Written Answers of 14 December 1994

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Energy Expenditure
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings in each of the last three years was:

  1991–92 £000

  1992–93 £000

  1993–94 £000

  (a) Lord Chancellor's Department

  6,047

  6,286

  6,325

  (b) Public Record Office

  546

  654

  465

  Public Trust Office

  105

  100

  90

  HM Land Registry

  1,583

  1,693

  1,437

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary Lord Chancellor's Department how many legal aid applications were made in 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The number of applications received was as follows:

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Civil legal aid

  472,903

  413,738

  ABWOR

  60,356

  32,056

  Criminal legal aid1

  699,576

  635,839

  Duty solicitor scheme

  838,321

  895,691

  Applications in respect of legal advice and assistance2—green form—are dealt with by solicitors. It is therefore not known how many applications were actually received, but in 1992–93 and 1993–94 the number of people who received help under the scheme was 1,434,661 and 1,640,593 respectively.

  1 Information is only available on a calendar year basis, i.e. for 1992 and 1993.

  2 The provision of legal advice and assistance is subject to an assessment of financial means by the solicitor.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last Session of Parliament were not answered 644
  on the grounds that the information sought was not held centrally by the Department.

  Mr. Dorrell
  During the last Session of Parliament only two questions received the answer that the information requested was not held centrally.

  European Year of Older People
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what contribution his Department has made in 1994 to follow up the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My Department did not itself launch any special initiatives for the European Year of Older People and Solidarity Between Generations in 1993, or in the following year.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Remand Prisoners
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the estimated number of remand prisoners who have been awaiting trial (a) for more than three months, (b) for more than six months (c) for more than 12 months and (d) for more than 18 months at the latest available date.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 14 December 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what is the estimated number of remand prisoners who have been awaiting trial (a) for more than three months, (b) for more than six months, (c) for more than 12 months and (d) for more than 18 months, at the latest available date.
  The latest available provisional data is for 30 September 1994 and is shown in the attached table.

  Inmates recorded as being untried held in custody on 30 September 1994 by time on remand1

  Number

  For over 3 months up to and including 6 months

  1,920

  For over 6 months up to and including 12 months

  1,270

  For over 12 months up to and including 18 months

  300

  For over 18 months

  220

  1 Not all of these defendants will have been in continuous prison custody since their first remand. This period excludes any time spent in non-Prison Service Establishments (eg police cells) before reception on remand into a Prison Service establishment; it excludes inmates who are awaiting trial and those being tried.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications have been awaiting decision for more than(a) six years, (b) five years, (c) four years, (d) three years and (e) two years.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  As at 30 November 1994—the latest date for which this information is available—the estimated number of asylum applications outstanding was 54,025. Information on the number of these cases waiting longer than two, three, four, five or six years is not available.
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  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to examine the length of detention periods of asylum seekers in relation to the EU human rights convention, article 5.4.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Powers of detention under the Immigration Act 1971 are used only where there is no alternative and where there are good grounds for believing that a person will not comply with the conditions of temporary admission.

  Anyone refused asylum may appeal under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 and may apply for bail to the independent appellate authorities at any time while an appeal is pending. Bail may also be sought from the appellate authorities by any passenger who has been detained for longer than seven days pending further examination. These statutory provisions are supplemented by the general power of the courts to grant a writ of habeas corpus and to grant bail in any case before them.

  Decisions to detain under the Immigration Act 1971 are authorised at Chief Immigration Officer level at least and are reviewed by an Immigration Service inspector within 24 hours. The need for detention is then reviewed locally at least every seven days and after one month at increasingly senior levels.

  Gloucestershire Police Authority
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be able to reply to the request, made on 16 September 1994, by Gloucestershire police authority for a special grant in respect of the Cromwell street murder investigation.

  Mr. Maclean
  A reply will be sent within the next two weeks.

  European Year of Older People
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution his Department has made in 1994 to follow up the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  My Department has continued its funding of the retired and senior volunteer programme and the retired executives action clearing house. It also funds other organisations which encourage volunteering by people of all ages, including older people.

  Marriages of Convenience
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to consider new guidelines for immigration officers to avoid a couple remaining separated for an alleged marriage of convenience.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  None.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training immigration officers receive to enable them to decide if a marriage is one of convenience.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Immigration and Nationality Department staff responsible for considering applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom on the basis of marriage receive full training on all aspects of the immigration rules and their application before taking up their duties.

  Criminal Justice and Public Order Act
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that the enforcement of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 will be kept under review.

  Mr. Maclean
  In accordance with standard practice, the application of the main provisions of the Act will be monitored and evaluated.

  Inspector of Constabulary
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary with a statement of the duties which he expects of the inspector of constabulary.

  Mr. Howard
  As promised in the Government's White Paper on police reform, Cm 2281, I have provided the Chief Inspector of Constabulary with a clear statement of the duties and responsibilities which I expect the inspectorate should fulfil.

  The statement emphasises the key role of the inspectorate as an independent watchdog monitoring police performance and ensuring that standards are maintained. I have made it clear that I will also be looking to the inspectorate to report to me on the progress being made by police authorities and forces in establishing local strategies for building effective partnerships between the police and the local community.

  I have placed copies of the statement in the Library. I am also arranging for it to be circulated to all chief officers of police and to clerks of police authorities.

  Research
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum was spent by his Department on research in each of the last 10 years; what percentage this was of the total annual budget; what is the research budget for the forthcoming year; what percentage this is of his total budget; and what additional new research is to be undertaken.

  Mr. Howard
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: The sums spent on research and development by the Department for the last 10 years were reported in the statistical supplement to the "1994 Forward Look of Government-funded Science Engineering and Technology". The expenditure on research and development and the total percentage that this expenditure was of total departmental expenditure is as follows:

  Year

  R and D expenditure£ millions

  Percentage total expenditure

  1985–86

  23.7

  0.6

  1986–87

  13.3

  0.3

  1987–88

  14.2

  0.3

  1988–89

  14.1

  0.3

  1989–90

  15.2

  0.3

  1990–91

  25.0

  0.4

  1991–92

  17.3

  0.3

  1992–93

  20.1

  0.4

  1993–94

  119.8

  0.3

  1994–95

  119.1

  0.3

  1995–96

  120.4

  0.3

  1 Estimated

  2 Planned

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  The Home Office publishes an annual report—"The Research Programme"—which lists all research currently in progress and planned. A new edition will be published this month and a copy will be placed in the Library.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the special advisers serving in his Department during the last five years were subject to positive security vetting.

  Mr. Howard
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: All of them.

PRIME MINISTER

  Intelligence Services Act 1994
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Prime Minister what steps have been taken to appoint an intelligence and security committee, commissioner and tribunal, under the terms of the Intelligence Services Act 1994.

  The Prime Minister
  Following consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, and in accordance with section 10 of the Intelligence Services Act, I have appointed the intelligence and security committee as follows:

  The right hon. Tom King CH MP (Chairman)

  The right hon. Alan Beith MP

  The right hon. Dr John Gilbert MP

  The right hon. Sir Archie Hamilton MP

  The right hon. Lord Howe of Aberavon QC

  Mr Barry Jones MP

  Mr Michael Mates MP

  Mr Allan Rogers MP

  Sir Giles Shaw MP

  In accordance with section 8 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994, I have appointed Lord Justice Stuart-Smith as the Intelligence Services Commissioner for a period of three years. Sir Simon Dennis Brown has been appointed president of the intelligence services tribunal, John Colin McInnes vice-president of the tribunal and Sir Richard Kennedy Harvey Gaskell a member of the tribunal, by royal warrant, each for a period of five years. All appointments take effect from 15 December 1994.

TREASURY

  Christmas Expenditure
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much public money will be spent on entertaining, Christmas decorations and other festive activities this Christmas season by his Department and Government agencies answerable to his Department; and of this sum how much will be spent in Ministers' private offices and official residences, including No. 11 Downing street and Dorney Wood.

  Mr. Nelson
  About £400 will be spent by the Treasury this year on purchasing and decorating four Christmas trees, the tree at the entrance to No. 11 Downing street accounting for approximately £100 of this sum. The only other Christmas-related expenditure borne by the Treasury is a party for representatives of the press to be hosted by 648
  the Chancellor at No. 11. This is estimated to cost in the region of £1,150.

  European Communities (Finance) Bill
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has anything to add to his statement of 28 November concerning treaty obligations of Her Majesty's Government on the European Communities (Finance) Bill,Official Report, column 953.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The agreement reached at Edinburgh was a political commitment in which the United Kingdom Government gave our word to our EU partners. We expect our partners to keep their word; and they expect us to keep ours. If we were to break our word, the international reputation of the United Kingdom would be severely damaged. The own resources decision will constitute a treaty obligation when the Government notify adoption of it.

  Economic and Finance Ministers Council
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the most recent Council meeting of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I represented the United Kingdom at the Economic and Finance Council of the European Union in Brussels on 5 December.

  The Council broadly endorsed the Netherlands' convergence programme for 1995 to 1998 and the Commission's assessment of it.

  The Council adopted a slightly amended version of the ECOFIN report to the Essen European Council on the employment aspects of the White Paper follow-up, subject to a Belgian reserve. I thoroughly welcomed the report with its analysis of the causes of structural unemployment and in particular the problems caused by high levels of social protection in some areas.

  The Council endorsed the "Main Recommendations" of the Christophersen Group report on the trans-European networks aspects of the White Paper follow-up, omitting any reference to possible new Community financial instruments in the future.

  The Council adopted the ECOFIN report to the Essen European Council on implementation of the broad economic guidelines requested by the Brussels European Council in December 1993, and carried out the multilateral surveillance required by article 103(3) of the treaty.

  The Council agreed in principle to an 85 million ECU loan to the Ukraine subject to the signature of an IMF stand-by arrangement and to the rapid implementation of the EU/G7 action plan for the closure of Chernobyl. The Council noted the exceptional nature of the loan and agreed to a review of EU lending priorities. The Council reached political agreement on Commission proposals to provide macro-financial assistance to Algeria and Slovakia.

  The Council agreed with the recommendations of the European Monetary Institute in its opinion that decisions on the transition to the third stage of economic and monetary union will be taken in full accordance with the relevant articles of the treaty and the protocol on the convergence criteria.
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  The Council heard a presidency progress report on improving the fight against fraud in the Community. The Commission emphasised the need for greater efforts in this area, and circulated a communication showing the areas where it would put emphasis in the coming year. I stressed that the fight against fraud was a top priority for ECOFIN and that strong conclusions would be needed at the forthcoming European Council. I underlined the need for rapid progress to be made on the Commission's programme, particularly on the third pillar legislation, and said that the recent report of the Court of Auditors on the 1993 budget had revealed unacceptable levels of fraud, waste and mismanagement, of great concern to the public.

  The Council agreed to an adjustment of the financial perspective to take into account the enlargement of the union.

  The Council heard progress reports on taxation of savings, the second VAT simplification directive, the carbon-energy tax and biofuels, but adopted no conclusions.

  No formal votes were taken at the Council meeting.

  Official Residences (Expenditure)
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bottles of (a) whisky, (b) other spirits and (c) wine were bought from public funds for use at No. 11 Downing street and his other official residences in 1993–94; how much they cost; how many bottles were consumed in December 1993; and how many he estimates will be consumed at No. 11 Downing street and the other residences in December 1994.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I pay for all drinks consumed on private occasions. Information of this sort about drinks provided for official occasions could be provided only at disproportionate cost to public funds. The hon. Member is wasting an absurd amount of official time and public money by asking a series of parliamentary questions on topics of this kind.

  VAT
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a regional breakdown of the projected revenue received from VAT on domestic fuel in (a) the 1994–95 financial year and (b) the 1995–96 financial year.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The latest assessment of regional expenditure is contained in the 1993 family expenditure survey. Any projections to 1994–95 or 1995–96 would be purely speculative.

  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount per week a married couple on average male earnings with two children is estimated to have paid in VAT, at today's prices, in the year 1978–79; and what he estimates a similar family will pay in 1994–95.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: A couple with two children on average earnings paid VAT of £7.05 per week in 1978–79, in 1994–95 prices, and an estimated £21.43 in 1994–95. Since 197879, the real take-home pay of such a family has risen by over £80 a week.

  Credit Unions
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many credit unions were operating in England and in the United Kingdom for (a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) in each year since 1990.

  Mr. Nelson
  Credit unions in Northern Ireland are registered separately from those in Great Britain, and are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. For credit unions in England and Great Britain, the information requested is as follows:

  Number of credit unions at end of year

  England

  Great Britain

  1980

  43

  57

  1990

  217

  275

  1991

  255

  327

  1992

  299

  383

  1993

  330

  427

  Inland Revenue Stamp Office
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to provide continuing counter facilities for the Inland Revenue stamp office in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir George Young
  No. The Cardiff stamp office public counter is little used and no stamp office facilities will be available in Cardiff after that office closes on 30 December 1994. Former Cardiff customers should be able to get their documents stamped and returned by post from another stamp office within the stamp office guide time of five working days.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the increase in interest rates on 7 December was at his request or on the recommendation of the Governor of the Bank of England.

  Mr. Nelson
  As is clear from the published minutes, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible for all interest rate decisions. The Governor's advice at the 7 December meeting will be published on 11 January 1995.

  Public Sector Borrowing Requirement
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated borrowing requirement to the end of the current financial year; what is the forecast distribution in terms of interest-bearing assets by length to maturity; and what is the additional cost to the Exchequer of securing the additional debt each year to the last maturity date in (a) nominal terms and (b) real terms, assuming nil inflation.

  Mr. Aitken
  The public sector borrowing requirement for 1994–95 is forecast to be £34.3 billion. The outturn for the first seven months of the financial year was £19.2 billion, implying borrowing of £15.1 billion between November and March.

  The distribution of debt in terms of interest-bearing assets by length to maturity will depend on market conditions. The cost of securing the additional debt will depend on the form of the debt and on market interest rates.

  VAT (Airlines)
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken to resolve the issue of the hidden VAT which is incurred by airlines as a consequence of the Civil Aviation Authority's VAT status as a public body.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I am pleased to announce that, from 1 April 1995, the Civil Aviation Authority will be granted taxable status in respect of its supply of en route air navigation services.

  This change will enable the CAA to recover the VAT paid in its en-route operating costs and capital expenditure, which is estimated as being in the order of around £30 million per annum. Over £20 million of this, representing VAT on en-route operating costs, will be passed directly to the airlines in the form of lower charges. The remainder, formerly incurred on the CAA's capital spending, can be used to fund the CAA's investment programme.

  This change removes a source of potential discrimination against United Kingdom airlines, and will be widely welcomed by the airline industry.

  Income Tax
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequerhow many people were removed from the income tax net in (a) 1990–91, (6) 1991–92 and (c) 1992–93.

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: Information on numbers of taxpayers is published in table 2.1 of Inland Revenue Statistics 1994, a copy of which is in the Library.

  Customs and Excise
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list those ports and airports which do not have permanently staffed Customs checks and operate a system whereby entrants telephone Customs if they have anything to declare; and how many calls were received by Customs on its telephone in each month of 1993 and 1994;

  (2) if he will list those ports and airports in which Customs checks are not permanently staffed.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 8 December 1994]: There are no Custom-free ports or airports. Over recent years customs enforcement strategy has progressively moved away from a static presence at all ports and airports towards more flexible checks operated by fast response teams targeted at both areas and time of highest risk. At major ports and airports these anti-smuggling teams are based on site; the smaller places being covered by mobile anti-smuggling teams based elsewhere. It would not be in the public interest to identify all these smaller ports and airports.

  As a part of the overall Customs strategy, which encompasses both anti-smuggling and fiscal controls, there are some locations where entrants can telephone Customs if they have anything to declare for fiscal purposes. A list of such locations is shown in the table and where the information is available, the number of
  652
  calls received by customs for each of 1993 and 1994 is also shown.

  Humberside international airport
  Telephone introduced in April 1993, three calls received to date but no record of months.

  Leeds Bradford airport
  No record kept of the number of calls received but estimated by local management at round six per month.

  Bristol airport The total calls received were as follows:

  Plymouth. The total calls received were as follows:

  1993

  1994

  January

  6

  1

  February

  6

  0

  March

  6

  5

  April

  6

  4

  May

  12

  2

  June

  9

  0

  July

  9

  2

  August

  6

  2

  September

  7

  2

  October

  5

  9

  November

  3

  3

  December

  2

  0

  Belfast city airport

  No record of any calls received in either year

  Blackpool airport

  Bournemouth (Hurn) airport

  Cambridge airport

  Cardiff Wales airport

  Dundee airport

  Southampton international airport

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Treasury Solicitors
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Attorney-General in what ways the Law Society professional code of conduct applies to Treasury solicitors.

  The Attorney-General
  The Treasury Solicitor's Department employs solicitors and banisters. As individuals they are all answerable to the profession to which they belong. When acting in the name of the department, the relevant professional standards apply to them.

  Marshall v. Southampton and South West Area Health Authority
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Attorney-General (1) what advice was given to Government Departments about the: effect of Marshall v. Southampton and South West area health authority (No. 1);

  (2) if advice was given to all Government Departments about the effect of Marshall v. Southampton and South West area health authority (No. 1).

  The Attorney-General
  By convention, the Law Officers do not normally disclose whether advice has been given on a particular issue or the substance of any advice that they may have given.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Advisory Bodies
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the functions and objectives of (a) the Coal Task Force, (b) the Engineering Technology Advisory Committee, (c) the Industrial Development Advisory Board, (d) the Information Technology Advisory Board and (e) the Innovation Advisory Board.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The information requested is as follows:

  (a) Coal Task Force
  The task force has now been superseded by the Advisory Committee on Coal Research.

  (b) Engineering Technology Advisory Committee
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given on 6 December, Official Report, column 126.

  (c) Industrial Development Advisory Board
  IDAB is appointed under section 10 of the Industrial Development Act 1982 to advise me as Secretary of State on the granting of selective financial assistance under sections 7 and 8 of the Act.

  (d) Information Technology Advisory Board
  Responsibility for ITAB was a matter for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, however I understand that the Board was wound up in July of this year.

  (e) Innovation Advisory Board
  The Board was wound up in September 1993.

  Arms Exports
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date the Cymbeline artillery locating system was given an export licence for export to Iraq.

  Mr. Heseltine
  It has been the policy of successive Administrations not to disclose details about export licences that have been issued. However, the Government reserve the right to release the information, in exceptional circumstances, where it is in the public interest. This is one of those exceptional cases.

  Since 1985, export licences have been issued for the export of Cymbeline radars and spares to Iraq on: 28 June 1985, 18 and 20 June 1986, 1 September 1986, 8 January 1987, 11 August 1987, 16 May 1988, 22 November 1988, 19 January 1989 and 7 July 1989. Two of the export licences were revalidated on 2 March 1990. Existing licences were withdrawn by, and returned to, the DTI following the imposition of sanctions on Iraq in August 1990.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will indicate the amount of public subsidy to the export of armaments in the last five years for which figures are available and the projected figure for the next twelve months.

  Mr. Needham
  Sales of defence equipment sold on credit terms of two years or more and insured by ECGD are eligible for support under the Department's fixed rate export finance scheme.

  In the four years up to 1992–93 a net public expenditure cost was incurred under the scheme as a whole but in the last financial year there were net receipts. The breakdown of these figures between defence and civil business is not collected and is not readily obtainable.

  Sir David Steel
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy that the increase in 654
  export credits will not be used to facilitate arms deals with countries with poor human rights records.

  Mr. Needham
  The export licensing system, which is the responsibility of the DTI's export licensing unit takes account of issues such as the human rights record of overseas Governments. The insurance cover provided by the Export Credits Guarantee Department is conditional on export licences being obtained where required.

  Junk Mail
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to prevent the sending of junk mail.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Persons who do not wish to receive unsolicited mail can register with the mailing preference service. This will normally filter out 90 per cent. of such mail. I have no plans to impose any further restrictions.

  Nuclear Energy
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will set out the ways in which the Government's policy of ensuring that energy services are provided to customers in a commercial environment in which consumers pay the full cost of the energy sources they consume, as outlined in the White Paper on the prospects for coal, apply in regard to nuclear energy.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The White Paper "The Prospect for Coal" Cm 2235, explained that transitional arrangements in the form of the nuclear non-fossil fuel option and the fossil fuel levy were put in place at the time of electricity privatisation to enable the full costs of nuclear generation in England and Wales to be met. These arrangements are being assessed by the nuclear review.

  Government Chemist
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the statutory powers and duties of (a) the Government Chemist and (b) the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The Government Chemist is named as referee analyst under the following pieces of legislation:

  Food Safety Act 1990 and Food Safety (Sampling and Qualifications) Regulations 1990

  Agriculture Act 1970

  Medicines Act 1968 and Medicines (Animal Feeding Stuffs) (Enforcement) Regulations 1985

  Farm and Garden Chemicals Act 1967

  Agriculture (Poisonous Substances) Act 1952

  Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Act 1951

  Poultry Meat (Water Content) (Scotland) Regulations 1983

  Poultry Meat (Water Content) Regulations 1984

  Natural Mineral Waters Regulations 1985

  Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 1987

  The Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact 'with Food Regulations 1992.

  In addition, the Government Chemist is named as authorised analyst under the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979. Under the Poisons Act 1972 there is provision for the appointment of the Government Chemist to carry out a function personal to him.

  Where required the work to carry out analyses under these pieces of legislation is generally undertaken by the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.
  655
  The Laboratory of the Government Chemist is included as a point of reference in the following legislation:

  Notification of New Substances Regulations 1982

  Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1986

  Merchant Shipping (Life Saving Appliances for Passenger Ships of Classes III to Via) Regulations 1992

  Food Safety (Sampling and Qualifications) Regulations 1990

  The Public Supply Contracts Regulations 1991

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what conditions will be placed on the sale or transfer of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist to ensure its continuing independence and impartiality.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The Secretary of State will impose appropriate conditions; these are under consideration.

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what powers he has to enforce the carrying out of the statutory role of (a) the Government Chemist and (b) the Laboratory of the Government Chemist; and how these powers will be affected by sale or transfer of the laboratory.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Responsibility for making and terminating the appointment of the Government Chemist, who is currently also the chief executive of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, falls to my Department. It is not intended that this will change on privatisation.

  At present the Department has powers over the carrying out of the statutory role of the Government Chemist and of the staff under his direction through their terms and conditions of employment as civil servants. Upon privatisation, it is expected that the Government Chemist will continue to be appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry within the privatised laboratory and that the terms of the appointment will require that appointee to carry out the statutory functions.

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the value of contracts placed with the Laboratory of the Government Chemist in the financial year 1993–94 by (a) his Department, (b) other individual Government Departments and (c) individual executive agencies.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  In 1993–94 the Laboratory of the Government Chemist received income from the following:

  £ million

  (a)

  Department of Trade and Industry

  7.4

  (b)

  Her majesty's Customs and Excise

  1.7

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  1.3

  Ministry of Defence

  1.1

  Department of Health

  0.65

  Department of Environment1

  0.45

  Department of Transport

  0.15

  (c)

  Intervention Board

  0.6

  Social Security Benefits Agency

  0.2

  1 This includes income from organisations that were part of DoE at us the outset of the financial year but changed their status during it.

  In addition, a further £0.6 million approximately was received from other central Government customers, including departments and individual executive agencies, consisting predominantly of amounts below £0.1 million.

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much the Laboratory of the Government Chemist will spend on non-contract strategic research in the financial year 1993–94.
  656
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  In 1993–94 the Laboratory of the Government Chemist spent approximately £250,000 on its own strategic research relating to selected areas of analytical science to enhance its technical capabilities. A similar outturn for 1994–95 is expected.

  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements will be made for the pensions of current and former staff of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist following sale or transfer of the laboratory.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  On privatisation, the new company will be required to provide broadly comparable pension arrangements. The Government Actuary will provide an independent analysis of comparability between existing pension arrangements and those proposed after privatisation. The pension arrangements of former LGC staff will not be affected.

  Energy Advisory Panel
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the current members of the energy advisory panel; if he will give details of their background and expertise; and on what dates the panel has met since March 1993.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The current members of the energy advisory panel, with their relevant background, are as follows:

  Chairman

  Sir Martin Holdgate
  Member of Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution; formerly Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Formerly Chief Scientist, Department of the Environment. Recent Chairman of the Renewable Energy Advisory Group.

  Members

  Lady Mary Archer
  Chairman of the National Energy Foundation. A specialist on solar energy and formerly a member of the REAG.

  Ron Campbell
  Formerly Managing Director of Babcock Energy and Director of the Nuclear Power Group, both leading suppliers to the electricity supply industry. Now a consultant. Member of the Department's former Advisory Council on Energy Research and Development and of NII's Advisory Council on the Safety of Nuclear Installations.

  Tony Cooper
  General Secretary of EMA, Engineers' and Managers' Association. Electrical Power Engineer's Association. The EMA has strong links with the nuclear and electricity supply industries.

  Nigel Evans
  Managing Director, Caminus Energy Ltd. An energy economist, specialising in the electricity industry. Consultant to the Coal Review. Formerly a member of ACORD.

  David Green MBE
  Director of the Combined Heat and Power Association. He was a founder of Neighbourhood Energy Action.

  Dieter Helm
  Oxford Economic Research Associates. Energy economist.
  657
  Peter Ibbotson
  Director, Store Format Group, Sainsbury plc. His responsibilities include energy efficiency.

  Professor Alexander Kemp
  Department of Economics, University of Aberdeen. A specialist on the economics of oil production.

  Sam Laidlaw
  Managing Director of Amerada Hess (UK) Ltd. Former President of the United Kingdom Offshore Operators' Association.

  Mike Parker
  Formerly Director of Economics, British Coal. Now a consultant.

  Paul Rich
  Managing Director, Allied Steel and Wire Ltd. Represents large energy users.

  Lynda Rouse
  Currently Managing Director, Corporate Finance, Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd. Lead adviser on the privatisation of the Scottish electricity supply industry.

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

  Anthony White
  Head of Corporate Strategy, National Grid Company.

  Professor Alan Williams
  Department of Fuel and Energy, Leeds University. An expert on combustion. Recently Chaired the Watt Committee study of methane emissions. Was a special adviser to the Coal Inquiry by the Trade and Industry Select Committee.

  Since the membership of the energy advisory panel was announced on 27 October 1993, it has met on seven occasions: on 23 November 1993; and on 10 February, 25 March, 28 June, 30 September, 25 October, and 8 December 1994.

  Electricity Trading Report
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Director General of Electricity Supply's report, "Trading Outside the Pool".

  Mr. Eggar
  I welcome the director general's report and accept his conclusions. I note that further reforms in pool trading are anticipated. I look forward to further reforms in the way the uplift element of the pool price is handled and share the director general's wish to see progress in permitting local trades between generators and second tier suppliers - that is, trades on the customer side of a grid supply point rather than trades across the grid itself.

  The director general has stated that he would be prepared to reconsider the issue of "Trading Outside the Pool" at some future date if circumstances warranted. I consider this a sensible and pragmatic conclusion.

  Patent Office Agency
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, if he will make a statement on the outcome of the review of the Patent Office Agency.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I am pleased to announce that the review is now complete. A summary of the consultants'658
  report, edited to omit commercially sensitive information, has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It is customary to review the status and performance of all agencies, as a matter of course, three years after their establishment. I am satisfied that the Patent Office has performed well during this period. It is meeting the legitimate expectations of users and improvements in quality of service were recognised by the award of a charter mark in 1993. Since relocation to Newport, Gwent, in 1991, the office has also reduced its cost base by about £7 million per annum, it has become a trading fund, and it has introduced a range of commercial disciplines. These will all contribute to securing its long-term future.

  I have considered whether the Patent Office should be privatised and believe that this should remain an option for the longer term. I have also looked at the scope for large-scale contractorisation. But the nature and extent of the Patent Office's statutory functions would require special arrangements in this case to safeguard their proper exercise, and so render this option less attractive. I have therefore decided to confirm the status of the Patent Office as an executive agency. I will be setting new targets to take effect from 1 April 1995 which will require the Patent Office to continue its drive to improve efficiency and quality of service and these will encourage the Patent Office to contract out activities wherever this is compatible with its statutory role and good value for money. The aim is for the Patent Office to continue to provide a first rate service to its users. The office is a valuable asset in terms of its information resource and analytical expertise, and I will also support its endeavours to work with private sector partners to seek out new business opportunities both in the United Kingdom and overseas. Experience of the development of such partnerships as well as all options for ownership and delivery of service will be re-examined in any future review.

  Postal Services
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of responses to the Government Green Paper, "The Future of Postal Services".

  Mr. Eggar
  By the end of the consultation period on 30 September, there had been some 13,400 responses to the Green Paper. A further 2,000 responses were received after 30 September.

  Responses fell into two categories. The first category came from individual members of the public and local organisations and tended to be short responses on the principle of privatisation. The second category—some 50 responses in all—came from organisations with more specific interests in the future of postal services, including representatives of users, competitors and postal employees.

  Of the first category, over half of responses were pre-printed postcards or short standard form letters issued by organisations opposed to the Government's proposals. Among the significant majority of letters there was confusion as to the detail of what the Government were proposing and little acknowledgement of the safeguards proposed in the Green Paper.

  The second category of more detailed responses was more difficult to summarise. Many of them took the form of lengthy documents analysing the options and other

  659
  points of detail, with a wide variety of views being expressed. There was, however, an overall majority in this category in favour of privatisation of the Royal Mail and Parcelforce.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which of the special advisers serving in his Department during the last five years were subject to positive security vetting.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: All special advisers are currently required to have positive vetting.

  Consultancy Assistance Scheme
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the companies in the north-west which benefited from the marketing initiative under the 660
  consultancy assistance scheme of the now defunct enterprise initiative.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  [holding answer 12 December 1994]: The take-up of the consultancy initiative by north- west companies, and their satisfaction with the scheme, were amongst the highest in the country. Since it started in January 1988, over 19,000 north-west companies have benefitted from the consultancy initiative. More than 3,500 companies chose the marketing option, although their names cannot be revealed for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions departmental officials met representatives of Ian Greer Associates in the last month to discuss matters relating to their client's interests.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 12 December 1994]: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

ENVIRONMENT

  European Charter of Self-government
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government will sign the European charter of self-government; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  The Government have no plans to sign the European charter of local self-government. Local government is not suitable for regulation by international convention.

  Hares
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the population of hares in the United Kingdom in the period from 1979 to date.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government-funded national hare survey, carried out during the winters of 1991–92 and 1992–93 estimated the British population to be somewhere between 680,000 and 954,000. There are no figures available for Northern Ireland.

  Negative Equity
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many home buyers who took out a mortgage in (a) 1988, (b) 1989, (c) 1990 and (d) 1991 are now experiencing negative equity in each region.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  An estimate of the number of home buyers who took out a mortgage in each of the years 1988 to 1991, still affected by negative equity, by region, based on Department of the Environment house price data is as follows:

  (thousands)

  Region

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  South East

  73.5

  105.0

  94.9

  65.8

  Greater London

  18.2

  24.8

  24.4

  11.3

  South West

  20.7

  36.6

  33.5

  18.3

  East Anglia

  10.1

  18.7

  11.7

  6.6

  East Midlands

  —

  3.6

  3.1

  3.5

  West Midlands

  —

  0.8

  3.8

  1.5

  Wales

  —

  —

  —

  2.9

  Yorks and Humberside

  —

  —

  —

  6.3

  North West

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Scotland

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Northern Ireland

  —

  —

  —

  —

  United Kingdom

  122.5

  189.5

  171.4

  116.3

  Greenhouse Gases
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effect of levying value added tax on standing charges for fuel on the United Kingdom's emissions of greenhouse gases.

  Mr. Atkins
  The introduction of VAT on domestic fuel and power at the standard rate was expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 millions tonnes of carbon per annum. The effect on emissions of levying VAT on standing charges has not been separately assessed.

  Water
  Mr. Ottaway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to promote competition in the water industry.

  Mr. Atkins
  We are keen to encourage competition wherever it is appropriate and the Competition and Service (Utilities) Act 1992 introduced a number of measures to facilitate it in the case of water.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present amount of accumulated debt of each of the district authorities in England.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  I have placed the information requested about the amount of accumulated debt of each of the district councils in England in the Library of the House.

  "Going for Green" Committee
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of meetings held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of any reports and submissions produced by the "Going for Green" committee since its inception.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government panel on sustainable development has met four times since it was established in January 1994. It intends to produce its first report early in 1995. Administrative support for the panel is provided by staff seconded to the Cabinet Office. Panel members receive expenses only.

  Energy Efficiency Scheme
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of the budget of the home energy efficiency scheme is spent promoting the scheme to those eligible for funding under the scheme.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Some £500,000—about 0.7 per cent. of the total budget of the home energy efficiency scheme—is being spent in the current financial year on promotion. Current demand for the scheme indicates that knowledge of its existence is widespread, and that this level of promotion is both appropriate and consistent with the need to ensure that the available funds are used, as far as possible, to pay grants.

  Housing
  Mr. Hinchcliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed reduction in housing association investment on the number of homes available for rent.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Housing associations can provide homes for rent through the Housing Corporation's approved development programme in two ways: new homes for rent funded by the rental programme; and lettings freed up by the corporation's home ownership initiatives which are targeted at existing public sector tenants. The Housing Corporation estimates that through
  663
  these programmes it will be able to provide over 46,000 new rented lettings in 1995–96. This compares with the estimate of 43,500 new rented lettings in 1995–96 published in December 1993.

  Radioactive Waste
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he expects the radioactive waste management advisory committee to publish its 20 year review;

  (2) when he expects the radioactive waste management advisory committee and advisory committee on the safety of muclear installations to publish their joint report on site selection and safety criteria for the deep disposal of radioactive waste.

  Mr. Atkins
  The reports, which I have not yet received, will be published in due course.

  Housing Corporation
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the forthcoming finance, management and policy review of the Housing Corporation.

  Mr. Curry
  As part of the Government's programme of regular five-yearly finance, management and policy reviews of non-departmental public bodies my Department will conduct a thorough review of the Housing Corporation beginning on 3 January 1995. The first stage of the review will take the form of a prior options study. This will assess the extent to which the corporation's functions are necessary for the achievement of the Government's policies, and whether there is scope for privatising, contracting out, or transferring all or part of its functions to another body. The study will take into account Government's continuing support for a programme of new lettings at subsidised rents delivered through housing associations.

  The progress made by the corporation since the previous review in 1990 will be examined and the results of that examination and of the prior options study will inform a detailed review of the corporation's policy and financial management systems.

  To minimise the uncertainty the prior options study will cause, I expect that study to be completed within four months. The time required for the more detailed review cannot be foreseen, but I would expect it to last no longer than eight months.

  In carrying out the study my Department will consult widely with housing organisations and others with an interest in the corporation's work.

  Research
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what sum was spent by his Department on research in each of the last 10 years; what percentage this was of the total annual budget; what is the research budget for the forthcoming year; what percentage this is of his total budget; and what additional new research is to be undertaken.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: Expenditure by the Department of the Environment on research and development in each of the
  664
  last 10 years in £ millions and as a percentage of the total annual budget, is presented below:

  Years

  Research spend

  Percentage of total annual budget

  1985–86

  39.6

  0.198

  1986–87

  52.4

  0.248

  1987–88

  54.2

  0.244

  1988–89

  54.3

  0.240

  1989–90

  61.9

  0.260

  1990–91

  69.9

  0.243

  1991–92

  89.0

  0.239

  1992–93

  91.6

  0.222

  1993–94

  90.5

  0.230

  1994–95

  93.9

  0.239

  The expenditure on research and development in the coming year has still to be finalised and will be reported in the statistical supplement to the "1995 Forward Look of Government-Funded Science, Engineering and Technology". The changes in the content of my departmental research in the coming years will be described in the main part of the forward look

  Dog Fouling
  Sir Graham Bright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will introduce national poop scoop legislation for dog fouling;

  (2) what estimate he has made of the level of dog fouling in the United Kingdom; and what information he has about it as a major source of filth and disease in urban areas;

  (3) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the existing system of byelaws in improving the environment concerning dog fouling.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government accept the conclusion of the advisory group on litter that the present complex system of byelaw control for dog fouling in England and Wales is unsatisfactory We therefore propose to simplify the system so that local authorities can introduce poop scoop measures in designated areas, without reference to central Government. We also propose that there should be a fixed penalty scheme for dog fouling offences to help local authorities enforce the measures. We believe that these measures will go a long way to addressing the group's wish to see a national poop scoop offence created across England and Wales.

  My Department has made no estimate of dog fouling in the United Kingdom. I understand that the pet advisory committee has estimated that approximately 1,200 tonnes of faeces are produced each day by dogs in the United Kingdom. In 1993 a survey by the Tidy Britain Group found that about one in six public places in the United Kingdom had dog fouling present. Within this sample, one in three off-street areas such as parks, playgrounds and car parks were fouled.

DEFENCE

  Energy Expenditure
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total expenditure on energy for
  665
  each property owned or leased by his Department for the use of Ministers in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Soames
  The only property leased by my Department for use by Ministers is a flat in Admiralty house, Whitehall, which is occupied by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. Energy costs for this property are not metered separately; they fall to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is responsible for the utilities costs of the whole building. The amounts attributable to the flat cannot therefore be separately identified.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Soames
  Statistics on energy expenditure are not maintained centrally for all the offices and buildings occupied by my Department's staff or for the agencies, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For headquarters office accommodation, however, the costs were as follows:

  1991–92 £

  1992–93 £

  1993–94 £

  Electricity

  3,418,910

  3,923,836

  4,121,307

  Gas

  314,140

  254,627

  280,189

  Water

  590,975

  543,146

  424,877

  Oil

  642,733

  703,405

  530,000

  European Fighter Aircraft
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what controls on future export sales form part of the European fighter aircraft international partnership agreement; and how these controls are to be exercised by the partner nations in the project.

  Mr. Freeman
  The arrangements for the sale of Eurofighter 2000 to third parties are set out in the general memorandum of understanding signed by the four partner nations and are reflected in the development contracts. In the development phase, industry must inform the partner nations before licence rights or sales to third parties can be granted, and the participating nations can require industry to refrain from granting such rights or impose conditions on the sale.

  Expenditure
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide figures for defence expenditure from 1978–79 to 1997–98 using the basis used for the calculation in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" 1995–96.
  666
  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  £ million

  1978–79

  21,760

  1979–80

  23,092

  1980–81

  23,755

  1981–82

  24,224

  1982–83

  25,834

  1983–84

  26,549

  1984–85

  28,040

  1985–86

  27,822

  1986–87

  27,224

  1987–88

  26,567

  1988–89

  25,295

  1989–90

  25,559

  1990–91

  25,292

  1991–92

  26,188

  1992–93

  23,611

  1993–94

  22,757

  1994–95

  22,071

  1995–96

  20,627

  1996–97

  20,310

  1997–98

  20,219

  (1) All figures are in £ million and are converted to constant 1993–94 prices using the GDP deflators published in the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1995–96. Outturn information is given from 1978–79 to 1993–94. The 1994–295 total is the estimated outturn and figures for 1995–96 to 1997–98 are the latest plans published in the FSBR 1995–96.

  (2) Figures are adjusted for technical changes in the treatment of Armed Forces and civilian pensions described in the 1992 Autumn Statement Cm 2096, and other classification changes.

  (3) Figures before 1992–93 include expenditure relating to the security and intelligence services. Comparisons with later years' figures cannot be made on a fully consistent basis.

  (4) Totals include expenditure on the Falklands and Gulf conflicts but exclude Gulf burden—sharing contributions received in 1990–91 and 1991–92.

  Military Training
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to share military training between Salisbury plain and Otterburn.

  Mr. Soames
  Because the Salisbury plain training area cannot accommodate all the training demands placed on it and has to be managed at a level which will not cause unacceptable environmental damage,it is intended that the Otterburn training area will, in future, be used for live firing of both MLRS and AS90. Although a proportion of AS90 live firing and tactical movement and MLRS manoeuvre training will continue at Salisbury plain, no MLRS live firing will be carried out there in the foreseeable future.

  Public Relations
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State of Defence if he will set out his Department's expenditure on public relations in 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94, and planned expenditure in 1994–95.

  Mr. Soames
  The earliest year for which figures are readily available is 1991–92. Figures which relate to expenditure on films, exhibitions, publications, equipment and headquarters staff and operating costs are:

  Year

  £

  1991–92

  5,490,000

  1992–93

  5,520,000

  1993–94

  5,450,000

  667
  The estimated expenditure figure for 1994–95 is £7,305,000 which includes expenditure on WWII commemorations.

  Expenditure on public relations outside my Department's HQ is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Sexual Harassment
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to prevent sexual harassment in the armed forces.

  Mr. Soames
  It is made clear throughout the armed forces that ill-treatment of any sort is not tolerated. Any complaints of harassment are investigated and, if proven, appropriate action is taken. In April 1994, the Army issued guidelines on dealing with and preventing sexual harassment. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force are in the process of drawing up similar guidelines.

  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the EC code of practice on measures to combat sexual harassment has been brought to the attention of service personnel.

  Mr. Soames
  A single code of practice for civilian staff, covering all forms of harassment, including sexual harassment, is being prepared to update existing procedures. This new code takes account of the EC code of practice and when it has been finalised, its provisions will be incorporated into the services' guidelines on dealing with harassment.

  Committee on Women
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library all minutes and working party reports of the committee on women in NATO forces from 1976 to the present time.

  Mr. Soames
  My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

  Benefits and Remuneration
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library details of the entire benefits and remuneration package enjoyed by men and women in the armed forces from 1976 to the present time.

  Mr. Soames
  Full details of the entitlements to, and levels of, allowance since 1976 are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The key documents relating to the remuneration of members of the armed forces for the period requested are, however, already in the Library of the House. They include:

  Reports of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body

  Royal Navy Orders in Council made under Section 3 of the Naval and Marine Pay and Pensions Act 1865

  The Army Pay Warrant

  The Army Pensions Warrant

  Queen's Orders for the RAF Pay, Allowances and Pensions made under Section 2 of the Air Force Constitution Act 1917

  The Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force

  Equality
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what working party reports on equality in the 668
  armed forces were prepared between 1976 and the present time; and what were the dates upon which they reported.

  Mr. Soames
  In the time available it has not been possible to establish whether any such reports were prepared, other than that referred to in my answer to the hon. Member of 30 November,Official Report, column 784. It is not my Department's practice to release internal planning documents of this kind.

  Nerve Agent Pre-treatment Tablets
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice he has received regarding the standard prescribed dosage for nerve agent pre-treatment set tablets.

  Mr. Soames
  The nerve agent pre-treatment set standard dose of one 30 mg tablet taken eight-hourly was based on scientific and medical advice following studies to establish the efficacy and safety of the constituent drug Pyridostigmine bromide as a nerve agent pre-treatment. Those studies showed effective protection at this dosage with only occasional minor side effects, which cease when the tablets are stopped.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if civilians serving with the Merchant Navy and based in Plymouth were prescribed a course of nerve agent pre-treatment set tablets prior to and during Operation Granby; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  All personnel deployed to the Gulf theatre of operations, including those MOD civilians working in support of the Navy, were issued with NAPS tablets for their personal administration against the risk of chemical nerve agent attack. All personnel were briefed not to exceed the stated dose and were advised when to commence taking NAPS tablets.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the standard prescribed dosage of nerve agent pre-treatment set tablets was exceeded(a) during biological and chemical defence training in preparation for Operation Granby and (b) during Operation Granby.

  Mr. Soames
  During biological and chemical warfare training, personnel are instructed on the purpose and proper administration of nerve agent pre-treatment set tablets and are advised that the stated dose should not be exceeded. The standard dosage of one 30mg NAPS tablet to be taken every eight hours is shown clearly on the packet, which also advises that the standard dose should not be exceeded.

  The actual taking of NAPS tablets does not form part of chemical and biological training, and we have no evidence to suggest that personnel exceeded the stated dosage during Operation Granby.

  Tornado
  Dr. David Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the Tornado F3 aircraft serviced by Airworks Ltd at RAF St. Athan are no longer capable of operational duties; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Of the Tornado F3 aircraft that entered the fatigue modification programme with Airwork, 16 require repair. All of these will be recovered to a fully operational state and returned to the RAF.

  Married Quarters
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure was made by his Department on developing proposals for the creation of the housing trust for the disposal of married quarters.

  Mr. Soames
  My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Milton Keynes, North-East (Mr. Butler) of 8 December 1994,Official Report, column 303, how much money the contract won buy the investment bank, Nat West Markets, for the development of further proposals for the transfer of the married quarters estate is worth.

  Mr. Soames
  The price of this contract is commercially confidential.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many units the married housing quarters estate owned by his Department consists of; and what proportion of the estate is currently empty.

  Mr. Soames
  As at 30 September, the married quarter housing estate owned by my Department consisted of 73,595 properties, of which 11,729 were vacant. Included in these figures were 2,744 properties in the process of sale, of which 2,014 were vacant. The majority of the other empty properties were undergoing or awaiting major maintenance, held for future deployments, or formed part of the management margin needed to ensure that accommodation is available for entitled service families.

  Desert Storm Syndrome
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the recent United States Senate Committee for Veteran Affairs' report on Desert Storm syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

  Column 1

  Column 2

  Column 3

  Column 4

  Column 5

  Column 6

  Column 7

  Column 8

  Column 9

  Total number of men in receipt of state pension

  Total number of women in receipt of state pension

  Column 1 + column 2

  Number of men aged 65 and over in receipt of basic retirement pension (based on own contributions) at less than standard rate

  Number of women aged 65 and over in receipt of basic retirement pension (based on own contributions) at less than standard rate

  Column 4 as a percentage of column 1

  Column 5 as a percentage of column 2

  Column 4 as a percentage of column 3

  Column 5 as a percentage of column 3

  3,310,060

  6,285,590

  9,595,650

  172,310

  334,890

  5.21

  5.33

  1.80

  3.49

  Notes:

  1. Figures are for 31 March 1994, the latest date in respect of which information is available, for persons resident in Great Britain.

  2. "State retirement pension" means a contributory retirement pension, a non-contributory retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit.

  3. Figure at column 2 includes women aged 60–64.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average state earnings-related pensions scheme pension for(a) women aged 60 to 64 years and (b) men aged 65 to 69 years in the latest available year.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  At 31 March 1994, the latest date in respect of which information is available, the average rate of additional pension payable as a component of retirement pension was:
  670
  Mr. Soames
  My Department is aware of a report dated 8 November 1994, written by the majority staff of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, entitled "Is Military Research Hazardous to Veterans' Health? Lessons Spanning Half a Century". As with all material relating to the alleged Desert Storm syndrome, my Department will be reviewing the scientific and medical basis for the report and evaluating the relevance of it, if any, to our own investigations into the claimed Gulf war-related illnesses among UK armed forces personnel.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Rents
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the full-year effect on social security expenditure of the proposal to cover only 50 per cent. of rent above the average for similar properties in an area for new claimants and those moving home after October 1995.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  Much will depend on the definition of the average and other factors, including the behaviourial effects of the proposals. However, the estimated savings to housing benefit from this proposal from October 1995 to October 1996 are around £40 million. The projected cost of housing benefit expenditure over this period will be published in the social security departmental report in the normal way.

  Pensions
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men and (b) women aged over 65 years who qualified for a state pension based on their own contributions did not qualify for the full rate of state pension; and what proportion those figures represent of the total of (i) men, (ii) women and (iii) men and women in receipt of state pension.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The information is in the table.

  £9.53 for women aged 60 to 64 years

  £14.12 for men aged 65 to 69 years

  Notes:

  1. Figures do not include—

  (a) women aged 60 to 64 and men aged 65 to 69 receiving additional pension as a component of invalidity pension,

  (b) women aged 60 to 64 receiving additional pension as a component of widow's benefit,

  671

  (c) women aged 60 to 64 and men aged 65 to 69 whose entitlement to additional pension is fully extinguished by a contracted-out deduction arising from membership of a contracted-out occupational pension scheme or an approved personal pension scheme,

  (d) persons with no entitlement to additional pension.

  2. Figures are for persons resident in Great Britain.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of(a) men aged 65 years and (b) women aged 60 years received a state earnings-related pension at the latest available date.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  At 31 March 1994, the latest date in respect of which information is available, 71.8 per cent. of men aged 65 and 35.2 per cent. of women aged 60 were in receipt of additional pension payable as a component of state retirement pension.

  Notes:

  1. Figures do not include—

  (a) women aged 60 and men aged 65 receiving additional pension as a component of invalidity pension,

  (b) women aged 60 receiving additional pension as a component of widows benefit,

  (c) women aged 60 and men aged 65 whose entitlement to additional pension is fully extinguished by a contracted-out deduction arising from membership of a contracted-out occupational pension scheme or an approved personal pension scheme.

  2. Figures are for persons resident in Great Britain.

  3. Population figures used are Government Actuary's Department 1992 based estimates.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men aged 65 years and over and

  Column 1 Total number of women receiving standard rate Category A, B, B(L) or A/B(L) retirement pension

  Column 2 Figure at column 1 as a percentage of the total female population

  Column 3 Figure at column 1 as a percentage of the total female population aged 60 and over

  Column 4 Figure at column 1 as a percentage of total number of women in receipt of state pension

  5,328,920

  18.4 per cent.

  78.8 per cent.

  87.0 per cent.

  Notes:

  Columns 1 and 4:

  —figures are for 31 March 1994, the latest date in respect of which information is available, for persons resident in Great Britain.

  — "State retirement pension" means a contributory retirement pension, a non-contributory retirement pension or graduated retirement benefit.

  — Category A retirement pension is based on the woman's own national insurance contributions.

  — Category B retirement pension is payable to a widow and is based on her late husband's national insurance contributions.

  — Category B(L) retirement pension is paid to a married woman and is based on her husband's national insurance contributions.

  — Category A/13(L) retirement pension is payable to a married woman and is based on both her own and her husband's national insurance contributions.

  Columns 2 and 3—population figures are Government Actuary's Department 1992 based estimates.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women who retired at age 60 years during the latest year for which figures are available received pensions based(a) wholly and (b) partly on the husband's national insurance contribution

  Column 1

  Column 2

  Column 3

  Column 4

  Column 5

  Column 6

  Column 7

  Column 8

  Column 9

  Column 10

  Column 11

  Number of married women aged 60 in receipt of Category B(L) retirement pension

  Number of widows aged 60 in receipt of Category B retirement pension

  Number of married women aged 60 in receipt of Category A/B(L) retirement pension

  Total female population aged 60 years and over

  Total female population in receipt of state pension

  Column 1 as per cent. of column 4

  Column 2 as per cent. of column 4

  Column 3 as per cent. of column 4

  Column 1 as per cent. of column 5

  Column 2 as per cent, of column 5

  Column 3 as per cent, of column 4

  19,690

  4,440

  13,870

  6,764,000

  6,285,590

  0.29 per cent.

  0.07 per cent.

  0.21 per cent.

  0.31 per cent.

  0.07 per cent.

  0.22 per cent.

  Notes:

  1. Category B(L) and Category B pensions are based wholly on the husband's national insurance contributions.

  2. Category A/B(L) pensions are based partly on the husband's national insurance contributions.

  3. Figures are not available in respect of widows whose pensions are based partly on the late husband's national insurance contributions.

  4. Figures at columns 1 to 3 and 5 are for 31 March 1994, the latest date in respect of which information is available, for persons resident in Great Britain.

  5. Population figures used are Government Actuary's Department 1992 based estimates.
  672
  (b) women aged 60 years and over were in receipt of state pension in the latest available date.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 25 October,Official Report, column 428 to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen (Mrs. Kennedy).

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men aged 65 to 69 years and (b) women aged 60 to 64 years were receiving an occupational pension at the latest available date.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The most recent estimates available1 show that in 1992 there were 1 million men aged 65 to 69 years and 0.4 million women aged 60 to 64 years in receipt of an occupational pension.

  1 Estimates are derived from the 1992 Family Expenditure Survey; and "Occupational Pension Schemes 1991—Ninth survey by the Government Actuary".

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women aged over 60 years are currently not eligible for state pension as a result of an insufficient national insurance contribution record.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The information requested is not available.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women eligible for the state pension in the latest available year received the full state pension; and what percentage of women this represents of(a) the female population, (b) the female population aged over 60 years and (c) the female population in receipt of state pension.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The information is in the table.

  records; and what proportion, by percentage, these figures represent of: (i) total female population aged over 60 years and (ii) total female population in receipt of state pension.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The information is in the table.
  673
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men and (b) women were members of an occupational pension scheme at the latest available date.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The most recent figures available1 show that in 1991 there were 6.8 million male and 3.9 million female active occupational scheme members2.

  1 Occupational pension schemes 1991. Ninth survey by the Government Actuary.

  2 A member of an occupational pension scheme who is at present accruing benefits under that scheme in respect of current service.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the effect on Government revenues in a full year of the real increase in non-dependent deductions from housing benefit.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The estimated savings from the real increase in non-dependant deductions in housing benefit from April 1995 are £35 million in a full year.

  Source:

  The 1990–91–92 family expenditure surveys uprated to 1994–95 prices and benefit levels. Figures rounded to the nearest £5 million.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give reasons for waiting until October 1996 to pilot his proposed scheme for extending family credit to childless couples and individuals.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The timing of introduction of the proposed pilot scheme is dictated by the need to develop and consult on the evaluation methodology and the criteria for selecting pilot areas; to draw up detailed rules for the new benefit and develop supporting IT systems; and to allow time for the introduction of jobseeker's allowance in April 1996. An earlier introduction would be operationally difficult and would risk confusion between the effects of the new benefit and those of the jobseeker's allowance itself.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Hawksley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons are eligible for a national insurance card.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  Everyone who is registered for national insurance on the national insurance recording system is eligible to receive a national insurance number card. It is estimated that, at 5 December, there were 62,058,200 people registered on the system.

  European Year of Older People
  Mr. Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what contribution his Department has made in 1994 to follow up European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The year 1994 is viewed both in the United Kingdom and within the Community as a year of evaluation and consolidation of the achievements of the European year. We maintain close links with the voluntary sector and have provided the sum of £20,000 towards the setting up of a small secretariat to take this work forward.

  Income Support
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions he held with the insurance companies prior to his announcement of changes to the provision of income support for mortgage interest.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Southhampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), on 7 December,Official Report, column 363.

  VAT on Fuel
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the reasons for the recall of recently printed pension books relating to VAT compensation.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  As a result of the decision not to increase the level of VAT on domestic fuel to 17.5 per cent., the rate of retirement pension, and certain other benefits, from April 1995 has been revised. Some books containing payments at the incorrect rate had already been issued and these will be replaced.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) on what date he intends to publish the Government's proposed Bill on discrimination against disabled people;

  (2) if he will be publishing the Government's proposed Bill on discrimination against disabled people before the Christmas recess.

  Mr. Hague
  The Bill will be published shortly once the detailed contents have been finalised.

  Child Support
  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the practicalities of introducing a lower rate of assessable income for child maintenance in retrospective cases, as recommended by the Social Security Select Committee, fifth report of Session 1993–94, HC 470; and when he will report his findings to the House.

  Mr. Lilley
  I have today written to the Chairman of the Committee, providing the exemplifications it requested; and I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Contributions Agency
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to evaluate the introduction of the Contributions Agency, in line with the next steps principles.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I am pleased to announce that an evaluation report on the Contributions Agency has been published today. It shows clearly that the introduction of the agency has proved successful and is a sound base on which to build. The report sets out the many improvements that have resulted from agency status, both in the agency's specific areas of responsibility and in their positive impact on the work of this Department as a whole.
  675
  Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

  Inquiries about the report should be addressed to: Ms C. Thompson, Department of Social Security, Room 0903, The Adelphi building, 1–11 John Adam street, London WC2N 6HT.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many social fund applications for(a) grants and (b) loans have been turned down in each local office in the Benefits Agency southern territory in each year since 1990–91;

  (2) how many social fund applications for (a) grants and (b) loans were turned down even though the applicant fulfilled qualifying criteria due to local budgeting restriction in each local office in the Benefits Agency southern territory in each year since 1990–91.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The administration of the social fund 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.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. John Denham, dated 13 December 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking how many Social Fund grant and loan applications were refused, and how many were

  Column 1

  Column 2

  Column 3

  Column 4

  Column 5

  Column 6

  Benefits/Allowances

  Date introduction announced

  Date introduced

  Rate at announcement £

  Rate when introduced £

  Current rate £

  Christmas bonus

  November 1972

  December 1972

  10.00

  10.00

  10.00

  Income Support— amounts for meals where these cannot be purchased within the accommodation:

  daily rates breakfast

  November 1987

  April 1988

  1.10

  1.10

  1.10

  midday/evening meal

  November 1987

  April 1988

  1.55

  1.55

  1.55

  Ilford Park Polish Home—personal expenses for:

  claimant

  November 1987

  April 1988

  11.50

  11.50

  17.35

  partner

  November 1987

  April 1988

  11.50

  11.50

  17.35

  dependent children aged 18

  November 1987

  April 1988

  10.30

  10.30

  15.55

  Maternity Allowance—

  higher rate

  March 1994

  June 1994

  52.50

  52.50

  52.50

  Retirements Pension—age 80 addition

  March 1971

  September 1971

  0.25

  0.25

  0.25

  Social Fund— Maternity Payment

  December 1985

  April 1987

  approx. 75.00

  85.00

  100.00

  676
  refused due to local budgeting restrictions, for each local office in the Benefits Agency's Southern Territory since 1990/91.
  Information for 1990/91 is not available in the format requested; this is because the Southern Territory has only existed from April 1991 when the Benefits Agency was formed. However, I have provided details of the number of loan and grant applications refused in each of the Districts in the Southern Territory for the years 1991/92, 1992/93 and 1993/94 at Annex A; a copy has been placed in the Library. The number refused on the grounds of insufficient priority for the same period has been provided at Annex B and a copy has also been placed in the Library.
  The new Social Fund Computer System (SFCS), introduced in 1993/94, collects additional statistics which were not held on the previous system. Many statistical items are collected differently and are not directly comparable with earlier years. The previous system recorded reasons for refusal per application whereas SFCS records reasons for refusal per item requested. In cases where a partial award is made, a reason for refusal will also be appropriate. As SCFS was introduced into Districts on a rollout basis throughout 1993/94, the figures for that year will be a combination of the information held on the two systems.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Benefit Upratings
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his oral statement of 30 November,Official Report, columns 205–8, what would be the value of all non-uprated benefits and allowances had they been uprated (a) by price increase and (b) by earnings since the dates they were (i) announced and (ii) first paid.

  Mr. Hague
  [holding answer Monday 5 December 1994]: The information is in the table.
  677

  Column 1 Benefits/Allowances

  Column 2 Date introduction announced

  Column 3 Date introduced

  Column 4 Rate at announcement £

  Column 5 Rate when introduced £

  Column 6 Current rate £

  Statutory Maternity Pay—lower rate

  April 1986

  April 1987

  31.60

  32.85

  52.50

  Statutory Sick Pay— standard rate

  November 1981

  April 1983

  37.00

  40.25

  52.50

  War Pensions— education allowance (see note 6)

  not applicable

  September 1939

  not applicable

  35.00

  120.00

  Widows Payment

  December 1985

  April 1988

  1,000.00

  1,000.00

  1,000.00

  Column 1

  Column 7

  Column 8

  Column 9

  Column 10

  Benefit/Allowance

  Value of rate at column 4 if uprated by earnings since date at column 2 £

  Value of rate at column 4 if uprated by prices since date at column 2 £

  Value of rate at column 5 if uprated by earnings since date at column 3 £

  Value of rate at column 5 if uprated by prices since date at column 3 £

  Christmas bonus

  107.20

  64.45

  107.20

  64.45

  Income Support— amounts for meals where these cannot be purchased within the accommodation:

  daily rates breakfast

  1.95

  1.60

  1.65

  1.55

  midday/evening meal

  2.55

  2.30

  2.45

  2.15

  Ilford Park Polish Home—personal expenses for:

  claimant

  19.65

  1650

  18.20

  16.10

  partner

  19.65

  16.50

  18.20

  16.10

  dependant children aged 18

  17.55

  14.85

  16.25

  14.35

  Maternity Allowance— higher rate

  56.10

  54.65

  54.55

  53.65

  Retirement Pension—age 80 addition

  3.55

  1.60

  3.55

  1.60

  Social Fund—Maternity Payment

  141.10

  114.35

  145.10

  125.50

  Statutory Maternity Pay— lower rate

  59.45

  48.15

  56.00

  48.50

  Statutory Sick Pay— standard rate

  93.65

  69.95

  94.00

  71.60

  War Pensions—education allowance (see note 6)

  not applicable

  not applicable

  see note 5

  899.05

  Widows Payment

  1,881.30

  1,525.15

  1,583.00

  1,417.90

  Notes:

  1. Figures have been rounded to two decimal places.

  2. In each step of the calculation the benefit has been rounded to the nearest 5p.

  3. The Retail Prices Index (all items) and the Retail Prices Index (all items except housing ROSSI) as published by the Central Statistical Office have been used for prices uprating (ROSSI for income-related benefits).

  4. Average Earnings Index (Whole Economy Unadjusted) as published by the Employment Department has been used to calculate the earnings uprating.

  5. Average Earnings Index began in January 1963: it is not possible to provide earnings upratings in respect of periods commencing before that date.

  6. Education allowance was inherited from the WW1 scheme (under which it was available on a discretionary basis) at the onset of WW2.
  678 679
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the changes to his proposals, following his annual review of national insurance contributions, consequent upon the decision not to proceed with the second phase of value added tax on domestic fuel.

  Mr. Lilley
  [pursuant to his reply, 12 December, Official Report, column 541–542]: I regret that the rate of the Class 3 contribution shown in the table was incorrect.

  The correct information is in the table.

  Contribution rates and limits for 1995–96

  CLASS 1

  Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)1

  £58 a week

  Upper Earnings Limit (UEL)

  £440 a week

  Employee contributions2

  Initial rate

  2 per cent, (on earnings up to the LEL)

  Main rate

  10 per cent, (on earnings between the LEL and UEL)

  Employer contributions2

  Weekly earnings

  Contribution rate

  £58–£ 104.99

  3 per cent.

  £105–£149.99

  5 per cent.

  £150–£204.99

  7 per cent.

  £205 and over

  10.2 per cent.

  CLASS 2

  Self employed rate1

  £5.75 a week

  Limit of net earnings for exception from Class 2 liability1

  £3,260 a year

  CLASS 3

  Voluntary contributions rate1

  £5.65 a week

  Percentage discharged dead, by region, ordinary admissions, acute sector NHS Hospitals, England

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Northern

  3.1

  3.4

  3.0

  3.3

  2.8

  Yorkshire

  2.4

  2.3

  2.2

  2.5

  2.2

  Trent

  3.3

  3.6

  3.7

  3.5

  3.1

  East Anglian

  2.6

  2.8

  2.7

  3.2

  2.6

  North West Thames

  3.0

  3.0

  3.0

  2.9

  2.5

  North East Thames

  3.6

  3.8

  3.7

  3.3

  3.5

  South East Thames

  2.7

  3.0

  3.1

  3.0

  2.8

  South West Thames

  3.0

  3.1

  3.1

  2.8

  2.8

  Wessex

  3.3

  3.1

  3.1

  3.0

  2.8

  Oxford

  3.0

  3.2

  2.9

  2.9

  2.8

  South Western

  3.2

  3.0

  2.8

  3.0

  2.8

  West Midlands

  2.8

  2.9

  3.8

  3.5

  2.9

  Mersey

  2.9

  2.9

  2.7

  3.1

  2.5

  North Western

  2.6

  2.7

  2.6

  2.5

  2.5

  SHAs

  2.2

  2.1

  2.2

  1.9

  1.8

  Source:

  Hospital Episode Statistics

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by name the start-up costs for each national health service trust hospital, by region.
  680

  CLASS 4

  Lower Profits Limit

  £6,640

  Upper Profits Limit

  £22,880

  Contribution rate

  7.3 per cent.

  Notes

  1 Revised in light of the decision not to proceed with the second phase of VAT.

  2 Not contracted-out rates shown. A contracted-out rebate of 3 per cent. for employers and 1.8 per cent. for employees applies to earnings between the lower earnings limit and the upper earnings limit.

HEALTH

  Hospitals
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table which breaks down the data in table 16 of the Department of Health statistical bulletin 12/94, "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics: England 1983 to 1993–94", by regional health authority; and if she will also show the results in terms of number of each type of operation per 100,000 population in each age group in each region.

  Mr. Sackville
  Tables giving the available information will be placed in the Library. Information on finished consultant episodes broken down by region and by age is not available centrally.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table which breaks down the data in table 18 of the Department of Health statistical bulletin 12/94, "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics: England 1983 to 1993–94", by regional health authority; and if she will also show the results in terms of number discharged dead per 100,000 population in each age group in each region.

  Mr. Sackville
  The available information is shown in the table. Information on the numbers discharged dead, broken down by age group in each region, is not available centrally.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information will be place in the Library.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total sum paid in the most recent year for which figures are available in(a) fees and salaries and (b)

  681
  expenses to members of (i) NHS trust boards located in and (ii) health commissions serving Hampshire; and how many people serve on these bodies.

  Mr. Malone
  There are currently nine trusts in Hampshire. They each have a chairman and five non-executive directors with the exception of the Hampshire Ambulance and Andover District Community Trusts which each have a chairman and four non-executive directors. There are three district health authorities which each have a chairman and five non-executive members.

  In 1993–94 the remuneration of chairmen and non-executive directors of the six trusts then established totalled £230,000. Members expenses and the remuneration of district health authority executive and non-executive members is not available centrally.

  Secure Hospital Accommodation
  Mr. John Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the judiciary about the availability of secure hospital accommodation for mentally affected defendants; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  There have been occasions where judges have expressed concern about the availability of hospital places for defendants requiring admission under the Mental Health Act 1983. These have been resolved through local action.

  The difficulties have centred mainly on the availability of medium secure psychiatric places. Up to 1979, following the 1975 Glancy report, no medium secure places had been developed. There are now more than 700 purpose-built medium secure places in national health service hospitals in England and a further 600 places in interim NHS units and the private sector. We have allocated more than £45 million from central funds over the period 1991–95 to increase the number of NHS places to nearly 1,200 by the end of 1996.

  Winter Warmth Campaign
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inquiries have been made to the winter warmth campaign information line since its launch.

  Mr. Bowls
  A total of 94,403.

  European Year of Older People
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contributions her Department has made in 1994 to follow up the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993.

  Mr. Bowis
  The Department funded an evaluation seminar and will shortly be publishing a report on the Year. This will include the results of an evaluation by an independent consultant whose recommendations we shall consider carefully.

  We have provided £20,000 towards a new voluntary sector team—the United Kingdom European resource unit—to take forward the work of the year.

  Hospice Expenditure
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hospice expenditure in England and Wales is publicly provided.
  682
  Mr. Sackville
  The information for England is not available centrally. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Toxocariasis
  Sir Graham Bright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases for toxocariasis there are each year; and what assessment she has made of the main available source of the disease.

  Mr. Sackville
  The main source of toxocara infection is dog faeces. The Public Health Laboratory Service's communicable disease surveillance centre receives an average of about 50 laboratory reports of toxocariasis per year—not all caused by toxocara infection in dogs—the vast majority of these positives being reported because there has been some eye infection or disease. It is, however, acknowledged that there is probably a degree of under-reporting of this condition because the infection is self-limiting, and the infection may be either asymptomatic or very mild. The centre believes that it is not unreasonable to accept that there are between 100 and 200 new cases of toxocaral eye infection or disease—not necessarily causing severe damage to eyes—each year in the United Kingdom. Toxocariasis is not a notifiable disease.

  Sir Graham Bright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has about the proportion of infants carrying antibodies to the parasitic worm, toxicara; and what action she plans to take to reduce the problem.

  Mr. Sackville
  It is estimated that between 2 and 3 per cent. of the general population possess antibodies to toxocara species, suggesting that about 1 million people in the United Kingdom have been infected at some time. No antibody surveys have been undertaken specifically among children aged less than 12 months. However a survey in Bedford, conducted among children aged three to seven years in 1981, found that 14.6 per cent. possessed antibody. These data suggest that the majority of infections are acquired in childhood.

  Toxocariasis is an avoidable illness which can easily be prevented by dog owners worming their dogs regularly and by cleaning up their dog's faeces. Basic hygiene procedures, such as wearing gloves when gardening and washing hands after gardening or, with children, when they have been playing in the garden or parks should be followed. The Department of Health provides a grant to the charity Community Hygiene Concern which produces information for the public on toxocariasis and also supports the work of the Department of the Environment to encourage responsible dog ownership.

  Complementary Medicine
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those health authorities that purchase complementary medicine.

  Mr. Sackville
  Lists of services purchased by health authorities are not available centrally.

  Powick Hospital, Worcestershire
  Mr. Purchase
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated at Powick hospital, Worcestershire, with lysergic acid diethymide during the period 1964 to 1975; and if she will make a statement.
  683
  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the Worcester and District health authority.

  Excimer Laser Keratectomy
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has as to the incidence of side-effects on complications following excimer laser keratectomy.

  Mr. Sackville
  The College of Ophthalmologists has established a sub-committee to look at all aspects of laser treatment, including such side-effects of excimer laser treatment as haziness of the cornea, irritation of the eye, glare, subsequent long sight or persistent short sight.

  The long-term side effects associated with laser treatment are not yet known.

  Schizophrenia
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what approaches were made by the inquiry into the care of Michael Buchanan to,(a) local members of the National Schizophrenia Fellowship and (b) other local organisations about the issues raised by this case.

  Mr. Bowis
  The independent inquiry was established by the North West London Mental Health National Health Service Trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact the trust for information about the conduct of the inquiry.

  Supervision Register
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional services are available to someone placed on a supervision register.

  Mr. Bowis
  Supervision registers are designed to help local services identify those patients who should receive the greatest priority for care and treatment. Whether an individual placed on a register requires additional services is a matter for clinical or professional judgment in each case.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision exists for advising individuals(a) of their inclusion on a supervision register and (b) that information from the supervision register has been given to a third party.

  Mr. Bowis
  The guidelines on the introduction of registers make clear that patients who are placed on the supervision register should be informed orally and in writing at the time. They should be told why they are on the register, how the information on the register will be used and to whom that information may be disclosed.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what organisations have made representations regarding supervision registers for the mentally ill; and if she will list those which are in favour and those against.

  Mr. Bowis
  The Department consulted a number of organisations and individuals in the statutory and voluntary sector on the draft guidelines on the introduction of supervision registers and received a number of very helpful comments. Those who were consulted officially are shown in the table. Of those consulted only two organisations were against registers in principle, namely MIND and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities.
  684
  Organisations and individuals consulted over the draft guidelines on the introduction of supervision registers

  Afro-Caribbean Mental Health Association

  National Schizophrenia Fellowship

  MIND

  MINDLINK

  Mental Health Foundation

  Manic Depression Fellowship

  SANE

  Survivors Speak Out

  United Kingdom Advocacy Network

  Richmond Fellowship

  Good Practices in Mental Health

  Mental Health Act Commission

  Royal College of General Practitioners

  Royal College of Psychiatrists

  Community Psychiatric Nurses Association

  Royal College of Nurses

  British Psychological Society

  College of Occupational Therapists

  Association of Metropolitan Authorities

  Association of County Councils

  Association of District Councils

  Association of Directors of Social Services

  London Boroughs Association

  British Association of Social Workers

  Special Hospitals SHSA

  Association of Chief Officers of Probation

  Data Protection Registrar

  National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts

  Institute of Health Services Management

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring is being carried out on the operation of supervision registers for the mentally ill.

  Mr. Bowis
  It is the responsibility of health authorities to ensure that mental health service providers with which they contract establish and maintain supervision registers. Progress on the implementation of supervision registers is being monitored closely by the National Health Service Executive.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what external advice she has received on the legality of supervision registers for the mentally ill.

  Mr. Bowis
  None. We are satisfied as to their legality.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost of setting up the supervision registers; and what the sources of funding have been.

  Mr. Bowis
  Supervision registers are an integral part of the care programme approach which was introduced in April 1991. The additional administrative costs involved in the introduction of supervision registers should be minimal and will be met from existing resources.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances the contents of a supervision register can be passed to the police.

  Mr. Bowis
  Supervision registers are health records. As with other health records, information should be disclosed to a third party such as the police without the patient's consent only if that disclosure can be justified in the public interest.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions exist for the review of or appeal against placement on a supervision register for the mentally ill.

  Mr. Bowis
  Patients who are placed on a supervision register can request a review to consider their withdrawal
  685
  from the register. If the patient remains dissatisfied with the outcome of that review the normal channels of complaint and the right to a clinical second opinion apply.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people she expects to be placed on supervision registers for the mentally ill.

  Mr. Bowis
  Before the deadline for full implementation of registers it was estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people nationally were likely to be placed on registers. Early indications are that the estimate was correct.

  Children (Nutrition)
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether she has discussed with the Secretary of State for Social Security measures to combat malnutrition in children of poor families;

  (2) what recent representations she has received about the diet of children of low-income families; and if she will make a statement;

  (3) what plans she has to assist children of poor families suffering from malnutrition.

  Mr. Sackville
  A small number of the responses to the 1993 consultation on the nutrition task force's draft action programme referred to the potential difficulties of eating healthily on a low income. I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, East (Ms Corston) on 27 June,Official Report column 413–4 and 19 July at column 143–5 for more recent representations about diet and nutrition of children in different socio-economic circumstances.

  Malnutrition is a term which covers a wide variety of single or combined deficiencies of nutrients and/or energy. Although there is some evidence that iron intakes are low in children there is no evidence that this is particularly a problem in low-income families. There is no other evidence of public health problems from inadequate nutrient intakes.

  The welfare food scheme continues to provide a nutritional safeguard for children aged under five in families on income support.

  The nutrition task force has set up a project team to consider ways of assisting people on a low income to choose a healthy diet. In establishing the team, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security was consulted.

  In Vitro Fertilisation
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about the effects of IVF treatment on the health of mothers and children; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Since 1994, Ministers have received four letters on the subject.

  The summary of "The Report of the Medical Research Council Working Party on Children Conceived by IVF" by Pat Doyle and Valerie Beral, was published in the British Medical Journal, BMJ 1990, 300: 1229–33. The study showed that the numbers of malformations found were consistent with the range of expected values in national data on congenital malformations.

  From 1988 the interim licensing authority for human in-vitro fertilisation and embryology, and from 1 August
  686
  1991 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have kept registers of IVF treatment, including records of developmental defects in babies conceived as a result of treatment. These have not shown untoward rates of abnormality.

  Benzodiazepines
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what quantity of benzodiazepines was prescribed via community pharmacists in England and Wales in each year since 1987; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Malone
  The available data for England are contained in the table. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Benzodiazepines dispensing by community pharmacists. England 1987 to 1993

  Year

  Prescriptions (thousands)

  1987

  20,565

  1988

  18,682

  1989

  17,274

  1990

  16,507

  1991

  15,662

  1992

  14,775

  1993

  14,143

  Notes:

  1. The data are from the Prescription Costs Analysis system and cover all prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors.

  2. 1987 to 1990 data are based on fees. Data from 1991 are based on items.

  3. The data on the Prescribing Analyses and Cost PCA system are for England only and cover all prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors.

  Cots and Mattresses
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her Department first became aware of the possible link between chemicals in cot and baby mattresses and sudden infant death syndrome; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department first became aware of the hypothesis that certain chemicals in cot and baby mattresses may be connected with sudden infant death syndrome in January 1989.

  At that time a working group, chaired by Professor Turner, was asked to consider this hypothesis in detail, data from the scientific literature, and submissions and evidence from interested parties. It concluded that the hypothesis relating SIDS with microbial infestation and gas generation from antimony of phosphorus based additives present in cot furnishings was unfounded.

  Dr. Kenneth Calman, the Chief Medical Officer, has set up an expert group to steer further work by the Department on cot deaths.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Energy Expenditure
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total expenditure on
  687
  energy for each property owned or leased by his Department for the use of Ministers in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  Sir John Wheeler
  It is not possible to allocate the precise share of energy costs between the offices and the accommodation provided for official use by Ministers from the energy costs for these buildings.

  Sight Tests
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the estimated savings made in 1992–93 as a result of the introduction of a charge for sight tests.

  Mr. Moss
  A total of £2.3 million.

  Hospices
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of hospice expenditure in Northern Ireland is publicly funded.

  Mr. Moss
  Approximately 37 per cent. of the expenditure of voluntary hospices in Northern Ireland was met by funding from statutory sources in the financial year 1993–94.

  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Northern Ireland hospice may expect to receive an increased level of support from public funds.

  Mr. Moss
  This is a matter for negotiation between the Northern Ireland hospice and the health and social services boards in Northern Ireland as part of the contracting arrangements for the purchase and provision of palliative care services.

  Blind and Partially Sighted People
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were registered(a) blind and (b) partially sighted at (i) 31 March 1986 and (ii) 31 March 1991.

  Mr. Moss
  Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. On 31 December 1985, 3,437 blind and 1,285 partially sighted people were known to health and social service boards while 2,974 blind and 1,087 partially sighted people were in contact with the boards during the year ended 31 March 1991.

  Water Disconnections
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northen Ireland how many taken place in each of the last three years.
  688
  Mr. Moss
  The table shows the number of disconnections for non-payment of accounts in each of the last three financial years. The figures relate to commercial, industrial and agricultural premises.

  Year

  Number

  1991–92

  385

  1992–93

  211

  1993–94

  146

  Disconnections to domestic properties occur only in circumstances such as dereliction and reconstruction.

  Water Meters
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on the installation of water meters in each of the last three years; and how many homes have been metered in those years.

  Mr. Moss
  The table shows the amount spent on the installation of water meters in each of the last three financial years.

  Year

  Amount £

  1991–92

  150,685

  1992–93

  174,503

  1993–94

  103,471

  Water supplied to a property used solely for domestic purposes is not metered.

  Overhead Cables
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the policy of the Department of the Environment planning service in relation to overhead electricity and telephone cables; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moss
  The Department's policy is set out in pokey PSU11 of the planning strategy for rural Northern Ireland, which was published in September 1993. Copies are available in the Library.

  Respiratory Illnesses
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hospital admissions there were for each month in 1991, 1992 and 1993 for(a) acute respiratory complaints and (b) bronchitis by local health authority and trust.

  Mr. Moss
  The information is set out in the tables attached, which take into account that there were no fully established trusts in Northern Ireland prior to April 1993.

  Hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections by board:1991

  Board of treatment

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  January

  433

  261

  234

  189

  1,117

  February

  383

  233

  226

  175

  1,017

  March

  392

  247

  264

  187

  1,090

  689

  Hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections by board:1991

  Board of treatment

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  April

  403

  227

  227

  156

  1,013

  May

  432

  206

  201

  165

  1,004

  June

  382

  213

  175

  146

  916

  July

  340

  170

  150

  116

  776

  August

  353

  160

  127

  120

  760

  September

  433

  190

  198

  193

  1,014

  October

  476

  236

  242

  223

  1,177

  November

  441

  213

  219

  190

  1,063

  December

  557

  279

  284

  249

  1,369

  Total

  5,025

  2,635

  2,547

  2,109

  12,316

  Hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections by board: 1992

  Board of treatment

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  January

  533

  317

  235

  232

  1,317

  February

  501

  285

  197

  206

  1,189

  March

  428

  200

  45

  189

  862

  April

  418

  184

  37

  124

  763

  May

  375

  208

  48

  127

  758

  June

  382

  196

  82

  160

  820

  Hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections by trust:1993

  Trust

  Month

  Royal Group

  Belfast City

  Green Park

  Ulster North Down and Ards

  Craigavon area

  Total

  April

  82

  134

  21

  173

  80

  490

  May

  54

  109

  35

  158

  86

  442

  June

  88

  106

  37

  148

  98

  477

  July

  79

  93

  29

  121

  89

  411

  August

  95

  83

  26

  109

  75

  388

  September

  192

  77

  25

  155

  54

  503

  October

  196

  169

  35

  177

  82

  659

  November

  274

  186

  42

  170

  132

  804

  December

  184

  135

  34

  145

  145

  643

  Total

  1,244

  1,092

  284

  1,356

  841

  4,817

  Hospital admissions for bronchitis:1991

  Board of treatment

  Northern Ireland

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  January

  72

  32

  48

  40

  192

  February

  149

  39

  98

  88

  374

  March

  136

  23

  86

  76

  321

  April

  55

  7

  30

  28

  120

  May

  25

  8

  20

  11

  64

  June

  31

  2

  14

  6

  53

  July

  17

  1

  9

  5

  32

  August

  15

  4

  0

  7

  26

  September

  30

  12

  13

  26

  81

  October

  32

  3

  16

  23

  74

  November

  65

  6

  11

  28

  110

  December

  125

  34

  70

  56

  285

  Total

  752

  171

  415

  394

  1,732

  690

  Hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections by board:1992

  Board of treatment

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  July

  288

  166

  135

  133

  722

  August

  279

  148

  143

  90

  660

  September

  339

  196

  207

  131

  873

  October

  304

  199

  188

  141

  832

  November

  328

  213

  225

  126

  892

  December

  342

  212

  182

  80

  816

  Total

  4,517

  2,524

  1,724

  1,739

  10,504

  Hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections by board:1993

  Board of treatment

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  January

  413

  227

  192

  190

  1,022

  February

  375

  278

  152

  251

  1,056

  March

  467

  310

  128

  251

  1,156

  April

  495

  246

  162

  192

  1,095

  May

  423

  245

  156

  211

  1,035

  June

  470

  236

  203

  187

  1,096

  July

  393

  186

  193

  163

  935

  August

  399

  189

  147

  168

  903

  September

  524

  248

  140

  224

  1,136

  October

  692

  314

  170

  233

  1,409

  November

  816

  381

  301

  344

  1,842

  December

  621

  329

  289

  258

  1,497

  Total

  6,088

  3,189

  2,233

  2,672

  14,182

  691

  Hospital admissions for bronchitis 1992

  Board of Treatment

  Northern Ireland

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  January

  86

  48

  73

  51

  258

  February

  53

  26

  30

  32

  141

  March

  30

  14

  5

  16

  65

  April

  28

  4

  0

  16

  48

  May

  14

  5

  1

  24

  44

  June

  19

  7

  1

  13

  40

  July

  9

  5

  3

  8

  25

  August

  9

  4

  9

  4

  26

  September

  10

  2

  7

  8

  27

  October

  14

  0

  3

  7

  24

  November

  17

  2

  6

  10

  35

  December

  21

  9

  14

  15

  59

  Total

  310

  126

  152

  204

  792

  Hospitals admissions for bronchitis 1993

  Board of treatment

  Northern Ireland

  Month

  Eastern

  Northern

  Southern

  Western

  Total

  January

  58

  11

  24

  24

  117

  February

  138

  49

  35

  64

  286

  March

  71

  42

  34

  97

  244

  April

  35

  7

  12

  25

  79

  May

  14

  5

  5

  23

  47

  June

  21

  4

  4

  28

  57

  July

  6

  3

  1

  10

  20

  August

  9

  4

  0

  9

  22

  September

  12

  2

  7

  19

  40

  October

  25

  3

  5

  9

  42

  November

  42

  12

  7

  26

  87

  December

  101

  23

  47

  32

  203

  Total

  532

  165

  181

  366

  1244

  Hospitals admissions for bronchitis 1993

  Trust

  Month

  Royal Group

  Belfast City

  Green Park

  Ulster North Down and Ards

  Craigavon area

  April

  7

  3

  2

  16

  5

  May

  1

  5

  1

  4

  0

  June

  3

  4

  0

  3

  0

  July

  1

  4

  0

  1

  0

  August

  3

  1

  0

  3

  0

  September

  2

  6

  0

  0

  0

  October

  8

  8

  1

  2

  2

  November

  9

  6

  0

  10

  0

  December

  60

  4

  14

  18

  19

  Total

  94

  41

  18

  57

  26

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the special advisers serving in his Department during the last five years were subject to positive security vetting.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: All special advisers are currently required to have positive vetting. My special adviser was positively vetted for security purposes prior to his appointment. The level of security clearance is regularly reviewed in accordance with standing instructions.

  Regional Development
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those public projects which received European regional development funding and were subsequently privatised over the last 10 years, indicating(a) the level of funding and (b) the dates when it was received.

  Sir John Wheeler
  [holding answer 24 November 1994]: The following amounts have been paid from the European Regional Development Fund in the last 10 years to the public projects listed which were subject to privatisation.
  693

  Level of ERDF funding for each body from 1984–95 financial year to date (Northern Ireland)

  British Telecom £

  NI Electricity £

  NI Airports£

  Short Brothers£

  Totals

  1984–85

  1,941,686

  742,725

  —

  2,684,411

  1985–86

  2,005,928

  —

  377,511

  —

  2,383,439

  1986–87

  —

  1,257,328

  3,125,733

  —

  4,383,061

  1987–88

  —

  —

  528,000

  —

  528,000

  1988–89

  858,929

  10,043,700

  1,929,480

  —

  12,832,109

  1989–90

  2,021,395

  1,754,420

  199,720

  —

  3,975,535

  1990–91

  2,370,997

  5,299,114

  6,216,000

  —

  13,886,111

  1991–92

  2,254,944

  400,183

  1,280,916

  —

  3,936,043

  1992–93

  —

  2,211,388

  76,960

  362,335

  2,650,683

  1993–94

  —

  2,828,095

  2,257,451

  176,200

  5,261,746

  1994–95 to date

  150

  348,184

  822,344

  35,347

  1,206,025

  Totals

  11,454,029

  24,885,137

  16,814,115

  573,882

  53,727,163

TRANSPORT

  Bulgarian Ships
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrival in Glasgow of replacement crews for the Bulgarian ships currently in Lerwick harbour, the Afala, Aktinia, Kaprela, Ofelia and Rotalia.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I have been asked to reply.

  Under the immigration rules, people seeking entry to join a vessel as members of its crew are eligible for admission if they are under contract to join a ship due to leave British waters. If the immigration officer is so satisfied, he will give leave to enter. I see no need for any further investigation in this case.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he will take to ensure that Bulgarian ship owners observe immigration rules in respect of seafarers currently employed on board the Aktinia, Kaprela, Ofelia and Rotalia in Lerwick harbour.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I have been asked to reply.

  Under the Immigration Act 1971, where a person arrives at a place in the United Kingdom as a member of the crew of a ship under an engagement requiring him to leave on that ship as a member of the crew, he may normally enter the United Kingdom without leave and remain until the departure of the ship. Checks will be made to ensure that crew members leave with their vessels, if they fail to do so action will be taken, as appropriate, to trace and remove them from the United Kingdom under powers in the 1971 Act.

  Gospel Oak to Barking Line
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Gospel Oak to Barking line will be fully resignalled between South Tottenham and Woodgrange Park; when the works will be completed; and whether this will take place before or after the proposed flotation of Railtrack.

  Mr. Norris
  No plan currently exists for full re-signalling between South Tottenham and Woodgrange Park. The timing of works undertaken after its flotation will remain a matter for Railtrack.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the revised signalling arrangements between South Tottenham and Woodgrange Park on the Gospel 694
  Oak to Barking line will operate to satisfy the requirements of the railway inspectorate division of the Health and Safety Executive, if the Gospel Oak to Barking line is not resignalled between South Tottenham and Woodgrange Park as part of the Liverpool Street resignalling project; and what is the minimum safe interval required between trains operating under the proposed arrangements.

  Mr. Norris
  All signalling arrangements employed have to satisfy the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive. I am advised that the required interval between trains is the time it takes for a train to pass along the line between the signal boxes at South Tottenham and Woodgrange Park. This is normally 17 minutes for a stopping passenger train and a little less for a non-stop train. These signalling arrangements are wholly in line with signalling regulations.

  Rail Businesses
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 5 December,Official Report, column 38, if he will list the rail businesses, apart from Railtrack, which the Government intend to sell in 1995–96 and 1996–97.

  Mr. Watts
  The answer is as follows:

  Trainload Freight Companies (TLFs)

  Freightliner (containerised freight carrier)

  Rail express systems (Res)

  Rolling Stock Leasing Companies (ROSCOs)

  BR Infrastructure Services (BRIS)

  —Track Renewal Units

  —Infrastructure Maintenance Units

  BR Telecommunications (BRT)

  various businesses in BR Central Services

  Highways Agency
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what extra costs or savings on the capital or revenue account have been generated by the withdrawal of the original Highways Agency proposal to concentrate on a single site; and if he will explain how these changes have arisen.

  Mr. Watts
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
  695
  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 14 December 1994:
  I have been asked to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question about the Highways Agency restructuring proposals and in particular the extra costs or savings generated by the withdrawal of the proposal to concentrate on a single site.
  My Board's decision on the restructuring of the Highways Agency were announced on 23 November following consultation on the original proposals put forward last July. The changes confirmed following the consultation process have resulted in a decision which provides better utilisation of our existing expertise without sacrificing the advantages of a reduced number of offices in terms of lower management and overhead costs and lower accommodation costs. The overall saving in staff redundancy and relocation costs due to the changes is estimated at £8.8 million. The changes also involve greater utilisation of existing offices, which it is estimated will reduce refurbishment costs by £1.2 million and property disposal costs by £2.7 million.
  There has never been a proposal to concentrate the entire Highways Agency on a single site. One of the options estimated earlier in the planning process would have centralised most of our operations on a single site but with two other offices. This option was rejected at an early stage because the associated loss of staff expertise would have been too great.

  Grant Office of the North East
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff he currently has in the grant office of the north east on road transport policy.

  Mr. Watts
  A total of 22.

  Goods Vehicle Operator Centres
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance is given to traffic area offices regarding(a) advertising in the press and (b) consultation with the public regarding applications to use premises for goods vehicle operator centres; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  Traffic area office staff dealing with licence applications are made aware of the statutory requirements for advertising applications for a goods vehicle operator's licence within a statutory period in an appropriate local newspaper, and the statutory provisions for making objections and representations; they are also provided with guidance on how to deal with any non-statutory matters that might arise. Inquiry procedure rules must be followed for those applications which are to be determined by the licensing authority at public inquiry.

  London Underground
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the nature of the points problem in the Aldgate area of London Underground on the morning of 9 December; and how many times there have been points or signalling problems in the Aldgate area leading to train delays in the past 12 months.

  Mr. Norris
  These are operational matters for London Underground. I understand that the points at Aldgate failed to return to their normal position after being switched to reverse. The failure was rectified within 11 minutes and the service restored. Over the past 12 months, there have been 29 points or signal failures in the Aldgate area.

  Ministerial Travel
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the duration of the trips referred 696
  to in his answer of 26 October, Official Report, column 616, which were undertaken by Ministers in his Department and on which they were accompanied by their spouses and paid for at public expense.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The duration of the trip referred to in my answer of 26 October,Official Report, column 616, was two days.

EMPLOYMENT

  Workstart
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to publish the findings from his Department's evaluation of the current Workstart pilot schemes.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The reports of the evaluation of the Workstart pilots have been published today and I have arranged for a copy of each to be placed in the Library.

  North Norfolk Employment Schemes
  Sir Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he intends to publish the findings of his Department's evaluation of the North Norfolk Action and Workstart pilots.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The evaluation of North Norfolk Action and Workstart are now complete. The reports showed that there was much of value in both pilots. The Budget speech of my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor contained two new measures of relevance to the pilots: the 1–2–1 pilot, based on an element of the North Norfolk Action pilot will be extended nationally from April 1995; and a further 5,000 Workstart places will be available from that date. Copies of the reports are available in the Library.

  Industrial Tribunals
  Mr. Aspinwall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress has been made on the internal review of the operation of the industrial tribunals announced by the then Under-Secretary of State on 29 April 1994,Official Report, columns 379–80.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Following the completion of the internal review of industrial tribunals, the Government are today publishing a Green Paper, "Resolving Employment Rights Disputes: Options for Reform".

  Since their inception in 1964, the role of industrial tribunals has steadily developed as their jurisdiction has expanded. The Government believe that industrial tribunals have proved to be a fair and effective means for adjudicating employment rights disputes. They are firmly committed to ensuring that they continue to provide an
  "easily accessible, informal, speedy and inexpensive"
  means of redress in accordance with the criteria laid down in 1968 and accepted by all Governments since then.

  The industrial tribunal system has been subjected to growing pressures in recent years. Employment legislation has grown both in extent and complexity, the numbers of tribunal applications have doubled since 1989 and are expected to continue rising and hearing delays have increased unacceptably. The Department's internal review

  697
  was commissioned to find ways of helping the tribunals to cope and to achieve greater efficiency and reduced delays.

  The Green Paper sets out a range of proposals designed to increase the proportion of disputes settled voluntarily by the parties themselves or with third party assistance, to simplify and improve tribunal procedures and to improve the organisation and management of the administrative support.

  The Government invite views on those proposals. Improvements which can be achieved through administrative action by the Department are already going ahead; decisions on whether and how to proceed with those requiring legislation will be taken in the light of the consultations. However, the Government have decided that tribunals should have discretion whether to obtain a view from an independent expert when deciding claims for equal pay for work of equal value.

  It is the Government's intention that any efficiency savings should be applied to improving standards of service to the public.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last session of Parliament were not answered on the grounds that the information sought was not held centrally by the Department.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Six. This represents less than 1 per cent. of all questions answered in the same period.

  Jobcentres
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide figures for the use of jobcentres by employer organisations for each month in the financial year 1993–94.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Monthly information on the numbers of vacancies notified to jobcentres by employers and the number of people placed with employers by jobcentres is available from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Advertising
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the final cost of each advertising campaign listed in his answer to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) of 3 March, Official Report, column 861.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The final cost of each advertising campaign listed in the answer to the hon. Member for Truro of 3 March, Official Report, column 861, is shown in the following table:

  1993–94

  Campaign

  Budgeted spend £

  Final cost £

  Make It Your Business

  2,000,000

  2,012,000

  1993 NTA

  564,000

  662,000

  Career Development Loans

  1,870,000

  1,826,000

  Careers Service

  150,000

  42,000

  New Horizons for Women

  300,000

  47,000

  Just the Job/New Measures

  1,800,000

  1,777,000

  Employer Campaign

  1,300,000

  1,150,000

  Disability

  1,300,000

  1,238,000

  European Year of Older People
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what contribution his Department has made in 1994 to follow up the European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations in 1993.

  Miss Widdecombe
  In 1994, the Employment Department has supported the initiatives stemming from the European year of older people and solidarity between generations through the continuation of the campaign to promote the interests of older workers.

  In March a booklet was released, aimed at employers, to reinforce the message that age has no bearing on the ability to do a good job. It was distributed to 16,500 employers whose work force exceeded 75 employees. The press coverage was widespread and continues to generate interest from employers, researchers and individuals. Over 5,000 requests have been received to date.

  The Department has been involved with workshops and seminars run by bodies involve with, and who campaign for older workers. I attended seminars at the Policy Studies Institute, the Department's regional office in Bristol and a Carnegie Third Age symposium, the theme of all three being to persuade to employers to take a positive attitude towards older workers.

  Recently, I visited People of Previous Experience, a European conference held in Bradford, and the Mature Workers Register in Bournemouth, two initiatives engaged in finding jobs for older workers in their local areas.

  This year, research commissioned by the Department was published, which consisted of a comprehensive review of employment policies and practices toward older workers in 22 countries. These comprise all EU member states, plus 11 other countries worldwide. Further research has been commissioned, comprising a more detailed overview of policies and practices in France, Germany, Spain and Sweden.

  It is planned to release a booklet for individuals which will contain advice and information about job seeking specifically aimed at older workers.

  Plans are also under way to hold a series of regional seminars which will disseminate good practice in the employment of older workers among locally invited employers.

  Jobseekers
  Sir Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the effect of the provision in the Jobseekers Bill regarding penalties in respect of leaving employment after three months on the willingness of jobseekers to remain in employment.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Unemployed people should be encouraged to try work that may be unfamiliar to them. The employment on trial rule therefore exempts certain claimants from sanction if they take a job and then give it up within a specified period. We regard it as important that this incentive should apply at the point at which claimants are expected to consider work outside their usual occupations. For this reason, in jobseeker's allowance the rule will apply after three months' unemployment, which is the maximum permitted period during which search for jobs can be restricted to the claimant's usual occupation.

  Training
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total value of grants received from the European Commission for training schemes and advice to companies and individuals in the last financial year.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Much of the largest source of European Community grants for training schemes and advice on training is the European Social Fund. In the last financial year, 1993–94, ESF grants totalling £528 million were received by training providers and others in Great Britain.

  Women
  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what Government structures exist to review the implementation of the UN's Nairobi forward-looking strategies for the advancement of women; and what such review has taken place and been published.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Cabinet sub-committee for women's issues is responsible for reviewing and developing Government policy on issues of special concern to women, and for overseeing its implementation. The Employment Department has responsibility within Whitehall for co-ordination of policy on women's issues, including the Nairobi forward-looking strategies.

  In preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women to be held in Peking in September 1995, UN member states report on progress in the key areas of the Nairobi forward looking strategies. The UK's national report was published at the beginning of October. The report has been widely distributed and copies are available in the Library

  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which Whitehall Departments have women's units; and what is their location, responsibilities and staffing levels.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Government policy is to integrate consideration of women's issues into policy development, rather than have specific "women's units". A large number of policy officials therefore have responsibility to ensure that women's concerns are properly taken into account. In addition, many departments have equal opportunities units within their personnel sections, which promote equality of opportunity regardless of sex, race and disability. It is not possible to disaggregate the exact numbers of such staff devoted to equal opportunities for women.

  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what Government structures exist to review the implementation of the UN convention on the elimination of discrimination against women; and what such review has(a) taken place and (b) been published.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Cabinet sub-committee for women's issues is responsible for reviewing and developing Government policy on issues of special concern to women, and for overseeing its implementation. The Employment Department has responsibility within Whitehall for co-ordination of policy on women's issues, including the convention for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

  Since ratifying the convention in 1986, the Government have submitted two progress reports to the United Nations, in 1987 and 1991. Both these reports were
  700
  published. A third report is currently being prepared, and will become freely available in March 1995.

  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current membership of the women's issues working group; and how many times the group has met over the past year.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The group's current membership is set out in the following table. The group has met twice since January 1994.

  Women's Issues Working Group Membership, December 1994
  The Rt. Hon. Michael Portillo, MP

  Secretary of State for Employment
  Miss Ann Widdecombe, MP

  Minister of State for Employment
  Ms Kamlesh Bahl

  Chairwoman, Equal Opportunities Commission
  Mrs. Kay Coleman OBE

  Chief Executive, Harveys & Co (Clothing) Ltd.
  Baroness Denton of Wakefield CBE

  Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office
  Ms Sheila Forbes

  Director of Human Resources, Reed Elsevier (UK) Ltd.
  Dr. Ann Hogg

  Chairman of Council, Girls' Public Day School Trust
  Lady Howe

  Chairman, Business in the Community's Women's Economic Development Team, Chairman, Broadcasting Standards Council
  Mr. Graham Millar

  Managing Director, NestléFoods Division
  Mrs. Cecilia Motley

  Former Director, Action Resource Centre
  The Hon. Mrs Lindy Price CBE

  Chairman, Powys Health Care NHS Trust
  Mrs. Sue Rørstad MBE

  Chairman and Managing Director, Poppies (UK) Ltd
  Mrs. Margaret Seymour

  Managing Director, Seymour Swimming Pool Engineers
  Ms Sue Slipman, OBE

  Director, National Council for One Parent Families
  Mrs. Joan Smyth

  Chair and Chief Executive, Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland.

  Sex Equality Branch
  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the powers and responsibilities of the sex equality branch; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The branch is responsible for the Employment Department's objective to counter sex discrimination in the labour market and to promote women's interests in the workplace and beyond.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the figures for employment in the construction industry for each year since and including 1989, broken down into employees and self-employed.
  701
  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information is given in the following table:

  Employment in the construction industry: Great Britain, spring of each year, not seasonally adjusted

  Year

  Employees

  Self-employed

  (Thousands) Total

  1989

  1,210

  895

  2,105

  1990

  1,237

  889

  2,126

  1991

  1,154

  812

  1,966

  1992

  1,067

  739

  1,806

  1993

  988

  727

  1,715

  1994

  991

  775

  1,766

  Source:

  Labour Force Survey

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed reduction in housing association investment on employment prospects in the construction industry.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Department has made no such assessment.

  Health and Safety Executive
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many inspections were carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years in each category of premises inspected.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Information about the number of planned inspections carried out by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years is published in the Health and Safety Commission annual reports for 1991–92, annex 5 and 1993–94, annex 2, copies of which are available in the Library. A breakdown for each category of premises inspected is not available.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women together with the overall total, were in full-time employment (i) in each standard region and (ii) in Great Britain in December in each of the last 10 years; and in each case and for each year what proportion this figure represented as a percentage of the total population.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information can be obtained from the NOMIS database, which is available in the Library. However, the full-time, part-time regional breakdown should not be used prior to June 1991 as the information is invalid.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide available information on the proportion of people who(a) leave the register within three months, (b) leave the register to enter a job within three months and (c) leave the register to become economically inactive within three months and have been unemployed for (i) six months, (ii) one year and (iii) two years.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 12 December 1994]: It is estimated that about half of all people who become claimant unemployed leave the count within three months and two thirds within six months. Information is not routinely available on the destinations of those leaving claimant unemployment but past surveys indicate that the
  702
  majority of people go into jobs. Information on those who leave the count within three months of reaching certain duration thresholds is given in the following table:

  People leaving claimant unemployment by duration (GB)

  Duration of unemployment

  Percentage Who Unemployment within a further Duration of unemployment 3 months

  Six months

  36.5

  One year

  35.2

  Two years

  24.5

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which of the special advisers serving in his Department during the last five years were subject to positive security vetting.

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 13 December 1994]: All special advisers are currently required to have positive vetting.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  "North America Now"
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made by his Department with the "North America Now" campaign to boost British trade and investment with North America.

  Mr. Baldry
  Since its launch in March 1993, the "North America Now" campaign has produced a full programme of activities in north America and in the United Kingdom, which are helping British business to reinforce and improve its competitiveness in the world's wealthiest trading bloc.

  The value of the United Kingdom's exports to north America in 1993 was 24.5 per cent. higher than in 1992.

  Chemical Weapons Convention
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy to be one of the first 65 countries to ratify the chemical weapons convention.

  Mr. David Davis
  The United Kingdom is committed to the effective implementation of the chemical weapons convention and will ratify the convention once the necessary implementing legislation is in place. The legislation will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time and other Government legislative priorities permit.

  Syria
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations he had before agreeing to the change in the status of Syria with respect to the EC.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The views of interested parties were taken into account before the decision was taken by the European Union to lift the arms embargo on Syria.

  Kenya
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about Her Majesty's Government's discussions with President Moi on his recent visit to London.

  Mr. Baldry
  President Moi visited London to address the CBI conference: Kenya—the future for investments and business. During the visit, he had full discussions on a range of subjects of bilateral and regional importance with my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the noble Baroness Chalker. This provided an opportunity to encourage President Moi to continue the process of economic and political reform, on which Kenya has made significant progress over the past three years.

  European Political Union
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet his counterparts in the European Union to discuss greater political union.

  Mr. David Davis
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have regular discussions on a wide range of EU issues with our European counterparts at meetings of the General Affairs Council. The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for 19 and 20 December.

  China
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised human rights abuses in China with the Chinese Government.

  Mr. Goodlad
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary most recently raised human rights with the Chinese authorities when he met the Chinese Foreign Minister on 29 September in New York.

  Israel
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's relations with Israel.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Our relations with Israel are excellent.

  UN Secretary-General
  Sir Michael Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the Secretary-General of the United Nations; and if he will indicate the main topics which were discussed.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had a brief meeting with the UN Secretary-General in the margins of the conference on security and co-operation in Europe summit on 5 December. More substantive discussions were held during the Secretary-General's visit to London on 25 October. A number of regional issues were discussed at both meetings.

  Bosnia
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British policy in Bosnia.
  704
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Our policy, which we share with the other members of the contact group, remains to bring about a peaceful settlement in Bosnia by negotiation. We fully support the UN's efforts to achieve a ceasefire around Bihac and the rest of Bosnia. This would provide a platform for a resumption of political negotiations on the basis of the contract group plan.

  Ms Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the future role of NATO in Bosnia.

  Mr. David Davis
  I have received no formal representations on the future role of NATO in Bosnia. The United Kingdom fully supports NATO's continuing assistance to the efforts of the UN to provide humanitarian relief and to contain the conflict in Bosnia. These efforts cannot, however, be a substitute for an agreement by the parties on a negotiated settlement which we believe offers the only durable solution to the crisis.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is NATO's role in the war in Bosnia.

  Mr. David Davis
  NATO's role in the Bosnian conflict is to enforce the UN arms and trade embargoes and to support UN peacekeeping operations, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. It provides naval assets to the joint Western European Union—NATO Operation Sharp Guard. It also provides aircraft to enforce the no-fly zone in Bosnian airspace and, at UN request, to assist and protect UNPROFOR in the performance of its mandate.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what considerations led to the recognition of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The United Kingdom recognised Bosnia-Herzegovina on 7 April 1992. This decision was taken following consideration of the report of the arbitration commission of the conference on Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the historical, ethnic and cultural grounds for the nature of the United Kingdom's diplomatic relations with(a) Estonia and (b) the Bosnian Serbs.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have rebuilt the close relations we enjoyed with Estonia before 1940 based on our strong support for her independence and democratic and economic development. The United Kingdom does:not have diplomatic relations with the Bosnian Serbs.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries which protested when the Bosnian Muslims launched attacks from Sarajevo and Bihac against the Bosnian Serbs.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We are not aware of any such protests.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina before recent hostilities began.
  705
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  According to the 1991 census, the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina was:

  Per cent.

  Muslims

  43.7

  Serbs

  31.3

  Croats

  17.3

  Others

  7.7

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have recognised Bosnia-Herzegovina as a state; at what dates; and what arguments were put forward for doing so.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Bosnia-Herzegovina has been recognised by: Bulgaria, date of recognition 15.1.92; Turkey, 6.2.92; Iran, 8.3.92; Libya, 16.3.92; all EU member states, 7.4.92; USA, 7.4.92; Croatia, 7.4.92; Egypt, 16.4.92; Saudi Arabia, 17.4.92 and Russia, 28.4.92.

  We recognised Bosnia-Herzegovina following consideration of the report of the arbitration commission of the conference on Yugoslavia.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether NATO encouraged the Bosnian Muslims to mount an offensive against the Serbs from Sarajevo.

  Mr. David Davis
  No. NATO acts in the former Yugoslavia under an impartial UN mandate in support of the UN's peacekeeping, humanitarian and sanctions operations.

  Burundi
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect the continuing instability in Rwanda will have on the situation in Burundi; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  We agree that the continuing instability in Rwanda will make attempts to find a lasting solution to the problems in Burundi more difficult. The fragile, and relative calm that exists at the moment is threatened by the activities of armed Rwandan bands, retaliatory military measures and the presence of many Rwandan refugees in Burundi. The international community remains very concerned and focused in these events and the UN is fully engaged in Bujumbura.

  Middle East
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent developments in the middle east.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We welcome continued progress in the middle east Reace process, including the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Jordan, and the resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians on elections and Israeli redeployment in the west bank. We look forward to progress on the Syrian track, leading to a comprehensive settlement.

  Japan
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a706
  statement on British relations, including trade relations, with Japan.

  Mr. Goodlad
  United Kingdom relations with Japan are generally excellent. Our exports rose 19 per cent, last year to –2.65 billion, and have so far risen a further 14 per cent, this year. The "Action Japan Campaign" helps British business take advantage of the opportunities in 10 key sectors.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the current position of discussions with China about Hong Kong.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The 31st plenary session of the Sino-British joint liaison group began in London today. It should build on the useful achievements of the plenary sessions held in June and September, and offer more evidence of enhanced co-operation.

  Intergovernmental Conference
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Foreign Ministers of the other European Union countries about the preparations for the 1996 intergovernmental conference.

  Mr. David Davis
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have had and continue to have regular discussions with our counterparts in the European Union on preparations for the 1996 intergovernmental conference.

  Malaysia
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met representatives of the Government of Malaysia; and what was the agenda.

  Mr. Goodlad
  My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Malaysian Foreign Minister in April. There was no fixed agenda. They both attended the European Union—Association of South-East Asian Nations ministerial meeting in Karlsruhe in September, although there was no formal bilateral meeting on that occasion.

  Entry Clearance Guidelines
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance he has issued to entry clearance officers at British posts overseas about the appropriate gross incomes of women sponsors working full time in west Yorkshire sufficient to maintain their spouses and dependent children without recourse to public funds.

  Mr. Baldry
  Entry clearance officers are not given guidance on the gross income necessary to meet the maintenance requirements of the immigration rules: each case is considered on its individual merits having regard to the total financial resources available and likely to become available to the parties. These vary considerably from case to case. Entry clearance officers are further guided by rulings from the adjudicators, the tribunal and the higher courts.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's intentions for the future constitution and development of Gibraltar and its people's status within the European Union.

  Mr. David Davis
  Gibraltar is part of the European Union by virtue of the United Kingdom's membership. The British Government see no reason for this to change.

  Indonesia
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received regarding human rights violations in East Timor and other part of Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We have received many representations from non-governmental organisations and individual correspondents. We make our human rights concerns clear to the Indonesian Government, bilaterally and with our European Union partners.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to make representations to the Government of Indonesia about their actions in East Timor and human rights in Papua.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  In our contacts with the Indonesian authorities, we and our European Union partners regularly raise our concerns about the situation in East Timor and, more generally, the human rights situation in Indonesia, including, whenever appropriate, the province of Irian Jaya.

  Africa (Conflict Resolution)
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he plans to take to follow up his initiative on preventative diplomacy and conflict resolutions in Africa, announced in his recent speech to the United Nations General Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hurd
  We wish to gain African support for measures which will strengthen their own capacity for preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution. We have been working with African countries, the Organisation of African Unity, and with European partners to identify practical steps—including the establishment of UN peacekeeping skills centres at African staff colleges, and the creation of UN logistics centres in Africa. We plan to report on progress to the UN early in 1995.

  Partnership for Peace
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in developing the NATO partnership for peace proposal; and what practical military co-operation has flowed from it so far.

  Mr. Hurd
  Partnership for peace is developing very well. Twenty-three countries, including Russia, have become partners. Many have already negotiated individual programmes of activities with NATO. Three PFP military exercises have taken place so far, with United Kingdom forces participating each time. The extensive range of practical co-operative activities scheduled for 1995 is 708
  concrete evidence of the lasting success of this important initiative.

  Rwanda
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current British financial contribution to the United Nation's operation in Rwanda excluding explicit humanitarian assistance; and what services it supports.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The United Kingdom's assessed contribution to the United Nations assistance mission for Rwanda is 6.373 per cent, of the budget total. We anticipate that in the current financial year, Britain's contribution will amount to £5.05 million. This contribution supports the full range of services associated with the mission outlined in UN document A/48/837, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which programmes and projects of his Department are planned for market testing; and if he will make a statement in respect of progress in each element of the programme, together with the number of current jobs involved and their location.

  Mr. Baldry
  The FCO's "Competing for Quality" programme, which reviews the scope for abolition and contracting out as well as market testing, for 1994–95 is as follows:

  Function

  Number of staff

  Security Guards—Hanslope Park

  47

  Queen's Messengers

  32

  Administration of Calculation of Salaries/

  Pensions

  11

  Overseas Security Officers

  34

  Reviews of all these activities are under way. All posts are located in London or Hanslope Park, except the overseas security officers who serve at a number of different overseas posts.

  In addition, a market test of reprographics, delayed from the 1993–94 programme is under-way involving 32 staff.

  Homosexuals
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards those members of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who have now admitted their homosexuality but who were originally recruited when homosexuality was a bar to recruitment to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  Each case is taken on its merits. No officers who have admitted their homosexuality subsequent to their recruitment have been required to leave the Department.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department operates a policy of non-discrimination against homosexuals in recruitment to all sections of his Department.
  709
  Mr. Baldry
  Yes.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what questions pertinent to the homosexuality of potential recruits to his Department are still being asked during recruitment interviews; and to what purpose.

  Mr. Baldry
  No questions about a candidate's sexual orientation are asked at selection interviews as such. After a candidate has been recommended for a position in the diplomatic service, however, questions about sexual orientation are asked during the security vetting procedures. The purpose of these questions is to minimise an officer's vulnerability to blackmail, and so that a homosexual officer can be given suitable advice before bidding for postings for certain overseas countries where homosexual practices are illegal or socially unacceptable.

  Mr. Jonathan Moyle
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 30 November to the Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen),Official Report, columns 709–10, if he will list the number and general nature of his communications or correspondence with the Chilean authorities since 9 November 1991; and whether documentation or other evidence relevant to the death of Mr. Jonathan Moyle in his Department's possession or in the possession of agencies responsible to his Department has been passed to the Scott inquiry.

  Mr. Baldry
  We have had numerous exchanges with the Chilean authorities since Mr. Jonathan Moyle's death. More recently the case was raised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State during his visit to Chile in January 1993. The hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory), the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, raised it with the Chilean Defence Minister designate in January this year. We await the Supreme court's response to a formal request sent to it through diplomatic channels for information required by the coroner for Exeter and East Devon, Mr. Van Oppen.

  Documents relevant to the death of Mr. Moyle were passed to Lord Justice Scott. On 31 March 1993, Lord Justice Scott announced that he did not believe that an investigation into Mr. Moyle's death would further his inquiry.

  Romania
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British relations, including trade relations, with Romania.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Britain's relations with Romania are developing positively. We continue to support the consolidation of political and economic reform in Romania, including through the use of the know-how fund and the activities of the British Council. The frequency of high-level contacts has increased, and in November this year President Iliescu paid a successful visit to the United Kingdom. Britain's trade with Romania has increased significantly, now standing at over £225 million. The United Kingdom is the eight largest investor in Romania. My right hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr. Goodlad), Minister of State for Foreign and 710
  Commonwealth Affairs, recently led the largest trade mission yet mounted to Romania.

  EU Fraud
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to help combat fraud in the European Union, particularly in the spending of the common agricultural policy and structural and cohesion budgets.

  Mr. David Davis
  Steps are being taken in all areas of Community budget to eradicate fraud and irregularity.

  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister secured important commitments in this respect at the Essen European Council on 9 and 10 December. The Council called on the Community's institutions and member states to make full use of the new powers given to them in the Maastricht treaty, and urged them to ensure special reports submitted by the European Court of Auditors are pursued thoroughly.

  The Council will actively pursue agreement in the first half of 1995 to a proposal for intergovernmental co-operation against criminal aspects of fraud and will seek rapid progress toward concluding a regulation on the protection of the Community's financial interests. Each member state also undertook to report back on measures they take at a national level to counter fraud, waste and mismanagement. These reports will be submitted to the European Council in December 1995.

  Embassy, Moscow
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total estimated cost of the new embassy in Moscow; when it is expected to be ready; what is the capital valuation of the present embassy; how many rooms the present embassy has; and what is its proposed use once the new embassy is in operation.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The total estimated construction cost of the new embassy in Moscow is £50 million at current prices and rates of exchange, providing offices for about 80 United Kingdom and 80 local staff plus 31 flats for United Kingdom staff. Subject to all the necessary planning approvals, it is expected to be ready in 1999.

  The present embassy is leased at a peppercorn rent from the Russian authorities, in reciprocity for the lease of part of the accommodation occupied by the Russian embassy in London, also at a peppercorn rent. We do not know the valuation put on our buildings in Moscow by the Russian authorities. The present embassy provides office accommodation for 170 staff.

  The Russian authorities require us to remove our offices from the present site. They have agreed that the present embassy buildings may be retained for residential use. Some of the space will be used to make a limited extension to the Ambassador's flat. Most will be converted into staff accommodation, to save on the very high rents which are charged in Moscow by both public and private landlords.

  Croatia
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the Serb population of Croatia before recent hostilities began; and how many Slovenians are in Slovenia.
  711
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  According to the 1991 census, the population of Croatia was 4.76 million, of which about 12 per cent, were Serbs. Slovenia has approximately 1.8 million citizens, of whom about 90 per cent, are ethnically Slovenian.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Serbs left Croatia as a result of ethnic cleansing in 1992.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Accurate figures for the number of people who left Croatia in 1992 are not available.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Germany recognised Croatia as a state; and for what reason.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Germany recognised Croatia on 23 December 1991. It is not for us to comment on the reasons for policy decisions taken by other states.

  Nato
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans NATO has for extending membership to countries on the Russian border; and if he will make a statement about its role following the extension of membership.

  Mr. David Davis
  The NATO summit in January confirmed that the alliance expected and would welcome expansion of its membership to include democratic states to its east, as part of an evolutionary process, and taking into account political and security developments in the whole of Europe. At their meeting in Brussels on 1 December, NATO Foreign Ministers endorsed this approach, and set in hand work on a study into the modalities and principles of enlargement. The initial results of this study will be made available to all partners, including Russia, by next December's North Atlantic Council in Brussels. NATO Foreign Ministers also agreed that it would be premature to discuss at this stage the time frame for enlargement on which countries would be invited to join the alliance.

  NATO's role after expansion will continue to be to provide for the collective defence of its member states, to play a leading part in enhancing stability and security in Europe, and to undertake peacekeeping and other missions under the UN or the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe auspices.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the annual cost of NATO membership to the United Kingdom.

  Mr. David Davis
  For the financial year 1993–94, the total cost of NATO membership to the United Kingdom was £168,676,935. This comprised £69,129,000 for the military budget, £82,495,000 for the infrastructure budget and £17,052,935 for the civil budget.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the continued validity of NATO.

  Mr. David Davis
  NATO continues to play an essential role in reinforcing stability and security in Europe. Through the North Atlantic Co-operation Council, it is

  Financial year

  SERC £ millions

  AFRC £ millions

  NERC £ millions

  MRC £ millions

  ESRC £ millions

  1991–93

  16.98

  2.84

  1.42

  5.54

  4.17

  1993–94

  46.75

  5.37

  5.47

  17.52

  6.56

  712
  expanding co-operation in a wide range of issues with the countries of central and eastern Europe. This process has been augmented by the partnership for peace launched at the NATO summit last January, which is developing into an important feature of European security, linking NATO and its partners, and providing the basis for joint action with the alliance in dealing with common security problems.

  The alliance also continues to adapt its own structures to meet the challenges of the changed security environment, and to allow it to contribute effectively to its new missions, including peacekeeping.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Select Committees
  Sir Terrace Higgins
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, when he expects to place in the Library the revised memorandum of guidance for officials appearing before Select Committees.

  Mr. Newton
  Copies of the revised memorandum of guidance with a new, more accurate title of "Departmental Evidence and Response to Select Committees" are now being issued to Government Departments. I have today sent copies to the hon. Member and to Chairmen of Select Committees. I have also placed copies in the Library.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Block Grants
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the income that each university received under the block grant system and the amount received under the new dual support system.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Details of universities' recurrent income for spending on teaching and research and in support thereof for the years up to and including 1992–93, excluding for the former polytechnics and colleges, are published in the Universities' Statistical Record's "University Statistics" series, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

  Research Councils
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will produce figures of research overheads paid to universities by the research councils since the dual support funding system was put in place.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Payments made to universities by the research councils for research overheads since August 1992, when the councils became liable to meet these costs under new arrangements for the dual support system, are as follows:

  Civil Service White Paper
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he will list the persons and organisations which have replied to the White Paper, "The Civil Service-Continuity and Change"; and if he will place the replies in the Library.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Those who sent responses on the White paper, "The Civil Service–Continuity and Change," and who have not requested that their comments remain confidential are listed. I am placing copies of their responses in the Library.

  Those who sent comments in response to the White Paper, "The Civil Service-Continuity and Change"

  Organisation

  Anonymous

  Civil Servant

  G. A. Holley

  Department for Education

  G.E. Malone

  Civil Servant

  R. Sellars

  Civil Servant

  Anonymous

  Civil Servant

  D. Faulkner

  St. John's College, Oxford

  P. Walton

  Government Office for the North West

  F. Smith

  Civil Servant

  P. W. Moran

  Moran Webb

  R. D. Cramond

  Ex-Civil Servant

  A. R. Baker

  Civil Servant

  I. Miller

  Civil Servant

  Miss S. Mason

  Department of Transport

  B. Sawbridge

  Her Majesty's Treasury

  P. Wood

  Department of Transport

  Dr. D. R. Langslow

  English Nature

  D. R. Fisher

  Ministry of Defence

  R. A. Allan

  Department of Transport

  B. Wads worth

  Department of Transport

  D. Simpson

  Public Record Office

  D. J. Goddard

  Forestry Commission

  R. Gray

  The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

  B. Clayden

  Association of Metropolitan Authorities

  C. W. Dyment

  Law Commission

  Ms R. Doveton

  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

  Professor C. Hood

  The University of Manchester

  H. M. G. Stevens

  Ex-Civil Servant

  J. N. Ellis

  Council of Civil Service Unions

  Ms E. Symons

  The Association of First Division Civil Servants and Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists

  Ms J Thurston

  R. Hardy

  Executive Interim Management

  G. A. Johnson

  Lancashire County Council

  Dr. P. Barberis

  The Manchester Metropolitan University

  J. N. Caton

  Chertsey and Walton Constituency, Conservative Political Centre

  J. Sheldon

  The National Union of Civil and Public Servants

  C. Darracott

  Charter 88

  J. Stevens

  Institute of Personnel and Development

  Professor N. Lewis

  The University of Sheffield

  A. G. Thornton

  FDA, Welsh Office Branch

  H. Ouseley

  Commission for Racial Equality

  I. B. Beesley

  Price Waterhouse

  J. M. Wynn

  Price Waterhouse

  B. Reamsbottom

  The Civil and Public Services Association

  714

  Those who sent comments in response to the White Paper, "The Civil Service-Continuity and Change"

  Organisation

  M. W. Sayers

  Law Commission

  M. Devereau

  Government Information Service

  D. Casey

  The Sports Council

SCOTLAND

  Hip Replacements
  Ms Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were on waiting lists for hip replacement surgery in each year from 1983 to 1993 in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Reliable information on waiting lists relating to specific operations was not available centrally until last year. The information requested for 31 March 1994 and 30 June 1994 is shown in the table:

  Date

  Number on waiting list

  31 March 1994

  1,314

  30 June 1994

  1,323

  Note:

  The information relates to patients on NHS waiting list in Scotland.

  Ms Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hip replacement operations have been carried out in each year from 1983 to 1993.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is shown in the table:

  Year ended

  Total hip replacement operations

  31 December 1983

  2,755

  31 December 1984

  2,877

  31 December 1985

  3,118

  31 December 1986

  3,236

  31 December 1987

  3,485

  31 December 1988

  3,798

  31 December 1989

  3,567

  31 December 1990

  3,718

  31 December 1991

  3,747

  31 December 1992

  3,850

  31 March 19941

  3,916

  1 Provisional.

  Note:

  The information relates to operations carried out by the NHS in Scotland.

  Nuclear Waste
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has completed his consideration of the application by Scottish Nuclear to construct a dry store for waste nuclear fuel at Torness power station; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  Following a public inquiry, I accepted the Reporter's recommendation that my decision on the application should be deferred until an appraisal of the
  715
  implications of a multistore strategy compared with the potential benefits of a single store strategy had been carried out. This appraisal is being carried out in the context of the radioactive waste management review announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 19 May.

  Electricity Charges
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was(a) the price charged in pence per kilowatt hour to standard tariff domestic consumers, (b) the percentage change from the previous year's average household electricity bills and (c) the average annual household electricity bill in respect of each electricity company for each year since 1990.

  Mr. Stewart
  On the assumption that an average household consumes 3,300 KWh of electricity each year, the information requested is as follows:

  (a) Price of electricity to domestic consumers (p/KWh)1 2

  Company

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  ScottishPower

  7.17

  7.81

  8.09

  8 30

  Scottish Hydro-Electric

  7.18

  7.82

  8.27

  8.37

  (b) Percentage change from the previous year's average2 annual household electricity bills in current price terms

  Company

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  ScottishPower

  +8.5

  +8.9

  +3.7

  +2.6

  Scottish Hydro-Electric

  +8.8

  +8.9

  +5.8

  +1.2

  Percentage change from the previous year's average' annual household electricity bills in current price terms3.

  Company

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  ScottishPower

  +2.16

  +2.11

  -0.83

  -0.83

  Scottish Hydro-Electric

  +2.16

  +2.11

  +1.65

  -2.44

  (c) Average annual household's electricity bill in current price terms

  (£ per year)

  Company

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  ScottishPower

  237

  258

  267

  274

  Scottish Hydro-Electric

  237

  258

  273

  276

  Average annual household's electricity bill in real (1990) price terms.

  (£ per year)3

  Company

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  ScottishPower

  237

  242

  240

  238

  Scottish Hydro-Electric

  237

  242

  246

  240

  Notes

  1 These are current prices based on standard domestic tariffs; standing charges have been taken into account.

  2 No account has been taken of any rebates paid by electricity companies in recent years nor of discounts for direct debit payments.

  3 Real prices are the cash figures adjusted to 1990 price levels by excluding the effect of general inflation as measured by the GDP (market prices) deflator.

  A1
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to award the contract for 716
  dualling the Al road between Meadowmill and Amisfield; what are the expected dates for the start of work and completion; and if he will make a further statement on his plans for dualling the A 1 from Amisfield to Dunbar and for further improvements between Dunbar and the English border.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Tenders for the dualling of the Al from the Bankton roundabout to east of Haddington are currently due to be submitted on 23 December. Subject to the receipt of a satisfactory tender, a contract will be awarded early next year to allow a work start in the early spring. The construction of the new road is expected to take up to two years. Draft proposals for the extension of the dualling to Dunbar have now been published. A number of comments and objections have been received and are currently being considered. South of Dunbar, improvement schemes shall be brought forward for construction as resources and other priorities allow. The statutory procedures for three schemes are now very near completion and they will be well placed for consideration next year.

  Rough Sleepers
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he intends to take to ensure that no one has to sleep rough in Scotland; and whether he plans to make resources available in Scotland which are comparable to those set aside by the Department of the Environment for the rough sleepers initiative in central London.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Local authorities, which have the primary statutory responsibility for dealing with homelessness, should give top priority to helping roofless people. In 1991–94 we have made available around £29 million extra capital allocations earmarked for homelessness projects, many of which will help people, particularly young homeless people, who would otherwise have been roofless. We are also providing grants amounting to over £300,000 in 1994–95 for voluntary bodies who support homeless and roofless people.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will announce the 1995–96 grant-aided expenditure figures each Scottish local authority.

  Mr. Lang
  The grant-aid expenditure figure in respect of each local authority for 1995–96 is set out in the table. Each authority's allocation of the GAE total has been determined having regard to the client group methodology which is agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in the distribution committee of the working party on local government finance. The table excludes figures for urban programme GAE which is not allocated to individual authorities. The addition of this amount—£63.4 million—brings the GAE total to the previously announced sum of £5,318.2 million.
  717

  Regions and Islands

  GAE 1995–96 £000s

  Borders

  97,770

  Central

  232,150

  Dumfries and Galloway

  138,129

  Fife

  296,358

  Grampian

  430,557

  Highland

  211,295

  Lothian

  611,991

  Strathclyde

  2,076,639

  Tayside

  348,940

  Orkney

  29,203

  Shetland

  30,256

  Western Isles

  44,574

  Total

  4,547,862

  Districts

  Berwick

  2,228

  Ettrick and Lauderdale

  3,980

  Roxburgh

  4,206

  Tweeddale

  1,809

  Clackmannan

  7,032

  Falkirk

  18,516

  Stirling

  12,194

  Annandale and Eskdale

  4,075

  Nithsdale

  6,671

  Stewarty

  2,875

  Wigtown

  3,571

  Dunfermline

  17,284

  Kirkcaldy

  21,343

  North East Fife

  10,329

  Aberdeen

  28,532

  Banff and Buchan

  11,981

  Gordon

  10,771

  Kincardine and Deeside

  7,314

  Moray

  11,788

  Badenoch and Strathspey

  1,625

  Caithness

  3,109

  Inverness

  7,675

  Lochaber

  2,542

  Nairn

  1,298

  Ross and Cromarty

  6,501

  Skye and Lochalsh

  1,716

  Sutherland

  1,944

  East Lothian

  11,802

  Edinburgh

  59,137

  Midlothian

  10,576

  West Lothian

  20,481

  Argyll and Bute

  10,297

  Bearsden and Milngavie

  5,248

  Clydebank

  5,170

  Clydesdale

  8,211

  Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

  8,134

  Cumnock and Doon Valley

  5,771

  Cunninghame

  18,583

  Dumbarton

  10,019

  East Kilbride

  12,339

  Eastwood

  7,436

  Glasgow

  120,932

  Hamilton

  14,794

  Inverclyde

  11,408

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun

  10,558

  Kyle and Carrick

  15,626

  Monklands

  13,990

  Motherwell

  19,167

  Renfrew

  27,736

  Strathkelvin

  11,001

  Angus

  13,003

  Dundee

  24,287

  Perth and Kinross

  18,293

  Total

  706,908

  All Scotland total

  5,254,770

  New Town Development Corporations
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he has given to new town development corporations on the treatment of staff in the wind-up of the Scottish new towns and the transfer or engagement of such staff by the new authorities to be set up under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1994; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 28 November 1994]: Since the White Paper, "The cottish New Towns—The Way Ahead", CM 711, was published in July 1989, the Government have been consistent in their view that every effort should be made to retain the expertise of new town staff for the wider benefit of Scotland. In accordance with the guidance on winding-up the development corporations are pursuing staffing in discussion with organisations taking over their functions. With effect from 1 April 1995, some staff may transfer to East Kilbride and Kirkcaldy district councils; other may transfer before dissolution of the Corporations. The other new towns are consulting existing local authorities about staff transferring with the functions they currently perform. Guidance on the staffing of the new local authorities is currently being considered by the local government staff commission (Scotland).

  Clyde Tunnellers
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department will carry out an inquiry into the failure to monitor regularly the health of tunnellers who worked on the Clyde tunnel between 1959 and 1964.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  I have been asked to reply.

  The records available show that medical surveillance was carried out in accordance with the then new Work in Compressed Air Special Regulations 1958, and the doctors performing the work were experienced in medical surveillance of the workers involved in the operations.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Building Refurbishment
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will itemise the refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years, indicating the costs involved and the nature of the refurbishments.

  Mr. Jack
  The refurbishment works undertaken on buildings housing departmental staff in the last three years are as follows:

  Work undertaken

  £

  1991–92

  London-Woburn Place

  Redecorate and install new carpets, IT cabling and security measures

  220,000

  Tolworth—Government Offices

  Convert canteen block into offices and a smaller, refurbished restaurant

  1,310,000

  719

  Work undertaken

  £

  1992–93

  Guildford— Government Offices

  Modernise kitchens and restaurant, and replace aged building services in one block

  520,000

  Lowestoft—Fisheries Laboratory

  Redecorate and refit the reception area, and replace windows in one block

  120,000

  Penrith—Agricola House

  Modernise offices, including new fittings, redecoration and removal of asbestos

  170,000

  Trowbridge—Offices

  Modernise offices including new windows, new fittings and redecoration

  60,000

  Weybridge—Central Veterinary Laboratory

  Modernise some laboratories, offices, the reception area, canteen and kitchen

  360,000

  1993–94

  Bristol—Government Offices

  Redecorate including new fittings

  150,000

  Guildford–Government Offices

  Redecorate and install new windows and new fittings in one block

  120,000

  Worcester— Government Offices

  Redecorate and install new fittings

  260,000

  Energy Expenditure
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Jack
  It is impractical to separate the energy costs of the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service agency from the energy costs of the MAFF main estate, as in many cases they share the same buildings. However, the total costs of energy used by(a) the MAFF main estate and the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and (b) MAFF's other agencies over the last three years are as follows.

  (a) £

  (b) £

  1991–92

  2,507,731

  1,261,640

  1992–93

  2,541,730

  1,493,300

  1993–94

  2,638,715

  1,537.000

  In the main, the increases are due to the introduction of information technology equipment, the modernisation of laboratories and other specialist buildings, and an increase in the work load of agencies and regional offices and a rise in tariffs over the period. The Ministry is stepping up measures to encourage staff to be more energy conscious, and is increasing investment in energy efficiency measures where these are cost effective.

  Milk
  Mr. Olner
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the total quantity of milk 720
  produced by the United Kingdom dairy industry in each of the last four years for which information is available;

  (2) what is the total quantity of milk consumed in the United Kingdom in each of the last four years for which information is available.

  Mr. Jack
  Details of milk production, and its utilisation in the years 1990 to 1993, are shown in the table.

  Milk production and utilisation in the United Kingdom

  1990

  1991

  19921

  (Million litres) 1993

  Production (output for human consumption)

  14,548

  14,016

  14,011

  14,095

  Liquid consumption, comprising:

  Sales through Milk Marketing Board schemes for liquid consumption

  6,780

  6,745

  6,722

  6,778

  Imports of liquid milk

  36

  51

  143

  97

  Other sales2

  355

  403

  488

  553

  1 366 days.

  2 Includes milk consumed in farm households, sales of liquid milk outside Milk Marketing Board schemes, exports, and milk used for farmhouse manufacture of butter, cheese and cream.

  Slaughter Industry
  Mr. Olner
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what subsidies or other support are available from the European Union to support the development or modernisation of the United Kingdom slaughter industry.

  Mr. Jack
  Assistance for capital investments is available under the processing and marketing grant, which is an EU scheme with national back-up. In the slaughtering sector, this is limited by EU exclusions intended to avoid increasing overcapacity, but associated' activities such as boning and cutting may be eligible for support.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mrs. Browning
  A further report on BSE in Great Britain is available today. I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

  The report provides information about the effect of the ruminant ban on the course of the epidemic, the continuing decline in the incidence of the disease, the measures taken to control the disease, and to protect animal and human health, and the on-going research programme.

  The number of cases of BSE being reported at present is 41 per cent. fewer than at the same time last year and for the first time there is a downturn in the incidence of BSE in five-year-old animals. Both changes are attributed to the ban of feeding ruminant protein to ruminant animals, which was introduced in 1988.

  Salmon Advisory Committees
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of meetings
  721
  held, the secretarial and advisory arrangements, the budgeted and actual expenditure and the subjects of the reports and submissions produced by the Salmon advisory committee in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Jack
  The Salmon advisory committee examines and reports on those matters relating to the conservation and development of salmon fisheries in Great Britain which are referred to it by fisheries Ministers. Since it was established in 1986, it has issued six reports, all of which have been published. Of these the following were produced within the last three years:

  "Factors Affecting Emigrating Smolts and Returning Adults" - published 1993.

  "Run Timing of Salmon" - published 1994.

  The secretariat for the committee is provided by officials from the Department's salmon, whaling and inland fisheries division, which also supplies the secretary. An assistant secretary is provided by the Scottish Office. The committee reports direct to fisheries Ministers.

  Information on the number of meetings held during the last three financial years and on the Committee's budgeted and actual expenditure is given in the table below.

  1992–93 £

  1993–94 £

  1994–95 £

  Committee meetings

  4

  3

  13

  Sub-group meetings

  5

  19

  118

  Budgeted expenditure2

  33,000

  34,000

  29,000

  Actual expenditure2

  19,338

  12,411

  30.000

  1 Number of meetings planned.

  2 Does not include secretariat costs which are met from MAFF and SOAFD running costs.

  3 Estimate.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Pergau Dam
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the selection process for contractors on the Pergau dam project; and which firms were selected.

  Mr. Baldry
  Tendering arrangements are the responsibility of the overseas government. In the case of the Pergau project, the client, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, with the agreement of the Malaysian Government undertook negotiations direct with the Balfour Beatty/Cementation International consortium.

  Thomas Cook
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will specify the components of payments to Thomas Cook as travel agency consultant in 1992–93 mentioned in the document deposited in the Library referred to in his answer of 2 November,Official Report, column 1182.

  Mr. Baldry
  All payments made to Thomas Cook under the terms of this contract were reimbursements of travel expenditure incurred on behalf of ODA. ODA made no payments to Thomas Cook as travel agency consultant.

  KPMG
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will specify the objectives of the contract awarded to KPMG by the Overseas Development Administration in 1992–93 to provide an offshore financial services consultancy referred to in the information placed in the Library to supplement his answer of 2 November 1994,Official Report, column 1182; and if he will state the country of territories to which this assistance was given.

  Mr. Baldry
  These consultancy services were provided to the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis. The terms of reference, which include the contract objectives, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Bilateral Aid (World Bank)
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been(a) the total external finance and (b) the proportion of total external finance from the World bank group for each country receiving official British bilateral aid for each of the past five years.

  Mr. Baldry
  Due to incomplete coverage in available statistical information, it may not be possible to provide a comprehensive breakdown in the format requested. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as our inquiries are complete.

  Somalia
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on civilian conditions in Somalia.

  Mr. Baldry
  Conditions vary according to the security situation. Food is generally available throughout the country, but in areas where unrest continues social services are limited and food supplies may be interrupted.

WALES

  Out-of-town Planning Applications
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many out-of-town planning applications have been referred to him in the first nine months of 1994; and what percentage of these have been rejected.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Between January and September 1994, 12 out-of-town centre retail applications came before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State as references under the Town and Country Planning (Shopping Development) (England and Wales) (No. 2) Direction 1993, or as departures from the development plan or as a result of call-in requests. It was decided not to intervene in 10 cases; two are still under consideration. In addition nine such proposals came forward on appeal of which one has been dismissed, two were withdrawn by the appellants and six have yet to be determined.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last Session of Parliament were not answered on the
  723
  ground that the information sought was not held centrally by the Department.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information available on the Polis system, shows that 61 parliamentary questions were not answered on the ground that the information sought was not held centrally.

  Dentists
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many full-time salaried dentists the Gwynedd family health service authority are authorised to employ; how many are in post; and how many he expects will be in post on 1 January 1995.

  Mr. Richards
  The Gwynedd family health services authority has permission to employ the full-time equivalent of four salaried dentists. Currently, one salaried dentist is employed for three days per week.

  Recruitment of suitable personnel to fill the approved posts is the responsibility of the authority. The Welsh Office is funding the advertising costs of the recruitment campaign.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many NHS patients have been deregistered by dentists in the last year in each of the health districts in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Richards
  The information supplied by family health services authorities, shows that the numbers of patients deregistered by their dentists during the period 4 December 1993 to 2 December 1994 are as follows:

  Adults

  Children

  Total

  Clwyd

  6,737

  49

  6,786

  Dyfed

  2,754

  2

  2,756

  Gwent

  2,817

  0

  2,817

  Gwynedd

  2,597

  0

  2,597

  Mid Glamorgan

  567

  0

  567

  Powys

  0

  0

  0

  South Glamorgan

  1,820

  25

  1,845

  West Glamorgan

  44

  0

  44

  Total

  17,336

  76

  17,412

  This information is supplied for management purposes only and is not statistically validated.

  The latest statistics available from the Dental Practice Board indicate that the number of patients registered with a dentist in Wales at 30 September 1994 was only 0.75 per cent. less than that for 30 September 1993.

  Air Pollution
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will enlarge the number of urban air quality monitoring stations in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Government's air quality monitoring network in Wales covers all the main air pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, particulates and ozone. An expansion of the urban monitoring network is being considered for the United Kingdom as a whole, and the needs of Wales will be carefully considered as part of this.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the role of the 724
  Environment Agency in improving local conditions concerning air pollution by large scale industrial establishments with special reference to chimney stacks; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Large scale industrial establishments with the potential to cause air pollution generally require authorisation by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under the integrated pollution control provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This function will be transferred to the new Environment Agency.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the locations of the urban air quality monitoring stations in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Government fund the following types of air quality monitoring:

  Enhanced urban air monitoring network
  Two sites at Cardiff and one at Swansea

  Smoke and sulphur dioxide network
  Nine sites at Cardiff, Newport, Pontypool, Neyland, Port Talbot, Cwmgwrach, Glynneath, Welshpool and Wrexham.

  Nitrogen dioxide survey
  Twenty five Welsh local authorities are monitoring nitrogen dioxide at one hundred sites, some of which are rural, as part of a United Kingdom survey.

  Lead in air monitoring
  One site in Cardiff

  In addition, many Welsh local authorities regularly undertake independent air quality monitoring in their areas funded from their own resources.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he gives to planning authorities in Wales concerning new developments which may affect air quality; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Planning policy guidance note 1, "General Policy and Principles", sets out the general principles that the planning system must take account of in order to protect the environment. Minerals planning guidance note 2, "Applications, Permissions and Conditions", contains advice on the control of dust, smoke and fumes when considering planning applications for mineral workings. In addition, processes with potential to cause air pollution are covered by the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and detailed guidance has been issued to the regulatory authorities on the standards to be applied to protect air quality.

  Traffic Pollution
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he proposes to eradicate pollution by traffic; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Government's approach was set out in "This Common Inheritance: The Third Year Report", Cm. published in May. A range of measures is being taken including tighter emission standards and changes to fuel composition which should lead to a progressive decline in traffic pollution. A crackdown on offending vehicles was announced in October, and further measures are under consideration.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current total of cases of BSE recorded in each county in Wales.
  725
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The cumulative total of confirmed BSE cases from November 1986 to week ending 2 December 1994 in each county in Wales is as follows:

  County

  Total

  Clwyd

  2,147

  Gwynedd

  591

  Powys

  1,915

  Dyfed

  6,930

  South Glamorgan

  384

  West Glamorgan

  100

  County

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994 (to 712)

  Clwyd

  181

  381

  571

  607

  320

  Gwynedd

  30

  81

  174

  177

  92

  Powys

  132

  252

  514

  587

  343

  Dyfed

  583

  1,257

  2,000

  1,827

  933

  South Glamorgan

  22

  58

  114

  107

  43

  West Glamorgan

  8

  10

  34

  30

  14

  Mid Glamorgan

  37

  41

  43

  46

  33

  Gwent

  90

  154

  265

  246

  111

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are employed by(a) advisory bodies and (b) tribunals to whose boards he appointed in (i) 1979 and (ii) 1993.

  Mr. Redwood
  Information on the number of staff employed by advisory bodies and tribunals for 1979 is not available. The information for 1993 is as follows:

  Advisory bodies

  1Employees

  Welsh Language Board2

  6

  Sea Fisheries Committees3

  —

  North Western and North Wales

  10

  South Wales4

  13

  Tribunals5

  Notes:

  1 Ten Welsh Office staff were seconded to the Local Government Boundary Commission (six secondees) and the Local Government Reorganisation Advisory Committee on Staffing Matters (four secondees).

  2 Became an executive body on 21 December 1993 following Royal Assent to the Welsh Language Act.

  3 Sea fisheries committees are funded by local authorities.

  4 Secretary of State for Wales appoints 17 of the 56 members of sea fisheries committees.

  5 Five Welsh Office staff were seconded to the rent assessment panel. The Secretary of State for Wales appoints 30 of the 51 members of rent assessment panels.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people have been prosecuted for non-payment of(a) poll tax and (b) council tax; what are the amounts of money uncollected; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Information about the number of people prosecuted is not collected centrally. It is estimated that £36,700,000 community charge and £10,800,000 council tax due to 31 March 1994 in Wales was uncollected at 30 September 1994.
  726

  County

  Total

  Mid Glamorgan

  215

  Gwent

  954

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many BSE cases were recorded in each of the last five years in each county in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The number of confirmed BSE cases in each of the last five years in each county in Wales is as follows:

  British Rail Land
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the chair of Railtrack to discuss the mechanics to ensure the release of land owned by British Rail and required for important public sector infrastructure projects and to avoid unnecessary delays to such projects.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Decisions on releasing railway land are for the commercial judgment of the British Rail Property Board or Railtrack plc. I have no powers to intervene.

  Schools (Finance)
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total figure for the financial balances held by all(a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools.

  Mr. Richards
  Details of the financial balances held by county schools are contained in outturn statements published by local education authorities under section 42 of he Education Reform Act 1988. I am, however, unable to provide this information at present as some authorities have yet to submit their 1993–94 statement to the Welsh Office. I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the information is available.

  Alzheimer's Disease
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of sufferers from Alzheimer's disease, and the proportion of these residing without any family carer, for(a) each health authority and (b) Wales as a whole.

  Mr. Richards
  The information requested is not held centrally.

  Respiratory Illness
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospital admissions there were for each month in 1991, 1992 and 1993 for(a) acute respiratory

  727
  complaints and (b) bronchitis by local health authority and trust.

  Mr. Richards
  Information on admissions is not collected centrally. The available figures relate to the numbers of finished consultant episodes. In view of the volume of data requested, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many(a) males and (b) females, together with the overall total, were in full-time employment in each travel-to-work area in Wales and for Wales as a whole in December in each of the last 10 years; and in each case and for each year what proportion this figure represents as a percentage of the total population.

  Mr. Redwood
  Information on the number of male and female employees in full-time employment by travel-to-work area is available only from the 1981, 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1991 censuses of employment. Information on the total population of travel-to-work areas is only available from the 1981 census of population and, on an approximate basis, from the 1991 census of population. Information on male and female full-time employment and the population of Wales is available for each of the last 10 years. All these data are available form the Nomis databases which can be accessed on-line by the staff of the Library of the House.

  Credit Unions
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many credit unions were operating in each district 728
  council authority area in Wales and in Wales as a whole in 1980, 1990 and in each year since.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Information for each district council area is not available; information for each county council area is as follows:

  1980

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  Clwyd

  —

  —

  —

  1

  3

  Dyfed

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Gwent

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Gwynedd

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Mid-Glamorgan

  —

  —

  4

  5

  5

  Powys

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  South Glamorgan

  —

  —

  1

  3

  4

  West Glamorgan

  1

  1

  1

  2

  2

  Wales

  1

  1

  6

  11

  14

  Council of Ministers
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last attended a meeting of the European Council of Ministers in an official capacity as a United Kingdom Cabinet Minister.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have not attended a meeting of the Council of the European Union as a United Kingdom Cabinet Minister.

  University of Wales Hospital NHS Trust
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority regarding the appointment of a chief executive designate for the University of Wales Hospital NHS Trust.

  Mr. Redwood
  None.

  ENTRY CLEARANCE REFUSAL: INDEPENDENT MONITOR'S REPORT
  ENTRY CLEARANCE REFUSAL: INDEPENDENT MONITOR'S REPORT
  ANGOLA
  ANGOLA
  TURKEY: HUMAN RIGHTS
  TURKEY: HUMAN RIGHTS
  TURKEY: MPs' SENTENCES
  TURKEY: MPs' SENTENCES
  HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTION AND THE TURKISH CONSTITUTION
  HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTION AND THE TURKISH CONSTITUTION
  CSCE SUMMIT MEETINGS 5th–th DECEMBER
  CSCE SUMMIT MEETINGS 5th–th DECEMBER
  COUNCIL OF EUROPE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND: LOAN APPLICATION BY TURKEY
  COUNCIL OF EUROPE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND: LOAN APPLICATION BY TURKEY
  NORTHERN IRELAND: NURSERY EDUCATION
  NORTHERN IRELAND: NURSERY EDUCATION
  BRITISH COAL ENTERPRISE
  BRITISH COAL ENTERPRISE
  CARTRIDGES: MEASUREMENT OF SHOT CONTENT
  CARTRIDGES: MEASUREMENT OF SHOT CONTENT
  CHERNOBYL: SAFETY OF REACTORS
  CHERNOBYL: SAFETY OF REACTORS
  MILITARY EXPORTS: UNPAID CREDITS
  MILITARY EXPORTS: UNPAID CREDITS
  RECOVERY VEHICLES
  RECOVERY VEHICLES
  AIR POLLUTION IN TOWNS: REDUCTION MEASURES
  AIR POLLUTION IN TOWNS: REDUCTION MEASURES
  VDUs: GUIDANCE FOR USERS
  VDUs: GUIDANCE FOR USERS
  INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS: REVIEW
  INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS: REVIEW
  INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE, COMMISSIONER AND TRIBUNAL
  INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE, COMMISSIONER AND TRIBUNAL
  INSPECTORATE OF CONSTABULARY: DUTIES
  INSPECTORATE OF CONSTABULARY: DUTIES
  EXTRADITION RADMON APPLICATIONS: CATEGORISATION OF PRISONERS
  EXTRADITION RADMON APPLICATIONS: CATEGORISATION OF PRISONERS
  REMANDS OF 15 AND 16 YEAR-OLDS TO HULL, NORTHALLERTON AND DONCASTER PRISONS
  REMANDS OF 15 AND 16 YEAR-OLDS TO HULL, NORTHALLERTON AND DONCASTER PRISONS
  COMBINED HEAT AND POWER
  COMBINED HEAT AND POWER