1991–92 prices3

  Current prices

  Real terms3

  1986–87

  3.7

  5.1

  74

  94

  1987–88

  8.9

  11.7

  160

  195

  1988–89

  7.3

  9.1

  143

  167

  1989–90

  5.0

  5.8

  96

  104

  1990–91

  4.7

  4.9

  88

  87

  1991–92

  4.6

  4.6

  117

  110

  1992–935

  6.4

  6.2

  164

  149

  44

  1 Accounting years ending on average in February.

  2 1989–90—1991–92 = 100.

  3 This information has been derived by deflating the current price estimates by the Retail Price Index.

  4 The estimates for these years are not strictly comparable with those for later years.

  5 Provisional.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many producers in the United Kingdom are entitled to hill livestock compensatory allowances; and what proportion of those are located in(a) severely disadvantaged areas and (b) disadvantaged areas.

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: In Northern Ireland 12,326 producers in the severely disadvantaged area and 6,145 producers in the disadvantaged area were entitled to hill livestock compensatory allowances under the 1992 scheme.

  Ewe and Suckler Cow Premiums
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the figures for the United Kingdom relating to 1993 for the value of the ewe premium and suckler cow premium per head distinguishing the value of any supplements if applicable.

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: The final rate of ewe premium for the 1993 marketing year will not be determined by the EC Commission until early 1994. In Northern Ireland two advance payments totalling £12.55 per ewe each for all producers and the supplement of £5.16 per ewe payable to producers in the less-favoured areas only have been authorised.

  In Northern Ireland the rate of suckler cow premium in respect of 1993 is £84.51 per cow. Suckler cow producers whose overall stocking density is less than 1.4 livestock units per hectare of forage area will also receive an extensification premium of £28.17 per cow.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Property Schemes
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners on how many property schemes money has been lost by the Church Commissioners in the last three years.

  Mr. Alison
  Seven development properties have been sold in the last three years, four at less than their original cost, but not for less than their market value at the time of sale, and three at a profit.

  Investment Risks
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what steps are being taken by the Church Commissioners to institute procedures which minimise risks to their investments.

  Mr. Alison
  Two recent reports on the Church Commissioners make a number of specific recommendations about this. The Commissioners have already acted on some of these recommendations and action on the remainder will follow as soon as possible. The
  45
  Commissioners have prepared a note for General Synod about these reports and their response to them and I have arranged for a copy of the note, and of the reports themselves, to be placed in the Library.

  Clergy Pensions
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners if he will make a statement about the impact on clergy pensions of the results of Church Commissioners' investments.

  Mr. Alison
  The current level of clergy pensions is amply covered by the Commissioners' resources. The report of the Lambeth group has, however, recommended that regular contributions should be made to a segregated fund to ensure that accruing liabilities in respect of future service are provided for as they arise and this is under consideration.

  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what representations he has received about the future level of clergy pensions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Alison
  None. The Church remains committed to the provision of reasonable pensions and retirement accommodation for its clergy and their dependants. The Lambeth report, which was one of those I referred to in my earlier reply to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), has recommended that some features of the existing scheme might be re-examined, and this will be done in the context of that commitment.

  Agricultural Land
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners what is his policy regarding recreational cycling over agricultural land in the Commissioners' ownership.

  Mr. Alison
  The Commissioners do not have a specific policy. They are always willing to discuss individual proposals, but on a basis that they must seek to obtain a proper financial return from their investments.

  Property Damage, London
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, as representing the Church Commissioners if he will make a statement on the Church Commissioners' plans for Church of England property damaged by Provisional IRA bombing in the City of London earlier this year.

  Mr. Alison
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 17 May,Official Report, column 12.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Judges
  Mr. Dickens
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many judges have been appointed since the current Lord Chancellor was appointed.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The total number of judges who have taken up appointment in England and Wales since 46
  27 October 1987 is 348. This figure is made up of seven Law Lords, including Lord Jauncey from Scotland, and Lord Lowry from Northern Ireland, four head of divisions, 23 Lords Justices, 65 High Court judges and 249 circuit judges. These figures include those judges who have been appointed to successive offices in this period.

WALES

  Health Service Employees
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the number of employees of the family health services authority in(a) Clwyd and (b) Wales; and what the figures were 10 years ago.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The number of staff employed by the Clwyd family health services authority at September 1993 was 62.4 whole-time equivalents and the total staff for Welsh family health service authorities is 452.5.

  These authorities were set up in 1990.

  Voluntary Organisations
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the value of grants to voluntary organisations from his Department in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what was the figure for 1978–79, at constant prices.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The total value of direct grants from my Department to the voluntary sector in 1992–93 was £12.3 million; for indirect grants the figure was £201.4 million. The earliest financial year for which directly comparable figures can be determined is 1988–89, when the equivalent expenditure at 1992–93 prices was £7.9 million and £92 million respectively. However, since 1978–79 Welsh Office support for the voluntary sector has trebled in real terms.

  Employment Initiatives
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral answer of 21 June,Official Report, column 15, what new initiatives he is proposing to reduce male unemployment (a) within the valleys initiative area and (b) in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  One of the five aims of the latest Programme for the Valleys is the creation of more, better quality jobs. My Department, the Welsh Development Agency, training and enterprise councils, local enterprise agencies, and the local business community will work closely together to achieve that aim. The same applies to all areas of Wales.

  Coal Mining Communities
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the policies of Her Majesty's Government for Welsh coal mining communities.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I am using the full range of my Department's responsibilities to promote the successful economic development of the Welsh coalfields area.

  Welsh Office Budget
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the(a) planned and (b) expected outturn figures for the budget of the Welsh Office for 1993–94.

  Mr. Redwood
  Planned expenditure for the Welsh Office in 1993–9494, as set out in the departmental report, was £6,316 million. The current estimate of outturn is £6,346 million.

  Appointments
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the latest total number of appointments for which he is responsible.

  Mr. Redwood
  The total number of appointments is 789, which includes 14 vacancies. I have today placed in the Library of the House, a list containing biographical details of people holding appointments current on 1 September 1993; it will be revised quarterly.

  Unemployment
  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were unemployed in(a) Newport, (b) Gwent and (c) Wales at the latest date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Redwood
  In September 1993, there were 8,023, 21,794 and 131,556 unemployed claimants in Newport borough, Gwent and Wales respectively.

  Manufacturing Industry
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the prospects for manufacturing industry in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  Welsh manufacturers' confidence about output for 1994 remains very positive.

  National Parks
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives of the national parks in Wales to discuss the impact of local government reorganisation upon the national parks in Wales.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I met the chairmen and chief officers of the three Welsh national parks on 16 August.

  Manufacturing Investment
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the percentage change in manufacturing investment in Wales over the latest available 36-month period.

  Mr. Redwood
  The annual census of production shows that between 1987 and 1990, net capital expenditure by manufacturing establishments in Wales increased by 80 per cent. in cash terms.

  Young People
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give an estimate of the cost to local authorities in Wales of providing homes for young people who have been subjected to physical and/or sexual abuse; and if he will make a statement.
  48
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Social services departments in Wales have direct responsibility for the protection of children where they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. They provide a range of services for such children and their families, including, where necessary, placement away from home. It is not possible therefore to provide information in the form requested.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the funding of local government for the next financial year.

  Mr. Redwood
  On 13 July I chaired a meeting of the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance at which I discussed, with representatives of the local authority associations, their assessment of local government's need to spend in 1994–95. I will take account of that assessment in my settlement decisions. However, the settlement will also need to reflect the need to restrain public expenditure to an affordable level.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many schools in Wales have expressed an interest in grant-maintained status; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  Some 200 schools across Wales, from both the primary and secondary sectors, have shown an interest in grant-maintained status. In response to this interest from schools the Welsh Office has arranged a series of three conferences to provide governors and head teachers with factual information about grant-maintained status.

  At 1 September this year there were 11 grant-maintained schools. A further two schools have been approved to become grant-maintained from 1 January 1994. Applications from a further three schools are currently before me for consideration and a number of other schools are in the process of balloting parents.

  Arrangements included in the Education Act 1993 will simplify the GM process and I expect the number of grant-maintained schools in Wales to increase significantly.

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of whether the proposed timetable for the reorganisation of local government in Wales is still likely to be met.

  Mr. Redwood
  We are planning implementation of the new structure on 1 April 1995 subject to satisfactory parliamentary progress.

  Economic Regeneration
  Mr. Dickens
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the regeneration of commerce, trade and industry in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  Wales has made great strides in recent years towards becoming a diverse, dynamic and competitive economy. Wales can now compete in world
  49
  markets and win and its labour force has demonstrated its ability to take on new working practices and succeed with the best.

  A5 (Dualling)
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to bring forward the date for commencing the dualling of the A5 across Ynys Mon.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  My right hon. Friend's plans for dualling the A5 across Ynys Mon will be kept under review. Work on the first stage between Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and Nant Turnpike is planned to start before April 1996.

  School Dinners
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children have taken school dinners in Wales in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The numbers of pupils in LEA maintained and grant maintained schools in Wales who took school meals in each year since 1979 are given in the following table:

  Number of pupils1

  1979

  288,348

  1980

  234,669

  1981

  244,692

  1982

  236,499

  1983

  248,345

  1984

  252,569

  1985

  231,155

  1986

  228,436

  1987

  225,840

  1988

  213,341

  1989

  214,978

  1990

  216,289

  1991

  216,026

  1992

  231,693

  1 Pupils taking midday meals on the schools census enumeration day in September each year.

  Drainage, Llandudno
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans his office has to carry out an inquiry into the drainage system of the Llandudno area; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig is responsible for the foul and surface water drainage system in Llandudno. Following the recent flooding incident the customer service committee for Wales, appointed by the Director General of Water Services, is investigating the matter and has asked the company to provide it with a detailed report.

  Floods, Llandudno
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are still living in temporary accommodation following the 1993 floods in Llandudno; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  At present 993 people are living in temporary accommodation; 325 are council tenants and 668 are private home owners.

  Alzheimer's Disease
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many known sufferers of Alzheimer's disease there are in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards) on 27 January 1993 at column 734.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans his office has to review its policies in dealing with sufferers of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  It is for health authorities to determine and make provision to meet local health needs. The Welsh Office actively supports the work of the Alzheimer's Disease Society in Wales and is providing over £300,000 towards specific projects and posts.

  Road Accidents
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children have been killed as a result of road traffic accidents in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The information requested is as follows:

  Children under 16 years of age killed in road traffic accidents in Wales

  Year

  Number of children killed

  1979

  36

  1980

  28

  1981

  20

  1982

  30

  1983

  28

  1984

  25

  1985

  28

  1986

  18

  1987

  21

  1988

  21

  1989

  22

  1990

  19

  1991

  19

  1992

  20

  Source: Welsh Office.

  Further details on road accidents in Wales are published annually in "Road Accidents: Wales", copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

  Road Safety
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures his Department is taking to improve road safety in the areas surrounding schools in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  In September, the Government launched the fifth phase of the child pedestrian safety campaign encouraging drivers to reduce their speed in residential areas. Last week, I launched a road safety teaching resource for five to eight-year-olds which included advice on safe journeys to and from school. We have recently installed a number of pedestrian crossings outside schools and are about to commence a variable
  51
  speed limit trial outside a school on Anglesey. We have also issued advice to local highway authorities on traffic calming measures and 20 mph speed limit zones.

  Flags (Schools)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the cost of purchasing and erecting a flag pole and purchasing and flying a union flag at every state nursery, infants, primary and high school in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  This is a matter for local determination.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of employment created by inward investment in Wales over the past 10 years.

  Mr. Redwood
  During the past 10 years, Welsh Development International has recorded some 1,180 inward investment projects for Wales, promising over 114,000 new and safeguarded jobs and a capital investment of £5.5 billion.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the cost of employing management consultants to assist in his Department's assessment of applications for trust status in each wave; how many assessments took place; and which were the consultants concerned.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information is as follows:1 Application for NHS Trust status from April 1992: Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte; cost £5,698.
  14 Applications for NHS Trust status from April 1993: KPMG Management Consulting: cost £70,500.
  12 Applications for NHS Trust status from April 1994: CSL Group; cost £25,318.

  The management consultants were engaged, via a tendering process, to provide independent advice on the risk/financial management aspects of the applications.

  In February 1993, KPMG Management Consulting undertook a development need study on the designate chief executives and directors of finance in the units/ambulance services invited to apply for 1994 trust status. The cost was £35,250.

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices in Gwydyr house, Whitehall.

  Mr. Redwood
  The number of civil servants working in my Department offices in Gwydyr house, London is 33.

  Secure Accommodation
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had from the area criminal justice liaison committee for Mid, South and West Glamorgan, Dyfed and Gwent with respect to secure accommodation for young offenders and remandees; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I have received one letter on this subject from the chairman of the area criminal justice 52
  liaison committee for the three counties of Glamorgan and Gwent to which I replied on 2 September. I am anxious for the planned 18- place secure unit at Neath to be built as soon as possible, and I next look forward to receiving a grant application in respect of the capital costs for this project from West Glamorgan county council.

  St. David's Hospital
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received and what consultations he has had regarding the continuation of grade II listed buildings status of St. David's hospital frontage and clock tower subsequent to the fire of Saturday 23 October.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  No representations have been made to this Department regarding the listed building status of St. David's hospital frontage and clock tower. I understand that South Glamorgan health authority and Cardiff city council are reviewing the situation caused by the fire and the Department-via Cadw: Welsh Historic Monument's Executive Agency-has offered technical advice.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Richards
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits for his Department in the current financial year.

  Mr. Redwood
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limit on class XV, vote 2 will be increased by £4,660,000 from £169,280,000 to £173,940,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 4 will be increased by £436,000 from £151,316,000 to £151,752,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 5 will be increased by £9,861,000 from £787,498,000 to £797,359,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 8 will be increased by £7,382,000 from £1,374,344,000 to £1,381,726,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 9 will be reduced by £141,000 from £65,283,000 to £65,142,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 10 will be increased by £408,000 from £2,150,156,000 to £2,150,564,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 12 will be increased by £377,000 from £3,861,000 to £4,238,000. The local authority capital limit—WO/LACAP—will be reduced by £8,576,000 from £417,761,000 to £409,185,000; the cash limit on the European regional development fund—WO/ERDF—will be reduced by £20,000,000 from £70,650,000 to £50,650,000; the urban block cash limit —WO/UA—will be increased by £4,729,000 from £85,696,000 to £90,425,000; the running costs limit for the Department will be reduced by £82,000 from £77,366,000 to £77,284,000. The running costs limit for the Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales will be increased by £462,000 from £2,755,000 to £3,217,000.

  The increase in the cash limit for vote 2 is in respect of the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement of £4,660,000.

  The increase in the cash limit for vote 4 represents the net effect of (i) an increase of £1,800,000 in respect of the training and vocational education initiative; (ii) an increase of £200,000 in respect of training for work; and (iii) a reduction of £1,564,000 in respect of youth training. The £1,564,000 represents a decrease in provision following a cash limit overspend in 1992–93.

  The increase in the cash limit for vote 5 comprises mainly (i) the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement of £92,000 for running costs; (ii) additional provision for

  53
  motorways and trunk roads of £20,395,000, of which £3,065,000 represents the take-up of capital end-year flexibility entitlement; partly offset by (iii) a transfer of £8,500,000 to class XV, vote 6; and (iv) a transfer of £150,000 to class XV, vote 8.

  The increase in the cash limit for vote 8 comprises the take-up of end year flexibility entitlement (£7,232,000) and a transfer from class XV, vote 5 (£150,000).

  The reduction in the cash limit for vote 9 comprises mainly (i) a transfer of resources to class XV, vote 12 (£479,000); partly offset by (ii) the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement of £273,000 for running costs and (iii) the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement of £50,000 for capital.

  The increase in the cash limit for vote 10 is in respect of valuation tribunal expenditure.

  The increase in the cash limit for vote 12 represents the net effect of transfers of £48,000 and £479,000 from class XV, votes 5 and 9 respectively; partly offset by a reduction of £150,000 in respect of the costs of inspections by registered inspectors.

  There are also changes to several non-voted cash limits. The reduction in the cash limit for WO/LACAP represents an offsetting saving to increases elsewhere in the Welsh Office block. The reduction in the cash limit for WO/ERDF reflects lower-than-expected expenditure on ERDF projects in 1993–94.

  The increase in the cash limit for WO/UA covers additional provision for the urban programme, urban investment grant and the Cardiff Bay development corporation, of which £3,729,000 represents the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement.

  The entitlement to end-year flexibility for votes 2, 5, 8 and 9 and for WO/UA were announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July. So also was the increase in the Department's running costs limit, which features in both vote 5 (£92,000) and vote 9 (£273,000).

  None of the proposed changes will add to the planned total of public expenditure.

EDUCATION

  Education Expenditure
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish in statistical form expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product in each member state of the European Community.

  Mr. Boswell
  The readily available information is as follows:

  Total public expenditure on education1 as a percentage of Gross National Product

  Country

  Calendar year 1989

  Belgium

  25.2

  Denmark

  7.4

  France

  5.4

  Germany, Fed

  4.1

  Italy

  34.8

  Netherlands

  6.5

  Spain

  4.8

  United Kingdom

  4.6

  (4.74)

  Sources:

  Unesco Statistical Yearbook 1992

  Education Statistics for the United Kingdom 1992

  54

  1 Includes subsidies to the private sector.

  2 Ministry of Education only.

  31987 data.

  41990 data.

  Student Loans
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for extending the availability of student loans to postgraduate students in order to bring provisions for their finance into line with that for undergraduate students.

  Mr. Boswell
  Within the limited resources available, the Government's priority has been to make loans available to full-time undergraduate students and those on courses of initial teacher training. The Government have no plans to extend loans to other postgraduate students, many of whom have access to other resources.

  Religious Education
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority is taking regarding the monitoring of agreed syllabuses for religious education in response to his letter to Sir Ron Dearing of 29 September.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We understand that SCAA is already discussing with the local education authorities whose revised syllabuses were analysed earlier this year what amendments might be necessary to reflect more precisely the detailed statutory requirements for RE. Following the issue next year of the Department's revised circular of guidance and national models for agreed syllabuses in RE, SCAA will be monitoring the revision of locally agreed syllabuses in response to section 256 of the Education Act 1993.

  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the preparation of model agreed syllabuses for religious education currently being drafted by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The School Curriculum and Assessment Authority is working with representatives of the Christian and other faith communities and with teachers to draw up model agreed syllabuses. Wide consultation on draft models is due to begin in the new year, with a view to publishing final versions in the summer.

  School Dinners
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children have taken school dinners in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Information on school meal arrangements in maintained schools in England between 1989 and 1992, the latest year for which information is presently available, is shown in the table. Information prior to 1989 is not available on a comparable basis although the results of early school meals censuses were published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy up to 1988 in "School Meal Statistics at October", copies of which are available in the Library.
  55

  Numbers of day-pupils raking school meals in maintained schools in England 1989–92

  Position as at January each year

  Numbers

  1989

  3,006,715

  1990

  2,991,682

  1991

  2,975,233

  1992

  3,029,766

  Union Flags
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his estimate of the cost of purchasing and erecting a flag pole and purchasing and flying a union flag at every state nursery, infants, primary and high school in England; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Patten
  This is a matter for local determination.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Couchman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what changes he has to announce to cash limits and running costs limits on votes within his responsibility for 1993–94.

  Mr. Patten
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limits for class X, vote 1, schools, research and miscellaneous services, vote 2, higher and further education, vote 4, administration, and vote 6, Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England, will be amended. The cash limit changes are as follows:

  Class and vote

  Current cash limit£

  Change£

  Revised cash limit£

  X.1

  742,847,000

  -1,615,000

  741,282,000

  X.2

  5,399,269,000

  +5,562,000

  5,404,831,000

  X.4

  92,472,000

  +1,829,000

  94,301,000

  X.6

  55,607,000

  -6,788,000

  48,819,000

  The reduction on class X, vote 1 is in respect of a transfer of £1,250,000 to class X, vote 2 for a preliminary scheme of school-centred initial teacher training; a transfer of £250,000 to class X, vote 2 to provide grant to the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit for the initial costs of the family literacy initiative; and a transfer of £115,000 to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, class II, vote 2, as a contribution towards the tuition costs of students coming to the United Kingdom under the European Community TEMPUS programme.

  The increase on class X, vote 2 includes an increase of £4,060,000 in grant-in-aid to the Higher Education Funding Council comprising a transfer of £2,460,000 from the Department of Health in respect of the costs of extended and upgraded courses in social work, and a transfer of £1,600,000 from the Cabinet Office (Office of Science and Technology) following the transfer of responsibility to the HEFC for the direct funding of the Institute of Cancer Research. There is also provision of £1,250,000 for a preliminary scheme of school-centred initial teacher training and of £250,000 for the costs of setting up and running the family literacy initiative, both fully offset by a cash limit reduction on class X, vote 1; and an increase of £2,000 in grant-in-aid to the Further
  56
  Education Funding Council, offset by a transfer from the Chessington Computer Centre, for provision of payroll services upon the centre becoming an agency on 1 April 1993.

  The increase on class X, vote 4 takes account of an increase of £1,600,000 under the capital (£1,122,000) and running costs (£478,000) end-year flexibility scheme announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, cols 512–17; transfers of £24,000 running costs from the Department for National Heritage, £8,000 running costs from the Office of Public Service and Science and £8,000 running costs from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in respect of services provided by my Department; and a reduction of £189,000 in forecast receipts by the Teachers' Pensions Agency to be appropriated in aid of the Vote. The Department for Education's gross running costs limit has been increased by £1,499,000 from £88,824,000 to £90,323,000 as a result of these changes.

  The change on class X, vote 6 is in respect of a reduction of £7,172,000 in expenditure related to the inspection of schools, forecast to fall in 1993–94. This is partly offset by an increase of £384,000 in forecast expenditure on the restructuring of Her Majesty's inspectorate. OHMCI's gross running costs limit has been increased by £235,000, from £31,725,000 to £31,960,000.

  The increases will be offset by savings transferred from other votes and changes to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

PRIME MINISTER

  Vietnamese Prime Minister
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 16 July,Official Report, columns 11–12, what action has been taken on the specific human rights cases raised with the Vietnamese Prime Minister during his visit to the United Kingdom.

  The Prime Minister
  Our embassy in Hanoi continues to raise our human rights concerns with the Vietnamese authorities, most recently on 15 October when the cases of Thich Huyen Quang and the three monks arrested in Hue in May were discussed.

  Speeches (Party Conferences)
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Prime Minister to what extent civil servants may assist Ministers in drafting speeches delivered at party conferences.

  The Prime Minister
  Civil servants may provide briefing of a factual nature for Ministers on matters relating to their own Departments. In addition, Ministers in preparing for a conference can draw upon material produced by their Department during the normal course of business.

  Writs (Cabinet Ministers)
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the Cabinet Ministers whose legal costs arising from writs against them issued by individuals have been wholly or partly met from public funds in the past month.

  The Prime Minister
  I know of no such cases.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Madel
  To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to change the 1993–94 cash limit or running costs limit for the Cabinet Office: other services vote.

  The Prime Minister
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the running costs limit for the Cabinet Office: other services vote (class XIX, vote 1) will be increased by £1,901,000 from £22,513,000 to £24,414,000. At the same time, the cash limit will be increassed by £3,321,000 from £18,313,000 to £21,634,000. This increase reflects the residual transfer of certain administrative functions, following the machinery of government changes announced after the general election, and provides for the transfer of certain other administrative functions and the move to repayment for some common service support as follows:

  (a) transfer or running costs provision for superannuation awarding services (£1,617,000);

  (b) transfer of running costs provision for central services previously funded by Cabinet Office: Office of Public Service and Science (class XVIII, vote 1) which is offset by an inter-vote payment by that department (£16,000);

  (c) transfer of running costs provision (£80,000) for central services offset by a reduction on HM Treasury: administration (class XVII, vote 1);

  (d) transfer of running costs provision for information services (£249,000) and some central services (£128,000) offset by an increase on Cabinet Office: Office of Public Service and Science (class XVIII, vote 1);

  (e) increased appropriations in aid following the transfer of provision for certain central services offset by increases on Department of National Heritage (class XI, vote 7) (£231,000), Central Statistical Office (class XVII, vote 14) (£155,000) and Inland Revenue (class XVII, vote 6) (£12,000).

  In addition, as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, cols. 512–17, this vote is eligible for a cash limit increase of £868,000 in respect of the end year flexibility arrangements for capital expenditure. This supplementary estimate gives effect to the increase. All the increases are either offset by inter-departmental transfers or have been charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Newspapers
  Mr. Hicks
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will make a statement about the report of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into the distribution and sale of newspapers; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  On 19 August 1992 the Director General of Fair Trading referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the supply of newspapers from publishers to wholesalers and wholesalers to retailers in England and Wales. The MMC reported to my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 30 July. The President of the Board of Trade is currently considering the report and will make a statement in due course.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes will be made to his Department's cash limits and running costs limit for 1993–94.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 1 (support for business, consumer and investor protection, energy programmes and administration) will be increased by £1,051,000 from £1,236,060,000 to £1,237,111,000.

  The gross running costs limit for the Department of Trade and Industry is being increased by £875,000 from £327,424,000 to £328,299,000 following transfers from the Department of Employment of £712,000 and Chessington Computer Centre for £581,000 offset by transfers from Her Majesty's Treasury of £135,000 in respect of accommodation costs, £233,000 of OFTEL for personnel services, and £50,000 to the Office of Public Service and Science in respect of a machinery of government transfer.

  The supplementary estimate for £1,051,000 on class IV, vote 1 includes an increase of £641,000 in research establishments' capital expenditure as a result of take-up under the end-year flexibility arrangements announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993, Official Report, columns 512–17.

  There are some other changes in the allocation of provision. These include a £3,000,000 increase for energy programmes offset by a corresponding reduction of £3,000,000 for industrial research and space, a transfer to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of £500,000 in respect of the Taejon exposition and increased expenditure on the merger between the UKAEA and the Warren Spring Laboratory mostly offset by a reduction in departmental capital expenditure.

  In addition, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 4 (privatisation of the coal industry) will be increased by £4,800,000 from £7,500,000 to £12,300,000. The increase covers the additional costs of privatisation advisers' fees and the commissioning of consultants by management buy-out teams. Provision has also been made in the total for recovery of VAT.

  Office of Gas Supply
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes will be made to the cash limit and gross running costs limit for the Office of Gas Supply.

  Mr. Eggar
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 11, Office of Gas Supply, will be increased by £940,000 from £3,006,000 to £3,946,000. The gross running costs limit for the Office of Gas Supply will be increased by £878,000 from £2,953,000 to £3,831,000. The increase provides for the estimated additional costs incurred by the Office in considering the recommendations of the Monopolies and Mergers Commissions' report on British Gas under the Gas Act 1986. Increased provision is sought to cover extra costs due to greater use of consultants, increase in personnel and personnel overheads and change to internal building structure. The increase will be charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

HEALTH

  Amoxycillin
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish for the latest year for which figures are available the total income to her Department from the sale of Amoxycillin on prescription to patients of general practitioners who are not exempt from paying prescription charges.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The estimated prescription charge income from prescriptions for Amoxycillin in the calendar year 1992 in England was £12.9 million.

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish for the most recent year for which figures are available(a) the total number of prescriptions dispensed in England and Wales for Amoxycillin and (b) the total number of prescriptions dispensed in England and Wales to non-exempt prescription charge payers for Amoxycillin.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information is not available on the number of chargeable prescriptions at individual drug level. Of the 12.6 million prescriptions for Amoxycillin dispensed by community pharmacists in 1992 in England, it is estimated that 3.1 million were issued to patients who are not exempt from prescription charges. There were additionally 3 million prescriptions for Amoxycillin directly dispensed by doctors during the same period; no breakdown of this figure is available by prescription charge category. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Opportunity 2000
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the targets under Opportunity 2000 for women consultants in the years up to 2000.

  Mr. Sackville
  The goals are to increase the percentage of women consultants from 15.5 per cent. in 1991 to 20 per cent. by 1994 necessitating an annual increase of 10 per cent. and to accelerate the rate of increase in the number of women consultants in surgical specialties from the current 9.7 per cent. per year to 15 per cent. per year by 1994. No goals have been set for post-1994.

  Primary Care
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the geographical inequalities in primary care expenditure in England.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Government's programme for improving primary health care and delivering services in ways which better reflect the needs of consumers was set out in the White Paper "Promoting Better Health" (Cm 249). We continue to develop this, for example through the revised health promotion arrangements in general medical services which place greater emphasis on better targeting of resources and wider access to health promotion for all patients; by reviewing the arrangements for the provision of general dental services; by encouraging cost effective and quality prescribing; by developing purchasing of community health services that are sensitive to local needs and take account of other 60
  primary care services; and by developing the proposals for strengthening primary care in London as set out in our strategy document "Making London Better".

  Clinical Grading Appeals
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list by(a) regional health authority and (b) district health authority the number of clinical grading appeals that are currently outstanding;

  (2) how many grading appeals were still outstanding in respect of the 1988 nurses regrading scheme in each region.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 21 October at column 315. Information on the number of grading appeals outstanding by district health authority is not available centrally.

  Junior Doctors
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to improve morale among junior doctors.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  "Junior Doctors: The New Deal", copies of which are available in the Library, sets out a range of measures designed to benefit junior doctors. These include targets for reducing hours of work; the introduction of new, more flexible, working patterns; approaches to reducing the amount of inappropriate work undertaken by junior staff; and recommendations on standards for residential accommodation. This year we are spending some £37 million from central funds in support of the new deal.

  We believe that the new deal, together with the continued increase in consultant numbers, which provides improved career opportunities for junior 'doctors, demonstrates our commitment to improving their living and working conditions to the benefit of patient care.

  Consultancy Costs
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average cost per consultant episode in(a) the London teaching hospitals and (b) the Southend trust hospital for the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Hospitals, Birmingham
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will visit Birmingham to discuss the situation in hospitals there.

  Mr. Sackville
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is kept regularly informed about health services in Birmingham. My hon. Friend the Minister of State was briefed on the current position when he met West Midlands regional health authority officers in September. He has also visited hospitals in and around Birmingham during October this year.

  NHS Trust
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she hopes to appoint a new chairman for the Doncaster NHS healthcare trust; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Shortly.

  Drugs Budgets
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average amount of money per patient was allocated in 1993–94 to(a) fund holding general practitioner practices in north Yorkshire and (b) other general practitioner practices in north Yorkshire for their NHS drugs budgets or indicative drug budgets.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally.

  Nurses
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will order health authorities to pay interest on moneys still due to nurses in respect of the 1988 regrading scheme.

  Mr. Sackville
  No.

  Staff Relocation
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost of housing and all other benefits paid to departmental staff who moved from the south-east to Yorkshire in 1992–93; and what are the estimated costs in 1993–94.

  Mr. Sackville
  A total of £8.71 million in 1992–93; £5.68 million in 1993–94.

  Office of Population Censuses and Surveys
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes she proposes to the cash limits and running costs limits for OPCS for 1993–94.

  Mr. Sackville
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XII, vote 6 (Office of Population Censuses and Surveys) will he increased by £989,000 from £32,671,000 to £33,660,000 and the running costs limit of OPCS will be increased by £1,444,000 from £46,695,000 to £48,139,000. This reflects the take up of £238,000 for running costs and £751,000 for capital under the end-year flexibility arrangements announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993 at columns 512–17. The increase in public expenditure will be charged to the Reserve and will therefore not add to the planning total.

  It also reflects increased running costs provision of £635,000 and capital provision of £284,000 in the national health centre register area for work on the Department of Health's national health service number programme; increased running costs provision of £10,000 and capital provision of £20,000 for work on the aggregation of local authority wards; increased running costs provision of £561,000 for the work of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission. These increases will be offset by an increase
  62
  in appropriations in aid on the OPCS vote and met from within the existing resources of the Department of Health (class XII, vote 3) and the Home Office (class VIII, vote 3). This will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Consultants
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the number of consultants, staff grade and associate grade in England.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is shown in the table. Both medical and dental grades are included.

  Number of hospital medical and dental staff in England as at 30 September 1992

  Grade

  Number

  Consultant

  16,806

  Staff grade

  755

  Associate specialist

  966

  TOTAL

  18,527

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes she proposes to the cash limits and running cost limits of her Department in 1993–94.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The cash limit for class XII, vote 1 (Hospital, community health, family health services (part) and related services, England) will be decreased by £58,031,000, from £19,938,202,000 to £19,880,171,000. This decrease covers transfer of £104,688,000 to class XII, vote 4 (Family health services (part) and NHS trusts external financing etc., England) for an increase in the NHS trusts' aggregate external financing limit (£88,416,000) and for general practice fund holder drug costs (£16,272,000). The total decrease has been partly offset by the addition of £44,957,000 for take up of entitlement to carry over underspends under the end-year flexibility arrangements as announced by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1993 at columns 512–17 and also covers a transfer of £1,700,000 from class XII, vote 3 (Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England) for day and domiciliary care.

  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate the cash limit for class XII, vote 3 (Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England) will be reduced by £3,978,000 (from £1,441,225,000 to £1,437,247,000). This reduction allows for a transfer of £1,700,000 to class XII, vote 1 mentioned above; £2,460,000 to class X, vote 2 (Department for Education higher and further education) for the conversion of social work training courses; £200,000 to class XI, vote 3 (Department of National Heritage: Libraries) for a grant to the Royal National Institute for the Blind and £840,000 to class XIV, vote 13 (Family health services (part) and NHS trusts external financing etc, Scotland) in respect of increased receipts by the health benefit unit. The overall reduction is partly offset by £1,161,000 from class XIII, vote 4 (Department of Social Security, administration and miscellaneous services) (Departmental running costs of £642,000) in respect of departmental administration, accommodation, printing and stationery for the health

  63
  benefit unit and a contribution towards the Keep Warm Keep Well Campaign. There is an additional increase of £61,000 on running costs reflecting a new repayment service with the Department of Social Security. The increase is fully offset by increased receipts on Department of Social Security class XIII, vote 4.

  The Department's gross running cost limit will be increased by £228,000 from £252,856,000 to £253,084,000. This reflects a reallocation out of running costs of £475,000 to the health benefit unit offset by the effect of transfers from the Department of Social Security mentioned above.

  All increases will either be offset by savings or charged to the Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  DSS Headquarters, Leeds
  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of staff travel from the home counties to the new DSS HQ in Leeds on a daily basis: how they travel; who pays their travel costs; and how much per week is spent by Her Majesty's Government on such travel.

  Mr. Sackville
  According to this Department's records, Her Majesty's Government pays for no Department of Health staff to travel on a daily basis from the home counties to the new headquarters building in Leeds.

  Quarry House, Leeds
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future level of employment at the NHS Management Executive headquarters at Quarry house, Leeds.

  Mr. Sackville
  No decisions have yet been made on the future level of employment in the National Health Service Management Executive in Leeds. Future manpower requirements will be determined in the light of decisions on the functions which are to be discharged by the headquarters and the regional offices.

  Child Migrant Trust
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 25 October,Official Report, columns 501–2, what consideration she gave during her visit to Australia to the work of the Child Migrant Trust, as indicated in her press notice of 24 August.

  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 25 October at cols. 501–2.

  "The Resettlement Game"
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to respond to the recommendations of the Values into Action report "The Resettlement Game", a copy of which has been sent to her; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  I look forward to receiving a copy which we shall, of course, study with interest.

  Mental Handicap
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that all NHS learning disabilities trusts comply with the requirements of the 64
  National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 in enabling residents of mental handicap hospitals to have their housing, health and social care needs met by community-based agencies.

  Mr. Bowis
  Guidance issued to health and local authorities in 1992, HSG(92)42 and LAC(92)15, stated clearly that health authorities should work with local social services departments to plan the transfer of residents from the old long-stay mental handicap hospitals to community-based facilities as quickly as feasible. The pace of transfer will depend on local circumstances and resources.

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many civil servants are working in her Department's offices at Richmond house, 79 Whitehall.

  Mr. Sackville
  There are 447 Department of Health staff and 174 from the Department of Social Security.

  NHS Estate
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will quantify the total cost of the backlog of maintenance on the national health service estate for each district health authority.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 21 October 1993]: This information will be placed in the Library.

  Health Authorities Capital
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to change the system of capital allocation to health authorities other than requiring the payment of interest on capital stock.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 25 October 1993 at column 499.

DEFENCE

  Aldermaston
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress made in repairs to the A91 complex at AWE Aldermaston.

  Mr. Aitken
  A contract for the repair of A91 was awarded to NNC Ltd. on 12 October 1993.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the sludge solidification system to be used for the treatment of radioactive effluent at AWE Aldermaston is now fully operational; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The system is not yet operational.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he, or staff at AWE Aldermaston, are currently having with(a) Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and (b) the Health and Safety Executive regarding the implementation of interim measures in order to ensure the continued operation of the existing liquid waste treatment plant at the Aldermaston site.

  Mr. Aitken
  (a) HMIP and MAFF, the joint regulators, regularly review with AWE staff the measures required to

  65
  ensure the continued operation of the liquid waste treatment systems at AWE Aldermaston. In addition, both HMIP and MAFF frequently inspect and comment on the implementation of these measures.

  (b) The HSE is currently carrying out a review of health and safety management at AWE. The general topic of waste and decommissioning will be one aspect of this review.

  Low Flying
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the low-flying areas in the United Kingdom which are not under the direct controlling authority of RAF West Drayton; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  The following low-flying areas within the United Kingdom are classified as dedicated user areas: LFA 1, LFA 3, LFA 9, LF.A 10, LFA 13 and LFA 19. Use of these areas for low flying is co-ordinated locally, except when the local co-ordinating authority is closed in which case control reverts to the tactical booking cell at RAF West Drayton. All other LFAs are controlled from RAF West Drayton at all times.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the low-flying area boundaries in use for daytime flying are also used for the night low-flying system.

  Mr. Hanley
  No. the United Kingdom low-flying system is based on a different set of low-flying areas which apply to daytime flying. As I told the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 25 October,Official Report, col 485, a map of the United Kingdom night low-flying system is in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft movements into the highlands restricted area were booked in each year since 1981.

  Mr. Hanley
  It is not our practice to publish detailed information on activity in individual low-flying areas.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low-flying sorties were undertaken in the United Kingdom low-flying system in the period between sunset plus 30 minutes and sunrise minus 30 minutes, in each year from 1987 to 1992.

  Mr. Hanley
  Statistics on low-flying sorties during the period of the day specified are not available. Statistics on sorties flown in the United Kingdom night low-flying system are, however, available from July 1989 on wards and are given in the table:

  Sorties

  11989

  1,601

  1990

  3,709

  1991

  2,066

  1992

  3,520

  1 July to December

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the requirements for individual air force flying units or stations to provide statistics to the military air traffic organisation on the use made of each low-flying area.
  66
  Mr. Hanley
  In general, statistics on the use of low-flying areas are compiled from information provided by the tactical booking cell at RAF West Drayton and there is no requirement for individual units to provide statistics to HQ military air traffic operations. The following units or flying stations, which are the co-ordinating authorities for dedicated user areas within the United Kingdom low-flying system or which have a dispensation to operate in their local low-flying area without pre-booking through TBC, are however, required to submit statistics on a monthly basis:

  RAF Benson

  RAF Chivenor

  RNAS Culdrose

  RAF Leuchars

  RAF Lossiemouth

  HQ Northern Ireland

  RAF Odiham

  Salisbury Plain Operations Centre

  RAF Spadeadam

  RAF Ternhill

  Wattisham

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the locations and dates of currently planned presentations by the RAF low-flying presentation team.

  Mr. Hanley
  Presentations by the Ministry of Defence low-flying presentation team are currently planned to take place on Wednesday 3 November 1993 at Staplehurst, Kent and on Thursday 9 December at Morecambe, Lancashire.

  Aircraft Noise
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the joint United Kingdom-United States-Canadian study on the long-term effects on human health of exposure to aircraft noise; and if he will list any publications by participants in this study.

  Mr. Hanley
  Initial work on the feasibility of a study to investigate the possible effects on health of noise from low-flying aircraft has been completed and a report is being prepared. My Department is not aware of any publications by participants in relation to the study.

  MiG Aircraft Collision
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the minimum authorised altitude for the air display by the two MiG-29 aircraft which collided at RAF Fairford on 25 July; and what was the overall minimum altitude for all participating aircraft in the display.

  Mr. Hanley
  All participants in the international air tattoo held at RAF Fairford were required to comply with the regulations contained in the Joint Services Publication 318 as follows:Fixed Wing aircraft performing straight and level flypast—not below 100 feet Minimum Separation Distance (MSD).
  Rotary Wing aircraft performing straight and level flypast—not below 50 feet MSD.
  Aircraft performing aerobatic manoeuvres and inverted flight—not below 500 feet MSD.
  Fixed Wing aircraft performing all other manoeuvres—not below 300 feet MSD.
  Rotary Wing aircraft performing all other manoeuvres—not below 100 feet MSD.
  67
  Helicopters and vertical or short take-off and landing aircraft may operate below the above MSDs during hovering and transition manoeuvres.

  Minesweepers
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what considerations he will take into account when deciding to whom to sell the six River class minesweepers presently for sale.

  Mr. Aitken
  Our general policy is to support the sale of British defence equipment overseas wherever this is compatible with our political, strategic and security interests, We consider our own national security, our policy towards a particular country, and our international obligations. Subject to these constraints, we will negotiate with interested Governments in order to achieve the best price for the vessels.

  Eurofighter 2000
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the progress being made in the development of flight control of software for Eurofighter 2000.

  Mr. Aitken
  The integrity of the flight control system software is critical to the flight safety of an aerodynamically unstable aircraft such as EF 2000. It is therefore essential that all aspects of the software standard required for first flight are subjected to thorough ground rig testing beforehand. This is taking rather longer than expected and has necessitated a postponement of the first flight, which Eurofighter is now forecasting for April next year. This further delay is disappointing, but there is no indication of any major design problem and it should not be of great significance in overall programme terms. It should not affect the forecast delivery of the first RAF production aircraft in 2000.

  Victor Tankers
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he proposes to dispose of the Victor tankers which have been withdrawn following the disbandment of 55 Squadron.

  Mr. Aitken
  Tenders for the purchase of the aircraft are expected on 4 November and we hope to complete the sale by the end of the month.

  Operation Deny Flight
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many combat air patrols have been flown by aircraft of the Royal Air Force since the commencement of operation Deny Flight.

  Mr. Hanley
  Up to and including 27 October 1993, 540 combat air patrol sorties had been flown by Royal Air Force Tornado F3 aircraft.

  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many close air support training missions have been flown by aircraft of the Royal Air Force since the commencement of operation Deny Flight.

  Mr. Hanley
  Up to and including 27 October 1993, 238 close air support training missions had been flown by Royal Air Force Jaguar aircraft.
  68
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft of the Royal Air Force, and of what types, are currently deployed in operation Deny Flight.

  Mr. Hanley
  The Royal Air Force aircraft currently deployed on operation Deny Flight are listed in the table:

  Number

  Tornado F3

  8

  Jaguar GR1

  12

  Sentry AEW 1

  2

  Tristan

  2

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Garnier
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes he proposes to the class I cash limits and running costs limit for 1993–94.

  Mr. Rifkind
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the winter supplementary estimates, the following change will be made:

  Class I, vote 1 cash limits

  £ thousands

  Current cash limits

  12,408,726

  Change

  -3,510

  Revised cash limit

  12,405,216

  This change decreases the block defence cash limit by £3,510,000 from £23,406,837,000 to £23,403,327,000. It reflects a transfer between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Environment to enable Plymouth urban development corporation to purchase Royal William yard.

  The running costs limit is unchanged.

EMPLOYMENT

  Sellafield
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the criteria established for the procedures, remit and timing of Health and Safety Executive studies of the incidence of leukaemia and other radiation effects in relation to British Nuclear Fuels plc's plant at Sellafield.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  As the findings of the 1990 report by Professor Gardner suggested a possible occupational cause for the raised incidence of leukaemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma in young people near the Sellafield plant, the Health and Safety Executive decided to focus its investigation on the occupational histories of fathers employed at the plant. The purpose of the investigation, which was based on records held by British Nuclear Fuels plc, was to see if the Health and Safety Executive needed to take any specific action to further restrict workplace exposures. At the same time HSE agreed to fund a number of other relevant studies jointly with the Department of Health.

  A written protocol specifying the criteria and working methods of the investigation was drawn up and agreed with the workforce and management of British Nuclear Fuels plc and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. It

  69
  was cleared with the medical ethical authorities in December 1990 and work began in January 1991. It was recognised that a full epidemiological study would take some years to complete. Therefore, two short studies based on the case fathers identified by Professor Gardner, were carried out to whether any obvious common factors emerged; neither study pointed to a need for action. Originally, it was envisaged that the main study could be completed in April 1992. However, despite giving the work a high priority, the study took longer to complete because of the volume and complexity of the records that had to be examined and interpreted. This resulted in the report not being finalised until the end of September 1993. The findings of the report suggest that no further preventive action is required to protect the occupational health and safety of the Sellafield work force, over and above the measures which are already in place.

  Training and Employment Measures
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what communications he has received from the local government international bureau about possible forfeiture by the United Kingdom of money available from the European Community in support of measures to promote training and employment; and if he will make a statement.

  Unemployment duration

  Highest qualification

  less than 1 year

  more than one but less than 2 years

  more than 2 years but less than 3 years

  First degree or above

  115,000

  25,000

  10,000

  Higher education below degree

  65,000

  20,000

  5,000

  A level or equivalent

  375,000

  110,000

  45,000

  European Court
  Mr. Duncan Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how the Government intend to respond to the recent decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of Marshall v. Southampton and South West Hampshire health authority (No. 2).

  Miss Widdecombe
  We are urgently seeking powers under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 to make regulations to amend the law in the light of this judgment. These regulations will, in particular, remove the upper limit on compensation in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and give industrial tribunals a power to award interest in sex discrimination and equal pay cases. I expect these regulations to come into force during November. Similar regulations are intended for Northern Ireland.

  The Marshall judgment was concerned only with sex discrimination. However, the Government believe that other types of discrimination which are similarly prohibited should carry the same penalties as sex discrimination.

  The Government will therefore seek a suitable opportunity to amend the penalties available for racial discrimination under the Race Relations Act 1975, to keep them consistent with those soon to be available under the Sex Discrimination Act.

  Similarly, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will seek an
  70
  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No formal communications have been received from the local government international bureau on this subject, but I understand that it has been raised at meetings with the Department's European social fund unit.

  The United Kingdom has not forfeited money made available from the ESF. Acceptance of additional resources from the ESF arising from exchange rate fluctuations was subject to discussions with the European Commission and others about the complex accounting procedures governing the ESF. However a solution has now been found which will enable us to make use of the additional funds.

  Higher Education
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's estimate of the number of people who have completed a course of study at university or a college of further or higher education(a) in the last year, (b) in the last two years and (c) in the last three years and have yet to find employment.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Department does not hold information in precisely the form requested. However the Labour Force Survey provides information both on an individual's highest qualification and duration of unemployment. The following table shows unemployment estimates for people qualified to further and higher education levels:

  opportunity to amend the penalties available for religious discrimination in Northern Ireland under the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1976, as amended.

  Radiation, Sellafield
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on what date the recent Health and Safety Executive study of the incidence of leukaemia and other radiation effects in relation to BNFL's plant at Sellafield was made available to British Nuclear Fuels.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 27 October 1993]: Pre-publication copies of the report of the findings were sent to British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority on 15 September 1993, following clearance by the Health and Safety Commission for publication.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the budget for each of his Department's special schemes for disabled people, and the actual amount available for the last five years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 28 October 1993] I have prepared the answer to the hon. Gentleman's question in the form of the following tables:
  71

  Budget each scheme £000s

  Scheme

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Special Aids to Employment (SAE)

  2,218

  3,732

  5,843

  7,143

  8,658

  Adaptations to Premises and Equipment (APE)

  354

  495

  438

  461

  522

  Fares to Work (FTW)

  620

  968

  1,682

  2,028

  1,648

  Business on Own Account (BOA)

  39

  54

  44

  65

  82

  Job Introduction Scheme (JIS)

  609

  610

  779

  486

  433

  Personal Reader Service (PRS)

  395

  435

  575

  523

  849

  Actual expenditure for each scheme £000s

  Scheme

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Special Aids to Employment (SAE)

  3,361

  4,293

  5,602

  6,523

  6,670

  Adaptations to Premises and Equipment (APE)

  423

  338

  449

  527

  581

  Fares to Work (FTW)

  853

  1,160

  1,383

  1,648

  1,801

  Business on Own Account (BOA)

  31

  17

  40

  59

  40

  Job Introduction Scheme (JIS)

  614

  527

  461

  410

  391

  Personal Reader Service (PRS)

  453

  350

  619

  807

  1,206

SCOTLAND

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many civil servants are working in his Department's offices at Dover house, Whitehall.

  Mr. Lang
  At 28 October 1993, my Department had 39 civil servants working in Dover house.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits in running costs for 1993–94 within his responsibility.

  Mr. Lang
  Yes. Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates I intend to make changes to six voted cash limits, two running costs limits and in addition the two non-voted cash blocks:—

  (a) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 3, training programmes, roads and transport services and industrial support, Scotland, will be increased by £17,437,000 from £728,557,000 to £745,994,000. The increase takes account of an increase in provision of £8,650,000 for grant payments to Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd (offset by a reduction in the company's market borrowing); a transfer of provision of £800,000 from class XIV, vote 17; an increase in provision of £7,287,000 for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, for the package of employment and training measures announced by the Chancellor in his Budget statement on 16 March 1993, Official Report, cols 169 to 196; a transfer of £1,077,000 provision in respect of Department of Employment employment action; and the uptake of end-year flexibility as announced by the Chief Secretary on 14 July 1993, Official Report columns 512–17.

  (b) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 7, housing and environmental services, Scotland will be increased by £152,000 from £418,807,000 to £418,959,000. The increase takes account of a £282,000 increase in provision for running costs as a result of a transfer of £96,000 from class XIV, vote 21; £56,000 as part take-up by Historic Scotland of the Scottish Office end-year flexibility entitlement for running costs; and £130,000 which is covered by a corresponding increase in Appropriations in Aid.

  (c) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 12, law, order, miscellaneous health and social work services, Scotland, will be increased by £2,829,000 from
  72
  £280,703,000 to £283,532,000. The major elements are transfers of provision for running costs; lower than forecast appropriations in aid in respect of the Scottish Prison Service; a £181,000 increase in provision for the Orkney inquiry offset by a corresponding reduction in social work services: and the uptake of end-year flexibility.

  (d) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 17, education, arts and libraries, Scotland, will be increased by £1,806,000 from £761,903,000 to £763,709,000. The increase reflects the full uptake of end-year flexibility of £2,606,000, partially offset by a transfer of provision of £800,000 to class XIV, vote 3.

  (e) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 21, Scottish Office Administration, will be increased by £1,019,000 from £163,417,000 to £164,436,000. This increase results from additional running cost resources of £600,000 taken up within the agreed limit for 1993–94 offset by a series of inter-Vote transfers totalling £286,000; and take up of £705,000 under end-year flexibility arrangements for running costs. Additional resources will be used to meet increased ERNIC costs, spending on staff and development of information systems to administer reformed EC schemes of agricultural support, making the Scottish Office more accessible through local contact points and telephone enquiry lines and offsetting loss of income from the intervention board.

  (f) The cash limit for class XIV, vote 22, Scottish Record Office, will be increased by £67,000 from £10,202,000 to £10,269,000. Within this total, the running cost limit is increased by £15,000 following a transfer from class XIV, vote 21. There is also £52,000 for the uptake of end-year flexibility on capital expenditure. The additional provision will contribute to the cost of installing and running an automatic intruder and flood detection system.

  (g) The non-voted cash limit SO/LA1, which covers non-housing capital expenditure by local authorities, is to be increased by £30,604,000 from £590,156,000 to £620,760,000. This reflects full take-up of end year flexibility amounting to £32,604,000 along with a reduction of existing net capital allocations amounting to £2,000,000 to balance an increase on class XIV, vote 8, local environmental services and housing.

  (h) The non-voted cash limit SO/LA2, which covers housing capital expenditure by local authorities and capital expenditure by new towns, will be increased by £11,019,000 from £264,395,000 to £275,414,000. The increase takes account of a reduction of £2,000,000 as a result of a transfer to class XIV, vote 11; and an increase of £13,019,000 as a result of the take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement.

  (i) The Scottish Office running cost limit will be increased by £2,369,000 from £330,487,000 to £332,856,000. This results from take up of end-year flexibility totalling £1,339,000; a transfer out of £15,000 to

  73
  Scottish Record Office; a transfer in of £15,000 to Scottish Prison Service from the Office of Public Service and Science (Class XVIII, Vote 1); £900,000 to cope with increased prison population and administrative work arising from CAP Reforms and the. White Paper "Scotland in the Union"; and an increase of £130,000 for Historic Scotland covered by additional income earned this year.

  These increases will be offset by savings on other votes and cash limits within my responsibility and by claims on the Reserve. There will not therefore be any addition to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Sewage Sludge
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will place in the Library a map showing the boundaries of the sewage sludge dump on the Firth of Clyde.

  Sir Hector Monro
  A copy of the appropriate map has been placed in the Library.

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy towards the appointment of persons with Conservative party affiliations to NHS trust boards.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 28 October .1993]: Political affiliation is not a factor in such appointments, which are made on the basis of the personal contribution which the individual concerned can make to the board.

  "A Partnership for Good"
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the total annual costs which will be, or already have been, incurred in fulfilling the commitments made by his Department in the document, "Scotland in the Union—A Partnership for Good."

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 28 October 1993]: Details of the identifiable costs, both actual and estimated, of implementing specific commitments contained in the White Paper, "Scotland in the Union: A Partnership for Good" are set out in the table. Many of these commitments would have arisen in any case, but all contribute to the White Paper's general thrust to devolve more decision-making power to Scotland and within Scotland.

  Proposal or commitment

  Estimated or actual costs

  Europartenariat

  140,000

  Review of Scottish Trade International

  14,000

  Publication of concise Annual Report

  38,000

  Making Scottish Office more accessible to all parts of Scotland

  2176,870

  Publication of Further and Higher Education Charters

  86,500

  Publication of Householders Guide to Planning

  2,210

  Publication of Charter on Local Authority Environmental Services

  20,600

  Publication of Guide to Rights of Private Sector Tenants

  3,625

  Appointment of Lay Inspector of Constabulary

  317,170

  Appointment of lay members of schools and colleges inspection teams

  415,000

  Appointment of lay inspectors to Social Work Sevices Inspectorate

  52,600

  Comments:

  1 Estimate cost of Scottish Office Industry Department Stand

  2 Includes initial publicity costs of £150,000; estimated annual running costs are £28,500.

  74

  3 Salary fee for 9 month contract

  4 Start up costs.

  5 Cost so far incurred.

  Sight Tests
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many NHS sight tests took place in each financial year since 1984–85.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 28 October 1993]: The number of national health service sight tests paid for by health boards in each of the financial years from 1984–85 to 1992–93 is shown in the table.

  Number of NHS sight tests

  Year

  Number

  1984–85

  884,727

  1985–86

  913,901

  1986–87

  965,160

  1987–88

  1,098,145

  1988–89

  1,168,610

  1989–90

  1475,479

  1990–91

  432,885

  1991–92

  496,598

  1992–93

  538,684

  1 Since 1 April 1989 free National Health Service sight tests have only been available to children, full-time students under 19, those in receipt of Income Support or Family Credit, the registered blind and partially sighted, complex lens users, those who hold an AG2 Examption certificate from the Health Benefits Unit, diagnosed diabetic or glaucoma sufferers and close relatives aged 40 or over of glaucoma sufferers.

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) individuals and (b) organisations in East Lothian have had their views conveyed to him (i) in favour of his plan to divide the local authority area of East Lothian, and (ii) against that proposal.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: Since the publication of the White Paper, "Shaping the Future —The New Councils", 35 individual letters commenting on the proposal to create a new single-tier authority for Berwickshire and East Lothian have been received from East Lothian, three of which have been in favour of the proposal and 32 against. Of these, 27 letters have come from individuals and eight from organisations. In addition, some 14,000 postcards, pro forma letters and petition signatures have been submitted, mainly from people objecting to the Government's proposals for East Lothian.

  Severely Disadvantaged Areas
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the net farm income for mainly sheep and sheep and cattle farms in severely disadvantaged areas, in both nominal and real terms for each year since 1978.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 29 October 1993]: Estimates of net farm income based on results of sample surveys are provided in the following tables. The system of classification changed in 1992–93 and the figures in the two tables are not fully comparable. Year-to-year comparisons on each table can best be made by reference to the indices which are based on results from constant samples of farms.
  75

  Table 1

  Old classification1

  LFA: Mainly sheep

  LFA: Cattle and sheep

  Net farm income

  Indices (1989–90 to 1991–92=100)2

  Net farm income

  Indices (1989–90 to 1991–92=100)2

  Nominal terms

  Real terms

  Nominal terms

  Real terms

  Nominal terms

  Real terms

  Nominal terms

  Real terms

  1978–79

  8,100

  21,500

  74

  184

  6,900

  18,400

  48

  120

  1979–80

  5,700

  16,200

  49

  106

  3,500

  8,200

  26

  56

  1980–81

  5,800

  11,300

  52

  97

  3,100

  6,100

  27

  51

  1981–82

  9,700

  17,200

  99

  163

  11,000

  19,400

  87

  144

  1982–83

  7,400

  13,400

  75

  115

  9,500

  15,600

  74

  113

  31983–84

  6,000

  9,400

  72

  106

  7,500

  11,700

  66

  97

  1984–85

  8,400

  12,600

  94

  132

  6,100

  9,100

  60

  84

  1985–86

  13,200

  19,600

  144

  190

  8,400

  11,900

  84

  111

  1986–87

  7,100

  9,700

  79

  101

  3,600

  4,900

  34

  43

  1987–88

  10,200

  13,300

  118

  146

  9,300

  12,000

  102

  125

  1988–89

  10,700

  13,300

  105

  122

  12,500

  15,500

  129

  150

  1989–90

  9,300

  10,800

  97

  105

  9,300

  10,800

  105

  113

  1990–91

  9,300

  9,700

  95

  93

  8,400

  8,800

  92

  91

  1991–92

  9,600

  9,600

  108

  102

  10,500

  10,500

  102

  96

  Source: Farm Accounts Scheme.

  1 The levels of income have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

  2 Nominal figures deflated by the Retail Price Index, 1991–92=100.

  3 In 1983–84 the lower size limit for farms in the sample was reduced and therefore the figures in that year and later are not fully comparable with earlier years.

  Table 2

  New Classification3

  Specialist Sheep (SDA)

  Mixed Cattle and Sheep (SDA)

  Net Farm Income

  Indices (89–90 to 91–92=100)1

  Net Farm Income

  Indices 89–90 to 91–92=100)1

  Nominal Terms

  Real Terms

  Nominal Terms

  Real Terms

  Nominal Terms

  Real Terms

  Nominal Terms

  Real Terms

  1987–88

  8,800

  11,600

  97

  120

  9,600

  12,600

  91

  112

  1988–89

  9,400

  11,600

  89

  104

  12,300

  15,300

  116

  135

  1989–90

  8,600

  9,800

  91

  99

  11,100

  12,800

  105

  113

  1990–91

  8,100

  8,500

  101

  99

  10,100

  10,500

  95

  93

  1991–92

  9,100

  9,100

  108

  102

  8,600

  8,600

  100

  94

  1992–933

  10,800

  10,500

  149

  136

  11,600

  11,300

  110

  100

  Source: Farm Accounts Scheme.

  1 Net Farm Income figures deflated by the Retail Price Index, 1991–92=100.

  2 1992–93 Net Farm Income figures are provisional.

  3 The levels of income have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

  Physiotherapists
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of physiotherapists in(a) general practitioner practices and (b) hospitals, within each health board area, in each of the last four years.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 27 October 1993]: Information on physiotherapists employed by GP practices

  NHS Staff employed in physiotherapy as at 31 March

  Health Board

  1993

  1992

  1991

  1990

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Scotland

  1,901

  1,682

  219

  1,842

  1,636

  206

  1,735

  1,552

  183

  1,713

  1,531

  182

  Argyll and Clyde

  133

  115

  18

  134

  115

  19

  120

  106

  14

  120

  107

  13

  Ayrshire and Arran

  1134

  1125

  9

  144

  136

  8

  130

  124

  6

  119

  116

  3

  Borders

  47

  42

  5

  44

  39

  5

  39

  36

  3

  38

  34

  4

  Dumfries and Galloway

  41

  35

  6

  40

  34

  6

  36

  30

  6

  37

  30

  7

  Fife

  134

  112

  22

  129

  106

  23

  118

  97

  21

  113

  93

  20

  Forth Valley

  90

  79

  11

  83

  71

  12

  73

  64

  9

  76

  66

  10

  Grampian

  169

  158

  11

  160

  149

  11

  150

  141

  9

  149

  140

  9

  Great Glasgow

  412

  357

  55

  401

  354

  47

  394

  355

  39

  401

  361

  40

  Highland

  79

  64

  15

  77

  63

  14

  74

  61

  13

  73

  59

  14

  Lanarkshire

  146

  139

  7

  147

  140

  7

  142

  136

  6

  136

  130

  6

  Lothian

  334

  297

  37

  306

  274

  32

  299

  263

  36

  291

  257

  34

  Orkney

  9

  7

  2

  8

  7

  1

  7

  6

  1

  6

  5

  1

  76
  is available centrally only from 1 October 1992. Some practices do not classify the categories of staff employed, and from the data available at 1 April 1993 only one physiotherapist can be identified in a GP practice, in the Ayrshire and Arran health board area. Additionally, some physiotherapy services are provided in GP practices by hospital based staff.

  The number of phsiotherapists in hospitals, within each health board area, is shown in the table.
  77

  Health Board

  1993

  1992

  1991

  1990

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Total

  Qualified

  Unqualified

  Shetland

  10

  8

  2

  9

  7

  2

  8

  6

  2

  8

  6

  2

  Tayside

  145

  128

  17

  142

  125

  17

  132

  116

  16

  131

  114

  17

  Western Isles

  18

  16

  2

  18

  16

  2

  13

  11

  2

  15

  13

  2

  1 Excludes one physiotherapist working in a GP practice.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Low Pay
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in low-paid employment are subject to a marginal tax/benefit withdrawal rate of(a) more than 85 per cent. and (b) more than 95 per cent.; and how many in each case have children.

  Mr. Burt
  The information is in the table.

  Numbers with Marginal Deduction Rates at or above each level

  1993–94

  Thousands

  Without children

  With children

  Total

  Greater than 95 per cent.

  0

  (25)

  (25)

  Greater than 85 per cent.

  (5)

  120

  125

  Notes:

  1. Calculated for benefit units in receipt of income related benefits where at least one partner works 16 hours or more. Estimates are cumulative and rounded to the nearest 5,000.

  2. Figures are based on pooled Family Expenditure Survey data (1989, 1990, 1991).

  3. All results are subject to sampling error. Those bracketed are based on a small number of cases and therefore may have wider margins of error.

  Deductions from Benefit
  Mr. Callaghan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claimants have deductions from their benefit at source.

  Mr. Burt
  Out of 5,088,000 income support recipients, 1,006,000 have one or more deductions from their benefit. The proportion is therefore 19.8 per cent.

  Source:

  Income Support Statistics Annual Enquiry May 1992.

  Notes:

  1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  2. Percentage has been rounded to one decimal point.

  Independent Living Fund
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he intends to take to ensure that the independent living fund benefits people who are suffering from terminal illness; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  The independent living (1993) fund is an independent and discretionary trust, governed by a board of trustees. All decisions on matters of policy are a matter for the trustees.

  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications have been received by the independent living fund since 1 April; and how many of these have been approved.

  Mr. Scott
  I am informed by the director of the independent living (1993) fund that, as at 27 October, the 78
  fund has received 575 applications. Of these, 112 have been approved for payment and a further 289 are in the process of being assessed.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have applied to the independent living (1993) fund so far in the current year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  I am informed by the director of the independent living (1993) fund that, as at 27 October, the fund has received 575 applications.

  Income Support
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures on the same basis as table series 10 in the income support statistics annual inquiry for May 1992 giving the average amount of deduction for each statistical group.

  Mr. Burt
  Such information as is available is in table 10.1 of the income support annual statistical enquiry May 1992.

  Basic Skills
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of those receiving income support have been assessed as having inadequate basic skills; and what estimate he has of the cost to the Exchequer of this group in the latest available year.

  Mr. Burt
  The information requested is not available.

  Child Support Agency
  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out the take-on strategy of the Child Support Agency.

  Mr. Burt
  The Child Support Agency has a phased four year take-on programme of work.

  During the first year, the agency will deal with new benefit clients, including an estimated half a million who do not currently receive maintenance, and new non benefit clients without existing court orders or written maintenance agreements who wish to apply. New benefit clients will form the bulk of the work in 1993–94 resulting in assessments for many absent parents who have consciously avoided paying in the past.

  The agency has already achieved considerable success in the task of locating parents who previously evaded their responsibilities. Since the agency was launched, the absent parent has been found in over 90 per cent. of those cases where the parent with care does not know his address. In September alone over 2,500 absent parents have been located by the agency's specialist tracing sections.

  The agency will also take on existing benefit clients, where the parent with care or their current partner was already receiving income support prior to 5 April, over a three year period. In addition, the agency will consider

  79
  sympathetically, in the light of their individual circumstances, any existing benefit client who seeks to be taken on early, including those where the absent parent has been avoiding paying maintenance.

  The agency is now dealing with existing benefit clients who already receive maintenance and where the whereabouts of the absent parent is known. Many of these will be clients where a change of circumstances triggers take on of the case; this avoids double handling by dealing with the case then rather than another occasion. The agency is now dealing with some existing benefit clients who are not receiving maintenance, and will be steadily taking on more. It will normally prioritise such cases according to whether or not a regular maintenance payment can be secured, again in order to secure the maximum benefit to parents with care quickly, but will have taken on all such cases by April 1996.

  During the last stage of the programme, in 1996–97, the agency will phase in those parents with care with existing maintenance agreements who do not receive income support, family credit, or disability working allowance, who wish to be taken on. This will be in line with a staggered programme according to the first letter of their surname.

  This strategy means that more children will receive more maintenance more regularly. It does this in the most administratively efficient manner, and in a way which will most economically reduce the burden on the taxpayer.

  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) in how many cases the parent with care has refused to provide information to the Child Support Agency as to the identity of the absent parent; and in how many of those cases the absent parent has been traced by the Child Support Agency in the first six months of operation;

  (2) how many applications for maintenance assessments have been (a) received and (b) processed by the Child Support Agency in its first six months of operation;

  (3) in how many cases the Child Support Agency has decided that there have been good causes for the refusal to co-operate by those parents with care who have chosen not to co-operate with the Child Support Agency;

  (4) in how many cases processed by the Child Support Agency since April the absent parent has been part of a second family;

  (5) how many applications made to the Child Support Agency have been processed and put into payment in the first six months of the agency's operation; how many of these assessments are being collected by the agency; and how many are being collected by other means;

  (6) how many parents with care have (a) chosen not to co-operate with the Child Support Agency and (b) been unable to provide information as to the identity of the absent parent in the first six months of the Child Support Agency's operation.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Kevin Hughes, dated 29 October, 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational
  80
  matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking about various aspects of the work of the Child Support Agency.
  You ask about cases where the requirement to cooperate has been an issue. The number of such cases to 30 September is 6,600 and in 4,900 of these the Agency has accepted that the parent with care had good cause not to co-operate with the Agency in pursuing a maintenance claim. Tracing action is only taken when the parent with care has been able to provide sufficient information on the father to make such action feasible.
  At 30 September 328,700 Maintenance Assessment Forms had been returned and 36,610 maintenance assessments completed.
  You also ask about the collection of maintenance. Information on maintenance being collected is not currently available but will be available later in the year. I should explain that once the Agency has assessed an absent parent's maintenance payment, the maintenance can be paid direct to the parent with care rather than through the Agency.
  I am sorry but we do not collect statistical information on how many absent parents have a second family.
  I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish information relating to the performance of the Child Support Agency on a regular basis.

  Mr. Burt
  I am pleased to announce that I intend to place information in the Library of the House each month relating to key performance areas of the Child Support Agency. An initial report, covering the first six months of the agency's operations, will be placed in the Library today.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many and what proportion of Child Support Agency assessments to date involve the protected income calculation to decrease the maintenance assessment; and how many and what proportion of assessments to date exceed the maintenance requirement;

  (2) if he will publish a table showing the average assessment made by the Child Support Agency, broken down into the average assessment for families of one qualifying child, two qualifying children, three qualifying children and four or more qualifying children;

  (3) if he will publish a breakdown of the range of net income and exempt income of absent parents assessed by the Child Support Agency.

  Mr. Burt
  I understand from Ros Heppelwhite, the chief executive of the Child Support Agency that the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) maintenance application forms have been issued, (b) assessments have been completed, (c) benefit penalties have been imposed and (d) good cause claims have been accepted and how many refused in respect of the Child Support Act 1991 (i) nationally and (ii) in the Sheffield area.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Bill Michie, dated 29 October 1993:

  81
  As Chief Executive of the Child Support 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 (a) maintenance application forms have been issued, (b) assessments have been completed, (c) benefit penalties imposed and (d) good cause claims have been accepted and how many refused in respect of the Child Support Agency (i) nationally and (ii) in the Sheffield area.
  The information available in answer to your question about national figures is shown below but I am sorry that we are not able to provide a geographical breakdown for the Sheffield area.
  At 30 September 527,000 Maintenance Application Forms (MAFs) had been issued, and 36,610 maintenance assessments completed.
  The number of cases where the requirement to co-operate has been an issue up to 30 September 1993 is 6,600 and in 4,900 of these the Agency has accepted that the Parent with Care had good cause not to co-operate in pursuing a maintenance claim. Of those cases in which "good cause" was not accepted, 22 Reduced Benefit Directions have been issued and the cases referred to the Benefits Agency to implement the prescribed reduction.
  I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

  Reciprocal Agreement (Australia)
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he proposes to revise the reciprocal agreement with Australia concerning social security matters.

  Mr. Hague
  We have no plans to do so.

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes there have been in the cash limits or running costs limits of his Department.

  Mr. Scott
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate the cash limit for class XIII vote 4 will be increased by £30,958,000 from £2,527,166,000 to £2,558,124,000. The revision takes account of increased requirements resulting from rising workloads (£8,566,000 running costs), an increase of £23,434,000 (of which £12,628,000 is running costs) in respect of the end year flexibility arrangements, a reduction of £1,531,000 (running costs) offset by a corresponding increase on Department of Health and Social Services (Northern Ireland), vote 3, an increase of £20.000 in running cost cover for services provided to Department of Health and Social Services (Northern Ireland) on repayment, a transfer to Department of Health, class XIII, vote 3, of £1,161,000 (of which £1,065,000 is running costs) and a reduction of £99,000 in appropriations in aid.

  As a result of these changes and the running costs limit of the Department of Social Security will be increased by £18,432,000 from £2,902,578,000 to £2,921,010,000.

  The additional requirements will be charged to the Reserve and will therefore not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Benefits
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans there are to set down charter standards for take up of benefits.

  Mr. Burt
  There are no such plans.

  Social Security legislation puts the onus on the individual to claim benefit. Some people choose not to
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  claim. It would be inappropriate to set targets or standards for something which is a matter of personal choice. The Government's role is to ensure that the availability of benefits is made known and to provide advice on eligibility.

  In this respect, we have recently launched a major advertising campaign to explain how in-work benefits can help families back to work and opened a family credit telephone helpline. The Benefits Agency is responsible for a number of initiatives to increase awareness of entitlement including exhibitions, talks and multi-lingual telephone helplines.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration has been given as to whether a tax credit system for paying benefits is feasible and would be more effective at delivering benefits.

  Mr. Hague
  There has been no recent serious considerations of a tax credit scheme as a means of delivering Social Security benefits. A tax credit scheme as sometimes proposed would not replace the need for income-related benefits which take account of family size and housing costs, and would be less responsive in dealing with short-term financial needs. We have, instead, concentrated on developing simpler tax and benefit regimes which reduce overlaps between the two systems and provide help to those in need whilst maintaining the incentive to work.

  Mr. Hicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he intends to undertake a review of the notional return on a person's investments for assessment for benefit entitlements; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  In all the income-related benefits, capital up to £3,000 is ignored. The formula applied for capital above this figure does not imply any particular return on investments. It ensures that help is targeted to those who need it most, while not denying benefit to those with only a moderate amount of capital. The rules are kept under review, but we have no plans for change.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has as to which EC countries have provisions enabling benefits to be reclaimed in the same way as under section 22 of the Social Security Act 1989.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested is not held by the Department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Spending
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what comparative figures he has on the administrative costs as a proportion of social security spending in the United Kingdom and other members of the European Community.

  Mr. Scott
  The latest information available on administrative costs as a proportion of social protection (social security plus health) spending in each member state of the EC is contained in the Eurostat publication, "Social protection expenditure and receipts 1985–1988". Care must be taken when comparing any European data sets because of differences in definition.

  Eurostat regularly publishes "Social protection expenditure and receipts". The latest edition covers the period

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  1980–91 and includes more recent data on administrative costs, but does not show these as a proportion of social protection spending.

  Copies of both publications are in the House of Commons Library.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the costs of administering the social fund as a proportion of its total budget.

  Mr. Scott
  The latest available information on social fund administrative costs is given in the Social Security departmental report, "The Government's expenditure plans 1993–94 to 1995–96", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

  Severe Disability Allowance
  Mr. Austin Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for severe disability allowance from women who have reached the age of 60 years have been received and are currently awaiting determination; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Scott
  The information requested is not available.
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  Following the Court of Appeal's decision in the case of Thomas and Others (July 1990), claims for severe disablement allowance from women aged between 60 and 65 have been determined in the same way as for men of the same age.

  Child Maintenance
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many absent parents on income support have deductions from benefit made as a contribution towards child maintenance.

  Mr. Burt
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Garscadden (Mr. Dewar) on 29 October 1993 at column 843–44.

  Accident Victims
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans his Department has to review or repeal section 22 of the Social Security Act 1989, relating to reclaims of benefits paid to accident victims.

  Mr. Scott
  We have no such plans.