Written Answers of 26 May 1994

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Maastricht Treaty
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the procedures for informing industry, commerce and the public about the effect of the provisions of the treaty of Maastricht.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I am satisfied that an appropriate effort has been made to explain the effects of the Maastricht treaty. We have issued a number of publications. Recent Foreign and Commonwealth Office publications include Europe After Maastricht, Britain in Europe, and The European Elections—Why They Matter to You. The Department of Trade and Industry recently issued The Single Market—Making It Work For You". This includes advice to business on the European Community's legislative process.

  Gibraltar
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department is offering to the people of Gibraltar following cuts in Government spending; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  We have established the joint economic forum to bring those concerned together to help overcome Gibraltar's economic difficulties. The forum includes United Kingdom Government Departments, the Government of Gibraltar, trade unions and representatives of local business. We have negotiated substantial European Union funds for Gibraltar. The Ministry of Defence is offering training, and will continue to purchase local goods and services.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Bolton, South-East (Mr. Young) of 10 May,Official Report, column 83, what arrangements have been made to enable Gibraltarians resident in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other EU countries to vote in the European elections.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Gibraltarians resident in the United Kingdom are entitled to vote in European elections. Gibraltarians resident in other member states of the European Union are entitled as citizens of the European Union to vote in European parliamentary elections on the same terms as nationals of that member state under article 8b2 of the treaty on European Union.

  Wilton Park Executive Agency
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Wilton Park executive agency performed against the targets which were agreed for 1992–93; and if targets have yet been agreed for the current year.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  According to provisional figures, which are subject to full audit, Wilton Park exceeded two of the four targets set for the 1993–94 financial year, for the number of conference participants and the cost per head to the FCO. It failed to achieve those for cost recovery and commercial income by margins of 0.1 per cent. and 0.6 per cent. respectively. Commercial income was again affected by adverse trading conditions.

  The Wilton Park departmental board met on 19 April. We have agreed to the recommendation of the board that the following key targets be adopted for this financial year:
  to increase overall income from £953,000 in 1993–94 to £1,039,000;
  to increase cost recovery from 71.9 per cent. in 1993–94 to 72.8 per cent.;
  to increase the overall number of Wilton Park conference participants from 1,077 in 1993–94 to 1,260;
  to reduce the average cost to the FCO of each participant from £345 in 1993–94 to £307.

  It has also been agreed that for 1994–95 Wilton Park will aim to recover 80 per cent. of the costs of its commercial activities and 64 per cent. of the cost of Wilton Park conferences.

  Arms Sales (Middle East)
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the sale of arms to Israel and Syria.

  Mr. Hurd
  I have decided that, in the light of favourable developments in the middle east peace process; in particular the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho, the United Kingdom's arms embargo against Israel should be lifted. This will bring the United Kingdom into line with our European Union partners.

  Forthwith, all applications for the sale of arms to Israel
  will be considered cases by case in the light of the international guidelines to which we are committed. Those include whether a proposed transfer would be likely to increase tension in the region or contribute to regional instability.

  The Israeli Government have made it clear that they have no territorial claim on Lebanon. We hope to see progress on the Syrian track in line with that seen on the Palestinian track. In that context, we will be ready to raise with our European partners the lifting of the European Union arms embargo against Syria.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Citizens Charter
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to include in the citizens charter specific charter provisions for disabled people.

  Mr. David Davis
  The citizens charter applies to all users of public services. One of the six key principles of the charter is that service providers should inform their
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  customers of the standards of service that they can expect. It is for individual organisations to decide on the specific commitments that they are able to meet in order to improve the quality of their services to disabled people.

  There are currently 39 charters, of which 35 make particular reference to people with disabilities.

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what consideration he has given to the role of civil servants in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in preparing amendments and new clauses for private Members' Bills.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The civil servants in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel are accountable to ministers in the same way as other civil servants. Their work in preparing amendments and new clauses for private Members' Bills is, like their other work, undertaken on the authority of Ministers.

  Consultants
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the expenditure on management and financial consultants by his Department in 1992–93.

  Mr. David Davis
  The expenditure in 1992–93 on management and financial consultants by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's. Departments was:

  £

  Office of Public Service and Science and its Agencies1

  949,031

  COI

  136,460

  HMSO2

  410,075

  1This figure does not include CCTA contracts let on behalf of other government departments.

  2HMSO records do not distinguish between types of consultancy. The figure provided represents expenditure on consultancy during the HMSO financial year January to December 1992.

  Civil Estate
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what arrangements have been made to publish the efficiency unit's scrutiny report on the management of the Government's civil estate.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  I am pleased to publish today the Scrutiny report on the management of the Government's civil estate.

  The Prime Minister has welcomed the findings. He commissioned the scrutiny in July 1993 to consider how far responsibility for civil estate properties could be passed to Departments and agencies and to identify central systems which should be retained or established. The Government will now proceed to implement the reports broad findings. The reports main recommendations are:
  that Departments should take responsibility as principals for the property they occupy;
  that property holdings should be reconstituted as an executive agency; to co-ordinate the Government's market activity on the civil estate and to promote rationalisation of the estate; to provide Departments with a body of off-the-shelf advice and support; and to provide intelligent customer support to those Departments who do not have in-house facilities. (The Government will consider further which Department is to sponsor the new agency.)

  The scrutiny team was also asked to look specifically at the management of historic buildings on the civil estate and
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  extended its review to include historic building issues on the defence estate. The team concluded that the arrangements introduced in 1992 for regular audit and monitoring of the condition of the historic estate had started well and should be given further time to work. New guidance should be provided to Departments on procedures for the disposal of surplus historic property. This would ensure that the special considerations which may arise in connection with heritage disposals are taken fully into account in applying normal disposal rules.

  Copies of the efficiency unit scrutiny have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the non-departmental bodies in England the conduct of which can be referred to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The following non-departmental public bodies fall within the jurisdiction of the PCA. Those NDPBs with a remit specific to Wales or Scotland only have been omitted from the list.

  Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)

  Agricultural Wages Committees

  Arts Council of Great Britain

  British Council

  British Film Institute

  British Library

  Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond (only in respect of functions as a general lighthouse authority)

  Countryside Commission

  Crafts Council

  Data Protection Registrar

  UK Ecolabelling Board

  Education Assets Board

  Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges

  English Heritage (Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England)

  English Nature (Nature Conservancy Council for England)

  English Tourist Board

  Equal Opportunities Commission

  Health and Safety Commission

  Health and Safety Executive

  Horserace Betting Levy Board

  The Housing Corporation

  Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

  Legal Aid Board

  Local Government Commission for England

  Medical Practices Committee

  Museums and Galleries Commission

  National Heritage Memorial Fund

  National Rivers Authority (except for flood defence functions)

  Commission for the New Towns (except for housing functions)

  Development Corporations for the New Towns (except for housing functions)

  Commission for Protection against Unlawful Industrial Action

  Registrar of Public Lending Right

  Commission for Racial Equality

  Research Councils:

  Economic and Social

  Medical

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  Natural Environment

  Residuary Bodies

  Office of the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members

  Rural Development Commission

  Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work

  Sports Council

  Traffic Director for London

  Industry Training Boards:

  Agricultural Training Board

  Construction Industry Training Board

  Engineering Construction Industry Training Board

  Urban Development Corporations (except for town and country planning functions).

  Urban Regeneration Agency (except for town and country planning functions)

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have(a) requested Parliamentary counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members' Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Parliamentary Counsel draft not on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. No amendments were drafted since April 1992 by parliamentary counsel on instructions from my Department. However, some of the amendments tabled during the Committee and Report stages of the Right to Know Bill were prepared by my officials with advice from Parliamentary Counsel.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Licence Fees
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he will have consultations within the European Community concerning the proposed directive on licence fees for television and radio.

  Mr. Brooke
  I have no knowledge of any proposed directive on this matter.

  Football Stadiums
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will grant time extensions to any of the premier league and first division football clubs in respect of the Government's 1 August all-seater deadline.

  Mr. Brooke
  The Governments policy has been that premier league and first division football clubs should eliminate standing accommodation from their grounds by 1 August 1994. The policy was first announced in January 1990, when the Government accepted the recommendations in Lord Justice Taylor's final report. This policy was reaffirmed in the Government's response to the Home Affairs Committee report on policing football hooliganism 228
  in May 1991 and again in July 1992, following a review of the policy by the former Secretary of State. In recognition of the costs involved, the Government reduced pool betting duty in the 1990 budget, making available to clubs some £20 million each year since then via the Football Trust, on the understanding that these funds will be used for major projects associated with Taylor implementation.

  I am pleased to report that the majority of clubs in the top two divisions will meet or are planning to meet the deadline. I congratulate those clubs on the great strides they have made in improving the safety and comfort of spectators at their grounds. I have, however, indicated that I will consider extensions to the deadline in exceptional cases.

  The all-seater policy will be enforced by means of the licensing system operated by the Football Licensing Authority under the Football Spectators Act 1989. Under section 11(1) and (2) of the 1989 Act I am empowered to make an order directing the FLA to include certain specified conditions about seating in the licences that it issues to clubs. Before making such an order, I am required to consult the FLA, which in turn is required to consult local authorities before making recommendations to me. The FLA consulted local authorities and clubs on 17 December 1993, asking for comments by 28 February. It submitted its main recommendations in mid-April together with copies of the representations made by local authorities and clubs. It submitted further representations in relation to two late applications at the end of April.

  Of the 12 clubs that have formally applied for an extension, one—Oxford United—has been relegated to division 2, which is not subject to the 1994 deadline. I have considered the case made by the remaining 11 clubs, taking into account the recommendations made by the Football Licensing Authority.

  On the basis of the information I have before me, I have today written to the chairmen of both clubs to inform them of my preliminary view in each case, and offering them the opportunity to submit further representations.

  I have written to the chairmen of the following clubs, all of which are actively engaged in relocation to new stadiums, indicating that I am minded to agree that they have a valid case for an extension to the 1 August deadline:

  Derby County

  Grimsby Town

  Middlesbrough

  Portsmouth

  Sunderland

  I have warned, however, that although I am considering whether to grant an extension, my general policy remains, and I have in mind that any extension should be for a limited period only.

  I have also explained that any decision to allow the retention of standing accommodation for a limited period will not affect safety requirements at the ground. Clubs will still be required to observe the terms and conditions of the local authority safety certificate issued under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975, and any requirement placed on the club as a result of the FLA exercising its powers under section 13 of the 1989 Act. The responsibility of each club to ensure that the ground meets the necessary safety requirements remains unchanged, irrespective of whether or not an extension is granted.

  I have also written to the chairmen of the following clubs indicating that, while I appreciate the very real

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  difficulties faced, I do not consider that the case presented to date is sufficiently strong to warrant an extension of the deadline beyond 1 August 1994:

  Barnsley

  Chelsea

  Manchester City

  Newcastle United

  Oldham Athletic

  Swindon Town

  In arriving at my preliminary view, I have applied the criterion adopted by the Football Licensing Authority, which were set out in the FLA's letters of 13 November 1992 and 17 December 1993 as follows:
  Clubs seeking an extension in order to relocate to a new ground are expected to produce clear evidence that such an extension would be for a strictly limited period and that the club could realistically complete its relocation within a reasonable and definite timescale.
  Clubs applying for an extension in order to redevelop their existing grounds are expected to show why their circumstances are wholly exceptional, why the reasons for the delay could not reasonably have been foreseen, and why they could not be attributed to the actions or inaction of the club.

  I must stress that I have not yet made my final decision, and before I do so I think it only right that the clubs affected should have the opportunity to comment and to make further representations to me if they feel that this would be appropriate.

  In reaching my final decision I will consider each case on its individual merits in the light of the above criteria, having regard to all material facts and to the need to be consistent where circumstances are similar and fair to all clubs in the premier league and football league, first division. I will also take into account any other relevant points which the clubs wish to make in response to my letters.

  I am acutely aware that it is important that clubs have as much time as possible to prepare for the 1994–95 football season. I therefore propose to end any uncertainty about the outcome of my deliberations within a matter of weeks rather than months. Clubs have been asked for any comments they may have on the contents of my letters, or for any further representations they may wish me to take into consideration, by Thursday 16 June at the very latest. My final decision will follow as soon as possible thereafter.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Child Care
  Mr. Mudie
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer from the Chairman of the Administration Committee on 17 May,Official Report, column 416, when the Commission will publish the details of the survey into child care in the parliamentary estate.

  Mr. Beith
  This matter is still under consideration by the Commission.

  Intelligence Services
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will establish the parliamentary oversight committee of the intelligence services before the summer recess.

  Mr. Newton
  The intelligence services legislation provides for members of the Intelligence and Security Committee to be appointed by the Prime Minister after 230
  consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Since commencement of the Act is still some months away, I would not expect the Committee to be appointed yet.

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Brown) of 19 May,Official Report, column 959, if he will publish the full text of the letter on the drafting of amendments from the head of the civil service to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) to which he referred.

  Mr. Newton
  I have arranged for copies of the correspondence to be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Lord President of the Council on which private Members' Bills, introduced into either House of Parliament since April 1992, Parliamentary Counsel has been involved in drafting amendments which have subsequently been tabled in the names of Members of either House, other than Ministers.

  Mr. Newton
  Parliamentary Counsel drafts amendments on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. How many of these were subsequently tabled by Members of either House is not centrally recorded.

DEFENCE

  Dartmouth Naval College
  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual intake at, and graduation from, Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth; what are the annual running costs; how many(a) service and (b) civilian personnel are employed there, and in what professional and other groups.

  Mr. Hanley
  During the last training year, the intake at Britannia Royal Naval College was 861. This number includes 433 students who attended courses, including the officer new entry course, from which 401 graduated; the remaining 428 students attended courses from which there is no formal graduation.

  The annual running costs excluding sea training for Britannia Royal Naval College for the last three financial years are as follows:

  £

  FY 1991–92

  15,800,000

  FY 1992–93

  18,500,000

  FY 1993–94

  118,900,000

  1 Estimate.

  The total number of Service personnel employed at the college is 129, and is broken down as follows:

  Number

  Officers

  50

  Warrant Officers

  3

  Senior Ratings

  136

  Junior Ratings

  40

  1 Includes 4 RM.

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  The total number of civilian staff employed at the college is 169.5 and is broken down as follows:

  Number

  Defence Administration Group

  29.0

  Defence Engineering and Science Group

  45.5

  Other

  14.0

  Industrial

  81.0

  Nuclear Test Veterans
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the known atomic test veterans listed on departmental files were contacted as part of the study on mortality and comparative health of atomic test veterans conducted for his Department by the National Radiological Protection Board, published last December; and what criteria were adopted in choosing those former service men to contact as part of the study.

  Mr. Hanley
  The independent study conducted by the National Radiological Protection Board was a statistical analysis of the health and service records of more than 21,000 test participants. The NRPB acquired information from a variety of independent and official sources including the British Atomic Veterans Association, the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association, the Royal British Legion, the Department of Social Security, besides NRPB and MOD records. Thus there was not a requirement to contact test participants directly.

  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he replied to Mr. Denzil Hancock of Abertillery, Gwent, in regard to his letter on the National Radiological Protection Board study of atomic test veterans.

  Mr. Hanley
  My officials have no record of receiving the letter referred to.

  Nuclear Non-proliferation
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to examine the
  proposals set out in the recent report by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on a blueprint for a nuclear weapon-free world and the 1995 non-proliferation treaty conference, a copy of which has been sent to him.

  Mr. Hanley
  My Department has no record of having received this document. We have arranged for a copy to be provided to us, however, and we will examine its proposals carefully.

  Matra Marconi Space
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made concerning the sale by British Aerospace of its space systems business to Matra Marconi Space; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  If such a proposal is announced, my Department will if necessary advise the regulatory authorities in the usual manner on any competition and national security implications. Such advice is, of course, confidential.

  Hazardous Waste
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with the United States authorities regarding the disposal of hazardous wastes shipped to the United Kingdom for disposal from bases of the United States armed forces in Europe.

  Mr. Hanley
  Officials of my Department have occasionally discussed with the appropriate United States authorities the disposal of hazardous wastes imported into the United Kingdom. The handling of such waste in the United Kingdom is carried out in accordance with national and international regulations governing the movement and destruction of hazardous waste.

  RNAD, Beith
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current workload, numbers employed and future prospects at the Royal Naval armaments depot, Beith.

  Mr. Hanley
  At present some 500 personnel are employed at RNAD Beith. The depot plays an important and active role in supporting both the Navy and the RAF in the storage and processing of a wide range of armaments. By the end of 1994, the depot will have assumed further non-armament engineering tasks which have been transferred from other MOD establishments. The future of the depot, which is currently subject to a market-testing exercise, is being reviewed, along with other MOD establishments, as part of the defence costs study.

  Bosnia
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will decide whether British troops will be deployed in Bosnia this winter; and what are the crucial factors affecting that decision.

  Mr. Hanley
  The deployment of British forces in Bosnia is kept under constant review. A decision on
  whether the current deployment will continue through the winter will be taken later this year and will take account of factors such as the situation on the ground, humanitarian needs, UNPROFOR's ability to carry out its mandate without unacceptable risk to the safety of its forces, and progress towards an overall peace agreement.

  "Friendly Fire" Incident
  Sir Keith Speed
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent communications he has received from the United States Government about the shooting down of two United Nations helicopters by aircraft of the United States air force.

  Mr. Hanley
  The two United States helicopters shot down in northern Iraq on 14 April are the subject of a United States investigation. The United Kingdom has two representatives on the inquiry and they are taking a full part in the proceedings. We have been kept regularly informed of the progress of the investigation and will make the results available as soon as possible.

  Defence Contractors
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the letter of the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West of 16 May, if he will list the 40 contracts held by Airwork Ltd. for the Ministry of Defence; and if he will list those which are in the majority that have been rated as satisfactory.

  Mr. Aitken
  Airwork Ltd. is contracted by my Department to carry out a wide variety of support activities, including:

  Provision of Simulator Instructor and maintenance of simulator and supply of spares

  Provision of aircraft Maintenance Services

  Post Design Work

  Maintenance of Communications Equipment at various locations

  Provision of Helicopter Support and On Call Maintenance

  Servicing of maintenance of Range Safety Radars and Ground Radio

  Provision of Flying Instruction

  Servicing of Aircraft

  Repair and Reconditioning of Spares

  As stated in my letter dated 16 May 1994 to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West, in general these contracts are being performed satisfactorily.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the letter from the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West, dated 16 May, if he will list the names of all the contractors placed on the Ministry of Defence list of contractors requiring special attention; on what date they were placed on that list; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The list is maintained for internal use only, as part of my Departments risk management technique. It is treated as commercial in confidence and therefore I am not prepared to identify the contractors currently on it.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the letter of the Minister of State for Defence Procurement to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West, dated 16 May, on what date Airwork Ltd. was placed on the Ministry of Defence list of contractors requiring special attention.

  Mr. Aitken
  On 21 May 1993.

  Royal Navy Exercises
  Mr. Sykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will now give further details regarding the introduction of a system for broadcasting details of firing intentions in local sea areas; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hanley
  I am pleased to announce, as foreshadowed in my answer to the hon. Member for Western Isles (Mr. Macdonald) on 3 March,Official Report, columns 871–72 that from Wednesday 1 June 1994 the Royal Navy is to introduce a new information service for advising fishermen and other mariners of gun and missile firings in designated exercise areas around the United Kingdom. The time and approximate geographic locations of all planned live firings—other than with small arms—and underwater explosions will be broadcast twice a day by the Royal Navy: where appropriate this will also include the times of firing flares, other illuminants, and naval gunfire support firings using sea ranges and inert ammunition. This new broadcasting of information is to be known colloquially as GUNFACTS,
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  A broadcast scheme for transmitting information of this nature has been operating in the heavily used Portland exercise area for almost two years, and has proved successful in ensuring that civil craft using these waters are aware of Royal Navy firing activity. The aim now is to extend the arrangements operating in the Portland areas to cover all exercise areas around the United Kingdom in which gunnery and missile firings and underwater explosions take place.

  The introduction of the United Kingdom-wide broadcasting arrangements for GUNFACTS does not reflect any shortcomings in the Royal Navys existing range safety procedures, which are already rigorous and comprehensive: the intention is, rather, to complement the existing measures. As such, the introduction of this scheme represents a further step forward in maritime safety and underlines our continuing commitment to ensure safe operations by the Royal Navy at sea.

  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the first test firing of a United Kingdom Trident II D5 missile is expected to take place; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  HMS Vanguard is scheduled today to launch an unarmed Trident II D5 ballistic missile off the coast of Florida as part of her demonstration and shakedown operation. I shall inform the House of the outcome of the firing in due course.

  Adventurous Training Facilities
  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the single service and joint service adventurous training facilities maintained by funds from his Department, showing the costs, staffing and principal equipment of each.

  Mr. Hanley
  Adventurous training is, and will continue to be, an essential part of armed forces training, developing the qualities of fitness, courage, initiative, powers of endurance, leadership and interdependence which are essential to each service. The information requested, with costs for financial year 1993–94, will be placed in the Library.

WALES

  Interreg
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he met representatives of West Glamorgan to discuss its inclusion in Interreg; when he met his Irish counterpart to discuss adding south-east Eire and south-west Wales to the United Kingdom submission; when subsequently he made written representations on behalf of West Glamorgan and to whom; and what was the reason for the time lag between his meeting with the Irish Minister and his written submission.

  Mr. Redwood
  I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

  Agricultural Development and Advisory Service
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement regarding the future of ADAS in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
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  Mr. Redwood
  My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture announced the 1994–95 cost recovery targets and the associated restructuring of ADAS in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Birrningham, Hall Green (Mr. Hargreaves) on 25 February 1994,Official Report, columns 492–93. The agencys activities in Wales are being carried forward and its organisation adjusted in line with that. Detailed operational matters are the responsibility of the chief executive.

  My right hon. Friend and I also announced on 22 September 1993 that a study of the future corporate status of ADAS is being undertaken. A further announcement will be made as soon as possible.

  Agriculture One-stop Shops
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to introduce agriculture one-stop shops in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  In my speech at the annual general meeting of the Farmers Union of Wales on 11 May, I announced plans to provide the opportunity for all farmers in Wales to receive free agri-environmental advice through a streamlined system, which will be both simple and effective. Farmers will gain access to advice through a single clearing-house which will direct both telephone and written inquiries to an adviser who will be the single point of contact for the farmer. The adviser will provide the farmer with impartial sound advice on all the environmental aspects of farming and the support schemes available. Further details will be announced soon.

  Local Government (Wales) Bill (Amendments)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral statement of 15 March,Official Report, column 758, on what date he requested parliamentary draftsmen to prepare the amendments for clause 44 of the Local Government (Wales) Bill [Lords].

  Mr. Redwood
  It is not the practice to provide details of internal decisions of this kind.

ENVIRONMENT

  Water Pollution
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many representations he has received regarding pollution of water supplies resulting in inconvenience to consumers for each year since 1986.

  Mr. Atkins
  This information is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many areas have been designated as areas of protection under the Water Resources Act 1991; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what plans he has for changes to legislation to deter polluters of water supplies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  It is for the National Rivers Authority to apply for the making of an order under section 93 of the Water Resources Act 1991 for the designation of a water protection zone. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I are currently considering the first such application by the NRA, in respect of the River Dee.
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  Regardless of any specific protective measures. it is in general an offence, punishable by an unlimited fine or a prison sentence or both, to pollute watercourses or water supplies.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of debt for each local authority in the west midlands county.

  Mr. Curry
  At 31 March 1993, the total outstanding debt for each local authority in the area of the former west midlands county council was as follows:

  £ million

  Birmingham

  1,233

  Coventry

  385

  Dudley

  277

  Sandwell

  284

  Solihull

  71

  Walsall

  301

  Wolverhampton

  309

  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the topics to be included in the 1994 review of standard spending assessment; and what resources his Department will be devoting to the 1994 review of standard spending assessments, in terms of(a) the number of full-time equivalent posts and the estimated staff costs and (b) the cost of externally commissioned research.

  Mr. Curry
  A wide-ranging review of standard spending assessments was carried out in 1993. The Government do not propose to carry out a similar review this year. Their policy on further changes in SSAs was set out in its response to the first report from the Select Committee on the Environment, Cm 2494, and in paragraphs 32 and 33 in particular. Possible topics relating to SSAs which may be discussed with the local authority associations this year were set out in a paper for the SSA sub-group. A copy has been placed in the Library.

  The division primarily concerned with SSAs has a complement of 12.8 full-time equivalent posts, the cost of which is some £420,000 per year. The Department expects to commission external research relating to SSAs, the cost of which will be met from the budget for local government research as a whole of £534,000 in 1994–95. Actual expenditure in 1994–95 will depend on the prices offered by contractors and the timing of the work but is not expected to exceed £50,000.

  Flood Prevention
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent local authorities that are allocated money for flood prevention by his Department are able to vire the money to other purposes.

  Mr. Curry
  My Department does not allocate money to local authorities specifically for flood prevention. However the standard spending assessment methodology used to distribute revenue support grant includes an element for flood defence which is based on the previous years expenditure. Since RSG in unhypothecated, where this element exceeds the amount levied by the National Rivers
  237
  Authority for flood defence in any year, authorities themselves decide how best to use any additional resources in the light of local needs and priorities. This principle applies equally to all services included in the SSA system.

  Tenants Ombudsman
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many complaints have been received by the housing association tenants ombudsmen in England and Scotland from the date that the respective services became operational in December 1993.

  Sir George Young
  The housing association tenants ombudsman service, which covers the activities of registered housing associations in England, has received 412 complaints in its first six months of operation—from November 1993 to April 1994. In the case of Scotland, for which the arrangements are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, I am advised that in its first full month of operation—April 1994 —the service there received 12 complaints.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how the services of the housing association tenants ombudsmen are advertised to housing association tenants.

  Sir George Young
  The Housing Corporation has distributed posters and leaflets about the housing
  association tenants ombudsman service to all registered housing associations in England, as well as to citizens advice bureaux, local libraries, law centres and housing advice centres.

  Council Houses, Harrogate
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of council houses owned by Harrogate borough council.

  Sir George Young
  Harrogate borough council reported a total of 5,234 council dwellings in its April 1993 housing investment programme return, a copy of which is in the Library.

  Energy Saving
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on progress towards meeting the United Nations conference on environment and development at Rio de Janerio obligations in so far as they concern energy saving in the domestic market.

  Mr. Atkins
  The framework convention on climate change, which was signed by 153 countries at the Rio Earth summit in June 1992 and came into force in March this

  Privately rented dwellings and households 1981 to 1993 England

  Year

  Dwellings

  Households

  Number thousands

  Proportion of all dwellings percent

  Number thousands

  Proportion of all households percent

  1981

  2,050

  11.4

  1,910

  11.0

  1982

  2,040

  11.2

  —

  —

  1983

  2,030

  11.1

  1,880

  10.6

  1984

  2,030

  10.9

  1,920

  10.7

  1985

  2,000

  10.7

  1,900

  10.6

  238
  year commits developed countries to take measures aimed at returning emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2000. The United Kingdom climate change United Kingdom programme, which was published in January, sets out in full the measures aimed at meeting the convention commitment. These include measures affecting the domestic energy sector, which are expected to reduce emissions by 4 million tonnes of carbon—MtC—against projected CO2 emissions by 2000.

  Residential Property, Hull
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by what percentage each year the rebuilding costs per square foot have increased between 1964 and 1990 for residential property built before 1920 in Hull.

  Sir George Young
  Figures for Hull are not available, but there is no reason to suppose that these differ significantly from increases in rebuilding costs for residential property nationally which were as follows:

  Year

  Percentage increase

  1964

  0

  1965

  5

  1966

  7

  1967

  0

  1968

  5

  1969

  6

  1970

  10

  1971

  9

  1972

  25

  1973

  37

  1974

  17

  1975

  6

  1976

  6

  1977

  13

  1978

  13

  1979

  17

  1980

  24

  1981

  0

  1982

  3

  1983

  7

  1984

  4

  1985

  4

  1986

  4

  1987

  9

  1988

  11

  1989

  9

  1990

  1

  Private Rented Housing
  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the change in size of the private rented sector over the period 1981 to 1993.

  Sir George Young
  The information for England is as follows:
  239

  Year

  Dwellings

  Households

  Number thousands

  Proportion of all dwellings percent

  Number thousands

  Proportion of all households percent

  1986

  1,940

  10.3

  1,690

  9.2

  1987

  1,880

  9.9

  1,670

  9.1

  1988

  1,800

  9.3

  1,700

  9.1

  1989

  1,900

  9.3

  1,610

  8.6

  1990

  1,910

  9.7

  1,690

  8.9

  1991 April

  1,920

  9.8

  1,760

  9.3

  1991 December

  1,970

  10.0

  —

  —

  1992

  2,030

  10.2

  1,790

  9.2

  1993

  2,050

  10.2

  1,950

  9.9

  Notes:

  1. Dwellings figures are at the end of December except for 1981, when they are for April, and 1991 when figures are shown for both April and December.

  2. Household figures are estimates from the Labour Force Survey and are subject to sampling error. They are for the period March to May each year.

  A statistical paper explaining the derivation of these figures is to be included in the May issue of Housing Finance. I will place a copy in the Library as soon as it is available.

  Habitats Directive
  Mrs. Browning
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to implement the EC habitats directive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The Government are firmly committed to the transposition of the directive into United Kingdom law. We expect to lay draft regulations for this purpose before Parliament soon after the Whitsun recess. The regulations will be made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and will require the approval of Parliament before they can come into effect. The directive requires the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions to be brought into force within two years of its notification on 5 June 1992. Although this target will not quite be achieved, our first priority must be to ensure that the draft regulations, which are very complex, fulfil the directive's requirements.

  The Government issued a public consultation paper in October 1993 indicating what provisions were considered necessary to implement the directive. The responses to this consultation, and that undertaken in March 1993 concerning proposed changes to permitted development rights to comply with the directive, have been considered during the process of framing the draft regulations.

  Subject to parliamentary approval, the regulations will establish mechanisms for the designation and protection of sites qualifying under the EC habitats and birds directives. They will also cover species protection aspects of the habitats directive. These measures will provide a self-contained body of legislation to give effect to the directive's requirements and will build on the already comprehensive provisions for habitats and species conservation in existing law and policy.

  Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
  Sir Donald Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet considered the response by Calderdale metropolitan borough council to the notice 240
  served on the authority on 23 December 1993 under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  My right hon. Friend, after carefully considering the response which Calderdale metropolitan borough made to the notice served on the authority, has decided to give the authority a direction under section 14 of the Local Government Act 1988. The effect of the direction is to require the authority to re-tender the ground maintenance work which was the subject of the notice by 1 June 1995. The direction also requires the authority, when re-tendering the work, to draw up a contingency plan to cover the remedying of defects in the contractors performance and/or procuring the service of another contractor in the event of contractor failure, to which any performance bond requirement would be related. The authority must agree the contingency plan, and the terms of any performance bond requirement, with an independent arbitrator appointed by the Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management.

  Farm Shops
  Mr. Garnier
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the Governments planning policy towards applications for farm shops.

  Mr. Baldry
  Farm shops help meet demand from consumers who want fresh produce at the point of production and can provide new sources of jobs and services in rural area and outlets for producers of regional and speciality foods. Advice on the circumstances in which planning applications are needed for farm shops is provided in planning policy guidance note 7, paragraph B2. When planning applications are needed, local planning authorities should take account of:(i) the desirability for the fanner to provide a service throughout the year, which may require him to bring in non-local1 produce to overcome the problems of seasonality and provide continuity of employment and to ensure that a sufficiently wide selection of produce can be offered;
  (ii) the potential impact on nearby village shops; and
  (iii) the transport effects in terms of the traffic likely to be generated and the highways, access and parking arrangements.

  1 In this context non-local means produce originating from beyond the farm holding and its environs. Local planning

  241
  authorities should not discriminate against produce orginating outside the United Kingdom. This applies equally to produce which is packed on the farm but which originates from outside it.

  In individual cases where the development of an unrestricted retail use on a farm shop would be likely to result in a significant adverse effect on a nearby village shop, the local authority may wish to consider the scope for using planning conditions to limit the broad types of produce sold in the farm shop so as to enable permission to be given. Guidance on the use of conditions is contained in the DOE circular 1/85.

  Travellers
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date in April the Minister for Local Government met in Bradford Mr. Graham Ablewhite, managing director of Sparks confectioners, with head offices in Hockney road, Bradford; what undertakings the Minister gave regarding action concerning the use of unofficial sites by travellers within Bradford metropolitan district; what specific action he has taken in this matter since meeting Mr. Ablewhite; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  [holding answer 23 May 1994]: I met Graham Ablewhite during a non-departmental visit to Bradford on 29 April. While there, I promised to seek advice on the background from officials in my Department; I plan to write.

SCOTLAND

  Mental Health Services
  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what specific instructions he has provided to the purchasers of mental health services in respect of the seriously mentally ill.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend has issued no such instructions. The organisation of mental health services is determined by clinical assessment and local need. It is for individual health boards to assess the needs for their population and to purchase mental health services accordingly. In so doing they are expected to have due regard for the Governments community care objectives and what is best for individuals.

  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what specific instructions he has issued, and to whom, on good practice on hospital discharge for mentally disordered people and on continuing care for mentally disordered people.

  Mr. Stewart
  Three circulars on this matter have been made available. Discharge of Patients from Mental Illness and Mental Handicap Hospitals, SW10/1988 was sent to directors of social work and copied to general managers of health boards on 1 June 1988, and dealt with the management issues. Assessment and Care Management, SW11/1991 HHD/DGM, (1191)40 was issued on 17 June 1991, and "Guidance on Care Programmes for People with a Mental Illness including Dementia", SOHHD DGM 1992/9 SW 1992/1 was issued on 7 February 1992. These were sent to general managers of health boards, the Common Services Agency, the state hospital and the Health Education Board for Scotland, and to chief 242
  executives of district councils, appropriate professional and voluntary bodies, directors of social work and directors of housing. Local bodies have developed discharge protocols based on this guidance.

  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to issue instructions within one year on the minimum acceptable provisions for mental health services by way of(a) 24-hour staffed community houses, (b) day-staffed residential care, (c) day centres and hospital places and (d) provision of community-based multi-discipline teams; and if he will bring forward proposals to require the inspection of such establishments every three years.

  Mr. Stewart
  These are not matters on which central guidance on standards would be practical. The frequency of inspections is a matter for determination in the light of local circumstances but some guidance has been offered on the frequency of inspection which would be appropriate for residential accommodation.

  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the use of discharge contracts by health boards in respect of the mentally ill.

  Mr. Stewart
  Health boards do not use discharge contracts. Patients assessed as requiring continuing
  specialist medical and nursing care are the responsibility of
  health boards. Those patients who are discharged and do not require such care have their needs assessed by the local authority taking account of the views of health care professionals. An individual care programme should then be drawn up.

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made as to the nature of the staff most likely to be made redundant following local government reorganisation; in which councils; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  The Government have estimated that following local government reorganisation, a structure of 32 single-tier authorities will require between 220 and 1,800 fewer staff posts across Scotland. Sensible manpower planning by local authorities in the run-up to reorganisation should ensure that staff numbers are controlled largely by natural wastage and early retirement measures. It will be for the new authorities themselves to determine the number and nature of staff that they require to carry out their functions.

  Public Service Vehicles (Missiles)
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many reported cases of missiles being thrown at public service vehicles there have been in each of the last five years in each police authority area in Scotland.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not available.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of how morale in NHS trust hospitals has been affected by changes in the numbers of staff on short-term contracts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  The numbers of staff on short-term contracts is determined by the employing authority, whether NHS trust or health board. Any assessment of a relationship between morale and changes in the numbers of staff on such contracts in an NHS trust hospital is a matter for the trust hospital itself.

  The NHS in Scotland management executive is concerned to improve morale in the NHS in Scotland and, following a survey on the impact of the 1991 document Framework for Action, has asked employing authorities to develop action plans to tackle those issues which are identified as requiring action locally. The outcome of these action plans will be reported to the management executive in February 1995.

  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that clinical directors in NHS trust hospitals have greater access to finance and information management training to help them participate in contract negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  National training provision is made through short courses available from the management development group at the Scottish health service centre and by the management education for clinicians project which receive funds from the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education for this purpose.

  A focused mailing to clinical directors in Scotland took place in January 1994 to draw attention to existing courses

  Performance measures

  Key targets

  The number of prisoners unlawfully at large.

  No 'A' category prisoners should escape.

  The number of escapes by B category prisoners should not exceed 2.5 per 1,000 prisoners.

  The number of significant incidents.

  The number of significant incidents should not exceed 11.

  The number of serious assaults on staff and prisoners

  The number of serious assaults on staff should not exceed 5 per 1,000 staff.

  The number of serious assaults on other prisoners should not exceed 10 per 1,000 prisoners.

  Basic quality of life for prisoners.

  By April 1995 60 per cent, of available prisoner places will have access to forms of night sanitation.

  The amount of available opportunities for prisoners' self development.

  80 per cent. of convicted prisoners should have the opportunity of at least 7 hours per working day of programmed activities.

  Time out of cell for unconvicted prisoners.

  On average 25 per cent. of unconvicted prisoner hours should be available for out of cell activities.

  Average annual cost per prisoner place.

  To keep costs within £26,624 per place available for use.

  244
  on NHS information and financial management. Another mailing is planned for summer 1994. MEC has been involved in providing trust-based programmes for clinical directors for eight NHS trusts to date; all those programmes include sessions on finance, contracting and NHS information.

  Mr. Dunnachie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to increase the participation of clinical directors in negotiating contracts within NHS trust hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  Health boards and NHS trusts are responsible for deciding the make-up of their contracting negotiating teams. However, guidance issued by the management executive has always sought to encourage and emphasise the role of clinicians and other health professionals in the contracting process.

  Ferry Services
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the KPMG consultants report on the Scottish ferry services will be published.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Western Isles (Mr. Macdonald) yesterday,Official Report, 25 May 1994, column 208.

  Scottish Prison Service
  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what targets he has set the Scottish Prison Service agency for 1994–95.

  Mr. Lang
  I have set the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service the following targets:
  245

  Performance measures

  Key targets

  The level of absence through staff sickness.

  To reduce the average number of days lost per person per year through staff sickness to 18.

  Hospital Trusts
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidelines or instructions he has given about the statistics or information that a hospital trust must keep.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 20 May 1994]: Guidance was issued on 27 April on the central requirements for work force information. Trusts are also expected to keep the same information and statistics which hospitals and health boards would have kept when the units were directly managed. In addition trusts are required to provide monthly returns to the management executive on their finances and activity.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 13 May,Official Report, columns 262–63, on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

  Mr. Lilley
  On one occasion, 20 April 1994.

  Jurors
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to pay expenses and national insurance contributions for those on jury service who are unemployed on the same basis as for those in employment.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  I have been asked to reply. Members of the public performing jury service are subject to the same regulations in respect of allowances for expenses, whether unemployed or in emloyment. These regulations came into operation on 1 January 1979. Additionally, in April 1988 the Department of Social Security introduced a system to ensure that unemployed people on jury service could maintain a full national insurance contribution record in the same way as those in employment.

  Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals in each region have claimed industrial injuries disablement benefit for chronic bronchitis or emphysema under stage one of the approval scheme; and how many claims have been approved.

  Mr. Scott
  The table shows the number of valid claims received and the number successful as at 6 February 1994. Not all the claims received by 6 February would have been processed by that date.
  246

  Area

  Claims received

  Assessed at 14 per cent. or over disabled

  (South)

  Anglia

  9

  2

  Chilterns

  11

  0

  South East

  199

  20

  West Country

  59

  1

  Wales and Central England

  East Midlands

  2,665

  175

  Greater Manchester

  150

  19

  Lancashire and Cumbria

  1,113

  64

  Merseyside

  249

  19

  Midlands South West

  361

  30

  Wales

  5,197

  669

  West Mercia

  1,780

  181

  Scotland and North

  East Scotland

  1,391

  46

  Glasgow

  137

  1

  North and West Yorkshire

  1,317

  180

  North, Central and West Scotland

  1,101

  20

  South Yorkshire

  3,455

  347

  Tyne Tees

  4,023

  324

  TOTAL

  23,217

  2,098

  Note:

  Figures are based on a 100 per cent. count and subject to amendment.

  Child Support Agency
  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) whether a student who is a parent without custody will have his or her income taken into account if earning money for more than five weeks and if the parent with custody applies for a maintenance assessment;

  (2) if he will make a statement about the operation of the Child Support Act 1991 in respect of students who are parents without custody;

  (3) whether a parent without custody who is a student will have earnings assessed for maintenance only if the parent with custody applies after the student has worked more than five weeks;

  (4) what are the rules governing the treatment of temporary earnings by students who are parents without custody;

  (5) whether income earned for more than five weeks by a student, who is a parent without custody, will be averaged and dealt with as the person's average income for the entire year whether or not the earnings continue; and whether that estimated annual income is added to grants or loans received by the student in calculating the amount of maintenance to be paid.

  Mr. Burt
  A maintenance assessment made by the Child Support Agency applies from the date that the maintenance inquiry form is issued to an absent parent or, where there was previously a court order, from two days after the assessment is made.

  There are special provisions for assessing maintenance where the absent parent is a student. He is not required to

  247
  make payments unless he has income other than from a grant, grant contribution or student loan. Where he does have other income and a maintenance assessment is made, the grant and loan elements are averaged to give a weekly income figure for the weeks for which they are paid. Any element in respect of the costs of his studies—such as examination fees or books—is ignored, as is £10 of the weekly value of a student loan.

  The absent parent's average weekly earnings are calculated over the year preceding the issue of the maintenance inquiry form. If he has been a student for a period of less than a year, the calculation is made for the period of studentship. Where child support officers, who make the assessments, consider that the calculation does not produce a representative figure, they have discretion to calculate earnings over a different period. In the vast majority of cases, students would not be liable for maintenance.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list all those organisations which made submissions on the child support proposals following the publication in 1990 of "Children Come First", Cm 1264.

  Mr. Burt
  The following organisations responded to the White Paper "Children Come First", In addition, comments were received from some 100 private individuals and 85 hon. Members.

  ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ORGANISATIONS COMMENTING ON GOVERNMENT'S WHITE PAPER 'CHILDREN COME FIRST'
  Association of County Court and District Registrars

  Association of Metropolitan Authorities

  Barnado's

  Basildon Council

  Building Societies Association

  British Bankers Association

  British Agencies/Adoption and Fostering

  Bradford University (Department of Applied Social Studies)

  Bristol University

  British Computer Society

  Campaign for Justice in Divorce

  Campaign for Work

  Catholic Family Care Society (Northern Ireland)

  Chelmsford Women's Aid

  Chief Adjudication Officer:

  Social Security Legislation

  Child Poverty Action Group

  Children's Legal Centre

  Children & Lone Parent Centre (Plymouth)

  Church Action on Poverty

  Citizens Advice Bureau (Scotland)

  Confederation of British Industry (Northern Ireland)

  Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

  Council of Her Majesty's Circuit Judges

  County Councils Women's Forum

  Department of Economic Development (Northern Ireland) Disability Alliance

  Dudley Law Centre

  Gingerbread

  Gingerbread (Scotland)

  Families Need Fathers

  Family Charter Campaign

  Family Law Bar Association

  Family Welfare Association

  Forum of Private Businesses

  Hammersmith Unemployed Workers Group

  Hillingdon Women's Centre

  Justices' Clerks' Society

  Lambeth TUC Unemployed Branch

  Law Society

  Legal Action Group

  London Boroughs Association

  Magistrates Association

  248

  Mencap

  Moorpark Lone Parent Group

  National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux

  National Association of Welsh Medium Nursery Schools and Playgroups

  National Children's Home

  National Commission of Women in Great Britain

  National Council For One Parent Families

  National Council of Women of GB

  Newcastle University

  North East Money Advice Centre

  Northern Ireland Resident Magistrates Association

  Northern Ireland Family Law Association

  North Yorkshire Welfare Benefits Unit

  Norwich City Council

  One Plus One Parent Families Strathclyde

  One Parent Families York

  Oxfordshire Welfare Rights

  Pay Day

  Payroll Alliance

  Portsmouth Women's Aid Support Group

  Principal Registry of Family Division

  Save the Children

  Scottish Council for Single Parents

  Scottish Family Conciliation Service

  Scottish Law Commission

  Scottish Women's Aid

  Sheffield University

  Social Security Advisory Committee

  Social Security Medical Appeal Tribunals N.I.

  Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen Family Association

  Solicitors Family Law Association

  Spastics Society

  Stepfamily

  The Children's Society

  Thamesdown Law Centre

  TUC

  University College London

  Wages For Housework Campaign

  Wandsworth Social Services Department/Welfare Rights Unit

  Welsh Womens Aid Trust

  West Yorkshire Probation Service

  Womens National Commission

  Women's Aid Federation

  Wythenshawe Law Centre

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the response rates to all telephone inquiries to the inquiry line and Child Support Agency centres serving the west midlands within the last 12 months.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Ms Joan Walley, dated 26 May 1994:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about telephone enquiries to the Child Support Agency.
  I am afraid that the Agency does not keep statistics in the form that you have requested. However, I can tell you that between 12 April 1993 and 8 April 1994, the Agency received a total of 676,018 calls on the National Enquiry Line, 97,887 of which were dealt with at the Agency's Centre in Dudley. On average, Dudley Centre also dealt with approximately 140,000 calls a month which were dialled to the Centre switchboard.
  The first year of the Agency's operations has stimulated a great deal of activity and I am aware of the difficulties experienced by some clients in contacting the Agency by telephone. We have already examined ways in which this service can be improved, and are now making some changes.
  From the end of June, new National Enquiry Line arrangements will be put into effect involving some 60-80 staff the majority of whom will already be experienced in dealing with telephone enquiries and who will be suitably trained in Agency business. These staff will be centrally located, rather than as now

  249
  spread throughout the Agency's Centres, with the aim of providing a more dedicated core service. Additionally, from the end of June the Agency will begin implementing a new system whereby each Centre will centralise its handling of telephone enquiries.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how much extra money has gone to the Treasury since the Child Support Agency started operations;

  (2) how much extra money has gone to the children of families with an absent parent since the Child Support Agency started operations.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Tony Worthington, dated 26 May 1994:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the amount of money which has gone to the Treasury and the amount to the children of families with an absent parent since the Child Support Agency started operations.
  At the end of March the Agency had recorded £335 million in benefit savings in 1993–94. This does not represent the total savings as some will be recorded retrospectively.
  Where maintenance is paid direct from one parent to the other, and the collection service provided by the Agency is not used, the Agency would not as a matter of course receive information on the amount or frequency of maintenance payments made. Records are therefore not available of the total sums paid.
  I hope this reply is helpful.

  Mr. Hoon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 16 May,Official Report, column 353 if he will explain the method used by his Department to calculate the number of cases taken on by the Child Support Agency where people were not already paying maintenance; and for what reason these figures are given as an estimate.

  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Ros Hepplewhite to Mr. Geoffrey Hoon, dated 26 May 1994:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about cases taken on by the Child Support Agency.
  The number of cases taken on by the Child Support Agency where people were not already paying maintenance is calculated from the number of cases of different types taken on by the Agency and the proportion of cases of each type in which maintenance was not already in payment.
  Whilst information is available on the number of cases of each type taken on, actual data on the proportions in which maintenance was not already in payment is not collected for all case types. These figures are therefore based on estimates which, for new and repeat income support cases, represent the proportion of cases with maintenance already in payment prior to Agency involvement and are derived from the Department's Annual Statistical Enquiry. For Family Credit cases a similar estimate is derived from the Departmental Family Credit Statistics.

  Pension Schemes
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish the results of the consultation exercise on the possible introduction of a minimum solvency requirement for pension schemes.
  250
  Mr. Hague
  We received completed questionnaires on nearly 500 schemes showing their on-going funding level and solvency level calculated using a valuation method on the lines of that proposed by the Pension Law Review Committee. Those figures were compared with those obtained using a modified valuation method developed in the light of concerns expressed about the working of the original proposal. The findings will be of great help in the further development of an appropriate minimum solvency requirement and I am grateful to all who participated in the exercise. Results of the exercise are published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the social fund budget for his Department's offices within the London borough of Wandsworth in each of the last three years; and what was the amount of loans made in each of those years.

  Mr. Scott
  The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Social Fund budgets for offices within the London Borough of Wandsworth.
  Statistical information is recorded by Benefits Agency District, the boundaries of which are not necessarily the same as Borough or constituency boundaries. I have, therefore, provided information for the South West Thames District which deals with the Borough of Wandsworth in addition to other Boroughs.
  Details of Social Fund budget allocations (grants and loans), and loan expenditure for the South West Thames District for the years 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 are shown in the table at Annex A.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Annex A Social Fund budgets and loan expenditure for the south west thames district for each of the last three financial years

  Grant allocation £

  Loan allocation £

  Loan expenditure £

  1991–92

  819,740

  1,877,056

  1,877,055

  1992–93

  998,614

  2,239,296

  2,239,298

  1993–94

  1,046,985

  2,551,123

  2,551,120

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Jury Service
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to equalise the treatment of unemployed people or jury service with those who are in employment with regard to payment of expenses and national insurance contributions.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  I have been asked to reply.

  The regulations governing allowances for jurors' expenses, including national insurance contributions, have applied to those on jury service who are unemployed on the same basis as those in employment since they came into operation on 1 January 1979.

  Police Dogs
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proposals he has for the use of police dogs to aid in the identification of suspects on parades; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will commission research into the use of dogs in other countries for the purposes of identifying criminals at identification parades; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Any results obtained from using police dogs to identify suspects at identification parades would be of doubtful evidential value and I have no plans to encourage further work in this area.

  Prisoners (Transfer)
  Mr. Hume
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the extent to which the recommendations and undertakings made in the then Minister of State's statement of 23 November 1992,Official Report, columns 481–82, regarding temporary transfers of Irish prisoners to prisons in Northern Ireland have not yet been implemented, and the reasons for this;

  (2) if he will make a statement on the reasons why prisoners' requests lodged with the Home Office since November 1992 for transfer to prison establishments in Northern Ireland have yet to be decided;

  (3) how many requests for transfers to prisons in Northern Ireland have been lodged with the Home Office in each of the last five years; and how many have been granted, refused or are undecided.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  On 23 November 1992, the Government accepted the recommendation made by an interdepartmental working group on the transfer of prisoners that prisoners refused a permanent transfer to another United Kingdom jurisdiction should be considered for a extended temporary transfer. Implementation of this recommendation has been delayed because of subsequent concerns about the legal position.

  The information requested on the number of requests made by prisoners to transfer to Northern Ireland and the outcome of these is given in the table.

  Requests made by prisoners to transfer to Northern Ireland

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  11993

  Requests received

  55

  59

  80

  68

  33

  Granted

  15

  3

  18

  13

  5

  Refused

  40

  36

  30

  24

  9

  Withdrawn

  3

  6

  14

  11

  5

  Note:

  Requests made in any given year may have been decided in a later year. 1Total number of requests undetermined at the end of 1993=69.

  Prison Births
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) male foreign nationals and (b) female foreign nationals were born in prison in England and Wales at the latest available date.

  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.
  252
  Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 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 numbers of (a) male foreign nationals and (b) female foreign nationals born in prison in England at the latest available date.
  As you will know from the Director General's letter to you of 4 May, it is not usual for women serving a sentence of imprisonment to give birth in prison. Of 691 births to women who were serving a prison sentence in the last ten years only six were born in prison.
  I am afraid that we do not keep records of the nationality of children born to imprisoned mothers. I understand that those born before 1 January 1983 in this country would have been British by their birth here but after that time their nationality would depend on the nationality of their mother or father and/or their parents' immigration status at the time of the birth.

  Prison Visits
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average distance travelled by relatives visiting inmates in training prisons at the latest available date;

  (2) what is the average distance travelled by relatives visiting inmates in womens prisons at the latest available date for which figures are available;

  (3) what is the average distance travelled by relatives visiting inmates in closed young offender institutions at the latest available date.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about the average distances travelled by relatives visiting inmates in closed young offender institutions; women's prisons; and training prisons.
  No information is held centrally on the distances travelled by relatives visiting inmates in these establishments. However, the National Prison Survey conducted in January and February 1991, asked prisoners who had received a visit from family or friends in the three months before interview, how far their most important visitor had had to travel to visit them. The average distance travelled by all most important visitors who were relatives visiting inmates in:

  Miles

  Closed young offender institutions1

  75

  Womens prisons

  62

  Training prisons1

  82

  1 Includes visitors to both male and female prisoners.

  Drug Offences
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of(a) male foreign nationals and (b) female foreign nationals in prison were convicted of drug offences at the latest available date.

  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.
  253
  Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking what percentage of male foreign nationals and female foreign nationals in prison were convicted of drug offences at the latest available date.
  On 31 March 1994 in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales 30 per cent. of sentenced male foreign nationals (excluding fine defaulters) were recorded centrally as being under sentence for drugs offences. The equivalent female percentage was 69 per cent.

  Immigration
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Ghazanfar Ali Raja, IMP A3 6383 4/6, PO 24915/93, currently in Germany, has been told by a letter from Her Majestys consulate general in Düsseldorf that no decision on his application to join his wife, Mrs. Carde Raja, a British citizen, of 145 High street, Linlithgow, can be made before a period of six to 12 months has elapsed.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department will assess whether the marriage of an European economic area national is one of convenience; and how an European economic area national whose marriage is alleged to be one of convenience will be able to challenge or appeal against that assessment.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a marriage between a European Economic Area national and a non-EEA national is one of convenience for immigration purposes, further inquiries will be made before deciding the application. The determining factor will be the intention of the couple to live permanently together as man and wife in a settled and genuine relationship.

  An EEA national has a right of appeal against refusal of a residence permit.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications either for entry clearance or for leave to remain have been received in respect of the third country national family members of British citizens who have exercised rights under articles 48, 52 and 59 of the EC treaty in another EU member state in each year since the decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of Surinder Singh.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Since the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the case of Surinder Singh (C370/90) in July 1992, a total of 29 entry clearance applications have been made, at British diplomatic posts abroad, by persons who are not European Economic Area nationals and who have sought entry as family members of British citizens who have exercised treaty rights in another member state.

  Of these applications, eight were made in 1992; 19 were made in 1993; and two have been made so far in 1994.

  Information is not available on the number of applications made for leave to remain by such persons.

  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances he departs from 254
  recommendations from immigration adjudicators; whether there is any variation in practice in relation to recommendations from appeals against deportation with a restricted appeal right; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  It is the normal policy to accept adjudicators recommendations unless to do so would be unreasonable or inconsistent, or would undermine general policy. There is no variation in the application of this policy as between one type of appeal and another.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether non-visa, non-European Economic Area national family members of European economic area nationals established in the United Kingdom will be required to hold European Economic Area family permits to be granted entry.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Order 1994, family members of a European Economic Area national who are not themselves EEA nationals and who seek admission to install themselves in the United Kingdom on a permanent or semi-permanent basis with the EEA national will need to hold an EEA family permit.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of the Union have exercised their rights under articles 48, 52 and 59 of the EC treaty in each of the last five years to apply for entry clearance or leave to remain for their third country national spouses and other family members to join or remain with them in the United Kingdom; and how many of these applicants have been interviewed about the circumstances of their marriage or other family relationship in each year.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information is not available in the form requested. However, since March 1993 a total of 1,965 after entry applications were received—1,275 in 1993, 690 so far in 1994—from non-European Economic Area nationals for residence documents of both limited and unlimited validity as the spouse, or other family member, of an EEA national exercising a treaty right in the United Kingdom. In 39 applications involving marriage—23 in 1993, 16 so far in 1994—an interview was carried out.

  Yemen
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans Her Majestys Government has to offer sanctuary to non-Yemeni nationals resident in the Yemen who are forced to flee due to the civil war but whose travel documents do not confer a right of settlement elsewhere.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  None, but we are keeping the situation in the Yemen under review.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of applications for leave to remain or entry clearance have been refused to the third country national family members of citizens of the Union exercising free movement rights in the United Kingdom in accordance with the treaties in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Information is not available in the form requested. However of 1,251 applications received since March 1993 from non-European Economic Area nationals for residence documents of limited validity as the family member of an EEA national, 44 have been refused.
  255
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures have been put in place or are being put in place to give effect to the right under article 52 of the European. Community treaty of companies and other legal persons to establish themselves in business in the United Kingdom deploying such staff as the company considers best able to fulfil its requirements irrespective of the nationality of the staff;

  (2) how the Government have discharged their obligations under article 54(3)(f) of the EC treaty and the abolition of restrictions on freedom of establishment both as regards the conditions for setting up agencies, branches or subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and as regards the conditions governing the entry of personnel, including personnel not holding the citizenship of a member state or an European economic area state, belonging to the main establishment into managerial or supervisory posts in such agencies, branches or subsidiaries.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Following completion of the single market and implementation of the European Economic Area agreement, EEA nationals or companies may establish themselves here for business purposes including setting up agencies, branches or subsidiaries, under the same terms as United Kingdom businesses. EEA nationals have the right to enter the United Kingdom simply on production of a valid EEA passport or identity card and to work here in any capacity. Non-EEA nationals who wish to take up employment in the United Kingdom must satisfy the requirements of the immigration rules.

  Prisoners (Mental Health)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in England and Wales received some form of mental health care in each of the last five years.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about how many prisoners in England and Wales received some form of mental health care in each of the last five years.
  This information is not available in the form requested. However, Prison Service medical officers carry out medical monitoring at regular intervals within their establishments. The most up to date information held centrally is for February 1994 and is set out in the table below with comparative figures for the two previous years.

  February 1994

  February 1993

  February 1992

  Mentally disordered prisoners awaiting transfer to hospital

  136

  123

  92

  Mentally disordered prisoners being treated in prison health care centres

  802

  415

  671

  Other prisoners requiring mental health care

  1,766

  2,343

  1,515

  Electoral Procedures
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from electoral administrators about the rules requiring verification of unused ballot papers at a count; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  My officials have received two representations from electoral administrators on this matter since June 1990. But my right hon. and learned Friend has at present no plans to propose a change to the rules.

  Prisons (Listener Schemes)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales listener schemes are in operation.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking in which prisons in England and Wales listener schemes are in operation.
  There are fifty prisons in which such schemes are in operation, as follows:

  Albany

  Ashwell

  Aylesbury

  Belmarsh

  Blantyre House

  Bristol

  Brixton

  Bullingdon

  Cardiff

  Castington

  Chelmsford

  Dartmoor

  Deerbolt

  Dorchester

  Downview

  Durham

  Elmley

  Exeter

  Ford

  Gartree

  Gloucester

  High Down

  Holloway

  Hull

  Lancaster Farms

  Leeds

  Leicester

  Leyhill

  Lincoln

  Lindholme

  Long Lartin

  Morton Hall

  The Mount

  Norwich

  Nottingham

  Pentonville

  Portland

  Prescoed

  Ranby

  Rudgate

  Send

  Shepton Mallet

  Stocken

  Styal

  Swaleside

  Swansea

  257

  Usk

  The Verne

  Wandsworth

  Winchester.

  In addition, there are 14 other prisons where the listener scheme is scheduled to begin by the end of this year.

  Acklington

  Birmingham

  Drake Hall

  Garth

  Grendon

  Guys Marsh

  Hadfield

  Kirkham

  Lewes

  Manchester

  Northallerton

  Parkhurst

  Stafford

  Whatton

  Prisons (Substance Abuse)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in which prisons in England and Wales drug abuse programmes are available to prisoners; and how many prisoners(a) commenced and (b) completed the programme in each prison in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94;

  (2) in which prisons in England and Wales alcohol abuse programmes are available to prisoners; and how many prisoners (a) commenced and (b) completed the programme in each prison in (i) 1992–92 and (ii) 1993–94.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about drug abuse programmes in prisons in England and Wales.
  The Prison Service does not collate statistics on drugs abuse programmes centrally. A wide range of drug treatments are available across the prison system carried out by a variety of prison staff, including medical officers, psychologists, probation officers and health care officers, and using a number of different approaches such as detoxification, behavioural treatment and counselling. The Prison Service is currently developing a strategy on drugs with the aim of bringing together the reduction of supply and reduction of demand for drugs in prison. As part of this developing strategy a survey of drug abuse programmes is currently being carried out. Of the 75 prisons so far surveyed 98.7 per cent. (74) of establishments provided some form of treatment or education programmes for prisoners with drug misuse

  Table A: Persons sentenced at magistrates courts for all offences by month, type of offence and type of sentence England and Wales 1992

  Total sentenced

  Indictable offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  23,544

  100

  1,341

  6

  22,203

  94

  February

  20,673

  100

  1,172

  6

  19,501

  94

  March

  22,047

  100

  1,255

  6

  20,792

  94

  April

  20,117

  100

  1,157

  6

  18,960

  94

  May

  17,867

  100

  975

  5

  16,892

  95

  June

  20,402

  100

  1,040

  5

  19,362

  95

  July

  20,295

  100

  1,067

  5

  19,228

  95

  August

  18,301

  100

  1,017

  6

  17,284

  94

  September

  20,454

  100

  1,035

  5

  19,419

  95

  October

  20,699

  100

  483

  2

  20,216

  98

  258
  problems and 96 per cent. (72) of establishments provided some form of treatment or education for prisoners with alcohol problems. The statistics showing the type of treatment programmes available to individual and groups of prisoners for drug treatment and alcohol treatment are provided in annex 1.

  Percentage of establishments providing this service for prisoners

  Drug Treatment Programmes for Individual Prisoners

  Detoxification

  34.7

  Maintenance prescribing

  16.0

  Counselling

  84.0

  Drug awareness training

  62.7

  Tackling offending behaviour

  65.3

  Instruction in harm minimisation

  52.0

  Narcotics anonymous

  17.3

  Drugs use and HIV infection

  74.7

  Drug Treatment Programmes for Groups of Prisoners

  Counselling

  56.0

  Drug awareness training

  74.7

  Tackling offending behaviour

  66.7

  Instruction in harm minimisation

  52.0

  Support groups for families

  4.0

  Narcotics anonymous

  17.3

  Drugs use and HIV infection

  76.0

  Alcohol Treatment Programmes for Individual Prisoners

  Detoxification

  28.0

  Counselling

  72.0

  Alcohol awareness training

  61.3

  Tackling offending behaviour

  54.7

  Alcoholics anonymous

  40.0

  Alcohol Treatment Programmes for Groups of Prisoners

  Counselling

  42.7

  Tackling offending behaviour

  65.3

  Support groups for families

  4.0

  Alcoholics anonymous

  46.7

  Sentencing
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of people sentenced in the courts received(a) a custodial sentence and (b) a non-custodial sentence each month from January 1992 to the latest available date.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information on sentencing for both the magistrates court and the Crown Court for 1992 is given in tables A to C. 1993 data will not be available until the autumn. Data provided by the Lord Chancellors Department for committals for trial at the Crown court are given in table D.
  259

  Total sentenced

  Indictable offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  November

  19,886

  100

  609

  3

  19,277

  97

  December

  17,131

  100

  645

  4

  16,486

  96

  Total

  241,416

  100

  11,796

  5

  229,620

  95

  Total sentenced

  Summary non-motoring offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  41,146

  100

  438

  1

  40,708

  99

  February

  35,672

  100

  359

  1

  35,313

  99

  March

  40,817

  100

  380

  1

  40,437

  99

  April

  37,268

  100

  314

  1

  36,954

  99

  May

  36,018

  100

  266

  1

  35,752

  99

  June

  42,138

  100

  336

  1

  41,802

  99

  July

  41,937

  100

  322

  1

  41,615

  99

  August

  36,881

  100

  300

  1

  36,581

  99

  September

  41,214

  100

  277

  1

  40,937

  99

  October

  39,647

  100

  143

  0

  39,504

  100

  November

  39,799

  100

  187

  0

  39,612

  100

  December

  32,540

  100

  164

  1

  32,376

  99

  Total

  465,077

  100

  3,486

  1

  461,591

  99

  Total sentenced

  Summary motoring offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  61,977

  100

  612

  1

  61,365

  99

  February

  54,875

  100

  536

  1

  54,339

  99

  March

  61,195

  100

  593

  1

  60,602

  99

  April

  57,310

  100

  496

  1

  56,814

  99

  May

  52,930

  100

  436

  1

  52,494

  99

  June

  62,771

  100

  494

  1

  62,277

  99

  July

  64,265

  100

  545

  1

  63,720

  99

  August

  58,781

  100

  507

  1

  58,274

  99

  September

  63,925

  100

  450

  1

  63,475

  99

  October

  61,495

  100

  306

  0

  61,189

  100

  November

  59,806

  100

  368

  1

  59,438

  99

  December

  50,443

  100

  355

  1

  50,088

  99

  Total

  709,773

  100

  5,698

  1

  704,075

  99

  Total sentenced

  All offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  126,667

  100

  2,391

  2

  124,276

  98

  February

  111,220

  100

  2,067

  2

  109,153

  98

  March

  124,059

  100

  2,228

  2

  121,831

  98

  April

  114,695

  100

  1,967

  2

  112,728

  98

  May

  106,815

  100

  1,677

  2

  105,138

  98

  June

  125,311

  100

  1,870

  1

  123,441

  99

  July

  126,497

  100

  1,934

  2

  124,563

  98

  August

  113,963

  100

  1,824

  2

  112,139

  98

  September

  125,593

  100

  1,762

  1

  123,831

  99

  October

  121,841

  100

  932

  1

  120,909

  99

  November

  119,491

  100

  1,164

  1

  118,327

  99

  December

  100,114

  100

  1,164

  1

  98,950

  99

  Total

  1,416,266

  100

  20,980

  1

  1,395,286

  99

  260 261

  Table B: Persons sentenced at the Crown Court for all offences by month, type of offence and type of sentence England and Wales 1992

  Total sentenced

  Indictable offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  7,990

  100

  3,622

  45

  4,368

  55

  February

  7,623

  100

  3,412

  45

  4,211

  55

  March

  8,094

  100

  3,742

  46

  4,352

  54

  April

  6,490

  100

  3,000

  46

  3,490

  54

  May

  6,554

  100

  2,960

  45

  3,594

  55

  June

  7,035

  100

  3,202

  46

  3,833

  54

  July

  7,919

  100

  3,637

  46

  4,282

  54

  August

  5,495

  100

  2,468

  45

  3,027

  55

  September

  6,496

  100

  2,889

  44

  3,607

  56

  October

  5,802

  100

  2,273

  39

  3,529

  61

  November

  6,268

  100

  2,538

  40

  3,730

  60

  December

  5,351

  100

  2,210

  41

  3,141

  59

  Total

  81,117

  100

  35,953

  44

  45,164

  56

  Total sentenced

  Summary non-motoring offences— Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  315

  100

  79

  25

  236

  75

  February

  273

  100

  54

  20

  219

  80

  March

  300

  100

  68

  23

  232

  77

  April

  240

  100

  52

  22

  188

  78

  May

  190

  100

  41

  22

  149

  78

  June

  266

  100

  52

  20

  214

  80

  July

  294

  100

  68

  23

  226

  77

  August

  176

  100

  43

  24

  133

  76

  September

  221

  100

  50

  23

  171

  77

  October

  218

  100

  36

  17

  182

  83

  November

  197

  100

  30

  15

  167

  85

  December

  161

  100

  34

  21

  127

  79

  Total

  2,851

  100

  607

  21

  2,244

  79

  Total sentenced

  Summary non-motoring offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  141

  100

  43

  30

  98

  70

  February

  117

  100

  43

  37

  74

  63

  March

  142

  100

  49

  35

  93

  65

  April

  91

  100

  36

  40

  55

  60

  May

  123

  100

  52

  42

  71

  58

  June

  112

  100

  38

  34

  74

  66

  July

  131

  100

  50

  38

  81

  62

  August

  105

  100

  36

  34

  69

  66

  September

  127

  100

  40

  31

  87

  69

  October

  104

  100

  18

  17

  86

  83

  November

  111

  100

  25

  23

  86

  77

  December

  83

  100

  18

  22

  65

  78

  Total

  1,387

  100

  448

  32

  939

  68

  Total sentenced

  All offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  8,446

  100

  3,744

  44

  4,702

  56

  February

  8,013

  100

  3,509

  44

  4,504

  56

  March

  8,536

  100

  3,859

  45

  4,677

  55

  April

  6,821

  100

  3,088

  45

  3,733

  55

  May

  6,867

  100

  3,053

  44

  3,814

  56

  June

  7,413

  100

  3,292

  44

  4,121

  56

  July

  8,344

  100

  3,755

  45

  4,589

  55

  August

  5,776

  100

  2,547

  44

  3,229

  56

  September

  6,844

  100

  2,979

  44

  3,865

  56

  October

  6,124

  100

  2,327

  38

  3,797

  62

  November

  6,576

  100

  2,593

  39

  3,983

  61

  262 263

  Total sentenced

  All offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  December

  5,595

  100

  2,262

  40

  3,333

  60

  Total

  85,355

  100

  37,008

  43

  48,347

  57

  Table C: Persons sentenced at all tours for all offences by month, type of offence and type of sentence England and Wales 1992

  Total sentenced

  Indictable offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  31,534

  100

  4,963

  16

  26,571

  84

  February

  28,296

  100

  4,584

  16

  23,712

  84

  March

  30,141

  100

  4,997

  17

  25,144

  83

  April

  26,607

  100

  4,157

  16

  22,450

  84

  May

  24,421

  100

  3,935

  16

  20,486

  84

  June

  27,437

  100

  4,242

  15

  23,195

  85

  July

  28,214

  100

  4,704

  17

  23,510

  83

  August

  23,796

  100

  3,485

  15

  20,311

  85

  September

  26,950

  100

  3,924

  15

  23,026

  85

  October

  26,501

  100

  2,756

  10

  23,745

  90

  November

  26,154

  100

  3,147

  12

  23,007

  88

  December

  22,482

  100

  2,855

  13

  19,627

  87

  Total

  322,533

  100

  47,749

  15

  274,784

  85

  Summary non-motoring offences Total sentenced

  Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  41,461

  100

  517

  1

  40,944

  99

  February

  35,945

  100

  413

  1

  35,532

  99

  March

  41,117

  100

  448

  1

  40,669

  99

  April

  37,508

  100

  366

  1

  37,142

  99

  May

  36,208

  100

  307

  1

  35,901

  99

  June

  42,404

  100

  388

  1

  42,016

  99

  July

  42,231

  100

  390

  1

  41,841

  99

  August

  37,057

  100

  343

  1

  36,714

  99

  September

  41,435

  100

  327

  1

  41,108

  99

  October

  39,865

  100

  179

  0

  39,686

  100

  November

  39,996

  100

  217

  1

  39,779

  99

  December

  32,701

  100

  198

  1

  32,503

  99

  Total

  467,928

  100

  4,093

  1

  463,835

  99

  Total sentenced

  Summary non-motoring offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  62,118

  100

  655

  1

  61,463

  99

  February

  54,992

  100

  579

  1

  54,413

  99

  March

  61,337

  100

  642

  1

  60,695

  99

  April

  57,401

  100

  532

  1

  56,869

  99

  May

  53,053

  100

  488

  1

  52,565

  99

  June

  62,883

  100

  532

  1

  62,351

  99

  July

  64,396

  100

  595

  1

  63,801

  99

  August

  58,886

  100

  543

  1

  58,343

  99

  September

  64,052

  100

  490

  1

  63,562

  99

  October

  61,599

  100

  324

  1

  61,275

  99

  November

  59,917

  100

  393

  1

  59,524

  99

  December

  50,526

  100

  373

  1

  50,153

  99

  Total

  711,160

  100

  6,146

  1

  705,014

  99

  Total sentenced

  All offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  January

  135,113

  100

  6,135

  5

  128,978

  95

  February

  119,233

  100

  5,576

  5

  113,657

  95

  March

  132,595

  100

  6,087

  5

  126,508

  95

  264 265

  Total sentenced

  All offences Custodial sentences

  Non-custodial sentences

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  Number

  Percentage

  April

  121,516

  100

  5,055

  4

  116,461

  96

  May

  113,682

  100

  4,730

  4

  108,952

  96

  June

  132,724

  100

  5,162

  4

  127,562

  96

  July

  134,841

  100

  5,689

  4

  129,152

  96

  August

  119,739

  100

  4,371

  4

  115,368

  96

  September

  132,437

  100

  4,741

  4

  127,696

  96

  October

  127,965

  100

  3,259

  3

  124,706

  97

  November

  126,067

  100

  3,757

  3

  122,310

  97

  December

  105,709

  100

  3,426

  3

  102,283

  97

  Total

  1,501,621

  100

  57,988

  4

  1,443,633

  96

  Table D: Proportionate use of immediate custody for defendants sentenced at the Crown court following committal for trial. England and Wales 1992–94

  Month

  1992

  1993

  1994

  January

  48

  42

  52

  February

  48

  46

  54

  March

  49

  47

  52

  April

  50

  49

  —

  May

  49

  50

  —

  June

  49

  51

  —

  July

  48

  52

  —

  August

  48

  54

  —

  September

  48

  54

  —

  October

  42

  52

  —

  November

  42

  52

  —

  December

  43

  54

  —

  Prisons (Drug Testing)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost of the introduction of drug testing in prisons for the year 1994–95 and for each of the next four years.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 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 estimated cost of drug testing in prisons.
  It is not possible at this stage to estimate the cost of drug testing over the next four or five years. This will depend on a number of factors, such as the number and frequency of tests, which will be addressed in pilot schemes which we plan to conduct later this year.

  Obscene Publications Branch
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department , pursuant to his oral answer of 19 May,Official Report, column 941, (1) on what date he expects the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to complete his review of the structure of the obscene publications branch; and why reference to the existence of the obscene publications branch has been deleted from the 1994 edition of the Police and Constabulary Almanac official register;
  266
  (2) who took the decision to delete from the 1994 edition of the Police and Constabulary Almanac official register all mention of the obscene publications branch of the Metropolitan police;

  (3) whether he was consulted about and informed of the decision to delete from the 1994 edition of the Police and Constabulary Almanac official register all mention of the obscene publications branch of the Metropolitan police; and whether this decision is consistent with his policy on the future of the branch.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I understand from the Commissioner that he expects to receive the final report of the restructuring review of specialist operations, which includes the obscene publications branch, in August.

  The lack of a specific reference to the obscene publications branch in the 1994 edition of the Police and Constabulary Almanac is the result of an administrative oversight within the Metropolitan police. The error has been noted for correction.

  Police Cells
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently held in police cells.

  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 A. J. Butler to Mrs. Roche, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about how many prisoners are currently held in police cells.
  On Monday 23 May, the latest date for which complete information is available, 130 prisoners were held in police cells.

  Prisons (Anger Management Programmes)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales anger management programmes are available to prisoners; and how many prisoners(a) commenced and (b) completed the programme in each prison in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94.

  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.
  267
  Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department about which prisons in England and Wales provide anger management programmes and the numbers of prisoners commencing and completing the programme in each prison.
  Teams of tutors from the following establishments were trained to run the anger management programme as follows:

  1. Between 1 April 1992 and 31 March 1993:

  HMP Elmley

  HMP Featherstone

  HMP Frankland

  HMP Highdown

  HMP Leeds

  HMP Long Lartin

  HMP Manchester

  HMP Risley

  HMYOI Brinsford

  HMYOI Bullwood Hall

  HMYOI Dover

  HMYOI Feltham

  HMYOI Hollesley Bay

  HMYOI Huntercombe

  HMYOI Lancaster Farms

  HMYOI Moorland

  HMYOI Onley

  2. Between 1 April 1993 and 31 March 1994:

  HMP Albany

  HMP Ashwell

  HMP Belmarsh

  HMP Birmingham

  HMP Bullingdon

  HMP Camp Hill

  HMP Canterbury

  HMP Coldingley

  HMP Full Sutton

  HMP Highpoint

  HMP Lincoln

  HMP Lindholme

  HMP The Mount

  HMP Nottingham

  HMP Parkhurst

  HMP Ranby

  HMP Stocken

  HMP Wakefield

  HMP Wayland

  HMP Wandsworth

  HMP Whatton

  HMP Woodhill

  HMP Wormwood Scrubs

  HMRC Reading

  HMYOI Aylesbury

  HMYOI Erlestoke

  HMYOI Stoke Heath

  HMYOI Swinfen Hall

  The frequency of anger management programmes and numbers of prisoners attending in any given year are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  Fine Defaulters
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in England and Wales were serving sentences for fine defaults at the latest available date, given(a) as an absolute number and (b) as a percentage of the prison population, and broken down by gender.
  268
  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking how many prisoners in England and Wales were serving sentences for fine defaults at the latest available date, given (a) as an absolute number and (b) as a percentage of the prison population, and broken down by gender.
  On 31 March 1994 there were 585 fine defaulters (557 Males and 28 Females) held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. They accounted for 1.2 per cent. of the total prison population (including prisoners held in police cells). Male fine defaulters accounted for 1.2 per cent. of the male prison population; the equivalent female percentage was 1.6 per cent.

  Murder Cases
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the matters referred to him by the hon. Member for Woolwich in respect of the Rolan Adams and Stephen Lawrence murder cases;

  (2) what evidence he has seen to suggest that a police officer was involved in discrediting the evidence of an eye witness to the murder of Stephen Lawrence;

  (3) what was the involvement with key witnesses in the Stephen Lawrence and Rolan Adams murder cases of the police officer whose name has been supplied to him; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  I understand from the Commissioner that he is considering information which has been supplied to him in connection with the matter referred to by the hon. Member.

  Deportation
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to publish reports of investigating officers into complaints about excessive force by the employees of private security firms during deportations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  No. It is not normal practice to publish investigating officers reports.

  Prisoners Compacts
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales prisoners compacts are in operation; what is the, procedure by which the content of the individual compact is decided; and if he will make a statement.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question

  269
  asking which prisons in England and Wales prisoners compacts are in operation; what is the procedure by which the content of the individual compact is decided; and if he will make a statement.
  Listed below are those establishments which, in June 1993, the latest date for which the information is available, were operating prisoners compacts:

  Blantyre House

  Brinsford

  Bristol (Pilot scheme in one wing)

  Canterbury (Unconvicted wing and Resettlement wing)

  Cardiff (Remand wing)

  Deerbolt (Pilot scheme)

  Drake Hall

  Erlestoke (Education Department)

  Haslar

  Kirklevington Grange

  Leyhill

  Lindholme (One wing)

  Low Newton

  Manchester (Education Department)

  Moorland

  Swinfen Hall

  Thorn Cross

  Thorpe Arch

  Werrington

  Wetherby

  Compacts were also being experimented with at the following establishments:

  Bullwood Hall

  Downview

  Frankland

  Hull

  Latchmere House

  Morton Hall

  North Sea Camp

  Norwich

  Rudgate

  Swaleside

  Usk/Prescoed

  Wakefield

  Whitemoor

  Wolds

  The procedure by which the content of the individual compact is decided is a matter for the governor of the establishment concerned, taking account of advice which was issued in December 1993. This set out a model prisoner compact and advice on developing a compact locally.

  Prison Suicides
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) male and (b) female suicides there were in prisons in 1993–94.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about how many (a) male and (b) female suicides there were in prisons in 1993–94.

  The information is shown in the table below:

  Year

  Male

  female

  1993

  46

  1

  1994

  16

  0

  Prisons (Cognitive Skills Programmes)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales cognitive skills programmes are available to prisoners; and how many prisoners(a) commenced and (b) completed the programme in each prison in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about which prisons in England and Wales provide cognitive skills programmes and the numbers of prisoners commencing and completing the programme in each prison.
  The centrally managed cognitive skills programme was introduced in the financial year 1993–94. Pilot programmes were introduced in 11 establishments.

  1. Piloting Reasoning and Rehabilitation cognitive skills programme:

  HMYOI Aylesbury

  HMYOI Brinsford

  HMYOI Full Sutton

  HMYOI Glen Parva

  HMYOI Grendon

  HMP Holloway

  HMYOI Lancaster Farms

  HMP Leyhill

  HMYOI Swinfen Hall

  2. Piloting In-house cognitive skills programme:

  HMYOI Lancaster Farms

  HMP Wakefield

  HMP Wandsworth

  3. Prisoners completing the programme 1993–94 are as follows:

  Establishment

  Started

  Completed

  Reasoning and Rehabilitation Cognitive Skills Programme

  HMYOI Aylesbury

  8

  6

  HMYOI Brinsford

  22

  11

  HMP Full Sutton

  17

  17

  HMYOI Glen Parva

  7

  3

  HMYOI Grendon

  10

  8

  HMP Holloway

  17

  13

  HMYOI Lancaster Farms

  8

  4

  HMP Leyhill

  8

  6

  HMYOI Swinfen Hall

  7

  5

  In-house Cognitive Skills Programme

  HMYOI Lancaster Farms

  10

  8

  HMP Wakefield

  36

  31

  HMP Wandsworth

  9

  7

  TOTAL

  159

  109

  Prisoners (AIDS)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for, the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 May,Official Report, column 161, to what extent doctors in the prison service are expected to take into account the risk of the AIDS virus being spread by the sharing of heroin needles when deciding whether to prescribe methadone.

  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.
  271
  Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to what extent doctors in the prison service are expected to take into account the risk of the AIDS virus being spread by the sharing of heroin needles when deciding whether to prescribe methadone.
  The decision on whether to prescribe methadone to prisoners is a clinical judgment at which prison medical officers are expected to arrive in the same way as medical practitioners do in the community outside prison. This means that they would take into account all the relevant factors including HIV and AIDS. Prison medical officers have the clinical freedom to prescribe pharmaceutically or otherwise to protect the health of individual prisoners. This has been made clear in all HIV/AIDS training in prisons and was recently reinforced by a letter from the Director of Health Care in the Prison Service in a letter to all prison doctors on the 18 May 1994. A copy of this letter is enclosed.

  Following is the letter referred to in Mr. Butlers communication:

  Dear Doctor

  TRANSMISSION OF HIV WITHIN THE PRISON CONTEXT
  The first recorded case of HIV transmission within the English Prison Service has been reported and confirmed. The transmission was by sexual contact. Cases of transmission reported from Glenochil Young Offender Centre in Scotland last year were caused by injecting with contaminated needles.
  I draw this case to your attention to remind you of the need to continue to give high priority to HIV/AIDS awareness, and to have in place a strategy for the management of HIV/AIDS in your prison. All prisons should have HIV multi-disciplinary teams as outlined in Circular Instruction 30/1991. Following the completion of the 1993 Training Programme prisons should also have trained HIV counsellors and trained HIV care and support officers who are available to develop education programmes and offer advice to staff and prisoners. The multi-disciplinary teams need to consider contingency plans for HIV emergencies including outbreaks of HIV, hepatitis B or other infectious diseases related to HIV. The medical officers, trained counsellors and care and support officers must be able to provide support and advice if such an incident occurs in each prison.
  Doctors have particular responsibility to communicate relavant medical information promptly to their medical colleagues both inside and outside of the Service. Where transmission of HIV occurring within the prison context is documented, it is important that this information is provided to the health care adviser and the Directorate of Health Care. The names of the infected individuals need not be divulged.
  It is important that liaison between the doctor in the prison, the health care adviser and the Directorate is achieved in order that the most appropriate action is taken, and that any relevant questions which may be raised in the media or in Parliament can be dealt with appropriately.
  Doctors have a responsibility to ensure that any person known to have HIV infection has access to regular medical monitoring (both clinical and laboratory). This is outlined in the Circular Instruction. Regular medical monitoring must include counselling on safer sexual behaviour and safer drugs use to minimise the risk of spread of HIV infection.
  Doctors have the clinical freedom to prescribe pharmaceutically or otherwise to protect the health of individual prisoners. Legal advice is that doctors who so prescribe for their patients with appropriate advice, in the exercise of their clinical judgment, could expect protection in law for doing so.
  Any queries about this DDL should be addressed to Dr. Robin Ilbert or Mr. L. Curran.

  Sentences (Cost)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost per month of(a) keeping someone in prison and (b) sentencing someone to community-based penalties in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  In 1992–93 the average monthly net operating cost per prisoner place was £2,019 and the cost of community sentences between £104 and £108.

  In 1993–94 the average monthly cost of community sentences was between £106 and £110. Figures for the monthly net operating cost per prisoner place for 1993–94 are not yet available.

  Restraint Use
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the ethnic origin of those(a) prison inmates and (b) persons in police custody on whom restraints were used during 1993.

  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 A. J. Butler to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking what was the ethnic origin of those (a) prison inmates and (b) persons in police custody on whom restraints were used during 1993.
  I am afraid that the information is not available centrally.

  Pre-sentence Reports
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations his Department has received regarding the proposal in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to abolish the requirement for a pre-sentence report before imposing custody or a community sentence; and how many of those representations were in favour of abolition.

  Mr. Maclean
  Since this proposal was brought forward in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill, the Home Office has received 22 representations, all opposing it.

  Prison Sanitation
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison cells currently have access to sanitation; and what proportion this is of all prison cells.

  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 A. J. Butler to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 26 May 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 number of prison cells which have access to sanitation.
  A significant number of prisoners are held in non cellular
  accommodation, in units which we describe as cubicular. A small

  273
  number are held in dormitories, although this type of accommodation is being phased out. Our data, therefore, about work to achieve 100 per cent. access to sanitation is provided solely on the basis of prison places, without differentiating between cellular and non-cellular accommodation. Also, the programme is monitored in terms of work to be done.
  At the end of April there were still just over 4,000 cells in use without access to sanitation. Some 700 of these are being modernised in the course of projects which are already underway and the remainder in projects which are scheduled to start between now and February 1996. 91 per cent. of prison places in use now have full time access to sanitation.
  The Prison Service continues to give very high priority to the sanitation programme. Our aim is to ensure that at least 95 per cent. of prisoners have access to sanitation by the end of 1994/95 and that 100 per cent. is achieved by February 1996, in line with the recommendations of the Woolf report.

  Sex Offenders (Treatment)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales sex offender treatment programmes are available to prisoners; and how many prisoners(a) commenced and (b) completed the programme in each prison in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94.

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Prison

  Number Assessed

  Number completed Core Programme

  Number Assessed

  Number completed Core Programme

  Acklington1

  —

  —

  27

  —

  Albany

  27

  16

  40

  35

  Channings Wood

  24

  16

  44

  34

  Dartmoor

  97

  43

  54

  20

  Full Sutton

  33

  10

  70

  19

  Leyhill2

  —

  —

  14

  7

  Littlehey

  28

  12

  98

  24

  Maidstone

  40

  13

  45

  14

  Risley

  24

  22

  58

  28

  Swinfen Hall3

  22

  14

  19

  14

  Usk

  33

  25

  50

  41

  Wakefield

  69

  14

  103

  40

  Wandsworth

  21

  16

  48

  19

  Wayland

  56

  38

  60

  35

  Whatton

  40

  40

  50

  48

  Whitemoor

  30

  5

  79

  28

  Woodhill

  8

  —

  33

  33

  Wymott4

  —

  —

  12

  —

  TOTALS

  552

  284

  904

  439

  1 HMP Acklington has offered the Core Programme 1993–94 only.

  2 HMP Leyhill has offered the Core Programme 1993–94 only.

  3 HMYOI Swinfen Hall is currently the only young offender institution which offers the Core Programme.

  4 HMP Wymott has offered the Core Programme 1993–94 only.

  Prisons (Overcrowding)
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking to deal with overcrowding in prisons; what assessment he has made of the effect of overcrowding on the safety of prison staff and prisoners; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what measures he is taking to deal with prison overcrowding; and what are his plans regarding the use of (a) police cells, (b) temporary buildings or portakabins and (c) prison ships or barges.

  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.
  274
  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 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 availability of sex offender treatment programmes in prisons in England and Wales and the numbers of prisoners commencing and completing the programme in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94.
  The centrally managed sex offender treatment programme is now available in 17 adult male and one young offender male establishments.
  Other prisons where locally managed programmes are in operation include HMP Grendon and HMP Wormwood Scrubs.
  The number of prisoners having their treatment needs assessed and those completing treatment on the centrally managed programme is as shown in the attached table.

  Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 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 measures being taken to deal with prison overcrowding and the use of police cells, temporary buildings and prison ships or barges; and also about the effect of overcrowding on staff and prisoner safety.
  The majority of Prison Service establishments are not overcrowded. Despite the rise in the prison population, overcrowding has reduced markedly from the high levels of the late 1980s. In 1987–88, an average of over 5,000 prisoners shared three to a cell designed for one. By the end of March 1994, no prisoners were sharing in this way. In 1987–88, an average of nearly 13,400 prisoners shared two to a cell designed for one. By the end of March 1994 there were only 8,500.
  To reduce overcrowding and maximise the use of available accommodation, sentenced prisoners are transferred as quickly as possible from local prisons and remand centres, where the population pressures are most acute, to training prisons and young offender institutions. In addition, some establishments

  275
  have changed the type of prisoner they take to fit better with current needs and the court catchment areas of some local prisons and remand centres have been adjusted to equalise population pressures as far as possible. Further progress in reducing overcrowding will be made as additional accommodation at existing prisons and new places at new prisons come on stream.
  Some use of police cells has been necessary in the North of England since the beginning of 1994. The number of prisoners held in police cells peaked at 540 in mid-March but had reduced to 130 on 23 May. If there is no unplanned loss of accommodation or exceptional surge in the prison population, the current use of police cells should end during June. Every effort will be made to avoid future use of police cells.
  There are no present plans to use accommodation such as military camps or floating facilities, but some use of temporary buildings within prison establishments will continue to to made to enable progress with the building and refurbishment programme to continue.
  Each establishment has an operational capacity which is set at the number of prisoners who can be held without serious risk to good order—including the safety of staff and prisoners—or to security and the proper running of the planned regime. It remains a top priority of the Prison Serice to ensure that the number of prisoners held in an establishment is kept within the establishment's operational capacity.

  24 May 1994

  Establishment

  Certified normal accommodation in use

  Operational capacity

  Population

  Acklington

  658

  658

  606

  Albany

  436

  436

  391

  Aldington

  127

  127

  118

  Ashwell

  404

  404

  383

  Askham Grange

  126

  127

  101

  Aylesbury

  241

  246

  213

  Bedford

  303

  329

  308

  Belmarsh

  841

  841

  736

  Birmingham

  558

  869

  786

  Blakenhurst

  649

  649

  615

  Blantyre House

  95

  95

  95

  Blundeston

  408

  408

  385

  Brinsford

  446

  446

  465

  Bristol

  423

  473

  430

  Brixton

  483

  656

  630

  Brockhill

  135

  135

  132

  Bullingdon

  635

  635

  607

  Bullwood Hall

  125

  125

  121

  Camp Hill

  378

  441

  365

  Canterbury

  184

  275

  263

  Cardiff

  334

  450

  431

  Castington

  300

  300

  296

  Channings Wood

  594

  594

  560

  Chelmsford

  230

  393

  353

  Coldingley

  292

  292

  284

  Cookham Wood

  120

  120

  115

  Dartmoor

  538

  538

  515

  Deerbolt

  450

  450

  383

  Dorchester

  138

  200

  205

  Dover

  316

  316

  228

  Downview

  287

  291

  270

  Drake Hall

  255

  255

  200

  Durham

  399

  577

  611

  East Sutton Park

  94

  94

  84

  Elmley

  627

  627

  621

  Erlestoke

  250

  250

  234

  Everthorpe

  228

  228

  223

  Exeter

  274

  473

  383

  Featherstone

  599

  599

  580

  Feltham

  842

  842

  776

  Finnamore Wood

  106

  106

  50

  Ford

  536

  536

  455

  Frankland

  447

  432

  425

  Full Sutton

  604

  576

  542

  Garth

  512

  512

  496

  Gartree

  277

  277

  271

  Glen Parva

  767

  788

  757

  Gloucester

  215

  271

  238

  Grendon

  190

  186

  177

  Prison Statistics
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the(a) certified normal accommodation, (b) operational activity and (c) actual population at each prison in England and Wales at the latest available date.

  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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about Prison Service accommodation and population.
  The attached table shows the certified normal accommodation (CNA), operational capacity and actual population in each establishment in England and Wales on 24 May 1994. A copy of the table has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
  277

  Establishment

  Certified normal accommodation in use

  Operational capacity

  Population

  Guys Marsh

  240

  180

  182

  Hollesley Bay

  365

  365

  316

  Haslar

  131

  131

  130

  Hatfield

  180

  180

  155

  Haverigg

  381

  381

  351

  Hewell Grange

  156

  174

  161

  Highdown

  549

  549

  519

  Highpoint

  679

  679

  589

  Hindley

  280

  319

  292

  Holloway

  517

  532

  489

  Holme House

  649

  649

  617

  Hull

  328

  430

  428

  Huntercombe

  226

  225

  201

  Kingston

  154

  154

  137

  Kirkham

  644

  620

  598

  Kirklevington

  74

  74

  72

  Lancaster farms

  364

  364

  359

  Lancaster

  260

  246

  259

  Latchmere House

  145

  145

  140

  Leeds

  814

  1,168

  1,093

  Leicester

  192

  348

  341

  Lewes

  282

  377

  319

  Leyhill

  410

  410

  392

  Lincoln

  444

  628

  617

  Lindholme

  567

  567

  533

  Littlehey

  593

  583

  547

  Liverpool

  931

  1,267

  1,228

  Long Lartin

  362

  362

  347

  Low Newton

  198

  343

  252

  Maidstone

  485

  485

  463

  Manchester

  620

  632

  682

  Moorland

  635

  635

  640

  Morton Hall

  168

  168

  169

  New Hall

  169

  169

  175

  North Sea Camp

  201

  201

  203

  Northallerton

  150

  219

  119

  Norwich

  327

  476

  405

  Nottingham

  222

  222

  209

  Onley

  540

  540

  469

  Oxford

  107

  120

  27

  Parkhurst

  286

  258

  235

  Pentonville

  559

  765

  713

  Portland

  420

  420

  347

  Preston

  382

  545

  498

  Pucklechurch

  56

  81

  58

  Ranby

  347

  347

  338

  Reading

  182

  205

  150

  Risley

  751

  716

  702

  Rochester

  294

  330

  220

  Rudgate

  287

  300

  269

  Send

  113

  113

  106

  Shepton Mallet

  158

  211

  173

  Shrewsbury

  168

  307

  279

  Spring Hill

  210

  210

  205

  Stafford

  362

  534

  521

  Standford Hill

  384

  384

  345

  Stocken

  396

  396

  391

  Stoke Heath

  300

  300

  281

  Styal

  180

  209

  223

  Sudbury

  413

  348

  341

  Sudbury Foston

  96

  96

  92

  Swaleside

  512

  512

  503

  Swansea

  155

  220

  227

  Swinfen Hall

  182

  182

  181

  Thorn Cross

  209

  209

  195

  The Mount

  484

  484

  494

  The Verne

  552

  538

  529

  The Wolds

  320

  368

  371

  Thorp Arch

  166

  166

  165

  Usk

  241

  241

  217

  Wormwood Scrubs

  714

  1,050

  910

  Wakefield

  718

  718

  686

  Wandsworth

  821

  1,033

  866

  Wayland

  580

  580

  542

  Wellingborough

  344

  314

  306

  Werrington

  110

  110

  105

  278 279

  Establishment

  Certified normal accommodation in use

  Operational capacity

  Population

  Wetherby

  196

  196

  150

  Whatton

  216

  216

  211

  Whitemoor

  534

  524

  476

  Winchester

  368

  492

  391

  Woodhill

  566

  566

  509

  Wymott

  432

  384

  327

  Total

  47,979

  52,443

  48,586

  "Forbidden Knowledge"
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter dated 24 March from the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North regarding the computer disc entitled "Forbidden Knowledge".

  Mr. Maclean
  I wrote to the hon. Member on 25 May 1994.

  Parliamentary Boundaries
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the redistribution of parliamentary boundaries within the Greater London area.

  Mr. Peter Lloyd
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received no representations concerning the boundary commissions specific proposals for the Greater London area.

  Young Offenders
  Mr. Mills
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to introduce the penalties for young offenders that are contained in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill.

  Mr. Maclean
  The timetable for implementation will be substantially dependent on the progress of the Bill in Parliament and is likely to be different in respect of the Bills provisions relating to different sentences. For example, the timing of the introduction of the new secure training order for 12 to 14-year-old persistent offenders will be dependent also on the availability of the new secure accommodation for which the Bill makes provision. It is the Governments firm intention that all the Bills provisions on sentencing young offenders should be in force as soon as possible after Royal Assent, but at this stage, it would be premature to set firm implementation dates.

  Fire Safety
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the final report of the fire safety scrutiny team.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  My right hon. and learned Friend expects to receive the report from the scrutiny team very shortly. Thereafter he will be considering along with my right hon. Friends, the President of the Board of Trade, the Secretary of State for Employment and the Secretary of State for the Environment, how best to take things forward.
  280
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations have taken place between his officials and the construction industry task force on fire legislation and enforcement; which officials were involved in the consultations; and what specific reference has been made to these consultations in documents published or placed in the Library.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  There were no formal consultations between my officials and the construction industry task force on fire legislation and enforcement. However, Mr. R. J. Miles and Mr. A. N. Pickersgill of the fire safety division did meet two members of the task force and officials from the Department of Trade and Industry on 5 July 1993 when preliminary deregulatory ideas were raised.

  There were no further meetings between members of the fire safety division and the task force; and my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade published the latters proposals in January 1994. No reference to meetings with officials were made in that document or in the task forces working papers which were placed in the Library on 30 March 1994.

  Government Information
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he published his departmental guidance on the implementation of the code of practice on access to Government information, as promised at paragraph 3(ii) of the code issued on 4 April; and to whom it has been made available.

  Mr. Howard
  Copies of the guidance notes on the arrangements to implement the code of practice on government information in the Home Office were placed in the Library of the House on 16 May. The campaign for freedom of information has been sent a copy, at its request. Copies are available to the general public from the publications unit of the Home Office information and library services on request.

  Pet Identification
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what analysis the Government have undertaken into forms of identification for pets.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The Government considered different forms of identification for dogs, prior to the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

  Prisoners (Cost)
  Mr. Marland
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average cost per week of maintaining a prisoner in gaol.
  281
  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 reply to be given.

  Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Paul Marland, dated 26 May 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 cost per week of maintaining a prisoner in jail.
  In 1992–93 the average weekly net operating cost per prisoner place in England and Wales was £466.

  Police Management Reorganisation
  Mr. Mike OBrien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what management reorganisation plans are being considered by police authorities and constabularies; and if he will list the constabularies, the nature of the plans involved and the effect on police establishments, plus supernumeraries, in each case.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  Some two thirds of forces are understood to have reorganised into locally managed, basic command units based on a single-tier management structure. Most other forces have completed, or are undertaking, reviews of their structure and organisation. Details of the nature of individual force restructuring plans and the effects on establishment levels are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Special Police Protection
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what grounds he refused the Gloucestershire police force request for additional resources to protect(a) the Prince of Waless Highgrove house, (b) the Princess Royals Gatcombe Park and (c) the home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  I will write to the hon. Member.

  Pornography
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the importance of the work of the obscene publications squad in combating(a) computer pornography, (b) child pornography and (c) sadistic pornography.

  Mr. Maclean
  The Government fully acknowledge the important work that the obscene publications squad does in combating all kinds of pornography. We have been assured by the Commissioner that the Metropolitan police will continue this work, whatever the outcome of his current restructuring exercise.

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have(a) requested Parliamentary Counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.
  282
  Mr. Howard
  Parliamentary Counsel does not draft on behalf of private Members, but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. With the authority of Ministers, amendments were drafted by Parliamentary Counsel on instructions from Departments and subsequently passed to private Members in 1993 in respect of the Local Government (Amendment) and the Bail (Amendment) Bills.

  Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors led to the imposition of the age limit for the appointment of registrars of births, deaths and marriages; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  I have been asked to reply.

  Generally, the statutory age restrictions for appointment as registrar of births, deaths and marriages are 21 years minimum and 65 years maximum. The minimum age restriction was set to reflect the special personal responsibilities and liabilities which accompany statutory office of registrar and the sensitivity of the duties. The upper limit is related to the normal retirement age for men but may be waived if there is no other suitable candidate for appointment.

  British Passport (Mr. A. Jordan)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the current status of a British passport in the name of Mr. A. Jordan, born in Reading on 1 November 1963.

  Mr. Lennox-Boyd
  [holding answer 23 May 1994]: There is no record of a British passport being issued to a Mr. A. Jordan, born in Reading on 1 November 1963.

TRANSPORT

  A19 (Emergency Telephones)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to commence on providing emergency telephones on that stretch of the A19 from Teesside to the Tyne tunnel; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Key
  Subject to the availability of funds, work is expected to commence on providing emergency telephones on the A19 between Stockton-on-Tees and the Tyne tunnel during the 1995–96 financial year.

  Rail Freight
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress since 1 January 1993 of measures to encourage and facilitate more freight to be transported by rail.

  Mr. Freeman
  We have liberalised access to the rail network, facilitated the restructuring of BRs freight businesses as a prelude to privatisation, improved the freight facilities grants scheme, introduced a new track access grant for marginal freight flows and raised the maximum gross vehicle weight limit to 44 tonnes for suitably configured six-axle lorries engaged in combined road/rail transport.

  Diesel-powered Vehicles
  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many diesel-powered vehicles are currently licensed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

  Mr. Key
  The latest available figures, for end December 1993, estimate total licensed stock to be 24.8 million vehicles, of which 3.2 million are recorded as being diesel powered.

  London Transport
  Mr. Tracey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has set quality of service objectives for London Underground Ltd. and London Transport bus services.

  Mr. Norris
  I have today written to the chairman of London Transport setting quality of service objectives for London Underground Ltd. and London Transport bus services. Copies of my letters have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Roads
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will arrange for the reprinting of the report by the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment, on "Assessing the Environmental Impact of Road Schemes";

  (2) when the findings of the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment concerning the traffic-generating potential of road building will be published.

  Mr. Key
  I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) and the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 20 May 1994,Official Report, columns 596 and 599.

  Birmingham Northern Relief Road
  Mr. Richard Shepherd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the report to the inspector of the 1988 public inquiry into the Birmingham northern relief road was made available to which bidders for the concession to build a privately financed motorway.

  Mr. Key
  No, the inspectors report was not made available to any of the bidders for this concession.

  Office of Passenger Rail Franchising
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 May,Official Report, column 600, if he will provide separate dates and participants for each future meeting to be held, for all dates which have been booked, between Shandwick Consultants and (a) the franchising director, (b) officials from Opraf and (c) officials from his Department.

  Mr. Freeman
  Both the Franchising Director and officials from Opraf, and the Department will meet from time to time with Shandwick to discuss and review their work programme.

  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answers of 20 May,Official
  284
  Report, column 600, and his answer to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson), what is his estimate of the total amount, inclusive of value-added tax, which his Department will have paid to Dewe Rogerson for advice on his Departments marketing strategy for rail privatisation by the time Dewe Rogersons contract has been completed; what element of this total arises from his Departments decision to terminate the contract between his Department and Dewe Rogerson; on what date Dewe Rogerson was informed of his Departments decision to terminate the contract; and what length of notice was stipulated for either party under the contract.

  Mr. Freeman
  The answers are:

  (a) It is not possible to provide a figure for the total amount until Dewe Rogersons work is finally completed and their final invoice submitted for payment.

  (b) None.

  (c) 12 May 1994.

  (d) The contract provided for termination by the Department giving three months notice in writing.

  Trans-European Road Network
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the trans-European road routes from the island of Ireland to Europe.

  Mr. Key
  The trans-European road network was agreed by the Council of the European Communities on 29 October 1993—council decision 93/629/EEC. I have placed in the Library a copy of the map showing the currently agreed network in the United Kingdom, which includes the routes to Ireland. Amendments to the network are under consideration, including the removal of the east-west route from Stansted to Oxford following its withdrawal from the national road programme.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what submissions he has made under the trans-European road network programme; and what consultations he has carried out.

  Mr. Key
  Revisions to the trans-European road network are being progressed as part of the new rules for trans-European transport networks that are required to be in place by 1 July 1995. As part of our consideration of the network in England we have consulted local highway authorities and other interested bodies. Similar consultations have taken place in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We have already asked that the following additions be made to the network in the United Kingdom:

  —the M25 between junctions 3 and 5

  —the M27 between Southampton and Portsmouth

  —the M62 between the M6 and Liverpool

  —the A465/A40 Heads of the Valleys route from the M4 near Swansea to Raglan

  —the M8/A8 from Glasgow to Greenock

  —the M77/A77 from Glasgow to Ayr.

  The Commission has included those additions in its proposal on the trans-European transport networks of 28 March 1994. We are at present considering other suggested amendments to our part of the road network, and shall reach a decision soon on whether we shall pursue these.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what submissions he has made under(a) the trans-European conventional rail network programme and (b) the trans-European high-speed network programme; and what consultations he has carried out.
  285
  Mr. Freeman
  The European Commission is shortly expected to bring forward proposals for the establishment of networks for high-speed passenger and conventional rail services. In assisting the Commission with the formulation of its proposals, we have consulted both British Rail and Railtrack, and will continue to do so as discussions proceed. Formal adoption of these and other EC network guidelines is not expected before the middle of next year.

  Seat Belts
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will give a list of all new research commissioned by his Department for use in his review into the technical and cost implications of fitting seat belts to both minibuses and coaches; on what date and from which organisation such research was commissioned; if he will place copies of each separate piece of research in the Library; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will publish the full terms of reference given to those individuals and/or organisations invited to carry out his review into the technical and cost implications of fitting seat belts to both minibuses and coaches;

  (3) on what date his review was established into the technical and cost implications of fitting seat belts to both minibuses and coaches; on what date a press notice or formal announcement was made of the establishment of this review; which outside individuals and organisations have been appointed to the body carrying out the review; how many meetings have been held by the body set up to carry out the review; and what is his estimate of the cost to date of carrying out the review.

  Mr. Key
  Officials were asked to review the full technical and cost implications of fitting seat belts to all seats in minibuses and coaches following the M2 accident, which occurred on 10 November.

  I first announced to the House that the review was being undertaken in an answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Spring), on 29 November 1993, Official Report, column 346. The review made use of existing research and accident data and other industry information.

  I have now received the report and hope to be able to announce the conclusions shortly.

EMPLOYMENT

  Young Workers Directive
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the purpose of the young workers directive; under what clause of what treaty it is being introduced; and whether it is subject to unanimity or majority vote in the Council of Ministers.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The draft directive seeks to regulate the working hours and other conditions of employment of young people aged under 18. It has been brought forward as a health and safety measure under article 118a of the treaty of Rome and is subject to qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the object of the four-year renewable opt-out to the provisions of the young workers 286
  directive initially secured by the United Kingdom; when this opt-out was removed by the European Parliament; and what was the vote in Parliament;

  (2) what assessment he has made of the proposed young workers directive, as amended by the European Parliament, on the freedom to employ newspaper boys in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The opt-out, which can be renewed six years after the directive is adopted, means that the United Kingdom can continue to follow our existing controls on the hours of work of young people. Newspaper boys and girls will be free to continue to work as they do now. On 9 March 1994 the European Parliament voted by a majority of 275 to delete our opt-out, but it has not been removed because the Parliament can only suggest amendments for directives—such as this—introduced under article 118a of the treaty of Rome. The Council of Ministers will decide the final form of the directive.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if the removal of the British opt-out from provisions of the young workers directive is subject to the Maastricht treaty provisions in relation to the power of the Council to remove amendments made by the European Parliament; and what will be the effect of these Maastricht provisions.

  (2) if he will take steps to inform (a) newspaper boys and (b) other young people about the effect of the
  Maastricht treaty provisions on their employment prospects.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The United Kingdom renewable opt-out has not been removed from the draft young workers directive which is not, in any event, affected by the treaty on European Union negotiated at Maastricht.

  Consultants
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for each of the last five years, the cost to public funds of consultancy work provided by(a) KPMG Peat Marwick, (b) Touche Ross, (c) Price Waterhouse, (d) Ernst and Young, (e) CSL, (f) Prime, (g) Basis, (h) Theodore Goddard, (i) Dibb Lupton Broomhead, (j) Capita and (k) Shreeveport to his Department; and if he will list any other firms which have provided consultancy work and the costs to public funds for each of the last five years.

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

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled(a) men and (b) women living in the Greater London area were registered as unemployed at the most convenient date.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The labour force survey asks people of working age if they currently have a health problem or disability which limits the kind of paid work that they can do. Estimates based on answers to this question will include people with short-term health problems and disabilities as well as those registered as disabled.
  287
  The latest labour force survey estimates for summer 1993 show that there were 40,000 such men and 17,000 such women who were International Labour Organisation unemployed and living in Greater London.

  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many married women in employment have children of school age.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Estimates from the labour force survey show there were 2,178,000 married women with children aged 5 to 15 in employment in Great Britain at autumn 1993.

  Mr. Prescott
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the percentage of claimants unemployed who have been unemployed for at least 12 months in(a) the 20 electoral wards with the highest claimant unemployment rate in the United Kingdom and (b) the 20 electoral wards with the lowest claimant unemployment rate in the United Kingdom.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The smallest areas for which official unemployment rates are calculated are self-contained labour markets known as travel-to-work areas. Information at ward level relates only to the level of claimant unemployment and an analysis by duration is available for the months of January, April, July and October. Data are on the unadjusted basis and can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Aerospace Industry
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of the number of people employed in the United Kingdom aerospace industry.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The latest reliable information is from the 1991 census of employment. In September 1991, there were 147,400 jobs in Great Britain in the aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing industry—activity heading 3640 of the 1980 standard industrial classification.

  Animal Transport and Slaughter
  Mr. Meale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to make compulsory the
  formal training of transporter drivers and slaughtermen in the United Kingdom.

  Miss Widdecombe
  There are no plans to make the formal training of transporter drivers compulsory. Requirements for the training of slaughtermen are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. There are already requirements for the training of poultry slaughtermen in the Slaughter of Poultry (Licenses and Specified Qualifications) Regulations 1991. A consultation document on the training of red meat slaughtermen was issued in December 1993; responses are being considered.

  Modern Apprentices
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will allow 18-year-olds to enter the modern apprenticeship scheme.

  Miss Widdecombe
  As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced to the House on 24 May,288
  Official Report, columns 197–267, 18-year-olds will be able, from 1995, to enter accelerated modern apprenticeships as described in the White Paper "Competitiveness: Helping Business to Win", Cm. 2563.

  In addition, 18-year-olds will be eligible for the mainstream modern apprenticeship initiative if their entry to training has been delayed and the training provided is more appropriate to their needs.

  ACAS
  Mr. Brandreth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects to receive the annual report of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

  Miss Widdecombe
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service report for 1993, which will be laid before both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 1 June. Copies will then be available from the Vote Office. The report will be released to the public on Thursday 2 June.

  Absenteeism
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the numbers of days lost through absenteeism in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: Figures for the number of days lost through unauthorised absence from work are not available.

PRIME MINISTER

  Wena Hotels, Egypt
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make representations to President Mubarak, requesting the full and immediate implementation of the verdict of the Egyptian arbitration authorities in favour of the United Kingdom company Wena Hotels in respect of its dispute with the Egyptian hotel company.

  The Prime Minister
  There are two hotels involved in this dispute. The Egyptian arbitration committee last month awarded Wena Hotels compensation in respect of
  one hotel, but judgment is awaited for the second. The company remains in touch with the Egyptian authorities, with support from our embassy in Cairo.

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 26 May.

  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 26 May.

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.

  EC (Legislation)
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the volume of legislation being proposed by the Commission.

  The Prime Minister
  We are still discussing the agenda for the Corfu European Council with our European Union
  289
  partners. We will bear my hon. Friends suggestion in mind. We welcome the continued downward trend in the number of proposals for principal legislation brought forward annually by the Commission, a trend which owes much to the efforts of the Government.

  Iraq
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 11 May,Official Report, column 185, when he expects the British Red Cross to have clarified the issues in respect of the health of the Iraqi people, with particular reference to water filters and water pumps.

  The Prime Minister
  The British Red Cross has, with its Dutch and German colleagues, been discussing with the European Community the possibility of a significant contribution to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appeal. Once the amount of this contribution has been resolved, and the British Red Cross has clarified how successful the appeal has been, they expect to put a proposal to Her Majesty's Government. The timing of such a proposal is a matter for the British Red Cross.

  Fascists
  Mr. Winnick
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will put a proposal before other heads of Governments of the European Union that a member country which has fascists in its Government be suspended from the Union.

  The Prime Minister
  No. All member states of the European Union have democratically elected Governments, and we work with them on that basis.

  Malaysia
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 17 May,Official Report, column 404, on what day in June 1988 the Malaysian Government were informed of his predecessor's wish to visit Malaysia.

  The Prime Minister
  On 29 June 1988.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 10 May,Official Report, column 153, what estimate he has made of the cost of the proposed consultation exercise to investigate discrimination against disabled people; and if he will list those persons and organisations he intends to consult.

  The Prime Minister
  The Government will consult within six months on proposals to combat, not investigate, discrimination against disabled people. A wide range of organisations will be consulted, including those involving disabled people, employers and business more generally. The exact extent and cost of the consultation exercise will not be known until the proposals have been finalised.

  Australia and Thailand
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers travelled with his predecessor when she visited Australia and Thailand in August 1988.

  The Prime Minister
  During her visit to Australia and Thailand in August 1988, my right hon. and noble Friend was not accompanied by any Ministers.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Licensing Legislation
  Mr. Colvin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) on what date he expects to respond to the review of licensing legislation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what form his response to the review of licensing legislation in Northern Ireland will take; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) what organisations have made representations on the review of licensing legislation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ancram
  Representations on those aspects of Northern Ireland's liquor licensing law which they wish to see changed have been received from the following:

  North Down Petty Sessions

  Philip Russell Ltd.

  Banbridge District Council

  Hamilton and Kirk Ltd.

  Bass Ireland Ltd.

  Stewarts

  Wine and Spririt Association of Northern Ireland

  Hastings Hotels Group Ltd.

  Lisburn Borough Council

  Royal Ulster Agricultural Society

  Marks and Spencer

  South Belfast Labour Party

  North Down Borough Council

  Strabane District Council

  Ballymoney Borough Council

  Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade Northern Ireland

  Winemark

  Hospitality Association of Northern Ireland

  Down District Council

  Guinness

  Craigavon Borough Council

  Deny City Council

  Northern Ireland Tourist Board

  Coleraine Borough Council

  Cookstown District Council

  Restauranteurs Association of Northern Ireland

  Ards Borough Council

  Northern Ireland Off-licensed Traders Association

  The British Field Sports Society

  The Queen's University of Belfast

  The Law Society

  The Lord's Day Observance Society

  In addition, submissions were received from two individuals.

  The requests for change, and their implications for the related review of the law on registered clubs, are being considered. Proposals for amending both the law on liquor licensing and on registered clubs will be contained in draft Orders in Counicl which will be published for consultation when both reviews have been completed.

  Bone Cancer
  Mr. Martyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many cases of bone cancer per 100,000 population there have been in Northern Ireland in each year since 1970;

  (2) how many cases of cancers of all types per 100,000 population there have been in Northern Ireland in each year since 1970.

  Mr. Ancram
  The information requested is taken from the Cancer Registry for Northern Ireland and is set out in the table:
  291

  New notification of cancer per 100,000 population

  Year

  Bone cancers per 100,000 population

  All cancers per 100,000 population

  1970

  1.78

  285

  1971

  1.49

  287

  1972

  1.17

  272

  1973

  1.44

  290

  1974

  1.44

  288

  1975

  1.64

  308

  1976

  1.77

  307

  1977

  1.05

  301

  1978

  1.71

  296

  1979

  0.52

  296

  1980

  1.44

  306

  1981

  0.46

  300

  1982

  0.78

  317

  1983

  0.52

  337

  1984

  0.90

  321

  1985

  0.77

  323

  1986

  0.77

  335

  1987

  0.83

  340

  1988

  1.14

  372

  1989

  0.82

  365

  1990

  1.07

  380

  1991

  0.82

  368

  Notes

  The Cancer Registry is estimated to hold notifications for about 60 per cent. of all new cancer cases.

  1991 is the latest year for which information is currently available.

  Benefit Fraud
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his latest estimate of the number of people claiming benefit fraudulently.

  Mr. Ancram
  In 1992–93, there were 3,967 cases of social security fraud detected involving savings of some £10.6 million which is 0.5 per cent., of the total amount of benefit paid. There is, however, no reliable estimate Of the number of fraudulent claims not detected.

  Unemployment
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the change in the level of unemployment since January 1993.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  Seasonally adjusted figures show that the level of unemployment has fallen by 6,600 since January 1993.

  Inter-party Talks
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the progress made towards a resumption of the inter-party talks on the future of Northern Ireland.

  Ms Short
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the discussions he has had with the parties in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government relating to the constitutional future of Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Ancram
  Bilateral discussions are continuing with three of the four Northern Ireland parties on the same basis as previously. The two Governments are also working intensively on a framework to carry the process forward. Our aim is to return to multilateral talks involving the two Governments and all the parties at the earliest appropriate moment.
  292
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will arrange discussions with political leaders to facilitate the peace process.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  My hon. Friend the Minister of State and I will continue to invite discussion on the prospects for a peaceful political settlement in Northern Ireland with leaders of the main constitutional parties. The Government believe that the three-stranded talks process provides the framework within which agreement is most likely to be reached.

  Security
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation in the Province.

  Mr. Cyil D. Townsend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on security in Northern Ireland.

  Sir John Wheeler
  As at 25 May, 32 people have died this year as a result of terrorism in Northern Ireland, 13 in the last four weeks.

  The security forces continue to oppose terrorism with unrelenting determination. So far this year, 171 people have been charged with terrorist-related offences, including 43 with murder or attempted murder.

  Exclusion Orders
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to review the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the use of exclusion orders.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  The operation of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, including the use of exclusion orders, is the responsibilty of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

  Crime Statistics
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the latest figures for crime in Northern Ireland.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary will shortly publish his annual report for 1993, which will show that there was a decrease of 1.9 per cent. in notifiable crimes recorded in 1993 when compared to 1992.

  Family Planning
  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on family planning services in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Ancram
  Comprehensive family planning services are available free of charge throughout Northern Ireland.

  Cross-border Co-operation
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the level of co-operation between United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland security forces.
  293
  Sir John Wheeler
  Excellent co-operation between the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Garda is achieving vital successes against the terrorists. The two Governments support them by continuing to review and refine security co-operation measures in response to the threat from terrorism.

  News Reporting
  Mr. Fabricant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he next plans to meet represen-tatives of the broadcasting industry in Northern Ireland to discuss their news reporting.

  Sir John Wheeler
  I frequently meet representatives of the broadcasting industry in Northern Ireland, as do my ministerial colleagues and officials; our discussions cover a range of issues of common interest. There is at present no fixed date for my next such meeting.

  Activity Centres
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures his Department is taking to ensure the safety of children participating in activities at outdoor activity centres in Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Ancram
  All schools were circulated with detailed guidance on "Safety in Outdoor Education" in November 1989.

  Northern Ireland is represented on the steering group, set up following the announcement on 11 November 1993 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education. This group will shortly be publishing further guidance in respect of safety in outdoor activity centres.

  Child Care Training
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on future funding of the Northern Ireland Pre-School Playgroups Association training projects for women wishing to pursue a career in child care.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  Funding for Northern Ireland Pre-School Playgroups Association training projects includes a contribution from the European social fund. The negotiations with the European Commmission on the 1994–1999 Northern Ireland structural funds package, which includes European social fund measures, will not be completed for some weeks yet. The future of individual applications cannot be decided until the new programmes have been agreed.

  Fair Employment Legislation
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the working of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  Since the coming into operation of Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, my predecessors and I have regularly met the chairman of the Fair Employment Commission to assess the implementa-tion of the Act.

  In addition, officials meet formally with the chief executive of the FEC every three months to review the full range of work being carried out by the Commission.

  I am satisfied with the way the Act has been operating and am encouraged by the progress that has been made to date.

  Job Creation
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new jobs were created in the last financial year by(a) inward investment and (b) local expansion; and what is the forecast for 1994–95.

  Mr. Tim Smith
  During the financial year 1993–94, 3,289 new jobs were created with assistance from the Industrial Development Board. Some 1,548 of these jobs were in foreign-owned and 1,741 in indigenous companies. Additionally, companies assisted by the Local Enterprise Development Unit created 5,890 new jobs during the calendar year 1993. I anticipate a similarly encouraging employment performance in 1994–95.

  Bill of Rights
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations he has received concerning the introduction and implementation of a Bill of Rights; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  Over the past six months my Department has received representations about the introduction of a Bill of rights from the Ulster Unionist party, the Social Democratic and Labour party, the Liberal Democrats, the Workers Party, the National Peace Council and the Committee for the Administration of Justice. The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights and the organisers of Initiative 92 have also expressed their continuing support for the idea.

  The Government are ready in the context of the political talks involving the Irish Government and the main constitu-tional parties to consider the case for further enhancing the protection of human rights in Northern Ireland, including some form of entrenchment to provide additional, built-in safeguards against discrimination and disadvantage.

HEALTH

  Direct Care Staff
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many direct care staff aged over 70 years are employed in each regional health authority.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Pursuant to my reply to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton),Official Report, 24 March, column 415, a recent further check on the data about employees in this age band has shown it to be unreliable. The information requested is therefore not available.

  Health Service Expenditure
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is spent per capita on health services for residents in the(a) Doncaster, (b) Barnsley, (c) Rotherham, (d) Sheffield and (e) England as a whole; and what proportion is spent on treatment (i) in hospital and (ii) by community services, excluding the element cost which is attributable to medical education and research for the latest date she has figures available; and what were the figures (1) five and (2) 10 years ago.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the expenditure per head of population on hospital and community health service by district health authority in the last available year.
  295
  Dr. Mawhinney
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) today, which gave the latest available figures for all district health authorities and family health services authorities in England. It is not possible to break those figure; down further into spend on hospital and community services, or to remove the cost element of medical education and research from the figures.

  It is not possible to give per capita figures for earlier years on a comparable basis.

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from her Department have(a) requested Parliamentary Counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members' Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

  Mr. Sackville
  Parliamentary Counsel does not draft on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. With the authority of Ministers, amendments were drafted by Parliamentary Counsel on instructions from Departments and subsequently passed to private Members in respect of the Osteopaths Bill, the Medicines Information Bill and the Chiropractors Bill.

  Cancer
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the level of cancer specialists per head of population to attain that achieved by Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Norway.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Comparisons with any international rates of cancer specialists per head of population are not appropriate since data may not always be recorded on the same basis. Neither is it appropriate to identify precise needs for numbers of consultants by specialty, because organisation of medical services varies between countries, and not all consultants in the relevant specialties treat cancer patients exclusively.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Darlington of 16 May,Official Report, column 318, if she will itemise the trusts in the Northern and Yorkshire region in 1991–92 and 1992–93 and state their contribution to the total regional surplus.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 16 May,Official Report, column 318, if she will provide details of retained surpluses and deficits by individual trusts.

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

  Aborted Foetuses
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines her Department issues regarding the use of live aborted foetuses in scientific experiments;
  296
  (2) how many experiments on live aborted foetuses have been sanctioned by ethics committees since 1968.

  Mr. Sackville
  We are not aware of any experiments on live foetuses ex utero. Any research carried out on a foetus—that is, after termination under the Abortion Act 1967—is subject to the principles set out in the report "Review of the Guidance on the Research Use of Fetuses and Fetal Material" (Cm. 762), known as the Polkinghorne report. The report's code of practice is reproduced in the guidance issued to local research ethics committees. It stresses that issues relating to research or other use of the live whole foetus must be considered in a manner broadly similar to the way such issues are considered for children and adults.

  Deoxyribonucleic Acid
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation of the health implications of the location of the first European bank for deoxyribonucleic acid at Whitehaven has been conducted by her Department.

  Mr. Sackville
  There are no plans to evaluate the health implications of the location of the proposed bank for deoxyribonucleic acid at the Westlakes Research Institute at Whitehaven. Research undertaken following the establishment and subsequent use of this gene bank will be published in medical journals for peer review and comment.

  Foetal Abnormality Survey
  Mr. Mandelson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to ensure that, following the restructuring of health authority regions, the work of the Northern regional health authority regional foetal abnormality survey office is replicated in all areas of the country in support of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a matter for the regional health authorities concerned.

  Health Services
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has had over local authorities taking over responsibility for commissioning health
  services.

  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 11 January,Official Report, column 119.

  Surcharging
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider introducing provisions to enable the surcharging of health authority members.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No.

  Public Bodies
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of members of(a) regional health authorities, (b) district health authorities, (c) family health service authorities and (d) trust boards are known to be members of patients' organisations;

  (2) what proportion of members of (a) regional health authorities, (b) district health authorities, (c) family health service authorities and (d) trust boards are also members of local authorities.
  297
  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of members of(a) regional health authorities, (b) district health authorities, (c) family health service authorities and (d) trust boards are doctors, nurses or members of other health professions.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  This information is not available centrally in the form requested.

  Patient Participating Groups
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient participation groups are currently operating.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Information on patient participation groups is not available centrally.

  Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 16 May,Official Report, column 322–23, what assessment has been made of evidence from Australia in respect of the transmission of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease through blood tranfusions.

  Mr. Sackville
  We understand that no evidence has been provided to the Australian authorities, despite several requests to support the claim associating Creutzfeldt Jakob disease and blood tranfusions.

  Patient Co-operatives
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department has evaluated overseas experience of patient co-operatives.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No.

  Vulvectomy and Lymph Node Removal
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if existing guidance to hospitals or clinicians allows for vulvectomy and lymph node removal to be carried out in the absence of biopsy reports.

  Mr. Sackville
  Clinical guidance is primarily the responsibility of the relevant professional bodies.

  Patient Participation
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department has on the experience of other countries in relation to patient participation.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Departmental officials maintain awareness of initiatives involving patient participation in the United Kingdom and overseas to feed into policy development.

  Nottinghamshire FHSA
  Mr. Hoon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total funding for general medical services to Nottinghamshire family health services authority in 1993–94.

  Mr. Sackville
  Audited 1993–94 outturn data are not yet available.

  AIDS Support Grant
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority has bid for AIDS support grant for 1994–95; and how much they were awarded.

  Mr. SAckville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 26 April,Official Report, column 159. Details of the indicative and final allocations will be placed in the Library.

  Consultancy Work
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each of the last five years, the cost to public funds of consultancy work provided by(a) KPMG Peat Marwick, (b) Touche Ross, (c) Price Waterhouse, (d) Ernst and Young, (e) CSL, (f) Prime, (g) Basis, (h) Theodore Goddard, (i) Dibb Lupton Broomhead, (j) Capita and (k) Shreeveport to her Department; and if she will list any other firms which have provided consultancy work and the costs to public funds for each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sackville
  For reasons of confidentiality, and in order to obtain value for money in the future, we are unable to list the specific costs of the consultancies concerned and the amounts paid as this would breach contractual agreements and jeopardise future value for money. The Department however, has spent the following amounts from running costs on consultancy since its establishment as a separate Department.

  1990–91 £18,398,000

  1991–92 £24,258,000

  1992–93 £18,399,000

  1993–94 £15,933,037

  Information on national health service consultancy expenditure is not available centrally.

  Continuing Care
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health who determines where responsibility for funding continuing care arrangements for specific individuals lies; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  Under the new community care arrange-ments local and health authorities are required to agree their respective responsibilities for long-term care.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will issue new guidance on the provision of continuing care to clarify under what specific circumstan-ces health authorities are expected to fund continuing care; and if she will make a statement.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to issue comprehensive guidance to health authorities and providers on the responsibility of the NHS to pay for continuing care.

  Mr. Bowis
  Under the community care arrangements local and health authorities were required to agree their respective resonsibilities for long-term care. The implementation of the community care arrangements has been carefully monitored. The need for any clarification of health and local authority responsibilities is being kept under review.
  299
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the responsibility of health authorities and local authorities when responsibility for funding continuing care is based upon reasons of ill health.

  Mr. Bowis
  The national health service is responsible for meeting needs for long-term healthcare. It is for local health purchasers to determine the level and type of services provided in the light of local needs, resources and clinical practice.

  Government Information
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she published her departmental guidance on the implementation of the code of practice on access to Government information, as promised at paragraph 3(ii) of the code issued on 4 April; and to whom it has been made available.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) on 29 April,Official Report, column 372.

  Immunisation
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the Government's policy on informing young people about their rights concerning immunisation; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Consent has to be obtained before any immunisation can be given.

  The patients charter requires information to be given when treatment is proposed. In line with this, information prepared by the Health Education Authority, which is used by medical staff and provided to parents and teenagers, now contains more details about issues relevant to immunisation. The Health Education Authority produce a leaflet about rubella immunisation for distribution to teenage girls, copies of which will be placed in the Library. They are also developing leaflets for BCG immunisation and the soon to be introduced diphtheria/tetanus booster dose; this latter leaflet will also contain information about the school leavers polio booster dose.

  Elderly People
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she plans to take on the report of the Royal College of Physicians, "Ensuring Equity and Quality of Care for Elderly People", a copy of which has been sent to her.

  Mr. Bowis
  This report is aimed primarily at professional national health service staff and managers. We welcome its publication as a further encouragement to high quality services for elderly people.

  NHS Charters
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific form of compensation or redress is available under the provisions of the patients charter to(a) out-patients who have not been seen within specific appointment times and (b) patients for whom an operation is postponed twice, and yet are still not admitted within one month of the date of the second cancelled operation.
  300
  Dr. Mawhinney
  Patients should be kept informed about the reasons for any delays or postponements in their treatment. A suitable apology should be offered in appropriate cases.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals have adopted a policy of admitting a patient(a) within one month of the cancellation of an operation and (b) within two months of a second cancelled operation.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  All hospitals are implementing the policy reflected in the improved patients charter national standard which came into effect on 1 April 1994.

  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many FHSA and general practitioner charters have now been issued; and if she will list them.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Every family health services authority has issued a charter and information from purchasers indicates that 38 per cent. of general practitioners practices have issued or are planning to issue a charter. The names of the individual general practices with charters are not available centrally.

  Free Prescriptions
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what situations patients on NHS treatment receive free from NHS hospitals(a) prescriptions including contact lenses and (b) use of equipment including nebulisers; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Contact lenses may be prescribed through the hospital eye service if the patient has a clinical need for them. Many patients are entitled to a hospital eye service voucher to cover the cost of lenses.

  Where a consultant decides—taking account of resources, needs and clinical priorities locally—that a piece of equipment should be provided as part of the national health service treatment, it should be provided free of charge.

  Clinical Psychology Services
  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are collected to inform the costing of general practice fundholders' contracts for clinical psychology services.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  General practitioner fundholders' budgets are based on previous treatment patterns in the practice, informed by local average treatment rates and local hospital prices. General practitioner fundholders are responsible for using their budget to purchase appropriate services to meet their patients' needs, including clinical psychology outpatient services.

  Health Authorities
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities and family health services authorities currently share the same chief executive; and if she will list them.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The list of district health authorities and family health services authorities with a joint chief executive has been placed in the Library.

  Information Service
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been logged since the establishment of the national health freephone information service; and if she will give details of the guidelines issued to staff governing advice given to callers seeking to complain about national health service services.

  Mr. Sackville
  The national health information service freephone telephone number, 0800 665544, has received 201,128 calls in the period between launch in January 1993 to the end of April 1994. Each health information service has a copy of the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992 and HSG(92)21, copies of which are available in the Library. These documents, along with information about local procedures, contain the essential information to enable health information service personnel to advise callers how to make a complaint.

  Mr. Richard Hughes
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about the case of Mr. Richard Hughes of 3 Erylmore road, Mossley Hill, Liverpool 18, concerning his removal from the practice list of his GP; what information will be disclosed to him as to the reasons for his removal; and what assessment she has made of the consistency of his treatment with her policy on the priority to be accorded to ex-service men with disabilities.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The hon. Member wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 20 May 1994 about his constituent. He will receive a reply shortly.

  Health Information
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health shops are currently under consideration; where they will be situated; and what are the projected costs.

  Mr. Sackville
  The national health service provides information to the public in many ways—nationally, through the national health information service, community health councils, family health services authorities and district health authorities. Decisions about drop-in health information centres are taken at a local level to address local need.

  Smoking
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral statement by the Minister for Health of 11 February,Official Report, column 607, what is the timetable for launching the £12 million three-year anti-smoking advertising programme.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Later this year.

  Dental Practices
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dental service practices there are in each health authority area at the latest date for which figures were available; and what were the comparative figures in(a) April 1992 and (b) June 1987.
  302
  Dr. Mawhinney
  Information is not available centrally in the form requested.

  Adoption
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's policy on whether children who cannot live with their own family should have a choice about the language and culture of the family who adopt them.

  Mr. Bowis
  Under legislation, courts and adoption agencies are required so far as practicable to ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child and give due consideration to them, having regard to the child's age and understanding. This would include the language and culture of his proposed adoptive family.

  Children Act 1989
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the second report to Parliament on the Children Act 1989 will be published.

  Mr. Bowis
  I am pleased to announce that my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Wales have laid before Parliament the second joint report to Parliament on the Children Act operation in England and Wales. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

  The report gives an overview of the progress made and focuses on a wide range of issues. It is an encouraging picture confirming that the numbers of children looked after by local authorities, and on a child protection register continue to decline as local authorities respond positively to the intention of the Act that wherever possible children should remain at home with their families.

  Rural Stress
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what specific measures she plans to take to aid in drawing farmers' attention to the help networks currently available to deal with rural stress and suicide; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  Over the last year, this Department has helped to finance initiatives in rural areas to increase awareness of suicide and the sources of help that are available. The Department has made a grant of £50,000 per annum over three years from 1994–95 to help support the Samaritans' outreach programme, part of which will be focused on rural areas and agriculture. The Department also supported a conference on rural stress, entitled "Rural Stress—Positive Action in Partnership", which took place earlier this year.

  Children at Risk
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances local authority social services departments may leave children on the at risk register without an assigned social worker.

  Mr. Bowis
  A named key worker shall be appointed for every child who is placed on the child protection register and for whom there is an inter-agency protection plan. Where there is no current named key worker for a child on the register, it is for the local authority to ensure that arrangements are made for the protection plan to be implemented and a key worker appointed.

  Women-only Wards
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the policy of her Department in respect of allowing women when in an NHS hospital to be treated in a women-only ward if that is their wish.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  District health authorities and general practitioner fundholders are expected to assess the needs of the populations they serve in reaching purchasing decisions, and to reflect these in their contracts with hospitals. The privacy and dignity of all patients is assured through the patients charter, and hospitals should take account of patients' wishes wherever it is practicable to do so.

  Eye and Dental Tests
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what would be the cost to public funds of reintroducing(a) free eye tests and (b) free dental check-ups.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Assuming that these changes led to no increase in the number of sight tests or dental examinations, each would cost some £60 million in a full year.

  Foreign Patients
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many fee-paying patients from outside the United Kingdom received treatment in NHS hospitals in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a matter for individual trusts and health authorities.

  Private Hospital Beds
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many NHS beds have been converted to use by private patients in each of the last three years;

  (2) how many NHS hospital trusts have had private patient units or wings in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Sackville
  These are local matters about which the Department does not collect information.

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's latest estimate of the number of places for under five-year-olds provided by(a) local authority day nurseries, (b) private day nurseries, (c) pre-school play groups and (d) child minders.

  Mr. Bowis
  I announced yesterday that it is estimated that, at 31 March 1993, there were 21,400 places in local authority day nurseries; 111,000 places in registered day nurseries; 396,900 places in pre-school play groups and 283,000 registered child minder places available1 for use by the under fives.
  1Following implementation of the Children Act 1989, information about places with childminders has been collected for children aged under eight.

  Maternity Units
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list all the maternity units in England; and what were the total numbers of deliveries in each case, for each of the last three years for which figures are available.
  304
  Mr. Sackville
  A list of national health service trusts, directly managed units and special health authorities in England with maternity facilities, with the number of maternity beds in each, will be placed in the Library. Information on the number of deliveries in each could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Health Visitors
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been issued to health authorities with regard to ensuring health visitor coverage in areas where local authorities fail to provide social work cover for all children on the at risk register.

  Mr. Bowis
  Government guidance requires each health authority to identify a senior nurse with a health visiting qualification to act as the co-ordinator of all aspects of child protection work in their district. Among their key activities is the setting up of an effective communication system with managers and practitioners in other disciplines and agencies, to ensure a regular update about work load, staffing, emergencies and individual cases.

  Clinical Services
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made as to which clinical services are not suitable to be contracted out of the NHS.

  Mr. Sackville
  It is for trusts, general practitioner fundholders and health authorities to determine the most appropriate options for the provision of services, including clinical services. Decisions are made on the basis of which source of provision, be it national health service, non-NHS or a combination of both, will provide the best quality of service for patients and cost effective use of NHS resources.

  NHS Staff
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has concerning the number of employees aged over 70 years who are currently allowed to continue to work within the national health service.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [pursuant to his reply, 24 March 1994, c. 415]: I regret that misleading information was given in my previous reply. Information submitted to the Department on the age of national health service staff under 20 and over 65 has been found to be inaccurate. The Department does not therefore hold reliable information about employees aged over 70 years.

  Expenditure
  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Dulwich (Ms Jowell) of 12 April,Official Report, column 72, if she will give the figures for expenditure per capita for London for (a) district health authorities and (b) family health services authorities, including expenditure by the London postgraduate hospitals and special health authorities.

  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is spent per capita by London district health authorities on health services and special health authorities for residents of (i) inner London and (ii) outer London and what is the national average expenditure per capita by district health authorities.
  305
  Dr. Mawhinney
  [pursuant to his reply, 21 April 1994, c. 664–65]: I regret that, because of typographical errors, my previous reply needs to be amended. The following table gives the correct figures:

  District health authority spend

  DHA spend including special health authorities

  Expenditure per capita £

  Percentage above national average

  Expenditure per capita £

  Percentage above national average

  Inner

  553

  47

  603

  57

  Outer

  398

  6

  415

  8

  Total London

  460

  22

  490

  28

  Total England

  376

  —

  384

  —

  Notes:

  1. Inner London defined as in the report of the Enquiry into Londons Health Services, Medical Education and Research (Tomlinson report).

  2. SHA 1992–93 expenditure apportioned to DHAs based on analysis of district of residence of 1993–94 referrals.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the size of surpluses generated by trusts in each year since 1990–91, by region.

  Mr. Sackville
  [pursuant to his reply, 16 May 1994, cols. 317–18]: I regret that there were errors in my previous reply. An amended table follows.

  Region

  Retained Surplus/(Deficit)

  Northern

  2,896

  5,427

  Yorkshire

  3,100

  2,962

  Trent

  153

  4,622

  East Anglian

  1,075

  533

  North West Thames

  6,145

  17,220

  North East Thames

  7,249

  13,165

  South East Thames

  1,082

  9,597

  South West Thames

  5,303

  4,001

  Wessex

  1,342

  3,903

  South Western

  14,531

  11,436

  Oxford

  104

  4,356

  West Midlands

  2,932

  4,177

  Mersey

  2,194

  (749)

  North Western

  50

  6,952

  Notes to table:

  Source: Audited accounts of NHS Trusts 1991–92 and 1992–93.

  2. The figures for 1992–93 are provisional, being subject to National Audit Office review.

  3. Surplus/(Deficit) is after interest, dividend payable on public dividend capital, extraordinary and exceptional items.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Dulwich (Ms Jowell) of 12 April,Official Report, column 72, if she will provide comparable per capita spending figures for each (a) district health authority and (b) family health services authority in England.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The per capita spend (by crude population) in 1992–93 for district health authorities and family health services authorities in England will be placed in the Library. Comparisons of these per capita spend figures need to be treated with caution. First, not all the expenditure covered arises from population related activities. Secondly, crude populations do not reflect differences in age structure or relative health care need. These differences feature in the formulae used to inform the main allocations made to DHAs.

TREASURY

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have(a) requested Parliamentary Counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare
  amendments which were subsequently passed to private
  Members.

  Sir John Cope
  Parliamentary Counsel drafts not on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. No amendments to private Members Bills were drafted by Parliamentary Counsel on instructions from Treasury Ministers and subsequently passed to private Members.

  Diesel Fuel Excise Duty
  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to enforce compliance with excise duties on diesel fuel in respect of diesel-powered vehicles on public roads.

  Sir John Cope
  Responsibility for the control of the illegal use of hydrocarbon oil which has not borne the full rate of excise duty is assigned to Customs and Excise. Control is carried out by 17 regional road fuel testing units, using mobile testing vehicles. Customs officers have the power to test the fuel of stationary diesel vehicles and by a series of simple visual and chemical tests can detect the presence of rebated diesel in the fuel tank of a vehicle.

  Beer
  Dr. Hampson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the most recent annual figures available for net(a) value added tax receipts and (b) excise receipts from beer.

  Sir John Cope
  In the calendar year 1993(a) net VAT receipts from beer were around £1,600 million and (b) net excise receipts from beer were £2,230 million.

  Paymaster General (Targets)
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what key targets have been set for the office of Her Majestys Paymaster General in 1994–95.
  307
  Sir John Cope
  I have set demanding targets for the office of HM Paymaster General in 1994–95, but some details are commercially sensitive, The main features are:

  Recovering Full Costs
  1. recover through charges the full cost of running the Agency.

  Reduction in Unit Costs
  2. achieve at least a 3 per cent. reduction in real terms in the unit cost of paying a pension.
  3. achieve a 3 per cent. improvement in the average unit cost index for banking transactions1.

  MEETING CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS

  Pensions
  4. meet various targets for responding to correspondence and processing instructions in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers.
  5. meet quality targets in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers.

  Banking
  6. meet transaction timetables in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers.
  7. meet quality targets for processing transactions in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers.

  Apex
  8. meet the agreed timetable for sending financial information to the Treasury 95 per cent. of the time, and never exceed the timetable by more than 1 day.

  1Banking transactions will be weighted as appropriate.

  ESA

  Eligible Area (ha)

  Percentage of eligible area under agreement or applied for as at 30 April 1994

  Average payment per agreement £

  Stage I

  Broads1

  24,000

  63

  3,430

  Pennine Dales

  39,100

  68

  3,990

  Somerset levels and moors

  25,900

  51

  2,240

  South Downs1

  51,700

  21

  6,830

  West Penwith

  6,900

  89

  2,290

  Stage II

  Breckland1

  51,600

  9

  5,630

  Clun1

  18,900

  72

  3,500

  North Peak

  50,500

  86

  15,940

  Suffolk River Valleys1

  32,600

  27

  2,900

  Test Valley1

  3,300

  30

  3,050

  Stage III

  Avon Valley1

  3,800

  19

  1,960

  Exmoor

  67,700

  55

  2,300

  Lake District

  219,300

  50

  4,040

  North Kent Marshes1

  11,600

  36

  10,460

  South Wessex Downs1

  38,300

  48

  3,840

  South West Peak

  27,000

  54

  2,030

  Stage IV2

  Blackdown Hills

  32,200

  0.10

  330

  Cotswold Hills1

  66,100

  4

  3,280

  Dartmoor

  89,000

  0.02

  610

  Essex Coast1

  23,000

  1

  3,560

  Shropshire Hills

  34,900

  10

  1,600

  Upper Thames Tributaries1

  18,000

  2

  5,070

  1 The figures for eligible area in these ESAs contain arable land which is eligible to enter the scheme if reverted to grass. It is not expected that a high proportion of such land will enter the scheme.

  2 The figures for uptake in these ESAs cover only the first six weeks of the initial application period.

  Building Societies Commission
  Mr. Burns
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the court case involving the Cheltenham and Gloucester building society and the Building Societies Commission.

  Mr. Nelson
  The High Court is currently considering whether the details of Lloyds bank's scheme to take over the Cheltenham and Gloucester building society—including the payment of cash to Cheltenham and Gloucester members of less than two years standing—are in conformity with the Building Societies Act 1986. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further on those issues until the Court has reached a decision.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Environmentally Sensitive Area Grants
  Mr. Jopling
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the latest uptake figures of the option to farmers to take the environmentally sensitive area grants in each area concerned, with the percentage of those eligible, together with the likely average payment to each farmer.

  Mr. Jack
  The percentages of eligible land under agreement or application and the average cost per agreement for the 22 English ESAs are given in the table. The number of farmers eligible for participation in each ESA scheme is not available.

  Portable Telephones
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food pursuant to her answer of 12 May,Official Report, column 201, what was the expenditure on (a) service rental and (b) call charges for portable telephones.

  Mr. Jack
  The expenditure, excluding VAT, incurred on 1,200 portable telephones for 1993–94 by the Ministry and its associated executive agencies, was as follows:

  £

  (a) on Service Rental

  228,348

  (b) on Call Charges

  110,507

  Beef Special Premium Scheme
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps she is taking within the Council of Ministers to resolve beef special premium scheme distortions for 1993.

  Mr. Jack
  In March 1994 we were able to secure the European Commissions agreement to a technical adjustment .to the scaling back of 1993 beef special premium claims necessary because the number of claims in 1993 exceeded our regional ceiling. In England and Wales, this adjustment added about £2.50 to the average payment per 1993 beef special premium claimed and about £1.25 to the average payment per extensification premium. Given the increase in total payments under the 1993 scheme compared with previous years, and the very good market prices for beef in 1993, there is no justification for any further adjustments to the scaling back for 1993.

  Cattle and Pigs
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps she is taking to resist changes to EC directive 64/432 on trade in cattle and pigs.

  Mr. Soames
  The Government support the principle of removing unnecessary barriers to trade and support the initiative taken by the Commission in drafting a proposal to consolidate and amend directive 64/432/EEC with a view to facilitating trade. During negotiations on the proposed amendments to the directive, the Government will aim to ensure that the individual provisions are carefully assessed, do not increase the risk of disease being spread between member states and are not unnecessarily onerous on industry.

  Channel Tunnel (Livestock)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further measures are planned to monitor the movement of livestock through the channel tunnel; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  The channel tunnel operator, Eurotunnel, has informed the Ministry that its policy remains one of not carrying live animals, including farm livestock and horses, through the tunnel. The state veterinary service will monitor the tunnel in the same way as other south coast ports.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of BSE have been confirmed in the United Kingdom since November 1986.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Since November 1986 and up to 13 May 1994, 128,879 cases of BSE have been confirmed in the United Kingdom.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total of confirmed cases of BSE in the United Kingdom in animals born after the ruminant feed ban.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  As at 10 May 1994, 9,928 cases of BSE have been confirmed in Great Britain in animals born after the ruminant feed ban which came into operation on 18 July 1988. Some 39 cases have been confirmed in Northern Ireland in animals born after the ruminant feed ban which came into operation on 11 January 1989.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many United Kingdom farms have had at least one confirmed case of BSE, since November 1986.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Since November 1986 and up to 13 May 1994, 31,395 farms in the United Kingdom have had at least one confirmed case of BSE.

  Farming
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current arrangements for funding direct support payments to new entrants to farming; what consideration she is giving to introduce greater flexibility; and if she has raised these matters with her European counterparts.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: Current arrangements for funding direct support payments to new entrants to farming are, in the main, adequate given the complexity of the schemes concerned and the need to maintain the integrity of the integrated administration and control systems as an anti-fraud measure. However, I recognise that there are anomalies in the case of livestock farmers acquiring land after the IACS deadline because they cannot benefit from the IACS related livestock subsidies in that year. Officials are currently discussing with the European Commission whether it might be possible to allow transfer to take place in some clearly defined circumstances, provided proper controls were in place to prevent fraud.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what measures are presently in place to ensure that new entrants coming to farming after the deadline for the submission of IACS forms are not deprived of payments for the period up to the deadline in the following year; and what is the reason for these measures;

  (2) what scope there is to provide new entrants coming to farming after 15 May with direct headage payments in respect of the period before the IACS year beginning May 1995.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: An IACS form is not required from farmers wishing to

  311
  claim under the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme, or up to 15 livestock units under the beef special premium and suckler cow premium schemes provided they do not wish to receive the extensification premium. We are considering what arrangements should be made for hill livestock compensatory allowances in 1995 and will shortly be consulting the industry on proposals. The Council regulation establishing the arable area payments scheme specifically requires applications for payment to be submitted by 15 May and it is not possible for a new entrant to claim such payments retrospectively.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in what circumstances it is a condition for direct support payments that a new entrant takes up occupancy of the farm on which the claim is to be based before the deadline for submission of IACS forms.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: In order to be eligible for arable area payments, beef special premium, suckler cow premium or hill livestock compensatory allowances, each farmer must submit annually an IACS form, including all of the land farmed, by the deadline. EC rules provide limited exemptions from this requirement for livestock farmers who wish to claim no more than 15 livestock units under the beef special premium or suckler cow premium schemes and do not wish to claim the extensification premium.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what provision exists for new entrants to give forewarning of the intention to assume occupancy of a farm after the annual closing date for submission of IACS forms in order to secure annual payments adjusted to reflect the period when the farmer is in actual occupation.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: There are no specific provisions dealing with these circumstances.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what flexibility EC laws allow with regard to setting the date for submission of IACS forms to give entitlement to new entrants coming to farming after the last date for submitting claims.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: The EC rules require IACS forms to be submitted by 31 March. The Commission may allow a member state to set a later date, up to 15 May, if it is satisfied that this still allows proper checks to be carried out. In the United Kingdom, we have applied the latest possible date of 15 May. In circumstances where the IACS form relates only to permanent pasture, a member state may decide that it can be submitted at the same time as the first livestock application, but not later than 1 July.

EDUCATION

  Local Management of Schools
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the schools, by local education authority, that had not had their budgets delegated under local management of schools schemes by(a) 1 January and (b) 1 April; and if he will express the number of such schools as a percentage of all schools.

  Mr. Forth
  The precise information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost. We estimate that 312
  something over 1,000 county and voluntary schools did not have delegated budgets on 1 January 1994. All primary and secondary schools have had delegated budgets from 1 April 1994 except in a few cases where delegation has been withdrawn or deferred by the LEA. All special schools are due to have delegated budgets by 1 April 1996 although many will have them at an earlier date.

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education with whom the responsibility lies for deciding whether to(a) hire a teacher, (b) carry out a repair and (c) replace items of furniture in schools with delegated budgets under the local management of schools.

  Mr. Forth
  Within the resources available to it, the governing body of a school with a delegated budget is responsible for determining the schools staff complement and selecting teachers for appointment. The local education authority, except in the case of aided schools, whose staff are normally employed by the governors, must appoint the persons selected unless they fail to fulfil any of the statutory requirements relating to qualifications, health and physical capacity or conduct. The respective responsibilties of governing bodies and LEA for building repairs and maintenance will depend on the terms of the LEAs LMS scheme, although governors will normally be responsible at least for internal decoration and other work of a non-structural kind. In the particular case of voluntary-aided and special agreement schools, repairs to the exterior of the buildings are the statutory responsibility of governors, who may apply for grant aid from the Secretary of State. Furniture for an LEAs schools will in general be provided by the LEA through its capital programme, but governing bodies are free to make purchases with funds from their delegated budgets if they so wish.

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children under the age of five years were attending on(a) a full-time basis and (b) a part-time basis (i) nursery classes, (ii) nursery schools or (iii) reception classes in primary school on the latest date for which information is available.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The number of full-time and part-time pupils under five in maintained nursery and primary schools in England in January 1993 is shown in the table.

  Pupils under five being attending maintained nursery and primary school in England—January 1993

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Nursery Schools

  9,461

  43,527

  Primary Schools

  Nursery Classes

  27,307

  259,619

  Infant Classes

  289,481

  26,798

  Primary Schools
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the local education authoritys central costs percentage for a primary grant-maintained school in Solihull in 1993–94; what is the equivalent figure for 1994–95; and in how many local education authorities the proportionate change from 1993–94 to 1994–95 has been(a) greater and (b) smaller than in Solihull.
  313
  Mr. Robin Squire
  The central percentage addition applying in 1993–94 for a primary grant-maintained school formerly maintained by Solihull local education authority was 15.6 per cent. The comparable figure applying to a grant-maintained primary school in Solihull in 1994–95 is 7.0 per cent. The proportionate change between 1993–94 and 1994–95 was greater than that applying in Solihull in two local education authorities, and smaller in 105 local education authorities.

  The Funding Agency for Schools is recalculating the relevant percentages for 1994–95 on the basis of LEAs expenditure plans for the current financial year. As a result of their consideration, the percentages applying in some local education authorities this year may increase.

  School Statistics
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his answer of 19 May,Official Report, column 547, if he will give (a) the provisional full-time equivalent teacher numbers for (i) nursery and primary schools and (ii) secondary schools as at January 1994 and (b) the provisional pupil numbers in (i) nursery and primary schools and (ii) secondary schools as at January 1994 giving the figures both for local education authorities and grant-maintained schools.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information is as follows:

  Parental ballots on grant maintained status

  Number of schools balloting

  Number of Yes ballots

  Total percentage of parents voting Yes

  Total percentage of parents voting No

  October 1993

  16

  13

  67

  33

  November 1993

  36

  22

  59

  41

  December 1993

  40

  28

  56

  44

  January 1994

  18

  16

  68

  32

  February 1994

  30

  16

  48

  52

  March 1994

  39

  23

  52

  48

  April 1994

  26

  12

  49

  51

  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to offer financial assistance to those people or organisations who wish to promote new grant-maintained schools under section 49 of the Education Act 1993.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Department has no plans to offer financial assistance to promoters of new grant-maintained schools proposed under section 49 of the Education Act 1993.

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people requested further information, in response to his Departments advertising campaign for grant-maintained status during January and February, by(a) phoning the number given on the coupon in the advertisements and (b) returning the coupon.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Departments GM publications centre received 3,913 requests for information between Janaury and the end of April. Of these, 996 calls to the freephone number are known to be attributable to the advertisements, as are the 1,177 coupons returned.
  314

  An estimated breakdown between primary and secondary of the provisional full-time equivalent numbers of teachers employed in the maintained sector, including self-governing (GM) schools. England—January 1994

  Thousands

  Nursery and primary

  197.6

  Secondary

  193.3

  TOTAL

  390.9

  Projected full-time equivalent numbers of pupils in maintained schools, including self-governing (GM) schools. England—January 1994

  Thousands

  Nursery and primary

  4,120.7

  Secondary

  2,932.3

  TOTAL

  7,053.0

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the number of schools holding opt-out ballots, the number of yes votes and the total percentage of parents voting yes and total percentage voting no in(a) October 1993, (b) November 1993, (c) December 1993, (d) February 1994, (e) March 1994 and (f) April 1994.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information requested is set out in the following table:

  Mr. Don Foster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the criteria set by his Department for placing advertisements in national newspapers to promote the availability of information on grant-maintained status; and what was the estimated readership of the advertisements.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The advertising campaign was designed to alert schools, governors and parents to the availability of factual information on grant-maintained status. It was timed to coincide with the introduction of the new statutory requirement that the governing bodies of schools should consider each year whether to ballot parents on applying for grant-maintained status. The newspapers where advertisements were placed were chosen because they enjoy a high level of readership among those likely to have an active interest in education.

  It is not possible to estimate the readership of the advertisements themselves. However, the official Audit Bureau of Circulation estimated daily readership figures for the titles used during the campaign as follows:
  315

  Number

  Guardian

  1,457,000

  Independent

  1,148,000

  Mail on Sunday

  5,999,000

  Observer

  1,619,000

  Radio Times

  5,433,000

  Sunday Times

  3,538,000

  Times Educational Supplement

  530,000

  Parliamentary Counsel
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have(a) requested Parliamentary Counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members' Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

  Mr. Forth
  Parliamentary Counsel drafts not on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. On one occasion, in respect of the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill, Department for Education Ministers agreed that instructions should go to Parliamentary Counsel for an amendment to a private Members Bill, with the intention that this should be tabled by the Government. That amendment was subsequently passed to a private Member.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Copyright Tribunal
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many references or applications have been heard by the Copyright Tribunal under its present rules of procedure.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Eight references or applications have been heard by the tribunal under its present rules of procedure introduced in 1989 and amended in 1991 to take account of extension of the jurisdiction of the tribunal by the Broadcasting Act 1990. These cases have been of differing complexity and, in consequence, the length of hearings has varied from one day to several weeks, in two cases involving multiple applications and relating respectively to the use of TV listings information by newspapers and magazines and to the broadcasting of sound recordings by independent radio stations. Five further cases were resolved before reaching a hearing, although the tribunal made orders with the consent of the parties in two of these, and five cases are pending.

  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many questionnaires were sent out, and how many completed questionnaires were received by the Patent Office in respect of the consultation into the functioning of the Copyright Tribunal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Some 98 questionnaires seeking views on the functioning of the tribunal were sent out to those who have been involved in tribunal proceedings, including both users of copyright works and copyright owners, and other interested parties, and 30 replies were 316
  received. My Department is in the process of analysing these responses, and I will consider in the light of this analysis whether any changes in tribunal procedures are desirable.

  British Aerospace (Sales)
  Ms Corston
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has made concerning the sale by British Aerospace of its space systems business to Matra Marconi Space; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  Officials from the British National Space Centre regularly discuss current issues with companies in the space sector, including Matra Marconi Space and British Aerospace (Space Systems). Many of these discussions are of a commercially confidential nature.

  Motor Vehicle Sales
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to review consumer protection legislation relating to the sale of used motor vehicles.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  My Department has issued a consultation document on possible amendments to the law relating to transfer of title on the sale of goods, including the provisions in the Hire Purchase Act 1964 concerned with the sale of motor vehicles subject to a hire purchase or conditional sale agreement.

  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to strengthen consumer protection legislation regarding warranty offers on used motor vehicles.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  None. It is for the seller to decide what warranty, if any, he offers on the goods he sells.

  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he last met representatives of the motor vehicle industry to discuss motor vehicle warranty deals and the protection of consumer rights in motor vehicle sales.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Representatives of the industry have not had formal discussions with me on this subject. My last official meeting with the Retail Motor Industry Federation
  was in January 1993. A number of subsequent meetings
  with other Ministers and senior officials have taken place, on a range of issues, as part of the Governments continuing dialogue with leading representatives of the motor vehicle sector.

  Competition
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his departmental officials last met representatives of the European Commissioner responsible for competition to discuss the application by Pallion Engineering Ltd., Sunderland, to accept an in-house ship repair contract from its majority shareholder.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  My officials last met representatives of the European Commission about Pallion on 9 February 1994.

  Insolvency Acts
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to seek to amend the Insolvency Act 1986 so as to make it possible for creditors
  317
  who do not have substantial funds to raise court action through the liquidator in cases of alleged fraudulent trading or wrongful trading.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  I have no plans to do so. It is a matter for those who stand to benefit in individual cases to provide the funds to take such actions.

  Mr. Deva
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he intends to take following the enactment of the Insolvency Act 1994, regarding the position of receivers or managers who are not administrative receivers and their liability under contracts of employment they may adopt.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  The Government wish to learn the views of interested parties on whether it would be appropriate to extend the restrictions that the Insolvency Act 1994 introduced in relation to liability under contracts of employment adopted by administrators and administrative receivers and receivers in Scotland, to other receivers or managers.

  During the passage of the Bill I indicated that extending its provisions to other receivers or managers would go beyond the Bills narrow purpose and that such a step would need careful consideration. Interested parties are therefore invited to submit their views on this issue to The Insolvency Service (Policy Unit) at PO Box 203, 21 Bloomsbury street, London WC1B 3QW, by 15 August 1994.

  Toxic Waste and CFCs
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the implications of the latest general agreement on tariffs and trade agreement for restrictions in the trade in(a) toxic waste or (b) chlorofluorocarbons.

  Mr. Needham
  The GATT Uruguay round agreement has no implications for restrictions on trade in toxic waste or CFCs.

  Coal Research Establishment
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each year since 1986 the amount of investment made by the Government into the Coal Research Establishment.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The annual investment by the Government into the Coal Research Establishment is as follows:

  Government funding of CRE related activities—£ million (1994 prices)

  Year

  £ million

  1986–87

  1.7

  1987–88

  0.6

  1988–89

  0.2

  1989–90

  3.4

  1990–91

  11.7

  1991–92

  4.9

  1992–93

  1.7

  1993–94

  5.2

  Note:

  The monies shown represent Government contributions to:

  The Grimthorpe research and development project.

  The Point of Ayr coal liquefaction research and development project.

  Contracted research and development in the fields of generic science and advanced power generation.

  Projects paid for by the know-how fund.

  Other ad hoc income from Government.
  318
  Investment for subsequent years up to 1997 totals £7.6 million for contracts already in place between CRE and DTI.

  Cigarettes
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what research his Department is currently taking in respect of the production and manufacturing of cigarettes that are less of a fire hazard; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will list the current documents and research material his Department holds on the production and manufacture of cigarettes that are less of a fire hazard; what has been the result of his talks with the tobacco trade on producing safer cigarettes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  My Department is in liaison with other Government Departments with an interest in the production of fire-safe cigarettes in order to assemble a body of research material. A list of documents has been placed in the Library of the House.

  I have not held talks with the tobacco industry on this matter. I am currently monitoring events relating to proposed legislation concerning fire-safe cigarettes which is under discussion in the United States.

  Energy-saving Initiatives
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his current policy in respect of gas consumers paying a levy to fund energy-saving initiatives; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The Government regard recent changes in the price control formulae of gas and electricity as welcome steps in promoting energy efficiency.

  Chapter 8 of the joint DTI/Ofgas consultation document "Competition and Choice in the Gas Market" sets out proposals and options for further steps to promote the efficient use of gas in the new competitive gas market.

  Defence Industry Exports
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of exports from defence industries are currently sent to developing countries; what is their value; and how the position has changed in cash and percentage terms in the past five years.

  Mr. Needham
  The information is provided in the table.

  United Kingdom Exports of Defence Equipment to Developing Countries1

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  Value (£ million)

  957

  1,938

  1,584

  1,440

  1,156

  Per cent. of total exports

  70

  80

  80

  77

  77

  Note:

  1 All countries excluding NATO and Western Europe.

  Source: United Kingdom Defence Statistics, (HMSO).

  Sandwell Borough Council
  Dame Angela Rumbold
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received about pre-stamping plastic capacity measures by Sandwell borough council; what steps he is taking to correct this anomaly; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  I have received representations from two plastic capacity measure manufacturers about the stamping of measures before they have been tested, a practice which appears to be acceptable to Sandwell metropolitan borough council.

  I have it in mind to make use of the powers proposed by clauses 1–4 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill, once enacted, to amend the Weights and Measures Act 1985, so as to make pre-stamping lawful in defined circumstances and subject to prescribed conditions.

  Nuclear Co-operation Agreement
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has regarding the current negotiations between the European Commission and the United States Government in regard to the extension and revision of the United States—Euratom nuclear cooperation agreement.

  Mr. Needham
  Negotiations are continuing on a new nuclear co-operation agreement to replace the existing agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community and the United States. The European Commission is responsible for the conduct of the negotiations. I am advised that the next negotiating meeting is scheduled to take place in June.

  Manufacturing Statistics
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the percentage change in(a) manufacturing output and (b) manufacturing productivity in Britain and each of the European Union countries., Japan and the United States since 1979.

  Mr. Sainsbury
  The information available is given in the table:

  Growth in manufacturing output and manufacturing productivity (output per head) between 1979 and 1993

  Percentage change

  Output

  Productivity

  Belgium

  17

  n/a

  Denmark

  n/a

  n/a

  France

  1

  30

  West Germany

  14

  15

  Greece

  -1

  n/a

  Ireland

  n/a

  n/a

  Italy

  12

  32

  Luxembourg

  34

  n/a

  Netherlands

  27

  n/a

  Portugal

  41

  n/a

  Spain

  n/a

  n/a

  United Kingdom

  5

  66

  Japan

  43

  26

  United States

  38

  63

  Sources: CSO/OECD.

  Notes:

  n/a=Not available on a comparable basis.

  Consultants
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) of 16 May,Official Report, columns 302–4, if he will distinguish in the case of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, the National Physical Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory and the National Weights and Measures Laboratory between consultancy used for management advice, consultancy used for marketing advice, and consultancy used for technical advice.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have asked the chief executive of the agencies concerned to reply to this question, as it falls into the category of day-to-day operational matters.

  Letter from R. D. Worswick to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 26 May 1994:
  I have been asked to answer with respect to the Laboratory of the Government Chemist your question to the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Darlington of 16 May, Official Report, columns 302–4, requesting that he distinguish between consultancy used for management, marketing and technical advice.
  Over the last five years (up to and including 1993–94) the Laboratory of the Government Chemist has let two consultancy contracts for management advice at a cost of £32,000; two for marketing advice at a cost of £44,000 and 9 for technical advice at a cost of £366,000.

  Letter from W. Edgar to Mr. Jim Cousins dated 26 May 1994:
  I would refer to your question to the President of the Board of Trade, requesting that he distinguish in the case of the DTI Research Establishments between consultancy used for management advice, marketing advice and technical advice.
  The split of consultancy costs over the past five years for the National Engineering Laboratory is:

  £

  Marketing

  222,582

  Management

  119,541

  Technical

  18,324

  TOTAL

  360,447

  Letter from Seton Bennett to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 26 May 1994:
  I have been asked to reply in respect of this Agency, to your recent question to the President of the Board of Trade concerning the nature of consultancy contracts let in the last five years.
  All of the consultancy contracts let by the National Weights and Measures Laboratory between April 1989 and March 1994 were for management advice.

  Letter from P. B. Clapham to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 26 May 1994:
  I am writing in respect of the National Physical Laboratory in response to your question to the President of the Board of Trade asking for a breakdown of consultancy contracts let by the DTI Laboratories.
  Of the 82 consultancies referred to in my letter of 16 May 1994 to Mr. Alan Milburn MP, 7 were for consultancy used for marketing advice, at a total cost of £151,267 excluding VAT. The other 75, at a total cost of £1,321,058 excluding VAT, related to management advice in the widest sense. (This goes considerably

  321
  wider than "management consultancy" as generally understood and includes, for example, software development in connection with new financial management information systems.)
  Technical consultancy is not included in these figures, but is subsumed within the wide range of extra-mural research, technical and other assistance which NPL commissions in connection with its scientific programmes.

  Pyramid Selling
  Ms Harman
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the adequacy of Government measures on pyramid selling.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  The legislation controlling pyramid selling and similar trading schemes has been criticised on a number of grounds. We intend to consult soon on specific proposals to amend both the primary legislation and the current regulations.

  World Trade Organisation
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what will be the procedure by which the GATT council adopts reports produced by the dispute settlement panel.

  Mr. Needham
  The process by which panel reports are adopted will change under the World Trade Organisation, when responsibility for adoption will move from the council to the dispute settlement body. To allow members of the World Trade Organisation dispute settlement body time in which to consider panel reports, reports will not be considered by the body until 20 days after issue to members. Reports will be adopted by a meeting of the body within 60 days of issue, unless one of the parties to the dispute notifies its intention to appeal or unless all members of the body agree not to adopt.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what will be the criteria for selecting members of the panel of experts who will comprise the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organisation.

  Mr. Needham
  The dispute settlement body will consist of representatives of the members of the World Trade Organisation.

  Panelists shall be well-qualified individuals who have served on or presented a case to a panel; served as a representative of a World Trade Organisation member or of a contracting party to GATT or as a representative to a council or committee of any covered agreement or its predecessor agreement, or in the World Trade Organisation secretariat; taught or published on international trade law or policy; or served as a senior trade policy official of a member. They shall be selected with a view to ensuring that the panel has independence, a sufficiently diverse background and a wide spectrum of experience. Citizens of members of the World Trade Organisation whose Governments are parties to the dispute or third parties shall not serve on a panel connected with that dispute, unless the parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the selection criteria for members of the appeal board of the dispute settlement body.

  Mr. Needham
  The understanding on dispute settlement stipulates that members of the appellate body of the dispute settlement body shall be persons of recognized 322
  authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the subject matter of the covered agreements. They shall be unaffiliated with any Government, although the bodys membership shall be broadly representative of the WTOs membership. They shall be available at all times and at short notice, and shall stay abreast of dispute settlement and other relevant WTO activities. They shall not participate in consideration of disputes that would create a direct or indirect conflict of interest.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what special assistance will be available from the GATT secretariat for developing countries in mounting or defending dispute settlement cases.

  Mr. Needham
  Under the present GATT, the secretariat may make available a qualified legal expert from its technical co-operation services at the request of any developing country involved in a dispute settlement panel. This will continue under the World Trade Organisation.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the relationship between a collective view adopted by the GATT council on a trade issue and(a) domestic or (b) EU legislation pertinent to that trade issue.

  Mr. Needham
  There is no direct relationship between the collective view of the GATT council and the legislation of the United Kingdom or the European Union. With the exception of notification requirements, GATT rules do not lay down what governments must do. Although it is possible for the GATT council to take decisions to change GATT rules, contracting parties which do not accept such changes cannot be obliged to accept them.

  Where GATT dispute settlement panels find that a measure of an individual contracting party breaches GATT obligations, that contracting party may bring its measure into conformity with GATT rules; offer compensatory market access; or accept retaliatory withdrawal of market access. This position will be unchanged under the agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how signatories of the GATT agreement will be able to bring about changes in(a) the membership of the dispute settlement body or (b) the panel of experts of the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organisation.

  Mr. Needham
  The dispute settlement body shall be convened by the general council of the World Trade Organisation and will have the same membership as the general council, that is, representatives of all members of the World Trade Organisation. It will be for individual members to determine who their representatives shall be.

  Members of the World Trade Organisation may periodically suggest names of individuals for inclusion on the World Trade Organisation secretariats list of potential panelists, and their names shall be added to the list upon approval by the dispute settlement body.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the time limits under which the dispute settlement process under the World Trade Organisation will operate.

  Mr. Needham
  The understanding on dispute settlement envisages a number of stages in the dispute settlement process, most of which are time-limited and
  323
  some of which are optional. However, after the initial period of consultations, unless otherwise agreed by the parties to the dispute, the period from establishment of a panel by the dispute settlement body until the body considers the panel or appellate report for adoption shall not exceed nine months where the report is not appealed or 12 months where the report is appealed.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the British contributions to the GATT for each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Needham
  The United Kingdoms contributions to the GATT have been, in Swiss francs:

  Swiss francs

  1994

  5,748,978

  1993

  5,575,393

  1992

  5,454,835

  1991

  4,939,530

  1990

  4,761,920

  1989

  4,057,044

  1988

  3,587,324

  1987

  3,599,990

  1986

  3,842,740

  1985

  4,333,550

  1984

  3,944,460

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will outline the appeals procedure by which a contracting party to the GATT agreement may appeal against a collective view adopted by the GATT Council arising from a dispute settlement panel report.

  Mr. Needham
  There is no appeals procedure under the existing GATT. Under the World Trade Organisation, within 60 days of issuance of a dispute settlement panel report, the dispute settlement body shall adopt the report unless it agrees by consensus not to do so, or if a party has notified its intention to appeal. Appeals shall be limited to issues of law covered in the panels report and legal interpretation developed by the panel. Three members of the appellate body shall hear each case. In general, the appellate body should issue its decision no more than 60 days after a party to a dispute notifies its intention to appeal. In no case shall proceedings exceed 90 days.

  The appellate bodys report shall be adopted by the dispute settlement body and unconditionally accepted by the parties to the dispute within 30 days of the issuance of the report to dispute settlement body members, unless the body decides by consensus not to do so.

  Insolvency Service
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  to ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date(a) he or (b) his officials were first made aware of interest being expressed by citizens of Russia or other east European states in the purchase of operations of the Insolvency Service.

  Mr. Heseltine
  My officials and I are unaware of any such interest.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what date a summary of the Stoy Hayward report on the Insolvency Service was made available to(a) the trade unions, (b) Insolvency Service staff, (c) the DTI Library and (d) the Library of both Houses.
  324
  Mr. Heseltine
  A summary of the Stoy Hayward report on the Insolvency Service was made available to the Library of both Houses on 7 February 1994, to Insolvency Service staff and the trade unions on 8 February and to the DTI Library on 9 February.

  Official Receivers
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what dates representatives of his Department met representatives of Stoy Hayward to discuss matters relating to official receivers.

  Mr. Heseltine
  In the course of both the first study carried out by them and the current feasibility study, Stoy Hayward will have been in almost daily contact with representatives of my Department, principally with officials in the Insolvency Service.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 23 May,Official Report, columns 74–75, on what dates representatives of his Department met representatives of Ian Greer Associates and discussed the subject of private sector involvement in the work of the Insolvency Service.

  Mr. Heseltine
  No such meetings have taken place.

  Mr. Soley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the remit given by his Department to the Stoy Hayward options consultancy currently being undertaken into the Insolvency Service.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: The first study undertaken by Stoy Hayward considered the ways in which official receivers could concentrate more on their investigatory role by involving the private sector more in the mechanical processing work in insolvencies. A summary of Stoy Haywards report was placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The remit for the feasibility study now in progress was to carry out a more detailed analysis of the costs, benefits and value for money of options identified in the earlier work.

  Mr. Soley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he has decided to privatise the Insolvency Service.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: No. We are examining ways in which the private sector can play a larger part than it already does in delivering the services of the Insolvency Service.

  Ecocon Ventures
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 23 May,Official Report, column 74, on what dates representatives of his Department met representatives of Ecocon Ventures.

  Mr. Heseltine
  No such meetings have taken place.

  Post Office
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will state his reasons for refusing each of the requests made by the Post Office for permission to pursue commercial initiatives listed in its supplementary memoranda to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, which were published on pages 31–2 of its first report on the future of the Post Office, HC 207, 1993–94.
  325
  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: The Post Offices requests, some of which date back many years, were to expand its activities, often into areas already served by the private sector. As my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade explained in his evidence to the Select Committee reproduced in the same report as that cited by the hon. Member, the Government need to consider the effect that greater commercial freedom for a publicly owned business would have on other firms. A number of businesses made clear to the Select Committee their concerns about the fairness of competition, as the Committee recognised at paragraph 20 of its unanimous report.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade where and by what means he has given his reasons for not choosing the option of maintaining the Royal Mail in public ownership but with enhanced commercial freedom.

  Mr. McLoughlin
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: The Government have reached no decisions on the Post Office review. The hon. Members question does not therefore arise. A Green Paper will be published shortly setting out the issues in full and outlining the options for change.

  Coalfield Communities
  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to ensure that British Coal land which is leased to miners welfares for sports and
  recreational facilities in coalfield communities is preserved for the future of those communities.

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 25 May 1994]: As part of the wider process of deciding on the disposal of the corporations assets, I have asked British Coal to identify land which it owns and which is currently used for coal industry social welfare purposes, including recreation.

  I will take into account local needs when taking decisions on the disposal of the land so identified, on who should receive the benefit of the use of that land and on the safeguards which might be required.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Stephen Lawrence
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will refer to the Crown Prosecution Service the reports of activities of a police officer, details of which have been sent to him.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Attorney-General what representations he has received about the involvement of a police officer, whose name has been supplied to him, in the Stephen Lawrence murder case.

  The Attorney-General
  It is for the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis to consider whether the activities of any individual require investigation. Where allegations and complaints are made about the activities of a police officer the chief officer of the relevant force will have regard to the procedures established under part IX of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Attorney-General if he intends to review the decision of the CPS not to proceed with a prosecution in the case of the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
  326
  The Attorney-General
  The proceedings arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence were discontinued because the Crown Prosecution Service concluded, after a careful and detailed examination of the evidence, that there was no realistic prospect of conviction. Reconsideration of that decision would not be justified unless significant fresh evidence were to become available.

  Upper Limb Disorders
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the present number of civil servants taking legal action against his Department as a result of work-related upper limb disorders.

  The Attorney-General
  Two civil servants in the Crown Prosecution Service.

  Treasury Solicitor Act 1876
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Attorney-General how often the powers of the Treasury Solicitor Act 1876 have been used to create offshore bank accounts or conduct share transactions in the United Kingdom and overseas in the name of Government Departments and agencies; and in what form the use of these powers is reported to Parliament.

  The Attorney-General
  Currently there are no offshore accounts which have been created under the powers in the Treasury Solicitor Act 1876. Information about such
  accounts which may previousy have been created since
  1876 is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  The Treasury Solicitor has conducted share transactions as nominee of Government Departments or their agencies but principally on behalf of the Treasury for purposes connected with privatisations. Information identifying the number of such share transactions could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  Any reporting to Parliament of share transactions by the Treasury Solicitor as nominee for another Government Department will be the responsibility of that other Department.

  Rolan Adams and Stephen Lawrence
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the matters referred to him by the hon. Member for Woolwich in respect of the Rolan Adams and Stephen Lawrence murder cases.

  The Attorney-General
  No. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible in response to his letter of 23 May.

  International Military Services Ltd.
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Attorney-General whether it was the practice of the Treasury Solicitors to attend the annual general meetings of International Military Services Ltd. as shareholders.

  The Attorney-General
  No.

  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Attorney-General on which occasions the Treasury solicitors offered advice to International Military Services Ltd.

  The Attorney-General
  I am not aware of any such occasion.

  DeLorean
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Attorney-General whether Treasury solicitors have offered advice in the Government's actions over the DeLorean company.

  The Attorney-General
  The Treasury Solicitors department has, since 1985, advised on the proceedings which have been brought by the Department of Economic Development in Northern Ireland in connection with the accounts of the DeLorean company. Currently, the Treasury Solicitors department is liaising with the lawyers responsible for the litigation in the United States of America and is advising Government Departments in connection therewith.

  Government Information
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Attorney-General when he plans to publish his departmental guidance on the implementation of the code of practice on access to Government information, as promised at paragraph 3(ii) of the code issued on 4 April; and what has been the cause of the delay in publishing the departmental guidance.

  The Attorney-General
  In respect of the departments for which I have responsibility, the code of practice directly applies only to the Treasury Solicitors department..I have announced the intention of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office to seek voluntarily to comply with the code so far as possible, 22 March,Official Report, column 218. Internal guidance is being drawn up within the Treasury Solicitors department, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office. This will be made available once it has been finalised, in accordance with the provisions in the code of practice. In the meantime, each division of the Treasury Solicitors department, all Crown Prosecution Service offices and the Serious Fraud Office have copies of the Cabinet Office guidance on interpretation of the code, which has already been placed in the House of Commons Library.

LORD CHANCELLORS DEPARTMENT

  Judicial Appointments
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what plans his Department has to abolish the requirement that solicitors eligible for elevation to the High Court bench should hold additional advocacy qualifications.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The statutory requirements for appointment as a High Court judge are to have a 10-year High Court qualification within the meaning of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990—that is, a right of audience in relation to all proceedings in the High Court; or to be a circuit judge who has held that office for at least two years. The Lord Chancellor has no plans to change these requirements.

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what plans his Department has to improve the procedures by which appointments are made to the judiciary; and what plans he has to publish a report on such improvements.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Clwyd,328
  North-west (Mr. Richards) on 19 May, Official Report, column 529. The Lord Chancellor's proposals are set out in a consultation paper, copies of which have been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department how many Queens counsel refused the offer of appointment to(a) the High Court bench and (b) the circuit bench in (i) 1970, (ii) 1980 and (iii) in each of the last five years.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Information relating to 1970 and 1980 is not available.

  The numbers of Queens counsel who have declined an offer to recommend their names to Her Majesty The Queen for immediate appointment to the High Court Bench and, on the basis of the information readily available, to the circuit bench in each of the last five years are as follows.

  High Court bench

  Circuit bench

  1989–90

  —

  —

  1990–91

  —

  1

  1991–92

  1

  —

  1992–93

  6

  —

  1993–94

  2

  1

  Private Members Bills
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on what occasions since April 1992 Ministers from his Department have(a) requested Parliamentary Counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Parliamentary Counsel does not draft on behalf of private Members but on the instructions of Departments acting on the authority of Ministers. Since April 1992 neither the Lord Chancellor nor I have authorised officials to instruct Parliamentary Counsel to prepare amendments to private Members' Bills which were
  subsequently passed to private Members.

  Sex Offences
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what(a) compulsory and (b)optional training for judges in the area of cases involving sex offences has been provided by the Judicial Studies Board since July 1993.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Once every five years, all judges attend Crown court refresher seminars run by the Judicial Studies Board. Some of the sessions in the seminars are devoted to the study of sex offences. In addition, judges who hear family cases attend a special residential seminar once a year. Since July 1993 there have been four Crown court refresher seminars and one special family seminar.

  Appeal Judges
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department if he will list the names and the dates of appointment of all currently serving lords justices of appeal.
  329
  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The names of the lords justices, and the dates they were appointed to the Court of Appeal are as follows:

  Name

  Sir Brian Dillon

  30 September 1982

  Sir Brian Neill

  11 January 1985

  Sir Martin Nourse

  3 June 1985

  Sir Iain Glidewell

  3 June 1985

  Sir John Balcombe

  11 June 1985

  Sir Patrick Russell

  12 January 1987

  Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss

  11 January 1988

  Sir Murray Stuart-Smith

  13 January 1988

  Sir Christopher Staughton

  13 January 1988

  Sir Michael Mann

  13 January 1988

  Sir Donald Farquharson

  12 June 1989

  Sir Anthony McCowan

  3 October 1989

  Sir Roy Beldam

  3 October 1989

  Sir Andrew Leggatt

  30 January 1990

  Sir Richard Scott

  1 October 1991

  Sir Johan Steyn

  10 January 1992

  Sir Paul Kennedy

  25 June 1992

  Sir David Hirst

  1 October 1992

  Sir Simon Brown

  1 October 1992

  Sir Anthony Evans

  1 October 1992

  Sir Christopher Rose

  1 October 1992

  Sir Leonard Hoffman

  1 October 1992

  Sir John Waite

  11 January 1993

  Sir John Roch

  11 January 1993

  Sir Peter Gibson

  23 March 1993

  Sir John Hobhouse

  1 October 1993

  Sir Denis Henry

  1 October 1993

  Sir Mark Saville

  11 January 1994

  Sir Peter Millett

  12 April 1994

  Upper Limb Disorders
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what is the present number of civil servants taking legal action against his Department as a result of work-related upper limb disorders.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The number of civil servants at present taking legal action against my Department as a result of work-related upper limb disorders is 24.

  Courts and Legal Services
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what plans he has to publish the first results of the fundamental review of expenditure on the courts and legal services.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The fundamental review team will make its first report to the Lord Chancellor at the end of June 1994. It will not be published. Any change in policy resulting from the review will be announced in the usual way.

  Lawyers (Ethnic Minorities)
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what research his Department has done into the effectiveness of the Bar Councils decision in October 1991 to set a quota of two representatives of the ethnic minorities in each set of chambers; what percentage of chambers in(a) London and (b) the provinces have so far achieved this target; and what plans he has to assist the Bar Council in increasing these percentages.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellors Department has not undertaken any research into the effectiveness of the Bar Council's race equality policy, adopted in October 1991, which anticipated that at least 5 per cent. of all chambers membership would be barristers from ethnic minorities. This is a matter for the Bar Council.

  Legal Aid Board
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what is the estimated cost so far to the Legal Aid Board of franchising, including the full cost of recruiting and training quality auditors; and what are the expected costs for the financial year 1994–95.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The cost of franchising to the Legal Aid Board in the years prior to 1993–94 is not available. At that time, the cost was relatively small and consisted largely of the time of senior officials at the board developing the policy behind franchising. In 1993–94 the board began to recruit and train staff for the implementation of franchising. The cost of franchising to the board in 1993–94 was £3.4 million. For 1994–95 expenditure of £3.9 million has been budgeted.

  Family Panels
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellors Department what research he has commissioned in to the possibility of domestic violence cases being heard by family panels; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  No such research has been commissioned. Some domestic violence cases are currently heard by family proceedings courts. The Lord Chancellor has given detailed consideration to the Law Commissions report on civil remedies for domestic violence and the most appropriate venue for such cases to be heard has formed an important part of that consideration.

  TRIDENT II D5 MISSILE TEST FIRING
  TRIDENT II D5 MISSILE TEST FIRING
  WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION
  WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION
  SWALEDALE: RADIO RECEPTION
  SWALEDALE: RADIO RECEPTION
  EC STRUCTURAL FUNDS GRANTS
  EC STRUCTURAL FUNDS GRANTS
  CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION: NATIONAL AUTHORITY
  CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION: NATIONAL AUTHORITY
  EC HABITATS DIRECTIVE
  EC HABITATS DIRECTIVE
  SOUTH WEST WATER
  SOUTH WEST WATER
  WILDLIFE AND COUNTRYSIDE ACT: INDEPENDENCE OF PLANNING INSPECTORS
  WILDLIFE AND COUNTRYSIDE ACT: INDEPENDENCE OF PLANNING INSPECTORS
  TRANS-EUROPEAN ROUTE NETWORKS
  TRANS-EUROPEAN ROUTE NETWORKS
  JUBILEE LINE EXTENSION
  JUBILEE LINE EXTENSION
  TRANSPORT RESEARCH LABORATORY SALE: FINANCIAL ADVISERS
  TRANSPORT RESEARCH LABORATORY SALE: FINANCIAL ADVISERS
  CRIMINAL TRIALS: NON-DISCLOSURE OF EVIDENCE
  CRIMINAL TRIALS: NON-DISCLOSURE OF EVIDENCE
  CORROBORATION OF EVIDENCE
  CORROBORATION OF EVIDENCE
  KUWAITI PRISONERS IN IRAQ
  KUWAITI PRISONERS IN IRAQ
  SWITZERLAND: EMPLOYEES OF INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
  SWITZERLAND: EMPLOYEES OF INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
  WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
  WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL FOR FORMER YUGOSLAVIA
  BROUGHTON HOSPITAL, CLWYD: HSE INVESTIGATION
  BROUGHTON HOSPITAL, CLWYD: HSE INVESTIGATION
  PESTICIDE APPLICATION: RETENTION OF RECORDS
  PESTICIDE APPLICATION: RETENTION OF RECORDS
  TAKE-HOME PAY
  TAKE-HOME PAY
  FRESHLY DIPPED SHEEP
  FRESHLY DIPPED SHEEP
  CROSSRAIL PROJECT: HYDE PARK
  CROSSRAIL PROJECT: HYDE PARK