Written Answers of 7 July 1994

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Provision has been made for spending of £75,000 in the current financial year on subsidised child care for staff at various locations. This will provide 40 nursery day care places for children under five; and approximately 60 play scheme places for children five to 12 years old which are used during the main school holidays. These arrangements generally involve a subsidy of about 50 per cent. of the running costs involved. Subsidised child care provision is provided only if it can be justified on value for money grounds.

  The Department does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" nor make child care vouchers available to staff.

  Immigration Appeals
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the cost of running immigration appeals in 1991, 1992 and 1993, measured on a common base.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The cost to the Lord Chancellor's Department of running the immigration appellate authorities for the financial years requested, measured on a common base, is as follows:

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Salaries

  1,236,645

  1,283,528

  1,617,629

  General accommodation expenditure

  920,585

  964,646

  1,307,911

  Non-running costs1

  2,539,677

  3,134,360

  3,472,296

  Total

  4,696,907

  5,382,534

  6,397,836

  1Non-running costs include the full time and part-time judicial officers.

  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average length of time for an appeal against the granting of a visa to be heard in 1991, 1992 and 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The current average time between the immigration appellate authorities receiving a certificate of readiness from a party to the date of a hearing is as follows:

  1991—Not available

  1992—13½ weeks

  1993—10½ weeks

  Staff Surveys
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what surveys of the views, opinions and attitudes of the staff of his Department have been carried out in the last two years; and if he will place copies of the findings in the Library.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The only survey of staff undertaken in the last two years has been a review of equal opportunity policy. I am not, at present, able to place a copy of the findings in the Library as the material gathered from the review has not yet been made available to the staff.

  Exodus Collective
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the charges recently brought against members of the Exodus Collective near Luton, the outcome in each case and the cost to public funds of the prosecutions.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The following list comprises charges against persons believed to be members of the Exodus Collective, who have appeared before the Crown court at Luton either for trial or on appeal from the magistrates court.

  Charges

  Result

  (1) Violent disorder

  Discharged

  (2) Violent disorder

  Discharged

  (3) Possession of controlled drug class A with intent

  Discharged

  Possessing a controlled drug class A and handling stolen goods x 2

  (4) Using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress

  Bound over in £250 for 12 months

  (5) Using threatening, abusive or insulting words or bahaviour with intent to provoke use of violence

  Bound over in £250 for 12 months

  Appeal allowed. Bound over and fine removed

  (6) Using threatening, abusive or insulting words likely to cause harassment alarm or distress

  Bound over in £250 for 12 months

  Appeal allowed. Bound over and fine removed

  The actual total cost to public funds of the cases listed is not readily available. However, it is estimated to be in the region of £92,000.

  In addition, five other persons appeared before Luton magistrates court charged with similar public order offences. The cost of the prosecutions of these further matters is not readily available.

DEFENCE

  Target Setting
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the key targets for 1994–95 that have been set for the Hydrographic Office Defence Agency.

  Mr. Hanley
  The chief executive of the Hydrographic Office Defence Agency has been set the following key targets for 1994–95:
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  (a) To continue to ensure that all urgent dangers to navigation are promulgated by radio navigational warnings within 20 hours of receipt of the information.

  (b) To improve the state of revision of Admiralty navigational charts and publications in waters of UK national responsibility so that at 1 April 1995 82 per cent. will have been revised or reviewed within the previous 10 years and found to need no revision.

  (c) To achieve the endorsed and funded Defence programme. In pursuing all of his primary objectives, the chief executive will be expected to strive to deliver optimum value for money.

  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on key targets for 1994–95 which have been set for the Service Children's Schools (North West Europe) Defence Agency.

  Mr. Hanley
  The chief executive of SCS (NWE) has been set the following key targets for 1994–95, the agency's fourth year of operation:

  (1) For the 42 schools in SCS (NWE), to extend the scope of the local management of schools paralleling, as far as possible, the initiative in the United Kingdom, to include staff costs for locally entered civilians, certain staff costs for United Kingdom-based civilians, building maintenance and utilities.

  (2) By 31 December 1994 to launch, and complete, an initial programme of training for head teachers, parents and others serving on school advisory committees so as to develop their advisory role in local school management.

  (3) To improve efficiency so as to reduce net expenditure for 1994–95 by 2·5 per cent.

  (4) To maintain the overall pass rates in GCSE and A-level grades A to E and achieve a 2 per cent. increase in the percentage of pupils gaining grades A to C in five subjects and achieve an 80 per cent. pass rate in BTEC—first diploma—courses.

  (5) During the period of the plan to ensure that 95 per cent. of all teachers meet all the qualifications criteria for their post.

  (6) By 31 March 1995, to develop and implement methods for the regular gauging of customer satisfaction with SCS (NWE) schools.

  (7) Complete the planned school closure and reorganisation programme in line with the drawdown of British forces in Germany.

  (8) Continue to implement the Education Reform Act in accordance with the timetable laid down in the Act and subsequent regulations.

  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what key targets have been set for the chief executives of(a) the Duke of York's Royal Military School and (b) the Queen Victoria School in 1994–95.

  Mr. Hanley
  The following key targets have been set for the chief executives of the schools in 1994–95:

  Duke of York's Royal Military School: Key Targets Curriculum
  In August 1994: To achieve at least 97 per cent. of GCSE passes at grades A to G. To achieve at least five GCSE passes at grades A to C for 80 per cent. of pupils. To achieve 85 per cent. of A-level passes at grades A to E. To achieve three A-level passes at grades A to E for 80 per cent. of pupils. To achieve 30 per cent. of A-level passes at grades A and B. To achieve 100 per cent. award rate for BTEC national diploma courses. To implement new timetable in September 1994.
  Pastoral
  By September 1994: To complete detailed pastoral preparations for co-education. To implement school policy on extra-curricular activities. To update policy on assessing, monitoring and reporting in context of Dearing review.
  Finance and Administration
  To implement financial measures from pay and conditions review by September 1994. To implement efficiency decisions on management of works services in April 1994. To implement new school clothing system by August 1994. To introduce new
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  software package for administration and finance in September 1994 and to introduce new school billing system. To reduce pupil per capita costs to £11,246 by April 1995.
  Development
  To review agency framework document by April 1995. To start RAF section of the combined cadet force in September 1994. To achieve 200 applicants for entry in September 1995 by April 1995.
  Queen Victoria School: key targets
  To achieve at least three standard grade passes at credit and general levels (1–4) for 90 per cent. of S4 pupils. To achieve at least 5 standard grade passes (1–3) for 60 per cent. of S4 pupils. To achieve three higher passes at A–C grades or Scottish Vocational Education Council (SCOTVEC) equivalents for 60 per cent. of S5/S6 pupils. To complete the phased implementation of the national five to 14 programme in line with Scottish Office Education Department (SOED) recommendations. To complete the audit of the school's academic programme in line with the SOED guidelines for school development plans: Scotland: 19 January 1994. To review and where appropriate update curricular guidance (S2/S3) as detailed by the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum: January 1990.
  Pastoral
  To continue to monitor the effectiveness of the school pastoral policy and organisation document, and specifically to report on parental response on its quality, with reference to "Ethos Indicators in Secondary Schools Scotland: May 1992".
  Extra-curricular Provision
  To maintain and enrich at least 50 extra-curricular activities, both physical and cultural, involving pupils aged 10–15 in at least three per week and those aged 16–18 in at least two.
  Management and development
  To complete the audit of all staff functions to maximise educational, administrative and financial efficiency. To commence teacher appraisal and development. To implement the marketing policy so as to reach all eligible families. To implement an effective marketing policy to generate non-public income to the school. To complete planning and begin works services appropriate to the admission of girls for 1996–97 at the latest. To review the school management and committee structure to ensure all major policy decisions are co-ordinated at board level. To complete the implementation of all financial control systems. To identify and implement efficiency measures equal to 2·5 per cent. of the school's budget.

  Gibraltar Garrison
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decisions have been reached on the Gibraltar garrison; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  As a consequence of the political and strategic changes that have taken place in Europe the size and functions of the garrison in Gibraltar have been under review. That review has now been completed.

  The conclusion of the review is that the work of the garrison should concentrate on five core areas which are central to our defence responsibilities in Gibraltar. These are the nuclear warship berthing facilities, access to the airfield, the Windmill Hill signal station and the maritime data centre, the Gibraltar Regiment in its present form, and the maintenance of a headquarters with supporting infrastructure for both NATO and national roles. It will in addition be necessary to maintain ammunition and fuel storage facilities, and the Gibraltar Squadron will remain in being.

  All these functions will be supported by a single logistic unit. The Gibraltar Regiment, together with elements of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, will assume the responsibility for the day-to-day administration of all service men.

  Under a rationalisation scheme already in progress service and civilian manpower levels in Gibraltar were due to reduce to 700 and 950 respectively by 1997. The effect of the review will be to bring these figures to some 500

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  service men and between 350 and 700 civilians. Precise civilian numbers will depend on how many supporting functions are put out to contract, increasing local employment opportunities. Any reductions in civilian manpower will be phased to avoid putting undue pressure on the job market. Where employees have to be made redundant every effort will be made to retrain and re-settle them.

  The Government of Gibraltar have been fully informed of the outcome of the review, which will now be the subject of a process of consultation with the trade unions. The British Government are conscious of the economic implications and are examining wider initiatives to support the Gibraltar economy through the recently formed Joint Economic Forum.

  A copy of the consultation document is being placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Army Training
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to seek further improvements in the provision of training for the regular Army.

  Mr. Hanley
  Significant improvements have already been made to the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Army's training organisation. The structure and content of Army training are constantly re-evaluated to ensure that they meet the present and future operational requirements of the Army. As part of this process, as foreshadowed in my answer to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) on 21 June 1994,Official Report, column 108, my Department will now be undertaking a wide review of how and where Army-sponsored training is conducted. This review, which is separate from but consistent with the defence costs study, will be looking at the nature and content of training courses generally as well as at individual areas such as adventurous training, training support, market-testing, catering training, recruit training and training with the adjutant-general's corps.

  Individual studies will now be set in hand and the trade unions involved in the normal way. Any proposals for change arising from the studies will be subject to full consultation as appropriate.

  Staff Surveys
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the. Secretary of State for Defence what surveys of the views, opinions and attitudes of the civilian staff of his Department have been carried out in the last two years; and if he will place copies of the findings in the Library.

  Mr. Aitken
  My Department has not conducted any general surveys of the views, opinions and attitudes of staff during the last two years, although surveys have been carried out within parts of my Department.

  Braemar Weather Station
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of upgrading the Meteorological Office weather station at Braemar in Aberdeenshire to enable it to transmit data to the Meteorological Office at Bracknell daily.
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  Mr. Hanley
  This is a matter for the chief executive of the Meteorological Office under the terms of his framework document. I have therefore arranged for him to reply to the hon. Member.

  Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. George Kynoch, dated 7 July 1994:
  I am responding to your Parliamentary Question concerning the cost of upgrading the weather station at Braemar.
  Braemar is a private observing station which provides data on a voluntary basis to the Meteorological Office at Edinburgh at the end of each month. At present the Meteorological Office has no requirement for the daily receipt of the data. If the need arises the cost of upgrading the station to provide automated transfer of the data to Bracknell will be £2,500; additionally there will be other direct running and replacement costs of about £1,000 per annum. These costs do not include the Meteorological Office overheads necessary to process the data or supply services based upon them. Alternatively the observations could be passed by telephone to our Office at Aviemore for the cost of the telephone calls, from where they would be sent to Bracknell through our communication system; whilst this would avoid upgrade costs, the Office staff time involved in collecting and sending the data to Bracknell would be around £1,500 per annum.

  Low Flying
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to follow up the recommendation of the Air Accident Investigation Branch in its aircraft accident report 2/94, that his Department should commission an operational analysis of fast jet low flying training in the United Kingdom to determine whether the use of see and avoid as a primary means of collision avoidance is satisfactory from the point of view of flight safety; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  As a result of this accident, the pipeline inspection notification system was introduced in October 1993. Further safety measures already in hand include the following:

  (i) Hawk training aircraft are being painted black to improve conspicuity. Similar paint schemes are also being considered for other aircraft types.

  (ii) Action is in hand to fit all RAF aircraft, not already so equipped, with high intensity stroboscopic lights.

  (iii) The feasibility of installing forward facing headlights in tactical aircraft is being examined.

  (iv) A technology demonstrator for a collision warning system is currently undergoing trials.

  My Department is considering how best to take forward the particular recommendation of the air accident investigation branch in the light of results of the safety measures already implemented.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  At present, my Department has seven workplace nurseries and seven holiday play schemes, although a further three nurseries are planned.

  Responsibility for the provision of child care facilities is delegated to individual budget holders and subsidy arrangements may vary. In some cases this is restricted to a contribution to capital and indirect running costs such as Maintenance, heating and lighting, while in others a

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  contribution is also made to the direct running costs—mainly staff and consumables. The contribution to direct costs varies according to local market rates for nursery places and those using the facility.

  My Department does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions", or make child care vouchers available.

  It is our policy to increase the provision of child care facilities wherever possible. Budget holders are encouraged to set up new child care facilities for staff where there is sufficient demand and where they can be justified on value for money grounds.

  Sea King Helicopters
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the order for the new RAF search and rescue Sea Kings was placed; and when he expects them to be delivered.

  Mr. Aitken
  The contract for the six RAF Sea King HAR Mk3A search and rescue helicopters was placed in October 1992. They will be delivered between July 1995 and February 1996.

  Proof and Experimental Establishments
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what compensation has been paid to residents living in the vicinity of the proof and experimental establishment at Shoeburyness for reasons connected with noise pollution.

  Mr. Aitken
  Between 1 January 1992 and 5 July 1994, a total of £13,393·94 has been paid in compensation as a result of damage caused by noise pollution.

  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work has been transferred from the proof and experimental establishment at Shoeburyness to the proof and experimental establishment at Pendine for reasons connected with noise pollution.

  Mr. Aitken
  None.

  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the trade associations and individual customers with whom his Department has had discussions on the implications at the current review of proof and experimental establishments in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Aitken
  The review covers all test and evaluation establishments, not just the proof and experimental establishments. Discussions were held with the following organisations:

  Society of British Aerospace Companies

  Vickers plc

  VSEL

  GKN

  Royal Ordnance plc

  Rolls-Royce plc

  Discussions were also held with a large number of internal customers such as MOD project managers and the Defence Research Agency.

  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints about noise pollution have been received over the last three years from residents in the vicinity of(a) the proof and experimental establishment at Shoeburyness and (b) the proof and experimental establishment at Pendine.

  Mr. Aitken
  The figures are as follows:
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  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994 to date

  Shoeburyness

  47

  218

  420

  533

  Pendine

  4

  6

  5

  Shoeburyness's figures are for the calendar year,

  Pendine's for the period 1 July to 30 June.

  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what responses he has received from trade associations and individual customers following consultation on the Director General Test and Evaluation review at test and evaluation facilities.

  Mr. Aitken
  This consultation took the form of discussions. Written responses were neither received nor appropriate.

  Ferranti/ISC
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total estimated cost to(a) his Department and (b) the Exchequer generally, of the fraud at Ferranti/ISC; and what assessment he has made of the total number of jobs lost (i) directly and (ii) indirectly in the United Kingdom as a result of this fraud in the subsequent collapse of the company.

  Mr. Aitken
  My Department has no means of assessing what, if any, additional costs it bore as a result of the fraud; the question of any loss to the Exchequer generally is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Nor has my Department any way of isolating the net changes in employment in the company and in other United Kingdom companies as a result of the fraud from the changes brought about by more general trends in the defence and civil markets for the company's products.

  RAF Machrihanish
  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much money from his Department's vote has been spent since the beginning of 1990 on upgrading RAF Machrihanish;

  (2) how much money from his Department's vote has been spent since the beginning of 1990 at RAF Machrihanish on the following: (a) the construction of a new control tower, (b) the construction of underground fuel pipes and pumps, (c) strengthening runway aprons and (d) the construction of new living quarters for service personnel and their families.

  Mr. Hanley
  The amount of money from my Department's vote spent since the beginning of 1990 on upgrading RAF Machrihanish is £10,060,000. The figure includes:

  (a) £407,000 on the construction of a new control tower, representing 20 per cent. of a NATO-funded project;

  (b) £2,090,000 VAT payment on NATO-funded construction of underground fuel pipes and pumps;

  (c) £2,000,000 VAT payment on NATO-funded airfield pavement improvements, including the strengthening of runway aprons;

  (d) £1,807,000 on the construction of new single living quarters.

  In the same period NATO has contributed £28,306,000 on upgrading at RAF Machrihanish.

  Clothing Organisation
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current regional distribution of jobs in the MOD clothing organisation; and if he will make a statement on the future location of that organisation.

  Mr. Hanley
  The recently formed Defence Clothing and Textiles Authority is headed by the director of clothing and textiles, whose headquarters is based in Andover and his staff are currently located as follows:

  Location

  Total staff employed

  Andover

  53·5

  Bath

  23·0

  Bicester

  101·0

  Colchester

  135·0

  Didcot

  134·5

  Glasgow

  56·0

  Harrogate

  13·0

  Manchester

  8·0

  Sheffield

  8·0

  Proposals for the future location of the DCTA are currently being considered by my Department.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Staff Surveys
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what surveys of the views, opinions and attitudes of the staff of his Department have been carried out in the last two years; and if he will place copies of the findings in the Library.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Two employee surveys have been carried out in the Departments and agencies for which I am responsible. I will place in the Library copies of the findings of a survey of staff in Her Majesty's Stationery Office carried out in 1993. The results of a recent survey of staff in the Occupational Health Service have yet to be published.

  Women in Science, Engineering and Technology
  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when a response will be made to the report of the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Technology entitled "The Rising Tide."

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I have today published the Government's response to this report. We have accepted many of the committee's recommendations, including the central one that a development unit should be established within the Office of Science and Technology. This will work with other Departments and outside bodies to enable women to make the fullest possible contribution to the nation's science, engineering and technology.

  Copies of the response have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Bicycles
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what facilities his Department provides for the parking of the bicycles of visitors to its offices in Westminster.
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  Mr. Waldegrave
  Visitors to my Department's offices in Westminster may use the same facilities for parking their bicycles as those provided for staff. Five sites have been designated bicycle parks; the remaining four have space available to park bicycles upon request.

TREASURY

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government's policy is that child care assistance must be justified on value for money grounds, and that any child care arrangements must offer the best value for money choice.

  On this basis the Treasury participates in the Westminster holiday play scheme which provides child care for children between the ages of five and 12 during school holidays. A 60 per cent. subsidy is provided to staff.

  Until the end of July 1994, the Treasury and the Central Statistical Office are offering two places in a Westminster-based nursery for use by staff in emergencies. A 50 per cent. subsidy is given to staff earning less than £25,000 per annum. However, the contract has been terminated because of low usage. The Treasury does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available.

  The Treasury is about to undertake a survey of staff to establish what child care provision might provide best value for money in future.

  Local Authority Capital Receipts
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the public sector borrowing requirement is accounted for from the capital receipts held by local authorities.

  Mr. Portillo
  When a capital asset is sold by a local authority it generates a capital receipt which reduces net capital expenditure and hence general government expenditure. This, in turn, reduces the public sector borrowing requirement. When the proceeds from the sale of a capital asset are spent, net capital expenditure increases which increases general Government expenditure and hence the public sector borrowing requirement.

  The table sets out the latest data for local authority capital receipts and the public sector borrowing requirement.

  1991–92 £ billion

  1992–93 £ billion

  1993–94 £ billion

  Local authority capital receipts

  2·8

  2·6

  3·9

  Public sector borrowing requirement

  13·9

  36·6

  46·0

  Tax Yield
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of Exchequer revenue was raised through(a) direct taxes, and (b) indirect taxes in (i) 1978–79, (ii) 1991–92 and (iii) 1993–94; and what is his estimate of the equivalent figures for 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Total taxes and social security contributions

  1978–79

  1991–92

  1993–94

  1994–951

  1995–961

  (as per cent. of total taxes and social security contributions)

  Taxes on income, capital and social security contributions2

  59

  55

  53

  54

  54

  Taxes on expenditure including rates/community charge/and council tax3

  41

  45

  47

  46

  46

  1From Treasury summer economic forecast 1994.

  2includes the independent broadcasting authorities levy before 1993–94.

  3includes ITC franchise payments from 1993–94.

  School Examination Costs
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education concerning extra funding needed to pay the cost of using external examiners in the assessment of key stage 2 and key stage 3.

  Mr. Portillo
  As a matter of practice, I do not reveal what representations on spending are made to me by colleagues.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to publish their advice to Government;

  (2) if he will list the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department that are required to lay their annual reports before Parliament;

  (3) if he will list the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which have a statutory basis;

  (4) if he will list the advisory bodies which he has set up in his Department since the publication of "Public Bodies 1993";

  (5) if he will list those of his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to consult before legislation proposals; and in respect of which bodies the Government must publish their response to advice supplied by them;

  (6) if he will list his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to produce annual reports.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Chancellor of the Exchequer has responsibility for only one advisory non-departmental public body, the Royal Mint Advisory Committee, although this is not sponsored by the Treasury and is advisory only to the Royal Mint. This body, which was established before 1993, is not required to publish its advice to Government or to produce an annual report. It does not have a statutory basis. The Government are not required to consult this body
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  Mr. Portillo
  The information requested, set out in the terms of the national accounts classification of taxes, is shown in the table.

  Bank of England
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action the Bank of England is taking concerning the book entry-only accounts opened by Banque Indosuez Aval and American Express for the Central Bank of Kenya in June last year.

  Mr. Nelson
  The special investigations unit of the Bank of England has conducted inquiries and is in close touch with the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya and the relevant supervisory authorities in France and the United States. It would not be appropriate to comment further while investigations are in the progress.

  Financial Instruments
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he, or the Bank of England, has received from the Swiss authorities in relation to United Kingdom financial instruments sold to Swiss and international investors in Polly Peck, Mountleigh, Maxwell Communications and Ferranti/ISC.

  Mr. Nelson
  Neither the Chancellor, nor the Bank, has received any such representations.

  Weapons, Iraq
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the documents received by HM Customs from their Customs counterparts in each European Economic Area country between 1984 and 1992 in relation to the sale of Bofors weapons to Iraq; what meetings were held with each of them and when; and what action was taken as a result on each occasion.

  Sir John Cope
  I understand that HM Customs and Excise has received no information from its Customs counterparts in any of the EEA countries in relation to the sale of Bofors weapons to Iraq and that no meetings were held with its counterparts on this subject.

  EC Finance
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the payments of £1 million or over received from European Community funds, by expenditure programme, in each year since the United Kingdom's accession.

  Sir John Cope
  The Government receive several hundred individual payments from European Community
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  funds each year. A list of all payments of £1 million or more since 1973 could be produced only at disproportionate cost. Information about the United Kingdom's aggregated receipts is published each year in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments' annual report —prior to 1992–93 in "The Government Expenditure Plans"—and in the annual White Paper "Statement on the Community Budget".

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the United Kingdom's(a) gross contributions to, (b) payments received from and (c) net contributions to the European Community for each year since United Kingdom accession in 1973.

  Sir John Cope
  Details of the United Kingdom's gross contribution, public sector receipts and net contribution by financial year are published in the "Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departmental Report". Prior to 1992–93 similar information was published in "The Government Expenditure Plans"; these documents contain information on a calendar year basis for earlier years. Information on the United Kingdom's contributions and receipts since 1980, by calendar year, is contained in the annual White Paper, "Statement on the Community Budget".

  Economic and Monetary Union
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he favours economic and monetary union as the appropriate aim of the European Union; and what are the reasons for his policy on this matter.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  [holding answer 4 July 1994]: My views on economic and monetary union were set out in my speech to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Bonn on 29 June. A copy of the speech has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

SCOTLAND

  Birds (Protection)
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 28 April,Official Report, columns 316–20, if he will withdraw approval for the use of alphachloralose; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  No. The Advisory Committee on Pesticides has recently reviewed those pesticide products containing 100 per cent. alphachloralose. It concluded that the approvals for these products should continue because they fulfil an important role in rodent control and are used by local authorities and professional pest control agencies. The situation will be kept under review.

  Wildlife (Illegal Killing)
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what plans he has to amend legislation or procedure in order to improve the detection and conviction rate for offences involving the illegal killing of protected wildlife in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  None. I do not consider that there is any need to amend legislation or procedures in Scotland at present. All necessary powers are available.
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  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what central record is available to the Government of the illegal killing of protected birds in Scotland, other than those killed by poisons.

  Sir Hector Monro
  This information is not held centrally.

  Milk Marketing Schemes
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will announce his decision on the re-organisation schemes submitted by the milk marketing boards in Scotland.

  Mr. Lang
  The Agriculture Act 1993 provided for the ending of the statutory milk marketing schemes. It enabled the milk marketing boards in Scotland to submit proposals to me for their replacement by voluntary arrangements, for the transfer of their assets to specified successor bodies, and for the distribution of the value of those assets to milk producers.

  The Scottish Milk Marketing Board, the Aberdeen and District Milk Marketing Board, and the North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board all submitted proposals to me last October following which I conducted a wide-ranging consultation of the various parties with an interest. Subsequently, and in the light of the responses to that consultation, the boards submitted amendments to their reorganisation schemes and I conducted a further round of consultation. I have now concluded that the requirements of the Act have been met and that, having regard to all the circumstances, including in particular the considerations specified in the Act, the schemes submitted by the boards should be approved.

  The Act requires that the principles of the approved reorganisation schemes be made public. The principles of the schemes as submitted, and subsequently amended, by the milk marketing boards were set out in the two consultation documents issued by my Department in October 1993 and May 1994. Although some further detailed amendments have been made by the boards to their schemes, the principles as set out in those documents are unchanged. Copies of the documents, together with a note updating them in the light of the further detailed amendments, are available in the Library of the House and can also be obtained from the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department.

  Under the approved reorganisation schemes, the existing statutory milk marketing schemes will be revoked on 1 November 1994 (the "vesting" date). As a result producers will be free to sell their milk to whom they wish, whether to the successor co-operatives being established under the board's reorganisation schemes, to other co-operatives or marketing groups of producers, or direct to dairies or to manufacturers of milk products. The price at which untreated milk can be bought will no longer be determined by the existing joint committee arrangements and according to its ultimate end-use but by contract between the purchaser and his supplier.

  The Scottish Milk Marketing Board will be succeeded by two separate companies, a producer co-operative, Scottish Milk Ltd. and a commercial company, Scottish Pride Holdings plc. The Aberdeen and District Milk Marketing Board will be succeeded by a single company

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  co-operative, Aberdeen Milk Company, and the North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board by a single co-operative, the North of Scotland Milk Co-operative.

  In view of the delay in the vesting date from 1 April 1994 to 1 November 1994, however, milk producers who have already signed a contract with one of the successor co-operatives will no longer be bound by those contracts, and the boards will be writing to them inviting them to exercise their right to withdraw within two weeks; in the case of the Aberdeen board, the board will be cancelling all existing producer contracts with Aberdeen Milk Company and offering a revised contract. I urge all producers, including those who have not yet signed a contract with anyone, to decide as soon as possible to whom they wish to sell their milk from 1 November 1994 and to enter into a contract accordingly so that the necessary arrangements can be put in place for the uplift of their milk from that date.

  I am also about to announce today that, following an announcement by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Food on 16 June that she and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales will be proposing the establishment of a milk development council for England and Wales, I have decided in the light of the separate consultation I undertook of the industry in Scotland, that Scotland should also be included in this council which will therefore cover the whole of Great Britain. The development council should be operational from 1 November or soon thereafter.

  The ending of the statutory milk marketing schemes marks a major step forward in the history of the dairy industry in this country. It will enable competition to flourish in a way not possible before, and the industry will be able to respond better and more quickly to the needs and preferences of consumers.

  Kelso Road Bridge
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to approve the necessary capital consents to enable a start to be made on the new road bridge for Kelso.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 6 July 1994]: The Kelso bridge is part of a local road and any decision relating to the provision of a new bridge are matters for Borders regional council as local roads authority.

  The Government set annual block allocations for capital expenditure on roads and transport and any proposals contained in councils' financial plans will be given careful consideration, within the resources available, in setting these levels. Thereafter it is for local authorities to set their own priorities for individual projects, such as a new Kelso bridge, taking account of local needs and circumstances.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Legislation
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what consultations he has had on heritage-related legislation with the Association of Conservation Officers on Bills which have an impact on the heritage.

  Mr. Brooke
  My Department has not so far introduced any legislation on the conservation of the built heritage and 274
  there have therefore been no such consultations. We would, however, expect to consult the Association of Conservation Officers, together with other interests, in the event of such legislation—or proposals for it—being put forward. My Department is always ready to discuss with the Association any particular concerns its members may have about the effect of other legislation on the built heritage.

PRIME MINISTER

  Lockerbie Bombing
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister what arrangements have been made to co-ordinate policies and operations in relation to the Lockerbie crime involving the destruction of Pan Am 103 between the Foreign Office, the Home Office, the Scottish Office, the Department of Transport, the Intelligence Services, the Attorney-General and the Crown Office; and which is the lead Department.

  The Prime Minister
  The Crown Office is the lead Department on matters relating to the prosecution of those suspected of the Lockerbie bombing.

  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead department for international aspects.

  These Departments consult others on issues for which they are responsible, as they arise.

  Mr. Gordon McNally
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Prime Minister on what occasions since October 1991 he has met Mr. Gordon McNally.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 5 July 1994]: So far as I am aware, Mr. McNally has attended three large functions at which I was also present between October 1991 and March 1993.

  Rio Declaration
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will make a statement outlining the benefits which will accrue to the manufacturing, construction and retailing sectors of the United Kingdom economy through the acceptance of agenda 21 of the Rio declaration of June 1992;

  (2) what assessment Her Majesty's Government have undertaken of the costs (a) to date and (b) by the year 2000, of complying with the Rio declaration of June 1992;

  (3) if he will make a statement summarising the information which he has about the extent to which other signatory countries to agenda 21 of the Rio declaration of June 1992, have begun to implement measures in keeping with the agenda which affect their manufacturing, construction and retailing industries.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 6 July 1994]: The Rio declaration and agenda 21 clearly recognise the importance of economic development to improvement of the quality of life of present and future generations. The Government are committed to the close involvement of the wealth-creating sectors in the preparation of policies to ensure that economic development is sustainable. Acceptance of the principles of agenda 21 by a large number of the United Kingdom's trading partners will help British business to compete on a level playing field, and

  275
  will create substantial new market opportunities for suppliers of cleaner process technologies and environmental goods and services.

  The Government seek to take account of the principles of sustainable development in all policies, together with a wide range of other factors. It is often not possible to separate out the cost attributable to abiding by the principles of sustainable development. However, we aim to consider carefully the compliance cost of all new policies.

  The United Kingdom Government have been one of the principal proponents of a system of national reporting on progress in the implementation of measures in agenda 21. Our sustainable development strategy was published this January. We shall continue to urge other countries to follow suit through our membership of the Commission on Sustainable Development. We hope that in due course the commission will be able to publish information based on national reports.

EMPLOYMENT

  Unfair Dismissal
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of cases alleging unfair dismissal brought before industrial tribunals have disability as their ground; what the degree of success in such appeals is estimated to be; and what estimate he has made as to the extent of the practice of dismissing such employees prior to the minimum term of continuous service which would allow appeals to be brought.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I regret that the information requested is not available.

  Staff Surveys
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what surveys of the views, opinions and attitudes of the staff of his Department have been carried out in the last two years; and if he will place copies of the findings in the Library.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Department conducts an annual attitude survey asking staff for their opinions on internal operational issues such as staff appraisal, communications, job satisfaction, equal opportunities and staff development.

  Managers use the results to improve the internal operation of the Department. The results of the 1993 survey are encouraging and show a continuing upward trend compared with previous years.

  I have arranged to place copies in the Library of a summary already sent to staff of the responses to the Employment Department's staff attitude survey over recent years.

  Blind People (Home Workers)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement regarding the future of the home workers' scheme for blind people.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Officials are considering the effectiveness of the blind home workers scheme. They are canvassing views from local authority, voluntary body and home worker interest groups on future options for the scheme, and proposals will be put forward in due course.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Employment Department Group currently supports six workplace nurseries and 49 holiday play schemes. The cost of this support across the group as a whole was £430,000 in 1993–94. This includes net expenditure on nursery places and financial help with additional child care costs incurred through attending training courses or other work-based functions. No part of the group subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" or offers child care vouchers. All child care assistance within the group is subject to meeting value for money considerations.

  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what creche facilities are available through the Employment Service for single parents attending Government training centres in the area of the Derbyshire, North-East parliamentary constituency; and how they are advertised.

  Miss Widdecombe
  There are no creche facilities available directly through the Employment Service. Lone parents in north-east Derbyshire on Government-funded vocational training can claim 75p per hour for each child. This is paid by North Derbyshire training and enterprise council, which runs training for work programmes in the area under its "Skillsbuild" banner. The TEC plans to launch an information pack later this month, aimed at women wishing to return to work, including lone parents. It will be circulated widely and be available in our Employment Service jobcentres in the area.

  Employment Service Programmes
  Mr. Hawkins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to exempt foyer residents from the normal eligibility conditions for employment service programmes.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The Government have decided to give residents of pilot foyers exemption from the basic eligibility conditions for jobclub, job interview guarantee, job search seminars and work trials. This means that these foyer residents, who have particular disadvantages, can now join these programmes on or after their first day of unemployment. In addition the minimum age for joining these programmes has been lowered to 17 for residents of the pilot foyers. The exemptions for 17-year-olds will apply only after the guaranteed offer of a place on youth training has been made, and their education and training options fully and urgently explored by the local training and enterprise council. These conditions will apply from now to residents of the YMCA's foyers in Nottingham, Norwich, St. Helens, Romford and Wimbledon, and are intended to apply to the foyers being newly built in Camberwell, Birmingham and Salford. The Government will keep the effect of the changes and the extra help they give foyer participants under review.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Official Secrets Act
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions civil servants or former civil servants have been prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989.

  The Attorney-General
  No central record is maintained of cases prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989. I understand that the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised two prosecutions under section 4 of the Act relating to civil servants.

  Development Grants
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Attorney-General if he gave legal advice to the Secretary of State for Wales concerning the payment of grants from the Welsh Development Agency to the Development Board for Rural Wales.

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

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Attorney-General what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  It is the policy of the Law Officers' Departments to provide child care facilities for staff where there is a need and arrangements can be justified on value for money grounds. The Crown Prosecution Service provides a subsidy of up to 50 per cent. for nursery places and holiday play schemes. The service also contributes to extra child care expenses incurred by staff when attending training courses. The Treasury Solicitor's Department provides a subsidy of 50 per cent. for the Westminster holiday play scheme. Both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office subscribe to "Childcare Solutions". No Department makes child care vouchers available.

TRANSPORT

  Rail Privatisation
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when British Rail's rolling stock leasing companies will be sold; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. MacGregor
  We have decided that British Rail's passenger rolling stock leasing companies should be sold during 1995.

  The three rolling stock leasing compaies were established as subsidiaries of British Rail, as part of the reorganisation of the railways introduced in April this year, to lease rolling stock to British Rail's 25 passenger train operating units. It was made clear at the time the companies were set up that they would be transferred to the private sector as soon as practicable. Detailed leases with
  278
  each of the train operating units will now be put in place in final form by the end of this year. The companies will then be offered for trade sale as early as possible in 1995.

  The privatisation of the rolling stock leasing companies will be a major step in the rail privatisation programme. Freed from the constraints of operating in the public sector, the three companies will be able to bring private sector expertise and commercial practice to the supply of rolling stock to train operators. In particular, they will be free to raise private capital for new investment. I look forward to the development of a thriving competitive market in the provision of passenger rolling stock.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  Department of Transport staff have access to nursery facilities in Bristol, Hastings and Swansea. Places at holiday play schemes are available to staff in Bedford, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Swansea.

  The Department has discretion to provide assistance with child care where this can be justified on value for money grounds, and within overall running cost constraints. The Department's general practice is to assist with start-up or "pump-priming" costs from central funds, leaving local budgets to assist with continuing costs where that is necessary and justified on value for money grounds. Details are not held centrally. The Department does not make child care vouchers available.

  Vehicle Emissions
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received in relation to the figures collected by the Royal Automobile Club in relation to carbon monoxide and other noxious car exhaust emissions and the table of different cities in the United Kingdom in order of emission gases concentrations; and if he will make a statement on the effect of noxious exhaust emissions on(a) road users, (b) pedestrians and (c) others.

  Mr. Key
  I have received no representations on this matter. The Department is liaising closely with the Department of Health on the studies and research now under way into the possible health effects of air pollutants. Future action, in addition to measures already in place or proposed, for reducing motor vehicle pollutants, will be considered in the light of these considerations.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultations he has had with the Royal Automobile Club in relation to the position of Cardiff in the league table of car exhaust-related emissions of carbon monoxide and other noxious gases; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  None.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the latest research which has been carried out with Government support in the reduction of emissions from motor vehicles.
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  Mr. Key
  The reduction of motor vehicle pollutant emissions remains a major policy objective. My Department spent £830,000 on research on this topic in 1993–94. New vehicle petrol engine pollutant emissions are much reduced and good progress is being made on future reductions for diesel engines. More research is being undertaken to understand the health hazards of particulates from motor vehicle exhausts.

  Railtrack
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what objectives he has set for Railtrack and British Rail in the current financial year; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave on 1 July to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn),Official Report, column 773.

  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers he has retained to control wage agreements entered into by Railtrack.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. Friend has no powers to control Railtrack's wage agreements. As with any Government-owned body it is, however, expected to follow the Government's approach to public sector pay which was set out clearly last autumn by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

  Road Construction Losses
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if disciplinary action will be taken against officials in his Department responsible for the losses identified by the National Audit Office in respect of acquisition and management of land and property purchased for road construction.

  Mr. Key
  The Department and the Highways Agency are giving this report full and careful consideration, but, by convention, substantive comments on National Audit Office reports are not made before the Public Accounts Committee has had an opportunity to take evidence from the Department.

  Traffic Area Offices (Running Costs)
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the running costs of the traffic area offices for the financial year 1993–94 in(a) total, (b) staffing costs, (c) accommodation, (d) consultant fees, (e) information technology purchases, (f) stationery, (g) works and maintenance and (h) other.

  Mr. Key
  The running costs of the traffic area offices for the financial year 1993–94 were as follows:

  Running costs

  £

  (a)

  Total

  12,373,007

  (b)

  Staffing costs

  6,896,695

  (c)

  Accommodation

  2,007,852

  (d)

  Consultant fees

  119,455

  (e)

  IT purchases/services

  1,147,906

  (f)

  Stationery

  114,831

  (g)

  Works and maintenance

  202,887

  (h)

  Other

  1,883,381

  Efficiency Saving Target
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department's 20 per cent. efficiency saving target applies to the DSA.

  Mr. Key
  I have nothing to add to the answer given on 14 June at columns 510–11.

  M11 Link
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what statutory and other environmental bodies were consulted by his Department at the early stage of route development of the M11 link road; and if he will place in the Library a summary of the parts of the advice from the statutory bodies which was not accepted by his Department.

  Mr. Norris
  This information about the Al2 Hackney Wick to M11 link road is available from the inspector's report of the .1983 public inquiry, except that it will not show the instances, if any, where a body had been consulted but not responded. The hon. Gentleman received a copy of the report when it was published in 1985.

  Driving Standards Agency
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the speech of the chief executive of the DSA to the Scottish Driving Examiners Conference on 28 June in respect of the applicability of his Department's efficiency saving target to his agency represents Government policy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  In the context of a presentation to the Scottish Driving Examiners Conference, the chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency acknowledged that the Secretary of State was requiring the Department to find a 20 per cent. efficiency gain, but said that he was not yet in a position to comment on the implications for the agency. That was an accurate representation of the position.

  Traffic Generation
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received a copy of the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment report on traffic generation; and when it will be published.

  Mr. Key
  I refer the hon. Member to the replies that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) and the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), on 20 May 1994, at columns 596–99.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Fish Conservation
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what contribution she expects days-at-sea restrictions to make towards achieving the United Kingdom's multi-annual guidance programme target by the end of 1996; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  The United Kingdom's days at sea measures were due to be introduced in January this year. The
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  National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations sought judicial review of the United Kingdom legislation and the High Court has referred a number of questions to the European Court of Justice as our legislation was based on Community regulations. The European Court is unlikely to respond until 1995. In those circumstances, the Government decided to suspend the days at sea restrictions pending clarification of the legal position.

  Currently we are moving towards our targets via decommissioning and licence penalties. We are also having discussions with the Commission on the possible contribution to effort reduction from technical conservation measures.

  Bicycles
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what facilities her Department provides for the parking of the bicycles of visitors to its offices in Westminster.

  Mr. Jack
  My Department provides racks for 20 bicycles in its Whitehall buildings, 25 in its Millbank buildings and 15 in its Albert Embankment building, all of which are under cover. There are free standing areas, too, which can be used. Visitors are welcome to use these facilities during office hours and subject to security checks.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what provision her Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes; if her Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 7 March 1994 to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman),Official Report, column 67, which gave details of child care provision for staff in the Department. Most places are subsidised, but the extent of the subsidy varies according to the nursery or play scheme.

  The Department does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available.

  Comfrey
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many representations she has received from(a) specialist consumer organisations and (b) members of the public concerning the ban on comfrey products since the ban was announced; and how many of these representations supported the ban.

  Mr. Soames
  I have received roughly 100 similar representations objecting to the trade withdrawal. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain supports greater controls on the availability of comfrey products. The National Consumer Council and Consumers Association welcomed the voluntary withdrawal.

  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what consultation was held with(a) the Society for the Promotion of Nutritional Therapy and (b) specialist consumer groups before the introduction of the ban on comfrey products; what plans she has to review the ban; and if she will make a statement.
  282
  Mr. Soames
  All interested parties were informed at the same time of my intention to seek a voluntary withdrawal of comfrey products on health grounds. Any review of the situation will be based on the best scientific advice available.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Indonesia
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will urge the World Bank and the Governments which are scheduled to send representatives to the forthcoming meeting of the consultation group on Indonesia in Paris to postpone the meeting.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  No.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government have approached the president or any member Governments of the World bank, asking for a postponement of the consultative group on Indonesia meeting in Paris on 7 and 8 July, in the light of the human rights situation in Indonesia.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Indonesia's human rights record over the past year has improved. We were therefore surprised and concerned to learn of the recent banning of three journals, a decision which appears inconsistent with the greater spirit of openness that has prevailed in Indonesia recently. But we do not believe the Indonesian action warrants a postponement of this week's consultative group meeting.

  Commonwealth Institute
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what has been his response to the Commonwealth Institute's relaunch plan as discussed at the board's executive committee meeting on 21 June;

  (2) what has been his response to the proposals for the relaunch plans for the Commonwealth Institute, Scotland as discussed at a meeting where his representatives were present on 21 June.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  As Her Majesty's Government's representative indicated at the meeting of the executive committee on 21 June 1994, we hope to give our response to the various proposals by the middle of this month.

  China
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has on(a) incentives to conform with the Chinese population control programme, including access to land, better housing, reduction in taxes and extra payments and (b) the content of the eugenics laws enacted by Gansu and Liaoning provinces; and what progress has been made in enacting a national Chinese eugenics law;

  (2) what information he has on the number and nature of Chinese population control projects sponsored by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities under the memorandum of understanding between China and the UNFPA in 1979;
  283
  (3) what reports he has received from Her Majesty's Government's representatives in China concerning the population control programme and in particular the practice of killing children during or immediately after birth;

  (4) what information he has on (a) the number of United Nations Fund for Population activities staff present in China and their duties in relation to the Chinese population control programme; (b) how many Chinese personnel involved in the Chinese population control programme have received training from the UNFPA; and (c) how many UNFPA officials based in China work with the Chinese State Family Planning Commission;

  (5) what information he has on the steps taken by the United Nations Fund for Population activities to ensure that management information systems and training in programme research and evaluation provided to the Chinese State Family Planning Commission have not and are not being used to enforce birth quotas on the Chinese population;

  (6) if he will make a statement on his Department's policy regarding the Chinese national eugenics policy and the forced sterilisation of those regarded as physically or mentally deficient or their partners;

  (7) what information he has regarding which Chinese provinces specify the legal insertion of inter-uterine devices into women; and what exemptions are made for women for whom IUDs may not be medically appropriate;

  (8) what provision is made in China for couples who are opposed in conscience to artificial contraception, sterilisation and abortion;

  (9) what information he has on the levels of fines specified in China for Chinese women in breach of provincial family planning legislation; and how they are related to average rural and urban per capita incomes;

  (10) what information he has on the practice of destroying the homes of families in breach of Chinese provincial family planning legislation;

  (11) what information he has on the methods used to persuade Chinese women to undergo sterilisation in accordance with provincial laws; and what information he has on the number of Chinese women who have been sterilised;

  (12) what information he has on the practice of fining women who refuse to be sterilised in China; and what information he has on the practice in Fuijan province, China, of taking women for forcible sterilisation;

  (13) what information he has as to which Chinese provinces do not have laws obliging (a) one member of a married couple to be sterilised or (b) women to use contraception;

  (14) what information he has on the practice of making payments to Chinese women for being sterilised;

  (15) what information he has on the reasons for the percentage change in the number of sterilisations conducted in China in 1991;

  (16) what information he has on the use of ultrasound equipment in China to detect female unborn children;

  (17) what information he has on Chinese official rules requiring expectant mothers to present birth authorisation cards before being admitted to hospital delivery rooms in Canton; and if he will make a statement;

  (18) if he will seek clarification from his Chinese opposite number about reports regarding the disappearance of female children; and if he will make a statement;
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  (9) what information he has on the practice of fining or sacking Chinese district and township officials if local family planning targets are not achieved;

  (20) what information he has on Chinese early birth shock brigades and their role in forcible abortions;

  (21) what information he has on the effects of the 1991 decision by the Standing Committee of the Chinese Politburo to tighten enforcement of the Chinese birth control programmes on the population of China;

  (22) if his officials consider data on the numbers of sterilisations and abortions in China before agreeing funds for his budget for the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities;

  (23) if he will make a statement on his Department's response to the information contained in the articles by Michael Weisskopf from the Washington Post on the Chinese population control programme deposited by his Department in the Library;

  (24) what information he has received on high-tides in the Chinese population programme from Her Majesty's Government's representatives in China; and if he will make a statement;

  (25) what information he has on the reasons for the prevalence of third trimester abortions in China;

  (26) what information he has on the practices of killing babies (a) during birth and (b) when they are newly born, by doctors in Hohhot, China; and if he will make a statement;

  (27) what consideration his Department gives to China's compliance with the right to freely found a family and decide the numbers of children when deciding on the allocation of aid in respect of family planning;

  (28) what information he has on the practice of awarding Chinese local officials cash bonuses if they achieve birth targets set by the authorities in Beijing; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  The hon. Gentleman has tabled 28 questions covering one subject area.

  The British Government are concerned about all human rights abuses, whether they occur in China or elsewhere. The Government's views are well known to the Chinese, and we have consistently urged them to conform with internationally recognised standards of behaviour.

  Questions 57, 63, 112, 118, 127, 130 refer to Chinese Government policies and their implementation. Questions 111, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 125, 135 refer to provincial population programmes, and the way in which they are implemented at provincial and local level. Questions 59, 119, 120, 121, 124, 126, 129, 131, 132 refer to allegations about practices which have a bearing on reproductive health and population issues, though these are not necessarily the results of central or provincial Chinese government policies.

  The issues raised in all these questions are complex. We do not have ready access to the detailed information that would be required to answer the questions raised. Assembling such information would involve a prohibitive cost.

  Questions 58, 61, 62 refer to the work in China of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. My noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development will write to the hon. Member with the information that we have received from UNFPA. In answer to question 128, the Government take account of the efforts being made by the

  285
  International Planned Parenthood Federation and UNFPA to promote better reproductive health and children by choice throughout the world, including their efforts in China, when agreeing the level of support they are to receive from the ODA's budget. Both organisations oppose the promotion of abortion as a method of family planning and all forms of coercion in family planning programmes.

  Regarding question 134, the Government do not directly finance family planning projects in China. We continue to advocate that all men and women should be able to choose when to have children, and that women, in particular, should be in a position to exercise this choice of their own free will, without pressure of coercion. Those views are well known to the Chinese authorities.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those communications he and his predecessors have received from the Governor of Hong Kong regarding the arms supply and related activities of the Rex Group of companies between 1981 and 1991; and what was reported to him in this matter by Mr. Layton and Mr. Pickin.

  Member state

  Number of referrals

  Number withdrawn

  Number still in motion

  Judgment for commission

  Judgment for member state

  United Kingdom

  5

  0

  3

  2

  0

  Belgium

  24

  11

  4

  9

  0

  Denmark

  3

  1

  0

  2

  0

  France

  4

  0

  2

  2

  0

  Germany

  10

  0

  7

  3

  0

  Greece

  17

  6

  3

  7

  1

  Ireland

  13

  7

  1

  5

  0

  Italy

  39

  21

  10

  7

  1

  Luxembourg

  31

  18

  11

  2

  0

  Netherlands

  17

  4

  7

  6

  0

  Portugal

  4

  2

  0

  2

  0

  Spain

  11

  1

  5

  5

  0

  It should, however, be borne in mind that, even though the Commission may bring a case against a member state based on several complaints, the Commission need only succeed on one complaint for the judgment to be recorded as being in its favour.

  Latvia and Estonia
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current state of relations between Estonia and Latvia; and if he will comment on the implications for the partnership for peace agreements.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We welcome the agreements signed by Latvia and Russia on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Latvia by 31 August, which we hope will form the basis for good relations between the two countries. We are urging Russia and Estonia to conclude a similar agreement. We welcome Estonian, Latvian and Russian signature of the partnership for peace framework document. We look forward, with other NATO partners, to developing closer relations with all three countries through the Partnership for Peace programme.
  286
  Mr. Goodlad
  It would not be customary to disclose the contents of communications between the Governor and Ministers. These are conducted on a confidential basis.

  European Court
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many judgments handed down by the European Court of Justice have gone(a) in favour of and (b) against each member country.

  Mr. Heathcoat Amory
  Cases can be brought before the European Court of Justice by various parties under a number of treaty articles. Many cases do not involve member states at all. It would involve disproportionate cost to identify all the cases since the Community was founded which involved member states directly. If the Commission considers that a member state has failed to fulfil its obligations under the treaty, it may take action under Article 169, which can lead to proceedings before the European Court of Justice. Details of judgments issued on cases brought since 1989 under article 169 can be found in the Commission's eleventh annual report on monitoring the application of Community law. A copy of the report is available in the House. The figures for these cases are as follows:

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy in the context of(a) the Council of Europe (b) the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and (c) the United Nations on the human rights implications for Latvia's Russian population of the recent laws on citizenship.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  President Ulmanis has returned to Parliament for reconsideration the draft citizenship law passed by the Latvian Parliament in June. We are urging the Latvians to incorporate into the law recommendations made by the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

  Per Capita Income
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the latest available data on per capita income in each country; and what data are available on per capita wealth by country.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Per capita income and per capita wealth are not measured separately. Both are represented by the data collected on each country's per capita gross national product. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the "World
  287
  Bank Atlas 1994", a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library. The atlas gives the latest GNP per capita information on 207 of the world's economies.

  Tibet
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what(a) assistance and (b)
  guidance on human rights issues he gives to British companies considering investing in Tibet.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Neither I nor the embassy in Peking have been approached by any British companies considering investing in Tibet.

  European Council
  Dr. Liam Fox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement on the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The following meetings are planned:

  A: ECOFIN

  B: FAC

  C: Agriculture

  D: Budget

  E: ECOFIN

  F: Justice

  The following subjects are likely to be discussed:

  A—11 July: ECOFIN

  Follow-up to Corfu European Council

  Broad economic guidelines (adoption of)

  Commission annual report on fraud and work programme

  Special report on European Court of Auditors

  Relations with CEE

  B—18–19 July: Foreign Affairs Council

  Presentation of German Presidency programme

  Implementation of White Paper

  Follow up to Corfu European Council

  Ex Yugoslavia

  Relations with the European Parliament

  EU relations with Canada and USA

  G7 Summit

  Relations with central and eastern Europe

  Relations with the Mediterranean basin

  State of contractual relations with certain former Soviet Union countries

  Public access to information

  Relations with Asia

  Relations with India

  EC/Sri Lanka agreement

  International coffee agreement (possible 'A' point)

  New import regime for China

  Textiles

  C—18–19 July: Agriculture

  Yellowfats

  Tariff quota for mountain and alpine cattle

  Agricultural Structures

  Amending Directive 64/432 on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in animals

  Wine reform

  Implementation of simplificatiion of common agricultural policy reform

  List of third country establishments

  D—25 July: Budget

  First reading of draft EC budget 1995

  Supplementary budget 1994

  E—27 July: ECOFIN

  Agenda not yet available

  F—28 July: Justice

  Agenda not yet available

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The FCO has 10 places for the under-fives at nurseries in London, subsidised by 50 per cent., and 22 places in a workplace nursery for staff working at Hanslope Park. Staff in London may bid for holiday places for five to 12-year-olds through the Westminster holiday play scheme, also subsidised by 50 per cent.

  The ODA offers no nursery provision for staff, but provides holiday play schemes for staff working at each of its three sites. In London this is through the Westminster holiday play scheme—the other two play schemes are ODA-administered. These schemes cater for children aged between five and 14 depending on the scheme and are subsidised by up to 50 per cent.

  The provision of child care is on a value for money basis and is contained within existing running costs. The FCO does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or provide child care vouchers.

  International War Crimes Tribunal
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on progress being made by the international war crimes tribunal set up in 1993; and if he will list the judges, giving their countries of origin and background.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The acting deputy prosecutor, Mr. Graham Blewitt, is currently setting up the prosecutor's office. A number of investigatory and prosecutorial staff have now arrived in The Hague. Mr. Blewitt is hoping to start the first trials later this year.

  The judges of the tribunal and their nationalities are as follows:

  President of the Tribunal, H.E. Judge Antonio Cassese, Italy

  Vice-President of the Tribunal, H.E. Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito, Costa Rica

  H.E. Judge Georges M. Abi-Saab, Egypt

  H.E. Judge Jules Deschenes, Canada

  H.E. Judge Claude Jorda, France

  H.E. Judge Aldophus G. Karibi-Whyte, Nigeria

  H.E. Judge Haopei Li, China

  H.E. Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, USA

  H.E. Judge Rustam S. Sidhwa, Pakistan

  H.E. Judge Sir Ninian Stephen, Australia

  H.E. Judge Lal Chand Vohrah, Malaysia

  Copies of the judges' curricula vitae have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

  Chemical Weapons
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have to introduce enabling legislation necessary for the United Kingdom's ratification of the chemical weapons convention before 18 July.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We have no plans to introduce implementing legislation for ratification of the chemical
  289
  weapons convention before 18 July. The legislation will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time becomes available.

  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is Her Majesty's Government's policy that the United Kingdom will ratify the chemical weapons convention by January 1995.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We shall ratify the chemical weapons convention as soon as the necessary implementing legislation is in place. No parliamentary time has yet been allocated for this.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the current operation of the Child Support Agency.

  Mr. Burt
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Thomason) on 4 July at columns 49–50.

  Compensation
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the amounts of compensation received by(a) asbestosis sufferers who have won court awards which were appealed against by firms and (b) those who received the same award which was accepted by the firm.

  Mr. Scott
  The information is not available.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the annual running costs of the compensation recovery unit.

  Mr. Scott
  The costs for the financial year 1993–94 were approximately £2.4 million.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will show the amounts successfully reclaimed by the compensation recovery unit in each year for the past 10 years.

  Mr. Scott
  Recoveries made under the compensation recovery scheme apply to compensation payments made on or after 3 September 1990 for an accident, injury or

  Number of children in families receiving the following benefits

  Year

  Widowed mother's allowance

  Supplementary benefit/Income support

  Family income supplement/Family credit

  Housing benefit

  Community charge benefit

  1979

  132

  955

  184

  n/a

  n/a

  1980

  n/a

  1,125

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1981

  119

  1,550

  226

  n/a

  n/a

  1982

  112

  1,793

  306

  n/a

  n/a

  1983

  106

  1,868

  396

  n/a

  n/a

  1984

  111

  2,033

  428

  n/a

  n/a

  1985

  93

  n/a

  415

  n/a

  n/a

  1986

  86

  2,227

  412

  n/a

  n/a

  1987

  81

  2,236

  457

  n/a

  n/a

  1988

  85

  2,195

  438

  370

  n/a

  1989

  81

  2,138

  656

  335

  n/a

  1990

  80

  2,151

  669

  1,807

  2,563

  1991

  78

  2,497

  736

  1,971

  2,634

  290
  disease which occurred on or after 1 January 1989, therefore, the information requested is only available for each financial year since 1990.

  I gave the hon. Member this information on 5 July at Cols. 226–27.

  Child Support Act
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to extend phasing in of the provisions of the Child Support Act 1991 to all those with second families.

  Mr. Burt
  The phasing arrangements apply to all absent parents with a previous court order or written maintenance agreement, who had a second family at the date the new maintenance assessment was made and whose new assessment is more than £20 a week higher than their old liability. We have no plans to extend these arrangements.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the organisations which have made representations to him about the effect of the Child Support Act 1991 on second families.

  Mr. Burt
  Representations have been received from a number of large organisations: the Child Poverty Action Group, the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, Families Need Fathers, Stepfamily, the National Council for One Parent Families, and the Campaign for Fair Maintenance.

  Representations have also been received from a range of smaller and local organisations.

  Benefit-dependent Families
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children were living in families dependent on benefit in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Burt
  Families with children may be assisted by a number of social security benefits, and may receive more than one benefit at a time. Child benefit is available for all children regardless of income and is currently payable for 12·5 million children in nearly 7 million families. The number of children in families receiving the main income-related benefits for each year since 1979 are in the table. The number of children in families receiving widowed mothers allowance are also shown. For the purposes of the information in the table, children are defined as aged under 16 years or aged 16 to 19 years and in full-time education.
  291

  Year

  Widowed mother's allowance

  Supplementary benefit/Income support

  Family income supplement/Family credit

  Housing benefit

  Community charge benefit

  1992

  80

  2,874

  829

  2,477

  3,187

  1993

  80

  3,207

  993

  n/a

  n/a

  Notes:

  1. Figures are in thousands and are rounded to the nearest 1,000.

  2. Families can be receiving more than one benefit at the same time.

  3. No information is available for widowed mother's allowance and family income supplement in 1980 due to changes in the way statistics were published.

  4. No information is available for supplementary benefit in 1985 because no annual statistical inquiry was carried out due to industrial action.

  5. The 1988 and 1989 information for housing benefit and community charge benefit relates to cases without income support.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Iain Mills
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has received on the relationship of housing benefit and the level of pitch rent levied by mobile home site owners.

  Mr. Hague
  None. Housing benefit is available to help pay reasonable pitch rents in the same way as for the rents of other types of accommodation.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will instruct the Benefits Agency to give a decision in respect of the claim for family credit submitted by Mrs. G. Foster.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of family credit is a matter for Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Robert Maclennan, dated 6 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary question, asking about the claim to Family Credit (FC) from Mrs. G. Foster.
  You will be aware that Mrs. Foster submitted her claim to FC on 21 January 1994. I can assure you that every effort is being made to resolve this matter and Mrs. Foster will be advised of the outcome in due course. However, due to the complex nature of Mrs. Foster's case, the matter is still under consideration by the Adjudication Officer (AO). AOs are the first tier of the independent adjudicating authorities who decide all claims to Family Credit. The responsibility for interpreting the law and its application in individual cases rests solely with them. No Government Minister or Departmental Official may comment on, or intervene in, matters which are the responsibility of these independent authorities.
  The AO will make a decision on the claim as soon as the required information becomes available. However, due to the personal and confidential nature of the case, I have written to you separately and in greater detail to explain this matter.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 7 March at column 38. The extent of subsidy varies according to the
  292
  nature and location of the child care facilities. About 8,000 staff across the Department have access to the referral services provided by "Childcare Solutions". Child care vouchers are not available.

  Contracting Out
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 to contracting out.

  Mr. Hague
  When considering the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, this Department takes account of the considerations set out in the guidance on the implications for market testing of the regulations issued on 11 March 1993 by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and considers each case on its merits in the light of that advice.

  Pensioners
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the percentage change in(a) the state pension, (b) the pensioners price index and (c) the retail prices index since 1979; and what has been the average change in pensioner income.

  Mr. Hague
  Between November 1979 and April 1994, state retirement pension increased by 147·2 per cent. while the pensioners price index increased by 118·4 per cent. and the retail prices index by 139·4 per cent.

  Between 1979 and 1991—the latest year for which these figures are currently available—the average increase in pensioners' income was 42 per cent. above the level of inflation, as measured by the retail price index.

  Notes:

  1. Percentage figures have been corrected to one decimal place and to whole number for growth in pensioner incomes.

  2. The standard rate of basic retirement pension payable to a single person aged under 80 has been used in the calculation.

  3. The pensioners price index is a quarterly index; growth has been measured between the last quarter of 1979 and the first quarter of 1994.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Departmental Publications
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the future of the weekly bulletin on the contents of recent economics journals, produced by his Department's information and library service.
  293
  Mr. Eggar
  Following a review of internal publications, the DTI information and library services decided to cease their involvement with this publication and a notification to that effect appeared in the issue dated 3 June 1994.

  Her Majesty's Stationery Office has, for many years, undertaken the majority of the printing, publication and sales work on behalf of the Department and it has decided to assume ful responsibility for this publication following the issue dated 1 July 1994. It is now operating in partnership with the universities of Luton and Warwick.

  Machine Tools Industry
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of the United Kingdom machine tools industry is devoted to(a) armaments production and (b) tools capable of producing armaments; what is the total value of the machine tools industry in the United Kingdom; and what was the total value of machine tools exports from the United Kingdom in the last available year.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The United Kingdom machine tool industry is devoted to producing machine tools, not armaments. Machine tools themselves can usually be used to make a variety of products, depending on the skill of the operator or their computer programming. It is not possible to estimate how many machine tools are used for particular purposes.

  In 1992 sales of United Kingdom-made machine tools were £853 million and exports were worth £456 million. Provisional figures for 1993 indicate that the industry ran a balance of trade surplus of £31 million, reflecting a lower level of imports and higher competitiveness. I have written to the Machine Tool Technologies Association congratulating the industry on this achievement.

  Telecommunications
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assistance his Department is giving to the development of telecommunications in central and eastern Europe.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The DTI, through promotional events, seminars and ministerial-led trade missions, actively encourages British companies in the telecommunications sector to export to, and invest in, central and eastern Europe. The establishment of joint ventures and the transfer of know-how will encourage the development of, and spread of best practice in, the telecommunications sector in the region. The DTI has appointed an export promoter, a private sector secondee, who deals specifically with promoting trade in the telecommunications sector with central and eastern Europe.

  The EU's technical assistance programme, PHARE, has highlighted telecommunications as one of its priority sectors. The United Kingdom is a significant contributor to the PHARE programme. To date PHARE has provided 42·9 million ecu in assistance for the development of telecommunications in the region.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to publish their advice to Government.
  294
  Mr. Eggar
  None.

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department are required to lay their annual reports before Parliament; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Eggar
  None, except that the Secretary of State is required to lay before Parliament a copy of the annual report issued by the Director General of Telecommunications and this includes a report by the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for England.

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the advisory bodies which he has set up in his Department since the publication of "Public Bodies 1993".

  Mr. Eggar
  "Public Bodies 1993", published in December 1993, lists non-departmental public bodies in existence at 1 April 1993. The following advisory non-departmental public bodies have been established by my Department since then:

  Energy Advisory Panel

  Advisory Committee for the Joint Environmental Markets Unit

  Advisory Committee on Coal Research

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those of his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which the Government are required to consult before legislation proposals; and in respect of which bodies the Government must publish their response to advice supplied by them.

  Mr. Eggar
  None.

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory basis; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Eggar
  None, except the Industrial Development Advisory Board and the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for England.

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to produce annual reports.

  Mr. Eggar
  None except the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for England.

  Manufacturing Investment
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 27 June,Official Report, column 404, if his Department has other information on investment in increased manufacturing capacity in addition to that published by the Confederation of British Industry in its industrial trends survey.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The CBI "Industrial Trends Survey" is the only major business survey which asks respondents about the reasons for increased manufacturing investment.

  Office of Fair Trading (Recommendations)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to implement the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations on consumer credit;
  295
  when he intends to implement the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations on monetary limits; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Department of Trade and Industry and other interested Government Departments are considering the recommendations about monetary limits and other matters in the Director General of Fair Trading's recent report on his review of consumer credit legislation. It is my intention to make a statement in due course.

  Overseas Projects Board
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 4 July,Official Report, column 10, if he will give details of the membership and remit of the Overseas Projects Board.

  Mr. Needham
  The Overseas Projects Board provides expert advice to DTI Ministers and their officials on issues affecting United Kingdom industry's ability to compete effectively for major projects overseas and serves as a focal point for industry to communicate its views to Government.

  I have today placed in the Library of the House a current list of the names and occupations of the members.

  Parcelforce
  Ms Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (i) how many casual workers are currently employed by Parcelforce; and what is that figure as a percentage of the number of the overall work force of Parcelforce;

  (2) if he will make a statement in respect of the recruitment procedures for casual employees of Parcelforce.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 June 1994,Official Report, column 668.

  Access to Environmental Information
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many requests for environmental information under the Access to Environmental Information Regulations 1992 were answered within two months; how many have been refused; and on what grounds in each case.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 6 July 1994]: The Department does not record centrally requests received under the Environmental Information Regulations 1992. However, as far as we are aware, DTI has to date answered 191 requests for information under the regulations. Of these, 184 were answered within two months; the remainder were answered as soon as either the information requested had been processed or consultations with affected parties had been completed. A total of 146 requests have been declined: 144 because the Department did not hold the information concerned; and two because the information requested did not come within the terms of the regulations.

  Rio Declaration
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the precise provisions of principle 8 of agenda 21 of the Rio declaration of June 1992; what is his policy in respect of implementing those provisions; and what specific policies have been adopted by his Department in 296
  respect of those aspects of principle 8 which commit signatories to achieve sustainable development by eliminating unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 6 July 1994]: Principle 8 of the Rio declaration on environment and development provides that, to achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, states should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies. As with other Governments participating in the Rio summit, the United Kingdom accepts the broad principles enshrined in the Rio declaration.

  The Government's strategy for reducing and eliminating unsustainable patterns of production and consumption is set out in "Sustainable Development: The UK Strategy", Cm. 2426, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Chapter 20 of the strategy sets out the Government's approach to promoting sustainability in the manufacturing and services sector. Action taken by my Department in support of the strategy will continue to be reported in the Government's annual White Paper on environmental progress and in the Government's "Expenditure Plans for Trade and Industry", published most recently in March 1994, Cm. 2504.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Racial Attacks
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to deal with racial attacks.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  We are seeking new powers in the Criminal Justice Bill to deal more effectively with serious racial harassment, particularly where it is persistent. The interdepartmental racial attacks group is currently examining additional practical ways of dealing with the problem including the recommendation of the Select Committee report.

  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received recently concerning firearms licensing.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I refer the hon. Member to the oral reply that I gave today to a question by the hon. Member for Moray (Mrs. Ewing).

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the penalties for unlawful possession of firearms; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  We have done so. We have proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill which will significantly increase the maximum penalties for the unlawful possession and acquisition of firearms.

  Crime Prevention Programme
  Mr. Ward
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding his programme to tackle crime.
  297
  Mr. Howard
  I have received many representations from a number of different quarters. The Police Federation has given my programme to tackle crime a particularly warm welcome. It described it as "first class" and said:"It will help tremendously in the fight against crime".

  Terrorism
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the legislation dealing with terrorism.

  Mr. Howard
  We will keep the legislation against terrorism in place for as long as the threat from terrorism continues. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill contains new police stop and search powers, creates two new offences and improves the legislation relating to the investigation of terrorism.

  Secure Training Orders
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of secure training orders otherwise than by the Crown court.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill provides that the secure training order will be available to the youth court as well as to the Crown court.

  Identity Cards
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce identity cards.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The issue is kept under review. We are currently looking at the technical options for identity cards in the context of a wider study of smartcard applications in Government.

  Prison Capacity
  Mr. Legg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding prison capacity; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  The Department receives many letters from individuals, including Members of Parliament, with reference to prison capacity either in connection with particular prisons or in regard to the future plans of the Prison Service.

  Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
  Mr. Khabra
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish his response to comments on the proposals contained in the White Paper on the criminal injuries compensation scheme.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government's response to comments made about reforms of the criminal injuries compensation scheme, described in the White Paper, was made clear in debates in this House on 28 March, and in another place on 2 March and 16 June. There are no plans to publish any other response.

  Police (Administrative Burdens)
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding administrative burdens on the police; and if he will make a statement.
  298
  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Last year we reviewed the paperwork burdens on the police and accepted 16 proposals for reducing them. The proposals are now being implemented with the co-operation of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

  Metropolitan Police (Specialist Squads)
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made to date by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in his review of specialist squads within the Metropolitan police force.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I understand from the Commissioner that the service restructuring team began its consideration of the specialist detective squads based at New Scotland Yard at the end of May this year. An initial consultation paper, outlining the main issues, is expected to be published towards the end of the summer.

  Prison Population
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were in prison at the most recent count.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  On Wednesday 6 July 1994 there were 48,750 prisoners in Prison Service accommodation and 85 prisoners in police cells, giving a total of 48,835 prisoners in custody.

  Video Violence and Pornography
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to limit the accessibility of video violence and pornography to children.

  Mr. Maclean
  New provisions are contained in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill which, together with changes already made in the Video Recordings Act 1993, will significantly strengthen the present provisions relating both to the classification of video works and their subsequent supply.

  Community Policing
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about community policing.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The aim of local management of policing is that the police provide the service which best meets the needs and wishes of the local community. Mutually supportive partnerships between the police and the public lead to successes in the prevention and detection of crime.

  Lenient Sentences
  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in extending the Attorney-General's right to appeal against lenient sentences.

  Mr. Maclean
  On 1 March the Attorney-General's power to refer unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal was extended so as to cover the offences of
  299
  indecent assault, making threats to kill and child cruelty. All the most serious violent and sexual offences ale now within the scope of the power. After the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill has received Royal Assent my right hon. and learned Friend intends to extend the power so that it will also apply to cases of serious fraud.

  Indecency with Children Act
  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many offenders under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960 there are in the United Kingdom;

  Number of known offenders—those found guilty or cautioned—for offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 19601 1990 to 1992

  England and Wales

  Offence description

  Year

  Cautions

  Convictions

  Known offenders

  Gross indecency with boys

  1990

  53

  128

  181

  1991

  41

  91

  132

  1992

  46

  99

  145

  Gross indecency with girls

  1990

  41

  148

  189

  1991

  40

  128

  168

  1992

  52

  129

  181

  1The Act does not extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what figures he has on the incidence of reoffending among offenders under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960.

  Mr. Maclean
  Full information on the incidence of such reoffending is not available. Some information has been extracted from two studies which use the offenders index:

  (i) In a cohort study of around 50,000 people born in England and Wales in 1953 whose convictions have been followed until the end of 1989, 14 people in the sample had at least one conviction under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. Of these, four people had at least one further conviction recorded up until the end of 1989; none of these further convictions were for offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. Two of the 10 without further convictions had been followed up for less than two years.

  (ii) In a study of all people discharged from prisons in England and Wales in 1988 whose principal offence was a sexual offence, 215 people had a conviction under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960. Of these, 35—or 16 per cent.—had at least one further conviction in the four years following discharge, including 12—or 6 per cent.—who were reconvicted for a further sexual offence of any type.

  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make available the guidelines issued to police on the maintenance of records of information on offenders under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960.

  Mr. Maclean
  No guidelines have been issued. This is a matter for individual chief constables.

  The paedophile unit of the national criminal intelligence service maintains a national database of known paedophiles and assists investigators by developing and disseminating intelligence in respect of those involved in paedophile offences.
  300
  (2) how many people have been convicted of offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960 in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information for England and Wales on the number of "known offenders"—those found guilty or cautioned—for offences under section 1 of the Indecency with Children Act 1960 for 1990 to 1992 is given in the table. The Act does not extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland. 1993 data are not yet available.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Howard
  Provision has been made for spending of £380,000 in the current financial year on subsidised child care for staff at various locations. This will provide 134 nursery day care places for children under five and approximately 1,000 holiday play scheme places for children from five to 12 years old. These arrangements generally involve a subsidy of about 50 per cent. of the running costs involved. Subsidised child care provision is provided only if it can be justified on value for money grounds.

  The Department does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" nor make child care vouchers available to staff.

  Immigration
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is considered a sufficient duration for a common law heterosexual relationship between a foreign national and a person settled in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Each application is considered on its own merits. The duration of the relationship is taken into account along with other factors.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his statement of 4 May,Official Report, columns 823–26, if (a) the absence of children, (b) the inability to have children or (c) the absence of intent to marry are considered detrimental to applications made by foreign nationals in common law heterosexual relationships with persons settled in the United Kingdom.
  301
  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Not necessarily; applications for leave to remain from unmarried heterosexual couples are considered on their merits.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 May,Official Report, column 11, whether the statistic provided in this reply relating to common law partners include same sex partners of persons settled in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  No.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) of 16 May,Official Report, column 336, whether there are any other circumstances acceptable as grounds for granting leave to remain to the foreign same sex partner of a person settled in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Each application is considered on its own merits. It is not possible to provide an exhaustive list of the circumstances in which leave to remain on the basis of a same sex relationship might be granted.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) of 16 May,Official Report, column 337, how many applications for leave to remain in the United Kingdom made by foreign nationals on the basis of a same sex relationship with a person settled in the United Kingdom have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected since 1990.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The information requested is not separately identified in the statistics.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) of 16 May,Official Report, column 336, what is considered a sufficient duration for a same-sex relationship between a foreign national and a person settled in the United Kingdom for immigration purposes.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Each case is decided on its own merits and it is not possible to say what period would normally be considered sufficient.

  Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total amount of money owed in fines by(a) airlines and (b) cross-channel ferry companies under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  As at 31 May, £19·46 million was owed by airline operators and £1·68 million by ferry operators. Action is being taken to enforce the payment of outstanding charges where necessary.

  Secure Accommodation
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much he estimates each place in secure accommodation will cost per annum.

  Mr. Maclean
  The cost per place per annum cannot yet be predicted because the design, build and operation of 302
  secure training centres will be subject to competitive tender. But the total costs of secure training orders are estimated to be in excess of £30 million a year. This estimate includes running, building and financing costs, as well as the cost of post-release supervision and Home Office administration costs.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate how many local authority secure places have been provided since the enactment of the Criminal Justice Act 1991; and if he will provide a list of their locations.

  Mr. Bowis
  I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest (Mr. Coombs) on 22 April at columns 696–97, which set out a supply plan for the provision by local authorities of an additional 170 secure places for criminal justice purposes.

  Community Charge
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been imprisoned in England and Wales in each year since 1990 for non-payment of the community charge, whose principal address was in(a) each district council area in Wales, (b) Wales as a whole, (c) England, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Maclean
  No information is available centrally regarding the principal address of those committed to custody. The available information is for England and Wales and is published annually in "Prison statistics, England and Wales", table 6.3 of the 1992 edition, Cm. 2581. A copy of this publication is available in the Library of the House. Provisional information for 1993 shows that 1,157 persons—1,04l males and 116 females—were received into a Prison Service establishment in England and Wales for non-payment of the community charge. Information for Wales, which was based on the numbers sentenced from a court in Wales, by county, has already been given in my earlier reply to the hon. Gentleman on 4 July at column 41.

  Drugs
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has commissioned to estimate the street value of illicit drugs traded annually.

  Mr. Maclean
  Drug misuse is an illegal and therefore clandestine activity. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates of the street value of all illicit drug purchases traded annually. No such studies have been commissioned, although the scope for fresh research on this question is kept under review.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has commissioned to ascertain what amount of crime is drug-related.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Home Secretary recently announced plans to commission a series of studies later this year, to build on previous work assessing the links between drug taking and acquisitive crime.
  303
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries or attempted burglaries of pharmacies there were in(a) York and (b) North Yorkshire in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Maclean
  The information is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from(a) York and (b) North

  North Yorkshire police force area

  Number of persons

  Year

  Supply

  Possession with intent to supply

  Possession (all drugs)

  Possession of cannabis

  1986

  18

  3

  222

  196

  1987

  16

  5

  281

  256

  1988

  6

  2

  100

  90

  1989

  17

  3

  152

  139

  1990

  16

  6

  147

  131

  1991

  13

  11

  101

  85

  1992

  15

  4

  211

  176

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the. Home Department how many residents of(a) York and (b) North Yorkshire are currently on probation for drug-related offences.

  Mr. Maclean
  I understand from the North Yorkshire probation service that it is currently supervising 20 offenders under probation orders following conviction for drug related offences, of whom six are being supervised in York.

  Staff Surveys
  Mr. Radice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what surveys of the views, opinions and attitudes of the staff of his Department have been carried out in the last two years; and if he will place copies of the findings in the Library.

  Mr. Howard
  The various agencies and business units of the Home Office are not required to notify the central personnel divisions of staff surveys they conduct. However, we are aware of the following surveys which took place in the two years ending 30 June 1994:

  Title

  Date of survey

  Passport Agency Staff Survey

  November 1992

  Immigration Service (Ports) Staff Survey

  December 1992

  Fire Service College Customer Satisfaction and Staff Attitude Survey

  June/July 1993

  Survey of Communications in the Home Office

  October 1993

  FSD (Finance and Services Directorate of the Immigration and Nationality Department) Quality of Service Programme—Customer Survey

  December 1993/ January 1994

  Prison Service Staff survey

  January/February 1994

  Copies of the results of these surveys will be placed in the Library, with the exception of the FSD survey. The results of the FSD survey were intended to inform local managers and have not been published.
  304
  Yorkshire were convicted of possessing or supplying illicit drugs; and of these how many were convicted of possessing cannabis in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Maclean
  The number of persons who were found guilty or cautioned in the North Yorkshire police force area for those offences in the years 1986–92 inclusive, is given in the table. Information for earlier years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. It is not possible to show offenders from the city of York separately.

ENVIRONMENT

  Cemfuel
  Mr. Quentin Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what conclusions have so far been drawn by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution from the trials of Cemfuel at Ribblesdale, Lancashire.

  Mr. Atkins
  Preliminary results show reduced releases of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Further work to establish release levels for other pollutants is continuing. Comparative assessments of environmental impacts can be attempted only when all the relevant information is to hand.

  Vehicles (Natural Gas)
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the latest research with Government support into the use of compressed natural gas as a vehicle fuel.

  Mr. Key
  I have been asked to reply.

  The Transport Research Laboratory has recently completed its review of existing research on alternative fuels, including compressed natural gas. This work is being developed in a joint study with the Department of Trade and Industry looking at the wider implications of alternative fuels including production and use. In addition, CNG is to be included in the project referred to in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth) on 28 June at columns 477–78.

  Housing (Defence Establishments)
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local authorities in relation to the increased demand for local authority housing tenancies from ex-military personnel following the implementation of the Government's "Options for Change" and similar policies.

  Sir George Young
  My Department has received no specific representations from local authorities on the matter.
  305
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what additional expenditure has been made available to local authorities by the Government to provide for additional demand created by reductions in the defence establishment;

  (2) what measures he has taken to assist local authorities with increased demand for their housing stock as a result of reductions in the defence establishment.

  Sir George Young
  Resources for housing capital expenditure by authorities are made available by the Government each year in the form of housing investment programme allocations. HIP allocations in the current financial year total over £1·5 billion. It is for each housing authority to assess and prioritise the housing needs of its area, and to use its resources accordingly.

  Environmental Agency
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what date he expects the environmental agency to be established.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government are committed to establishing the agency as soon as parliamentary time permits the passage of the necessary legislation.

  Bicycles
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what facilities his Department provides for the parking of the bicycles of visitors to its offices in Westminster.

  Mr. Baldry
  Cycle racks are available for the use of visitors to my Department's offices at 2 Marsham street, Romney house, Lambeth Bridge house, and Millbank Tower.

  Conservation Officers
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he has made of the problems of conflicting pieces of primary legislation and the training budgets in local government for maintaining the expertise of conservation officers.

  Mr. Baldry
  I see no need for such a study.

  Building Preservation Trusts
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the application of the Local Government Act 1990 to building preservation trusts in respect of the regulation of companies funded by local authorities; and what account is taken of expenditure by such trusts in calculating a local authority's annual capital expenditure.

  Mr. Baldry
  Local authority capital finance is regulated in England and Wales by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. We intend to make an order applying the main provisions to local authority companies but are still considering the precise extent of that order.

  Nuclear Discharges
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which signatories of the Paris Commission in 1993 have accepted recommendation 93/5 recommending 306
  international scrutiny and consultation in relation to any new or revised discharge authorisation from nuclear reprocessing plants; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  At the 15th joint meeting of contracting parties to the Oslo and Paris Commissions on 14 to 19 June 1993 Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden accepted Paris Commission recommendation 93/5. The United Kingdom registered a reservation, as did France and Belgium. The EEC abstained. Belgium has since withdrawn its reservation.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  My Department has 10 workplace nursery places in the Westminster area and four in Bristol, all of which are at interdepartmental nurseries. There are also 11 places at the Building Research Establishment's own nursery. Subsidy up to a maximum of 50 per cent. of the running costs is available.

  The Department participates in interdepartmental holiday play schemes in Westminster, Birmingham, Bristol, Bedford and at the Building Research Establishment. Play schemes cater for children from five to 12 years and operate during half-term holidays and main school holidays. The Department does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available to staff.

  Crime Prevention
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are the planned spending allocations for local community safety and crime prevention initiatives from the single regeneration budget for the financial years 1995–96;, 1996–97; 1997–98 and 1998–99;

  (2) what proportion of the single regeneration budget the estimates will be allocated to local community and crime prevention initiatives;

  (3) in which ways he proposes to fund local community safety and crime prevention initiatives (a) in Birmingham and (b) nationally through the single regeneration budget.

  Mr. Baldry
  There are no fixed, centrally determined, spending allocations for categories of initiatives supported by the single regeneration budget from 1995–96 onwards. Subject to on-going commitments, and the funding requirements of the non-departmental public bodies supported by the budget, the level of spending on categories of initiatives such as local community safety and crime prevention will be determined by the success of relevant bids put forward for support by local partnerships in accordance with the bidding guidance for the Budget issued on 14 April 1994, copies of which are in the Library of the House.

  Ethnic Minority Grants
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what measures he has taken to protect existing spending commitments for current section 11-funded schemes under the single regeneration budget;

  (2) what measures he proposes to take to protect existing ethnic minority business initiative spending commitments under the single regeneration budget;

  (3) what measures he proposes to take to protect existing ethnic minority grant commitments under the single regeneration budget.

  Mr. Baldry
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment told the House on 4 November 1993,Official Report, column 515, that continuing commitments under the 20 programmes which have been combined in the single regeneration budget will be met. These programmes include the urban part of section 11 funding which has been transferred to the budget, the ethnic minority business initiative and ethnic minority grant.

  (a) nationally

  £ million

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  EMBI

  0·600

  0·318

  0·134

  —

  —

  EMG

  5·860

  2·500

  —

  —

  —

  s11 (urban)

  60·500

  (see note)

  —

  —

  s11 (non-urban)

  49·800

  (see note)

  —

  —

  (b) for the city of Birmingham Section 11 Allocations notified to recipients within the city of Birmingham for 1994–95 are as follows:

  £ million

  Birmingham city council

  4,046,501

  George Dixon school

  81,865

  Hall Green school

  9,320

  Ninestiles school

  16,530

  Small Heath school

  50,626

  Birmingham FE colleges

  1,376,534

  Joseph Chamberlain college

  67,762

  Information is not yet available about recipients' expenditure upon which the level of commitment to current approved projects in subsequent years will depend, and local authorities will be consulted before the basis on which future allocations is determined. Within the city of Birmingham, current commitments to the city council are predominantly of five-year duration; but funding for other recipients' current projects, with the exception of George Dixon and Ninestiles schools, ends on 31 March 1995.Ethnic minority grant There are currently four approved projects funded through Birmingham TEC. Three are due to terminate at the end of March 1995 and the fourth at the end of March 1996. Grant expenditure on these four projects in the 1993–94 financial year amounted to around £52,000.Ethnic minority business initiative The estimated existing commitments for Birmingham are £59,000 in 1994–95, £18,000 in 1995–96 and £4,000 in 1996–97.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to publish another state of the construction industry report.

  Mr. Gummer
  A second state of the construction industry report, produced jointly by my Department and representatives of the construction industry, has just been completed. Copies have been placed in the Library.
  308
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what are the existing commitments for ethnic minority grant for(a) the city of Birmingham and (b) nationally in the financial years to 1998–99;

  (2) what are the existing spending commitments for section 11 funded schemes (a) nationally and (b) for the city of Birmingham for the financial years to 1998–99;

  (3) what are the existing spending commitments under the ethnic minority business initiative in the financial years up to 1998–99 for (a) the city of Birmingham and (b) nationally.

  Mr. Baldry
  The estimated level of commitments under these programmes is shown in the table. These figures are provisional; they contain an estimate of the commitments for schemes due to start in 1994–95, and make assumptions about grant recipients' actual expenditure in 1994–95 and later years. Figures are not shown for section 11 for 1995–96 and later years; the basis of their calculation is to be the subject of discussions with local authorities.

WALES

  Air Quality
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the relative risks of diesel and petrol engines for air quality in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  No assessment has been made specifically for Wales, but the quality of urban air review group has considered the impact of diesel vehicle emissions on urban air quality over the whole of the United Kingdom. A copy of the group's report, "Diesel Vehicle Emissions and Urban Air Quality", published in January 1994, has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Recycling
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his Department's policy on recycling in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Government have set a target of recycling 25 per cent. of household waste by the year 2000.

  I will continue to promote increased recycling wherever this is the best practical environmental option.

  Local Authority Housing
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the total number of local authority homes now sold in Wales, giving the total amount of moneys raised since 1983; and if he will provide similar figures for each of the local authority housing authorities in the county of Clwyd.
  309
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Information on the total number of former council owned homes and which are now owned by the families who live in them and the receipts from these sales from April 1983 to March 1994 is shown in the table.

  Local authority dwellings sold between April 1983 and March 1994

  Dwellings sold

  Receipts1 £000

  Alyn and Deeside

  1,304

  16,348

  Colwyn

  708

  7,083

  Delyn

  922

  13,767

  Glyndwr

  813

  10,295

  Rhuddlan

  727

  8,239

  Wrexham Maelor

  3,023

  36,041

  Clwyd

  7,497

  91,773

  Wales

  66,744

  799,782

  1Includes the repayment of principal on local authority mortgages.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to stimulate local authority house building; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I see a vital enabling role for local authorities in assessing housing need in their areas and facilitating the provision of new housing through housing associations and the private sector.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all those schools in Wales which have grant-maintained status.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) on 9 December at column 307. Since that date, I have approved the application for grant-maintained status from Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic high school in South Glamorgan.

  Ambulance Service, Powys
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the average response time for ambulances in Powys in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Average mean ambulance response times are not available. The median response times—the 50th percentile—for ambulances in Powys for the last five available years are shown in the table:

  Year

  Time in minutes at 50th percentile

  1988–89

  10

  1989–90

  10

  1990–91

  9

  1991–92

  10

  1992–93

  9

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery 310
  places and holiday play schemes; if his Department (a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Department provides nursery facilities and holiday play care for its staff. It uses 30 places in an 80 place nursery which is run in consortium with other Government Departments. Consortium members pay the accommodation costs and in 1993–94 the Department's contribution was £12,246. The cost to the Department of providing holiday play care during the Easter and summer holidays in 1993–94 was £4,457. The Department is committed to providing child care where it is cost-effective in assisting the retention of trained and experienced staff. The cost of support is evaluated annually. The Department does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or child care vouchers.

  Planning Policy
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will produce a planning policy guidance note on sustainable development and planning policies in Wales analogous to PPG 13 in England; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Planning policy guidance note 13, "Highways Considerations in Development Control", remains extant in Wales. The guidance is under review and I shall be issuing revised guidance for Wales.

  Health Visitors
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the proportion of health visitors to children in each health authority area in September 1992;

  (2) what was the proportion of health visitors to children in each health and personal social services board area in September 1992;

  (3) how many health visitors were employed in each health authority area in September 1988 and in September 1992.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Reliable estimates of the numbers of nursing staff employed in specific occupational groups, such as health visitors, are not available centrally.

  Local Government Responsibilities
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to transfer to Welsh local authorities responsibility for the activities and budget of each of(a) the Further Education Funding Council Wales, (b) the Curriculum and Assessment Authority Wales, (c) Cardiff Bay development corporation, (d) the urban regeneration section of the Welsh Development Agency, (e) social development section of the Development Board for Rural Wales and (f) the non-university section of the Higher Education Funding Council Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I am announcing changes in the responsibilities of the Development Board for Rural Wales and the Welsh Development Agency today. The functions of all non-departmental public bodies are kept under regular review and any major changes in their status and responsibilities are notified to the House.

HEALTH

  Administrative Grant
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the number of full-time equivalent(a) general managers, (b) administrative and (c) clerical staff in the NHS in each year since 1990–91.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information available is shown in the table.

  National Health Service General Managers and Administrative and Clerical Staff in England at 30 September 1991 and 1992

  Whole-time equivalents

  General Managers

  Administrative and Clerical

  1991

  730

  127,370

  1992

  700

  135,010

  Source: Department of Health statistical form KM49.

  Notes:

  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.

  2. It is not possible to separate administrative and clerical figures; data are collected as a total.

  3. Figures for 1992 are the latest available.

  Official Secrets Act 1989
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether employees of the new regional health authorities/management executive outposts will be bound by, or required to sign declarations relating to, the Official Secrets Act 1989.

  Mr. Sackville
  Employees of the new regional health authorities are not bound by the Official Secrets Act 1989 except in so far as all members of the public with official information in their possession are affected by the Act.

  Performance-related Pay
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to introduce performance-relaied pay into her Department and the NHS executive.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  All staff in the Department are now covered by performance pay arrangements, the first of which was introduced in 1992.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on performance-related
  pay;

  (2) what research she has commissioned into (a) the cost of implementing performance-related pay in the NHS and (b) the benefits of performance-related pay;

  (3) what plans she has to introduce performance-related pay into the NHS; and which employers will be affected.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  General and senior managers and certain other national health service staff already benefit from performance-related pay. The freedom of trusts increasingly to determine the pay and conditions of their own staff is an important way of making services more responsive to local needs. We are therefore encouraging the introduction of local pay arrangements linked to the success of the organisation in meeting its objectives to improve the quality and quantity of patient care. Any additiional costs would be offest by increased efficiency.

  Health Authorities
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates she has made of the costs of amalgamating district health authorities and family health service authorities.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None.

  Mental Health Units
  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was her response to the recommendation by the Department of Health's mental health nursing review team that an urgent review of the therapeutic suitability of mental health units in district general hospitals should be undertaken.

  Mr. Bowis
  The report of the mental health nursing review team is still being disseminated throughout the national health service and a series of regional conferences are in the process of being held to consider how the recommendations may be taken forward.

  The conference dates and locations are:

  May 16—Bristol

  May 20—Leeds

  June 7—London

  September 2—Birmingham

  Secure Accommodation
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will carry out an inquiry into the security of local authority accommodation for children in care, including the escape of a 14-year-old Bolton boy from Thornbury house in Oxfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  Responsibility for all aspects of management of secure accommodation rests with the appropriate local authority. Last year the Department issued "Guidance on Permissible Forms of Control in Children's Residential Care", copies of which are available in the Library, about control and restraint in children's residential care. The Department will also be issuing more general guidance about the provision of secure accommodation. My officials are discussing with the relevant social services departments the circumstances and issues surrounding the particular incident to which my hon. Friend refers.

  Mortality Rates
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the infant and perinatal mortality rates of each EU country at the most recent available date.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 2 December 1993,Official Report, column 701, for the latest available information.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what analysis she has of the infant and perinatal mortality rate by socio-economic group since 1979.

  Mr. Sackville
  Infant and perinatal mortality statistics, derived from death registrations, are not available by socio-economic group. Tables by social class are published each year in the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys DH3 annual reference volume "Mortality Statistics, perinatal and infant: social and biological factors", copies of which are available in the Library.

  Private Hospitals
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount the national health service spent on NHS patients being treated in private hospitals in each year since 1989.

  Mr. Sackville
  The extent to which national health service purchasers contract with the private sector is a matter for local decision.

  Mental Illness
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will publish the findings of the mental illness study commissioned by the London implementation group.

  Mr. Bowis
  The London implementation group has not commissioned a study of mental illness.

  Aortic Aneurysms
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 29 June,Official Report, column 587–88, what assessment her Department has made as to the reasons for the increase in deaths from aortic aneurysms between 1988 and 1992.

  Mr. Sackville
  The disease is found predominantly among men aged 65 to 75. The number of men in that age group increased by 31,000 between 1988 and 1992.

  Breast Self-examination Campaign
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for health if she will make a statement on the progress of the breast self-examination campaign.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Chief Medical Officer wrote to all doctors in England in 1991 to provide advice on ways in which women could be involved in the early detection of breast abnormalities. In addition, a leaflet entitled "Be Breast Aware", copies of which will be placed in the Library, has been produced by the national health service breast screening programme, which makes it clear to women what changes should be discussed with their doctor. The leaflet has been translated into a number of languages and has received widespread support. The Department has also recently helped fund a breast awareness video—"Being Breast Aware is for Life", produced by the charity, Womens Nationwide Cancer Control Campaign.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list, for each NHS trust in the former south-east Thames region, those chairmen and non-executive directors who live outside the boundaries of the district health authority in which that trust is situated.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  A total of 132 of the 186—71 per cent.—chairmen and non-executive directors appointed to national health service trusts within the former South East Thames region live within the boundaries of the district health authority in which the trust is situated. The names of those who live outside the relevant district health authority boundaries are listed.
  314
  Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust

  Lord Barney Heyhoe

  Professor C. Chantler

  Mr. T. Ford

  Mr. P. N. Clark

  Mr. C. Williams

  Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust

  Professor M. H. Lessof

  Sir Philip Harris

  Mr. R. J. Maxwell

  Mrs. G. Mallinson

  Mr. S. Bullock

  Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust

  Mr. R. R. Barkshire

  Hastings and Rother NHS Trust

  Dr. P. Lindon

  Optimum Health Services NHS Trust

  Ms D. P. Kingsmill

  Ms P. M. Munro

  Mr. B. Huett

  West Lambeth Community Care NHS Trust

  Sir Alan Reay

  Baroness Cox of Queensbury

  Professor C. Carnall

  Mr. S. Edwards

  Mrs. R. Glanville

  Mr. M. Hanson

  Maidstone Priority Care NHS Trust

  Mr. J. W. Manaton

  South Downs Health NHS Trust

  Lady Helen Trafford

  King's Healthcare NHS Trust

  Mr. S. Kalms

  Professor A. L. Eddleston

  Professor Sir James Black

  Thameslink Healthcare NHS Trust

  Mr. R. J. March

  Mrs. C. Howarth

  Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust

  Lady Ann Jenkins

  Mr. E. M. Hollingsworth

  Brighton Healthcare NHS Trust

  Dame Audrey Emerton

  Greenwich Healthcare NHS Trust

  Mr. B. L. Sharland

  Mr. J. J. Hewitson

  Mid Kent Healthcare NHS Trust

  Sir Raymond Rickett

  Mr. J. C. Arnold

  Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust

  Mr. B. Collins

  Mrs. C. Freshwater

  Dartford and Gravesham Acute Services NHS Trust

  Professor M. Kelly

  Mr. K. A. Maw

  Medway Health NHS Trust

  Professor K. G. Burnand

  Mr. E. J. Bradley

  Mr. W. B. Taylor

  Guy's and Lewisham Mental Health Unit NHS Trust

  Ms G. Linton

  Professor J. P. Watson

  Ms M. Rogers

  315

  Sir David Nicholas

  Mr. R. Rowden

  Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead NHS Trust

  Mrs. T. Hawksworth

  Bexley Community Services NHS Trust

  Dr. N. Singer

  Mr. R. T. Vaudry

  Ms V. C. Leach

  Ms J. Binks

  Mr. D. M. Lewis

  Ms S. P. Davis

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each national health service trust in the former North East Thames region, those chairmen and non-executive directors who live outside the boundaries of the district health authority in which that trust is situated.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 4 July 1994]: A total of 101 of the 180 chairmen and non-executive directors appointed to a national health service trust within the former North West Thames region live within the boundaries of the district health authority in which that trust is situated. The names of those who live outside the relevant district health authority boundaries are listed below.

  Barnet Healthcare NHS Trust

  Mr. W. Greathead

  Mr. A. Hornby

  Lady Parkinson

  Bedford Hospital NHS Trust

  Dr. S. Vyakarnam

  Bedford and Shires Health and Care NHS Trust

  Mr. J. Quenby

  Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Ambulance and Paramedic

  Services NHS Trust

  Dr. K. Robinson

  Central Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust

  Dr. M. McNicol

  Mrs. M. Ryder

  Professor C. Normand

  Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust

  Sir Keith Bright

  Ms J. Hill

  Mr. A. Lue

  Ealing Hospital NHS Trust

  Mr. A. Noble

  East Herts NHS Trust

  Mrs. D. White

  Mrs. J. Oram

  Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust

  Mrs. S. Edwards

  Harefield Hospitals NHS Trust

  Sir Geoffrey Errington

  Mrs. A. Collins

  Mr. L. Koppen

  Mr. T. Lindsay

  Dr. S. Saeed

  Mr. B. Thompson McCausland

  Harrow and Hillingdon Community Health NHS Trust

  Mr. A. Woodbridge

  Mr. B. Harrison

  Mrs. B. Mouli

  Mr. D. Sen-Gupta

  Ms R. Preston

  316
  Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust

  Professor N. Merritt

  Baroness Flather

  Mr. W. Glyn-Williams

  Mrs. J. Harper

  Mr. S. Gurney

  Horizon NHS Trust

  Mr. J. Farrell

  Mr. J. Gardner

  Mrs. P. Handley

  Mr. D. Wright

  Hounslow and Spelthorne Community and Mental Health Services NHS Trust

  Mrs. T. Golding

  Mr. S. Sharma

  Mr. A. Cooke

  Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust

  Mr. D. Swarbrick

  Mrs. C. Chambers

  Mr. J. Smith

  North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

  Mrs. P. Eccles

  Mrs. C. Warshaw

  North West London Mental Health Health Services NHS Trust

  Mr. M. Storey

  Ms A. Lapping

  Mr. E. Obeng

  Northwick Park and St. Mark's NHS Trust

  Mr. C. Grasham

  Mr. J. Jump

  Ms E. Owen

  Ms H. Rogers

  Parkside Health NHS Trust

  Mr. T. Campbell Davis

  Mr. A. Haggar

  Riverside Community Health Care NHS Trust

  Ms M. Black

  Mr. P. Farmer

  Miss J. Cornwell

  Riverside Mental Health NHS Trust

  Mrs. A. Radford

  Royal Brompton NHS Trust

  Sir Philip Otton

  Professor T. Clark

  Mr. W. Manson

  Mr. C. Perrin

  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust

  Mrs. S. Read

  Sir Kenneth Stowe

  Mr. W. Mills

  Mrs. E. Van Cutsem

  South Bedfordshire Community NHS Trust

  Mrs. P. Campbell

  Miss A. Brown

  St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust

  Lord Glenarthur

  Mr. H. Hawkins

  Mr. P. McKenna

  Wellhouse NHS Trust

  Mr. A. Orton

  Mrs. P. Czyzak-Dannenbaum

  Mrs. P. Kalms

  West Herts Community Health NHS Trust

  Mrs. D. Webster

  317
  West London Health Care NHS Trust

  Rabbi Miriam Lawrence

  Mrs. A. Richardson

  Mr. B. Churcher

  West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

  Mr. D. Hoodless

  Mr. J. Rounce

  Health Service Commissioner
  Mr. Brandreth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to receive the annual report of the health service commissioner for 1993–94.

  Mr. Sackville
  The health service commissioner has made his annual report on the performance of his functions in England, Scotland and Wales. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Health, for Scotland and for Wales presented the report to the House on 6 July. It was published today—HC499—and copies have been placed in the Library.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision her Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if her Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 7 March,Official Report, column 89.

  NHS Prescriptions
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether people absent from the United Kingdom but not visiting another country may receive NHS prescriptions;

  (2) if people sailing around the world remain eligible for NHS prescriptions.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  As a general rule, people travelling abroad for short periods may receive medication under the national health service, subject to the clinical judgment of their general practitioner, for a period of up to three months.

  Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she received guidance from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens concerning Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; and when the guidance will be published.

  Mr. Sackville
  The guidance was received at the end of March and is due to be published late August/early September.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 28 June,Official Report, column 539, what guidance to date has been issued to laboratory staff who may handle materials contaminated with the agents causing (a) Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and (b) bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

  Mr. Sackville
  The following guidance has been issued to date:318
  'Code of Practice for the Prevention of Infection in Clinical Laboratories and Post-Mortem Rooms' (1978); DA(81)22; DA(84)16; 'Categorisation of Pathogens According to Hazard and Categories of Containment' (1st edition, 1984, extended 2nd edition, 1990) from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens; and PL(92)CO/4 from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

  Copies of the documents will be placed in the Library.

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to monitor the spending of funds by GP fundholders.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Family health services authorities have statutory responsibility for monitoring expenditure by general practitioner fundholders.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by health authority and region the underspend or surplus carried forward by GP fundholders in the financial years 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Final audited figures for 1992–93 and 1993–94 are not yet available.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will define patient care in relation to items upon which GP fundholders may spend their financial allocation; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The National Health Service (Fund-holding Practices) Regulations 1993 define the range of services general practitioner fundholders may purchase on behalf of their patients. Copies of the regulations are available in the Library.

  Dental Services
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to raise the proportion of the cost of dental treatment paid by patients.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  National health service dental charges are kept under review, and decisions are made in the light of the Government's priorities for expenditure on the NHS.

  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the proportion of the population who visit a dentist every six months; and what assessment she has made of the effect of an increase in dental charges on attendance at dentists' surgeries.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No such estimate can be made from the information available centrally. There is no evidence to suggest that increases in national health service dental charges have any significant long-term effect on attendance.

EDUCATION

  Special Needs
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what percentage of disabled children with special educational needs were in mainstream schools in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Forth
  The total of all pupils who, at some time in their school career, have special educational needs is not
  319
  collected centrally. The numbers of pupils with statements of special educational needs—including those who are disabled—in primary, middle and secondary maintained schools in England are not available pre-1985 but are set out below as at January of each year 1985–1993. They are also shown as a percentage of all pupils with statements in maintained' schools including special schools.

  Year

  Pupils with statements in mainstream schools

  As percentage of ail pupils with statements in maintained sector

  1985

  26,800

  19

  1986

  30,000

  21

  1987

  33,300

  23

  1988

  40,900

  28

  1989

  47,300

  32

  1990

  54,300

  35

  1991

  62,000

  42

  1992

  71,200

  46

  1993

  85,000

  49

  1Includes non-maintained special schools.

  National Testing
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what help he intends to provide for teachers assessing key stage 1.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  My right hon. Friend has recently announced that he proposes, for 1995, to fund supply cover for teachers of seven-year-olds engaged on administering tests. This is in addition to the considerable amount of expenditure in support of the implementation of the assessment arrangements in schools—some £180 million —through the grants for education support and training programme over the last four years. A large proportion of this expenditure has been in primary schools.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to secure extra funding needed to pay the cost of using external examiners in the asessment of key stage 2 and key stage 3.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  It has not been the practice of this or previous Administrations to disclose details of discussions between Ministers. My right hon. Friend has found the necessary resources from within his Department's £7·5 billion vote programme.

  Multi-cultural Education
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on changes in section 11 funding and their effect on multi-cultural education; and what action he is taking in response.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  We have received many representations from hon. Members, local authorities and associations, teacher unions, minority ethnic communities and other interested parties about changes in section 11 funding.

  My right hon. Friend will continue to monitor, through OFSTED, the standard of educational provision in all maintained schools, including provision for those pupils for whom English is not their first language. Additional support for the latter category through section 11 grants is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary.

  School Sports
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education which code of rugby is included within the required school sports contained within the national curriculum.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Under the present national curriculum order for physical education, games are mandatory for all pupils from age five to 14. My right hon. Friend has recently published proposals that would extend this requirement to all pupils of compulsory school age. However, individual sports are not prescribed.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  London-based staff are able to use the Westminster holiday play scheme which is organised by the Office of Public Service and Science. The cost of places is shared equally by parents and the Department. In the year ending 31 March 1994, six members of staff used the scheme for their children on one or more occasions.

  Darlington-based staff have access to a play scheme which was set up at the instigation of the Department for Education. Places are shared with other civil servants working in the Darlington area. In the financial year ending 31 March 1994, 105 children have used the scheme. The costs are borne largely on a pro rata basis by the participating Departments, with parents making a small daily contribution.

  The Department does not currently subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available.

  Colleges (Minor Works Funds)
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to monitor the use of minor works funds in colleges; and what records are available to show the purposes for allocation of these funds in each college.

  Mr. Boswell
  The monitoring of the use of allocations from the Further Education Funding Council for England for minor works in colleges is a matter for the FEFC.

  Minor works funds are paid to colleges by FEFC on production of contractors' invoices and architects' certificates. These are checked against a detailed schedule of works required at each college, prepared for FEFC by Hunter and Partners, chartered surveyors. The FEFC will also be conducting spot-checks of minor works at colleges in the coming months. Colleges are required as a condition of funding to have adequate systems of accounting, audit and internal control, and are thus in a position to demonstrate from their own records how their funds have been used.

  Colleges are permitted to transfer recurrent funding received from FEFC to capital purposes, subject to any limits which FEFC may choose to impose. Colleges'

  321
  governing bodies have operational autonomy, and are free to decide how to spend such funding in the best interests of their college.

  The FEFC must be consulted about transactions affecting land or buildings which involve capital sums in excess of £100,000, and where FEFC funds are likely to be required for maintenance of the property. Its consent is required where its funding is applied to developments significantly affecting the value of property, or where material disposals of publicly funded assets are envisaged.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Motor Vehicles (Explosives)
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions since 1990 motor cars have been found to contain explosives, or had explosives placed underneath them, in Northern Ireland.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The available information is for all motor vehicles, including motor cars, and is as follows:

  Number of incidents

  Vehicle Bombs

  116

  Under car booby traps

  97

  Figures for "finds" recovered specifically from motor vehicles are not available.

  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions bicycles containing illegal explosive devices have been used by terrorists in incidents in Northern Ireland since 1990.

  Sir John Wheeler
  Once, on 30 March 1990.

  Fire Safety
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how the views of the fire service branch, Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), will be sought and taken into account during the present cross-Department review of fire safety legislation and its enforcement within the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  Copies of the report of the scrutiny of fire safety legislation and enforcement have been sent to the Department for comment and for circulation to other interested bodies. Any comments submitted to the review team will be considered by Ministers when the consultation period has ended.

  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the final decision on changes to fire safety legislation and its enforcement in Northern Ireland, following the current cross-Department review, will rest with Parliament.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  Full implementation of the recommendations in the report of the scrutiny of fire safety legislation and enforcement would require changes to both primary and subordinate legislation. Changes to primary legislation would require an Order-in-Council. Changes to subordinate legislation while subject to consultation, could be introduced without debate. However, no decisions on implementation will be made before consultation on the report ends on 31 October 1994.

  Drug Offences
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a) men and (b) women were convicted of drug offences in Northern Ireland during (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information is as follows:

  Persons convicted of drug offences in Northern Ireland:at all courts

  Year

  Male

  Female

  1992

  262

  12

  1993

  401

  22

  Homelessness
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were accepted as statutorily homeless in Northern Ireland during the last three years; and how many are(a) over 21 years old and (b) under 21 years old.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. However, I am advised by its chief executive that the numbers of applicants accepted as being either homeless or threatened with homelessness in the last three years are as follows:

  Year

  Number of applicants

  1991–92

  7,494

  1992–93

  7,549

  1993–94

  7,216

  Information is not recorded on the number of applicants over and under 21 years of age.

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff: what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday play schemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Wheeler
  In the Northern Ireland civil service departments staff may contribute to staff child care costs where this is justified on value-for-money grounds. There are currently 36 subsidised places provided in registered nurseries. The Child Support Agency Northern Ireland subsidises 50 per cent. of the weekly cost up to a maximum of £30 and the Department of the Environment (NI) subsidises 35 per cent. of the weekly cost up to a maximum of £28. In addition eight holiday play schemes are assisted. The holiday play schemes which are located throughout Northern Ireland are deficit funded in their first year and thereafter 50 per cent. of accommodation and 40 per cent. of staff costs are funded. The Northern Ireland civil service does not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or provide child care vouchers to staff.

  The London Office currently subsidises four places in a registered nursery. The amount of the subsidy is 50 per cent. of the full cost each week.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Child Care
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what provision his Department makes for child care facilities for staff; what is the extent of subsidy to nursery places and holiday playschemes; if his Department(a) subscribes to "Childcare Solutions" and (b) makes child care vouchers available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  This answer covers the Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service and Science and its agencies, the Central Office of Information, arid Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

  Workplace nurseries are available to staff at the Civil Service college and the Chessington computer centre. Holiday play schemes are available to staff working in departmental buildings in London and at CCTA in Norwich.
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  The Civil Service college contributed £11,819 to staff places at its nursery in 1993–94. Chessington computer centre contributed £39,493 to staff places at its nursery in 1993–94.

  The Westminster holiday play scheme is available to all staff in London and is subsidised by reimbursing staff 50 per cent. of the cost incurred. The holiday play scheme available to staff at CCTA in Norwich is subsidised at a rate of £850 per annum.

  The Westminster holiday play scheme is also available to COI staff in London and is subsidised by reimbursing staff 50 per cent. of the cost incurred.

  A workplace nursery and holiday play scheme is available to HMSO staff in Norwich. In 1993–94, HMSO contributed £81,370 to the nursery and £1,757 to the holiday play scheme.

  The Cabinet Office, the OPSS and its agencies, the COI and HMSO do not subscribe to "Childcare Solutions" or make child care vouchers available.

  When determining what child care assistance to provide, the Cabinet Office, the OPSS and its agencies, the COI and HMSO, in common with all other Departments, ensure that it is justified on value for money grounds.

  NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
  NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
  CIVIL CASES: LATE SETTLEMENT
  CIVIL CASES: LATE SETTLEMENT
  BRIEF FEES
  BRIEF FEES
  NHS DENTAL SERVICE: FUTURE
  NHS DENTAL SERVICE: FUTURE
  CAEN: LIBERATION ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
  CAEN: LIBERATION ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
  GIBRALTAR GARRISON
  GIBRALTAR GARRISON
  ARMY TRAINING
  ARMY TRAINING