Written Answers of 19 April 1995

HEALTH

  Residential Care
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the total income to each local authority in England and Wales and in total from placements of old people in(a) registered and (b) unregistered independent residential care and nursing homes inside and outside the local authority area and from placements in local authority homes for older people; and if she will break this down by income from (i) government grants (1) inside aggregate external finance and (2) outside AEF, (ii) sales, (iii) fees and charges, (iv) other income and (v) joint arrangements; [18925]

  (2) what is the total expenditure by each local authority in England and Wales on placements of older people in (a) registered and (b) unregistered independent residential care and nursing homes inside and outside the local authority; if she will break this down into expenditure on (i) employees (ii) running expenses and (iii) joint arrangements; and if she will provide similar information on expenditure by local authorities on local authority homes for older people. [18921]

  Mr. Bowis
  Information for England in 1992–93, the latest year for which complete information is available, will be placed in the Library. Information for Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Drug Users
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to introduce photo-identity passes for registered drug users to ensure that they cannot attend more than one drug-prescribing centre to obtain drug supplies; if she will consider introducing legislation so that all registered drugs users are required to register exclusively with the health authority in whose area they reside and that this health authority maintain a photo-identity record of the registered user; if she will consider supplementing this legislation with a requirement that anyone seeking to register as a drug user must do so through his or her local health authority and must specify a single prescribing centre to attend; if she will legislate to ensure that anyone seeking to register as a drug user must be referred back to his or her local health authority; if she will ensure that cross-referencing within and between health authorities is encouraged and funded; and if she will make a statement. [19009]

  Mr. Bowis
  I have no such plans at present.

  Temazepam
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the private prescription of Temazepam and other drugs is controlled and regulated; what record is kept by(a) doctors and (b) pharmacists of private prescriptions; what plans she has to tighten up the private prescription of Temazepam; and if she will make a statement. [19011]

  Mr. Bowis
  Temazepam is a prescription-only medicine under the Medicines Act 1968 and is also controlled under schedule 4 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985.

  When prescribing in a private capacity, general practitioners operate outside the general medical service regulations. It is good professional practice to keep accurate medical records. The General Medical Council has regarded as serious professional misconduct the prescription or supply of drugs of dependence otherwise than in the course of bona fide treatment.

  When a private prescription is dispensed by a pharmacist an entry must be made in the prescription-only register on the date of dispensing or, if that is not reasonably practicable, on the following day. The register must be preserved for two years after the date of the last entry, and the prescription must be retained for two years from the date on which the prescription-only medicine was supplied, or for a repeat prescription two years from the date on which the prescription was dispensed for the last time.

  The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 require that the dispensing pharmacist should retain private prescriptions for controlled drugs for two years from the date of dispensing. They also require that private prescriptions should be produced for inspection on request by the Home Office drugs inspectorate or by other persons authorised to demand this information.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to ban Temazepam in its jelly formulation; and if she will make a statement. [19023]

  Mr. Bowis
  The abuse of Temazepam capsules by drug misusers is of particular concern and we are keeping the position under review.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines she has issued to health authorities on the prescription of Temazepam; what is the latest date that she issued these guidelines; what guidelines she plans to issue; and if she will make a statement. [19012]

  Mr. Bowis
  Information about the effects of Temazepam on patients is given in the British National Formulary, which is issued by the Department to all general practitioners free of charge.

  In 1993, the Department asked family health services authorities to work with local general practitioners to agree local targets on the reduction of all benzodiazepine prescribing.

  In March 1994, the Department distributed copies of the Mental Health Foundation's booklet "Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Benzodiazepine Dependence" to every family health services authority and recommended their use by general practitioners wishing to help patients who may be dependent on benzodiazepines. The need for further guidance is being kept under review.

  Allowances
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each agency and the central Department for which she is responsible(a) the total amount of removal costs and associated expenses reimbursed to officials who were required to relocate as part of their employment, (b) the amount of each of the highest three claims that were concluded and settled and (c) the average amount of each claim in each of the last three years. [19659]

  Mr. Sackville
  The total cost of relocating Department of Health staff, including agencies, in each year since 1992–93 was £9.4 million, as shown in the table.

  Information on the highest three claims and the average amount of each claim in each of the last three years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Summary of Department of Health employees' removal costs

  Year

  £ million

  1992–93

  5.8

  1993–94

  3.0

  1994–95

  0.6

  Total

  9.4

  Source:Departmental Accounts.

  Notes:

  1. Costs include—Preliminary visits;

  2. Subsistence connected with removals;

  3. Removal costs;

  4. Estate Agent fees;

  5. Legal and survey fees;

  6. Miscellaneous relocation expenses;

  7. Bridging finance expenses;

  8. Services of relocation companies.

  Pharmaceutical Services
  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to ensure the continuance of supply of category A drugs used for medical purposes for prescriptions on weekends and bank holidays; and if she will make a statement. [19456]

  Mr. Malone
  Family health services authorities are responsible for ensuring that patients have access to an appropriate level of pharmaceutical services in their area at all times, including bank holidays and weekends. Class A drugs such as diamorphine may not be held as stock by all community pharmacies, so where patients requiring them are discharged from secondary care at a weekend, they should be provided with sufficient medicines or suitable arrangements made to ensure cover is available before discharge.

  Solvent Abuse
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the report on solvent abuse from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will be published; and if she will make a statement. [19947]

  Mr. Bowis
  We shall publish the report "Volatile Substance Abuse" tomorrow. The report provides a background to solvent abuse, sets out its causes, prevalence and patterns and looks at the toxicology of the 134
  substances involved. It goes on to consider issues of prevention, help for misusers and their families, training and planning. We are grateful to the advisory council for producing its thorough and timely report. Copies of the report will be placed in the Library.

  As a result of the recommendation that the Government should stimulate the establishment of an industry-led forum to consider the misuse potential of its products and how to reduce it, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is writing to industry representatives seeking their assistance.

  HIV-AIDS
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much money has been granted to Oxfordshire health authority to provide HIV-AIDS services for each year since 1990; and what is the planned allocation for 1995–96; [18681]

  (2) which HIV-AIDS specific voluntary sector agencies have received money from Oxfordshire health authority to provide HIV-AIDS services for each year since 1990; how much they have received; and what are the planned allocations for 1995–96; [18682]

  (3) how much money has been granted to Oxfordshire social services to provide HIV-AIDS services for each year since 1990; [18683]

  (4) which HIV-AIDS specific voluntary sector agencies have received money from Oxfordshire social services to provide HIV-AIDS services for each year since 1990; how much they received; and what are the planned allocations for 1995–96. [18684]

  Mr. Sackville
  Allocations to the national health service for HIV-AIDS services are distributed to regional health authorities. Information on allocations below regional level including allocations from district health authorities to the voluntary sector is not available centrally.

  Since 1994–95 the scope of the AIDS support grant scheme for local authorities has been confined to community care services for people with HIV-AIDS, with local authority prevention work funded separately under the healthy alliances scheme.

  Before 1994–95 AIDS support grant allocations were made on an open-ended bidding system. Since 1994–95, however, information became available for the first time on the number of live AIDS cases resident in individual authorities and indicative allocations have since been made on this basis. This allows resources to be targeted more closely to areas of highest prevalence.

  In moving to the new method for AIDS support grant allocations, it was clear that some authorities had historically received a greater proportion of resources than they were entitled to under the new system. An element of transitional relief for 1994–95 was given to those authorities most affected by the change to the new system.

  The amounts allocated to Oxfordshire county council under the AIDS support grant scheme and the amounts of grant provided from Oxfordshire social services to HIV-AIDS voluntary sector agencies are as follows:
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  AIDS support grant allocation (£)

  Voluntary Sector funding

  £

  1990–91

  156,250

  OXAIDS

  15,000

  Oxford Body Positive

  17,000

  General Hospitals District

  Samaritan Fund

  5,000

  The Ley Community

  10,000

  1991–92

  162,500

  OXAIDS

  17,000

  Oxford Body Positive

  9,000

  General Hospitals District

  Samaritan Fund

  1,000

  1992–93

  240,000

  OXAIDS

  33,000

  Oxford Body Positive

  35,000

  General Hospitals District

  Samaritan Fund

  3,000

  The Ley Community

  15,000

  Samaritan Fund

  10,000

  1993–94

  240,000

  OXAIDS

  33,000

  Oxford Body Positive

  35,000

  The Ley Community

  15,000

  1994–95

  130,000

  1£20,000

  1995–96

  115,000

  1£20,000

  1 Healthy Alliances allocation

  Information on the amount of voluntary sector provision is taken from the end of year report to the Department and is not yet available for 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Special Transitional Grants
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which authorities were unable to spend 85 per cent. of their special transitional grant for 1993–94 in the independent sector. [19409]

  Mr. Bowis
  We have not yet received all the audited returns of expenditure of the 1993–94 special transitional grant.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount of special transitional grant was spent by each authority in 1993–94 on non-residential or nursing care. [19410]

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount of special transitional grant was spent by each authority in 1993–94 in(a) the private sector and (b) the voluntary sector. [19411]

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the capital asset value of the computing and information technology services included in the market testing—competitive tendering programme for each regional health authority for 1994–95(a) as recorded on asset registers at 31 March 1994, (b) at project net book value as at 31 March 1994 and (c) as identified in the statement of services requirements of assets likely to be transferred to the successful supplier. [19503]
  136
  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many metres of mahogany or products containing it her Department has bought in the last five years; and if she will list the purposes and the costs. [19843]

  Mr. Sackville
  The information is not available. However, the Department's policy is not to purchase mahogany or other tropical hardwoods. Specifications for the purchase of relevant items are written to exclude the use of these materials.

  Rules and Regulations
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requirements there are for officials in her Department to introduce a compliance cost assessment for all rules and regulations coming before her and her Ministers; and how many compliance cost assessments have been issued in her Department in the first three months of the year. [19348]

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The Department follows guidance that applies to all Government Departments. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade today. My Department published one compliance cost assessment in the first three months of this year, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many rules and regulations she repealed in the first three months of 1995; and how many new rules and regulations were introduced in that period by way of statutory instruments, motions or orders. [19362]

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Twenty-four rules and regulations were made in the first three months of 1995 of which three revoked earlier instruments, five updated fees and charges and one facilitated competition. One had costs for business.

  Statutory instruments which were not themselves regulatory, including those dealing with the establishment, dissolution or transfers of property of individual national health service trusts, Orders in Council and commencement orders have been excluded, as have instruments not subject to any parliamentary procedure.

TRANSPORT

  Road Pricing (Research)
  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money his Department has spent to date on(a) research into road pricing and (b) research into motorway charging. [19878]

  Mr. Watts
  To date, the Department of Transport has spent £2.8 million on research into city congestion charging and £1.9 million on research into motorway tolling.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has brought in the last five years; and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19845]

  Mr. Norris
  My Department does not have this information. Current policy is not to buy mahogany.

  London Taxis
  Mr. Bendall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about London taxi fares and fees. [20164]

  Mr. Norris
  The Secretary of State has made an order increasing London taxi fares by about 4.44 per cent. on average with effect from Saturday 22 April 1995. The new tariff will incorporate a minimum fare of £1.20, including a hire charge of 80p for the first 513 m, 561.22 yd, or 111 seconds. The rate will then be 20p for every 256.5 m, 280.61 yd, or 55.5 seconds up to 6 miles and 20p for each 171 m, 187.07 yd, or 37 seconds thereafter.

  The Secretary of State has decided that there will be no increase this year in the fees for London taxi driver and vehicle licences, currently £87 and £78 respectively.

  Transport Research Laboratory Staff
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons ex-staff of the Transport Research Laboratory are being re-employed either directly or through external agents following recent staff reductions; what is the number of those ex-staff re-employed on a full or part-time basis; and what is the cost of this re-employment. [18704]

  Mr. Norris
  This is an operational matter for the Transport Research Laboratory.

  I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Wootton to Mr. Neil Gerrard, dated 19 April 1995:
  You asked a Parliamentary Question about the re-employment of former staff of the Transport Research Laboratory following recent staff reductions. The Minister for Local Transport and Road Safety has asked me to reply.
  The staff reductions at TRL, which were necessary because of the reduced demand for the Laboratory's services, have led to the reorganisation of work in some areas and some transitional problems. As a result, 17 former staff are currently being re-employed directly on a part-time basis to meet short term pressures of work. The cost of this re-employment under fixed term contracts will be £129k. In addition, TRL are presently using the services on 16 former staff through external agents or contractors, 2 on a full-time basis, the remainder on a part-time basis. These former staff are engaged to undertake specific tasks of a limited duration and for which resources are in the main not required on a regular basis. The cost of employing these former staff through agencies or contractors varies month to month; the cost in March 1995 was £29k.

  I hope this satisfactorily answers your enquiry.

  New Road Schemes
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what year the target of new starts for road schemes was last achieved. [19070]

  Mr. Watts
  In the year 1994–95.

  National Road Programme
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors led to the revision of the national road programme summary of milestones for 1994–95. [19071]

  Mr. Watts
  The national road programme summary of milestones for 1994–95 was revised to reflect the priorities set out in the trunk roads in England 1994 review and the resources available following the 1994 Budget.

  Air Service Agreements
  Mr. David Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to resist the EU negotiating bilateral air agreements until such time as the policy regarding state aid to airlines is identical in each member state; and if he will make a statement. [19914]

  Mr. Norris
  It is the Government's policy that member states should remain free to negotiate bilateral air service agreements, except in those cases, for example with Switzerland, where a mandate has been agreed in the Council of Ministers. The Government remain committed to opposing state aid in air transport which distorts competition.

  White Hart Roundabout, Yeading
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to install phased traffic lights at the White Hart roundabout, Yeading, to be completed; and if he will make a statement. [19485]

  Mr. Norris
  This is a matter for the London borough of Ealing, but I understand that it expects to have the signals in place before the end of July.

  Rail Safety Advice
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice about rail safety is provided by Railtrack to schools; and what comparable advice was supplied to schools before privatisation. [19440]

  Mr. Watts
  Railtrack has continued and developed the previous BR programme of school visits which incorporates talks, discussions and the distribution of a range of support materials. Train drivers and British Transport police officers visit schools regularly, warning children of the danger they can cause to themselves and to others. Besides the dangers of playing on the lines, topics covered include trespass, vandalism, high voltage electricity and stone throwing.

  Since Railtrack assumed responsibility, anti-trespass and vandalism initiatives, including school visits, have been co-ordinated by the Railtrack zones in co-operation with train operators and the BTP. This has led to an increase in the level of involvement of local managers and in support from communities.

  Navigational Lights
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what additional navigational lighting or related equipment is required for a sea-going vessel plying between the Seacon terminal on the Isle of Dogs on the River Thames to any inland port on the River Rhine capable of handling a vessel of up to 2,000 tonnes which are additional to those required by international rules for the sea; and under what authority any such additional requirement would be made. [19769]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The requirements for navigational lights on the River Thames conform to international rules as set out in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea in 1972. There are no additional requirements.

  The requirements for navigational lights in German inland waters are matters for the German authorities. It is for the owners and operators of ships operating between the UK and ports on the Rhine to ensure that they are aware of any localised navigational regulations.

  Marine Accident Inspectors
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies, with or without the relevant names, of the contract of employment, and terms of reference and duties of(a) the chief and deputy chief inspectors of marine accidents, and (b) those of their other inspectors; and what is the civil service or other basis of their remuneration and terms of employment. [19763]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The chief inspector of marine accidents has been employed on a contract since 3 January 1989 which has been extended until 31 December 1996. He is employed as a grade 5 in the salary range £36,739 to £54,815.

  The deputy chief inspector of marine accidents is a grade 6 who is employed on standard conditions and the salary range is £28,213 to £47,044.

  There are three principal inspector of marine accidents who are employed in the grade 7 salary range £24,724 to £38,290. There are six inspectors of marine accidents who are employed in the salary range £20,454 to £32,752. They are employed on standard civil service terms of employment.

  The marine accident investigation branch is responsible for investigating accidents occurring to or on UK-registered ships and other ships in UK territorial waters, with the objective of improving safety of life at sea.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what persons or body appointed the chief and deputy chief inspectors of marine accidents of the marine accident investigation branch of his Department; and if he will list the experience, professional qualifications and the previous appointments in the field of marine investigation of each inspector. [19762]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The Secretary of State for Transport appoints the chief and deputy chief inspector of marine accidents.
  140
  Prior to his appointment, the chief inspector worked in the shipping industry for 33 years and is a fully qualified and experienced master mariner. His previous work on marine safety and on-board investigations included an appointment in industry as safety manager in BP Shipping.

  The incumbent deputy chief inspector has a successful background of 37 years in shipping and is also a fully qualified and experienced master mariner. He spent 27 years at sea and nine and a half years as a nautical surveyor in the Department of Transport marine directorate, later the Marine Safety Agency, before his present appointment. As a nautical surveyor, he carried out investigations into a number of marine accidents.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport by what means the chief inspector of marine accidents has discharged his statutory duty of publishing collective summaries of the investigations made by his branch; and if he will list the date and reference of each such report. [19764]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Collective summaries of investigations were published on the following dates.

  Edition number

  Date

  1/90

  January 1990

  2/90

  June 1990

  3/90

  September 1990

  1/91

  March 1991

  2/91

  October 1991

  1/92

  April 1992

  2/92

  August 1992

  3/92

  December 1992

  1/93

  April 1993

  2/93

  August 1993

  3/93

  December 1993

  1/94

  April 1994

  2/94

  August 1994

  3/94

  December 1994

  Edition Number 1/95 is due to be published on 30 April 1995.

  Shipping Accidents, Thames
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if the collision at Tower bridge, London at 02.30 on 18 October 1981 between the pleasure launch Hurlingham and the overtaking dredger vessel Bowtrader was referred to in the report to him of his marine accident investigation branch into the collision between the Bowbelle and the Marchioness in August 1989; if he will list the date and nature of specific action taken by his Department consequent to that collision; what assessment was made by his responsible officials of the likelihood of its repetition; and what assessment he has made of the similarities and dissimilarities between the circumstances and consequences of that collision and that occurring near Southwark bridge on 20 August 1989; [19766]

  (2) what action was taken by any part of his Department on, or in respect of, crafts or ships on the River Thames subsequent to the collision between the passenger launch Hurlingham and the dredger Bowtrader at 02.30 on 18 October 1981 in respect of (a) laden or unladen trim of such, or similar, dredgers, (b) communication between bow lookout and wheelhouses and the numbers and duties of bow lookouts and (c) standing or visible orders to be made by the vessel owners, operators or captains in respect of these matters. [19765]
  141
  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The case of the collision between the pleasure launch Hurlingham and the dredger Bowtrader on 18 October 1981 is dealt with in annexe 11 of the chief inspector's report; the similarities and differences relating to earlier incidents are discussed in section 15 of the report. The incident was investigated by the casualty branch of the surveyor general's organisation and discussions held with the Port of London authority. The Department's surveyors were alerted to the problems of the view from the rear of the wheelhouse in vessels such as the Hurlingham and advised to consider this aspect in relation to survey and inspection of both new and existing vessels.

  Marchioness Disaster
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures were available prior to the establishment of the marine accident investigation branch in July 1989 for preliminary internal and non-public but published investigation, comparable to that mounted by it in respect of the Marchioness disaster, that would also assist him in deciding whether to initiate a full public inquiry authorised by the Merchant Shipping Acts. [19761]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Section 55 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1970 provided for a preliminary inquiry to be held by a person appointed for the purpose by the Secretary of State. PI reports were not published but lessons learnt might be promulgated through merchant shipping notices.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he received the main report of the chief inspector of marine accidents into the collision between the Bowbelle and the Marchioness on 20 August 1989; when he decided and on what grounds, that the nature of the report was such as to not require a full and formal inquiry under the Merchant Shipping Acts; when he first made that decision public and by what means; when he published the chief inspector's report; and what persons or bodies he consulted prior to his decision not to hold a full public inquiry. [19767]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Transport received the report of the chief inspector of marine accidents on 5 June 1990. The report was published on 15 August 1991 and in December that year my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Transport announced the Hayes inquiry into river safety. On publication of the Hayes report in July 1992, in an oral statement made in this House on 9 July 1992, Official Report, columns 698–704, I said there was no case for a formal investigation because, as far as we were aware, all the facts had been established and no useful purpose would be served by such an inquiry. When making his decision, there is no requirement for the Secretary of State for Transport to consult other parties.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list each occasion when a Minister of the Crown indicated that it was not the intention of Her Majesty's Government to initiate an inquiry into the collision of the Marchioness and the Bowbelle on 20 August 1989(a) orally in Parliament, (b) by written answer, (c) in writing to an hon. Member, (d) in writing to a relative of any deceased, or their legal representative and (e) in formal interview or deputation, stating in
  142
  respect of any of the above any reason for declining to act other than the claim that no further or significant evidence had been drawn to his attention which had not already been contained, or dealt with, in the report from his marine accident investigation branch. [19771]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in the light of the recommendations made by the jury at the completion of the inquest into the death of persons aboard the Marchioness on 20 August 1989, he will reconsider his refusal to initiate a review of the rescue arrangements on the Thames by an independent person as recommended by John W. Haynes Esq., in his report to him of July 1992, Cm 1991. [19770]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Thames rescue arrangements have been kept under review since the Marchioness disaster and we do not propose to initiate a further independent review. The London emergency services liaison panel has recently published new procedures for dealing with major incidents on the River Thames, with the police as co-ordinators of the emergency response. The river users liaison safety sub-committee of the London district marine safety committee has also completed a review of craft available for rescue throughout the tidal Thames and made recommendations for the provision of lifesaving appliances, grab-chains and warning signs along the river banks. We are giving urgent and careful attention to the recommendations made by the jury at the Marchioness inquest.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in respect of the activity of the inspector primarily responsible for investigating the collision between the Marchioness and the Bowbelle near Southwark bridge on 20 August 1989, he will list(a) the witnesses interviewed at the initiative of the inspector, (b) those who directly or indirectly approached his marine accident investigation branch, and (c) others who have given evidence in any court and inquest relating to this event; and, in relation to those named in lists (b) and (c), if he will give the occasion and date on which they made the approach or gave evidence. [19772]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The MAIB inquiry team obtained evidence either orally or in the form of written statements from well over 100 people. In the case of most of the survivors, the statements were those made to the police. It is not normal practice to provide a list of witnesses. My Department does not have any responsibility for keeping records of those who have given evidence in courts which are outside the jurisdiction of my Department.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport at what times the operations manager of South Coast Shipping and the officers of the Metropolitan police boarded the dredger Bowbelle on 20 January 1989, as referred to in his answer of 11 January 1994,Official Report, column 133; by what means; and if those times were recorded in the ship's log. [19780]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The exact time at which such persons boarded Bowbelle and by what means is not known to my Department except that it was while the vessel was anchored in Gallions reach.

  143
  She was at anchor between 03.25 hours and approximately 04.45 hours on 20 August 1989. There is no record in the ship's official log book nor in the deck log book of such persons boarding Bowbelle on 20 August 1989.

  Marine Accident Investigation Branch
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the statutory bases of the marine accident investigation branch; when, for what reason and by whom it was proposed that it replace some of the functions of the surveyor general's organisation; who was consulted about the change; and what documents relating to its creation were placed before Parliament for information or approval prior to, or at the time of, its inception. [19760]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The marine accident investigation branch was established under section 33 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 and operates under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 1994. The then Secretary of State for Transport proposed its establishment in the Merchant Shipping Bill published in 1987. The reasons for this proposal were set out in paragraphs 47 to 52 of "Merchant Shipping: Legislative Proposals," Cm 239, published in October 1987. Parliament was consulted about the change, and the' relevant legislation—including the Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation) Regulations 1989, since superseded—was placed before it.

  Navigation Byelaws
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what agreement, regulation or similar instrument of the International Maritime Organisation prohibits, with or without specific application, the introduction of local navigation byelaws, additional to international arrangements otherwise in force, for those parts of ports or navigable waterways possessing acknowledged and particular hazards to safe navigation. [19768]

  Mr. Norris
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: None. Harbour authorities have powers to regulate navigation in waters within their jurisdiction.

  Road Schemes
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in respect of the trunk road schemes which have been assessed by the use of the cost-benefit analysis method since 1979 and which have now been constructed what was(a) the capital cost of the scheme as included in the COBA assessment submitted to the public inquiry, (b) the net present value of the scheme as calculated in that assessment, (c) the actual capital cost of building the scheme and (d) the net present value of the scheme of the COBA assessment submitted to the public inquiry, if it had used the actual capital costs of the scheme in the calculation. [17786]

  Mr. Watts
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon Member.
  144
  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Ms Joan Walley, dated 19 April 1995:
  As you know, Mr. John Watts, Minister for Railways and Roads, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for a list of those road schemes assessed by COBA since 1979 and which have now been constructed; in each case giving (a) the capital cost estimate submitted to the public inquiry, (b) the net present value estimated at the public inquiry, (c) the actual cost of building the scheme and (d) the estimate of the net present value had the actual final cost been used in the calculation.
  I regret that the information you asked for is not held centrally by the Agency and given the number of schemes involved a file search to extract it could only be done at disproportionate cost.
  However, I can say that a recent study of 6 schemes has indicated that the overall post-construction net present value is very close to that predicted prior to public inquiry on those schemes.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Serious Fraud Office
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Attorney-General what investigation the Serious Fraud Office has made or is carrying out into Robertson Associates or Robertsons Research. [14528]

  The Attorney-General
  The Serious Fraud Office is investigating the affairs of Butte Mining plc, and the circumstances under which the company was floated on the stock exchange in October 1987. The circumstances surrounding the issue of listing particulars for a further share issue in April 1988 are also under consideration. This involves scrutiny of several other companies, but it is the practice of the Serious Fraud Office not to give operational details of continuing investigations.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Market Testing
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the capital asset value of the computing and information technology services included in the market testing—competitive tendering programme for each regional health authority for 1994–95(a) as recorded on asset registers at 31 March 1994, (b) at project net book value as at 31 March 1994 and (c) as identified in the statement of services requirements of assets likely to be transferred to the successful supplier.

  Mr. Moss
  Nil.

  Bridge Programme
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what sums have been expanded on the bridge strengthening programme in Northern Ireland; what are the estimates for 1995–96; when he expects the programme to be completed; and if he will list the bridges replaced, the cost of each bridge, the original estimate and which bridges and at what cost have still to be replaced; and if he will list the number of sites where replacement work is in progress.

  Mr. Moss
  In the last three years, expenditure on the bridge assessment and strengthening programme has been as follows:

  1992–93: £1,850,000

  1993–94: £5,072,000

  1994–95: £6,249,000

  145
  Information prior to 1992–93 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The provisional allocation for the 1995–96 financial year is £5,000,000.

  It is planned that the assessment programme will be completed by 31 December 1988. The timing of the completion of the associated strengthening works will depend on the volume of work identified by the assessments and the availability of finance.

  The bridges replaced in the period 1992–93 to 199495 were as follows:

  Road Service Division

  Bridge

  Estimatedcost £000

  Actualcost £000

  Ballyemena

  Aldergrove

  420

  410

  Belfast

  Lower WindsorAvenue (Footbridge)

  230

  207

  Coleraine

  Faughan

  181

  219

  Swanns

  1,100

  not finalised

  Rascahan

  84

  78

  Cahery

  43

  42

  Park

  10

  12

  Mullarts

  45

  41

  Lisdillon

  13

  12

  Drumrankin

  20

  29

  Craigavon

  Tartaraghan Road

  4.5

  4.1

  Aguill

  70

  62

  Drumgaw Lane

  41

  36

  Lisdrumburghas

  23

  21

  Brootally

  25

  19

  Coolsallagh1

  41

  26

  Ballynacor Lane

  7

  8

  Crossdened

  24

  25

  Hanslough

  25

  22

  Downpatrick

  Ballydrain Road

  15

  15

  Tullybrannigan

  97

  127

  Carson's Lane

  11

  11

  Ballydugan Road

  22

  22

  Peartree Road

  8

  8

  Omagh

  Meenacloy

  50

  40

  Moher

  35

  45

  Ligfordrum

  30

  30

  Flood Lodge

  15

  15

  Carnony

  30

  25

  Formil

  40

  45

  Glenhull

  30

  30

  Dromore Culvert

  35

  40

  Claggan

  20

  20

  Greencastle

  40

  30

  Green

  35

  40

  Trillick

  65

  65

  1 Scope of scheme reduced after initial estimate.

  A further 20 small bridges in Omagh division have been replaced by pipes at a total cost of £205,000.

  The bridges which have so far been identified as requiring replacement are as follows:
  146

  Road Service Division

  Bridge

  Estimated cost £000

  Ballymena

  Bailee

  71

  Number 289

  58

  Number 290

  24

  Number 336

  10

  Number 340

  10

  Moss

  11

  British

  60

  Barn Halt

  320

  Downshire

  970

  Chapel

  16

  Belfast

  King's

  1,900

  Ballymacarret Flyover

  800

  Coleraine

  Coshquin

  98

  Rallagh

  66

  Altinure

  50

  Chathamhall

  15

  Stroan Middle

  15

  Movenis

  23

  Craigavon

  Gosford Forest

  50

  Captain's

  75

  Carcullion

  20

  Kernan Underpass

  100

  Drumnagoon

  100

  Clare Glen

  80

  Derrynoose

  100

  Uminavore

  30

  Acton

  25

  Tavanagh

  80

  Carnbane

  140

  Charles Doyle's

  45

  Madden Railway

  240

  Derrykernan

  20

  Derrycughan

  96

  Miller's

  42

  Tullysarran Road

  20

  Keadymore

  120

  Mowhan

  72

  Waterie Lane

  42

  Lisnafeedy Road

  15

  Downpatrick

  M1 over Stockman's Lane (2 bridges)2

  2,000

  Crumlin Road, Glenavy

  450

  Tullynakill Road

  300

  A21 South Street2

  125

  Omagh

  Ardtrea

  350

  2 A final decision to replace these bridges has not yet been made. Replacement is the favoured option.

  The bridge replacement schemes currently on site are as follows:

  Road Service Division

  Bridge

  Estimated cost £000

  Ballymena

  Drumcrow Road

  70

  Connor Burn

  50

  Greenfield Road

  25

  Belfast

  Connswater

  1,300

  Omagh

  Miniburns (2 bridges)

  300

ENVIRONMENT

  Feral Mink
  Mr. Robathan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the damage being done to British wildlife by feral mink. [17921]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  This matter is in the hands of the Government's statutory scientific adviser, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

  Unfit Housing
  Mr. Roy Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of houses in England which are unfit for human habitation. [17929]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  According to the statutory definition, in 1991 there were 1.5 million such dwellings. Half these are unfit on only one item and we estimate that one third of the properties could be made fit for less than £500.

  Single Regeneration Budget
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will amend the bidding guidance for the single regeneration budget to specify more clearly the criteria which will be given greatest weight when determining the success or otherwise of an application. [17930]

  Mr. Curry
  The criteria for assessing bids for financial support from the SRB challenge fund are contained in the updated bidding guidance which was published on 12 April 1995 and copies of which have been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines he issues in respect of the single regeneration bid to recognise the needs of refugees. [19461]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The guidance to bidders for the second round of the single regeneration budget challenge fund was released on 12 April 1995. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. The guidance does not refer explicitly to support for projects to meet the needs of refugees, although such projects could fall within the challenge fund's objectives where they form part of a local regeneration strategy.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many bids to help refugees, including bids from the Refugee Council,(a) failed and (b) succeeded under the single regeneration bid. [19460]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Information is not specifically collected about unsuccessful and successful bids for support from the single regeneration budget challenge fund which are aimed at helping refugees, since most challenge fund bids address a range of objectives. However, about a third of the 201 successful challenge fund bids are specifically intended to benefit minority ethnic communities. Some of these bids are likely to include help for refugees.

  Rural Development Commission (Training)
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions his Department has held with the Department of Employment about the future of the Rural Development Commission's direct training scheme; and if he will make a statement. [17931]

  Mr. Atkins
  I have met my right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Employment to discuss this issue. The Rural Development Commission has identified an outline plan for alternative provision, and is investigating the scope for supporting young people on the new entrants training scheme through modern apprenticeships. The commission is now developing detailed proposals in consultation with officials from both Departments.

  North Sea
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent representations he has received regarding the North sea. [17932]

  Mr. Atkins
  Campaign literature from organisations such as Greenpeace, Seas at Risk, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and a few letters from members of the public.

  Global Warming
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent discussions he has had with representatives of other Governments about the pollution of the earth's atmosphere and its likely effect on the climate; and if he will make a statement. [17933]

  Mr. Gummer
  During the Berlin conference of the parties to the climate change convention, which ended on 7 April, I had numerous discussions with representatives of other Governments, particularly during intensive negotiations on future commitments under the convention. The mandate which was adopted is consistent with United Kingdom and European Union objectives and opens the way for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries in the period after 2000.

  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has of the increased average temperature of Reddish and of Denton in Greater Manchester over the next 10, 25 and 50 years. [17936]

  Mr. Atkins
  Specific estimates of future temperatures are not available for local areas in the United Kingdom. The Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research has predicted that the average temperature for the UK as a whole could increase by 0.1 deg C, 0.5 deg C and 1 deg C over the next 10, 25 and 50 years respectively.

  Housing Management
  Mr. Carrington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his plans for the development of compulsory competitive tendering in housing management. [17934]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  We have put in place the legislative framework extending compulsory competitive tendering to housing management. The first contracts are due to be in operation from April 1996. I am pleased to
  149
  say that local authorities are making good progress with their preparations.

  Urban Landscape
  Mr. Booth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he can do to encourage high standards of urban design and ensure new developments enhance urban landscapes. [17935]

  Mr. Gummer
  I will shortly launch a national campaign to promote consideration of urban design and its contribution to the quality of the built environment. The campaign will focus on specific sites where development is anticipated, and will help to assess how greater attention to urban design issues can help to ensure new development fits successfully into the existing built environment.

  The urban design campaign is an example of action stemming from my Department's initiative "Quality in Town and Country" which seeks to encourage debate and stimulate ideas about what Government and others can do to help achieve quality in the built environment, in city, town and village.

  Council Housing Transfers
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress there has been with the large-scale voluntary transfer of council housing to housing associations. [17937]

  Mr. Curry
  Forty local authorities have transferred almost 180,000 dwellings, generating over £2.6 billion in private finance. The 1995–96 disposals programme includes a further 13 authorities and 51,000 dwellings. We are working with metropolitan authorities to identify ways of taking the policy forward in urban areas as well.

  Unitary Authorities
  Mr. Hawkins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his further proposals to reconsider unitary status for former county boroughs. [17939]

  Mr. Gummer
  We shall direct the Local Government Commission to conduct reviews of nine districts, four of which were, or contained within their areas, former county boroughs. We are also looking at the case for referring other districts to the commission, some of which are former county boroughs. We intend that the reviews should begin in early July, when Sir David Cooksey takes up his appointment as chairman of the commission.

  Area Cost Adjustment
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his latest plans for changes to the area cost adjustment. [17940]

  Mr. Curry
  We have commissioned research which may enable us to take a fresh look at the boundaries of the zones used in the calculation of the area cost adjustment. The findings of this research will be discussed with the local authority associations in the summer.

  The local authority associations may put forward other possible methodology changes for discussion.

  Environment Bill
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if his Department will be maintaining a dialogue with environmental green groups before and during the passage of the Environment Bill through the Commons; and if he will make a statement. [17941]

  Mr. Atkins
  On 13 October, my right hon. Friend published the draft clauses and schedules in respect of the environment agency. This allowed interested parties a chance to inform themselves of the details of the proposed legislation before it was introduced to Parliament. Subsequently, both Ministers and officials have met with various groups, including environmental groups, on the provisions contained within the Bill.

  Corruption
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what evidence he has of corruption in local government. [17942]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  There are cases where a local authority auditor is investigating allegations of corruption, but everyone is innocent until proved guilty. Criminal proceedings are, of course, a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

  London Docklands
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the London Docklands development corporation. [17943]

  Mr. Curry
  The London Docklands development corporation is pursuing a phased withdrawal from the docklands urban development area to be concluded on 31 March 1998.

  Energy Expenditure
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish details from each Government Department of expenditure on energy and energy efficiency measures incurred during 1993–94 with reference to total expenditure on energy (£), total energy used (kwh), energy expenditure per M2(£), the standard performance indicator, expenditure on energy efficiency measures (£), total floor area of Government Departments, and percentage progress on £/m relative to 1992–93. [19117]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Yes. Some points of detail are still being verified with Departments, but I expect the data to be available shortly.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ask the Director General of Ofwat to explain his failure to reply to the letter dated 18 January from the hon. Member for Aylesbury about cesspool emptying charges; and if he will make a statement. [19084]

  Mr. Atkins
  This is a matter for the Director General of Water Services. However, I understand that he will reply to the hon. Member's letter shortly.

  Overtime
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each agency and the central Department for which he is responsible(a) the total hours of overtime worked for which overtime has been paid, (b) the total amount paid in overtime and (c) the total time in days and its monetary equivalent lost through sickness in each of the last three years. [119688]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The following information covers staff in my Department, excluding Ordnance Survey and PSA Services.

  Overtime

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Hours

  £

  Hours

  £

  Hours

  £

  DOE

  148

  1,267

  116

  967

  58

  495

  SAFE

  —

  —

  —

  —

  43

  337

  Planning Inspectorate

  4

  24

  3

  18

  2

  16

  Building Research Est

  15

  130

  14

  125

  11

  97

  The Buying Agency

  1

  6

  1

  8

  1

  7

  QEII Conf Centre

  13

  130

  13

  128

  12

  118

  Note:

  Both hours and cost are given to the nearest 000.

  Sickness:

  Details of sickness absence taken from the OHSA reports shows in 1992 DOE lost 58,741 man days and in 1993 55,587 days (including 4,481 days for the Planning Inspectorate and 19 days for QEIICC). Data for 1994 are not yet available.

  Right to Buy
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to seek to extend the right to buy their homes to tenants of all housing associations; and if he will make a statement. [19706]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  We are looking at a range of options to encourage more housing association tenants to become home owners and will be consulting in due course.

  Pollution, North Sea
  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new proposals he has to tackle North sea pollution. [17907]

  Mr. Atkins
  To continue and develop the measures agreed by the first, second and third North sea conferences which have been successfully addressing the protection of the North sea environment since 1983.

  Building Regulations
  Mr. Thomason
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has concluded, in the light of the recommendations of the deregulation task forces, whether the scope of the building regulations in England and Wales should be widened to address electrical safety. [20162]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  After consideration of this issue, the Building Regulations Advisory Committee has recommended that more detailed work should be undertaken on a proposal that electrical safety should be introduced into the building regulations for work which already has to be notified to building control authorities. I have accepted this recommendation and have asked for 152
  additional studies to be undertaken to identify the costs, benefits and practical implications.

  Standard Spending Assessments
  Mr. Peter Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further information he has made available to local authorities about standard spending assessments for 1995–96. [20163]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  A publication, "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1995–96", has been produced to provide details of the standard spending assessment of each local authority. Copies have today been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Copies have also been sent to every local authority in England, and to the local authority associations.

  The tables from the handbook are being made available in computer-readable form.

  Council Charge Capping
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to change the rules and practices relating to council charge capping; and if he will make a statement. [17938]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  My right hon. Friend has no such plans.

  Convention on Climate Change
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of the contracting parties to the first review of the intergovernmental convention on climate change held in Berlin recently. [18262]

  Mr. Gummer
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) earlier today.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Sierra Leone
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what work is being done by the United Nations Development Programme to produce an analysis of the problems of Sierra Leone, and what is the timetable of action that will be followed by the United Nations to act on that analysis. [18669]

  Mr. Baldry
  We are not aware of any specific analysis. However, UNDP, along with other development agencies, is involved in assisting the Government of Sierra Leone both in the transition to democratic rule and in tackling their development and humanitarian problems.

  South Africa
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much development aid is being given by the United Kingdom to South Africa in 1994–95 and 1995–96(a) as bilateral aid, (b) through the European development fund and (c) through other multi-lateral initiative. [18878]

  Mr. Baldry
  Bilateral aid expenditure in 1994–95 is estimated to be £15 million. In 1995–96 we expect
  153
  expenditure to be about £20 million. EC aid to South Africa is provided not through the European development fund but under a specific line in the EC's budget. The UK share of the EC allocation was about £15 million in 1994 and about £17 million for 1995. To date, no loans have been made by the World bank or African development bank; our contributions through the various United Nations programmes are not readily attributable to individual countries.

  Pergau Dam
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his written answer of 27 March,Official Report, column 444, for what reason expenditure on the Pergau dam project was not listed in table 1 on page 34 of the supply estimates, class II for 1991–92, HC 236–II; and under which subhead of which vote parliamentary authority was sought for expenditure in 1991–92. [18706]

  Mr. Baldry
  Table I of the 1991–92 estimate for class II, vote 5 lists projects on which expenditure had been incurred up to March 1991. This project became effective only in July 1991. Expenditure in 1991–92 was incurred under class II, vote 5, subhead A2.

  Aid
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the contribution United Kingdom aid makes to the protection and conservation of the natural environment in recipient countries. [18714]

  Mr. Baldry
  The Government's activities and achievements in this area under the aid programme are described in the 1995 department report, Cm 2802, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. A more detailed progress report on ODA's work, including help with tackling environmental problems, will be published shortly.

  Former Yugoslavia
  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the budget for 1994–95 for expenditure on emergency engineering assistance in the former Yugoslavia; what is the proposed budget for 1995–96; and if he will make a statement. [18796]

  Mr. Baldry
  The ODA's expenditure on emergency infrastructure engineering in the former Yugoslavia in 1994–95 was £7.5 million.

  The total budget for 1995–96 has not yet been fixed, but ODA is continuing to fund its engineering programmes. Security permitting, the work will continue to address prevailing humanitarian needs.

  Commission on Sustainable Development
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether it is appropriate to the United 154
  Kingdom's role in the world that he should attend the meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development this year. [18352]

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The Department of Environment co-ordinates the United Kingdom's activities in relation to the Commission on Sustainable Development. The United Kingdom delegation will be led by the Secretary of State for the Environment. He will be supported by officials from a number of Government Departments, including the FCO.

  Aid and Trade Provision
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which projects and programmes he has allocated the funding no longer allocated to the aid and trade provision projects in Turkey, Botswana and Indonesia in the financial year 1994–95. [19275]

  Mr. Baldry
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Eccles (Miss Lestor) on 5 April 1995,Official Report, column 1120.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which projects and programmes he will allocate the funding(a) no longer allocated to the Pergau dam and (b) no longer allocated to the aid and trade provision projects in Turkey, Botswana and Indonesia in the 1995–96 financial year. [19276]

  Mr. Baldry
  These funds have been absorbed into the overall aid budget and allocated according to ODA's priorities and objectives as set out in the 1995 FCO-ODA departmental report, Cm 2802, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

  Know-how Fund
  Mr. Gordon McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many projects involving the development of co-operatives in central and eastern Europe have been initiated through funds provided by the British Government through the know-how funds or otherwise; what is the total amount of money provided by the Government for training and development of co-operatives in central and eastern Europe; and what figures are available for the number of co-operatives and co-operative jobs generated by these funds. [19067]

  Mr. Baldry
  Since 1990, £1,154,050 has been committed from the know-how fund in support of eight projects to assist farmers and banking co-operatives in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Ukraine. The European Union's PHARE programme has allocated a further 16.5 million ecu, the UK share of which is around 16 per cent. for the development of co-operatives and the training of staff in the agricultural sector. There are no figures available for the number of co-operatives and co-operative jobs generated by these funds.

  Many state-run co-operatives have been abolished as part of the reform process in former communist Europe. The know-how fund has targeted its assistance on institutions which can survive in the environment of a market economy but require help in the short term with the transformation from the state to the private sector.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Intergovernmental Conference
  Mr. Cash
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has received to alter the year in which the intergovernmental conference is to be held under the Maastricht treaty. [19481]

  Mr. David Davis
  Under the terms of the Maastricht treaty on European Union, article N(2), the intergovernmental conference will be convened in 1996. I have received no formal proposals to alter this schedule.

  Advisers
  Ms Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many advisers his Department employs broken down to show(a) political advisers and (b) economic advisers; at what grade and salary they are employed; and what are their minimum working hours in each case. [19423]

  Mr. Goodlad
  My Department employs two political advisers. Their salaries and conditions of work are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings and are confidential.

  Economic advice is obtained from career civil servants, who may be employed on a variety of working patterns. The following numbers by grade are full-time equivalents:

  FCO (Diplomatic and Aid wings including NRI)

  Grade

  Number of Officers

  G3

  2

  G5

  9

  G6

  7

  G7

  34

  Assistant Economist

  29

  Total

  81

  Karen People, Burma
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Burmese Government about the treatment of the Karen people. [19293]

  Mr. Goodlad
  With our EU partners, we have expressed our concerns about the treatment of the Karen people directly to the ruling military regime in Burma, the State Law and Order Restoration Council. We called in the Burmese ambassador on 17 February to reinforce the EU action and to urge SLORC to call an immediate halt to the current offensive. On 10 March the EU issued a statement condemning the attacks and calling upon SLORC to find a swift and peaceful solution to the ethnic minority problem in Burma.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has 156
  bought in the last five years; and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19837]

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

  Burundi
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the number of recent violent deaths in Burundi; and what current initiatives are being taken by the international community to promote peace. [19690]

  Mr. Baldry
  We do not have an accurate assessment of the number of deaths in Burundi but are concerned at the level of violence. Action in support of the moderate and broad-based Government is being taken by the United Nations, the European Union and the Organisation of African Unity. We have given our full backing to these efforts.

  Nigeria
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy on the introduction of oil sanctions as a way of cutting off resources to Nigeria and promoting a return to democracy there.

  Mr. Baldry
  The European Union's measures against Nigeria will be reviewed, or strengthened, in the light of progress towards a return to democratic civilian rule. All options will, of course, be considered.

  Sierra Leone
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the United Nations has to appoint a special representative to assist peacemaking efforts in Sierra Leone. [18666]

  Mr. Baldry
  Following a request from the Government of Sierra Leone in December 1994 for a good offices mission, the United Nations Secretary-General sent his special representative, Ambassador Behanu Dinka, to Freetown in February.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what attempts have been made by the international community to provide training to help the Government of Sierra Leone to bring their armed forces under control. [18665]

  Mr. Baldry
  Guinea, Nigeria and Ghana have units of their armed forces in Sierra Leone. The Government of Sierra Leone have recruited ex-Ghurkas to train Government troops.

  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mediation or demobilisation support from the United Nations to promote peace in the country the Government of Sierra Leone have sought. [18664]

  Mr. Baldry
  The Government of Sierra Leone approached the United Nations Secretary-General in December last year to request his good offices as an intermediary to end the conflict. We are not aware of any specific request from the Government of Sierra Leone for UN support on demobilisation.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Publicity
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total expenditure on(a) all forms of publicity and (b) all publications and pamphlets produced for his Department and for all the agencies and public bodies for which his Department is responsible, for each year since 1979, including the budgeted figure for 1995–96, (i) including and (ii) excluding privatisation-related expenditures and expressed in 1994 prices; and if he will supply information for the period from 1 April 1993 to 1 March 1995 showing (1) the nature and (2) the purpose of each publicity campaign and of each publication involving the expenditure of more than £50,000. [14604]

  Mr. Waldegrave
  [holding answer 17 March 1995]: Expenditure on all forms of publicity, publications and pamphlets by the Department in the financial year 1984–85 and each subsequent year was as follows:

  £

  1984–85

  601,000

  1985–86

  685,000

  1986–87

  879,000

  1987–88

  705,000

  1988–89

  1,384,000

  1989–90

  2,489,000

  1990–91

  2,432,000

  1991–92

  4,094,000

  1992–93

  4,217,000

  1993–94

  4,312,000

  1994–951

  4,800,000

  1995–961

  4,400,000

  1 Forecast.

  Expenditure prior to 1984–85 was not kept in this form and figures would be available only at disproportionate cost.

  Publicity campaigns and publications from 1 April 1993 involving expenditure of more than £50,000 are as follows:

  Title

  Objective

  'Foodsense' campaign

  To provide information to the general public about food and food safety issues.

  Keeping food cool and safe

  To provide consumer advice on the safe storage of food.

  At the Farmers Service

  To provide information and advice about MAFF services to farmers and growers.

  Joint Imports

  To maintain public and industry awareness of the regulations on the import of meat and plant materials from abroad.

  Plant Health

  To promote public and industry awareness of the regulations on the importation and export, for domestic and commercial use, of plants and plant material.

  Animal Health and Welfare

  To promote and heighten public and industry awareness of animal health and welfare regulations and good practice.

  158

  Publicity campaigns and publications from 1 April 1993 involving expenditure of more than £50,000 are as follows:

  Title

  Objective

  Balance in the Countryside

  To provide factual information and better understanding of environmental issues for which MAFF is responsible.

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas

  To publicise the availability of grants to farmers, and increase public understanding of the scheme.

  Export and Trade Promotion

  To support the UK agrifood industry at home and abroad.

  National Exhibition Programme

  To provide relevant Departmental information to the agricultural industry and the general public.

  Agri-Environment

  To make farmers and growers aware of the benefits and help available from the scheme.

  Rabies Campaign

  To maintain public awareness of quarantine regulations.

  Publications and publicity by MAFF agencies are the responsibility of their chief executives. I have asked them to reply direct to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Dr. P. I. Stanley to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 31 March 1995:

  EXPENDITURE SINCE 1979 BY MAFF AND ITS AGENCIES ON PUBLICITY AND PUBLICATIONS
  The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) was first launched as an executive agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) in April 1992. Expenditure details are not therefore available for the years 1979–1991, when CSL formed part of the Department. Further, CSL was re-launched as an enlarged agency in April 1994, following its merger with the Food Science Laboratories in Norwich and Aberdeen. The merger necessitated revision of several publications including the Agency's Framework Document, Statement of Standards and Quality of Service and promotional brochure and this is reflected in the outturn of expenditure in 1993/94.
  CSL's expenditure on all forms of publicity and all publications, including pamphlets, in £'000, expressed in 1994 prices follows. There has been no privatisation-related expenditure.

  Publicity

  Publications

  1992/93

  3.18

  20.60

  1993/94

  7.21

  82.40

  1994/95

  15.00

  50.00

  1995/961

  14.56

  48.54

  1Budgeted figures.

  The Agency does not run publicity campaigns as such but does participate in exhibitions, open days anda conferences. No single event or publication has cost in excess of £50,000.

  Letter from Dr. T. W. A. Little to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 31 March 1995:
  The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on publicity and publications by CVL over the last few years.
  CVL became an Executive Agency in 1990. Up to and including November 1992 our accounts were processed and produced by MAFF.
  The figures in 1994 prices for the financial years from 1992–93, including the budgetary figure for 1995–96, are as follows:
  159

  Including VAT £

  1992–931

  31,995

  1993–94

  33,698

  1994–95

  48,732

  1995–96

  41,272

  1 Based on CVL/MAFF records. A word or two of explanation about the figures may be of assistance. To facilitate the marketing of the Agency CVL uses a range of material to inform customers about it products and services. This covers publication of the Annual Report and Accounts through pamphlets about individual services to marketing brochures and customer newsletters. In this financial year we expect to produce nearly 22,000 individual items which will be distributed by various means to 4,000 customers and prospects.

  Finally, you also asked for information about privatisation-related expenditure and further details of each publicity campaign or publication involving expenditure of more than £50,000. CVL has had no expenditure in the areas relating to privatisation and no single campaign involving more than £50,000.

  Letter from Guy Stapleton to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 31 March 1995:
  The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about expenditure on all forms of publicity and all publications and pamphlets produced by the Agency since 1979 at 1994 prices.
  The Intervention Board has spent the following sums on publicity and publications since 1989–90 at 1994 prices. Papers for earlier years have been disposed of under the Agency's records management policy.

  Publicity £

  Publications £

  1989–90

  64,019

  31,258

  1990–91

  29,732

  22,165

  1991–92

  22,320

  27,690

  1992–93

  11,030

  31,637

  1993–94

  8,780

  36,482

  1994–95

  10,969

  30,954

  Publicity covers the cost of recruitment advertising and the Agency's stand at the Royal Show and the Festival of Food and Farming. Publications covers the cost of the Agency's Annual Report, Corporate Plan and information leaflets supplied to our customers. The Agency's 1995–96 budget has not yet been disaggregated sufficiently to allow comparable figures to be extracted, but expenditure is expected to be comparable with the previous year.
  The Agency has had no involvement in any privatisation. None of the publications or publicity campaigns has cost over £50,000.

  Letter from Dr. J. M. Rutter to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 3 April 1995:
  The Minister has asked me to reply on behalf of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to your question about expenditure on publicity, publication and pamphlets, as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible.
  The VMD was established as a Next Steps Agency in April 1990, but did not maintain its own accounts until 1991/92. Expenditure prior to that date will therefore be included with that for core MAFF. There has been no privatisation related expenditure incurred by the VMD, and the total expenditure on all forms of publicity, publications and pamphlets is as follows:

  Year

  Total Expenditure

  Actual

  At 1994 prices

  1991/92

  7,730.33

  8,449.64

  1992/93

  21,339.06

  22,431.88

  1993/94

  59,420.91

  60,609.33

  1994/95 (forecast)

  27,978.03

  27,978.03

  1995/96 (budgeted)

  28,400.00

  27,500.00

  160
  The above figures include the VMD's Annual Report and Accounts and publicity relating to the safe use of organophosphorus sheep dips, as well as expenditure on the VMD's quarterly newsletter, MAVIS.
  During this period, there has been no publicity campaign or publication involving the expenditure of more than £50,000.

  Letter from A. M. Kerr to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 31 March 1995:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate, to your question about expenditure on publicity, publications and pamphlets. All the costs detailed below have been adjusted to reflect 1994/95 prices using H M Treasury's assumptions of GDP deflators at market prices.
  The Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) incurred expenditure totalling £15,290 on publicity in 1993/94 in connection with the launch of the Agency. No expenditure on publicity has been incurred in 1994/95. There is no budget provision in 1995/96 for publicity.
  Expenditure on publications and pamphlets totalled £2,335 in 1993/94 and £21,398 in 1994/95. The budgeted figure for 1995/96 covering publications and pamphlets is £42,307.
  The costs of other publications, published by HMSO on behalf of PSD, are borne by HMSO who aim to recover the costs from sales revenue. Costs of producing other publications and pamphlets with a wider Food Safety emphasis have been borne centrally and are therefore covered in the core MAFF return.
  None of the above expenditure was privatization related. There has been no expenditure in excess of £50,000 incurred on any individual publicity campaign, publication or pamphlet.
  As PSD was established as an agency on 1 April 1993 figures prior to this date are not available.

  Letter from Dr. J. M. Walsh to Mr. Malcolm Bruce, dated 31 March 1995:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply on his behalf to the question which you tabled on 14 March (No. 832). In this you sought information for the core Department and for each of the Agencies concerning the total expenditure on (a) all forms of publicity and (b) all publications and pamphlets produced by the Department. The information that you require is as follows:

  Expenditure

  All forms of publicity (excluding publications) £

  Publications £

  1992/931

  278,000

  146,000

  1993/94

  313,000

  218,000

  1994/95

  359,000

  249,000

  1 ADAS was formed as an Executive Agency in 1992.

  Currently, the budgeted figure for 1995/96 has not been agreed. Expenditure on all forms of publicity is used to inform our 32,000 fee-paying customers about ADAS' products and MAFF/Welsh Office policy implementation (this Agency is jointed owned by the MAFF and the Welsh Office). The 1994/95 expenditure on all forms of publicity represent 0.5% of our £75 million revenue.
  The only publication exceeding £50,000 was "Agricultural Strategy" which was produced in 1994. This outlined the future for each sector of the British agricultural industry. It was distributed to clients and potential clients throughout England and Wales.

  Set-aside Compensation
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the cost in(a) 1995 and (b) 1996 in the increase in set-aside compensation for cereal growers by 12 ecu per tonne, agreed in May 1993 by EC Agriculture Ministers. [15792]

  Mr. Jack
  Based on expected uptake of the arable scheme and on the exchange rate in place today, it is
  161
  estimated that the additional cost will be approximately £43 million in both 1995 and 1996.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the jobs that have been lost to agencies in his Department in the past two years that have(a) been taken over by contractors and (b) disappeared. [18320]

  Mr. Waldegrave
  [holding answer 4 April 1995]: Responsibility for this matter is delegated to agency chief executives and I have asked them to reply to the hon. Member direct.

  Letter from Dr. P. I. Stanley to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 3 April 1995:

  JOBS LOST TO MAFF AGENCIES IN THE PAST TWO YEARS
  The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) was first launched as an executive agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) in April 1992.
  Over the two year period since 1st April 1993 there have been no job losses overall within CSL and no jobs have been taken over by contractors. However, approval has been given for six members of staff to take voluntary early retirement in March 1995.

  Letter from J. Bainton to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 3 April 1995:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked met to reply, in respect of Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), to your question about jobs that have been lost to agencies in the past two, years.
  The Directorate was launched as an executive agency on 1 April 1993. Since that time no jobs have been taken over by contractors, although PSD does, as necessary, contract-out some pesticide evaluation work in order to manage work flows within the agency. However, over the period, PSD has reduced its complement of typists from 6.5 to 2.5 staff, which has largely been as a consequence of the introduction of new computer systems which have provided staff with direct access to word processing facilities.

  Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about jobs lost to Agencies over the last two years.
  Over the past two years there have been no jobs lost to CVL by the Department and no work has been taken over by a contractor.

  Letter from Guy Stapleton to Mr. Paul Flynn dated 11 April 1995:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning the loss of jobs in MAFF agencies over the past two years.
  Internal restructuring brought about by market testing in the Intervention Board resulted in the saving of nineteen posts in total during the period from 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1995. No posts have been taken over by contractors.

  Letter from Dr. J. M. Walsh to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 3 April 1995:
  The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply directly to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question No. 1014. In this you asked him to list the jobs that had been lost to Agencies in his department in the past two years that have (a) been taken over by contractors and (b) disappeared.
  In the past two years ADAS has reduced its complement of permanent staff by a total of 445 posts. This represents 19% of staff in post at the 1 April 1993. The work carried out by these staff has not been taken over by contractors. Some has disappeared and some absorbed due to more efficient practices.

  Letter from Dr. J. M. Rutter to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 3 April 1995:
  The Minister has asked me to reply on behalf of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to your question about the jobs that
  162
  have been lost to agencies in his Department in the past two years, as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible.
  I can confirm that no jobs in the VMD have been lost in the past two years as a result either of being taken over by contractors or disappearing.

  Suicide (Italian Official)
  Mr. Marlow
  To the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek through the Council to gain access to the Commission report on the suicide of the Italian official in the tobacco department and related issues. [18240]

  Mr. Waldegrave
  [holding answer 4 April 1995]: This is a matter for the European Commission and was subject to internal investigation by the Commission at the time.

  Warble Fly
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what were the number of cases of warble fly in(a) and (b) 1994. [19262]

  Mrs. Browning
  In 1984, 477 herds in England and Wales were found to be clinically infested with warble fly.

  In 1994, clinical warble fly infestation was confirmed in two herds in England and none in Wales. In addition, 45 imported animals found to be infested with warble fly were returned to the country of origin.

  Fisheries Council
  Mr. Hawkins
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Luxembourg on 6 April; and if he will make a statement. [19215]

  Mr. Jack
  I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 6 April with the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro).

  The Council discussed recent developments in the Community's dispute with Canada concerning Greenland halibut. I did not consider in the context of current negotiations that it was helpful or appropriate for the Council to adopt a proposed statement commenting on recent reported incidents. Accordingly, a statement was issued in the name of the presidency. I was pleased to note that all member states endorsed the importance of bringing to a successful conclusion the continuing negotiations between the EC and Canada.

  The Council also considered a proposal for the adoption of an autonomous quota for the EU in the Greenland halibut fishery. The Commissioner explained that this was necessary to permit the conservation of the fishery by providing a legal basis for controlling fishing by community vessels. However, I voted against the measure since it was inappropriate in my view to adopt it when other quota figures were on the verge of being agreed with Canada.

  There was a discussion of drift net fishing. No conclusions were reached on the now somewhat dated proposal for phasing out the use of drift nets. I emphasised the considerable importance of the various types of drift net fishing to British fishermen. The importance of orderly conduct in the tuna fishery this summer was discussed. I am pleased that this was approached in a constructive way by all member states involved and they will be meeting together at an early stage to ensure that

  163
  arrangements are satisfactorily planned. The Commissioner also said that there would be a Community vessel in the fishery in order to provide for Commission and national inspectors to ensure proper compliance with the rules. The UK will deploy Royal Navy fishery protection resources as appropriate.

  The Council decided that, in the absence of a full year proposal, the 1994 autonomous tariff quotas should be rolled forward for three months. A formal proposal to this end will be made shortly for early adoption. This will meet the immediate needs of our fish processors. A proposal for the full year, taking account of the needs of the new member states, will be considered by the Council at a later date.

  The Council noted progress on the Commission's ideas for management strategies and objectives and for quota flexibility. I emphasised the importance of ensuring that we avoided creating unhelpful new complexities in the CPF of little value to fishermen. I also emphasised the importance of taking account of the impact of industrial fisheries.

  I questioned whether proposals for socio-economic measures should be a Community measure when they were designed to address issues generally more appropriate for national social security measures. The Council expects to discuss these further in June.

  The Council agreed to adopt a single guide price for herring for 1995. Proposals for a regional price in parts of the UK and Ireland and for the future treatment of transhipments of herring will be put to the management committee. The UK voted against because this proposal did not deal adequately with the needs of Scottish pelagic fishermen.

  Because of our growing concern in the UK about the catches of immature fish I pressed the Commissioner on the importance of developing technical conservation rules and other measures to reduce these catches and so improve fish stocks. I am pleased to say that the Commissioner was able to assure me that this would form a specific part of the work in preparation for proposals to be made in June this year.

  Rules and Regulations
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what requirements there are for officials in his Department to introduce a compliance cost assessment for all rules and regulations coming before him and his Ministers; and how many compliance cost assessments have been issued in his Department in the first three months of this year. [19342]

  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by the President of the Board of Tradewhich sets out the general position on the preparation of compliance cost assessments. MAFF issued 18 compliance cost assessments accompanying draft legislation in the first three months of this year.

  Equine Encephalomyelitis
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the number of cases of equine encephalomyelitis in each year since 1985. [19266]

  Mrs. Browning
  Equine encephalomyelitis has never been recorded in England.

  Quarantine Regulations
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what grounds he has rejected the Agriculture Select Committee's recommendations that a vaccination-based system for approved countries should replace the quarantine system for dogs arriving from those countries. [19524]

  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has for enabling residents of countries within the European Union to travel with their domesticated animals in an unhindered fashion; and what plans he has to relax the quarantine regulations. [19468]

  Mrs. Browning
  The Government's position is set out in the reply to the fifth report from the Agriculture Select Committee, Session 1993–94, laid before the House on 25 January 1995, Cm 2735.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  "Public Bodies"
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the next edition of the directory entitled "Public Bodies" will be published; if he will ensure that details are included for all quangos; and if he will make a statement. [19106]

  Mr. David Hunt
  "Public Bodies 1994" was published on 6 February 1995. The next edition will be "Public Bodies 1995" and will be published soon after the end of this year.

  "Public Bodies" includes statistical information about all non-departmental public bodies.

  British Gas
  Mr. Merchant
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in the investigation into whether British Gas should retain its charter mark. [20165]

  Mr. David Hunt
  Following the approach from the Gas Consumers Council on 18 January, I have now agreed with British Gas and the council a programme of action so that British Gas can retain its charter mark award by demonstrably continuing to meet tough criteria which the charter mark scheme sets down.

  In its submission, the Gas Consumers Council expressed faith in British Gas as a company and made it clear that British Gas should retain its charter mark provided it could get its performance back on track. Its main concern was a rise in complaints in the following areas:

  account queries (a 27 per cent. increase over 1993);

  service and repairs (a 9 per cent. increase over 1993);

  staff manner (up 12 per cent. on 1993); and

  lack of reply to correspondence and non-answering of telephones (up 18 per cent. on 1993).

  British Gas has assured me that its aim is to re-establish its reputation for excellence as quickly as possible and that its new structure will ultimately enable it to be more responsive to customers. It is determined to provide the highest service among gas suppliers.
  165
  However, British Gas accepts that the process of reorganisation has meant that it has not always been able to maintain its previous level of performance, despite which it has continued to meet or exceed all but three of its 39 regulated standards of service.

  The agreed programme of action needed to pass the charter mark test consists of the following main elements:
  increased training for staff dealing directly with customers and a project to address customer contact across the company's different business units to ensure that misdirected queries/complaints are handled effectively;
  front-line staff will be empowered to make amends to dissatisfied customers;
  additional telephone lines have been set up to ensure that telephone answering meets the targets of 90 per cent. of calls being answered in 30 seconds or less;
  increased staffing and weekend working to clear the backlog of correspondence and telephone inquiries and to ensure that the target of replying to 90 per cent. of correspondence within five days is met;
  a leaflet to all customers outlining the recent changes in the structure of British Gas and details of contacts for further information;
  market research to identify core customer requirements, with each business unit developing its own standards for the start of 1996;
  a freephone number to enable customers to find out the location of their nearest payment or prepayment token outlet;
  a national quality audit to ensure that the company's service work, including work carried out by contractors, is of the highest quality;
  each business unit to develop new IT systems, or enhance existing ones, to improve the quality of information available to those dealing with inquiries/complaints; and
  staff focus groups will monitor standards of service on a regular basis and identify and share best practice.

  We have agreed with British Gas and the Gas Consumers Council that we will review progress and the position on British Gas's charter mark at the end of the year.

  I believe that this very positive programme shows the real value of the charter mark scheme as a reward for excellence—the charter mark means business.

EDUCATION

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has bought in the last five years; and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19838]

  Mr. Forth
  This Department has not purchased any mahogany, or products containing mahogany, in the past five years.

  Compensation Payments (£000)

  Compensation Costs per Pupil (£)

  LEA

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1 1993–94 provisional

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Corporation of London

  0

  0

  0

  3

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  14.02

  Camden

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Greenwich

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Hackney

  0

  0

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  n/a

  Hammersmith

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Islington

  0

  0

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  n/a

  Kensington and Chelsea

  0

  0

  101

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  10.95

  n/a

  Teachers (Early Retirement)
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many enhancement years have been added to the pensions of teachers taking early retirement in(a) Lancashire and (b) England and Wales since 1989. [19052]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information is not readily available. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many(a) headmasters and (b) other teaching staff including deputy headmasters have taken early retirement due to ill health each year since 1989 in(i) Lancashire and (ii) England and Wales. [19055]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table shows the number of members of the teachers' superannuation scheme who retired on the grounds of ill health for the financial years 1989–90 to 1993–94. This includes some lecturers in further and higher education and some teachers in independent schools as well as maintained school teachers.

  Head Teachers

  Financial Year

  Lancashire

  England and Wales

  1989–90

  9

  379

  1990–91

  14

  439

  1991–92

  14

  418

  1992–93

  16

  416

  1993–94

  24

  531

  All other teaching staff

  Financial Year

  Lancashire

  England and Wales

  1989–90

  104

  3,813

  1990–91

  174

  4,499

  1991–92

  149

  4,244

  1992–93

  150

  4,481

  1993–94

  198

  5,004

  Mrs. Gorman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the expenditure in each local authority on early retirement compensation in each year since 1990–91 for which information is available(a) in total and (b) per pupil. [19700]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Total expenditure and expenditure per pupil on premature retirement compensation and Crombie payments as recorded by each local education authority for the years 1990–91 to 1993–94 is shown in the table. The expenditure figures include payments made to further and higher education lecturers and to teachers at sixth form colleges and grant-maintained schools who were granted premature retirement by the LEA. It is not possible to separate out these costs. The pupil numbers used in the calculations are for all LEA maintained schools: they exclude sixth form colleges.
  167

  Compensation Payments (£000)

  Compensation Costs per Pupil (£)

  LEA

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1 1993–94 provisional

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Lambeth

  0

  0

  134

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  5.20

  0.00

  Lewisham

  0

  0

  0

  449

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  14.03

  Southwark

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Tower Hamlets

  0

  0

  403

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  12.33

  n/a

  Wandsworth

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Westminster

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Barking

  605

  290

  751

  601

  25.56

  11.74

  29.60

  23.09

  Barnet

  1,344

  1,425

  1,475

  1,579

  34.14

  35.39

  36.98

  46.57

  Bexley

  0

  0

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  n/a

  Brent

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Bromley

  981

  586

  551

  557

  28.63

  19.42

  21.20

  19.78

  Croydon

  248

  630

  474

  443

  6.23

  15.90

  11.63

  11.59

  Ealing

  861

  479

  636

  1,077

  21.89

  12.09

  18.54

  32.97

  Enfield

  0

  0

  705

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  17.13

  0.00

  Haringey

  474

  541

  583

  612

  17.56

  19.36

  20.27

  20.67

  Harrow

  353

  534

  397

  n/a

  13.37

  19.94

  14.54

  n/a

  Havering

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Hillingdon

  0

  1

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.04

  0.00

  n/a

  Hounslow

  11

  208

  253

  349

  0.34

  6.30

  7.49

  10.77

  Kingston upon Thames

  304

  358

  454

  428

  17.26

  19.80

  25.72

  26.98

  Merton

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Newham

  769

  269

  364

  440

  20.12

  7.00

  9.20

  10.93

  Redbridge

  288

  387

  405

  n/a

  9.11

  11.74

  11.77

  n/a

  Richmond upon Thames

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Sutton

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Waltham Forest

  324

  5

  13

  n/a

  10.61

  0.17

  0.42

  n/a

  Birmingham

  3,422

  3,947

  5,443

  4,911

  20.36

  23.44

  31.83

  30.11

  Coventry

  12

  2,982

  2,137

  450

  0.25

  61.19

  43.20

  9.02

  Dudley

  884

  851

  791

  995

  19.85

  18.98

  17.35

  22.94

  Sandwell

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Solihull

  0

  0

  553

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  16.97

  n/a

  Walsall

  0

  643

  1,567

  676

  0.00

  13.43

  33.82

  15.71

  Wolverhampton

  94

  195

  326

  73

  2.34

  4.96

  8.01

  1.80

  Knowsley

  0

  957

  945

  1,132

  0.00

  34.31

  33.48

  40.44

  Liverpool

  2,727

  3,780

  3,058

  n/a

  34.31

  47.01

  37.50

  n/a

  St. Helens

  953

  1,126

  2,061

  n/a

  32.06

  37.98

  69.39

  n/a

  Sefton

  1,496

  1,536

  0

  n/a

  32.97

  33.53

  0.00

  n/a

  Wirral

  231

  182

  97

  28

  4.45

  3.48

  1.82

  0.54

  Bolton

  898

  1,022

  1,122

  n/a

  20.78

  23.49

  25.71

  n/a

  Bury

  848

  1,031

  1,064

  n/a

  32.30

  38.67

  38.93

  n/a

  Manchester

  2,144

  2,815

  4,400

  4,559

  31.28

  40.43

  62.40

  64.40

  Oldham

  0

  0

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  n/a

  Rochdale

  469

  493

  806

  768

  13.40

  14.10

  22.87

  22.57

  Salford

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Stockport

  512

  447

  547

  677

  12.59

  11.07

  13.23

  16.10

  Tameside

  0

  0

  933

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  26.07

  n/a

  Trafford

  0

  0

  0

  569

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  19.07

  Wigan

  1,377

  1,681

  1,999

  2,269

  27.81

  33.96

  40.02

  44.82

  Barnsley

  200

  532

  35

  n/a

  5.94

  15.79

  1.02

  n/a

  Doncaster

  0

  379

  0

  1,583

  0.00

  7.47

  0.00

  30.42

  Rotherham

  203

  271

  0

  0

  4.80

  6.36

  0.00

  0.00

  Sheffield

  40

  0

  0

  0

  0.57

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Bradford

  1,354

  1,153

  2,860

  2,863

  16.00

  13.56

  32.88

  34.33

  Calderdale

  453

  0

  0

  0

  14.20

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Kirklees

  275

  1,465

  838

  397

  4.59

  24.27

  13.76

  6.35

  Leeds

  0

  0

  3

  3,128

  0.00

  0.00

  0.03

  27.67

  Wakefield

  1,228

  1,389

  1,924

  n/a

  24.82

  27.74

  37.76

  n/a

  Gateshead

  0

  44

  73

  848

  0.00

  1.46

  2.40

  27.75

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  305

  1,261

  1,608

  2,776

  7.65

  31.31

  39.60

  68.12

  North Tyneside

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  South Tyneside

  0

  0

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  n/a

  Sunderland

  364

  470

  397

  0

  7.35

  9.43

  7.84

  0.00

  Isles of Scilly

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Avon

  0

  0

  747

  1,347

  0.00

  0.00

  5.52

  9.81

  Bedfordshire

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Berkshire

  704

  812

  779

  890

  6.57

  7.83

  7.61

  8.60

  Buckinghamshire

  249

  265

  1,105

  1,454

  2.65

  2.81

  11.63

  16.14

  Cambridgeshire

  899

  1,447

  1,705

  834

  9.24

  14.69

  18.14

  9.87

  Cheshire

  191

  124

  1,874

  940

  1.27

  0.82

  12.23

  6.14

  Cleveland

  1,328

  1,720

  1,761

  1,901

  13.24

  16.95

  17.22

  18.43

  Cornwall

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Cumbria

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  168 169

  Compensation Payments (£000)

  Compensation Costs per Pupil (£)

  LEA

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1 1993–94 provisional

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Derbyshire

  1,320

  1,556

  696

  2,425

  9.47

  11.10

  4.98

  18.86

  Devon

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Dorset

  782

  1,183

  1,443

  1,402

  9.54

  14.51

  18.00

  17.83

  Durham

  n/a

  0

  0

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  East Sussex

  547

  877

  1,039

  2,044

  6.77

  10.62

  12.20

  23.22

  Essex

  1,915

  1,945

  2,066

  2,662

  8.87

  9.11

  10.74

  18.18

  Gloucestershire

  1,567

  2,150

  0

  0

  21.86

  29.71

  0.00

  0.00

  Hampshire

  1,862

  2,215

  2,750

  2,720

  9.19

  10.93

  13.51

  13.51

  Hereford and Worcester

  0

  264

  0

  n/a

  0.00

  2.78

  0.00

  n/a

  Hertfordshire

  453

  1,734

  1,769

  n/a

  3.09

  11.86

  12.02

  n/a

  Humberside

  726

  759

  854

  0

  5.26

  5.45

  6.02

  0.00

  Isle of Wight

  94

  108

  124

  134

  5.42

  6.17

  6.97

  7.46

  Kent

  314

  151

  223

  n/a

  1.42

  0.71

  1.10

  n/a

  Lancashire

  4,374

  4,804

  5,193

  4,781

  20.70

  22.79

  24.36

  22.29

  Leicestershire

  1,267

  2,075

  2,275

  1,701

  9.31

  15.11

  16.35

  12.30

  Lincolnshire

  968

  148

  126

  110

  11.91

  1.90

  1.74

  1.65

  Norfolk

  1,200

  196

  0

  0

  12.00

  1.95

  0.00

  0.00

  North Yorkshire

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Northamptonshire

  111

  128

  494

  313

  1.19

  1.40

  5.69

  3.66

  Northumberland

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Nottinghamshire

  1,066

  2,295

  0

  0

  7.01

  14.96

  0.00

  0.00

  Oxfordshire

  1,389

  1,585

  1,586

  1,694

  18.92

  21.24

  20.84

  21.61

  Shropshire

  16

  19

  18

  13

  0.27

  0.32

  0.30

  0.22

  Somerset

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Staffordshire

  2,715

  3,214

  3,987

  3,814

  16.99

  19.83

  24.28

  23.38

  Suffolk

  14

  156

  0

  1,112

  0.16

  1.73

  0.00

  11.92

  Surrey

  0

  0

  2,791

  4,040

  0.00

  0.00

  25.68

  37.43

  Warwickshire

  922

  1,269

  1,428

  1,395

  13.02

  18.14

  20.60

  20.30

  West Sussex

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  0.00

  Wiltshire

  0

  0

  872

  0

  0.00

  0.00

  10.94

  0.00

  England total

  54,044

  69,564

  80,991

  n/a

  1 Provisional n/a—data not yet available.

  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the total cost, for each year since 1989, to the Lancashire ratepayers of the enhancements and pensions paid to retired or retiring headmasters and teachers. [19054]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Expenditure on premature retirement compensation and Crombie payments are recorded by Lancashire LEA for the years 1989–90 to 1993–94 is shown in the table. The figures include payments made to further and higher education lecturers and to teachers at sixth form colleges and grant-maintained schools who were granted premature retirement by the LEA. It is not possible to separate out these costs.

  £000

  1989–90

  3,377

  1990–91

  4,374

  1991–92

  4,804

  1992–93

  5,193

  1993–941

  4,781

  1 Provisional.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will estimate the number of hours which staff within her Department spend on issues relating to grant-maintained schools in whole-time equivalents. [19131]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Some 77 full-time equivalent posts are concerned wholly or mainly with matters specific to 170
  grant-maintained schools. Many other staff in the Department have responsibilities that relate to both grant-maintained and local education authority schools.

  Departmental Expenditure Plans
  Mrs. Anne Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the cost of editing, designing and printing her Department's expenditure plans 1995–96 to 1997–98, Cm 2810. [19759]

  Mr. Forth
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) on 23 March,Official Report, column 175.

  Roberts Street Primary School
  Mr. Pearson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education following the meeting held with the Under-Secretary of State and Dudley council and its hon. Members recently, if she has any good news for Roberts Street primary on how the technical barriers to use of the private finance initiative can be removed or other means accessed to enable this badly needed new school project to go ahead. [19145]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The local education authority is preparing a more detailed explanation of its proposal. We shall then be able to assess whether it meets the crucial criterion for the private finance initiative, mainly, how far there is a transfer of risk from the public sector to the private sector.

  School Spending
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 28 March,Official Report, column 574, if she will list the same information on expenditure per pupil for Nottingham and Staffordshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire. [18785]

  Spending per pupil (1994–95 prices)

  Nottingham

  Staffordshire

  Surrey

  Hertfordshire

  Nursery/Primary £

  Secondary £

  Nursery/Primary £

  Secondary £

  Nursery/Primary £

  Secondary £

  Nursery/Primary £

  Secondary £

  1974–75

  1,127

  1,871

  1,197

  1,943

  1,310

  2,152

  1,405

  2,399

  1975–76

  n/a

  n/a

  1,204

  2,006

  1,303

  2,159

  1,289

  2,191

  1976–77

  1,173

  1,872

  1,223

  1,949

  1,266

  2,107

  1,293

  2,121

  1977–78

  1,105

  1,736

  1,167

  1,828

  1,150

  1,991

  1,259

  1,935

  1978–79

  1,097

  1,733

  1,180

  1,821

  1,186

  2,003

  1,240

  1,922

  1979–80

  1,073

  1,677

  1,195

  1,783

  1,193

  1,891

  1,317

  1,864

  1980–81

  1,070

  1,597

  1,186

  1,640

  1,128

  1,784

  1,179

  1,747

  1981–82

  1,174

  1,706

  1,253

  1,711

  1,133

  1,785

  1,205

  1,722

  1982–83

  1,268

  1,785

  1,279

  1,709

  1,154

  1,808

  1,196

  1,700

  1983–84

  1,329

  1,829

  1,324

  1,763

  1,164

  1,842

  1,204

  1,742

  1984–85

  1,311

  1,878

  1,288

  1,765

  1,141

  1,855

  1,200

  1,747

  1985–86

  1,322

  1,950

  1,281

  1,822

  1,175

  1,878

  1,229

  1,816

  1986–87

  1,432

  2,119

  1,344

  1,973

  1,281

  2,049

  1,336

  1,988

  1987–88

  1,483

  2,270

  1,418

  2,113

  1,347

  2,223

  1,404

  2,077

  1988–89

  1,520

  2,397

  1,442

  2,225

  1,457

  2,406

  1,540

  2,295

  1989–90

  1,573

  2,456

  1,451

  2,247

  1,476

  2,180

  1,560

  2,383

  1990–91

  1,615

  2,579

  1,464

  2,178

  1,557

  2,445

  1,554

  2,402

  1991–92

  1,772

  2,708

  1,527

  2,236

  1,596

  2,406

  1,620

  2,446

  1992–93

  1,655

  2,466

  1,538

  2,195

  1,658

  2,410

  1,699

  2,379

  1993–941

  1,686

  2,429

  1,565

  2,119

  1,735

  2,260

  n/a

  n/a

  1 Provisional. n/a—Data not available.

  Overtime
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list for each agency and the central Department for which she is responsible(a) the total hours of overtime worked for which payment has been made, (b) the total amount paid in overtime and (c) the total time in days and its monetary equivalent lost through sickness in each of the last three years. [19670]

  Mr. Forth
  Overtime worked in the Department for Education in the years 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95, measured as full-time equivalent staff numbers, was 21, 31 and 32. For each of these financial years, the cost of overtime was £639,000, £694,000 and £750,000 respectively. The figures for 1994–95 are estimated.

  Data on sickness are not yet available for 1994. In 1992, the amount of time lost through sickness was 20,368 days, and in 1993 20,966 days. The monetary cost of these absences is not available.

  Grant for Education Support and Training
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the average GEST funding for(a) each local education authority school and (b) each grant-maintained school; and what is the accounting procedure for such funding by the local education authorities and Funding Agency for Schools. [19042]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  For the financial year 1995–96, GEST funding averages £11,100 per local education authority maintained primary, secondary and special school. Grant is payable in instalments, with, if necessary
  172
  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table shows expenditure by Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire local education authorities on pre-primary and primary pupils combined, and on secondary pupils, from 1974–75 to 1993–94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available.

  a final adjustment for the financial year on receipt by the Department of an audit certificate confirming actual expenditure.

  For grant-maintained schools, similar activities are supported by special purpose grant—development. The calculation and payment of special purpose grants are now the responsibility of the Funding Agency for Schools and I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member.

  Funding Agency for Schools
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people are employed at the Funding Agency for Schools; and what were the staff costs in the last financial year. [19130]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  These matters are the responsibility of the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the funding agency to write to the hon. Member with this information.

  School Meals
  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will publish a table showing the total expenditure on school meal service on a per capita basis in cash and real terms for each year since 1970 until the most recent date available. [19376]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table shows the cost per pupil on expenditure on the school meal service in cash and real terms from 1976–77 to 1993–94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available. Figures from
  173
  1970 to 1975–76 are not readily available and can be produced only at disproportionate cost.

  Net Expenditure on School Meal Service

  Unit cost cash terms £

  Unit cost real terms (1994–95 prices) £

  1976–77

  47

  172

  1977–78

  45

  146

  1978–79

  48

  142

  1979–80

  54

  134

  1980–81

  49

  103

  1981–82

  51

  98

  1982–83

  54

  97

  1983–84

  58

  99

  1984–85

  60

  98

  1985–86

  61

  95

  1986–87

  65

  97

  1987–88

  64

  92

  1988–89

  56

  75

  1989–90

  51

  65

  1990–91

  53

  62

  School catering service in cash terms

  £000

  Nottingham

  Staffordshire

  Surrey

  Hertfordshire

  Gross Expenditure

  Gross Income

  Gross Expenditure

  Gross Income

  Gross Expenditure

  Gross Income

  Gross Expenditure

  Gross Income

  1982–83

  14,589

  4,881

  11,726

  5,162

  10,652

  4,992

  14,431

  6,075

  1983–84

  15,823

  5,086

  12,234

  5,739

  10,590

  5,080

  15,025

  6,204

  1984–85

  15,075

  4,127

  11,241

  5,178

  10,536

  5,550

  14,103

  6,081

  1985–86

  14,443

  3,095

  10,671

  4,518

  11,060

  5,612

  14,524

  7,702

  1986–87

  16,308

  4,922

  12,431

  5,711

  11,450

  6,177

  15,879

  8,707

  1987–88

  18,991

  6,414

  13,412

  6,619

  12,437

  6,442

  15,486

  9,225

  1988–89

  19,171

  7,015

  13,330

  7,021

  10,295

  7,506

  15,049

  9,958

  1989–90

  18,296

  7,563

  11,710

  6,596

  10,444

  7,643

  16,433

  10,895

  1990–91

  14,410

  6,938

  12,422

  7,750

  8,881

  5,256

  16,505

  10,555

  1991–92

  n/a

  n/a

  14,764

  8,230

  9,890

  5,490

  18,556

  9,847

  1992–93

  19,059

  7,560

  14,803

  8,944

  13,850

  8,155

  18,214

  9,785

  1993–941

  18,654

  7,678

  16,200

  8,674

  11,562

  n/a

  n/a

  4,110

  1Provisional n/a—Data not available.

  Schools Budget
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 28 March,Official Report, column 577, if she will list the same information on amounts held back of education budgets in 1994–95 for each county local education authority. [18786]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mrs. Gorman) on 17 October 1994,Official Report, column 28.

  Schools Management, North Yorkshire
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what reductions have been made by North Yorkshire county council to its central administration since the advent of local management of schools. [18829]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The percentage of North Yorkshire county council's general schools budget devoted to management and administration in connection with schools since 1991–92 has been as follows:

  1991–92: 1.92 per cent.

  1992–93: 2.15 per cent.

  174

  Net Expenditure on School Meal Service

  Unit cost cash terms £

  Unit cost real terms (1994–95 prices) £

  1991–92

  53

  58

  1992–93

  63

  66

  1993–941

  62

  63

  1 Provisional.

  School Catering
  Mr. McLoughlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 29 March,Official Report, column 692, if she will list the same information on school catering for Nottingham and Staffordshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire. [18787]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table shows Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire local education authorities' total expenditure on, and income from, the school catering service from 1982–83 to 1993–94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available.

  1993–94: 1.90 per cent.

  1994–95: 1.73 per cent.

  1995–96: 1.67 per cent.

  To maintain comparability, all these figures exclude expenditure on special schools, which only became subject to local management from 1994–95.

PRIME MINISTER

  Annual Reports
  Mr. Peter Atkinson
  To ask the Prime Minister when the annual report of the commissioner appointed under the Security Service Act 1989 will be laid before the House; and if he will make a statement. [20166]

  The Prime Minister
  A copy of Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's fifth annual report for 1994 has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 4(6) of the Security Service Act 1989. The confidential annexe to that report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 4(7) of the 1989 Act. I am grateful to the commissioner for his work in reviewing
  175
  the issue of warrants and in providing assistance to the tribunal as provided in the Act. I note that he is satisfied that the Secretaries of State have exercised their warranty powers in accordance with the provisions of the 1989 Act.

  Dr. Goodson-Wickes
  To ask the Prime Minister when the annual report of the commissioner appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 will be laid before the House; and if he will make a statement. [19946]

  The Prime Minister
  A copy of Lord Nolan's annual report for 1994 has been laid before the House today in accordance with section 8(7) of the Interception of Communications Act 1985. The confidential annnexe to that report has been excluded from that copy in accordance with section 8(8) of the 1985 Act. I am grateful to the commissioner for his work in reviewing the issue of warrants and in assisting the tribunal as provided for in the Act. I note that he is satisfied that the powers under the Act are exercised with care and with a strong sense of duty.

  Teachers and Administrators
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 21 March,Official Report, column 112, concerning the ratio of teachers to other manual and non-manual staff employed by education authorities, if he has anything to add to his oral statement of the same day, Official Report, column 140, concerning the ratio of, teachers to administrators in their authorities. [19779]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: No. I made the position clear in my oral statement of 21 March, Official Report, column 141, and my written answer of the same day, Official Report, column 112.

  Conservative Party Health Group
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Prime Minister on what basis and on whose authority Conservative central office has dispatched a summons and agenda paper for a Conservative party meeting to be held at the headquarters of the Department of Health in Richmond terrace in April. [18676]

  (2) if the Cabinet Secretary approved the conducting of Conservative party health group meetings at the headquarters of the Department of Health in Richmond terrace in 1994–95; [18678]

  (3) how many Conservative party health group meetings, for which agenda and summonses were dispatched on Conservative central office notepaper, were held at the Department of Health in Richmond terrace in 1994–95. [18679]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: One Conservative party health group meeting was held during 1994–95 at Richmond house. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health held another meeting on 4 April. These meetings did not incur additional cost to the taxpayer. No civil servant, apart from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's special adviser, was involved in preparing for or servicing these meetings. Approval was not required.

  Official Box, House of Commons
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Prime Minister what instructions and advice is given to special advisers who 176
  occupy the civil service box inside the Chamber of the House as to their conduct, behaviour and impartiality during Question Time, statements and debates; and if he has any plans to amend or review this advice; and if he will make a statement. [18979]

  The Prime Minister
  Attendance in the Official Box is by permission of Madam Speaker who has laid down clear rules on officials' behaviour. These require officials to conduct themselves discreetly at all times. I expect these rules to be scrupulously observed.

  Mr. Ghazanfer Ali
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the current position regarding representations made on behalf of Mr. Ghazanfer Ali who is in prison in Azad Kashmir; and if he will make a statement. [19058]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: We continue to raise our concerns over the delays in the hearings facing Ghazanfer Ali. We understand that the hearings continue to be adjourned.

  Lockerbie
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 28 March,Official Report, column 453, regarding the concrete evidence on Lockerbie if he will (a) name the relevant authorities and (b) make a statement on the result of his approaches to the United States embassy on the issues of alleged forgery of the telex to which the question refers. [18430]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 5 April 1995]: I have asked the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to look into the matters raised by the hon. Member. It has consulted the Crown Office and the Dumfries and Galloway constabulary as the prosecuting and investigating authorities in this case, our security and intelligence services and the United States authorities. The consultations with the United States embassy are intended to check the authenticity of the document in question, and are still continuing.

DEFENCE

  Salisbury Plain
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultation his Department had with English Heritage prior to construction of the new stone roads in the Salisbury plain training area; and if he will make a statement. [18853]

  Mr. Soames
  Track construction on Salisbury plain training area is subject to the normal planning procedures and the planning authority would formally consult English Heritage where appropriate. In addition, English Heritage is one of several bodies represented on the Salisbury plain training area environmental steering group which oversees development and environmental management of the training area.

  "Old Ditch"
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the prehistoric earthwork known as the "Old Ditch" on Tilshead down was destroyed; and who authorised its removal. [18852]
  177
  Mr. Soames
  The surface of the scheduled ancient monument known as the "Old Ditch" on Tilshead down was regrettably scraped during essential engineering works between 13 and 17 March. Investigation into the incident is being carried out, but initial indications are that the damage to the earthwork was the result of an accident.

  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the report by the defence land agent on the destruction of the prehistoric monument known as the "Old Ditch" on Tilshead down; and if he will make a statement. [18854]

  Mr. Soames
  The defence land agent is at present carrying out an investigation into the incident. Once the investigation is complete, a summary of the report will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Advertising
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each non-departmental public body and agency for which he has responsibility and, for each, list separate figures for the spending by that body or agency on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising, (d) other promotion materials and activities, (e) the totals in each year of (a) to (d) and (f) the proportion of (e) that was

  Child Support Agency (established April 1993)

  £

  1991–2

  1992–3

  1993–4

  1994–5

  1995–6

  (a) television advertising

  1

  1

  302,185

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  1

  1

  276,420

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising

  1

  33,2404

  269,259

  —

  —

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  1

  1

  842,357

  1.9 million

  —

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)5

  33,2404

  1.7 million

  1.9 million

  3.05 million3

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment advertising

  100 per cent.

  2

  2

  2

  Notes:

  1 Publicity budget held centrally by DSS.

  2 A breakdown of recruitment advertising is not available for 1993–94 and 1994–95. CSA has spent £27,265 on recruitment press advertising from 1993 to date.

  3 Total budget for 1995–96.

  4 Recruitment advertising budget was held by CSA and was done through newspapers.

  1Totals rounded, where appropriate, to nearest £100,000. Totals may therefore not sum.

  War pensions Agency (established April 1994)

  £

  1991/92

  1992/93

  1993/94

  1994/95

  1995/96

  (a) television advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising

  1

  1

  1

  1,814

  —

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  1

  1

  1

  21,000

  —

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)

  22,814

  225,000

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment advertising

  —

  Notes:

  1 Budget held centrally by DSS.

  2 Estimate only, no breakdown available.

  Contributions Agency (established April 1991)

  £

  1991–2

  1992–3

  1993–4

  1994–5

  1995–6

  (a) television advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising

  1

  1

  1

  30,192

  —

  178
  spent on recruitment advertising for each year since 1979–80 or for each year of its existence if it has been created since 1979–80; and what are his latest estimates of (a) to (f) for the years 1994–95 and 1995–96. [17612]

  Mr. Hague
  Information is not available in the form requested. The available information is as follows:

  Benefits Agency (established April 1992)

  £ million

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  21995–96

  (a) television advertising

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising and

  1

  8.1

  7.7

  7.0

  —

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)

  8.1

  7.7

  7.0

  6.8

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment advertising

  This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost

  Notes:

  1 Budget held centrally by DSS.

  2 Breakdown not available for 1995–96. Total is estimated. Expenditure rounded to nearest £100,000.

  179

  Contributions Agency (established April 1991)

  £

  1991–2

  1992–3

  1993–4

  1994–5

  1995–6

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  1

  1

  1

  34.1 million

  24 million

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)

  —

  —

  —

  4.2 million

  —

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment advertising

  —

  —

  —

  0.14 per cent.

  —

  Notes:

  1 Budget held centrally by DSS.

  2 Estimated publicity budget.

  3 Totals rounded, where appropriate, to nearest £100,000. Totals may therefore not sum.

  Information Technology Services Agency (established April 1990)

  £

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  (a) television advertising

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising

  52,000

  103,000

  36,000

  1,000

  5,000

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)

  52,000

  103,000

  36,000

  1,000

  5,000

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment advertising

  100 per cent.

  100 per cent.

  100 per cent.

  100 per cent.

  100 per cent.

  Resettlement Agency (established May 1989)

  No such expenditure.

  Non-departmental Bodies Central adjudication services (established April 1984)

  £

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Non-departmental bodies

  (a) television advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  1

  1

  1

  400

  —

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)

  —

  —

  —

  400

  —

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment
  advertising

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Notes:

  1Expenditure prior to 1994–95 has not been identified, and none is anticipated for 1995–96.

  Independent Tribunal Service (established April 1984) includes Social Security Appeal Tribunals, Medical Appeal Tribunals, Disability Appeal Tribunals, Child Support Tribunals and Vaccine Damage Tribunals

  £

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  (a) television advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (b) radio advertising

  1

  1

  1

  —

  —

  (c) newspaper advertising

  1

  1

  1

  6,999

  4,500

  (d) other promotion materials and activities

  1

  1

  1

  11,000

  —

  (e) the totals of (a) to (d)

  —

  —

  —

  17,999

  4,500

  (f) proportion spent on recruitment advertising

  —

  —

  —

  38.89 per cent.

  100 per cent.

  Notes:

  1 Expenditure prior to 1994–95 has not been identified, and none is anticipated for 1995–96.

  The following non-departmental public bodies are also the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security, but have not recorded any expenditure in the categories requested because budgets were centrally held.

  Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions

  War Pension Committees

  Social Security Advisory Committee

  Industrial Injuries Advisory Council

  Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board

  Occupational Pensions Board

  Poverty
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households in Liverpool are living on or below the poverty line. [18945]
  180
  Mr. Burt
  No Government of any political persuasion Poverty have ever accepted that it is possible to provide a meaningful definition of poverty.

  Statistics on patterns of household disposable income, for the United Kingdom as a whole, are provided in

  181
  "Households below Average Income 1979–1991/92" published in July 1994, a copy of which is in the Library. Information is not available on a regional basis.

  Maintenance
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total monetary value of maintenance arranged or collected by his Department's liable relatives unit in the year from 6 April 1991 to 5 April 1992. [18821]

  Mr. Burt
  Benefit savings of £283.9 million were achieved in the 1991–92 financial year as a result of liable relative action by the Benefits Agency. It is not possible to break this down to show amounts arranged or collected.

  Child Support Agency
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of cases taken on by the Child Support Agency involve absent parents and parents with care who have separated since 5 April 1993. [18818]

  Mr. Burt
  The information is not collected.

  Incapacity Benefit
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimates he has made of the number of people in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale currently receiving invalidity benefit who will not qualify for the new incapacity benefit. [19395]

  Mr. Hague
  The information requested is not available. Estimates are not broken down into local areas or regions.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has bought in the last five years; and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19834]

  Mr. Burt
  The information requested is not available, but as a matter of policy the Department has deliberately phased out the use of tropical hardwoods including mahogany.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many members of training and enterprise councils representing business and industry have been nominated by co-operative business; what are the criteria for business and industry nominations; and what steps are taken to ensure that nominations are received from co-operative business. [19069]

  Mr. Paice
  The Department does not hold information on the numbers of training and enterprise council board members from co-operative business. As private companies, TECs are responsible for the selection of their own board members. The Government contract with TECs requires that two thirds of the board should be private sector employers who are chairmen, chief executives or top operational managers at local level of a182
  company. Private sector directors should broadly reflect the mix of commerce and industry in the TEC area.

  Jobseeker's Allowance
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the jobseeker's allowance pilot was set up in Guildford in Surrey; and whether there has been a reduction in the unemployment register for Guildford since the pilot commenced. [19136]

  Miss Widdecombe
  The pilot currently running in the Employment Service's Guildford district is not a jobseeker's allowance pilot. It is part of a project aimed at improving and making more efficient ES's existing job-broking and advisory activities, in particular through developing better information technology support. The pilot has been developing and testing a prototype IT system, to deal with functions such as signing, vacancy taking, vacancy search, maintaining client records, carrying out in-work benefit calculations and managing diaries and case loads. The prototype system began operation in four of the five offices in the Guildford district in May 1994.

  Between June and December 1994, average unemployment fell by 23 per cent. in the Guildford district.

  South London TEC
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the figure for expected youth training guarantees starts in 1995–96 in the expanded South London TEC area. [19292]

  Mr. Paice
  The figure for youth training guarantee starts for the SOLOTEC area of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon and Sutton for the 1995–96 contract year is 2,250. A further 1,152 guarantee starts are expected for Greenwich and Lewisham subject to further negotiation between SOLOTEC and the government office for London.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has bought in the last five years; and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19841]

  Miss Widdecombe
  None.

TREASURY

  European Co-operative Statute
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action the Government are taking to progress the European Co-operative Statute with a view to reaching a common position during the French presidency in the first half of the current year; and if he will make a statement. [19451]

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government are negotiating constructively on the proposal for a European Co-operative Statute. A number of important issues need
  183
  to be resolved, including the legal base, protection of creditors on transfer of registered office and the question of compulsory employee participation. Discussions on the statute are continuing in the Council working group in Brussels.

  Industrial and Provident Societies
  Mr. Keen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the objectives of the forthcoming general review, under the deregulation initiative, of the industrial and provident societies legislation as outlined in the recent report of the Chief Registrar; what steps are being taken to consult interested societies and their members; if he will produce a timetable for the review; and if he will make a statement. [19449]

  Mr. Nelson
  A consultation document on proposed changes to industrial and provident societies legislation was published on 5 April,Official Report, column 1162. Copies have been sent to promoting bodies, professional accounting bodies, solicitors' firms, housing associations and co-operatives. Proposals include aligning the audit requirements for industrial and provident societies with those of companies and changing the timetable for submitting returns. The closing date for response is 12 May. Subject to the responses, the Government hope to put draft orders to the Deregulation Committee as soon as possible thereafter.

  Schools (Tax Relief)
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if schools will be able to claim tax relief on money raised by parents. [18900]

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Schools are generally exempt from tax on moneys they receive from fund-raising by parents.

  Exchange Rates
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Government are required by the Maastricht treaty to seek to arrange their economic policies with a view to seek to engage sterling in a stable exchange rate with other Euro-currencies. [18154]

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 4 April 1995]: There is no provision in the treaty which requires the United Kingdom to seek to maintain a stable exchange rate.

  Income Tax
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give a breakdown by category of the number of people who have(a) been brought into paying income tax since 1992–93 and (b) will come into paying income tax in 1995–96 as compared with 1994–95. [17428]

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 31 March 1995]: Available information is given in the table. The increase in taxpayer numbers is largely due to economic growth. In addition, the number of people in work is increasing—the UK work force in employment had increases of 174,000 between December 1993 and December 1994. If the 1978–79 income tax regime had been indexed to 1995–96, there would be 1 million more taxpayers in 1995–96.
  184

  Number of taxpayers by status (thousands)

  Single people

  Husbands

  Wives

  Total

  1992–93

  10,460

  9,080

  5,840

  25,400

  1994–951

  10,700

  9,100

  5,900

  25,700

  1995–961

  10,800

  9,400

  6,000

  26,200

  1 Provisional.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Rules and Regulations
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many rules and regulations he repealed in the first three months of 1995; and how many new rules and regulations were introduced in that period by way of statutory instruments, motions or orders. [19364]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: My Department has not repealed any regulations this year. The following regulations were introduced in the first three months of the year:

  The Natural History Museum (Authorised Repositories) Order 1995

  The Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 1995.

  Neither of these introduced new regulatory requirements which had costs for business.

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what requirements there are for officials in his Department to introduce a compliance cost assessment for all rules and regulations coming before him and his Ministers; and how many compliance cost assessments have been issued in his Department in the first three months of this year. [19350]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: My Department is committed to undertaking compliance cost assessments for all measures which impose costs on business. No such measures have been introduced this year and therefore no assessments have been prepared.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  British Technology Group
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what are the salaries of the directors of the British Technology Group currently; and what they were in 1991 before privatisation; [19251]

  (2) what resources the British Technology Group has placed in the university sector (a) since 1991 and (b) in 1991 prior to privatisation. [19249]

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  This is a matter for the board.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assets held by the British Technology Group have been sold since it was privatised. [19250]

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Under the terms of a special share in British Technology Group, the Secretary of State's approval is required for any disposal of the whole or a material part of the assets of the group. No such disposal has taken place. Any other asset sales are a matter for the board.

  Companies House
  Mr. Peter Atkinson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what targets he has set Companies House executive agency for 1995–96. [19994]

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have set Companies House executive agency the following targets for 1995–96:

  to make all statutory documents available for public inspection within a maximum of five working days of receipt in Companies House

  to achieve, on average, a monthly compliance rate for accounts submitted of 95 per cent. and for annual returns submitted of 93 per cent.

  to ensure that a minimum of 90 per cent. of fiche provided to customers are error free and that the percentage of error free work in current processing is at least 97 per cent.

  to reduce real unit costs by 10 per cent. compared with the outturn in 1993–94—an average reduction of 5 per cent. per annum

  to achieve a 6 per cent. average annual rate of return based on operating surplus expressed as a percentage of average net assets employed at current values

  to answer 90 per cent. of incoming telephone calls within six rings—20 seconds

  In addition, I expect the chief executive of the agency to continue to reply within 10 working days to all letters from Members of Parliament delegated to him for reply.

  European Solar Prize
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what support or endorsement his Department is giving to the 1995 European solar prize, judged and administered by EUROSOLAR International, and to the national UK solar prize, judged and administered by EUROSOLAR UK. [18895]

  Mr. Page
  The Department welcomes the joint European Commission—EUROSOLAR initiative in setting up the European solar prize, and the associated national UK solar prize. The Department's new and renewable energy programme is assisting with the publicity of this activity.

  Renewable Energy
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the Government expenditure on research development, demonstration and dissemination of renewable energy technologies, as defined in energy paper No. 62, page 6, figure 2, for each year since 1990, together with projected expenditure for each year until 1997. [18926]

  Mr. Heseltine
  Government expenditure on research, development, demonstration and dissemination of renewable energy technologies since 1990 is shown.

  £ million

  Programme

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Wind

  4.5

  6.7

  8.7

  7.3

  2.7

  Wave

  0.4

  0.5

  0.3

  0.2

  0.1

  Geothermal Aquifers

  0

  0.1

  0.1

  0.1

  0

  Geothermal Hot Dry Rocks

  2.6

  1.6

  1.1

  1

  0.2

  Solar

  2.1

  2.4

  2.3

  2.4

  2.1

  Biofuels

  1.8

  2.5

  3.2

  3.4

  3.6

  Tidal

  1.9

  1.9

  1.7

  0.6

  0.2

  Hydro

  0.1

  0.1

  0.1

  0.2

  0.1

  186

  £ million

  Programme

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Technology Transfer

  2.9

  3.3

  2.6

  4.2

  4.2

  ETSU R and D Management

  3.8

  4.6

  4

  4.2

  4.6

  Fuel Cells

  n/a

  0.2

  0.4

  0.8

  0.9

  Strategic Studies

  0.7

  0.9

  1

  0.8

  0.4

  New and Renewables Total Gross1

  20.8

  24.8

  25.6

  25.2

  19.2

  1 Minor difference due to rounding.

  The Government's expenditure plans for renewable and novel sources of energy for 1995–96 to 1997–98 are shown below.

  £ million

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  New and Renewables

  18

  15.5

  15.5

  Raytheon Plant
  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has written to the Raytheon company to ask it to reconsider its decision to close its Broughton plant. [19455]

  Mr. Heseltine
  I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 5 April 1995,Official Report, column 1187.

  International Co-operative Alliance
  Mr. Keen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to acknowledge the centenary celebrations of the international co-operative movement; and if he or one of his Ministers will be taking part in the centenary congress of the International Co-operative Alliance to be held in Manchester in September 1995. [19450]

  Mr. Heseltine
  No DTI Ministers will attend this event, but the Department expects to be represented at official level. I take this opportunity to wish the alliance a successful centennial congress.

  Coal Mining Contractors Pension Scheme
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many members of the coal mining contractors pension scheme fund who have pensions retained in the scheme are not contactable because the coal mining contractors pension scheme fund does not have accurate information on their addresses; [18831]

  (2) what is the expected amount of the coal mining contractors pension scheme fund to be transferred to the insurance company to be selected by the trustees; [18833]

  (3) what is the current total sum in the coal mining contractors pension scheme fund; [18832]

  (4) how many members of the coal mining contractors pension scheme are currently in receipt of a pension; and how many are not yet in receipt of a pension but who will qualify for a pension once they attain the age of 65 years. [18830]

  Mr. Page
  These are matters for the trustees of the coal mining contractors pension scheme who may be contacted through CMT Pension Trustee Services Ltd., 1 Hussar court, Hillsborough barracks, Sheffield, S6 2LW.

  Energy Consumption
  Mrs. Diana Maddock
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was(a) the total amount and (b) the total cost of (i) electricity, (ii) gas, (iii) coal, (iv) coke and breeze, (v) solid fuels, (vi) petroleum and (vii) solar and geothermal energy consumed by domestic users in each English county during the last year for which figures are available. [19890]

  Mr. Eggar
  I regret that this information is not available.

  AEA Technology
  Dr. Moonie
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current actuarial value of the forecast total liabilities of the pension rights of the employees at AEA Technology; and if he will make a statement. [19156]

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Employees of AEA Technology are employed by the UKAEA. Detailed data are available only for the whole of the UKAEA. However, the value of the liabilities in respect of AEA Technology is estimated to lie in the range of £120 million to £160 million.

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95 (a)

  Expenditure £K

  Hours

  Expenditure £K

  Hours

  Expenditure £K

  Hours

  Centre DTI

  1,678

  145,910

  1,612

  135,480

  1,539

  124,970

  DTI agencies:

  Insolvency Service

  323

  34,450

  266

  18,940

  110

  7,230

  National Weights and Measures Laboratory

  6

  390

  10

  768

  8

  500

  Laboratory of the Government Chemist

  58

  7,100

  42

  4,200

  42

  3,900

  National Engineering Laboratory

  67

  4,882

  58

  4,329

  71

  5,409

  National Physical Laboratory

  51

  (b)

  81

  (b)

  82

  (b)

  Radiocommunications

  359

  17,071

  414

  18,047

  394

  13,523

  Companies House

  354

  45,674

  380

  52,829

  316

  41,817

  Patent Office

  185

  26,923

  223

  27,005

  264

  30,014

  Total

  3,081

  282,400

  3,086

  261,598

  2,826

  227,363

  Notes:

  (a) The entries for 1994–95 are provisional figures.

  (b) Figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  The total number of days lost by the centre of the department through sickness for calendar years 1992 and 1993 were 101,835.8 and 107,796.5 respectively. The Department could provide information on the monetary equivalents of these figures only at disproportionate cost. Data are not yet available for 1994.

  Chernobyl
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on the stabilisation of the existing shelter and damaged remains of reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, commissioned by the European Commission under the EU Tacis contract WW92.04/01.01/B029. [19319]

  Mr. Heseltine
  The report in question is the property of the European Commission and is commercially confidential. However, the executive summary has been made available to the European Parliament, and copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Arms Exports
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Teignbridge (Mr. Nicholls) of 2 March,Official Report, column 716, if he will make a statement on how the EU criteria for arms exports were taken into consideration in the issuing of a licence to Alvis for the export of armoured vehicles to Indonesia. [19341]

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have nothing further to add to my statement of 2 March 1995.

  Overtime
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each agency and the central department for which he is responsible(a) the total hours of overtime worked for which payment has been made, (b) the total amount paid in overtime and (c) the total time in days and its monetary equivalent lost through sickness in each of the last three years. [19675]

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Information concerning the paid overtime for the financial years 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95 is given in the table.

  Waste Management
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the implications for present waste management strategy at Sellafield of the agreement between British Nuclear Fuels and Nuclear Electric on 31 March on reprocessing and spent fuel management services; and what meetings Ministers or officials of his Department had with each company respectively, in regard to the matters set out in the agreement. [19321]

  Mr. Heseltine
  The agreement between British Nuclear Fuels plc and Nuclear Electric plc is a commercial matter for the companies involved. Subject to meeting the appropriate regulatory requirements, BNFL is responsible for waste management strategy at Sellafield as operators of the site. I understand from the company that the agreement has no implications for this strategy. Ministers and officials meet representatives from the two companies from time to time to discuss a range of issues.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 27 March,Official Report, column 410, if he will list the 1,000 regulations which have been targeted by Departments to remove unnecessary burdens to business; and if he will make a statement as to the progress proposed on each, and the timescale for so doing. [18090]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Of the 1,000 regulations, about 430 are concerned with transportation matters including about 25 aviation, about 250 maritime and about 150 road transport regulations; about 130 concern the Chancellor's Departments including amendments to the regulatory structure in implementing the investment services directive and the capital adequacy directive; regulatory changes arising from self-assessment of personal taxation and simplification of VAT accounting; about 110 are concerned with health and safety including legislation under the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974; about 100 concern trade and industry, including consumer protection, weights and measures, patents, insurance regulation, company and competition law; about 80 relate to local government, housing, environmental controls, and planning and building regulations; about 75 deal with agricultural, fisheries and food matters; about 50 relate to health matters including human medicines and food safety legislation; about 30 concern matters dealt with by the' Home Office including legislation on gambling, liquor licensing, street trading, public entertainment licensing and game licensing; the remainder are from other departments with regulatory responsibilities.

  Considerable progress has already been made in implementing these changes. The timetable for the remainder varies because of the need for consultation with those affected by the regulations, but we expect about half of the 1,000 to have been dealt with by the end of the year.

  Deregulatory action is also being undertaken in a number of other important areas, including ensuring that new regulations are introduced only if they are needed and have the minimum possible compliance costs; making enforcement procedures more business friendly; and promoting a deregulatory approach in the European Union.

  Rules and Regulations
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many rules and regulations he repealed in the first three months of 1995; and how many new rules and regulations were introduced in that period by way of statutory instruments, motions or orders. [19369]

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: In the first three months of 1995, there were three simple repeals of regulation. In the same period, 21 were introduced, not including commencement orders, Orders in Council and instruments not subject to parliamentary procedure, such as translations into Welsh, of which:
  190

  nine repealed earlier instruments or substituted a more favourable regime for business

  two implemented EU obligations, including measures to facilitate trade between member states

  four facilitated privatisations and competition

  four updated fees and charges or related to local legislation

  the remaining two, while not fitting any of the categories above, had no adverse impact on business

  Very few introduced new regulatory requirements which had costs for business.

  Other deregulatory activity by my Department is described in the answer to another question given to my hon. Friend today.

  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what requirements there are for officials in his Department to introduce a compliance cost assessment for all rules and regulations coming before him and his Ministers; and how many compliance cost assessments have been issued in his Department in the first three months of this year. [19354]

  Mr. Heseltine
  [holding
  answer 18 April 1995]: The Government have agreed that a compliance cost assessment should be prepared in the following circumstances:

  in support of papers for collective discussion that deal with proposals which may have an impact on business;

  when preparing statistical surveys which will involve business;

  alongside draft primary, secondary and EC legislation having an impact on business when it is presented to Parliament;

  as part of the advice to Ministers on the line to be taken on a private Member's Bill which affects business;

  All CCAs accompanying draft Government legislation are published. My Department issued four of these in the first three months of this year, copies of which are in the Library. A list of all CCAs issued between November 1993 and June 1994 was published in December 1994—Cm 2719. Another Command Paper covering the period July to December 1994 will be published shortly.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has bought in the last five years; and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19849]

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  In the last five years the only item purchased for my Department's London headquarters which contains mahogany was a veneer meeting table bought in 1990 at a cost of around £400. Comparable information is not available for the DTI's agencies.

  Pergau Dam
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 31 March,Official Report, column 886, in what circumstances further contributions will be made from the public purse to meet cost escalations for the Pergau dam. [19692]

  Mr. Heseltine
  No approach has been made to date which will entail additional contributions from the public purse to meet cost escalations for the Pergau dam.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Rules and Regulations
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many rules and regulations he repealed in the first three months of 1995; and how many new rules and regulations were introduced in that period by way of statutory instruments, motions or orders. [19363]

  Mr. Howard
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Thirty eight instruments were revoked in the months January, February and March 1995. Twenty-eight statutory instruments were made during that period, not including commencement orders. Orders in Council and instruments not subject to parliamentary procedure. Of these, over half revoked earlier instruments or substituted a more favourable regime for business.

  Firearms
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the(a) name, (b) occupation or former occupation, (c) place of residence and (d) annual honorarium, allowance and/or payment of each member of the Advisory Committee on Firearms; and if he will make a statement; [19017]

  (2) what recommendations he has received from the Advisory Committee on Firearms in relation to the certification of shotguns in the past five years; and if he, will make a statement. [19019]

  Mr. Maclean
  The Firearms Consultative Committee is a statutory body set up under section 22 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988. Members appointed to the committee are chosen from those who appear to the Home Secretary to have knowledge and experience of either the possession, use or keeping of, or transactions in firearms; or weapon technology; or the administration or enforcement of the provisions of the Firearms Acts in Great Britain.

  A list of committee members with biographies relevant to their appointment is contained in the committee's fifth annual report, a copy of which is in the Library. Since the report was published, Lord Shrewsbury has assumed chairmanship of the committee and Sir Malcolm Guthrie has resigned. Communications to committee members should be addressed to the Secretary, Firearms Consultative Committee, 50 Queen Anne's gate, London SW1H 9AT. Members receive no allowance, but travelling expenses are reimbursed.

  The recommendations received from the Firearms Consultative Committee in the past five years including those relating to the certification of shotguns are listed in the committee's fifth annual report.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the differences between the current legislation governing(a) firearms and (b) shotgun certificates; and if he will make a statement; [19027]

  (2) what plans he has to bring the legislation governing shotgun certificates into line with the legislation governing firearm certificates; and if he will make a statement. [19026]

  Mr. Maclean
  Before issuing either a firearm or shotgun certificate, a chief officer of police must consider whether the applicant is, by virtue of a previous conviction, prohibited from possessing firearms and 192
  whether the applicant can be permitted to possess firearms without danger to the public safety or to the peace. In addition, a firearm certificate will be refused where the chief officer is not satisfied that the applicant has a good reason for possessing the firearm(s) in question. A shotgun certificate will be refused where the chief officer is satisfied that the applicant does not have a good reason for possessing shotguns. The holder of a firearm certificate must obtain further authority from the police for each additional firearm he wishes to keep. The holder of a shotgun certificate may acquire additional shotguns subject to notifying the police of each acquisition.

  There are no plans to bring the legislation governing the issue of shotgun certificates in Great Britain completely into line with that for firearm certificates, but the Firearms Consultative Committee in its fifth annual report recommended that a working group be set up to consider the issue of licensing as a whole. The merits of a single certificate to cover both firearms and shotguns will be considered.

  Closed Circuit Television
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 31 March,Official Report, column 853, if Wood Green high road's bid was among those 289 bids for CCTV assessed by the panel as being of good or very good quality. [18800]

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Yes.

  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 31 March,Official Report, column 853, how many of the 289 CCTV bids assessed as being of good or very good quality were from London. [19374]

  Mr. Maclean
  Thirty-three.

  Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of claimants under(a) the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and (b) the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority lived in London in the last year for which figures are available. [19392]

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: Definitive records are not available centrally. However, such records as are available suggest that in the year 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995 about 12.5 per cent. of the claims registered by CICA had a London address. The only figures available in respect of CICB relate to the period December 1993 to March 1994, when about 8 per cent. of the claims registered appear to have had a London address.

  Police National Computer
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration his Department has given to private sector investment in the operation and maintenance of the police national computer. [19153]

  Mr. Maclean
  I refer the right hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Leyton
  193
  (Mr. Cohen) on 8 March 1995, Official Report, columns 185–86.

  Miscarriages of Justice
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has received from the Association of Chief Police Officers about the cost of police investigations into alleged and proven miscarriages of justice in the last five years. [19040]

  Mr. Maclean
  None. However, we are due shortly to discuss with the association the results of a survey of the costs of a small sample of recently completed

  Crimes1 recorded by the police in OECD countries2

  1979

  1987

  1993

  Number

  Index

  Number

  Index

  Number

  Index

  Australia3

  642,066

  100

  1,070,367

  167

  41,273,948

  198

  Austria

  330,132

  100

  391,291

  119

  493,786

  150

  Belgium

  —

  —

  293,631

  —

  388,150

  —

  Canada

  1,855,271

  100

  2,368,956

  128

  2,736,096

  147

  Denmark

  355,054

  100

  524,323

  148

  546,894

  154

  Finland

  192,979

  100

  317,290

  164

  385,985

  200

  France

  2,330,566

  100

  3,170,970

  136

  3,881,894

  167

  Germany

  3,533,802

  100

  4,444,108

  126

  56,750,613

  —

  Greece

  —

  —

  303,182

  —

  —

  —

  Ireland

  64,057

  100

  85,358

  133

  98,979

  155

  Italy

  1,103,536

  100

  1,867,035

  169

  2,253,303

  204

  Japan

  1,289,405

  100

  1,577,954

  122

  1,801,150

  140

  Netherlands

  615,700

  100

  1,042,120

  169

  1,279,460

  208

  New Zealand

  —

  —

  406,627

  —

  502,460

  —

  Norway

  109,991

  100

  198,877

  181

  248,001

  225

  Portugal

  —

  —

  251,588

  —

  339,662

  —

  Sweden

  698,171

  100

  949,367

  136

  1,031,015

  148

  United Kingdom

  England/Wales

  2,536,700

  100

  3,892,200

  153

  5,526,300

  218

  Northern Ireland

  54,262

  100

  63,860

  118

  66,228

  122

  Scotland

  346,680

  100

  481,230

  139

  543,013

  157

  USA6

  12,249,500

  100

  13,508,700

  110

  14,141,000

  115

  1 More serious offences. In many countries defined as against the "penal code" or "criminal code" and excludes less serious crimes—misdemeanours. The range of offences covered differ between each country and some countries acknowledge double counting in the collection of such statistics. Comparisons based upon absolute figures are therefore misleading. For certain countries, it is additionally known that in the period 1979–87, improvements in data quality and changes in the penal code have affected these statistics.

  2 No information available for Iceland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and Switzerland.

  3 Data for financial years 1979 = 1979–80 etc.

  4 1992 figures.

  5 Includes East Germany in 1993.

  6 FBI uniform crime index covering murder and non-negligent manslaughter, manslaughter by negligence, forcible rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny—theft of motor vehicles, theft and arson, but excludes offences such as drug, which are included in other countries' figures.

  Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the(a) name, (b) occupation or former occupation, (c) place of residence and (d) annual honorarium, allowance or payment of each member of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs; and if he will make a statement. [19016]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The current members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and their occupations are as follows:

  Mrs. J. Barlow, Projects Manager, Aberlour Childcare Trust, Stirling.

  Mr. R. Bartle, Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, London.

  Dr. W. Clee, General Medical Practitioner, Cardiff.

  Dr. M. Donmall, Unit Director, University of Manchester Drug Research Unit.

  194
  investigations, based on information supplied to the Home Office by the police forces concerned.

  Crime Rates
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each OECD country for which data are available the total of recorded crime in 1979, 1987 and 1993, with an index for each country where 1979=100. [18898]

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: The readily available information on crimes recorded by the police in OECD countries is provided in the table:

  Dr. A. Duxbury, Professor of Oral Medicine, University of Manchester.

  Professor G. Edwards, Chairman, National Addiction Centre, London.

  Mrs. J. Faugier, Research Fellow, North West Regional Health Authority, Warrington.

  Professor D. Grahame-Smith, (Chairman), Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Oxford University.

  Dr. J. Greenwood, Consultant Psychiatrist, Community Drug Problem Service, Edinburgh.

  Ms K. Hager, Director, Exeter Drugs Project.

  Mr. P. Hayes, Assistant Chief Probation Officer, South East London Probation Service.

  Mr. K. Hellawell, Chief Constable, West Yorkshire Police.

  Ms L. Hewitt, Project Manager, the Stockwell Project, London.

  Mr. M. Hindson, Assistant Chief Probation Officer, Greater Manchester Probation Service.

  195

  Professor R. Jones, Professor of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liverpool.

  Ms R. Joyce, County Advisor for Health Education, Cambridge.

  Mr. J. Kay, Managing Director, Healthwise Ltd. Liverpool.

  Dr. M. Keen, Consultant Psychiatrist, Adfer Addiction Unit, Cardiff.

  Dr. D. Kennedy, Consultant Physician, Glasgow.

  Professor M. Lader, Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of London.

  Mr. A. Massam, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry, London.

  Mr. M. Narayn Singh, Public Education Officer, Manchester City Council.

  Professor W. 011is, Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Birmingham.

  Mr. K. Patel, Deputy Director, the Bridge Project, Bradford.

  Dr. D. Paterson, Consultant Psychiatrist, Omagh.

  Mr. A. Ramsay, Regional Advisor in Health Education, Glasgow.

  Dr. S. Ruben, Consultant Psychiatrist, Liverpool Drug Dependency Clinic.

  Viscountess Runciman, (independent), London.

  Mr. I. Sherwood, Senior Speciality Nurse, Avon Drug Problem Team, Bristol.

  Professor G. Stimson, Director, Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour, London.

  Professor J. Strang, Consultant Psychiatrist, Addiction Research Unit, London.

  Dr. D. Temple, Director of Post-Graduate Pharmaceutical Studies for the NHS in Wales, the University of Wales, Cardiff.

  Mr. D. Turner, Former Director, Standing Conference on Drug Abuse, London.

  Mr. E. Unsworth, Deputy Director, Social Services, Cambridgeshire County Council.

  Mr. P. Walker, Headteacher, the Abbey School, Faversham.

  Dr. T. Waller, General Medical Practitioner, Ipswich.

  Official records of members' places of residence are not kept but, so far as we know, most live in the locality in which they work. They serve in a voluntary capacity and receive only reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses.

  Drugs
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those mines where the British Coal occupational health service currently maintains responsibility for the holding of pethidine; in which mines pethidine is currently(a) held and (b) not held; and if he will make a statement. [19389]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Mines are covered by a group licence issued by the Home Office to enable them to hold certain controlled drugs, including pethidine, on site for emergency use.

  The British Coal Corporation's occupational health service currently maintains responsibility for the supply of pethidine to the following mines:

  Annesley/Bentinck

  Asfordby

  Bilsthorpe

  Calverton

  Clipstone

  Daw Mill

  Ellington

  Francis

  Gascoigne Wood

  Hatfield

  196

  Harworth

  Kellingley

  Longannet

  Maltby

  Markham

  North Selby

  Point of Ayr

  Prince of Wales

  Riccall

  Rossington

  Stillingfleet

  Thoresby

  Tower

  Welbeck

  Wistow

  Whitemoor

  At present, all these mines hold pethidine on site.

  British Coal has no responsibility for occupational health services at the following mines:

  Betwys

  Coventry

  Monktonhall

  Silverdale

  Trentham/Hem Health

  None of these mines currently holds pethidine on site.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the legislative differences relating to drugs which are classified as schedule 3 as compared with those classified as schedule 4; and if he will make a statement. [19015]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The differences between the controls on drugs in schedule 3 and schedule 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 are as follows:

  possession of schedule 3 drugs requires authority. Possession of schedule 4 drugs does not require authority when they are in the form of medicinal products;

  import and export licences are required for schedule 3 drugs but not for schedule 4 drugs;

  certain schedule 3 drugs are subject to the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 which require them to be kept in a locked cabinet or locked receptacle. The remaining schedule 3 and all schedule 4 drugs are exempted from these requirements;

  schedule 3 drugs are subject to specific requisitioning requirements; prescriptions must be handwritten by doctors; supply on prescription is subject to certain requirements; and there are labelling requirements for some containers. Schedule 4 drugs are exempted from these requirements.

  Prison Population
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Knowsley, North (Mr. Howarth) of 17 March,Official Report, column 761, if he will list the prisons which his Department regards as significantly over the average level of overcrowding in all prisons. [18209]

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about those prisons which are regarded as significantly over the average level of overcrowding in all prisons.

  197
  On 31 March 1995 the total population of the 133 prison establishments in England and Wales was 51,121. The total Certified Normal Accommodation in use at those establishments was 49,441. The percentage overcrowding in the prison estate as a whole was, therefore, 3%.
  Of those 133 establishments, 45 had a population in excess of their Certified Normal Accommodation in use. The average percentage by which the population of these 45 establishments exceeded their Certified Normal Accommodation in use was 22%. In 18 of these 45 establishments, the population exceeded the Certified Normal Accommodation in use by a percentage greater than 22%. These establishments are shown in the attached table.

  Prison establishments with a population of more than 22 per cent. higher than their certified normal accommodation in use on 31 March 1995

  Establishment

  Percentage overcrowding

  Birmingham

  45

  Brixton

  23

  Canterbury

  49

  Cardiff

  48

  Chelmsford

  57

  Dorchester

  42

  Durham

  41

  Exeter

  53

  Leeds

  31

  Leicester

  80

  Lincoln

  42

  Low Newton

  40

  Pentonville

  31

  Preston

  39

  Shepton Mallet

  32

  Shrewsbury

  83

  Stafford

  48

  Swansea

  46

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources are available to deal with overcrowding in prison. [18217]

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the resources available to deal with overcrowding in prisons.
  The majority of prisons are not overcrowded. Overcrowding is concentrated principally in some local prisons and remand centres. This is because of the need to hold unsentenced prisoners close to the courts.
  Our first priority is to ensure that existing accommodation is fully utilised. In addition, there is a substantial programme for the building of new accommodation. By the end of the decade, this will provide 6,400 new prison places through the building of new prisons and new houseblocks at existing prisons.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria his Department uses to determine the funding given to prisons in the United Kingdom with particular reference to prison numbers and overcrowding. [18216]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Funding for prisons in England and Wales takes account of the need to accommodate the projected prison population with minimum overcrowding in accordance with agreed standards and policies.

  Funding for prisons in Scotland and in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the relevant Secretaries of State.
  198
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list(a) the official cell capacity and (b) the inmate prison population in each prison in England and Wales on 24 March. [17236]

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the official cell capacity and the inmate population of each prison in England and Wales on 24 March 1995.
  The information is given in the attached table.

  Establishment

  Certified normal accommodation in use

  Population

  Acklington

  658

  631

  Albany

  436

  422

  Aldington

  127

  122

  Ashwell

  404

  385

  Askham Grange

  146

  112

  Aylesbury

  230

  224

  Bedford

  303

  300

  Belmarsh

  792

  589

  Birmingham

  567

  828

  Blakenhurst

  649

  653

  Blantyre House

  95

  95

  Blundeston

  408

  376

  Brinsford

  477

  464

  Bristol

  464

  483

  Brixton

  484

  619

  Brockhill

  111

  129

  Buckley Hall

  90

  90

  Bullingdon

  644

  631

  Bullwood Hall

  125

  119

  Camp Hill

  378

  421

  Canterbury

  184

  274

  Cardiff

  321

  476

  Castington

  300

  283

  Channings Wood

  482

  587

  Chelmsford

  251

  393

  Coldingley

  292

  292

  Cookham Wood

  120

  140

  Dartmoor

  538

  548

  Deerbolt

  417

  393

  Doncaster

  771

  768

  Dorchester

  147

  209

  Dover

  316

  287

  Downview

  287

  288

  Drake Hall

  255

  249

  Durham

  448

  632

  East Sutton Park

  94

  92

  Elmley

  637

  624

  Erlestoke

  270

  265

  Everthorpe

  318

  249

  Exeter

  260

  397

  Featherstone

  599

  573

  Feltham

  844

  847

  Ford

  536

  445

  Frankland

  447

  400

  Full Sutton

  567

  555

  Garth

  512

  507

  Gartree

  277

  300

  Glen Parva

  767

  789

  Gloucester

  202

  243

  Grendon

  190

  200

  Guys Marsh

  240

  238

  Hollesley Bay

  365

  354

  Haslar

  127

  127

  Hatfield

  180

  175

  199

  Establishment

  Certified normal accommodation in use

  Population

  Haverigg

  394

  381

  Hewell Grange

  174

  165

  Highdown

  629

  617

  Highpoint

  679

  642

  Hindley

  263

  236

  Holloway

  517

  531

  Holme House

  649

  646

  Hull

  328

  400

  Huntercombe

  240

  231

  Kingston

  154

  110

  Kirkham

  644

  528

  Kirklevington

  86

  80

  Lancaster Farms

  364

  320

  Lancaster

  238

  235

  Latchmere House

  151

  137

  Leeds

  828

  1,096

  Leicester

  192

  354

  Lewes

  312

  302

  Leyhill

  410

  398

  Lincoln

  444

  608

  Lindholme

  567

  594

  Littlehey

  593

  563

  Liverpool

  1,253

  1,255

  Long Lartin

  362

  354

  Low Newton

  198

  263

  Maidstone

  494

  473

  Manchester

  830

  900

  Moorland

  620

  592

  Morton Hall

  168

  168

  New Hall

  169

  200

  North Sea Camp

  201

  205

  Northallerton

  150

  194

  Norwich

  333

  348

  Nottingham

  222

  214

  Onley

  520

  512

  Oxford

  106

  114

  Parkhurst

  253

  227

  Pentonville

  559

  746

  Portland

  382

  396

  Preston

  342

  497

  Pucklechurch

  56

  75

  Ranby

  347

  334

  Reading

  182

  164

  Risley

  794

  764

  Rochester

  294

  266

  Rudgate

  287

  278

  Send

  113

  134

  Shepton Mallet

  158

  205

  Shrewsbury

  168

  304

  Spring Hill

  210

  206

  Stafford

  358

  529

  Standford Hill

  384

  375

  Stocken

  396

  394

  Stoke Heath

  300

  277

  Styal

  250

  245

  Sudbury/Foston

  428

  407

  Swaleside

  512

  507

  Swansea

  151

  205

  Swinfen Hall

  182

  185

  Thorn Cross

  240

  191

  The Mount

  484

  470

  The Verne

  552

  548

  The Wolds

  320

  323

  Thorp Arch

  166

  166

  Usk/Prescoed

  245

  228

  Wormwood Scrubs

  714

  804

  Wakefield

  727

  713

  Wandsworth

  922

  994

  Wayland

  580

  554

  Wellingborough

  344

  305

  Werrington

  114

  110

  Wetherby

  160

  135

  200

  Establishment

  Certified normal accommodation in use

  Population

  Whatton

  216

  213

  Whitemoor

  534

  496

  Winchester

  261

  350

  Woodhill

  566

  520

  Wymott

  432

  414

  Total

  49,314

  51,112

  Note:

  Certified normal accommodation is the uncrowded capacity of an establishment.

  Certified normal accommodation in use does not include those places which are not available for immediate use, for example, damaged cells, cells affected by building works and cells not being used because of a shortage of staff resources.

  Portland Young Offenders Institution
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements were made to evacuate those detained in the young offenders institution, Portland, during the unexploded bomb defusing emergency on 1 and 2 April; and if he will make a statement. [18917]

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Rhodri Morgan, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the evacuation arrangements at Portland Young Offender Institution when an unexploded bomb was recently discovered in the vicinity.
  Based upon expert advice received by the Major in charge of the bomb disposal squad, action was taken to relocate 90 inmates within the establishment but away from those areas which may have been at risk if the bomb had exploded.
  Throughout the emergency high levels of supervision and control were exercised.

  John Martin Scripps (Home Leave)
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) who made the decision to grant John Martin Scripps temporary home leave from Mount prison in October 1994; and which Ministers were involved in approving the decision to grant him temporary home leave; [17960]

  (2) what inquiries or investigations have been set up into the decision in October 1994 to grant temporary home leave to John Martin Scripps; [17957]

  (3) if he will give details of all previous occasions on which John Martin Scripps, who absconded from Mount prison in October 1994 while on temporary home leave, failed to return from such leave; [17958]

  (4) if he will outline what factors were taken into account in determining the suitability of John Martin Scripps for temporary home leave from Mount prison in October 1994. [17959]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  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.
  201
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the decision to grant John Martin Scripps temporary home leave.
  On 2 October 1982 Mr. Scripps was sentenced to three years imprisonment for burglary. Whilst serving that sentence he was granted home leave from Spring Hill prison and failed to return on 5 June 1984. He was unlawfully at large until 15 March 1985 during which time he committed further offences for which he was sentenced to two years imprisonment concurrent to the sentence he was serving. Mr. Scripps completed this sentence on 25 November 1986.
  On 22 January 1988 Mr. Scripps was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on charges of importing drugs. After serving the initial part of his sentence in Wandsworth and Swaleside prisons he was re-categorised from Category B to Category C and transferred on 24 January 1989 to Highpoint prison. On 1 June 1990 he was granted home leave and failed to return.
  Mr. Scripps was arrested at Heathrow airport in November 1990 and charged with two offences of smuggling drugs. He was convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment, consecutive to the seven years he was already serving.
  In September 1993 Mr. Scripps applied for home leave and this was considered under the criteria set out in Circular Instruction No. 43/1992, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The application was refused but in December 1993 he re-applied and this was granted for home leave to be taken in February 1994. He returned on time and he was granted a further home leave in April 1994 from which he returned on time.
  On 24 August 1994 Mr. Scripps applied to take further home, leave in October and this was approved by the appropriate governor grade. These applications are not required to be put to Ministers and none was involved in making these decisions about Mr. Scripps.
  The area manager has set up an investigation into the decisions to grant Mr. Scripps home leave and, in particular, to establish what factors were taken into account in determining Mr. Scripps' suitability. I shall write to you again once this information is available.
  On 4 April, the Home Secretary tabled amendments to the Prison Rules introducing tighter control on the temporary release of prisoners and, under these, Mr. Scripps would not have been eligible for release on temporary licence during his current sentence.

  Parkhurst Prison (Security)
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when(a) he and (b) the Director General of the Prison Service was informed of security problems at HM prison, Parkhurst prior to the breakout in January; and if he will publish or place in the Library details of such warnings; [17291]

  (2) when he received a warning from the former governor of HM prison, Parkhurst, Mr. John Marriott, of potential security problems at the prison. [17290]

  Mr. Howard
  I explained in my statement to the House on 10 January the extent to which I was made aware of the security concerns at Parkhurst and the action which was taken as a result. As I indicated in that statement, I have asked Sir John Learmont and Sir John Woodcock to carry out an independent assessment of events at Parkhurst. This will include the issue of any warnings about security at Parkhurst which were given before the escapes on 3 January. The findings of their report will be published.

  Women Fine Defaulters
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women served 202
  custodial sentences for fine defaulting in each year since 1989. [17206]

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Janet Anderson, dated 19 April 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many women served custodial sentences for fine defaulting in each year since 1989.
  The number of women received into prison for fine default in the years requested are as follows:

  Number

  1989

  868

  1990

  845

  1991

  976

  1992

  1,044

  19931

  1,342

  19941

  1,440

  1 Provisional figures.

  Information on the population of female fine defaulters from 1982–1992 is published in "Prison statistics England and Wales" (Cm 2581, Table 7.1 of the 1992 edition). The average time served is also shown in that table and is about one week.
  The average number of females serving sentences for fine default at any given time in 1993 and 1994 were 21 and 22 persons respectively.

WALES

  Publicity
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the total expenditure on(a) all forms of publicity and (b) all publications and pamphlets produced for his Department and for all the agencies and public bodies for which his Department is responsible, for each year since 1979, including the budgeted figure for 1995–96, (i) including and (ii) excluding privatisation-related expenditures and expressed in 1994 prices; and if he will supply information for the period from 1 April 1993 to 1 March 1995 showing (1) the nature and (2) the purpose of each publicity campaign and of each publication involving the expenditure of more than £50,000;

  (2) pursuant to his answer of 13 February, Official Report, column 530, what was the total expenditure on all publicity by his Department's non-departmental public bodies for the years (a) 1992–93 and (b) 1993–94. [17193]

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 17 March 1995]: A list containing the information requested has been placed in the Library of the House. The Welsh Office publicity budget for 1995–96 is under review.

  Advertising
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list each non-departmental public body and agency for which he has responsibility and, for each, list separate figures for the spending by that body or agency on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising, (d) other promotion materials

  203
  and activities, (e) the totals in each year of (a) to (d) and (f) the proportion of (e) that was spent on recruitment advertising for each year since 1979–80 or for each year of its existence if it has been created since then; and what are his latest estimates of (a) to (f) for the years 1994–95 and 1995–96. [17638]

  Mr. Redwood
  The available information is set out in the following table. The expenditure cannot be broken down into the categories asked for and non-departmental public bodies do not keep separate records of publicity expenditure for earlier years.

  NDPBs' Publicity Budgets

  1994–95 (projected out-turn)

  1995–96 (planned spend)

  ACAC (Curriculum and Assessment Authority)

  36

  50

  Arts Council of Wales

  46

  50

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  2,400

  1,900

  Countryside Council for Wales

  182

  93

  Development Board for Rural Wales

  1,260

  775

  Further Education Funding Council for Wales

  58

  61

  Higher Education Funding Council for Wales

  42

  44

  Housing for Wales

  61

  148

  Land Authority for Wales

  120

  120

  Residuary Body for Wales

  nil

  3

  National Library of Wales

  25

  30

  National Museum of Wales

  160

  200

  Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales

  26

  15

  Sports Council for Wales

  123

  110

  £000

  TV

  Radio

  Press

  Other

  Total

  Of which recruitment advertising

  1992–93

  77

  nil

  350

  1,547

  1,974

  54

  1993–94

  6

  nil

  269

  1,083

  1,358

  47

  1994–95

  8

  nil

  247

  1,470

  1,725

  71

  The publicity budget for 1995–96 is under review.

  Health Promotion Authority for Wales
  Mr. Rhodri Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 27 March 1995,Official Report, column 424, what was the principal reason for the selection of the one Health Promotion Authority for Wales board member not reappointed with effect from 1 April of the four whose term expired on 31 March. [17745]

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 31 March 1995]: Mr. Griffiths has recently been appointed to a new post on the board of the University Dental NHS trust hospital.

  Education Expenditure
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the question of the funding of education during the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [18889]
  204

  NDPBs' Publicity Budgets

  1994–95 (projected out-turn)

  1995–96 (planned spend)

  Wales Tourist Board

  3,551

  4,507

  Wales Youth Agency

  28

  16

  Welsh Development Agency

  6,400

  6,000

  Welsh Language Board

  100

  45

  Welsh National Board for Nursing and Midwifery and Health Visiting

  20

  nil

  Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments1

  £000

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95 projected outturn

  1995–96 planned spend

  Publicity

  243

  280

  374

  450

  410

  1 Cadw became an agency 1 April 1991. Since 1 April 1994 figures include expenditure, which cannot be separately identified, on the "Makers of Wales" campaign.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list, for 1992–93 and 1993–94, separate figures for the spending by his Department on(a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising, (d) other promotion materials and activities, (e) the totals in each year of (a) to (d) and (f) the proportion of (e) that was spent on recruitment advertising; and what are his latest estimates for the years 1994–95 and 1995–96. [17637]

  Mr. Redwood
  Welsh Office publicity expenditure for the last three years is as follows:

  Mr. Richards
  My right hon. Friend and I have received many representations on the question of the funding of education over the last 12 months. The funding of education is, however, a local government responsibility. We have made it clear that, in our view, there is sufficient scope for local authorities in Wales to fund education appropriately from within the overall settlement they have had. BY long-standing arrangement, it is for local authorities in Wales to decide their priorities for spending.

  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the expenditure per pupil in each county council for(a) 1992–93, (b) 1993–94, (c) 1994–95 and (d) 1995–96. [19507]

  Mr. Redwood
  The latest figures available for 1992–93 are contained in tables 10,11,14 and 15 of the Welsh Office "Education Finance Bulletin", issued on 24 March 1995 by
  205
  the training and education intelligence unit. A copy is available in the Library of the House.

  Dental Services
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many dental practitioners with fewer than three years' post-qualification experience there are in the county of Gwynedd; and if he will make a statement. [18887]

  Mr. Richards
  According to information supplied by the Gwynedd family health services authority, there is one general dental practitioner with less than three years' post-qualification experience in the county of Gwynedd.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations on the delivery of dental services he has received from people living in the county of Powys; and if he will make a statement. [19043]

  Mr. Richards
  In the last 12 months, four individual representations on the subject of general dental services were received from, or on behalf of, people living in the county of Powys. The Montgomery community health council also submitted a petition signed by 1,661 persons, some of whom resided outside Powys.

  Religious Education
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received for Welsh Office funding of courses to promote his policies in the field of religious education in schools; and what plans he has to fund courses in addition to the money made available through grant for education support and training. [18859]

  Mr. Richards
  I have received one recent representation about the funding of religious education courses. GEST itself provides a sound mechanism for funding such courses.

  Children's Oral Health
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment his Department has undertaken within the last five years into the state of oral health of children(a) aged under eight and (b) aged between nine and 12 years; and if he will make a statement. [18881]

  Mr. Richards
  The dental health of all age groups between five and 15 years is surveyed decennially across the United Kingdom. The most recent survey is for 1993 and was published in 1994. A copy is available in the Library of the House.

  Opencast Coal Mining
  Mr. Liew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Coal Authority over plans to develop potential opencast coal mining in south Wales. [19323]

  Mr. Redwood
  I met with the chairman and chief executive of the Coal Authority on 8 March. Opencast coal mining was one of a number of issues which were touched upon. There was no discussion of specific sites.

  TACP Architects
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what work has been given by him or any quango accountable to him to the architects TACP in the last five years. [19114]

  Mr. Redwood
  Work commissioned from TACP Architects since 1990–91 is as follows:

  Agency

  Work

  1990–91

  Development Board for Rural Wales

  Landscaping, structural planting and surveys

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  Landscape design

  Welsh Office

  Landscaping scheme at Cadoxton, Barry

  Welsh Development Agency

  Architectural design, planning, landscaping and environmental assessment

  1991–92

  Development Board for Rural Wales

  Landscaping structural planting studies and surveys

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  Landscape design

  Welsh Office

  Landscaping at Penpedairheol, Mid Glamorgan

  Welsh Development Agency

  Architectural design, planning, landscaping environmental

  1992–93

  Development Board for Rural Wales

  Landscaping structural planting studies and surveys

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  Landscape design

  Welsh Development Agency

  Architectural design planning, landscaping and environmental assessment

  1993–94

  Development Board for Rural Wales

  Landscaping structural planting studies and surveys

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  Landscape design

  Welsh Office

  Landscape advice and landscaping at Cadoxton, Barry

  Countryside Council

  Research on the distribution and environmental value of traditional orchards and associated features

  Welsh Health Common Services Authority

  Architects for the day centre Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor

  Welsh Development Agency

  Architectural design, planning, landscaping and environmental assessment

  1994–95

  Development Board for Rural Wales

  Landscaping structural planting studies and surveys

  Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

  Landscape design

  Welsh Health Common Services

  Post-contract works at Wrexham Maelor

  Welsh Development Agency

  Architectural design, planning, landscaping and environmental

  Practice and Fund Managers
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral statement to the Welsh Grand
  207
  Committee on 4 April, Official Report, Welsh Grand Committee, columns 1–8, what statistical information he has on the number of practice managers and fund managers in post in each year since April 1991; and by what legal authority their salaries are paid. [19254]

  Mr. Redwood
  Although information on the numbers of staff employed by general medical practitioners has been collected for a number of years, the number of practice managers was collected, as a separate category, for the first time at 1 April 1994 when there were 523—373 whole-time equivalent—in Wales. Information on fund managers has not yet been collected as a separate category.

  General medical practitioners are self-employed contractors to the NHS and, as employers, are responsible for the salaries of their staff.

  Welsh Development Agency
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if his Department gave consent to contract splitting in relation to the contract awarded to KLR and Co., consultants to the Welsh Development Agency on information technology and general financial management; if he will list the principal points in which his consent to contract splitting would affect the tendering and approval procedures; and if he will make a statement. [19222]

  Mr. Redwood
  KLR and Co. was contracted to provide cover for the vacant post of chief finance officer on 9 March 1995. This was in addition to the contract under which KLR and Co. was engaged to review the agency's information systems on 23 December 1994.

  These were separate contracts and my consent was not required.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency concerning the legal opinion of Vernon Pugh QC on the agency's involvement in the assembly and disposal of land for the Tesco superstore at Gadlys road, Aberdare; on what date he received a copy of council's opinion; and if he will make a statement. [19339]

  Mr. Redwood
  None. The opinion was received in my office on 22 March.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency concerning the total cost to the agency of the Grant Thornton report into the Tesco—Cynon Valley superstore land deal, if his departmental consent was required for the commission to Grant Thornton; and if he will make a statement. [19255]

  Mr. Redwood
  None. The commissioning of the report did not require my Department's consent, although I agreed that the agency should commission an investigation.

  Mr. David Griffiths
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the principal points of(a) agreements and (b) disagreement in his meeting with former Health Promotion Authority for Wales board member Mr. David Griffiths on 3 April; what offers he made to Mr. Griffiths regarding his reinstatement on another non-departmental
  208
  public body in (i) health or (ii) another field; and if he answered Mr. Griffiths's request for answers to his letter regarding the conduct and control of senior officers and board members and their overseas travel at the Health Promotion Authority for Wales. [19256]

  Mr. Redwood
  On 3 April 1995, I met with directors of education in Wales. Mr. Griffiths was present in his capacity as director of education for Gwent. The meeting was concerned only with various education matters.

  Mr. Griffiths has been invited to serve as a non-executive director of the University Dental Hospital NHS trust and he has accepted that appointment.

  I have answered the points Mr. Griffiths raised with me.

  Hinkley Point A
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he or officials of his Department were consulted by the nuclear installations inspectorate in regard to the prospective safety implications for Wales over the decision announced on 3 April to give Nuclear Electric permission to extend the operating life of the Hinkley Point A magnox reactor. [19306]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The nuclear installations inspectorate recently completed is assessment of Nuclear Electric's periodic safety review for Hinkley Point A. This concluded that safety remains adequately high for continued operation of the plant.

  Although the Welsh Office was not specifically consulted about it, the review included detailed consideration of the risks to the general public in the UK, including Wales.

  Horse Disease
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of cases of equine encephalomyelitis in each year since 1985. [19265]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  No cases of equine encephalomyelitis have occurred in Wales since 1985.

  Warble Fly
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number of cases of warble fly in(a) 1984 and (b) 1994. [19261]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

  School Buildings
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated total expenditure required to clear the backlog of repairs to school buildings, per county council. [19508]

  Mr. Redwood
  Such information is not held centrally. Local education authorities are responsible for the repair and maintenance of school buildings.

  Housing Subsidy
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the housing revenue grant for each Welsh district council for each year from 1992–93 to date. [19431]
  209
  Mr. Redwood
  The amount of housing revenue account subsidy paid to Welsh district councils since 1992–93 is set out in the following table.

  Housing Revenue Account Subsidy

  Local Authority

  1992–93 £

  1993–94 £

  1 1994–95 £

  Aberconwy

  1,584,274

  1,515,817

  1,524,838

  Alyn and Deeside

  2,520,527

  2,719,472

  2,751,136

  Arfon

  2,942,801

  3,116,312

  2,825,706

  Blaenau Gwent

  10,775,958

  11,272,511

  11,286,414

  Brecknock

  714,469

  749,124

  774,012

  Cardiff

  19,410,690

  19,496,006

  21,358,039

  Carmarthen

  2,513,450

  2,160,557

  2,100,450

  Ceredigion

  1,884,669

  1,786,023

  1,719,132

  Colwyn

  2,109,823

  2,176,710

  2,223,516

  Cynon Valley

  4,947,233

  5,065,626

  4,752,984

  Delyn

  3,620,231

  3,143,508

  2,877,939

  Dinefwr

  1,246,634

  1,189,524

  1,281,196

  Dwyfor

  840,681

  796,444

  908,360

  Glyndwr

  827,842

  860,859

  667,859

  Islwyn

  5,369,027

  5,281,749

  5,620,094

  Llanelli

  7,044,582

  7,774,394

  8,105,862

  Lliw Valley

  4,308,923

  4,136,117

  4,086,333

  Meirionnydd

  1,061,048

  1,022,707

  967,774

  Merthyr Tydfil

  6,872,508

  7,523,287

  7,976,148

  Monmouth

  3,789,654

  3,611,159

  3,503,236

  Montgomeryshire

  666,527

  474,913

  295,577

  Neath

  4,776,019

  4,765,055

  5,269,282

  Newport

  11,244,594

  10,794,066

  10,937,908

  Ogwr

  7,692,875

  7,532,193

  7,381,391

  Port Talbot

  4,749,752

  4,811,834

  5,215,911

  Preseli

  Pembrokeshire

  2,755,958

  2,806,607

  3,035,119

  Radnorshire

  555,486

  440,980

  432,229

  Rhondda

  8,623,018

  8,361,896

  8,229,454

  Rhuddlan

  1,324,330

  1,453,067

  1,603,312

  Rhymney Valley

  10,884,002

  10,823,491

  11,702,169

  South

  Pembrokeshire

  1,642,291

  1,351,363

  1,457,527

  Swansea

  16,023,302

  16,633,469

  18,370,320

  Taff Ely

  6,938,835

  6,735,632

  6,754,749

  Torfaen

  13,117,637

  12,842,923

  12,438,124

  Vale of Glamorgan

  3,750,776

  3,807,767

  3,487,123

  Wrexham Maelor

  6,998,218

  7,417,009

  7,463,257

  Ynys Mon

  4,311,793

  4,309,403

  4,473,262

  1 On-account payments, subject to audit.

  Overtime
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each agency and the central Department for which he is responsible(a) the total hours of overtime worked for which payment has been made, (b) the total amount paid in overtime and (c) the total time in days and its monetary equivalent lost through sickness in each of the last three years. [19672]

  Mr. Redwood
  Overtime payments in the last three financial years were:

  £000

  Welsh Office

  Cadw

  1992–93

  267

  177

  1993–94

  539

  185

  1994–95

  355

  161

  Working days, excluding weekends, lost through sickness were:
  210

  Welsh Office

  Cadw

  1992–93

  23,644

  3,079

  1993–94

  23,831

  2,931

  1994–95

  21,163

  3,122

  Information is not held centrally on the number of hours of overtime worked nor on the monetary equivalent of time lost through sickness absence.

  Figures for 1994–95 are to 28 February 1995.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the capital asset value of the computing and information technology services included in the market-testing/competitive tendering programme for each regional health authority for 1994–95(a) as recorded on asset registers at 31 March 1994 (b) at project net book value as at 31 March 1994 and (c) as identified in the statement of services requirements of assets likely to be transferred to the successful supplier. [19502]

  Mr. Richards
  There is no regional health authority in Wales. No IT services provided by the Welsh Health Common Services Authority were market-tested in 1994–95.

  Mahogany
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many metres of mahogany or products containing it his Department has bought in the last five years, and if he will list the purposes and the costs. [19844]

  Mr. Redwood
  Three items of furniture containing mahogany from a sustainably managed source have been purchased in the last five years at a cost of £1,922.

SCOTLAND

  Organ Transplants
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what provision the national health service makes for patients awaiting organ transplants requiring multiple prescriptions who are disqualified from free prescriptions because they are above income support levels; what plans he has to revise the specified conditions list to make patients awaiting organ transplants exempt from prescription charges either totally or above a specified level; and if he will make a statement; [19037]

  (2) when the last review of the specified conditions list was carried out; on what date changes resulting from this review were implemented; how the review and its implementation impacted upon those awaiting organ transplants; how the review and its implementation impacted upon those whose medical condition precludes the reasonable prospect of an organ transplant; and if he will make a statement. [19035]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Patients awaiting organ transplants who are not otherwise exempt or entitled to the remission of charges may qualify for free prescriptions if they have any one of the specified medical conditions, including a permanent fistula requiring continuous surgical dressing or an appliance, and hold an
  211
  exemption certificate issued by a health board. The specified medical conditions were last reviewed in 1993 as part of the fundamental review of health expenditure and we have no plans for change. Prescription prepayment certificates continue to offer savings for anyone not entitled to free prescriptions who needs frequent or extensive medication. Coupled with the wide-ranging arrangements for charge exemption and remission, they ensure that no one need be deterred from obtaining necessary prescribed medication for financial reasons.

  Drugs, Paisley
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the report entitled "The Paisley Plan to Smash the Drugs Dealers", a copy of which was sent to him on 29 March. [19005]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State welcomes the report which was discussed in detail at a meeting attended by the hon. Member and my noble and learned Friend the Minister of State on 29 March. He fully supports the efforts being made by Strathclyde police to deal with the drugs-related problems in Paisley.

  Temazepam
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidelines he has issued to health boards on the prescription of Temazepam; what is the latest date that he issued these guidelines; what guidelines he plans to issue; and if he will make a statement. [19013]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  In the light of concern about the misuse of Temazepam, the Chief Medical Officer at the Scottish Office had discussions with directors of public health in November 1992 about measures which might be taken to tackle the problem. Local action so far has included voluntary bans or restrictions on prescribing in some areas, and initiatives to raise the awareness of doctors about the implications of misuse.

  Health boards were also asked to develop local policies in 1994–95 to reduce the use of anxiolytics and hypnotics—which include Temazepam—and to ensure that systems are in place for the clinical review of all repeat prescribing.

  Guidance on the prescribing of benzodiazepines, including Temazepam and other hypnotic and anxiolytic drugs, was most recently issued in November 1994 in the form of a report prepared by a working group set up by the Scottish National Medical Advisory Committee. The report, which was issued to health boards and all doctors in Scotland, gives practical advice on how the prescribing of benzodiazepines can be reduced.

  The need for further advice is being kept under review.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what recommendations have been received from the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs in relation to Temazepam since 1992; what action he has taken on these recommendations; if he will review the position of his Department in relation to these recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [19021]

  (2) If he will make Temazepam a schedule 3, rather than a schedule 4, drug as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement. [18995]
  212
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs reviewed the controls on Temazepam in 1992–93 and recommended, subject to public consultation, that the drug should be re-scheduled from schedule 4 to schedule 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985. Following wide public consultation and consideration the of responses, the council recommended to the Home Secretary in July 1993 that control of the drug should be tightened. The issues involved are complex, but the Government hope to announce the outcome of their consideration soon.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how the private prescription of Temazepam and other drugs is controlled and regulated; what record is kept by(a) doctors and (b) pharmacists of private prescriptions; what plans he has to tighten up the private prescription of Temazepam; and if he will make a statement. [19010]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  When prescribing in a private capacity, general practitioners operate outside the General Medical Service Regulations. It is good professional practice to keep accurate medical records. The General Medical Council has regarded as serious professional misconduct the prescription or supply of drugs of dependence otherwise than in the course of bona fide treatment.

  The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 require that when a private prescription is dispensed by a pharmacist an entry must be made in the private prescription book on the date of dispensing, or if that is not reasonably practicable on the following day. Also, the book must be preserved for two years from the date of the last entry and, in the case of prescription only medicines such as Temazepam, the prescription must be retained for two years. The regulations require that private prescriptions be produced for inspection on request by the Home Office drugs inspectorate or by other persons authorised to demand this information.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to ban Temazepam in its jelly formulation; and if he will make a statement. [19024]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I have no such immediate plans but the misuse of Temazepam capsules is of particular concern and we will keep the position under review.

  Police, Strathclyde
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of the civilianisation programme undertaken by Strathclyde police over the past few years; and how it has been supported by the Scottish Office. [19033]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The following table shows the numbers of civilians added to the authorised establishment of Strathclyde police each year since 1992 and the numbers of police officers released in consequence for operational duty.

  Number of additional civilians

  Number of officers released

  1992

  79

  68

  1993

  94

  83

  213

  Number of additional civilians

  Number of officers released

  1994

  84

  46

  1995 (to 31 March)

  98

  85

  Total

  355

  282

  The Scottish Office pays police grant the usual way at 51 per cent. of expenditure by Strathclyde regional council on the additional staff.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the overtime budget of Strathclyde police has been spent in the two months since 1 February on(a) witness duties in court where police evidence was taken, (b) witness duties in court where police evidence was not heard for any reason, (c) the protests against the construction of the M77 link road and (d) drugs-related crime and violence within K division; and if he will make a statement. [19031]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information for the eight-week period between 23 January and 19 March 1995 supplied by Strathclyde police is set out in the following table.

  Percentage of period overtime

  Percentage of annual overtime

  Overtime in the period from 23 January 1995 to 19 March 1995 incurred in relation to:

  (a)—(b) Court attendance

  48.9

  4.1

  (Records do not differentiate between officers who give evidence and those who do not)

  (c) M77 link road protests

  7.1

  0.6

  (d) Drugs-related crime and violence in K Division

  0.8

  0.07

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what requests for additional police officers the chief constable of Strathclyde police has made to(a) him and (b) Strathclyde regional council within the past 12 months; what consultations he has carried out with Strathclyde regional council on the funding of additional police officers within its area during that period; what action he has taken to assist or facilitate funding for such requests from the chief constable; and if he will make a statement. [19032]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Since the strength of Strathclyde police has been below authorised establishment during the past 12 months, there has been no need for Strathclyde regional council to seek the consent of the Secretary of State to recruit additional officers. Between 31 March 1994 and 31 March 1995 the strength of the force increased by 154, but 20 additional officers could still be recruited before the consent of the Secretary of State would be required.

  Sheltered Housing
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the desirability of developing sheltered housing in the Foxbar area of 214
  Paisley to allow residents there to remain within the community; and if he will make a statement. [18991]

  (2) what assessment criteria are used by Scottish Homes in determining the need for sheltered housing in communities; how the agency facilitates the development of sheltered housing by housing associations and co-operatives; and if he will make a statement, with specific reference to the Foxbar area of Paisley. [18992]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Housing for community care client groups, including elderly people, is a national priority for both local housing authorities and Scottish Homes and, wherever possible, housing initiatives should seek to maintain the existing social framework. However, the provision of sheltered housing, including its location, is decided by local housing authorities, working in partnership, as appropriate, with Scottish Homes, housing associations and other interests.

  Scottish Homes issued a discussion paper, "Housing the Elderly in the 1990s", in May 1993. Scottish Homes is considering the responses to that paper and will publish a policy statement shortly. It is for Scottish Homes to assess its funding of individual housing association projects. I understand that the chairman, Sir James Mellon, has written recently to the hon. Member about plans for the Foxbar area and has offered briefing by local members of staff.

  Eye Tests
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the population was eligible for free NHS eye examinations in each of the last 10 available years. [19001]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Until April 1989 everyone was eligible for free NHS sight tests. Since April 1989, when eligibility was restricted to certain groups, around 40 per cent. of the population in Scotland has been eligible.

  Alcohol
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to amend the laws on drinking alcohol in public places; and if he will make a statement. [18982]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  We have no such plans. In 1993, following an experiment in three authority areas, we invited all local authorities to consider making byelaws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in designated public places. Byelaws require the confirmation of my right hon. Friend and are already in place in parts of Dundee, Motherwell and East Kilbride. Many other authorities, including Renfrew district council, are working up proposals.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each NHS trust in Scotland the chairpersons and non-executive directors who live outside the boundaries of the operational boundaries of that trust. [18984]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  There are no such chairpersons or non-executive directors. The small number who do not live in the immediate vicinity of the NHS trust concerned all come from the trust's catchment area.

  Evening Primrose Oil
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will enable general practitioners to prescribe evening primrose oil, and products containing it, as a treatment for arthritis; and if he will make a statement. [18985]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  There are no preparations containing evening primrose oil which hold a product license for the treatment of arthritis. Licensed versions are available only for the treatment of eczema and mastalgia. Where general practitioners consider that it is clinically appropriate they may prescribe a drug on a named patient basis for a use outside its licensed indication. However, drugs which are listed in schedule 10 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 may not be prescribed under the NHS.

  A number of unlicensed evening primrose products are available for general sale but are included in the list of items which general practitioners cannot prescribe under the NHS, on the recommendation of the independent Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances.

  Raymond Gilmour
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of his consideration of the application for the prerogative of mercy for and on behalf of Raymond Gilmour. [19004]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 6 March,Official Report, column 86—87. Inquiries into the matters raised on Mr. Gilmour's behalf are continuing.

  Warble Fly
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of cases of warble fly in(a) 1984 and (b) 1994. [19259]

  Sir Hector Monro
  In 1984, 23 herds were found to be infested with warble fly. No cases were reported in 1994.

  Drugs Prescribing
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the legislative differences relating to drugs which are classified as schedule 3 as compared with those classified as schedule 4; and if he will make a statement. [19014]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The differences between the controls on drugs in schedule 3 and those in schedule 4 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985 are as follows:possession of schedule 3 drugs requires authority. Possession of schedule 4 drugs does not require authority when they are in the form of medicinal products;
  import and export licences are required for schedule 3 drugs but not for schedule 4 drugs;
  certain schedule 3 drugs are subject to the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 which require them to be kept in a locked cabinet or locked receptacle. The remaining schedule 3 and all schedule 4 drugs are exempted from these requirements;
  216
  schedule 3 drugs are subject to specific requisitioning requirements; prescriptions must be handwritten by doctors; specified checks must be made before the drugs may be supplied on prescription; and containers must be labelled. Schedule 4 drugs are exempted from these requirements.

  Floods, Strathclyde
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the financial and other assistance given to individuals and local authorities following the floods in Strathclyde during December 1994. [18998]

  Mr. Kynoch
  The Government have assisted both individuals and local authorities in dealing with the consequences of the flooding. Resources totalling over £7 million have been made available including:£100,000 supplementary capital allocation to Renfrew district council in 1994–95, to provide temporary accommodation for those made homeless;
  £150,000 supplementary housing capital allocation to Strathkelvin district council in 1994–95 to undertake flood abatement works at Lennoxtown;
  £200,000 supplemental: capital allocation to Glasgow district council in 1994–95 to undertake urgent housing repairs;
  £1.365 million supplementary capital allocations to Strathclyde regional council in 1994–95 for urgent repair work on non-housing services;
  authorising Renfrew district council to carry forward unutilised capital consent of up to a maximum of £1.85 million from 1994–95 for expenditure in 1995–96;
  authorising Strathkelvin district council to carry forward unutilised capital consent of up to a maximum of £0.53 million from 1994–95 for expenditure in 1995–96;
  £2.5 million additional capital allocations in 1995–96 for remedial work on housing to Renfrew district council and Strathkelvin district council;
  £10,000 contribution to Clyde river purification board study on the cause and extent of the recent flooding; and
  an increase of £180,000 in the 1995–96 non-housing capital consent allocation to Renfrew district council to meet the cost of repairs to the Linwood sports centre.
  £120,000 from DSS social fund for payments to individuals in need.

  In addition, the Government scheme of special financial assistance, known as the Bellwin scheme, has been activated.

  A draft national planning policy guideline on planning and flooding has recently been issued for consultation.

  Equine Encephalomyelitis
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of cases of equine encephalomyelitis in each year since 1985. [19263]

  Sir Hector Monro
  Equine encephalomyelitis has never been recorded in Scotland.

  Registered Drug Addicts
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to introduce photo-identity passes for registered drug users to ensure that they cannot attend more than one drug-prescribing centre to obtain drug supplies; if he will consider introducing legislation so that all registered drug users are required to register exclusively with the health board in whose
  217
  area they reside and that this health board maintain a photo-identity record of the registered user; if he will consider supplementing this legislation with a requirement that anyone seeking to register as a drug user must do so through his or her local health board and must specify a single prescribing centre to attend; if he will, in addition, legislate to ensure that anyone seeking to register as a drug user must be referred back to his or her local health board; if he will ensure that cross-referencing within and between each health board is encouraged and funded; and if he will make a statement. [19008]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The arrangement recommended in the British National Formulary, and followed by many medical practices, is that registered addicts, before obtaining supplies of certain controlled drugs, should name the pharmacy where they will have their prescription dispensed. The prescription is then sent direct to that pharmacy by the medical practice. There are no plans at present to introduce photo-identity passes.

  Divorce Law Reform
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will bring forward proposals for an extension of divorce law reform which includes mediation provisions to Scotland. [19526]

  Mr. Lang
  I am considering the Scottish Law Commission report, "Reform of the Ground for Divorce"—Scot. Law Com. No. 116 of 1989—in the light of the consultation document, "Looking to the Future: Mediation and the Ground for Divorce", which was issued in England and Wales in December 1993 by my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor, but I have no immediate plans to bring forward proposals to reform divorce law in Scotland.

  Birds (Licences)
  Mr. Graham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many licences were issued in Scotland under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the killing of(a) goosanders, (b) red-breasted mergansers and (c) cormorants during (i) 1993 and (ii) 1994; and what bag limits were imposed on these licences. [19498]

  Sir Hector Monro
  The information is as follows:

  Licences issued for

  1993

  Limits of birds to be shot

  1994

  Limits of birds to be shot

  Cormorant

  12

  166

  13

  100

  Goosander

  —

  —

  1

  50

  Cormorant and goosander and red-breasted merganser

  12

  632

  10

  618

  Cormorant and red-breasted merganser

  1

  30

  2

  70

  Cormorant and goosander

  5

  302

  7

  465

  Goosander and red-breasted merganser

  2

  80

  2

  50

  Market Testing
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the capital asset value of the computing and information technology services included in the market testing/competitive tendering programme for each regional health authority for 1994–95(a) as recorded on asset registers at 31 March 1994, (b) at project net book value as at 31 March 1994 and (c) as identified in the statement of services requirements of assets likely to be transferred to the successful supplier. [19500]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Environment Protection Agency
  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to appoint a chairman to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. [20161]

  Mr. Lang
  Subject to the successful passage of the Environment Bill, I intend to appoint Professor William Turmeau, who recently retired as principal and vice-chancellor of Napier university, Edinburgh, to become the chairman of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency at an initial salary of £36,000 per annum.

  Listeriosis
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of listeriosis were recorded in each of the past five years; and what were the main causes. [18919]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The numbers of cases of human listeriosis reported to the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health during the period 1990 to 1994 are as follows. Although no specific source of infection was identified for these particular cases, there is general agreement, based on international experience, that food-borne infection is the predominant means of transmission. Hospital-acquired infection and person-to-person spread are also recognised, but these are less common routes of transmission.

  Year

  Number of reports

  1990

  15

  1991

  12

  1992

  15

  1993

  12

  1994

  12

  Jurors
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions over the last year for which figures are available females have been objected to as jurors; and what evidence he has of the number of occasions on which women have been objected to in rape cases. [17479]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 4 April 1995]: No records of objections are maintained.

  Prescriptions
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been for each health board in Scotland the costs of operating the prescription service for medication in the NHS for each year since 1979–80. [18260]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 5 April 1995]: The cost to each health board of operating

  £ million

  Health Board

  1979–80

  1980–81

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  Argyll and Clyde

  8.40

  10.00

  11.39

  13.03

  14.50

  15.59

  16.63

  17.68

  Ayrshire and Arran

  8.18

  9.67

  10.94

  12.38

  13.61

  13.85

  13.40

  16.13

  Borders

  1.97

  2.37

  2.70

  3.00

  3.29

  3.52

  3.78

  3.99

  Dumfries and Galloway

  2.77

  3.27

  3.71

  4.25

  4.74

  5.06

  5.40

  5.77

  Fife

  6.12

  7.24

  8.17

  9.11

  9.94

  10.54

  11.32

  12.07

  Forth Valley

  5.08

  5.79

  6.56

  7.48

  8.35

  8.94

  9.54

  10.08

  Grampian

  8.12

  9.59

  10.82

  12.07

  13.11

  14.03

  14.92

  15.81

  Greater Glasgow

  19.45

  22.55

  25.34

  28.56

  31.60

  33.72

  35.66

  37.74

  Highland

  3.24

  3.79

  4.26

  4.80

  5.23

  5.56

  5.96

  6.38

  Lanarkshire

  10.60

  12.69

  14.35

  16.41

  18.46

  19.83

  21.21

  22.56

  Lothian

  13.31

  15.82

  17.71

  19.97

  21.97

  23.52

  25.27

  26.92

  Orkney

  0.34

  0.40

  0.45

  0.51

  0.55

  0.59

  0.63

  0.65

  Shetland

  0.36

  0.45

  0.51

  0.55

  0.59

  0.60

  0.63

  0.68

  Tayside

  7.12

  8.47

  9.66

  11.05

  12.31

  13.23

  14.33

  15.37

  Western Isles

  0.50

  0.66

  0.73

  0.80

  0.90

  0.95

  1.00

  1.08

  Scotland

  95.56

  112.76

  127.30

  143.97

  159.15

  169.53

  179.68

  192.91

  £ million

  Health Board

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Argyll and Clyde

  19.88

  22.26

  24.64

  27.17

  30.49

  34.38

  36.91

  Ayrshire and Arran

  18.15

  20.13

  22.66

  24.82

  27.63

  30.64

  32.77

  Borders

  4.52

  4.98

  5.50

  6.02

  6.73

  7.51

  7.93

  Dumfries and Galloway

  6.36

  7.05

  7.95

  8.81

  10.05

  11.35

  12.40

  Fife

  13.45

  15.15

  16.98

  18.66

  20.82

  23.35

  25.59

  Forth Valley

  11.33

  12.67

  14.14

  15.79

  18.20

  20.75

  22.48

  Grampian

  18.02

  20.06

  22.22

  24.42

  27.34

  30.81

  33.20

  Greater Glasgow

  42.65

  47.00

  52.61

  57.57

  64.59

  72.42

  78.46

  Highland

  7.26

  8.24

  9.42

  10.54

  11.97

  13.55

  15.00

  Lanarkshire

  25.61

  28.83

  32.29

  35.42

  39.85

  44.79

  47.84

  Lothian

  30.27

  33.27

  36.82

  39.91

  44.28

  49.52

  54.39

  Orkney

  0.72

  0.79

  0.87

  1.00

  1.13

  1.28

  1.36

  Shetland

  0.76

  0.84

  0.95

  1.07

  1.18

  1.30

  1.48

  Tayside

  17.55

  20.19

  22.61

  25.07

  28.02

  31.32

  33.45

  Western Isles

  1.20

  1.31

  1.47

  1.59

  1.76

  1.94

  2.20

  Scotland

  217.73

  242.77

  271.13

  297.86

  334.04

  374.91

  405.46

  Residential Homes
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer, of 22 March,Official Report, columns 337—38, when he expects to receive the report of the working group which is examining inter alia, the ownership, management and monitoring of privately
  220
  the prescription service can be calculated by adding together the net ingredient cost of drugs and appliances and the fees and allowances paid for dispensing these items, and then deducting the income generated from NHS prescription charges paid by patients and from the sale of pre-payment certificates. The following table gives the information, calculated on this basis, for each of the years from 1979–80 until 1993–94. Equivalent information for 1994–95 is not yet available.

  owned residential homes for the elderly; if he will place a copy in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [18089]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 18 April 1995]: I expect to receive the report of the working group in the autumn when I will consider its recommendations.

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