Written Answers of 23 March 1994

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Bait Digging
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he now expects to reply to Alnwick district council's representations to him about the proposed byelaw relating to bait digging.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  We are carefully considering the legal issues relating to this matter and hope shortly to be in a position to send the council a substantive reply.

  Police Register
  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there will be a charge to organisations who wish to check the police register for the suitability of adults who will be working with children.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The possibility of charging for checks on criminal records is one of the issues being considered by the Home Office in its current review of arrangements for access to criminal records for vetting purposes. No decision on this matter has yet been reached.

  Fire Safety
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of personnel engaged in fire safety enforcement in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  It is estimated that approximately 1,834 full-time equivalent specialist fire safety officers are engaged in the enforcement of fire safety throughout England and Wales.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will visit Queensferry fire station to discuss aspects of fire safety responsibility with members of the Clwyd fire brigade.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.

  Police Officers, London
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of police officers per 100,000 population for each year since 1979 for London.

  Mr. Charles
  The available information is contained in the table.220

  Number of police officers per 100,000 population in the City of London and in the Metropolitan police district

  Year

  Officers per 100,000 population

  1979

  318

  1980

  334

  1981

  356

  1982

  375

  1983

  381

  1984

  382

  1985

  382

  1986

  383

  1987

  389

  1988

  397

  1989

  403

  1990

  403

  1991

  403

  1992

  393

  1993

  385

  Drinking Ban, Cleveland
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to give approval to the ban on drinking in public places in Yarm and Thornaby, Cleveland.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Home Office Officials wrote to Stockton-on-Tees borough council on 21 March giving agreement in principle to the proposal for byelaws prohibiting the consumption of intoxicating liquor in designated parts of Yarm and Thornaby. That letter asked for further essential information about the areas which the council wishes to designate. We expect to be able to give provisional approval to the byelaws once the necessary information has been obtained.

  Political Asylum
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for political asylum there have been in each of the past three years by persons travelling from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; and how many of these applications have been refused.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  This information is not available as such cases are not identified separately in our statistics.

  Television Licences
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) men and (b) women were remanded into custody in (a) Great Britain and (b) the west midlands for each quarter for each of the last five years for non-payment of fines imposed for not possessing a television licence.

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

  Letter from D. Lewis to Ms Lynne Jones, dated 23 March 1994:

  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many (a) men and (b) women were remanded into custody in (a) Great Britain and (b) the West

  221
  Midlands for each quarter for each of the last five years for non-payment of fines imposed for not possessing a television licence.

  There were none in England and Wales. When a court fine is unpaid the court considers a number of non-custodial options and only then can impose a custodial sentence. Information for Scotland should be obtained from the Secretary of State for Scotland.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues in February.

  Mr. Howard
  My ministerial colleagues and I received approximately 2,300 letters from, and wrote just over 1,500 letters to, hon. Members in February.

  Prisons
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average weekly cost of keeping(a) convicted prisoners and (b) prisoners on remand in prison.

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

  Letter from 1. Dunbar to Ms Cheryl Gillan, dated 23 March 1994:

  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent question about the average weekly cost of keeping (a) convicted prisoners and (b) prisoners on remand in prison.

  Costs are collected for types of establishment rather than for types of prisoner. The figures for 1992–93 are:

  Type of establishment

  Net operating cost per prisoner place per week

  £

  Local Prisons and Remand Centres

  561

  Remand Prison

  333

  Dispersal prisons

  705

  Category B Training prisons

  481

  Category C Training prisons

  357

  Adult Male Open prisons

  285

  Young Offender Closed establishments

  418

  Young Offender Open establishments

  392

  Female establishments

  505

  During the year in question convicted prisoners were held in all types of prison except the remand prison and remand centres. Remand prisoners were held in the remand prison, remand centres and local prisons. It is not, therefore, possible to provide an average cost for convicted and remand prisoners separately.

  Prison Officers
  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in what circumstances under the "Conduct and Discipline in the Prison Service" it would be a disciplinary offence for a prison officer to contact an hon. Member regarding his own employment circumstances;

  (2) what are the rules governing the political activities of members of HM Prison Service;

  (3) in what circumstances under the "Conduct and Discipline in the Prison Service" a prison officer is prevented from raising with his own hon. Member
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  concerns relating to (a) the handling of a grievance in his own case and (b) the operation of a particular prison establishment;

  (4) if the rules of confidentiality covering prison officers extend beyond individual cases to the general standards of operation of the prison service.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from I. Dunbar to Mr. Kevin Hughes, dated 23 March 1994:

  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the Office, to reply to your recent Questions about prison officers contacting honourable Members, and the rules about confidentiality and political activities in the Prison Service.

  Like all civil servants, prison officers have always been subject to the rule that they should not attempt to enlist political or other outside influence to support their own personal claims as civil servants. An internal procedure enables any personal concern of a member of staff to be reviewed, with the ultimate right of appeal to the Permanent Head of the Home Office.

  Members of the Prison Service are entitled to raise general matters with their Members of Parliament, but must have regard to their duty of confidentiality and loyal service to the Crown. They should avoid any action which might compromise the right of colleagues or inmates to privacy, and have a duty to protect official information which is held in confidence.

  You asked about the circumstances in which it would be a disciplinary offence for a prison officer to raise, with an honourable Member, matters concerned with his own employment in the Prison Service. "Conduct and Discipline in the Prison Service", introduced in July 1993, specifies "attempting to enlist the assistance or support of outside individuals or organisations (including Members of Parliament) to secure advancement or improve one's personal position", and "disclosure of official information held in confidence, whether to inmates, the press or others" are examples of conduct which may attract disciplinary action.

  It is not possible to state the precise circumstances in which disciplinary action might be taken in these areas, since this would depend on careful consideration of the circumstances of the particular case. The Prison Service Code of Conduct and Discipline specifically provides that disciplinary action against a member of staff who is alleged to have attempted to secure personal advancement by approaching an honourable Member can be taken only with the agreement of the personnel management division at Prison Service Headquarters.

  As to the rules governing political activities of members of the Prison Service, the position is that civil servants, including members of the Prison Service, are required to discharge loyally the duties assigned to them by the government of the day of whatever political persuasion. Ministers and the public must have confidence that civil servants' personal views do not cut across the discharge of their official duties. The intent of the rules governing political activities by civil servants is to allow them the greatest possible freedom to participate in public affairs without infringing these fundamental principles. The rules are concerned with the public expression of political views, rather than privately-held opinions.

  These rules are set out in detail in the Home Office Staff handbook and a Home Office Notice, copies of which are enclosed.

  Voluntary Services Unit
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the projects, services and organisations which have received funding from the voluntary services unit for each year since 1981, listing the payments made in constant 1993 prices, and distinguishing
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  between those projects whose scope is limited to (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) England and Wales and (f) the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  This question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

  Court Cases (Reporting)
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to require mat media reporting of cases to be brought before the courts in the Irish Republic shall be subject to the same restrictions as govern reporting of cases brought before United Kingdom courts.

  Mr. Maclean
  Where a warrant for arrest has been issued or granted in a criminal case in the United Kingdom, including a case where that warrant forms part of an extradition request, any person publishing material that creates a substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced is already liable to proceedings under the Contempt of Court Act 1981. There are no plans to extend the scope of the Contempt of Court Act to the period before proceedings are active, as defined by schedule 1 to the Contempt of Court Act 1981.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

  Mr. William McGrath
  Mr. David Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute a public inquiry into the length of time it took to bring to trial those accused of the death of Mr. William McGrath, of Morrison street, Bolton, and the access to drugs of the key witnesses in the case who were under police protection; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The listing of cases for trial is a matter for the courts.

  The actions taken by police officers in the course of their duties are operational matters and entirely the responsibility of the police. I understand, however, that at no time during this case were any witnesses under police protection.

  Safer Cities
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many safer cities programmes were running each year since 1 April 1989; what was the total cost of their budgets for each year from 1989–90; how many will be running on 1 April; and what will be the total of their budgets for 1994–95.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The number of safer cities projects operated and the total cost of their budgets since 1 April 1989 is as follows:224

  Year

  Projects

  Cost (£ million)

  1989–90

  16

  3·3

  1990–91

  16

  6·3

  1991–92

  20

  7·2

  1992–93

  20

  7·7

  1993–94

  120

  26·0

  31 April 1994

  14

  22·1

  1 The figure for 1993–94 excludes the 10 new areas which were announced in December 1993 and are currently being established.

  2 Estimated.

  3 Announcements on further projects are planned for 1994–95. As the bulk of the funding for safer cities is to be included in the single regeneration budget to be administered by the Department of the Environment from 1 April 1994, the precise timetable for later waves, together with associated costs, will be drawn up in conjuction with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. The costs quoted are therefore only those which remain funded by the Home Office.

  The costs include some expenditure, such as project staff salaries and rent for office accommodation, which is incurred by the safer cities central team.

  Crime Clear-up Rates
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the highest five clear-up rates for primary crime in police authorities in England and Wales in each of the past seven years.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: My Department does not use the term "primary crime". Instead, the figures provided are the percentage of all recorded offences which were cleared up by "primary" means: charged, summoned or cautioned—as opposed to "secondary" means: taken into consideration, interview of convicted offender and other. Police forces with the highest primary clear up rates on this basis are given in the table. The information is not yet available for 1993. Prior to 1989, information in this format is incomplete.

  Per cent.

  1989

  Gwent

  48

  Dyfed-Powys

  42

  Suffolk

  37

  Cumbria, Wiltshire

  35

  1990

  Gwent

  43

  Dyfed-Powys

  39

  Suffolk

  36

  Wiltshire

  30

  North Wales

  28

  1991

  Gwent

  38

  Suffolk

  34

  Dyfed-Powys

  32

  Wiltshire

  29

  Cheshire

  27

  1992

  Gwent

  35

  Dyfed-Powys

  30

  Suffolk

  29

  Wiltshire

  25

  Cheshire

  23

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Cash Plans
  Mr. Robin Cook
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish an update table A—cash plans —of 'Trade and Industry 1994"—Cm 2504—in constant 1993–94 prices.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The figures provided in table A of the Department of Trade and Industry's 1994 report are produced in cash terms, consistent with Treasury guidance. They may be adjusted to reflect constant 1992–93 prices, this being the current basis used for such analysis, by means of the GDP deflators which are shown in table 1.1 of the Statistical Supplement to the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1994–95 (Cm 2519). Table 5B.4 of the Financial Statement and Budget Report 1994–95 shows the DTI's overall expenditure for the period 1988–89 to 1996–97 adjusted in this way.

  Number of permanent staff (whole time equivalent)

  Agency

  1 March 1994

  1 April 1993

  Review of agency announced

  Financial target 1993–94

  Accounts services agency

  91·0

  88·5

  September 1993

  (i) Recovery of full costs

  (ii) Net total not to exceed £90,000estimates

  Companies house

  963·0

  983·5

  July 1992

  (i) 6 per cent. return on capital employed

  (ii) Recovery of full costs

  Insolvency service

  1,615·0

  1,572·5

  July 1993

  To operate within allocated expenditure budget

  Laboratory of the Government Chemist1

  315·5

  313·5

  May 1993

  (i) Recovery of full costs

  (ii) Net total not to exceed -£520,000 in estimates

  National engineering laboratory1

  331·0

  363·5

  May 1993

  (i) Recovery of full costs from Government work carrried out

  (ii) Net total not to exceed £2,452,000 in estimates

  National Physical laboratory1

  736·5

  767·5

  May 1993

  (i) Recovery of full costs

  (ii) Net total not to exceed -£3,545,000in estimates

  National weights & measures laboratory1

  44·5

  48·0

  May 1993

  (i) To operate within allocated expenditure budget

  (ii) Recovery of full costs of fee-earning activities

  Patent office

  957·5

  1,009·0

  June 1993

  (i) Recovery of full costs

  (ii) 6 per cent. return on capital employed

  Radiocommunications agency

  541·0

  524·5

  (No review announced)

  (i) Recovery of full costs

  (ii) Net total not to exceed -£3,028,000 in estimates

  Warren spring laboratory1

  203·5

  266·5

  (Merger with AEA to form the national environmental technology centre announced on 10 June 1993)

  (i) Recovery of full costs

  (ii) Net total not to exceed £1,900,000 in estimates

  1 DTI Laboratories.

  Technology Transfer
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list all his Department's schemes and services to promote technology transfer together with the date on which they were opened; what was the expenditure committed; and if he will list the projects supported in each scheme or service in expected outturns up to 1 April.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The Department's innovation and technology budget covers a number of schemes to promote technology transfer. The major ones are listed in the table, together with the date on which they were opened and,

  Staff Numbers
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will provide for each of his Department's laboratories and agencies(a) the number of whole-time equivalent staff in post now, (b) the number of WTE staff in post at 1 April 1993, (c) whether operational and management budgets for the 1994–95 year have been determined, (d) whether the agency is subject to review and the date on which mat review began and (e) what financial target was set for 1993–94; whether it is expected to achieve it; and what target has been set for 1994–95.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The information requested in(a), (b) and (d) is set out in the table. Budgets and targets for 1994–95 have not yet been confirmed. Achievements against the 1993–94 financial targets will be published in the agencies' annual reports and accounts: these will be laid before Parliament and placed in the Library of the House.

  where available, the expenditure committed. DTI activity for which technology transfer is not the main objective is not included.

  In addition, the Department continues to seek to raise awareness in the benefits of participating in EC research and development programmes, many of which incorporate elements of technology transfer.

  The additional information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  227

  Title

  Commenced

  Committed expenditure £ millions

  Advanced Control Technology Transfer

  1992

  4·6

  Biochemical Engineering Programme

  1989

  4·3

  Biotechnology Means Business

  1990

  0·42

  Business with Applications Specific Integration Circuits System (ASICS)

  1994

  3

  Carrier Technology Programme

  1992

  18

  Engineers to Japan Scheme

  1991

  0·5

  Environmental Best Practice Programme (jointly funded with the Department of the Environment)

  1994

  11

  Industrial Units Scheme

  1992

  4·07

  Manufacturing, Planning and Implementation (MPI)

  1991

  8·75

  Neural Computing Technology Transfer

  1992

  5·75

  New and Renewables Programme

  1988

  13·5

  OSTEMS—Overseas Sciences and Tech Experts Mission Scheme

  1986

  20·27

  Overseas Technical Information Service (OTIS)

  1985

  20·19

  Postgraduate Training Partnerships

  1992

  6·4

  Programme for Competitive Manufacturing

  n/a

  PROST Awareness

  1994

  1

  Pump Centre

  1992

  1·6

  Senior Academics in Industry Scheme

  1992

  0·8

  Teaching Company Schemes (TCS)

  1975

  25·5

  Technical Action Line (TAL Phase II)

  1992

  n/a

  Technology Audits

  1992

  1·9

  Vision Technology Transfer Centre

  1990

  1·3

  1 Figures for 1994–95 available only.

  2 Figures for 1993–94 available only.

  Open Government
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what will be the implications for the operation of his Department of the code of practice on open government.

  Mr. Eggar
  The code of practice will reinforce and build upon my Department's existing arrangements for the provision of information.

  We will be establishing a central contact point to deal with requests for information under the code. Requests for information which can be dealt with simply and quickly will not attract a charge. More complex requests, requiring a significant diversion of resources, will attract a charge in line with the amount of work involved. We will keep our charging arrangements under review at all times. Details of charges and other administrative matters will be made available when the code comes into force.

  Phone Calls (Asia and Africa)
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received concerning telephone customers in the United Kingdom being charged for telephone calls not made to Asia and Africa because of false—answers defects; what estimate he has as to the numbers of United Kingdom customers so charged; and how much revenue accrues to British telephone companies as a result.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 22 March 1994,Official Report, column 202.

  Bestwood and Atlanta Fund Managers
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total cost of the inspectors' report on Bestwood and Atlanta Fund Managers; how it has been disbursed to each inspector; what are the business connections of the inspectors; when the inspectors were appointed; and on what date the report was published.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The inspectors, Mr. Gabriel Moss QC and Mr. John Venning FCA of Robson Rhodes, chartered accountants, were appointed on 23 June 1989. Their report was published on 20 January 1994. The total cost of the inspection was £2,684,000, £202,370 being paid to Mr. Moss and the remainder to Mr. Venning's firm.

  Company Returns
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many incorporated companies have failed to file accounts at Companies House for each year since 1985;

  (2) what action he takes when a company fails to file its annual return within the prescribed period;

  (3) if he will provide a list of the number of companies which have been fined or have been disincorporated as a result of failure to file annual returns for each or any of the years since 1985.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  These matters are for Companies House. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive, David Durham, to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from D. Durham to Mr. Austin Mitchell, dated 18 March 1994:
  Mr. Hamilton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs, has asked me as Registrar and Chief Executive of Companies House Executive Agency, to reply to the following Parliamentary Questions which you tabled:
  *How many incorporated companies have failed to file accounts at Companies House for each of the years since 1985.
  *What action is taken when a company fails to file its annual return within the prescribed period.
  *How many companies have been fined or have been disincorporated as a result of failure to file annual return for each or any of the years since 1985.
  The statistical information which you have requested is published by the President of the Board of Trade in the general annual report of matters within the Companies Act, which is laid before both Houses of Parliament pursuant to section 729 of the Companies Act 1985. However, for your convenience, I have extracted the relevant figures from the reports for each of the years in question. I shall now attempt to clarify the remaining points which you have raised.
  Companies House tries very hard to ensure that each individual company is reminded of its obligation to deliver annual returns and accounts. On average, some two million letters are issued each year, as a timely reminder before documents become due and, if needs be, in an attempt to secure compliance of the law where documents are found to be outstanding.
  Where it is established, having issued reminders, that a defaulting company remains in business or in operation, every effort is made to encourage the company to file with the minimum of delay. Regrettably, however, it is sometimes necessary to institute criminal proceedings in order to secure delivery of the required documentation. Failure to file annual returns or accounts is a criminal offence and, on conviction, a fine of up to a maximum of £5,000 can be imposed upon directors personally by the Court for each separate offence.
  In addition, where annual accounts are delivered outside the statutory time provided by the Companies Act, the company itself is liable to a civil penalty of up to £1,000 for private companies and £5,000 for public companies, depending on the lateness of the

  229
  accounts. I must stress, however, that the system of late filing penalties is designed to encourge timely filing, with the ultimate aim being that no penalties are levied because all companies file on time. There is no late filing penalty payable in respect of the late delivery of annual returns.
  With regards to disincorporation, or dissolution of companies. Section 652 of the Companies Act 1985 provides me with authority to strike off and dissolve a company where I have reason to believe that it is no longer in business or in operation. Before dissolving a company, I am required to issue a number of notices to the company at its registeredd office address, inquiring if it remains in business or in operation. In the absence of any response, a notice is published in the London Gazette warning of my intention to strike the name of the company off the register. A copy of this notice, which is also sent to the company, is placed

  Compliance rates for annual returns and accounts, 1984 to 1993

  Thousands of companies Percentage of companies on effective register

  Companies up-to-date in filing:

  Effective register

  Compliant annual returns

  Default annual returns

  Compliant accounts

  Compliant for both returns and accounts

  In default for both return and accounts

  (thousands)

  (thousands)

  (percentage)

  (thousands)

  (percentage)

  (thousands)

  (percentage)

  (thousands)

  (percentage)

  (thousands)

  (percentage)

  England and Wales

  May 1985

  810

  544

  67·1

  266

  32·9

  518

  63·9

  471

  58·1

  —

  41·9

  June 1986

  785

  692

  88·2

  93

  11·8

  663

  84·4

  623

  79·4

  —

  20·6

  June 1987

  824

  731

  88·8

  93

  11·2

  699

  84·9

  665

  80·7

  —

  19·3

  June 1988

  872

  775

  88·8

  97

  11·2

  742

  85·1

  697

  79·9

  —

  20·1

  June 1989

  936

  817

  87·3

  119

  12·7

  787

  84·1

  734

  78·4

  —

  21·6

  June 1990

  964

  868

  90·0

  96

  10·0

  827

  85·7

  784

  81·3

  —

  18·7

  June 1991

  931

  799

  85·8

  132

  14·2

  802

  86·1

  725

  77·9

  —

  22·1

  June 1992

  921

  825

  89·6

  96

  10·4

  844

  91·6

  781

  84·8

  —

  15·2

  June 1993

  900

  821

  91·2

  79

  8·8

  848

  94·2

  792

  88·0

  —

  12·0

  Convictions by the Department under the Companies Act 1985–93 (inclusive)

  Directors convicted

  Companies involved

  1985

  1,699

  775

  1986

  1,694

  899

  1987

  1,628

  927

  1988

  1,448

  1,016

  1989

  1,269

  956

  1990

  1,245

  1,005

  1991

  1,581

  1,284

  1992

  1,549

  1,080

  1993

  1,897

  1,168

  Companies removed from the registers, 1985 to 1993

  Number

  1985

  51,100

  1986

  95,500

  1987

  74,300

  1988

  67,200

  1989

  103,000

  1990

  82,726

  1991

  95,886

  1992

  128,760

  1993

  108,798

  Pennine Commercial Holdings
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the inspectors to inquire into the affairs of Pennine Commercial Holdings were appointed; when the inquiry was completed; what are the business connections of the inspectors; whether any of them came from the accountancy firms criticised in any DTI inspectors'230
  on the company's record. I must emphasise, that dissolution action is not intended to be a punishment for failing to comply with the disclosure requirements of the Companies Act.
  Finally, I can assure you that Companies House is committed in everything it does to balance the interests of limited companies who have a statutory duty to provide information, with the interests of the public who have a right by law to such information. If records at Companies House are up-to-date, companies can be investigated and assessed before any dealings take place and a great deal of financial uncertainty and, as is so often the case today, the loss of hard earned money may be avoided.
  I hope that I have correctly interpreted the questions which you have tabled and that I have covered the points raised. Should you, however, require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me.

  reports; what is the cost of the investigation and how it has been disbursed to each inspector; what reports so far have been published; and when he will publish the final reports.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  Elizabeth Appleby QC and Peter Wilfred Foss FCA of Moores Rowland were appointed inspectors of Pennine Commercial Holdings plc on 4 October 1983 under the provisions of Section 165(1)(b) of the Companies Act 1948 (now section 432 of the Companies Act 1985). The inspectors have not been criticised in any DTI inspection report. The inspectors are reviewing their interim report on Pennine Commercial Holdings with a view to submitting a final report following the conclusion of criminal proceedings. When the completed report is submitted, publication will be considered. The cost of the investigation to date is £384,000 of which £35,000 relates to the legal inspector, and the balance to Mr. Foss's firm.

  Inspectors' Reports
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his Department started sending copies of the DTI inspectors' reports to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England; and what were the reasons for the decision to do so.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to my letter to him of 28 October 1992. It has long been the practice to send copies of published reports to the institute in appropriate cases. Section 449(1)(L) of the Companies Act 1985 introduced the ability to pass to the Institute copies of reports prior to publication. The first such disclosure was in 1988.

  Auditors
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if partners from the auditing firm criticized in the DTI inspectors' reports on Sound Diffusion, Rotaprint, Alexander Howden, Edecorp, Milbury and WMD Underwritting agencies are present on the Auditing Practices Board or its working parties.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The constitution of the Auditing Practices Board is a matter for the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will introduce legislation under which auditors would owe a duty of care to individual creditors;

  (2) if he will introduce legislation under which auditors would owe a duty of care to individual shareholders.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  I have no plans to do so.

  Al Saudi Banque
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what legislative proposals he has for the reversal of the 1989 Al Saudi Banque judgment.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  I have no such proposals.

  Chile (Alcohol Trade)
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what details are available of the annual value of Chilean wine imported into the United Kingdom; and what is the annual value of the Scotch whisky exported to Chile.

  Mr. Needham
  Information on the annual value of wine imported into the United Kingdom from Chile is available from 1988 onwards. The annual 1993 value of imports into the United Kingdom was £7·4 million. Information on the annual value of Scotch whisky exported to Chile is not identified separately from exports of Irish whiskey in the United Kingdom trade classification.

HEALTH

  Temazepam
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total net ingredient cost of the drug temazepam in each NHS region and family health services authority area in 1991–92 and 1992–93, and for the six-month period 1 April 1993 to 1 October 1993; and if she will express these figures as an expenditure per head of population.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The available information will be placed in the Library.

  Information prior to October 1991 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Hospital Closures
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 8 March,Official Report, column 165, if she will list by region hospital closures which have been contested by community health councils in each year since 1988.

  Mr. Sackville
  The following known hospital closures were initially contested by community health councils and 232
  remained contested throughout the consultation period. More detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Hospital closures which have been contested in this way since 1988 are as:
  REGION

  Northern:

  Ponteland and Lemington Hospitals, Newcastle

  Yorkshire:

  Grove Hospital, Ilkley

  Brandesburton Long Stay, Hull

  Trent:

  Balderton Hospital, Newark

  Scarsdale Hospital, Chesterfield

  East Anglian:

  Newmarket Hospital, Suffolk

  North West Thames:

  Clapham Hospital

  South Middlesex Hospital

  Westminster Hospital

  West London Hospital

  Westminster Children's Hospital

  St. Mary Abbots Hospital

  St. Stephens Hospital

  North East Thames:

  Rush Green Hospital

  South East Thames:

  Sydenham Children's Hospital

  South West Thames:

  St. James' Hospital

  Wessex:

  None

  Oxford:

  Iver Cottage Hospital, Berkshire

  South Western:

  Almondsbury Hospital, Almondsbury

  Standish Hospital, Stonehouse

  West Midlands:

  Mill Street Hospital, Kidderminster

  Birmingham Accident Hospital

  Mersey:

  St. Paul's Eye Hospital, Liverpool

  North Western:

  Whittingham Hospital, Preston

  Drugs
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of which named drugs she has asked in the period since 1 April 1993 family health services authorities, general practitioners fundholders and general practitioners generally to review their prescription practices.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Family health services authorities are responsible for working with general practitioners to improve the cost effectiveness of prescribing. It is for local decision whether the use of particular categories of drugs is targeted for review depending on local prescribing patterns.

  Regional Health Authorities
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many(a) first or second in line managers and (b) medical consultants who were employed by regional health authorities at the time she announced her decision to reduce the number of regions from 14 to eight have been moved, or will move later this year, to other posts in the NHS on protected salaries;

  (2) for each of the 14 regional health authorities, how many (a) first and second in line managers and (b) medical consultants have (i) been appointed to a post in one of the eight merged regions, (ii) been appointed to a newly created post with a district health authority, (iii) been appointed to a previously established but vacant post with a district health authority, (iv) obtained employment outside the NHS and (v) become or expect in April 1994 to become unemployed.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  All employees of the 12 existing regional health authorities which are affected by mergers on 1 April 1994 will transfer to six new regional health authorities with effect from that date. Employees' employment rights will be protected by the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE).

  Appointments to posts in the new regional health authorities and in district health authorities, and the terms of those appointments, are matters for the employing authority.

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health for each of the 14 regional health authorities, how much money has been set aside for(a) redundancy or severance pay and for paying for early retirements and (b) for paying protected salaries in the forthcoming year, to employees who will lose their job as a result of the merger of regional health authorities.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Questions of redundancy will be determined by the level of staffing identified as being needed to carry out the functions of national health service central management. This will depend upon the analysis of functions carried out in the NHS and the allocation of functions across the new structure. It is not therefore possible at this stage to estimate the cost of implementing the proposals to streamline NHS central management.

  Cognex
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made to make available Cognex —Tacrine—to United Kingdom patients.

  Mr. Sackville
  Cognex—Tacrine—is not currently licensed to the United Kingdom. However, under the Medicines Act doctors have clinical freedom to treat particular named patients with unlicensed medicines.

  Emphysema
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has conducted or commissioned into the number of work-related incidences of chronic emphysema that have occurred since 1979.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  None. However, the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from my 234
  right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, spent £1,097,000 in 1992–93 on research into the respiratory system, some of which may be of relevance to emphysema.

  Generic Prescribing
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy towards generic prescribing.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Successive Governments have encouraged the use of generic drugs where these are available and clinically appropriate.

  Nurses and Midwives
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish details of the whole-time equivalent numbers of(a) agency and (b) bank nursing and midwifery staff employed in the NHS for each year since 1987.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information available is shown in the table.

  Bank and agency nursing and midwifery staff—England at 30 September each year

  Whole-time equivalents

  Year

  Bank

  Agency

  1987

  4,920

  6,130

  1988

  5,830

  6,240

  1989

  5,910

  7,230

  1990

  6,230

  6,710

  1991

  8,540

  3,930

  1992

  10,020

  3,230

  Notes:

  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

  The increase in bank nurses and midwives together with the corresponding decrease in agency nurses and midwives reflects the more widespread flexible working arrangements in the NHS for nurses and midwives.

  Malaysian Airlines
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the dates Ministers, or officials from her Department, including her Department's agencies, have used the Malaysian airline MAS for each year since 1985 including this year to date on official business; and what was the cost of each flight to her Department.

  Mr. Sackville
  Since 1 April 1993 no Minister or official from the Department of Health has used the Malaysia airline MAS on official business. Prior to that date information is not available.

  Oral Health Strategy
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her Department is expecting to produce an oral health strategy; and if she will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) on 18 February at column 1042.

  Prescription Medicines
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 4 March,Official Report,

  235
  column 917, what has been the annual rate of growth of the price index for national health service medicines since 1978.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  A single price index is not available for all national health service medicines. The annual rate of growth of the price index for family health services medicines since 1977–78 has been about 2·5 per cent.

  Pollution
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of known environmental carcinogens she estimates result from vehicle emissions.

  Mr. Sackville
  The known environmental carcinogens produced by vehicle exhaust emissions are benzene; 1, 3-butadiene; and some polyaromatic hydrocarbons—PAHs—.

  The expert panel on air quality standards—EPAQS—which advises my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has reported estimates that 87 per cent. of benzene emissions to the atmosphere are derived from vehicle exhausts. Benzene is classified by the International Agency for Research in Cancer—IARC—as a known human carcinogen. There are other sources of benzene to which people are exposed such as the diet, water and cigarette smoke. The panel has estimated that an urban non-smoker would take in between 61 per cent. and 80 per cent. of daily exposure from inhaled air.

  Other than local leaks from industrial plants, vehicle exhaust emissions are the only source of 1, 3-butadiene in the atmosphere. IARC has classified this compound as a probable human carcinogen.

  The quality of urban air review group—QUARG—which advises my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has estimated that 14 per cent. of the emissions to the atmosphere of PAHs derive from vehicle exhausts. IARC has classified some PAHs as probable human carcinogens, some as possible human carcinogens, and others, it has not classified.

  The classification of carcinogens by IARC is widely accepted and is based on an assessment of the available research findings. Only where this includes human studies are chemicals classified as a known human carcinogen.

  The reports of EPAQS and QUARG are available in the Library.

  NHS Supplies Authority
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage target the NHS Supplies Authority has set for annual purchasing saving.

  Mr. Sackville
  At least 4 per cent. of the total aggregate value of all contracts negotiated for national health service customers within the year.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much public money has been spent to date on the commissioning of a management consultancy to draw up a strategic plan to attract inward investment from United States and Japanese pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and what is the total budget allocation for the project.

  Mr. Sackville
  Consultancy support in drawing up an inward investment strategy has been commissioned at a236
  cost of £25,000. The budget for implementing the strategy will be determined when the initial stage has been completed.

  High Blood Pressure
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to enable patients who require treatment for high blood pressure to use public swimming pools free of charge.

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Drugs Companies
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her estimate of the annual saving to the NHS arising from drug companies supplying certain drugs free to hospitals for each of the last five years; what assessment she has made of this practice for the health service; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  We are aware that some drug companies supply drugs free of charge to hospitals either as samples or where clinical trials are in progress. Information on the extent of these supplies is not available centrally.

  Hotel Use
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost of the use of private hotels for management, training and conference purposes by NHS staff and executive and non-executive members of(a) regional health authorities, (b) trusts, (c) district health authorities and (d) family health service authorities, by region and district in each of the last five years; and what are the reasons for the use of this accommodation.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Use of private hotels is for each national health service body to determine on the basis of value for money, and costs cannot be separately identified from financial returns and accounts.

  Funding Allocation
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued to NHS managers on how funds released by the closure or reduction of acute units are to be transferred to the primary health care sector.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The "Priorities and planning guidance 1994–95", EL(93)54, identifies this as a matter for regional health authorities to address, in conjunction with other national health service authorities and purchasers, in developing their investment strategies. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.

  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government's objective of transferring resources from the acute to the primary health sector is reflected(a) in the regional and national training plans for community nursing services and (b) in the regional and national plans for staff in post within community nursing services.

  Mr. Sackville
  Regional commission training places for non-medical staff, including community nurses, are based on provider unit forecasts for qualified staff in post required in five years' time.
  237
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each purchasing health authority in England, the figures for revenue funding in 1992–93,1993–94 and 1994–95, and the estimated figures for 1995–96 and 1996–97; and if she will identify the changes for each health authority's revenue budget resulting from the replacement of the regional allocation working party system of determining funding allocation.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information will be placed in the Library showing 1992–93 expenditure for each district health authority. It is the responsibility of regional health authorities to allocate resources to districts. Information on the total resources allocated to DHAs in 1993–94 and 1994–95 or assumptions about future allocations is not available centrally.

  The use of resource allocation working party (RAWP) targets was discontinued in 1990 when weighted capitation was introduced. Consequently, no RAWP targets are currently available for comparison with weighted capitation shares. Comparisons would not be meaningful. Under the old system authorities were funded for their "catchment population", whereas now they are purchasers of services for their resident population, with cross-boundary flows of patients being covered by payments under the national health service contracts.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts her Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department of Health has spent the following amounts from running costs on consultancy since its establishment as a separate Department:

  £

  1990–91

  18,398,000

  1991–92

  24,258,090

  1992–93

  18,399,000

  Information on the number of contracts is not available.

  Infant Mortality
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the infant mortality rates by region for the last available year and by sex.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information is shown in the table.

  Infant mortality rates1 by regional health authority for 1992

  Regional Health Authority of usual residence

  Males

  Females

  Northern

  8·1

  6·2

  Yorkshire

  7·5

  5·9

  Trent

  8·2

  5·4

  East Anglian

  5·6

  3·6

  North West Thames

  6·0

  4·9

  North East Thames

  8·3

  5·8

  South East Thames

  7·3

  5·4

  South West Thames

  6·0

  5·5

  Wessex

  6·1

  4·9

  Oxford

  6·3

  5·7

  South Western

  7·0

  4·0

  West Midlands

  8·9

  7·4

  Mersey

  6·4

  5·0

  238

  Regional Health Authority of usual residence

  Males

  Females

  North Western

  8·1

  7·3

  Wales

  6·3

  5·7

  1 Infant mortality deaths under one year per 1,000 livebirths.

  Disabled Children
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of children suffer from a permanent disability.

  Mr. Bowis
  The 1985 survey of disability conducted by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys estimated that 3·2 per cent. of children under 16 in Great Britain had disabilities.

  Breast Milk
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she takes to monitor regularly dioxins and similar substances in breast milk; what are her most recent findings; and what further plans she has.

  Mr. Sackville
  Two monitoring exercises have been carried out for dioxins in human milk in the United Kingdom, both as part of a World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe initiative. The results of the first exercise were reported in pollution paper No.27: Dioxins in the Environment (HMSO: London, 1989). The second exercise is nearing completion and the results will be published in due course.

  Results of the most recent analyses of human milk for total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides were published in Food Surveillance Paper No. 34: Report of the Working Party on Pesticides Residues: 1988–1990 (HMSO: London, 1992). Further analysis of specific PCB compounds is under way as part of the second WHO exercise, referred to above.

  The need for monitoring of human milk for these contaminants is kept under review by the relevant working parties of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's steering group on chemical aspects of food surveillance, on which the Department of Health is represented.

  Copies of both papers are available in the Library.

  Homeless Children
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the number of homeless children for the last available year by region.

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Lead Contamination
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had or will have with colleagues in other Departments regarding the phasing-out of leaded petrol and lead water pipes in homes and schools.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department is in regular contact with the Department of the Environment which is responsible for matters relating to lead in the environment. As part of the Government's policy of reducing public exposure to lead, we cut wherever possible, the permitted amount of lead in petrol from 0·4 to 0·15 grammes per litre
  239
  in 1985. We have also encouraged the widespread use of unleaded petrol which now accounts for 55 per cent. of the United Kingdom market. All new cars must now be built to run on unleaded petrol and have catalytic converters fitted; these do not operate effectively if used with leaded petrol. This action should raise the market share of unleaded petrol to at least 90 per cent. by the year 2000.

  The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989, as amended, require that drinking water at the point where the water is supplied contains no more than 50 mcg of lead per litre. This standard is more rigorous than the requirements of the European Community Drinking Water Directive. The Commission is currently drafting a new directive. When the position on the new directive is clearer, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will be discussing with us any further action on levels of lead in drinking water.

  Waiting Lists
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were not on waiting lists for treatment but were waiting to see a specialist in the national health service in each region for each quarter for the last two years.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Information on waiting times to first out-patient appointment is not collected. This year regional health authorities have set targets for first out-patient appointments and are aiming to reduce those that are unacceptably long. Most people who attend out-patient clinics are not placed on an in-patient or day case waiting list as they are either treated immediately or do not require any treatment.

  Estimated number of children looked after in residential accommodation because parents need relief from the stresses of caring for a child with disabilities at 31 March 1992

  Social Services Inspectorate Regions [note]

  All children

  Total boys

  Under one

  1 to 4

  5 to 9

  10 to 15

  16 to 17

  18 and over

  Total girls

  Under one

  1 to 4

  5 to 9

  10 to 15

  16 to 17

  18 and over

  England

  380

  250

  0

  0

  40

  150

  50

  10

  130

  0

  (*)

  20

  70

  20

  10

  Shire Counties

  110

  80

  0

  0

  10

  40

  20

  (*)

  40

  0

  (*)

  (*)

  20

  10

  0

  North of England

  20

  20

  0

  0

  (*)

  10

  (*)

  0

  (*)

  0

  (*)

  0

  0

  (*)

  0

  Central England

  30

  20

  0

  0

  (*)

  10

  10

  (*)

  10

  0

  0

  0

  10

  (*)

  0

  Southern England

  60

  30

  0

  0

  (*)

  20

  10

  0

  30

  0

  0

  (*)

  20

  10

  0

  Metropolitan Districts

  130

  80

  0

  0

  20

  50

  10

  (*)

  40

  0

  0

  10

  30

  10

  (*)

  North of England

  130

  80

  0

  0

  20

  50

  10

  (*)

  40

  0

  0

  10

  30

  10

  (*)

  Central England

  (*)

  (*)

  0

  0

  0

  (*)

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  London

  140

  90

  0

  0

  20

  50

  20

  (*)

  50

  0

  (*)

  20

  20

  10

  10

  Notes:

  1. Figures relate to SSI policy regions.

  2. Separate estimation procedures have been used for each region and figures rounded to the nearest 10. They will not necessarily add to totals.

  * Indicates less than 5 children.

  4. Short term placements covered by a single agreement are excluded.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she takes to monitor local authorities' duties under the Children Act 1989 to identify children with disabilities and provide or make available services which might benefit them.

  Mr. Bowis
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health publishes annual reports on the operations and achievements of the Children Act 1989. The 1993 report will be available shortly and will include a commentary on the services provided by local authorities for children with disabilities. In February 1994, the social services

  Child Protection Register
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) boys and (b) girls were on a child protection register for the latest available year for each age cohort.

  Mr. Bowis
  The information is shown in the table.

  Estimated numbers of children and young people on child protection registers in England at 31 March 1993, by age and sex

  Age Group

  All children

  Boys

  Girls

  All Ages

  32,500

  16,000

  16,400

  Under 1

  2,300

  1,200

  1,200

  1–4

  9,900

  5,100

  4,800

  5–9

  10,000

  5,200

  4,700

  10–15

  9,100

  4,100

  5,000

  16 and over

  1,100

  400

  700

  Notes:— Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and may not add up due to rounding.

  The figure for "all ages, all children" includes unborn children.

  Disabled Children
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many disabled children are in residential care for each age cohort, by sex and by region.

  Mr. Bowis
  The information available centrally, about the number of disabled children in residential care, relates to children looked after because their parents need relief from problems or stresses of caring for them. Information for 31 March 1992 is shown in the table.

  inspectorate pulished a report of a national inspection of local authority services to disabled children and their families, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Haemodialysls
  Mr. David Young
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are made by health authorities to pay the extra cost of water and heating bills for patients requiring haemodialysis treatment at home; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Health authorities are responsible for meeting costs connected with home haemodialysis including the cost of maintaining the dialysis room at the
  241
  appropriate temperature. From 1 April 1994 health authorities will also be responsible for meeting the cost of water used in the course of home haemodialysis by patients whose water supply is metered by their local water company.

  Psychiatric Problems (Children)
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the number of children in the United Kingdom who have a psychiatric/psychological problem which handicaps them for a year or more.

  Mr. Bowis
  Information on duration of handicap is not collected by the Department. It is estimated that at any

  Males

  Females

  Persons

  0–4

  5–9

  10–14

  0–4

  5–9

  10–14

  0–4

  5–9

  10–14

  Mental Illness (Finished Consultant Episodes) 1990–91 Provisional

  Northern

  24

  42

  62

  11

  16

  47

  35

  58

  109

  Yorkshire

  53

  58

  66

  41

  29

  74

  95

  86

  140

  Trent

  18

  22

  79

  1

  17

  66

  19

  38

  145

  East Anglia

  3

  3

  20

  0

  1

  19

  3

  4

  39

  North West Thames

  24

  2

  36

  20

  0

  26

  44

  2

  62

  North East Thames

  15

  2

  45

  12

  0

  58

  28

  2

  103

  South East Thames

  9

  6

  6

  5

  2

  28

  13

  9

  34

  South West Thames

  6

  25

  34

  14

  7

  18

  20

  32

  52

  Wessex

  44

  44

  25

  16

  23

  24

  60

  67

  49

  Oxford

  32

  48

  59

  19

  11

  110

  50

  59

  169

  South Western

  4

  51

  103

  2

  4

  80

  6

  55

  183

  West Midlands

  36

  20

  37

  17

  9

  63

  54

  29

  100

  Mersey

  15

  18

  47

  13

  5

  27

  28

  23

  73

  North Western

  6

  321

  72

  6

  183

  95

  13

  504

  167

  Special Health Authorities

  2

  22

  33

  4

  7

  28

  6

  30

  61

  Total

  290

  683

  724

  181

  315

  763

  472

  998

  1,487

  Notes:

  1. It should be noted that the figures in the table relate to finished consultant episodes and not to individuals, as a patient may be admitted more than once during the year.

  2. The total figures do not always match the separate figures for males and females due to rounding.

  Allergies
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the number of(a) boys and (b) girls in the United Kingdom having chemical and food intolerance allergies for each age cohort and by sex.

  Mr. Sackville
  Such estimates are not available.

  Uganda Treasury (Debt)
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will encourage the International Monetary Fund to sell off part of its gold stocks to generate the resources to write off debt owed to the fund by Uganda.

  (2) if he will consider establishing a debt relief fund for Uganda, additional to the existing aid budget, to help Uganda meet its repayment obligations to multilateral lending agencies.

  Mr. Nelson
  Although Uganda is severely indebted, net transfers from the international financial institutions—IFIs —remain substantially in Uganda's favour. Most IFI support for Uganda is on highly concessional terms, thus reducing the debt service burden.

  Debt to the IMF does not account for a high proportion of Uganda's debt stock. Uganda has benefited from highly
  242
  point, between 10 per cent. and 20 per cent. of children and teenagers have worries or problems severe enough to need help in overcoming them.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of hospital admissions for mental illness for the latest available year for each age cohort for children by sex and by region.

  Mr. Bowis
  Information relating to the admission of children into hospitals is not available in the precise form requested. 'Provisional information available centrally on the number of finished consultants episodes in the mental illness specialties in 1990–91 is shown in the table.

  concessional IMF assistance under the enhanced structural adjustment facility—ESAF—and, subject to continuing to pursue appropriate economic policies, is expected to receive further assistance under the enlarged ESAF. The United Kingdom was a prime mover in the establishment of ESAF in 1987 and has just agreed a further contribution of £50 million to enlarge the facility to help the poorest countries such as Uganda. The United Kingdom will over time contribute one ninth of the subsidy required by the enlarged ESAF. Uganda also benefits from highly concessional credits from the World Bank's International Development Association, which concentrates on lending to the poorest countries. The United Kingdom contributed £620 million to the IDA at the last replenishment. In addition, Uganda has help meeting its repayments on non-concessional loans to the bank through the bank's fifth dimension facility.

  While the United Kingdom has advocated sales of IMF gold in the past, this has been to fund targeted concessional facilities such as ESAF rather than debt write-off. The United Kingdom believes that continued targeted concessional financial assistance is the best response by the IFIs to the debt problem of the poorest countries such as Uganda. Debt write-offs even if financed by gold sales would, by running down these institutions' assets and increasing their financing costs, weaken their financial

  243
  standing and hence their ability to assist all developing countries. Both the IMF's and the World bank's funds are finite and revolving and intended to be available for use by members when and where they are most needed.

  Uganda also has help in meeting its debt service obligations through concessional terms for its official debt. The United Kingdom has been a prime mover for this. The existing Trinidad terms which have the effect of halving payments due to creditor Governments over the period of an IMF agreement and give a commitment to consider reducing the stock of a country's reschedulable debt after three to four years of economic reform, are based on an initiative by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister when he was Chancellor. The United Kingdom continues to press other official creditors to agree to immediate stock of debt reduction, with reductions up to 80 per cent. for the most needy, for countries which have a one to two year track record of economic reform and are up to date with their debt servicing.

  The United Kingdom believes that the approach outlined above is the most effective response to Ugandan debt and that a debt relief fund would not be a cost-effective or necessary use of the United Kingdom aid programme for Uganda.

  Disabled Employees
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many registered disabled people are employed in his Department; and what percentage this is of the total.

  Mr. Nelson
  The information requested is set out in the publication "Independent", which was published on 18 March 1994, copies of which have been placed in the House Libraries.

  Manufacturing Trade
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what effect the increase in the exchange rate against the ecu since February 1993 has had on the profitability of United Kingdom exports to the rest of the EC of manufactured goods; and what is his assessment of the part that played in the sale of Rover cars to BMW.

  Mr. Nelson
  The profitability of United Kingdom exports of manufactures to the rest of the EC depends on a number of factors. No estimate is available of the effect on such profitability of the exchange rate against the ecu. The sale of Rover to BMW is a matter for the firms themselves.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the visible balance of trade in manufactures on a balance of payments basis as a percentage of gross domestic product in 1971, 1979, 1989 and estimated for 1993: what assessment he has made of the reason for the changes; and whether he will publish the change in the (i) nominal and (ii) real rate of exchange which the treasury model of the economy shows would be required to restore the balance in terms of gross domestic product to what it was in (iii) 1978 and (iv) 1971.

  Mr. Nelson
  Figures for the visible balance of trade in manufactures and for gross domestic product are available on the CSO database, which can be accessed through the House of Commons Library. The identifiers are BPJF and 244
  CAOB. A country's visible trade balance depends on the strength of its own domestic demand and that of its trading partners, and on the level of its competitiveness.

  All members have access to the Treasury model through the House of Commons Library. It is Treasury practice not to provide the results of model simulations in answer to parliamentary questions. This is due both to the excessive cost involved and the difficulty in making appropriate assumptions without knowing the context in which the figures will be used.

  Economic Indicators
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the changes in(a) the real exchange rate, (b) the balance of trade in manufactures and (c) the rate of economic growth since 1964; and what assessment he has made of the extent of correlation between these indicators.

  Mr. Nelson
  There is no unambiguous definition of the real exchange rate. A variety of indicators is available. These are published in "Economic Trends", table 28. These, along with the balance of trade in manufacturers and GDP are also available on the CSO database, which can be accessed through the House of Commons Library. Some useful identifiers include:

  FLAA—relative export prices;

  FLAC—relative unit labour costs;

  BPJF—the manufactures balance;

  CAOP—GDP at factor costs.

  Correlation coefficients, calculated from these data, are set out in table 1.

  Table 1: Estimated Correlation Matrix of Variables (1964–91)

  FLAA

  BPJF

  CAOP

  FLAC

  FLAA

  1.0000

  —

  —

  —

  BPJF

  .21237

  1.0000

  —

  —

  CAOP

  -.17787

  -.71785

  1.0000

  —

  FLAC

  .96217

  .19706

  -.23963

  1.0000

  Annual data for the competitiveness measures are not yet available for 1992 and 1993 on the CSO database.

  Interest Rates
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what part the deputy governor of the Bank of England plays in the formulation of interest rate policy; and whether the views he has recently expressed on the prospects for inflation represent those of the Government.

  Mr. Nelson
  Decisions on interest rates are a matter for Ministers, advised by Treasury officials and the Bank of England. In his speech to the Institute of Credit Management on 9 March, the deputy governor warned of the dangers of relaxing the fight against inflation. The Government will continue to set interest rates to meet their objectives for low inflation.

  Diesel Fuel
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce fiscal measures to discourage the use of diesel as a motor engine fuel.

  Sir John Cope
  There are no plans at present to introduce such measures.

  Gas Fuel
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce fiscal incentives to encourage buses and taxis to run on gas fuel.

  Sir John Cope
  There are no plans at present to introduce further measures.

  Petrol Aromatics
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce fiscal incentives to petrol producers to reformulate petrol by removing aromatics.

  Sir John Cope
  There are no plans at present to introduce such incentives.

  Food Exports
  Mr.Gill
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what instructions have been received by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise from Commission auditors in respect of the examining of food exports by the offloading of containers at any particular port.

  Sir John Cope
  Following a visit to the United Kingdom Customs in 1993, Commission auditors expressed dissatisfaction with the depth and rigour of examination of exports where common agricultural policy refunds were claimed. As a result, Customs issued more detailed guidance to staff on the standards to be observed.

  Betting Duty
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 9 March,Official Report, column 222, how much general betting duty the Exchequer collected between November 1993 and January 1994.

  Sir John Cope
  Receipts from general betting duty in the three months November 1993 to January 1994 totalled £108 million. General betting duty is paid in the month following that in which the duty accrues. Thus the receipts for November 1993 to January 1994 relate to races run the months of October to December 1993.

  Finance Bill
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he received asking for the deletion of clause 241 of the Finance Bill or to have it amended following consultation between the Treasury and the Institute of Chartered Accountants; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Following representations made before and during the Committee stage debate on 17 March, the clause has been withdrawn. The Government have given a commitment to bring the matter back before the House in the next Finance Bill, which will allow the Inland Revenue and professional institutes an opportunity for consultations.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the correlation coefficient, lagged or otherwise, between the rate of exchange and(a) the percentage of adult males of working age in work and (b) the rate of unemployment since 1964.
  246
  Mr. Nelson
  The correlation coefficients can be calculated from information available in the House of Commons Library. Population, employment, and unemployment figures from 1981 are available on the NOMIS database. Employment and unemployment figures before 1981 are published in the Employment Gazette. Population figures before 1981 are available from the population estimates unit of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Figures for sterling exchange rates index are published, for example, in Economic Trends.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the correlation coefficient, lagged or otherwise, between the rate of inflation and(a) the percentage of adult males of working age in work and (b) the rate of unemployment since 1964.

  Mr. Nelson
  The correlation coefficients can be calculated from information available in the House of Commons Library. Population, employment, and unemployment figures from 1981 are available on the NOMIS database. Employment and unemployment figures before 1981 are published in the Employment Gazette. Population figures before 1981 are available from the population estimates unit of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Figures for the Retail Prices Index are published in Economic Trends.

  National Insurance
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what level the national insurance upper earnings limit would now be set had it increased at the same rate as the average earnings index since 1989; and what additional amounts in each year that would have raised.

  Mr. Hague
  I have been asked to reply.

  The upper earnings limit is statutorily linked to the level of the basic pension. If the limit had been raised instead in line with the increase in average earnings since 1989, and rounded to the nearest pound, it would now be £442. The additional amounts that would have been raised in each year are in the table:

  Additional national insurance contributions raised

  Year

  (£ million)

  1990–91

  45

  1991–92

  10

  1992–93

  100

  1993–94

  140

  1 In the year to September 1990 prices rose more than earnings, and the upper earnings limit would not have been higher in 1991–92.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT

  Balfour Beatty
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of cases in which Balfour Beatty has received aid moneys, otherwise than in connection with the Pergau dam project, from(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the World bank or (c) other multilateral organisations in respect of work in developing countries with which the United Kingdom has significant aid ties, which the company has subsequently had to return following failure to complete the work.
  247
  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Under(a) we know of only one aid and trade provision case involving Balfour Beatty in which a project has had to be terminated and aid moneys returned. The project in question was the mini-hydros project in Peru, which was approved in July 1982 involving an ATP grant of £4,843,000. The project was frustrated because the local institution, Electroperu, failed to meet its contractual obligations, did not complete associated civil works and defaulted on its bank loan. The project was also hampered by the local security situation. At no point during the contract did any United Kingdom party fail to fulfil its obligations.

  For projects under (b) the World bank and (c) other multilateral organisations, the ODA does not hold details of contracts placed with United Kingdom firms by these institutions and such information could be assembled only at disproportionate cost. The Pergau dam project is 60 per cent. complete and is on schedule for completion in August 1996.

  Biodiversity
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations he has had with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation regarding its expertise in biodiversity, particularly in respect of discussions on the global environment facility; and what action the Government are taking to discourage unnecessary duplication in the United Nations system.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have had no consultations with UNESCO in this area. In relation to the global environment facility the instrument establishing the restructured GEF, agreed in Geneva on 16 March, is designed to encourage co-operation in the United Nations system.

  Pergau Dam
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the environmental impact report from the consultant sent to assess the Pergau dam project in early February 1991.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  I have placed a copy of the report entitled "Pergau Hydro-Electric Project: Environmental and Socio-Economic Issues" in the Library today.

  Earth-scanning Radar
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether consideration has been given to the provision of earth-scanning radar equipment similar to that in use in the Gloucester murder inquiry for use in de-mining operations supported under the United Kingdom overseas aid budget.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Our role in humanitarian mine clearance operations continues to be one of funding organisations with suitable programmes. We have not to date received any proposals using advanced technology, but would consider funding the use of any appropriate technology which would speed up mine eradication.

  Peru
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much aid is to be given to Peru in the coming year; and for what it has been allocated.
  248
  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Bilateral aid to Peru during the coming year will be largely technical co-operation. Expenditure is likely to amount to approximately £3 million in 1994–95 financial year. This involves agreed activities in animal health, renewable energy generation, teacher training, scholarships for technical training for Peruvians in the United Kingdom, and small development projects managed through the British embassy.

  Further projects either under development or planned will be directed mainly to support for health service reform, family planning and reproductive health services, renewable' natural resources and water conservation. Assistance will also be provided through funds made available to United Kingdom non-governmental organisations under the joint funding scheme. In 1994–95 this support is likely to amount to over £1 million for activities in a wide variety of sectors.

  South Africa
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he will take to ensure that the Government of South Africa after the elections of 27 April will promote educational opportunities for all; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  Currently more than half of our bilateral aid to South Africa is spent on increasing access to, and improving the quality of, education and training for those disadvantaged by past policies. Education will continue to feature prominently in our growing aid programme, now running at some £15 million a year.

  We will discuss with the new South African Government how best to support their efforts to reconstruct the education system on a professional, equitable and affordable basis.

  International Military Services Ltd.
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which aid and trade provision agreements since 1979 International Military Services Ltd. has played a role; and if he will give details of the company's involvement.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  International Military Services Ltd. has not been lead contractor on any ATP projects. The names of subcontractors on ATP projects are not held centrally by either ODA or DTI and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. We are not aware of any role played by International Military Services Ltd. in any ATP agreement since 1979.

  Banana Producers
  Mr. Wells
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current United Kingdom position on the European Community proposal for aid to traditional African, Caribbean and Pacific banana-producing countries.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  We have proposed to the Commission amendments to the proposal which link assistance to restructuring and diversification. We will support the proposal if these amendments are agreed.

TRANSPORT

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions in the last five years he has knowingly provided incomplete information in answers to parliamentary questions other than on grounds of disproportionate cost; and on what subjects.

  Mr. MacGregor
  I answer parliamentary questions on the basis set out in paragraph 27 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers".

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for the last 12 months how many parliamentary questions he has referred to one of his Department's agencies for answer; and what percentage of parliamentary questions to his Department this represents.

  Mr. Norris
  The information required is not held in the form requested.

  There have been 14 questions this parliamentary session which were referred to the chief executives of the Department's executive agencies. This represents 0·84 per cent.

  Red Routes, London
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of fuel pollution resulting from the introduction of red routes in London.

  Mr. Norris
  Estimates of the reductions in vehicle emissions are set out in section 13 of the Transport Research Laboratory report on the pilot red route scheme (project report 31, 1993), a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact on traffic volumes on the roads involved resulting from the introduction of red routes in London.

  Mr. Norris
  The Transport Research Laboratory's assessment of the pilot red route scheme in north and east London concluded that many vehicles had rerouted from inappropriate roads onto the red route, but that there was not a large volume of new traffic.

  Airport Security
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made in ensuring tighter security for passengers at United Kingdom airports.

  Mr. Norris
  Since the Lockerbie tragedy there have been substantial improvements in aviation security in the United Kingdom both for passengers and for staff. Further improvements are being made in baggage screening and in acounting and authorising for carriage of all hold baggage on international flights.

  The Department of Transport sets training standards for staff working in civil aviation who receive terrorist warnings, and for the national aviation security programme which covers, among other things, airport authorities' contingency plans, staff instructions, training programme and exercises.

  Public Transport (Gas Guel)
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to promote research and development of gas fuelling for buses and taxis.

  Mr. Key
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 21 March at col 9.

  Bus Lanes, London
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to extend the number of designated bus lanes in London.

  Mr. Norris
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) on 15 March at column 652.

  Newly Qualified Drivers
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce a probationary period for newly qualified drivers.

  Mr. Key
  My right hon. Friend announced on 9 February at columns 270–71 the steps we are proposing to take following the consultation on "New Driver Safety". We are considering the practicalities of a scheme requiring drivers convicted of certain traffic offences within a pecified period of qualifying to pass a further driving test; this might involve issuing licences on a probationary basis.

  We also considered the case for introducing probationary plates, but are not yet convinced of its merits; we are prepared to consider this further when full results are available of a study into "restricted" plates in Northern Ireland.

  Exclusion Zones, London
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce more traffic exclusion zones in central London.

  Mr. Norris
  This is a matter for local highway authorities, who are responsible for local roads in central London.

  Air Pollution
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of pollution caused by diesel engines relative to other forms of fuel used in transportation.

  Mr. Key
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Public Transport gave to the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 21 October 1993 at column 298 and the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 21 March at column 9.

  British Rail Pension Funds
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to make an announcement on the future of British Rail pension funds.

  Mr. Freeman
  Soon.

  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the figure Q for the elasticity of journey time for the channel tunnel rail link for(a) international passengers and (b) domestic commuters.

  Mr. Freeman
  Union Railways has used several models when forecasting demand for domestic and international services. The information contained in these models is commercially confidential, given its relationship with marketing and pricing strategies.

  Dame Peggy Fenner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he intends to seek powers in the legislation for the proposed channel tunnel rail link to enable the new crossings of the Medway, for the rail link and for the M2 motorway, to be built at the same time.

  Mr. Freeman
  I intend that the legislation for the new channel tunnel rail link, which the Government aim to have ready for introduction as soon as parliamentary time allows, should include powers for a scheme to improve the M2 motorway from junction 1 to junction 4, enabling the two new bridges across the Medway to be built concurrently.

  Light Dues
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on light dues.

  Mr. Norris
  I am pleased to announce that light dues for 1994–95 will be frozen at the levels set in March 1993. I am able to do so largely because the three general lighthouse authorities are to contain their expenditure proposals for 1994–95 broadly within the levels set for 1993–94. This has been made possible by further savings from the automation of lighthouses and by the authorities entering into co-operative arrangements which will enable a reduction to be made of one ship in the lighthouse tender fleet.

  I commend the general lighthouse authorities for taking this initiative.

  Shipping (Hazardous Cargoes)
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to keep shipping with hazardous cargoes away from areas of environmental sensitivity.

  Mr. Norris
  Measures are in place to keep ships carrying hazardous cargoes away from environmentally sensitive areas. These include "areas to be avoided" off the islands of Orkney and Shetland, around Fair Isle, and between the Smalls lighthouse and Grossholme island. In addition, there is a defined deep water route to the west of the Hebrides. Further measures to protect the coast will take account of any recommendations made by the inquiry announced to the House by the Secretary of State on 11 January 1993 under the chairmanship of Lord Donaldson of Lymington.

  Greater Manchester Buses North Ltd.
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from Corporate Finance Services on behalf of the employee buyout team of Greater Manchester Buses North Ltd.; what reply he is sending; what action he is taking; and if he will make a statement.
  252
  Mr. Freeman
  I have received a number of representations about the sale of both Greater Manchester Buses North and Greater Manchester Buses South recently. Amongst these was a letter about the sale of the North company from Coopers and Lybrand, Corporate Finance Services dated 15 March, to which an acknowledgement was sent on 17 March.

  The Secretary of State's consent to both sales will eventually be required. In view of his quasi-judicial function in these sales it would not be appropriate for me to comment further or make a statement.

  Westlink
  Mr. Tracey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects Stanwell Buses Ltd., trading as Westlink, to be sold.

  Mr. Norris
  London Buses Ltd. sold Stanwell Buses Ltd., trading as Westlink, to a management buy-out team for £1·937 million on 19 January.

  M1
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that a public explanation is offered for the confusion and delay which severely affected traffic on the northbound carriageway of the M1 north of junction 29 on 13 and 14 March; what action is being taken to avoid a recurrence of such an experience; and what redress those affected have available under the terms of the citizens charter.

  Mr. Key
  [holding answer 18 March 1994]: During the night of 13 and 14 March, changes were being made to the traffic management on the major maintenance scheme to the north of junction 30 on the M1. These changes were agreed between the resident engineer, the contractor and the police and were planned to occur during a period of light traffic flow to minimise the delays and confusion to traffic. On Sunday 13 March heavy rain and gales threatened to make the work more difficult and, with the agreement of the police, work started at 2030—earlier than planned. This decision was taken to ensure that the changes were completed before the Monday morning rush hour.

  Unfortunately some inconvenience is inevitable during essential changes in traffic management. Clearly every effort was made to minimise inconvenience and delay during essential maintenance work and therefore there is no redress under the citizens charter. I am sorry that members of the public suffered delay and confusion on this scheme, which has now been completed ahead of schedule.

  Driving Tests
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what percentage of people taking their driving test in March 199330 had waited more than six weeks for their test.

  Mr. Key
  Responsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Driving Standards Agency under its chief executive Dr. S. J. Ford. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Dr. S. J. Ford to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 7 February 1994:
  253
  The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Question about the percentage of people taking their driving test in March 1993 who had waited more than six weeks for their test.

  The Agency measures the waiting time for tests on the basis of the size of the queue waiting for a test in relation to the examiner resource available to conduct tests. It does not have statistics that measure precisely the wait experienced by individual customers. Instead we use our annual, independent customer surveys to provide insight into the experiences of customers.

  The last such survey was conducted in May 1993. The sample of candidates surveyed was selected from those who had taken a test in the previous two months. The response, from nearly 2,000 driving test candidates across the country, indicated that 90 per cent. waited 6 weeks or less between the date of making the appointment and the date the test was conducted.

  During January and February 1993, when customers would generally have been seeking test appointments in March, appointments were available at over 90 per cent. of our permanent centres within 6 weeks and at all permanent centres within 10 weeks, with an average of 3 to 4 weeks ahead of the date of application.

  Vehicle Inspections
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) in which vehicle inspectorate testing stations the operating costs of the station exceeds the amount of revenue generated through test fees;

  (2) if he will list his Department's vehicle inspectorate testing stations; in which parliamentary constituency each testing station lies; how many people are employed at each testing station; how many vehicles were tested at each testing station during the last year; and how much revenue was collected at each testing station in testing fees.

  1Testing volumes by stations

  1992–93

  PSV

  HGV

  Trailers

  District, sub-stations and constituency

  Class VII

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Total

  Revenue £

  2Cost £

  3Staff

  ABERDEEN

  Gordon

  144

  827

  5

  5,643

  45

  2,885

  30

  9,579

  256,193

  253,557

  12.9

  AMMANFORD

  Llanelli

  116

  1,738

  63

  5,614

  198

  2,245

  51

  10,025

  338,236

  331,857

  12.5

  Haverfordwest

  Pembroke

  406

  —

  —

  1,530

  31

  319

  2

  2,288

  —

  —

  3.2

  BEVERLEY

  Beverley

  202

  852

  20

  6,124

  92

  4,443

  25

  11,758

  306,375

  290,067

  14.2

  BICESTER

  Banbury

  820

  806

  24

  6,720

  86

  2,147

  22

  10,625

  274,773

  233,454

  13.2

  BIRMINGHAM

  Birmingham, Yardley

  744

  2,876

  27

  14,081

  158

  4,413

  22

  22,321

  630,709

  607,788

  30.6

  BISHOPBRIGGS

  Strathkelvin and Bearsden

  2,249

  3,569

  82

  12,051

  357

  6,775

  47

  25,110

  648,641

  659,887

  32.3

  Lochgilphead

  Argyll and Bute

  166

  —

  —

  458

  3

  112

  0

  739

  —

  —

  —

  BREDBURY

  Hazel Grove

  366

  2,454

  32

  16,040

  425

  8,447

  74

  27,838

  748,154

  601,985

  33.6

  BRISTOL

  Bristol, South

  794

  2,310

  29

  10,827

  303

  4,950

  39

  19,252

  797,659

  707,111

  27.2

  Calne

  Wiltshire, North

  340

  —

  —

  7,686

  162

  3,256

  56

  11,500

  —

  —

  9.2

  CANTERBURY

  Canterbury

  291

  605

  20

  4,611

  88

  2,088

  37

  7,740

  216,107

  285,181

  14.5

  CARLISLE

  Carlisle

  296

  853

  29

  4,704

  110

  2,921

  42

  8,955

  356,492

  329,339

  8.6

  Newton Stewart

  Galloway and Upper Nithsdale

  70

  —

  —

  418

  7

  131

  1

  627

  —

  —

  —

  Dumfries

  Dumfries

  451

  —

  —

  2,056

  39

  1,200

  10

  3,756

  —

  —

  4.0

  Workington

  Workington

  204

  —

  —

  1,032

  15

  468

  8

  1,727

  —

  —

  1.0

  CHELMSFORD

  Chelmsford

  739

  1,389

  22

  9,508

  184

  2,693

  54

  14,589

  403,423

  344,189

  17.2

  DARLINGTON

  Darlington

  537

  2,011

  35

  12,894

  269

  8,882

  87

  24,715

  628,068

  506,858

  24.6

  254
  Mr. Key
  I have asked the vehicle inspectorate chief executive to write to the hon. Member with this detailed information.

  Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 4 February 1994:

  The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Questions about the Vehicle Inspectorate's test station network, income from testing, and costs.

  The Inspectorate's accounts and management information for 1992–93 were sufficiently detailed to provide information on test volumes and income from testing down to district level. This is shown on the attached table.

  Unfortunately information relating to the operating costs and staff at each station cannot be provided in a form that will help answer your questions. In 1992–93 VI had a district based organisation and recorded information on costs accordingly. This information was aggregated at agency level and then divided between the individual schemes, including HGV and PSV testing, for accounting purposes. This means that detailed information on costs for individual test stations is unavailable. More importantly the costs of enforcement staff based in the districts would be included in the figures and could not be separated out. For these reasons a simple list of district costs, against income generated from testing activities, would give a false impression.

  VI reorganised its operational structure on 1 November 1993. The Inspectorate now has two operational divisions, Vehicle Testing and Road Transport Enforcement. The costs of each division are separately accounted for from 1 November 1993. Although VI may have interim figures for each station later this year, the new financial structure will not be fully reflected until the Inspectorate's 1994–95 accounts are published.

  I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful at present, but if you have any additional questions please write to me.
  255

  1Testing volumes by stations

  1992–93

  PSV

  HGV

  Trailers

  District, sub-stations and constituency

  Class VII

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Total

  Revenue £

  2Cost £

  3Staff

  DERBY

  Derbyshire, South

  538

  1,164

  18

  6,810

  111

  4,147

  43

  12,831

  336,378

  320,251

  16.9

  EDMONTON

  Edmonton

  2,234

  2,327

  33

  13,599

  124

  3,141

  23

  21,481

  577,375

  653,890

  28.7

  EXETER

  Exeter

  235

  1,802

  81

  5,178

  101

  1,475

  19

  8,891

  551,195

  566,717

  14.1

  Taunton

  Taunton

  77

  —

  —

  5,964

  119

  2,356

  34

  8,550

  —

  —

  9.0

  South Molton

  North Devon

  268

  —

  —

  2,027

  47

  565

  9

  2,916

  —

  —

  4.0

  GILLINGHAM

  Gillingham

  767

  905

  12

  8,410

  147

  3,931

  38

  14,210

  357,870

  338,117

  18.8

  GLOUCESTER

  Gloucester

  277

  744

  12

  7,324

  134

  2,800

  27

  11,318

  301,683

  237,949

  11.6

  GRANTHAM

  Grantham

  416

  603

  16

  8,309

  135

  5,214

  78

  14,771

  366,527

  295,717

  16.6

  GRIMSBY

  Great Grimsby

  659

  673

  7

  5,362

  54

  5,207

  23

  11,985

  287,299

  241,782

  12.7

  GUILDFORD

  Guildford

  1,235

  912

  42

  11,604

  250

  2,173

  28

  16,244

  431,307

  348,303

  17.6

  HASTINGS

  Hastings and Rye

  666

  771

  17

  4,338

  65

  892

  13

  6,762

  188,228

  210,027

  9.6

  HEYWOOD

  Heywood and Middleton

  323

  2,061

  57

  13,720

  416

  5,887

  53

  22,517

  882,085

  732,747

  29.6

  Steeton

  Keighley

  484

  457

  9

  6,936

  234

  2,379

  42

  10,541

  —

  —

  8.5

  INVERNESS

  Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber

  357

  1,062

  17

  2,135

  45

  692

  8

  4,316

  208,026

  305,785

  11.2

  Forth William

  Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber

  57

  —

  —

  259

  1

  99

  2

  418

  —

  —

  —

  Keith

  Moray

  3

  —

  —

  992

  5

  676

  1

  1,677

  —

  —

  1.0

  Kirkwall

  Orkney and Shetland

  78

  —

  —

  223

  0

  50

  0

  351

  —

  —

  —

  Lairg

  Caithness and Sutherland

  26

  —

  —

  69

  0

  1

  0

  96

  —

  —

  —

  Lerwick

  Orkney and Shetland

  102

  —

  —

  319

  2

  144

  0

  567

  —

  —

  —

  Portree

  Ross, Cromarty and Skye

  46

  —

  —

  139

  0

  16

  1

  202

  —

  —

  —

  Stornoway

  Western Isles

  17

  —

  —

  251

  1

  67

  0

  336

  —

  —

  0.1

  Wick

  Caithness and Sutherland

  78

  —

  —

  292

  2

  137

  0

  509

  —

  —

  1.1

  IPSWICH

  Ipswich

  413

  741

  7

  7,511

  122

  7,318

  83

  16,195

  401,611

  338,819

  17.7

  KIDDERMINSTER

  Wyre Forest

  454

  1,105

  41

  9,877

  173

  3,785

  31

  15,466

  536,759

  460,058

  18.0

  Hereford

  Hereford

  275

  —

  —

  3,166

  44

  1,639

  16

  5,140

  —

  —

  5.1

  KILMARNOCK

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun

  297

  1,119

  74

  5,959

  203

  2,686

  36

  10,374

  275,025

  286,708

  14.0

  KIRKHAM

  Fylde

  288

  2,236

  47

  10,435

  228

  5,962

  71

  19,267

  698,169

  633,290

  24.8

  Barrow

  Barrow and Furness

  99

  —

  —

  644

  16

  444

  10

  1,213

  —

  —

  1.0

  Milnthorpe

  Westmorland and Lonsdale

  214

  —

  —

  3,899

  105

  1,852

  37

  6,107

  —

  —

  8.3

  LANCING

  Shoreham

  438

  690

  10

  5,434

  109

  1,118

  6

  7,805

  214,281

  259,846

  13.7

  LEEDS

  Normanton

  653

  2,149

  22

  18,384

  353

  10,215

  102

  31,878

  840,436

  676,916

  35.7

  LEICESTER

  Rutland and Melton

  816

  1,307

  34

  10,617

  168

  4,136

  30

  17,108

  460,438

  385,357

  20.9

  LEIGHTON BUZZARD

  South West Bedfordshire

  636

  1,019

  23

  7,540

  116

  3,453

  28

  12,815

  323,282

  270,588

  15.6

  LIVERPOOL

  Knowsley, North

  1,015

  3,163

  110

  16,523

  654

  10,778

  153

  32,396

  874,953

  686,442

  34.5

  LIVINGSTONE

  Livingston

  237

  2,558

  70

  10,022

  208

  5,396

  53

  18,544

  598,563

  578,943

  24.8

  Berwick-upon-Tweed

  Berwick-upon-Tweed

  25

  —

  —

  739

  7

  282

  4

  1,057

  —

  —

  —

  Charlesfield

  Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale

  155

  —

  —

  831

  14

  276

  0

  1,276

  —

  —

  3.0

  East Fortune

  East Lothian

  51

  —

  —

  498

  9

  126

  2

  686

  —

  —

  1.0

  256

  257

  1Testing volumes by stations

  1992–93

  PSV

  HGV

  Trailers

  District, sub-stations and constituency

  Class VII

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Annual

  Prohibitions

  Total

  Revenue £

  2Cost £

  3Staff

  LLANTRISANT

  Pontypridd

  167

  1,897

  79

  7,778

  239

  4,144

  53

  14,357

  485,827

  492,118

  21.0

  Llayrystyd

  Ceredigion and Pembroke, North

  154

  —

  —

  1,342

  9

  220

  4

  1,729

  —

  —

  1.0

  Llandrindod Wells

  Brecon and Radnor

  241

  —

  —

  1,229

  18

  231

  2

  1,721

  —

  —

  2.0

  MITCHAM

  Croydon, North West

  1,428

  3,376

  43

  12,635

  314

  1,706

  28

  19,530

  579,402

  607,548

  28.0

  NEWBURY

  Newbury

  649

  966

  17

  7,232

  103

  2,796

  22

  11,785

  316,984

  266,810

  13.1

  NEWCASTLE

  Wallsend

  637

  2,752

  39

  10,548

  240

  4,274

  61

  18,551

  504,777

  449,119

  22.1

  NORTHAMPTON

  Daventry

  833

  761

  23

  8,184

  140

  5,961

  31

  15,933

  394,916

  324,766

  17.9

  NORWICH

  Norwich, North

  794

  840

  16

  7,961

  74

  3,316

  42

  13,043

  339,038

  361,648

  18.6

  NOTTINGHAM

  Broxtowe

  1,208

  1,470

  14

  8,637

  99

  4,008

  28

  15,464

  410,506

  483,834

  26.1

  PERTH

  Perth and Kinross

  558

  1,400

  31

  3,910

  83

  1,759

  29

  7,770

  315,063

  298,023

  8.6

  Kirkcaldy

  Kirkcaldy

  1,025

  —

  —

  2,377

  64

  690

  10

  4,166

  —

  —

  3.5

  Montrose

  Angus East

  118

  —

  —

  813

  17

  327

  1

  1,276

  —

  —

  1.0

  PETERBOROUGH

  Peterborough

  1,065

  820

  20

  6,453

  129

  4,759

  47

  13,293

  555,770

  483,491

  16.4

  Crimplesham

  Norfolk, North West

  637

  —

  —

  5,897

  78

  3,811

  48

  10,471

  —

  —

  11.4

  PLYMOUTH

  Plymouth, Devonport

  336

  1,441

  33

  3,067

  60

  603

  10

  5,550

  287,282

  372,735

  10.0

  St. Austell

  Truro

  266

  —

  —

  1,647

  12

  361

  2

  2,288

  —

  —

  3.0

  Redruth

  Falmouth and Camborne

  881

  —

  —

  2,090

  32

  308

  8

  3,319

  —

  —

  4.0

  PONTYPOOL

  Torfaen

  800

  1,253

  44

  5,189

  157

  3,375

  27

  10,845

  276,252

  250,957

  11.5

  POOLE

  Poole

  197

  1,303

  15

  4,628

  63

  1,016

  21

  7,243

  384,110

  363,457

  12.1

  Salisbury

  Salisbury

  190

  —

  —

  4,453

  56

  1,975

  31

  6,705

  —

  —

  5.5

  PURFLEET

  Thurrock

  537

  1,557

  28

  12,736

  337

  10,062

  105

  25,362

  686,150

  644,218

  30.3

  ROYSTON

  Hertfordshire, North

  1,237

  1,038

  35

  12,307

  259

  4,389

  48

  19,313

  545,473

  338,564

  17.2

  SHEFFIELD

  Sheffield, Attercliffe

  872

  1,675

  3

  10,591

  22

  5,874

  3

  19,040

  885,579

  706,009

  20.0

  Doncaster

  Doncaster, North

  697

  1,283

  44

  8,197

  111

  5,212

  35

  15,579

  —

  —

  15.4

  SOUTHAMPTON

  Fareham

  377

  1,311

  37

  7,184

  209

  3,703

  56

  12,877

  377,712

  464,469

  19.1

  Cowes

  Isle of Wight

  215

  —

  —

  937

  19

  178

  1

  1,350

  —

  —

  2.0

  STOKE ON TRENT

  Stafford

  203

  2,170

  31

  12,280

  210

  7,020

  72

  21,986

  885,961

  739,660

  27.5

  Shrewsbury

  Shrewsbury and Atcham

  475

  —

  —

  6,574

  110

  3,379

  42

  10,580

  —

  —

  10.0

  WALTON

  Elmet

  475

  1,120

  14

  6,298

  125

  2,852

  28

  10,912

  346,923

  426,136

  16.0

  Scarborough

  Scarborough

  97

  —

  —

  1,509

  8

  570

  5

  2,189

  —

  —

  4.0

  WOLVERHAMPTON

  Staffordshire, South

  137

  1,662

  29

  15,208

  146

  5,057

  32

  22,271

  637,007

  543,701

  28.6

  WREXHAM

  Wrexham

  237

  2,268

  68

  7,653

  130

  3,294

  19

  13,669

  588,199

  619,946

  19.6

  Caernarfon

  Caernarfon

  241

  —

  —

  2,311

  43

  281

  5

  2,881

  —

  —

  5.0

  Bromborough

  Wirral, South

  429

  —

  —

  3,353

  66

  2,484

  29

  6,361

  —

  —

  7.5

  YEADING

  Hayes and Harlington

  2,127

  3,471

  97

  15,749

  416

  3,934

  55

  25,849

  720,994

  763,065

  35.0

  44,484

  85,692

  1,907

  567,293

  11,292

  263,799

  2,751

  977,218

  25,840,245

  23,979,799

  1,201.9

  1 Test includes Annual Statutory tests; retests and some prohibitions issued at the roadside.

  2 Includes the costs of roadworthiness enforcement staff based at VI Test Stations.

  3 Whole-time equivalents.

  258

PRIME MINISTER

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Prime Minister how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  The Prime Minister
  There has been no expenditure by my office on contracts with consultants in the last five years.

  Security
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on the security of Government information and other assets.

  The Prime Minister
  In recent years, the nature of the threats to Government security has changed. While some of the traditional threats to national security may have somewhat reduced, others have not. The security of Government is also increasingly threatened by, for example, theft, copying and electronic surveillance, as well as by terrorism.

  To ensure that their approach to security reflects current threats, the Government have recently completed a review of their arrangements for the management of protective security in Departments and agencies. This has recommended a new protective marking system for documents which will help identify more precisely those which need protecting, enabling them to be protected more effectively according to their value. The new system will also be more closely related to the code of practice on Government information announced in the Government's White Paper on openness.

  In addition, the review has concluded that existing security measures should be examined closely to ensure they are necessary in relation to today's threats; that commercially available security equipment should be more widely used; and that personnel vetting enquiries should be streamlined particularly in routine cases. Overall, the aim is to give Departments and agencies, and management units within them, greater responsibility for assessing the nature of the risks they face and for making decisions, within a framework of common standards of protection, about the security measures they need to put in place. Substantial cost savings will result.

  The first stage of the implementation of the proposals of this review will be the introduction of a new protective marking system with effect from 4 April 1994 alongside the code of practice on access to Government information. The new definitions, which will allow fewer Government documents to be classified, particularly at the higher levels, are set out. The other elements of the new approach to protective security will be put in place in due course.

  The four categories of protective marking: Definitions
  The markings to be allocated to any asset, including information, will be determined primarily by reference to the practical consequences that are likely to result from the compromise of that asset or information. The levels in the new protective marking system are defined as follows:
  TOP SECRET: the compromise of this information or material would be likely: to threaten directly the internal stability of the United Kingdom or friendly countries; to lead directly to widespread loss of life; to cause exceptionally grave damage to the effectiveness or security of United Kingdom or allied forces or to the continuing effectiveness of extremely valuable security
  260
  or intelligence operations; to cause exceptionally grave damage to relations with friendly governments; to cause severe long-term damage to the United Kingdom economy.
  SECRET: the compromise of this information or material would be likely: to raise international tension; to damage seriously relations with friendly governments; to threaten life directly, or seriously prejudice public order, or individual security or liberty; to cause serious damage to the operational effectiveness or security of United Kingdom or allied forces or the continuing effectiveness of highly valuable security or intelligence operations; to cause substantial material damage to national finances or economic and commercial interests.
  CONFIDENTIAL: the compromise of this information or material would be likely: materially to damage diplomatic relations (ie cause formal protest or other sanction); to prejudice individual security or liberty; to cause damage to the operational effectiveness or security of United Kingdom or allied forces or the effectiveness of valuable security or intelligence operations; to work substantially against national finances or economic and commercial interests; substantially to undermine the financial viability of major organisations; to impede the investigation or facilitate the commission of serious crime; to impede seriously the development or operation of major government policies; to shut down or otherwise substantially disrupt significant national operations.
  RESTRICTED: the compromise of this information or material would be likely: to affect diplomatic relations adversely; to cause substantial distress to individuals; to make it more difficult to maintain the operational effectiveness or security of United Kingdom or allied forces; to cause financial loss or loss of earning potential to or facilitate improper gain or advantage for individuals or companies; to prejudice the investigation or facilitate the commission of crime; to breach proper undertakings to maintain the confidence of information provided by third parties; to impede the effective development or operation of government policies; to breach statutory restrictions on disclosure of information; to disadvantage government in commercial or policy negotiations with others; to undermine the proper management of the public sector and its operations.

  Iraq
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of Tuesday 8 March,Official Report, column 148, if he has now considered, following his meeting of 3 March with the hon. Member for Linlithgow, the provision of water filtering and water pumping equipment to Iraq; and what action he has taken to respond to the list of pharmaceuticals required in the valleys of the Euphrates and the Tigris for infants with diseases related to malnutrition in the summer.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 22 March 1994]I have now written to the hon. Member following our recent meeting.

EDUCATION

  Special Needs
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statutory provisions apply to appellants' access to the minutes of special educational needs appeal hearings.

  Mr. Forth
  There are no statutory provisions relating to appellants' access to the minutes of special educational needs appeals hearings held by committees constituted by local education authorities in accordance with paragraph 1 of part I of schedule 2 to the Education Act 1980. There is no statutory requirement for my right hon. Friend to convene hearings before resolving appeals made to him under the Education Act 1981.
  261
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many special educational needs appeals he is currently considering; to what extent delays have been caused by the case currently before the Court of Appeal; when he expects this case to be heard; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  My right hon. Friend is currently considering 330 appeals under the Education Act 1981. In compliance with the recent court judgment in the case of Regina v. Secretary of State for Education ex parte S my right hon. Friend now copies to the parties to each appeal any independent evaluations he receives from one of Her Majesty's inspectors of schools, and invites the parties to comment. He then gives careful consideration to any comments subsequently submitted to him. This process has added several weeks to the time taken to decide appeals. My right hon. Friend is appealing against the court judgment in question. The appeal will be heard on 27 June.

  Higher National Diploma
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether students who are entitled to a mandatory grant for a higher national diploma and

  LEA name and school name

  1992–93 total budget

  Per cent. of LEA's schools budget

  1993–94 total budget

  Schools budget

  Barnet

  Ashmole school

  —

  —

  1,560,002

  1·57

  Bishop Douglass RC school

  —

  —

  782,607

  0·79

  Dollis junior school

  —

  —

  761,032

  0·77

  Finchley Catholic high school

  —

  —

  1,507,554

  1·52

  Hendon school

  2,439,826

  2·41

  3,028,952

  3·06

  Mill Hill GM high school

  798,221

  0·79

  3,476,578

  3·51

  Osidge primary school

  —

  —

  503,369

  0·51

  Queen Elizabeth GM school for boys

  2,793,196

  2·75

  2,802,023

  2·83

  St. James Catholic high school

  —

  —

  957,489

  0·97

  St. Mary's CE high school

  —

  —

  1,739,907

  1·75

  St. Michaels Catholic grammar school

  —

  —

  1,089,120

  1·10

  TOTAL

  6,031,243

  5·95

  18,208,633

  18·37

  Bexley

  Barnehurst infant GM school

  196,923

  0·26

  401,814

  0·55

  Barnehurst junior GM school

  286,834

  0·38

  472,137

  0·65

  Bexley Erith technical GM school

  —

  —

  1,020,078

  1·41

  St. Catherines RC school for girls

  —

  —

  1,028,617

  1·42

  St. Columba's RC boys school

  —

  —

  1,761,471

  2·43

  St. Mary's and St. Joseph's GM school

  —

  —

  1,709,573

  2·36

  TOTAL

  483,757

  0·65

  6,393,690

  8·83

  Brent

  Alperton high school

  —

  —

  1,842,781

  2·21

  Cardinal Hinsley high school

  —

  —

  1,227,373

  1·47

  Claremount high school

  3,161,045

  3·98

  3,454,916

  4·14

  Convent of Jesus and Mary GM high school

  —

  —

  2,697,063

  3·23

  Copland community school and tech school

  3,102,659

  3·91

  3,217,865

  3·85

  Kingsbury high school

  —

  —

  5,344,018

  6·40

  Oakington Manor primary school

  —

  —

  727,025

  0·87

  Queens Park community school

  —

  —

  2,532,850

  3·03

  St. Gregorys RC high school

  —

  —

  1,932,523

  2·31

  TOTAL

  6,263,704

  7·89

  22,976,414

  27·52

  262
  complete each year of the course at different institutions may receive a supplementary mandatory grant for a related degree at the second institution.

  Mr. Boswell
  A student who has already received a mandatory award for an HND course will normally be eligible for a further, modified mandatory award for the final year or years of a designated first degree course, depending upon its duration. Local education authorities can make discretionary payments in respect of any other year of the course. A student's entitlement to a further award would not be affected if his HND course involved study at more than one institution.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the budgets of grant-maintained schools in London on a borough basis since 1992; and what this was as a percentage of each borough's schools budget.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information is given in the table.
  263

  LEA name and school name

  1992–93 total budget

  Per cent. of LEA's schools budget

  1993–94 total budget

  Schools budget

  Bromley

  Beaverwood school for girls

  2,552,722

  3·88

  2,406,809

  3·84

  Bullers Wood school for girls

  2,928,520

  4·45

  2,694,075

  4·30

  Charles Darwin school

  1,493,439

  2·27

  2,561,554

  4·09

  Coopers school

  2,933,762

  4·46

  3,033,314

  4·84

  Crofton junior school

  1,147,490

  1·74

  1,144,559

  1·83

  Hayes school

  3,211,434

  4·88

  3,066,028

  4·89

  Holy Innocents Roman Catholic school

  102,188

  0·16

  422,124

  0·67

  Kelsey Park school

  2,045,005

  3·11

  2,224,322

  3·55

  Langley Park school for boys

  2,814,775

  4·28

  2,878,257

  4·59

  Newstead Wood school for girls

  1,979,519

  3·01

  1,943,852

  3·10

  Ravens Wood school for boys

  2,280,066

  3·47

  2,333,197

  3·72

  St. John Rigby school

  689,498

  1·05

  2,542,122

  4·05

  St. Olave's and St. Saviours grammar school

  413,408

  0·63

  1,729,329

  2·76

  TOTAL

  24,591,826

  37·39

  28,979,542

  46·22

  Camden

  Jews Free School

  —

  —-

  2,228,040

  3·67

  La Sainte Union convent school

  —

  —

  1,856,608

  3·06

  TOTAL

  —

  —

  4,084,648

  6·73

  Croydon

  Edenham school

  —

  —

  2,573,840

  2·83

  Riddlesdown GM school

  2,607,369

  2·52

  2,939,118

  3·23

  St. Joseph's college

  —

  —

  1,649,960

  1·81

  Thomas More GM school

  —

  —

  981,292

  1·08

  Selsdon primary school

  —

  —

  384,867

  0·42

  St. James The Great RC primary school

  —

  —

  183,652

  0·20

  TOTAL

  2,607,369

  2·52

  8,712,729

  9·57

  Ealing

  Brentside high school

  3,524,849

  4·15

  2,637,138

  3·34

  Dormers Wells first school

  —

  —

  182,965

  0·23

  Dormers Wells Middle School

  —

  —

  217,917

  0·28

  Drayton Manor high school

  3,622,547

  4·26

  3,219,216

  4·08

  Greenford high school

  2,468,886

  2·91

  2,916,472

  3·70

  Northolt high school

  2,353,786

  2·77

  2,925,776

  3·71

  The Ellen Wilkinson school for girls

  2,461,000

  2·90

  2,823,045

  3·58

  Wood End first school

  246,307

  0·29

  720,628

  0·91

  Wood End middle school

  187,339

  0·22

  576,885

  0·73

  TOTAL

  14,864,714

  17·49

  16,220,042

  20·57

  Enfield

  Albany School

  —

  —

  1,864,553

  1·83

  Broomfield GM school

  —

  —

  1,743,264

  1·71

  Enfield grammar school

  —

  —

  677,338

  0·67

  St. Ignatius college

  —

  —

  1,577,104

  1·55

  St. Matthews CE primary school

  —

  —

  99,625

  0·10

  The Latymer school

  —

  —

  1,859,058

  1·83

  TOTAL

  —

  —

  65,855,780

  7·69

  Hammersmith

  The London Oratory school

  4,212,304

  9·59

  4,559,637

  9·65

  TOTAL

  4,212,304

  9·59

  4,559,637

  9·65

  Harrow

  Salvatorian College

  —

  —

  790,326

  1·11

  TOTAL

  —

  —

  790,326

  1·11

  Havering

  Abbs Cross School

  —

  —

  1,880,323

  2·50

  Sacred Heart of Mary Girls school

  —

  —

  1,146,126

  1·53

  The Coopers Company and Coborn

  —

  —

  3,443,500

  4·58

  264

  265

  LEA name and school name

  1992–93 total budget

  Per cent. of LEA's schools budget

  1993–94 total budget

  Schools budget

  The Frances Bardsley school for girls

  —

  —

  2,877,329

  3·83

  TOTAL

  —

  —

  9,347,278

  12·44

  Hillingdon

  Abbotsfield school

  —

  —

  1,950,200

  3·48

  Bishopshalt school

  2,446,591

  4·40

  2,551,075

  4·56

  Charville primary school

  —

  —

  858,178

  1·53

  Grange Park infant school

  —

  —

  555,895

  0·99

  Grange Park junior school

  —

  —

  578,793

  1·03

  Harlington community school

  —

  —

  859,249

  1·53

  Haydon school

  2,806,117

  5·05

  3,136,670

  5·60

  Hayes Park infant school

  —

  —

  127,654

  0·23

  Hayes Park junior school

  —

  —

  160,679

  0·29

  Hillside infants school

  —

  —

  251,830

  0·45

  Hillside junior school

  —

  —

  287,213

  0·51

  Mellow Lane school

  2,676,541

  4·82

  2,707,249

  4·84

  Northwood school

  2,751,228

  4·95

  2,465,238

  4·40

  Oak Farm infant school

  180,818

  0·33

  568,784

  1·02

  Oak Farm junior mixed school

  232,110

  0·42

  729,645

  1·30

  Queensmead school

  2,341,554

  4·21

  2,680,510

  4·79

  St. Andrews CE primary school

  —

  —

  278,195

  0·50

  St. Laurence CE junior school

  —

  —

  292,482

  0·52

  Swakeleys school

  —

  —

  1,959,550

  3·50

  The Douay Martys school

  605,074

  1·09

  2,669,865

  4·77

  The Hayes Manor school

  1,907,312

  3·43

  1,933,220

  3·45

  Uxbridge High school

  1,749,175

  3·15

  2,199,164

  3·93

  Vyners school

  2,835,642

  5·10

  2,099,170

  3·75

  TOTAL

  20,532,162

  36·96

  31,900,508

  56·97

  Hounslow

  Gumley House convent school

  —

  —

  2,634,950

  3·22

  Gunnersbury Catholic school for boys

  —

  —

  2,551,931

  3·12

  TOTAL

  —

  —

  5,186,881

  6·35

  Kensington

  Cardinal Vaughan Memorial school

  2,277,844

  5·97

  2,729,542

  8·02

  St. Charles RC primary school

  —

  —

  277,109

  0·81

  TOTAL

  2,277,844

  5·97

  3,006,651

  8·84

  Kingston

  Beverley school

  —

  —

  1,081,348

  3·04

  Holy Cross convent school

  —

  —

  1,769,791

  4·98

  Richard Challoner school

  —

  —

  1,692,418

  4·76

  St. Lukes CE primary school

  —

  —

  165,760

  0·47

  Tiffin school

  724,171

  1·79

  2,289,250

  6·44

  TOTAL

  724,171

  1·79

  6,998,567

  19·70

  Lambeth

  Archbishop Tenison school

  —

  —

  1,687,063

  2·40

  Bishop Thomas Grant school

  —

  —

  2,909,556

  4·14

  Corpus Christi RC primary school

  —

  —

  228,984

  0·33

  Dunraven GM school

  —

  —

  3,753,813

  5·34

  La Retraite RC girls GM school

  2,595,953

  3·24

  1,929,728

  2·75

  St. Bedes RC infant school

  —

  —

  227,221

  0·32

  St. Andrews RC primary school

  —

  —

  213,273

  0·30

  St. Annes RC primary school

  —

  —

  257,674

  0·37

  St. Bernadette RC junior mixed school

  149,253

  0·19

  146,022

  0·21

  St. Martin in the Field high school

  —

  —

  1,196,551

  1·70

  TOTAL

  2,745,206

  3·43

  12,549,885

  17·86

  Lewisham

  Turnham primary school

  256,433

  0·29

  1,046,106

  1·24

  TOTAL

  256,433

  0·29

  1,046,106

  1·24

  266

  267

  LEA name and school name

  1992–93 total budget

  Per cent. of LEA's schools budget

  1993–94 total budget

  Schools budget

  Newham

  Stratford school

  1,736,276

  1·72

  2,158,996

  2·18

  TOTAL

  1,736,276

  1·72

  2,158,996

  2·18

  Redbridge

  Chadwell Heath high school

  —

  —

  2,112,265

  2·65

  TOTAL

  —

  —

  2,112,265

  2·65

  Southwark

  Friars primary school

  —

  —

  140,512

  0·18

  Notre Dame high school

  —

  —

  1,071,845

  1·34

  Sacred Heart RC school

  —

  —

  584,563

  0·73

  St. Anthony's RC primary school

  —

  —

  291,713

  0·37

  St. Francesca Cabrini GM school

  —

  —

  985,427

  1·23

  St. Josephs RC infant school

  —

  —

  160,086

  0·20

  St. Josephs RC junior school

  —

  —

  204,961

  0·26

  St. Michaels school

  —

  —

  1,094,571

  1·37

  The London Nautical school

  1,617,778

  —

  1,680,059

  2·10

  The St.; Thomas the Apostle GM college

  —

  —

  1,212,528

  1·52

  TOTAL

  1,617,778

  —

  7,426,265

  9·30

  Sutton

  All Saints (Carshalton) CE school

  —

  —

  286,405

  0·74

  Cheam high school

  2,288,669

  5·15

  2,736,790

  7·11

  Nonsuch high school for girls

  2,796,337

  6·29

  2,407,563

  6·25

  St. Philomena's catholic high for girls

  —

  —

  2,098,339

  5·45

  Stanley park infants school

  —

  —

  143,928

  0·37

  Stanley park junior school

  —

  —

  168,212

  0·44

  Sutton Grammar school for boys

  1,538,913

  3·46

  1,556,234

  4·04

  The John Fisher school

  1,790,211

  4·03

  1,840,742

  4·78

  Wallington high school for boys

  —

  —

  1,670,559

  4·34

  Wallington high school for girls

  —

  —

  1,882,587

  4·89

  Wilsons school

  1,782,533

  4·01

  1,855,838

  4·82

  TOTAL

  10,196,663

  22·93

  16,647,197

  43·24

  Tower Hamlets

  Raines foundation school

  2,511,334

  2·12

  3,432,149

  2·76

  TOTAL

  2,511,334

  2·12

  3,432,149

  2·76

  Waltham Forest

  Chingford school

  —

  —

  1,449,403

  1·71

  Highams park school

  2,601,374

  3·04

  2,959,096

  3·50

  TOTAL

  2,601,374

  3·04

  4,408,499

  5·21

  Wandsworth

  Burntwood school

  4,252,154

  5·82

  4,487,358

  7·48

  Elliott school

  2,288,120

  3·13

  3,870,951

  6·45

  Ethelburga primary school

  138,424

  0·19

  439,828

  0·73

  Graveney school

  4,802,975

  6·75

  5,244,434

  8·74

  Hillbrook primary school

  —

  —

  925,909

  1·54

  John Paul II RC school

  —

  —

  1,633,050

  2·72

  Salesian college

  620,018

  0–85

  1,653,473

  2·76

  Southfields school

  —

  —

  3,656,378

  6·09

  TOTAL

  12,101,691

  16·55

  21,911,381

  36·51

  Notes:

  1. For schools that became GM in 1993–94 only the budget for that year is shown.

  2. The amounts shown for total budget include annual maintenance grant, special purpose grants for restructuring, development, premises, VAT, transitional grant, section 11 grant and capital grant payable to the schools in the respective years.

  3. The amounts shown as total budget for 1992–93 also include special purpose grant for travellers and displaced persons payable to the schools.

  4. GM schools receive support for expenditure on items such as VAT and the transition to GM status, which form no part of an LEAs overall budget. The percentage of an LEAs total schools budget that GM schools' budgets represent do not, therefore, fall for true comparison.
  268 269

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Forth
  Over the last five years, this Department has awarded 244 contracts to consultants. The total cost in each of the last five years is:

  Year

  £

  1993

  1,629,000

  1992

  1,994,000

  1991

  1,517,000

  1990

  974,000

  1989

  555,000

  Bullying
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the number of children making complaints about bullying at school.

  Mr. Forth
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of state for Education what assessment there has been of the success of the "Action against Bullying" packs issued to schools in 1992.

  Mr. Forth
  Head teachers are responsible in law for maintaining standards of discipline and behaviour in their schools. The "Action against Bullying" packs were issued to assist them in that task. Registered inspectors carrying out inspections under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 are required to inspect and report on disciplinary arrangements within schools, including action taken against bullying.

  Physical Education
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the average amount of time spent in schools on physical education per week for children aged under 17 years for each year since 1979–80.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information is not available in the form requested. However, recent secondary school

  LEA

  Places proposed to be removed where known

  Proposals under consideration for:

  (a) Up to 3 months

  (b) 3–6 months

  (c) 6–9 months

  (d) 9–12 months

  (e) In excess of 12months

  Avon

  55

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1

  Barking and Dagenham

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Barnet

  —

  2

  —

  —

  1

  —

  Bedfordshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  —

  Bexley

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Birmingham

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Bradford

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  Bromley

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Buckinghamshire

  30

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Cambridge

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Cornwall

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Coventry

  —

  —

  4

  —

  —

  —

  Croydon

  —

  7

  1

  1

  —

  —

  Devon

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  270
  staffing surveys have provided information regarding the proportion of pupil periods spent on PE in maintained secondary schools in 1984, 1988 and 1992.

  Proportion of pupil periods spent on PE

  Percentages

  Year group

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  1983–84

  10·4

  9·8

  9·0

  8·1

  7·5

  1987–88

  9·4

  9·3

  8·3

  7·9

  7·3

  1991–92

  9·1

  8·9

  8·3

  7·7

  7·2

  Source: Secondary school staffing surveys.

  In junior classes in maintained primary schools in England in 1986–87, 10 per cent. of class time was spent on PE, games or swimming. Comparable data for other years is not available.

  Special Educational Needs
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many(a) boys and (b) girls aged five to 16 years had a statement of special educational need for the latest available year.

  Mr. Forth
  A total of 171,784 pupils aged 5 to 19 had statements as at January 1993. Data for 17 to 19-year-olds is not collected separately. Figures by gender are not available.

  Schools (Re-organisation and Closure)
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education which local education authorities have school reorganisation or closure proposals under consideration by his Department; how many surplus places will be removed by each authority as a result of their proposals; and which authorities, since the submission of their proposal to his Department, have been waiting for a decision(a) up to three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to nine months, (d) nine to 12 months and (e) in excess of 12 months.

  Mr. Forth
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: The table lists proposals under consideration by the Department as at 18 March 1994 for the closure, alteration or establishment of county and voluntary schools, the number of places that it is proposed will be removed as a result of the proposals—where relevant and known—and the length of time the proposals have been under consideration.
  271

  LEA

  Places proposed to be removed where known

  Proposals under consideration for:

  (a) Up to 3 months

  (b) 3–6 months

  (c) 6–9 months

  (d) 9–12 months

  (e) In excess of 12 months

  Doncaster

  86

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  Dorset

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Dudley

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Ealing

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Gloucestershire

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Greenwich

  420

  —

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Hackney

  140

  —

  1

  —

  —

  1

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Hampshire

  —

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Harrow

  —

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Havering

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Hereford and Worcester

  46

  1

  —

  —

  —

  1

  Hertfordshire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Humberside

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Kensington and Chelsea

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Kent

  584

  3

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Kirklees

  30

  2

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Knowsley

  180

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Lambeth

  1,381

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Lancashire

  —

  4

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Leeds

  195

  8

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Leicestershire

  —

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Lincolnshire

  130

  —

  1

  —

  —

  2

  Manchester

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Newham

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North Tyneside

  292

  —

  —

  2

  —

  —

  North Yorkshire

  114

  3

  —

  1

  —

  —

  Nottinghamshire

  —

  —

  2

  1

  —

  —

  Oxfordshire

  60

  2

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Richmond upon Thames

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Salford

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Sefton

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Sheffield

  202

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Somerset

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Staffordshire

  —

  3

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Stockport

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Suffolk

  —

  1

  1

  —

  1

  —

  Surrey

  —

  3

  3

  —

  —

  —

  Sutton

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Tameside

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  Tower Hamlets

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Trafford

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Wakefield

  1,483

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Walsall

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Wandsworth

  526

  1

  2

  —

  —

  —

  Warwickshire

  2,382

  —

  5

  —

  —

  —

  West Sussex

  —

  1

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Wiltshire

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  Wolverhampton

  84

  2

  —

  —

  —

  1

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Magistrates
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department why applicants for the magistrates bench are invited to disclose their political leanings or affiliations.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  I refer the hon. Member to a reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 17 March at column.758.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what steps he is 272
  taking to ensure the political affiliations of the magistrates bench more closely reflect the views of the population in the areas in which they sit.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor, with his advisory committees, seeks to encourage applications from suitable people of all walks of life and political affiliations through press notices and articles, posters and leaflets and contact with employers and other organisations. Appointments are made from those considered to be suitable having proper regard to the various balancing factors such as age, gender and political affiliation so that each bench broadly reflects the community it serves. Appointments can, however, be made only from those who put themselves forward for consideration.

  Liverpool County Court
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what backlog of cases are awaiting trial in the Liverpool county court; what is the average period for a case coming to trial; what were the waiting periods compared with five years ago; and what assessment he has made of the value for money provided by the system.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Liverpool county court operates a special listing system, under the control of the judiciary, which was introduced following consultation with me legal profession. The system is designed to ensure mat the majority of defended civil cases proceed to trial within 35 weeks of a defence being filed. On 16 March 1994 trials were being listed 32 weeks ahead and the number of cases where a defence had been filed and the trial was due to take place within that period was approximately 5,120. In addition there were some 420 cases of a specialist nature, which fall outside the scope of the special listing system, listed for trial within the next 70 weeks, and some 200 cases awaiting entry into the system.

  The earliest available information on waiting times is from 1990 when, based only on cases disposed of by trial during the months of March and September, the average waiting time was 29 weeks compared to 32 weeks in 1993. Although no specific assessment has been made of the value for money it provides, the system was last reviewed and revised in January 1992 at which time it was considered that it continued to meet its primary objective: that of minimising delay, which the report of the Reviewing Body on Civil Justice—June 1988—identified as one of the main deficiencies in civil justice.

  County court fees

  Sample of changes to the more significant fees chargeable in the county courts in 1964, 1982 and 1994, giving percentage changes.

  Fee and (fee number)

  1964

  1982

  Change, 1964 to 1982 per cent.

  1994

  Change, 1964 to 1994 per cent.

  Entering a plaint (1 in 1964, l(i) in 1982 and 1994)

  £4 maximum

  £35 maximum

  775

  £70 maximum

  1,650

  Service by a bailiff (4 in 1964, 2 in 1982 and 1994)

  2/-

  £4

  3,900

  £10

  9,900

  Taxation of costs (20(i) in 1964, 3(i) in 1982 and 1994)

  l/- for every £2

  5p for every £1

  100

  5p for every £1

  100

  Enforcement of a warrant of execution against goods (37 in 1964, 4(i) in 1982 and 1964)

  £3 maximum

  £25 maximum

  733

  £50 maximum

  1,567

  Issue of a judgment summons (50 in 1964, 4(vi) in 1982 and 1994)

  £2 maximum

  £5 maximum

  150

  £20 maximum

  900

  Personal search of the Registry of Country Court Judgments, per name (72(i) in 1964, 7(i) in 1982 and 1994)

  2/-

  £1

  900

  £1

  900

  In 1964, the County Court Fees Order in force was that of 1959 (SI 1959/1262) as amended in 1961 (twice) and 1963, the first of those amendments (SI 1961/355) affecting the sample fees above. There was a fees Order in 1982 (SI 1982/1706). That order has been further amended six times since, most recently in 1992 (SI 1992/2762).

  The County Court Fees Order 1959 contained 157 separate fees, and the 1980 order 33 fees; there were 20 orders and amending orders between 1964 and 1994.

  Supreme court fees

  Sample of changes to the more significant fees chargeable in the Supreme Court in 1964, 1982 and 1994, giving percentage changes.

  Fee and (fee number)

  1964

  1982

  Change, 1964 to 1982 per cent.

  1994

  Change, 1964 to 1994 per cent.

  Writ of summons (1)

  £4

  £50

  1,150

  £100

  2,400

  Setting down for trial (21 in 1964, 5 in 1982, 5f in 1994)

  £6

  £20

  234

  £50

  734

  Notice of appeal to the High Court (19 in 1964, 11a in 1982 and 1994)

  £6

  £15

  150

  £20

  234

  Filing a notice of appeal, Court of Appeal (62b(ii) in 1964, 27a in 1982, 27a(ii) in 1964)

  £10

  £15

  50

  £100

  900

  Taxation of a bill of costs: first £100 (81c(i) in 1964, 29b(i) in 1982 and 1994)

  £5

  £25

  400

  £25

  400

  Taxation of a bill of costs: over £100 (81c(ii) in 1964, 29b(ii) in 1982 and 1994)

  1/- per £2

  5p per £1

  100

  5p per £1

  100

  In 1964, the Supreme Court Fees Order in force was that of 1961 (SI 1961/2307) as amended in 1962 and 1963, though neither amendment affected the sample fees above. In 1982, the Order in force was that of 1980 (SI 1980/821) as amended in 1982 (SI 1982/1707). That order has been further

  Court Fees
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish a table of court fees in the county court and the Crown court in the years since 1964, showing the percentage increase and showing the corresponding increase in the cost of living index.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Tables of sample fees chargeable in the county courts and the Supreme Court—fees are not chargeable in the Crown court—in the years 1964, 1982 and 1994 follow. The number of fees, the number of amendments, and alterations in fee structures over the period make a direct comparison of all fees impractical. The sample of fees shown includes those which are most significant for general court users and by volume of business. All fees orders are made and published as statutory instruments.

  Comparisons are shown with 1982 because until then no attempt was made to recover 'allied service' costs falling on other Departments' votes—accommodation, stationery and superannuation. From mat year, following observations by the Committee of Public Accounts on this policy of limited cost recovery, the policy adopted was that fees should recover full costs except for judicial costs. The policy has now been further modified to include judicial costs among those which should be covered by fee income taken as a whole.

  The rise in the cost of living index—the retail prices index—between 1964 and 1982 was 862 per cent., and between 1964 and 1994 was 1,567 per cent.
  275
  amended five times since, most recently in 1993 (SI 1993/3191).

  The Supreme Court Fees Order 1961 contained 146 separate fees, and the 1980 order 57 fees; there were 16 orders and amending orders between 1964 and 1994.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  On the best information currently available, 74 external consultancy projects were completed in 1992–93 and the total expenditure was £3·.455 million. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available.

  Child Maintenance
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many cases of assessment for child maintenance have been dealt with in court since April 1993 in(a) the London borough of Newham and (b) Great Britain.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  This information is readily available only for the county courts and the High Court in England and Wales. During the period April to December 1993, the number of children made subject to orders for child maintenance was:

  (a) 253 in the London borough of Newham

  (b) 23,235 in England and Wales.

  These figures do not include lump sum and property orders which benefited children, as no separate categorisation of these cases is available.

  Information relating to the magistrates courts for 1993 will not be available until May 1994.

  Jurors
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many potential jurors have been discharged from jury service because of a disability in the last five years; what those disabilities were; what equipment was available to enable them to fulfil a juror's duties; and in which Crown courts these discharges occurred.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Section 10 of the Juries Act 1974 provides that if it appears to a member of the court staff that there is doubt as to the capacity of a person who attends for jury service to serve effectively, on the ground of physical disability, the person may be brought before a judge. The judge shall then determine whether or not the person should serve as a juror and, if not, shall discharge the summons. It is the policy of the Lord Chancellor's Department that any disabled person summoned for jury service should be given every assistance within reason to enable him/her to serve as a juror. However, the decision is ultimately one for the judge.

  My Department does not collate data on the number of discharges from jury service under section 10 and such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  As to the facilities available at Crown court centres the Lord Chancellor's Department has produced a digest, "Facilities for Disabled People in the Crown and County Courts" which includes information on facilities for
  276
  disabled jurors. I have arranged for a copy of that digest to be placed in the Library. Courts will also make special arrangements, if possible.

ENVIRONMENT

  Dampness and Condensation
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what research his Department is currently undertaking to eliminate dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock in(a) London and (b) England;

  (2) what extra resources he proposes to allow local authority departments to spend in order to eradicate dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock in (a) England and Wales and (b) London;

  (3) if he will consult statutory housing authorities in England and Wales in order to agree an action plan to eliminate dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock.

  Sir George Young
  As part of the annual housing investment programme round, local authorities are required to produce housing strategies setting out their proposed programmes over a three-year period. In support of this process, authorities may carry out surveys of their stock, which may include establishing the prevalence of dampness and condensation. My Department takes these strategies into account when allocating HIP resources each year. £1·5 billion was allocated to local authorities under the programme for 1994–95. It is for individual authorities to decide how to use these and other resources to which they have access, including how much to dedicate to dealing with the problems of dampness and condensation. Matters affecting the public sector housing stock in Wales are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a survey of statutory housing authority areas to determine the prevalence of dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock in(a) London and (b) England.

  Sir George Young
  The 1991 English House Condition Survey—EHCS—included an assessment of dampness and condensation in the public sector housing stock. The findings will be reported in the EHCS energy report due to be published later this year.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many appeals against valuation have resulted in a movement in the valuation of a property by two bands or more(a) in total in England and (b) in each standard region since the introduction of the council tax;

  (2) how many successful appeals against valuation there have been in terms of changing the banding of a property (a) in England and (b) in each standard region of England since the introduction of the council tax.
  277
  Mr. Baldry
  This information is currently being collected by the Valuation Office Agency for the 12-month period to the end of March 1994. A copy of the information will be placed in the Library as soon as possible thereafter.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many appeals there have been against council tax valuations since the council tax was introduced(a) in total for England, (b) in each standard region of England and (c) in each local authority area in England;

  (2) how many appeals against council tax valuations are still waiting to be heard (a) in total for England, (b) in total for each standard region and (c) in each local authority area in England.

  Mr. Baldry
  I am placing in the Library a table which sets out, by valuation office region, and by billing authority, the number of proposals to alter the valuation list which were received by the end of the initial appeal period, the number that had been settled by the end of February and the number outstanding.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table setting out for each local authority in England which submits a claim for transitional relief for 1994–95,(a) the estimated amount of transitional relief each such authority has claimed, (b) the percentage of the total sum of transitional relief for England which each individual claim represents and (c) the estimated amount of transitional relief per dwelling in each authority which has submitted a claim.

  Mr. Baldry
  I will arrange for this information to be placed in the Library of the House once it is available.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues in February.

  Mr. Gummer
  My Department's records show that 1,574 letters were received by me and Ministers in my Department during February 1994, while 2,199 were written to hon. Members.

  Limehouse Tunnel Road Link
  Ms Gordon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and what proportion of the dwellings on the St. Vincent estate, Limehouse, were demolished solely for the purpose of facilitating the construction of the Limehouse tunnel road link; and how many and what proportion of dwellings on the estate were demolished for other purposes; with whose agreement and with whose authority demolition took place; what was the cost of rehousing those displaced and who funded that expenditure; and what plans there are for the future use of the land now vacant consequent on demolition.

  Mr. Baldry
  A total of 92 dwellings were demolished for the purpose of constructing the Limehouse link, representing 36 per cent. of the units on the estate. A further 164 units were demolished for other reasons.

  A total of 314 households were rehoused at a cost to the London Docklands Development Corporation of £45 million.
  278
  Demolition was carried out by the LDDC with the agreement of the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

  It is intended that the land will be redeveloped largely for residential use with some commercial and retail units.

  Pollution
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's assessment of safe or acceptable pollution levels; and what are those adopted by(a) the World Health Organisation and (b) the European Union; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  As set out in the 1990 Environment White Paper it is the aim of the Government's pollution policy to minimise the risk of harm to human health and the environment. The World Health Organisation publishes guideline values, but not standards, for non-carcinogenic pollutants in drinking-water and air quality which are based on minimising health effects alone. There is no single principle by which pollution level standards have been adopted in the European Community.

  Environmental Bulletin
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to publish a periodic environment bulletin similar to those published by the Irish Department of the Environment.

  Mr. Robert Atkins
  My Department publishes annual reports of progress on commitments made under the Environment White Paper, "This Common Inheritance" which include detailed commitments to further action. The next report is currently at the printers.

  Ecolabelling
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the United Kingdom ecolabelling board will be self-financing at its current rate of progress.

  Mr. Atkins
  The United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board has set a target to become self financing by 1997–98. The board reviews its targets annually in the context of its corporate plan and will be discussing these with Ministers later in the year.

  Dishwashers
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies have applied to the competent bodies of other EC member states for ecolabels for dishwashers and washing machines.

  Mr. Atkins
  As yet, no EC ecolabels have been awarded by competent bodies in other member states. All applications for ecolabels are treated in confidence until an award is made.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies have applied to the United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board for ecolabels for dishwashers and washing machines.

  Mr. Atkins
  In November, the United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board awarded the EC ecolabel to three washing machines in Hoover Limited's "New Wave" range. All applications for ecolabels are treated in confidence until an award is made and as yet no further awards have been made.

  Integrated Regional Offices
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the 10 new integrated regional offices will be established; where they will be located; and who in each region will be responsible for their activities.

  Sir George Young
  The new Government offices in the regions will open for business in April. For the foreseeable future, the functions of the new offices will continue to be carried out from the offices occupied by existing departmental regional offices. The names of nine of the 10 regional directors were detailed in the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment in his reply on 8 February at columns 145–46.

  Debt at end of year1

  £ million

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  21992–93

  Bolton

  245

  241

  234

  215

  216

  146

  Bury

  108

  110

  118

  117

  115

  82

  Manchester

  1,138

  1,096

  1,129

  1,275

  1,382

  1,326

  Oldham

  279

  287

  292

  274

  274

  242

  Rochdale

  216

  228

  n/a

  248

  278

  212

  Salford

  420

  428

  437

  450

  467

  403

  Stockport

  151

  160

  163

  165

  156

  116

  Tameside

  224

  217

  219

  248

  262

  186

  Trafford

  99

  118

  118

  113

  109

  81

  Wigan

  303

  303

  317

  276

  278

  250

  Sources:

  1 1987–88 to 1989–90—Outstanding loan debt, capital outturn returns.

  1990–91 to 1992–93—Total external debt, borrowing and lending surveys and PWLB.

  2The debt of most housing authorities was reduced in 1992–93 as the result of the commutation of certain loan charge grants in October 1992.

  Temporary Accommodation
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many families with children are living in temporary accommodation for the last available year.

  Sir George Young
  The information requested is not available centrally and my Department has no estimates.

  Unfit Housing
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of homes occupied by families with children are deemed to be(a) damp and (b) unfit for use for the last available year.

  Sir George Young
  The 1991 English House Condition Survey found 1 per cent. of homes occupied by families with children in England so seriously damp that the dwelling was considered unfit for habitation in this respect. The same survey found 5·8 per cent. of homes occupied by families with children unfit on any grounds.

  Bathing Water
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of United Kingdom bathing waters failed to comply with EU standards for sewage contamination for the latest available year.

  Mr. Atkins
  The latest bathing water results were announced on 1 December last year. They showed that in

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Baldry
  The information requested is not held centrally by my Department and is obtainable only at disproportionate cost.

  Local Authority Debt
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of debt for each local authority in Greater Manchester; and what was the figure for each of the previous 10 years.

  Mr. Baldry
  The information is given in the table. Figures before 1987–88 are not readily available.

  1993 20 per cent. of United Kingdom bathing waters did not yet comply with the mandatory coliform standards of the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC).

  Refrigerant Bank
  Mr. Heald
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans there are to establish a United Kingdom refrigerant bank.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am pleased to announce that a United Kingdom refrigerant bank, the Refrigerant Users Group is being launched tomorrow. RUG is being set up by the refrigeration industry with the support of Government to manage the existing stocks of refrigerants efficiently and environmentally. It is being set up as part of Halon Users National Consortium Ltd. and will have the same role for refrigerants that HUNC has performed in relation to halons. It will act as a clearing house putting those who need to continue using recycled chlorofluorocarbons in touch with those who have spare CFCs for sale. This is the first refrigerant bank to be set up in Europe.

  The establishment of RUG is a vital step in allowing us to phase out CFC production by the end of this year. It will enable existing equipment to be serviced using recycled material and allow an orderly phaseout. It shows United Kingdom Government and United Kingdom industry commitment to phase out ozone-depleting substances as quickly and as safely as possible. RUG is a very good example of industry's willingness to support Government in achieving a common environmental goal.

  Biotechnology
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government will be replying to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology's report on Regulation of the United Kingdom Biotechnology Industry and Global Competitiveness.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am pleased to announce that we have today made a full response to the Select Committee report and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

EMPLOYMENT

  Disabled Employees
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many registered disabled people are employed in his Department; and what percentage this is of the total.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer the hon. Member to "Independent" of 18 March. A copy has been placed in the Library.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues in February.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  During February, the Department received 684 letters from hon. Members. In the same period, 526 replies were issued.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for the last 12 months how many parliamentary questions he has referred to one of his Department's agencies for answer; and what percentage of parliamentary questions to his Department this represents.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  During the period 16 March 1993 to 15 March 1994, 202 parliamentary questions were referred for answer to the Employment Service, the only agency in the Department with responsibility for replying to parliamentary questions on operational matters. This figure represents 10·1 per cent. of all parliamentary questions replied to by the Department.

  North Norfolk Action
  Sir Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 3 March,Official Report, columns 867–68, what was the expected expenditure on each place on North Norfolk Action and the actual expenditure in the first six months of operation; and if he will break down the expenditure to date into (a) provider fee, (b) allowances, (c) fares to interview, (d) publicity, (e) evaluation and (f) Employment Service running costs, including staff costs and payment of allowances.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  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.
  282
  Letter from M. Fogden to Sir Ralph Howell, dated 23 March 1994:

  The Secretary of State has asked me to answer your Parliamentary Question about the expected expenditure on each place on North Norfolk Action and the actual expenditure in the first six months of operation; and a breakdown of expenditure incurred to date.

  The expected expenditure for North Norfolk Action was £3,263 per place. The actual expenditure for the first six months of North Norfolk Action was approximately £2,850 per place.

  The expenditure to date broken down as you requested, is as follows:

  £

  (a) Provider fees

  187,950

  (b) Allowances

  85,178

  (c) Fares to interview

  5,632

  (d) Publicity

  1,500

  (e) Evaluation

  —1

  (f) Running costs

  58,000

  1 External evaluation starts on 22 March and is expected to cost in the region of £25,250.

  I hope this is helpful.

  Training
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the organisations within the Greater London area which provide training to unemployed people in workshop and craft skills and are funded from Government programmes.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The following is a list of the organisations requested. Training and Enterprise Councils (TECS) are responsible for planning and arranging Government funded training programmes. London TECS are currently negotiating contracts with their training providers for 1994–95.

  ORGANISATIONS WITH WHOM LONDON TECs CONTRACT FOR WORKSHOP BASED TRAINING PROVISION IN ALL SKILLS AREAS

  AZTEC

  Craft Training

  TfW

  Wandsworth Training Agency, Clapham

  Training and Business Factory, Clapham

  Share Community, Battersea

  YT

  Community Industry, Battersea

  S Thamos College, Putney Hill

  Wandsworth Training Agency, Wandsworth

  Skill Areas

  TfW

  Apex Trust, Wandsworth and Merton

  Share Community, Battersea

  Royal Borough of Kingston

  Wandsworth Training Agency

  North East Surrey College of Technology, Ewell

  Training and Business Factory, Brixton

  Sight and Sound, Central London

  Pruners, Sutton

  Equinox Associates, Battersea

  Mari Computer Training, Wandsworth

  Instant Muscle, Tooting

  Kingston College of Further Education

  CENTEC (Central London TEC) YT:

  Camden Jobtrain

  Community Care

  Motor Mechanics

  Tyre Fitting

  Catering—Food Preparation

  Carpentry and Joining

  City of Westminster College

  283

  Sound Engineering

  Stage Electrics

  Film and TV Lighting

  Photography

  Graphic Design

  Recreation and Leisure Management

  Engineering Technology

  Video Production

  Gas Installation

  Construction Industry Training Board

  Plastering

  Carpentry and Joinery

  Shopfitting

  Stonemasonry

  Fulham Training Workshops

  Motor Vehicle

  Electrical Installation

  Painting and Decorating

  Carpentry and Joinery

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  Graphic Design

  Community Care

  Floristry

  Hotel and Catering Training Co

  Food Preparation and Cooking

  Food and Drink Service

  Housekeeping

  Reception

  Kilburn Skills

  Retail

  Catering

  Carpentry and Joinery

  Painting and Decorating

  Bricklaying

  Kingsway Training

  Graphic Design

  Jewellery

  Photoprocessing

  New Careers Training

  Carpentry

  Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

  Motor Vehicle

  Community Care

  Painting and Decorating

  Catering

  Splinters of Mayfair

  Hairdressing

  Training for Work

  Camden Training Centre

  Printing

  Horticulture

  Childcare

  Micro-Electronics

  Capital Training

  Bus Driving

  Hammersmith and West London College

  Carpentry

  Bricklaying

  Hotel and Catering Training Company

  Hotel and Catering

  London Electronics College

  Electrical and Electronic Engineering

  Mike Bryon Associates

  Bus Driving

  Pimlico Arts and Media

  Graphics/Design

  CILNTEC (City and Inner London North TEC) YT:

  EMC INTEC Ltd.

  Hackney College

  Springboard Hackney

  Road Transport Industry Training Board

  Grand Metropolitan

  Bracklyn Training

  Construction Industry Training Board

  Holloway Youth Workshops

  Springboard Islington

  284

  Wells TEC

  North London Garages

  London Retail Meat Traders Association

  TFW:

  Laing Employment Training, Hackney College

  LETEC (London East TEC) Prospects (YT):

  B and D Youth Training

  Chamber of Commerce Training

  CITB

  Community Industry

  Crawford Training

  East London Training Group

  Ford Motor Company

  Havering Group Training

  Havering 16 plus

  Inner London Training

  J. and J. Training Ltd.

  J. and J. Training Ltd.

  JHP Training Ltd.

  JHP Training Ltd.

  Joshua Galvin Hairdressing

  London College of Furniture

  London Borough of Newham

  Mowlem Training Ltd.

  Newham Building Services

  Quest

  Vocational Prospects

  Waltham Forest Training Agencies

  Advance (TfW)

  Chelmer Training

  East London Projects

  East London Group Training

  J. and J. Training Services

  J. and J. Training Services

  J. T. Ltd.

  J.H.P. Training Ltd.

  LETO Laing

  Lloyds Training Services

  Mowlem Training Ltd.

  Network Projects Training

  Newham Community College

  Newham Wise Ltd.

  Westminster Training and Development

  North London TEC YT and TfW:

  CITB

  College of North East London

  Enfield College First Rung

  Harington

  HESTA

  Hendon College

  Hotel and Catering Training Company

  J. H. P. Sumlock

  Key Training Ltd.

  John Laing

  Leaside Bus Company Ltd.

  L. B. Enfield

  North London Garages

  Ravenswood

  Sight and Sound

  North West London TEC YT and TfW:

  Brent Regeneration Agency

  Brent Workskills Training

  Capital Training

  Cathedral Employment

  Chelmer Training

  City Training Link

  Dow Stoker Ltd. and Women Returners Ltd.

  Greenhill College

  Hotel and Catering Training Company

  Kilburn Skills

  KUDOS

  London Borough of Harrow

  LUYC

  285

  Manpower plc

  Middlesex ITEC

  National Schizophrenia

  Neighbourhood English Scheme

  New Enterprise Development

  Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

  Stanmore College

  Taurus International

  The Training and Business Factory

  The Training Network North London Ltd.

  Weald College

  SOLOTEC (South London TEC) TfW:

  The Training and Business Factory

  Work placements in various occupations, emphasis on job search support.

  PCS Ltd

  Technical and Practical in various occupations.

  MacIntyre Marketing Ltd.

  Horticulture

  Wordpower/Number Power

  NACRO

  Business Administration

  Carpentry/Joinery

  Community Project work for people with painting and decorating and general building experience.

  Carshalton College of FE

  Bricklaying.

  Nescot Training Group

  Enterprise Rehearsal

  Bricklaying

  Work placements in various occupations, and job search, counselling and support.

  Croydon Training Centre

  Fork Lift Truck Driving.

  South Thames TEC YT and TfW:

  CIRCA (Employed status YT and TC Provider)

  CITB

  NACRO

  Lambeth College

  T. and B. Factory

  Cathedral

  ICY

  Southwark College

  Community Industry

  Jarvis Training Ltd.

  Home Improvement Project

  Lewisham College

  People for Action

  Greenwich Training Company

  Woolwich College

  Seleta (South East London Engineering Training Association)

  LITS (London Industrial Training Scheme)

  Ladywell Lodge (part of Lewisham Council)

  Lambeth ET Scheme (LETS)

  LET (London Employment Training)

  West London TEC YT and TfW:

  Wempey

  Ealing Tertiary College

  CITB

  Middlesex Training Centre

  Marlborough Training Centre

  Richmond upon Thames College

  Malaysian Airlines
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the dates Ministers, or officials from his Department, including his Department's agencies, have used the Malaysian airline MAS for each year since 1985, including this year to date, on official business; and what was the cost of each flight to his Department.
  286
  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Emphysema
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many claims have been received for compensation arising from employment-related emphysema in each year since 1979; and how many were successful.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Department has no arrangements for paying compensation to people who have developed emphysema as a result of their employment. Claims for compensation against employers under civil law are a matter for the employer concerned.

  Claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit in respect of emphysema are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security.

  Jobplan Workshops
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what guidance is given to the Employment Service Agency when trying to match the skills of an unemployed person attending a jobplan workshop with the employment available;

  (2) what action is taken in respect of an unemployed person who refuses to accept a job or training place offered in a jobplan workshop.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  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 M. Fogden to Mrs. Ann Clwyd, dated 23 March 1994:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions about Jobplan. You have asked how Jobplan can help an unemployed person match their skills with those required in the local labour market and whether any action is taken when someone refuses a job or a training place offered to them while on the Workshop.
  It may help if I explain that Jobplan aims to help people who have been unemployed for a year or more to compete for jobs and opportunities. About 80 per cent. of the people who first become unemployed leave the unemployment register within a year. For those who remain unemployed, confidence and the intensity of job search can decrease. People often believe that they have few options open to them. It is therefore important that at this stage people take a fresh look at their situation and have the chance to review their strengths and skills and set themselves clear, achievable job goals that take advantage of the help available. This can be achieved on Jobplan.
  Whilst on the Workshop, people are encouraged and helped to identify the skills and strengths they have demonstrated in both work and non-work situations. One of the sessions on the Workshop is devoted to examining the local labour market. The purpose of this is to tell the group about the types and numbers of jobs that are available in the area and the changing nature of work. They are then asked to consider which of their skills may be transferable and whether they might need to acquire new ones. Following this session each person has an individual guidance interview which in some cases can lead to them applying for further training.
  Jobplan is run on the Employment Service's behalf by organisations from the private, public and voluntary sectors. Every Workshop leader is provided with a copy of the Jobplan Leaders manual which provides guidance on running each session.
  At the end of the Workshop, everyone should be able to agree an Action Plan which sets out the steps they need to take to get

  287
  back into work. This may be making one or more job applications or applying for a training place or other opportunity. If someone is offered a job or a training place on the Workshop and turns down the opportunity to start, no action will be taken. However, we would want to discuss with the person the factors that led to their decision and see what further help we could offer. Arrangements are made for all those completing the Workshop to be interviewed at the Jobcentre when they next sign. If at that time they refuse offers of suitable employment, we would refer their case to independent adjudication authorities.

  I hope this is helpful.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) men and (b) women have participated in jobplan workshops in the Cynon Valley and in all other Welsh constituencies since their inception.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  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 M. Fogden to Mrs. Ann Clwyd, dated 23 March 1994:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of men and women who have started on Jobplan in Wales and in the Cynon Valley since the programme started.
  Jobplan Workshops are for people unemployed for a year who decline or fail to take up a job or a place on an Employment Department programme at the Restart interview. They aim 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 an Action Plan, mapping out the steps they need to take to get them back to work. Jobplan started nationally in April 1993.
  It is possible to give the information asked for the Cynon Valley, as people who live in this valley are served by two Jobcentres, Mountain Ash and Aberdare. The details for the rest of Wales are not collected on a constituency basis and therefore the figures given are for the Principality as a whole.
  From April 1993 to February 1994, 406 men and 45 women have started on Workshops in the Cynon Valley. In Wales in total 9,873 people have started the Workshops, 8,402 men and 1,471 women.
  I hope this is helpful.

  Young People (Benefits)
  Mr. Wicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is(a) the youth training scheme allowance and (b) the income support level on severe hardship grounds for 17-year-olds and what were the equivalent figures in (i) 1990–91, (ii) 1991–92 and (iii) 1992–93.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The figures for the youth training (YT) allowance and the income support level on severe hardship grounds for 17-year-olds for the years requested are given in the following table:

  £

  YT allowance

  Income support level

  1990–91

  35·00

  28·80

  1991–92

  35·00

  131·15

  1992–93

  35·00

  33·60

  1993–94

  35·00

  34·80

  1 31·40 from 1 October 1991.

  288

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people stopped claiming unemployment benefit in 1993–94; and of those, how many entered full-time or part-time employment.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Detailed information is not available on the destinations of the 4·4 million claimants who left unemployment during the year ended February 1994. However, past survey evidence indicates that the majority of people who leave claimant unemployment go into jobs.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Information in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Youth Training
  Mr. Wicks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to increase youth training scheme allowances for 17-year-olds.

  Miss Widdecombe
  We have no plans to increase minimum youth training allowances. Minimum YT allowances are set at levels which reflect the fact that trainees are involved in the learning process.

  Employers and training providers benefit from considerable Government investment in the training of young people. Because of this, they are encouraged to pay trainees more than the specified minimum rates of allowance wherever possible and many do so.

  Public Interest Immunity Certificates
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many public interest immunity certificates he has signed in each year since 1990.

  Mr. David Hunt
  [holding answer 15 March 1994]: None.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Divisions
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Lord President of the Council (1) what consideration he is giving to the difficulties experienced by hon. Members at 7 Millbank in reaching the Lobbies within the eight minutes allowed before Divisions;

  (2) if he will bring forward an amendment to Standing Order No. 37 to extend the time allowed to hon. Members to reach Division Lobbies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  The situation is being carefully monitored, but I have at present no plans to bring forward an amendment to Standing Order No. 37. As the hon. Member may be aware, Madam Speaker has discretion to extend Division times in the event of any difficulties in reaching the Lobbies.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Mr. Lorrain Osman
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations were made to the British Government by the Malaysian Government about the case of Lorrain Osman;

  (2) on what occasions the case of Lorrain Osman was discussed with the Malaysian Government.

  Mr. Goodlad
  It is established practice that details of our relations with other Governments are confidential.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether Her Majesty's Government received representations between 1983 and 1993 from the Government of or Ministers in Malaysia in relation to Mr. Lorrain Osman; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) whether representations were made to Her Majesty's Governmment by the Malaysian authorities concerning the murder in Hong Kong of Jalil Ibrahim; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  [holding answer 15 March 1994]: Yes. However, it is established practice that details of our relations with other Governments are confidential.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons documents concerning the murder of Jalil Ibrahim were adjudged by him to be irrelevant to the defence of Mr. Lorrain Osman; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  [holding answer 15 March 1994]: It was the divisional court, not the Secretary of State, who made this judgment in respect of the "Jalil Documents" in Lorrain Osman's seventh application for Habeas Corpus.

  Non-Proliferation
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the reconciliation of Her Majesty's Government's policy on the exports of high-technology conventional weapons with its policy on non-proliferation.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We support the export of British equipment, including high technology conventional weapons, where this is compatible with our political, strategic and security interests. This is based on the right of all nations to self-defence, in accordance with article 51 of the UN charter. As part of our objective to prevent destabilising accumulations of arms, we observe strict responsibility and restraint in our exports of arms and actively encourage other suppliers to do likewise.

  Missile Technology Control Regime
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent changes relating to the missile technology control regime.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  At the missile technology control regime plenary meeting in Interlaken, 29 November to 2 December 1993, member states agreed that export controls on sensitive items should be maintained, and introduced 290
  clarification of some listed export items. They undertook to redouble efforts to persuade potential exporter countries outside the regime to abide by MTCR guidelines. In recent months Russia, Brazil and South Africa have also made significant progress towards adoption of MTCR guidelines. The meeting welcomed Argentina and Hungary as new members.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those states that have indicated adherence to the terms of the missile technology control regime.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The following are member states of the missile technology control regime—MTCR.

  Argentina

  Austria

  Australia

  Belgium

  Canada

  Denmark

  Finland

  France

  Germany

  Greece

  Hungary

  Iceland

  Italy

  Japan

  Luxembourg

  Portugal

  Netherlands

  New Zealand

  Norway

  Republic of Ireland

  Spain

  Sweden

  Switzerland

  United Kingdom

  United States

  Several other states have declared their adherence to the MTCR guidelines, or are making progress towards meeting them, including:

  Brazil

  China

  Czech Republic

  Indonesia

  Romania

  Russia

  South Africa

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will abide by the opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal status in international law of the United Kingdom nuclear weapons policy.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We are not prepared to conjecture about what conclusions the International Court of Justice might reach on this issue.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to other Commonwealth countries in respect of their making submissions to the International Court of Justice on the legality of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We will be making our own submission to the International Court of Justice on this question, and the subject has been discussed with other states in the course of normal diplomatic exchanges.
  291
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will define the terms "strategic" and "sub-strategic" as currently used by his Department.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  These terms relate to the type of action to which a nuclear weapon would contribute. Sub-strategic weapons provide the ability to take action more limited than a strategic strike.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the referral to the International Court of Justice for clarification of international law as regards nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave him on 1 February, at column 605.

  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part Her Majesty's Government will play in European Union submissions to the International Court of Justice as to the legality of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The submission of statements to the International Court of Justice is a matter for individual member states.

  European Union
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in which countries where the European Union takes on the responsibility of representing individual countries of the European Union those countries do not have direct representation.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The European Union does not have a legal personality. In particular it does not represent individual member states. Under article J.5.1 of the Treaty on European Union the presidency is responsible for representing the European Union on issues of foreign and security policy where member states have an agreed policy. This sometimes involves the presidency taking action in a third country where not all the member states have diplomatic representation. In those countries where the presidency itself does not have a diplomatic mission, another member state acts on the presidency's behalf.

  The presidency also represents the European Union where necessary in business under the justice and home affairs pillar. In matters of Community competence—example trade—which require action in third countries, the European Commission can represent the member states. On 1 July 1993 consular guidelines agreed by member states came into effect. Subject to local circumstances nationals of a member state who require consular assistance in a country or place where that member state has no accessible consular or diplomatic representation may seek the help of a permanent diplomatic or consular post of another member state.

  North Korea
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the outcome of the International Atomic Energy Agency visit to North Korea to conduct nuclear safeguards inspections on facilities, pursuant to resolutions of the United Nations Security Council; what consultations he has had with the 292
  United States Government over these nuclear inspections; and if he will make a statement on the application of United Kingdom non-proliferation policy to (a) the Koreas, (b) Taiwan and (c) Japan.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Despite a written agreement of 15 February, North Korea did not allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to undertake some crucial parts of their inspection earlier this month. Consequently the agency was unable to verify that no diversion of nuclear material from the civil nuclear fuel cycle has taken place in the last year. We shall continue to work closely with the United States Administration on this issue. We expect all countries which are members of the non-proliferation treaty, or which have concluded safeguards agreements, to abide fully by their obligations not to develop nuclear weapons.

  Food Prices
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the EC proposal for increasing the number of member states required to block a decision makes an exception in the case of decisions affecting the price of food.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The number of votes required for decisions taken by qualified majority voting in the Council is laid down in article 148 of the treaty of Rome. A decision on the amendment of article 148 in the context of enlargement is still under negotiation in the Council. Council decisions on prices under the common agricultural policy are decided by qualified majority voting under article 43. There has been no proposal to amend this practice.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his departmental policy on the use by Ministers of his Department of Foreign and Commonwealth Office letterheaded paper to correspond to hon. Members on the Conservative and Unionist party strategy for the forthcoming European elections; and if he has had any discussions with his departmental accounting officer on this issue.

  Mr. Hurd
  My special adviser's office recently used Foreign and Commonwealth Office paper by mistake for a letter on the Conservative approach to the European elections. I have assured the permanent Under-Secretary that this will not happen again.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Turkey
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in respect of how many Kurdish journalists and Kurds involved in the distribution of newspapers he has received representations that they have been unlawfully killed in the last three years.
  293
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We are aware of such unexplained killings, but have not received representations about specific cases. We hope that the Turkish authorities will vigorously investigate these crimes so that those responsible can be brought before the courts.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to the use of the anti-terror department against elected members of the pro-Kurdish Democracy party in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We understand that Democracy party deputies were detained by anti-terrorist police after the National Assembly voted to remove their parliamentary immunities following a request by the public prosecutor that they be tried for alleged offences related to terrorism. The Turkish Prime Minister has said she will investigate allegations that the police acted improperly. We shall continue to make clear to the Turkish authorities the importance we attach to their permitting the non-violent expression of political beliefs.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has as to supplies of food and medical supplies to Kurdish areas of Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We have no information about this, which is a matter for the Turkish authorities.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Council of Ministers has held recently on allegations of abuse of the human rights of Kurds committed by Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Council of Ministers has not recently discussed allegations of human rights abuse in Turkey. European Union Foreign Ministers raised human rights with the Turkish Foreign Minister on 8 November 1993. At the Human Rights Commission in Geneva recently the European Union expressed concern at the situation in Turkey. I stressed our concerns when I met the Turkish Minister for Human Rights in London earlier this month.

  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions have been held in the Council of Europe regarding the possibility of the expulsion of Turkey from that body, in respect of abuse of human rights; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The Council of Europe regularly discusses human rights in a number of countries including Turkey. There has been no discussion of Turkey's expulsion.

  China
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what complaints he has received recently regarding the detention of foreign visitors on religious grounds by the Chinese Government.

  Mr. Goodlad
  A number of non-governmental organisations and others have brought to our attention the detention last month of ten religious believers, including seven foreigners, in Henan province in China. We understand that all the detainees have now been released.

  Norway
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of the terms agreed between the EU and Norway on the latters proposed accession to the Community with particular reference to their effect on the common fisheries policy and access by EU members to the North sea.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Norway agreed its terms of accession with the European Union at the 15–16 March Foreign Affairs Council. On the details of the terms, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Wells) on 21 March at col.11. The agreement reached on Norwegian accession does not change the existing rules of the common fisheries policy. European Union countries' access to waters, including the North sea, is unaffected. Reciprocal arrangements for access to resources fully respect the principle known as relative stability, that is, the agreed allocation of fishing opportunities according to historical patterns.

  Yugoslavia
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much money has been received from the United Nations to pay for(a) Operation Hanwood, (b) Operation Cheshire and (c) Operation Grapple; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The names "Hanwood, Cheshire and Grapple" are national terms to describe participation by British armed forces in UN operations in the former Yugoslavia. The terms are not used by the UN. The UN has made payments to cover United Kingdom troop costs for both Operation Hanwood—the field ambulance which withdrew from Croatia in September—and Operation Grapple—The United Kingdom operation in Bosnia—as one payment for the total United Kingdom troop contribution to UNPROFOR.

  Operation Cheshire describes RAF participation in the Sarajevo airlift. The United Nations does not refund costs to any of the participants who are carrying in humanitarian supplies on behalf of UNHCR.

  UNPROFOR Croatia—UNPROFOR I—began in February 1992. In the first six months United Kingdom's participation in UNPROFOR II was at no additional cost to the United Nations; the operation was placed on United Nations assessed contributions on 1 April 1993.

  Reimbursements from the United Nations to date are as follows:

  FY 1992–93

  UNPROFOR I payments for troop costs for the period to 31 July 1992

  Total £191,663·25

  FY 1993–94 to date

  UNPROFOR I payments for troop costs March 1992 to March 1993

  £1,667,909·09

  UNPROFOR I and II payments for troop costs April-November 1993

  £13,439,501·66

  UNPROFOR II rations for the period April-September 1993 £2,013,288·19

  UNPROFOR II payment for helicopter services April-September

  295
  1993

  £979,273·70

  Total £18,099,972·64

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the meeting between United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Serbian President in Belgrade on 15 March; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: Mrs. Ogata received assurances from President Milosevic that he would use his influence with the Bosnian Serbs over access to Maglaj. The situation has now improved and the first United Nations aid convoy to reach the town since October arrived on 20 March. Mrs. Ogata also expressed her concern at the continued human rights abuses in Banja Luka. We look to the Serb authorities to act on these concerns.

  EC Accession Treaty
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what dates he expects(a) the deliberations of the formal Council of Ministers of the European Community concerning an accession treaty to be completed, (b) publication of the draft text and (c) introduction of the relevant treaty for treaty ratifications.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 22 March 1994]: The draft treaty is due to be published in early April. If the European Parliament gives its assent to accession during their session of the week beginning 2 May, the treaty will be signed in that month. It will then be open for ratification by member states and applicant states.

  Palestine
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Palestine.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 22 March 1994]: Some of the precautionary measures enforced by the Israelis in the occupied territories following the Hebron massacre are still in place, including a curfew in the Hebron area and the closure of the occupied territories. We supported United Nations Security Council Resolution 904 which called for protection of Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories. The resolution also calls for the implementation without delay of the declaration of principles signed last year by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

  Licence and expiry date of licence

  Wild bird species and maximum number permitted to be killed under the licence

  Premise of license and location covered by licence

  Belfast International Airport 30 April 1994

  Laping (20)

  Preserving air safety within the perimeter of Aldergrove Airport

  Belfast International Airport 30 April 1994

  Black Headed gull (20)

  Preserving air safety within the perimeter of Aldergrove Airport

  Belfast International Airport 30 April 1994

  Golden Plover (20)

  Preserving air safety within the perimeter of Aldergrove Airport

  River Faughan Anglers 30 June 1994

  Cormorant (10)

  Protecton of migratory fish smolts at the River Faughan, County Londonderry

  River Faughan Angles 30 June 1994

  Cormorant (5)

  Protection of salmon smolts at the River Bundennett, County Tyrone and County Londonderry

  296

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Correspondence
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues in February.

  Sir John Wheeler
  Two hundred and twenty letters were received of which 161 were replied to.

  Parliamentary Questions
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions in the past five years he has knowingly provided incomplete information in answers to parliamentary questions other than on the ground of disproportionate cost; and on what subjects.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  I answer parliamentary questions on the basis set out in paragraph 27 of "Questions of Procedure for Ministers." I also seek to comply with Madam Speaker's guidance on the need for brief answers to oral questions.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for the past 12 months how many parliamentary questions he has referred to one of his Department's agencies for answer; and what percentage of parliamentary questions to his Department this represents.

  Sir John Wheeler
  During the period 1 January 1993 to 31 December 1993 71 questions were referred for answer by a Departmental agency. This represents 4·7 per cent. of parliamentary questions asked.

  Wild Birds
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list details of all current licences issued to kill wild bird species, including the premises and the wild bird species concerned.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  The details of all current licences issued by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland to kill wild bird species, including the premises and the wild bird species are as follows:
  297

  License and expiry date of licence

  Wild bird species and maximum number permitted to be killed under the licence

  Premise of licence and location covered by licence

  Bann System Ltd. 30 June 1994

  Cormorant (10)

  Protection of salmon smolts at the Lower Bann and tributary rivers

  Shanes Castle Estates Co. Ltd. 30 June 1994

  Cormorant (10)

  Protection of salmon smolts at shanes Castle, Antrim

  J.T. Lawrence 2 April 1994

  Cormorant (5)

  Preserving fish stocks at lough Doo Fishery, Portaferry, County Down

  Warrenpoint, Rostrevor and District Angling Club 2 April 1994

  Cormorant (5)

  Protection of trout stocks at Mill Dam and Donaghaguy Reservoir, Warrenpoint, County Down

  Castlewellan and Annsborough Angling Club 5 April 1994

  Cormorant (5)

  Protection of fish farm (stocking of trout) at Ballylough Lough and Ballywillwill lough, County Down

  T/A Alpha Pest Control/Services March 1995

  Starling

  Preventing the spread of disease or preserving public health—all of Northern Ireland

  T/A Alpha Pest Control/Services 23 March 1995

  Sparrow and Feral Pigeon

  For the purpose of preventing the spread of disease or preserving public health—all of Northern Ireland

  Fair Employment
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of legally qualified staff employed by the Northern Ireland office and the Northern Ireland Departments, listing the branches in which such staff are employed and the number in each; how many people there are in each case whose perceived religious affiliation is (i) Protestant, (ii) Roman Catholic, (iii) not determined; how many came from outside Northern Ireland; and how many of the latter were born (1) in the rest of the United Kingdom and (2) in the Republic of Ireland.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The total number of qualified legal staff currently employed by the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland departments is 147. The table lists the branches in which such staff are employed and the number in each.

  Branch

  Number of Staff

  Northern Ireland Office, London

  1

  Northern Ireland Office, Belfast

  4

  Crown Solicitors Office

  42

  Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions

  37

  Northern Ireland Compensation Agency

  10

  Police Authority for Northern Ireland

  3

  Department of Finance and Personnel Solicitor's Office

  35

  Office of Law Reform

  2

  Legislative Counsel

  7

  Northern Ireland Land Registry

  5

  Equal Opportunities Unit

  1

  The use of community background monitoring information in the Northern Ireland civil service is governed by a code of practice, agreed with staff representatives, under which such information can be used only for the purposes of monitoring the effectiveness of the Northern Ireland civil service policy on equality of opportunity and to meet statutory requirements under fair employment legislation.

  Disaggregation in the detail sought would be contrary to the code of practice, and could contravene the confidentiality requirements contained in regulations made
  298
  under the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989. However, of the 147 staff currently employed in a legal capacity 83 are perceived as Protestant and 52 as Roman Catholic. The perceived religious affiliation of 12 cannot be determined. Of these, eight are assessed as being from outside Northern Ireland including five from the United Kingdom and one from the Republic of Ireland.

  Purchasing Health Boards
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each purchasing health board in Northern Ireland, the figures for revenue funding in 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95, and the estimated figures for 1995–96 and 1996–97; and if he will indentify the changes for each health board's revenue budget resulting from the replacement of the resource allocation working party system of determining funding allocation.

  Mr. Ancram
  The revenue resources—exclusive of capital charge—sallocated to health and social services boards for the purchase of health and social care for the years 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95 are shown in table 1. The figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95 are provisional and as funding for subsequent years is dependent upon the outcome of future public expenditure surveys, no estimates can be provided for 1995–96 and 1996–97.

  Table 1

  Board

  1992–93 £000

  1993–94 £000

  1994–95 £000

  Northern

  188,159

  200,204

  223,093

  Southern

  148,705

  162,906

  170,601

  Eastern

  409,657

  390,289

  395,372

  Western

  137,825

  148,927

  155,453

  Following the discontinuance of provider-based funding from April 1992, boards are now funded as purchasers of services for their resident populations. Under the new funding approach, the resource adjustments effected to determine the allocations in table 1, are as follows:

  299

  Table 2

  Board

  1992–93 £000

  1993–94 £000

  1994–95 £000

  Northern

  38,654

  1,832

  16,970

  Southern

  14,533

  3,871

  4,218

  Eastern

  153,318

  18,856

  14,741

  Western

  4,392

  3,153

  4,331

  1 Figures denote a reduction in Eastern Boards share of resources.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Sir John Wheeler
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright) on 31 January,Official Report, columns 491–92.

  NHS Specialists (Waiting Lists)
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were not on waiting lists for treatment but waiting to see a specialist in the national health service for each quarter in the last two years.

  Mr. Ancram
  The number of people waiting for first out-patient appointment in Northern Ireland at the end of December 1993 was 79,813. This information is available only from the last quarter of 1993.

  Royal Ulster Constabulary
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will publish Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary report on the RUC.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  Copies of the 1993 inspection report, which is the first RUC inspection report to be published, have today been placed in the Library. I welcome the report and will be considering its recommendations carefully. I am grateful to Her Majesty's inspectorate for the report and am pleased to note that overall he regards the force as efficient.

  HMIC's inspections offer the opportunity of professional examination of policing policies and priorities and this inspection focused specifically on areas selected for their contribution to efficient and effective operational policing.

  The publication, for the first time, of this report is entirely in line with both the Government's and the Chief Constable's clear commitment to more openness.

  Electricity Privatisation
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the administrative costs of the electricity share offer and the trade sale of the generating stations in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  The costs to the Government of the electricity share offer and sale of the generating stations in Northern Ireland are estimated as follows:

  £ million

  Underwriting

  2·9

  Selling and broking commission

  1·5

  Advisers fees

  14·5

  300

  £ million

  Marketing

  1·4

  Receiving bank

  1·7

  Share information office, printing and other logistical costs

  2·0

  Total

  24·0

  These costs represent about 3 per cent. of the total proceeds due from the sale of the generating stations, the sale of shares in the electricity share offer and the repayment of debt which together are estimated at £780 million. The costs exclude stamp duty and VAT on services provided to the Government which are not net costs to the Exchequer, and incentives on employee and individual shareholdings. The figures include expenditure incurred from April 1991 to the end of January 1994, but do not include costs incurred in previous years primarily on the restructuring of the industry which amounted to about £3·1 million.

  Self-financing Regulatory Authorities
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many self-financing regulatory authorities his Department has set up since 1979; what was the annual running cost of each of the self-financing regulatory authorities in each of the last three years; what is the current staffing establishment; and what it was last year and two years ago.

  Sir John Wheeler
  [holding answer 16 March 1994]: While there are a number of regulatory authorities in Northern Ireland, none of them are self-financing.

  However, the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency—DVTA—of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland has a regulatory function and is required to recover total costs through fees and charges. The agency was established on 1 April 1992. Running cost for 1992–93 was £5·4 million and it is estimated to be £5·8 million for 1993–94. The staffing complement at the date of its establishment was 257 and is currently 253.

  Civil Servants
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each civil service grade in his Department(a) the total number of persons employed and (b) the percentage of this figure that are women.

  Sir John Wheeler
  [holding answer 17 March 1994]: The information is as follows:

  Home Civil Servants

  Grade

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Grade 1

  1

  —

  Grade 2

  2

  —

  Grade 3

  4

  —

  Grade 4

  2

  —

  Grade 5

  10

  —

  Grade 6

  4

  —

  Grade 7

  26

  23

  Senior Executive Officer

  4

  75

  Senior Information Officer

  4

  —

  Senior Research Officer

  1

  —

  Higher Executive Officer (Development)

  4

  25

  Higher Executive Officer

  20

  60

  Administration Trainee

  2

  50

  301

  Grade

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Research Officer

  1

  100

  Executive Officer

  28

  54

  Senior Personal Secretary

  7

  100

  Typing Manager

  1

  100

  Administrative Officer

  19

  58

  Personal Secretary

  15

  100

  Administrative Assistant

  9

  56

  Typist

  16

  100

  Catering Manager 1

  1

  —

  Catering Manager 3

  1

  —

  Support Manager 3

  1

  —

  Chef 1

  4

  50

  Support Grade Band 1

  6

  —

  Support Grade Band 2

  7

  43

  Industrials (Non-craft)

  16

  75

  TOTAL

  213

  52

  Northern Ireland civil servants non-industrial

  Grade

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Head of Service

  1

  —

  Permanent Secretary (G2A)

  6

  —

  Under Secretary (G3)

  31

  —

  Unified Grade 4(G4)

  3

  —

  Assistant Secretary (G5)

  116

  10

  Senior Principal (G6)

  31

  —

  Principal (G7)

  404

  14

  Accountant Grade 7

  2

  50

  Deputy Principal

  665

  25

  Accountant Deputy Principal

  4

  —

  Staff Officer

  1,008

  42

  Staff Officer (A)

  11

  18

  Staff Officer (Accountant)

  20

  15

  Administration Trainee

  6

  17

  Executive Officer

  1,399

  57

  EOI (Accountant)

  5

  40

  Auditor (SO) MIIA or BATS

  10

  20

  Auditor (SO) MIIA or BATS

  22

  27

  Auditor Deputy Principal MIIA and BATS

  12

  8

  Social Security Officer 1

  906

  69

  Executive Officer 2

  1,503

  67

  Administrative Assistant

  3,218

  75

  Administrative Officer

  3,526

  72

  Social SecurityOfficer 2B

  1,809

  72

  Social Security Officer 2A

  375

  66

  Administrative Assistant

  2

  50

  Accommodation Manager (Enniskiln)

  1

  100

  Chief Executive

  1

  —

  Chief Agricultural Economist (G5)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Agricultural Economist (G6)

  2

  —

  Principal Agricultural Economist (G7)

  5

  40

  Senior Agricultural Economist

  3

  —

  Assistant Agricultural Economist

  1

  100

  Chief Executive Valuation and Lands Agency

  1

  —

  Chief Executive

  3

  —

  Senior Deputy Agricultural Officer (G5)

  2

  —

  Deputy Chief Agricultural Officer (G6)

  3

  —

  Agricultural Inspector Grade I

  23

  4

  Agricultural Inspector Grade II

  72

  10

  Agricultural Inspector Grade III

  158

  30

  Inspector Group 4

  84

  —

  Agricultural Inspector Grade IV

  4

  25

  Inspector Group 5

  7

  —

  Post-mortem Room attendant

  4

  —

  Inspector Group 3

  34

  —

  Inspector Group 2

  107

  2

  302

  Grade

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Inspector Group 1

  133

  9

  Food Technology Technician

  6

  17

  Chief Alkali and Radiochemical Inspecter

  1

  —

  Alkali and Radiochemical Inspector

  4

  —

  Director of Works Service DOE (G4)

  1

  —

  Chief Architect (G5)

  1

  —

  SUPT Architect (G6)

  2

  —

  PPTO (Architect) (G7)

  23

  —

  SPTO (Architect)

  22

  9

  HPTO (Architect)

  5

  40

  SPTO (Architectural Assistant)

  23

  —

  HPTO (Architectural Assistant)

  27

  —

  PTO (Architectural Assistant)

  47

  4

  HPTO (Maint Tech Architect)

  1

  —

  PTO (Maint Tech Architect)

  8

  —

  DIR Estate Services (G4)

  1

  —

  Chief Executive (IDB)

  1

  —

  Divisional Director

  3

  —

  Principal Auditor (G7)

  2

  —

  Senior Auditor H and SS (Acc)

  2

  —

  Auditor II and SS (Acc)

  5

  60

  Assistant Auditor

  2

  —

  Audit Assistant DHSS

  4

  75

  Assistant Divisional Director

  3

  —

  Chief Auditor (G5)

  1

  —

  Principal Auditor LG (G7)

  2

  —

  Auditor LG

  4

  —

  Assistant Auditor LG

  2

  —

  Senior Audit Assistant LG

  3

  33

  PPTO (Building Surveyor) (G7)

  1

  —

  SPTO (Building Surveyor)

  4

  —

  HPTO (Building Surveyor)

  3

  —

  PTO (Building Surveyor)

  3

  —

  Career Adviser

  4

  25

  Senior Careers Officer

  16

  56

  Careers Officer

  105

  60

  Catering Adviser

  1

  100

  Catering Manager 2

  1

  100

  Catering Manager 3

  1

  100

  Divisional Manager Belfast (G5)

  2

  —

  Chief Civil Engineer (G5)

  3

  —

  Divisional Manager (G6)

  8

  —

  OPS Director Water (G5)

  1

  —

  Superintendent Civil Engineer (G6)

  8

  —

  PPTO Civil Engineer

  73

  —

  SPTO (Civil Engineer)

  183

  2

  HPTO (Civil Engineer)

  91

  7

  Graduate Trainee Civil Engineer

  23

  17

  SPTO (Civil Engineering Assistant)

  43

  2

  HPTO (Civil Engineering Assistant)

  202

  3

  PTO (Civil Engineering Assistant)

  525

  4

  TGI Trainee Civil Engineering Assistant

  8

  8

  O Level Trainee Civil Engineering Assistant

  61

  4

  Chief Clerk of Works (SPTO)

  4

  —

  Clerk of Works 1 (HPTO)

  20

  0

  Clerk of Works 2 (PTO)

  88

  —

  Manager/Warden

  1

  —

  Assistant Manager Warden

  1

  —

  Director of Conservation

  1

  —

  HPTO (Senior Warden)

  2

  —

  PTO, Warden

  11

  —

  TGI (Assistant Warden)

  12

  25

  Chief Dental Officer

  1

  —

  Dental Officer

  4

  —

  Dental Surgery Assistant

  3

  100

  Development Executive

  14

  56

  Deputy Development Executive

  2

  50

  Assistant Development Executive

  2

  —

  Assistant Secretary Statistician (G5)

  1

  —

  Senior Principal Statistician (G6)

  1

  —

  Principal Statistiscian (G7)

  17

  29

  Deputy Principal Statistician

  31

  55

  Senior Assistant Statistician

  17

  29

  303

  Grade

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Assistant Statistician

  12

  25

  Assistant Secretary Economist (G5)

  1

  0

  Special Economist (G6)

  1

  0

  Principal Economist (G7)

  8

  13

  Deputy Economist

  7

  29

  Senior Assistant Economist

  7

  29

  Assistant Economist

  7

  43

  Senior Assistant Economist

  7

  29

  Assistant Economist

  7

  43

  Director Environmental Services (G4)

  1

  —

  Director Environmental Protection (G5)

  1

  —

  Chief Environmental Health Officer (G6)

  1

  —

  Senior Environmental Health Officer (G7)

  2

  —

  Environmental Health Officer

  2

  50

  Estates Superintendent HPTO

  1

  —

  Controller (CFO) (G6)

  1

  —

  Chief Examiner (CTO)

  2

  —

  Senior Examiner

  1

  100

  Deputy Crown Solicitor (G4)

  1

  —

  Chief Inspector (Health and Safety) (G5)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Inspector (Health and Safety)

  2

  —

  Principal Inspector (Health and Safety)

  10

  —

  Inspector (Health and Safety)

  7

  14

  Inspector 2 (Health and Safety)

  3

  —

  Fire Officer 1

  2

  —

  Senior Fire Officer

  1

  —

  Fire Officer

  4

  —

  Fire Officer 2 (PTO)

  2

  —

  PTO4 Drilling Rig Supervisor

  2

  —

  Chief Fisheries Officer

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer

  2

  —

  Senior Fisheries Officer

  3

  —

  Fisheries Officer 1

  12

  —

  Fisheries Officer 2

  10

  —

  Area Foreman (PTO)

  6

  —

  Technical Grade 1 (DANI)

  26

  —

  Chief Forest Officer (G5)

  1

  —

  Forest Operations Officer

  1

  —

  Divisional Officer (G7)

  2

  —

  Forest Officer I

  11

  —

  Forst Officer II

  11

  —

  Forest Officer III

  21

  —

  Forest Officer IV

  24

  4

  Area Forest Engineer

  3

  —

  General Manager TC (G7)

  1

  —

  Senior Instructional Officer

  41

  —

  Higher Instructional Officer-NIO

  2

  —

  Higher Instructional Officer

  49

  4

  Instructional Officer 1

  275

  5

  SPTO Graphic Designer

  1

  —

  HPTO Graphic Designer

  1

  —

  Audio Visual Technician

  1

  —

  PTO Graphic Designer

  5

  —

  Training Service Manager

  31

  13

  Principal Inspector

  1

  100

  Senior Inspector

  7

  29

  Principal Photographer

  1

  —

  PTO Supervisor (Historic Monuments)

  1

  —

  PTO Senior Supervisor (Historic Monuments BD.B)

  1

  —

  Senior Photographer

  1

  —

  Custodian (Historic Monuments)

  1

  —

  Photographic Officer

  1

  —

  Assistant Draughtsman Illustrator

  1

  —

  Photographer

  1

  —

  Field Monument Warden

  3

  33

  Senior Imports Inspector

  4

  —

  Imports Inspector

  12

  —

  Senior Industrial Accountant

  2

  —

  304

  Grade

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Industrial Accountant (G7)

  9

  22

  Management Accountant

  1

  —

  Assistant Industrial Accountant

  2

  —

  Deputy Director Information Services (GR5)

  1

  —

  SP Information Officer (G6)

  2

  —

  Principal Information Officer (G7)

  6

  —

  Deputy Principal Information Officer

  11

  46

  Information Officer

  5

  60

  Chief Inspector (G3)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Inspector (G4)

  1

  —

  Staff Inspector (G5)

  6

  17

  Inspector (G6)

  —

  —

  Senior Housing Inspector (HPTO)

  49

  31

  Housing Inspector 2 (PTO)

  1

  —

  Investigation Officer

  1

  —

  PRO (Interior Designer)

  4

  —

  PPTO (Landscape Architect)

  1

  3

  SPTO (Landscape Architect)

  2

  50

  SPTO Landscape Architect

  1

  —

  HPTO (Landscape Architect's Assistant)

  1

  —

  PTO (Landscape Architect's Assistant)

  7

  43

  PTO Development Control Inspector

  10

  —

  PTO Senior Photographer

  1

  100

  TGI Photographer

  1

  —

  Chief Law Clerk

  6

  17

  Registrar Lands Tribunal

  1

  —

  Senior Law Clerk

  14

  57

  Law Clerk 1

  40

  55

  Law Clerk 2

  5

  60

  1st Legislative Draftsman (G2B)

  1

  —

  2nd Legislative Draftsman (G3)

  2

  50

  Librarian

  2

  —

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Assistant Librarian

  5

  80

  Deputy Director MGT Training

  1

  —

  Senior MGT Training Adviser

  1

  —

  Management Training Adviser

  1

  —

  Chief Mapper

  2

  50

  Superintendent Mapper

  5

  40

  Senior Mapper

  13

  54

  Technical Grade 1

  85

  44

  Mapper

  41

  59

  Technical Grade 2

  24

  38

  HPTO Ferry Manager

  1

  —

  Ship's Captain

  1

  —

  DDEE Harbour Master/Foreman Works

  1

  —

  Ship's Engineer

  2

  —

  Ship's Mat

  1

  —

  Director of OSNI

  1

  —

  Deputy Director Ordinance Survey (G6)

  1

  —

  PR Mapping and Charting of (G7)

  3

  —

  Senior Map and Charting Officer

  6

  —

  Higher Map and Charting Officer

  17

  —

  Mapping and Charting Officer

  128

  6

  Map and Charting Technical Grade 2

  10

  10

  Map and Charting Technical Grade 1

  29

  21

  Map and Charting Technical Grade 1

  2

  —

  Senior Meat Inspector

  12

  —

  Meat Inspector

  91

  10

  Poultry Meat Inspector

  26

  23

  PTO Electrical Engineer Assistant

  10

  —

  G/T Electrical Engineer

  1

  —

  Trainee Electrical Engineer Assistant

  7

  14

  Superintendent M & E Eningeer (G6)

  2

  —

  PPTO (M & E Engineer) (G7)

  20

  —

  SPTO (M & E Engineer)

  12

  —

  HPTO (M & E Engineer)

  9

  22

  Grad TR M & E Engineer

  3

  —

  TR Mechanical Engineer Assistant

  2

  —

  305

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  SPTO (M & E Engineering Assistant)

  33

  —

  HPTO (M&E Enginering Assistant)

  56

  —

  PTO (M&E Engineering Assistant)

  110

  —

  PTO4 (M&E Engineering Assistant)

  1

  —

  PTO (Service Engineer)

  3

  —

  SPTO (Superintendent of Works)

  2

  —

  HPTO (Superintendent of Works)

  1

  —

  PTO (Superintendent of Works)

  6

  —

  Chief Medical Officer

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Medical Officer

  2

  50

  Principal Medical Officer

  4

  —

  Senior Medical Officer

  9

  44

  Medical Officer

  16

  31

  Medical Officer (PT-Time)

  3

  —

  PTO Materials Testing TH

  2

  —

  Chief Nursing Officer

  1

  —

  Principal Nursing Officer

  1

  —

  Nursing Officer

  4

  75

  Nursing Grade G

  1

  100

  Nurse Grade F

  1

  100

  Nurse Grade C

  2

  100

  Senior Assistant Director DPP

  2

  —

  Superintendent Office Machines

  1

  —

  Assistant Supervisor Office Machinery

  1

  —

  Support Manager 2

  4

  75

  Support Manger 3

  38

  47

  Support Grade Band 1

  561

  56

  Support Grade Band 2

  683

  42

  Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (G5)

  1

  —

  Senior Principal Pharmaceutical Officer

  1

  —

  Principal Pharmaceutical Officer (G5)

  2

  —

  Pharmaceutical Officer

  1

  —

  Director T and C Planning (G4)

  1

  —

  DV Planning Officer (G5) BF

  1

  —

  Assistant Director Planning (G5)

  1

  —

  DV Planning Officer (G6)

  5

  —

  Superintendent Planning Officer (G6)

  2

  —

  PPTO Planning Officer

  17

  23

  SPTO (Planning Officer)

  47

  11

  HPTO (Planning Officer)

  39

  33

  GRAD TR Planning Officer

  1

  —

  HPTO (Planning Assistant)

  41

  17

  PTO (Planning Assistant)

  54

  22

  Trainee Planning Assistant

  12

  58

  Chief Education and Training Officer (G7)

  1

  100

  Education Officer HOD2

  1

  —

  Education Officer HOD1

  3

  33

  Senior Teacher

  2

  50

  DC ED and Training Officer (NIO)

  1

  —

  Teacher

  12

  50

  HPTO Prison Industries

  3

  —

  PTO (Prison Industries)

  1

  —

  Chief Examiner (G7)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Driving Examiner

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Examiner (SPTO)

  3

  —

  Supervising Examiner

  2

  —

  District Examiner

  14

  —

  PTO Vehicle Driving Examiner

  119

  —

  Senior Driving Examiner

  3

  —

  Driving/Traffic Examiner

  9

  —

  Chief Psychologist (GR6)

  1

  100

  Senior Psychologist

  1

  —

  Higher Psychologist

  2

  —

  Principal Psychologist

  1

  100

  Curatorial Grade A (G5)

  1

  —

  Curatorial Grade B (G6)

  1

  —

  Curatorial Grade C (G7)

  4

  50

  Curatorial Grade E

  14

  28

  Curatorial Grade F

  4

  50

  Conservation Grade F

  5

  20

  Superintendent Quantity Surveyor (G6)

  5

  —

  PTO (Quantity Surveyor) (G7)

  14

  —

  SPTO (Quantity Surveyor)

  11

  9

  HPTO (Quantity Surveyor)

  6

  —

  GRAD TR Quantity Surveyor

  1

  —

  SPTO (Quantity Surveying Assistant)

  11

  —

  306

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  HPTO (Quantity Surveying Assistant)

  13

  —

  PTO (Quantity Surveying Assistant)

  10

  10

  Senior Enforcement Officer

  2

  —

  Enforcement Officer

  6

  17

  PRO Supervisor (Roade)

  41

  —

  Director of Roads Service (G4)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (G5)

  2

  —

  SP Scientific Officer (G6)

  17

  —

  Principal Scientific Officer (G7)

  74

  8

  Senior Scientific Officer

  136

  20

  Higher Scientific Officer

  142

  22

  Scientific Officer

  176

  35

  Brucella Tester

  13

  69

  Assistant Scientific Officer

  229

  44

  PTO4 Supervisor

  6

  —

  Security Guard

  7

  —

  Security Officer

  7

  —

  SPTO Health and Safety Adviser

  3

  —

  HPTO Safety Advisory Officer

  15

  —

  Chief Inspector (SSI)(G4)

  1

  —

  Assistant Chief Inspector

  3

  —

  Inspector (SSI)

  13

  38

  Head Legal Services (G3)

  1

  —

  Deputy Head of Legal Services

  1

  —

  Assistant Solicitor (G5) NS

  24

  —

  Deputy Registrar Land Reg

  1

  —

  Senior Legal Assistant

  83

  41

  Legal Assistant

  32

  81

  SPTO (Prison Transport)

  1

  —

  Supplies Officer

  1

  —

  SPTO (Supplies)

  1

  —

  HPTO (Supplies)

  4

  —

  PTO Supplies

  16

  6

  Stores Officer (Grade C)

  5

  —

  PTO Stores Liaison Officer

  6

  —

  Chief Structural Engineer UN GR 5

  1

  —

  Superintendent Structural Engineer (G6)

  1

  —

  PPTO Structural Engineer

  4

  —

  SPTO Structural Engineer

  11

  —

  SPTO (Structural Engineering Assistant)

  2

  —

  HPTO (Structural Engineering Assistant)

  7

  —

  PTO (Structural Engineering Assistant)

  13

  —

  Superintendent Systems Analyst (G7)

  7

  —

  Senior Systems Analyst

  71

  17

  Systems Analyst

  151

  21

  Programmeer/Analyst

  152

  27

  Programmer

  124

  22

  SW Course Student (IT)

  21

  38

  Assistant Programmer

  7

  28

  Principal Transport Manager

  1

  —

  Area Transport Manager

  2

  —

  Assistant Area Transport Manager

  3

  —

  Fleet Centre Manager

  1

  —

  PTO Workshop Supervisor

  4

  —

  Chief Typing Manager

  11

  100

  Typing Manager

  110

  100

  Typist

  1,133

  99

  Senior Personal Secretary

  36

  100

  Personal Secretary

  196

  100

  Assistant Commissioner

  3

  —

  District Valuer (G6)

  10

  —

  Senior Valuer (G7)

  26

  —

  Valuer I

  63

  —

  Valuer II

  54

  26

  Senior Valuation Assistant

  12

  —

  Valuation Assistant

  41

  10

  DC Veterinary Officer (G5)

  2

  —

  SP Veterinary Officer (G6)

  5

  20

  Divisional Veterinary Officer

  24

  4

  Veterinary Officer (G7)

  80

  27

  Chief Veterinary Research Officer (G5)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer

  2

  —

  Senior Veterinary Research Officer 1 (G6)

  3

  —

  Senior Veterinary Research Officer 2

  6

  17

  Veterinary Research Officer (G7)

  15

  13

  PTO Water Supervisor M&E

  7

  —

  307

  Number employed

  Percentage female

  Director Water Service (G4)

  1

  —

  HPTO (Water Supervisor)

  4

  —

  PTO (Water Supervisor)

  141

  —

  Assistant Supervisor Water (Personnel)

  3

  —

  HPTO Projects Officer

  1

  —

  Chief Inspector Trading Standards (G7)

  1

  —

  Deputy Chief Trading Standards Officer

  2

  —

  Area Inspector

  7

  —

  Senior Inspector

  1

  —

  Trading Standards Inspector

  15

  —

  Principal (Work Study) (G7)

  1

  —

  HPTO (Word Study Office)

  1

  —

  Senior Work Study Officer

  2

  —

  PTO (Work Study Officer)

  14

  —

  Senior Telecommunications Engineer (SPTO)

  2

  —

  Telecommunications Technical Engineer I

  12

  —

  Telecommunications Technical Engineer II

  19

  —

  Tele communications Engineering Technician

  76

  —

  PTO

  4

  —

  PTO Model Maker

  1

  —

  Under Secretary (Personnel Appointments)

  1

  —

  Director Management Training (PA)

  1

  —

  Management Training Advisor

  2

  —

  Temporary Veterinary Officer

  24

  21

  Investigation Officer (PA)

  6

  —

  Principal Librarian (PA)

  1

  —

  Total Non-Industrials

  24,895

  51

  Industrials

  Craft

  629

  0·2

  Non-Craft

  3,798

  2

  Total Industrials

  4,427

  2

  Overall NICS Total

  29,322

  44

  Housing
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each council area and each Housing Executive district the number of(a) applicants by each category used by the executive and (b) the number of transfer applications by category.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. I have, however, been advised by its chief executive that the number of applicants by category, for each council area and Housing Executive district, is as follows:

  Applications by category at 28 February 1994

  Council area

  NIHE district

  A

  B

  Belfast

  Belfast 1

  192

  516

  Belfast 2

  165

  606

  Belfast 3

  502

  420

  /

  Belfast 4

  281

  559

  Belfast 5

  149

  391

  Belfast 6

  85

  476

  Belfast 7

  327

  955

  Region

  Belfast

  1,701

  3,923

  North Down

  Bangor

  147

  719

  Ards

  Ards I

  138

  364

  Ards II

  48

  219

  Castlereagh

  Dundonald

  42

  163

  308

  Council area

  NIHE district

  A

  B

  Newtownbreda

  73

  348

  Lisburn

  Lisburn

  158

  495

  Dunmurry

  74

  238

  Poleglass

  70

  257

  Down

  Downpatrick

  150

  696

  Region

  South East

  900

  3,499

  Banbridge

  Banbridge

  48

  255

  Newry and Mourne

  Newry I

  85

  339

  Newry II

  93

  452

  Kilkeel

  —

  —

  Armagh

  Armagh

  84

  411

  Craigavon

  Craigavon

  4

  172

  Lurgan

  57

  366

  Portadown

  71

  341

  Region

  South

  442

  2,336

  Ballymena

  Ballymena

  144

  691

  Antrim

  Antrim

  95

  555

  Newtownabbey

  Newtownabbey I

  66

  361

  Newtownabbey II

  44

  362

  Carrickfergus

  Carrickfergus

  99

  469

  Larne

  Larne

  51

  305

  Moyle

  Moyle

  28

  150

  Ballymoney

  Ballymoney

  12

  260

  Coleraine

  Coleraine

  85

  642

  Region

  North East

  624

  3,795

  Derry

  Londonderry I

  256

  492

  Londerry II

  128

  367

  Londerry III

  171

  224

  Limavady

  Limavady

  79

  300

  Magherafelt

  Magherafelt

  64

  325

  Strabane

  Strabane

  81

  349

  Omagh

  Omagh

  54

  461

  Cookstown

  Cookstown

  28

  212

  Dungannon

  Dungannon

  53

  364

  Fermanagh

  Fermanagh

  71

  441

  Region

  West

  985

  3,535

  Outside Northern Ireland

  349

  678

  Northern Ireland Total

  5,001

  17,766

  Applications by category at 28 February 1994

  Council area

  NIHE district

  Priority transfer

  C

  Belfast

  Belfast 1

  158

  422

  Belfast 2

  119

  540

  Belfast 3

  118

  314

  Belfast 4

  109

  380

  Belfast 5

  145

  444

  Belfast 6

  79

  405

  Belfast 7

  135

  609

  Region

  Belfast

  863

  3,114

  North Down

  Bangor

  122

  429

  Ards

  Ards I

  84

  309

  Ards II

  10

  148

  Castlereagh

  Dundonald

  66

  258

  Newtownbreda

  85

  262

  Lisburn

  Lisburn

  75

  435

  Dunmurry

  45

  238

  Poleglass

  10

  164

  Down

  Downpatrick

  83

  435

  Region

  South East

  580

  2,678

  Banbridge

  Banbridge

  60

  302

  Newry and Mourne

  Newry I

  62

  250

  Newry II

  39

  269

  309

  Council area

  NIHE district

  Priority transfer

  C

  Kilkeel

  —

  —

  Armagh

  Armagh

  74

  303

  Craigavon

  Craigavon

  15

  113

  Lurgan

  58

  312

  Portadown

  62

  287

  Region

  South

  370

  1,836

  Ballymena

  Ballymena

  177

  480

  Antrim

  Antrim

  128

  263

  Newtownabbey

  Newtownabbey I

  129

  367

  Newtownabbey II

  69

  327

  Carrickfergus

  Carrickfergus

  90

  286

  Larne

  Larne

  62

  219

  Moyle

  Moyle

  7

  128

  Ballymoney

  Ballymoney

  32

  250

  Coleraine

  Coleraine

  147

  514

  Region

  North East

  841

  2,834

  Derry

  Londonderry I

  264

  303

  Londonderry II

  119

  287

  Londonderry III

  161

  264

  Limavady

  Limavady

  47

  222

  Magherafelt

  Magherafelt

  52

  191

  Strabane

  Strabane

  102

  304

  Omagh

  Omagh

  34

  393

  Cookstown

  Cookstown

  30

  163

  Dungannon

  Dungannon

  49

  282

  Fermanagh

  Fermanagh

  50

  364

  Region

  West

  908

  2,773

  Outside Northern Ireland

  194

  434

  Total

  3,756

  13,669

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for council districts of(a) Coleraine, (b) Magherafelt and (c) Limavady the number of Housing Executive dwellings let in each of the last three years and the current year to the latest available date to each category of applicant; and how many applicants housed in each category were resident outside the council area in which they were housed.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. I have, however, been advised by its chief executive that the number of dwellings let over the past three years and up to September 1993 in the current year is as follows:

  Housing executive dwellings let by category

  Period

  A

  B

  PT

  C

  Coleraine district council area

  1990–91

  143

  236

  83

  103

  1991–92

  146

  190

  88

  62

  1992–93

  146

  121

  69

  30

  1993–941

  72

  62

  31

  17

  Magherafelt district council area

  1990–91

  67

  82

  23

  53

  1991–92

  63

  61

  15

  37

  1992–93

  61

  50

  17

  47

  1993–941

  24

  27

  7

  19

  Limavady district council area

  1990–91

  88

  57

  17

  62

  1991–92

  101

  38

  29

  61

  1992–93

  90

  26

  17

  44

  1993–941

  45

  10

  7

  10

  1 To September 1993. Collated by the Housing Executive on a 6-monthly basis and are the latest available.

  310
  A—priority applications.

  B—based on points.

  PT—priority transfers.

  C—Non priority transfers.

  The information on the number of applicants in each category in a particular district council area who were resident outside the area, is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

WALES

  Correspondence
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues during February.

  Mr. Redwood
  The number of letters received from hon. Members by myself and my ministerial colleagues during February was 320. The number of responses sent to hon. Members in the same period was 396.(The figure of 396 also includes responses to correspondence received from hon. Members in the latter part of January.)

  Prostate Cancer Screening
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to improve prostate cancer screening for men.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  There are no plans to introduce a national screening programme for prostate cancer. Current evidence does not suggest that any such programme would achieve a demonstrable improvement in health by increasing the length and quality of life.

  The value of available techniques for the early detection of prostate cancer is kept under review. We are aware of some local research into this issue.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the total of capital allocations(a) in total, (b) for education, (c) transport, (d) social services and (e) for other services, to each county council in Wales and in total for (i) 1979–80, (ii) 1982–83, (iii) 1985–86 and (iv) each year since 1988–89;

  (2) what was the total of capital expenditure on other services for each Welsh local authority, and in total for (a) 1979–80, (b) 1982–83, (c) 1985–86 and (d) each year since 1988–89; and if he will give the breakdown between (i) county councils and (ii) district councils in Wales;

  (3) what was the capital allocation for each local authority in Wales, and in total, for (a) 1979–80, (b) 1982–83, (c) 1985–86 and (d) each year since 1988–89;

  (4) what was the total capital allocation for housing to each Welsh district council and in total for (a) 1979–80, (b) 1982–83, (c) 1985–86 and (d) each year since 1988–89.

  Mr. Redwood
  The hon. Member has requested a large volume of statistical information. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what advertising his Department has initiated of the process of schools in Wales opting out of local authority control;

  (2) how much money has been spent on advertising costs of the process of schools becoming grant-maintained in Wales.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The Department has not been involved in any advertising campaigns in respect of grant-maintained status.

  Eisteddfod
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what evaluation there has been of the attraction to tourists of the annual international eisteddfod at Llangollen; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The Llangollen international eisteddfod is an important annual event which benefits tourism. In 1993 the international eisteddfod achieved ticket sales of 115,600.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what evaluation there has been of the attraction to tourists of the annual Urdd national eisteddfod; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The Urdd eisteddfod is an important annual event which attracts upwards of 80,000 visitors each year. While most of these come from within Wales, the Urdd eisteddfod plays a significant part in attracting tourists to the particular locality that it visits each year.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what evaluation there has been of the attraction to tourists of the annual national eisteddfod; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  The national eisteddfod is an important annual event which attracts upwards of 135,000 visitors each year. Figures for 1993 suggest that some 5 per cent. travelled from outside Wales.

  Drws-y-Nant Improvement Scheme
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when work will commence on the Drws-y-Nant area of the Bala to Dolgellau road; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 3 February 1994,Official Report, column 863.

  Tai Cymru
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the capital expenditure of Tai Cymru and housing associations in Wales on administration in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In 1992–93 Housing for Wales incurred capital expenditure on administration of £98,800. Information on individual housing associations is not readily available.
  312

  Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the subject of reductions in the hill livestock compensatory allowances; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Since the announcement of the 1994 HLCA rates on 30 November, nine organisations and individuals have made representations to me on this subject.

  Police
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received during the last six months on the question of amalgamation of Welsh police forces; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  This is a matter for the Home Office, but I have received one representation from Cwmbran community council.

  Hospitals
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hospitals are currently managed by health boards in Wales; what percentage of total bed provision these hospitals represent; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In Wales, 76 hospitals, 50 per cent. of total beds, are managed by health authorities, 81 hospitals, 50 per cent. of total beds, by NHS trusts. On 1 April 1994, 10 further NHS trusts will be established taking the total of NHS trust-managed hospitals to 127, 73 per cent. of total beds.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the average waiting time for appeals against valuation to be heard since the introduction of the council tax.

  Mr. Redwood
  A figure cannot yet be given because many appeals are being cleared by the Valuation Office without a valuation tribunal hearing.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many appeals there have been against council tax valuations since the council tax was introduced.

  Mr. Redwood
  Some 55,855 at 28 February.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many successful appeals against valuation have resulted in a change in the banding of a property since the introduction of the council tax.

  Mr. Redwood
  Some 13,088 appeals have so far led to property banding changes.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many appeals against council tax valuations are still waiting to be heard.

  Mr. Redwood
  At 28 February, 39,545 banding proposals awaited resolution

  Further Education
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish guidelines for the development of further education in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
  313
  Sir Wyn Roberts
  My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Wales wrote to the chairman of the Further Education Funding Council for Wales on 27 May 1992 to provide broad guidance on the functions of the council—on Government policies which are relevant to the exercise of those functions and on particular matters to which the council should have regard. That guidance has been supplemented by further indications of the Government's policies for the further education sector in the annual letter sent to the council notifying it of expenditure provision for the following financial year. Copies of the letters have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Sheep Scab
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from those involved in agriculture in Wales on the designation of sheep scab as a non-notifiable disease; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  A number of representations have been made for the Government to impose statutory controls in respect of sheep scab. However, this is a disease which can be controlled readily by individual farmers, who are well aware of the preventive measures and procedures needed to deal with it. Most of the detailed measures on the control of sheep scab were removed in July 1992. The Government have already announced that they will complete this process, and have no other plans to require the notification of sheep scab.

  South Glamorgan County Council
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when his office received a copy of the report prepared by the auditors Coopers and Lybrand on the debts owed to and outstanding insurance claims of South Glamorgan county council; if he will place a copy of the report in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  This is a matter for South Glamorgan county council and its auditors. My Department has not been sent a copy of the report.

  Malaysian Airlines
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the dates Ministers, or officials from his Department, including his Department's agencies, have used the Malaysian airline MAS for each year since 1985, including this year to date, on official business; and what was the cost of each flight to his Department.

  Mr. Redwood
  Since 1985 there have been no official visits by Welsh Office Ministers or officials using the Malaysian airline MAS.

  Agricultural Diversification
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives the Welsh Office has set up to assist diversification for those engaged in agriculture in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Farmers wishing to diversify may qualify for assistance from a number of sources. The Wales tourist board provides assistance for farm tourism developments in Wales under the provisions of section 4 of 314
  the Development of Tourism Act 1969. The Welsh Development Agency and the Development Board for Rural Wales operate the rural conversion grant scheme which assists with the conversion of redundant buildings in rural areas with the aim of bringing them back into productive use.

  Financial assistance is also available under the DRIVE scheme—development of rural initiative, venture and enterprise—which is designed to stimulate private sector activity in deprived rural areas.

  Osteoporosis
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what funding has been made available in each of the past five years to health boards for screening of osteoporosis; how many women in Wales have been screened for osteoporosis in each of the past five years; how many clinics in health boards and trust board areas exist for the specific purpose of screening for osteoporosis; how many women have been diagnosed as suffering from osteoporosis in the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  There is no national population screening programme for osteoporosis, and therefore no central funding, as there is not yet evidence to show that such a programme would be effective. Health authorities are responsible for assessing need and for ensuring that suitable diagnostic services for individual women are made available.

  Voluntary Organisations
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations relating to future funding provision he has received from voluntary organisations in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have received 28 representations from voluntary organisations in Wales regarding future funding provision.

  F. L. Steelcraft
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what grants were made to F. L. Steelcraft and F. L. Steelcraft Ltd. of Borth, Aberystwyth, Wales from public funds; and on what dates payments were made to these companies.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on Wednesday 16 March 1994,Official Report, column 695.

  Head Teachers, Clwyd
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the Federation of Clwyd Primary Headteachers to discuss the allocation of rate support grant to Clwyd county council.

  Mr. Redwood
  Under long-standing arrangements the formula for distributing revenue support grant is agreed with the local authority associations and ratified by the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance. A meeting would not be appropriate.

  Beaches (Sellafield Discharges)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the implications for his plans to encourage greater tourism in Wales of contamination of north Wales beaches from radioactive pollution discharges from Sellafield.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Details of the latest recorded levels of radioactivity on the north Wales coast can be found in the "Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report", No. 38, 1992, published by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. A copy of the report is available in the Library of the House. The report indicates that the levels of radioactivity on north Wales beaches are not significant and are well within internationally agreed limits. It is not expected that this will have a detrimental effect on the tourist industry.

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his response to the publication on 17 March of the Welsh region National Rivers Authority reports on ferriginous minewater impacts in Welsh coalfields.

  Revenue allocation1

  1992–93

  21993–94

  21994–95

  Projected231995–96

  Projected231996–97

  Clwyd

  176·861

  177·062

  182·184

  184·662

  187·163

  East Dyfed

  107·960

  108·857

  111·951

  112·062

  112·172

  Gwent

  199·564

  189·955

  196·175

  197·490

  198·814

  Gwynedd

  105·782

  109·701

  114·998

  115·946

  116·902

  Mid Glamorgan

  243·622

  247·241

  255·927

  257·231

  258·544

  Pembrokeshire

  47·941

  48·350

  49·959

  50·218

  50·479

  Powys

  60·534

  63·842

  64·092

  63·244

  62·387

  South Glamorgan

  209·111

  214·001

  221·564

  221·169

  220·767

  West Glamorgan

  160·939

  161·338

  166·403

  166·811

  167·220

  1Allocations prior to deduction of the hospital and community health element of GP Fundholder budgets.

  2Allocations from 1992–93 onwards reflect reductions in respect of the costs of education and training when responsibility for the purchase of education and training from education providers pass to central control.

  3Projected allocations based on latest resource planning assumption which, for planning purposes only, reflect 0.5 per cent. per annum real terms growth.

  Collection and processing of cross-boundary data used for the revenue formula assessment by the resource allocation working group was discontinued when the weighted capitation formula for allocating health authority revenue funding was introduced in 1991–92. The identification of differences between notional allocations under the previous methodology and allocations made to authorities under the current methodology therefore cannot be provided other than at disproportionate cost.

  Avian Piscivores
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many licence applications he has received for the killing of cormorants or goosanders to prevent serious damage to fisheries in the last year; how many have been granted; how many are still to be determined; and which river or locality is involved in each case.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Department has received two applications relating to the river Usk, and one each for the river Wye, the river Dovey and Llyn Cefni on Anglesey. All five applications have been rejected. Two applications for the Usk have yet to be determined.
  316
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Member to the press release I issued on 15 March, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

  Revenue Funding Figures
  Mr. Watson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each purchasing health authority in Wales, the figures for revenue funding in 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95, and the estimated figures for 1995–96 and 1996–97; and if he will identify the changes for each health authority's revenue budget resulting from the replacement of the resource allocation working party system of determining funding allocation.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information requested in respect of the revenue funding of each purchasing authority in the period 1992–93 to 1994–95 together with projections of allocations in the years 1995–96 and 1996–97 is as follows:

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration he has given to the report on the basis for policy relating to avian piscivores which was commissioned by the National Rivers Authority and its subsequent position statement on cormorants and sawbill ducks, dated 1 March.

  Mr. Redwood
  The report provides a valuable contribution to the debate on the controversial issue of the effect of bird predation on freshwater fisheries, and identifies the need for further research in this field. The report has only recently been published, and interested parties will be considering its recommendations and the National Rivers Authority's position statement.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) on 22 February 1994,Official Report, columns 144–45.

  Specialist Appointments
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were not on waiting lists for treatment but were waiting to see a specialist in the national health service for each quarter in the last two years.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Carmarthen on 15 March,Official Report, column 632.

  Particulate Emissions
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he plans to take to reduce levels of PM10 particulate emissions from exhaust fumes in Wales.

  Sir Wyn Roberts
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for roads and traffic, 21 March,Official Report, column 100.

  Accounting Officer Directions
  Mr. Rowlands
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 24 February,Official Report, column 417, if he will make a statement on the circumstances which led to the final directions, the sums of public money involved, and in what ways his Department informed hon. Members and the Committee of Public Accounts of these directions.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 3 March 1994]: I understand that on both occasions urgent decisions were required in respect of the Welsh development agency's investment in the Parrot Corporation.

  In 1985 Treasury approval for a £750,000 guarantee from the Welsh development agency to the Parrot Corporation was given on condition that it would be used as a facility of last resort. In October 1985 an immediate decision was required in order to ensure that refinancing negotiations which were under way at the time did not collapse and the then Secretary of State authorised the accounting officer to waive the condition.

  In April 1988 another immediate decision was required and the then Secretary of State authorised the accounting officer, in the absence of Treasury authority, to approve funding of £58,500 by the WDA to enable the agency to take up its share of a rights issue in order to allow the agency to maintain its shareholding and to remove a contingent liability.

  On both occasions the circumstances described were considered to fall within the provisions of paragraph 11 of the then accounting officer memorandum, that is, issues not of formal propriety or regularity but more widely of prudent and economical administration. This did not require notification to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Department drew the circumstances to the attention of the National Audit Office in the course of a subsequent inquiry.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Cocoa
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much financial assistance has been given by the Government to(a) the international cocoa
  318
  gene bank in Trinidad, (b) by the CATIE cocoa gene bank in Costa Rica, (c) the international cocoa germplasm database at Reading, Berkshire and (d) the international cocoa quarantine station at Reading, Berkshire in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Jack
  MAFF has not provided financial assistance to any of those bodies. I refer the hon. Member, however, to the answer given on 21 March by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, at column 26.

  Forestry Commission
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will ensure that the Forestry Commission will maintain its position in Yorkshire and Humberside.

  Mr. Jack
  The Forestry Commission manages over 24,000 hectares of woodland in Yorkshire and Humberside; it expects to sell about 10 per cent. of this under the current disposals programme.

  Less-favoured Area Farms
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many livestock units on average are considered necessary for a less-favoured area farm in England to be classified as a full-time commercial farm in 1964, 1973, 1979 and according to the most recent information available.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Livestock units are not used as a means of classifying farm size.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many less-favoured area farms in England of fewer than eight, eight to 16, 16 to 28, 28 to 40, 40 to 60, 60 to 100, 100 to 200 and 200 livestock units and over draw more than 25 per cent., 50 per cent., 75 per cent. or the full 100 per cent. of their total income from the farm business; how many farmers in total, for each of the size brackets, have secondary employment; and how many have secondary employment which contributes over 50 per cent. of their total income.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  The information is not available in the form requested. Some information on the incomes of farmers from both farm and non-farm sources is published in "Farm Incomes in the United Kingdom".

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many contracts her Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Jack
  As far as the annual cost of consultants is concerned I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 February 1994 to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher),Official Report, columns 429–30.

  There is no central record of the numbers of contracts prior to 1990–91. For the remaining years the approximate numbers are as follows:

  319

  Financial year

  Approximate number of contracts

  1990–91

  34

  1991–92

  71

  1992–93

  111

  Avian Piscivores
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will place in the Library a copy of the advice note dated 12 October 1993, issued by her Department to the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, on the consultation procedures for the licensed killing of birds under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

  Mr. Soames
  No. It has never been the practice to disclose internal memoranda issued within the Department.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what effect the Government expects any maternal or horizontal transmission of BSE to have on the epidemic itself.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  There is no unequivocal scientific evidence so far of the occurrence of either maternal or horizontal transmission of BSE. If either is occurring it is happening so infrequently that it is undetectable against the current background level of disease caused by contaminated feed. It is clear that although maternal transmission, if it is occurring, would increase the cumulative total of BSE cases, on its own it would be insufficient to perpetuate the epidemic under British farming conditions. The effect of horizontal transmission on the BSE epidemic would depend on the frequency and circumstances of its occurrence.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Correspondence
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many letters were received from, and written to, hon. Members by him and his ministerial colleagues in February.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  We received 116 letters from hon. Members during February; 92 of these have been answered and we are in the process of responding to the remaining 24.

  Market Testing
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what evidence he has as to the effect on the quality of service to the public of market-testing and privatisation of civil service activities since November 1991.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Departments estimate that quality of service will improve in over a third of activities which have been included in the competing for quality programme for 1992–93 and will be maintained in the remainder.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the evidence which led to his estimate of the savings from the market testing of civil service activities.
  320
  Mr. Waldegrave
  The estimate of savings made on 4 November 1993 and published in the citizens charter second report on 16 March was based on reports made by Departments on their expectation of future performance of a service, and set against costs currently incurred.

  Contracting Out
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the decision was taken to allow direct contracting out of civil service activities without an opportunity for an in-house bid to be considered.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Contracting out for strategic or policy reasons has always been an option, as the White Paper, "Competing for Quality" (Cm 1730), made clear.

  Government Publications
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what role he has in monitoring Government public relations, advertising, press releases and publicity for accuracy and honesty and to ensure that it is not knowingly misleading.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  None. Responsibility for these matters rests with the appropriate departmental Minister.

  Departmental Property
  Mr. Enright
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what property, leased or owned for the purposes of his Department, is not currently occupied.

  Mr. David Davis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment on 18 March,Official Report, column 868–69.

  In addition to the information provided by Property Holdings in respect of the common user estate, the Cabinet Office also occupies property on its own departmental estate. The Cabinet Office has no departmental property which is not currently occupied. The Civil Service college, an agency of the Office of Public Service and Science, has one students accommodation block vacant, undergoing refurbishment.

  Her Majesty' Stationery Office has two warehouse properties surplus to its requirement. One is currently for sale, the other is being prepared for sale.

  The Central Office of Information has no property which is currently unoccupied.

  Disabled People
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many registered disabled people are employed in his Department; and what percentage this is of the total.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The most recent figures are:

  Registered disabled

  Percentage of total stuff

  Cabinet Office (including OPSS and agencies)

  23·5

  1·0

  Her Majesty's Stationery Office

  50·5

  1·7

  Central Office of Information

  5·0

  1·0

  Part-time staff are counted as half units.

SCOTLAND

  Maritime Borders
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has made to the European Commission with regard to the impact of the maritime borders aspect of Interreg 2; and whether he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  We have already responded positively to the proposals in the European Commission's Green Paper to extend Interreg to include maritime boundaries. I am currently considering the more detailed proposals announced recently for an Interreg 2, and their implications for Scotland.

  A90
  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent upgrading the A90 Aberdeen to Perth road to dual carriageway in(a) 1980 to 1989 and (b) in each of the past five years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The sums spent since 1979 on upgrading the A90 between Perth and Aberdeen amount to £138 million. The details are as follows:

  Details of sums spent on upgrading the A90

  £ million

  1979–80 to 1988–89

  87·5

  1989–90

  13·9

  1990–91

  8·0

  1991–92

  3·4

  1992–93

  11·1

  1993–94 (to December 1993)

  14·8

  Forestry Commission
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Forestry Commission review group has now reported to Ministers; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The forestry review group submitted its report to Ministers on 28 February, and we are now considering it carefully.

  Local Government Reform
  Dr. Reid
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends next to meet the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to discuss his proposed local government reforms.

  Mr. Lang
  The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities continues to have a policy of not co-operating with the Government on local government reform. Until that policy is revoked, meetings between Ministers and COSLA on the subject are unfortunately not possible.

  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what opinion polling he has commissioned to test the acceptability among the Scottish electorate of his proposals to re-organise local government.

  Mr. Stewart
  Extensive public consultation over the past two and a half years has demonstrated strong support for a single-tier structure of local government in Scotland.
  322

  Off-licences
  Mr. Galloway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had on the proposals to allow off-licences in Scotland to open on Sunday; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Over the last year, my right hon. Friend has received 30 representations from organisations and individuals concerning off-licenses in Scotland. Seven organisations and nine individuals have expressed support for the proposal to open on Sundays while two organisations and four individuals wish the existing prohibition retained.

  Smoking
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effects of smoking on the health of Scots.

  Mr. Stewart
  It is estimated that each year some 10,600 Scots die as a result of smoking and around 33,500 people are admitted to national health service hospitals in Scotland because they have an illness attributable to smoking. It is the major cause of lung cancer. It is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and other illnesses.

  Monklands District Council
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives from Monklands district council to discuss local government employment practices.

  Mr. Stewart
  Monklands district council has made no request to my right hon. Friend for a meeting on the subject of local government employment practices.

  Bail
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps are being taken to stop perceived abuse of bail in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Reducing bail abuse is a high priority for us. We have commissioned major research into bail decision making and the report of the research should be available in the next few weeks. We have also taken steps to improve statistical information on bail abuse so that we have a better understanding of both the nature and the scale of the problem.

  We are considering with the Crown office, the police and the courts what further legislative and administrative action may be necessary for Scotland.

  Health Care, Glasgow
  Mr. Michael J. Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next be meeting the Greater Glasgow health board to discuss health care in Glasgow.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend and my noble and learned Friend the Minister of State regularly meet representatives from all health boards to discuss health provision issues. There are no immediate plans for further meetings at present.

  A77
  Mr. McKelvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of progress of discussions with Strathclyde regional council regarding the upgrading of the A77 Ayr to Glasgow route.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I have been able to make available to Strathclyde regional council sums totalling £28·7 million over the next three years, to enable them to proceed with the Ayr road route project. Strathclyde regional council will now be able to enter into a joint contract with the Scottish Office to undertake this project.

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the cost of local government reorganisation.

  Mr. Stewart
  The transitional cost of local government reorganisation is estimated at between £120 million and £194 million for a 30 council structure. These costs will be offset by ongoing annual savings of between £16 million and £60 million. Costs will be fully recouped within three to six years.

  School Buildings, Grampian
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received for additional capital grants for school buildings in Grampian.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  In the current financial year, four representations have been received from the hon. Member, and one each from my hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Kynoch) and from the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes), concerning the need for additional capital consent allocations for school building work in Grampian region.

  Electronics Industry
  Dr. Bray
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take further steps to encourage the growth of new locally owned software and electronics firms in Scotland.
  324
  Mr. Stewart
  Yes. The Government are actively working to put in place the infrastructure and to encourage the investment needed to ensure growth in the software and electronics sectors in Scotland.

  The Scottish Office Industry Department, the Enterprise Network and educational institutions are working in partnership with industry-led bodies such as the Scottish Electronics Forum on a number of programmes which will improve competitiveness. Within that overall framework particular attention is given to the needs of new and growing businesses.

  Countryside (Access)
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to promote access to the countryside.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The responsibility for promoting access to the countryside lies with Scottish Natural Heritage and the local authorities. The former is conducting a general review of access to the countryside and has undertaken a public consultation exercise on this. I look forward to receiving its report and recommendations in due course.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are his plans for the encouragement of investment from north America and south-east Asia to Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  On the Government's behalf, Locate in Scotland is continually promoting Scotland as a location for inward investment. Through its field organisations in north America and south-east Asia, Locate in Scotland undertakes a continuous programme of contacts with appropriate companies in targeted industrial sectors.

  Economy
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss the Scottish economy.

  Mr. Stewart
  I refer the hon. Member to my right hon.Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Cumnock, Carrick and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 23 February at column 289.
  325

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many men were in full-time jobs in Scotland in 1979; and how many there are in such jobs at the present time.

  Mr. Stewart
  Information on male full-time employment is not available for 1979. The total number of male employees, in December 1979, was 1,196,900. In December 1993, the latest date for which information is available, there were 982,900 male employees, of whom 882,100 were full-time.

  Community Care
  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of community care arrangements in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  Considerable progress has been made in developing procedures to ensure that the needs of vulnerable people and their carers are identified and that assistance is arranged where appropriate taking account of the choice of the individual. Local authorities, health boards and housing agencies were working together in all areas to deliver the objectives of the policy.

  Steel Industry
  Mr. Oppenheim
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the steel industry.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations about the steel industry over the past few years. Most of these have concerned the closure of the Ravenscraig steel plant in 1992.

  Inshore Fishing Fleet
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he proposes to provide further assistance to the Scottish inshore fishing fleet; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The fishing industry in Scotland benefits from a range of public support, including financial support from the European Union. Consideration is being given to future arrangements for such support, by preparation of a United Kingdom sectoral plan for fisheries.

  Secondary Schools
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many secondary pupils are currently being educated in(a) comprehensive schools, (b) independent schools, (c) special schools and (d) other schools; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Provisional information on the numbers of secondary pupils in Scotland at September 1993 is given in the table. All education authority and grant-aided secondary schools in Scotland are non-selective.
  326

  Numbers

  Education authority and grant-aided secondary schools

  311,898

  Independent schools

  19,979

  Education authority and grant-aided special schools and departments (pupils aged 12 and over)

  4,450

  TOTAL

  334,450

  Health Service
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met the chairmen of the health boards in Scotland to discuss the health service in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  My noble and learned Friend the Minister of State met health board chairmen on 25 February 1994.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average cost of each appeal against council tax evaluations in Scotland.

  Mr. Stewart
  This information is not available centrally.

  Renewables Obligation
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many projects bidding for support under the Scottish renewables obligation came under each of the five technology bands specified in the SRO order; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  I understand that the Office of Electricity Regulation has received 190 applications across all types of renewable energy technology expected to be supported under the Scottish renewables obligation. Further information about these applications is a commercially confidential matter for the Office of Electricity Regulation.

  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he will apply to projects which pass the technical and economic appraisals, in determining which ones will be awarded contracts under the Scottish renewables obligation order; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  This is a matter for the two Scottish public electricity suppliers on which the obligation will be placed by the order which I expect to make in the autumn. However, I understand that they expect to contract with the projects offering the cheapest price per unit of electricity generated to the required level of capacity in each technology band as defined in the order.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Lang
  My Department has commissioned a total of 339 consultancy assignments since the start of the 1989–90 financial year. The total cost in each of the last five years was given in my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 21 February 1994, at columns 51–52.
  327

  Ferry Services
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to set targets for Caledonian MacBrayne for 1994–95.

  Mr. Lang
  I have decided to set the following targets for Caledonian MacBrayne for the year 1994–95. The company will be required to achieve as a financial target that fares income should meet at least 60 per cent. of operating costs including depreciation charged on a replacement cost basis and provision for an 8 per cent. foregone rate of return on capital. As an efficiency target, the company will be asked not to exceed a maximum unit cost of £0·86 million per passenger car unit capacity kilometre. As a quality of service target the company will be asked to achieve a figure of 96·5 per cent. of sailings arriving on time, excluding sailings which are delayed or cancelled for safety reasons, for example, adverse weather conditions. I consider that the setting of these targets will provide a clear framework for the operation of the company in 1994–95, consistent with the objectives of securing continued improvement in operational efficiency and standards of service.

  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for shipping subsidies for sea transport services in the Highlands and Islands in 1994–95; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the estimates, I propose to make available in 1994–95 total subsidy provision of £15·673 million. The deficit subsidy for Caledonian MacBrayne will be £5·742 million. For services to Orkney and Shetland, tariff rebate subsidies of up to £8·557 million will be made available. Up to £1·374 million will be available for other coastal shippers operating on the West Coast of Scotland.

  The level of provision proposed for Caledonian MacBrayne for 1994–95 reflects a reduced requirement for revenue deficit subsidy from the 1993–94 level, following the introduction of new financial arrangements for the company and an expected improvement in trading performance and operational efficiency. Capital grants of up to £7·3 million will also be made available to the company in 1994–95 for expenditure on the new vessel currently under construction for the Ullapool-Stornoway route.

  The increased level of financial support for services to Orkney and Shetland which I made available in 1993–94 is maintained.

  Prisoners (Christmas Leave)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he uses when deciding which prisoners may be granted Christmas leave; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 17 March 1994]: 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.

  Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 23 March 1994:
  328
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question on the criteria he uses when deciding which prisoners are to be granted Christmas leave.

  Prisoners and Young Offenders who have been allocated Security Category D, the lowest category, and are detained at open establishments or Training for Freedom Hostels attached to prisons are eligible for consideration for Christmas leave. Decisions on individual cases are a matter for Governors of each establishment who take into account the following:

  1. The nature of the offence.

  2. The prisoner's attitude to the offence.

  3. The prisoner's conduct and industry during the preceding 6 months.

  4. The home conditions and stability of the prisoner's relationship with his family.

  5. The views and likely effect on known victims and the community.

  Egg Consumption
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the figures for egg consumption in Scotland for each year since 1988.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 22 March 1994]: Estimates of household consumption of eggs are provided by the national food survey. The estimates exclude eggs used in manufacturing or catering and institutions.

  Number per person per week

  Per cent.

  1988

  3·62

  1989

  2·82

  1990

  2·61

  1991

  2·17

  1992

  2·28

  Poultry
  Mr. Martin Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many poultry birds were slaughtered in each year since 1988 in Scotland.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 22 March 1994]: Estimates of the number of poultry slaughtered in Scotland each year are:

  Thousands

  1988

  68,002

  1989

  66,056

  1990

  68,258

  1991

  67,301

  1992

  70,208

  1993

  77,899

  Freight
  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all instances where a freight flow has been transferred from road to rail transport in Scotland during the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: The information requested is not available centrally.

  Mrs. Ray Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will give details of all awards made by his Department under the freight facilities grant scheme over the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
  329
  (2) if he will give details of the total amount spent by his Department on awards under the freight facilities grant scheme over the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) if he will give details of the number of applications for awards under the freight facilities grant scheme that have been rejected over the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 21 March 1994]: The Scottish Office has made awards to four new projects totalling £3,455,034 under the freight facilities grant scheme since March 1984. The details of the projects are as follows:

  Company

  Location

  Facilities

  Deanside Transit Ltd.

  Hillington, Glasgow

  Warehousing and bulk handling facilities

  John G. Russell

  Gartcosh, Glasgow

  Coal containers and handling equipment

  British Alcan

  Fort William

  Rail facilities and averages for the handling of alumina

  Caledonian Paper plc

  Irvine

  Siding, track and handling facilties for timber and china clay

  Over the past 10 years a total of £3,627,704 has been paid out under the FFG scheme. This includes the awards of to the four projects detailed and the balance of awards made prior to 1984. During this period three applications, which did not meet the schemes' criteria for eligibility, have been rejected.

  The Government recognise that the carriage of freight by rail usually offers environmental advantages over other transport modes, and it is our policy that freight should use rail wherever it makes good economic sense to do so. To give rail a competitive edge the Government are enhancing the freight facilities grant scheme from 1 April 1994. These enhancements include the extension of the areas of capital expenditure which may be eligible for grant, and the simplification and improvement of procedures for applicants. We hope that the revisions will lead to renewed interest in the scheme in Scotland.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Incapacity Certificates
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under which Act of Parliament or regulation a person against whom a certificate of permanent incapacity is issued is refused access to the reason for the granting of such a certificate.

  Mr. Scott
  The legislation governing the issue of medical evidence of incapacity for work by general practitioners to people claiming social security benefits is contained in the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976.

  Self-employed Persons
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate, on the same basis as the answer given on 3 November 1983,Official Report, column 452,
  330
  to the hon. Member for Warwickshire, North (Mr. O'Brien), on self-employed persons, what would be the class 2 national insurance constribution necessary to meet the cost of extending unemployment benefit to self-employed people.

  Mr. Hague
  If title to unemployment benefit were to be extended to the self-employed, the class 2 contribution rate for 1994–95 would have to rise to £7·75, an increase of £2·10 over the proposed rate of £5·65 a week.

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons Mrs. Netta Black of Ardoch crescent. Stevenson, Ayrshire received a request from the Child Support Agency that her late husband pay for the upkeep of his daughter.

  Mr. Scott
  Owing to a clerical error, the Child Support Agency wrote to Mrs. Black on 17 February 1994. An apology was made to her on 7 March and the case was closed. There has been no further contact between the agency and Mrs. Black.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list to-date the number of letters his Department's Child Support Agency has sent apologising to widows for inadvertently sending letters to them demanding money from their late husbands to pay for the upkeep of their children; and how many apologies are still on file waiting to be sent.

  Mr. Scott
  The Child Support Agency does not maintain statistics of such cases.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the reasons for a letter from the Child Support Agency being sent to Miss Hayley Lidster of Godlys, Mid Glamorgan concerning child support.

  Mr. Scott
  A letter from the Child Support Agency to a client with a similar name was delivered in error to Miss Lidster. The agency subsequently sent letters of apology to both the people involved.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases pursued by the Child Support Agency have resulted in the payment of maintenance to the parent with care in(a) Newham and (b) Great Britain.

  Mr. Scott
  Figures are not available for the number of maintenance assessments made in Newham. National figures were given by Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive of the Child Support Agency in her reply to the hon. Member for Warrington, South (Mr. Hall) on 4 March,Official Report, column 38.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents previously in receipt of benefits have had their income raised above entitlement to benefit as a result of a maintenance assessment by the Child Support Agency in(a) Newham and (b) Great Britain.

  Mr. Scott
  Information is not collected separately for Newham. National figures are being collected but are not yet available.
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  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents in receipt of benefits have had their benefit reduced due to their failure to provide the Child Support Agency with the required information about the absent parent in(a) the London borough of Newham and (b) Great Britain.

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

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases dealt with by the Child Support Agency resulting in the assessment of a minimum award this assessment has not been pursued because the absent parent is exempt from payment.

  Mr. Scott
  Such information is not collected.

  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision the Child Support Agency has for the use of interpreters during CSA interviews where one or both parents does not have English as a first language; and in how many instances interpreters have been used.

  Mr. Scott
  Child Support Agency local offices are co-located with Benefits Agency offices. There is an inter-agency agreement which provides for CSA clients to have the same access to interpreters during interviews as BA customers. BA policy is to provide a linguistic service to customers for whom English is not their first language. Guidance, including a code of practice, has been issued to all district managers. The service may be provided by BA interpreters, BA bilingual staff, community interpreters or other commercial interpreters. No records are kept to show in how many instances interpreters have been used.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the combined rate of employer/employee national insurance contributions necessary to achieve balance in the national insurance fund in 1994–95.

  Mr. Hague
  It is estimated1 that a treasury grant equivalent to 16 per cent. of expected benefit expenditure will be needed to balance the national insurance fund in 1994–952. If the grant was not available a combined employer/employee contribution rate of between 23·2 and 23·9 per cent.3 would be needed to raise the same level of income.
  1 Estimates are based on the November 1993 FSBR assumptions.
  2 The Government Actuary recommends planning for an end year balance equivalent to 2 months' benefit expenditure.
  3 The contribution percentages vary according to whether there was an increase in the main primary or main secondary percentage rate, or a combination of both.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing how many claimants of invalidity benefit had the cases reviewed between 1 April 1993 and 1 October 1993; and in each year prviously to 1990; what number of such cases for each period had either(a) a reduction or (b) a withdrawal of invalidity benefit; and how many new claims of invalidity benefit were accepted for each period.
  332
  Mr. Scott
  Detailed information about adjudication officers' decisions which review entitlement to invalidity benefit is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. We estimate that between 1 April 1993 and 30 September 1993, across all benefits for incapacity1, some 35,000 disallowances2 were made on the ground that the claimant was not incapable for work. Estimates for earlier years are not available. Available information about new spells of invalidity benefit entitlement is in the table.
  1 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.

  Spells of invalidity benefit entitlement commencing

  Period

  Number

  2 April 1990 to 30 March 1991

  288,000

  1 April 1991 to 4 April 1992

  323,000

  Note: Based on a 1 per cent. sample of claimants in Great Britain, rounded to the nearest thousand.

  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of existing recipients of invalidity benefit in(a) London and (b) Lewisham who will be disqualified under the new capacity test.

  Mr. Scott
  Numbers cannot be reliably estimated at this stage, but our current estimate is that around 200,000 of the people who initially transfer to incapacity benefit from invalidity benefit may fail to satisfy the test within the first two years. This estimate cannot be broken down by district.

  Some of these people would have been excluded from benefit by existing medical controls but will be excluded at an earlier stage by the new medical test. Around 100,000 people a year are found capable of their own or an alternative occupation by the existing medical controls. This includes people claiming sickness benefit, severe disablement allowance and income support because of incapacity for work, as well as invalidity benefit.

  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of people in receipt of invalidity benefit in(a) London and (b) Lewisham for each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Scott
  This 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 Mrs. Bridget Prentice, dated 22 March 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Invalidity Benefit (IVB) recipients in London and Lewisham.
  The information is not available in the format requested. This is because Benefits Agency (BA) district boundaries do not correspond with county or borough boundaries.
  The Agency's Lewisham and Brixton District is not only responsible for Lewisham postal addresses but also for some adjacent areas. Information about those customers resident in the Lewisham postal area could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. I have, therefore, provided at Appendix 1 the number of people claiming IVB in the Lewisham and Brixton District.
  Information relating to the numbers of IVB customers is collected by each District. However, separate statistics for IVB

  333
  customers were not maintained by Districts until May 1991. I am, therefore, only able to provide information for the Lewisham and Brixton District from that date.
  In addition, the figures include some customers who have claimed but are not actually receiving IVB. This is because there are circumstances in which although there is an underlying entitlement to IVB, because a higher overlapping benefit is in payment no IVB is actually paid. The figures were obtained from a 100 per cent. clerical count of cases in the District Office.
  BA District generally comprise of a District Office and one or more Branch Offices. Although a number of BA Districts deal only with London postal addresses, others consist of offices both inside and outside the London postal area. I am, therefore, unable to provide the information in the exact format requested.
  However, I have provided at Appendix 2 a table showing the number of customers in receipt of IVB in respect of the former Greater London Council geographical area. These figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample of customers. The figure given for 4 April 1992 is the latest date for which figures are available.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Appendix 1

  Number of IVB customers in the Lewisham and Brixton district

  Year and month

  Total

  1991

  May

  5,058

  June

  5,047

  July

  4,937

  August

  4,411

  September

  5,103

  October

  5,014

  November

  4,864

  December

  4,905

  1992

  January

  5,043

  February

  5,090

  March

  5,041

  April

  5,177

  May

  5,151

  June

  5,341

  July

  5,608

  August

  5,569

  September

  5,717

  October

  5,911

  November

  5,824

  December

  6,017

  1993

  January

  6,092

  February

  6,179

  March

  6,035

  April

  6,166

  May

  6,165

  June

  6,131

  July

  6,192

  August

  6,345

  September

  6,510

  October

  6,544

  November

  6,272

  December

  6,628

  1994

  January

  6,705

  February

  6,415

  Appendix 2

  Number of IVB recipients in the former greater London council area

  Date

  Number of recipients

  2 April 1983

  54,000

  31 March 1984

  57,000

  30 March 1985

  61,000

  5 April 1986

  64,000

  4 April 1987

  67,000

  2 April 1988

  73,000

  1 April 1989

  77,000

  334

  Date

  Number of recipients

  31 March 1990

  84,000

  30 March 1991

  97,000

  4 April 1992

  109,000

  Social Fund
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the 1994–95 gross budget for the discretionary parts of the social fund will be.

  Mr. Scott
  The social fund gross discretionary budget for 1994–95 will be £353 million. Some £97 million will be allocated to grants, £255 million to loans and £1 million will be held as a contingency reserve. The new allocations represent an overall increase of £7 million over the gross budget set at April 1993.

  Details of individual district budget allocations have been placed in the Library.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is in the table.

  Number of Contracts

  Cost (£ million)

  1988–89

  746

  49·5

  1989–90

  683

  43·3

  1990–91

  952

  83·2

  1991–92

  933

  69·7

  1992–93

  1,025

  100·9

  Domestic Fuel (VAT)
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what calculations he has made of(a) the amount that value added tax at 8 per cent. on fuel will add to the cost of each unit of electricity consumed and (b) the number of units on which 50p will pay the additional VAT.

  Sir John Cope
  I have been asked to reply.

  The answers would depend on the particular electricity company, and factors such as whether standard tariff or economy 7 tariff is used.

  The Government have made available a substantial package of help, which will cost up to £1,250 million a year from April 1996 onwards.

  Pensioners and disabled people are likely to find, on average, that this extra help from the Government will broadly cover all changes in the price of fuel, including VAT, over the course of this Parliament.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Attorney-General how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the last five years.
  335
  The Solicitor-General
  The information is set out in the table.

  Department

  1989–90 £

  1990–91 £

  1991–92 £

  1992–93 £

  1993–94 £

  Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Crown Prosecution Service

  620k

  (7)

  477k

  (7)

  471k

  (12)

  560k

  (24)

  1539k

  (33)

  Serious Fraud Office

  270k

  (3)

  171k

  (4)

  88k

  (2)

  112k

  (9)

  1126k

  (5)

  Treasury Solicitor's Department

  15·0k

  (2)

  Not Known

  54k

  (6)

  335k

  (8)

  428k

  (14)

  Note: Figures in parentheses represent the number of contracts that year.

  1 Figure not yet complete.

  2 Approximate figure.

DEFENCE

  Asbestos
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the outcome of his Department's case against Shipbreaking Industries Ltd. regarding asbestos pollution; if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  My Department's case against Shipbreaking Industries Ltd. regarding asbestos pollution was rejected by the court in January 1993. The recently reported out of court settlement between my Department and Shipbreaking Industries Ltd. related to a dilapidations claim and not asbestos pollution.

  Malaysia
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the value of the arms purchases by Malaysia from Britain following the agreement reached by the then Secretary of State for Defence, the former right hon. Member for Ayr, with the Malaysian Government in 1988.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers) on 21 February,Official Report, columns 69–70.

  Nuclear Warheads (Transport)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if police chief constables are informed of the movement of nuclear warheads through their area of jurisdiction.

  Mr. Hanley
  Civil police forces are always notified at least 24 hours in advance of nuclear weapon convoy movements through their area of jurisdiction.

  Common New Generation Frigate
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to ensure that all naval ship yards have the opportunity to submit tenders to build the common new generation frigate; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Following competition, GEC with a consortium of BAe defence systems and services division and others have been selected as the United Kingdom member for the Franco/British/Italian joint venture company to design and build the three first of class ships, one for each participating nation. All United Kingdom shipyards with the capability will be offered the 336
  opportunity to compete for the build of follow-on ships of this class and, in order to assist them, we are seeking arrangements for them to be provided with progressive and timely access to design information.

  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the current progress of the Anglo-French-Italian common new generation frigate programme.

  Mr. Aitken
  Good progress continues to be made on Project Horizon, the common new generation frigate. We continue to seek a collaborative way forward for the anti-air warfare system for the ship. Following a competition, GEC with a consortium of BAe defence systems and services division and others have been selected as the United Kingdom member for the international joint venture company which will design and build the three first of class ships, one for each participating nation. We still intend to contract two competing international consortia to conduct competitive project definition for the frigate's combat management system later this year.

  Conversion Units
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on future developments for(a) the Tornado operational conversion unit, (b) the Jaguar operational conversion unit at RAF Lossiemouth and (c) the operational conversion unit for Nimrods based at RAF Kinloss.

  Mr. Hanley
  There are no current plans to change the location or role of the Tornado, Jaguar and Nimrod operational conversion units.

  Nuclear Weapons Co-operation (France)
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy towards nuclear weapons co-operation with France following the recent publication by the French Government of a white paper on defence.

  Mr. Aitken
  We are already engaged in a very constructive dialogue with France on defence nuclear matters, and we welcome the French Government's commitment, as expressed in their recent white paper, to deepening these important exchanges.

  Asia '94 Exhibition
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice he has given to United Kingdom defence manufacturers intending to visit the DSA '94 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur.
  337
  Mr. Aitken
  The Defence Export Services Organisation has advised companies and the Defence Manufacturers Association that normal trade promotion with Malaysia should continue.

  Consultants
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many contracts his Department has had with consultants; and what has been the total cost in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cannock and Burntwood (Dr. Wright) on 31 January 1994,Official Report, column 551.

  Defence Costs Study
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 14 January,Official Report, columns 342–43, how many progress reports have been produced by the defence costs study teams; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  I have seen a total of 43 such reports to date.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether there will be any change to front-line capabilities resulting from the defence costs study; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what criteria will be used to assess the impact of the defence costs study on front-line capabilities; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) which MoD personnel will be involved in assessing the impact of the defence costs study on front-line capabilities; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The aim of the defence costs study is to safeguard our front-line operational capability. All proposals emerging from the study will be assessed with this criteria in mind, drawing on the advice of the appropriate personnel, in the MOD and the services.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what detailed proposals to make radical changes in procurement policies and practices have been considered as part of the defence costs study; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what detailed proposals to achieve reductions in the costs of his Departments' estate and property have been considered as part of the defence costs study; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what detailed proposals for reducing the costs of third and fourth-line repair have been considered as part of the defence costs study; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Separate study teams have been established to examine each of these areas in detail. They have yet to report, but are considering a range of proposals relevant to their respective remits. Decisions on their final recommendations will be announced in due course.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made as to whether it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in the costs associated with spares, procurement and stock holding without having any impact on front-line capabilities; and if he will make a statement.
  338
  Mr. Aitken
  We shall make an assessment of this when we have received the final reports from the relevant defence costs study teams.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to include examination of(a) Army support infrastructure, and (b) Air Force support infrastructure as part of the defence costs study; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Both areas are being examined within the scope of existing studies.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the review of the programme for market testing and contracting out has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  Work is continuing in this area as part of the defence costs study.

  Repairs
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sections of(a) the Army, (b) the Navy and (c) the Air Force are responsible for (i) third-line repairs and (ii) fourth-line repairs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  Responsibility for third and fourth-line repairs within the services lies with the following:

  (a) The Chief of Fleet Support is responsible overall within the Navy. Third line—generally docking and essential defect work—ship repair work is normally undertaken by the Fleet Maintenance and Repair Organisation at Portsmouth, the royal dockyards at Devonport and Rosyth, or sub-contractors. Fourth-line ship repair—refit work—is carried out by the royal dockyards or by the equipment manufacturers.

  CFS is also responsible on a tri-service basis for third and fourth-line repair work undertaken on helicopters either by the Department's own workshops or in industry. Work is also undertaken on equipment such as vehicles and armaments either within the Department's own workshops, third line, or by industry, fourth line.

  (b) The director general of equipment support, Army, is responsible for advising on the allocation of work, normally through the Army Base Repair Organisation, a Defence agency which provides third and fourth-line support to the Army both through its own engineering workshops and through industry.

  (c) The director general of support management, RAF, is responsible for the allocation of work, and the raising of requisitions for contracts with industry.

  Third-line repair work is carried out by the Maintenance Group Defence Agency, whose chief executive is the AOC maintenance units, headquarters RAF support command. Fouth-line repair work is carried out by industry.

  Yugoslavia
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the current funding situation for British military participation in UN operations in the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  In accordance with long-established inter-departmental arrangements, the MOD recovers the cost of United Kingdom participation for peacekeeping
  339
  operations in the former Yugoslavia from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The cost of military participation in UN operations in the former Yugoslavia is currently
  340
  estimated at £81,000,000 for financial year 1993–94. This expenditure is partly offset by reimbursement from the United Nations which so far total £18,100,000 in 1993–94.

  GOVERNMENT DEFEATS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
  GOVERNMENT DEFEATS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
  HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES TRUSTS, NORTHERN IRELAND
  HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES TRUSTS, NORTHERN IRELAND
  ELECTRICITY PRIVATISATION, NORTHERN IRELAND: COSTS
  ELECTRICITY PRIVATISATION, NORTHERN IRELAND: COSTS
  LIGHT DUES
  LIGHT DUES
  GOVERNMENT SECURITY
  GOVERNMENT SECURITY
  THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF PROTECTIVE MARKING: DEFINITIONS
  THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF PROTECTIVE MARKING: DEFINITIONS
  HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTION: RIGHTS OF MINORITIES PROTOCOL
  HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTION: RIGHTS OF MINORITIES PROTOCOL
  CHILD ABDUCTION: PREVENTION
  CHILD ABDUCTION: PREVENTION