Written Answers of 21 July 1994

EMPLOYMENT

  Job Clubs
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women have (i) participated in job clubs each year since the scheme started and (ii) have attended job search seminars both in Great Britain and in each region in each quarter since their inception.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from A. G. Johnson to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 21 July 1994:

  Table B—Number of attenders in job search seminars from August 1991

  Quarter ending

  Regions

  Total

  NR

  YH

  EM

  LSE

  SW

  OW

  WM

  NW

  SC

  September 1991

  126

  —

  9

  360

  126

  111

  142

  272

  128

  1,274

  December 1991

  675

  987

  1,173

  4,059

  1,409

  884

  998

  1,495

  2,107

  13,787

  March 1992

  1,238

  1,650

  1,705

  5,937

  2,315

  962

  1,587

  2,123

  2,053

  19,570

  June 1992

  1,156

  1,499

  1,789

  6,321

  2,217

  950

  1,740

  2,492

  2,015

  20,179

  September 1992

  1,174

  1,744

  1,828

  7,158

  2,355

  1,076

  1,707

  2,818

  2,267

  22,127

  December 1992

  1,227

  2,083

  1,855

  7,567

  2,421

  1,193

  1,771

  2,890

  1,959

  22,966

  March 1993

  1,396

  1,976

  2,246

  7,914

  1,005

  690

  1,120

  2,930

  1,658

  20,935

  June 1993

  1,023

  1,974

  1,813

  6,017

  712

  635

  936

  2,041

  1,368

  16,519

  September 1993

  747

  1,554

  1,165

  6,611

  1,392

  684

  1,051

  1,482

  1,163

  15,849

  December 1993

  847

  1,726

  1,110

  6,762

  1,791

  547

  1,463

  1,437

  1,485

  17,168

  March 1994

  954

  1,774

  1,069

  8,209

  3,040

  601

  1,194

  1,326

  1,113

  19,280

  Key

  NR=Northern Region.

  EM=East Midlands and Eastern.

  SW=South West.

  WM=West Midlands.

  OS=Office for Scotland.

  YH=Yorkshire and Humberside.

  LSE=London and South East.

  OW=Office for Wales.

  NW=North West.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the top five parliamentary constituencies with(a) the highest level of unemployment and (b) the lowest level, at the latest date for which figures are available.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Official unemployment rates are not available for constituencies and it is only unemployment rates that provide meaningful rankings for areas with different sized work forces. Rates are available by travel-to-work areas and by region.
  396
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking for information about the number of men and women participating in Jobclub and job search seminars since their inception. I am replying in the Chief Executive's absence.
  In our reply of 8 March 1994, we gave you details of men and women participating in Jobclubs in each year between April 1986 to December 1993 and the number of men and women attending job search seminars in each quarter between August 1991 to January 1994.
  The updated information for Jobclub covering the period January to March 1994 is in Table A with earlier figures repeated for ease of reference. The updated information for job search seminars, including the regional breakdown, covers the period August 1991 to April 1994 is in Table B.
  As we explained in our earlier reply, we do not keep statistics on the gender of job search seminar participants. Results from sample survey of the gender of Jobclub members in 1993–94 are now available and have been used to calculate the figures shown in Table B.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Table A—Total number of jobclub participants: Proportion of Males and Females

  Year

  Throughflow

  Males

  Females

  1985–86

  1(1,994)

  n/a

  n/a

  1986–87

  1(20,606)

  15,867

  4,739

  1987–88

  105,677

  80,314

  25,363

  1988–89

  132,262

  97,874

  34,388

  1989–90

  140,095

  102,269

  37,826

  1990–91

  134,712

  102,381

  32,331

  1991–92

  176,140

  140,470

  35,670

  1992–93

  216,679

  173,343

  43,336

  1993–94

  231,325

  182,747

  48,578

  1 Denotes estimated figures.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures for Liverpool, Riverside.

  Miss Widdecombe
  In June 1994, claimant unemployment in the Liverpool, Riverside constituency stood at 6,748 the lowest monthly level since constituency figures became available in June 1983. These figures are on the unadjusted basis and therefore reflect seasonal factors and discontinuities in the count.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans Her Majesty's Government have for reducing the level of unemployment on Merseyside.
  397
  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for six-monthly periods from January 1979 to date how many of the vacancies notified to jobcentres in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) each region were (i) full-time and (ii) part-time and (1) permanent and (2) temporary.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Job Workshops
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women have attended job review workshops in each month since their inception; and what are the regional figures for attendance by (i) men and (ii) women at these workshops.

  Job Review Workshops April 1993—March 1994

  Region Male/Female

  Quarter 1

  Quarter 2

  Quarter 3

  Quarter 4

  Regional Totals

  Northern

  Male

  207

  217

  261

  193

  878

  Female

  60

  68

  84

  67

  279

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  Male

  693

  707

  662

  614

  2,676

  Female

  136

  166

  186

  161

  649

  East Midlands

  Male

  713

  725

  626

  586

  2,650

  Female

  174

  155

  124

  136

  589

  London and South East

  Male

  2,868

  3,033

  3,185

  3,174

  12,260

  Female

  823

  951

  957

  1,040

  3,771

  South West

  Male

  759

  594

  692

  1,154

  3,199

  Female

  186

  167

  169

  315

  837

  Wales

  Male

  267

  207

  249

  293

  1,016

  Female

  55

  45

  75

  76

  251

  West Midlands

  Male

  448

  453

  465

  458

  1,824

  Female

  83

  90

  129

  131

  433

  North West

  Male

  675

  582

  661

  667

  2,585

  Female

  156

  166

  140

  168

  630

  Scotland

  Male

  506

  441

  547

  570

  2,064

  Female

  153

  168

  190

  191

  702

  National

  Male

  7,136

  6,959

  7,348

  7,709

  29,152

  Female

  1,826

  1,976

  2,054

  2,285

  8,141

  398
  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from A. G. Johnson to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of men and women who have attended Job Review Workshops in each month since their inception and by region. I am replying in the Chief Executives absence.
  Job Review Workshops were launched in October 1991 to help newly unemployed people review their career path and set clear job goals suited to their skills, experience and preferences. The programme is particularly suitable for professional, managerial and executive jobseekers who want to consider alternative careers.
  Statistical data was collected monthly until March 1993. From April 1993 information has been collected on a quarterly basis.
  I attach tables which show, by region, the number of men and women attending the Workshops since their inception until March 1994.
  I hope this is helpful.
  399

  Job review workshops

  Region Male/Female

  April

  May

  June

  July

  August

  September

  October

  November

  December

  January

  February

  March

  Regional totals

  April 1992—March 1993

  Northern

  Male

  85

  96

  55

  78

  46

  67

  127

  115

  85

  84

  48

  86

  972

  Female

  19

  28

  23

  14

  28

  11

  56

  38

  11

  31

  8

  16

  283

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  Male

  175

  245

  148

  200

  176

  187

  262

  251

  183

  250

  175

  225

  2,477

  Female

  41

  58

  40

  43

  33

  29

  63

  105

  76

  74

  41

  38

  641

  East Midlands

  Male

  201

  251

  226

  239

  225

  203

  308

  205

  217

  308

  254

  277

  2,914

  Female

  36

  69

  41

  53

  39

  43

  51

  52

  23

  38

  57

  71

  573

  London and South East

  Male

  849

  990

  1,018

  1,379

  1,342

  1,142

  1,160

  1,189

  960

  1,287

  1,839

  1,153

  14,308

  Female

  257

  233

  262

  402

  393

  327

  334

  358

  305

  382

  489

  357

  4,099

  South West

  Male

  192

  302

  251

  341

  194

  275

  326

  334

  247

  337

  282

  217

  3,298

  Female

  46

  74

  40

  72

  30

  54

  73

  81

  51

  84

  69

  59

  733

  Wales

  Male

  42

  183

  72

  126

  43

  117

  106

  124

  64

  134

  48

  97

  1,156

  Female

  6

  24

  17

  33

  11

  10

  20

  33

  11

  32

  10

  23

  230

  West Midlands

  Male

  165

  215

  169

  182

  102

  167

  229

  228

  143

  204

  200

  202

  2,206

  Female

  24

  53

  24

  44

  15

  18

  38

  32

  20

  27

  39

  45

  379

  North West

  Male

  197

  309

  236

  268

  156

  314

  316

  329

  264

  318

  268

  350

  3,325

  Female

  46

  68

  38

  63

  45

  60

  72

  64

  41

  62

  60

  48

  667

  Scotland

  Male

  198

  168

  439

  500

  326

  230

  199

  211

  131

  198

  125

  278

  3,003

  Female

  53

  41

  51

  62

  58

  58

  51

  69

  36

  50

  37

  85

  651

  National

  Male

  2,104

  2,759

  2,614

  3,313

  2,610

  2,702

  3,033

  2,986

  2,294

  3,120

  3,239

  2,885

  33,659

  Female

  528

  648

  536

  786

  652

  610

  758

  832

  574

  780

  810

  742

  8,256

  October 1991—March 1992

  Northern

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  37

  64

  28

  93

  100

  103

  425

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  10

  15

  8

  20

  33

  19

  105

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  34

  93

  126

  153

  185

  270

  861

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  17

  27

  32

  31

  32

  51

  190

  East Midlands

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  9

  150

  159

  276

  231

  252

  1,077

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  27

  25

  46

  39

  46

  186

  London and South East

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  286

  807

  653

  993

  1,190

  1,714

  5,643

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  79

  206

  149

  233

  363

  413

  1,443

  South West

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  11

  163

  173

  226

  229

  280

  1,052

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  14

  27

  33

  56

  54

  46

  230

  Wales

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  105

  117

  70

  112

  166

  154

  724

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  8

  17

  7

  24

  33

  33

  122

  West Midlands

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  14

  62

  98

  107

  146

  232

  659

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  5

  5

  13

  25

  30

  56

  134

  North West

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  8

  159

  117

  192

  221

  279

  976

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  39

  16

  45

  51

  69

  222

  Scotland

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  40

  202

  99

  150

  264

  194

  949

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  20

  90

  30

  45

  88

  57

  330

  National

  Male

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  544

  1,817

  1.523

  2,302

  2,732

  3,478

  12,396

  Female

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  158

  453

  313

  525

  723

  790

  2,962

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women have participated in job plan workshops in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each region since their inception; and what evidence he has of positive outcomes nationally and regionally for those who attend job plan workshops.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from A G Johnson to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 21 July 1994:
  400
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of men and women who have attended Jobplan workshops since their inception and what evidence there is of positive outcomes for those attending. You asked for this information both for Great Britain and for each region. I am replying in the Chief Executive's absence.
  It may help if I explain that Jobplan workshops are for people who have been unemployed for a year who refuse or fail to take up a place on an Employment Department programme at their Restart interview. Jobplan aims to help people compete more successfully for jobs and opportunities by allowing them to review their strengths and skills, establish clear job goals and draw up a comprehensive Action Plan, setting out the steps they need to take to get back to work. People who leave Jobplan may go directly into jobs or, where appropriate, onto other options such as training or Jobclub, which will help them back into work. The rate of referral to jobs or other options is reported by Jobplan Workshop providers and has been a key element in monitoring their performance.

  401
  Jobplan Workshops were launched in April 1993. The tables in annex 1 and 2 show by region the number of men and women attending Jobplan and the rate of referrals to jobs or other opportunities achieved for 1993–94 and for April and May 1994. As you will see during 1993–94, 94 per cent. of workshop completers were referred to a job or an Employment Department employment or training programme or another option to help them back to work. This figure has risen to 96 per cent. in the first couple of months of this operational year. Comprehensive research into the longer term outcomes from Jobplan workshops in their first year of operation will be available later this year.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Jobplan Workshops—Attenders and Positive Outcomes 1993–94

  Attenders

  Positive Outcome Rate (Referrals) Per cent.

  Male

  Female

  Northern

  14,124

  2,613

  91

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  18,568

  3,489

  94

  East Midlands and Eastern

  21,737

  4,254

  92

  London and South East

  96,755

  21,425

  95

  South West

  19449

  4,073

  93

  Wales

  9,414

  1,655

  90

  West Midlands

  23,286

  4,803

  94

  North West

  26,472

  5,361

  95

  Scotland

  20,316

  4,013

  91

  National

  250,121

  51,686

  94

  Jobplan Workshops—Attenders and Positive Outcomes April and May 1994

  Attenders

  Positive Outcome Rate (Referrals) Per cent.

  Male

  Female

  Northern

  2,481

  437

  92

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  3,446

  612

  96

  East Midlands and Eastern

  3,038

  611

  93

  London and South East

  11,807

  2,747

  98

  South West

  2,798

  580

  94

  Wales

  1,693

  270

  94

  West Midlands

  3,210

  721

  96

  North West

  5,169

  966

  95

  Scotland

  3,280

  598

  92

  National

  36,922

  7,542

  96

  Annex 2

  Table showing the numbers of men and women who have left community action and the numbers who have directly entered paid employment 27 July 1993 to 27 May 1994

  North West

  Yorkshire and Humber-side

  East Midlands and East

  London and South East

  South West

  West

  West Midlands

  North West

  South

  Great Britain

  Males Leavers

  416

  570

  556

  1,640

  579

  281

  675

  966

  501

  6,184

  Female Leavers

  66

  115

  118

  460

  105

  82

  196

  160

  117

  1,419

  Total Leavers

  482

  685

  674

  2,100

  684

  363

  871

  1,126

  618

  7,603

  Males into work

  42

  70

  73

  259

  95

  38

  79

  60

  45

  761

  Females into work

  6

  26

  26

  79

  21

  11

  25

  19

  12

  225

  Total into work

  48

  96

  99

  338

  116

  49

  104

  79

  57

  986

  Labour Force Survey
  Mr. Pickles
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to speed up the publication of results from the quarterly labour force survey.

  Community Action
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women have participated in community action in each month since its inception; and how many of these found work in Great Britain and in each region.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from A. G. Johnson to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the numbers of men and women who have participated in Community Action in each month since its inception and the numbers of men and women, in each region and in Great Britain, who have found work as a result of participation. I am replying in the Chief Executive's absence.
  The numbers of male and female participants each month are given in annex 1.
  Annex 2 shows the number of men and women who have left the programme and the numbers who have immediately entered paid employment on leaving for the period 27 July 1993 to 27 May 1994. This is the latest date for which figures are available. We expect that many more people will enter paid employment in the period following participation as a direct result of the help they have received through the programme.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Table showing the number of men and women who have participated in Community Action in each month since the programme began

  Month

  Men

  Women

  Total

  July 1993

  35

  1

  36

  August 1993

  96

  13

  109

  September 1993

  258

  35

  293

  October 1993

  1,083

  207

  1,290

  November 1993

  2,547

  566

  3,113

  December 1993

  4,070

  857

  4,927

  January 1994

  6,397

  1,464

  7,861

  February 1994

  11,733

  2,747

  14,480

  March 1994

  18,914

  4,467

  23,381

  April 1994

  21,111

  5,287

  26,398

  May 1994

  23,505

  5,966

  29,471

  Miss Widdecombe
  Following a programme of development work carried out during the last year, methods have now been developed which will make it possible, following a short running-in period, to release key results from the quarterly labour force survey only one and a half months after the end of each survey period.

  The first accelerated LFS results—for the spring—March to May—1994 quarter will be published on

  403
  Wednesday 17 August; results for the summer—June to August—quarter will be published on Wednesday 12 October; for the autumn quarter in mid-January and so on.

  The figures will cover total employment, including the service sector and self-employment; full and part-time employment; unemployment on the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definition; and economic activity and ILO unemployment rates. Regional-territorial and broad industry analyses will also be provided.

  Fuller data from the LFS will continue to be published to the existing timetable. For example, the full results for the spring 1994 quarter will be published in September and the full results for the summer quarter will be published in December.

  Training
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what provisions and criteria for assessment are being used in respect of young partially disabled people in respect of the modern apprenticeship scheme announced in last year's Budget.

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 19 July 1994]: My right hon. Friend the former Secretary of State made it clear that he wants to see modern apprenticeships open equally to all young people, and this is being built into all the developing frameworks. We shall monitor this aspect closely as modern apprenticeships are implemented in general.

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was(a) the total amount spent by his Department for training in Great Britain and in each region in each year since 1989–90, (b) the expected outturn in 1993–94 and (c) plans for 1994–95 all in (i) 1993–94 prices and (ii) cash terms;

  (2) what was the total expenditure by his Department on youth training in each of the last four years in (a) cash terms and (b) 1993–94 prices and in each region; and what are the expected national and regional outturns for 1994–95 in cash terms and in 1993–94 prices;

  (3) how many (a) men and (b) women have attended a training for work courses in Great Britain and in each region;

  (4) what was the expenditure on youth training in Great Britain, both nationally and regionally, in cash terms and in 1993–94 prices in each year since 1989–0; and what are the expected outturns for 1993–94;

  (5) what was the total expenditure by his Department for (a) employment training, (b) employment action and (c) training for work in each of the last four years and in each region in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1993–94 prices; and what are the expected national and regional outturns for 1994–95;

  (6) what are his most recent estimates of the amount spent on training by (a) private employers, (b) public employers, (c) Government and (d) individuals in each of the last 10 years;

  (7) what was the expenditure on (a) training for work, (b) employment training and its predecessors and (c) employment action in Great Britain, both nationally and regionally in (i) cash terms and (ii) 1993–94 prices in each year since 1989–90; and what are the expected outcomes for 1993–94.
  404
  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  National Vocational Qualifications
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) males and (b) females have achieved NVQs at each level for each quarter since their inception.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list all those organisations approved by the National Council on Vocational Qualifications for external verification of such qualification at each of levels I, II and III.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Work Start
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many of those who participated in the work start pilots have gone on to find jobs in each region of Great Britain;

  (2) what was the total cost of the work start pilots; and what was their cost in each region.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Investors in People
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many companies have signed up for investors in people; and how many have achieved this status, in each month since its inception.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Business Start-up and Enterprise Allowance
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have participated, both nationally and regionally, in(a) business start-up and (b) the enterprise allowance scheme in each year since their inception.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess.
  405
  I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people in the United Kingdom and in each region of working age are neither in work nor training; and what percentage of the disabled population in this age group this represents.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Industrial Injuries
  Mr. Alan Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what transitional protection will be afforded to non-employed status trainees hitherto eligible to benefit under his Department's analogous industrial injuries scheme, following the enactment of the Social Security (Incapacity For Work) Act 1994; and what transitional arrangements will apply for participants in other schemes funded through his Department and affected by this legislation.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  16 and 17-year-olds
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many 16 and 17-year-olds were not in full time education, training or employment in each quarter since January 1988;

  (2) how many 16 and 17-year-olds were in employment in each quarter since January 1988.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Youth Credits
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women were using youth credits to obtain training in each month since the scheme's inception in (i) Great Britain and (ii) each region.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Agricultural Workers
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he intends to denounce International Labour Organisation conventions 99 and 101, covering minimum wages and holiday entitlements of agricultural workers.

  Miss Widdecombe
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer prior to the summer recess. I shall ensure that the hon. Member receives a reply as soon as possible and arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Small Claims Courts
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the implications of the recent ruling in Afzal v. Ford Motor Company Ltd., for the right of plaintiffs, making a personal injury claim of under £1,000, to choose whether their claim is heard in the county court or small claims court; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Under order 19 of the county court rules any claim not exceeding £1,000 is automatically referred to arbitration on the filing of a defence. In these circumstances, recoverable costs are strictly limited. However, if the court considers, for example, that the case is one of exceptional complexity, it may order a trial in open court, where full costs may be recoverable. The recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in Afzal v. Ford Motor Company Ltd. made it clear that where, in the opinion of the court, a claim had been deliberately overstated to avoid automatic reference to arbitration, the court could limit the recoverable costs to those allowed under order 19, rule 4.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the implications of the recent ruling in Afzal v. Ford Motor Company Ltd., for the possibility, for the future, of limited costs being made available in those lower value personal injury claims heard in the small claims court; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  My Department recently consulted on proposals for new procedures to apply to personal injury claims not exceeding £1,000. We are currently evaluating the responses to this consultation and are taking into account the implications for our proposals of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of Afzal v. Ford Motor Company Ltd. and related appeals.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the implications of the recent ruling in Afzal v. Ford Motor Company Ltd., in respect of the referral of all personal injury claims valued at under £1,000 being referred to arbitration; and what plans there are to introduce a right of appeal for plaintiffs who believe their claims have been undervalued.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Under order 19 of the county court rules, any claim not exceeding £1,000 is automatically referred to arbitration on the filing of a defence. The recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in Afzal v. Ford Motor Company Ltd. made it clear that,

  407
  where, in the opinion of the court, a claim had been deliberately overstated to avoid such automatic reference, the court could limit the recoverable costs to those allowed under order 19, rule 4.

  Order 19, rule 8 explains the circumstances when a party may apply to set aside an arbitrator's award. There are no plans to introduce additional rights of appeal.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make it his policy that there will be no increase in the small claims court limit until consultation by his Department on lower value personal injury claims has been concluded and any resulting change in the small claims court rules implemented; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The consultation period for the proposals to apply to small personal injury claims not exceeding £1,000 closed earlier this year. The responses are being analysed and evaluated. The Lord Chancellor will review the small claims limit later this year. Full consultation will take place before a final decision on a new limit is made.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if the resultant additional expenses can be reimbursed by the appropriate administrative department when the hearing of a case at a magistrates court involving a disabled person has to be resited because of difficulties of access for that disabled person.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Additional travelling costs properly incurred by a disabled witness or successful defendant may be allowed from public funds. In any other case, reimbursement would be a matter for the local magistrates courts committee.

  Unpaid Compensation Orders
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many compensation orders awarded in 1990, 1991 and 1992 by(a) Teesside Crown court, (b) Teesside magistrates court and (c) Guisborough magistrates court remain unpaid.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  This information is not available centrally.

  January—March 1994

  Appeal Categories

  Bangladesh

  Ghana

  India

  Jamaica

  Nigeria

  Pakistan

  EC

  All other countries

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  1. Exclusion—Appeal at Port

  —

  2

  1

  2

  —

  3

  —

  2

  —

  10

  —

  2

  —

  —

  1

  14

  2. Exclusion—External Appeals

  —

  5

  —

  2

  —

  6

  1

  18

  1

  5

  —

  8

  —

  —

  15

  207

  3. Refusal of Certificate Entitlement

  3

  66

  1

  5

  3

  18

  —

  —

  3

  11

  2

  13

  —

  —

  9

  18

  4. Refusal of Entry Clearance for Temporary purposes (not husbands, wives, fiances or financees)

  23

  176

  28

  145

  140

  325

  4

  33

  94

  377

  187

  546

  1

  —

  168

  772

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list for each year from 1980 all cases receiving legal aid in excess of(a) £500,000 and (b) £1,000,000.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the United Kingdom economy. In November 1993, my Department issued a leaflet for small businesses which explains the possible advantages and disadvantages of using court action to recover debts.

  My Department's standard conditions of contract contain a clause undertaking to pay contractors within 30 days of receipt and agreement of invoices. A further clause requires contractors to include in any subcontracting agreement a term that they will pay the subcontractor within 30 days. Although these clauses will be included in contracts with all outside companies, the effects of such good practices will clearly be more important to small businesses.

  Immigration Appeals
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many appeals to immigration adjudicators were(a) allowed and (b) dismissed in 1993 and the first quarter of 1994, broken down according to the nationality of the appellant and the type of decision appealed against.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information given in the tables shows the number of appeals dismissed or allowed by type of decision appealed against and country of origin. Information about the nationality of individual appellants is not available; however, the tables show the country from which appeals originate.
  409 410

  Appeal Categories

  Bangladesh

  Ghana

  India

  Jamaica

  Nigeria

  Pakistan

  EC

  All other countries

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  5. Refusal of Entry Clearance for Employment, Business or Independent Means (not husbands, wives, fiances or fiancees)

  —

  1

  —

  —

  3

  4

  —

  —

  —

  3

  1

  3

  —

  —

  2

  15

  6. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by wives and children, other dependent relatives and returning residents

  9

  138

  —

  12

  25

  49

  3

  5

  3

  14

  42

  80

  —

  —

  44

  113

  7. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by female fiancees

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  5

  —

  —

  —

  1

  1

  2

  —

  —

  6

  12

  8. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by husbands

  14

  35

  —

  —

  21

  39

  2

  6

  2

  6

  106

  180

  —

  —

  12

  37

  9. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by male fiances

  —

  1

  —

  1

  14

  25

  —

  —

  —

  3

  5

  10

  —

  —

  1

  7

  10. Variation of Landing Conditions (including curtailment of stay or duration or conditions of leave to remain given to persons previously exempted (S.14(2))

  —

  8

  —

  6

  —

  19

  —

  3

  —

  10

  —

  31

  —

  —

  12

  106

  11. Refusal to Vary Leave to Enter

  —

  40

  5

  95

  15

  144

  7

  102

  12

  404

  14

  201

  —

  —

  26

  742

  12. Decision to make Deportation Order

  1

  11

  3

  42

  1

  28

  —

  27

  4

  159

  2

  32

  —

  —

  2

  110

  13. Refusal to Revoke Deportation Order

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  —

  1

  —

  —

  2

  7

  14. Giving of Removal Directions

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  15. Destination Only Appeal

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  4

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  All: Allowed.

  Dis: Dismissed.

  1993

  Appeal Categories

  Bangladesh

  Ghana

  India

  Jamaica

  Nigeria

  Pakistan

  EC

  All other countries

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  1. Exclusion—Appeal at Port

  2

  20

  —

  23

  7

  20

  —

  8

  1

  22

  7

  27

  —

  13

  2

  74

  2. Exclusion—External Appeals

  —

  23

  1

  8

  2

  21

  5

  57

  2

  42

  2

  22

  —

  1

  50

  680

  3. Refusal of Certificate Entitlement

  29

  139

  2

  9

  9

  27

  3

  8

  13

  29

  5

  21

  —

  —

  20

  80

  4. Refusal of Entry Clearance for Temporary purposes (not husbands, wives, fiances orfinancees)

  125

  629

  114

  43

  609

  1,164

  62

  225

  329

  1,362

  719

  1,762

  —

  —

  673

  295

  5. Refusal of Entry Clearance for Employment, Business or Independent Means (not husbands, wives, fiances or fiancees)

  —

  5

  —

  3

  9

  26

  —

  —

  3

  12

  19

  51

  —

  —

  13

  99

  6. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by wives and children, other dependent relatives and returning residents

  83

  477

  7

  40

  68

  213

  10

  31

  14

  37

  81

  32

  —

  4

  122

  293

  7. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by female fiancees

  5

  7

  —

  3

  16

  30

  2

  6

  1

  1

  5

  16

  —

  —

  31

  42

  8. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by husbands

  35

  92

  3

  10

  71

  162

  3

  15

  5

  23

  316

  663

  1

  —

  49

  92

  9. Refusal of Entry Clearance requested by male fiances

  10

  17

  —

  2

  65

  92

  10

  11

  —

  2

  59

  86

  —

  —

  5

  21

  10. Variation of Landing Conditions (including curtailment of stay or duration or conditions of leave to remain given to persons previously exempted (S.14(2))

  12

  5

  6

  5

  4

  101

  —

  35

  2

  101

  3

  113

  —

  6

  40

  287

  11. Refusal to Vary Leave to Enter

  9

  118

  13

  27

  18

  473

  12

  249

  35

  879

  19

  586

  —

  2

  59

  1,823

  411

  Appeal Categories

  Bangladesh

  Ghana

  India

  Jamaica

  Nigeria

  Pakistan

  EC

  All other countries

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  All

  Dis

  12. Decision to make Deportation Order

  4

  22

  5

  17

  5

  117

  —

  55

  8

  338

  1

  112

  —

  —

  18

  318

  13. Refusal to Revoke Deportation Order

  —

  —

  —

  5

  1

  4

  —

  1

  —

  4

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  8

  14. Giving of Romoval Directions

  —

  —

  —

  2

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  6

  —

  2

  —

  —

  3

  10

  15. Destination Only Appeal

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  All: Allowed.

  Dis: Dismissed.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many appeals to the Immigration Appeal tribunal were(a) allowed and (b) dismissed in 1993 and the first quarter of 1994.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  In 1993, 350 appeals to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal were allowed and 361 were dismissed. In the first quarter of 1994, 41 appeals have been allowed and 59 have been dismissed.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many appellants in appeals under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 have been(a) unrepresented, (b) represented by the Refugee Legal Centre, (c) represented by other voluntary organisations and (d) represented by solicitors or counsel, by hearing centre, since 26 July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information requested is not available. No separate record is kept of how—if at all—individual appellants are represented.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many applications to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal under (i) the Immigration Act 1971 and (ii) the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 have been(a) granted and (b) refused since 26 July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Since 26 July 1993, nine applications to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal under the Immigration Act 1971 that have been granted; 58 have been refused.

  Of the applications made under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, five have been granted and 16 refused.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many applications for leave for judicial review of decisions of a special adjudicator made under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 that a case was without foundation have been(a) made, (b) granted or (c) refused since 26 July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Since 26 July 1993. 13 applications for leave for judicial review of decisions of a special adjudicator in "without foundation" cases have been made. Of these, six were granted leave, of which three were later withdrawn, and one was dismissed at a substantive hearing. Four applications were refused and three have yet to be considered.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what is the average delay, listed by each immigration appeals hearing centre (i) between
  412
  receiving the explanatory statement and papers about a case (a) from a British post overseas and (b) from the Home Office and sending those papers to an appellant or his or her authorised representative and (ii) between the hearing of an immigration appeal by an adjudicator and the dispatch of the determination to the appellant or authorised representative.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Copies of the explanatory statement and related papers are dispatched from the immigration appellate authority's principal office at Thanet house in London to the appellant or his or her authorised representative. The IAA aims to dispatch copies of the case papers to the parties within five days in 95 per cent. of cases. This target is achieved regularly and often exceeded.

  In non-asylum cases, the adjudicator's determination issues to the parties, on average, within six to eight weeks of the hearing. For appeals determined under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, the average time from the hearing to the issue of the determination is eight to nine days.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many appeals under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 have been(a) lodged, (b) heard by special adjudicators, (c) allowed, (d) dismissed and (e) dismissed but with a recommendation to the Home Office to reconsider, at each hearing centre.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Some 2,283 appeals have been lodged to date under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993. The table shows the outcome of those cases which have been determined, at each hearing centre. The figures exclude cases that are part heard or have been adjourned.

  Allowed

  Dismissed

  Withdrawn

  Hatton Cross

  34

  802

  12

  Thanet House

  4

  117

  7

  Birmingham

  1

  91

  —

  Glasgow

  —

  20

  2

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, in how many appeals under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 the appellants have been(a) refused leave to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, (b) granted leave to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal and (c) heard by the Immigration Appeal Tribunal; and in how many cases heard the appeal was (i) allowed, (ii) dismissed with a recommendation or (iii) dismissed.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The number of appeals under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 where the
  413
  appellant has been refused leave to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal is 607. Leave to appeal has been granted in 183 cases. Of those, eight appeals have so far been allowed; 80 have been remitted for rehearing by an adjudicator; and 33 have been dismissed.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many appeals against claims for asylum certified by the Secretary of State to be unfounded have been(a) lodged, (b) heard by special adjudicators, (c) allowed and (d) dismissed, by appeals hearing centres, since 26 July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Since 26 July 1993, 766 appeals against claims for asylum certified by the Secretary of State to be unfounded have been lodged. These cases are determined at Hatton Cross in west London. To date, 20 have been allowed, 398 dismissed, 11 withdrawn, and 86 referred back to the Secretary of State.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many applications to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal in cases under (i) the Immigration Act 1971 and (ii) the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 have been(a) granted and (b) refused since 26 July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Since 26 July 1993, three applications have been made to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal in cases under the Immigration Act 1971. Of these, one application was dismissed by consent of the parties, one was refused and the other has not yet been heard. In the same period, seven applications have been made under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993. Of these, one was allowed, one was refused and five have not yet been heard.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many judicial reviews of decisions of a special adjudicator made under the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 that a case was without foundation have been(a) heard, (b) granted relief and (c) dismissed since 26 July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Since 26 July 1993, one such judicial review was heard and was dismissed.

TRANSPORT

  Public Safety Zone Policy
  Mr. Channon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review public safety zone policy and its administration.

  Mr. Norris
  I have asked officials to review public safety zone policy and its administration. The terms of reference for the review are as follows:Review of Public Safety Zone Policy and Administration Terms of Reference
  1. The review will consider how the Public Safety zone policy set out in Department of the Environment Circular 2/92 and Scottish Development Department Circular 16/82, and its administration, are working in practice; and whether changes are needed. It will cover in particular:

  (i) the criteria for establishing Public Safety zones, including

  the level of third party risk against which the policy should seek to provide protection;

  the relevant number and type of aircraft movements;

  414

  the size and shape of the Zones.

  (ii) the policy towards existing and new development in the Zones, including

  the posibility of different policies for different parts of the Zones, or different levels of risk;

  the policy towards roads and railways in Public Safety Zones;

  how the policy can be translated into clear guidance for administration.

  (iii) the administration of the policy.

  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to announce the location for intermediate stations on the channel tunnel rail link.

  Mr. Watts
  I will write to my hon. Friend.

  Northolt Airfield
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the status and purpose of current developments at Northolt airfield; what was the result of his consultation with industry on the way in which the private sector could be involved in making better use of the existing capacity for civil operations at RAF Northolt; what arrangements he is making to consult local residents; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  We are undertaking a consultation with business aviation users and operators on the ways in which the private sector might become involved in making better use of the existing capacity at RAF Northolt through development of a civil enclave. This is in line with the policy set out in the 1985 White Paper. The purpose of the present consultation is to find out what might be a commercially feasible way forward within current operating constraints at RAF Northolt. The consultation period ends on 19 August. The defence lands agent will be discussing this with local authority officials. We are not consulting on the basis of any change in the limits on civil use at Northolt and therefore the consultation is not intended to be any broader at this stage. Should a development be proposed for such an enclave, then planning permission would be required from the local authority, with an opportunity for all views to be taken into account.

  Airports
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on future airport development covering existing airports in southern England.

  Mr. Norris
  The last major statement on airport development was in the 1985 White Paper "Airports Policy" Cmnd 9542. Although this remains relevant today, the Government have acknowledged that it needs to be updated. The recent consultation on the report of the runway capacity to serve the south east—RUCATSE—working group provides a focus for such a statement and we intend to make this before the end of the year.

  Disabled Drivers
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what study his Department has made of the number of fines imposed on severely disabled drivers for parking in central London; what assessment he has made
  415
  of whether the level is increasing or decreasing; what action he has taken or will be taking; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  My Department has not carried out any such studies and has no plans to do so at the moment.

  Underground (Infrastructure)
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the London Regional Passengers Committee about tunnels and their integrity, water pumps, signals and rolling stock and the effects of these factors on train speeds and thus on overall service; what recommendations the committee has made to him; and if he will publish this information.

  Mr. Norris
  The LRPC regularly makes representations to me on a wide range of issues to do with passenger services on the underground. All the committee's proceedings and representations to the Department are in the public domain.

  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which stations or sections of tunnel on London Underground do not meet the standards set by the Health and Safety Executive.

  Mr. Norris
  It is for London Underground to ensure the safety of those who work on their railway or those—for example, passengers—who are affected by their work in accordance with the appropriate legislation. Her Majesty's railway inspectorate enforces health and safety on the underground and monitors to see that recommendations arising from its routine inspections are acted upon.

  Barge, South Hams
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he hopes to complete the removal of the jagged metal part of the barge sunk at Hallsands, South Hams; how many days he gave the National Rivers Authority to complete this work from 23 July 1993; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department is not responsible for removing the remains of the barge from the beach at Hallsands. We refused to allow the barge to remain in the sea as it was a danger to navigation. The National Rivers Authority declined to accept responsibility for the barge, which was owned by its contractor. The remains were sold to a salvage company and they were then hauled on to the beach to be cut up. We have no powers to order the clearance of the remains from the beach.

  Heavy Goods Vehicles
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had, and with whom, as to reducing present restrictions on heavy goods vehicles travelling within residential areas within the Greater London area.

  Mr. Norris
  The Government are not proposing to reduce the present restrictions on heavy goods vehicles travelling within residential areas in London.

  Franchise Expenses
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total cost of(a) legal fees and (b) in-house expenses spent by the franchise director for each
  416
  month since he took up office in relation to the preparation and negotiation of specifications, tenders and contracts relating to prospective franchises.

  Mr. Watts
  Total expenditure, net of recoverable VAT, by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising on(a) fees to legal advisers and (b) running costs is as follows:

  Amount

  1993–94 (from 8 November)

  Legal fees:

  £826,543.88p

  Running costs:

  £691,310.67p

  1994–95 (to 19 July)

  Legal fees:

  £514,375.73p

  Running costs:

  £557,744.10p

  It is not practicable to apportion these totals between the matters mentioned in the question and other matters on which the office has incurred expenditure.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fundraising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman), my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key), my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mr. Norris) and my noble Friend Lord MacKay have made 18 visits abroad on departmental business to-date this year. Details of all visits are as follows:John MacGregor OBE MP, Secretary of State for Transport
  Sunday 6 February-Tuesday 8 February: Visit to Informal Council meeting in Athens, Greece.
  Wednesday 9 March: Trilateral, German-French-British meeting in Dresden, Germany.
  Monday 14 March-Wednesday 16 March: Second Pan-European Conference in Crete, Greece.
  Sunday 17 April-Monday 18 April: EC Transport Council meeting in Luxembourg.
  Friday 6 May: Official opening of the Channel Tunnel, Calais, France.
  Thursday 26 May-Saturday 28 May: European Conference of Ministers of Transport in Annecy, France.
  Thursday 9 June-Friday 10 June: European Civil Aviation Conference meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
  Monday 13 June-Tuesday 14 June: EC Transport Council, Luxembourg.
  The Right Hon. Roger Freeman MP, Minister, for Public Transport
  Friday 7 January: Visiting international stations in Lille, France.
  Friday 6 May: Official opening of Channel Tunnel in Calais, France.
  Robert Key MP, Minister for Roads and Traffic
  Monday 6 June-Wednesday 8 June: Italy.
  Steven Norris MP, Minister pr Transport in London
  Mr. Norris visited Cyprus in his capacity as a Constituency MP. The trip was not funded by public monies.
  Friday 6 May: Official opening of the Channel Tunnel, Calais, France.
  Lord MacKay of Ardbrecknish, Minister for Aviation and Shipping

  Wednesday 26 January: Paris.

  417

  Sunday 13 February-Friday 18 February: Israel.

  Wednesday 23 March: Brussels.

  Tuesday 3 May: Le Havre.

  Tuesday 7 June-Thursday 9 June: Athens.

  Wednesday 22 June: Calais.

  Fund-raising activities for the Conservative party are not part of our official duties.

  Bus and Coach Fares
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the percentage change in(a) bus and (b) coach fares, between (i) January 1987 and May 1994 and (ii) August 1992 and May 1994; and what contribution was made in each case by the increase in unit labour costs.

  Mr. Watts
  Information supplied to the Department by a panel of operators indicates that local bus fares in Great Britain increased by 63 per cent. between January 1987 and May 1994, and by 9 per cent. between August 1992 and May 1994. The contribution made by increases in unit labour costs is not known. No information is collected about changes in other—non-local—bus and coach fares.

  Rail Strike
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what estimate he has made of losses sustained by British Rail due to the signalmen's strike to date;

  (2) what estimates he has made of the effects on the economy of the signalmen's strike to date.

  Mr. Watts
  British Rail estimates that it loses of the order of £9 million per day in revenue for each one day strike. The overall loss to British Rail will depend on the rebate to the access charge made by Railtrack.

  It is impossible to estimate the damage to the overall economy, but continued strike action is clearly detrimental to passengers, the railway industry and the economy as a whole.

  Property Acquisition
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the property acquired by his Department on possible routes for(a) the A36 Beckington-East of Bath road scheme and (b) the A46 Upper Swainswick-Tormanton road scheme; what was the total cost of acquisition of this property; and what is the current total estimated market value.

  Mr. Norris
  The question is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. The chief executive, Mr. Lawrie Haynes, is writing to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 20 July 1994:
  I am writing in response to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Transport about properties acquired in connection with the proposed A36 Beckington to East of Bath and A46 Upper Swainswick to Tormarton improvement schemes. This is a matter for which the Highways Agency is responsible.
  Three properties have been purchased as a result of the A36 scheme—The Villa and Dry Arch Cottage, Farleigh Wick, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, and Warleigh Lodge, Bathford Avon. For the A46 scheme, one property, Dunsdown Farm House. West Littleton, Avon, has been acquired. The total cost of acquiring these properties was just under £900,000.
  418
  The combined value of these properties was assessed by the Valuation Office Agency earlier this year as £785,000. The difference between the two figures arises mainly because purchase costs are assessed on an unblighted basis (ie ignoring the effect of the road proposals) whereas current value takes account of blight.

  Motorways
  Mr. Butcher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will mount a television advertising campaign to remind motorists that the middle and outside lanes of motorways are for overtaking purposes only.

  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to mount a publicity campaign to encourage drivers on motorways to use the nearest vacant inside lane.

  Mr. Norris
  In the past we have tried to persuade drivers to show better lane discipline—in particular, in collaboration with the police motorway safety campaign. Unfortunately, this has had no perceptible effect. I am therefore reluctant to divert publicity funds from the child road safety or drink/drive campaigns. We have announced proposals, backed by the insurance companies for post-test driver training which will include instruction in motorway driving techniques. The problem of poor lane discipline will also be addressed as part of the controlled motorway pilot scheme due to begin at Easter 1995 on the south-west sector of the M25.

  Road Schemes
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for the Yorkshire and Humberside region(a) the number of houses bought by his Department since 1988–89 for road schemes, (b) the total cost of purchases, (c) the number and cost of houses bought and then subsequently sold as they were not required for particular road schemes and (d) the level of income received from selling properties surplus to the requirements of road schemes.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 13 July 1994]: As this is an operational matter, the question will be dealt with by the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Gentleman.

  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Derek Fatchett, dated 20 July 1994:
  I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questioin asking for information about the number and cost of property purchases and sales in Yorkshire and Humberside region since 1988.
  The information you request is as follows:

  (a) the Department has purchased 53 houses in the Yorkshire and Humberside since I April 1988. Additionally 15 flats have been purchased.

  (b) the total cost of purchases is £8,074,299 for houses and £388,640 for flats.

  (c) five houses have been purchased which were not ultimately needed for road schemes at a cost of £722,500. After a period of leasing they were sold for £599,000.

  (d) total receipts from selling properties surplus to requirements is £1,007,000. This includes 11 properties purchased prior to 1 April and subsequently sold for £408,000.

  Departmental Units
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by grade for each of the last five years the number of substantive staff employed by the(a) Marine Pollution Unit, (b) Marine Accident Investigation Branch and (c) Air Accident Investigation Branch.

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  Marine Pollution Control Unit:

  Grade 4

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Grade 6

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Grade 7

  2

  2

  1

  1

  1

  PSO

  —

  —

  1

  1

  1

  SEO

  —

  —

  1

  1

  1

  SSO

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  HEO

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  EO

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  AO

  2

  2

  2

  2

  1

  AA

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Total

  12

  12

  12

  12

  11

  Marine Accident Investigation Branch:

  Grade 5

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Grade 6

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Grade 7

  4

  4

  4

  4

  4

  Surveyor1

  4

  6

  6

  6

  6

  HEO

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  EO

  1

  2

  2

  2

  2

  AO

  1

  2

  2

  2

  2

  AA

  1

  2

  2

  2

  2

  PS

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Div Sec

  —

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Total

  15

  21

  21

  21

  21

  Air Accidents Investigation Branch:

  Grade 4

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Grade 5

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  Grade 6

  4

  4

  4

  4

  4

  Grade 7

  23

  23

  23

  24

  24

  HEO

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  HPTO

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  EO

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  AO

  3

  3

  3

  3

  4

  AA

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  PS

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  TYP

  2

  2

  2

  2

  2

  SGB 1

  1

  1

  1

  2

  2

  P&G (E)1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  EX WKR2

  1

  1

  1

  1

  —

  Total

  42

  42

  42

  43

  45

  1 Progress and general supervisory grade

  2 Experimental worker

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by grade for each of the last five years the number of substantive staff employed by the(a) Marine Pollution Unit, (b) Marine Accident Investigation Branch and (c) Air Accident Investigation Branch.

  Mr. Norris
  The figures requested are as follows:

  1994–95 (£000)

  1993–94 (£000)

  The Coastguard Agency

  24,530

  23,884

  Marine Accident Investigation Branch

  839

  846

  Air Accidents Investigation Branch

  2,852

  2,882

  420
  Mr Norris
  The fingers requested are given in the table.

  Track and Signalling
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Railtrack will invest in(a) track and signalling maintenance and repair and (b) track and signalling renewal and new-build schemes in 1994–95.

  Mr. Watts
  Railtrack estimates that it will spend some £750 million on the maintenance and repair of track and signalling and associated structures in 1994–95. Separate figures for signalling renewal and new-build schemes are not available.

  Rail Fares
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what was the cost of a full fare(a) first and (b) second or standard class return British Rail ticket from York to King's Cross in 1979 and in each year since then (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant 1994 prices;

  (2) what was the average cost per mile of full fare (a) first and (b) second or standard class travel on British Rail in 1979 and in each year since then (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant 1994 prices.

  Mr. Watts
  I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and place a copy in the Library.

  Rail Strike (Costs)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the estimated cost to Railtrack to date of the signal staffs dispute.

  £ million

  Year

  LU Core

  L Buses

  TBD

  DLR

  New lines

  Other

  Total

  Cash prices

  1978

  43

  17

  —

  —

  —

  6

  66

  1979

  60

  32

  —

  —

  —

  8

  100

  1980

  78

  45

  —

  —

  —

  —

  123

  1981

  91

  56

  —

  —

  —

  —

  147

  1982

  82

  45

  —

  —

  —

  —

  127

  1983

  110

  58

  —

  —

  —

  —

  168

  1984–85

  147

  60

  —

  33

  —

  —

  240

  1985–86

  143

  40

  —

  33

  —

  18

  234

  1986–87

  171

  36

  —

  16

  —

  18

  241

  1987–88

  206

  20

  —

  61

  —

  7

  294

  1988–89

  200

  25

  1

  51

  6

  29

  312

  1989–90

  294

  28

  1

  93

  13

  14

  443

  1990–91

  414

  28

  1

  139

  45

  7

  634

  1991–92

  298

  38

  1

  162

  71

  12

  582

  1992–93

  632

  46

  1

  —

  96

  14

  789

  1993–94

  484

  21

  —

  —

  301

  15

  821

  1994–95

  435

  20

  —

  —

  537

  11

  1,003

  1995–96

  512

  25

  —

  —

  472

  13

  1,022

  1996–97

  659

  15

  —

  —

  409

  6

  1,089

  At 1993–94 prices:

  1978

  123

  49

  —

  —

  —

  17

  183

  1979

  147

  79

  —

  —

  —

  20

  246

  1980

  162

  93

  —

  —

  —

  —

  255

  1981

  172

  106

  —

  —

  —

  —

  278

  1982

  145

  79

  —

  —

  —

  —

  224

  1983

  186

  98

  —

  —

  —

  —

  284

  1984–85

  188

  69

  —

  53

  —

  —

  310

  1985–86

  236

  96

  —

  50

  —

  27

  409

  1986–87

  253

  53

  —

  24

  —

  27

  357

  1987–88

  290

  28

  —

  86

  —

  10

  414

  1988–89

  263

  36

  1

  67

  8

  38

  413

  1989–90

  362

  34

  1

  114

  16

  17

  544

  1990–91

  472

  32

  1

  158

  51

  8

  722

  1991–92

  319

  41

  1

  174

  76

  13

  624

  1992–93

  652

  47

  1

  —

  99

  14

  813

  1993–94

  484

  21

  —

  —

  301

  15

  821

  1994–95

  418

  19

  —

  —

  516

  10

  963

  1995–96

  474

  23

  —

  —

  437

  12

  946

  1996–97

  596

  13

  —

  —

  370

  5

  984

  Notes:

  1. Figures for years up to 1993–94 are from London Transport Annual Reports. 1984–95 comprised 15 months.

  2. 1991–92 was the last year in which LT were responsible for the Docklands Light Railway: this is now the responsibility of the London Docklands Development Corporation.

  3. Figures for 1994–95 are LT's forecasts in their Budget for the year. In favourable circumstances, higher proceeds from the sale of LBL subsidiaries will allow a higher level of core business investment than shown here.

  4. Figures for 1995–96 and 1996–97 are based on LT's plans following the Unified Budget, 1993. The amount of investment spend possible in these years and its allocation between headings within the core business are only indicative at this stage.
  422
  Mr. Watts
  Railtrack estimates that it has lost up to £6 million per day in access charges for each one-day strike, depending on the number of services which can run.

  London Transport
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the total investment and planned investment by London Transport and the amount spent on(a) London Underground core business, (b) London Buses, (c) tendered bus division, (d) Docklands light railway, (e) new lines and extensions and (f) other, in each year between 1978 and 1996–97 at both cash prices and 1993–94 prices.

  Mr. Norris
  The information requested is as follows:

  Railway Platforms (Tactile Edging)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make representations to British Rail to secure that tactile edging is placed on all railway platforms in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Watts
  The Health and Safety Executive has consulted on revised "Railway Construction and Operational Requirements" to be published by the end of this year, which propose that platforms on new or rebuilt stations must have a tactile surface to indicate the edge to blind and partially sighted people, and that edges should be clearly defined with a strip of a lighter colour.

  The Rail Regulator is proposing a similar recommendation in his code of practice to protect the interests of disabled passengers.

  Hall Sands (Barge)
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reimburse South Hams district council for the cost entailed in removing from the beach at Hall sands the barge formerly scuttled off Hall sands which was towed to the beach on the instructions of his Department.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 19 July I 994]: The Department required the removal of this barge from a reef off the beach because it was a danger to navigation. The present owners, not the Department, decided to take the barge to the beach. Financial responsibility for the district council's costs is a matter between the council and the owners.

  Railtrack
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the powers and duties of Railtrack; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

  Mr. Watts
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: These documents are already available for inspection at Companies House. I am arranging for a copy to be placed additionally in the Library.

  Traffic Cones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on the number of calls received by the cones enquiry line in each month since it was established;

  (2) what measures his Department has taken to publicise the services offered by the cones enquiry line;

  (3) how much the cones enquiry line has cost to administer and publicise in each financial year since its establishment; how much it is estimated that the cones enquiry line will cost to publicise and administer in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) how many traffic cones have been (a) placed on and (b) removed from the road network under the direct authority of his Department during the period that the cones enquiry line has been in operation;

  (5) how much his Department has spent on (a) traffic cones and (b) road signs during the last year; and how many (i) traffic cones and (ii) road signs have been purchased during this period;

  (6) what assessment his Department has made of the inquiries made to the cones enquiry line;
  424
  (7) how many cones have been removed from the roads network as a result of complaints lodged with the cones enquiry line;

  (8) what constitutes a cone for the purpose of an inquiry to the cones enquiry line.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: As these are now operational matters for the Highways Agency, the chief executive has written to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Laurie Haynes to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 20 July 1994:
  You asked the Secretary of State for Transport for information on the Cones Hotline. As this is now an operational matter for the Highways Agency, I am replying to your questions.
  1. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement on the number of calls received by the Cones Enquiry Line in each month since it was established.
  The number of calls received on the Cones Hotline from the date of its inception to 8 July 1994 was 6,347. The figures have not been recorded in monthly form but 6,167 of the total have been received since mid-December 1993 when the road signs were introduced. This means that the average number of calls received per month is 880.
  2. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what measures his Department has taken to publicise the services offered by the Cones Enquiry Line.
  The Hotline number is displayed on signs which appear at the end of all major maintenance works. It appears in the Highways Agency's general information brochure and in its Road User's Charter. It is also registered with Directory Enquiries and with AA Roadwatch and RAC Roadata.
  3. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Cones Enquiry Line has cost to administer and publicise in each financial year since its establishment; how much it is estimated that the Cones Enquiry Line will cost to publicise and administer in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.
  Since the beginning of the current financial year the cost of the dedicated telephone line has been about £450 per month, including call charges. The Hotline previously operated on the Department's general switchboard. There have been no other separately identifiable costs, either in previous years or in the current year, because the Hotline has operated within running cost structures agreed before its inception. No staff are employed exclusively on Hotline activity. There is no advertising or publicity budget for the Hotline.
  4. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many traffic cones have been (a) placed on and (b) removed from the road network under the direct authority of his Department during the period that the Cones Enquiry Line has been in operation.
  The placement and removal of traffic cones is a matter for contractors or their traffic management sub-contractors. While they must follow traffic management and safety guidelines in laying out cones, they are not asked to provide figures on the number placed or removed.
  5. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) traffic cones and (b) road signs during the year; and how many (i) traffic cones and (ii) road signs have been purchased during this period.
  Neither the Department nor the Agency buys traffic cones. They are purchased by and are the property of contractors or their traffic management sub-contractors. As with road signs their provision is included in the cost of contracts. There are no separately identifiable figures for the cost of cones and signs or the numbers provided of each.
  6. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the enquiries made to the Cones Enquiry Line.
  Enquiries are assessed as they are received. As many calls as possible are dealt with immediately; formal complaints or observations are referred to the regional offices for further investigation. The Hotline operator will make special enquiries whenever a number of calls are received in respect of the same location or roadwork site.
  7. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many cones have been removed from the roads network as a result of complaints lodged with the Cones Enquiry Line.

  425
  Cones in place at three different sites have been removed as a direct result of enquiries made to the Cones Hotline. The appropriate contractors were instructed to remove the cones but no count of the precise number involved was necessary.
  8. To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what constitutes a cone for the purpose of an enquiry to the Cones Enquiry Line.
  The Cones Hotline will respond to any call related to delay arising from roadworks on the motorway and trunk road network.
  I hope this information is helpful.

  Vehicle Inspectorate
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment the vehicle inspectorate has made of the impact of the changes contained in the Contracting Out and Deregulation Bill on its existing operation; and how the vehicle inspectorate intends responding to this legislative change in operational terms.

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Discussions are taking place with the vehicle inspectorate about the implications for them of the proposed new legislation. Nothing in the Bill, would affect the inspectorate's role enforcing roadworthiness and traffic regulations. Nor would there be any change in their role of advising the traffic commissioners about operators.

  Marine Conservation
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what input his Department will have in respect of the selection and designation of marine special protection areas and special areas of conservation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The nature conservation agencies through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, will be advising the Government on which areas may be considered for designation as special areas of conservation. The Department of Transport, together with other Departments, will be fully involved in discussing these proposals prior to public consultation. Work to identify special protection areas has been going on for some time. The Department of Transport will be consulted before any areas are designated.

  Conservation Areas
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has under the EC habitats directive to ensure control and development in SACs and SPAs.

  Mr. Norris
  Special areas of conservation and special protection areas will be protected under the regulations to implement the habitats directive which are currently awaiting parliamentary approval. These regulations apply to aspects of development control which come within the responsibility of my Department.

TREASURY

  Company Cars
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the practice of the Inland Revenue on the tax treatment of the offer of a cash alternative to a company car.
  426
  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Where an employee has a company car available for private use he or she is usually taxed on the benefit of the car. The employer pays class 1A national insurance contributions on the benefit.

  However, a judgment by the House of Lords in 1969 means that in some circumstances, where the benefit of a car is freely convertible into cash, the benefit is taxable under the general income tax rules rather than the special provisions for company cars. In these special circumstances the employee pays tax on the cash which he or she could get, and the employer does not pay national insurance contributions.

  Some employers are making arrangements designed specifically to bring company cars within the terms of this judgment to avoid class 1A NICs and, in some cases, give a lower tax charge.

  In order to remove further uncertainty and to prevent loss of revenues to the Exchequer and national insurance fund we intend to propose legislation in the next Finance Bill. The proposed legislation will ensure that where a car would otherwise be within the special income tax rules for company cars, and an alternative to the benefit of that car is offered, the mere fact that the alternative is offered will not make the benefit of the car chargeable to tax under the general income tax rules. The employee will then pay tax on what they actually get—car or cash. Employers will pay national insurance contributions as appropriate—class 1A on the benefit of a car or class 1 on cash.

  We intend that this provision should apply from 6 April 1995.

  Private Finance Panel
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the provision of grant in aid to the private finance panel.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I propose to make available to the private finance panel a grant-in-aid of £260,000 in 1994–95. This will represent a Government contribution towards the administrative costs of the panel. Parliamentary approval for this new service will be sought in a winter supplementary estimate for Her Majesty's Treasury's vote, class XVII, vote 1. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure, estimated at up to £150,000 will be met by repayable advances from the contingencies fund. The grant-in-aid will be met from existing provision on the vote and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Redundant Factories (Social Housing)
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the VAT rules under which tax is currently charged when redundant factories are converted into social housing; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I am pleased to announce that today Customs have published draft legislation which, subject to the approval of the House, will enable such conversions to be free of VAT. Customs have also announced that by concession the change will be operative from today. The result will be that the sale of any dwelling that is created by the conversion of a non-domestic building will be free of VAT. The relief will also apply to DIY builders who, for example, convert redundant barns into dwelling.
  427
  Additionally the proposed draft legislation amends the list of items installed in new dwellings on which input tax cannot be reclaimed. This relaxation will also operate from today by concession.

  These two measures will result in approximately £20 million per annum being injected into the house building industry in terms of VAT revenue forgone. The proposed legislation will also simplify the application of a complex part of the VAT legislation, remove ambiguities and clarify the existing law.

  A copy of the proposed legislation has been deposited in the Library.

  VAT
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when a fresh Treasury order will be laid before the House to update the payments-on-account scheme for VAT.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The current annual cycle for the payments on account scheme runs from October to September. To avoid the timing difficulties caused by the move to a November Budget the scheme year will be realigned with the fiscal year to run from April to March.

  The current scheme, which was intended to last for one year, will continue to the end of March 1995. The current VAT Payments on Account Order 1993 will therefore be replaced in time for the annual cycle beginning in April 1995.

  This will mean that some businesses may be kept in the scheme for six months longer than expected, but the provisions for having payments reduced and for leaving the scheme where annual liability falls below £1.6 million will still apply in appropriate cases.

  When the current order is replaced it will be amended to provide for automatic rolling forward of the scheme year in future without the need for a fresh statutory instrument.

  Customs will conduct a review of the operation of the scheme. A consultation paper will be issued and all interested parties, including businesses in the scheme, will be offered the chance to participate in the consultation process.

  The consultation paper will aim to address the concerns expressed by businesses about the scheme and to consider the scope for greater flexibility in its operation.

  Valuation Office
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the three-year review of the Valuation Office agency will commence.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  A review of the agency status of the Valuation Office is to commence on 1 August 1994. As

  Outcome of the Treasury's debt sale

  Issuer

  Maturity date

  Coupon (per cent.)

  Face value (£ million)

  Bid (£ million)

  Accrued interest (£ million)

  Total proceeds (£ million)

  British Telecom

  31 March 1998

  8·625

  141·4

  143·9

  6·0

  150·0

  British Telecom

  31 March 1999

  8·75

  154·8

  158·1

  6·5

  164·7

  British Telecom

  31 March 2005

  9·250

  243·6

  253·3

  9·9

  263·2

  London Electricity

  25 September 1999

  12·661

  70·0

  79·5

  3·6

  83·2

  Manweb

  25 September 1999

  12·661

  20·0

  22·6

  1·0

  23·6

  Manweb

  25 September 2008

  12·365

  37·0

  45·6

  1·9

  47·5

  National Power

  25 March 1998

  12·035

  350·0

  379·5

  17·3

  396·8

  Scottish Hydro-Electric

  24 March 2005

  11·856

  116·0

  134·8

  5·7

  140·5

  Seeboard

  25 September 2008

  12·365

  54·0

  66·8

  2·7

  69·6

  1,186·7

  1,284·2

  54·8

  1,339·0

  428
  a next steps agency the performance of the VO will be evaluated and its activities will be subjected to the normal prior options tests set out in the 1993 "Next Steps Review" (Cm 2430).

  Comments and contributions from those with an interest in the VO and its work would be welcome and should be sent by 30 September 1994 to Mr. Brian Mace, Valuation Office Review, Inland Revenue, Room 223, South west wing, Bush house, Strand London WC2B 4RD.

  Tax Advice
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update the information given in the July 1993 tax ready reckoner and tax reliefs booklet.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The Treasury today is publishing a booklet containing estimates of the effects of various illustrative tax changes on tax receipts in 1994–95 and 1995–96 and preliminary estimates of the costs of the main tax reliefs in 1993–94 and 1994–95. Copies are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Privatised Companies (Debt)
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the sale of part of the Government's holding of privatised companies' debt.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I am pleased to report that the sale was successfully completed on 19 July. The Treasury accepted bids totalling £1·3 billion for the early redemption of the electricity and British Telecom bonds shown in the table.

  Payment, with accrued interest, will be made to the Exchequer on 23 August 1994. The costs of the auction are expected to amount to some £0·7 million or less than 0·04 per cent. of proceeds. The proceeds will contribute towards the target of £5·5 billion privatisation proceeds for 1994–95.

  In addition, Eastern Electricity bought back two bonds with face value of £118 million, with payment of £146·2 million—capital and interest—received on 29 April, and the National Grid Company exercised its pre-emption rights to repurchase two bonds with face value of £300 million, with payment of £343·4 million—capital and interest—received on 5 July. Including these receipts, the total proceeds—capital and interest—from the sale will be some £1·8 billion.

  I am satisfied that the sale has secured good value for the taxpayer.

  Bank of England
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will publish in the Official Report the losses incurred by the Bank of England since 1985 supporting (a) financial institutions and (b) manufacturing industry, the names of the borrowers and the date and path along which the loans were made and the date and form in which losses were disclosed in each case in the Bank's balance sheet; what reason of public policy led to the making of the loans and who is carrying the losses; and what assessment he has made of compliance with the Companies Act and rules of the regulatory agencies.

  Mr. Nelson
  The bank made provisions of £25 million in 1991–92 and £90 million in 1992–93, in respect of indemnities given to lenders to a number of small authorised banks. The total provision was reduced by £10 million in the year to February 1994. The background to these movements in provisions was set out in the bank's accounts for 1992–93 and 1993–94. As explained there, this support was designed to avert the possibility of widespread difficulties in the banking system and in the economy, and was successful in containing the potential problem.

  In the year to February 1985, the bank made a provision of £34 million against possible losses on indemnities given in respect of the value of the loan book of Johnson Matthey Bankers, now Minories Finance Ltd. Subsequent recoveries by MFL have fully offset this provision.

  The bank is not subject to the Companies Acts or to the disclosure rules of regulatory agencies, but its published accounts present fairly the state of affairs of the banking department in accordance with the Companies Act and applicable accounting standards in so far as they are appropriate to a central bank.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of publishing the minutes of his monthly meetings with the Bank of England.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Chancellor said in the Mansion House speech, and repeated at the Treasury and Civil Service Committee hearing, that publishing minutes was an important decision and one which made decision taking about interest rates in this country one of the most transparent in the world. A more informal debate about economic policy can take place because of the openness that surrounds discussions on monetary policy. The Chancellor said in the Mansion House speech:"I have given today's politicians and tomorrow's politicians no choice but to pursue the path of low inflation to which we are so clearly committed".

  The latest minutes of the 8 June meeting were published on 20 July.

  Retail Prices Index
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing his current estimate of the effect on the retail prices index of(a) a reduction of three percentage points on mortgage interest rates and (b) on the nominal exchange rate of 10 per cent. on a trade-weighted basis.

  Mr. Nelson
  A reduction in mortgage interest rates of three percentage points would contribute about -1·8 percentage points to the all items retail prices index.
  430
  The effect on the RPI of a change in the exchange rate depends on the circumstances in which it occurs. It is not possible to give a single estimate.

  Imports and Exports
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 1 July,Official Report, column 758, what assessment he has made of the factors which account for (a) the change in the level of exports to the rest of the EC of consumer goods including passenger motor cars in the three years to 1991 and the subsequent change to the first quarter of 1994 and (b) the corresponding increases of exports to the rest of the world: how the figures for the three months ended April differ from his forecasts since September 1992; and what were the corresponding changes in the volume of imports and in United Kingdom output of the consumer goods industries, and the figures for April.

  Mr. Clarke
  As discussed in the Treasury's summer economic forecast, export and import levels are affected by a number of factors including world trade, domestic demand and competitiveness. Forecasts are not made separately for trade with other EC countries and with non-EC countries, nor for consumer goods including passenger motor cars.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has available on the effect of differing degrees of devaluation on the share of imports in the United Kingdom market.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  City (Earnings)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the increase in bonuses paid in the City in 1994 had on the increase in average earnings; and what proposals he has to restrict such bonuses.

  Mr. Nelson
  The large rise in bonuses in the financial sector in the first quarter of 1994 contributed to the rise in whole economy underlying average earnings growth, but it is not possible to say by exactly how much. Underlying average earnings growth has since fallen back, from 4 per cent. in March to 3⅔ per cent. in April and May.

  Bonus payments are a matter for individual firms and their employees.

  VAT Tribunals
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information he has regarding diverging standards of proof required by VAT tribunals in England and Scotland in respect of the evidence required to establish error for purposes of imposing civil penalties; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The VAT tribunals are independent bodies. Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are not aware of any diverging standards of proof required by them.

  Exchange Rates
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the percentage change for the United Kingdom and each EC country in imports and exports to the EC in terms of value in dollar terms together with(a) the average exchange rate against the dollar, (b) the increase in producer prices and (c) the increase in current or average value for September 1992 to the latest available date.

  Mr. Nelson
  The data on exchange rates and trade are given in the EUROSTAT publication "Eurostatistics, Data for Short-term Economic Analysis", published monthly. Producer prices are published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in "Main Economic Indicators", also published monthly.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (1) pursuant to his answer of 4 July,Official Report, columns 13–14, what account he takes of overall living standards in deciding his objectives for exchange rate and competitiveness policies in relation to the total output and employment;

  (2) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, columns 13–14, through what mechanism a sustained growth in output and employment may be combined with the elimination of the balance of payments deficit other than through a fall in the exchange rate to a more competitive level;

  (3) what assessment he has made of the contribution made by exchange rate changes to the change in export levels to other EC countries since February 1993;

  (4) what evidence he has about the effect of excluding rates in the United Kingdom's levels of production, export, import, investment and employment;

  (5) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, column 14, concerning the exchange rate and competitiveness, what effect he expects output and employment of recessions in the EEC and other industrial countries to have on his policies; and what evidence he draws from other countries that his policies will have the effects intended;

  (6) what evidence he has on the effect of falls in the nominal exchange rate which have not resulted in a Fall in the real exchange rate have raised the rate of inflation: and what is the mechanism by which a fall in the nominal rate unaccompanied by a fall in the real rate results in a higher rate of inflation;

  (7) what is the Government's policy on the extent to which interest rates and the rate of exchange can fall in order to reduce import penetration of the United Kingdom market for consumer goods;

  (8) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, columns 13–14, whether he regards as inflationary for the purposes of monetary and exchange rate policy the increase in rail fares as shown in the retail prices index since (a) January 1987 and (b) August 1992; and how much of the increase in each case was due to a (i) reduction in Government subsidies and (ii) an increase in unit labour costs;

  (9) in which periods since 1970 falls in the nominal exchange rate have been greater than that required to compensate for an increase in the general level of prices; and what evidence he has that such falls in the real exchange rate have been inflationary.

  (10) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, columns 13–14, what assessment he has made of the effect
  432
  of consumer prices and on the balance of visible trade of the fall in and real value of (a) the Italian lira and (b) the pound sterling against the ecu and other currencies since August 1992; if he will publish a table showing for Italy and the United Kingdom (i) the fall since August 1992 in the nominal exchange rate against the ecu and other currencies, (ii) the increase in the latest period of 12 months in producer and in consumer prices, (iii) the increase since August 1992 in import and export unit values for total trade and for manufactures and (iv) the balance of visible trade each year from 1990 and the current year to date at an annual rate;

  (11) what comparison he has made between the effects of exchange rates on inflation in Italy and the United Kingdom since September 1992;

  (12) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, column 14, concerning the exchange rate and competitiveness, what effect he expects his policies to have on the share of manufacturing in gross domestic product; and what this share was in 1964, 1973, 1979, 1989 and at the latest available date;

  (13) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, columns 13–14, what assessment he has made of the effect on the United States and United Kingdom economies of the fall in real interest rates and in the nominal exchange rate for the dollar since August 1992; and if he will publish a table showing for the United Kingdom and the United States of America the reduction in real interest rates and the nominal exchange since August 1992 and the increase since 1992 in (a) real GDP, (b) manufacturing output, (c) unit wage costs in manufacturing, (d) producer prices, (e) employment and (f) the percentage rate of unemployment;

  (14) what is his estimate of the reduction in unit labour costs in the import-competing and export industries required to reduce or increase the real value of sterling to its current nominal value: and what is his forecast of the likely effect of such a reduction on output and employment in those industries;

  (15) if he will list the industrial countries whose trade-weighted real rate of exchange for manufactured goods has appreciated more since the second half of 1973 than that of the United Kingdom, as measured by (a) the terms of trade for manufactures, (b) relative producer prices and (c) relative export unit values;

  (16) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, columns 13–14, whether he regards as inflationary for the purposes of monetary and exchange rate policy increases in the retail price of beer, wines and spirits and tobacco; what was the increase in retail prices in each case since (a) January 1987 and (b) August 1992; and how much of the increase was due to increases in (i) taxation, (ii) unit labour costs in production and (iii) unit labour costs in distribution.

  (17) what assessment the Government made before joining the ERM of the effect on output and employment in manufacturing industry; and what was the actual outcome for the period considered;

  (18) further to his written reply dated 4 July, c. 13–14, concerning the exchange rate and competitiveness, in what respects his monetary and exchange rate policies have changed since October 1989;

  (19) what evidence he has of the effect of changes in the exchange rate have been greater than that required to compensate for an increase in the general level of prices; and what evidence he has that falls in the real exchange rate have been inflationary.
  433
  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Corporation Tax
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many draft version CT200 Inland Revenue corporation tax returns have been printed; and at what cost to public funds.

  Sir George Young
  The Inland Revenue produced three versions of the corporation tax return CT 200 which consisted of the original sample; modified samples which were circulated for comment to the professional bodies; and the first issue during 1993–94. A total of 2,193,050 were produced at a cost of £542,696 excluding VAT.

  Competitiveness
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect his policy on competitiveness will have on the rate of increase of the real incomes before tax of the top and bottom deciles of incomes.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Government policies are focused on improving incentives, encouraging enterprise and helping to create a well-educated, highly skilled labour force. That is the best way to ensure rising incomes for all.

  Attending

  Chancellor of the Exchequer

  Indonesia and the Philippines—January 1994

  Trade Mission

  Switzerland—January 1994

  World Economic Forum Meeting

  Germany—February 1994

  G7 Meeting

  France—February 1994

  Bilateral talks with French Government

  Belgium—February 1994

  ECOFIN

  United States of America—March 1994

  Jobs Conference

  Belgium—arch 1994

  ECOFIN

  Sweden—March 1994

  Speech engagement

  Greece—April 1994

  Informal ECOFIN

  Poland—April 1994

  Bilateral talks with Polish Government

  Russia—April 1994

  EBRD Annual Meetings

  United States of America—April 1994

  IMF Spring Meetings

  Belgium—May 1994

  ECOFIN

  Luxembourg—June 1994

  ECOFIN

  France—June 1994

  OECD

  Greece—June 1994

  European Council

  Germany—June 1994

  Bilateral talks with German Government

  Chief Secretary

  Brazil—March 1994

  Trade Mission

  Chile—March 1994

  Representing United Kingdom Government at inauguration of new President

  Spain—June 1994

  Speaking engagements

  Economic Secretary

  United States of America—May 1994

  Trade Mission

  Japan—May 1994

  Trilateral Meetings

  None of these visits involved fund-raising activities for the Conservative party.

  European Structural Fund
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements have been made to ensure that structural fund resources are being made available now to national and local agencies and under(a) objective 2 and (b) objective 3.

  Industrial Output
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 4 July,Official Report, column 14, which industries he expects to increase their share of gross domestic product within the framework provided by his policies.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fund-raising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The overseas visits made by Treasury Ministers between January and June 1994 are listed below:

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  These arrangements are the responsibility of the President of the Board of Trade and of the Secretary of State for Employment respectively.

  Share Dividends
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of personal wealth is attributed to dividends in each of the last 15 years;

  (2) what proportion of distributed dividends by companies has been paid to (a) individual shareholders and (b) institutions in each of the last 15 years;
  435
  (3) what was the ratio of distributed dividends to retained profits in companies of the last 15 years in (a) the United States of America, (b) Japan, (c) Germany, (d) Canada, (e) France, (d) Italy, (f) Hong Kong and (g) the United Kingdom.

  (4) what are the figures for distributed dividends by private companies as a percentage of after-tax earnings in each of the last 15 years.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 5 July,Official Report, column 107, what is the geographic breakdown of the payments; what is the approximate value of the assets against which these claims are being made; what amounts of these payments are going to residents of (a) Switzerland, (b) the Channel Islands and (c) offshore tax havens; what estimate he makes of the extent to which these payments are being made to corporations or trusts whose ultimate beneficiary or owner is resident in the United Kingdom; what is the total value of dividends or other payments in the United Kingdom, for each of the years given in his answer; and what proportions of overall tax credits are represented by the figures he gives in his answer, for each of the years given.

  Sir Kenneth Clarke
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Capital Gains Tax
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the probable loss of capital gains tax arising from the foreign ownership of United Kingdom assets involved in transactions each year from 1981 to 1993–4; and if he will estimate the volume of United Kingdom assets in foreign ownership in which transactions occurred for each of these years.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The information on which to base reliable estimates is not available.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the loss to the Exchequer in each year since 1981 from non-payment of capital gains tax on capital gains accruing to(a) United Kingdom residents and (b) foreign claimants on offshore tax havens.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  The figures for uncollected capital gains tax for each year since 1981 are as follows:

  Year

  Amount in thousands

  1981

  2,734

  1982

  4,868

  1983

  6,496

  1984

  5,998

  1985

  7,562

  1986

  10,064

  1987

  8,822

  1988

  12,680

  1989

  10,864

  1990

  12,002

  1991

  29,721

  1992

  57,836

  436
  Information is not available to break down the figures between United Kingdom residents and foreign claimants.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those reports and studies made or commissioned by his Department into the loss of capital gains tax arising from foreign ownership of United Kingdom assets since 1981; and if he will list each of those occasions when the Inland Revenue has requested a study of the potential loss of capital gains tax arising from foreign ownership of United Kingdom assets.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  We have made no such studies.

  Inflation
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what distinction he draws in measuring inflation and assessing its importance between demand-pull, cost-push, leading-sector and asset inflation; how he assesses the damage done by each form; and if he will publish figures giving the relative impact of each form of inflation for each year between 1980 and 1990;

  (2) pursuant to his answer of 4 July, Official Report, columns 13–14, if he regards as inflationary for the purposes of monetary and exchange rate policy the increase in the retail price of personal articles between August 1992 and May 1994 as shown in the retail prices index; what kind of articles were covered; and how much of the increase was due to increases in labour unit costs in production and distribution, respectively.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has from the monetary experience of individual countries of a link between increases in the money supply and the rate of inflation; what assessment he has made of the direction of any causal link; and if he will publish his evidence.

  Mr. Nelson
  It is the role of monetary policy to deliver the Government's inflation objective. Monetary policy influences inflation with a lag; the assessment of prospects for inflation in one or two years' time is based on a range of indicators and other data. Two of the main indicators are narrow and broad measures of the money supply. MO has proved a reliable indicator, primarily to signal current trends in the economy rather than to warn of future changes. M4 and its components and counterparts, such as lending by banks and building societies, contain important information on monetary conditions. However, experience indicates that the relationship between these aggregates and future inflation cannot always be relied upon.

  Domestic Credit
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what considerations underlie his preference for the use of monetary targets instead of domestic credit as a measure of inflationary risk; and if he will publish a table showing the expansion of domestic credit each year since 1979 as a percentage of money gross domestic product along with the the actual increase in the measure of the money supply that he uses in measuring inflation and assessing its impact.
  437
  Mr. Nelson
  Monetary policy decisions are based on an assessment of a range of monetary indicators and other data, in particular the growth of narrow and broad money and movements in the exchange rate and asset prices.

  Domestic credit expansion statistics are no longer collected. Statistics covering MO, M4 and its counterparts are published monthly by the Bank of England in "Monetary Statistics"; a longer run of data is contained in the Bank of England "Statistical Abstract", part 2. Gross Domestic Product data are included in table 2 of "Economic Trends", June 1994.

  VAT Headquarters
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are currently employed at the VAT headquarters building at the Queens dock, Liverpool.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  Currently 752 staff are based in the building and 490 customs regional HQ and operational staff will move into the building in September 1994.

  The change of emphasis from a pure HQ building to a mixed HQ and operational building has created a need to provide space for facilities for public callers, VAT traders and shipping agents from September 1994.

  The space not required by customs has been re-allocated to the Charity Commission by Property Holdings, the managers of the Government's estate. The Charity Commission intends to move 236 staff into the building in November 1994.

  Company Profits
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the figures for retained after-tax profits by companies in each of the last 15 years.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Wealth Creation
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of under-utilisation of the nation's wealth-creating capacity of the costs of this under-utilisation.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government's latest assessment of the degree of spare capacity is set out in paragraphs 1.58 and 1.59 of the "Summer Economic Forecast 1994", published on 28 June. The summer forecast also predicted that real GDP growth of 2¾ per cent. this year would continue at the same rate next year, accompanied by low inflation.

  Overseas Residents (Assets)
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has for the value of United Kingdom assets owned by residents of(a) Jersey, (b) Isle of Man, (c) Guernsey and (d) Switzerland.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Isle of Dogs
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether 100 per cent. capital allowances are still allowable on properties bought unused or within two years of use in the Isle of Dogs enterprise zone; and if he will estimate the revenue forgone in the 1993–94 financial year by the relaxations in enterprise allowances announced on 16 December 1991.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Prepared Meals
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the percentage change in the price of prepared meals between August 1992 and May 1994; and how much of the increase was due to the increases in common agricultural policy and other food prices and how much to an increase in unit labour costs.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Companies' Capital Needs
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the capital needs of companies have been met by(a) equity, (b) short-term bank finance, (c) term debt and (d) preference shares in each of the last 15 years.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Rents
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the change in rent as measured for the retail prices index since(a) January 1987 and (b) August 1992 distinguishing between local government, housing association, central Government and private rents.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Industrial Output
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's policy on increasing output in the principal import-competing and export industries; and what steps he is taking to achieve it.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Companies (Rights Issues)
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the amount of capital raised by companies in the form of rights issues in each of the last 15 years.
  439
  Mr. Nelson
  The amount raised in rights issued by companies quoted on the official list of the London stock exchange and on the unlisted securities market is as follows:

  Listed United Kingdom and Irish

  Year

  Number

  Proceeds (£ million)

  1979

  97

  974·267

  1980

  95

  1,059·785

  1981

  108

  1,971·974

  1982

  75

  901·707

  1983

  134

  2,007·043

  1984

  113

  1,674·182

  1985

  135

  4,054·753

  1986

  194

  5,618·673

  1987

  215

  8,452·950

  1988

  132

  5,745·810

  1989

  117

  4,604·129

  1990

  101

  4,890·901

  1991

  158

  10,133·388

  1992

  74

  4,134·339

  1993

  171

  11,377·609

  1994

  85

  4,715·607

  Unlisted Securities Market

  1980

  1

  1·456

  1981

  4

  9·296

  1982

  5

  12·132

  1983

  24

  81·231

  1984

  19

  66·394

  1985

  26

  127·450

  1986

  32

  109·646

  1987

  52

  404·114

  1988

  37

  277·757

  1989

  53

  316·397

  1990

  42

  348·833

  1991

  28

  139·360

  1992

  21

  94·078

  1993

  22

  70·686

  1994

  17

  102·162

  Source: London Stock Exchange

  Manufacturing
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the share of manufacturing in gross domestic product in 1974, 1979, 1986, 1990 and at the latest available date; and what is his estimate of the level of the share needed to balance Britain's trade in manufactured goods;

  (2) by how much output in the metal, metal product and mechanical engineering industries has changed since 1986; and what is his assessment of the extent to which this was affected by changes in the exchange rate.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Price Stability
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the economic benefits arising from making price stability the objective of monetary policy.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Economic Growth
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what annual rate of economic growth he regards as unsustainable in considering the case for higher interest rates and a higher exchange rate.

  Mr. Nelson
  There is no particular rate of economic growth which would trigger off change in interest rates. It is the role of monetary policy to deliver low inflation. Monetary policy decisions are based on an assessment of a range of monetary indicators and other data, in particular the growth of narrow and broad money and movements in the exchange rate and assets prices. Estimates of the extent of spare capacity in the economy are also taken into account. The minutes of the monthly meetings of the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss monetary policy are now published. The latest minutes of the 8 June meeting were published on 20 July.

  Shareholders
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's policy on corporate government by shareholders; and if he will ensure that any proposals for the reform of stock exchange transactions do not prevent small private shareholders from holding share certificates and receiving automatically all documents relating to company business at the same time as they are received by corporate shareholders without incurring additional costs.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government recognise the importance of shareholders being able to participate appropriately in the government of the companies in which they hold shares. The stock exchange introduced rolling settlement on Monday, 18 July. Initially, settlement will be 10 days after the transaction, with a possible reduction to five days in 1995. Some market makers have stated that they will offer settlement on non-standard terms to shareholders who keep their share certificates. This will enable those shareholders to keep their own names on the company register and hence to receive all documents relating to company business direct from the company at no cost and at the same time as other shareholders.

  Endangered Species
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many seizures of parts of endangered animals were made in the United Kingdom during 1992 and 1993; and how many of these seizures were in connection with their use as components of traditional Chinese or far eastern medicine.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  There were 345 seizures of such goods in 1992 and 178 in 1993 by HM Customs arid Excise. Two of the 1992 seizures and 12 of the 1993 seizures were of far eastern goods claimed to have medicinal properties.

  Coffee
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the percentage change in the retail price of coffee since August 1992; and what further change may be expected as a result of the increase in the world price of coffee beans this year to date.
  441
  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to the hon. Member shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Earnings
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 12 July if he will now give the information on the ratio of the direct cost of employment to take-home pay for each year since 1964 of a person on two-thirds or twice average earnings requested without pensions contributions.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide a substantive answer before the summer recess. I shall write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Intimidation, Newtownabbey
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many cases of intimidation have been reported in Newtownabbey in each of the last five years; and how many cases have resulted in forced change of address.

  Sir John Wheeler
  I shall write to the hon. Gentleman.

  Table 1 Proportionate religion breakdown of heads of household in Northern Ireland

  Households owning their own accommodation

  1 Households renting their accommodation from a public authority

  Households renting their accommodation from a housing assocation or charitable trust

  Total number

  330,198

  155,817

  8,405

  Population proportion

  1

  1

  1

  Roman Catholic number

  101,355

  59,686

  2,371

  Proportion

  0·3070

  0·3831

  0·2821

  Presbytarian number

  86,279

  28,962

  1,859

  Proportion

  0·2613

  0·1859

  0·2212

  Church of Ireland number

  61,019

  34,321

  1,961

  Proportion

  0·1848

  0·2203

  0·2333

  Methodist number

  14,751

  5,625

  486

  Proportion

  0·0447

  0·0361

  0·0578

  Other denominations number

  28,090

  10,379

  819

  Proportion

  0·0851

  0·0666

  0·0974

  None number

  15,766

  5,557

  385

  Proportion

  0·0477

  0·0357

  0·0458

  Not stated number

  22,938

  11,287

  524

  Proportion

  0·0695

  0·0724

  0·0623

  1 For example, Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

  Housing
  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on policy appraisal and fair treatment with regard to the application of relevant principles and procedures in the context of the housing policy review.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  The Government are committed to securing equality of opportunity and equity of treatment for all people in Northern Ireland through the elimination of unlawful discrimination and the promotion of fair treatment.

  The policy appraisal and fair treatment principles will be taken into account throughout the period of the housing policy review. Comments have been invited from a wide range of housing interests including constitutional political parties, public bodies, the voluntary sector and disabled groups.

  Existing policies and any new policies arising from the housing policy review will be subject to the PAFT principles and procedures.

  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the proportionate religious breakdown of heads of household in Northern Ireland who are(a) owner occupiers, (b) Housing Executive tenants and (c) housing association tenants; and what is the breakdown for the population as a whole.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information requested is shown in the tables.
  443

  Table 2 Proportionate religion breakdown of Northern Ireland usually resident population

  Religion

  Number

  Proportion

  Total population

  1,577,836

  1·0000

  Roman Catholic

  605,639

  0·3838

  Presbyterian

  336,891

  0·2135

  Church of Ireland

  279,280

  0·1770

  Methodist

  59,517

  0·0377

  Other denomination

  122,448

  0·0776

  None

  59,234

  0·0375

  Not stated

  114,827

  0·0728

  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportions of(a) Housing Executive and (b) housing association tenants are in receipt of (i) housing benefit and (ii) maximum housing benefit.

  Mr. Ancram
  The proportion of Housing Executive tenants receiving housing benefit is 73 per cent. or 110,331; 55 per cent. or 82,660 receive maximum housing benefit.

  Information in respect of housing association tenants could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Agricultural Workers
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his latest estimate of the total number of persons whose pay and conditions are covered by the Agricultural wages board in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Ancram
  The latest estimate is approximately 9,265 persons.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his latest estimate of the number of persons whose pay and conditions are covered by the Agricultural Wages Board in Northern Ireland, for each county of Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Ancram
  The latest estimate per county is as follows:

  Numbers

  Antrim

  1,975

  Armagh

  1,206

  Down

  2,182

  Fermanagh

  644

  Londonderry

  1,453

  Tyrone

  1,805

  Department of the Environment
  Sir James Kilfedder
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about possible executive ageny status for the works service of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  The Government have decided that the works service of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland should be considered as a candidate for executive agency status, under the "next steps" initiative. A prior options study will be undertaken to establish whether agency status or other options would be appropriate. I would welcome comment from interested parties. Comments should be sent by 31 August 1994 to:444

  The Secretary

  Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland

  Works service

  Churchill house

  Victoria square

  Belfast

  BT1 4QW

  Valuation and Lands Agency
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what performance targets have been set for the Valuation and Lands Agency in 1994–95.

  Sir John Wheeler
  For 1994–95 the following key performance targets have been set for the agency:

  1. To complete 44,600 rating cases, equivalent to 27,000 work units.

  2. To complete 21,750 client service cases, equivalent to 23,500 work units.

  3. To achieve a productivity for case working valuers of 304 work units.

  To achieve a productivity for all staff of 160 work units.

  4. To achieve at least a 3·0 per cent. efficiency saving on the 1993–94 out-turn.

  To reduce the unit cost of casework by 3 per cent. in real terms.

  5. To issue 93 per cent. of certificates for rating cases subject to backdating within 12 months of the events giving rise to revisions of the valuation list.

  To achieve a standard in rating valuations such that 86 per cent. of those determined on appeal are within plus or minus 10 per cent. of the initial assessment.

  To complete 70 per cent. of rating appeals within six months of receipt.

  To complete 93 per cent. of a representative sample of client services casework within agreed time limits.

  Full details are set out in the agency's corporate and business plans, copies of which are being placed in the Library of the House.

  Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatry
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many beds designated for adolescent psychiatry there were in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979 and at the last date.

  Mr. Ancram
  [pursuant to his reply, 17 June 1994, column 678]: In Northern Ireland the average number of beds in the child and adolescent psychiatry specialty has been 20 in each year since 1981 to December 1993, with the exception of 1982 when the average was 21. Information on the child and adolescent psychiatry specialty was not collected prior to 1981.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the most common forms of mental illness for children and teenagers; and what was their incidence in Northern Ireland in the period 1979 to 1993.

  Mr. Ancram
  [pursuant to his reply, 17 June 1994, columns 678–9]: The number of cases of adjustment reaction in 1992–3 was 60 and not 46 as originally stated.

  Health Service Staff
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the latest figures and list for each of the last four years by region the number of(a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives, (d) health visitors, (e) administration and clerical staff and (f) managers.
  445
  Mr. Ancram
  The information requested is set out in the tables for the four health and social services boards, the National Board for Nursing and Midwifery and the Central Services Agency.

  Medical staff

  Nursing staff

  Midwifery staff

  Health visiting staff

  Combined administrative and clerical and managerial staff

  Year

  September

  March

  March

  March

  March

  Eastern health and social services board

  1990

  984

  9,388

  52

  125

  3,377

  1991

  955

  9,123

  55

  137

  3,474

  1992

  1,008

  8,739

  56

  192

  3,837

  1993

  n/a

  8,257

  59

  211

  3,981

  1994

  n/a

  7,361

  57

  181

  3,784

  Northern health and social services board

  1990

  215

  2,719

  44

  87

  1,242

  1991

  226

  2,675

  42

  86

  1,332

  1992

  236

  2,647

  34

  90

  1,435

  1993

  n/a

  2,574

  32

  89

  1,501

  1994

  n/a

  2,497

  38

  87

  1,570

  Western health and social services board

  1990

  190

  2,831

  54

  58

  891

  1991

  196

  2,795

  47

  74

  970

  1992

  199

  2,755

  46

  71

  980

  1993

  n/a

  2,711

  43

  66

  1,116

  1994

  n/a

  2,426

  44

  64

  1,072

  Southern health and social services board

  1990

  190

  2,665

  24

  78

  928

  1991

  193

  2,627

  12

  54

  975

  1992

  204

  2,534

  15

  81

  1,019

  1993

  n/a

  2,580

  24

  82

  1,113

  1994

  n/a

  2,391

  19

  86

  1,063

  National board for nursing and midwifery

  1990

  —

  297

  —

  —

  95

  1991

  —

  294

  —

  —

  101

  1992

  —

  302

  —

  —

  95

  1993

  —

  308

  —

  —

  112

  1994

  —

  284

  —

  —

  91

  Central services agency

  1990

  —

  —

  —

  —

  386

  1991

  —

  —

  —

  —

  413

  1992

  —

  —

  —

  —

  427

  1993

  —

  —

  —

  —

  413

  1994

  —

  —

  —

  —

  477

  Notes:

  1. Total whole time equivalent staffing employed in the Northern Ireland health and personal social services.

  2. Nursing staffing figures exclude nursing staff working in the midwifery and health visiting specialties.

  3. Project 2000 student nurses excluded from nurse staffing levels as they are not employees.

  4. Midwifery and health visiting staffing levels include all grades of nursing staff working in these specialties.

  5. Figures for 1993 and 1994 have not yet been collated.

  6. Figures include staff involved in patient-related duties eg. ward clerks.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.
  446
  The Attorney-General
  The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the United Kingdom economy. Government help small firms by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislation and administrative burdens. They also provide direct assistance where appropriate and are currently establishing a network of business links to provide high-quality business support across the country.

  The Departments for which I am responsible are the legal secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office. The services provided by the first two are largely internal to Government. The functions of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office relate purely to the criminal justice system.
  447
  As regards purchasing, all the Departments have regard to the desirability of encouraging small businesses in line with the policy of the Government as a whole. However, no specific programmes of support and assistance operate in the Departments for which I am responsible.

  Prosecutions
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions in each of the last three years the Crown Prosecution Service has determined against a prosecution on reasons relating to the publicity of the case being sufficient punishment(a) partially and (b) wholly in (i) Wales and (ii) England.

  The Solicitor-General
  Each case is considered on its individual merits in accordance with the criteria laid down in the code for Crown prosecutors. The most common public interest factors affecting the decision whether to prosecute are set out in the code. Adverse publicity is not mentioned.

  In some limited circumstances, the consequences for the offender of the misconduct may be a relevant but not conclusive public interest factor in the decision. However, no statistics are maintained by the CPS as to the numbers of such cases.

  Ferranti/ISC
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Attorney-General (1) if he will make a statement on the factors which led to no charges being brought by the United Kingdom authorities against any individual following the fraud at Ferranti International Signal and Control. in 1989;

  (2) what action he took following the disclosure to his Department of the relationship between International Signal and Control and (a) South Africa, (b) Chile and (c) Iraq;

  (3) what action he took following the disclosure by the Ferranti chairman that his company had been defrauded in 1989; what action he took to secure the records of ISC in west London after the disclosure of fraud in 1989; and what action he has taken following the conclusion by the United States courts that the original flotation of ISC in London in 1982 was fraudulent.

  The Solicitor-General
  I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to him yesterday by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General. It is my policy not to divulge operational details relating to criminal investigations carried out by the Serious Fraud Office.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Broadcasting
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has to introduce a code of conduct for the members of the Broadcasting Council for Wales specifying the proper mode for making declarations of interest on areas where conflicts of interest arise.

  Mr. Sproat
  None. This is a matter for the BBC.

  Channel 5
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he expects to seek international clearance for the additional frequencies for Channel 5;448
  which areas not covered by the cleared frequency plan are expected to be covered by these additional frequencies arid using which channels; and when these frequencies have received clearance, what coverage Channel 5 should then have.

  Mr. Sproat
  International clearance for the additional frequencies for an analogue Channel 5 service will be sought by the Radiocommunications Agency on the basis of detailed proposals prepared by the Independent Television Commission. The Government believe that it should be possible to assign frequencies for Channel 5 to reach more than 60 per cent. of the population. The Government intend that a successful Channel 5 applicant would also have the option to simulcast the service digitally to around 80 per cent. or perhaps more than 90 per cent. of the population.

  Planning Guidance
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the planning policy guidance note on historic buildings and conservation areas will be published.

  Mr. Sproat
  I expect PPG15, now entitled "Planning and the Historic Environment", to be published and issued during August.

  A list of the responses received to last year's consultation paper will be placed in the Library in due course.

  The detailed legal instruments relating to listed building and conservation area matters will not form part of the PPG, but will be issued later as soon as the necessary consultations have been completed.

  British Paralympic Association
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what public funding is given to the British Paralympic Association; what assessment he has made of whether disabled athletes are adequately consulted by its administrators and have opportunities, on the basis of ability, to participate in the administration of the Association; what consultation his Department has had with organisations of disabled people on the statement from the association on the absence of people with disabilities who are able to serve it in an administrative post; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sproat
  A condition of the Sports Council's 1994–95 grant of £100,000 to the British Paralympic Association is that the BPA should not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their disability. The detailed implementation of this requirement is a matter for the BPA. I am aware that the association has an athletes' committee comprising disabled athletes which has voting status on the BPA's National Paralympic Committee. In addition, a number of other members of this committee and two of the BPA's directors are disabled.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated
  449
  in fundraising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Canada Geese
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many Canada geese have been culled in St. James's park in the last two years; how they were culled; by whom and at what time of the day; and what happened to the carcases.

  Mr. Sproat
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

  Kensington Palace
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 14 July 1994,Official Report, column 705, on accommodation for Mr. Peat at Kensington palace, who made the decision to allocate specific accommodation to Mr. Peat and to his deputy; if fees were incurred for each category of expenditure; under which percentage the reduction of salary is assessed in each case and on what rate these levels were set; what consideratoin led to the allocation of identical sums for different sized apartments; which other officials of the royal household have accommodation in this section of Kensington palace; and if the salaries of Mr. Peat and his deputy are charged against grant-in-aid.

  Mr. Sproat
  I regret that it has not been possible to provide an answer before the summer recess. I shall therefore write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement on the achievements of the Commission in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which the Commission monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. Beith
  The House of Commons Commission has a policy of competitive tendering which is broadly in line with that of the civil service. Any company, irrespective of size, capable of meeting the stated requirements is free to put in a tender for work or for the provision of goods and services required by the House.

  The House does not keep records of the size of supplier companies.

  Clerk's Department
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what is the current salary and grade of officers of the House serving the five domestic Committees set up by Standing Order No. 125; how many Clerks there are in the Department of the Clerk of the House; and what is the total annual salary bill.

  Mr. Beith
  Three officers serve the five domestic Committees, one grade 4 and two grade 7. Their salaries total £131,900 p.a. There are 61 Clerks in the Department of the Clerk of the House. The total annual salary bill for the Clerk's Department, including all support staff but excluding the Vote Office, was £5·1 million for last year.

  Exhibitions
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Open university to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

  Mr. Michael J. Martin
  I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 24 October to Friday 28 October.

  Mr. Knapman
  To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has considered an application for an exhibition relating to the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

  Mr. Michael J. Martin
  I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 19 December to Friday 23 December.

ENVIRONMENT

  Sabrina Bridge, Worcester
  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will investigate the procedures used by Worcester city council in(a) deciding to construct and (b) offering the tender for the new cycle and footbridge over the River Severn, now known as the Sabrina bridge; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Tree Preservation
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish his plans for a review of law regarding tree preservation orders; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  My Department and the Welsh Office issued a consultation paper "Review of Tree Preservation Policies and Legislation", in December 1990, setting out the Government's proposals for reforming the law relating to tree preservation orders in England and Wales. Some 312 responses were received from a broad range of
  451
  interests including local authorities, environment and amenity groups, farmers and landowners, arboriculturists, utility companies, and members of the public. Copies have been placed in my Department's library.

  The continued use of the tree preservation order as a means of protecting trees, groups of trees and woodlands in the interests of amenity was supported by most respondents. The Government agree that the system has proved its worth over the years, and have decided that local authorities' present powers to make tree preservation orders in respect of trees and woodlands would be retained. We have considered calls from some respondents who consider that tree preservation orders should provide not only for the protection of trees but for their management. The Government recognise the importance of encouraging the proper management of trees, particularly in woodlands but does not consider that the present system precludes local authorities from promoting the continued management of protected trees in their areas. We therefore do not think that it is necessary to impose new requirements either on tree owners or local authorities.

  The Government's conclusions, which I am laying before the House today, set out three broad aims.

  Our first aim is to streamline the administration of the system and bring flexibility to the way it is operated. The present form of tree preservation order, which is long and complex, would be replaced by a shorter, simpler document. The present exemption to deal with protected trees which cause a nuisance would be clarified; and codes of practice would be introduced to promote the sensitive management of trees by statutory undertakers and utility companies in consultation with local authorities. Local authorities would be given discretion in determining the location of trees which are planted to replace protected trees; and the present requirement to replace protected trees which have been removed in woodlands would be simplified.

  Our second aim is to ensure that the system continues to recognise the interests of the tree owner. Rights to compensation for loss or damage incurred as a result of local authorities' decisions on applications to carry out works to protected trees would be clarified. A local authority's ability to make tree preservation orders over areas of trees other than in woodlands would be limited, and provision would be made for existing area orders to lapse after a suitable transitional period. Furthermore, in the light of responses to the consultation paper, we have decided against bringing forward proposals to repeal the tree owner's right to object to the making of a tree preservation order, and against giving local authorities new powers to require the tree owner to carry out, and pay for, remedial works to protected trees.

  The Government's third aim is to ensure that local authorities have adequate powers to bring effective action against abusers of the system. The present offence of "wilful" destruction or damage of protected trees would be replaced by an offence based on recklessness. We would clarify that a person who "causes or permits" the unauthorised destruction or damage of protected trees is also guilty of the offence. The present exemption which allows the cutting down of dying trees which are the subject of tree preservation orders would be repealed, and although the exemption to carry out work on protected trees which have become dangerous would be retained, this would be subject to a new requirement to show that the work was limited to the minimum measures necessary. A
  452
  new offence for failing to comply with a tree replacement notice would also be created. However, new powers would not be introduced enabling local authorities to regulate the planting and maintenance of replacement trees.

  The Government believe that these measures would improve the tree preservation order system in a way that would meet the public's desire for effective measures to protect key trees and woodlands in the interests of amenity, without placing unnecessary restrictions on the rights of the citizen.

  A paper setting out each of the Government's conclusions in more detail, and a list of all those who responded to the consultation paper, have been placed in the Library of the House. The current pressures on the parliamentary timetable mean that there is no prospect in the immediate future of introducing the necessary legislation to enact these changes. In the interim therefore the current system will be retained.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. Curry
  The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the United Kingdom economy. Government help small firms by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislation arid administrative burdens. They also provide direct assistance where appropriate and are currently establishing a network of business links to provide high-quality business support across the country.

  The Government brought together in April the regional offices of four Departments—Environment, Trade arid Industry, Transport and Employment—to form the Government offices for the regions. These will strengthen the co-ordination of programmes and policies locally and ensure that businesses have one port of call.

  The Government's regeneration initiatives are being simplified by the introduction of the single regeneration budget which will benefit small firms by encouraging sustainable economic growth by improving the competitiveness of the local economy. We will continue under the SRB to monitor existing programmes, including measures relevant to businesses, and to publish results.

  English Partnerships has been established and is tackling the problems of urban regeneration in co-operation with the private sector and other agencies.

  The Rural Development Commission, sponsored by my Department, continues to provide advice and other assistance to small businesses in rural areas. On 14 February the Government announced a new competition, rural challenge, to be adminstered by the RDC. This will award six prizes of £1 million to innovative rural development projects. These will benefit small businesses by giving a boost to social and economic development in our smaller towns and villages.

  The Department introduced the Non-Domestic Rating Act 1993 to honour the Chancellor of the Exchequer's March 1993 Budget pledge to freeze rate rises for

  453
  businesses in real terms under the non-domestic rating transitional arrangements for the second year running. Following the November 1993 Budget, the Non-Domestic Rating Act 1994 then halved transitional rate rises for 1994–95, cutting them from 15 per cent. to 7·5 per cent. in real terms for small businesses. Small businesses with mixed domestic and business premises had their increases frozen for a third year.

  In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, we have set up a review into the organisation of enforcement functions of local authorities with the aim of minimising the costs to business as well as reducing inconsistencies in enforcement. We expect to publish the results later this year.

  My Department's Energy Efficiency Office continues to provide grants under the energy management assistance scheme to help smaller businesses reduce their energy costs. Over the past 12 months almost 3,500 grants, averaging about £450 each, have been paid to small manufacturing and commercial enterprises.

  My Department has continued to work with DTI to support a programme designed to raise awareness of environmental issues among small firms and give them practical help and guidance on improving their environmental performance. This is in response to a recommendation from our advisory committee on business and the environment. Over the past 12 months we have made progress on both aspects of this programme—support for local green business clubs and for sectoral projects. Four further green business clubs have been launched with our support—in Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton and the London borough of Sutton. My Department has commissioned external research to evaluate how effective the clubs are in improving the environmental performance of small businesses in their locality. We have also started to support an initiative in the leather industry, working in partnership with the British Leather Confederation, to raise awareness and promulgate best practice among the many small businesses in that sector. Over the next year we will continue to fund this programme and to monitor the impact that it has on environmental awareness, attitudes and behaviour among small firms.

  In the competitiveness White Paper my Department committed itself to working with the DTI to review the procedures for alerting small businesses to new environmental regulations and for explaining them. We will take this commitment forward over the next 12 months.

  We have laid regulations to transfer some processes from the much more wide-ranging integrated pollution control system to local authority air pollution control and to exempt certain processes from control altogether.

  Regulations were amended in October 1993 to allow a single IPC authorisation to cover an entire chemical process, from receipt of raw materials, via production of intermediates, to dispatch of finished products. The amended regulations also allow operators of what would normally be seen as more than one process to function with a single authorisation if they are producing less than 250 tons of product per year.

  In July 1993 my Department issued a consultation paper on proposals to repeal controls exercised by local authorities to approve the design and fitting of arrestment
  454
  plant on small furnaces. We intend to implement the repeal by means of the general deregulation power in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill, if enacted.

  In March this year, we announced that in view of environmental improvements, we had re-examined proposals for regulations on the sale and sulphur content of domestic fuels, and did not intend to introduce further controls.

  We have introduced a new definition of waste and issued guidance on its interpretation which is deregulatory in effect. We have helped small businesses by substantially increasing from 1 May 1994 the number of exemptions from waste management licensing.

  My Department, in conjunction with DTI, has worked with industry to set up schemes for managing supplies of halons and CFC refrigerants following phase-out. Small businesses will therefore continue to have access to used or recycled substances to keep equipment running, thereby reducing the short-term costs of phase-out.

  During the last year we have consulted widely on a number of proposals related to water pollution controls, water abstraction and reservoirs, with a view to deregulating where possible. In consulting we were careful to ensure that the interests of small businesses were adequately represented.

  In our role as sponsors of the construction industry, we have encouraged the smaller trade associations to affiliate to larger unbrella bodies so as to improve communication between the industry and the Department. Information flow has improved through a new regular series of meetings and a relaunch of our magazine. The Latham review of procurement gave particular attention to the needs of small contractors and subcontractors to be paid promptly. We aim to minimise the burden on small firms on form filling, provide a statistical feedback as an aid to planning and encourage user-friendly research results. In addition, export support has been significantly increased over the past year to provide assistance to companies of all sizes.

  In December 1993, my Department issued a consultation paper "Streamlining Planning" which proposed relaxing several planning controls which would benefit small firms. We will be announcing the outcome of that consultation shortly. The Planning Inspectorate agency has further improved its performance in dealing with appeals more promptly, to the advantage of all businesses.

  My Department monitors all its programmes and publishes details of a wide range of outputs and targets in its annual report.

  Environment Agency
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on progress made in the establishment of an Environment Agency since 15 July 1992; and how its proposed structure now differs from that set out in press release 499/92.

  Mr. Atkins
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend yesterday to my hon. Friend the Member for the City of Chester (Mr. Brandreth). The structure we propose for the Environment Agency for England and Wales is that set out in the press notice issued in July 1992: the agency will be responsible for the current functions of the National Rivers Authority, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, and the waste regulation authorities. It will bring these responsibilities together in a
  455
  single national body, providing the opportunity for more coherent and integrated environmental protection and for a more streamlined service to industry and the public.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what meetings he has held since 15 July 1992 with(a) individual local authorities and (b) representative associations of local authorities to ensure that close liaison is achieved and maintained between his Department and local authorities over the planning arrangements for the Environment Agency.

  Mr. Atkins
  My right hon. Friend has held no meetings with individual local authorities or with local authority associations exclusively on the subject of the Environment Agency. Officials in my Department have held regular meetings since October 1992 with representatives of the local authority associations to discuss the proposed arrangements for the agency.

  Non-domestic Rates
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total received in national non-domestic rates in each year since its inception from each local authority; and what corresponding payment has been paid to each local authority on the same basis.

  Mr. Curry
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment under what statutes or regulations bailiffs acting on behalf of local authorities seeking to enforce payment of uniform business rates are permitted to seize from(a) limited and (b) unlimited liability companies goods essential to the conduct of their lawful business.

  Mr. Curry
  The regulations which govern the levying of distress to cover non-payment of liability for non-domestic rates are the Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989, S.I. 1989 No. 1058, as amended by the Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 1993, S.I. 1993, No. 774. These regulations are made under paragraphs 1 to 4 of schedule 9 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988. There were equivalent provisions under the General Rate Act 1967.

  Coal Industry Act 1994
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the implications of the environmental liabilities arising out of the Coal Industry Act 1994 on the nature conservation interest of special areas of conservation and special protection areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Section 53 of the Act imposes an environmental duty on operators to have due regard to a site's natural beauty, flora and fauna, geological and physiographical interest. In respect of planning consents for coal extraction, under the Coal Industry Act 1994, the new privately owned companies will have to comply with the requirements of European law as transposed by the Conservation (Nature Conservation &c) Regulations 1994 currently before Parliament.

  Water Industry (EC Directives)
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make an estimate of the extent to which EC directives on water quality have resulted in the increased cost of water to domestic consumers; what action he is taking to reduce obligations placed on water companies to raise standards; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The estimated costs of EC directives together with other obligations have been included in the current review of price limits by the Director General of Water Services. He will be announcing revised price limits on 28 July. The Government have sought to clarify the obligations of the water companies so that in general there is no need to go further than the Community requirements.

  Air Quality
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which population centres of over 100,000 currently have no national air pollution monitoring station.

  Mr. Atkins
  The following urban areas with a population of over 100,000, as defined in "Key Statistics for Urban Areas: Great Britain: Census 1981" produced by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and the Registrar General, Scotland, have no national air pollution monitoring stations:

  High Wycombe

  Ipswich

  Blackburn/Darwen

  Reading

  Aldershot

  Bournemouth

  Southend

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total planned number of enhanced urban network monitoring stations for the United Kingdom; and if he will give details of future proposed sites.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government intend to expand the enhanced urban monitoring network from 12 to 24 sites by 1997. The Department has also issued a discussion paper on integrating local authority monitoring sites into the national network. Advice on siting will be obtained from the quality of urban air review group.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of air pollution in Stoke-on-Trent; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  For the years 1992–93 and 1993–94 the European Community directive (80/779/EEC) limit values for SO2 and smoke was not exceeded in Stoke-on-Trent. The directive guide values for these pollutants was exceeded in both years. The data is as follows:

  Time and Limit

  Limit values

  SO2

  Annual median

  both year (50 µgm-3)

  below limit of 80 µgm-3

  Annual 98 percentile

  both years (107 µgm-3 and 108 µgm-3)

  below limit value of 250 µgm-3

  Smoke

  457

  Time and Limit

  Annual median

  both years (14 µgm-3)

  below limit of 68 µgm-3

  Annual 98 percentile

  both years (58 µgm-3 and 46 µgm-3)

  below limit of 213 µgm-3

  Guide values

  SO2

  Annual mean

  both years (53 and 52 µgm-3)

  above guide of 40 µgm-3

  Max day

  max day both years (125 and 135 µgm-3)

  above guide value of 100 µgm-3

  Smoke

  Annual mean

  both years (17 and 16 µgm-3)

  below guide of 34 µgm-3

  Max day

  max day both years (98 and 84 µgm-3

  above guide value of 85 µgm-3

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he now proposes in response to the European framework directive on ambient air quality management.

  Mr. Atkins
  The European Commission has recently adopted a proposal for a framework directive on ambient air quality assessment and management. My Department will follow the normal procedures for informing Parliament of proposed European legislation as soon as it is notified of the contents of the proposal. The proposal will come for discussion in the European Council in due course, and the United Kingdom will participate fully in those discussions.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to extend the national air pollution monitoring network to include suburban areas.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Department is advised on siting of air pollution monitors in urban areas by the quality of urban air review group and for ozone by the photochemical oxidants review group. The latter is currently considering the siting of monitors. The Department has issued a discussion paper on integrating local authority monitoring sites into the national network and has already incorporated a suburban site in east London into the network.

  Asbestos
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the criteria followed by his Department in approving industrial housing developments on land which is known to be contaminated by asbestos deposits; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  All planning applications are considered on their merits. Where land contamination is involved, it can be a material planning consideration. In such cases, before granting planning permission, local planning authorities should be satisfied that the development proposals include work to deal with any unacceptable risks to health or the environment and make the site suitable for its intended use.

  Planning advice for development on contaminated land is contained in planning policy guidance note 23 "Planning and Pollution Control", published earlier this month.

  Advice on the investigation, assessment and treatment of asbestos-contaminated sites is provided by the
  458
  inter-departmental committee on the redevelopment of contaminated land guidance note 64/85, 2nd edition October 1990, "Asbestos on Contaminated Land".

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list(a) the sites of special scientific interest which have been identified for a road building or road widening programme and (b) those sites in respect of which he has (i) issued a Nature Conservation Order under section 29 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 or (ii) made an order for the compulsory purchase of the land in the last two years.

  Mr. Atkins
  Comprehensive information about road building or widening programnmes which might affect SSSIs is not held centrally and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. The following nature conservation orders have been made in the last two years:

  Site

  Date made

  Sawston Hall Meadows (Cambridgeshire) 1992

  12 November 1992

  Kernick and Ottery Meadows (Cornwall) 1993

  27 April 1993

  Lindisfarne (Northumberland) 1993

  15 October 1993

  Lingwood Meadows (Suffolk) 1994

  8 February 1994

  No compulsory purchase orders under part II of the 1981 Act have been made in the last two years.

  National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to extend powers under section 20 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

  Mr. Atkins
  Regulation 28 of the Conservation of Natural Habitats Regulations 1994, recently laid before the House, enables the appropriate nature conservation body to make byelaws for the protection of important European sites under section 20 of the 1949 Act. My right hon. Friend has no plans to extend these powers.

  Landfill Disposal
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had from the construction industry in regard to applicability of the Kelly table on contaminated soil classification to licensed landfill disposal.

  Mr. Atkins
  None. The Department is currently preparing updated guidance on acceptability of wastes, including contaminated soils, for licensed landfill disposal and will be consulting industry on the guidance.

  Nitric Acid
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information has been received by Her Majesty's Government from the United States Department of Energy that constitutes an environmental impact assessment on nitric acid for import from the Hanford Purex facility at Washington state;

  (2) what requirements exist for the conducting of an environmental impact assessment on consignments of contaminated nitric acid imported into the United Kingdom from the United States.
  459
  Mr. Atkins
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Clearance Programmes (Accommodation)
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to ensure that clearance programmes do not result in temporary accommodation for tenants while new starts are completed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  None. The rehousing of those displaced by clearance is a matter for local authorities and the individuals concerned.

  Housing
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to produce an interim report on housing association programmes for the next three years; what are the available indicators for forecasting the effects of cuts in housing association grants; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he plans to produce an interim report on the Housing Corporation's committed development programme for the next three years; what curtailments of this programme are projected following his Department's reduction in funding for this year; what effects the reduction in the subsequent year has been projected to have; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  The Housing Corporation published details of its approved development programme for the period 1994–95 to 1996–97 in December 1993. This took account of the outcome of last November's unified Budget, and set out the number of new lettings that it expected housing associations to be able to provide over the period together with the grants which the corporation expected to approve.

  The Housing Corporation reviews housing association grant rates each year. The review considers changes in a range of public and private sector indicators of future earnings, construction costs, inflation and interest rates, in order to determine the likely impact of changes in HAG rates on rents, benefit dependency and the availability of private finance. I am currently considering the findings of the latest review and hope to announce decisions on the 1995–96 HAG rates shortly.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to ensure sufficient affordable housing in the rented sector is available; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what new plans he has to ensure sufficient housing is available to allow occupants the freedom to choose between buying or renting properties; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  My Department's plans are set out in the annual report, Cm. 2507. The Housing Corporation is investing some £1·5 billion this year, enabling housing associations, the main providers of new social housing, to provide over 58,000 homes in 1994–95. The corporation now estimates a total output of around 179,000 homes over the three years 1992–93 to 1994–95. This is some 26,000 more than we promised in 1992.

  We have encouraged local authorities to make the most effective use of the council housing stock by keeping the number of empty dwellings to a minimum. We are also encouraging landlords to bring empty private sector
  460
  properties back into use, for example, by means of grants to bring them up to standard and through the housing associations as managing agents—HAMA—scheme which aims to bring 10,000 units back into use by the end of 1995–96. To build on the existing management strengths of HAMA, an additional £5 million has been made available in 1994–95, under the HAMA-plus scheme, for capital works to bring empty private sector properties back up to standard. Housing benefit is available to those who have difficulty in meeting the full rent themselves.

  We are committed to giving tenants the opportunity to become home owners. The right to buy has brought home ownership to nearly 1.5 million families in Great Britain and these opportunities have been broadened by rent to mortgage. Local authority cash incentive schemes and the Housing Corporation's tenants' incentive scheme have helped a further 21,000 people into their own homes, while releasing their existing accommodation for reletting to those in need. In addition, do-it-yourself shared ownership and other low-cost home ownership initiatives run by housing associations, are opening up home ownership opportunities where none previously existed.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to offset any reductions in the Housing Corporation's programme with increases in the private sector over the next three years.

  Mr. Curry
  My Department's plans are set out in its 1994 annual report, Cm. 2507.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he now forecasts(a) public sector, (b) Housing Association and (c) Housing Corporation housing starts to be for each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  The Department does not prepare forecasts of new house-building starts. The Housing Corporation does not build houses. In its approved development programme, published in December 1993, the Housing Corporation expected to approve grants to housing associations for some 96,600 new homes to be provided through new build, renovation or the purchase of existing dwellings, across the period 1994–95 to 1996–97.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of housing is unfit in(a) Coventry, (b) the west midlands and (c) nationally.

  Mr. Curry
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Local authorities are requested to provide figures on their annual housing investment programme returns of dwellings in their area which are unfit. Coventry's 1993 HIP1 return did not provide a total for unfit dwellings, but its 1992 HIP1 showed 13 per cent. dwellings as unfit.

  There are doubts about the quality of the data provided by some local authorities on numbers of unfit dwellings, and the 1991 English house condition survey provides a more reliable source for national and regional estimates. The EHCS shows that 5·6 per cent. of dwellings in the West Midlands were unfit and 7·6 per cent. in England.

  Single Regeneration Budget
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received about single regeneration budgets; and if he will make a statement.
  461
  Mr. Curry
  Government offices for the regions and Government Departments have received several hundred responses and comments about the single regeneration budget including those made following consultation on the draft bidding guidance for the budget.

  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what measures are being taken to protect the existing spending commitments for current estate action schemes under the new bidding regime of the single regeneration budget;

  (2) what measures are being taken to protect the existing spending commitments of the urban programme under the new bidding regime of the single regeneration budget;

  (3) what measures are being taken to protect existing spending commitments for the inner city task forces under the new bidding regime of the single regeneration budget;

  (4) what measures are being taken to protect existing spending commitments of city action teams under the new bidding regime of the single regeneration budget.

  Mr. Curry
  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 estate action, the urban programme, inner-city task forces and city action teams.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the successful bids under the single regeneration budget scheme.

  Mr. Curry
  I hope to be able to announce successful bids in early January 1995.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the housing implications for local authorities of the single regeneration budget.

  Mr. Curry
  The objectives of the single regeneration budget include the improvement of housing through physical improvements, greater choice and better management and maintenance. The budget will support this objective through meeting continuing commitments on housing-related programmes which have been combined in the Budget. These programmes include estate action, which is implemented by local authorities. The budget may also support housing measures which local authorities and their partners put forward for support in 1995–96 and later years through the current competitive bidding round for uncommitted budget resources.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors and charges in the 1991 index of local conditions are relevant to the single regeneration budget; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  The relevance of the index of local conditions to the single regeneration budget is set out in paragraph 35 of the bidding guidance for the budget, issued on 14 April 1994, copies of which are in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total amount of urban and regeneration expenditure, excluding urban programme, listed for each separate urban programme area for each year since 1980–81 at(a) cash prices and (b) current prices.
  462
  Mr. Curry
  Information in the form requested for all programmes now combined in the single regeneration budget could be provided only at disproportionate cost as, for most of these programmes, it has not been the practice to collect information on a local authority district basis.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the outline bids at each regional office in respect of the single regeneration budget are now being worked up to be considered at the next stage of the process; and if he will make a statement on the progress to date.

  Mr. Curry
  It is for individual bidders to decide whether to work up bids to be submitted by 7 September. But, on the basis of existing information, about half of those who have expressed an interest in bidding are expected to work up their outline proposals for submission to the Government offices for the regions.

  Care in the Community
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what provision has been made and what representations he has received for the housing implications of the care in the community programme for local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  My Department has held a number of meetings with the local authority associations to discuss housing issues arising from the implementation of community care policies. Community care does not in itself create any new category of entitlement to housing, and we expect its impact on housing demand to be gradual and progressive. It is for local authorities to consider the resource implications of community care and to prepare housing strategies to meet housing needs in their areas.

  Water Charges
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received on the subject of the future of water charges(a) in relation to meters, (b) using the council tax banding system and (c) exemptions for churches and other religious buildings; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Representations are received by the Department from time to time about alternative methods of charging for water, including the use of meters and council tax valuation bands. No representations have been received about exempting churches and other religious buildings from water charges. It is for each water company to determine the basis for charging in its area.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many appeals have been received regarding council tax bands; how many succeeded; how many have failed; and how many were outstanding at the latest date for which he has information;

  (2) what information he has on the success or failure rate of appeals against council tax banding to the latest date for which figures are available, both in number and percentage terms.

  Mr. Curry
  The latest available figures are for the end of June. Some 919,025 proposals had been made in respect
  463
  of dwellings in England. 412,185 had been settled, of which some 330,000—36 per cent.—resulted in a change of handing, leaving 506,840 outstanding.

  Planning Applications (Green Belt)
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the reasons for normally allowing costs to be awarded against the applicant in planning applications rejected by both the local planning authority and also at appeal but not usually in cases where a planning application involves green belt land where the application is called in; and what plans he has to change this policy.

  Mr. Curry
  I am writing to my hon. Friend.

  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the importance to Her Majesty's Government's policy of sustainable development of protecting green belt land from further development.

  Mr. Curry
  Paragraph 2·10 of the draft revision of the proposed new planning policy guidance note 2 on green belts, which was issued for public consultation on 21 February, proposes that when drawing green belt boundaries in development plans local planning authorities should take account of the need to promote sustainable patterns of development. There is a presumption against inappropriate development within a green belt.

  We are analysing the responses made to the PPG2 consultation document.

  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what agencies within his Department oversee the management and development control of green belt land.

  Mr. Curry
  The Secretary of State carries out his planning functions relating to the control of development in green belts with assistance from his planning policy division, Government offices in the regions, arid the planning inspectorate.

  Neighbourhood Councils
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what duty exists for local authorities to ensure that the boundaries of any neighbourhood council of committees which they may constitute, as part of a programme of devolving their powers to localities and communities, are determined fairly and impartially.

  Mr. Curry
  It is for the individual local authorities to decide the boundaries of any neighbourhood council or committee which they establish. But the membership of any committee or sub-committee of a local authority to which the authority delegates its powers must, under the provisions of section 15 of the Housing and Local Government Act 1989, reflect the overall political balance of the authority.

  Also, all councillors must sign a declaration of acceptance of office which includes an undertaking that they will be guided by the national code of local government conduct in the performance of their duties as councillors. Among other things, the code states that a councillors overriding duty is to the whole local community and that they have a special duty to their constituents including those who did not vote for them.

  First-time Buyers
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce new incentives to first-time buyers to alleviate problems in this section of the market; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  First-time buyers and other home purchasers will continue to benefit from the range of Government policies which have brought about substantial falls in interest rates and have made home ownership more affordable than for many years.

  Planning Process
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy regarding the need to disclose investment plans of applicants in the planning process to ensure the viability of the scheme under consideration.

  Mr. Curry
  The Government do not have a policy regarding the investment plans of planning applicants. Planning applications should be considered only on their land-use planning merits. The viability of a proposed scheme would be a commercial decision for the developer.

  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his inspectors take at public inquiries to ensure that time and resources are not wasted by the unpreparedness of witnesses; and what steps are taken to recover costs where such unpreparedness results in important information being unavailable to the inquiry.

  Mr. Curry
  Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Planning Inspectorate executive agency under its chief executive and chief planning inspector, Mr. H. Stephen Crow. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from H. S. Crow to Mr. Peter Ainsworth, dated 20 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for the Environment has asked me to reply to your Question about steps taken by inspectors to ensure that time is not wasted at public inquiries by the unpreparedness of witnesses; and what steps are taken to recover costs where such unpreparedness results in important information being unavailable to the inquiry.
  Depending on whether the decision on the case is to be taken by the Secretary of State or the Inspector, the procedure at planning inquiries is governed by The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1992 or The Town and Country Planning (Determination by Inspectors) (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1992 [Statutory Instruments 1992 Nos. 2038 and 2039 respectively]. Both sets of Rules require proofs of evidence and summaries to be submitted not later than three weeks before the date fixed for the inquiry or by a date programmed by the Inspector. The aim is to make the inquiry process as efficient and effective as possible, whilst impairing neither the fairness nor the impartiality of the proceedings, nor the ability of participants to make representations which are relevant to the decision (paragraphs 5–8 of DoE Circular 24/92).
  If a person who proposes to give evidence by reading a proof of evidence has not submitted that proof in advance, the Inspector at the inquiry has to consider, in the light of any submissions by other parties, what course of action would be in the public interest. Options could include having the witness read out the full proof, adjourning the inquiry to allow everyone to study the proof, and re-programming the witness to appear later. It is for the Inspector alone to decide what course to take.
  Whether or not he or she has submitted a proof of evidence, a witness is sometimes unable to answer a question during

  465
  cross-examination. If the information is important, the Inspector may ask the witness to obtain it and return to answer the question later. Meanwhile the inquiry will continue. Alternatively the Inspector may adjourn the inquiry whilst the witness obtains the information.
  The policy on the award of costs incurred in planning inquiries is set out in DoE Circular 8/93. Before an award of costs is made, three conditions will normally need to be met (paragraph 6 of Annex 1 of the Appendix to Circular 8/93).
  Briefly these are:

  (1) one of the parties has sought an award at the inquiry;

  (2) the party against whom costs are sought has behaved unreasonably; and

  (3) this unreasonable conduct has caused the party seeking costs to incur expense unnecessarily.

  Therefore, at the inquiry an application for an award of costs may be made to the Inspector if a party considers that the unpreparedness of a witness has amounted to unreasonable behaviour and that such conduct has caused unnecessary expense. There is no other sanction (paragraph 9 of Circular 24/92). The Inspector will hear submissions from both parties. The decision on the award of costs will not normally be issued until the decision on the merits of the case has been issued.

  Redhill Aerodrome
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy not to consider any further proposed developments at Redhill aerodrome for a designated period of years if the current planning application fails.

  Mr. Curry
  No. It will remain the case that any application for development at the aerodrome will need to be considered on its merits, having regard to the development plan, so far as it is material to the application, and any other material considerations.

  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received from (i) commercial interests and (ii) representatives of local communities, regarding the proposal to develop an international airport at Redhill.

  Mr. Curry
  None. It is understood that representations have been made to the inspector following the close of the public inquiry. We will consider what action is necessary on such post-inquiry representations when the inspector has submitted his report, and if any are considered to be material to the decision, they will be made available to principal parties for comment before a final decision is taken.

  Mandatory Grants System
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to make an announcement about the future of the mandatory grants system; what further arrangements he plans to make for consultation following that announcement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  I refer to the reply given to the hon. Member by the then Minister for Housing, Inner Cities and Construction on 27 April 1994,Official Report, column 205.

  Departmental Staff (Contracts)
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the numbers of persons and the percentage of those who were or are in(a) part-time and (b) full-time employment who had no time-limiter contract in (a) 1984 and (b) 1994 respectively.
  466
  Mr. Curry
  The following information covers non-industrial staff in my Department, excluding Property Services Agency Services, as at 1 April in each year:

  Year

  Part-time

  Percentage

  Full-time

  Percentage

  1984

  217

  3·7

  5,857

  96·3

  1994

  399

  6·3

  6,002

  93·8

  Canterbury City Council
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take, in the light of the findings of his Department's inquiries, to ensure that correct contracting and accountancy practices are implemented by Canterbury city council's works and services department.

  Mr. Curry
  Canterbury city council has been investigating the accounts and operation of its works and services department, with the involvement of the external auditor and the police. My right hon. Friend has requested and recently received a report from the authority. He is now considering whether statutory action under the compulsory competitive tendering legislation is called for. I shall write to the hon. Member when that decision is taken.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he now forecasts the total of new starts to be as a percentage of the construction industry's work load for each of the next three years.

  Mr. Curry
  I do not make any such forecasts.

  Airport Developments
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to confine new airport development to areas currently undergoing regeneration.

  Mr. Curry
  Aviation policy is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. Decisions on any proposal for airport development would involve a wide range of considerations, including, where relevant, regeneration benefits.

  Conservation (Africa)
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has held with the Zimbabwe Government over the future of the black rhino and the African elephant.

  Mr. Atkins
  My noble Friend Lord Strathclyde had such discussions with Dr. Murerwa, the Zimbabwean Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, when he visited the country in 1992. Officials of my Department have had frequent contacts with their colleagues in Zimbabwe on these matters, notably in Harare during the United Kingdom-led EC fact-finding mission on the African elephant issue in late 1992 and last year in Nairobi at the United Nations Environment Programme rhino conserva-tion conference.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has available on the white rhino population in Africa.
  467
  Mr. Atkins
  The estimated figures for 1993 indicate that the total number of white rhino in Africa is 5,821. This represents an increase of over 1,000 since 1990. The rise is evident only in South Africa which holds 5,300 of the species.

  Market Franchise Rights
  Mr. Wolfson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his intentions regarding market franchise rights; and if he will consult all affected parties before any final decisions are taken on this issue.

  Mr. Curry
  We have now obtained the views of all the main interested parties on how they see the future of market franchises. We are now carefully considering these views, and once we have reached our conclusions we shall announce how we intend to take matters forward.

  Magill Inquiry
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how frequently Mr. Magill updates his Department on the cost of his inquiry into Westminster county council.

  Mr. Curry
  Mr. Magill does not report to the Department.

  Canada Geese
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many licences have been issued to cull Canada geese in the last two years; to whom they were issued; and how many geese were killed.

  Mr. Atkins
  Some 77 licences were issued by this Department and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to cull Canada geese in 1992. The corresponding figure for 1993 was 71. The number of birds killed were 1,175 and 1,310 respectively. Information that would identify the applicant for a licence is normally regarded as confidential.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what grounds he has issued licences to cull Canada geese; and if he will give details of the methods of control recommended by his Department.

  Mr. Atkins
  Licences have been issued to control Canada geese to conserve wild birds and collections of wild birds, and to preserve public health or public safety.

  It is a matter for applicants for licences to select control methods that are not prohibited by the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This week we published a leaflet prepared by my Department, on advice from its Canada goose working group, which gives guidance on legal methods for controlling the species, including shooting, egg pricking and a range of non-lethal scaring and habitat management techniques.

  Hosepipe Ban (Worcestershire)
  Mr. Michael Spicer
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will discuss with the chairman of Ofwat the hosepipe ban on parts of Worcestershire with a view to ensuring that Severn-Trent Water Authority plan for and invest in capacity which prevents a similar occurrence in the future.
  468
  Mr. Atkins
  The Director General of Water Services, the head of the Office of Water Services, has already established reference points for levels of service, including the frequency of hosepipe bans, on which water undertakers must report annually. This information is published and feeds into the investment planning of the undertakers, the Director General's consequent determinations on water pricing and his reviews of their performance.

  Council Tenancies (Hull)
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many tenants of the North Hull housing action trust from 1 Avenue, Greenwood avenue and South close have chosen to return to council tenancies; what are the reasons for the delay in returning tenancies to the council; and when he will give his consent for the transfer of tenancies to the council.

  Mr. Curry
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fund raising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Gummer
  Between 1 January and 30 June 1994, Ministers in my Department have made 21 overseas visits in their official capacity. Fund-raising activities for the Conservative party are not part of our official duties.

  "Crumbling Heritage"
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to follow up the report by Professor R. U. Cooke, vice chancellor of York, entitled "Crumbling Heritage".

  Mr. Curry
  The Building Research Establishment has a substantial on-going programme of research in this area and has taken cognisance of the "Crumbling Heritage" report. The programme includes work on stone durability, selection, cleaning and repair. The Building Research Establishment operates a heritage support service which provides advice on request.

  Drinking Water
  Mr. Coe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the fourth annual report of the drinking water inspectorate will be published.

  Mr. Atkins
  The drinking water inspectorate published its fourth annual report today. Once again, it shows that drinking water in England and Wales is of a very high quality. In 1993, 98·9 per cent. of the 3·5 million tests carried out by water companies on drinking water met the relevant standard, compared with 98·7 per cent. in 1992.

  The report provides a detailed picture of water quality in England and Wales which has been tested against the stringent criteria of the water quality regulations which incorporate the limits in the EC drinking water directive.

  The inspectorate is also publishing a leaflet called "How Good is our Drinking Water?", which summarises the main points of the report.
  469
  Copies of the report and leaflet have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Peat Extraction
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to be able to announce the publication of the report from the working group on peat extraction and related matters, which his Department set up in 1992.

  Mr. Curry
  The report from the working group will be published during the first part of next month. It will be accompanied by a draft, for consultation, of a minerals planning guidance note on peat relating to England. Copies of the documents will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

  Property Services Agency
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on the sales of the Property Services Agency's building management businesses.

  Mr. Curry
  In accordance with the respective share sale agreements, the consideration for each business has been adjusted to reflect the difference between the net asset value of the business estimated prior to completion, and the actual net asset value as determined after completion.

  I can now advise that the agreed consideration adjustments made by PSA Services to the purchasers are as follows:

  Business

  Purchaser

  Adjustment £

  BM Scotland

  Serco

  725,179

  Noreast BM

  John Mowlem Construction plc

  2,801,391

  BM Manchester

  W. S. Atkins Building and Property

  3,607,697

  BM South East

  Management Services Ltd.

  1,979,677

  BM South and West

  (Amec-Pell Frischmann Consortium)

  3,873,662

  Planning Guidance (Coal Extraction)
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish revised planning guidance on coal extraction; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  We have published new planning guidance for coal today. The guidance replaced the guidance in MPG3, published in 1988, and the interim planning guidance announced by the then Secretary of State on 25 March 1993.

  The guidance seeks to provide a policy framework for mineral planning authorities and the industry to ensure that the extraction of coal and disposal of colliery spoil can take place in accordance with the full and proper protection of the environment and the principles of sustainable development. The Government believe that this can best be done through a clear and consistent planning approach at the local level within a broad national policy framework.

  The best way of striking the balance between the economic importance of this indigenous energy resource
  470
  and the protection of the environment is through the careful consideration of individual applications within the framework of the development plan led system.

  The guidance provides a stronger environmental framework than the existing guidance published in 1988. But I am confident that it will enable the industry to develop the mineral resource in a way that has proper regard to local concerns and is fully compatible with economic growth, the protection of the environment and the principles of sustainable development.

  Hedgerows
  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken to monitor hedgerows.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am pleased to announce the results of the survey we commissioned recently from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology to provide an up-to-date picture of changes in the numbers of hedgerows in the countryside of England and Wales. By using comparable methodology to countryside survey 90, this most recent study enables a comparison between changes recorded during the period 1984–90 with those during the period 1990–93.

  The results show that the annual rate of hedgerow removal has declined from 9,500 km per year in 1984–90, to 3,600 km per year during 1990–93. Expressed as a percentage of existing hedgerow stock this represents a halving of the rate at which hedges are being grubbed up, from 1·7 per cent. to 0·8 per cent. per year. Furthermore, the annual gains from hedge planting have more than doubled from 1,900 km per year during 1984–90, to 4,400 km per year during 1990–93. The rate of removal is now outweighed by the rate of new planting.

  The downward trend in hedgerow removal is welcome, and is consistent with the change in agricultural policies in recent years towards greater emphasis on care of the countryside. Schemes such as environmentally sensitive areas introduced in 1987 and countryside stewardship launched in 1991, have encouraged the conservation of hedgerows.

  While these results provide good evidence that widespread removal in the countryside is not the problem it was, nevertheless some 3,600 km of hedgerow on average are being removed annually. We remain committed to protecting hedges of key importance, and we are therefore considering carefully how to focus protection on the highly valuable hedges, for which no amount of replanting can substitute—for example, an ancient parish boundary hedge.

  The survey reveals that changes in hedgerow stocks have also occurred as a result of changes in management. 22,500 km per year became classified as relict hedges during 1990–93, as compared with 7,400 km per year during 1984–90. Such changes occurred where hedges ceased to be cut and managed as hedges and grow into lines of bushes or trees. This trend was offset in part by restoration of relict hedges which increased from 2·400 km per year, to 5,700 km per year. For the future, the hedgerow incentive scheme, which was launched in England in 1992, and the hedgerow restoration scheme in Wales, should increasingly work with the farm and conservation grant scheme and the environmentally sensitive areas scheme to encourage retention in active management of hedgerows of particular historic, wildlife or landscape value.

  Council Leaseholders (Property Sales)
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to introduce a financial concession to assist local authorities to help council leaseholders who are finding it difficult to sell their flats.

  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to introduce the financial concession to assist local authorities to help council leaseholders who are finding it difficult to sell their flats.

  Mr. Curry
  My right hon. Friend had hoped to lay an order before the recess to implement a limited concession to help certain leaseholders. A draft order has been prepared but we have agreed to defer laying it in response to representations from the local authority associations that they and other interested parties should have an opportunity to consider the concession alongside other measures which we are proposing to assist leaseholders in difficulty with the resale of former council flats and with service charges. The draft order will therefore be included in a discussion paper to be issued to the associations, the National Federation of Council Leaseholders and others next week. Comments will be invited by mid-September and we hope to reach a conclusion shortly thereafter. A copy of the discussion paper will be placed in the Library.

  Newsprint
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to introduce a mandatory minimum proportion of recycled fibre content in newsprint.

  Mr. Atkins
  [holding answer 20 June 1994]: Our policy is to help promote waste minimisation and value recovery from waste, including recycling, through the producer responsibility initiative. This entails an industry assuming a share of the responsibility for dealing with the waste arising from its products. In the case of the newsprint industry, our discussions have focused on the proportion of recycled fibre content in newsprint. Under this broad approach, the solutions which are adopted are likely to be more flexible and cost-effective than a statutorily imposed regime.

  Mean and median net rents by tenancy type—Great Britain1

  (£ per annum)

  Rented privately

  Rented from local authority

  Rented from housing association

  Unfurnished

  Furnished

  Year

  Mean

  Median

  Mean

  Median

  Mean

  Median

  Mean

  Median

  1988

  490

  420

  640

  760

  890

  750

  1,590

  1,310

  1989

  500

  500

  600

  700

  900

  800

  1,800

  1,300

  1990

  650

  560

  780

  840

  1,270

  990

  2,440

  1,720

  1991

  720

  570

  760

  780

  1,470

  1,040

  2,830

  1,890

  1992

  750

  540

  990

  830

  1,730

  1,280

  2,640

  2,280

  1 Net rent is gross rent less any rent rebate (Housing benefit) received.

  Source: Family Expenditure Survey.

  The rents shown are from sample surveys ans are subject to sampling error. This accounts for some of the apparent year to year variations.

  Docklands Light Railway
  Ms Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost of the consultation paper published in 1994 by the promoters canvassing the possibility of building the Docklands light railway Lewisham extension without building a station at Island

  Rents
  Ms. Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table setting out for each year between 1988–89 and 1993–94 the mean and median rents paid by local authority, housing association and private sector tenants, dividing the latter two groups into fair rented and non-fair rented accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  [holding answer 14 July 1994]: The available information is given in the tables.

  Mean and median net rents by tenancy type—England

  (£ per annum)

  Tenancy type

  1993–94

  Rented from local authority

  Mean

  870

  Median

  580

  Rented from housing association

  FAIR

  Mean

  1,090

  Median

  1,040

  ASSURED

  Mean

  990

  Median

  520

  Rented privately

  FAIR

  Mean

  880

  Median

  870

  ASSURED

  Mean

  2,790

  Median

  2,280

  OTHER1

  Mean

  1,650

  Median

  1,260

  1 Rented—other includes rents such as those paid to resident landlords, for lets with the job, college lets, or regulated tenancies without a registered fair rent.

  Source: Survey of English Housing.

  Equivalent information for early years is available only for Great Britain and by calendar year as follows.

  Gardens; what was the cost of the consultation exercise; and what was the cost to public funds of the hearing before the Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords.

  Mr. Curry
  [holding answer 14 July 1994]: The cost to the docklands light railway and London Docklands development corporation's consultation exercise set out proposals on stations originally planned for the Lewisharn extension both north and south of the river, was

  473
  approximately £25,000. This includes the costs of printing and distributing the consultation paper and report. It also includes the costs of seeking additional financial contributions from third parties towards project costs. The cost to the promoters of their represention before the Lord Chairman of Committees was approximately £30,000. I understand that the hearing itself caused no additional cost to public funds except for an estimated £355 for the publication of the chairman's determination on Island Gardens station.

  Nitrous Oxide
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he is undertaking of the effect of nitrous oxide on the rate of stone building decay.

  Mr. Atkins
  My Department is undertaking no studies of the effect of nitrous oxide on the rate of stone building decay.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  United Nations Conference on Population and Development
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support strongly paragraphs 7.42 and 7.43 on adolescent sexual and reproductive health in the draft final document for the international conference on population and development in Cairo.

  Mr. Baldry
  We have supported statements in the document which calls for efforts to meet the special needs of young people. We shall continue to do so in preparations for the conference with our EU partners. We recognise that for some delegations this is a difficult issue. However, it is important to ensure that all young people are able to get the information and services they need to keep healthy, and that negotiations continue, in Cairo, to find acceptable language in support of this goal.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to seek to safeguard the rights of adolescents to privacy, confidentiality, informed consent and respect at the United Nations conference on population and development in Cairo.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the hon. Member to my answer concerning meeting the needs of young people. We support statements that call for adolescents to be able to access reproductive health information and services provided in a responsible and culturally sensitive fashion, and with due regard to general principles of health care practice—including privacy, confidentiality, informed consent and, of course, respect.

  Rwanda
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make British cargo aircraft available to meet the food crisis in Zaire arising from refugees from Rwanda.
  474
  Mr. Baldry
  We are making two aircraft available to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for an unspecified period for the collection and delivery of priority relief needs.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how each of the G7 states have responded to the appeal by the President of the Organisation of African Unity, the President of Tunisia, that they should support African troops with the necessary logistical support in Rwanda.

  Mr. Baldry
  In response to requests by the United Nations to provide logistical support to UNAMIR, Italy has agreed to provide one C130 aircraft plus crew, plus a possible six fuel/water trucks; Canada is providing a signals squadron plus aircraft; the US 50 armoured personnnel carriers plus other unspecified support for the Ghanaian contingent; Her Majesty's Government have provided 50 4x4 trucks; Japan has contributed $3 million towards costs of equipment and France is engaged in Operation Turquoise. So far there has been no indication of any German contribution.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many postcards, letters and proforma letters his Department have received on the subject of Rwanda, whether sent directly or forwarded by hon. Members,(a) in the last month and (b) in the last two months.

  Mr. Baldry
  In June we received approximately 1,470 letters and cards about Rwanda. Just over 1,300 were received in May.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the level of humanitarian need at Goma and other places in Zaire arising from the influx of refugees from Rwanda; and what international arrangements have been made to meet those needs.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent additional emergency steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to assist in the refugee crisis in Rwanda.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the latest figures for Government aid to the state of Rwanda.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what his Department has done to alleviate the plight and suffering of refugees in Rwanda over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what discussions he has had with voluntary aid agencies and churches in the United Kingdom on action to alleviate the plight of refugees in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what current assessment his Department has made of the scale of the refugee situation in states bordering Rwanda since the outbreak of civil war and genocide in that country; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) what current assessment his Department has made of the scale of the refugee situation in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement;

  (5) what his Department has done to alleviate the plight and suffering of refugees in states bordering Rwanda since the ourtbreak of civil war and genocide in that country; and if he will make a statement;
  475
  (6) what discussions his Department has had with voluntary aid agencies and churches in the United Kingdom on action to alleviate the plight of refugees in states bordering Rwanda; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total value of aid given for humanitarian relief that has been spent(a) in Rwanda and (b) in each of the neighbouring countries since the refugee crisis began in April.

  Mr. Baldry
  In the past 12 months Britain has provided £12·5 million emergency aid directly for people affected by the civil war in Rwanda, of which £11 million has been committed since early April. This includes £2·5 million for those within the country, £1·5 million for those in Zaire, £4·2 million for those in Tanzania, £0·6 million for those in Burundi.

  We have been monitoring the situation closely through reports from international agencies and non-governmental organisations and have sent two assessment missions to the region, most recently from 10 to 14 July.

  Within the last week we have provided three relief flights to Goma containing vehicles, personnel, blankets, plastic sheeting and water carriers, and have provided an air bridge at Goma to assist with the overall airlift on behalf of the UN high commissioner for refugees. At their request two additional air bridge teams are being sent to Bukavu in Zaire and Entebbe in Uganda.

  The Government are also fully funding two further flights organised by the British Red Cross, and are

  Date

  Location

  Details

  Delay to Service

  5 January 1991

  Off Lisbon

  Main starboard engine connecting rod disintegration.

  Vessel out of service for 92 days.

  11 April 1993

  On passage Tristan da Cunha to Cape Town

  Starboard main engine gear train failure. Temporary repairs in Cape Town.

  11 days.

  9 February 1994

  On passage Inaccessible Island to Cape Town.

  Port main engine exhaust valve failure.

  2 days.

  18 May 1994

  On passage Tenerife to Ascension Island

  Repeat of starboard engine gear train failure of 11 April 1993.

  21 days of voyage abandoned.

  Somalia
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department has done to alleviate the plight and suffering of refugees in Somalia over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  In the past 12 months more than £4·3 million has been given in general humanitarian assistance to Somalia. It is not possible to distinguish how much of this benefited refugees.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what current assessment his Department has made of the scale of the refugee situation in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  According to UNHCR there are only some 400 refugees from other countries in Somalia. This is much fewer than the number of internally displaced people in the country. No statistics are held for these.476
  providing two chartered aircraft for use by UNHCR within the region; as well as helping with a number of other British NGOs who are mobilising resources and organising their own airlifts.

  The EU Foreign Affairs Council agreed on 18 July to allocate £120 million from existing Lomé funds to finance humanitarian assistance in Rwanda: this is subject to the agreement of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. This is in addition to over £100 million of emergency aid provided for Rwandan refugees since last year, including the cost of 40,000 tons of food aid now in transit through Uganda.

  The Government continue to monitor the situation extremely closely. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development will be visiting the region next week.

  RMS St. Helena
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the delays, with times, and places, suffered by the present RMS St. Helena because of engine malfunction since it was brought into service.

  Mr. Baldry
  Details of the delays, with dates and places, suffered by the present RMS St. Helena because of engine malfunction since the vessel entered service are as follows:

  East Africa
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what current assessment his Department has made of the scale of the refugee situation in those states of east Africa bordering on to countries in which there is civil war and starvation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  According to latest information received from UNHCR, there are the following number of refugees from other countries in the region: Ethiopia 250,000; Somalia 400; Sudan 750,000; Kenya 370,000; Uganda 300,000; Tanzania 1·025 million. It is not known how many refugees there are in Eritrea.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions his Department has had with voluntary aid agencies and churches in the United Kingdom on action to alleviate the plight of refugees in those states of east Africa bordering on the countries in which there is civil war and starvation; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what discussions his Department has had with voluntary aid agencies and churches in the United Kingdom on action to alleviate the plight of refugees in Somalia; and if he will make a statement.
  477
  Mr. Baldry
  My right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development regularly meets representatives of non-governmental organisations about humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia. In addition ODA representatives regularly attend meetings of the Africa committee of the Refugee Council to discuss current matters of concern.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department has done to alleviate the plight and suffering of refugees in those states of east Africa bordering on to countries in which there is civil war and starvation over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  In addition to the substantial programmes for Rwandan refugees and for humanitarian assistance to Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, the United Kingdom has provided in the past twelve months over £1·1 million in refugee grants for projects run by United Kingdom non-government organisations in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and eastern Sudan.

  In addition, £1 million was paid to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees towards care and maintenance programmes for Somali and other refugees in Kenya. At the same time £500,000 was provided to UNHCR for maintenance of Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and the reintegration of Ethiopian refugees and for a repatriation programme for Ethiopian refugees from Sudan.

  Belize-Guatemala Road Link
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on developments with regard to the United Kingdom's 1991 aid pledge for a joint Belize—Guatemala road link.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We have decided to authorise the Belize element of the Government's pledge. Subject to satisfactory appraisal, the £7·5 million Belizean share of the pledge will be used to contribute to the financing of the southern highway project, which is the Belize Government's next infrastructure priority.

  As relations between Belize and Guatemala develop, we hope to be able to proceed with the Guatemala element of the aid commitment.

  Natural Resources Institute
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what performance targets have been set for the current year for the Overseas Development Administration's executive agency, the Natural Resources Institute.

  Mr. Baldry
  The institute's principal performance targets for 1994–95 are: to recover the full economic costs of its ordinary activities; to achieve a further increase of 20 per cent. in the volume of work done for non-ODA clients,

  Population in Prison Service Establishments, in England and Wales, by type of prisoner and nationality as at 30 September 1993

  Type of Prisoner

  Nationality

  Male

  Female

  Remand

  Sentenced1

  All2

  Remand

  Sentenced1

  All2

  United Kingdom

  10,248

  30,352

  40,760

  364

  988

  1,358

  All non-British Nationals

  715

  2,042

  3,176

  73

  192

  295

  478
  with an increase of 35 per cent. in the value of net income from this source; and to secure a reduction in the real cost of operational time charged to clients to below the 1992–93 level, thereby recovering the 5·2 per cent. efficiency loss in 1993–94.

  Nigeria
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has about the background of Judge Sylvanus Karibi-Whyte who has been seconded from the United Nations Commission on war crimes in former Yugoslavia to chair the constitutional conference in Nigeria; what further steps his Department is taking to assist with the work of the conference; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Justice Adolphus Godwin Karibi-Whyte was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1984. He was elected to the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal at the International Court of Human Rights in The Hague on 17 September 1993, and was appointed chairman of the national constitutional conference on 17 June 1994.

  My hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Mr. Lennox-Boyd) described our assistance to the conference in his reply of 5 July at columns 118–19. We would be prepared to consider any further requests for help.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Foreign Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of foreign inmates(a)men and (b) women being held in prisons in England and Wales on 11 July.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of foreign inmates (a) men and (b)women being held in prisons in England and Wales on 11 July.
  The latest available provisional information is for 31 May 1994. On that date there were approximately 3,780 non-British citizens (3,470 males and 310 females) in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. This includes about 600 male and 20 female nationals from the Irish Republic. Approximately a further 470 persons had no nationality recorded.
  I also wrote to you on 31 January in reply to your Questions about the number of foreign nationals from varying countries who were detained in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. Unfortunately, those detained under Immigration Act powers were omitted from the information provided. I attach revised tables. A copy of these tables has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
  479 480

  Type of Prisoner

  Nationality

  Male

  Female

  Remand

  Sentenced1

  All2

  Remand

  Sentenced1

  All2

  Not recorded

  43

  548

  601

  2

  17

  21

  Europe

  Albania

  1

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Andorra

  2

  8

  10

  —

  —

  —

  Armenia

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Austria

  1

  4

  6

  —

  —

  —

  Belgium

  9

  13

  22

  —

  1

  1

  Cyprus

  8

  35

  46

  1

  1

  2

  Czechoslovakia

  1

  2

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Denmark

  —

  3

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Finland

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  France

  13

  16

  35

  2

  2

  4

  German Democratic Republic

  2

  1

  4

  —

  —

  —

  German Federal Republic

  11

  26

  37

  3

  —

  3

  Gibraltar

  —

  1

  1

  —

  1

  1

  Greece

  1

  10

  12

  —

  1

  1

  Hungary

  1

  2

  3

  —

  1

  1

  Irish Republic

  157

  367

  526

  2

  10

  12

  Italy

  19

  43

  62

  —

  4

  4

  Luxembourg

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Malta

  2

  6

  8

  —

  —

  —

  Netherlands

  35

  52

  87

  4

  6

  10

  Norway

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Poland

  —

  7

  8

  —

  1

  2

  Portugal

  13

  14

  28

  3

  —

  3

  Romania

  1

  1

  10

  —

  —

  —

  Spain

  15

  19

  35

  2

  —

  2

  Sweden

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Switzerland

  —

  1

  1

  —

  1

  1

  Turkey

  16

  48

  84

  —

  1

  1

  USSR

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  1

  Yugoslavia

  1

  9

  12

  —

  —

  —

  Middle East

  Afghanistan

  1

  2

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Bahrain

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Egypt

  —

  4

  6

  —

  —

  —

  Iran

  2

  20

  25

  —

  1

  1

  Israel

  3

  10

  14

  —

  —

  —

  Iraq

  1

  5

  6

  —

  —

  —

  Jordan

  2

  6

  8

  1

  —

  1

  Kuwait

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Lebanon

  3

  8

  14

  —

  —

  —

  Saudi Arabia

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Sierre Leone

  2

  6

  19

  —

  —

  —

  Syrian Arab Republic

  2

  1

  4

  —

  —

  —

  United Arab Emirates

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Yemen Arab Republic (North)

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Yemen Peoples Democratic Republic (South)

  1

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  India

  35

  148

  293

  —

  10

  10

  Pakistan

  55

  188

  257

  2

  6

  9

  Bangladesh

  6

  35

  43

  —

  —

  —

  Hong Kong

  —

  5

  6

  —

  1

  1

  Other Asia

  Burma

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  —

  China

  3

  7

  14

  —

  1

  2

  British India Ocean Territory

  2

  1

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Indonesia

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Korea Republic (South)

  —

  1

  1

  —

  2

  2

  Malaysia

  3

  4

  8

  1

  —

  1

  Nepal

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Philippines

  —

  3

  3

  1

  1

  2

  Sri Lanka

  3

  12

  17

  —

  —

  —

  Singapore

  3

  3

  6

  —

  —

  —

  Thailand

  —

  2

  2

  —

  1

  1

  Vietnam

  6

  8

  14

  —

  —

  —

  Africa

  Algeria

  —

  6

  30

  —

  —

  —

  Angola

  —

  5

  13

  —

  —

  —

  Ascension Island

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Benin

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  1

  481
  482

  Type of Prisoner

  Nationality

  Male

  Female

  Remand

  Sentenced1

  All2

  Remand

  Sentenced1

  All2

  Cameroon

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Central African Republic

  4

  2

  6

  —

  —

  —

  Congo

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Ivory Coast

  1

  1

  4

  —

  —

  1

  Ethiopia

  1

  2

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Ghana

  16

  34

  78

  5

  18

  24

  Gambia

  —

  4

  4

  —

  —

  —

  Guinea

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Kenya

  2

  25

  30

  1

  —

  1

  Liberia

  1

  1

  4

  —

  —

  —

  Libya

  1

  7

  10

  —

  —

  —

  Morocco

  6

  18

  29

  —

  1

  1

  Mauritania

  —

  2

  2

  —

  1

  1

  Mauritius

  1

  8

  9

  —

  —

  —

  Malawi

  —

  3

  4

  —

  1

  1

  Mayotte

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Niger

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Nigeria

  37

  120

  217

  14

  47

  71

  Senegal

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Seychelles

  1

  4

  5

  —

  —

  —

  Sudan

  —

  —

  2

  —

  1

  1

  St. Helena

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Somalia

  9

  9

  23

  —

  —

  —

  Tunisia

  —

  6

  7

  —

  —

  —

  Tanzania

  4

  3

  10

  1

  —

  1

  Uganda

  4

  13

  23

  —

  —

  —

  South Africa

  3

  17

  22

  —

  2

  2

  Zambia

  4

  3

  7

  —

  1

  1

  Zaire

  2

  4

  25

  —

  —

  —

  Zimbabwe

  2

  9

  11

  —

  —

  —

  Caribbean

  Antigua

  2

  7

  9

  —

  —

  —

  Barbados

  2

  13

  15

  1

  1

  2

  Costa Rica

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Cuba

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Dominica

  —

  7

  7

  —

  —

  —

  Dominican Republic

  1

  3

  4

  —

  1

  1

  Grenada

  2

  5

  7

  —

  1

  1

  Haiti

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Jamaica

  110

  317

  440

  17

  30

  55

  St. Lucia

  4

  12

  17

  —

  —

  —

  Monserrat

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  —

  St. Christopher and Nevis

  —

  2

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Trinidad and Tobago

  4

  10

  14

  —

  —

  —

  St. Vincent and Grenadines

  —

  10

  10

  —

  1

  1

  United States of America

  15

  37

  56

  3

  17

  20

  Canada

  4

  13

  18

  —

  1

  1

  America (North and South)

  Argentina

  3

  1

  4

  —

  —

  —

  Belize

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Bolivia

  —

  2

  2

  —

  1

  1

  Brazil

  1

  4

  6

  1

  2

  3

  Cayman Islands

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Chile

  —

  4

  4

  2

  —

  2

  Colombia

  2

  42

  52

  1

  4

  5

  Guyana

  6

  20

  26

  2

  6

  13

  Mexico

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Peru

  —

  6

  7

  —

  —

  —

  Surinam

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Uruguay

  1

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Venezuela

  —

  3

  3

  —

  —

  1

  Australia

  6

  18

  25

  1

  —

  1

  New Zealand

  3

  11

  14

  1

  1

  2

  Oceania

  Fiji

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Guam

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  Papua New Guinea

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Solomon Islands

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1 Includes persons committed in default of payment of a fine.

  2 Includes Immigration Act detainees and non-criminal prisoners.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. Howard
  The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the United Kingdom economy. Government help small firms by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislative and administrative burdens. They also provide direct assistance where appropriate, and are currently establishing a network of business links to provide high-quality business support across the country.

  Since July 1993, the Home Office has demonstrated its continued commitment to helping small businesses through deregulation. Steps taken have included simplifying the law on Sunday trading and on football pools, and legislative proposals, in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill, to introduce a system of children's certificates for licensed premises, and to end restrictions on weekday shopping hours and Sunday racing and betting. We have announced our intention to remove various restrictions on betting offices, and to bring forward a measure under the order-making power in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill to repeal the provision in the Licensing Act 1964, which makes it an offence to sell someone more alcohol than they have asked for. In addition, small businesses have been consulted in the course of a fundamental review of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, and in the subsequent inter-departmental review of the enforcement of fire safety regulations. The Government are now considering the outcome of these reviews, and paying particular attention to the needs of small businesses in this context.

  In the past year, 32 of the 71 regulations affecting business for which the Home Office is responsible have been reviewed. A programme for the review of the remainder is now being developed. This programme, which will also cover other deregulatory work, will include targets for the various items in the programme.

  Much of the deregulatory work undertaken in the past year in the Home Office has carried forward work started in the previous 12 months. This had included proposals for legislation to clarify the law on Sunday trading, consultation exercises on greyhound racing and liquor licensing, and the start of the review of all the regulations affecting business for which the Home Office is responsible.

  The Department's work on deregulations has been complemented by efforts to help small businesses protect themselves against crime, and to help those who wish to bid for Home Office business. In 1993, the Home Office crime prevention unit published a research paper "The Prevention of Crime Against Small Businesses: The Safer Cities Experience" which examined the effectiveness of crime prevention schemes directed at small business. The Home Office crime prevention centre has also published a guide on retail security to help police officers advise small retailers on protection against burglary. In addition, the
  484
  National Board for Crime Prevention—a non-departmental public body for which the Home Office is responsible—has recently set up a retail action group to look at crime and its effect on the retail sector. This group plans to issue guidance on various aspects of crime prevention which should help small businesses. The Home Office is also carrying out a survey for the international business crime survey of large and small business premises to enable the relative risks for different types of premises to be estimated.

  On procurement, it is the Home Office's policy to give encouragement and assistance to small businesses wherever possible. To that end, over the past 12 months we have again revised and re-issued a booklet: "Selling to the Home Office", which details the Department's purchasing needs, and gives specific contact points for initial approaches. A central contact point for general inquiries is also available. The Home Office does not, however, hold detailed information on the volume of business placed with small firms.

  Young Offenders
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles were detained in adult prisons each year since 1991.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of juveniles detained in adult prisons each year since 1991.
  The attached table gives information on youths aged 17 or under who were first received into an adult Prison Service establishment in England and Wales since 1991.

  Youths1 first received into an adult Prison Service establishment in England and Wales 1991 to 1993

  Type of first reception

  Year

  Remand

  2Sentenced

  1991

  1,565

  878

  1992

  751

  472

  31993

  570

  180

  1 Persons aged 17 years or under.

  2 Includes fine defaulters. This may include some previously received as a remand prisoner into an adult establishment.

  3 Provisional figures.

  Speed Cameras
  Mr. Day
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for funds generated from fines for speeding offences detected by cameras to be passed to local police authorities for funding further provision of speed cameras and the staff necessary to administer the processing of the offences.

  Mr. Maclean
  No. The income from criminal penalties, including fixed penalties and court fines for traffic offences, goes directly to the Consolidated Fund at the Exchequer.

  Fire Services
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will clarify the London fire and civil defence authority's reasons for not having five pumping applicances in the north-east area of the London fire brigade available for operational service on the night of Sunday 26 June.

  Mr. Maclean
  I have been informed by the chief fire officer that on the evening of 26 June five pumping appliances were unavailable because of unusually high levels of sick leave. The brigade was nevertheless able to ensure that the required levels of service were delivered to the public.

  Consultation Documents
  Mr. George
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the White and Green Papers and consultation documents published by his Department in the last five years.

  Mr. Howard
  The available information is as follows:White Papers
  Charities: a framework for the future/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1989.—(Cm 694)
  Compensating victims of violent crime: changes to the criminal injuries compensation scheme/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1993.—(Cm 2434)
  Crime, justice and protecting the public/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1990.—(Cm 965)
  Custody, care and justice: the way ahead for the Prison Service in England and Wales/Woolf, Harry; Great Britain. Home Office. —London: HMSO, 1991.—(Cm 1647)
  A National lottery: raising money for good causes/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1992.—(Cm 1861)
  A New framework for local justice/Great Britain. Home Office; Great Britain. Lord Chancellor's Department.—London: HMSO, 1992.—(Cm 1829)
  [Issued jointly by the Home Office and Lord Chancellor's Department]
  Police reform: a police service for the twenty-first century/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1993.—(Cm 2281) Supervision and punishment in the community: a framework for action/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1990.—(Cm 966)
  Green Papers and other consultation documents
  Absent voting/Great Britain. Home Office—[London]: Home Office, 1989.—(Representation of the People Acts consultation paper; no. 2).
  The Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules 1992: consultation draft 1st November 1991/Great Britain, Home Office. Immigration and Nationality Department.—[Croydon: Home Office], 1991/Great Britain. Home Office. Immigration and Nationality Department. —[Croydon: Home Office], 1991
  Candidates election expenses: consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office.—[London]: Home Office, 1989
  Civil defence community volunteers: a discussion paper by the co-ordinator of voluntary effort/Emergency Planning College, —Easingwold: [Emergency Planning College], 1989.
  A Code of standards for the Prison Service: a discussion document produced by the Code of Standards Steering Group/Dunbar, I M; Great Britain. Prison Service. Directorate of Inmate Administration. London: Home Office, 1992
  The control of dogs: a consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1990
  Control of fund-raising: a consultation document on part II of the Charities Act 1992/Great Britain. Voluntary Services Unit.—Home Office, Voluntary Services Unit, 1993
  Court escorts, custody and security: a discussion paper/Great Britain. Home Office. Criminal Department.—London: Home Office, 1990
  Criminal appeals and the establishment of a Criminal Cases Review Authority: a discussion paper/Great Britain. Home Office.—[London]: Home Office, 1994
  486
  Disclosure of criminal records for employment vetting purposes: a consultation paper by the Home Office/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1993.—(Cm 2319)
  Draft magistrates' courts (Children Act 1989) rules 1991: consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office.—[London]: Home Office, 1991
  Draft magistrates' courts (Children Act 1989) rules 1991: additional consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office. [London]: Home Office, 1991
  Evening opening of licensed betting offices: Home. Office consultation document/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1991
  Fire safety management in hotels and boarding houses: draft for consultation/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1990
  Misuse of witness statements in sexual offences cases: a consultation paper by the Home Office/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1991.
  Partnership in dealing with offenders in the community: a discussion paper issued by the Home Office to complement the white paper 'Crime, Justice, and protecting the public'/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1990.
  Possible reforms of the liquor licensing system in England and Wales: a consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office.-London: Home Office, 1993.
  The Prison disciplinary system: consultation document on L. J. Woolfs proposal that boards of visitors … /Great Britain Home Office. Inspectorate of Prisons.—London: Home Office, 1991.
  Prison sanitation: proposals for the ending of slopping out/Great Britain. Inspectorate of Prisons—London: Home Office, 1989. Proposed changes in the immigration rules: consultation document/Great Britain. Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Department.—London: [Home Office Immigration and Nationality Department], 1993.
  Reforming the law on Sunday trading: a guide to the options for reform/Great Britain. Home Office,—London: HMSO, 1993—(Cm. 2300)
  The remand of alleged juvenile offenders: a consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office. Criminal Policy Department. —London: Home Office, 1991.
  Review of Police discipline procedures: a consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office.—[London]: Home Office, 1993.
  Squatting: a Home Office consultation paper/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1991.
  Summer time: a consultation document/Great Britain. Home Office.—London: HMSO, 1989.—(Cm. 722).
  Technology for the enforcement of road traffic law: [consultation paper]—Great Britain. Home Office.—London: Home Office, 1989.
  Wheelclamping on private land: a consultation paper by the Home Office/Great Britain. Home Office.—[London]: Home Office, 1993.
  No central record is maintained of consultation documents not published as Green papers. The above list may not therefore be comprehensive.

  Legislation
  Mr. George
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) private Members' Bills and (b) other public Bills have been passed within his sphere of responsibility in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Howard
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Private Members' and Public Bills, within the sphere of the Secretary of State for the Home Department's responsibility which have received Royal Assent since 1979

  Parliamentary Session

  Public Bills

  Private Members' and Private Peers' Bills

  1979–80

  5

  7

  1980–81

  4

  6

  1981–82

  3

  3

  487

  Parliamentary Session

  Public Bills

  Private Members' and Private Peers' Bills

  1982–83

  2

  5

  1983–84

  5

  5

  1984–85

  4

  7

  1985–86

  3

  4

  1986–87

  4

  6

  1987–88

  4

  4

  1988–89

  5

  2

  1989–90

  3

  4

  1990–91

  4

  6

  1991–92

  3

  3

  1992–93

  4

  5

  1 1993–94

  1

  0

  Total

  54

  67

  Oral and Written Answers given by Home Office Ministers in both Houses since the 1989–90 Session

  Commons Answers

  Lords Answers

  Parliamentary Session

  Priority Written1

  Ordinary Written

  Oral2

  Written

  Oral

  Total

  1989–90

  1,456

  1,455

  704

  157

  37

  3,809

  1990–91

  1,145

  1,273

  184

  154

  41

  2,797

  1991–92

  700

  700

  106

  70

  22

  1,598

  1992–93

  2,156

  2,526

  313

  222

  65

  5,282

  1993–943

  1,488

  2,026

  210

  191

  43

  3,958

  1Now known as Questions for a 'named day'.

  2Not all reached during Question Time.

  3Figures up to 19 July.

  Firearms
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegally held semiautomatic firearms have been confiscated by the police service in England and Wales during the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available.

  Mr. Maclean
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has concerning the provenance of firearms unlawfully imported into the country; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  We have no hard information. The break-up of the former Soviet Union and the demise of the Warsaw pact has led to a greater availability of firearms on the world market. Her Majesty's customs are aware of this increased risk and are taking steps to counter it.

  Subject Access Requests
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many subject access requests were received by each police force in the last year; what estimate he has as to the percentage of those requests which were enforced subject access requests; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The number of subject access requests received by police forces in England and Wales, from 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1994, are given in the table. Applicants do not give reasons for requesting the disclosure and so it is not possible to estimate the percentage of the total number of requests which arise out of enforced subject access. However, the Metropolitan
  488
  1 To date.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. George
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many questions received(a) oral and (b) written answers from Home Office Ministers in each year since 1989.

  Mr. Howard
  The information requested is given in the table.

  police national identification bureau considers that enforced subject access requests represents a large majority of the cases that are dealt with.

  Force

  Requests

  Avon and Somerset

  262

  Bedfordshire

  106

  Cambridgeshire

  34

  Cheshire

  150

  City of London

  33

  Cleveland

  102

  Cumbria

  30

  Derbyshire

  133

  Devon and Cornwall

  191

  Dorset

  109

  Durham

  42

  Dyfed-Powys

  60

  Essex

  243

  Gloucestershire

  34

  Greater Manchester

  372

  Gwent

  67

  Hampshire

  227

  Hertfordshire

  171

  Humberside

  551

  Kent

  547

  Lancashire

  170

  Leicestershire

  84

  Lincolnshire

  86

  Merseyside

  173

  Metropolitan

  3,821

  Norfolk

  98

  North Wales

  80

  North Yorkshire

  137

  Northamptonshire

  165

  Northumbria

  257

  Nottinghamshire

  237

  South Wales

  480

  South Yorkshire

  605

  Staffordshire

  807

  Suffolk

  111

  Surrey

  226

  Sussex

  253

  Thames Valley

  260

  Warwickshire

  48

  489

  Force

  Requests

  West Mercia

  87

  West Midlands

  414

  West Yorkshire

  459

  Wiltshire

  59

  Total

  12,581

  Immigration
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the research projects on immigration and resettlement policy commissioned by his Department of which the results and final reports for which his Department has not published in part or in full in 1994; and if he will set out the reasons for the decisions not to publish.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Mr. Soley) on 18 July,Official Report, columns 34–35.

  Current projects on immigration and settlement policy are
  Manpower allocation planning for the immigration control. Study of factors which affect the decision to seek British citizenship.
  The experiences of settlement among refugees with special reference to housing and employment.
  The experiences of settlement among Vietnamese refugees.

  Reports on these projects have not been finalised; but when they have been, they will be published.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many different individuals have been detained under Immigration Acts powers during the recent 12-month period; and of these how many were(a) asylum seekers and (b) others.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list(a) the prisons and (b) the police stations used to detain people under Immigration Acts powers; and if he will give the numbers so detained for the latest available date.

  Mr. Maclean
  All prisons and police cells are designated places of detention for the purpose of detention under the Immigration Act 1971.

  Details are given in the following table of people detained on 19 July 1994 in Prison Service establishments. Similar details are not available for police cells and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Immigration detainees held in

  (i) Prison

  Numbers

  Aberdeen

  2

  Armley

  2

  Bedford

  1

  Belfast

  2

  Belmarsh

  8

  Blakenhurst

  4

  Bristol

  1

  Brinsford

  9

  Brixton

  3

  Bullingdon

  30

  Cardiff

  1

  Chelmsford

  3

  Cookham Wood

  1

  490

  (i) Prison

  Numbers

  Dorchester

  3

  Durham

  1

  Edinburgh

  1

  Elmley

  3

  Erlestoke

  1

  Exeter

  2

  Feltham

  2

  Gloucester

  1

  Greenock

  7

  Haslar

  24

  Highdown

  14

  Holloway

  5

  Hull

  5

  Lewes

  2

  Liverpool

  3

  Manchester

  13

  Norwich

  2

  Pentonville

  4

  Reading

  1

  Rochester

  28

  Shrewsbury

  2

  Swaleside

  1

  Swansea

  1

  Wandsworth

  9

  Winchester

  4

  Winson Green

  38

  The Wolds

  2

  Wormwood Scrubs

  2

  Total

  248

  (ii) Police Celts

  12

  Vehicle Emissions
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North of 13 July,Official Report, column 659, if he will set out the reasons why the information requested on prosecutions pressed for vehicle exhaust emissions is not available centrally; and if he will make it his policy to establish arrangements for the central collection of such data.

  Mr. Maclean
  The information which is collected on court proceedings for summary motoring offences uses a classification system which does not currently distinguish exhaust emission offences from other offences of vehicles in defective condition. It would be possible to provide the information requested only by approaching individual! courts, and this would be disproportionately expensive. Decisions on exactly which information is collected on summary motoring court proceedings, of which there were about 2·5 million in 1992, take into account the need to provide statistics of most interest to Ministers, Members of Parliament and others, the need for the data collection to be cost-effective and the need to reduce the total burden of information gathering on the police, who currently have to provide this information. In any future review of the classification scheme used, account will be taken of all representations which have been made.

  Fire Services
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the need to provide adequate coverage against fires in determining the future of fire stations serving Liverpool; and if he will make a statement.
  491
  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. and learned Friend would not be prepared to approve proposals by the Merseyside fire and civil defence authority for the closure of any fire station in Merseyside unless he was satisfied, on the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate of fire services, that the authority would continue to maintain the nationally recommended minimum standards of fire cover.

  Prisoners (Psychiatric Treatment)
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will give a breakdown of the referrals for psychiatric treatment of prisoners broken down by category for each year since 1984.

  (2) how many referrals for prisoners were for the treatment of psychiatric disorders for each year since 1984.

  Mr. Maclean
  Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about referrals for psychiatric treatment, broken down by category for each year since 1984.
  This information is not available in the form requested. However, the table below gives the number of prisoners seen by NHS consultant psychiatrists and those transferred under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to outside psychiatric facilities for treatment, for 1986 onwards.

  Year

  Number of prisoners referred to NHS psychiatrists

  Number of prisoners transferred under (Section 47 and 48 of the MHA 1983)

  1986–87

  9,975

  159

  1987–88

  9,410

  183

  1988–89

  13,745

  184

  1989–90

  12,670

  220

  1990–91

  13,396

  323

  1991–92

  17,583

  379

  1992–93

  16,737

  625

  The study of psychiatric disorder in sentenced prisoners carried out by Professor Gunn et al from the Institute of Psychiatry in 1990 gave an estimated prevalence of psychiatric disorder by diagnostic group as follows:

  Diagnoses

  Per cent.

  Psychosis

  1·9

  Neurotic disorder

  5·3

  Personality disorder

  8·2

  Sexual deviation

  1·9

  Organic disorder

  0·9

  It is likely that referrals and transfers shown would follow the same prevalence of diagnosis.

  Prisoners (Medical Treatment)
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prisoners were treated by the private medical sector for each year since 1984.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 21 July 1994:
  492
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners treated by the private medical sector for each year since 1984.
  I regret that this information is not collected centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were treated by NHS hospital trusts for each year since 1984.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners treated by NHS hospital trusts for each year since 1984.
  The information you request is only available from 1986 onwards and is set out in the table. The status of NHS hospitals, trust or otherwise, is not recorded.

  Year

  Number of occasions which prisoners attended NHS out-patient departments

  Number of transfers to NHS hospitals for in-patient treatment or observation

  1986–87

  17,757

  1,908

  1987–88

  18,006

  1,964

  1988–89

  18,494

  1,964

  1989–90

  18,740

  1,988

  1990–91

  18,402

  1,887

  1991–92

  24,420

  2,230

  1992–93

  23,959

  2,240

  Identity Cards
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the officials and organisations involved in his review of whether a national identity card should be introduced; when this review is to be concluded; and if he will place briefing papers in the Library.

  Mr. Maclean
  The question of a national identity card scheme is kept under review. If it were decided to pursue the idea there would be a full consultation exercise.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the implications of the existence of identity cards elsewhere in the EC for the United Kingdom; and if identity cards are subject to subsidiarity rules.

  Mr. Maclean
  There is an obligation under Community law to recognise national identity cards of other member states which are issued for travel purposes. The concept of subsidiarity applies to proposals for Community legislation. There are no such proposals in respect of identity cards.

  Road Death Victims
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his response to each of the specific recommendations set out in chapter 5 of the report, "Support for the Families of Road Death Victims", published by an independent working party on 18 July;

  (2) what is his general response to the recommendations set out in chapter 5 of the report, "Support for the Families

  493
  of Road Death Victims," published by an independent working party on 18 July, a copy of which has been sent to him;

  (3) what action he proposes to take on each of the specific recommendations set out in chapter 5 of the report, "Support for the Families of Road Death Victims", published by an independent working party on 18 July, a copy of which has been sent to him.

  Mr. Maclean
  It is too soon to announce any response to the report, "Support for the Families of Road Death Victims", which was only published on 18 July. Chapter 5 of the report makes a number of recommendations aimed at several Government Departments and other bodies, which will need to be carefully considered by those concerned.

  Prison Service
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Tooting on 1 December 1993,Official Report, column 623, listing the bonus of the Director General of the Prison Service, for the period of 6 January to 31 March 1993, if he is now in a position to indicate the bonuses paid to the Director General of the Prison Service for the whole of 1993.

  Mr. Howard
  ; The Director General of the Prison Service received a performance bonus of £35,000 for the period 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994.

  Geneva Convention
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations the British Government have undertaken into the conduct of individuals suspected of committing, between 1964 and 1989, offences under the Geneva Convention Act 1957 relating to article 147 of the Geneva convention directive to the protection of civilians in time of war.

  Mr. Maclean
  Any such investigations would be carried out by the police. They have no central record of the number, if any, of investigations carried out.

  Police Functions
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations were consulted on the issues covered by the Home Office review of core police functions.

  Mr. Maclean
  The organisations consulted on the review of police core and ancillary tasks are the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Superintendents Association, the Police Federation, the Association of County Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the nature, length of time and extent of the consultation exercise that he intends to carry out in response to the recommendations of the Home Office review of core police functions.

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. and learned Friend expects to receive a report on the review of police core and ancillary tasks at the turn of the year. Consultation is 494
  currently under way with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Superintendents Association, the Police Federation, the Association of County Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities. My right hon. and learned Friend will decide on the appropriate level and type of wider consultation in the light of the recommendations made by the review.

  Paul Malone
  Mrs. Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will make known to Paul Malone its decision following the report from the Metropolitan police.

  Mr. Maclean
  Once the inquiries into Mr. Malone's case are completed my right hon. and learned Friend will decide as quickly as possible whether there are grounds for action on his part in relation to the representations about the safety of his conviction. Mr. Malone will then be informed of his decision.

  Mrs. Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Metropolitan police investigation into the case of Paul Malone, H26911, commissioned by the Police Complaints Authority was concluded.

  Mr. Maclean
  I understand that the authority received a report from the investigating officer on 8 June in the light of which it has asked for further information to be provided on certain points.

  Mrs. Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Police Complaints Authority will complete its examination of the report of the Metropolitan police into the case of Paul Malone.

  Mr. Maclean
  I understand that the authority expects shortly to be in a position to issue the appropriate interim statement as to its satisfaction with the conduct of the investigation in this case.

  Bouncers
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the regulation of the functions and duties of bouncers at licensed premises and clubs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  Since the beginning of this year, the Home Office has received three letters on the subject. I have also had a meeting and related correspondence with the British Entertainment and Discotheque Association and the hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney).

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the total numbers of asylum seekers under the age of 18 years held in detention at the latest available date; and what was the figure 12 months ago.

  Mr. Maclean
  On 19 July, there were six people under the age of 18 years who had at some stage sought asylum, and who were detained under the Immigration Act 1971.

  The corresponding figure for 12 months ago is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Carol Birch
  Mr. Ashton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations were made to his Department by the court in Parma, Majorca regarding the appearance of a defence witness Carol Birch to testify on behalf of Mr. Russell Torr of Doncaster road, Carlton in Lidnick, Worksop, Nottingham; and what responses they made;

  (2) if his Department had access to the name, address and passport number of Carol Birch and a copy of the statement she made to the court in Palma, Majorca; if this statement was made available to the trial of Russell Ton and what was the reason for the decision; and if he will make a statement regarding what efforts were made to contact Carol Birch as requested by the court in Palma.

  Mr. Maclean
  On 7 December 1993, the Home Office received from the Provincial Tribunal, Palma de Mallorca, a summons to be served on Ms Carol Birch calling for her appearance before the tribunal for the purposes of proceedings concerning Mr. Russell Torr. The tribunal provided a passport number, but not a full address. Article 14 of the European convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters, to which the United Kingdom and. Spain are parties, provides, in the case of a summons, that the issuing authority shall provide the address of the person to be served. In these circumstances, the tribunal was advised on 17 December 1993 that the summons had not been served because the address provided was not sufficient. The tribunal was advised of this again on 12 January 1994. The Home Office has no knowledge in this case of a statement made by Ms Birch.

  South Wales Police (Fraud Cases)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with the chief constable of South Wales police concerning the inability to take on fraud cases pending the re-provisioning of the travel and miscellaneous expenses budget of the fraud squad; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The chief constable has assured me that all fraud complaints will continue to be investigated.

  Merseyside Police
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many man-hours annually the Merseyside police expend in the execution of warrants issued to Merseyside and North-Western Electricity Board; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  This information is not collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Coroners Courts
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of occasions since 1985 when there have been judicial reviews, or other proceedings in court, concerning the verdicts of, or proceedings in, coroners courts; and if he will deposit any record of each in the Library.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information in the precise form sought by the hon. Member is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member with the available information in due course.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fund-raising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Howard
  Between 1 January and 30 June 1994, Ministers in my Department made six overseas visits in their official capacity. None of these involved fund-raising activities for the Conservative party.

  Car Thefts
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many car thieves were apprehended during 1993–94 as a result of the tracker system;

  (2) what estimate the Government have made of the impact of tracker systems on the number of cars stolen each year;

  (3) how many stolen cars were recovered in 1993–94; and how many installed with the tracker system were recovered during the same period.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information on the number of arrests attributable to the tracker system is not collected centrally.

  The Home Office has made no assessment of the impact of vehicle-tracking systems, of which tracker is but one, on the number of cars stolen. This will be a matter for the police service. I understand that it is still too early to make any such assessment.

  The provisional figure for stolen vehicles recovered in England and Wales, excluding Dyfed-Powys, in calendar year 1993 is 350,862. I understand that, from September 1993, when the tracker system began operations, to the end of March 1994, 24 stolen vehicles fitted with tracker equipment were recovered.

  Fires
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) children and (b) adults were (i) injured or (ii) killed in fires in 1993 in houses in multiple occupation; and what proportion the fatality figure of the total domestic fatalities was caused by fire.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information is not available for 1993. For 1992, the age of fatal and non-fatal casualties from fires attended by local authority fire brigades in houses in multiple occupancies is published in table 23 of the Home Office publication, "Fire Statistics, United Kingdom 1992". Information on deaths from accidents occurring in the home and communal establishments, by cause, is published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in table 3 of "Mortality Statistics 1992, Injury and Poisoning: England and Wales", series DH4 No. 18. Copies of these publications are in the Library.

  Criminal Injuries Compensation
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the victims of violent crime will be given the right to appeal against decisions made under the reformed criminal injuries compensation scheme.
  497
  Mr. Maclean
  Applicants who are dissatisfied with the initial decision of the criminal injuries compensation authority have an unfettered right of appeal. The arrangements for considering appeals are described in paragraphs 32–37 of the White Paper "Compensating Victims of Violent Crime: Changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensating Scheme", Cm. 2434.

  Under these arrangements a dissatisfied applicant may request reconsideration of his case by the authority. This will be an internal review of the case conducted by a more senior member of the authority and may result in the original decision being confirmed, overturned or otherwise altered.

  An applicant who remains dissatisfied after this review may appeal to an appeals panel. The panel, which is independent of the authority and Ministers, will be able to deal with the appeal on the papers or by offering the appellant an oral hearing at which he may present his case.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had regarding his plans to reform the criminal injuries compensation scheme.

  Mr. Maclean
  Since we announced our intention in November 1992 to introduce a revised criminal injuries compensation scheme we have received representations from a number of hon. Members, either in writing on their own behalf or on behalf of constituents, as well as from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, various organisa tions including representative bodies of the legal profession, victim support local schemes and the national office, the Trade Union Congress, the Police Federation and members of the public.

  The representations have covered a range from the underlying principles and rationale of the new scheme to questions about how it will be administered.

  The new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1994.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to provide adequate assessments of post-traumatic stress and sexual abuse for victims of violent crime under the reformed criminal injuries compensation scheme.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority which administers the new scheme is responsible, like the board which preceded it, for ensuring that sufficient medical evidence is obtained to enable the applicant's injuries and their after-effects to be correctly assessed.

  Animal Procedures Committee
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the recent report by the Animal Procedures Committee on regulatory toxicology and the recommendations it contains;

  (2) which of those recommendations made in the report of the Animal Procedures Committee on regulatory toxicology he intends to incorporate into Home Office policy.

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, South-West (Mr. Page) on 19 July,Official Report, column 153.

  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the types and numbers 498
  of cosmetics tests carried out on animals in 1992; and if he will give a further breakdown of these figures indicating which tests involved raw ingredients and which involved finished products.

  Mr. Maclean
  A special exercise undertaken by the Home Office at the request of the Animal Procedures Committee showed that 2,227 animals were used in cosmetics tests during 1992, a fall of nearly 40 per cent. on the previous year's figure. Of the animals used during 1992, 1,826 were involved in tests on ingredients; the remaining 401 involved various tests on a single finished product.

  I understand that a more detailed breakdown of the types and numbers of cosmetics tests carried out during 1993 will appear in the forthcoming annual report of the Animal Procedures Committee. I have asked for a similar analysis to be undertaken in respect of 1992, and I shall write to the hon. Member with the results.

  Drugs Prevention
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his recent visit to the drugs prevention initiative in Liverpool; and what were his findings.

  Mr. Howard
  I visited the Home Office drugs prevention initiative team at its offices in Liverpool on 17 June. In addition to meeting the team members, I met representatives of the city council, the health authority and people from some of the local projects that the team is supporting.

  I was impressed with the work which the local team were doing to help the local community fight the drug problem. I hope that it will be possible for me to see more of the projects with which they are involved in a future visit.

  Prisoners (HIV)
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison inmates were found to be HIV positive in each prison; and what counselling is taking place in respect of HIV-positive prisoners.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Roland Boyes, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners found to be HIV positive in each prison and what counselling is provided for prisoners in respect of HIV.
  At 30 June 1994 there were 45 prisoners confirmed to have HIV in the prisons of England and Wales. To protect the medical confidentiality of the prisoners, there locations are not disclosed.
  There are 207 centrally trained HIV counsellors throughout the prison establishments of England and Wales. Pre and post counselling is offered to all prisoners who are considering having an HIV antibody test, either through prison health care centres or genito-urinary medicine clinics operating within prison establishments.

  Prison Statistics
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table giving the numbers of(a) category A prisoners, (b) category B

  499
  prisoners, (c) category C prisoners, (d) category D prisoners, (e) sentenced adult males awaiting categorisation, (f) young offenders categorised as suitable for open conditions, (g) young offenders categorised as suitable for closed conditions, (h) women prisoners categorised as suitable for open conditions, (i) women prisoners categorised as suitable for closed conditions and (j) remand prisoners in England and Wales at the latest available date.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the numbers of prisoners by category.
  On 18 July, 690 category A prisoners were held in Prison Service establishments.
  Provisional information for 30 June indicates that the number of category B, category C, and category D prisoners were respectively 6,050, 15,880 and 6,150.
  On 31 May, 12,530 remand prisoners were held, including 96 in police cells.
  No information is available centrally on the number of sentenced males awaiting categorisation or the number of young offenders or women categorised as suitable for either open or closed conditions.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the(a) number and (b) percentage of prisoners received into prison in England and Wales in 1993 who were remand prisoners.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July. 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number and percentage of prisoners received into prisons in England and Wales in 1993 who were remand prisoners.
  The statistics of receptions of different categories of prisoner involves the repeat counting of a single prisoner received successively as untried, convicted unsentenced and sentenced.
  In 1993, approximately 53,000 untried persons and 30,200 convicted unsentenced persons, some previously received as untried, were received into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.
  There were about 74,700 receptions of sentenced prisoners, some previously received as untried or convicted unsentenced or both, and approximately 4,600 non-criminal receptions.
  The total of the untried and convicted unsentenced receptions represents 51 per cent. of all receptions.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown of all prisoners in England and Wales by offence group, at the latest available date.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  500
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking for a breakdown of the prison population by offence group at the latest available date.
  The attached table gives the available provisional information for sentenced prisoners held in Prison Service establishments on 31 May.

  Population in Prison Service establishments under sentence at 31 May 1994 by offence group—England and Wales

  Offence group

  Number of persons

  Offences with immediate custodial sentence

  Violence against the person

  7,720

  Sexual offences

  3,260

  Burglary

  5,010

  Robbery

  5,010

  Theft and handling

  3,190

  Fraud and Forgery

  880

  Drugs offences

  3,370

  Other offences

  3,750

  Offences not recorded

  2,850

  All offences

  35,050

  In default of a fine

  440

  All sentenced prisoners

  35,490

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) male and (b) female prisoners were received into prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of male and female prisoners received into prisons in England and Wales in each of the last ten years.
  Information on the number of receptions into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales for the years 1983 to 1992 is published annually in "Prison Statistics England and Wales" (table 1.14 of the 1992 edition, Cm. 2581). A copy of this publication is available in the Library of the House.
  The attached table shows provisional information for 1993.

  Receptions into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales in 19931

  Male

  Female

  Untried

  51,120

  2,670

  Convicted, Unsentenced2

  28,730

  1,520

  Sentenced2 3

  71,010

  3,730

  Non-criminal

  4,370

  250

  1Provisional figures.

  2Includes some prisoners previously received as untried or convicted unsentenced.

  3Includes fine defaulters.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many remand prisoners were received into prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
  501
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many remand prisoners were received into prisons in England and Wales in each of the last ten years.
  Information on the number of receptions into Prison Service establishments for the years 1983 to 1992 is published annually in "Prison Statistics England and Wales" (table 1.14 of the 1992 edition, Cm 2581), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
  Provisional information for 1993 shows that 53,800 prisoners were received into Prison Service establishments as untried and 30,200 as convicted unsentenced during 1993. The convicted unsentenced figure will include some prisoners previously received as untried.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the remand population in England and Wales on the last day of each of the last 36 months; and what percentage of the prison population remands formed on each occasion.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]:Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what was the remand population in England and Wales on the last day of each of the last 36 months; and what was the percentage of the prison population remands formed on each occasion.

  This information is given in the following table.

  Population of remand prisoners, in England and Wales, May 1991 to May 19941

  Date

  Remand population

  Percentage of total population in custody

  1994

  May

  12,530

  26

  April

  12,158

  25

  March

  11,885

  24

  February

  12,109

  25

  January

  12,109

  26

  1993

  December

  10,763

  24

  November

  11,895

  25

  October

  11,829

  25

  September

  11,445

  25

  August

  11,407

  25

  July

  10,572

  24

  June

  10,632

  24

  May

  10,181

  24

  April

  9,997

  23

  March

  9,996

  23

  February

  9,933

  23

  January

  9,433

  23

  1992

  December

  8,490

  21

  November

  9,459

  22

  October

  9,605

  22

  September

  10,020

  22

  August

  10,128

  22

  July

  9,942

  21

  June

  10,404

  22

  May

  10,294

  22

  April

  10,646

  22

  March

  10,678

  22

  February

  10,747

  23

  January

  10,661

  23

  502

  Date

  Remand population

  Percentage of total population in custody

  1991

  December

  9,881

  22

  November

  10,654

  22

  October

  10,797

  23

  September

  10,754

  23

  August

  10,357

  22

  July

  10,039

  22

  June

  9,877

  22

  May

  10,015

  22

  1Includes prisoners held in police cells.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give a breakdown by(a) age,(b)offence group, (c) gender and (d) ethnic group of all receptions into prisons in England and Wales in 1993.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking for a breakdown by (a) ages, (b) offence group, (c) gender and (d) ethnic group of all receptions into prisons in England and Wales in 1993.
  A breakdown by age and sex of receptions of untried and sentenced prisoners in 1993 is given in Table 5 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin 16/94 'The Prison Population in 1993 and Long Term Projections to 2001', a copy of which is in the library of the House.
  The readily available breakdown of receptions by ethnic group was given in the table for 1993 attached to my reply to your recent Question about a breakdown by ethnic origin for each of the last ten years.

  The breakdown by type of offence for sentenced receptions in 1993 is given in the attached table.

  Receptions into prison service establishments 1993: by type of offence

  Type of Offence

  Number

  All Offences

  52,100

  Violence Against the Person

  7,540

  Sexual Offences

  1,900

  Burglary

  9,550

  Robbery

  3,160

  Theft & Handling

  9,100

  Frauds & Forgery

  1,790

  Drug Offences

  3,180

  Other Offences

  12,230

  Offences Not Recorded

  3,640

  Note:

  Excludes any prisoners held solely in police cells.

  Excludes fine defaulters.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of(a) male and (b) female foreign nationals in prison had been convicted of drug offences at the latest available date.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]:Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
  503
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number and percentage of male and female foreign nationals in prison who had been convicted of drug offences at the latest available date.
  On 31 May 1994 in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales 634 sentenced male non-British citizens, excluding fine defaulters, were recorded centrally as being under sentence for drugs offences, or thirty per cent. of sentenced male non-British citizens.
  The equivalent figures for females are 143 and 67 per cent.

  Correspondence
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford will receive a reply to her letters of 3 February, 12 April and 31 May concerning Mr. and Mrs. Kwabena Aidoobofour.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  [holding answer 7 July 1994]: I will write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he expects to reply to the letter dated 16 March sent to his Department by the hon. Member for Aylesbury on behalf of his constituent Mr. WJO.

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Lloyd) replied on 20 July.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Agricultural Development Advisory Service,
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information she holds on surveys by ADAS in the past two years on agricultural land in the Staveley area; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  My Department has commissioned no such work from ADAS in the area in question since 1 July 1992.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what performance indicators are used to assess the effect of environmentally sensitive area management; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  For each environmentally sensitive area there are performance indicators related to the specific objectives of the scheme. Booklets summarising these objectives and performance indicators have been placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

  A programme for monitoring the environmental impact of the scheme is in place and will enable us to judge progress towards achievement of the objectives and associated performance indicators. Reports on the results of the monitoring will be published preparatory to the proposed five-yearly reviews of each ESA.

  Set-aside
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many holdings in each county in England had entered into the five-year set-aside scheme in the year 1992–93.
  504
  Mr. Jack
  The table gives the total number of holdings which had entered into an agreement under the scheme in each county up to 1992 when the scheme closed. These figures do not take account of subsequent withdrawals or transfers of ownership. Information on these could be included only at disproportionate cost.

  Five Year set-aside scheme: number of holdings by county

  Number of holdings

  Avon

  56

  Bedfordshire

  86

  Berkshire

  64

  Buckinghamshire

  161

  Cambridgeshire

  138

  Cheshire

  41

  Cleveland

  9

  Cornwall

  136

  Cumbria

  12

  Derbyshire

  43

  Devon

  78

  Dorset

  60

  Durham

  29

  Essex

  179

  Gloucestershire

  139

  Greater London

  19

  Greater Manchester

  9

  Hampshire

  110

  Hereford and Worcestershire

  78

  Hertfordshire

  77

  Humberside

  72

  Isle of Wight

  10

  Kent

  172

  Lancashire

  16

  Leicestershire

  56

  Lincolnshire

  104

  Merseyside

  14

  West Midlands

  6

  Norfolk

  155

  Northamptonshire

  119

  Northumberland

  45

  Nottinghamshire

  42

  Oxfordshire

  172

  Shropshire

  36

  Somerset

  62

  Staffordshire

  47

  Suffolk

  228

  Surrey

  60

  East Sussex

  105

  West Sussex

  94

  Tyne and Wear

  18

  Warwickshire

  87

  Wiltshire

  114

  North Yorkshire

  114

  South Yorkshire

  20

  West Yorkshire

  15

  England

  3,507

  Central Veterinary Laboratory
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the annual report and accounts for the Central Veterinary Laboratory are due to be published.

  Mr. Jack
  The Central Veterinary Laboratory's annual report and accounts was published on 21 July 1994. Copies are available in the House Library. The report demonstrates the continuing progress and success of the laboratory as a next steps agency and I would like to congratulate the chief executive and his staff on their considerable achievements during the year.

  Agriculture Council
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Agriculture Council held in Brussels on 18 and 19 July; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State represented the United Kingdom at this Council whose principal outcome was agreement on the agricultural prices for 1994–95 and the associated proposals on milk quotas.

  The package of measures agreed met all the United Kingdom's main objectives, including significantly reining back agricultural expenditure in 1995. Among our specific objectives which were met were: the rejection of the Commission's proposal to reduce milk quotas by 1 per cent. in 1994–95 and confirmation that there would be no quota cut in 1995–96; a reduction in butter prices for 1994–95 of 3 per cent. provision to allow the United Kingdom to allocate, across the board, the 70,000 tonnes of milk quota remaining from last year's 0·6 per cent. increase; confirmation that export refunds on whisky, to offset the higher price of Community grain, will continue, worth about £20 million per annum to the United Kingdom industry; rejection of the proposed cut in linseed aid which would have diverted producers into alternative crops such as rapeseed and flax with potentially increased budgetary costs—in the event, the Council increased this aid from 85 to 87 ecu/tonne; and measures to contain expenditure, especially on beef where the regional ceilings for beef special premium for several member states, though not the United Kingdom, were substantially reduced.

  Only when all my concerns on milk had been met was my right hon. Friend prepared to accept confirmation of the milk quota increases agreed last year for Italy, Spain and Greece. These will apply for 1994–95 only, for Italy and Greece, and definitively for Spain.

  The Council also agreed, at my insistence, measures to simplify the sheep annual premium scheme, so as to make it easier for members of producer groups to claim premium. This is an important deregulatory measure. It also agreed to put in place a short-term apple orchard grubbing scheme.

  The overall package will lead to substantial savings for the 1995 EC budget and ensure that the agricultural guideline can be respected. This excludes expenditure in 1995 resulting from the application of the agrimonetary system since September 1992. My right hon. Friend made it clear that the United Kingdom would not agree to any breach or increase of the guideline and that further proposals for savings would be required if it appeared that total expenditure could not be contained within the guideline.

  The main elements of the price proposals were agreed unanimously although Denmark opposed the beef aspects. The milk quota proposals were agreed by qualified majority, the Benelux countries and Denmark voting against. The United Kingdom supported the whole package which, overall, represents a very good deal for United Kingdom farmers, taxpayers and consumers.

  On bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the German Minister announced that that country's proposed unilateral measures would not be brought into effect. This followed a number of changes to the rules agreed in the Standing Veterinary Committee which met simultaneously with the Council. This will remove uncertainty from our beef
  506
  industry, confirming as it does that all member states now accept that British beef is safe. Their decision wholly vindicates the Government's insistence that our policy on this issue must be based firmly and solely on science.

  Finally, the Council agreed to consider ways of simplifying the common agricultural policy in order to reduce the regulation and red tape imposed on farmers. We circulated a paper listing several areas where our farmers have experienced problems. This will be considered alongside suggestions from other member states.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Political Advisers
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has to strengthen the guidelines in relation to the job descriptions of political advisers in relation to their contacts with political parties and their activists.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Political special advisers are bound generally by the rules on political activity applicable to other civil servants, with specific exemptions. They may, with the approval of their Minister, attend party functions and maintain contact with party members, and take part in policy reviews conducted by their party. In addition, and also subject to approval by their Minister, special advisers are allowed to involve themselves in local politics. I have no plans to change these arrangements.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. David Hunt
  My Department plays a full role in the Government's policies to assist the development of small business in the United Kingdom. Work carried out by this Department over the last 12 months to assist small businesses includes:implementing the measures set out in the White Paper on science, engineering and technology, notably the technology foresight programme which encourages the participation of all kinds of business, and the restructuring of the research councils, which has made them more responsive to the needs of the business community generally;
  encouraging greater participation of small business in EC research and development programmes, for example through CRAFT scheme which facilitates their involvement in the industrial technologies programme;
  encouraging Government Departments and agencies to assist business, including small firms, through citizens charter initiatives such as the revised employer's charter produced by the Contributions Agency, and the Charter Standard statement and code of practice produced by Companies House;
  continuing to work closely with the DTI's deregulation unit on the implementation of "Working With Business", the code of good practice for enforcement agencies;
  overseeing the competing for quality programme across central Government. This includes market testing and/or contracting-out many activities employing between one and 20 people before tendering, thus offering opportunities for small firms to bid for contracts.

  Performance Targets
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what key performance targets he has set for Her Majesty's Stationery Office for the current year.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The key performance targets for Her Majesty's Stationery Office for 1994 are:

  (i) to achieve a current cost operating profit of f11–9 million before exceptional items;

  (ii) for print, to achieve 96 per cent. of all orders delivered to time, and 95 per cent. of all orders from the print storage and distribution warehouse to be delivered on time;

  (iii) for the publications centre to achieve dispatch tunes for customers' mail, EDI and telephone orders of 85 per cent. within four working days of receipt and 96 per cent. within five working days;

  (iv) for business supplies to dispatch 99 per cent. of validated orders for stock catalogue items within two working days of receipt and for 96 per cent. of items to be dispatched first time from stock.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which permanent secretaries of Departments are not career civil servants: whether he will publish in the Official Report full details of their career outside and inside Whitehall; and which of them have been engaged in political activities denied to First Division civil servants in their earlier capacities.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The following were recruited to the Civil Service at permanent secretary or second permanent secretary level.

  A. P. Budd—HM Treasury

  Sir T. Burns—HM Treasury

  Professor K. C. Calman—Department of Health

  Professor D. E. N. Davies—Ministry of Defence

  R. A. Langlands—Department of Health

  Dr. M. K. McIntosh—Ministry of Defence

  W. P. McLennan—Central Statistical Office

  Mrs. B. J. L. Mills—Director of Public Prosecutions

  Their careers and experience vary widely and are described in "Who's Who!" Before appointment inquiries are made to ensure that there are no obstacles to the recruitment of candidates to a non-political civil service. After appointment, they are expected to comply with the restrictions on political activities set out in the civil service management code and departmental staff handbooks.

  Efficiency Unit Scrutiny
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what topics have been covered in the Efficiency Unit's central scrutiny programme in the last financial year; and which scrutiny reports can be made available to the general public.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Fifteen efficiency scrutinies or similar reviews have been undertaken by Departments in 1993–94 in association with the Prime Minister's adviser on efficiency and the efficiency unit. The programme, including those which are not yet completed, is as follows:

  Department/Title of scrutiny

  Report: publicly available

  Completed

  Central Statistical Office

  Structure and conduct of statistical inquiries to business

  Yes

  508

  Department/Title of scrutiny

  Report: publicly available

  Department of Employment

  Management and administration of employment services adjudication

  No

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  Research and analysis department and library and records department

  No

  Security of information

  No

  Home Office

  Inter-agency co-operation on illegal immigration

  No

  Inland revenue

  Managing contracts

  Yes

  Department of Naational Savings

  Scope for expanding facilities for investments in national savings

  No

  (Executive summary and summary of recommendations available on request)

  Northern Ireland Office

  Management and disposal of Government-owned land

  Under consideration

  Scottish Office

  Management and control of non-departmental public bodies

  Under consideration

  Welsh Office

  The sponsorship of non-departmental public bodies (action plan recommendations available on request)

  No

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  Internal charging

  Yes

  Not completed

  Department of the Environment

  Liason officer functions

  Multi-departmental Scrutinies

  Management of the Government's civil estate

  Yes

  Public sector research establishments

  Yes

  The Government's use of external consultants

  To be published shortly

  Decisions on the publication of scrutiny reports are taken by the Ministers responsible for the scrutinies concerned. In a number of cases, where a scrutiny has been recently completed or is not yet complete, no decision on publication has been made.

  Sexual Harassment
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his Department's policy on sexual harassment.

  Mr. David Hunt
  It is civil service-wide policy that Departments and agencies should provide, for all their staff, a working environment which is free from harassment and unfair discrimination. Departments and agencies should have in place procedures for handling complaints of harassment and unfair discrimination and make them known to all staff.

  Advice to Departments and agencies has recently been reviewed and published by my Department. I have arranged for the hon. Member to receive a copy of "Good Practice for Equal Opportunities Staff Complaints Procedures: Advice for Departments and Agencies", copies of which are also being placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Ministerial Conduct (Complaints)
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many complaints have been received from First Division Association civil servants since 1 January regarding the conduct of any Minister.
  509
  Mr. David Hunt
  Contrary to the report in The Independent on Sunday of 17 July, no formal complaints have been made by the First Division Association about the conduct of a Minister.
  510

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Rwanda
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which foreign troops are now operating, or are promised for deployment in Rwanda.

  Mr. Baldry
  As of 30 June the following countries had troops operating in Rwanda: Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, France and Senegal. The following countries had military observers in place: Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, Congo, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Poland, Russian Federation, Senegal, Togo, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. Mali and Togo also had civilian police in Rwanda. We understand that Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia have all offered additional troops.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is known about the whereabouts of Rwanda's former Government ministers; and what action is to be taken by the United Nations to locate them.

  Mr. Baldry
  We are not aware of the exact whereabouts of Rwanda's former Government Ministers. UNAMIR's mandate is to assist the humanitarian effort in Rwanda and help promote a political settlement.

  Angola
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by the United Nations, European Union and the United Kingdom to the Government of Zaire about the support it gives to UNITA in Angola; and what has been the response of the Government of Zaire.

  Mr. Baldry
  The chairman of the United Nations Angola sanctions committee has written to the Government of Zaire asking for a response to allegations that Zaire has breached United Nations sanctions against UNITA. The Government have not replied. We have therefore supported a proposal that the President of the Security Council call in the permanent representative of Zaire to explain his Government's lack of co-operation and to urge an immediate response to the allegations.

  Nigeria
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on Nigeria; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Mr. Lennox-Boyd) to my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Mr. Bruce) on 13 July at column 977.

  Burundi
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the conduct of the Parti Pour la Liberation du Peuple Hutu in Burundi in the run-up to the presidential elections on 12 July; what representations he has received on the matter; and if he will make a statement.
  512
  Mr. Baldry
  We have received no representations on the conduct of the Parti pour la Libération du Peuple Hutu in Burundi. The United Nations Secretary-General's special representative is in Burundi to assist the Government and the Organisation of African Unity in their efforts to restore democratic institutions, rebuild confidence and stabilise the situation. With the consent of all concerned, the presidential election has been postponed and is now to take place before 12 October.

  Giles Chichester and Michael Rogers
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 17 June,Official Report, column 674, what contact Mr. Giles Chichester and Mr. Michael Rogers had with the United Nations mission in Geneva on 24 July 1993; and what information the United Kingdom mission had of their activities regarding SASEA and the issue of bonds by Warburgs.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Since the answer of my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to an earlier question on 17 June at columnn 674, the consulate-general in Geneva has confirmed that Mr. Michael Rogers telephoned the vice-consul on 26 July 1993 seeking advice on how he might arrange a private visit for Mr. Giles Chichester to the United Nations in Geneva.

  As is usual, the consulate-general was happy to assist. An exchange of faxes with the United Nations visits section set up the visit for 31 July 1993. Apart from a faxed message of thanks from Mr. Rogers after the visit had taken place, there has been no further contact with the consulate-general or any other United Kingdom office in Geneva on this matter.

  Because of its private nature, we have no record of the substance of the visit by Mr. Chichester to the United Nations offices in Geneva in July 1993.

  Furthermore, we have no knowledge of the activities of Messrs. Chichester and Rogers regarding SASEA and the issue of bonds by Warburgs.

  United Nations Operations
  Mr. George
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those United Nations operations to which British forces have been committed since 1964.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  United Kingdom forces have been committed to the following United Nations operations since 1964:

  UN advance mission in Cambodia, 1991–92;

  UN transitional authority in Cambodia, 1992–93;

  UN transitional assistance group, Namibia, 1989–90;

  UN mission for the referendum in western Sahara, 1991–93;

  UN Iraq/Kuwait Observer Mission, 1991 to date;

  UN force in Cyprus, 1964 to date;

  UN protection force, former Yugoslavia, 1992 to date.

  Figures refer to the years when United Kingdom forces were involved in the operations listed.

  Hong Kong (Detention Centres)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with the Governor of Hong Kong prior to the raid by police and security forces on the Whitehead Vietnamese detention centre in Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.
  513
  Mr. Baldry
  The transfer of Vietnamese migrants between detention centres is a matter for the Hong Kong Government. We had no discussions with the Governor of Hong Kong prior to the operation in the Whitehead detention centre on 7 April.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recommendations are to be introduced by the Governor of Hong Kong in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London as to the procedures that would be followed in any future disturbance at detention centres housing Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Hong Kong Government accept the recommendations contained in the report of the honourable Andrew Li, CBE, QC, JP and Professor Todd, CBE, JP and intend to implement them fully.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place(a) in London or (b) in Hong Kong as to the role played by Mr. Alistair Asprey, following the report on the handling of the incidents that took place at the Whitehead detention centre for Vietnamese people in Hong Kong; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  The role played by Mr. Alistair Asprey in the operation which took place in the Whitehead detention centre in Hong Kong on 7 April is set out in the report of the independent inquiry into that operation. The part that he played has not been discussed by the British or Hong Kong Government following publication of the report.

  East Timor
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of disturbances and possible abuses of human rights in East Timor; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the hon. Lady to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Mr. Lennox-Boyd) to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill (Mr. Alton) on 19 July at col.133.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Indonesia concerning the police attack on the university of East Timor on 28 June and later incidents; and if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards human rights in East Timor.

  Mr. Baldry
  The facts surrounding the recent events at the University of East Timor remain unclear. We have asked Her Majesty's embassy in Jakarta for a detailed report.

  The Indonesian Government are well aware of the importance we attach to respect for human rights. With European Union partners, we expressed concern about reports of renewed clashes between the security forces and civilian demonstrators in a statement on 18 July.

  Cyprus
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the decision by the European Court on exports from the Turkish-occupied sector of Cyprus to the European Union; how this is to be implemented; and what will be the main goods affected.
  514
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  In its judgment on 5 July, the European Court held that, under the Plant Health Directive and the EC/Cyprus association agreement, member states were precluded from accepting phytosanitary and origin certificates other than those issued by the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The United Kingdom has amended its practice to give effect to the ruling.

  Most agricultural goods will be affected because they require phytosanitary certificates, and all goods will lose preferential access under the EC/Cyprus association agreement. The principal non-agricultural products affected are textiles.

  Korean Peninsula
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation of the Korean peninsula.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We hope that, following the death of Kim Il-sung, North Korea will soon be ready to resume the contacts which had been planned with South Korea and the United States. These offer an important chance to resolve the North Korean nuclear problem and reduce tension in the peninsula.

  Rhino Horn
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the Governor of Hong Kong on rhino horn stock piles and ivory sales.

  Mr. Baldry
  We keep in close touch with the Hong Kong Government on the international trade in endangered species. Controls over the trade are rigorously enforced in Hong Kong. The possession and sale of rhino horn is banned in Hong Kong. The domestic sale of ivory in Hong Kong does not infringe controls over trade in endangered species.

  Governors' Residences (Staff)
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many(a) butlers, (b) cooks and (c) domestic servants are employed at the Governors' residences in (i) Bermuda and (ii) Hong Kong; and what is the annual cost of running each residence.

  Mr. Baldry
  The running costs of the Governors' residences in Bermuda and Hong Kong, and the employment of domestic servants, are the responsibility of the respective Governments. The FCO has no record of either.

  Qazi Nawazish Khan
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom post in Islamabad has received an application for an appeal to be heard in the United Kingdom against the refusal to grant entry clearance to Qazi Nawazish Khan, Ref. IMM C 1490; when the post expects to despatch an explanatory statement to Mr. Khan's representative in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  In the absence of any information in London about an application for Qazi Nawazish Khan, I have asked the high commission in Islamabad to let me
  515
  have a report. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.

  Embassies (Running Costs)
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total annual budget for running the British embassy in(a) Washington, (b) Paris, (c) Brussels, (d) Rome, (e) Tokyo, (f) Montreal, (g) New Dehli and (h) Moscow; if he will give for each embassy the annual amount spent on entertaining and hospitality; and how many (i) butlers and (ii) cooks and (iii) other domestic servants are employed at each embassy.

  Mr. Baldry
  The total cost of running these posts, and the cost of entertainment, in 1992–3, the latest year for which final expenditure figures are available, was as follows:

  Post

  Total running cost £million

  Entertainment£thousands

  Washington

  13·8

  242

  Paris

  16·7

  359

  Brussels

  3·6

  50

  Rome

  7·1

  89

  Tokyo

  14·5

  293

  Montreal

  0·6

  21

  New Delhi

  6·3

  55

  Moscow

  5·1

  102

  The numbers of domesti staft employed are:

  Post

  Butlers

  Cook/cook help

  Other

  Washington

  1

  3

  16·0

  Paris

  1

  1

  15·0

  Brussels

  1

  1

  3·5

  Rome

  1

  2

  6·5

  Tokyo

  1

  3

  10·5

  Montreal

  —

  —

  1·5

  New Delhi

  —

  3

  20·5

  Moscow

  —

  3

  7·0

  Colombia

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts and representations he has made to the Government of Colombia concerning the view of Amnesty International on human rights abuses; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We are in regular touch with the Colombian Government on human rights. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised the concern felt in this country when President-elect Samper called him on 19 July.

  Turkey
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Turkey concerning the arrest and trial of parliamentary members of the Democratic party; and if he will make a statement.
  516
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the need for democratization and constitutional change with Prime Minister Ciller in Istanbul on 10 June. Her Majesty's ambassador in Ankara has made clear to the Turkish Government our strong concern about the action against Democratic party members of parliament.

  Belize-Guatemala Road Link
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on developments with regard to the United Kingdom's 1991 aid pledge for a joint Belize —Guatemala road link.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We have decided to authorise the Belize element of Her Majesty's Government's pledge. Subject to satisfactory appraisal, the £7·5 million Belizean share of the pledge will be used to contribute to the financing of the southern highway project, which is the Belize Government's next infrastructure priority.

  As relations between Belize and Guatemala develop, we hope to be able to proceed with the Guatermala element of the aid commitment.

  European Union (Subsidiarity)
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the application of the principle of subsidiarity in the European Union.

  Mr. Hurd
  The number of new Commission proposals for principal legislation fell to 25 in the first five months of 1994. This confirms the continuing downward trend which resulted in a fall from 185 new proposals in 1990, to 75 in 1993.

  The Commission has withdrawn 12 new proposals in line with their undertakings at the Edinburgh and Brussels European Councils. These include a number of proposals which threatened to be particularly difficult for the United Kingdom, such as the draft Directive on Liability of Service Supplies.

  Twelve more proposals are to be amended on subsidiarity grounds. The Commission is also making greater use of white and green consultative papers, in order to take proper account of the effect of proposed legislation on those who would be affected by it.

  The Commission's work programme includes subsidiarity reviews of environmental, rights of residence, and pharmaceuticals legislation. In the customs area, a review has led to the replacement of 75 instruments with just two regulations.

  We look forward to further evidence of progress in the Commission's detailed report to the Essen Council in December, and we are continuing our regular discussions of subsidiarity with our partners and with the Commission.

  Westminster Foundation for Democracy
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the annual report of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy will be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Copies of the foundation's annual report for 1993–94 were placed in the Libraries of the House today.
  517
  In its second year, with funding of £2 million, the foundation supported 236 projects, compared with 140 last year. They ranged from the provision of transistors to Belgrade's independent TV station, Studio B, to funding a field worker to provide voter education in Soweto prior to the South African elections. The cost of individual projects ranged from £300 to £60,000 but most were in the range of £5,000 to £15,000.

  We welcome the diversity of the foundation's projects and its commitment to continuous improvement in the already high degree of its cost-effectiveness.

  Foreign Affairs Council
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 18 and 19 July.

  Mr. Hurd
  I attended the Council.

  There was an open debate on the German presidency's programme. My intervention centred on the EU's relations with central and eastern Europe and making common foreign and security policy more effective.

  The presidency and Commission briefed member states on follow-up to the White Paper.

  The Council discussed the establishment of the Consultative Commission on racism and xenophobia, as agreed at the Corfu European Council. The United Kingdom will nominate its representatives by the end of July. The chairman of the consultative commission will be decided when all United Kingdom members have been appointed.

  The Council discussed a Commission paper on relations between the European Union and the countries of central and eastern Europe.

  Ministers approved a declaration urging the parties to accept the contact group plan for a negotiated settlement in Bosnia. The presidency reported on plans to inaugurate the EU administration of Mostar on 25 July. Ministers also discussed the situation in the Croatian Krajina and the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia.

  The Council had a general discussion on a number of issues likely to be discussed with the European Parliament in the autumn.

  The President of the Commission reported to the Council on the EU-Canada summit in Bonn on 6 July, and the EU-US summit in Berlin on 12 July.

  The Council also discussed the outcome of the G7 summit in Naples.

  On the Mediterranean, the Commission briefed Ministers on the state of negotiations with Morocco, Tunisia and Israel on new partnership agreements. While those with Tunisia and Israel were making good progress, important differences with Morocco remained to be resolved. The Council agreed conclusions reaffirming the need to deepen EU-Mediterranean relations.

  The Council approved negotiating mandates for interim agreements with Russia, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and agreed certain changes to the negotiating mandate for a partnership and co-operation agreement with Moldova.

  The Council agreed that South Africa should become a beneficiary under its generalised system of preferences, for a list of products to be determined by the end of this month. The Commission reported on its recent meetings with the
  518
  South African Government, with whom it hopes to negotiate an interim bilateral agreement in the next few weeks, based on the conclusions of the April FAC.

  The Council discussed a Dutch-Danish proposal on revised procedures for the handling of requests for documents. The United Kingdom supported attempts to meet Dutch and Danish concerns and voted in favour, but the proposal was voted down.

  The Commission presented a strategy paper on strengthening EU-Asia relations. The presidency asked COREPER and the Political Committee to examine ways of enhancing the relationship, and to report back to the Council.

  The Council reached agreement on the legal base for the conclusion of the EC-India and EC-Sri Lanka co-operation agreements by qualified majority vote. Portugal and Greece opposed.

  The Council agreed by qualified majority vote —with Spain, Portugal and Greece voting against —to an increase of just under 30 per cent in the quota for imports from China of stuffed toys, customs classification 9503 41, for the period March to December 1994. Proposals for similar increases in the quotas for non-stuffed toys representing animals or non-human creatures, 9503 49, and certain miscellaneous toys, 9503 90, were not agreed —Spain, Portugal, Greece and France voting against. The latter two proposals are to be considered further by COREPER.

  The Commission reported on the progress of work on proposals to establish a common regime for the use of OPT —outward processing in the textile sector. It was agreed that, due to delays in agreeing the overall regime, the Commission would prepare a separate proposal to establish duty exemption for OPT conducted with the countries of central and eastern Europe.

  The Council took note of a number of measures which will be introduced with the aim of improving the effectiveness of procedures in the common foreign and security policy intergovernmental pillar.

  Free trade agreements were signed with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

  The Council agreed the conditions for the release of a 35 mecu balance of payments grant for Albania.

  The Council agreed in principle to provide food aid to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

  The Commission reported to the Council on the outcome of the OECD negotiations for an international shipbuilding agreement, which ended on 17 July. France indicated its opposition to the conclusion of the agreement in its present form and requested the Commission to continue negotiations. The Council will return to this issue at its meeting on 4 October.

  Export Licences
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance is available to officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to assist them in considering export licence applications; and whether this guidance is available to the public.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Departments in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office involved in considering export licence applications are given a guide on relevant procedures and criteria, which is regularly updated.

  A copy of the latest issue will be placed in the Library in due course. Copies will also be available from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Dell Invoice
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take regarding the Dell invoice, a copy of which his Department has recently received; and if he will make a statement on the implications in the document for United Kingdom sovereignty.

  Mr. Needham
  We do not have sufficient information about the specific case raised to answer the question in full; however, Her Majesty's Government reject claims by foreign Governments to exorbitant extraterritorial control over the re-export of foreign-origin goods and technology. We recognise, however, that we cannot prevent foreign Governments from making such claims or seeking to enforce them in their own territories.

  Her Majesty's Government's judgment has therefore been that United Kingdom companies and individuals should generally be allowed to make a commercial decision on whether or not to comply with such requirements.

  Any goods or technology exported from the United Kingdom which are controlled under the Export of Goods (Control) Order, as amended, must comply with the licensing requirements set out in that order. This requirement is not altered by the fact that the exporter of the goods has also elected to comply with a foreign nation's export regulations.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the United Kingdom economy. Government help small firms by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislation and adminstrative burdens. They also provide direct assistance where appropriate and are currently establishing a network of business links to provide high-quality, business support across the country. The Department regularly reviews and monitors its policies in relation to small firms. Ministers and officials are in constant contact with small firms' representative organisations, professional bodies and other Government Departments, to ensure that policies reflect the need of the small business sector.

  The report "Small Firms in Britain 1994" was published by this Department on 7 July. This report surveys developments in the sector, including key statistical indicators and sets out details of Government policy in relation to small firms. Although aimed at all sectors, the measures announced in the recently published White Paper on competitiveness have clear implications for small firms. The initiatives announced will encourage the growth of the small firms sector through well targeted tax relief, further deregulation, help with finance, help with
  520
  information and advice, help with consultancy and management best practice, and help with business and skills training.

  Specific measures operated by my Department to assist small businesses include:
  Business Link. The development of a network of Business Link outlets is a key element in the strategy to assist small firms. Each Business Link will provide advice, counselling, diagnostic work and information through Personal Business Advisers. They will provide a single point of access to a wide range of high quality business services. There are 34 Business Link outlets open and a total of 110 Business Link proposals have been approved through the quarterly Assessment Panel. By the end of 1994, there will be at least 50 Business Links operating. By the end of 1995 it is envisaged that every company within England will have access to a Business Link outlet.
  Local Business Support Services. DTI funds Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) to encourage the growth and competitiveness of local businesses through high quality, accessible and coherent services.
  TECs contracts with local partners, especially Chambers of Commerce, Local Enterprise Agencies and Local Authorities, to meet local needs by delivering information and advice services; business counselling for new and existing businesses, business diagnostic services and business skills training—including skills seminars, masterclass, action learning groups and open learning programmes, particularly for managers and owner managers of small firms.
  Late Payment. The Consultation Paper, "Late Payment of Commercial Debt", was issued on 1 November 1993 to seek the views of the business community on possible options to address late payment.
  The outcome of the consultation was announced in the White Paper on Competitiveness. A range of practical measures is to be introduced to improve court procedures, ensure government departments and their agencies pay promptly, improve the visibility of the payment policies of public companies, improve credit management and debt collection skills and develop proposals for a British Standard for prompt payment.
  There are continuing indications that payment times in the United Kingdom are reducing and are below the European average. The new measures will build upon this improvement.
  Loan Guarantee Scheme. The Loan Guarantee Scheme facilitates access to finance for small firms.
  The enhancements announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Spring Budget Statement were implemented on 1 July 1993. These changes have led to a sharp increase in Scheme usage and the highest levels of lending since 1984. In the 12 months to June 1993, 4,752 loans were guaranteed to a value of £200·613 million.
  We are introducing a pilot scheme in September to offer support and counselling to small firms using the Loan Guarantee Scheme. This will help small firms identify their strengths and weaknesses, and offer advice. The service will be delivered through Training and Enterprise Councils, Business Links and Enterprise Agencies and will cover approximately 10–5 per cent. of Scheme applications. The pilot will run for three years.
  Innovation. This Department continues to be active in assisting small firms to improve their access to technology and to exploit new ideas. Initiatives include:
  Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology (SMART). Last year 180 new projects were supported with grants and I expect the same number to be successful in this year's competition.
  Support for Products Under Research (SPUR). In the 12 months to March 1994 grants totalling almost £12 million were awarded to 139 projects. There will be a similar level of support this year.
  EUREKA. Last year the United Kingdom participated in 49 announced EUREKA projects, involving 76 organisations, including 28 small to medium sized enterprises. This year the United Kingdom participated in 36 announced projects, involving 62 organisations, 23 of which were smaller companies.
  Teaching Company Scheme (TCS). This facilitates techno-logy transfer and provides industry-based training for high quality graduates through partnerships between academia and business. A target of TCS programmes supported by DTI is that 80 per cent. should involve small and medium-sized enterprises.

  521
  Senior Academics in Industry Scheme (SAIS) enables senior and experienced academic staff to work in companies for up to six months on strategic transfer projects. Preference is given to smaller firms and costs are shared by the companies and DTI.
  Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP). This is a national placement scheme for undergraduates. STEP aims to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to consider employing graduates and to provide undergraduates with experience in industry. DTI support of STEP since 1992 has enabled expansion of the scheme so that there is now a target of 1,000 placements in the summer of 1994.
  Export Promotion. This Department together with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provide, through the Overseas Trade Services, advice, information, and financial support to help UK exporters win overseas business. This work is particularly aimed at smaller and less experienced exporters. An independent monthly survey of the delivery of the services shows a consistently high level of customer satisfaction and some 90 per cent. of respondents regularly say that they will use the services again. Details of the services and their take up are set out in the "British Overseas Trade Board's Annual Report 1993–4 and Forward Plan", as are details of the Overseas Trade Services priorities and main activities for the year to come. A copy is in the Library of the House.
  Enterprise Initiative Consultancy Scheme. In the year ending March 1994, 17,995 applications for the Scheme were received and 10,423 were completed. This brought the total number of applications to 135,700 with 65,300 completions.
  The Consultancy Scheme did not end as scheduled in March 1994; the President of the Board of Trade announced on 9 December 1993 that the scheme will stay open until a further 10,000 applications have been received. Beyond that, a new package of support will be introduced, including a Diagnostic and Consultancy Service which will be available exclusively through Business Links from the summer; a new Consultancy Brokerage Service which is currently undergoing trials with Business Links and TECs will be launched nationally by the end of the year, and technology-related advice in a number of forms, including innovation and technology counsellors who are being funded on a pilot basis in the first Business Links.
  Deregulation. Under the Deregulation Initiative over 870 regulations have now been identified for repeal or amendment. Many of these reforms will be of particular benefit to small firms.
  Following the recommendation of the original business task forces that, when formulating new regulations the interests of small firms should be the first consideration, a small firms litmus test was introduced on 19 January 1994, as part of the compliance cost assessment for the new regulatory proposals.
  The new Deregulation Task force, chaired by Francis Maude, which was announced on 6 July will be looking particularly at the burden of regulation on small firms.

  Iraq (Exports)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the present remaining exposure on Export Credits Guarantee Department cover on exports to Iraq prior to August 1990.

  Mr. Needham
  ECGD's exposure on Iraq as at the end of June 1994 is £652 million.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the outstanding exposure of Export Credits Guarantee Department cover on exports to Iraq in August 1990; and what claims were paid or offsetting revenue achieved, by the end of March in 1991 and by the same date in each succeeding year.

  Mr. Needham
  ECGD's estimate of its exposure on Iraq as at the end of each of the last four financial year ends is as follows:522

  Year

  Unrecovered claims £ million

  Estimate of claims to be £ million

  Total exposure £ million

  March 1991

  205

  543

  748

  March 1992

  392

  296

  688

  March 1993

  492

  160

  652

  March 1994

  555

  97

  652

  The figures as at March 1994 remain provisional pending publication of ECGD's trading accounts for the 1993–4 financial year.

  Comparative data are not available for the position at August 1990 but exposure then was estimated at f1·1 billion, including £103 million of unrecovered claims.

  Nitric Acid
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information has been received by his Department from British Nuclear Fuels plc in regard to its plans to import radioactively contaminated nitric acid from the United States Department of Energy nuclear complex at Hanford, Washington state; and what licensing arrangements cover the import of contaminated acids for recycling at Sellafield.

  Mr. Eggar
  This is a matter for the company, subject to meeting appropriate regulatory requirements. Specific import licences are required for acids containing certain nuclear materials.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what capacity exists in United Kingdom industry to manufacture nitric acid; and whether the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations apply to all nitric acid manufacturing plant.

  Mr. Heseltine
  A figure for production capacity for nitric acid is not available but the chemical is made by a number of companies in the United Kingdom. Responsibility for administering the Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1984 rests with the Health and Safety Executive. I understand that some, but no all, sites manufacturing nitric acid are subject to the requirements of CIMAH.

  Coal Industry
  Ms Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which companies are advising him in respect of coal privatisation; and what payments have been made in each case.

  Mr. Eggar
  The companies advising the Department on coal privatisation are as follows:

  N. M. Rothschild

  Clifford Chance

  John T. Boyd

  Touche Ross

  R. P. S. Consultants

  Dewe Rogerson

  Wardell Armstrong

  Peter Williams

  Brodies W. S

  Mason Land Survey Ltd.

  Drivers Jonas

  The total expenditure on coal privatisation consultants in 1993–4 was approximately £10·2 million, including VAT. Payments to individual consultants are commercial, in confidence.
  523
  Ms Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with the Department of the Environment in respect of planning and environmental considerations relating to opencast coal mining sites to be offered for sale.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department has had regular discussions with the Department of the Environment about planning and opencast issues relating to opencast mining. The preliminary memorandum issued in April by N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. made it clear that the grant of planning consents necessary for the extraction of coal would remain a matter for the planning authorities.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with British Coal to ensure that potential purchasers of Coal Products also have the opportunity of acquiring its Hyload joint venture.

  Mr Eggar
  The sale of Coal Products Ltd. and of Hyload are matters for British Coal. I understand that the corporation is carefully considering all the relevant factors in reaching decisions on the future of Hyload.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent discussions he has had about the future of British. Coal Enterprise; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department is in continuing contact with British Coal and British Coal Enterprise about the future of BCE.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will set out the timetable by which the coal authority will become operational; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  It is my aim to set up the coal authority as soon as practicable. I have already announced the initial accommodation arrangements for the authority and its chairman and chief executive designates. The process of recruiting staff is under way.

  Mr Alison
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what diversion of coal movements by rail to road from Gascoigne Wood drift mine near Selby have been occasioned by the current series of one-day rail strikes; what planning conditions are breached by these road movements; and what planning authorisation has been sought to give effect to these road movements.

  Mr. Eggar
  This is a matter for British Coal.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made over the disposal of British Coal's non-operational land and property interest; by what mechanisms such ownerships will be disposed of; over what time scale; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Government are currently considering the options with British Coal. No decisions have yet been taken.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with British Coal to ensure that the management and employees of Coal Products Ltd. have an opportunity of securing that company.

  Mr. Eggar
  The sale of Coal Products Ltd. is a matter for British Coal. I understand that there is interest in a524
  management employee buy-out and that British Coal has made financial support available to assist with the preparation of a MEBO bid.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice he has received from N. M. Rothschild in respect of opencast coal mining sites to be offered for sale to private mining companies.

  Mr. Eggar
  N. M. Rothschild continues to provide advice on a range of matters on a day-to-day basis. Operating opencast sites included in the regional coal companies are listed in the preliminary memorandum issued by N. M. Rothschild on 13 April. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. The preliminary memorandum also explains that the regional coal companies will include portfolios of prospective opencast sites where potentially recoverable reserves have been identified by British Coal.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give details of opencast sites in Staffordshire which he proposes to offer for sale under the Coal Industry Act 1992.

  Mr. Eggar
  British Coal operates one opencast site in Staffordshire, Bleak House near Cannock. The preliminary memorandum issued by N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. in April explains that it is proposed to offer the site as part of the central south regional coal company.

  Imports and Exports
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 15 June,Official Report, column 603, what was the average annual increase in output per head in manufacturing in the United Kingdom, the USA, Germany and Japan from 1990 to the latest available date; and what effect the relative changes have had on competitiveness.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Between 1990 and 1993 the estimated annual growth in manufacturing output per head was 3·2 per cent. in the United Kingdom, 3·7 per cent. in the United States of America, -2·6 per cent. in Germany and -3·8 per cent. in Japan. Improvements in productivity are key to increased competitiveness.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 15 June,Official Report, column 603, if he will publish the average annual increase in output per person in 1980–89 and 1964–73 for the United Kingdom and the United States of America, Germany and Japan together with the percentage change in each country's share and the value of volume of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries, the percentage change between 1980 and 1989 in each country's share of the import market for manufactures in the national markets for which he has held or holds such records.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The information on output per person and shares of import markets for manufactures is given in the tables.

  Information on percentage changes in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Japan's shares by value of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries can be readily derived from

  525
  information available on the Central Statistical Office database, which can be accessed via the Library of the House. Corresponding information for the shares by volume is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

  Percentage changes in United Kingdom, USA, German, Japanese shares by value of import markets of manufactures1

  Percentage change in share 1980–89

  United Kingdom

  USA

  Germany

  Japan

  Import market

  Belgium-Luxembourg

  -6·4

  -35·6

  -10·5

  1·0

  Canada

  -28·3

  -12·4

  17·7

  53·1

  France

  12·1

  -14·9

  -5·5

  50·4

  Germany (Fed. Rep.)

  7·2

  -2·0

  —

  58·3

  Italy

  -11·6

  -28·2

  1·8

  34·9

  Japan

  -27·1

  -20·3

  9·8

  —

  Netherlands

  -10·6

  -5·4

  -9·6

  24·0

  Sweden

  -24·2

  -1·0

  -4·1

  69·0

  Switzerland

  -42·6

  -10·2

  10·1

  25·4

  United Kingdom

  —

  -12·0

  26·6

  44·2

  United States

  -22·7

  —

  -27·8

  3·3

  1 Manufactures are defined as Standard International Trade Classification Sections 5 to 8.

  Source: OECD Series C.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing(a) the change in import penetration by manufacturing industry between 1980 and the year ending June 1989 together with the corresponding change in United Kingdom output per person, (b) the percentage change between 1980 and 1989 in the United Kingdom share of the value and volume of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries, (c) the percentage change between 1980 and 1989 in the United Kingdom share of the import market for manufactures in the EEC and in the national markets for which he holds records and (d) the relative volume of exports to imports of manufactures in 1980 and 1989 and the corresponding surplus or deficit on trade in manufactures.

  Mr. Needham
  The information on changes in import penetration can be readily derived from information regularly published in table 12.2 of the Central Statistical Office's "Annual Abstract of Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The corresponding information on United Kingdom output per person, the changes in United Kingdom shares by value and volume of exports of manufactures by the main manufacturing countries, and the changes in the surplus/deficit in trade in manufactures in 1980 and 1989, can be readily derived from information available on the Central Statistical Office database, which can be accessed via the Library of the House.

  The changes 1980–1989 in the United Kingdom's share of the import market for manufactures in the EC, and the United Kingdom's relative volume of exports to imports of manufactures for 1980 and 1989 are given in the table.

  Percentage change 1980–1989 in United Kingdom share by value of EC countries imports of manufactures1

  Import market

  Percentage change

  EC12

  -6·6

  Belgium-Luxembourg

  -6·4

  Denmark

  -17·9

  526

  Growth in manufacturing output per head

  Percentage pa

  United Kingdom

  USA

  Germany

  Japan

  1964–73

  3·9

  3·4

  3·9

  9·8

  1980–89

  4·9

  3·9

  2·3

  3·4

  Source: OECD, CSO

  Import market

  Percentage change

  France

  12·1

  Germany (Fed. Rep.)

  7·2

  Greece

  -3·9

  Ireland

  -26·8

  Italy

  -11·6

  Netherlands

  -10·6

  Portugal

  -37·5

  Spain

  0·6

  Source: OECD Series C

  United Kingdom relative volume2 of manufactures1

  1980

  127·2

  1989

  86·4

  Source: CSO Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics Annual Supplement 1992 Tables A10 and All.

  1 Manufactures are defined as Standard International Trade Classification Section 5 to 8.

  2 Export volume of manufactures index as a percentage of the import volume of manufactures index.

  System X Telecommunications System
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on whether the System X telecommunications system exported since 1989 to the United States of America, Russia, China, Colombia, Gibraltar, Kenya, India, Kuwait, the Falklands and the Philippines have fully conformed to the ISDN protocol as defined by the CC1IITT 7 committee.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The supplier has informed me that the equipment concerned met the customers' requirements at the time of export. More detailed information is a matter for the company concerned.

  Statistics
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table showing information available to him in index form of the latest figures for(a)

  527
  output, (b) output per hour and (c) unit labour costs in Japan, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the European Community as a whole.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Information on the latest figures, in index form, for output of the United States, United Kingdom and EC is regularly published in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's "Main Economic Indicators", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

  Corresponding information for the whole economy on output per hour and unit labour costs is not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 15 June,Official Report, column 603, what was the average increase in output per head in manufacturing in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Germany and Japan from 1979 to 1989 and from 1989 to the latest available date; by how much United Kingdom unit labour costs in manufacturing fell relative to those of the other three countries in each period as a result of the increase in output per head; by how much the exchange rate would have to change to offset the differences in the rate of change in the unit labour costs in United Kingdom manufacturing in each period as a result of the change in productivity; and what equivalent information he holds on (a) France, (b) Italy and (c) other EC countries on average.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Information on changes in output per head in manufacturing is given in the table. Figures for the EC as a whole are not available on a comparable basis.

  Information on the United Kingdom's relative unit labour costs in manufacturing is published regularly in Central Statistical Office's "Economic Trends", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

  Percentage/per annum

  1979–89

  1989–93

  United Kingdom

  4·0

  2·9

  USA

  3·6

  3·2

  Germany

  2·0

  -1·4

  France

  2·5

  0·3

  Italy

  3·4

  -1·3

  Japan

  3·4

  -2·5

  Sources: OECD, CSO.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 14 June,Official Report, column 421, if he will make a statement on how his Department calculates whether collating information in relation to answering parliamentary questions constitutes disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Heseltine
  If the preparation of an answer is likely to cost more than the cost threshold, Ministers will consider whether to refuse to answer it on the ground of disproportionate cost. The current threshold of £450, calculated by the Treasury, was announced to the House by my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council, on 25 October 1993,Official Report, column 425.

  In respect of my earlier reply, the information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only with a great deal of staff effort.

  Mining Subsidence
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what monitoring of consumer satisfaction will be undertaken for future and current procedures dealing with claims relating to mining subsidence;

  (2) how current claims for mining subsidence will be dealt with in active coalfields where coal extraction continues after August;

  (3) how private mining companies will compensate persons suffering from subsidence caused by their activities; and what action will be taken to ensure the rights of persons suffering damage;

  (4) how he will protect home owners' interests in future subsidence compensation cases involving private companies;

  (5) what plans he has to consider bringing forward amendments to the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991;

  (6) if he will make a statement on the arbitration procedure for coalfield subsidence matters after August.

  Mr. Eggar
  I refer the hon. Member to the Coal Industry Act 1994 and to the extensive documentation which my Department has made available, in particular: the draft subsidence regulations, the draft guide to claimants' rights, the revised coal authority explanatory note, and the revised draft model coal authority licensing documents.

  Mr. Hinchcliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how current case loads of mining subsidence claims will be dealt with after August; and what continuity arrangements have been set up for this work.

  Mr. Eggar
  This a matter for British Coal and other bodies, which may, under the Coal Industry Act 1994, acquire responsibility for subsidence in due course.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if a single company will be able to operate both inspection and repair services for subsidence work in coal mining areas.

  Mr. Eggar
  It is not envisaged that the Coal Authority would permit these roles to be combined.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what will be the length of contracts for subsidence work in coalfield areas;

  (2) what projections he has for the number of persons dealing with mining subsidence claims after August;

  (3) in what circumstances tenders for coal mining subsidence work were accepted from loss adjusters, estate agents and insurance companies.

  Mr. Eggar
  This a matter for the British Coal Corporation.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many persons are currently employed in dealing with compensation claims within the mining industry.

  Mr. Eggar
  I am informed by British Coal that it currently employs 81 people, in technical and clerical grades, to deal with claims for damage caused by coal mining subsidence.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what insurance arrangements are available for persons who have suffered, are suffering or may suffer from subsidence damage from coal extraction.
  529
  Mr. Eggar
  Decisions on the terms and conditions of insurance cover, and whether to offer cover at all, are matters solely for insurers to determine in the light of their commercial judgment. Where a property has been affected by coal mining subsidence damage, the statutory provisions for dealing with coal mining subsidence damage mean that the cost of such damage is borne by the coal industry. Coal mining subsidence should not therefore be pertinent to decisions on whether or not to offer insurance cover so long as satisfactory repairs have been carried out. The Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991 provides those affected with a right to require that repairs are carried out to their reasonable satisfaction.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions have taken place on subsidence compensation between officials of his Department and British Coal property division management; when these meetings took place; what was the outcome; and if he will put their minutes in the Library.

  Mr. Eggar
  Officials of my Department have had discussions with British Coal on a wide range of issues, including subsidence matters. The Government's policy with regard to subsidence in future is set out in the Coal Industry Act 1994, and in the documentation which my Department has made available, in particular the draft subsidence regulations, the draft guide to claimants' rights, the revised Coal Authority explanatory note, and the revised draft model Coal Authority licensing documents.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements are available to provide compensation for subsidence where old mineworkings are shown to be the cause.

  Mr. Eggar
  Under the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991, British Coal is responsible for the repair of, or compensation for, all damage caused by coal mining subsidence in the United Kingdom. The age of mining does not affect claimants' rights, provided that any claim is made within six years of the damage first being noticed.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade where extra costs are identified by companies undertaking repairs to properties suffering subsidence damage; and what safeguards are available to ensure that these are reported and undertaken.

  Mr. Eggar
  Under the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991, claimants have a right to require that repairs are carried out to their reasonable satisfaction. All repairs are at British Coal's cost.

  South America
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what terms apply to assistance from the DTI overseas project fund to studies by United Kingdom firms directed to securing contracts abroad in South America.

  Mr. Needham
  The overseas projects fund is available to assist United Kingdom companies with the costs of pursuing major projects overseas. The fund can help meet the costs of feasibility studies, consultancies and other pre-contractual activities with the object of increasing the number of contracts United Kingdom companies can pursue and win. The maximum amount of assistance offered is 50 per cent. of the costs involved. Where a contract is won with its help, overseas projects fund assistance is repayable.

  Electricity Disconnections
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement as to why there is no code of practice governing the disconnection of commercial premises by electricity companies.

  Mr. Eggar
  This is a matter for the Director General of Electricity Supply. Disconnection of premises both commercial and domestic are covered by provisions contained in schedule 6 of the Electricity Act 1989.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many warrants in respect of electricity disconnection have been issued by Manweb during the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Neither my Department nor that of the Lord Chancellor keeps records of the number of warrants issued to individual companies in respect of electricity disconnection.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what notice must be given to electricity customers before an electricity company may apply for a warrant for disconnection of electricity.

  Mr. Eggar
  Under schedule 6 of the Electricity Act 1989, an electricity company can disconnect premises no earlier than 20 working days after the issue of a bill in the case of a domestic customer. For non-domestic customers, the period is 15 working days. In both instances, two working days notice is required before disconnection occurs.

  The Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 does not require notice to be given to customers before application by an electricity company to a magistrate for a warrant of entry. All companies do, however, notify customers that this may happen where a bill remains unpaid and there is the possibility of disconnection occurring.

  Gas Storage Facilities
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what requirement is made of licensed suppliers of gas to retain storage facilities for a given proportion of their supply obligations over any given period, to be held in land storage.

  Mr. Eggar
  Storage obligations will be set out in the network code which is currently being negotiated between British Gas, the Office of Gas Supply and independent suppliers.

  British Airports Authority
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when it is proposed that BAA's monopoly of London's three principal airports shall be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  Under the Airports Act 1986, the CAA is required to refer designated airports to the MMC every five years before setting a formula which governs the amount which may be raised annually through charges. BAA's three London airports are to be reviewed in 1995–96.

  Impact Assessments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the criteria for determining which directives that emanate from his Department receive a fiche d'impact assessment.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  Decisions to prepare assessments under the fiche d'impact system are made by the European Commission. The basis for such decisions was most recently restated in a resolution on administrative simplification for enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, made by the Council of Ministers Industry Council meeting under the chairmanship of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade during the British presidency on 24 November 1992. This invited the European Commission to prepare an assessment on all Commission proposals which may give rise to substantial burden for enterprises. My Department is assiduous in urging the Commission to undertake an assessment of every proposal relevant to our responsibilities which may give rise to a substantial burden for United Kingdom businesses. The deregulation unit also keeps watch on the Commission's operation of the fiche d' impact system, and concerts pressure from United Kingdom Departments for an assessment of every proposal which may give rise to a substantial burden for United Kingdom businesses.

  Utilities (Right of Entry)
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the legal obligations to ensure that premises entered by force in accordance with section (2) of the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 are left in a secure and safe state after such entry has been gained.

  Mr. Eggar
  Section 2(5) of the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 requires any person who is authorised to enter premises by force under a warrant granted under section 2 of the Act to leave the premises as effectually secured against trespassers as he found them, if the premises are unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent.

  Cable Companies (Damage)
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 18 July,Official Report, column 23, regarding damage by cabling companies, if he will in future monitor and publish a list of incidents of damage; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Enforcement of the street works requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 is the responsibility of the street authority concerned. Instances of damage arising from street works would normally come to their attention during the exercise of their functions under the Act, and it would be for individual authorities to decide whether to publish a list of incidents.

  Office of Electricity Regulation
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the source of funding for the Office of Electricity Regulation.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Office of Electricity Regulation is funded under the normal vote arrangements. OFFER is,532
  however, empowered by the Electricity Act 1989 and Electricity Act 1989 (Fees) Order 1990 to recover its full economic costs through the levying of fees for electricity meter examination and certification, electricity licence application fees and the granting of annual licences to electricity generators, transmission companies and public electricity and second-tier suppliers.

  Research Laboratories
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets he has set his Department's research laboratories for 1994–95.

  Mr. Heseltine
  As I stated in my written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel), on 14 April 1994,Official Report, columns 251–53, reporting the outcome of the review into the future options for my Department's research laboratories, the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, the National Engineering Laboratory and the National Physical Laboratory all have good records of meeting the targets that they have been set and improving their performance from year to year. Their results for last year, which will be made available when their annual reports and accounts for 1993–94 are laid before the House, all show that improvements continued to be made: these have been achieved despite the tougher competition which the laboratories faced in winning and retaining work from public and private sector customers.

  The targets that I have set LGC and NEL for 1994–5, together with the five-year targets that were set for NPL on becoming an agency on 3 July 1990, Official Report, columns 499–500 are set out in the tables. In addition, I expect the chief executives of the agencies to continue to reply within 10 working days to all letters from Members of Parliament delegated to them for reply.
  Primary Financial Targets

  LGC Recovery of full costs from income for customer work.

  NEL Recovery of full costs through "arms-length" contracts from customers by 1994–95.

  NPL Recovery of full costs from income for customer work.

  Secondary Targets

  LGC To achieve an average rate of 90 per cent. for completion of reports on analysis of (or research into) samples by the date agreed with customers for the year as a whole.

  To achieve more than 85 per cent. of contract research milestones within the timescale agreed with the customer.

  To maintain NAMAS accreditation for the categories of work in which the Laboratory operates, registration for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and Laboratory-wide registration to BS5750 (ISO 9001).

  NEL To increase the number of non-DTI clients who provide revenues of more than £100k per annum by 50 per cent.

  To introduce by September 1994 a revised Divisional base organisation designed to facilate privatisation.

  To arrange training programmes to ensure the managers in the revised organisation acquire the new competences needed for a transition to private sector working practice.

  By September 1994 to introduce an improved version of the contract completion questionnaire to reflect the input from all clients in 1993–94.

  To carry out customer consultation post-completion reviews of 20 per cent. of all contracts in excess of £250k.

  By September 1994 to achieve laboratory-wide ISO9001 accreditation for those eligible areas which did not receive accreditation by the end of 1993–94.

  NPL To improve to 90 per cent. by 1994–95 the percentage of calibrations completed within six weeks.

  To complete at least 95 per cent. of contract research investigations on time over the period 1990–91 to 1994–95.

  533

  To increase by at least 3 per cent. the number of research milestones achieved annually per scientist over the period 1990–91 to 1994–95.

  To reduce the cost of administrative support so that by 1994–95 it represents no more than 20 per cent. of NPL's full economic cost.

  To increase the proportion of staff time attributed to programme-related work by 5 per cent. over the period 1990–91 to 1994–95.

  To reduce the cost of NPL per member of project staff by 2 per cent. per annum over the period 1990–91 to 1994–95.

  To secure a combination of output efficiency and cost reduction measures which, taken together, represent a requirement on NPL to improve its overall efficiency by more than 2 per cent. a year over the period 1990–91 to 1994–95.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the future of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory.

  Mr. Heseltine
  In my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel) on 14 April 1994,Official Report, columns 251–53, I undertook to make a further announcement on the future of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory.

  I am today placing in the Library of the House the report on NWML by the consultants KPMG Peat Marwick.

  I have decided that NWML should remain a next steps agency within my Department. I am giving further consideration to moving the agency onto a financial control regime which will provide it with the scope it needs to utilise its expertise and facilities more fully in meeting a wider range of its customers' needs on a self-financing basis.

  I have set NWML the following targets for 1994–95:
  to ensure that its fee earning activities remain self-financing;
  to increase their output per person employed by 2 per cent.;
  to reduce the real cost of a programme hour by 2 per cent.;
  to complete 92 per cent. of all type examinations within 14 weeks and
  to complete 96 per cent. of all calibration jobs (including preparation of certificates) within 4 weeks of acceptance of the work.

  In addition, I expect the chief executive of the agency to continue to reply within 10 working days to all letters from Members of Parliament delegated to him for reply.

  Investment Projects
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's performance in attracting internationally mobile investment projects in 1993–94.

  Mr. Heseltine
  My Department's Invest in Britain Bureau announced in its annual report published today that 1993–4 was another very successful year for attracting inward investment into the United Kingdom.

  Some 404 direct investment projects were recorded by the IBB for the period 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994. This is an increase of 101 projects over the previous year's recorded figures and demonstrates quite clearly just how attractive the United Kingdom continues to be to overseas investors. It is also worth noting that, based on information supplied at the time of the announcements, 28,727 new jobs are expected to be created—an increase of 12,009 over last year's figures—out of a total of 96,009 jobs linked to the 404 projects.

  These results provide strong evidence that, despite ever-increasing competition from elsewhere in the European Community, the United Kingdom has retained its No. 1 spot in Europe for attracting inward investment.
  534
  The results are also an indication of the effective partnership that the Invest in Britain Burea has with the many public and private sector organisations involved in the promotion of inward investment at home and, along with colleagues in the overseas posts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in existing and emerging markets abroad.

  I am arranging for a copy of the report to be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  Government Departments (Payment of Bills)
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of bills are paid on time by Government Departments; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Government Departments and their agencies are required to monitor their payment performance and publish the results in their annual reports. The following table lists by Department the proportion of bills paid within the agreed credit period, or within 30 days where no credit period has been agreed, for 1993–94.

  The Government recognise that late payment is a serious problem, particularly for small businesses, and it is essential that the Government set an example. Though Government payment performance continues to improve overall, there remains room for further improvement.

  New measures were announced in the White Paper on competitiveness. Government Departments and their agencies will now be required to:
  abide by the CBI prompt payers code;
  set out in their annual reports their payment policies and to state whether they have observed the principles of the CBI code, and
  publicise their arrangements for handling complaints of failure to pay on time.

  The Government expect all other public sector bodies to follow their lead.

  Department/agency

  Per cent. invoices paid within target

  Benefits Agency

  94·0

  Cabinet Office/OPSS

  78·0

  Central Statistical Office

  77·0

  COI

  83·0

  Crown Prosecution Service

  82·0

  Customs and Excise

  90·0

  Defence

  99·9

  Education

  80·0

  Employment Department/ACAS

  95·6

  Employment Service

  85·4

  Environment

  90·0

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  95·0

  Health and Safety Executive

  89·6

  Health

  87·1

  HMSO

  80·0

  Home Office

  72·0

  Inland Revenue

  86·0

  Lord Chancellor's

  89·4

  MAFF

  85·0

  National Heritage

  85·0

  National Savings

  97·6

  Northern Ireland Office and NICS

  92·0

  Overseas Development Administration

  88·0

  Paymaster General

  96·3

  Registry of Friendly Societies

  95·0

  Scottish Office

  89·0

  Social Security

  94·0

  Trade and Industry

  90·0

  Transport

  93·6

  Treasury

  93·0

  Welsh Office

  87·0

  Market Testing
  Mr Elletson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has reached a decision on the market testing of IT services in his Department.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The market test of the IT services branch of the Department has now been concluded and it has been decided to award a contract to Hoskyns Group plc whose bid was judged to represent the best value for money.

  Atomic Energy Authority
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what financial target and capital expenditure limits have been set for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for 1994–95.

  Mr. Eggar
  The UKAEA's financial target for 1994–95 has been set as a 6·7 per cent. return on average capital employed, calculated according to the historic cost convention as modified. The target is based on profit earned on ordinary activities before long-term interest payable and the costs and proceeds of the sale of the UKAEA's facilities services division. I have also approved the UKAEA's capital expenditure programme for the year at £14 million.

  Dual-use Goods Regulation
  Sir John Hannam
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on recent developments in the negotiation of the EC dual-use goods regulation.

  Mr. Needham
  I am pleased to report that, in the last few days, a text of the regulation, and an associated intergovernmental decision in the form of a joint action under the common foreign and security policy, has been agreed by Ministers of all 12 member states. The agreement marks the first step towards a common system for the control of exports of sensitive goods from the Community. The regulation and joint action are intended to apply from 1 January 1995. Starting from that date, it is envisaged that there will be a transitional period to be reviewed within three years, and during which particularly sensitive dual-use goods will continue to be subject to licensing when despatched from one member state to another. During this period, member states will work to create a strong external control fence around the Community. This will be a prerequisite if all member states are to be in a position to honour their non-proliferation commitments. Depending on the success of this strengthening work and progress in harmonising national export control policies, the member states will decide at the end of the transitional period whether to introduce licence-free trade in all dual-use goods within the Community.

  Audit Monitoring
  Sir John Hannam
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the outcome of his review of audit monitoring.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The new arrangements for monitoring registered company auditors were set up under part II of the Companies Act 1989. It was agreed at the time 536
  with the recognised supervisory bodies that it would be sensible to review those monitoring systems in the light of experience.

  At the end of last year, therefore, I asked the RSBs to report to me on the effectiveness of their monitoring. I also asked Professor Peter Moizer of Leeds university to provide me with an independent assessment of the state of audit monitoring.

  I have now considered these reports. They show that the present system of monitoring is generally working well and that the substantial efforts and resources which the RSBs are devoting to it are bringing to light cases of under-performance, and helping to remedy them where they exist. The first two years' monitoring has also shown that there is a range of performance among audit practices, and that there is scope for improvement among many of those inspected.

  Against that background, I have therefore asked the RSBs to put in place a wider range of monitoring methods to ensure that overall, and within present resources, a higher proportion of the registered auditor population is inspected than is currently the case; to match the monitoring techniques more closely to the widely differing circumstances of practitioners; and to identify and target those firms where achieving the required standards may present a greater challenge. The RSBs will be submitting these plans to me in the autumn.

  These changes will reflect one of the main messages of Professor Moizer's report: the need for the RSBs to adopt greater flexibility in the monitoring methods that they employ. Professor Moizer's report has made a valuable contribution to the development of audit regulation policy, and I am today placing copies of the report in the Libraries of the House.

  British Coal (Pensions)
  Sir John Hannam
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress is being made on drafting the regulations and related documents that will be needed to implement the new arrangements for British Coal pensions after privatisation.

  Mr. Eggar
  I am today placing in the Libraries of both Houses copies of the latest drafts of the regulations and related documents needed to implement the new arrangements for the mineworkers' pension scheme and British Coal staff superannuation scheme after privatisation. The documents are grouped in six volumes as follows:

  1. MPS (Modification) Regulations; MPS Scheme and Rules; MPS Guarantee Deed;

  2. SSS (Modification) Regulations; SSS Scheme and Rules; SSS Guarantee Deed;

  3. Industry-Wide Coal MPS Regulations; Industry-Wide Coal MPS Trust Deed and Rules; Coal Industry (Protected Persons) Pensions Regulations;

  4. Industry-Wide Coal SSS Regulations; Industry-Wide Coal SSS Trust Deed and Rules; Coal Industry (Protected Persons) Pensions Regulations;

  5. Memoranda and Articles of Association for MPS Trustees Ltd., Industry-Wide MPS Trustees Ltd. and Industry-Wide MPS Co-ordinator Ltd.;

  6. Memoranda and Articles of Association for Coal SSS Trustees Ltd., Industry-Wide Coal SSS Trustees Ltd., and Industry Wide Coal SSS Co-ordinator Ltd.

  These draft documents flow from schedule 5—the pensions schedule—of the Coal Industry Act 1994. The drafts are being prepared in close consultation with the trustee of the MPS and SSS and are nearing finalisation. It

  537
  is currently intended that the modification regulations for the MPS and SSS should be laid before Parliament in August for coming into force in September. The industry-wide MPS and SSS regulations and the Coal Industry (Protected Persons) Pensions Regulations will be laid later.

  Earlier working drafts of the documents contained in volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4 as listed above were placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 22 February. Drafts of the documents contained in volumes 5 and 6 have not been provided previously and some explanation of their purpose may be helpful.

  The new documents, which are also being prepared in close consultation with the trustees of the MPS and SSS, are the memoranda and articles of association of six new companies: two trustee companies for the modified MPS and SSS, two trustee companies for the industry-wide MPS and SSS and two "co-ordinator companies", whose purpose is explained below. All the pension schemes will provide that the duties of their trustee, which as in the present SSS will be a trustee company, shall be exercised through the board of directors of that trustee company. The directors of the trustee companies will thus have duties and responsibilities corresponding to those of individually appointed trustees. Each of the trustee companies for the modified schemes will have equal numbers of directors appointed on behalf of scheme members and the Government respectively. The trustee companies for the industry-wide schemes will have equal numbers of directors appointed on behalf of employees and employers respectively.

  Each of the two industry-wide schemes will be established by a specially formed "co-ordinator company" which will exercise a "principal employer" role under the industry-wide schemes. All the directors of the "co-ordinator companies" will be appointed by employers of members of the relevant industry-wide scheme.

  Small Company Audit
  Sir John Hannam
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects the regulations in respect of the abolition of the small company audit to come into effect.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The regulations have been laid before the House today and will enter into force on 11 August 1994.

  Regional Challenge
  Sir John Hannam
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on progress being made on the implementation of regional challenge.

  Mr. Heseltine
  As I announced in the White Paper on competitiveness, the first round of regional challenge competitions will be held later this year after the European Commission adopts the "Single Programming Documents" which govern structural funds money. A second round will follow three years later.

  In agreement with the Commission, prize money for regional challenge will amount to 10 per cent. of the European regional development fund for each eligible area plus 10 per cent. of that sum from the area's European social fund allocation. This equates to some £160 million across the eligible English and Welsh areas for each of the two rounds of competitions.
  538
  The arrangements for the operation of regional challenge will be set out in guidelines which the Government will draw up in the light of consultations with local partnerships.

  Bids will need to satisfy the general criteria for structural fund assistance, and will be assessed against a number of additional criteria, to be finalised in the light of the consultations.

  They are likely to include:
  private sector leverage;
  comprehensive area-based regeneration effects;
  a significant contribution to regional competitiveness;
  strategic importance for the region as a whole; and
  contribution to several of the measures specified in the Single Programming Document.

  Final decisions on projects will be taken by Ministers on the basis of recommendations from the monitoring committees of local partnerships.

  Bofors (Iraqi Exports)
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list in full the communications his Department has had with various Departments of the Swedish Government in relation to the investigation regarding Bofors exports to Iraq and all the occasions when officers from his Department liaised with officials of the Swedish Government and Bofors; and what action any official in his Department took with regard to Bofors.

  Mr. Needham
  [holding answer 19 July 1994]: I am not aware of any such contacts.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many special advisers who left his Department in each of the last five years became(a) management consultants and (b) joined a firm of consultants.

  (2) if he will publish the names of the employers joined by special advisers who left his Department in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answers 20 July 1994]: There is no requirement for special advisers to provide details of their employers after leaving Government service.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many special advisers have(a) joined and (b) left his Department in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: The information requested, as far as it is available, is as follows:

  Name

  Date of Appointment

  End of Appointment

  Tony Allen

  21 March 1994

  —

  Dr. Walter Eltis

  1 January 1993

  —

  Dr. Alan Kemp

  28 May 1992

  —

  Lady Strathnaver

  21 April 1992

  —

  Lance Anisfeld

  21 April 1991

  10 April 1992

  Jeremy Mayhew

  24 September 1990

  10 April 1992

  Mrs. Katherine Ramsey

  25 July 1989

  14 July 1990

  Michael Simmonds

  23 October 1989

  30 July 1990

  Charles Hendry

  1 September 1988

  24 July 1989

  Peter Luff

  28 September 1988

  24 July 1989

  Universal Postal Service
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 July,Official Report, column 509, what view the British Government have offered on whether the legal basis for the European Commission's proposed directive defining the set of services which may be reserved at national level should be article 90 or article 100A of the treaty of Rome.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: We have made clear to the European Commission our view that it would be preferable for all directives implementing the single market in postal services to have as their legal basis article 100A of the treaty of Rome. We accept, however, that if satisfactory progress under article 100A proves impossible, the Commission could resort to article 90 for a directive setting limits to the services that may be reserved at national level.

  Appeal received

  Health board/NHS trust

  Site area

  Determination

  Lothian health board

  21 November 1991

  Northern General hospital, Edinburgh

  1.21 hectares (3 acres)

  Appeal sustained 2 July 1992

  Greater Glasgow health board

  12 November 1993

  Broomhill hospital, Kirkintilloch

  1.21 hectares (3 acres)

  Not yet determined

  3 June 1994

  Leverndale hospital, Glasgow

  1.21 hectares (3 acres)

  Not yet determined

  Publicity
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail the publicity budget for each Scottish Office Department for each of the past five years.

  Mr. Lang
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. Stewart
  The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the UK economy. The Government help small firms by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislative and administrative burdens. The Scottish Office Industry Department also provides direct assistance where

SCOTLAND

  Water Supply
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what access the proposed new water boards will have to personal details of water users including household size or income, which is currently held by regional councils.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  NHS Land
  Mrs. Fife
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list from 1991–92 onwards those health boards and NHS trusts who have appealed to him against local authorities' refusal of planning permission for their intended use of surplus land; what was the total acreage involved in each case; and which appeals were approved by himself.

  Mr. Stewart
  The information requested is set out in the table. Each of the appeals detailed were delegated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland for determination by a Scottish Office inquiry reporter.

  appropriate including the regional enterprise grant scheme which has elements for investment and innovation projects, and regional selective assistance.

  Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and their network of 22 local enterprise companies have at their disposal a wide range of measures through which they are able to support new and established small businesses.

  A significant recent initiative by SE has been the establishment with local authorities, chambers of commerce and other partners of the Scottish business shop network in order to provide easy access to first-stop business advice. Actual and planned performance indicators for the range of Scottish Enterprise network activity, including advice to businesses and new business start-ups, are published annually in the annual reports of these organisations and in the expenditure plans for the Departments of my right hon. Friend.

  Water Charges
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland to what central and local government sources of information the proposed new water companies will have access in fixing water charges, taking into account the ability to pay.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Sight Tests
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the estimated saving to the NHS in Scotland from the abolition of free NHS sight tests in 1989.

  Mr. Stewart
  We estimate that the savings made to April 1994 as a result of the restriction of the categories of people eligible for an NHS sight test in 1989 were between £36 million and £39 million in cash terms.

  Purchasing Advice
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will promote the purchase of cruelty-free and environmentally-friendly products by advice to his purchasing departments and to local authorities.

  Mr. Lang
  My Department published a policy statement on green housekeeping in January 1992 and has subsequently taken a number of initiatives to increase its use of products which are environmentally friendly. A review of the 1992 policy is now being undertaken with a view to further promoting the use of environmentally friendly products within the Scottish Office.

  It is for local authorities to determine their own purchasing policies. But the Government seek to encourage them to adopt a systematic approach to the management of the environmental impact of their activities. Accordingly, my Department ran two workshops for local authorities in February to promote guidance published in October 1993 on a voluntary eco-management and audit scheme. In September 1993, my Department published a model local environmental charter in consultation with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

  Patient Waiting Times
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the circulation of the information services division of the Common Services Agency of the NHS Scotland document, "NHS Patient Treatment and Waiting Time Bulletin".

  Mr. Stewart
  A copy of the "NHS Patient Treatment and Waiting Time Bulletin" is sent to the following:

  Health board general managers

  Unit general managers

  Directors of finance

  Directors of public health

  NHS trust chief executives

  NHS trust medical directors

  Health service information and records officers

  Senior officers of the Scottish Office Home and Health Department

  Privilege Libraries, including House of Commons Library

  The press

  On request

  Private organisations and members of the public

  Other NHS officers

  Members of Parliament

  Forestry
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will now announce the conclusions of the Forestry Review Group; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 19 July 1994 at columns 177–91.
  542
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table to show for each European Community nation the sums currently paid in grant per hectare in respect of planting(a) conifers and (b) broadleaf trees; what changes are proposed for future years for such schemes; and what items are grant aided.

  Sir Hector Monro
  There is no common forestry policy in the European Community and member states provide financial support for forestry in many different ways. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement before the summer recess about his proposals for the future of the Forestry Commission.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he now expects to make a statement on the forestry review; and if he will then specify any changes in incentives for planting trees.

  Sir Hector Monro
  I refer the hon. Members to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on 19 July at columns. 177–91.

  Housing Finance
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish, for each local authority's housing revenue account in 1979, 1984 and 1989(a) the amount of capital debt, (b) the loan charges and (c) the rent burden per house per annum based on the best on estimate available of the housing stock in each of these years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Fatal Accident Inquiries
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fatal accident inquiries were held in each procurator fiscal area in Scotland during the last financial year.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information is as follows.

  Fatal Accident Inquiries Held Financial Year 1993–94

  Numbers

  Aberdeen

  17

  Airdrie

  0

  Alloa

  3

  Arbroath

  0

  Ayr

  3

  Banff

  2

  Campbeltown

  0

  Cupar

  5

  Dingwall

  0

  Dornoch

  0

  Dumbarton

  7

  Dumfries

  2

  Dundee

  3

  Dunfermline

  0

  Dunoon

  2

  Duns

  0

  Edinburgh

  9

  Elgin

  1

  Falkirk

  2

  Forfar

  0

  Fort William

  0

  Glasgow

  22

  543

  Numbers

  Greenock

  3

  Haddington

  0

  Hamilton

  11

  Inverness

  4

  Jedburgh

  2

  Kilmarnock

  2

  Kirkcaldy

  5

  Kirkcudbright

  0

  Kirkwall

  1

  Lanark

  5

  Lerwick

  0

  Linlithgow

  1

  Lochmaddy

  0

  Oban

  1

  Paisley

  13

  Peebles

  0

  Perth

  5

  Peterhead

  2

  Portree

  0

  Rothesay

  0

  Selkirk

  0

  Stirling

  4

  Stonehaven

  2

  Stornoway

  0

  Stranraer

  3

  Tain

  0

  Wick

  1

  Total

  143

  Rating Valuations
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the revaluation of non-domestic properties on the retail, commercial and manufacturing sectors of industry;

  (2) if he will make a statement on the revaluation of non-domestic properties in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  Comprehensive estimates of the outcome of revaluation are not yet available. Once they are, my right hon. Friend will consider their implications for the setting of 1995–96 rate poundages and other related matters.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from industry or business organisations about the revaluation of non-domestic properties in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  Since the beginning of June I have received five letters on this issue.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has any plans to meet the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss the revaluation of non-domestic properties.

  Mr. Stewart
  Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have any plans to meet COSLA specially to discuss this issue. It is, however, one of the issues that may be discussed in the forum of our regular meetings with COSLA to discuss local government finance matters. The next such meeting is due to be held on 22 July.

  Scottish Agricultural Wages Board
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is his latest estimate of the number of persons whose pay and conditions are covered by the Scottish agricultural wages board, for each region of Scotland;

  (2) what is his latest estimate of the total number of persons whose pay and conditions are covered by the Scottish agricultural wages board.
  544
  Sir Hector Monro
  At 1 June 1993 the number of persons employed on agricultural holdings by region and Scotland was:

  Number

  Shetland

  280

  Orkney

  563

  Western Isles

  257

  Highland

  1,887

  Grampian

  4,963

  Tayside

  3,255

  Fife

  1,550

  Lothian

  1,639

  Borders

  2,303

  Central

  942

  Strathclyde

  5,030

  Dumfries and Galloway

  3,630

  Scotland

  26,299

  Troon Housing Office
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much Kyle and Carrick district council spent on the refurbishment of its Troon housing office; and how much this project was originally budgeted for.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is not held centrally. This is a matter for Kyle and Carrick district council.

  Veterinary Services
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when officials in his Department last met representatives of the British Veterinary Association to discuss future arrangements for the highlands and islands veterinary services scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  Officials from my Department met a representative of the British Veterinary Association in May to discuss the future arrangements for the highlands and islands veterinary services scheme. Following that meeting we are giving future consideration to what changes need to be made to the scheme.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many representations he has received since 1 January regarding the future of the highlands and islands veterinary services scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  Since 1 January 1994, representations have been received from the president of the British Veterinary Association and from the Outer North Isles action group.

  Road Improvements
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his proposals for road improvements between Cutty Sark bridge and Newhouse in the Strathclyde region.

  Mr. Lang
  The line orders and compulsory purchase order for the section of the M8 motorway between Baillieston, to the west of Cutty Sark bridge, and Newhouse were published in November 1993 and May 1994 respectively. These proposals are being taken forward in phases and, subject to the satisfactory completion of statutory procedures and the availability of
  545
  finance, it is provisionally planned that the first of these between Drumpark junction and Chapelhall will start between April 1995 and March 1997.

  Suilevan Ferry
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in the past two years the Suilevan ferry has been loaded to maximum freight capacity on the Stornoway to Ullapool service.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Office does not hold detailed operational information of this nature. I understand that Caledonian MacBrayne does not have the information requested in a readily available form. I have, however, asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member to explain what information is available on this subject.

  Housing Waiting Lists
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will carry out a study of the length of time on waiting lists for local authority, housing association and other accommodation for rent experienced by ethnic minority households.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  St. Andrew's Day
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider the designation of St. Andrew's Day as a public holiday in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Public holidays in Scotland are not defined in statute, but by long tradition and practice are determined by individual local authorities in consultation with local interests. My right hon. Friend has no power to intervene in this process.

  Drug Abuse
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the Government's response to the main conclusions and recommendations contained in the Scottish Affairs Committee's first report of Session 1993–94 on drug abuse in Scotland, HC 52.

  Mr. Lang
  I have today published "Drug Abuse in Scotland: Government Response", Cm 2629. The Government have welcomed the wide-ranging inquiry carried out by the Committee into this complex and serious problem. Many of the issues covered by the Committee are being addressed by the drugs task force led by my noble and learned Friend, the Minister of State and will be reflected in its report. As the Government's response indicates, the Committee's report, with the work of the task force, will help provide a clear and robust framework within which drug misuse in Scotland can be vigorously and comprehensively tackled.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to make regulations which will prevent council tax payers from having to pay arrears of council tax when their property banding has been altered upwards due to an inaccuracy in the original list.
  546
  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend proposes to make regulations later this year which will ensure that in future any increases in council tax banding resulting from the correction of an error in the original list will come into effect only from the date on which the list was altered.

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Kynoch
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements he intends to make for the provision of advice to local authorities on staffing issues which arise out of the Government's proposals for local government reorganisation.

  Mr. Lang
  The proposed restructuring of local government will have significant implications for local authority staff. Clause 12 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill provides for the establishment of a staff commission to exercise functions in relation to the staff and the staffing of authorities. In advance of the commission being established, I have appointed a staff advisory committee, chaired by Mr. Robert Peggie, who took up his appointment on 1 April 1994.

  The advisory committee has, in the course of its work, had discussions with a number of local authorities. As a result of those discussions it has become clear that additional work is required and in particular that there is a pressing need from authorities for advice on the staffing issues which they need to consider. There is a need also for the preparation of advice for local authorities on individual staffing issues, some of which are very complex. I therefore intend to establish the staff commission in shadow form before the Bill receives Royal Assent.

  It is also my intention formally to designate the existing chairman and members of the staff advisory committee as a shadow staff commission. The shadow commission will continue the excellent work begun by the advisory committee as well as advising local authorities and making preparations for the establishment of the full commission following Royal Assent.

  Parliamentary approval for this expenditure was sought in the 1994–95 main estimates for housing and environmental services Scotland vote, class XIV, vote 7. This expenditure was subject to the passage of both the Appropriation Act and the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Bill. Pending Royal Assent of both Bills urgent expenditure estimated at £150,000 will be met by a repayable advance from the contingencies fund.

  Inquiry Reporter
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what percentage of appeals to the Scottish Office inquiry reporter is initiated by industry;

  (2) how long it takes on average for the Scottish Office inquiry reporter to notify him of his decision;

  (3) what percentage of appeals to the Scottish Office inquiry reporter are initiated by private citizens.

  Mr. Lang
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Libraries of the House.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the allocated budget for the environmentally sensitive area schemes in Scotland for each year since 1989.
  547
  Mr. Lang
  The information is given in the following table:

  Financial year

  Approved estimate £ million

  1989–90

  1·000

  1990–91

  1·150

  1991–92

  1·500

  1992–93

  3·905

  1993–94

  5·283

  1994–95

  4·500

  Burley Healthcare
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if Ayrshire and Arran health board has now concluded a contract with Burley Healthcare.

  Mr. Stewart
  Ayrshire and Arran health board and Speciality Care plc, previously known as Burley Healthcare plc, are currently in the process of finalising a legal contract for care provision.

  Consultants
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidelines are currently in operation by his Department relating to the employment of public sector bodies by consultancy firms.

  Mr. Lang
  There are no guidelines on the employment of public sector bodies by consultancy firms.

  Sheep Quotas
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about outstanding sheep quota applications to the national reserve; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 19 July 1994]: The Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department met recently with the National Farmers Union of Scotland to discuss the allocation of sheep annual premium quota to those producers who had applied to categories 3 to 7 of the 1993 national reserve. Allocations to category 1 and producers have already been made in full.

  £ million

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Pre-registration funding

  22,876

  24,012

  26,350

  26,370

  Funding of teacher training and support

  1,331

  1,786

  1,330

  950

  Police Access to Records
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many subject access requests were received by his Department involving access to national insurance records in the last year; how many subject access requests were received by each Scottish police force in the last year; what estimate he has as to the percentage of those requests which were enforced subject access requests; and if he will make a statement concerning his policy towards enforced subject access.
  548
  The Department received over 1,800 applications of which 1,600 were applications to categories 3 to 7. A large number of these applications did not contain the documentation necessary to support the claims and the Department wrote to the producers concerned giving them an additional period of time to provide this documentation. Provided these producers respond timeously to the Department's request it is anticipated that producers will receive notification of the quota allocations during September 1994.

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will consider a partial sheep quota allocation and partial payment to those sheep producers with outstanding applications to the national reserve.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 19 July 1994]: I have considered the possibility of making partial allocations of sheep annual premium quota from the 1993 national reserve to allow partial payments of premium to be made. With more than half the applicants to the reserve still having to establish the validity of their claims it is impossible to estimate whether allocations will have to be scaled back and if so, what that scaling factor will be. Any partial allocations at this stage would therefore have to be very small, and since we currently expect to make the final allocations in two months' time I do not propose to make this additional step, which could in fact delay those final allocations.

  Nurse Training and Education
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide a breakdown of the spending on nurse education and training for the years 1990–1 to 1993–4 identifying the spending allocated to(a) pre-registration education, (b) post-registration education and (c) nurse teacher training and support.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 19 July 1994]: The following table sets out the funding of pre-registration nursing and midwifery education and training and of teacher training and support for the years 1990–91 to 1993–94. Funding of post-registration education is not identifiable separately.

  Mr. Lang
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

  Prisons
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the prisons that had surplus cell capacity as of 30 June; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James-Douglas Hamilton
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Scottish Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
  549
  Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 20 July 1994:
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about the prisons that had surplus cell capacity as of 30 June.
  During any year a number of cells are unavailable for use for a variety of reasons, including redecoration or damage repair

  (1)

  (2)

  (3)

  (4)

  (5)

  Establishment

  Design capacity

  Cells available for use

  Prisoner population

  Cells not in use (3) (4)

  Aberdeen

  142

  136

  183

  6

  Barlinnie

  939

  861

  1,154

  78

  Castle Huntly

  144

  144

  64

  —

  Dumfries

  139

  129

  125

  10

  Dungavel

  135

  135

  120

  —

  Edinburgh

  508

  506

  631

  2

  Friarton

  56

  56

  77

  —

  Glenochil

  668

  538

  517

  131

  Greenock

  172

  172

  281

  —

  Inverness

  79

  68

  99

  11

  Longriggend

  177

  177

  198

  —

  Low Moss

  396

  396

  394

  —

  Noranside

  137

  137

  125

  —

  Penninghame

  85

  81

  54

  4

  Perth

  426

  408

  465

  18

  Peterhead

  271

  209

  210

  62

  Polmont

  414

  366

  374

  48

  Shotts

  535

  490

  460

  45

  Cornton Vale

  312

  179

  188

  34

  Totals

  5,637

  5,188

  5,719

  449

PRIME MINISTER

  Small Businesses
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government continue to help small businesses, through improvements to the business climate, through deregulation and, when appropriate, through specific programmes of support and assistance. The recently published White Paper on competitiveness has clear implications for small firms and will encourage the growth of the sector through a series of well targeted initiatives.

  Specific measures to assist small firms are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends, the President of the Board of Trade, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales. For details of specific programmes, I refer my hon. Friend to their replies today.

  War Widows
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Prime Minister on what occasions over the past two years a Minister has met representatives of the War Widows' Association in order to discuss the needs and interests of war widows.

  The Prime Minister
  Over the past two years the Minister with special responsibility for war pensions, my hon. and noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary 550
  work, refurbishment (including in some cases, to provide night sanitation) or for other policy reasons (e.g., being retained in the event of an emergency). Against this background the information you requested—reflecting the position as at Friday 1 July—is set out in the attached table.

  of State at the Department of Social Security, has met formally with representatives of the War Widows' Association of Great Britain at four meetings of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions; he also met a deputation from the association on 12 April 1994. He has also discussed with representatives of war pensions committees—which may include members of the War Widows' Association—matters concerning the needs and interests of war widows; over the past two years there have been nine such occasions.

  Military Medals
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 27 January,Official Report, column 361, if he will reconsider his policy on whether a medal should be issued specifically for those who did national service.

  The Prime Minister
  We have no plans to institute an award specifically for those who served a period of national service in the armed forces. They were eligible for the range of official awards approved by the sovereign at the time.

  Ex-service Men and Women
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Prime Minister when he intends to meet representatives of the Royal British Legion to discuss the implications of the resolution passed by the House of Commons on 1 July that called for the appointment of a Minister for ex-service men and women; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I have of course noted the resolution passed on 1 July, but I must draw the hon. Member's attention to the remarks made in the House by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, on 19 July,Official Report, columns 163–64. The services that ex-service men and women require are varied and are

  551
  the responsibility of more than one Government Department. Ministers from those Departments can and do meet representatives of veterans' organisations, and I am sure that those arrangements will continue. I do not believe that the interests of veterans would be well served by the creation of an additional tier of bureaucracy in the form of a Ministry for Veterans' Affairs.

  I have received a request to meet representatives from the Royal British Legion, which I am currently considering.

  Proscripted Organisations
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to extend the proscription of the Ulster Defence Association to Great Britain and to the Ulster Young Militants in Northern Ireland.

  The Prime Minister
  The Ulster Defence Association, like a number of other terrorist groups, is proscribed in Northern Ireland where it operates. The situation in Great Britain is kept under review. It should be remembered, however, that as a proscribed organisation in Northern Ireland the UDA already comes within the financial provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, and that it is therefore an offence to contribute funds to the UDA in Great Britain, as well as in Northern Ireland.

  The question of the proscription of the Ulster Young Militants is also kept under review, as explained by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, in his answer of 16 March 1994, Official Report, column 706.

  Lloyd's
  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Prime Minister, what revisions have been made to the guidance in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" in the light of the introduction of members' agent pooling arrangements in Lloyd's

  The Prime Minister
  The relevant paragraphs in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers" dealing with membership of Lloyd's have been revised to take account of recent developments in the way in which Lloyd's business is conducted, including the introduction of members agent pooling arrangements. The Secretary to the Cabinet circulated them to all Ministers on 5 July. The revised paragraphs, replacing paragraphs 118–123 of the latest version of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", which I published on 19 May 1992, are as follows:"Membership of Lloyd's
  118. A Minister holding office as Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer or as President of the Board of Trade (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry), or a Minister holding office as a Minister in the Treasury who is responsible under the Chancellor of the Exchequer for taxation matters relating specifically to Lloyd's, or as a Minister in the Department of Trade and Industry responsible under the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for insurance matters relating specifically to Lloyd's, should not become an underwriting member of Lloyd's. Such a Minister, if already a member of Lloyd's on appointment, should cease underwriting during tenure of that office.
  119. Apart from those Ministers covered by the specific requirements of paragraph 118 above, any Minister who is an underwriting member of Lloyd's should not take an active part in the management of the affairs of syndicates of which he/she is a member, and should on appointment as a Minister withdraw from any such active participation in management. Ministers who are underwriting members of Lloyd's should arrange their syndicate participation solely through a Members Agent Pooling
  552
  Arrangement. This requirement will operate from the 1995 year of account, or from the first year of account after appointment for newly appointed Ministers, subject to time being available for the procedures for joining a MAPA.
  120. No Minister who is a current underwriting member of Lloyd's should take part in any departmental or collective discussions or decisions affecting Lloyd's whether directly or indirectly (e.g., the Secretary of State for Transport in relation to questions concerning marine, aviation and transport insurance, the Secretary of State for Employment on questions concerning employers' liability insurance, Treasury Ministers on tax issues affecting Lloyd's).
  121. Some Ministers have ceased underwriting but still have open syndicate commitments in respect of past membership. Such Ministers should take no part in those departmental or collective discussions or decisions affecting Lloyd's (whether directly or indirectly) if their continuing benefits or liabilities in respect of the period before cessation might thereby be affected, and might therefore make them vulnerable to reasonable suspicion of exerting or being in a position of undue influence.
  122. A Law Officer who is an underwriting member of Lloyd's, or who still has open syndicate commitments in respect of past membership, should not tender advice on the formulation, application or enforcement of legislation relating to Lloyd's, or take part in any collective discussion or decision on any matters affecting Lloyd's and should, as far as is practicable, avoid taking enforcement decisions relating to Lloyd's.
  123. A Minister in whom powers under legislation relating to Lloyd's are vested should not delegate the exercise of those powers to any other Minister who is an underwriting member of Lloyd's or who still has open syndicate commitments in respect of past underwriting.
  123A. Every Minister is required, on appointment to a first Ministerial office, to obtain the Prime Minister's permission before continuing a connection with Lloyd's, however nominal. Any Minister wishing to establish or re-establish any such connection during his term of appointment should likewise obtain the Prime Minister's permission to do so. Before granting permission, the Prime Minister will need to be satisfied that the conditions indicated above will be met.
  123B. In addition, the Secretary of the Cabinet is required to keep a list of Ministers who are members of Lloyd's. He will ask all Ministers on appointment for the first time to Ministerial office whether they are a member of Lloyd's and if so whether they propose to continue or suspend underwriting while they hold that office. He will also ask those Ministers who are members of Lloyd's and who are appointed to a subsequent Ministerial office whether they propose to continue or suspend underwriting while they hold that office.
  123C. Where a Minister has a shareholding in an investment trust or any other entity which holds a corporate membership of Lloyd's, that shareholding should be treated on the same basis as any other by a Minister (see paras 109–17 of the May 1992 issue of QPM)."

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Prime Minister how many special advisers have(a) joined and (b) left his Department in each of the last five years.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: The figures requested are as follows:

  Year

  Special Advisers

  (a)

  1989

  2

  1990

  3

  1991

  4

  1992

  5

  1993

  0

  11994

  1

  (b)

  1989

  2

  1990

  6

  1991

  1

  1992

  4

  1993

  2

  11994

  1

  1 To date.

  553
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) how many special advisers who left his Department in each of the last five years became(a) management consultants and (b) joined a firm of consultants;

  (2) if he will publish the names of the employers joined by special advisers who left his Department in each of the last five years.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: There is no requirement for special advisers to provide details of their employers on leaving Government service, or thereafter.

  Electricity Companies
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Prime Minister what role his Office has played in negotiations over pay rises, share options and pension rights for the senior staff of electricity companies; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 20 July 1994]: None.

DEFENCE

  Military Criminal Justice
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many district courts martial there were in 1991, 1992 and 1993.

  Mr. Hanley
  The number of district courts martial convened in the Army and RAF in 1991, 1992 and 1993 is as follows:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  Army

  716

  664

  630

  RAF

  140

  131

  123

  The Navy do not hold district courts martial, but rather give commanding officers greater powers of punishment than their Army and RAF counterparts.

  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements are made for soldiers posted abroad to have access to legal advice when an accused is questioned by the military police.

  Mr. Soames
  In overseas commands, arrangements are made for suspects to be advised by service lawyers. Where no service lawyer is available to give advice, the suspect is allowed to make a free telephone call to a lawyer in the United Kingdom. In rare circumstances—due to geographical location, the availability of a legal adviser or time, for example—it will not be possible for a suspect either to consult a legal adviser or to have one present at an interview.

  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the military criminal justice system.

  Mr. Soames
  The services' system of discipline and criminal justice is governed by the Service Discipline Acts. The main purpose of the quinquennial Armed Forces Bills is to give authority, when they are enacted, for the Services 554
  Discipline Acts to continue in force for a further five years, but they are also an opportunity to review the Services Discipline Acts. The next Armed Forces Bill is due to be introduced in the 1995–96 Session.

  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in how many courts martial cases the accused pleaded guilty in 1991, 1992 and 1993.

  Mr. Soames
  In 1991, about 675 guilty pleas were made at courts martial, across the three services, and 650 in 1992. Figures are not yet available for 1993.

  Mr. Gerald James
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what grounds the documents and diaries of Mr. Gerald James, the former chairman of the British Manufacturing and Research Company, were taken by the Ministry of Defence police; what information of relevance was gleaned from them; when they will all be returned to him; and if he will make a sttement.

  Mr. Soames
  In April 1990 as part of a wide-ranging MOD police corruption investigation, the BMARC premises at Grantham were searched with the consent of the managing director of Astra Holdings, the parent company of BMARC. At the time of this search, Mr. James had ceased to be employed by BMARC/Astra Holdings.

  Documents were found in the office that Mr. James had previously occupied. These were handed over to MOD police by the financial director of the company. On examination, they were considered to be relevant to the police inquiries. In 1993 at the conclusion of all aspects of the MOD investigation, the documents were returned to Astra Holdings' officially appointed receiver, Cork Gully.

  These documents were considered to be company documents and at no time were any documents taken into police possession directly from Mr. James.

  Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about the privatisation of the NAAFI; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  No representations have been received about the privatisation of NAAFI. The way in which the organisation operates is intimately linked to the services, particularly in war, and offers advantages to the armed forces which could not be readily provided by a private sector company.

  Cadet Forces
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) private and (b) state-funded schools have cadet forces; and how many of these cadets forces are linked to (i) the Royal Navy, (ii) the Army and (iii) the Royal Air Force; how many pupils in (1) private and (2) state-funded schools are enrolled in cadet forces for each of the armed services; and how much the cadet forces in (x) private and (y) state-funded schools for each service cost his Department annually.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Imphal Barracks
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to identify a future MoD use for the offices at Imphal barracks, York, which are due to become vacant in mid-1996 when York-based army manning and records staff transfer to Kentigern House in Glasgow; and how he intends to consult(a) York city council and (b) the trade unions representing MoD civilian staff over future uses for these offices.

  Mr. Soames
  The office accommodation to be vacated is situated within Imphal barracks, and cannot be leased or disposed of. In accordance with our normal procedures we are looking for alternative defence uses for the accommodation; this work is still ongoing.

  If a defence use for the accommodation is found York city council will be notified. The city council would be consulted if we were proposing a material change of use or some form of development.

  If any alternative defence use affects MoD civilians then the proposal would be the subject of consultations with the trade unions in the normal way.

  Royal Air Force
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the RAF squadrons and units that have been disbanded or reorganised in the last five years indicating(a) the broad nature of the work of the squadron or unit, (b) the date of the change, (c) whether the squadron or unit was subject to market testing and (d) whether any of the duties have been taken over by contractors; and if he will name the contractors in each applicable case.

  Mr. Soames
  The information required is not held centrally, nor in the form requested, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the RAF squadrons and units which are currently or will as a result of the defence costs study be subject to(a) market testing or (b) contractorisation; and if he will indicate the broad nature of the work of the squadron or unit.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  University Air Squadrons
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many university air squadrons there are; what they cost to run per year; how may university students were attached to them in each of the last five years; and how many of these students entered service with the RAF on completion of their courses in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Property Sales
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of Defence how many service properties that were owned by his Department have been sold in each of the last five years; and what was the yearly revenue received from these sales.

  Mr. Soames
  The term "service properties" is taken to mean land, buildings and residential dwellings. Details of the number of service properties sold are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
  556
  The receipts received from the sale of service properties in each of the last five financial years are set out in the table:

  Financial Year

  Residential Dwellings1 £

  Land/ Buildings £

  Total £

  1989–90

  48,000,000

  23,200,000

  71,200,000

  1990–91

  46,000,000

  34,600,000

  80,600,000

  1991–92

  54,000,000

  48,300,000

  102,300,000

  1992–93

  42,000,000

  26,200,000

  68,200,000

  1993–94

  29,300,000

  41,400,000

  70,700,000

  1 Married quarters and civilian houses.

  Peacekeeping Manual
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) of 10 February,Official Report, column 484, 4 March, Official Report, column 941, and 24 June, Official Report, columns 388–89 whether, account was taken in drawing up the two NATO documents on peacekeeping, of the advice received by his Department from the academic bodies consulted in the preparation of the United Kingdom manual on peacekeeping;

  (2) pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) of 4 March, Official Report, column 941, if he will list all the academic bodies consulted in the course of preparing the new United Kingdom manual on peacekeeping.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all sites within his Department where luminising operations have been or are carried out; what sums are required for containment or decontamination of wastes arising; what criteria govern the inclusion of such sites within the national radioactive waste inventory; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  As part of a review of its procedures for dealing with instances of land contamination on the defence estate, my Department is in the process of identifying sites where radium luminising work has been undertaken in the past and establishing the extent of decontamination work undertaken after luminising work was discontinued. It is too early to say what further containment or decontamination work may subsequently be required at such sites. In completing the national radioactive waste inventory, my Department acts in accordance with the guidance notes which require details of any waste allocated either for disposal to the BNFL land burial site at Drigg or for storage pending the availability of a national deep underground repository.

  Alcohol Abuse
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the scale of alcohol abuse in the armed services.

  Mr. Soames
  Alcohol abuse in the armed forces is taken very seriously and considerable effort is put into dealing with alcohol-related problems. A comprehensive system of education and treatment has been developed
  557
  throughout the services. In addition to the collation of disciplinary data in respect of alcohol-related offences, numbers of alcohol dependence/chronic alcoholism cases are also monitored. There were 272 such cases in 1992, the latest year for which figures are available, compared with 369 cases in 1988. These represent 0·09 per cent. and 0·11 per cent. of service strength respectively.

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Royal Navy

  Males

  9

  13

  5

  7

  7

  Females

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Army

  Males

  20

  22

  12

  14

  10

  Females

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Royal Air Force

  Males

  20

  10

  10

  13

  6

  Females

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual expenditure in each year since 1989 of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF on alcohol abuse programmes expressed in constant 1994 prices.

  Mr. Soames
  Each of the services offers a comprehensive education programme to combat alcohol abuse plus treatment for alcohol dependency. Details of the costs involved are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Air Collision
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be able to publish the MoD board of inquiry findings into the reasons for the fatal collision between an RAF jet and civilian helicopter on on 23 June 1993; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  The summary of the RAF board of inquiry into this accident will be published shortly and copies placed in the Libraries of the House. In the meantime, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Wallace),Official Report, column 264.

  Civil Servants (Business Interests)
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the rules in the Department's defence services section governing the interests or involvement of civil servants in private businesses related to the work and activities of his Department; and what information he has on such interests held by the current head of the defence services section.

  Mr. Freeman
  Officials must not put themselves in a position where their duty and their private interests conflict: they must not make use of their official position to further their private interests, or lay themselves open to suspicion of dishonesty. Responsibility for monitoring compliance with these regulations rests with line management. No central records are held.
  558
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men and women were court martialled for drink-related offences in each of the three armed services in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Soames
  The numbers of service men and women convicted of drink-related offences at courts martial in the five years up to 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, are as follows:

  Territorial Army (Consultants)
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the consultants he has appointed to help recruitment to the Territorial Army with details of their terms of reference and the total cost to his Department.

  Mr. Soames
  My Department has not appointed any consultants to help recruitment to the Territorial Army. The advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi was, however, awarded the single Army national advertising account in March 1994 and this includes national Territorial Army recruiting advertising.

  War Widows
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations the Government have received from the War Widows Association in respect of widows whose husbands fought in conflicts before 1974, and who have recently been widowed, about their difficulty in demonstrating for pension purposes that their late husband's deaths were due wholly, or in part, to their spouses' service in the armed forces.

  Mr. Soames
  My Department receives representations from the War Widows Association from time to time. We have not, however, recently received any concerning the demonstration that a service man's death was attributable to his service in respect of forces family pensions under the armed forces pension scheme, although such representations may have been received by the Department of Social Security which administers the war pensions scheme.

  RN Engineering College, Plymouth
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider giving 12 months notice of redundancy to all non-mobile grades of civilian employees at the Royal Naval engineering college, Manadon, Plymouth.

  Mr. Soames
  My Department gives staff under notice of redundancy at least the minimum period, usually six months, stipulated in the staff regulations which have been agreed with the trades unions. It is our practice, however, to give more notice wherever practicable.

  Official Service Residences
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 18 July,Official Report, columns 62–64 if he will identify the county in which each of the numbered residences is situated and the rank of the officer in residence.

  Residence

  Location

  Rank

  1

  London

  Admiral

  2

  London

  Vacant

  3

  London

  Rear Admiral

  4

  London

  Rear Admiral

  5

  Middlesex

  Admiral

  6

  Middlesex

  Vice Admiral

  7

  Middlesex

  Rear Admiral

  8

  Middlesex

  Rear Admiral

  9

  Hampshire

  Admiral

  10

  Hampshire

  Rear Admiral

  11

  Hampshire

  Rear Admiral

  12

  Hampshire

  Vice Admiral

  13

  Hampshire

  Lieutenant General

  14

  Hampshire

  Surgeon Rear Admiral

  15

  Hampshire

  Surgeon Rear Admiral

  16

  Hampshire

  Commodore

  17

  Dorset

  Rear Admiral

  18

  Somerset

  Rear Admiral

  19

  Devon

  Vice Admiral

  20

  Devon

  Captain

  21

  Devon

  Rear Admiral

  22

  Devon

  Commodore

  23

  Devon

  Captain

  24

  Fife

  Vice Admiral

  25

  Fife

  Commodore

  26

  Strathclyde

  Commodore

  27

  Gibraltar

  Rear Admiral

  28

  USA

  Vice Admiral

  29

  London

  Field Marshal

  30

  London

  Air Chief Marshal

  31

  London

  General

  32

  London

  General

  33

  London

  General

  34

  London

  Lieutenant General

  35

  London

  Major General

  36

  London

  Major General

  37

  Hampshire

  Lieutenant General

  38

  Surrey

  Major General

  39

  Surrey

  Major General

  40

  Wiltshire

  Major General

  41

  Wiltshire

  Major General

  42

  Wiltshire

  Lieutenant General

  43

  Wiltshire

  General

  44

  Wiltshire

  Major General

  45

  Wiltshire

  Lieutenant General

  46

  Lothian

  Major General

  47

  Northern Ireland

  Lieutenant General

  48

  Kent

  Brigadier

  49

  Yorkshire

  Major General

  50

  Hampshire

  General

  51

  Shropshire

  Major General

  52

  Germany

  Lieutenant General

  53

  Germany

  Major General

  54

  Belgium

  General

  55

  Belgium

  Field Marshal

  56

  Hong Kong

  Major General

  57

  Cyprus

  Major General

  58

  London

  Admiral

  59

  Buckinghamshire

  Air Chief Marshal

  60

  Buckinghamshire

  Air Chief Marshal

  61

  Buckinghamshire

  Air Marshal

  62

  Buckinghamshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  63

  Buckinghamshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  64

  Oxfordshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  65

  Middlesex

  Air Vice Marshal

  66

  Middlesex

  Air Marshal

  67

  Cambridgeshire

  Air Chief Marshal

  68

  Cambridgeshire

  Air Marshal

  69

  Cambridgeshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  70

  Hertfordshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  560
  Mr. Soames
  The county, or country where the residence is overseas, in which each of the numbered residences is situated and the rank of the officer in residence is shown in the table.
  561

  Residence

  Location

  Rank

  71

  Gloucestershire

  Air Chief Marshal

  72

  Gloucestershire

  Air Vice Marshal

  73

  Fife

  Air Commodore

  74

  Berkshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  75

  Lincolnshire

  Air Vice Marshal

  76

  Germany

  Air Vice Marshal

  77

  Holland

  Air Chief Marshal

  Minx Programme
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what developments and for what reasons have taken place in the Minx programme; and which companies were involved in it.

  Mr. Freeman
  In 1991 industry conducted feasibility studies against a cardinal point specification for MINX to inform decisions about our future procurement strategy. The companies involved were Royal Ordnance, Huntings and Ferranti.

  Royal Marines School of Music
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what covenants he has prepared relating to the upkeep of the listed buildings on the site of the Royal Marines school of music at Deal in the event of the sale of the site; and what effect the inclusion of the listed buildings is likely to have on the value of the site as a whole for private sector development.

  Mr. Soames
  As no decision has been made to sell the site at Deal, the question of preparing covenants relating to the upkeep of listed buildings has not arisen. The impact that listed buildings may have on the value of the site, should it be disposed of, will depend on the nature of any proposed future use, which would be considered under the normal planning and listed building processes.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 19 July, if he will commission an independent study by a firm of chartered accountant and management consultants of the commerci-ally confidential and operationally secret material relating to his proposals for the Royal Marines school of music, Deal; if he will include in the consultative document a summary of their assessment; and if he will allow suitably qualified consultants representing local interests access to the relevant material and the defence cost study;

  (2) if he will explain the different methods of setting out the cost of training of Royal Marines bandsmen used in the Minister of State's answer of 20 June, Official Report, column 64, and his oral statement of 14 July, Official Report, column 1171, and if he will set out a reconciliaton of the two different amounts on the basis of (a) annual costs and (b) total training period costs;

  (3) what assessment his Department has made of the market for military land and buildings in (a) Uxbridge, (b) Twickenham and (c) Deal;

  (4) pursuant to his answer of 19 July, if he will list the names and addresses of the principal contractors and sub-contractors used of maintenance by the Royal Marines school of music at Deal; and if he will estimate the contribution to the local economy of the annual spending on maintenance at the school of music;
  562
  (5) pursuant to his answer of 19 July, if he will make a statement on the reason for the level of expenditure on maintenance at the Royal Marines school of music at Deal; if he will provide an indication of the main heads of expenditure under this item each year; what assessment he has made of the value for money of this expenditure; and if he will publish figures for Uxbridge and Kneller Hall as a comparable basis to those given for Deal.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Dundrennan Test Range
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the implications in regard to(a) future employment, (b) environmental restoration from con-tamination arising from testing activities and (c) the electromagnetic rail upon research, development demon-stration programme of his oral announcement on 14 July of the closure of the Dundrennan test range at Kirkcudbright, Official Report, column 172.

  Mr. Freeman
  The test and evaluation establishment Kirkcudbright currently employs 31 MOD civilians and about 100 contractors staff. The electro-magnetic launcher facility, which is operated by the Defence Research Agency, is not affected by the proposed closure and up to 25 people would need to be retained—primarily to maintain range security and safety—for as long as the DRA require the facility. As far as restoration from contamination is concerned, I refer the hon. Member to the reply of my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger),Official Report, 15 July, column 818.

  Ministerial Speeches
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy routinely to place in the Library copies of all speeches he, or other Ministers in his Department, make on matters for which they have departmental responsibility in the period 21 July to 16 October.

  Mr. Soames
  Arrangements will be made for copies of speeches made by Ministers in my Department in a public forum, which make policy statements, to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mergers
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his policy to refer mergers between major United Kingdom defence contractors and foreign-owned or based companies to(a) the Prime Minister, (b) the Secret Intelligence Service, (c) the Security Service and (d) the Cabinet Office; and who formally sanctions such a merger.

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department is consulted by the appropriate regulatory authorities in cases likely to involve
  563
  the interests of the MOD and provides advice on how these would he affected by a proposed merger. The security implications of proposed mergers are considered and other authorities consulted as necessary.

  Biological and Toxic Weapons Conference
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals Her Majesty's Government intend to submit to the special conference on biological and toxic weapons in Geneva in September; and if he will place any non-confidential papers put to and circulated at the conference in the Library.

  Mr. Soames
  We will be proposing at the special conference that states parties to the biological and toxin weapons convention work to strengthen the convention through the creation of an effective verification regime and, to this end, that the special conference agrees a mandate for a group of experts to draft a verification protocol for the BWC. We will further be proposing that this work be completed in time for the 1996 fourth BWC review conference. Copies of papers from the special conference will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Recruits
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new recruits have been taken on by each of the armed forces in the past five years.

  Mr. Soames
  I refer the hon. Member to table 2 of "Tri-Service Personnel Statistics 1-Strengths, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces," a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

  Redundancies
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many redundancies there have been in each of the armed forces in the past five years.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Operation Snowdrop
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the method of aerial delivery of relief supplies known as Operation Snowdrop.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Land Mines
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if United Kingdom arms manufacturers continue to possess the capacity for production and development of land mines; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The current edition of the defence manufacturers handbook lists the following companies with mines among their products: British Aerospace Defence, British Aerospace, Royal Ordnance, Hunting Engineering and Plalite.

  Porton Down
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) on 24 June,Official Report, column 372,
  564
  if it is his practice to ensure that service personnel with allergic reactions or histories are identified prior to the offer or administration of counter-CBW medical preparations.

  Mr. Soames
  It is standard medical practice to ensure that vaccines, whether against biological warfare or natural diseases, are withheld if individual recipients display contraindications, such as a history of severe allergic reaction to the vaccines concerned.

  In the case of the nerve agent pretreatment set tablets taken against the threat of chemical attack, no medical evidence has been found, in over 40 years of therapeutic usage, that the active ingredient—pyridostigmine bromide —can cause allergic reactions.

  Naval Ship Contracts
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the naval ship contracts on which claims for price and cost adjustments are still outstanding; and what is the maximum sum of liabilities arising from such price and cost adjustments.

  Mr. Freeman
  All MOD contracts, whether for ship platforms, systems, equipments or weapon systems, provide for price adjustment. Each claim for price adjustment is assessed on its merits and no maximum can be set. Details of claims are commercially confidential to the companies concerned.

  Ballistic Missile Defence System
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has let a contract for study of a ballistic missile defence system; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The UK ballistic missile defence pre-feasibility study is the subject of a competitive tendering exercise. Tenders were received on 23 June 1994 from two consortia led by British Aerospace plc and Logica UK Ltd. and these are currently being assessed. It is intended that the contract award will be announced in the autumn.

  Nuclear Test Veterans
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans of Britain's nuclear tests have been contacted by the NRPB in carrying out its investigations into illnesses subsequently contacted by participants in the tests.

  Mr. Soames
  I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 26 May,Official Report, column 231.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what illnesses the National Radiological Protection Board has considered in respect of participants in British nuclear tests; and what plans there are to extend the range.

  Mr. Soames
  The illnesses considered by the NRPB in the compilation of its study are shown on table 6.11 of the report (R.266), a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many veterans of the British nuclear tests
  565
  have been awarded a war pension in each year since the first case associated with the tests was diagnosed; and how many applications have been rejected.

  Mr. Hague
  I have been asked to reply.

  I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received from the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association; and what has been his response.

  Mr. Soames
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of defence expenditure was accounted for by nuclear weapons(a) before and (b) after the recent round of defence cuts.

  Mr. Soames'
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fund-raising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Soames
  Between 1 January and 30 June 1994, Ministers in my Department made 27 overseas trips in their official capacity. Fund-raising activities for the Conservative party are not part of our official duties.

  Public Bodies
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a table showing, in 1992–93 prices, the gross public spending for each year to 1990–91 and the projected expenditure for each year to 1995–96 for each executive non-departmental public body sponsored by his Department, as listed in "Public Bodies 1993".

  Mr. Soames
  [holding answer 15 February 19941]: I will write to the hon. Member.

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  European Parliament (Pensions and Life Assurance)
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what life insurance payments and pension are available to members of the European Parliament that are not available to Members of this House; and how they are financed.

  Mr. Newton
  There are no arrangements or benefits made by the Government for Members of the European Parliament which are not made in parallel for Members of Parliament. There is, however, a scheme of additional voluntary contributions run by a non-profit making organisation set up by Members of the European Parliament, to which the Parliament contributes two thirds of the contributions in respect of those Members who subscribe to it. There is also a limited life assurance scheme run by the European Parliament for its Members 566
  with a maximum benefit of about £12,500 payable on death or on the attainment of 60 years of age, provided that the policy has been in place for at least 10 years.

  Drugs
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, if the group studying solutions for the drugs problem is free to recommend decriminalising cannabis.

  Mr. Newton
  The central drugs co-ordination unit's remit is to ensure that departmental policies on drug misuse are planned, developed and implemented within a clear strategic framework and to devise an effective basis for local co-ordination of action against the drugs problem. Individual Government Departments remain responsible for their own policies to tackle drug misuse. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has already made it clear that the Government have no intention of decriminalising or legalising any currently banned drug.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, when he expects the group in his Department studying drugs to present the report.

  Mr. Newton
  The Government expect to publish in the autumn, a consultative document which will set out a strategic framework for tackling drug misuses in England.

  Early-day Motions
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, what plans there are to reform the early-day motion procedure.

  Mr. Newton
  I have no plans to do so. The hon. Member may, however, wish to raise the matter with the Procedure Committee.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, what is the percentage of early-day motions initiated by Opposition Members during the present parliamentary session.

  Mr. Newton
  Hon. Members other than Conservative party members tabled 88.6 per cent. of the early-day motions tabled in the current Session up to and including Wednesday 6 July.

  Number

  Labour

  1,102

  Conservative

  166

  Liberal Democrats

  125

  Plaid Cymru

  34

  Scottish National Party

  18

  Others

  15

  Total

  1,460

  This answer is based on motions only, not amendments, and is based on the records in POLIS.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the current average cost of an early-day motion.

  Mr. Newton
  The total costs associated with the tabling of the 1,769 early-day motions in 1993 was £2,290,000 giving an average of £1,295 each.

  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, what is the current average number of hon. Members who append their signature to early-day motions.
  567
  Mr. Newton
  The average number of signatures appended to early-day motions and amendments to them in the current Session up to and including Wednesday 6 July was 41·6

EDUCATION

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the provisional percentage figure for each local education authority of relevant central spending in financial year 1994–95 in(a) the primary sector and (b) the secondary sector which will form the basis of the financial addition for grant-maintained schools in 1995–96.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Department will be consulting later this year on the arrangements for funding GM schools in 1995–96 on the basis of the local management of schools scheme of the relevant authority.

  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the planned capital expenditure on grant-maintained schools for the financial years 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97; what was the actual capital expenditure on grant-maintained schools in 1993–94; and if he will give for each year the assured number of grant-maintained schools on which the capital expenditure levels were based.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Self-governing schools' capital outturn expenditure for 1993–94 was £87,348,570. Planned capital expenditure on self-governing schools for the financial years 199495, 1995–96 and 1996–97 is as follows:

  £ million

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  115

  251

  358

  These figures are published in the Department's annual report, a copy of which is available in the Library, They reflect the additional responsibilities of GM schools and our commitment to setting them up on a sound basis. Our expenditure plans provide for the growth of the GM sector to be maintained.

  Estimated numbers of pupils in maintained primary and secondary schools in September 1994 (figures in brackets include schools approved or approved in principle for GM status by 14 July 1994)

  LEA Area

  LEA Primary

  CM Primary

  LEA Secondary

  GM Secondary

  Corporation of London

  214

  0

  0

  0

  Camden

  10,610

  0

  8,139

  2,340

  Greenwich

  20,664

  239

  13,956

  0

  Hackney

  16,590

  87

  7,384

  0

  Hammersmith

  9,025

  0

  4,747

  1,229

  Islington

  14,966

  0

  7,037

  0

  Kensington and Chelsea

  5,762

  530

  2,574

  629

  Lambeth

  17,716 (17,266)

  1,250 (1,700)

  2,987

  3,363

  Lewisham

  20,073

  361

  10,515

  0

  Southwark

  19,917

  1,265

  6,356

  2,765

  Tower Hamlets

  20,717

  0

  10,675

  907

  Wandsworth

  16,699

  515

  2,420

  6,487

  Westminster

  9,122

  0

  7,358

  0

  Barking

  15,727

  0

  9,493

  0

  Barnet

  23,014

  776

  8,580

  9,836

  Bexley

  17,953

  643

  10,810

  3,581

  Brent

  21,166

  1,002

  3,010

  9,377

  Bromley

  19,298 (18,362)

  1,151 (2,087)

  5,346

  11,342

  Croydon

  25,383 (24,956)

  836 (1,263)

  8,664 (6,967)

  5,897 (7,594)

  568
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 1 July,Official Report, column 752, if he will identify those schools which provided information on grant-maintained status which was the subject of complaints to his Department.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Department has received a total of 16 complaints since January 1993 about the accuracy of information disseminated by governing bodies prior to their schools' ballots on the question of grant-maintained status. The schools concerned are as follows:

  Hanson School, Bradford

  Peel Brow County Primary School, Bury

  Soham Village College, Cambridgeshire

  Addey and Stanhope School, Lewisham

  Winterton Comprehensive School, Humberside

  West Mersea County Primary School, Essex

  St. Peter's CE Primary School, Lancashire

  Tudor Grange School, Solihull

  Cardinal Newman School, Bedfordshire

  Anglesey Primary School, Staffordshire

  Chatham House School, Kent

  Christ Church Middle School, Staffordshire

  Greenway School, West Sussex

  Padstow School, Nottinghamshire

  Prospect School, Berkshire

  King David Primary School, Liverpool

  All complaints are considered carefully and, where appropriate, follow-up action is taken by the Department.

  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the latest figures for each local education authority and the estimated figures in September 1994 of the number of pupils in(a) local education authority maintained and (b) grant-maintained schools in (i) the primary and (ii) the secondary schools sector; and if he will give the national totals in each sector.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Estimates of pupil numbers related to the 930 primary and secondary schools which are currently grant-maintained are shown in the table. These estimates are derived from the Department's January 1993 schools census. The table also shows estimates of pupil numbers including 57 schools which by 20 July had been approved or approved in principle for grant-maintained status from 1 September. Applications for grant maintained status from 43 more schools are currently being considered by my right hon. Friend.
  569

  LEA Area

  LEA Primary

  GM Primary

  LEA Secondary

  GM Secondary

  Ealing

  26,313

  1,217

  6,093

  4,905

  Enfield

  23,167

  149

  11,814

  5,576

  Haringey

  19,127

  0

  9,060

  0

  Harrow

  19,109

  0

  7,482

  483

  Havering

  19,624

  0

  11,012

  3,813

  Hillingdon

  17,027

  2,602

  2,248

  11,467

  Hounslow

  19,339

  0

  11,902

  2,108

  Kingston upon Thames

  10,215

  191

  4,748

  2,859

  Merton

  15,224

  0

  7,167

  0

  Newham

  25,235

  0

  13,019

  556

  Redbridge

  19,045

  0

  13,839

  1,113

  Richmond upon Thames

  10,785

  0

  7,447

  0

  Sutton

  12,033

  799

  4,474

  6,591

  Waltham Forest

  19,705

  0

  9,134

  1,915

  Birmingham

  105,289

  1,717

  48,934

  14,621

  Coventry

  29,692

  0

  18,677

  0

  Dudley

  27,570

  381

  13,076

  4,458

  Sandwell

  31,937

  0

  17,346 (16,396)

  658 (1,608)

  Solihull

  19,215

  454

  13,080

  0

  Walsall

  27,590

  561

  13,635 (12,377)

  5,557 (6,815)

  Wolverhampton

  25,393

  0

  13,427

  2,348

  Knowsley

  18,647

  0

  8,241

  719

  Liverpool

  50,716

  0

  27,423

  2,260

  St. Helens

  17,584

  0

  11,568

  0

  Sefton

  27,066

  0

  18,583

  0

  Wirral

  31,344

  0

  18,690

  2,031

  Bolton

  26,811

  364

  13,878

  2,755

  Bury

  16,664

  223

  9,967

  0

  Manchester

  46,948

  0

  21,376

  0

  Oldham

  24,542

  0

  15,930

  0

  Rochdale

  20,131 (19,892)

  1,115 (1,354)

  11,681

  1,053

  Salford

  22,896

  0

  11,011

  413

  Stockport

  25,180

  0

  14,819

  0

  Tameside

  22,934

  0

  10,517

  2,332

  Trafford

  20,091

  0

  8,490

  2,892

  Wigan

  29,727

  0

  19,120

  0

  Barnsley

  21,460

  0

  12,362

  0

  Doncaster

  29,357

  0

  21,310

  0

  Rotherham

  24,694

  0

  17,616

  0

  Sheffield

  42,764 (42,434)

  943 (1,273)

  24,802

  1,893

  Bradford

  39,996 (39,103)

  539 (1,432)

  40,586

  5,080

  Calderdale

  19,059

  660

  6,795

  6,337

  Kirklees

  35,978

  0

  23,730

  1,266

  Leeds

  65,098

  51

  43,268

  1,138

  Wakefield

  29,434

  0

  20,403

  0

  Gateshead

  18,353

  0

  11,612

  0

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  22,545

  0

  16,598

  0

  North Tyneside

  16,346

  0

  14,175

  212

  South Tyneside

  15,586

  0

  9,333

  0

  Sunderland

  29,889

  0

  18,971

  0

  Isle of Wight

  174

  0

  10,294

  0

  Avon

  79,059

  0

  52,377

  1,569

  Bedfordshire

  41,430

  629

  32,245

  8,568

  Berkshire

  58,242

  2,242

  38,909

  7,389

  Buckinghamshire

  59,320 (58,976)

  2,126

  26,167 (2,470)

  9,844

  Cambridgeshire

  56,515

  1,911

  25,138

  15,109

  Cheshire

  88,276

  418

  60,415

  2,395

  Cleveland

  65,058

  0

  35,650

  0

  Cornwall

  40,128

  0

  28,965

  0

  Cumbria

  40,211

  2,399

  20,085

  10,617

  Derbyshire

  82,261 (82,179)

  1,671 (1,753)

  41,786

  15,275

  Devon

  79,139

  285

  52,908

  4,571

  Dorset

  44,367

  415

  30,808

  9,537

  Durham

  55,779

  0

  37,068

  0

  East Sussex

  50,300

  0

  33,201

  0

  Essex

  102,914

  18,774

  28,269

  66,322

  Gloucestershire

  40,067 (39,025)

  2,820 (3,862)

  11,008 (10,417)

  21,584 (22,175)

  Hampshire

  125,895

  3,911

  60,436

  15,780

  Hereford and Worcester

  47,895

  0

  43,288

  3,558

  Hertfordshire

  81,073 (80,637)

  1,564 (2,000)

  46,498 (44,968)

  20,565 (22,095)

  Humberside

  84,091 (84,014)

  257(334)

  55,202

  0

  Isles of Scilly

  7,232

  0

  108

  0

  Kent

  121,041 (119,745)

  4,877 (6,173)

  49,626 (47,950)

  51,187 (52,863)

  Lancashire

  128,001 (127,770)

  578 (809)

  75,559

  6,593

  Leicestershire

  79,549

  0

  55,587

  3,222

  Lincolnshire

  42,559 (41,907)

  6,219 (6,871)

  20,628 (20,004)

  16,323 (16,947)

  Norfolk

  59,402 (59,275)

  2,623 (2,750)

  31,573

  8,608

  570 571

  LEA Area

  LEA Primary

  GM Primary

  LEA Secondary

  GM Secondary

  North Yorkshire

  58,165

  0

  43,107

  0

  Northamptonshire

  47,113

  3,072

  35,159

  9,197

  Northumberland

  21,566

  0

  28,470

  632

  Nottinghamshire

  91,370

  0

  60,776

  1,831

  Oxfordshire

  39,805

  81

  34,189

  0

  Shropshire

  35,103

  307

  20,383

  4,324

  Somerset

  34,969

  374

  27,200 (27,017)

  398 (581)

  Staffordshire

  92,292 (92,244)

  49 (97)

  64,046

  4,298

  Suffolk

  43,420

  0

  47,215

  0

  Surrey

  72,926 (72,165)

  3,546 (4,307)

  28,962

  9,915

  Warwickshire

  45,715

  0

  19,988

  4,669

  West Sussex

  51,813 (51,420)

  0 (393)

  39,154

  0

  Wiltshire

  44,148 (43,638)

  2,915 (3,425)

  20,480 (20,197)

  13,216 (13,499)

  Total

  4,077,888 4,068,614

  84,684 93,958

  2,366,447 2,357,655

  504,258 513,050

  Note: The figures for GM Primary schools exclude part-time pupils.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the grant-maintained schools which have applied for a change in the admissions policy giving in each case(a) the date of application, (b) the nature of the change and (c) his decision.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information requested will take some time to collate. I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many parents have(a) voted for grant-maintained status and (b) against grant-maintained status; and how many were eligible to vote in GM ballots since 1 January.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  A total of 107,914 parents have been eligible to vote in the 162 ballots on grant-maintained status that have been held by primary and secondary schools in England since 1 January. Of these 34,364 voted in favour of grant-maintained status, and 36,370 voted against. Fifty-five per cent. of the ballots produced yes votes.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 25 January,Official Report, columns 174–75, what further applications have now been received from grant-maintained schools for capital grant for the financial year 1994–95; what was the level of grant approved in each case; and what amount remains set aside awaiting allocation in the current financial year.

  Date of Publication

  Nature of Change

  To add Sixth Form

  Wiltshire

  St. Augustines RC GM Comp School

  25 March 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Birmingham

  Ninestiles GM School

  4 April 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Rochdale

  Wardle High School

  27 April 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Dudley

  Ellowes Hall GM School

  14 May 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Lambeth

  La Karaite RC Girls GM School

  10 June 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Surrey

  Heathside School

  16 June 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Norfolk

  Cromer GM High School

  24 June 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  Cambridgeshire

  The Queens School, Wisbech

  8 July 1994

  11–16 to 11–18

  To add Nursery

  Buckinghamshire

  Brookmead GM School

  31 March 1994

  5–12 to 3–12

  Surrey

  The Manor School

  9 May 1994

  4–8 to 3–8

  Lincolnshire

  Washingborough GM School

  23 May 1994

  4–11 to 3–11

  Cumbria

  St. Pauls CE GM Junior School

  25 May 1994

  7–11 to 3–111

  572
  Mr. Robin Squire
  We announced the second tranche of GM capital allocations for 1994–95 on 31 March 1994. A copy of DFE press notice 69/94 listing the allocations have been placed in the Library. Allocations for capital grant received from 1 April onwards are the responsibility of the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what balances were held by each grant-maintained school at the end of the 1993–94 financial year.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This matter is now the responsibil-ity of the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 24 March,Official Report, column 400, if he will list the grant-maintained schools which have since that date published proposals to make a significant change in the character of the school giving in each case (a) the date of publication, (b) the nature of the proposed change and (c) his decision.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table lists proposals for a significant change of character published by grant maintained schools since 24 March. None of these have been decided. Following publication of proposals, there is a period of two months during which objections may be made to my right hon. Friend.
  573

  Date of Publication

  Nature of Change

  Other change of age range

  Berkshire

  Herschel GM Grammar School

  12 May 1994

  12–18 to 11–18

  Berkshire

  Langley GM Grammar School

  12 May 1994

  12–18 to 11–18

  Berkshire

  Slough GM Grammar School

  12 May 1994

  12–18 to 11–18

  Buckinghamshire

  Beaconsfield High School

  10 June 1994

  12–18 to 11–18

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  London Oratory School

  20 May 1994

  11–18 to 7–182

  To introduce selection in whole or part

  Lambeth

  Dunraven GM School

  25 March 1994

  50 per cent. selection by ability

  Lambeth

  Archbishop Tenison GM School

  17 June 1994

  100 per cent selection by ability

  1 Also for extension of primary age range to cover 5 and 6 years olds.

  2 Also for selection of 20 boys at 7+ each year on musical and general ability.

  Special Schools (Portsmouth)
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to make a decision on the future of Milton Ford special school, Portsmouth.

  Mr. Forth
  Hampshire local education authority was notified on 20 July of my right hon. Friend's qualified approval of its proposals involving the discontinuance of Milton Ford special school. The authority may implement the proposals, but final approval is subject to the agreement, approval and completion of building work.

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to make a decision on the future of Waterside special school, Portsmouth.

  Mr. Forth
  Hampshire local education authority was notified on 20 July of my right hon. Friend's qualified approval of its statutory proposals involving the redesignation of Waterside special school for secondary age pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The authority may implement the proposals but final approval is subject to the agreement, approval and completion of building work.

  16 and 17-year-olds
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many 16 and 17-year-olds were in full-time education or training in each quarter since January 1988.

  Mr. Boswell
  Quarterly counts of numbers in schools and further education colleges are not available. The full-time numbers aged 16 and 17 in England in each academic year are given in the table. The figures include some young people who were in college as part of their youth training.

  Thousands

  Academic year

  Pupils and students aged

  16

  17

  1987–88

  349·9

  236·8

  1988–89

  348·7

  256·2

  1989–90

  349·2

  265·9

  1990–91

  357·1

  273·1

  1991–92

  383·7

  294·7

  1992–94

  387·5

  311·8

  1993–94

  389·6

  322·1

  Source: Annual Schools Census and the Further Education Statistical Record.

  Franchise Courses
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many secondary schools are operating courses on a franchise basis from further education colleges.

  Mr. Boswell
  It is for individual colleges to decide on the best way of delivering provision to respond to the needs of their local communities. Information about the extent that this may be done through franchise arrangements is not collected centrally.

  Work Experience
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has(a) to ensure the effective provision of work experience in schools and (b) to remove the obligation from schools to inspect work experience placements for health and safety reasons; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment announced on 24 May at column 198 the Government are asking training and enterprise councils and their partners to ensure that all pupils in their last year of compulsory education can have at least one week's work experience and will make available an additional £23 million over three years to 1997–98 to support this. There is no statutory requirement on schools to inspect work experience placements. The Department for Education recommends that such visits should take place to enable LEAs and schools to meet their common law duty to look after the pupils in their care, and LEAs to meet their duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to ensure that they do not expose pupils to risks to their health and safety.

  Sixth Form Colleges (South Hams and Torbay)
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he will announce which schools in South Hams and Torbay will become sixth form colleges; and if he will make a statement as to progress.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Devon LEA published proposals on 28 January 1994 to make a significant change of character to Brixham community college, Paignton community college, Dartmouth community college and Torquay Audley Park school to change the age range from 11–16 to 11–18. The governing body of Cuthbert Mayne school published similar proposals on the same day. A decision on
  575
  the proposals will be made as soon as possible, consistent with a full and careful consideration of the educational issues involved.

  Special Purpose Grant (Premises)
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what applications have been received for special purpose grant (premises) for 1994–95; and what grant has been agreed in each case.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  These matters are now the responsibility of the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member.

  Funding Agency for Schools
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the expected cost of running the meetings of the Funding Agency for Schools board and its committees and sub-committees in 1994–95; what is the sum payable to a board member attending a meeting; and how many board meetings, committees and sub-committees are likely to be held in 1994–95.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Arrangements for the funding agency's internal meetings are a matter for the agency itself. Board members, apart from the chairman who receives an annual fee, are entitled to claim a fee of £155 for days on which they are transacting agency business. Members may also claim travel and subsistence expenses incurred on those days.

  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the budgeted running costs of the Funding Agency for Schools in 1994–95; what amounts are provided for(a) premises, (b) staffing, (c) travel, (d) entertaining and hospitality and (e) general; and what are the projected running costs in 1995–96 and 1996–97.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Government's main estimates provide for up to £12 million for the funding agency's running costs in 1994–95. Actual outturn of costs will depend on a number of factors, including growth in the number of grant-maintained schools. The detailed split of the total between different budget heads is a matter for the funding agency. Provision for future years will be decided each year as part of the annual public expenditure survey round.

  Construction Courses
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are his estimates of the number of full-time places in construction courses in further education in each academic year for the last 10 years.

  Mr. Boswell
  The number of places which colleges provide for particular courses is not centrally recorded. Students enrolled on full-time courses in construction, which are defined in standard FE statistics as courses in building, building services and site management, for each of the four years 1989–90 to 1992–93 are as listed in the table. In the academic year 1988–989 the subject groupings and definitions used by the Department were changed. Information on a comparable basis cannot therefore be provided for earlier years.
  576

  Number of full-time enrolments at further education level on construction courses for the four years from 1989–90 to 1992–93

  Academic year

  Number of enrolments

  1989–90

  34,604

  1990–91

  30,514

  1991–92

  27,369

  1992–93

  25,097

  Teacher Assistants
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list those institutions that have submitted bids for the specialist teacher assistants' pilot scheme.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  My right hon. Friend received 140 bids, from the following institutions:Higher Education

  1. Bath College of Higher Education

  2. Bedford College of Higher Education

  3. Bishop Grosseteste College of Lincoln

  4. Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds

  5. University of Brighton

  6. Charlotte Mason College

  7. Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education

  8. Chester College

  9. University of Durham

  10. University of Exeter

  11. Edge Hill University College

  12. University of Greenwich

  13. University of Hertfordshire

  14. Homerton College

  15. University of Huddersfield

  16. University of Hull

  17. University of Humberside

  18. University of London Institute of Education

  19. Jews College

  20. Kingston University

  21. Liverpool Institute of Higher Education

  22. Liverpool John Moores University

  23. University of Leeds

  24. University of Leicester

  25. University of East London

  26. LSU College

  27. University of Luton

  28. Manchester Metropolitan University

  29. Middlesex University

  30.University of Newcastle

  31. New College Durham

  32. University of Northumbria at Newcastle

  33. University of North London

  34. North Riding College

  35. Nottingham Trent University

  36. Open University

  37. Oxford Brookes University

  38. University of Plymouth

  39. Roehampton Institute

  40. St. Martin's College Lancaster

  41. College of St. Mark and St. John

  42. University of Sunderland

  43. Westminster College

  44. West Sussex Institute of Higher Education

  45. University of Wolverhampton

  46. Worcester College of Higher Education

  Further Education

  47. Amersham and Wycombe College

  48. Basingstoke College of Technology

  49. South Birmingham College

  50. Blackpool and the Fylde College

  51. Bourneville College of Further Education

  52. Bradford and Ilkley Community College

  53. Bradford and Ilkley Community College cluster

  54. Bridgewater College

  55. Chiltern Nursery Training College

  577

  56. Clarendon College

  57. Doncaster College

  58. Dunstable College

  59. East Berkshire College

  60. East Birmingham College

  61. Eastbourne College of Arts and Technology

  62. Eastleigh College

  63. Evesham College

  64. Farnham College

  65. Filton College

  66. Guildford College

  67. Halesowen College

  68. Hammersmith and West London College

  69. Harrogate College of Arts and Technology

  70. Havering College of Further Education

  71. owestoft College

  72. Mackworth College

  73. Manchester College of Arts and Technology

  74. Mid Kent College

  75. Newcastle College

  76. Norfolk College

  77. Norland College

  78. Northampton College

  79. Norwich City College

  80. Oldham FE College

  81. Portsmouth College

  82. Rother Valley College

  83. Rotherham College of Arts and Technology

  84. Shrewsbury College

  85. Skelmersdale College

  86. Solihull College

  87. South Devon College

  88. South East Essex COAT

  89. South Kent College

  90. Southport College

  91. Southwark College

  92. Stockport College

  93. Stoke on Trent College

  94. Strode College

  95. Suffolk College

  96. Totton College

  97. East Warwickshire College Rugby

  98. West Cheshire College

  99. West Kent College

  100. Worcester Sixth Form College

  101. York College

  Other interested bodies

  102. The Audrey Wisbey Foundation

  103. I CAN

  104. Bradford Metropolitan Council

  105. Birmingham City Council

  106. Buckinghamshire County Council

  107. Camden Education Department

  108. City and Guilds of London Institute

  109. Council For Awards in Children's Care and Education

  110. Devon County Council

  111. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough

  112. Dorset County Council

  113. Dudley Local Education Authority

  114. Dyslexia Centre

  115. Ealing Education Centre

  116. Hackney Borough of Education and Leisure

  117. Hampshire County Council

  118. Harrow Education Services

  119. Hertfordshire County Council

  120. Hillingdon London Borough

  121. John Bald (Literacy and Language Specialist)

  122. Leeds Education

  123. Manchester City Council

  124. Merton Education and Leisure

  125. Norfolk County Council INSET Centre

  126. Northamptonshire County Council

  127. Open School

  128. Oxfordshire County Council

  129. RSA

  130. RNIB

  131. Start Educational Services Ltd

  132. Sheffield City Council

  133. Shropshire County Council

  578

  134. Somerset Education Service

  135. South East Surrey Dyslexia Association

  136. St. Pius Xth Primary School

  137. Tower Hamlets

  138. Urban Learning Foundation

  139. Wiltshire County Council

  140. Borough of Wirral

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list those local education authorities which did not spend up to their standard spending assessment for nursery education in 1993–94; and by how much.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  For the purpose of determining standard spending assessments, the education component of standard spending, net of specific grants, is divided into five sub-blocks—under-fives, primary, secondary, 16-plus, and other education. There is no standard spending assessment specifically for nursery education as the under-fives sub-block notionally includes spending on under-fives in primary schools as well as pupils in nursery schools and in nursery classes. Local education authority spending figures are not available in a form comparable to the five sub-blocks.

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the total amount of money spent on three and four-year-olds by each local education authority in 1992–93 and 1993–94 and the total increase or decrease in each local education authority.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Grant for Education Support and Training
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are the national totals under each heading of the GEST programme in 1994–95; and what are the amounts under each heading for each local education authority.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member.

  Assessment and Testing
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools are being invited to comment on his proposals for assessment and testing outlined in the letter from the Department of Further Education to selected schools on 1 July 1994.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  All schools are welcome to comment on my right hon. Friend's proposals for the testing and assessment arrangements of seven, 11 and 14-year-olds next year, which he announced on 1 July. A random sample of 484 maintained schools were specifically invited to do so.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the closing date for responses to the proposals on assessment and testing sent to selected schools on 1 July.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The closing date for all responses, from schools and other interested bodies, is 27 July.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what are his reasons for proposing to end the mandatory external audit of teachers' own assessment of classroom work associated with key stage testing.
  579
  Mr. Robin Squire
  My right hon. Friend has proposed the end of the mandatory external audit of teachers' own assessments of the classroom work of seven-year-olds in response to concerns expressed by teachers about the workload involved. Existing co-operative arrangements and the proposed continuing mandatory external audit of teachers' marking of national curriculum tests will provide teachers with a cross-check of their own assessments of their pupils' work.

  School Funding
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action he intends to take to address the disparity of funding between primary and secondary schools.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  My right hon. Friend will be studying carefully the recommendations in the Education Select Committee's report, "The disparity in funding between primary and secondary schools", published on 13 July 1994. The Government will make a formal response to the Committee in due course. Meanwhile, I note that the Committee's report addresses local authorities among others. Under present arrangements, they have wide discretion to decide the relative levels of funding of their primary and secondary schools.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fundraising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Forth
  Between 1 January and 30 June 1994, Ministers in the Department made eight overseas visits in their official capacity. Fundraising activities for the Conservative party are not part of our official duties.

  Local Management of Schools
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what safeguards there are in the system in relation to local management of schools and formula funding to ensure that schools do not, by accident or design, claim for children they do not have.

  Mr. Forth
  It is for each local education authority to determine its own procedures for verifying the accuracy of the pupil numbers and other data to be used in determining its schools' LMS budget shares.

WALES

  Departmental Costs
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the achievements of(a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievments and the statistical results of such monitoring; and if he will set out his targets to help small businesses in the next year.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Government recognise the crucial 580
  role played by small firms in the Welsh economy. We have continued to help small businesses by keeping inflation and interest rates low and by reducing legislative and administrative burdens.

  My Department works with local authorities, training and enterprise councils, the development agencies and local enterprise agencies in providing a range of services for small businesses in Wales. I recently published a prospectus inviting bids for improving those services. through increased collaboration both between these organisations and with the private sector.

  Specific measures promoted by my Department are as follows:
  Enterprise promotion
  During 1993–94, TECs assisted over 9,000 owner-managers, provided 10,438 counselling sessions and, in respect of a range of information services, received nearly 55,000 inquiries. During 1992–93, TECs provided 13,903 counselling sessions and received 42,483 inquiries. They will continue to provide these services in response to demand in 1994–95.
  In 1993–94, TECs helped 2,200 people start their own businesses, compared to 2,677 in 1992–93. They have a target. of 2,300 in 1994–95. In addition, over 5,000 small firms are to receive business enterprise training or consulting support with a further 1,200 targeted to participate in management development.
  Grant support
  The Welsh Office continues to provide grant support for small firms, having regard to the level of demand in each year. During the year ending 30 June 1994, 128 firms employing under 200 accepted offers of Regional Selective Assistance totalling £16 730 million. The grants were forecast to help create or safeguard, 3,813 jobs and generate £98 million private sector investment. In the previous year, 120 firms accepted offers totalling £22 463 million and forecast to create or safeguard 3,377 jobs and help generate £143 million private sector investment.
  Also in the year ending 30 June 1994, 127 small firms (i.e. those with fewer than 25 employees for investment grant and fewer than 50 for innovation grant) accepted offers of Regional Enterprise Grant totalling £1 847 million. The grants were forecast to help generate £6 88 million private sector investment. In the previous year, 163 firms accepted offers totalling £2 469 million, with forecast private sector investment totalling £8 75 million.
  My Department is also continuing with an active programme under the Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology (SMART). In the previous two years, small firms from Wales have done well, gaining 16 and 17 awards respectively—approximately 9 per cent. of the United Kingdom total. Under the Support for Products under Research Scheme (SPUR), grant support for small firms in Wales rose from £0 96 million in 1992–93 to £1 91 million in 1993–94, a percentage increase of 26 per cent.
  Deregulation
  The Welsh Office is continuing to contribute actively to the Government's drive to reduce the burden of regulations on business. A consultation exercise was carried out with Welsh business interests in 1993: this identified no Wales-only legislation as placing a burden on business. During 1994, all Welsh Office subordinate legislation is being reviewed.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each district and county council area and for Wales as a whole for each of the last five available years, the number of industrial projects involving inward investment from outside the United Kingdom, the estimated number of new jobs resulting from these projects, the associated total capital expenditure involved, the associated public capital expenditure involved and the amount in column 5 expressed as a percentage of column 4.
  581
  Mr. Redwood
  A summary of foreign-owned inward investment projects recorded over the last five financial years together with forecast new employment and capital investment has been placed in the Library of the House. The figures represent companies projections at the time of the decision to invest and they do not take account of any subsequent changes.

  The amount of public capital expenditure involved is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Welsh Consumer Council
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what procedures are in place to ensure that the budget and means of the Welsh Consumer Council are properly agreed and controlled so that the Council is at no time able to exceed agreed spending limits or act without due authority; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Welsh Consumer Council's budget is set at a level agreed between the National Consumer Council and the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils from the grant-in-aid the NCC receives from the Department of Trade and Industry. The Welsh Consumer Council has established procedures for controlling and monitoring its own expenditure within the agreed limit, although the NCC is responsible, under the terms of the grant-in-aid conditions, for ensuring expenditure is properly authorised and that expenditure is contained within the agreed allocation.

  Welsh Development Agency
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those grant schemes operated by the Welsh Development Agency which have been suspended or terminated on legal advice during the past quarter; on what date the legal advice was received; on what date the letter of instruction to terminate the grant schemes was sent to the agency; if he will place a copy of the independent legal advice in the Library; what is his estimate of the budgetary implications; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  On 8 June my Department instructed the WDA to avoid further contractual commitments on the mid-Wales development grant scheme, DRIVE, rural conversion grant and the community enterprise pro-gramme. On 21 June my Department extended this instruction to small business loans, subsidised rural loan schemes, valleys enterprise loans schemes, valleys small loans schemes and the technology growth fund. As I explained to the House, I do not wish powers to be used which are subject to any legal uncertainty. I do wish to strengthen local authorities' involvement in these areas.

  The Comptroller and Auditor General has certified the accounts of the WDA without qualification.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what proposals he has to clarify the legal position concerning the grant-in-aid provided by his Department to the Welsh Development Agency for the purposes of the rural conversion grant, the DRIVE scheme, the technology growth fund, the rural loans, valleys loans and the small loans scheme; and what consultations he has had with Welsh local authority associations in relation to powers to give loans and grants to small firms and the provisioning of(a) basic and (b) supplementary credit approval for this purpose;
  582
  (2) what proposals he has had to recommence payments of all the Welsh Development Agency and mid-Wales development loans and grants schemes to small and medium-sized firms suspended on 8 July.

  Mr. Redwood
  As I made clear in my statement to the House on 7 July,Official Report, columns 463–64, I intend that in future grant schemes for small businesses should be delivered by the local authorities. Officials are consulting with the Welsh local authority associations.

  Arrangements for the figure of loans to small businesses are under consideration.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency in relation to the irregular use of grant-in-aid for(a) rural conversion grant, (b) the DRIVE scheme, (c) the technology growth fund, (d) rural loans, (e) valleys loans and (f) the small loans scheme; what expenditure under the above headings has been qualified in the 1993–94 accounts of (i) the agency and (ii) Development Board for Rural Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I meet regularly with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency to discuss a range of issues.

  Neither the agency's accounts nor those of the Development Board for Rural Wales have been qualified.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from the Welsh Development Agency concerning the issuing of a press release by the agency explaining the qualifications to its accounts for 1993–94 arising from legal dishonesty over the rural conversion grant, DRIVE, technology growth fund, rural loans, valleys loans and small loans scheme.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Comptroller and Auditor General has certified the agency's accounts without qualification.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will specify the guidelines applying to the Welsh Development Agency's urban regeneration activities in(a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993 as regards consents required from his Department for any proposed land acquisition by the agency for such purpose; what accelerated procedure was available for such purposes; on how many occasions such (i) ordinary and (ii) accelerated consent was sought from his Department in each of those three years; if he will specify the local authority area concerned; and what was the average length of time taken by his Department to approve any such applications.

  Mr. Redwood
  Proposed land acquisitions by the Welsh Development Agency in respect of its urban development programme and requiring consent, are dealt with under urban development guidelines which were introduced in April 1992. Prior to that, all land acquisitions were handled by reference to the site development and factory building guidelines introduced in 1980. Approvals are not subject to a pre-determined timetable and proposals are dealt with as appropriate.

  Approvals for proposed acquisitions are as follows:

  Local authority area

  Number

  Year(s)

  Merthyr Tydfil

  2

  1991–92 and 1993–94

  Cynon Valley

  1

  1991–92

  Preseli-Pembrokeshire

  1

  1991–92

  583

  Local authority area

  Number

  Year(s)

  Llanelli

  1

  1993–94

  Ynys Mon

  2

  1993–94

  Rhondda

  1

  1993–94

  Non-departmental Public Bodies
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department are required to lay their annual report before Parliament; which publish an annual report without a requirement to do so; and how many of the reports in either category have been deposited in the Library.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information is as follows:Required to lay annual report before Parliament
  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation; Countryside Council for Wales; Development Board for Rural Wales; Housing for Wales; Land Authority for Wales; Wales Tourist Board; Welsh Development Agency; Welsh Language Board; Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.
  Publish an annual report without requirement
  National Library of Wales; National Museum of Wales; Wales Youth Agency; Further and Higher Education Funding Councils (a); Arts Council of Wales (b); Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales.

  All these reports are placed in the Library of the House, with the exception of (a) first annual reports will not be published until later this year; and (b) first annual reports will not be published until next year.

  In addition, the Sports Council for Wales and the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales are required to publish an annual report. I lay the former's before Parliament; copies of the Royal Commission's annual reports will be placed in the Library of the House shortly.

  Dentists
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the number of(a) community dentists and (b) family health services authority salaried dentists employed as at 1 April for each of the past five years.

  Mr. Redwood
  Information relating to community dental staff is collected annually as at 30 September and is given in the table:

  There were three FHSA salaried dentists in post at 1 April 1994. No salaried dentists were appointed until after 1 April 1993. One further dentist was appointed after 1 April 1994.

  Community Dental Practitioners1

  Number

  1989

  104

  1990

  106

  1991

  103

  1992

  100

  1993

  87

  1 Whole-time equivalents excluding locum staff.

  Agricultural Wages Order
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his latest estimate of the number of persons whose pay and conditions are covered by the Agricultural Wages Order 1994 for each county in Wales and for Wales as a whole.
  584
  Mr. Redwood
  Based on the June 1993 agricultural and horticultural census, it is estimated that the number of workers—excluding those on minor holdings—covered by the Agricultural Wages Order was 12,714 as at June 1993. Estimates by county are given in the table.

  Numbers

  Clwyd

  1,906

  Dyfed

  4,320

  Gwent

  990

  Gwynedd

  1,588

  Mid Glamorgan

  473

  Powys

  2,543

  South Glamorgan

  447

  West Glamorgan

  447

  Development Board for Rural Wales
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 7 July,Official Report, column 310, on what date he sent the letter to the Development Board for Rural Wales instructing the board to make no further payments of mid-Wales development grants, rural buildings conversion grants, DRIVE grants and commun-ity enterprise projects.

  Mr. Redwood
  My Department wrote to the development board on 8 June 1994, concerning relevant schemes.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 7 July,Official Report, column 310, what is his latest estimate of the date of completion of consultation with local authorities and their associations concerning the powers to be transferred from the Development Board for Rural Wales to them at (a) borough and (b) county level.

  Mr. Redwood
  It is my intention for the consultation with the local authority associations to be completed as soon as possible.

  CBI Wales
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met CBI Wales and its council.

  Mr. Redwood
  I met representatives of CBI Wales in June last year and was a principal guest at the CBI Wales dinner in December.

  Further Education
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many secondary schools are operating courses on a franchise basis from further education colleges.

  Mr. Redwood
  I know of no schools operating courses on a franchise basis from further education colleges in the academic year 1993–94. However, there are plans for some schools in South Glamorgan to provide courses on a franchise basis from Barry college and Coleg Glan Hafren from September 1994.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the size of the departmental unit responsible for the furtherance of NHS trusts.
  585
  Mr. Redwood
  Twelve full-time staff work specifically on NHS trust issues.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date the Director of the national health service in Wales gave guidance to the South Glamorgan health authority community services trust-designate in relation to the expression of interest by the Llandough NHS trust in running the community health services in the Vale of Glamorgan area; whether the guidance had statutory support; what representations he has had in relation to such guidance; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 5 May, column 645.

  The director of NHS Wales wrote to the community and priority services unit on 19 November 1993 inviting an application for NHS trust status from April 1995. I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

  Wales Tourist Board
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Wales tourist board in relation to the number of(a) applications and (b) approvals for suspension of the repayment of grants, where sale of the grant-aided tourist facility has taken place before the due period in each year from 1988 to 1993 inclusive.

  Mr. Redwood
  None on these specific matters. The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Number of Applications for Suspensions

  Approvals

  1988

  3

  1

  1989

  7

  3

  1990

  1

  0

  1991

  2

  1

  1992

  1

  1

  1993

  0

  0

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the relevant local authorities concerned with the de-designation of the Cardiff Bay development corporation in relation to the ongoing financial obligations arising from the construction of the barrage in relation to the(a) valuation of land, (b) water quality obligations and (c) other matters; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 15 July, column 813–14.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has for the provision of(a) grant-in-aid and (b) national loans fund finance to the Cardiff Bay development corporation; what legal opinion he has sought in relation to the regularity of the payments of grants by the corporation to (i) Prudential Assurance Company and (ii) NCM for their new headquarters offices; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Grant-in-aid of £48.2 million is being made available to the Cardiff Bay development corporation in this financial year. There are no plans to draw on the national loans fund.
  586
  The corporation has wide-ranging powers to incur expenditure to secure the regeneration of its area under the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980 and the Inner Urban Areas Act 1978. It is for the corporation to assure itself of the regularity of any grant payments it makes. I have had no reason to seek separate legal opinion on the corporation's support for Prudential and NCM.

  Fish Passes
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Wales region of the National Rivers Authority concerning research programmes into the efficiency of fish passes on south Wales rivers, barrages and weirs with respect to the passage of the (i) salmon, (ii) sea-trout or sewin, (iii) river lampey, (iv) sea lampey, (v) allis shad, (vi) twaite shad and (vii) eel and into the impact of barrages on the long term management strategies needed to maintain appropriate water quality standards.

  Mr. Redwood
  None.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultation he has had with the chairmen of the Welsh training and enterprise councils concerning the current level of financial surpluses in hand; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have not discussed the current level of financial surpluses with TEC chairmen. However, my officials regularly discuss the planned use of surpluses with TEC chairmen and chief executives during annual contract negotiations and therefore have taken current levels of surplus into account when considering contracts for 1994–95.

  Welsh Historic Monuments
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has for the future of Cadw, Welsh Historic Monuments.

  Mr. Redwood
  Cadw, Welsh Historic Monuments, was established as an executive agency within the Welsh Office in April 1991. Following an evaluation and options review, I have decided that Cadw should continue as an executive agency for the next five years. Within this framework, a significant part of Cadw's operations will be subject to market testing, including initially some 115 posts in Cadw's direct labour force. I also intend to consider the feasibility of other methods of increasing the involvement of the private sector in the agency's operations.

  Medical Emergency Admissions
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many medical emergency admissions were made by each hospital in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of these figures on the planning for bed provision in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  [holding answer 4 July 1994]: The following table shows, for each of the last five years for which data are available, the number of immediate admissions to hospitals in Wales, excluding those which were classified as mental handicap or mental illness.
  587
  The provision of hospital beds is a matter for health authorities and NHS trusts. It is their responsibility to ensure that beds are available for those who need them.

  Immediate admissions in financial year

  Health Authority/Hospital

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Clwyd

  Abergele1

  433

  402

  1,646

  —

  —

  Catherine Gladstone2

  58

  81

  92

  56

  11

  Chirk Community3

  —

  —

  83

  154

  188

  Colwyn Bay Community

  343

  356

  367

  376

  381

  Deeside Community3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  75

  Denbighshire Infirmary

  304

  332

  349

  377

  475

  Dobshill

  —

  1

  18

  30

  43

  Flint Community

  235

  231

  236

  168

  106

  H.M. Stanley1

  2,570

  2,666

  10,248

  —

  —

  Holywell Community

  284

  276

  277

  170

  106

  Llangollen Community

  192

  210

  201

  97

  94

  Lluesty1

  84

  71

  149

  —

  —

  Meadowslea

  1

  —

  22

  1

  12

  Mold Community

  171

  286

  346

  302

  275

  Penley

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  Prestatyn Community

  55

  49

  71

  76

  22

  Royal Alexandra

  166

  149

  143

  135

  120

  Ruthin Community

  209

  227

  217

  191

  187

  Trevalyn

  —

  5

  22

  10

  17

  Ysbyty Glan Clwyd1

  11,600

  12,644

  20,580

  16,298

  16,155

  Ysbyty Maclor1

  12,499

  12,228

  4,219

  14,782

  14,809

  East Dyfed

  Aberaeron

  3

  4

  1

  10

  2

  Amman Valley

  5

  1

  28

  90

  11

  Bronglais

  4,436

  4,564

  5,020

  5,085

  5,554

  Bryntirion

  799

  607

  187

  17

  403

  Cardigan and District

  42

  125

  185

  201

  275

  Llandovery

  301

  373

  302

  151

  294

  Llanelli General2

  2,648

  2,380

  487

  —

  —

  Mynydd Mawr

  3

  38

  33

  29

  93

  Prince Philip3

  —

  —

  3,842

  6,216

  7,003

  Tregaron

  10

  13

  6

  54

  81

  West Wales General

  7,599

  8,144

  7,973

  7,491

  9,880

  Pembrokeshire

  South Pembrokeshire

  427

  406

  402

  536

  507

  Tenby Cottage

  149

  139

  133

  188

  212

  Withybush General

  9,523

  10,495

  9,670

  8,706

  8,968

  Gwent

  Abertillery District

  74

  117

  133

  144

  109

  Allt-Yr-Yn

  3

  3

  5

  16

  14

  Blaenavon Health Care Unit

  135

  201

  179

  130

  110

  Blaina and District

  170

  247

  190

  185

  137

  County

  819

  767

  586

  365

  3

  Ebbw Vale

  37

  84

  66

  138

  99

  Monmouth General

  148

  170

  181

  153

  147

  Mount Pleasant

  284

  302

  164

  145

  299

  Nevill Hall

  10,537

  10,855

  9,945

  9,269

  9,569

  Oakdale

  3

  3

  9

  3

  2

  Pontypool and District

  83

  76

  48

  46

  52

  Royal Gwent

  16,114

  16,573

  18,407

  18,103

  18,520

  St. Lawrence

  1,583

  1,557

  1,895

  1,807

  1,888

  St. Woolos

  3,365

  3,852

  4,355

  3,627

  3,840

  Tredegar General

  50

  111

  70

  98

  95

  Gwynedd

  Bron-y-Garth

  43

  31

  —

  —

  250

  Bryn Beryl

  255

  169

  204

  245

  212

  Brynseiont

  33

  13

  8

  44

  70

  Bryn-y-neuadd

  —

  —

  —

  34

  —

  Caernarvon Eye and Cottage2

  130

  119

  19

  —

  —

  Cefni2

  10

  4

  —

  —

  —

  Conwy

  51

  76

  127

  128

  129

  Dolgellau and District

  354

  203

  301

  207

  251

  Druid

  20

  6

  3

  95

  68

  Eryri

  116

  10

  6

  103

  117

  Ffestiniog Memorial

  205

  232

  189

  181

  159

  Groesynyd2

  7

  14

  12

  —

  —

  Llandudno General

  3,531

  3,006

  2,785

  2,261

  1,532

  Madoc Memorial2

  112

  155

  104

  —

  —

  588 589

  Health Authority/Hospital

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  St. David's

  4,749

  2,014

  1,487

  —

  1,043

  Stanley Sailors

  214

  160

  16

  189

  186

  Towyn and District War Memorial

  474

  462

  441

  338

  247

  Valley

  26

  9

  1

  76

  94

  Ysbyty Gwynedd

  12,335

  12,258

  12,928

  14,097

  10,459

  Mid Glamorgan

  Aberbargoed and District

  187

  198

  189

  28

  173

  Aberdare General

  412

  502

  383

  571

  578

  Bridgend General

  775

  876

  1,032

  1,358

  1,270

  Caerphilly District Miners

  2,638

  2,835

  2,802

  3,281

  3,064

  Dewi Sam

  1,318

  1,554

  1,337

  2

  —

  East Glamorgan General

  10,484

  10,137

  10,887

  12,462

  12,413

  Energlyn

  2

  —

  4

  —

  2

  FedwHir2

  2

  4

  5

  —

  —

  Llwynypia

  780

  780

  850

  920

  868

  Maesgwyn

  82

  96

  177

  50

  60

  Maesteg General

  430

  439

  350

  400

  388

  Mardy

  93

  92

  34

  54

  42

  Merthyr General2

  453

  522

  593

  5

  —

  Mountain Ash General

  357

  419

  355

  170

  36

  Pentwyn2

  25

  21

  37

  3

  —

  Pontypridd and District2

  29

  27

  53

  2

  —

  Porth and District2

  33

  19

  12

  43

  216

  Prince Charles

  10.626

  11,612

  12,973

  14,300

  14,947

  Princess of Wales

  9,623

  10,787

  11,458

  10,844

  11,002

  Redwood Memorial

  129

  91

  120

  39

  102

  Rhiwfelin2

  2

  1

  3

  —

  —

  St. Tydfil's

  2,228

  1.808

  1,393

  2,284

  2,253

  Talygarn2

  155

  76

  77

  —

  —

  Tonteg

  17

  7

  —

  41

  5

  Treherbert

  75

  72

  79

  91

  59

  Tyntyla2

  4

  3

  —

  2

  —

  Ysbyty George Thomas3

  —

  —

  —

  12

  21

  Ystrad Mynach

  13

  —

  9

  38

  107

  Powys

  Breconshire War Memorial

  891

  1,003

  997

  1,024

  1,036

  Bronllys

  96

  154

  146

  152

  184

  Builth Wells Cottage

  407

  459

  522

  605

  413

  Knighton

  71

  100

  104

  93

  105

  Llandrindod Wells

  581

  684

  668

  687

  780

  Llanidloes & District

  220

  345

  375

  310

  327

  Machynlleth and District

  145

  172

  137

  412

  563

  Machynlleth Chest

  226

  269

  230

  Montgomery County Infirmary

  358

  375

  272

  281

  351

  St. David's

  52

  49

  41

  1,441

  —

  Victoria Memorial

  164

  185

  223

  265

  265

  Ystradgynlais Community

  124

  132

  79

  184

  262

  South Glamorgan

  Barry Community

  577

  569

  526

  526

  559

  Cardiff Royal Infirmary

  11,524

  10,800

  10,780

  10,783

  10,781

  Childrens ENT2

  2

  3

  —

  1

  —

  Glan Ely2

  1

  5

  4

  —

  —

  Lansdowne

  4

  2

  1

  3

  6

  Llandough

  9,180

  10,478

  14,172

  13,159

  13,490

  Neale Kent2

  1

  2

  19

  —

  —

  Prince of Wales

  76

  102

  59

  26

  19

  Rookwood

  7

  2

  17

  5

  20

  St. David's2

  277

  263

  227

  1

  —

  Sully

  429

  533

  510

  944

  702

  University Hospital of Wales

  13,205

  16,857

  16.981

  18,238

  17,493

  Velindre

  625

  770

  790

  682

  857

  West Glamorgan

  Clydach War Memorial

  114

  114

  84

  123

  47

  Cymla

  737

  469

  14

  364

  352

  Fairwood

  —

  —

  —

  —

  7

  Gellinudd2

  36

  37

  39

  42

  —

  Gorseinon

  34

  150

  118

  195

  114

  Groeswen

  —

  —

  —

  32

  38

  Hill House

  11

  4

  6

  19

  31

  Morriston

  16,157

  17,709

  14,239

  11,655

  10,792

  Mount Pleasant

  29

  15

  8

  75

  19

  Neath General

  6,464

  7,378

  6,509

  7,951

  7,999

  Port Talbot General

  15

  8

  5

  22

  4

  Singleton

  5,936

  6,613

  5,028

  9,924

  9,528

  590 591

  Health Authority/Hospital

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Not classified to hospitals

  —

  —

  —

  550

  1,458

  1 Data for these hospitals in 1991–92 and 1992–93 is considered unreliable.

  2 Hospital closed during period covered.

  3 Hospital opened during period covered.

  Notes:

  1. Figures for 1988–9 to 1990–91 derived from Hospital Activity Analysis. For subsequent years from the Patient Episode Database for Wales.

  2. In some cases patient records were incomplete and these are shown separately at the bottom of the table.

  Departmental Efficiency
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to improve the efficiency of his Department.

  Mr. Richards
  [Pursuant to the reply, 14 February, column 628.] My hon. Friend may wish to be aware that in 1994–95 the Welsh Office is seeking to achieve efficiency savings of 6 per cent. This compares with the Treasury requirement to make savings of at least 2 per cent.

HEALTH

  Health Service Staff
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by regional health authority the numbers of health service directly employed staff by main staff group in each of the last five years; and what were the changes between each year and the next over the whole period in numbers and percentages.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information requested will be placed in the Library.

  Staff Statistics
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the latest figures and list for each of the last four years by region the number of(a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives, (d) health visitors, (e) administration and clerical staff and f managers.

  Number of prescribed items (millions) dispensed in the Family Health Services in England 1989 to 1993 and revenue from prescription charges (£ million) in England 1989–90 to 1993–94

  Prescribed items1

  Charge revenue2

  Dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors

  Year

  Total

  Free of charge

  Charge paid

  Dispensed by dispensing doctors

  Personally administered free of charge by prescribing doctors

  Year

  Amount

  Free of charge

  Charge paid

  1989

  383·5

  273·7

  78·2

  25·6

  6·0

  1989–90

  189·3

  1990

  394·8

  282·8

  77·7

  26·8

  7·5

  1990–91

  205·9

  1991

  406·5

  296·4

  74·3

  27·7

  8·1

  1991–92

  215·2

  1992

  425·1

  313·1

  73·6

  29·1

  9·2

  1992–93

  242·0

  1993

  445·4

  332·8

  72·3

  30·6

  9·7

  1993–94

  265·3

  1 1989 and 1990 figures are on fees; 1991 to 1993 figures are based on items. Figures may not sum to rounding

  2 Includes revenue from sale of Prescription Prepayment certificates. 1993–94 figures and Provisional

  592
  Mr. Sackville
  The information will be placed in the Library. The number of managers has been deliberately increased since the mid 1980s—not just since the reforms —because the service was previously undermanaged. Much of the increase arises from the reclassification of existing staff—including many senior nurses—as manag-ers. General and senior managers still account for only 2 per cent. of the total national health service workforce in England and 3 per cent. of the total NHS expenditure on salaries and wages.

  Prescriptions
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many of these prescriptions were exempt from charges; and what was the gross income to her Department from prescription charges.

  Mr. Sackville
  The available information is shown in the table. The analysis of free-of-charge and charge-paid items dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors is based on a one-in-20 sample of all the prescriptions they submit to the Prescription Pricing Authority. Items dispensed by dispensing doctors cannot be similarly analysed because doctors are not obliged to obtain a written declaration of entitlement to free prescriptions from the patients to whom they dispense free of charge, and there is no basis on which a reasonable estimate could be made. All prescribed items personally administered to patients by prescribing doctors are free of charge.

  NHS Expenditure
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 21 February,Official Report, column 347–48, if she will update the information on NHS expenditure to include estimates for 1994–95; and if she will adjust the appropriate figures in the tables on the basis of current prices.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information will be placed in the Library. It is not possible to adjust for changes in the input unit costs beyond 1990–91 for capital expenditure or for national health service current expenditure, or beyond 1992–93 for hospital and community health services current expenditure.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 21 February,Official Report, column 925–926, on health services expenditure, if she will adjust the figures by (a) the gross domestic product deflator and (b) input unit costs to include figures for (i) 1992–93, (ii) 1993–94 and (iii) estimates for 1994–95; and if she will recalculate the appropriate figures in the new tables on the basis of current prices.

  Mr. Sackville
  The tables referred to have been updated and will be placed in the Library. They now include programme budget figures for 1991–92 and 1992–93 in place of provisional provider based estimates used previously. Expenditure figures for 1993–94 and estimates for 1994–95 are not yet available. Expenditure estimates adjusted for input unit costs are not yet available at 1993–94 prices.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been spent in real terms outside the NHS by purchasers in each year since 1990(a) in total, (b) by regional health authority and (c) by district health authority.

  Mr. Sackville
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Military Personnel
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy that military use of NHS facilities and staff will not be paid for out of the NHS budget.

  Mr. Sackville
  Under existing arrangements service personnel are able to receive treatment from the national health service. But for most normal peacetime purposes service personnel are treated by defence medical services at the expense of the Defence budget. This will continue under the arrangements proposed by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. Any agreed additional costs to the NHS from setting up military district hospital units in NHS hospitals and from treating service patients there will be met from the Defence budget.

  Community Dental Service
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she proposes the community dental service being funded if responsibility for the community dental service is transferred to health authorities.

  Mr. Sackville
  District health authorities are already responsible for purchasing community dental services. DHAs are funded for this purpose through their general allocations.

  Hospital Water
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many hospitals do not meet the current legal limit of lead in water;

  (2) how many times in each of the last five years sub-standard drinking water has been reported from hospitals.

  Mr. Sackville
  I am not aware of any hospitals which do not meet the current legal limit of lead in water nor of any reports of sub-standard drinking water in the national health service.

  Ambulances
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of ambulances used unleaded fuel in each of the last five years;

  (2) what percentage of ambulances have catalytic converters.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Hospital Information Support Systems
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is her policy that the national health service as a whole adopt hospital information support systems; what progress has been made to date; on what criteria that or any other system is selected; and if cost comparisons can now be made between similar units.

  Mr. Sackville
  The national health service executive's information management and technology strategy en-courages hospitals to move towards the implementation of integrated information systems.

  Around 50 sites in England are implementing hospital information support systems.

  It is for each hospital to determine, locally, whether it can justify spending on such systems. If so, then each is expected, where relevant, to run a competitive procurement under European Community rules.

  Costs of many contracts have been published in the Official Journal of European Communities, from which comparisons may be made. Copies of the journal are available in the Library.

  Prisoner Referrals
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give a breakdown of the referrals for psychiatric treatment of prisoners broken down by category for each year since 1984.

  Mr. Sackville
  The available information is shown in the table:

  Estimated number of cases of hospital admissions, including day cases, recorded as being referred from penal institutions, courts, or police stations

  1989–90

  1990–91

  11991–92

  Acute sector

  1,560

  1,496

  1,548

  Geriatric

  40

  16

  20

  Maternity

  24

  20

  44

  Mental illness

  4,720

  5,024

  4,996

  Learning disability

  88

  44

  76

  Not known

  —

  —

  4

  Total

  6,432

  6,600

  6,688

  595
  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

  1 Provisional.

  Advertising
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 11 July,Official Report, column 422, what proportion of expenditure on advertising by the health service concerned health education information and how much concerned information related to health reforms.

  Mr. Sackville
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Tobacco
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many shops there are on national health service premises selling cigarettes otherwise than to long-stay patients who are smokers.

  Mr. Sackville
  Surveys carried out by regional health authorities showed that six outlets were still offering tobacco products for general sale at the end of May 1993. Three of these outlets have since ceased such general sale. The Department will continue to keep the matter under review.

  Energy
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many energy consultants were employed by the national health service in each of the last five years; and what was the energy bill for the national health service in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information on the number of energy consultants employed in the national health service is not available centrally. I understand that individual national health service trusts and health authorities have made appointments of this kind.

  Expenditure on energy by national health service trusts and health authorities is shown in the table.

  Total expenditure on energy by national health service trusts and health authorities

  Year

  £ thousands

  1988–89

  210,374

  1989–90

  219,615

  1990–91

  233,884

  1991–92

  270,141

  1992–93

  278,750

  Source:

  1. Annual accounts and financial returns of district, regional and special health authorities.

  2. Annual financial returns of national health service trusts, 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards her target for reducing energy consumption in the national health service over the five years from 1991–92.

  Mr. Sackville
  The target for reducing energy consumption in the national health service applies to the five years from April 1991. In the first two years, the national health service achieved a reduction in energy consumption of 7·1 per cent. which is the latest period for 596
  which information is available. Plans for the subsequent three years indicate that the national health service will meet the overall reduction of 15 per cent.

  Publicity
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 20 June,Official Report, column 22, what amount of money spent on publicity by the information division is expended on (a) information or publicity about or as a result of the reforms and (b) health education matters for the public.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Military District Hospital Units
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Health Department how the extra military district hospital units to be established in national health service hospitals will be accommodated; and what extra funding will be available for the hospitals in which they are placed.

  Mr. Sackville
  Service personnel in military district hospital units will be integrated within national health service hospitals. How they and service patients are accommodated will be a matter to be discussed directly between the hospital and the Ministry of Defence. Any agreed extra costs to a hospital from establishing a unit or from treating service patients will be met from the Defence budget.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence regarding his plans to close the Army's Cambridge military hospital at Aldershot and the Princess Alexandra hospital at Wroughton and to set up regional military district hospital units at NHS hospitals.

  Mr. Sackville
  In common with other Cabinet colleagues my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been kept fully appraised of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence's proposals.

  Mortality Statistics
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the figures for stroke mortality by gender in each district health authority for the last two years;

  (2) if she will list the figures for breast cancer mortality in each district health authority in each of the last two years;

  (3) if she will list the figures for lung cancer by gender at district health authority level for the last two years;

  (4) if she will give the figures for skin cancer mortality by gender by district health authority for the last two years;

  (5) if she will give the figures for coronary heart disease mortality by gender by district health authority for the last two years;

  (6) if she will list the figures for cervical cancer mortality by district health authority for the last two years.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information will be placed in the Library.

  Health Service Indicators
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the preliminary set of outcome indicators produced by the population health outcome indicators feasibility study; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) if she will publish the criteria used by the Faculty of Public Health in confirming the suitability of outcome indicators for the health service indicators set;

  (3) if she will list the outcome indicators recommended by the Chief Medical Officer's working party on outcome indicators; and if she will also list which of those indicators were confirmed by the Faculty of Public Health to be included in the latest set of health service indicators;

  (4) what outcome indicators will be included in the 1992–93 health service indicator set;

  (5) if she will make a statement on the population health outcome indicators for the national health service feasibility study.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Chief Medical Officer's working party on population health outcome indicators did not recommend specific outcome indicators. It identified a number of potential indicators which could be produced using data currently available. The Department of Health subsequently commissioned the Faculty of Public Health Medicine to undertake a feasibility study of suggested indicators against a set of criteria. The faculty made some recommendations as part of the first phase of this study, following which the Department of Health commissioned analysis of those indicators recommended. This resulted in the production of the two documents 'Population Health Outcome Indicators for the NHS—A Consultation Document' and 'Population Health Outcome Indicators for the NHS—A Feasibility Study' copies of which are available in the Library. These documents list the population health outcome indicators suggested by the study.

  The criteria adopted in determining the suitability of particular indicators were set out in some detail in the documents but one overriding criterion was that the indicators should be based on routinely collected data.

  Following a positive consultation, which showed that this initiative was favourably received, the central health outcomes unit of the Department will shortly be commissioning work within the health service to test the practicality and effectiveness of the indicators suggested in a working environment. Updated indicators will, in future, be included within the "Public Health Common Data Set" which is distributed to the NHS annually. The information will not, necessarily, be duplicated within the health service indicators.

  Work is also starting on a further phase of development of population health outcomes measures. This will build on the work which has taken place and specifically will look to the future information needs of the health service and the data which will require to be collected to assess health outcomes.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library, indicator numerators, denominators and values and rankings, as mentioned on page 24 of the 1991–92 health service indicators discussion paper.

  Mr.Sackville
  Arrangements are being made for the numerators and denominator values used in the health 598
  service indicators to be placed in the Library when available. These should be used with care since the timetable for the publication often requires the use of provisional and unvalidated data which may be corrected in published values of statistics.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health of what the purchaser mortality ML61, as used in the health service indicators set, consists.

  Mr. Sackville
  An explanation of the purchaser mortality ML61, as used in the health service indicators set, is contained in the health service handbook, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Clinical Effectiveness Indicators
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list all information sources, including databases, detailing clinical effectiveness indicators which are(a) maintained and (b) used by the Department of Health, its public bodies and other advisory bodies; and if she will also list the forms in which those databases are maintained;

  (2) which clinical effectiveness indicator datasets refer (a) to individual episodes and (b) to individual patients;

  (3) what clinical effectiveness indicators are collated at the level of (a) district health authorities and (b) individual units.

  Mr. Sackville
  The assessment of clinical effectiveness is complex and does not readily lend itself to the production of indicators. However, there are a number of national confidential inquiries based on systems reporting individual episodes and individual patients whose anonymised reports assist clinicians to improve clinical effectiveness.

  The main confidential enquiries are:
  National Confidential Enquiry into Peri-Operative Deaths Confidential Enquiry into Stillbirths and Deaths in Infancy Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths
  National Confidential Enquiry into Quality of Genetic Counselling

  In addition, the national network of cancer registries which are computerised, provide a database of cancer cases and the outcome of those cases.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines there are to ensure that collated clinical effectiveness data are seen by surgeons in each individual hospital.

  Mr. Sackville
  It is a professional responsibility of all doctors, including surgeons, to keep in touch with relevant professional developments. This includes information about clinical effectiveness.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the changes which have been made in the collation of clinical effectiveness indicators as a result of the 1991–92 health service indicators discussion paper.

  Mr. Sackville
  As a result of the 1991–92 health service indicator discussion paper the indicator set was increased to include the "Population Health Outcome Indicators for the NHS". Copies of the revised indicators are available in the Library.

  Clinical Guidelines
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the progress of the national health service executive initiative involving the use of clinical guidelines to inform the contracting process.

  Mr. Sackville
  The clinical outcomes group has established a sub-group on clinical guidelines which will guide the future development of the national health service executive's work.

  A series of five workshops have been held to gain feedback from the national health service on the development work initiated in December.

  Ambulance Response Times
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the criteria for defining rural and urban areas in compiling ambulance response times; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The formula for classification of national health service ambulance services as urban or rural was introduced following the acceptance of a recommendation made in an independent consultants report in 1990. Those ambulance services serving an area with an overall population density of greater than 2.5 people per acre were classified as urban. Others were classified as rural. The population density formula acknowledges the higher number of longer distance journeys travelled by ambulance services in less densely populated rural areas.

  Out-patients
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures are available to indicate how many patients are discharged from a hospital out-patient unit after three consultations; how many of these are subsequently referred back to the out-patient unit; and what figures are available specifically for Burnley health care trust.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information available centrally on out-patient attendances is published in "Outpatients and ward attenders for England, Financial Year 1992–93" copies of which are available in the Library.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what figures are available for general practitioner referral times for a patient's initial appointment at Burnley health care trust's out-patient unit, and the numbers of patients involved; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) what monitoring she has done of general practitioner referral times from initial letters to a patient's initial appointment at a hospital out-patient unit; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  A system of monitoring the length of time a patient waits from general practitioner referral to first consultant out-patient appointment is being in-troduced. Data collection is in the early stages and the information collected is not yet sufficiently comprehensive to enable publication.

  Operation Cancellations
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures are available for operations cancelled within one week of the appointment date; and if she will make a statement.
  600
  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Infertility
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what information she has available to show the level of NHS expenditure for infertility within each English region;

  (2) how many persons have received infertility treatment within the NHS in each year since 1983; on how many occasions this has led to pregnancy; and what figures she has available for successful pregnancy form NHS in-vitro fertilisation treatment, annually, for each NHS region in England.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information is available for three years on the numbers of finished consultant episodes for cases with a diagnosis of female infertility. Figures for ordinary admissions and day cases in England are shown in the table:

  Number

  1989–90

  25,510

  1990–91

  25,145

  1991–92

  127,276

  1 Provisional.

  These figures include only those patients who are admitted to hospital to use a bed.

  Comparable information for earlier years is not available. Information is not available centrally on the numbers of successful treatments or the level of national health service expenditure on infertility in each English region.

  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

  Day Care Surgery
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the criteria set down to define treatment suitable for day surgical care; and if she will make a statement about the future of day care surgery.

  Mr. Sackville
  Hospital consultants are responsible for making clinical judgments about the suitability of individual patients for day surgery treatments. In 1992 the Royal College of Surgeons produced guidelines which stated that day surgery is now considered the best option for 50 per cent. of all patients undergoing elective surgical procedures. The introduction of new surgical techniques, and developments in anaesthesia, are increasing the range of operations which can be carried out on a day care basis.

  Waiting Times
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals have been reported by the Audit Commission as using inadequate systems for compiling waiting times; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The systems in place to compile the waiting times statistics published in the 1993–94 hospital and ambulance services comparative performance guide were reviewed by the Audit Commission's auditors. Hospitals or trusts whose waiting times result in the comparative performance guide have no star ratings are those where the auditors had reservations about the systems in place. Copies of the comparative performance guide are available in the Library.

  Staff (Consultation)
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the current arrangements for a standing procedure for consultations with staff concerning the operation and administration of the service.

  Mr. Sackville
  Long established consultation arrange-ments with the staff sides of the Whitley councils ensure that all staff interests have the opportunity to comment on major departmental developments likely to affect them.

  Porton Down
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultancy contracts have been secured by the new centre for applied microbiology and research at Porton Down; what other Government Department's have placed contracts at the centre; what is the total value of those contracts; and if she will make a statement on the operation of the Microbiological Research Authority since 1 April.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research—CAMR—provides a range of services including consultancy advice, research, development and production. Many contracts involve some or all of these services. Since 1 April 1994, CAMR has secured 26 consultancy-only contracts at a total value of £72,000 and 11 contracts involving consultancy and other services with a value of £2 million in 1994–95. In addition CAMR is providing similar services under pre-existing contracts to the value of £5.5 million. Three contracts have been placed by other Government Departments with a total value of £387,000 in 1994–95.

  Since 1 April the authority has completed a major reorganisation of the centre to give a better focus to its operations and has created a business development unit to seek additional external income. I look forward to meeting the staff and reviewing progress when I visit the centre in September.

  Dental Services (Lewisham, Deptford)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the dentists in the constituency of Lewisham, Deptford, which will accept NHS patients; of those listed, which dentists have said that their lists for NHS patients are currently closed; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally. The Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham family health services authority advises that it can help a patient in the area find a national health service dentist. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Ian Mills, the chairman, for details.

  Bradford Community Health Council
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the names and organisations represented of those serving currently on Bradford community health council; how many vacancies currently exist; how many public meetings community health councils are required to hold annually; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information about the names, vacancies and organisations represented on individual community health councils is not available centrally. Regional health authorities, as the establishing body, have these details.
  602
  Community health councils are required to hold meetings once every three months and these meetings would normally be open to the public.

  Private Consultant Episodes
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes on private patients in NHS hospitals occurred by(a) region and (b) district health authority in (i) 1990–91, (ii) 1991–92 and (iii) 1992–93.

  Mr. Sackville
  The most recent information available at regional level is shown in the table.

  Region

  1990–91

  11991–92

  England

  81,366

  89,863

  Northern

  3,349

  3,178

  Yorkshire

  4,842

  5,263

  Trent

  2,797

  3,038

  East Anglia

  4,504

  4,270

  North West Thames

  10,345

  9,337

  North East Thames

  7,402

  9,850

  South East Thames

  6,648

  8,636

  South West Thames

  5,081

  6,269

  Wessex

  2,643

  2,673

  Oxford

  6,928

  7,244

  South Western

  5,044

  5,458

  West Midlands

  6,081

  6,866

  Mersey

  2,370

  2,249

  North Western

  6,445

  7,224

  Special health authorities

  6,887

  8,306

  1 Provisional.

  Source: SD2A, Hospital Episode Statistics.

  Reliable information at district level could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Wheelchairs
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what developments there have been in regard to the provision of indoor/outdoor powered wheelchairs for all permanently disabled children and adults requiring them for independent mobility on the basis recommended by the Government's working party chaired by Professor—now Lord—McColl in 1986, further to the Adjournment debate on this subject on 1 July; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  I reiterate the remarks I made during the constructive debate on 1 July at columns 1124–28. I made it clear that the issue of wheelchairs, including powered indoor/outdoor wheelchairs, is a matter for health authorities and national health service hospital and community care units—trusts—in the light of their resources and priorities, but I have set up a departmental working group to look at all aspects of such a scheme and it will take evidence from experts. I have asked for a report to be made to me by the end of October.

  Durham University Business School
  Mr. Gunnell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what grants or other payments have been made to the Durham university business school and for what purposes by the Northern regional health authority under its present chairman.
  603
  Mr. Sackville
  This is a local matter for the Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. John Greetham, chairman of the authority, for details.

  Abortions
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents of Northern Ireland have obtained abortions in England and Wales in each year since 1968; and what is the total number.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information requested is published for 1970 to 1973 in 'The Registrar General's Statistical Review of England and Wales, Supplement on Abortion' (Table 15);
  1974 to 1980 in 'Abortion Statistics', OPCS series AB nos. 1–7 (Table 6.11);
  1981 to 1991 in 'Abortion Statistics' OPCS series AB nos. 8–18 (Table 25); and
  1992 in 'Legal abortions 1992', OPCS Monitor AB 94/1 (Table 6).

  Copies are available in the Library.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas visits she and each of her Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many she, or each of her Ministers, participated in fundraising activities for the Conservative party; and if she will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Sackville
  Health Ministers made nine overseas visits in their official capacity during the period. Fundraising activities for the Conservative party are not part of official duties.

  Chief Executive Officers
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of chief executive officers in the national health service now consider that the information available to them is adequate; what was the proportion in 1992; and what steps are being taken to improve and to monitor availability of information.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information requested is not available centrally. It is for local managers to ensure the availability of the information they require. The chief executive of the then national health service management executive emphasised their responsibility for the quality of such information in EL(93)117, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Policy Initiatives
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates her Department has made as to the costs to industry of policy initiatives resulting from "The Health of the Nation".

  Region

  Number of funds

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Northern

  27

  38

  69

  84

  Yorkshire

  34

  59

  108

  133

  Trent

  28

  58

  138

  212

  East Anglian

  9

  13

  48

  78

  North West Thames

  22

  43

  88

  105

  North East Thames

  13

  23

  48

  71

  604
  Mr. Sackville
  "The Health of the Nation" imposes no new requirements on industry. However there are clear benefits of improved competitiveness to be gained through improving the health of the workforce and we look forward to seeing those benefits realised.

  Domiciliary Services
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to strengthen the guidelines in relation to recommendations for disregards arising from war pensions for the purpose of charges for domiciliary services under care in the community and the means-testing thereof.

  Mr. Bowis
  We have no plans to review the guidelines for domiciliary services provided for mentally ill people.

  Extra-contractual Referrals
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 18 July,Official Report, column 20, what information she is prepared to publish on extra-contractual referrals and spending by region.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information available is not audited and therefore unsuitable for publication.

  Fundholders
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what savings were made by fundholders at the end of each financial year since 1990–91.

  Mr. Sackville
  In the first year of the scheme, 1991–92, fundholders achieved efficiency savings of £14.5 million, equivalent to 3.6 per cent. of budgets set. Final audited figures for 1992–93 and 1993–94 are not yet available.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will list the office costs allowance including computer costs given to each GP fundholder by region in each year since 1990–91;

  (2) if she will list the start-up grants provided to potential fundholders by region in each year since 1990–91.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many fundholders there were in each region in each year since 1990–91; and what were the total allowances payments made to them in each region in each year since 1990–91.

  Mr. Sackville
  The number of general practitioner fundholders by region in each year since 1991–92, the first year of the scheme, are shown in the table. Information about the management and computer allowances paid to them is not collected centrally.
  605

  Region

  Number of funds

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  South East Thames

  15

  28

  77

  143

  South West Thames

  21

  39

  66

  116

  Wessex

  17

  34

  54

  85

  Oxford

  25

  46

  74

  107

  South Western

  20

  38

  69

  100

  West Midlands

  26

  58

  131

  219

  Mersey

  21

  46

  84

  101

  North Western

  16

  29

  66

  119

  England

  294

  552

  1,120

  1,673

  Blood Donations
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines have been issued relating to the donation of blood by veterans of nuclear tests.

  Mr. Sackville
  The National Blood Authority does not consider that such persons, in general, should be excluded from donating blood. The decision whether or not to accept such a person as a donor depends on the individual's own medical history.

  Breast Feeding
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations and individuals have received funding from her Department in the last year to develop breast feeding initiatives; and what amounts were given.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, the Breastfeeding Promotion Group of the National Childbirth Trust, and La Leche League received funding, through section 64 grant aid, in 1993–94 in support of breast-feeding initiatives. The amounts given were, respectively, £12,500; £41,500 and £16,000.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's strategic plan in terms of breast feeding, weaning and infant nutrition.

  Mr. Sackville
  Our strategic plan is to continue to protect and promote breast feeding as the best way of feeding a baby and to ensure that up-to-date expert advice on breast feeding, weaning and infant nutrition, founded on the most reliable evidence and data is made available to health care professionals and the public.

  Weaning
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Department will publish the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food report on weaning.

  Mr. Sackville
  The report is expected to be published later this year.

  "The Health of the Nation"
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is her estimate of the total cost of "The Health of the Nation" to her Department from its inception to date;

  (2) how many full-time equivalent staff are engaged in work directly connected with "The Health of the Nation".

  Mr. Sackville
  Improving health through "The Health of the Nation" strategy is a key objective for the 606
  Department and for the national health service which underpins much of the work of the Department. It is therefore not feasible to identify either the total cost of the initiative to the Department of Health or the number of staff involved.

  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many publications have been issued in connection with the "The Health of the Nation"; and what was the total cost to her Department;

  (2) what funds have been allocated by her Department and what grants awarded to organisations to develop activities and research in connection with the "The Health of the Nation" initiative.

  (3) how many task force committees, working groups and project teams were established by her Department as part of the "The Health of the Nation" initiative; what are their titles; and what is the cost of manning each of them;

  (4) what further publications her Department expects to issue in the coming year in connection with the "The Health of the Nation"; and what estimates she has as to the cost of producing these publications.

  Mr. Sackville
  I will write to my hon. Friend.

  Conceptions
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the rate of conceptions for(a) under 16-year-olds, ( b) under 17-year-olds and (c) under 18-year-olds in each of the last 15 years.

  Mr. Sackville
  The rate of conceptions per 1,000 women in England and Wales for the latest available 15 years were:

  Age of woman

  Year

  Under 16

  Under 17

  Under 18

  1977

  7·6

  15·3

  23·6

  1978

  7·6

  15·6

  24·5

  1979

  7·5

  15·7

  25·1

  1980

  7·2

  14·8

  23·8

  1981

  7·3

  15·2

  23·7

  1982

  7·8

  15·5

  23·9

  1983

  8·3

  16·2

  24·5

  1984

  8·7

  17·1

  26·3

  1985

  8·7

  17·4

  27·1

  1986

  8·8

  17·4

  27·5

  1987

  9·3

  18·9

  29·3

  1988

  9·4

  19·2

  30·2

  1989

  9·4

  19·3

  30·4

  1990

  10·1

  19·7

  30·7

  1991

  9·3

  18·3

  28·4

  Rates are per 1,000 woman aged 13–15 for tha Under 16s,aged 13–16 for the Under 17s and aged 13–17 for tja Under 18s

  Endangered Animals
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what investigations her Department has carried out into the use of parts of endangered animals by traditional Chinese or far eastern doctors practising in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department has not investigated this aspect of traditional Chinese or far eastern medicine. However, the Medicines Control Agency, which forms part of the Department of Health, is responsible for enforcing medicines legislation within the United Kingdom. It is an offence under the Medicines Act 1968 to import unlicensed medicinal products from China or elsewhere in the far east for sale or supply within the United Kingdom, except where the product has been requested by a registered practitioner on behalf of a particular patient of his. When products are brought to its attention which contravene or appear to contravene the Medicines Act, the agency investigates and takes appropriate action.

  The agency is not presently aware that any unlicensed products, containing parts of endangered animals and for which medicinal claims are made, are being brought to or sold in the United Kingdom.

  Travel Costs
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 18 July,Official Report, column 21, what information her Department maintains on the cost of travel by Department of Health and NHS executive staff between Leeds and London.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department does not record separately the costs of staff travel between Leeds and London.

  Dental Services
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people in Great Britain were registered with dentists in(a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Sackville
  Registration with a general dental practitioner was not required until October 1990 and information is not available centrally for 1979 and 1985. In May 1994, the latest date available, 57.41 per cent. of the population of Great Britain was registered with a general dental practitioner.

  Violent Crime (Victims)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make arrangements to ensure that victims of violent crime who need dental treatment as a result of their injuries are included in the categories of people who are automatically entitled to free dental treatment;

  (2) if she will make arrangements to ensure that victims of violent crime who need help with hospital travel costs as a result of their injuries are included in the categories of people who are automatically entitled to help with travel costs.

  (3) if she will make arrangements to ensure that victims of violent crime who need NHS prescriptions as a result of their injuries are included in the categories of people who are automatically entitled to free prescriptions;
  608
  (4) if she will make arrangements to ensure that victims of violent crime who need a sight test or an NHS voucher for new spectacles as a result of their injuries are included in the categories of people who are automatically entitled to a free sight test or an NHS voucher for new spectacles.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have no plans to do so.

  Child Care
  Ms Ann Coffey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations govern(a) the placement of a child by a local authority on a fee-paying basis with two adults who are partners, and who are offering care for three children as a private children's home unregistrable under the Children Act 1989 and (b) the placement of a child by a local authority with two adults who are partners and are offering care for three children.

  Mr. Bowis
  Any placement of a child by a local authority under the Children Act is governed by the Arrangements for Placement of Children (General) Regulations 1991, the Review of Children's Cases Regulations 1991, the Representations Procedures (Children) Regulations 1991, the Contact with Children Regulations 1991 and the Definition of Independent Visitors (Children) Regulations 1991. In some circumstances, the Foster Placement (Children) Regulations 1991 also apply.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Compensation Recovery Unit
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what target has been set for the compensation recovery unit for its operations for the current year.

  Mr. Hague
  There is no monetary target set for the compensation recovery unit. On the basis of past trends, it is estimated that recoveries for the current financial year will be almost £100 million. The unit has a target to issue certificates of total benefit paid within four weeks in at least 99.5 per cent. of cases it handles.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much of the income of the compensation recovery unit arises from cases involved(a) industrial disease, (b) medical negligence, (c) road traffic injury, (d) industrial injury and (e) other sources.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of the compensation recovery unit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Tony Worthington, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much of the income under the Compensation Recovery Scheme arisesfrom industrial disease, medical negligence, road traffic injury, industrial injury and other sources.
  The amounts recovered in the financial year 1993–94 are given below.
  609

  Category

  Amount recovered £ million

  Industrial injury

  39·4

  Road traffic injury

  29·8

  Medical negligence

  4·9

  Industrial disease

  2·0

  Other sources

  5·8

  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Disability Living Allowance
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects the disability living allowance unit to fulfil its target of responding to correspondence within 20 days.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of the disability living allowance unit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Dafydd Wigley, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking when he expects the Disability Living Allowance Unit to fulfil its target of responding to correspondence within 20 days.
  I am pleased to say that in the period leading up to August 1993 the Disability Living Allowance Unit (DLAU) consistently achieved a 100% clearance rate for official correspondence within 20 days. As a result of this parameters for responding to such correspondence were tightened and a revised target for the DLAU to reply to all Official Correspondence within 15 days was first set in August 1993. The achievement of this revised target was first accomplished in September 1993. Most recently a level of 100% clearance of official correspondence direct from DLAU was achieved for the month ending 30 June 1994.
  Whilst it is accepted that this revised target has not always been achieved it is set at a level which is believed to be both achievable and representative of a good customer service.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will issue guidelines to the disability living allowance unit concerning the establishment of target times for completing reviews in relation to appeal procedures on(a) outstanding mobility allowance and (b) current disability living allowance claims.

  Mr. Hague
  The Benefits Agency introduced performance targets for reviews and appeals preparation work in the disability living allowance unit in April 1992. The targets for 1994–95 are shown in the table, together with the latest available performance figures.

  Mobility allowance was replaced by the mobility component of disability living allowance in April 1992 and all awards of that benefit were converted to disability living allowance. There are, therefore, no targets for mobility allowance reviews and appeals.

  Target per cent.

  Performance1 per cent.

  Reviews primary target

  60 in 55 days

  81

  Reviews secondary target

  80 in 75 days

  93

  Appeals primary target

  60 in 30 days

  75

  Appeals secondary target

  90 in 60 days

  90

  1 Figures for the month ending 30 June 1994.

  Blind and Partially-sighted People
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what action he will take to encourage blind and partially-sighted persons to claim disability living allowance and attendance allowance following the House of Lords judgement of 21 April; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what action he will take to encourage blind and partially-sighted persons to request reviews of attendance allowance and disability living allowance claims, where these have been rejected following the House of Lords ruling of 21 April.

  Mr. Hague
  The Department has no plans to initiate any special action beyond the usual information services available. Major administrative disruption could be created in dealing with so many claims and reviews.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how adjudication officers will decide what activities blind and partially-sighted persons should undertake for the purposes of claims for disability living allowance and attendance allowance; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what provision is made for assistance for blind and partially-sighted people to undertake holidays and read books under guidelines set for disability living allowance and attendance allowance for adjudication officers.

  Mr. Hague
  Blind and partially-sighted people may undertake any activity they wish including holidays and literary pursuits. The independent adjudication authorities have to decide whether it is reasonable to meet the cost of such activities through non means-tested benefits like disability living allowance and attendance allowance.

  Disability and Attendance Allowances
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the(a) maximum, (b) minimum and (c) average times from date of claim to receipt of benefit where (i) there is no review, (ii) there is no appeal and (iii) there is an appeal for (1) disability living allowance and (2) attendance allowance.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of disability living allowance and attendance allowance are matters for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what are (a) maximum. (b) minimum and (c) average times from date of claim to receipt of benefit where (i) there is no review (ii) there is no appeal and (iii) there is an appeal for (1) Disability Living Allowance and (2) Attendance Allowance.
  Data on maximum, minimum and average clearance times is not maintained. Instead performance is measured in terms of X% of cases cleared within Y days. Performance measurement is undertaken for the individual business areas of new claims, reviews and appeals. Actual performance is detailed in Annex I together with requisite targets.
  Information supplied at Annex 1 for appeals only relates to the time taken for a submission to be sent to the Independent Tribunal service (ITS). A commitment has been given in the Charter Standard Statements of both the Disability Living Allowance

  611
  Unit (DLAU) and Attendance Allowance Unit (AAU), where this work is processed to make payment of benefit within 10 working days once the result of a successful appeal is received.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons are currently working on(a) attendance allowance, (b) disability working allowance and (c) disability living allowance within the Benefits Agency.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of disability living allowance, disability working allowance and attendance allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the number of people currently working on Attendance Allowance (AA), Disability Working Allowance (DWA) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
  The table below gives the numbers of staff currently working on DWA, AA and DLA. Disability Benefits centres (DBCs) deal with claims for both DLA and AA. It is not possible to allocate staffing by benefit for these centres as the same staff can work on both benefits.
  A staffing breakdown has been provided for the AA Unit (AAU) and the DLA Unit (DLAU). It should be noted, however, that there are some staff who work in the DLAU who have responsibilities for both benefit areas. Common support areas such as personnel fall into this category.

  Number

  DWA

  75

  AAU

  619

  DLAU

  1,848

  DBCs

  1,450

  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance has been issued to Benefits Agency adjudication officers following the House of Lords judgment of 21 April concerning Mr. Eric Mallinson.

  Share of total income received by individuals in top 50 per cent., 40 per cent., 30 per cent., 20 per cent., and 10 per cent., of the United Kingdom income distribution (including self-employed) Before housing costs

  Per cent.

  1979

  1981

  1987

  1988–89

  1990–91

  1991–92

  Share of total income of:

  Top 50

  67

  68

  71

  72

  73

  73

  Top 40

  58

  59

  62

  63

  64

  64

  Top 30

  47

  48

  51

  52

  53

  54

  Top 20

  35

  36

  39

  40

  41

  41

  Top 10

  21

  21

  24

  25

  26

  26

  After housing costs

  Per cent.

  1979

  1981

  1987

  1988–89

  1990–91

  1991–92

  Share of total income of:

  Top 50

  68

  69

  72

  73

  75

  75

  Top 40

  58

  60

  63

  64

  65

  66

  Top 30

  48

  49

  52

  53

  55

  55

  Top 20

  35

  36

  40

  41

  43

  43

  Top 10

  21

  22

  25

  26

  27

  27

  Notes:

  1. The figures are based on net equivalised household income.

  2. The figures are estimates based on the Family Expenditure Survey. 1988–89, 1990–91 and 1991–92 are the respective calendar years combined.
  612
  Mr. Hague
  The Chief Adjudication Officer issued guidance to adjudication officers on 12 May 1994. In addition, the Benefits Agency has issued two bulletins. Copies will be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the most recent figures to show the time elapsed from an application for appeal and appeal date in claims for(a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance.

  Mr. Hague
  I am informed by His Honour Judge Thorpe, president of the independent tribunal service, that on disability living allowance the average time from lodgement of an appeal to the hearing is 26 weeks, for attendance allowance the time is 28 weeks.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if seeing is treated as a bodily function for the purposes of disability living allowance and attendance allowance claims.

  Mr. Hague
  The Law Lords ruled on 21 April that seeing is treated as a bodily function for the purposes of establishing entitlement to disability living allowance and attendance allowance.

  Below-average Incomes (Statistics)
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish information on the same basis as table A.4 of the households below-average income series giving figures for the 4 and 5 quintiles in 1991–92.

  Mr. Burt
  I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures on the same basis as table A.3 of the households below-average income series giving figures for the top five deciles for 1979, 1981, 1987, 1988–89, 1990–91, and 1991–92.

  Mr. Burt
  The information is in the tables.
  613
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish information on the same basis as table A.1 of the households below-average income analysis, giving figures for the top five decile groups for(a) 1990–91 to 1991–92 and (b) 1979 to 1991–92.

  Change in real income for top five decile groups, 1990–91 to 1991–92 (including self employed)

  percentage change

  Decile 6 50–60 per cent.

  Decile 7 60–70per cent.

  Decile 8 70–80 per cent.

  Decile 9 80–90 per cent.

  Decile 10 Top 10 per cent.

  BHC

  (0)

  0

  0

  (0)

  (0)

  AHC

  (1)

  0

  (1)

  (1)

  (0)

  Change in real income for top five decile groups, 1990–91 to 1991–92, excluding self-employed

  percentage change

  Decile 6 50–60 per cent.

  Decile 7 60–70per cent.

  Decile 8 70–80 per cent.

  Decile 9 80–90 per cent.

  Decile 10 Top 10 per cent.

  BHC

  (0)

  0

  0

  (1)

  (0)

  AHC

  (1)

  0

  (1)

  (1)

  (1)

  Notes:

  1. Small changes from 1990–91 to 1991–92 are unlikely to be significant.

  2. Figures in brackets are particularly uncertain; the range in which the true change lies is greater than +/-2·5 percentage points and greater than 30 per cent. of the estimate.

  3. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole per cent.

  Independent Living Fund
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to publish the departmental memo produced by his Department outlining proposals for the operation of the new independent living fund.

  Mr. Hague
  I am not aware of such a memo.

  Social Security Recipients (Travel Costs)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will seek to amend current social security legislation allowing those in receipt of social security moneys to have their travel costs reimbursed in full when attending magistrates courts.

  Mr. Hague
  We have no plans to do so.

  Child Benefit
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the target savings for the current and three succeeding financial years to be achieved by a switch of existing and new claimants of child benefit to payment by credit transfer.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of child benefit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

  Child benefit

  Year

  Estimated total administration cost1

  Estimated average number of recipients in year

  Number of recipients paid at post office

  Number of recipients paid by automatic credit transfer

  £m

  000s

  000s

  Per cent.

  000s

  Per cent.

  1989–90

  111

  6,735

  5,772

  85·7

  963

  14·3

  1990–91

  107

  6,715

  5,459

  81·3

  1,256

  18·7

  1991–92

  118

  6,760

  5,408

  80·0

  1,352

  20·0

  614
  Mr. Burt
  The information for 1990–91 to 1991–92 is given in the table. All figures are estimates and subject to sampling error.

  The information for 1979 to 1991–92 can be found on page 148 of "Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1991–92", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking about the target savings for the current, and three succeeding financial years, to be achieved by a switch of existing and new claimants of child benefit to payment by credit transfer.
  Individual benefits were not set targets for savings to be achieved by transfer to automated credit transfer (ACT). Targets were set in terms of the percentage increase in ACT take-up to be achieved by 1995–96 and for Child Benefit this was 3 per cent.
  ACT take-up was 23–9 per cent. of existing Child Benefit cases and 41.8 per cent. of new claims as at May 1994.
  I hope you find this reply.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish tables showing the administrative costs of administering child benefit in each of the past five years with an estimate for the current year; if he will set out the administration costs represented by payments to(a) the Post Office and (b) financial institutions for passing over the benefit; what was the total number of recipients each year; and how many recipients received child benefit through (i) post offices and (ii) other financial institutions by credit transfer.

  Mr. Burt
  The available information is in the table. The estimated total administration costs for 1993–94 and 1994–95 are not yet available. Costs for 1993–94 will be published in the 1995 departmental report and those for 1994–95 will be published in the 1996 departmental report.

  The information relating to payments made to the Post Office and other financial institutions is commercial-in-confidence.
  615

  Year

  Estimated total administration cost1

  Estimated average number of recipients in year

  Number of recipients paid at post office

  Number of recipients paid by automatic credit transfer

  £m

  000s

  000s

  Per cent.

  000s

  Per cent.

  1992–93

  136

  6,897

  5,435

  78·8

  1,462

  21·2

  1993–94

  n/a

  6,948

  5,392

  77·6

  1,556

  22·4

  1994–95

  n/a

  7,048

  5,371

  76·2

  1,677

  23·8

  1 Source departmental reports 1991–94

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to invite claims for maintenance from the lone parents who have been on income support since before April last year following his announcement of the reordering of the Child Support Agency's priorities by which they will not now be dealt with as was originally planned.

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

  Letter from J. T. Hughes to Mr. Frank Field, dated 21 July 1994:
  In her absence, the Chief Executive, Mrs. Hepplewhite has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency's take on stategy in relation to parents with care who were already receiving Income Support in April 1993.
  As explained in "The First Two Years", it is planned to reduce the take-on of 100,000 existing income support cases from 1994–95 to 1995–96 in order to allow the Agency to concentrate on clearing its backlog of work. It is envisaged that the 100,000 cases so deferred will be taken on in the first half of 1995–96.
  This deferral will not affect the commitment given by Ministers to provide sympathetic consideration to requests by individual parents who wish their application to be dealt with early. In April and May the Agency accepted 2,400 such requests.
  I hope that this reply is helpful.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the results of the six areas of performance activity monitored by the Child Support Agency during 1993–94, as mentioned in paragraph 6.3 of the agency's business plan for that year.

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

  Letter from J. T. Hughes to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 21 July 1994:
  In her absence, the Chief Executive, Mrs. Hepplewhite has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the areas of performance monitored by the Child Support Agency.
  Information on the time taken to clear applications for maintenance was contained on page 5 of the Agency's combined annual report and business plan—the first two years. In the five other areas selected for performance monitoring insufficient cases were processed and insufficient data collected to provide a meaningful indication of the standard of service in these areas.
  The Agency has taken action to improve its information systems and to collect the data required to enable an expanded range of targets to be considered for 1995–96.
  I hope that this reply is helpful.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many deductions from earnings orders 616
  were made by the Child Support Agency in the year 1993–94; and what proportion of these were in relation to interim assessments.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from J. T. Hughes to Mr. Jonathan Evans dated 21 July 1994:
  In her absence, the Chief Executive, Mrs. Hepplewhite has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about deduction from earnings orders.
  In the year 1993–94, 2,200 deductions from earnings orders were made by the Child Support Agency. I regret that this number cannot be split between those orders issued in respect of interim maintenance assessments and full maintenance assessments. It may help if I explain that until nearly the end of the year there were no powers in the child support legislation that would allow the agency to impose a Deductions from Earnings Order, normally the first course of action where payment is not being made to the parent with care, in cases in which an Interim Maintenance Assessment has been made. Regulations that gave the Agency powers to do this came into effect on 7 February 1994.
  I can confirm, however, that the Agency now gathers such information and figures for the current year will become available in August.
  I hope that this reply is helpful.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much of the maintenance with which the Child Support Agency had an involvement was(a) child maintenance assessed by the agency but paid direct between parents, (b) child maintenance assessed and collected by the agency, (c) child maintenance paid where there had been no assessment from the agency and (d) other maintenance payments.

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

  Letter from J. T. Hughes to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 21 July 1994:
  In her absence, the Chief Executive, Mrs. Hepplewhite has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the amount of child maintenance collected by the Child Support Agency.
  For the period April 1993 to March 1994 inclusive, maintenance administered by the Agency totalled £312 million. Of this, £1.9 million was assessed by the Agency and paid direct between parents and £13.1 million was assessed and paid through the Agency collection service. The remaining £297 million related to cases administered by the Agency arising from pre-Agency arrangements.
  There were no other maintenance payments collected.
  I hope this reply is helpful.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is his estimate of(a) the number

  617
  of absent parents who are in arrears with child support payments and (b) the collective amount of maintenance currently outstanding;

  (2) how many arrears notices were served by the Child Support Agency in its first year of operation;

  (3) how many liability orders were issued by the Child Support Agency in 1993–94.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from J. T Hughes to Mr. Jonathan Evans, dated 21 July 1994:
  In her absence, the Chief Executive, Mrs. Hepplewhite has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about arrears notices, liability orders and maintenance outstanding.
  I regret that validated data on accounts in arrears is not currently available. The Child Support Computer System, however, is being upgraded to provide additional information.
  Although the specific information you request about arrears notices is not available, additional information provided by the upgraded system will indicate those cases in which such orders will have been issued.
  It is estimated that about 160 liability orders had been referred to the courts by the end of March 1994.
  I hope this reply is helpful.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many requests for maintenance review on the grounds of change of circumstances were dealt with by the Child Support Agency in its first year; and how many such requests were still outstanding at year end;

  (2) how many requests for review of a decision made by a child support officer were decided during 1993–94; and how many such decisions were outstanding at year end.

  Mr. Burt
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive of the Child Support Agency, to the hon. Member for East Kilbride (Mr. Ingram) on 17 May 1994 at column 526.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what period was covered by the most recent annual reviews of individual child support assessments.

  Mr. Burt
  Individual assessments are reviewed when they have been in force for 52 weeks; the review will be completed as soon as is reasonably practicable after the end of that period.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what statutory duties of a child support officer he claims a discretion to exercise; and what is the legal basis for this discretion;

  (2) which of his statutory duties a child support officer has discretion to exercise; and what is the legal basis for this discretion.

  Mr. Burt
  The Child Support Act 1991 confers statutory duties on the Secretary of State. It also confers statutory duties on independent, adjudicating officers, the child support officers. Decisions taken by CSOs cannot be varied by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State; CSOs cannot take decisions in those areas which are the responsibility of the Secretary of State.

  The Act specifies where a discretionary power exists and whether the Secretary of State or a CSO should exercise that power. The areas in which the Secretary of State has discretion relate mainly to the requirement on a
  618
  parent with care to authorise the Secretary of State to take action to pursue maintenance and to the collection and enforcement of maintenance, including whether to collect and enforce and the method of collection and enforcement. The areas in which CSOs have discretion are mainly in the making of interim maintenance assessments and reduced benefit directions.

  Reduced Earnings Allowance
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated saving to his Department from the proposed changes to reduced earnings allowance from October.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is not available in the form requested. The abolition of reduced earnings allowance in October 1990 was expected to produce savings of around £80 million by 1993–94. This figure will be reduced by the cost of claims now payable because of a defect in the legislation as referred to in the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Mrs. Knight) on 30 June at columns 709–10.

  Crime Victims
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy that persons unable to work because of a criminal injury will be able to claim sickness benefit followed by invalidity benefit in the same way as persons who have had an accident at work or contracted an industrial disease, even if they have not paid sufficient, or any, national insurance contributions.

  Mr. Hague
  We have no plans to exempt victims of crime from the contribution conditions for sickness benefit.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make arrangements to ensure that victims of violent crime, who are disabled by their injuries receive disablement benefit, even when they are not employed earners, in the same way as if the injury had been caused by an accident at work.

  Mr. Hague
  The criminal injuries compensation scheme provides payment from public funds to victims of violent crime. The industrial injuries scheme provides benefits for employed earners disabled in the course of their employment. There are no plans to extend the industrial injuries scheme.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy that victims of crimes of violence who become unemployed as a result of their injuries will receive sufficient credits for national insurance contributions to enable them to receive full unemployment benefit.

  Mr. Burt
  Credits are awarded for each week for which medical evidence of incapacity for work is provided. While such credits will assist a person to qualify for unemployment benefit, that person must also have paid a specified number of contributions as an employed earner, class 1, in the two relevant tax years.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make arrangements to ensure that the full rate of widow's pension is paid to all women widowed as a result of murder or manslaughter regardless of their age.
  619
  Mr. Hague
  We have no plans to do so.

  Social Security Review
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's review of social security.

  Mr. Hague
  We launched the fundamental review of social security last spring. Last year, we published "The Growth of Social Security", which described recent developments in social security and gave projections of expenditure growth to the end of the century. Subsequently, at the time of the Budget, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced a number of major changes concerning incapacity benefit, statutory sick pay, benefits for the unemployed and the future equalisation of state pension age. Changes in the first two areas have now been enacted by Parliament and we plan to introduce legislation on the other areas in due course.

  We are continuing to keep the social security programme under review to ensure that vulnerable people are protected, and that the benefits system does not outstrip the nation's ability to pay for it.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many overseas visits he and each of his Ministers have made between 1 January and 30 June; during how many he, or each of his Ministers, participated in fund-raising activities for the Conservative party; and if he will name the Ministers and the countries in which these activities took place.

  Mr. Lilley
  Two of the Department's Ministers made overseas visits during the period 1 January 1994 to 30 June 1994. The Minister for Social Security and Disabled People made a visit to Norway and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Burt) made visits to Luxembourg, twice, and to Canada and the United States of America.

  Fund-raising activities for the Conservative party are not part of our official duties.

  Disability
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements exist for benefits to disabled people to continue if they decide to accompany their families to live abroad.

  Mr. Hague
  Sickness benefit, invalidity benefit or severe disablement allowance may be paid for up to the first 26 weeks of a person's absence from the United Kingdom if the absence is temporary, the person has remained incapable of work, and either the person has gone abroad for the specific purpose of receiving treatment for an incapacity which began before the person left this country, or the person was continuously incapable of work for at least six months up to the date before the absence began, or, for SB and IVB only, the incapacity for work is the result of an industrial accident or prescribed disease.

  Attendance allowance or disability living allowance may be paid during a temporary stay abroad for up to six months. It may be paid for longer if the absence is for the specific purpose of getting treatment for the illness or disabling condition.
  620
  Special provisions exist to assist members of the immediate family of forces personnel to receive these benefits overseas.

  Industrial injuries disablement pension may be paid indefinitely to a person who leaves the United Kingdom to reside abroad.

  In addition, the above benefits may be paid indefinitely if the disabled person is going to another European Economic Area country, provided that the EC regulations on social security for migrant workers apply in their case, or if he goes to a country with which we have a social security convention which provides for this.

  Income support cannot be paid abroad. However, special rules may allow disabled people to be paid in respect of the first four weeks of a temporary absence, on their return to the United Kingdom Housing benefit may be paid during a temporary absence not exceeding 52 weeks, again subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.

  Residence Qualification
  Mr. Clifford Forsythe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons, nationals of the Irish Republic, claiming social security benefit in the year 1993–94, would have been ineligible if the not habitually resident regulation had applied to their claim.

  Mr. Burt
  This information is not available.

  Benefit Changes
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each change to social security benefits since 1979, with the amount of savings or expenditure for each change(a) at the original figure and (b) uprated to 1994 prices.

  Mr. Hague
  The main developments in social security since the second world war—together with details of expenditure by benefit since 1979—are set out in "The Growth of Social Security" which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State published last year.

  Industrial Injury Benefits
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each change to the eligibility conditions for benefits under the industrial injuries scheme since 1979.

  Mr. Hague
  The main changes were:

  1983

  Injury Benefit abolished and the qualifying period for Disablement Benefit reduced from 26 weeks to 15 weeks;

  1986

  Threshold for Disablement Benefit raised to 14 per cent. (except for certain respiratory diseases for which the threshold remained at 1 per cent.);

  Reduced Earnings Allowance introduced to replace Special Hardship Allowance;

  1987

  Unemployability Supplement and Hospital Treatment Allowance abolished;

  1988

  Industrial Death Benefit abolished;

  1989

  Retirement Allowance (RA) introduced to replace Reduced Earnings Allowance (REA) when a person of pension age gives up regular employment;

  1990

  REA and RA abolished from 1 October.

  Automatic Benefit Payments
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he proposes to invite tenders for the supply of automatic benefits cash payments; whether he proposes
  621
  to make changes for the use of automatic benefit payments machines; and whether the location of such machines will be confined to premises which are part of the Post Office Counters network.

  Mr. Hague
  The Benefits Agency is exploring options to involve the private sector in the project to automate the payment of benefits through post offices. This project will involve linking post offices with the Benefits Agency to enable the positive authorisation of benefits at the point of payment, but transactions will still be carried out by post office clerks. We have no plans to instal automatic teller machines in post offices or elsewhere to pay benefits. The question of charges for machines does not therefore apply.

  War Pension Appeals
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many war pension appeals are currently outstanding in the northern region; and if he will publish a breakdown of the length of time for which these appeals have been outstanding.

  Mr. Hague
  I understand from Mr. Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the War Pensions Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Income Support
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how people aged(a) between 65 and 74, (b) between 75 and 84 and (c) over 85 years of age in receipt of income support live in each of post code areas SK1 to SK8 in the metropolitan borough of Stockport.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Andrew Bennett, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking about pensioners in particular age groups in specified postal districts of Stockport.
  Unfortunately the information you have requested is not available. We do not routinely collect statistics on Income Support (IS) customers in a way which would enable me to provide the details you require for postal districts SK1 to SK8. The information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. To obtain the information would entail an examination of every case in the Stockport area; currently 24,709 cases.
  However, I am able to give you the number of Income Support customers aged 60 and over who are in receipt of various pensioner premiums from the Stockport Benefits Agency District. The District covers a larger area than SK1 to SK8. Some customers of 60 years of age and over may be in other statistical groups, such as those in nursing or residential care homes. These customers do not receive the pensioner premiums and will therefore not be included in these figures. The latest information available is for 30 June 1994 and is in the attached appendix.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.
  622

  Persons by age group in receipt of a pensioner premium in Stockport District.

  Number

  Customer or partner 80 or over receiving higher pensioner premium

  2,906

  Customer or partner under 80 receiving higher pensioner premium

  630

  Customer or partner aged 75–79 receiving enhanced pensioner premium

  1,006

  Customer or partner aged 60–74 receiving pensioner premium

  3,023

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects benefit cases deferred pending decisions on the Thomas case to be resolved; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  Benefit cases affected by the ruling of the European Court in the case of Thomas are being considered on an ongoing basis; any arrears due are being awarded and paid.

  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many income support claimants are registered at the Chesterfield, Buxton, Ilkeston, Derby (Beckett Street), Derby (London Road) and Sutton Benefits Agency offices as at March 1994; and how many at each of these were(a) income support claimants signing on as unemployed, (b) pensioners, (c) income support claimants receiving a lone parent premium, (d) those receiving a disability premium, (e) those receiving a carer's premium and (f) those receiving a severe disability premium.

  Mr. Burt
  Further to his letter of 21 June 1994 Mr. Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, has written again to the hon. Member with corrected information.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Harry Barnes, dated 21 July 1994:
  I am writing, further to my reply to your recent Parliamentary Question, about the number of income support recipients in each client group in the Derbyshire area (OR. Col. 184–185). Unfortunately, due to a clerical error, some of the information supplied to you in respect of the Buxton, Chesterfield and Ilkeston Benefit Agency offices was inaccurate. I have appended below the corrected information.

  Number

  Buxton Office

  Unemployed cases

  855

  Pensioner premium

  982

  Lone parent premium

  351

  Disability premium

  201

  Chesterfield Office

  Lone parent premium

  2,948

  Disability premium

  1,766

  Ilkeston Office

  Unemployed cases

  5,160

  I hope you find this reply helpful and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience that this error may have caused.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the number of people claiming income support in Scotland by(a) gender and (b) age for the latest month for which figures are available.
  623
  Mr. Burt
  The information is in the table:

  Income support recipients in Scotland by age and gender

  Age of the claimant

  Men 000s

  Women 000s

  16–19

  16

  15

  20–29

  75

  68

  30–39

  51

  47

  40–49

  36

  26

  50–59

  28

  21

  60–69

  26

  27

  70–79

  11

  43

  80 and above

  11

  52

  All Ages

  255

  297

  Notes:

  1. Source: Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry August 1993.

  2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  3. The figures show the number of recipients at the time of the Enquiry.

  They do not include partners or dependants.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance has been issued to adjudication officers for the purpose of interpreting SI, 1994, No. 1004, amending schedule 3 of the Income Support (General) Regulations, if increased housing costs are not reflected in income support levels; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  A memorandum to the adjudication officers' guide was issued. The contents of the memorandum will be incorporated into the adjudication officers' guide from September 1994.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what income support will be payable where a person has joint and several liability for a mortgage, is unmarried and is entitled to benefit where a person with income leaves the mortgaged property and all the housing costs are met by the claimant.

  Mr. Burt
  An income support claimant who has joint and several liability for a mortgage can receive help with all the eligible housing costs for the home if he or she becomes responsible for meeting them all.

  Pension
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to increase the pension supplement for 80-year-olds.

  Mr. Hague
  The 25p age addition to state retirement pension paid to people who are over 80 was introduced in 1971. No Government have increased the age addition since its introduction and there are no plans to do so.

  Subject Access Requests
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many subject access requests were received by his Department in the last year; what estimate he has as to the percentage of those requests which were enforced subject access requests; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  The Department has received a total of 14,059 subject access requests to the year ending 30 June 1994. It is estimated that 90 per cent. of the 13,109 subject access requests made of the national insurance recording system are of the type that have become known as enforced subject access requests. I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave him on 18 July at columns 50–51.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Bates
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost to each local authority of its disregard scheme in relation to housing benefit for war disablement and war widow's pensions in the latest year for which figures are available(a) in total and (b) per head of population in that area.

  Mr. Hague
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total spent in housing benefit for each year since 1989.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is in the table:

  Housing benefit expenditure

  £ million

  Year

  Number

  1988–89

  3,773

  1989–90

  4,282

  1990–91

  4,942

  1991–92

  5,997

  1992–93

  7,604

  11993–94

  8,821

  1 Estimate.

  Source: Social Security Departmental Report—March 1994.

  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total housing benefit paid in respect of private rented properties in the financial years 1992–93 and 1993–94; and what is the predicted figure for 1994–95.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is in the table:

  Year

  1992–93 outturn

  1993–94 estimated outturn

  1994–95 plans

  £ million

  £ million

  £ million

  Total housing benefit paid in respect of private rented properties

  3,257

  3,817

  4,320

  Source: Social Security Departmental Report—March 1994.

  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the number of people claiming housing benefit in Scotland in the first quarter of each year since 1990.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is as follows:

  Thousands

  Date

  Housing benefit recipients

  February 1990

  563

  February 1991

  540

  February 1992

  543

  February 1993

  550

  February 1994

  553

  Data source:

  The housing benefit management information system quarterly caseload count of February in each year.

  Notes:

  1. The figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and are for benefit units. A benefit unit may be a single person or a couple.

  2. Estimates are included for non-responding authorities.
  625
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the annual estimated cost of total housing benefit expenditure in 1994–95 if the average rent paid by recipients was £72 per week.

  Mr. Hague
  The estimated outturn for 1994–95 on current rent levels is £10 billion. It is estimated that an average rent of £72 would increase expenditure by a further £10 billion. The latest statistics show that the average local authority rent is £34 and the average private sector rent is £50.1

  1 Source: Local authority quarterly statistical returns February 1994.

  Bronchitis and Emphysema
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications the Festival Park Benefits Agency office, Stoke on Trent has received in respect of chronic bronchitis and emphysema; and of those, how many have(a) been accepted on first application, (b) been refused, (c) gone to appeal and (d) been accepted following an appeal.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of industrial injuries disablement benefit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Ms Joan Walley, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how many applications for chronic bronchitis and emphysema the Festival Park Benefits Agency Office, Stoke on Trent has received and of those how many have (a) been accepted on first application, (b) been refused, (c) gone to appeal and (d) been accepted following appeal.
  Firstly I should like to explain that all questions arising on claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) are decided by independent adjudicating authorities. Lay questions are decided by an Adjudication Officer (AO) and, on appeal, by a Social Security Appeal Tribunal (SSAT). Generally speaking, medical questions are decided first by an Adjudicating Medical Authority (AMA) and, on appeal, by a Medical Appeal Tribunal (MAT). In prescribed disease claims, however, the first of the medical questions, ie. the diagnosis question, my be disallowed by an AO based on medical evidence; in that event, the customer can appeal, first to an AMA and then to a MAT.
  The information you ask for is not available in the format requested. This is because Festival Park Benefits Agency Office is a medical boarding centre for respiratory diseases MBC(RD) and can only provide figures relating to medical questions. The attached table gives statistics which relate to the Benefits Agency's North Staffordshire District which covers Stoke on Trent North, Stoke on Trent South and Newcastle Staffordshire.
  The figures have been obtained from a 100 per cent. count.

  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Chronic bronchitis and emphysema—North Staffordshire District

  Claims information to 17 July 1994

  Numbers

  Claims received

  1,736

  Disallowed on prescription1

  113

  Disallowed on medical grounds2

  1,241

  Assessed at 14 per cent. or over3

  196

  Number of appeals on prescription

  9

  Succesful

  0

  Unsuccessful

  0

  Number of appeals to Medical Appeal Tribunals

  30

  Successful

  0

  Unsuccesful

  0

  Number, of appeals to Special Medical Boards

  174

  Successful

  11

  Unsuccessful

  117

  626
  1 Claims disallowed on precription are those where the customer has working underground in a coal mine for a period of at least 20 years.

  2 Claims disallowed on medical advice include customers: with insufficient lung function loss;

  where category 1 pneumoconiosis has not been diagnosed and; Where chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema has not been diagnosed.

  3 Claims assessed at 14 per cent. or more will result in an award of benefit.

  Note: Not all claims/appeals received will have been decided by 17 July 1994.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy that all X-rays used in evidence in respect of claims from miners for chronic bronchitis and emphysema to be soft and not hard exposure X-rays; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council recommended the use of the International Labour Organisation classification for chest radiography in deciding claims for chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The ILO classification is used extensively throughout the world and is generally accepted as an appropriate measure of coal dust retention.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will reconsider the criteria for eligibility to industrial injuries disablement benefit arising from chronic bronchitis and emphysema; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  The Government are advised on the prescription of diseases under the industrial injuries scheme by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, an independent body of experts. We accepted and implemented in full the council's recommendations on the terms of prescription of chronic bronchitis and emphysema in coal miners as a disease for which industrial injuries disablement benefit can be paid.

  The council plans to review the situation after a suitable period of operation.

  Benefits (Budgets)
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total budget for(a) benefit take-up campaigns and (b) benefit fraud detection in the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Hague
  The total amount spent on take up campaigns in the 1993–94 financial year was approximately £5·2 million.

  The total amount spent on fraud detection in the 1992–93 financial year was approximately £72 million. Figures for 1993–94 are not yet available.

  Benefits Agency
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list all the Benefits Agency offices in England, with the name of the manager, show the number of persons employed and the number of claimants receiving benefit through these offices.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.
  627
  Letter from, Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 21 July 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if he will list all the Benefits Agency offices in England together with the name of the manager, the number of staff employed and the number of persons receiving benefit from each office.

  I have attached at Table 1 information relating to each Benefits Agency District giving each managers name and the

  Annex 1

  Statistics for respective business areas are provided for month ending June 1994. Figures in brackets are year to date (YTD) achievement.

  Business area

  Targets

  Performance Per cent.

  DLA claims—Normal Rules

  Primary—68 per cent, in 30 days

  72 (75)

  Secondary—85 per cent. in 53 days

  94 (95)

  DLA Claims—Special Rules

  80 per cent. in 10 days

  91 (92)

  DLA Reviews

  Primary—60 per cent. in 55 days

  81 (84)

  Secondary—80 per cent, in 75 days

  93 (94)

  DLA Appeals

  Primary—60 per cent. in 30 days

  75 (75)

  Secondary—90 per cent. in 60 days

  90 (91)

  AA Claims—Normal Rules

  Primary—60 per cent. in 35 days

  76 (82)

  Secondary—90 per cent. in 60 days

  97 (97)

  AA Claims—Special Rules

  80 per cent. in 10 days

  89 (86)

  AA Reviews

  Primary—60 per cent. in 61 days

  83 (89)

  Secondary 85 per cent, in 81 days

  95 (97)

  AA Appeals

  Primary—70 per cent. in 28 days

  79 (89)

  Secondary—95 per cent. in 89 days

  100 (99)

  Independent Tribunal Service
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons are employed by the independent tribunal service; and what is their current case load for(a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance appeal cases.

  Mr. Hague
  I am informed that the independent tribunal service employs 868 full-time staff The information regarding caseload is not available in the form requested. The current caseload of the disability appeal tribunals, which hear appeals against disability living allowance and attendance allowance is 13,291.

  D. Gale
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 21 June,Official Report, column 147, on the case of D. Gale, when the president of the independent tribunal service will write to the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford.

  Mr. Burt
  I understand from the president of the independent tribunal service that a reply was sent to the hon. Member on 20 July.

  Benefits (Young People)
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many 16 and 17-year-olds were in receipt of benefit in each month since January 1988.

  Mr. Burt
  The information requested is not held centrally. However, the table shows the numbers of 16 and 17-year-olds in receipt of income support. This includes both those who are paid under the severe hardship provision and those who have automatic entitlement subject to the normal rules (eg lone parents).
  628
  most recent staff in post figures. At Table 2 I have provided details of the numbers of people receiving benefit in each District. However, it should be noted that a person may be in receipt of more than one benefit at any one time and may therefore appear in these figures more than once.

  These tables have been placed in the Library as one document under the heading Department of Social Security, Benefits Agency, Staff in Post and Numbers Receiving Benefit by Benefits Agency District in England.

  I hope you find this information helpful.

  In addition, 16 and 17-year-olds may be entitled to other benefits including housing benefit, severe disability allowance, child benefit and others.

  Number of 16 and 17-year-olds in receipt of income support

  Aged 16

  Aged 17

  Total

  May 1988

  32,000

  69,000

  101,000

  May 1989

  5,000

  13,000

  18,000

  May 1990

  4,000

  17,000

  21,000

  May 1991

  6,000

  16,000

  22,000

  May 1992

  8,000

  22,000

  30,000

  May 1993

  9000

  26,000

  35,000

  August 1993

  9,000

  27,000

  36,000

  Notes:

  1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  2. Figures have been taken from the Annual Statistical Enquiries from 1988–1992 and from the Quarterly Enquiries of May and August 1993.

  Belling Group
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received regarding the nedd to tighten the regulation of company pension schemes from former employees of the Belling Group; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  The hon. Member wrote in May expressing concerns about some aspects of the arrangements for winding up the Belling pension plan. This Department has also received letters on the subject. I am confident that our proposals for changes to the legislation affecting occupational pension schemes set out in the White Paper, "Security, Equality, Choice: the Future for Pensions", Cm 2594, will reduce the prospect of similar concerns arising in future.

  Widowers' Benefits
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will change the DSS regulations to enable a widower to receive exactly the same entitlement to benefits as a widow.

  Mr. Hague
  We have no plans to do so.

  Disallowed Benefit Claims
  Mr. Alan Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for invalidity benefit and disability premium were disallowed in each quarter since mid-1993; how many appeals against refusal of such benefits were successful and how many unsuccessful; and what the comparable quarterly figures were for the previous two years.

  Mr. Hague
  Information is not available in the form requested, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Such information as is available is in the tables.

  Benefits for incapacity: disallowances following reference to the Benefits Agency medical service1

  Quarter ending

  Disallowances2

  30 June 1993

  15,000

  30 September 1993

  21,000

  31 December 1993

  18,000

  1 Includes sickness benefit, invalidity benefit, severe disablement allowance, and people claiming these benefits but receiving only national insurance credits with or without income support.

  2 Based on a 5 per cent. sample of cases referred to the Benefits Agency Medical Service, rounded to the nearest thousand.

  Appeals decided by social security appeal tribunals: invalidity benefit

  Quarter ending

  Appeals head and decided

  Successful

  Unsuccessful

  30 September 1991

  1,107

  570

  537

  31 December 1991

  1,240

  622

  618

  31 March 1992

  1,474

  748

  726

  30 June 1992

  1,311

  681

  630

  30 September 1992

  1,236

  670

  566

  31 December 1992

  1,367

  757

  610

  31 March 1993

  1,436

  782

  654

  30 June 1993

  1,800

  931

  869

  30 September 1993

  2,961

  1,628

  1,333

  31 December 1993

  3,225

  1,865

  1,360

  Rent Allowance
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients there were of rent allowance housing benefit in private rented properties at 31 March 1992, 31 March 1993 and 31 March 1994; what was the average rent of such properties; and what was the average rent allowance being paid.

  Disability living allowance

  Component and level

  Rate of benefit from inception in April 1992 £

  Current rate of benefit in April 1994 £

  Real terms cash increase from inception to 1994–95 £

  Real terms percentage increase from inception to 1994–95

  Care component

  Higher

  43·35

  45·70

  0·66

  1·5

  Middle

  28·95

  30·55

  0·47

  1·6

  Lower

  11·55

  12·15

  0·15

  1·3

  Mobility component

  630
  Mr. Hague
  The available information for Great Britain is in the table.

  Date

  Rent allowance receipts 1 2Thousands

  Average eligible rent 2£

  Average rent allowance 2£

  May 1992

  1,292

  42·20

  38·39

  May 1993

  1,480

  46·62

  43·13

  February 1994

  1,619

  49·59

  45·99

  Data source:

  The housing benefit management information system quarterly caseload data for May 1992 and 1993 and February 1994, the latest date for which information is available.

  Notes:

  1 The number of recipients includes those in housing association and other privately rented properties, is rounded to the nearest one thousand and relates to benefit units. A benefit unit may be a couple or a single person.

  2 Estimates are included for non-responding authorities.

  Disability Benefits
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the change, in real terms, in the value of each disability benefit payable to an individual from its inception to the present date or until it was merged into other benefits, as appropriate.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is in the tables.

  Attendance allowance (See note (1))

  Level

  Higher

  Lower

  Date of inception

  6 December 1971

  4 June 1973

  Rate at inception

  £4·80

  £3·60

  Current rate (1994–95 prices)

  £45·70

  £30·55

  Real terms cash increase (1994–95 prices)

  £12·57

  £8·59

  Percentage real terms increase

  38

  39·1

  Mobility allowance (See note (2))

  £

  Date of inception 1 January 1976

  Rate at inception

  5·00

  Rate when last paid in 1991–92

  29·10

  Real terms cash increase from inception to 1991–92

  12·30

  Percentage real terms increase from inception to 1991–92

  63·90

  631

  Component and level

  Rate of benefit from inception in April 1992 £

  Current rate of benefit in April 1994 £

  Real terms cash increase from inception to 1994–95 £

  Real terms percentage increase from inception to 1994–95

  Highest

  30·30

  31·95

  0·47

  1·5

  Lowest

  11·55

  12·15

  0·15

  1·3

  Disability working allowance (see note 3)

  Rate of allowance/ applicable amount from inception in April 1992 (£)

  Current rate of allowance/ applicable amount in April 1994 (£)

  Real increase in rate of allowance/ applicable amount (£)

  Percentage real increase in allowance/applicable amount

  Adult allowance

  Single person

  42·40

  46·05

  1·38

  3·1

  Couple or lone parent

  58·8

  63·75

  1·80

  2·9

  Child allowances

  Age under 11

  10·40

  11·20

  0·24

  2·2

  Age 11–15

  17·25

  18·55

  0·38

  2·1

  Age 16–17

  21·45

  23·05

  0·45

  2·0

  Age 18

  29·90

  32·20

  0·70

  2·2

  Applicable amounts

  Single person

  39·95

  43·00

  0·91

  2·2

  Couple or lone parent

  66·60

  71·70

  1·53

  2·2

  Notes:

  (1) Attendance allowance was replaced from April 1992 by the care component of disability living allowance for people disabled before 65.

  (2) Mobility allowance was replaced from April 1992 by the mobility component of disability living allowance

  (3) Disability working allowance was introduced in April 1992 for people aged 16 or over who are working 16 illness or disability which puts them at a disadvantage in getting a job. The amount of DWA payable depends on income and capital. The table shows the value of the allowances and the applicable amounts in April 1992 and April over the period.

  (4) The retail price index has been used to calculate the real terms cash and percentage increases for attendance disability living allowance. ROSSI (RPI less housing costs) has been used to calculate the corresponding figures for disability working allowance.

  Restart
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) men and (b) women have had their benefit cut for failure to attend a restart course in Great Britain (i) as a whole and (ii) in each region.

  Mr. Burt
  The available information which does not include a breakdown by gender, is in the table.

  Unemployed claimants who received a reduced personal rate of income support following failure to attend or complete a Restart course during the period April 1991 to March 1994

  Area

  Number of reductions

  Anglia

  1,900

  Chilterns

  2,000

  South London and West Sussex

  2,400

  West Country

  1,600

  East London and Essex

  1,300

  South East

  2,000

  Wessex

  3,000

  East Midlands

  1,500

  Midlands and South West

  600

  West Mercia

  1,600

  Wales

  1,500

  Merseyside

  1,400

  Greater Manchester

  2,800

  Lancashire and Cumbria

  3,600

  Tyne Tees

  3,100

  South Yorkshire and Humberside

  2,000

  North and West Yorkshire

  1,800

  Scotland and Northern

  3,200

  North, Central and West Scotland

  1,600

  East of Scotland

  3,100

  632

  Area

  Number of reductions

  TOTAL

  42,000

  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100, and are subject to amendment.

  Household Incomes
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the change in real incomes by decile group, 1979 to 1991–92, including the self-employed, before and after housing costs, following table A1 and appendix 10 of the latest households below average income report; and what was the equivalised and unequivalised income per household in each decile group, for households with children;

  (2) what was the average equivalent income at April 1994 prices for (a) the poorest 10 per cent. and (b) the poorest 20 per cent. from the latest housing below average income analysis, before and after housing costs in 1979, 1981, 1987, 1988 to 1989, 1990–91 and 1991–92 for (i) a pensioner couple, (ii) a single pensioner, (iii) a couple with children, (iv) a couple without children, (v) a single adult with children and (vi) a single adult without children;

  (3) how many children were in households living on incomes (a) below the 1979 bottom decile and (b) below 50 per cent. of 1979 average income, in 1979, 1981, 1987, 1988–9, 1990–91 and 1991–92, following tables 11.1 and

  633
  11.5 of the latest households below average income report; and what was the household income in current prices of these two cut off points for each of the years in question.

  (4) what assessment he has made of the effect of a rise in the survey response rate from 70 per cent. to 85 per cent. on the low income data in the latest households below average income report; and what are the latest research results on the relationship between response to Government household income and expenditure surveys and income;

  (5) what would have been the effect on the numbers of children in households living on incomes (a) below the 1979 bottom decile median and (b) below 50 per cent. of 1979 average income, by 1991–92, using the methodology of the latest households below average income report, if child benefit (i) had remained at its 1979 level in real terms and (ii) had been increased relative to household income;

  (6) what was the equivalent monetary value in pound per week at April 1994 prices, following table A2 of the
  634
  latest housing below average income report, in 1979, 1990–91 and 1991–92, before and after housing costs, of the decile means and medians of the two poorest decile groups and the richest decile group, and the total population mean of (a) a single adult, (b) a couple with no children, (c) a couple with one child aged three years, (d) a couple with one child aged 16 years, (e) a couple with two children aged three and eight years, (f) a couple with three children aged three, eight and 11 years and (g) a couple with three children aged 11, 16 and 17 years;

  (7) what was the mean disposable income of each of the family types, as listed in the latest households below average income report, of the lowest decile group, second lowest decile group, and highest decile group in (a) current and (b) April 1994 prices, as ranked according to his Department's convention of equivalised income in 1979, 1988–89 and 1991–92.

  Mr. Burt
  I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

  GENOCIDE CONVENTION
  GENOCIDE CONVENTION
  RWANDA: GENOCIDE
  RWANDA: GENOCIDE
  CORMORANTS AND GOOSANDERS: BEHAVIOURAL RESEARCH
  CORMORANTS AND GOOSANDERS: BEHAVIOURAL RESEARCH
  MRS. CAROL RILEY
  MRS. CAROL RILEY
  NORTHERN IRELAND: ENERGY STRATEGY
  NORTHERN IRELAND: ENERGY STRATEGY
  ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL
  ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL
  ROYAL MARSDEN AND CHARING CROSS HOSPITALS
  ROYAL MARSDEN AND CHARING CROSS HOSPITALS
  GAME LICENCES
  GAME LICENCES
  FIREARMS: NATIONAL LICENSING AUTHORITY PROPOSAL
  FIREARMS: NATIONAL LICENSING AUTHORITY PROPOSAL
  FIREARM AND SHOTGUN CERTIFICATES
  FIREARM AND SHOTGUN CERTIFICATES
  CYCLING ON FOOTPATHS
  CYCLING ON FOOTPATHS
  DEET AND PYRIDOSTIGMINE
  DEET AND PYRIDOSTIGMINE
  KUWAIT METEOROLOGICAL FLIGHT: TOXIC CHEMICALS DETECTED
  KUWAIT METEOROLOGICAL FLIGHT: TOXIC CHEMICALS DETECTED
  INSETICIDES USED DURING GULF WAR
  INSETICIDES USED DURING GULF WAR