Written Answers of 27 October 1993

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Courts (Administration)
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is taking to speed up the process of administration in the courts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John Taylor
  Several steps are presently being taken to improve the process of administration in the courts.

  In the Crown court, the recommendations of two major reports are being implemented or considered. The first is the inter-agency report of the pre-trial issues (PTI) working group issued in 1990 and which was presented to Parliament in February 1991. The second is the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice published in July this year.

  In the magistrates courts a number of initiatives are being taken to reduce delays and waiting times. They include legislative amendments and the promotion of good practice in concert with all the criminal justice agencies. A standard computer system is being developed, as are changes to the management structure of courts, both of which will bring operational benefits.

  In the county courts, centralised computer systems are being developed. These include a project to centralise the handling of payments under county court attachment of earnings orders.

  Judges
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will introduce requirements for all judges to undergo comprehensive medical and psychological examinations on reaching the age of 65 years.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor has no such plans.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the latest estimated cost of legal aid.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The 1993–94 Supply Estimate provision for legal aid is £1,284 million, net of receipts. Based on figures for expenditure to the end of August, we now forecast that net expenditure for legal aid in the current year is likely to be £1,254 million. At this stage in the year, however, there is inevitably still uncertainty about the eventual outturn. The reduction in the forecast is largely related to criminal legal aid. The changes in eligibility introduced in April, the effect of which was almost entirely in relation to civil legal aid and advice and assistance appear to be having broadly the effect anticipated.

  Overseas Staff and Premises
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the cost for the current financial year of his Department having(a) premises and (b) personnel overseas; and what were the comparable figures for (a) 12, (b) 24, (c) 36 and (d) 48 months ago.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor's Department incurs only minor expenditure overseas. The table shows the expenditure on premises and personnel for 1993–94 and the previous four years. Expenditure prior to 1993–94 relates solely to the Office of the Judge Advocate General in Germany. Since 1991–92 the bulk of expenditure on the Judge Advocate's premises there has been paid by the Ministry of Defence. For 1993–94 the personnel cost includes the secondment of one officer to the Government of Australia.

  Cost of overseas premises and personnel

  Year

  (a) Premises £

  (b) Personnel £

  1989–90

  81,361

  266,235

  1990–91

  76,178

  244,143

  1991–92

  5,624

  261,526

  1992–93

  2,457

  273,769

  1993–94

  —

  342,159

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  BBC Governor for Wales
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has to review the appointment of the BBC national governor for Wales in the light of the report on the Welsh Development Agency presented to Parliament on 19 October.

  Mr. Brooke
  None.

TRANSPORT

  Taxis
  Mr. Bendall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now publish the Green Paper on taxi and private hire services in England and Wales.

  Mr. Norris
  The Green Paper was published today. It is a consultation document addressing fundamental issues relating to taxi and private hire services throughout England and Wales, including London, and I hope it will generate a stimulating debate on the way forward. I have asked for responses by 1 March 1994. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what period of consultation he intends to allow for those residents of Islington living to the west of Liverpool road in relation to Union Railways' proposal, announced on 22 September, for a grade-separated junction leading into St. Pancras station for the high-speed channel tunnel link.
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  Mr. Freeman
  Local authorities and action groups have been briefed by Union Railways on the rail link options, which are to be reported to the Government at the end of October. These bodies have been invited to submit formal comments directly to my Department by 12 November. Union Railways has, moreover, set up visiting public information centres for all parts of the route to explain the options. Comments from members of the public may either be made to Union Railways at the information centres or they can be sent to my Department. All comments received will be taken into account in our decisions.

  A1/M1 Link
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the A1/M1 link road works in Yorkshire(a) to commence and (b) to finish.

  Mr. Key
  The public inquiry into this scheme was held in January and February of this year. After considering the inspector's recommendations, the Secretaries of State for Transport and for the Environment will decide on the way forward. If a decision were taken to proceed with the proposals, construction would start after the completion of detailed design, subject to the availability of funds. Typically, schemes of this size take about three years to build.

  A1, Northumberland
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the traffic volume criteria for grade separation at crossings in the design of further dual carriageway projects on the A 1 road in Northumberland, to correspond with the standards which are being observed on the neighbouring section of the A1 in Scotland.

  Mr. Key
  The Department is already working closely with the Scottish Office and, indeed, also with the Welsh Office and DOE Northern Ireland on the development of common design criteria for grade separation of road junctions. The intention is to produce a United Kingdom-wide standard.

  Vocational Drivers
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many medical appeals have been made to the DVLA since April 1992 by LGV/LPV vocational drivers; how many notified appeals were proceeded with; how many were resolved medically by the DVLA; how many(a) LGV cases and (b) LPV cases went to magistrates courts for appeal; how many appeals in each of the two categories were refused on grounds of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, diabetes, epilepsy, cardiac problems, history of strokes, non-epileptic fits and other conditions; and how many appeals were allowed in each of the categories in respect of diabetes, corrected vision, monocular vision, deafness, history of suicidal tendencies, psychotic illness, hydrocephalus and other conditions.

  Mr. Key
  In the period April 1992 to September 1993, DVLA received 257 notices of appeal from LGV/PCV drivers. Of these 242 were resolved at DVLA and did not proceed to court. Fifteen summonses were issued against the Department, of which, two were later withdrawn. The results of the remaining 13 appeals, by medical condition, are as follows:—
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  Two LGV appeals allowed. These consisted of:

  Heart 1.

  Epilepsy 1.

  Eight LGV appeals refused. These consisted of:

  Alcohol abuse 2.

  Epilepsy 2.

  Heart 1.

  Blackout 3.

  One PCV appeal allowed.

  Cancer.

  Two PCV appeals refused.

  Epilepsy 1.

  Head injury 1.

  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what considerations he has given to establishing medical appeal tribunals analogous to those operated by the Department of Social Security for appeals against DVLA decisions on the issue of LGV/LPV licences.

  Mr. Key
  We are currently looking at the use of independent medical referees rather than the more expensive medical tribunal system.

  Hold Baggage
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he will take to ensure that hold baggage in passenger airplanes is accompanied by its owners on flights from London Heathrow and other British international airports.

  Mr. Norris
  At present, the aircraft operator is required by law to ensure that all originating passengers, operating crew, transit passengers and any transfer passengers whose hold baggage has been loaded into an aircraft, have boarded and will travel on that aircraft. The baggage of passengers who check in but do not board the aircraft is required to be removed and subjected to security controls. Unaccompanied baggage is not carried unless it is screened and if necessary hand-searched.

  The United Kingdom has always complied with international requirements on passenger baggage. We are going further and introducing a requirement for airlines to account for and authorise for carriage every item of hold baggage that they carry. Trials are under way at several airports, and we are pressing suppliers of equipment to clear up the remaining technical difficulties.

  MFV Pescado
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make public the marine accident investigation branch report and the video evidence of the damage to the MFV Pescado.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: Inquiries into the loss of the Pescado are being carried out with a view to prosecution. Consequently, all evidence collected by the marine accident investigation branch in the course of its investigation must be considered sub judice. For the same reason, publication of the detailed marine accident investigation branch report must await the outcome of those inquiries.

  Jubilee Line
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the award of Jubilee line tunnelling contracts to foreign companies on the ability of British firms to compete for other large-scale civil projects.

  Mr. Norris
  The award of contracts for the Jubilee line extension (JLE) is entirely a matter for London Underground Limited. No major contracts for the JLE have yet been awarded; I understand that although some of the tunnelling contracts are likely to be awarded to foreign companies, the larger part of the tunnelling work will go to the United Kingdom.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Asylum
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the amount of the costs awarded by the Law Lords on 28 July against his predecessor the right hon. Member for Mole Valley (Mr. Baker) in respect of the Home Department being ruled guilty of contempt of court in relation to a court order banning deportation of the Zairean asylum seeker 'M' ; how much of the costs his Department paid; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Howard
  The consequence of the ruling by the Judicial Committee in the House of Lords on 28 July is that the Home Office is liable for the applicant's costs in the proceedings in the Divisional Court, Court of Appeal and the House of Lords. The applicant's solicitors costs for the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal have been taxed and are:

  Divisional Court-£51,195.92

  Court of Appeal-£41,110.30

  The applicant's solicitors have submitted a bill for their costs in the House of Lords. When this has been taxed, all the applicant's outstanding costs will be paid.

  Animal Experimentation
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider establishing a list of registered interests for members of the Animal Procedures Committee similar to those registers available for other independent Government advisory committees.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I shall arrange for such a list to be included in future reports of the Animal Procedures Committee.

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of(a) procedures and (b) animals used for research on (i) tobacco, (ii) cosmetics and toiletries, (iii) food additives and (iv) alcohol in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Categories (i) to (iv) are not separately recorded for medical or applied research purposes but are for procedures for safety evaluation. The number of procedures were as follows:642

  Year

  Tobacco

  Cosmetics and toiletries

  Food additives

  Alcohol

  1990

  659

  4,365

  10,822

  1,429

  1991

  512

  3,082

  10,855

  1,294

  1992

  197

  2,164

  6,134

  1,087

  The number of animals used in each procedure could be extracted from the recorded information only at disproportionate cost.

  Crime Clear-up Rates
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police authorities that recorded the five highest crime clear-up rates in each of the past seven years.

  Mr. Maclean
  The police forces with the highest clear-up rates, in order, were as follows:

  1986

  Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Lancashire.

  1987

  Gwent, Dyfed-Powys, Lancashire, Cumbria, Suffolk.

  1988

  Gwent, Dyfed-Powys, Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire.

  1989

  Gwent, Dyfed-Powys, Cheshire, Cumbria, Wiltshire.

  1990

  Gwent, Dyfed-Powys, Cheshire, West Mercia, South Yorkshire.

  1991

  Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Dorset.

  1992

  Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, Merseyside, Suffolk, Lincolnshire.

  Violent Crime
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the prison population had been convicted of crimes involving violence for the last date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: 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 Mr. A. Butler to Mr. David Alton, dated 26 October 1993:

  CONVICTION FOR CRIMES INVOLVING VIOLENCE
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking what percentage of the prison population had been convicted of crimes involving violence for the latest date that figures are available.
  Excluding those committed in default of payment of a fine some 49 per cent. of the total sentenced male and female prison population, for whom an offence was recorded, were serving sentences for violence against the person, robbery or for a sexual offence on 30 June 1993.

WALES

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing the capital allocation to each of the county authorities in Wales for each of the last three financial years; what percentage of
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  each allocation was actually expended; and what is his calculation of what expenditure should have been incurred in respect of each of the main service areas.

  Mr. Redwood
  The available information is given in the following tables. The Government's new planning totals for the external financing of capital expenditure and the assumed gross expenditure by broad service group are available only for Wales as a whole.

  Basic credit approvals (BCA) form the capital allocations which are not directed towards specific services or programmes. Other external capital financing is provided through supplementary credit approvals, capital grants and other contributions from central Government and their agencies. These latter sources are generally

  Table 1: Allocation and use of basic credit approvals (BCA)

  BCA issued (£ million)

  Use of BCA as a percentage of BCA issued1

  Gross capital expenditure2(£ million)

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Clwyd

  12·7

  13·0

  12·1

  100

  100

  19·6

  22·2

  18·8

  Dyfed

  12·5

  13·0

  13·2

  91

  100

  17·3

  20·0

  20·7

  Gwent

  12·1

  13·8

  14·4

  100

  100

  32·8

  34·2

  46·2

  Gwynedd

  8·3

  8·6

  8·6

  100

  100

  10·7

  11·9

  11·3

  Mid Glamorgan

  18·0

  18·8

  19·1

  100

  100

  37·9

  46·2

  44·8

  Powys

  6·4

  6·6

  6·7

  99

  99

  7·8

  10·2

  11·5

  South Glamorgan

  11·9

  12·6

  12·6

  100

  78

  31 7

  50·4

  48 4

  West Glamorgan

  11·5

  11·9

  12·4

  100

  100

  27·1

  28·3

  24·1

  Total

  93·4

  98·3

  99·1

  99

  97

  185·0

  223·4

  225·7

  Source: Welsh office returns.

  1 Net of transfers between authorities. Not available for 1992–93.

  2 Includes expenditure financed by external sources other than BCA. Also includes self-financed expenditure. Excludes Law and Order. 1990–91 and 1991–92 outturn; 1992–93 provisional outturn.

  Table 2: New planning total and assumed gross expenditure1 (£ million)

  New planning total

  Assumed gross expenditure

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Education

  50·1

  56·7

  55·2

  53·7

  66·6

  63·0

  Personal social services

  9·9

  10·3

  11·2

  10·8

  12·2

  12·8

  Transport

  81·4

  99·5

  100·9

  86·6

  115·1

  113·4

  Other local services

  57·7

  61·7

  54·5

  72·2

  93·6

  99·8

  Housing

  190·3

  194·3

  279·4

  226·7

  226·0

  306·6

  Urban programme

  24·9

  41·6

  35·1

  24·9

  41 6

  35·1

  Total

  414·3

  464·1

  536·3

  474·9

  555·0

  630·7

  1 Excluding Law and Order

  Rural Housing
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will respond to the third report of the Welsh Affairs Committee Session 1992–93 on rural housing.

  Mr. Redwood
  I am pleased to announce that the response has been published today.

  Working Groups
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a list of all Welsh Office working groups together with the membership of each and a note of other public bodies to which any member also belongs.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The information required is not held centrally.
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  directed towards specific services or programmes. The total amount of external capital finance for local authorities is announced annually as the new planning total but, other than BCA, the amounts involved are not necessarily allocated to local authorities before the beginning of the financial year. In addition to the spending financed externally, local authorities can fund capital expenditure from revenue accounts and reserves and from capital receipts. This self-financed expenditure does not form part of the capital allocations or new planning totals. The amount the Government estimates authorities will have available for capital expenditure on each service, the assumed gross expenditure, is derived by summing the relevant capital allocations and forecasts of self-financed expenditure.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the register held by the Welsh Office of candidates suitable for public appointment.

  Mr. Redwood
  No—this information is confidential.

  Peat Bogs
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the raised peat bogs within Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information requested is as follows:

  Fenns and Whixall Mosses, Clwyd

  Nug and Merddwr complex, Clwyd

  Cors Caron, Dyfed

  Cors Fochno, Dyfed

  Esgyrn Bottom, Dyfed

  Gorslas, Dyfed

  Cors Goch, Llanllwch, Dyfed

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  Arthog Bog, Gwynedd

  Cors Goch, Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd

  Rhosgoch Common, Powys

  Craig-y-Ciliau, Powys

  Nelson Bog, Mid Glamorgan

  There may be some additional small mires which would fall into this category but these will require further investigation.

  Traffic Calming
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement outlining the main findings to the formal consultation arranged by his Department on traffic calming measures.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  On 23 February, in conjunction with the Department of Transport, we wrote to interested parties, including Welsh local authority associations and county surveyors, inviting comments on draft traffic calming regulations. The few comments received were of a technical nature and the proposals were generally welcomed. The Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations 1993 came into force on 27 August.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to include references to evaluation targets for youth training within his Department's annual expenditure plans.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The Department's annual expenditure plans are currently being prepared. It is my intention that these will include reference to agreed targets for youth training.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Konver Programme
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will re-examine the instruction currently being given by regional offices of his Department that funds under the EC Konver programme are only available to small and medium-sized enterprises.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The Commission's list of the types of measures which Konver may part-finance includes"diversification of the region's economic structure, particularly through aid for the development of small and medium-sized firms".

  Assistance from European structural funds community initiatives, such as Konver, is allocated in each member state in accordance with a national "programme" which may stipulate narrower priorities.

  The United Kingdom is one of those member states in which Konver grants to companies will be limited to small and medium sized enterprises. This accords with the Government's priorities for the use of the sums of grant available from the funds generally.

  Post Office Pension Schemes
  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what directions the Government propose to give to the trustees of the Post Office superannuation and Post Office pension schemes about division of their funds and assets in the event of the privatisation of Post Office Counters Ltd., Royal Mail Ltd., and Parcelforce Ltd.
  646
  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Government are continuing their review into the future structure and organisation of the Post Office. Once the Government have decided on the future of the Post Office and its constituent businesses, it will be able to consider any implications for pensions in detail. Until then, this question is hypothetical.

  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what changes in the Post Office superannuation and Post Office pension schemes he expects to make in the light of the recommendations of the Goode report.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Operational responsibility for the Post Office pension schemes rests not with Ministers but with the trustees of the schemes, together with the Post Office. The Goode report is being considered by Government, and the trustees of the Post Office schemes will no doubt wish to consider any implications which may arise in due course.

  Wave Power
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made, in conjunction with the European Communities, in establishing an offshore wave power generator project.

  Mr. Eggar
  Two United Kingdom proposals, from the Queen's university Belfast, and from Applied Research and Technology Ltd. (ART), of Inverness, for wave energy pilot plants with a power rating between 0.4MW and 2.0MW have been offered support from the Commission of the European Communities' JOULE programme. Both received assistance from the energy technology support unit (ETSU), acting on behalf of DTI, in preparing their proposals.

  Nuclear Reactor, Sizewell
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response he has made to the recent application by Nuclear Electric plc to build a third nuclear plant at Sizewell.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department directed Nuclear Electric plc to advertise its application pursuant to the terms of the Electricity (Applications for Consent) Regulations 1990 and the Electricity and Pipe-line Works (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1990.

  Telephone System
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from Oftel to be given overall responsibility for the change in telephone codes due to take place in 1995; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  We have not received any such representations. Oftel is already working to ensure that, wherever possible, telecoms operators and the manufac- turers and maintainers of telephony equipment discharge their responsibilities to their customers in relation to the national code change in a timely and co-ordinated way so as to minimise any costs and disruption to the end-user.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to enable Oftel to take over control and allocation of telephone numbers; and if he will make a statement.
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  Mr. McLoughlin
  The 1991 White Paper, "Competition and Choice: Telecommunications Policy for the 1990s" (Cm 1461) made it clear that Oftel would be taking action to enable it to administer a national numbering plan. Operators' licences were subsequently amended to provide Oftel with the necessary powers once numbering conventions had been published and a specified numbering scheme determined. Oftel intends to take over responsibility for the allocation of numbers during the first half of 1994.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the current telephone network operators; and what is his estimate of the likely number of telephone network operators in April 1995.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Since the publication of the 1991 White Paper, "Competition and Choice: Telecommunications Policy for the 1990s" (Cm 1461), licences have been granted, in addition to those already granted to BT and Mercury Communications Ltd, to the following companies to run fixed-link public telecommunications systems throughout the United Kingdom: Ionica L3 Ltd; Energis Communications Ltd; Scottish Hydro-Electric plc; ScottishPower Telecommunications Ltd; Torch Communications Ltd; and MFS Communications Ltd. Applications for similar licences are also under consideration.

  The number of licensed operators is expected to have increased by April 1995, but my Department does not produce estimates of the likely number of operators in future years. This will depend on the number of future applications and whether these meet the considerations which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has to take into account under the Telecommunications Act 1984 before granting a licence.

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Company winding-up orders

  3,952

  3,554

  4,431

  6,777

  8,911

  9,540

  Bankruptcy orders

  7,365

  7,607

  8,679

  14,359

  26,186

  33,152

  TOTAL

  11,317

  11,161

  13,110

  21,136

  35,097

  42,692

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Permanent

  1,516

  1,443

  1,395

  1,431

  1,500

  1,531

  Casuals

  1n/a

  1n/a

  10

  24

  85

  158

  TOTAL

  1,516

  1,443

  1,405

  1,455

  1,585

  1,689

  1 Note: No separate record of casuals, numbers insignificant.

  Energy Review Panel
  Dr. Michael Clark
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he will appoint members of the energy review panel which he announced in the coal White Paper.

  Mr. Eggar
  [pursuant to his reply, 26 October 1993]: I announced to the House on 20 October that Dr. Martin Holdgate had agreed to chair the new energy advisory panel and that I had invited a number of independent experts in the energy field to serve as members. I am pleased to be able now to announce the full membership of the panel and look forward to the input which they will
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  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the costs, both private and public, of reprogramming of telephone equipment due to the proposed code changes in 1995.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  This is a matter for Oftel. In July 1992 it published a study carried out by Ovum which estimated that the direct costs of modifications to customer premises equipment as a result of the national code change were likely to be in the order of £200 million.

  Insolvency Service
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received about the competence of insolvency service staff.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  No recent representations have been received.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many staff are employed in the insolvency service disqualification unit; and what was the average number employed in the unit for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The insolvency service's disqualification unit currently employs 49.5 persons. The number averaged 47 in each year from 1987 to 1990, 49 in 1991 and 49.5 in 1992.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many insolvencies, identifying companies and bankruptcies were dealt with by the insolvency service together with the average number of staff, identifying permanent and casual, in post for each year from 1987.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The insolvency service dealt with the following number of cases:

  The average number of staff were:

  make to the energy report next year. I am sure that the report will be an invaluable document to all those with an interest in energy.

  With the arrival of the panel, I have decided to dissolve the Department's former advisory council on research and development. ACORD has provided valuable technical advice to a succession of Ministers and Departments since it was first set up 45 years ago but major changes to the energy scene in recent years—particularly the privatisation of the nationalised energy industries—have meant that ACORD's main original function—a detailed technical overview of those industries research plans—is no longer necessary.
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  The council had itself recently suggested to me that its ambit might usefully be extended to issues of energy policy —an area where it would have overlapped directly with the panel.

  I have written to ACORD members thanking them for their service.

  The full membership of the energy advisory panel is as follows:

  CHAIRMAN

  Martin Holdgate
  Currently Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; formerly Chief Environment Scientist, Department of the Environment. Recent chairman of the Renewable Energy Advisory Group (REAG).

  MEMBERS

  Lady (Mary) Archer
  Chairman of the National Energy Foundation, formerly a member of REAG.

  Ron Campbell
  Former Managing Director of Babcock Energy and Director of the Nuclear Power Group, now a consultant. Member of the Department's former Advisory council on Energy Research and Development (ACORD) and of the NII's Advisory Council on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI).

  Tony Cooper
  General Secretary, Engineers' and Managers' Association.

  Nigel Evans
  Managing Director, Caminus Energy Ltd. former member of ACORD

  David Green, MBE
  Director, Combined Heat and Power Association.

  Dieter Helm
  Oxford Economic Research Associates.

  Peter Ibbotson
  Director of Construction, Sainsbury plc.

  Professor Alexander Kemp
  University of Aberdeen Department of Economics.

  Sam Laidlaw
  Managing Director Amerada Hess (UK) Ltd., former president of the UK Offshore Operators' Association.

  Mike Parker
  Consultant, former Director of Economics, British Coal.

  Paul Rich
  Managing Director, Allied Steel and Wire.

  Lynda Rouse
  Director, Public Sector Unit, Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd.

  Ann Scully
  Vice-Chairman, National Consumers Council and Chairman, Domestic Coal Consumers' Council.

  Anthony White
  National Grid Company (NGC).

  Professor Alan Williams
  Leeds University Department of Fuel and Energy.

ENVIRONMENT

  Accommodation Agencies Act 1953
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions he has reached as a result of the consultation carried out by his Department on whether there is a case for abolishing the Accommodation Agencies Act 1953.

  Sir George Young
  Following consultation, we have decided that the Accommodation Agencies Act 1953 should be retained. It is clear that the need to protect those seeking accommodation from unscrupulous or bogus agencies outweight the benefit which might come from allowing agencies to adopt new patterns of business by charging fees in advance to those seeking accommodation.

  Sea Mammals
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of recorded fatalities of(a) dolphins and (b) whales and other cetaceans in United Kingdom waters in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Yeo
  The available figures on cetacean deaths come from a DOE-sponsored scheme for co-ordinated reports of stranded cetaceans around Great Britain. The scheme does not extend to Northern Ireland. The figures are:

  Year

  Dolphins

  Whales and other cetaceans

  1988

  44

  63

  1989

  43

  95

  1990

  52

  98

  1991

  78

  116

  1992

  256

  159

  The 1992 figures appear to reflect an unusual series of strandings of common dolphins off the south-west coast of England in spring 1992 and additional information for Scottish waters following the appointment of a co-ordinator for Scottish reports.

  Drinking Water Inspectorate
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements he proposes to make to provide a more independent role for the drinking water inspectorate.

  Mr. Yeo
  We propose to transfer to the chief drinking water inspector certain statutory responsibilities of the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Wales. These include the power to prosecute if water were to be supplied that was unfit for human consumption. We believe that the chief inspector should exercise these responsibilities independently. Legislation will be needed to make the change.

  Overseas Staff and Premises
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost for the current financial year of his Department having(a) premises and (b) personnel overseas; and what were the comparable figures for (a) 12, (b) 24, (c) 36 and (d) 48 months ago.
  651
  Mr. Gummer
  DOE (central) has one member of staff stationed in Germany. Personnel and premises costs are covered by payments received for the work carried out; hence, DOE (central) incurs no net expenditure.

  In addition, the international arm of PSA Services had premises and personnel overseas in the past four years and the costs incurred were as follows:

  (a) Premises£'000

  (b) Personnel£'000

  1993–94

  17

  2,891

  1992–93

  167

  17,648

  1991–92

  183

  14,431

  1990–91

  594

  64,680

  These costs were fully met by receipts from the Ministry of Defence and other customers. PSA International closed on 30 September 1993, and no further costs will be incurred. Residual tasks are being completed by units in PSA Services.

  Orimulsion
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors were taken into account in his decision to grant licences to Ince and Richborough power stations to burn orimulsion; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  The recent authorisation by HMIP is a registration of the existing process under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, rather than approval to a new use of orimulsion. Richborough and Ince power stations are now under integrated pollution control as applied to other large power stations earlier this year.

  At Richborough and Ince, the limits on the release of sulphur dioxide have been set to ensure that emissions will be no higher than if heavy fuel oil was being burnt.

  All power station authorisations include limits on the release of the main pollutants, including sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted to air. These limits for releases to air vary from station to station depending on its environmental circumstances and are based on the consideration of the national plan, which aims progressively to reduce such emissions over a number of years, critical load, and local air quality.

  The authorisations also contain controls on releases to water which accommodate the requirements of the National Rivers Authority.

  Plants are required to use BATNEEC—best available techniques not entailing excessive cost—in controlling releases, and authorisations require operators to provide an improvement plan to bring the station up to new plant standards. Unless PowerGen can demonstrate adequate reasons to the contrary, they will be expected to employ appropriate sulphur abatement techniques at Richborough and Ince by 1 April 1998. This is three years earlier than the normal objective for coal fired stations because of the economics of burning orimulsion.

  HMIP is satisfied that there are no environmental grounds for refusing authorisation for full scale burning of orimulsion.

  Conservative Party Conference
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what costs were incurred by his Department for arrangements associated with the 1933 Conservative party conference in Blackpool.

  Mr. Gummer
  The only identifiable costs incurred by my Department were those in arranging for urgent Government papers to be sent to Ministers attending the Conservative party conference.

  Sulphur
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made to date on reviewing the United Nations Economic Commission on Europe protocol on sulphur; and if he will make it his policy to sign the revised protocol.

  Mr. Yeo
  Negotiations are still in progress.

  Peat
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to support the awarding of a European eco-label to peat-free soil conditioners and growing media based on organic waste materials only.

  Mr. Yeo
  The United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board has been established to administer and promote the European Community ecolabelling scheme nationally and has responsibility for dealing with the operational aspects of the scheme.

  I understand, however, that the UKEB has submitted to the Commission proposals for soil improvers based on the use of composted waste products. Proposals for growing media are still under consideration.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those sites of special scientific interest which are being damaged by existing peat extraction work and those which have planning permission but are not yet being extracted.

  Mr. Yeo
  The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, under the terms of the agreement reached with Fisons peat extraction is continuing over previously cut areas at Thorne, Goole and Crowle moors, Hatfield moor, Wedholm Flow, Westhay moor and Shapwick heath. I am informed that some peat extraction is taking place at Fenns, Whixall and Bettesfield Mosses, Catcott, Chilton and Edington moors, Tealham and Tadham moors, Bolton Fell Moss, Chat Moss and Danes Moss under planning permissions give prior to SSSI notification.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a levy upon peat extraction.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Government have no plans at present to introduce a levy on peat extraction.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement outlining the outcome of his Department's review on the rehabilitation of bogs.
  653
  Mr. Baldry
  The Department's review on the rehabilitation of lowland peat bogs is ongoing and results will be made available next year when the study is complete.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to establish a development agency to secure partnership between central Government and those with a commercial interest in developing and marketing peat-free growing media and soil conditioners.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Government have no plans at the present time to establish such an agency.

  Sewage Sludge
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to change current sludge and land regulations to allow the immediate use of composted sewage sludge in amenity planting.

  Mr. Yeo
  Such use of composted sludge is already permitted. The restrictions in the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 govern the application of sludge only to agricultural land. There is also an exemption from the requirement to hold a waste disposal licence (in Schedule 6, paragraph 13 of the Collection and Disposal of Waste Regulations 1988) for the deposit of sewage sludge, whether composted or not, directly on to land for the purpose of fertilising or beneficially conditioning that land.

  Minerals
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to change the compensation requirements payable for revocation or variation for mineral contents to enable money to be paid in proportion to any losses actually suffered.

  Mr. Baldry
  The existing legislation already provides for compensation to be calculated in relation to loss or damage suffered, although the amount of compensation can be abated in certain circumstances. However, the Government are reviewing the operation of that legislation as part of their wider review of old mineral permissions and I hope to be able to issue a consultation paper outlining reforms later this year.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to offer compensatory payments to any mineral planning authority minded to revoke an extant planning permission on a site of national or international conservation importance.

  Mr. Baldry
  Compensation payable for revoking or modifying minerals permissions on any site is governed by the 1981 Minerals Act. It will be reviewed as part of a wider review of old mineral permissions on which the Department hopes to issue a consultation paper early next year.

  City Challenge
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will announce his plans for the third round of city challenge.

  Mr. Baldry
  We are keeping the position on a third round under review in the light of urban policy developments.

  Horse Fairs
  Mr. Gunnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present status of the royal charter granted between 1123 and 1135 which stipulates that land at Lee Gap, Woodkirk, Morley, will be available for the holding of horse fairs; and which Department or agency of Government has responsibility for the maintenance of rights confirmed by royal charter.

  Mr. Baldry
  Information on royal charters is a matter for the Lord President of the Council, but the maintenance of such rights is a matter for the owner.

  Energy Efficiency
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment has been made by his Department of the possible impact of energy efficiency programme development on levels of fuel bill charges in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Yeo
  I understand that the Energy Saving Trust is aiming to develop schemes which will by 2000 lead to energy savings by consumers equivalent to at least 2.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year. To achieve this the trust will need to offer incentives to investment in energy efficiency measures which may need to build up to about £400 million a year. Achievement of the trust's target will lead to substantial net financial savings to consumers by 2000, even if the gas and electricity regulators were to allow the entire cost of these incentives to be charged in gas and electricity tariffs. Before 2000, there will be times when consumers' savings have not yet fully offset the cost, and the peak level of increase in bills arising from this would be between 1 per cent. and 2 per cent.

  Waste Incineration
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement outlining his Department's response to the recommendations on clinical waste incineration outlined in the report by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Government have welcomed the report by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution on the incineration of waste as a comprehensive and clear analysis of the role of incineration as a waste management option. The Government will be making a full response to the commission's report in due course.

  My Department is currently reviewing the advice given in waste management paper No. 25 on the arisings, treatment and disposal of clinical waste. A consultation paper was issued in August this year and it is hoped that the revised paper will be published in December.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to publish information on the chemical composition of incinerated waste in the United Kingdom

  Mr. Yeo
  Wastes incinerated in the United Kingdom include household waste, sewage sludge and organic chemical wastes. This wide range of incinerated wastes means it is not practicable for my right hon. Friend to publish information on their chemical composition.
  655
  Where such wastes are special wastes, details of their chemical composition will be available to the public from the register of consignment notes held by the waste regulation authority.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to adopt the four-stage waste management procedure outlined in the report on the incineration of waste by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Government's waste policies are based upon a hierarchy of waste management options; the reduction of waste, its re-use wherever possible, recycling and energy recovery, and final disposal.

  The Government have welcomed the report by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution on the incineration of waste as a clear and comprehensive analysis of the role of incineration as a waste management option. A full response by the Government to the report will be made in due course.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to publish and implement the new waste management licensing laws under part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  Mr. Yeo
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 29 April 1993 at column 470, and the reply to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) on 18 May 1993 at columns 101–2. It remains the Government's intention to bring the waste mangement licensing provisons of part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 into force as soon as possible.

  Used Tyres
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to develop a United Kingdom-wide strategy for the safe handling and disposal of used tyres.

  Mr. Yeo
  Used tyres are controlled waste as defined by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and as such they are subject to stringent controls. Section 34 of the Act—the duty of care—places a duty on everyone who has a responsibility for waste to ensure that it is properly managed from production to disposal. Producers of waste must, under the duty of care, satisfy themselves that they are passing on waste to people who will handle it properly and ensure its safe disposal. Facilities which accept used tyres for disposal require a waste disposal licence under the Control of Pollution Act 1974, soon to be superseded by the waste management licensing provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Such licences include conditions designed to prevent pollution of the environment and harm to human health.

  The Government are participating in a European Community priority waste stream group to develop by the

  HMIP-RSA 1960 prosecutions (1989 to date)

  Division/Region

  Name

  Act

  Offence

  Dale of hearing

  Verdict

  Fine

  Cost

  East

  Gcunwick Processing Laboratories, Hertfordshire

  RSA 1960

  Failure to notify the loss of a registered source and failure to keep the source within a suitable store.

  1989–90

  Guilty

  £1,000

  —

  East

  UK Atomic Energy Authority

  RSA 1960

  Incidents relating to the release of radioactive tritium gas to the atmosphere.

  5 June 1991

  Guilty

  £3,000

  £1,395

  656
  end of the year a strategy for reducing the environmental impact of used tyres, and are encouraging a number of initiatives to increase their recycling.

  Environmental Protection
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what monitoring has been undertaken by his Department to date on compliance with the duty of care rules established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  Mr. Yeo
  The duty of care, in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, requires all holders of waste—except private households—to take reasonable steps to prevent the illegal disposal of their waste. Under the duty, waste may be handed only to an authorised person and transfers of waste must be documented. It is in the nature of this duty that compliance is ensured mainly by each holder of waste in turn checking on the person to whom they consign waste, in order themselves to avoid committing an offence.

  The Government therefore do not undertake nor require local authorities to undertake any monitoring or inspection of firms' compliance with the duty. However, there is some early evidence of a decline in fly-tipping incidents since the duty of care came into force on 1 April 1992.

  Sustainable Development
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the Institution of Environmental Health Officers concerning sustainable development; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Yeo
  The Institution of Environmental Health Officers wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment in May on the subject of sustainable development and the environmental health profession, and contributed a specific response in September to my Department's consultation paper on the United Kingdom strategy for sustainable development. These are among more than 600 representations which my Department has received during the Government's consultation process on the strategy, which we are currently preparing. Copies of this document will be laid before the House in the normal way.

  Radioactive Substances
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the companies found guilty of breaking the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1960 in the United Kingdom since 1989; and if he will set out the company name, level of fine and the offence in each case.

  Mr. Yeo
  Details are set out in the table.
  657

  Division/Region

  Name

  Act

  Offence

  Date of hearing

  Verdict

  Fine

  Cost

  North

  BNFL, Springfield

  RSA 1960

  Unauthorised disposal of low level solid radioactive waste

  17 September 1991

  Guilty

  £7,500

  £6,140

  East

  Leicester Royal Infirmary

  RSA 1960

  Failure to dispose of its solid radioactive waste properly.

  20 February 1992

  Guilty

  £6,000

  £5,000

  East

  Esselte Letraset

  RSA 1960

  Failure to comply with condition of registration to prevent unauthorised access to a radioactive source.

  29 June 1992

  Guilty

  £100

  £1,000

  West

  Xidex (UK) Ltd.

  RSA 1960

  Breach of conditions relating to storage of radioactive material.

  7 September 1992

  Guilty

  £6,000

  £5,000

  West

  British Coal

  RSA 1960

  Breach of conditions relating to storage of radioactive material.

  12 October 1992

  Guilty

  £20,000

  £6,410

  West

  West Midlands Regional Health Authority

  RSA 1960

  Breaching 17 offences under Section 13(1)(c) of the RSA.

  18 December 1992

  Guilty

  £51,000

  £8,000

  Anglian

  Nichols Institute Diagnostics

  RSA 1960

  Breach of conditions relating to accumulation of radioactive waste without authorisation.

  6 April 1993

  Guilty

  £10,000

  £2,726

  Southern and HMNII

  UK Atomic Energy Authority

  RSA 1960

  Failure to use BPM to limit the activity of radioactive waste released and to make a record of the means employed.

  16 April 1993

  Guilty

  £5,000

  n/a

  Anglian

  Plessey GEC Semiconductors Ltd.

  RSA 1960

  Holding a radioactive source without a certificate of registration.

  17 May 1993

  Guilty

  £1,000

  £2,261

  Anglian

  Essex University

  RSA 1960

  Exceeding the authorized limit for the incineration of radioactive waste.

  21 May 1993

  Guilty

  £8,000

  £2,651

  (as at) 22 October 1993

  Departmental Offices
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many civil servants are working in the Environment Department offices in Marsham street, London.

  Mr. Gummer
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: The Department currently has 2,218 employees working in Marsham street, of which 1,656 are located at No. 2, with 562 in Romney house and 43 Marsham street.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Overseas Staff and Premises
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the cost for the current financial year of his Department having(a) premises and (b) personnel overseas; and what were the comparable figures for (a) 12, (b) 24, (c) 36 and (d) 48 months ago.

  The Attorney-General
  The cost of personnel for the current financial year is expected to be approximately £20,000, £10,069.71 as at 30 September 1993. Comparable figures for previous financial years were(a) 1992–93 £19,830.49, (b) 1991–92 £18,874.49, (c) 1990–91 nil, and (d) 1989–90 nil. There are and have been no costs for premises.

  Dropped Cases
  Mr. John Morris
  To ask the Attorney-General how many cases for the last available quarter the Crown prosecution service decided to drop; what proportion were dropped on public interest grounds; and how many on evidential grounds.

  The Attorney-General
  During the quarter ending June 1993, the CPS discontinued proceedings in respect of 43,997 defendants in magistrates' courts. This total 658
  comprises all cases discontinued by the 13 CPS areas, but does not include the specialised casework undertaken by the headquarters of the service.

  Reasons for discontinuance are recorded on the files relating to individual defendants, but the information is not collected or collated centrally. The information requested could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  However, the Home Office has undertaken a research study which provides information about the circumstances in which the CPS terminates cases. An interim report shows that about half the cases terminated were discontinued on evidential grounds (54 per cent.), and just under one third were discontinued on public interest grounds (32 per cent.). The remaining cases could not proceed for various reasons: for example, where the defendant had died or could not be traced.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Open Government
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to seek action at the appropriate European Council to remove the current statutory restrictions on information disclosure, to which reference is made at paragraph 6.12 of Cm 2290 on open government.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Restrictions on disclosure of information which arise from EC legislation generally exist for good reasons, principally to protect commercial confidentiality and enable national regulatory authorities to exchange information in confidence. Nevertheless, if the process of preparing legislation to implement the proposed right of access to health and safety information reveals that particular EC-derived restrictions are unduly extensive, we will raise our concerns with our Community partners and the Commission.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will set out details of initiatives and
  659
  meetings his Department has sponsored, or participated in, to promote public discussion of the proposals contained in his White Paper on open government, Cm 2290.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The White Paper itself invited comments on the proposals it contains. My office has received nearly 100 letters from members of the public and representative organisations putting their views on various aspects of the proposals.

  On 21 October I addressed a public seminar on the White Paper organised by the Campaign for Freedom of Information and the First Division Association.

  Public Services
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he intends to announce the results of the survey of public perceptions of public services undertaken for his Department in March.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I wrote to the hon. Member on 24 August 1993.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Forestry Commission
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what area of land in England has been sold by the Forestry Commission; what area she expects to be sold during the next five years; and what area she expects to remain in the ownership of the Commission by 2000.

  Mr. Jack
  The Forestry Commission has sold 33,500 hectares of land in England since the disposals programme was introduced in 1981. As announced in Cm 2214, "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1993–94 to 1995–96 for the Department of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Forestry Commission", table 13.10, the commission plans to sell 15,000 hectares of forest land in Britain in each of the next three years. The proportion of this that will be sold in England will depend on the state of the market, particularly the demand for forest land in different parts of the country. The sales programme for 1996–97 and beyond is under consideration and it is not possible at this stage to estimate precisely what area of land will remain in the commission's ownership by the year 2000.

  Set-aside
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the predicted effect on wild birds of the move to non-rotational set-aside.

  Mr. Jack
  Non-rotational set-aside if properly managed can deliver considerable benefits to wild birds. We have issued specific guidance on how to manage set-aside land (either non-rotational or rotational) for ground-nesting birds and for wildfowl. In addition, one of the specific management options open to farmers is for wild bird cover, which can be used to provide winter feeding grounds for birds as well as cover during the rest of the year. However, it should not be forgotten that rotational set-aside land can also provide valuable feeding grounds for wild birds.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present acreage of land that is now in set aside; and what money is being paid in grants to farmers whose land is now in set aside.
  660
  Mr. Jack
  Around 90,000 hectares—218,000 acres—of land are currently entered into the five-year set-aside scheme. There is no land currently in set-aside under the arable area payments scheme, since the set-aside period for 1992–93 ended earlier this summer. Provisional United Kingdom figures for the amount of land set-aside under the scheme for 1992–93 are 555,632 hectares (1,372,411 acres).

  Payment rates under the five-year set-aside scheme vary, depending on which scheme option the applicant has chosen, how much land has been entered into the scheme and when the applicant joined the scheme. The maximum current payment rate for the permanent fallow option is £222 per hectare (approximately £90 per acre).

  Payment rates under the arable area payments scheme are calculated on the basis of regional yields and therefore vary in the different countries of the United Kingdom. The payment rate for set-aside in England for 1992–93 is expected to be £253 per hectare (approximately £102 per acre).

  Animal Welfare
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many investigations have been conducted by each local authority into potential breaches of the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1992; how many were successful prosecutions; and what was the average level of fine within each local authority area.

  Mr. Soames
  We have no information on how many individual investigations are carried out, but we have records of six successful prosecutions by local authorities under the order resulting in fines totalling £3,540. Local authorities have also issued more than 40 written cautions and regularly carry out random checks on livestock vehicles.

  Fishing Nets
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what proposals are being considered to allow the continued use by EC fishing vessels of drift nets over 2.5 km in length after 31 December; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) what measures currently exist to minimise the by-catch of striped and common dolphin by drift nets and other fishing methods.

  Mr. Jack
  Following international concern about the impact of large-scale pelagic drift netting on marine resources, including dolphins, the EC prohibited, from 1 June 1992, any EC fishing vessel from using drift nets more than 2.5 km long. However, a derogation allows vessels that fished for long-finned albacore tuna with drift nets in the north east Atlantic for at least two years before the regulation came into force, to use drift nets up to 5 km long until 31 December 1993. The headline of these nets must be submerged at a minimum depth of 2m to minimise risk of by-catches of small cetaceans. No United Kingdom vessels qualify for this derogation—which automatically expires unless the Council of Ministers decides to extend it in the light of scientific evidence showing the absence of any ecological risk. No proposal for a continuation of the derogation has been received. As a further measure to
  661
  minimise dolphin by-catches, in October 1992 the EC prohibited any EC fishing vessel from encircling schools or groups of marine mammals with purse seine nets.

  Waste Disposal
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make it her policy to make representations to the representatives of the Russian Federation attending the convention of contracting parties of the sea disposal of wastes, being held in London on 8 to 12 November, on the dumping of Russian liquid radioactive wastes in the sea of Japan on 17 October.

  Mr. Jack
  The consultative meeting of the London Convention 1972 will receive a report on the recent sea disposal of radioactive waste by Russia. This should permit a more informed view of what has taken place and will allow us to determine the terms of any necessary representations on this matter to the Russians. The United Kingdom expressed its concern about the past illegal Russian disposal of radioactive waste in the economic declaration following the G7 summit in Tokyo in July.

  Sellafield
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the experiment in monitoring the sea discharge of radioactive technetium 99 from Sellafield.

  Mr. Jack
  This Ministry's fisheries laboratory at Lowestoft is carrying out measurements of technetium-99 in the Irish sea both as part of regular monitoring work, and in support of continuing research into the mechanisms of the distribution and uptake of this radionuclide within the marine environment. Reports on this work will be published in the normal way.

  Official Hospitality
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much was spent on official hospitality in her Department in the financial year 1992–93.

  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 20 October 1993]: During the 1992–93 financial year, £80,314.80 was spent on official hospitality, including £20,336 for ministerial hospitality.

  The principal items included hospitality:
  to overseas officials and other visitors, including, for example visitors from EC organisations and from other member states; to industry representatives, trade associations and professional bodies;
  in the course of work being undertaken for the Department by individuals or groups of individuals in an advisory capacity; and
  at agricultural and trade shows.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Eastern Europe
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral answer of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the hon. Member for Wallasey (Ms Eagle) of 18 October,Official Report,
  662
  column 16, if he will cite further examples of the popular policies in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to which he referred.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  There has been widespread adoption by Governments of the region of policies designed to promote individual enterprise and the development of a market economy, promote respect for private property, foster civic rights and encourage the development of small businesses and the banking services to support them. These policies enjoy general support. Differences are more concerned with the speed of transition than its general direction.

  Kenya
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what help has been given by Her Majesty's Government to the Kenya Government to help in the rehabilitation of street children in Nairobi, Kenya.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have provided £9,600 as a contribution towards the cost of a health care centre.

  Population Control, China
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) on what occasions his officials have visited the Chinese Family Planning Association, or the Chinese State Family Planning Commission, to observe and inspect their work; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) on what occasions his officials have visited China with the purpose of inspecting the effects of Chinese population control policies at district and factory level; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answers 25 October 1993]: As previously explained, the main source of information about the Chinese Family Planning Association is the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Additional information on Chinese family planning policies is obtained from officials of the British embassy in Peking.

  Population Control
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what sums have been budgeted as the Overseas Development Administration's contribution to the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities for the next three years.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: The level of the United Kingdom contributions we provide to each of these organisations in 1994–95 is under consideration. We provide funds one year at a time.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information has been supplied to him by the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities regarding the detailed budgets and activities funded by the IPPF and UNFPA annual donations in support of the Chinese population control policy; and if such information is confidential;

  (2) when the Overseas Development Administration became a participant at the International Planned Parenthood Federation annual doners meeting;
  663
  (3) on what date the Overseas Development Administration became a member of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answers 25 October 1993]: We have participated regularly in IPPF annual donors meetings since these started in 1971, and have funded UNFPA's global activities since 1968. UNFPA and IPPF provide donors with full details of their budgets and programmes in China.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent meeting between Dr. Halfdan Mahler and officials of his Department following the former's visit to China in February.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: Officials discussed with Dr. Mahler a range of issues, including the question of coercion in China's family planning programmes, the quality of reproductive health care in China, and the role of IPPF and the Chinese Family Planning Association.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has regarding the physical damage to Chinese who attempt to remove intra-uterine devices inserted by law; and what information he has on the levels of fines levied on women who are found to have illegally removed IUDs or illegally avoided their insertion;

  (2) what information the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities provided to his Department regarding regional laws and district-regional governing of Chinese population control.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: We have received a number of reports on family planning legislation in China and are aware that family planning regulations in some provinces stipulate the imposition of fines if IUDs are removed without prior approval.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the factors taken into account by his Department in providing aid to organisations working in the field of population control.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: The Overseas Development Administration aims to promote the ability of women and men to exercise free choice about when to have children, and to improve reproductive health. Funds are provided to a number of non-government and international agencies which share these goals and which are categorically opposed to all forms of coercion in family planning programmes.

  Tibet
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has regarding the activities of the Chinese Family Planning Association in Tibet;

  (2) what response he is making to the Campaign Free Tibet publication, "Children of Despair", a copy of which has been sent to him.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: We maintain a regular dialogue with the International
  664
  Planned Parenthood Federation about the role and activities of the Chinese Family Planning Association. We will continue to raise with the Chinese authorities our concern about reports of human rights abuses in Tibet and elsewhere in China.

  Infanticide, China and Tibet
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement regarding his investigation into the practice of infanticide, in China and Tibet, of babies born without state permission.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: We are aware of allegations of infanticide in China, but have obtained no further information which enables us to relate these allegations to Chinese Government policy.

PRIME MINISTER

  Pensions
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations he has from the north west assembly of the Pensioners Liaison Forum about retirement pensions; what reply he is sending; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I have received a petition. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security will be arranging for a reply to be sent on my behalf.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Eurolunacies
  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will provide a full list of the developments referred to as Eurolunacies in page 3 of his booklet, "The European Community: Facts and Fairytales".

  Mr. Goodlad
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has said in the foreward to the booklet, everyone has their own favourite story about the European Community. We all have our own ideas of things that we think the Community should not be doing. We have set out in the booklet some genuine examples of apparently unnecessary or even ridiculous Community rules, which we describe as "Eurolunacies".

  Sudan
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what the British Government are doing to ensure that human rights are respected in Sudan and that the current violation of human rights is stopped;

  (2) what the British Government are doing to further the peace process in Sudan and to bring the fighting to an end.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 18 October at column 79 to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Small Heath (Mr. Godsiff).

  Nuclear Non-proliferation
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the presentation on regional nuclear non-proliferation in south and east Asia made by the United States Secretary of State to the annual meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Association of South-East Asian Nations and their dialogue partners in Singapore on 26 July for the security of Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The United States Secretary of State devoted part of his statement at the Association of South East Asian Nations post-ministerial conference in July to regional security issues. He stressed the United States commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and said that the United States would continue to work with the nations of the region to maintain a peaceful and secure Asia. The achievement of their objective is in the interests of the whole region, including Hong Kong.

  Embassies
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the savings made to his budget by establishing United Kingdom diplomatic representation to the former Soviet republics in the embassies of Germany instead of establishing completely independent representation.

  Mr. Goodlad
  British diplomatic representation is collocated with the German embassies in Kazakhstan, Almaty, and Belarus, Minsk. The fact of being collocated with another embassy does not circumscribe the independence of our missions.

  In Almaty, the United Kingdom pays £35,000 per annum rent and our share of refurbishment costs will be around £55,000. If we had occupied separate accommodation, rental costs would have been up to £80,000 per annum excluding refurbishment costs, which would have been considerable.

  In Minsk, our collocation in the existing accommodation is on a temporary basis as both embassies require additional space. A FCO estate surveyor is currently in Minsk and will assess the options. Savings cannot yet be estimated.

  In addition to savings on rent, there should be further savings arising from collocation from the sharing of support staff and maintenance costs.

  Subsidiarity
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the EC directives that the Government believe should be(a) amended or (b) repealed as a result of the application of subsidiarity.

  Mr. Goodlad
  It is not our intention to publish such a list. We have, however, fed ideas into the Commission at several stages as a contribution to the report that it is preparing on subsidiarity for the Brussels European Council in December. The Commission report will, of course, be published.

  Iraq
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many missions to Iraq have now been conducted by the United Nations 666
  Special Commission, pursuant to United Nations Security Council resolution; if he will place in the Library copies of the published reports of the UNSCOM visits; and if he will make a statement on progress made during the most recent visit to Iraq.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The United Nations Special Commission on Iraq has completed 62 missions to Iraq. The 63rd is at present in Iraq. Detailed reports of individual UNSCOM missions are not published. However, general accounts of progress on the location and elimination of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are published by the United Nations every six months. The last of these (S/25977) was issued on 27 June. In addition, ad hoc reports are issued throughout the year covering significant developments, for example S/26571 on Ambassador Ekeus' recent trip to Baghdad. The same applied to reports of the IAEA, eg S/26584 on Iraqi obligations in the nuclear field. All these documents have been placed in the Library of the House.

  The present mission to Iraq, UNSCOM 63, is proceeding so far without hindrance. Iraq however has still to satisfy the Security Council that it has provided
  "full, final and complete disclosure of all aspects of its programme to develop weapons of mass destruction"
  as required by United Nations resolutions.

  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken in the light of reports of recent chemical attacks by the Government of Iraq on its own population.

  Mr. Hurd
  We are trying to establish whether reports of the use of chemical weapons in Iraq are true.

  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise in the United Nations Security Council the question of recent chemical attacks by the Government of Iraq on its own population.

  Mr. Hurd
  We are investigating reports that Iraq has used chemical weapons. We would raise in the Security Council any evidence of actions in contravention of Security Council resolution 687.

  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has received in respect of recent chemical attacks by the Government of Iraq on its own population.

  Mr. Hurd
  An Iraqi opposition group, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) has told us; that the Iraqi army has attacked villages in southern Iraq using chemical weapons. We as yet have no firm evidence of such attacks.

EDUCATION

  Ethnic Minorities
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has carried out of the educational implications in London of reductions in section 11 funding.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Provision for the education of pupils from ethnic groups in London is primarily a matter for schools and local education authorities. Section 11
  667
  funding supports existing projects in the 1993–94 financial year at the grant rate of 75 per cent. of salary costs. For the subsequent two years, section 11 grant is available to support existing projects and posts at the reduced rates of 57 per cent. and 50 per cent. respectively. The Department is aware of the valuable contribution which section 11 grant makes to meeting the particular needs of ethnic minority pupils in London and will monitor the effects of the reduction in the rate of support for future years using the services of Ofsted.

  Training
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has had from the chairman of the Manchester training and enterprise council in regard to the future of work-based training for 16 to 19-year-olds; what reply he is sending; what action he is taking; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  The chairman of the Manchester TEC wrote about these matters on 4 October and I have already replied to him. The Government are committed to increasing the participation and attainment of young people in both education and training. That will be achieved through a combination of GCE/GCSE qualifications, national vocational qualifications and general NVQs, including the new vocational A-level. The Government want school, college or work-based routes to be available to young people so that individuals can choose the best route for them.

  Dearing Report
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give details of the representations he has had from teachers' unions regarding the Dearing report; and if he will list the unions which have declared a refusal to carry out the revised tests.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  My right hon. Friend has recently met representatives of the teachers' unions to discuss the Dearing report. While the declared policy of the National Union of Teachers, the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers is that a boycott is still in place, the unions have indicated that they wish to consider their position in the light of the sample tests and other guidance that have been sent to schools by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority this month.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many grant-maintained schools he expects to be operating by April 1994.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have never set targets for numbers of grant-maintained schools, nor do we intend to. Seeking self-governing status is a matter for parents at individual schools, and statutory proposals to my right hon. Friend are decided on their merits.

  There are currently 693 self-governing schools, and an additional 63 have been approved for incorporation by April 1994. A further 221 schools have applications in the pipeline, and a significant number of others may be expected to arrange ballots between now and April.

  Further Education Colleges
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) to what extent the 1993–94 budget of each of the further education colleges with in excess of 4,000 full-time equivalent students, has been adversely affected by changes in local education authority policy on the level of funds devoted to discretionary awards;

  (2) to what extent Sheffield college's 1993–94 gross budget has been affected by Sheffield city council's decision to cease paying the course fees of adult disadvantaged students; and if he will take steps to ensure that the college's 1993–94 gross budget is protected against the consequences of Sheffield city council's decision.

  Mr. Boswell
  The allocation of funding to colleges in the FE sector is a matter for the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC). The council's aim in its allocations for 1993–94 is to secure stability of funding for colleges by comparison with their 1992–93 net budgets and to provide the opportunity for growth in student numbers in line with my right hon. Friend's initiative to encourage 25 per cent. growth in the further education sector over the three year period to 1995–96. The FEFC's allocations to individual colleges will not be affected one way or the other by local education authorities' decisions on discretionary awards.

  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what was the proportion of students in receipt of discretionary local education authority funded fee remission at each of the further education colleges with in excess of 4,000 full-time equivalent students, for the academic year 1992–93; and whether discretionary awards were included in the college's delegated budget or treated as income in each case;

  (2) how he intends to ensure that students enrolled on further education courses are not adversely affected by local education authorities' decisions to reduce their expenditure on discretionary awards.

  Mr. Boswell
  The information requested for 1992–93 is not collected centrally. Tuition fees paid by LEAs as part of discretionary awards would normally have been treated as college income. The provision of discretionary awards is a matter for local education authorities. The early results of a national survey of LEA discretionary awards—supported by the Department, and yet to be completed—show total numbers of awards continuing to rise: both numbers and total spending are above the levels of three years ago. Within that overall picture, some LEAs may be reducing their provision or altering their priorities: that is a matter for them.

  Funding Agency for Schools
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the procedure adopted in the appointment of the head of the Funding Agency for Schools and the timetable for further appointments to the agency.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Education Act 1993 provides for the chairman of the Funding Agency for Schools (FAS) to be appointed by the Secretary of State. My right hon. Friend appointed Sir Christopher Benson, chairman-designate of the FAS on 14 October.

  The post of chief executive was widely advertised nationally and a formal interview panel has met to consider

  669
  short-listed candidates. My right hon. Friend expects to announce an appointment soon. He also expects to announce the full membership of the agency in the new year.

EMPLOYMENT

  Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was(a) the total cost of the office of the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members, (b) the numbers of staff employed, (c) the number of cases investigated during the past 12 months and (d) the cost per case investigated.

  Miss Widdecombe
  In the 12 months to 31 March 1993, the total net cost of all the commissioner's activities was £433,142. She employed five staff, whose costs are included within that figure. The commissioner has no powers to investigate cases, but deals with applications for financial assistance with certain court proceedings. During the 1992–93 year, the commissioner's office dealt with nearly 500 inquiries, and 50 formal applications for her assistance.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

  Parliamentary Works
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission what has been the change in members of staff in the Parliamentary Works Directorate since January.

  Mr. Beith
  Since January there has been no net change in the number of staff in post in the Parliamentary Works Directorate, although a temporary chartered building surveyor has been brought in to cover for a member of staff on long-term sick leave.

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Commission if he will list the works started or completed during the summer recess in(a) the Palace of Westminster and (b) the parliamentary outbuildings together with the cost, or estimated cost of each item ; and if he will list the programme of works for the next six months.

  Mr. Ray Powell
  This is a matter for the Director of Works and I have asked him to write to the hon. Member.

  Asbestos
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement on the discovery and programme of removal of asbestos in the main Library during the summer recess; on how many occasions asbestos contamination has been identified in the Palace of Westminster; and what risks to the health of the people working in the Palace are posed by asbestos.

  Mr. Beith
  Like most older buildings, the Palace of Westminster contains asbestos, which was used for 670
  insulation purposes. Since it became known that exposure to asbestos dust can be dangerous the Parliamentary Works Directorate, and its predecessors, have sought to follow strictly the guidelines and procedures laid down by the Health and Safety Executive. An asbestos register is maintained recording the locations both where asbestos is known to remain—usually because it is inaccessible—and from which it has been removed; only firms on the approved list are used for asbestos removal work and the work is carried out in the approved manner.

  It is the practice, whenever possible, to remove asbestos found when undertaking maintenance and other works services. As a result, the ceiling voids and floor spaces used for cables and other services are now clear of asbestos. The work carried out this summer, in connection with POLIS 3, was in areas which had not been cabled previously to any significant extent. Hence the discovery of a considerable amount of asbestos. The professional assessment is that the asbestos had not been disturbed for some considerable time, but should not therefore have presented any risks in the past or present any for the future. However, a full record has been made of the discoveries and will be kept on the register.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Blyth Valley were receiving invalidity benefit in(a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993; and if he will break down the figures by sex and standard age range.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of invalidity benefit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available, a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from Mr. Michael Bichard to Mr. Ronnie Campbell, dated 26 October 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions raised about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking how many people in Blyth Valley were receiving Invalidity Benefit (IVB) in (a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993; and if he will break down the figures by sex and standard age range.
  The information you require is not available in the format requested. This is because statistics are not maintained by District/Benefit Offices for recipients of IVB broken down by sex and age range.
  However, it is possible to state the number of claimants to IVB at the last working day of April 1991, April 1992 and April 1993 in the Blyth Benefit Office, which deals with Blyth Valley.
  You should note that although I have provided statistics for the Blyth Valley Benefit Office, that office's boundaries do not correspond with county or borough boundaries and the figures provided include some customers living in areas other than Blyth Valley.

  (a) At the last working day of April 1991, there were a total of 4,106 people claiming IVB.

  (b) At the last working day of April 1992, there were a total of 4,194 people claiming IVB.

  (c) At the last working day of April 1993, there were a total of 4,740 people claiming IVB.

  I should explain that these figures include a small minority of customers who have claimed but are not receiving IVB. For

  671
  instance, where customers have an underlying entitlement to IVB which has been extinguished by the payment of a higher overlapping benefit.
  These figures were obtained from a 100 per cent. clerical count of cases in the Benefit office.
  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Mrs. S. E. Green
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the case of Mrs. S. E. Green, national insurance No. TW 44 81 53 C; and for what reasons she was not informed in time of the possibility of making additional contributions.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of retirement pension is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from Mr. Michael Bichard to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 26 October 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions raised about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking for what reasons Mrs. S. E. Green, National Insurance No. TW 44 81 53 C, was not informed in time of the possibility of making additional contributions.
  I can confirm that Mrs. Green did not meet the minimum qualification for Retirement Pension. On 21 May 1951 she exercised here right as a married woman to pay reduced rate National Insurance contributions and she reaffirmed this choice on 22 August 1960 and 12 April 1962. Each time Mrs. Green notified the Department of her choice she would have completed form CF9 and signed the declaration that she had read leaflet NI1 or had had the contents explained to her. This leaflet sets out the position of married women with regard to National Insurance and explains the effect non payment of contributions has on title to benefit.
  I should explain that whilst an election not to pay contributions is in force the woman has no right to pay any Class 3 contributions to improve her pension entitlement.
  It is, of course, open to a woman to cancel her choice at any time, although having done so, she cannot later return to paying reduced rate contributions. An application to cancel a choice must be made in writing in advance of the date the change is to take place.
  As Mrs. Green attained age 60 on 12 September 1987/the last date for which contributions would count for pension purposes in her case was 5 April 1987. She would therefore have had to cancel her contribution choice before that date to allow any subsequent voluntary contributions to count towards her pension. However, the Department's records show that Mrs. Green did not make an enquiry until August 1987 at which time it was too late to change her choice of contribution.
  The Department does all it can to ensure that contributors are aware of their responsibilities and pension rights through its leaflets, public notices, local radio, the press and the freephone advice line. However, the onus is on the individual to make sure that they have the information they need about the scheme to maintain their contribution records, protect their benefit rights and claim benefit at the proper time.
  I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Benefits
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in Blyth Valley are receiving income support, family credit and housing benefit; and what percentage of the Blyth Valley population this represents.
  672
  Mr. Burt
  The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Letter from Mr. Michael Bichard to Mr. Ronnie Campbell, dated 26 October 1993:
  As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many people in Blyth Valley are receiving Income Support, Family Credit and Housing Benefit; and what percentage of the population this represents.
  The information you require is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because statistics relating to Family Credit and Income Support are collected by Benefits Agency Branch Office and for Housing Benefit by Local Authority, whose boundaries do not correspond exactly with those of parliamentary constituencies, as requested. To obtain all the relevant information it would be necessary to examine all records in the offices covering the Blyth Valley constituency.
  However, I can tell you that, as at 31 August 1993, there were 10,309 recipients of income support and, as at 1 October 1993, 1,246 recipients of Family Credit in the area covered by the Benefits Agency's Blyth Branch Office.
  The Blyth Valley constituency is served by Blyth Valley and Wansbeck Local Authorities. For 1992 the average number of Housing Benefits recipients for Blyth Valley was 7,177 and for Wansbeck 6,302. The figures quoted are averages of the quarterly counts of Housing Benefits cases. It is not possible however to state what percentage of the Blyth Valley population this represents as the Office of Population and Censuses have advised that population estimates are not made by parliamentary constituency. The official census of 1991 showed that there were 79,584 people living in the county district of Blyth Valley.
  The information has been obtained from the Family Credit Unit, the Analytical Services Division and the Income Support Management Information Statistics.
  I hope this information is helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.

NATIONAL FINANCE

  Close Companies
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of cost to the Exchequer in terms of national insurance not paid because of the establishment of close companies following the abolition of the investment income surcharge in 1984 and in each year since 1984.

  Mr. Dorrell
  No such estimates have been made.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many close companies paid advance corporation tax in(a) 1985 and (b)

  Mr. Dorrell
  I regret that close companies cannot be identified separately in payment records of advance corporation tax.

  Tax Avoidance
  Mr. Mandelson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken, or proposes to take, to withhold Government business and contracts from financial, legal and accounting bodies involved in advising or creating offshore vehicles for the avoidance of United Kingdom taxation.
  673
  Sir John Cope
  The grounds on which Departments decide to do business with any firm will depend upon the individual circumstances of each appointment.

  In general, Departments seek to ensure that there are no matters which could reduce a firm's effectiveness in performing the services for which it is to be appointed and that there are no matters which make it inappropriate for Government to have business dealings with the firm.

  Jet Engine Fuel
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research has been undertaken by his Department on the treatment of jet engine fuel for taxation purposes within other EC countries; and what information he has on the revenue accrued from this form of taxation.

  Sir John Cope
  The treatment of jet engine fuel for taxation purposes within the EC is set out in relevant EC directives, particularly in article 8(1) of EC directive 92/81/EEC which provides for the exemption from excise duty of such fuel for the purposes of air navigation other than private pleasure flying.

  Under article 8(4), which permits further exemptions or reductions, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and Portugal are authorised to apply air navigation concessions.

  The EC sixth VAT directive restricts VAT relief for the supply of aviation fuel to commercial aircraft operating on international routes.

  No revenue accrues in the United Kingdom from excise duty on jet fuel. We have no information on such revenue accrued in other member states.

  Tobacco and Alcohol Imports
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking with Her Majesty's Customs to monitor vehicles making frequent trips to France to import tobacco products and alcohol for personal use.

  Sir John Cope
  With the advent of the single market, Customs no longer carry out routine fiscal checks at intra-EC borders and do not routinely monitor the movement of private vehicles between the United Kingdom and France. Customs are, however, taking measures to combat the importation of goods ostensibly for personal consumption but intended for sale without payment of United Kingdom duty. They are gathering intelligence information which can be rapidly disseminated to support their efforts to seek out and prosecute those who sell excisable goods here without paying United Kingdom duty.

  Personal Taxation
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 27 May,Official Report, column 666, what is his estimate for the number of people taxed on (a) PAYE, (b) schedule D and (c) schedule E basis and of the tax yield for each category in 1993–94.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Available estimates for 1993–94 are as follows:674

  Source of income

  Number of individual taxpayers1 (million)

  Tax yield2 (£ billion)

  PAYE and other Schedule E Schedule D

  23.1

  51.4

  Schedule D3

  3.4

  9.1

  1 A taxpayer with both a Schedule E and Schedule D source of income is included in both rows of the table.

  2 The tax yield represents the tax liability on each type of income where that income is regarded as the top slice of a person's income.

  3 Excluding interest taxed at source.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what would be the effect on the number of higher rate taxpayers in the financial year 1994–95 of(a) indexation, (b) freezing the main personal allowances, (c) freezing personal allowances and the higher rate threshold, (d) raising personal allowances by 5 per cent. more than indexation and (e) raising personal allowances by 10 per cent. more than indexation, giving figures separately for each main allowance and a total for main allowances;

  (2) what would be the effect on the number of taxpayers in the financial year 1994–95 of (a) indexation of the main personal allowances, (b) freezing the main personal allowances, (c) increasing allowances by 5 per cent. more than indexation and (d) increasing allowances by 10 per cent. more than indexation, giving figures separately for each main personal allowance and a total for all main allowances.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Latest estimates for 1994–95 are shown in the table.

  Millions

  Taxpayers

  Number

  Of which liable at higher rate

  (i)

  Indexation

  25·0

  2·3

  (ii)

  Freezing the personal allowance

  25·2

  2·3

  (iii)

  Freezing the married couple's allowance1

  25·1

  2·3

  (iv)

  Freezing all main allowances

  25·2

  2·3

  (v)

  Freezing all main allowances and the basic rate limit

  25·2

  2·4

  (vi)

  Raising the personal allowance by 5 per cent· more than indexation

  24·6

  2·2

  (vii)

  Raising the married couple's allowance by 5 per cent· more than indexation

  25·0

  2·3

  (viii)

  Raising all allowances by 5 per cent· more than indexation

  24·5

  2·2

  (ix)

  Raising the personal allowance by 10 per cent· more than indexation

  24·2

  2·2

  (x)

  Raising the married couple's allowance by 10 per cent· more than indexation

  24·9

  2·3

  (xi)

  Raising all allowances by 10 per cent· more than indexation

  24·1

  2·2

  1 References to the married couple's allowance include the effect of changing the additional personal allowance and the widow's bereavement allowance.

  Self-employment
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for 1992–93 the number of self-employed who will pay no income tax, giving figures separately for those with gross incomes(a) under £5,000 a year, (b) between £5,000 and £10,000 a year, (c) between £10,000 and £15,000 a year, (d) between £15,000 and £20,000 a year and (e) over £20,000 a year.

  Mr. Dorrell
  There are about 870,000 self employed with no income tax liability in 1992–93. Of these, 720,000 have gross income of under £5,000, 150,000 have gross income between £5,000 and £10,000 and 3,000 have gross income of over £10,000.

  1993–94 Taxpayers

  Thousands

  male

  Female

  Single

  Married

  Single

  Married

  Aged under 65

  Aged under 65 and over

  Aged under 65

  Aged under 65 and over

  Aged under 65

  Aged under 65 and over

  Aged under 65

  Aged under 65 and over

  All taxpayers

  Lower rate taxpayers

  780

  200

  480

  360

  870

  520

  1,400

  260

  4,900

  Basic rate taxpayers

  4,200

  260

  6,300

  560

  2,800

  440

  3,200

  230

  18,000

  Higher rate taxpayers

  330

  30

  1,100

  70

  100

  30

  140

  10

  1,800

  All taxpayers

  5,300

  490

  7,900

  990

  3,800

  980

  4,800

  490

  24,800

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 2 April,Official Report, column 477, what is his most recent estimate of the number of taxpayers and non-taxpayers, including a breakdown for (a) lone parent families and (b) (i) working and (ii) non-working people.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The latest estimates of the numbers of taxpayers and non-taxpayers for 1993–94 are as follows:

  Taxpayers (millions)

  Non-taxpayers (millions)

  Working1

  21·6

  3·9

  Non-working

  3·2

  17·4

  Total

  24·8

  21·3

  Of which lone parents

  0·6

  0·7

  1 Employees and self-employed.

  Actors
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to restore schedule D status for actors working in theatres.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Employment status for tax purposes of all individuals, including actors, is determined by general law and the facts of their individual circumstances. We have no plans to change this.

  Residual Holdings and Debt
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what new expenditure has been incurred recently in order to finance the disposal of residual holdings and debt; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  New expenditure has been incurred to cover:
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  The estimates are based on the projection of the latest annual survey of personal incomes and are provisional. The number with gross income above £10,000 is too small to allow any further breakdown.

  Taxpayers
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) pursuant to his answers of 2 April,Official Report, column 477, what is his most recent estimate of the number of taxpayers paying tax at the 20 per cent. rate;

  (2) pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report, column 475, what is his most recent estimate of the number of taxpayers.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Latest estimates for 1993–94 based on projection from the 1991–92 survey of personal incomes are given in the table. All taxpayers pay some tax at the 20 per cent. rate.

  (i) the costs of advisers, estimated at £5,000, in connection with the placing of Her Majesty's Treasury's Rights Issue Shares in the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company plc (MDHC);

  (ii) minor residual expenditure, estimated at £14,000, in connection with the Treasury's 1992 sale of privatised companies' debt.

  Parliamentary approval of this new expenditure will be sought in a winter supplementary estimate for Her Majesty's Treasury's sale of shares in British Telecommunications plc vote (class XVII, vote 17).

  Pending that approval, repayable advances from the Contingencies Fund were sought to meet urgent expenditure estimated at £19,000.

  Child Benefit
  Sir Ralph Howell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the net saving which would be made by the abolition of child benefit after taking account of the extent to which those families in real need would have their income support increased by the same amount.

  Mr. Burt
  I have been asked to reply.

  It is estimated that the saving arising from the abolition of child benefit net of income support, housing and council tax benefit offsets would be £4.25 billion in 1993–94.

  VAT
  Mr. Cormack
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the yield from VAT on domestic fuel at(a) 17½ per cent., (b) 8 per cent. and (c) 5 per cent.

  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 26 October 1993]: The Financial Statement and Budget Report gives an estimate of £930 million for the yield of 8 per cent. VAT on domestic fuel and power applied in 1994–95. The first full year of revenue at 17½ per cent. is 1996–97 when the

  677
  revenue is estimated to be £2,850 million. Table 9 of the publication, "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs", implies that the revenue from 5 per cent. VAT on domestic fuel and power in 1993–94 would be £700 million though this estimate makes no allowance for behavioural changes.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely revenue income from imposition of VAT on books, newspapers and other publications; what calculation he has made of the possible effect upon employment in the printing, publishing and allied industries as a result of imposition of VAT on those items; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of such job losses in terms of benefits payable, loss of pay-as-you-earn and national insurance contributions and Government contributions to redundancy payments.

  Sir John Cope
  [holding answer 26 October 1993]: Table 9 of the Treasury's "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs" provides an estimate of £1,100 million as the cost of zero-rating books, newspapers and magazines in 1993–94. This estimate makes no allowance for the likely behavioural response to applying the standard rate of VAT to these items. The consquences for employment and second order effects are difficult to estimate with accuracy.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Moated Sites
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action his Department is currently taking to record and preserve moated sites of archaeological interest; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  There are no confirmed moated sites in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list(a) the surveys and (b) excavations that are currently being carried out of moated sites of archaeological interest.

  Mr. Atkins
  No surveys or excavations of moated sites are in progress.

  Sour Gas
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the power stations which have been authorised to use sour gas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  No power station in Northern Ireland has been authorised to use sour gas.

  Royal Ulster Constabulary
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 14 July,Official Report, column 579, when he hopes to make a report in respect of the result of the review being carried out by the Royal Ulster Constabulary into its guidelines concerning informants and agents; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  Consideration of the relevant issues is still continuing.

  Nurses
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what surveys he has carried out to determine the number of nurses working in Northern Ireland who were born in the Irish Republic; and what percentage this represents of the total.

  Mr. Ancram
  No such surveys have been carried out.

  Potatoes
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is now his estimate of the tonnage of(a) seed potatoes of each variety and (b) ware potatoes by market description, grown in Northern Ireland in 1992; what tonnages of each were sold for the home and foreign seed and for human consumption by category; and what are the differences between the present estimates and 1992's forecasts made at various dates by his Department.

  Mr. Ancram
  The final estimate of marketable potatoes produced in Northern Ireland in 1992 is 282,000 tonnes. As regards the production of seed potatoes by variety I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given him on 2 April at column 447. The estimated use of ware potatoes produced in Northern Ireland in 1992 is given in the following table:

  Tonnes ('000)

  Human consumption

  111

  Internal processing

  24

  Sales outside Northern Ireland

  31

  Used for planting

  15

  Note: The information cannot be disaggregated further as requested.

  Utilisation of the 1992 crop of seed potatoes is as follows:

  Tonnes ('000)

  Certified seed for planting in Northern Ireland

  20

  Certified seed to Great Britain

  8

  Certified seed sold outside the United Kingdom

  20

  Disaggregation by variety of sales (in tonnes) to Great Britain and outside the United Kingdom is provided in the following table:

  Variety

  Great Britain

  Outside the United Kingdom

  Arran Banner

  —

  3,514

  Desiree

  380

  7,318

  Home Guard

  553

  786

  Kerr's Pink

  —

  1,508

  King Edward

  152

  1,942

  Pentland Dell

  1,363

  681

  Record

  33

  447

  Others, including protected varieties

  5,493

  3,396

  TOTAL

  7,974

  19,592

  The final estimates differ from earlier estimates in two respects-namely the total marketable yield and the area planted were adjusted downwards. The initial estimate of total marketable yield of 343,000 tonnes was reduced to 304,000 tonnes to take account of estimated harvesting

  679
  losses. The total area was reduced from 11,500 to 10,800 hectares as a result of revised census methodology. The latter change resulted in the estimated total marketable yield being further reduced to 282,000 tonnes.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many farmers received sums under the potato aid scheme for 1992's crop; what tonnage was(a) accepted and (b) had aid paid on them under that scheme; and what was the total sum expended.

  Mr. Ancram
  Payments were made to 523 growers; 41,793 tonnes were provisionally accepted under the scheme and 39,476 tonnes were purchased. Expenditure totalled £1,660,968.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the tonnage of(a) seed and (b) ware potatoes grown in Northern Ireland in the current year.

  Mr. Ancram
  This information will not be available until mid-December.

  Overseas Students
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of students from Northern Ireland who are presently attending courses of third-level education in Great Britain.

  Mr. Ancram
  The figure is 11,500.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of students from Northern Ireland who are presently attending courses of third-level education in each EC country; and what was the cost of such students to his Department and to education and library boards in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Ancram
  Information on the numbers of Northern Ireland students attending courses of third level education in each EC country is available only in respect of those students who are in receipt of publicly funded awards. The following tables show the number of such students and an estimate of associated costs.

  Number of students

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Belgium (postgraduate)

  1

  1

  1

  Italy (postgraduate)

  1

  1

  1

  Republic of Ireland (postgraduate)

  10

  13

  15

  Republic of Ireland (undergraduate)

  424

  686

  887

  Costs (£'000)

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Department of Education (postgraduate)

  77

  100

  119

  Education and Library Boards (undergraduate)

  1,630

  2,714

  3,541

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of persons from each EC country presently employed in 680
  Northern Ireland; and what statistics as to such numbers are collected by his Department or are available from the records of the Fair Employment Agency.

  Mr. Atkins
  Comprehensive information on the number of persons from each EC country presently employed in Northern Ireland is not available. The latest available information is that obtained from the Northern Ireland 1991 census of population. This relates to the country of birth of those in employment usually resident in Northern Ireland on 21 April 1991 and is as follows:

  Country of birth

  1 Persons in employment

  Belgium

  34

  Denmark

  21

  France

  161

  Germany

  864

  Greece

  12

  Italy

  76

  Luxembourg

  2

  Netherlands

  96

  Portugal

  23

  Republic of Ireland

  12,007

  Spain

  42

  1 These figures include persons on government training and employment schemes.

  Catering College, Portrush
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students from(a) Northern Ireland, (b) Great Britain and (c) each other EC country are presently attending the hotel and catering college at Portrush.

  Mr. Ancram
  The information is as follows:

  Country of domicile

  Number enrolled

  Northern Ireland

  276

  Great Britain

  3

  Republic of Ireland

  146

  Other EC countries

  0

  Education
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will give the names of those who advise the Department of Education about the national curriculum and associated matters and in each case the body which they represent;

  (2) how many people drawn from the primary school sector of education are on the Department's advisory team.

  Mr. Ancram
  The Northern Ireland Curriculum Council, whose function is to advise the Department on all matters connected with the Northern Ireland curriculum, consists of a chairman and 17 members. Their names, and the bodies and companies to which they belong (if any) are listed below. The members do not serve in a representative capacity—rather, all are selected for their individual knowledge and experience in the educational field. Members marked with an asterisk were chosen for their expertise in the primary school sector.

  Professor D. McCloy (Chairman)
  Director, Belfast Institute. Further and Higher Education
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  Mr. D. F. Adair
  Head of Group Personnel, Ulster Bank Ltd.

  Mr. A. Bremner
  Controller of Programming, Ulster Television plc

  Mrs. M. Breslin
  Partner, Total Engineering, Londonderry

  Mr. S. Costello
  Manager, Marks and Spencer plc, Sprucefield

  Mrs. D. A. Frazer
  Vice-Principal, Fermanagh College of Education, Enniskillen

  Professor J. S. Fulton
  Director, School of Education, Queen's University, Belfast

  Mr. E. Gamble
  Principal, Beechlawn Special School, Hillsborough

  Sr. Genevieve O'Farrell
  Retired Principal, St. Louise's Comprehensive College, Belfast

  Miss A. Graham
  Principal, Cambridge House Girls', Ballymena

  Mr. D. E. McElroy*
  Governor Training Officer, Southern Education and Library Board

  Mr. N. McLaughlin*
  Principal, St. Anne's Primary School, Londonderry

  Mrs. F. McMahon
  Principal, St. Mary's High School, Newry

  Mr. T. Nolan
  Chief Executive, South-Eastern Education and Library Board

  Dr. R. J. Rodgers
  Retired Principal, Stranmillis College, Belfast

  Mrs. J. E. Ruddock
  Managing Director, Education Company Ltd., Belfast

  Mr. J. Thompson
  Governor Training Officer, Western Education and Library Board

  Mr. J. Young
  Principal, Sullivan Upper Grammar School, Holywood.

  Inspectors
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many inspectors are cunently employed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Northern Ireland and how many were employed five years ago.

  Mr. Ancram
  There were 682 inspectors employed in 1988 and 490 in 1993. This includes a small number of officers who would not be regarded as wholly carrying out inspection duties.

  Terrorist Suspects
  Mr. Jim Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the statutory codes of practice in respect of terrorist suspects to come into operation.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  I have today laid before Parliament the draft codes of practice for the detention, treatment, questioning and identification of terrorist 682
  suspects in Northern Ireland, as I am required to do by section 61(3) of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991.1 intend to make an order which will bring the codes into opertion from midnight on 31 December 1993. This short delay is to enable the RUC to ensure that all officers are fully conversant with the new codes of practice before they come into operation.

  The codes, which will replace part IV of the non-statutory "Guides to the Emergency Powers", have been based heavily on the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (PACE) codes of practice which apply to non-terrorist suspects. Adjustments have been made where necessary to reflect the relevant emergency legislation.

  The purpose of the codes is to enhance still further the already extensive safeguards available to those detained under the terrorism provisions and to provide clear and workable guidelines for the police.

SCOTLAND

  Local Government
  Mr. McAvoy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has had regarding the proposed local government boundaries published in his White Paper.

  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received following publication of proposals for changes in local government boundaries.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many letters he has received from the general public about his proposals for the reform of local government.

  Mr. Lang
  Since the publication of the White Paper, "Shaping the Future—The New Councils" in July, about 1,300 individual letters commenting on the reorganisation proposals have been received. In addition, about 25,000 post cards, pro forma letters and petition signatures have been submitted.

  14. Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to improve the quality of local government in Scotland.

  Mr. Lang
  The creation of single-tier local government, changes to the internal management arrangements of authorities, the extension of compulsory competitive tendering and a range of other Government intiatives are all expected to improve the quality of local government in Scotland.

  Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the proposed new Edinburgh royal infirmary.

  Mr. Stewart
  I understand that Lothian health board has almost completed consideration of its strategy for the provision of acute services and will submit its proposals to public consultation shortly. My right hon. Friend looks forward to seeing the proposals but cannot comment on them in detail until public consultation is complete and the board's proposals are formally submitted to him for approval.

  Scottish Enterprise
  Mr. Ernie Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met Scottish Enterprise to discuss its training budget.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend and I met regularly with the chairman and chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, where training budgets is one of a number of issues discussed.

  "A Partnership for Good"
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to assess public opinion on the White Paper, "Scotland in the Union: A Partnership for Good"; and what action he intends to take.

  Mr. Lang
  Responses to the White Paper, "Scotland in the Union: A Partnership for Good" have been generally very favourable. Many of the proposals in the White Paper have already been implemented and most will come into operation within the next few months.

  Super-quarries
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the environmental impact of super-quarries being sited in the highlands and islands.

  Sir Hector Monro
  Under the EC directive on the environment it is likely that all super-quarry proposals will require a formal environmental assessment. This must be carried out and considered by the planning authority before it reaches a view on any application.

  Western General Hospital
  Mr. Chisholm
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the public response to the consultation exercise on the proposal that the Western general hospital become a trust.

  Mr. Stewart
  The majority of individuals and organisations who responded to the public consultation on the trust proposals for Lothian did so on a general rather than hospital specific basis. These responses, totalling 121, were carefully considered by my right hon. Friend before reaching his decisions on the applications.

  Greenwich Mean Time
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the total extra numbers of children and adults who have been injured or killed as a consequence of the use of Greenwich mean time for part of the year.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  It is estimated that total road casualties in Scotland might be reduced by just over 1 per cent. by the adoption of central European time, though the benefits would not be evenly spread with a possible increase in fatal and serious casualties in the northern half of the country.

  Forestry
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to make an announcement about the future management of forestry woodlands.
  684
  Sir Hector Monro
  Any announcement about the future management of Forestry Commission woodland would follow the conclusion of the work of the forestry review group, which is expected early next year. After receiving the group's advice, Ministers will need some time to consider it and decide what action, if any, should be taken.

  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to conclude his inquiry into the Forestry Commission.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The forestry review group is still continuing its work, and expects to present its advice in the new year. Thereafter, Ministers will need some time to consider the advice, and decide what action, if any, should be taken.

  New Towns
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet the new towns development corporation boards to discuss the future of new towns.

  Mr. Stewart
  In the period between 1 June and 14 September this year I met with each corporation board. My right hon. Friend and I are due to meet the chairmen and senior officials of the five new town development corporations before the end of the year.

  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made with the wind-up of the Scottish new town development corporations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  Since the orders providing for their wind-up were made on 24 February 1992, East Kilbride and Glenrothes development corporations have made significant progress in winding-up their affairs. Full details of progress to 31 March 1993 are contained in reports on wind-up which were published by the corporations in July along with their annual reports for that year. Significant further progress has been made since 1 April and will be published in the reports to 31 March 1994.

  The three other new towns are also progressing successfully towards maturity, as a direct result of the major investments by the public and private sectors in commercial and industrial development, infrastructure and housing; and investment will continue.

  Scottish Enterprise and the local enterprise companies have matured rapidly since their establishment in 1991, and are now ready to undertake the leading economic development role for all areas within their boundaries, including the New Towns.

  Indeed, the process of transferring from New Towns to Scottish Enterprise strategic sites and premises for inward investment is already under way. Development corporations, in consultation with Locate in Scotland and the local enterprise companies, are taking active steps to ensure the continuity of provision of inward investment services and the retention, in either the public or private sector, of the expertise of new towns personnel in these areas.

  In order to maintain continuity and an orderly transition of responsibility, as well as maintaining Scotland's ability to compete for inward investment, Locate in Scotland will assume, with effect from 1 April 1994, overall responsibility for the marketing, publicity and promotion

  685
  of the new town areas as locations for inward investment. SEN and LIS will be responsible for ensuring the continuing provision of a supply of suitable property for inward investors in the new town areas. The Government's objective remains that the private sector should play a much more active part than hitherto in the process of property development for industrial and commercial purposes, and SEN with LIS will therefore liaise closely with the private sector to ensure a balanced, complementary and rational approach to industrial property provision across Scotland. In the interim, SEN will adopt the practice of the new towns to undertake a limited and controlled programme of building modern, high quality advance factory premises in order to meet the needs of inward investors.

  I shall shortly be bringing forward a Bill to create a new structure for local government in Scotland from 1 April 1996. I believe it is desirable that the new unitary authorities should have, so far as possible, the full range of their responsibilities from the outset of their existence. The responsibilities which Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine currently hold for planning and owning and maintaining certain community and environmental assets will be transferred, along with appropriate resources, to the new unitary authorities from 1 April 1996.

  The corporations are actively pursuing the Government's policy of housing tenure diversification and this will continue until wind-up. I remain committed to giving tenants the right to choose their successor landlord and ballots will take place in each of the towns during 1996 with transfers to the new landlords completed by 31 December 1996.

  It is now quite clear that preparations for wind-up in the new towns are well advanced—much more so than could have been envisaged four years ago, even on the most ambitious timetable. As a result, I am today initiating formal consultation on my proposal that the wind-up periods for Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine should be 1 January 1994 to 31 December 1966. The proposed wind-up timetable for Cumbernauld is as set out in the 1989 White Paper, "The Scottish New Towns—The Way Ahead' (CM 711); while my proposal accelerates by two and three years respectively the provisional timetable for Livingston and Irvine set out in the White Paper. A further period of three months to March 1997 is envisaged for final dissolution of the three corporations as legal entities.

  As well as making good sense in practical terms, the accelerated timetable will preclude the need to spend significant additional resources on maintaining the original wind-up timetable. Agreed plans for infrastructure and other developments will be resourced. The rationalisation of inward investment-related activities, outlined above, also allows some scope for efficiency savings.

  The new town development corporations have an impressive track record achieved by the commitment of their corporation boards, and the skill, energy and dedication of their staff. I believe that by their wind-up dates all of the corporations will have provided successful and mature towns, capable of further growth and development within the broader framework for local government and economic development. I look to the corporations and their staff to adapt their customary commitment and skills to ensure that the wind-up process is completed smoothly and on time.
  686
  In order to ensure the widest possible understanding of what the wind-up will mean in practical terms, a leaflet will be distributed to every household and business in each of the new towns.

  Sunday Trading
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the Sunday trading law.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Since November 1992 my right hon. Friend has received nine representations, including two letters from one individual, supporting the recent Shops (Amendment) Bill; one letter against arid one seeking assurance that the Government's Sunday trading proposals for England and Wales will not affect Scotland.

  Environmental Objectives
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his environmental objectives for Scotland during the coming year.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The environmental objectives for the Scottish Office are set out in the Scottish Office publication, "Serving Scotland's Needs", published in February 1993. They cover action to protect and enhance the environment of Scotland for current and future generations.

  Drug Education
  Mr. Rathbone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he plans to improve drug education in Scottish schools following the latest report on this subject from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  We are studying the Council's report and the Government will be responding to it in due course. Meanwhile we have arranged for a copy of the report to be sent to every school in Scotland.

  The drugs task force, established under the chairmanship of my noble and learned Friend the Minister of State will also be reviewing drug prevention and education activities in Scotland. As part of that review, the task force will be examining the current arrangements for drug education in schools and considering what further practical measures might be taken.

  Home Insulation Grants
  Mr. Robert Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his policy on home insulation grants.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The home energy efficiency scheme provides grants for loft, tank and pipe insulation, draughtproofing and energy advice to low income households in receipt of certain social security benefits. Housing authorities have powers to give improvement and repairs grants to householders, which can include works for energy efficiency measures. Scottish Homes can also provide grants in certain designated areas.

  Open Government
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made to date under the terms of the open government initiative; and if he will make a statement.
  687
  Mr. Lang
  My Department is taking steps to implement the proposals set out in the Government's recent White Paper, "Open Government" (Cm 2290). In particular, consideration is being given to the arrangements which will be needed to comply with the principles of the code of practice on access to Government information which comes into effect on 4 April 1994.

  Meanwhile, thought is being given to the possible early release of blocks of records less than 30 years old; and a review of previously withheld material over 30 years old is being undertaken.

  Regional Development Fund
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total value of grants that Scotland has received from the European regional development fund since its inception.

  Mr. Stewart
  Since the inception of the European regional development fund in 1975, Scotland has benefited from awards totalling almost £1.2 billion.

  A77
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will report progress on upgrading the A77 between Kilmarnock and the M8.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Office and Strathclyde regional council are examining whether the planned new section of motorway from the existing link to the M8 in Glasgow to the south of Newton Mearns can be undertaken as a single joint contract. If this proves feasible and funds are available, tenders for this scheme could then be sought.

  South of this, preparation work is underway for extending the motorway between Newton Means and Kilmarnock and it is hoped that draft statutory procedures will be published early next year.

  House Condition Survey
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities relating to the recent publication of the Scottish house condition survey.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  COSLA was represented on the survey steering group.

  Services Provision
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss the provision of services.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend and I will be meeting representatives of COSLA on Friday of this week as part of the normal consultation on local government finance matters.

  Economy, Lanarkshire
  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received on the Lanarkshire economy.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend has received no recent representations regarding the Lanarkshire economy.

  Trust Hospitals
  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the current situation as regards NHS trust hospitals in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  Seventeen NHS trusts are currently operational in Scotland. Most of these have been in existence for only six months but evidence is already emerging to confirm the experience of Aberdeen Royal hospitals and South Ayrshire trusts who in their first year treated more patients then ever before, improved facilities, and provided services more suited to patient needs.

  European Transport Links
  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the Government's response to the main conclusions and recommendations contained in the Scottish Affairs Committee's first report of 1992–93, on the future of Scotland's transport links with Europe.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. Friend has today published "The Future of Scotland's Transport Links with Europe: Government Response" (Cm 2335). The Government have welcomed the consideration given by the Committee to this important subject. The Government's response reflects the very careful attention which has been paid to the Committee's recommendations. We have assured the Committee that its views will be taken fully into account by the Government in addressing future transport priorities.

  Workplace Nurseries
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many workplace nursery facilities have been financially assisted from Government resources; and if he will list where each is located.

  Mr. Stewart
  The provision of welfare benefits at the workplace is a matter for the employer concerned. However, in the 1990 Budget we introduced tax relief under the normal business tax rules for an employer's day-to-day expenditure on child care provision for employees' children. This was a carefully targeted measure, aimed at encouraging employers to increase the supply of good quality nursery care and to help them meet expected changes in workforce patterns over the 1990s.

  In Glasgow, Scottish Enterprise has provided £440,000 for the Glasgow development agency to establish The Partnership Nurseries Company which aims to provide additional nursery places in and around the city centre. Sixty-four such places will be provided initially when the company starts operations.

  Private Rented Accommodation
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of(a) young single people, (b) other single people, (c) couples and (d) couples with children who are looking for privately rented accommodation.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not available.

  NHS Trusts
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will place in the Library copies of the comments received on each application for NHS trust status;

  (2) if he will list all those who have responded to each trust application, and give the number of responses in favour and against in each case.

  Mr. Stewart
  Copies of all comments received in response to the public consultations on the third wave NHS trust applications have been retained by the relevant health board and are available for inspection. In due course copies will also be available for inspection in the library of the Scottish Office at New St. Andrew's house, Edinburgh. Three hundred and eighty responses were made to the trust applications covered by the announcement by my noble and learned Friend the Minister of State on 15 October. The numbers expressing explicit support or opposition or offering comments are shown in the table.

  Third wave NHS trust applicants (batch 1)—Public consultation responses

  Trust applicant

  For

  Agains

  Comments

  Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Services

  9

  7

  8

  Dundee Healthcare

  6

  7

  10

  East and Midlothian

  117

  147

  157

  Edinburgh Child Health

  Edinburgh Priority

  Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

  Western General

  Falkirk Royal Infirmary

  8

  5

  41

  Forth Valley Healthcare

  6

  5

  18

  Fife Healthcare

  2

  6

  9

  Greater Glasgow Community and Mental Health

  6

  9

  29

  Hairmyres and Stonehouse

  3

  10

  7

  Law

  3

  7

  9

  Perth and Kinross

  7

  7

  9

  1 Responses cover all five Lothian applications

  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he received(a) supporting and (b) opposing the applications for the establishment of an NHS trust for Mid and East Lothian.

  Mr. Stewart
  The public consultation covering the five Lothian trust applications attracted 121 responses. Most were general rather than hospital specific but 54 referred to the East and Mid Lothian application. Ten expressed explicit support, 26 opposition and 18 offered comments.

  Farming
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the reason for, and consequences of, the discrepancy between the arable base area declared by his Department to the European Commission, and the actual area revealed through the integrated administration and control system on non-less favoured area farms in Scotland;

  (2) what representations he has made to the European Commission about the impact of penalties to be imposed on arable farming businesses in the non-less favoured area of Scotland as a consequence of the failure of his
  690
  Department to give accurate information about arable areas before 1993; and if he will make a statement on the outcome of such representations.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The original base areas provided on 16 September 1992 for the arable area payments scheme (AAPS) introduced this year were based on agricultural census data. In the light of information subsequently available from claims submitted under the AAPS as part of the integrated administration and control system it became apparent that these data understated the amount of land on which non-less favoured area rates of subsidy were payable.

  As soon as it became apparent that an adjustment to the base area figures originally submitted to the Commission was necessary, my right hon. Friend personally pressed the Commission to agree to a technical adjustment of the Scottish base areas. The Commission has now agreed to the necessary technical adjustment of the less favoured area and the non-less favoured area elements within Scotland's total base area; this adjustment has not altered the total base area originally provided. My right hon. Friend and I are most grateful to the Commission for agreeing to that readjustment.

  There remains an overshoot in the non-LFA area which reflects an increase in cropping in that area. The EC regulations governing the arable area payments scheme stipulate that the effect of this overshoot is to reduce arable aid payments within the non-LFA area proportionately in the current year and to increase the set-aside requirement in the coming year by the percentage by which the regional base has been exceeded, that increase being uncompensated.

  My right hon. Friend and I fully recognise that any penalty will be unwelcome to arable farmers. We cannot however vary the total Scottish base area, which reflects data already formally submitted to the Commission; nor can we adjust the area base control regime in mid-stream. The scheme is designed to penalise areas in excess of base areas on which aid is claimed; and we cannot simply ignore the problem of over-cropping and the resultant penalty and additional one-year set-aside requirement.

  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the basis for the non-less favoured area arable acreage declared by his Department to the European Commission; what was the difference between that figure and the actual figure in 1993; and what assessment he has made of his Department's analysis of figures provided by farmers in agricultural returns before 1993.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The non-less favoured area arable areas declared to the Commission for the purposes of the arable area payments scheme were based on those declared in the annual agricultural census averaged over the three years 1989 to 1991, adjusted to take account of the difference between the statistical basis of the census and the subsidy basis of the arable area payments scheme. The difference between the area claimed in 1993 and the area declared is 23,247 hectares. The arable area payments scheme regulations specify the basis on which declared areas had to be determined.

  Lead Pipes
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects lead piping to have been removed from all domestic premises.
  691
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Private owners must decide for themselves if and when to replace lead plumbing within their homes. Grant assistance, at a preferential rate, may be available from the local authorities for such work. Availability is dependent on the priority the local authorities attach and the resources available to them and is also subject to the applicant's means. Local authorities determine their own priorities for their stock and the rate of removal depends on the priority they attach and the resources available to them.

  Accommodation Agencies
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make it his policy to license accommodation agencies.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No.

  Balerno Corridor
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had from people in West Lothian, Midlothian, Prestonpans and Musselburgh about the Balerno corridor.

  Mr. Stewart
  We have received about 60 individual letters and around 400 postcards and petition signatures from these areas specifically about the proposed Lothians authority.

  Learning Disabilities
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people with learning disabilities who need residential care are living at home with carers over 60 years old in each health board area.

  Mr. Stewart
  This information is not held centrally.

  Scottish Enterprise Network
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many women have(a) entered newly-created jobs and (b) entered training for non-traditional jobs in the past year as a result of Scottish Enterprise Network's activities.

  Mr. Stewart
  The information requested is not available.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he is taking to encourage further inward investment into Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  The Scottish Office Industry Department is continually, through the work of Locate in Scotland, promoting Scotland as a location for inward investment. Also, earlier this month my right hon. Friend visited the far east and I myself visited the United States where discussions were held with existing and potential investors.

  Smoke Alarms
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish statistics relating to the number of injuries or deaths resulting from fires in the home in each of the last five years; what estimate he has made of the 692
  number of such instances in which injury or death might have been avoided had a smoke alarm been installed; what information is available regarding the number of hearing impaired people involved in such incidents; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 25 October 1993]: The annual Home Office publication "Fire Statistics United Kingdom", copies of which are held in the Library, includes numbers of fatalities and non-fatal casualties in Scotland arising from fires in occupied buildings including dwellings. No information is available on the number of hearing impaired people involved in such incidents.

  In his annual report for 1992, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland recorded the view of fire brigade officers that in 63 of the 92 dwelling fires involving fatalities which occurred in Scotland in 1992 the installation of a properly maintained smoke alarm system could have given an early warning of the outbreak of fire to which the occupants could have responded.

  In the same report Her Majesty's chief inspector estimated that some 60 per cent. of Scottish dwellings are fitted with smoke alarms. The Scottish Building Regulations require the installation of a hard wire smoke alarm system in the construction of all new houses. The Government, recognising that the cost of a smoke alarm is small compared with the benefits offered in providing early warning of the outbreak of fire, continue to promote and encourage the installtion and maintenance of smoke alarms in homes throughout Scotland.

HEALTH

  Private Hospitals
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health under which provision of the NHS Acts the removal of patients from London to private hospitals in Northumbria and York is permitted.

  Mr. Bowis
  Decisions on where a patient should be treated are the responsibility of the purchasing authority. The transfer of detained patients from one hospital to another is authorised by section 19 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

  Older Patients
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what efforts are currently undertaken by her Department to monitor the effect of NHS purchasing agreements upon older patients.

  Mr. Sackville
  The responsibility for assessing the health care needs of local populations, including those of older patients, and for placing and monitoring contracts which secure good quality, value for money services to meet those needs, lies with purchasers locally.

  Well's Disease
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations she is issuing to stop people drinking direct from bottles of(a) beer, (b) lager, (c) mineral water and (d) milk in case they become infected with Weil's disease; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Mouthwashes
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to require manufacturers of mouthwashes which contain ethanol to provide warnings on product labels to the effect that the liquid could be carcinogenic;

  (2) if she will make it a requirement on mouthwash manufacturers to specify clearly on the product label the percentage volume of the liquid comprising ethanol;

  (3) if she will initiate a publicity campaign on the link between mouthwashes containing ethanol and the incidence of oral cancer.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department of Health considers that there is insufficient and conflicting evidence in relation to a link between ethanol and oral cancer and therefore does not intend to initiate a publicity campaign on this matter or introduce warnings on licensed products containing ethanol.

  Ethanol is an excipient in a number of mouthwashes licensed as medicines in the United Kingdom. Regulations taking effect from 1 January 1994 will require all excipients in medicines to be declared in any package leaflet and the presence of ethanol will also have to be shown on the packaging.

  Dental Handpieces (Sterilisation)
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made as to the effectiveness of the sterilisation of dental handpieces by autoclaving according to manufacturer's instructions.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The effectiveness of sterilisation was referred to the Microbiology Advisory Committee which advises the Department on sterilisation practice applicable to the health service. In May 1993 the committee recommended that dental handpieces should be cleaned in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions and then subjected to steam sterilisation.

  Diabetics
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made as to the suitability of insulin pens for delivering animal insulin to diabetics; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Cartridges containing animal insulins for use with insulin pens are not available. No assessments have therefore been made as to the suitability of insulin pens for delivering animal insulin to diabetics.

  NHS Contractors
  Dame Jill Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the increases in remuneration of all contractors within the national health service for the year 1993–94, indicating any increases in pay and expenses in money and percentage terms.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The increases in remuneration of national health service contractors in 1993–94 are as follows:General Medical Practitioners: The intended average net income of general practitioners increased by £600 or 1.5 per cent. In addition, the level of practice expenses incorporated into fees and allowances increased by £2,190 or 11 per cent. Fees and allowances payable to GPs increased by an average of 3.3 per cent. as a result of these changes.
  694
  General Dental Practitioners: The target net income of general dental practitioners increased by £537 or 1.5 per cent. In addition the practice expense of GDPs increased by £1,481 or 3.0 per cent. The average increase in pay and allowances payable to GDPs was 242 per cent.
  Pharmacists: Pharmacists' remuneration is contained within a global sum out of which all fees and allowances are paid. There is no separate element for expenses. In 1993–94, the global sum for England was increased by 1.5 per cent. to £596 million.
  Ophthalmic Medical Practitioners: The NHS sight test fee paid to OMPs increased to £1015. This included an increase of 11 pence or 1.5 per cent. in the pay element and 7 pence or 2.75 per cent. in the expenses element of the fee.
  Optometrists: No agreement has yet been reached with representatives of the optometric profession about the level of sight test fee for 1993–94.

  Bed-and-breakfast Accommodation
  Ms Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish tables 3 and 5 from the 1991 census local base statistics 100 per cent., showing group 15.1 which includes bed-and-breakfast accommodation for homeless families separately by(a) parliamentary constituencies in Britain and (b) local authority districts in Britain.

  Mr. Sackville
  Tables 3 and 5 in the 1991 census English county and Scottish region reports give figures for each local authority district for group 15, "Other miscellaneous establishments". To produce separate figures for the two constituent sub-groups (15.1 "Miscellaneous family establishments" and 15.2 "Others") for local areas at this stage would incur disproportionate costs and delay other census output. Even if the statistics were to be produced, the numbers would be very small for some areas, and some of the statistics might need to be withheld or combined to preserve confidentiality. Copies of the reports are available in the Library.

  Smoking
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage of regular smokers among 11 to 15-year-olds in boys and girls in 1990 and 1992; and what is the target for this age group in "The Health of the Nation".

  Mr. Sackville
  The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys reports of smoking among secondary schoolchildren in 1990 and 1992 provide the following information about smoking prevalence among 11 to 15-year-olds. Copies of both reports are available in the Library.

  Regular smokers among boys and girls aged 11 to 15 years: England, 1990 to 1992

  Per cent.

  Boys

  Girls

  Total

  1990

  9

  11

  10

  1992

  9

  10

  10

  Source: OPCS.

  The "Health of the Nation" target for 11 to 15-year-olds is to reduce smoking by at least 33 per cent. by 1994 (from about 8 per cent. in 1988 to less than 6 per cent.).

  Pharmaceutical Prices
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to announce a new pharmaceutical price regulation scheme agreement.

  Mr. Sackville
  After several months of negotiation, the Department of Health and the Association of the British
  695
  Pharmaceutical Society agreed the terms of a draft agreement on 10 August 1993. The draft agreement was then circulated for consultation to all companies selling branded prescription medicines to the national health service, and, with their consent, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries endorsed the agreement on 26 August.

  The agreement came into force on 1 October 1993 and is intended to run for five years. Copies will be placed in the Library.

  Details of the draft agreement and of its endorsement were announced in press releases from the Department on 10 August and 26 August. Copies of these press releases, H93/909 and H93/933, are available in the Library.

  Primary Care Workers
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to attract primary care workers to inner London.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  In 1993–94, £40 million extra has been made available for investment in primary care within the London initiative zone. It is for national health service management to decide how best to use these resources, in accordance with local needs, including, where it is considered appropriate, for primary care staff.

  GP Fund Holders
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has on the extent to which fund-holding patients are being seen ahead of non-fund-holding patients who have greater clinical need.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Departmental guidance EL(91)84 is clear. There are common waiting lists for all urgent cases. It is clinicians who decide clinical priority. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.

  General Practitioners
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average net remuneration for general practitioners in inner London family health service authority areas; and what is the national average.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 22 July at column 290. More recent data suggest that payments for achieving higher levels of coverage for childhood immunisations and cervical cytology screening and for administering Hib meningitis vaccine added an estimated £2,790 to the average general practitioner's net remuneration in 1992–93.

  Rubella Vaccination
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to include rubella vaccinations in the targets for general practitioners.

  Mr. Sackville
  Rubella vaccination has been part of general practitioners' targets for childhood immunisations since April 1990 when the target payments scheme started.

  Consultants' Merit Awards
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of the consultants merit award system in each of the last five years; and what plans she has to change the system.
  696
  Dr. Mawhinney
  In 1990–91, financial returns showed a total of £41,370,322 paid in distinction awards to consultants in the national health service in England. The further information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  The arrangements for distinction awards are regularly kept under review.

  National Health Service Management EN0
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the costs of the NHS management executive headquarters in Leeds.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's statement on 21 October about the management of the health service in England, explained the intention to streamline the central management of the national health service, including the headquarters of the NHS management executive in Leeds. The functions carried out by the NHS management executive headquarters will be reviewed and management cost targets set in the light of this process. Further information about the proposed changes is provided in a background document "Managing the new NHS", copies of which are available in the Library.

  Services (Purchasing)
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions on which a clinician's choice of provider has been judged as unwarranted in 1991–92 by the purchasing authority; and what that figure represents as a percentage of all extra-contractual referees.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally. The grounds on which an extra-contractual referral can be refused are clearly laid out in "Guidance on Extra Contractual Referrals" (EL(92)60), copies of which are available in the Library.

  MHS Policy Board
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria she will use to select the eight additional non-executive members on the NHS Policy Board drawn from the new regions.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  It is proposed that these non-executive members of the policy board will be appointed as chairmen of the eight interim regional health authorities, and they will need the same qualities as their forerunners. There are many suitable candidates known to us both in national health service bodies and from outside the NHS who will be considered for these posts.

  Cervical Cancer
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress her Department is making in arrangements for a final clinical trial of the HDA test for cervical cancer;

  (2) which regional health authority was requested by her Department to fund the final clinical trials into the HDA test for cervical cancer.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department is not involved in making arrangements for a clinical trial into the HDA test, and has not requested any regional health authority to fund the trial.
  697
  Any evaluation of the test would be between Quest and the medical scientific community to arrange. Decisions on the use of regional research and development resources is for local determination.

  Statistics
  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' policy on the release of statistics.

  Mr. Sackville
  Subject to the overriding requirement of confidentiality, the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' (OPCS) policy on the release of statistics is based on the principles of availability, openness, quality, timeliness, pre-announced timetable, simultaneity, and independence. A full statement of its policy is available from OPCS, and I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library. The key points are as follows:OPCS is committed to maintaining the confidentiality of the data which it collects about individual people and groups of people such as families, households, and organisations.
  OPCS makes information available from all the statistical data which it collects on its own behalf, in as convenient a form as possible.
  OPCS is open about its sources and methods.
  OPCS is committed to the provision of good quality statistics.
  Statistics are made available as early as practicable.
  Statistics are released to a pre-announced timetable.
  OPCS's statistics are made available to all users from the same time, with limited specified exceptions on a strict need-to-know basis.
  The Registrar General for England and Wales is solely responsible for the content and timing of OPCS's statistical publications and press releases.

  Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease arising as a result of medical intervention.

  Mr. Sackville
  There is no evidence that Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) has been transmitted in the United Kingdom through any human organs or tissues other than pituitary gland extracts or dura mater.

  There has been one reported case, in the United States of America in 1974, in which a patient who had previously received a corneal transplant subsequently developed CJD, and another possible case related to the transplantation of heart membrane tissue.

  Cases of CJD in the United Kingdom continue to be monitored, and particular attention paid to factors in the patient's medical history that could possibly have caused CJD.

  We are satisfied that existing controls protect the public from transmission of CJD through medical interventions. However, the Department will urgently assess any new evidence which suggests a need to review these controls, and will provide further guidance as necessary.

  A document summarising the situation has been placed in the Library.

  Dentistry
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists, who have not given notice to leave the dental list, have given written notice to each family health service authority to terminate or de-register some or all of their capitation arrangements for child patients each month since July 1992.
  698
  Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 21 October 1993]: Tables will be placed in the Library showing, for each month, the number of dentists in contract with each family health services authority who have de-registered child patients since July 1992. Where dentists hold contracts with more than one FHSA, the number of dentists quoted could include duplications. The information provided by FHSAs weekly since July 1992 shows that in the period up to 15 October 1993, 239 dentists gave written notification to de-register some child patients. This represents 1.37 per cent. of the number of dentists, 17,400, in contract with FHSAs at 30 June 1992.

  The number of children de-registered was 1,734. At 31 August 1993 child registrations were 8 per cent. higher than at 1 July 1992.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists who have not given notice to leave the dental list have given written notice to each family health service authority to de-register some or all of their continuing care arrangements for adult patients in each month since July 1992; how many dentists have de-registered patients; and how many patients have been de-registered.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 21 October 1993]: Tables will be placed in the Library showing for each month, the number of dentists in contract with each family health services authority who have de-registered adult patients and the total number of adult patients de-registered since July 1992. Where dentists hold contracts with more than one family health service authority, the numbers of dentists quoted could include duplications. The information provided weekly by family health service authorities since July 1992 shows that in the period up to 15 October 1993, 2,222 dentists gave written notification to de-register 556,204 adult patients.

  Despite these notified de-registrations, the total number of adult patients registered with a dentist in England increased by over 0.884 million (4.3 per cent.) from 20.580 million to 21.465 million over the period 1 July 1992 to 31 August 1993.

DEFENCE

  Low Flying
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response was given by the officer commanding Royal Air Force unit Goose bay to the letter from the commander of No. 5 wing, Canadian forces, dated 11 June, requesting assurances that Royal Air Force units visiting Goose bay are notified of the importance of complying with Canadian national and local flying orders.

  Mr. Hanley
  Following the letter from the commander of No. 5 wing, Canadian forces, officer commanding RAF Goose bay wrote to officers commanding of all Tornado GR1 squadrons which deploy to Goose bay on a regular basis stressing the importance of adhering to the Canadian national and Goose bay local flying orders during deployments to Goose bay. Moreover, commanding officers were reminded that these procedures would be covered as part of the brief given on arrival at Goose bay. Similar advice will be given to any other squadrons planning to deploy to Goose bay in the future.
  699
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on future plans for Royal Air Force training at Canadian forces base Goose bay beyond the expiry of the current multinational memorandum of understanding.

  Mr. Hanley
  The current multinational memorandum of understanding on the use of Canadian forces base Goose bay expires on 31 March 1996. The Canadian authorities are carrying out an environmental review of the effect of military activity in the area. Continued use of Goose bay by the Royal Air Force will depend on decisions taken by the Canadian Government in the light of this review, and on any subsequent negotiations with the Canadian Government.

  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if RAF aircrew planning low-level training flights over Germany are required to supply details of their intended route to the authorities responsible for the German low-flying management system.

  Mr. Hanley
  Royal Air Force aircrew planning to fly at low level over Germany during daylight hours are not required to supply details of their intended route to the authorities responsible for the German low-flying management system. The German night low-flying system is one of fixed routes and RAF aircrew planning to fly at low level at night are required to notify which route they intend to fly.

  Corporal Haymand (Spectacle Repairs)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost of flying Corporal Martin Haymand serving with the Royal Regiment of Wales in the Falkland Islands, the round trip to Bristol to have his spectacles repaired; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  Corporal Hayman required spectacles for carrying out his normal duties. While an optician visits the Falkland Islands each year the next visit is scheduled for July 1994. On medical advice, corporal Hayman was advised to return to the United Kingdom to obtain replacement spectacles after his own were broken. He occupied a spare seat on a regular RAF flight, returning to the Falkland Islands four days later taking the next available free seat. These seats would have been unoccupied if corporal Hayman had not used them and therefore there was no extra cost to the taxpayer.

  Nuclear Testing
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by year since 1965 the number of nuclear bomb tests that have been carried out by his Department.

  Mr. Aitken
  The United Kingdom has conducted the following numbers of nuclear tests since 1965:

  Number

  1965

  1

  1966

  0

  1967

  0

  1968

  0

  1969

  0

  1970

  0

  1971

  0

  700

  Number

  1972

  0

  1973

  0

  1974

  1

  1975

  0

  1976

  1

  1977

  0

  1978

  2

  1979

  1

  1980

  3

  1981

  1

  1982

  1

  1983

  1

  1984

  2

  1985

  1

  1986

  1

  1987

  1

  1988

  0

  1989

  1

  1990

  1

  1991

  1

  1992

  0

  1993

  0

  Mine Counter-Measures
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by year for the last four years, the number of new mine counter-measures vehicles his Department has purchased; what is the estimate for the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  There have been no purchases of mine counter-measures vessels in the last four years. The last batch ordered was for four single role minehunters (SRMH) in 1987. The first of this batch, HMS Inverness, was accepted from the shipyard, Vosper Thornycroft Ltd, in February 1991 and the last of the batch, HMS Bridport, was accepted in June 1993. We hope to make an announcement on single role minehunters before the end of the year.

  International Atomic Energy Agency (Inspectors)
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct special inspections at undeclared sites in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Aitken
  The powers of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to make special inspections at declared sites in the United Kingdom are defined in article 73 of the United Kingdom/Euratom/IAEA agreement on the application of safeguards in the United Kingdom (Cmnd. 6730). Because the United Kingdom is a nuclear weapon state under the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, the question of special inspections at undeclared sites does not arise.

  Defence Diversification
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the Government's policy on defence diversification.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Government's policy is that decisions on how to adapt to changing market circumstances, and what products to make, are for the commercial judgment of companies.
  701
  The Department of Trade and Industry provides advice and assistance to companies who may be considering diversification, including a recently published handbook called "Changing Tack". That Department, together with the Department of Employment, also administers the United Kingdom participation in the EC KONVER programme, which is designed to assist regions affected by the decline in the armaments industry and the closure of military bases.

  Housing
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many married quarters in the United Kingdom have been transferred to local housing authorities; and what is their total value for the last 10 years.

  Mr. Hanley
  Over the last 10 years at least, 1,918 surplus married quarters have been sold to housing associations or local authorities at a value of over £55 million. Because records for the earlier years are not maintained in a way which allows such sales to be easily identified, these figures may underestimate the true position. In addition a substantial programme of leasing has been carried on throughout the period and we currently have 1,057 properties on lease to these organisations and others.

  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of those estate agents and other specialists called in to advise the Defence Land Agent on the disposal of MOD property.

  Mr. Hanley
  My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member once such a list has been compiled.

  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total value of sales of MOD land and buildings sold by the Defence Land Agent over the last 10 years.

  Mr. Hanley
  The value of land and buildings sold by my Department in each of the last 10 years expressed in millions of pounds is as follows:

  £ million

  1983–84

  42·0

  1984–85

  27·7

  1985–86

  60·2

  1986–87

  75·6

  1987–88

  77·8

  1988–89

  149·6

  1989–90

  74·0

  1990–91

  81·6

  1991–92

  102·2

  1992–93

  68·0

  Total

  758·7

  Tornado
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what analysis has been conducted of the reasons for the improvement in the Tornado GR1 major accident rate since 1991; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  A number of factors has been identified as possible reasons for an improvement. Given such a short statistical period however it has not been possible to conclude whether these are significant.

  Depleted Uranium Ammunition
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the storage sites and operational bases which have been authorised for storage or handling of depleted uranium ammunition.

  Mr. Hanley
  Depleted uranium ammunition is stored in a small number of military munitions depots in the United Kingdom. It is not the Department's practice to disclose the locations where specific types of ammunition are stored.

  RAF Upper Heyford
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future use of RAF Upper Heyford.

  Mr. Hanley
  Since the United States Department of Defense announced that it would be returning RAF Upper Heyford to MOD control by the end of September 1994 we have been investigating alternative defence uses for the airfield thereafter; this work continues. On a contingency basis my officials have been participating in working party discussions with the local authorities to consider he options for the long-term redevelopment of the airfield should no alternative defence use be identified.

  Jaguar and Harrier
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the differences in role, mission assignment and capability between the Jaguar and Harrier in Royal Air Force service.

  Mr. Hanley
  The Jaguar and new Harrier GR7 fulfil similar roles. Both aircraft have a long range air-interdiction capability; they are capable of all offensive support missions and are assigned to NATO in that role. While the Jaguar is currently more capable in the tactical reconnaissance role, the Harrier possesses a longer range, greater weapons carriage capability and a modern avionics suite with an operational under-the-weather night capability. Also the Harrier has unique ship-borne operational capability.

  Goose Bay
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requirements have been notified to the Canadian authorities by his Department, for additional facilities in the low-level training areas around Canadian forces base, Goose bay for(a) weapons training, (b) electronic threat simulation and (c) air combat manoeuvring instrumentation, for use by Royal Air Force aircraft.

  Mr. Hanley
  Requests for additional facilities at Goose bay are not made in isolation by any one nation, but are progressed with the Canadian authorities on a multi-national basis, once the requirement has been agreed between user nations. User nations have recently expressed a desire to construct another practice weapons training range with a laser target marking facility, and provide electronic threat simulators. We are not aware of any plans to suggest a requirement for air combat manoeuvring instrumentation facilities.

  Land, Blyth Valley
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much land his Department owns in Blyth valley; and how much of that land is unused.

  Mr. Hanley
  The MOD owns three married quarters at Stakeford (total area 0.097 hectares). The MOD also leases land at Cramlington, on which five married quarters (total area 0.121 hectares) are situated, and the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) training centre at North Harbour in Blyth—total area 0.012 hectares. All the married quarters and the training centre are currently occupied.

  Corporal Jake Malcolm
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action his Department is taking following the award of £6,500 to corporal Jake Malcolm following racial discrimination shown to him while serving in the United Kingdom armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  It has been made clear throughout the services that racial discrimination, harassment or abuse will not be tolerated. Since the case of corporal Malcolm, the Army has issued a letter to commands reminding them of the armed forces' policy on race relations. To reinforce this policy, a code of practice on race relations will be published shortly for dissemination throughout the services.

  Nuclear Deterrent
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of gross domestic product was committed to Britain's nuclear deterrent in each year since 1988.

  Mr. Hanley
  Figures for the years in question are available only for the strategic nuclear deterrent. Those relating to the years up to and including 1991–92 are derived from tables published in the statistical volume of the annual "Statement on the Defence Estimates" prior to 1992. The figures for 1992–93 and 1993–94 are based on ad hoc exercises to identify the capital and operating costs associated directly with the strategic deterrent.

  Year

  Expenditure on strategic nuclear force(£ million)1

  Percentage of gross domestic product

  1988–89

  1,072

  0·23

  1989–90

  1,158

  0·22

  1990–91

  1,480

  0·27

  1991–92

  1,445

  0·25

  1992–93

  1,245

  0·21

  1993–94

  1,177

  0·19

  1 Outturn prices.

  Nuclear Weapons Transport
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will carry out a full public consultation on the policy of transporting nuclear weapons by road; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  No. A Ministry of Defence guidance document, on the actions to be taken in the event of an 704
  accident involving a nuclear weapon was however issued to all civil emergency services and local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales in December 1992 and their comments have been invited.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will fully consult chief police officers, chief fire officers and local authority emergency planning officers on the movement of nuclear weapons by road through heavily populated areas.

  Mr. Hanley
  The views of individual officers from the civil emergency services and local authorities are already invited during MOD training courses. Additionally an MOD guidance document, on the actions to be taken in the event of an accident involving a nuclear weapon was issued to all civil emergency services and local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales in December 1992 and their comments have been invited.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will allow local authority emergency planning officers to attend Ministry of Defence training programmes for nuclear weapons transportation accident contingency plans.

  Mr. Hanley
  Emergency planning officers can already attend the MOD nuclear weapon accident training course.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the level of risk of a nuclear accident arising as a result of the transportation of nuclear weapons by road.

  Mr. Hanley
  Our nuclear weapons are always transported in containers which are designed and tested to keep the warheads safe from the effects of severe impacts and prolonged fires, and the vehicles in which they are transported by road provide a further substantial level of protection. Because of multiple layers of protection and the intrinsic safety of the weapons themselves there is no plausible road accident involving the transport of a nuclear weapon which could result in a radiological hazard to the public.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what emergency framework is available to respond to a nuclear incident resulting from road transport of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Hanley
  The planning for the response to a nuclear accident is described in the document entitled, "Local Authority and Emergency Service Information on Nuclear Weapon Transport Contingency Plans", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

  Pregnant Service Women
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the costs to his Department occasioned by industrial tribunal cases concerning allegations of unfair dismissal by service women dismissed from the services on the ground of pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  It is not possible to estimate what the cost will be to the Ministry of Defence of sex discrimination cases referred to industrial tribunals by service women dismissed on grounds of pregnancy between August 1978,
  705
  when the EC equal treatment directive came into force, and August 1990, when the policy of compulsorily discharging pregnant service women was discontinued. Those service women eligible for compensation who are dissatisfied with the amount offered by the Department are entitled to apply to industrial tribunals for determination of their claims.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of service women dismissed by the services on the ground of pregnancy in(a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army and (c) the Royal Air Force in each of the past 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Female officers

  Non-commissioned females

  Financial year

  Royal Navy

  Army

  Royal Air Force

  Royal Navy

  Army

  Royal Air Force

  Total

  1973–74

  5

  9

  11

  129

  287

  260

  701

  1974–75

  7

  6

  12

  92

  222

  214

  553

  1975–76

  6

  11

  11

  91

  202

  186

  507

  1976–77

  7

  10

  9

  111

  222

  145

  504

  1977–78

  5

  10

  4

  85

  187

  121

  412

  1978–79

  3

  10

  7

  37

  173

  136

  366

  1979–80

  4

  13

  7

  55

  174

  162

  415

  1980–81

  6

  13

  13

  72

  185

  179

  468

  1981–82

  11

  21

  23

  84

  250

  186

  575

  1982–83

  8

  15

  16

  95

  208

  186

  528

  1983–84

  5

  9

  12

  103

  179

  161

  469

  1984–85

  6

  14

  12

  113

  195

  175

  515

  1985–86

  6

  13

  15

  100

  226

  156

  516

  1986–87

  6

  10

  18

  104

  176

  151

  465

  1987–88

  7

  15

  16

  125

  205

  186

  554

  1988–89

  3

  12

  18

  86

  143

  160

  422

  1989–90

  4

  14

  15

  84

  157

  157

  431

  1990–911

  1

  7

  5

  25

  69

  51

  158

  1 Figures for 1990–91 reflect the introduction of maternity leave in August 1990.

  The Ministry of Defence is offering compensation to women dismissed from the services on pregnancy following an agreed order of the High Court applying EC Directive 76/207—the equal treatment directive. Those eligible to claim compensation were dismissed between August 1978, when the equal treatment directive came into force, and August 1990, when the policy of compulsorily discharging pregnant service women was discontinued. The total number of potential claimants is estimated at 5,700.

  Depleted Uranium Swarf
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the minimum distance from a public footpath or other publicly accessible place permitted by regulations for the storage of depleted uranium swarf at his Department's establishments.

  Mr. Aitken
  All storage of radioactive material by my Department is in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Ionising Radiation Regulations 1985 and the associated approved codes of practice issued by the Health and Safety Commission. Account is also taken of the most recent guidance issued by the National Radiological
  706
  Mr. Hanley
  The numbers of women dismissed from the services on the ground of pregnancy since April 1973, the earliest date for which the information is available, are as follows. The numbers of female officers leaving on pregnancy can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The figures given are estimates based on the percentage of non-commissioned females leaving each year due to pregnancy:

  Protection board on radiation exposure of the public. There is no statutory regulation or guidance pertaining to the minimum distance referred to by the hon. Member.

  Military Exports
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the contribution made by his Department to the restricted enforcement unit's work overseeing arms and military equipment exports.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Ministry of Defence participates fully in the restricted enforcement unit by contributing to the information exchange.

  Uranium-tipped Shells
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish details, for each year since 1979, of the cost of his Department's programme of test-firing depleted uranium-tipped shells; and if he will provide a breakdown of how the costs are distributed between different departmental test ranges(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) abroad.

  Mr. Aitken
  Our records are not kept in a form which would enable us to answer these questions.

  ORGANOPHOSPHATES IN PESTICIDES: USE
  ORGANOPHOSPHATES IN PESTICIDES: USE
  TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE SERVICES: GREEN PAPER
  TAXI AND PRIVATE HIRE SERVICES: GREEN PAPER
  HAZRATBAL MOSQUE
  HAZRATBAL MOSQUE
  GENEVA CONVENTIONS: RATIFICATION OF 1977 PROTOCOLS
  GENEVA CONVENTIONS: RATIFICATION OF 1977 PROTOCOLS
  SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 1996 MEETING
  SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 1996 MEETING
  ACCOMMODATION AGENCIES ACT 1953
  ACCOMMODATION AGENCIES ACT 1953
  ARCHITECTS (REGISTRATION) ACTS
  ARCHITECTS (REGISTRATION) ACTS
  DRINKING WATER INSPECTORATE: ROLE
  DRINKING WATER INSPECTORATE: ROLE
  HEALTH VISITORS: FIGURES
  HEALTH VISITORS: FIGURES