Written Answers of 7 December 1995

TRANSPORT

  Lorries
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many 41-tonne lorries have been licensed since 1 April. [3369]

  Mr. Norris
  The information specifically requested is not available. The closest equivalent information is that a total of 241 lorries with maximum revenue weight over 40 tonnes but not over 44 tonnes have been newly registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, in the period from 1 April to 30 September 1995.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of 41-tonne lorries on road bridges; and how many bridges currently need to be strengthened. [3371]

  Mr. Watts
  No assessment has been made of the use of 41-tonne lorries.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3417]

  Mr. Watts
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 6 December, column 277.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3418]

  Mr. Watts
  None.

  Track Access Grant
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list details of the outstanding track access grant applications before him and state in respect of each(a) the date received and (b) when he expects to give his decision. [4076]

  Mr. Watts
  There are eight track access grant applications currently under consideration. They were received between November 1994 and July 1995. The details are commercially confidential.

  We are seeking further material information from the applicants.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the
  322
  last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4246]

  Mr. Norris
  None.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4273]

  Mr. Norris
  Seven including the mobile telephones fitted in the four official cars used by Ministers.

  North-West Regional Railways Ltd.
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the stations leased by other operators from which North West Regional Railways Ltd. is to buy access, indicating the annual cost. [3951]

  Mr. Watts
  North West Regional Railways purchases access from other operators at the following stations:

  Station

  Operator

  Appleby

  Regional Railways North-East

  Armathwaite

  Regional Railways North-East

  Bidston

  Mersey Electrics

  Birmingham International

  Inter City West Coast

  Birmingham New Street

  Railtrack

  Carlisle

  Inter City West Coast

  Crewe

  Inter City West Coast

  Deighton

  Regional Railways North-East

  Dent

  Regional Railways North-East

  Ellesmere Port

  Mersey Electrics

  Etruria

  Regional Railways Central

  Garsdale

  Regional Railways North-East

  Hellifield

  Regional Railways North-East

  Horton in Ribblesdale

  Regional Railways North-East

  Huddersfield

  Regional Railways North-East

  Hunts Cross

  Mersey Electrics

  Kidsgrove

  Regional Railways Central

  Kirby

  Mersey Electrics

  Kirkby Stephen

  Regional Railways North-East

  Lancaster

  Inter City West Coast

  Langwathby

  Regional Railways North-East

  Lazonby

  Regional Railways North-East

  Littleborough

  Regional Railways North-East

  Longport

  Regional Railways Central

  Macclesfield

  Inter City West Coast

  Manchester Piccadilly

  Railtrack

  Mirfield

  Regional Railways North-East

  Ormskirk

  Mersey Electrics

  Oxenholme

  Inter City West Coast

  Preston

  Inter City West Coast

  Ribblehead

  Regional Railways North-East

  Settle

  Regional Railways North-East

  Sheffield

  Inter City Midland Main Line

  Smithy Bridge

  Regional Railways North-East

  Southport

  Mersey Electrics

  Stafford

  Inter City West Coast

  Stockport

  Inter City West Coast

  Stoke on Trent

  Inter City West Coast

  Todmorden

  Regional Railways North-East

  Wakefield Kirkgate

  Regional Railways North-East

  Wakefield Westgate

  Inter City East Coast

  Walsden

  Regional Railways North-East

  Warrington Bank Quay

  Inter City West Coast

  Wigan North Western

  Inter City West Coast

  Wolverhampton

  Inter City West Coast

  Details of individual operators' station leasing charges are commercially confidential.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Charter of Court Users
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many complaints he has received against judges(a) in total and (b) for not complying with the charter for court users in the last five years in (i) the north-west as a whole and (ii) in the Merseyside area; and if he will make a statement. [3975]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  This information is not available in the form requested. Records relating to complaints received centrally about the personal conduct of judges have been kept only since March 1992. Since that date, 62 such complaints regarding judges sitting on the northern circuit have been received. Information on complaints relating to judicial decisions is held by the Court Service, which has received centrally 297 such complaints since it was established on 1 April 1995. Information on complaints relating to judicial decisions broken down on a regional basis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  The charter for court users, which came into effect on 1 September 1995, sets out the standards court users can expect from the administration of the Court Service. It does not therefore apply to the work of the judiciary.

  November 1992

  November 1995

  Judiciary

  Total number of judiciary

  Ethnic minority origin

  Total number of judiciary

  Ethnic minority origin

  Full-time Judiciary

  High Court Judges

  82

  0

  95

  0

  Circuit Judges

  480

  3

  514

  5

  District Judges

  257

  0

  339

  2

  Part-time Judiciary

  Recorders

  784

  7

  897

  13

  Assistant Recorders

  475

  8

  341

  9

  Deputy District Judges

  —

  —

  718

  11

  Stipendiary Magistrates

  —

  —

  92

  1

  Acting Stipendiary Magistrates

  —

  —

  87

  3

  Full-time Chairmen of Industrial Tribunals

  —

  —

  81

  2

  Part-time Chairmen of Social Security

  —

  —

  178

  5

  Full-time Chairmen of Social Security Appeals Tribunals

  —

  —

  45

  1

  Part-time Chairmen of Social Security Appeals Tribunal

  —

  —

  458

  10

  Magistrates Courts
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the total staff establishment of magistrates courts in England and Wales by grade; and how many(a) in total and (b) in each grade were from an ethnic minority in (i) 1989 and (ii) 1995. [3614]

  Total staff by grade by ethnic origin

  Ethnic origin

  Grade

  White

  Ethnic minority

  Unknown

  Total

  Administrative division

  4,080

  165

  200

  4,445

  Clerical Division

  940

  79

  246

  1,265

  Committee Secretariat

  205

  3

  12

  220

  Court Clerks Division

  1,370

  68

  73

  1,511

  Justices' Clerks

  200

  0

  5

  205

  324
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what arrangements are made to ensure that judges comply with the charter for court users. [3976]

  Mr. Evans
  The question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executive of the Court Service is best placed to provide an answer and I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.

  Letter from M. D. Huebner to Mr. Eddie Loyden, dated 7 December 1995:
  The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply to your Question about the judiciary and the Charter for Court Users.The Charter for Court Users sets out the standards court users can expect from the administration of the Court Service. It does not therefore apply to the work of the judiciary.

  Judiciary (Ethnic Origin)
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many members of the judiciary in England and Wales were from an ethnic minority in(a) 1989 and (b) 1995. [3652]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  The ethnic origin of candidates for judicial appointment was not collected prior to autumn 1991, so the available information may not be complete. There are no readily available records for 1989. The earliest readily available and current figures for full-time and part-time judiciary are set out in the table.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  Returns from 104 of the 105 magistrates courts committees in England and Wales showed that in 1995 there was a total of 11,083 staff, of whom 436 declared they were from an ethnic minority. A breakdown by grade is in the table.

  There are no figures available for 1989. There was no requirement to keep such figures at that time.
  325

  Total staff by grade by ethnic origin

  Ethnic origin

  Grade

  White

  Ethnic minority

  Unknown

  Total

  Other

  597

  54

  70

  721

  Deputy Justices' Clerks Division

  325

  17

  28

  370

  Principle Admin Division

  604

  17

  35

  656

  Trainee Court Clerks Division

  203

  12

  6

  221

  Ushers

  1,374

  21

  75

  1,470

  Total

  9,898

  436

  750

  11,084

PRIME MINISTER

  Engagements
  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 7 December. [3228]

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 7 December. [3230]

  The Prime Minister
  This morning, I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

  Australian Aboriginal Artifacts
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Prime Minister what representations Her Majesty's Government have received since 1980 for assistance from the Government of Australia or the state government of Western Australia or any of their agencies, in respect of the alleged removal, contrary to Australian law, of aboriginal artifacts from or through the Broome area of Western Australia; what action was subsequently taken in response to each request; and if he will make a statement. [4180]

  The Prime Minister
  As far as I am aware, none. Further examination of the government archives could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Dr. Alfred Hartmann
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Prime Minister whether, on what occasion and for what purpose, he or his predecessor Baroness Thatcher has met Dr. Alfred Hartmann. [4528]

  The Prime Minister
  I do not recall having met Dr. Hartmann, nor am I aware of any meeting between my predecessor and Dr. Hartmann.

  Ministers
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the number of Ministers by rank in each Department of State, excluding law officers; and if he will provide the corresponding figures for the outgoing Government in 1965. [4751]

  The Prime Minister
  This is a matter of public record.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Prime Minister how many Ministers are in the Department of Trade and Industry now and how many were in the then Board of Trade in 1965; what are the numbers of officials in the Department by rank from assistant secretary upwards in 1979 and at
  326
  the present time; and what plans he has for reducing the number of Ministers in the Department. [4752]

  The Prime Minister
  This is a matter of public record. I have no intention of reducing the number of Ministers in the Department of Trade and Industry.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those occasions on which his predecessor notified the Crown between 1979 and 1990 of her intention to visit Switzerland. [4560]

  The Prime Minister
  In accordance with "Questions of Procedures for Ministers", it is normal practice for all Cabinet Ministers to notify the Crown of their intention to make an official foreign visit.

TREASURY

  Taxation (Cigarettes)
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax revenues raised in each of the last five years from the illegal sale of cigarettes to children. [3776]

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 4 December 1995]: Data on smoking prevalence among schoolchildren are available from surveys conducted by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in four years since 1990. The sample size for each survey is very small, so estimates for individual years are considered unreliable. Combining the results of the four surveys gives a best estimate of the order of £100 million raised per year in excise duty and VAT from sales of cigarettes to children under 16 or smoked by such children but purchased legally by others.

  Consultants
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those(a) consultants, (b) outside organisations and (c) individuals employed by his Department in each year since 1990, indicating the purposes of their employment and the total payments made to them. [3954]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  For(a) consultants and (b) outside organisations, those employed by the Department since 1992 with total contract value which are given in a table which I am placing in the Members' Library. To obtain information before 1992 on actual payments made and to give the purpose of employment in each case would entail disproportionate cost.
  327
  With regard to (c), the total number of staff employed in the Treasury and their cost can be found in the civil service staff in post summary tables which are also available in the Library. It would entail disproportionate cost to list the purposes of employment, but staff are employed to meet the aim and objectives of the Treasury. These are set out in the departmental report which is in the Library.

  Tax Legislation (Revision)
  Mr. Trotter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation he plans in respect of his proposed revision of the wording of the technical tax law; and if this review will cover all existing tax laws. [3684]

  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 7 December 1995]: The proposal to rewrite existing tax legislation, which my right hon. and learned Friend announced in his Budget, would proceed on the basis of full consultation with the representative bodies and taxpayers generally. It would cover most of the primary legislation on Inland Revenue taxes.

  Further details of this rewritten proposal will be given in the Inland Revenue's report under section 160 of the Finance Act 1995, which we hope to lay before Parliament on 12 December 1995, and in its background paper that will be published on the same day.

  Earnings
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of workers on adult rates currently earn less than(a) £2.50, (b) £3, (c) £3.50, (d) £4, (e) £4.50 (f) £5, (g) £5.50 and (h) more than £6 per hour, including and excluding overtime in (i) the east midlands and (ii) the United Kingdom. [4072]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: Information available from the new earnings survey is provided in the table.

  Hourly earnings, all employees on adult rates pay not affected by absence: April 1995

  Percentage earning

  East Midlands

  Great Britain

  Including overtime

  <£2.50

  1.5

  1.6

  <£3.00

  3.6

  3.3

  <£3.50

  10.2

  8.7

  <£4.00

  19.0

  15.8

  <£4.50

  27.5

  23.1

  <£5.00

  35.0

  30.4

  <£5.50

  43.2

  37.7

  <£6.00

  49.1

  55.4

  Excluding overtime

  <£2.50

  1.6

  1.6

  <£3.00

  3.8

  3.4

  <£3.50

  10.7

  9.1

  <£4.00

  19.9

  16.5

  <£4.50

  29.0

  24.2

  <£5.00

  36.4

  31.4

  <£5.50

  44.6

  38.8

  <£6.00

  47.7

  54.3

  Valuation Office (Stockport)
  Ms Coffey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will provide information on who has been consulted about the proposed closure of the valuation office in Stockport; [4286]

  (2) when he expects the consultation on the proposed closure of the valuation office in Stockport to be completed; [4284]

  (3) if he will make available the responses to the consultation on the proposed closure of the valuation office in Stockport. [4285]

  Mr. Jack
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: Consultation has recently commenced with members of staff and their trades unions and will also be conducted with national representatives of the valuation profession and other bodies with an interest in the future of the Valuation Office review.

  Consultation is expected to be completed by summer 1996 and the outcome announced in due course.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4250]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: A total of four mobile telephones belonging to Treasury Ministers have been cloned during the past 12 months of which two were cloned within the last six months. No Treasury Ministers' mobile telephones were cloned beyond 12 months ago. The Chief Secretary has had his mobile telephones cloned three times and the Economic Secretary once.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4249]

  Mrs. Knight
  There are 12 mobile telephones available for use by Treasury Ministers and their private offices.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3422]

  Mr. Jack
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of PFI policy and offer us the opportunity to refine further the process of implementation. The lessons so far are most recently set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy has been placed in the Members' Library.
  329
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3421]

  Mr. Jack
  Information on forward commitments, including those in respect of schemes under the private finance initiative, is held by Departments. Payments for service procurement through PFI schemes are taken into account as part of Departments' current costs in their overall spending plans; those for the next three years are published in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report, 1996–97", laid before Parliament on 28 November 1995.

  Church Commissioners' Accounts
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the instructions which have been given to Binder Hamlyn on the nature and the manner of the audit it should carry out on the Church Commissioners' accounts. [4589]

  Mr. Jack
  The letter of engagement between Binder Hamlyn and the Church Commissioners has not yet been finalised, but I will write to the hon. Member once this has been done and the Treasury has approved the arrangements.

  Public Sector Financial Balances
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the predicted and actual public sector financial deficit or surplus for each financial year since 1979. [4329]

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Forecasts of the public sector financial balances are published in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report". Outturns of the public sector financial balance are available from the Central Statistical Office databank, series AABE.

  Forecast and outturn figures for the public sector financial balance

  £ billion

  Source

  Period

  Forecast

  Outturn

  FSBR June 1979

  1979–80

  –7.2

  –8.2

  FSBR March 1980

  1980–81

  –6.9

  –11.8

  FSBR March 1981

  1981–82

  –6.3

  –5.5

  FSBR March 1982

  1982–83

  –6.6

  –8.7

  FSBR March 1983

  1983–84

  –8.9

  –11.7

  FSBR March 1984

  1984–85

  –8.5

  –13.7

  FSBR March 1985

  1985–86

  –9.8

  –8.1

  FSBR March 1986

  1986–87

  –12.2

  –8.2

  FSBR March 1987

  1987–88

  –9.4

  –1.9

  FSBR March 1988

  1988–89

  –1.4

  8.3

  FSBR March 1989

  1989–90

  7.3

  2.4

  FSBR March 1990

  1990–91

  2.6

  –3.1

  FSBR March 1991

  1991–92

  –11.3

  –18.6

  FSBR March 1992

  1992–93

  –30.9

  –45.0

  FSBR March 1993

  1993–94

  –55.2

  –49.9

  FSBR November 1989

  1994–95

  –41.3

  –40.5

  FSBR November 1994

  1996–96

  1–25.6

  —

  FSBR November 1995

  1996–97

  –25.4

  —

  1 Published in the Revised Tables, January 1995, following the decision to leave the rate of VAT on domestic fuel and power at 8 per cent., and the further Budget measures announced on 8 December 1994.

  Finance Bill
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance Bill will be published; and if he will make available to hon. Members the customary notes on the Bill's clauses. [5078]

  Mr. Jack
  The Finance Bill will be published on Thursday 4 January 1996. The notes on the Bill's clauses will be placed in the Vote Office and the Libraries of the House that day. In addition, the Treasury will be making the notes available to the public.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Clock Tower
  Sir Harold Walker
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what estimate has been made of the angle at which the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster varies from the perpendicular; and what variation has occurred over the last 20 years. [3797]

  Mr. Ray Powell
  The Accommodation and Works Committee has a specialist adviser on geotechnical engineering whose brief includes advising the Committee on the adequacy of London Underground's arrangements to prevent damage to the Palace of Westminster and other parliamentary buildings during the construction of Westminster underground station and the Jubilee line extension. The Parliamentary Works Directorate also employs an independent firm of surveyors to monitor many movements of the Clock Tower.

  The advice from both these sources is that London Underground Ltd., is taking appropriate and sufficient measures to control any damaging movements caused by excavation work for the Jubilee line extension project. The clock tower currently slopes from the vertical by approximately 1 in 4,000 and is affected by Thames tidal movement and changes in ambient temperature.

  Video Conferencing
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment has been made or is planned in respect of possible reduction of the costs of overseas 'visits by the Select Committees through the use of video conferenicng. [4179]

  Mr. Beith
  Select Committees have used video conferencing as a means of gathering evidence on two occasions on an experimental basis. The matter has already been reported on by the Procedure Committee and the arrangements for, and cost of, video conferencing as a means of taking evidence are currently under review by the Liaison Committee; other domestic Committees may wish to be consulted. It is therefore too early to judge what part video conferencing could play in evidence gathering by Select Committees or any effects which its adoption might have on expenditure on overseas visits.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Space Policy
  Sir Michael Marshall
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made with the proposal made at the United Kingdom space policy seminar at Surrey university in September for publication of a space policy document. [4802]

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Yesterday I issued a discussion document on United Kingdom space policy and I am inviting comments.

  The documents examines UK strengths and opportunities in space science, telecommunications, earth observation and launchers. It looks at projects in the European Space Agency and other international organisations. My aim is to bring together the results of this consultation exercise, with more detailed work being carried out at the British national space centre in discussion with industry and the academic world, in the form of a forward plan for UK involvement in space activities by next summer.

  Copies of the discussion document are being placed in the Library of the House and I am sending a copy to each participant at the Surrey seminar.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3419]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Although my Department has a number of PFI projects under consideration, none has been finally agreed and no revenue commitments have been made.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3420]

  Mr. Taylor
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative within my Department will not result in changes to policy on the PFI, which have been set out by the Government. Those schemes that have been agreed, however, represent the application of PFI policy and the lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy is available in the Library of the House.

  Anti-tank Mines
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what export control procedures apply to (i) the export of anti-tank mines without self-destruct mechanism or (ii) the export of remote delivery systems for anti-tank mines. [4324]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The export of all anti-tank mines and related equipment and accessories is controlled under the Export of Goods (Control) Order. Such goods cannot be exported without a licence from the Department of Trade and Industry issued after consultation within Government. Any applications for an export licence for such equipment 332
  would be considered against strict established criteria on a case-by-case basis in line with our international commitments.

  Libya (UN Sanctions)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the impact on British(a) trade and (b) industry of the United Nations sanctions against Libya; and if he will place in the Library the information passed by his Department relating to evasion of sanctions by Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, South Korea and Spain. [2890]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: The United Nations sanctions against Libya are selective. They prohibit in particular supply and export of arms, aviation supplies and certain oil industry equipment in which the United Kingdom is strongly competitive. It is not possible to say what is the precise effect of the sanctions on UK trade and industry, but one sign of the resilience of our trading position is that exports to Libya in 1995 will exceed £200 million.

  My Department has passed no information to the UN sanctions committee, the body responsible for co-ordinating matters including evasion of sanctions.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4267]

  Mr. Lang
  There are 14 mobile telephones available in the DTI for the use of Ministers and their private offices. In addition, each ministerial car is fitted with a cellular telephone.

  Bankruptcy
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the policy of his Department in respect of making grants available to companies where directors have had previous bankruptcies. [2304]

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 27 November 1995]: Where a director of a company applying for a grant from the Department is known to have previously been bankrupt but is now discharged or has been given permission by the bankruptcy court to be a director, this would not automatically rule out acceptance of the grant application but it is a factor that would be taken into account in considering the viability and probity of the applicant company. Where a director was found to be an undischarged bankrupt who was not entitled to be a director of a company, this would be grounds for considering prosecution of the director and would be likely to lead to rejection of the company's grant application.

  Rom Data Corporation
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what was the purpose of the meeting between an official of his Department and Mr. Brad Shephard on 29 October 1993; and if he will make a statement about the outcome of this meeting; [2384]
  333
  (2) by which hon. Members, and on what dates, his Department was contacted about the Rom Data Corporation, Falmouth; [2299]

  (3) if he will make a statement about the results of his inquiries into the background of the directors of the Rom Data Corporation, Falmouth, before he made a grant to them; and if those inquiries revealed evidence of former bankruptcies of any of the directors; [2301]

  (4) what information about the financial history of Mr. John Dawson was revealed by his inquiries into the directors of the Rom Data Corporation; [2305]

  (5) what action he has taken against the directors of the Rom Data Corporation, Falmouth; and if he will make a statement. [2300]

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 27 November 1995]: As indicated in my reply of 7 November 1995, Official Report, column 711, the Department is currently conducting inquiries into the circumstances of the regional selective assistance given to the Rom Data Corporation. I will report when these are completed.

  Business Start-ups
  Mr. Macshane
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the number of new businesses started up by year and region since 1990. [4709]

  Mr. Page
  The best indicator of regional trends in business start-ups is given by figures on VAT registrations. Annual numbers of registrations for 1990 to 1994 are given in the table.

  VAT registrations 1990–94

  Thousands

  Region

  1990

  11991

  1992

  21993

  21994

  South East

  95.7

  81.9

  74.2

  79.1

  78.9

  East Anglia

  8.5

  7.5

  6.4

  6.8

  6.6

  South West

  20.2

  17.4

  15.6

  15.9

  15.7

  West Midlands

  19.1

  16.6

  15.8

  15.6

  15.5

  East Midlands

  15.4

  13.5

  12.1

  12.3

  12.3

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  17.1

  15.1

  13.6

  13.6

  13.3

  North West

  24.0

  21.0

  19.2

  17.7

  17.4

  North

  8.3

  6.9

  6.2

  6.3

  6.4

  Wales

  10.2

  8.4

  7.5

  7.2

  7.2

  Scotland

  16.3

  13.9

  12.7

  12.6

  12.8

  Northern Ireland

  4.3

  3.7

  3.7

  4.0

  3.9

  United Kingdom

  239

  206

  187

  191

  190

  Notes:

  1 Includes an adjustment for effect of change in the VAT threshold in the 1991 budget.

  2 Includes an adjustment for effect of change in the VAT threshold in the November 1993 budget.

  Following the threshold change in 1991, figures for 1992 to 1994 are not comparable with the figures for earlier years.

  ISCT Ltd.
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what inquiry his Department has initiated or plans concerning the activities of any directors of the Ferranti-ISC subsidiary ISCT Ltd.; and what action his Department has taken as a result. [5619]
  334
  Mr. Oppenheim
  ISC Technologies Ltd. went into administrative receivership on 1 December 1993. Returns under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 were submitted by the administrative receivers on 25 May 1994.

  No disqualification proceedings or other action has been taken or is proposed by the Department on present information.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to initiate disqualification proceedings against former directors of the Ferranti-ISC subsidiary ISCT Ltd. through which the fraud against that parent company was perpetrated; and if he will make a statement. [4358]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: ISC Technologies Ltd. went into administrative receivership on 1 December 1993. Returns under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 were submitted by the administrative receivers on 25 May 1994.

  No disqualification proceedings have been taken or are proposed by the Department.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what inquiries he has initiated regarding the position of beneficiaries of the pension fund of the former Ferranti-ISC fund; what action he has taken to protect the position of the beneficiaries; and if he will make a statement. [4359]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: The assets of the Ferranti-ISC group of companies are being dealt with by joint administrative receivers, without the involvement of the Department, who report that after payment in full of the preferential creditors and the banks' claims as first ranking secured creditors, a payment to the pension fund on account of its second ranking secured claim for £15 million may be possible. The major part of the pension fund is not affected by the receivership and is protected for its beneficiaries.

  Newerthill
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations or inquiries he has received from the Government of Australia or any of its agencies, or from any Australian state authority or agency about the activities of the United Kingdom registered company Newerthill or any of its subsidiaries; and if he will make a statement. [4245]

  Mr. Nelson
  There is no United Kingdom registered company with the name Newerthill. We have received no representation or inquiries about Newerthill or any other similarly named company to which the question might possibly relate.

  Exports (Iraq)
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, what inquiries he has caused to he made into whether the Export Credits Guarantee Department issued guarantees to financial institutions resident in the United Kingdom possibly involved in financial trade with Iraq
  335
  contrary to the Government's guidelines; what were the results of such inquiries; and what subsequent action he has taken or proposes to take. [4244]

  Mr. Nelson
  I know of no such cases.

  Trade Statistics
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade for what reasons he does not publish figures for United Kingdom share of main manufacturing countries exports in table D1 of the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistic", and if he will(a) publish up to date figures in the Official Report and (b) include the figures in future editions of the MRETS.

  Mr. John M Taylor
  The series were temproarily discontinued when MRETS was suspended, following introduction of Intrastate, during 1993–94. With the rebasing of United Kingdom volume series using 1990 weights it is necessary to rebase the volume of manufactured exports for the main manufacturing countries as a whole. This work is continuing and the series will be reinstated as soon as possible.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the share of the domestic market taken by(a) imported manufactured goods and (b) imported services for each year since 1975. [4401]

  Mr. Nelson
  Consistent information for each year since 1975 is not available. The following estimates are derived from input-output tables which were published every five years prior to 1989.

  Imports as a percentage of home demand

  Year

  Manufacturing industry

  Services

  1974

  23.7

  7.2

  1979

  25.3

  6.1

  1984

  31.7

  6.2

  1989

  36.0

  3.9

  1990

  36.4

  3.7

  1991

  35.8

  3.4

  1992

  37.6

  3.3

  1993

  40.4

  3.3

  The 1992 standard industrial classification has changed the definition of manufacturing industry. The new definition includes the manufacture of coke ovens, mineral oil processing and nuclear fuel processing and excludes mining and quarrying of materials other than coal. The table takes account of these major changes but there may still be some definitional differences between 1992 and earlier figures.

  The figures only include direct trade. Services provided locally as a result of overseas direct investment are not included in these figures.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what considerations led him to cease publication of figures for United Kingdom export unit values for manufactures which have been published in table 2.15 of "Economic Trends" after the third quarter of 1994. [4557]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The publication of UK export unit values of manufactures has not been discontinued. Table 2.15 of the November "Economic Trends" contains figures up to the first quarter of 1995, the latest quarter 336
  for which unit value indices based on $US denominated exports are available from the International Monetary Fund.

  Redundancies
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for redundancies in his Department. [3708]

  Mr. Lang
  The outcome of the public expenditure survey for the running costs of my Department means that to help to achieve the required rundown in staff numbers a voluntary early retirement-severance scheme is being launched immediately.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the(a) written and (b) oral evidence given by Her Majesty's Government to the International Court of Justice in respect of the legality of nuclear weapons. [3986]

  Mr. David Davis
  The International Court of Justice decided on 30 October that submissions in respect of the nuclear weapons advisory opinions should be open to the public. Accordingly, copies of our written and oral statements have been placed in the Library of the House.

  Foreign Affairs Council
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council on 4 and 5 December. [5284]

  Mr. David Davis
  The A points listed in document 12202/95—which will be deposited in the Libraries of the House as soon as it is available—were adopted except for item 24 which was withdrawn by presidency.

  The Council took note of the European Parliament resolutions in document 11507/95 PE-RE-79. A copy of this document will be deposited in the Libraries of the House as soon as it is available.

  The Council agreed that the presidency should write to the Prime Minister of Estonia confirming receipt of that country's application for membership of the European Union.

  The Council discussed preparations for the European Council at Madrid.

  The Council agreed that the conference on economic assistance to the Palestinians should be postponed to 9 January.

  The Council discussed the draft MEDA regulation, covering aid to countries in the Mediterranean region.

  The Commission presented a recommendation for a Council decision on renewal of the San Jose dialogue between the EU and central America. This was remitted to the Committee of Permanent Representatives for further discussion.
  337
  The Council confirmed that the Commission should continue to negotiate a new agreement with Switzerland on the basis of its existing mandate.

  The Council adopted conclusions on former Yugoslavia and agreed on the appointment of a deputy to Mr. Bildt in Sarajevo. My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Foreign Ministers of France and of Germany briefed the Council on the forthcoming London, Paris and Bonn conferences.

  The Council adopted a further common position on Nigeria, covering measures additional to those in the common position of 20 November. The new common position provides for further visa restrictions, the expulsion of military personnel in Nigerian diplomatic missions in the EU and interruption of sporting contacts. The Council undertook to consider further measures in the absence of progress in Nigeria.

  The Council discussed a draft mandate for a trade and co-operation agreement with South Africa.

  The Council discussed the draft new technical assistance to the Commmonwealth of Independent States—TACIS—regulation but agreed to defer further consideration until the Italian presidency.

  The Council agreed a position paper on the March 1996 Asia/Europe meeting to be used as a basis for EU discussion with the Asian side in the run-up to the meeting.

  The Council approved conclusions endorsing the broad lines of the Commission's communication on long-term relations between the EU and China.

  The Council gave its political approval, by qualified majority, to a deal negotiated with the US, Canada and Australia on compensation—as required by article XXIV.6—of the general agreement on tariffs and trade for tariff increases resulting from EU enlargement.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3395]

  Mr. Hanley
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 November 1995,Official Report, column 694.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3396]

  Mr. Hanley
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of PFI policy and offer us the opportunity further to refine the process of implementation. The lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy is available in the Members' Library.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4265]

  Mr. Hanley
  The Department has four mobile telephones and four car telephones exclusively for the use of Ministers.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4266]

  Mr. Hanley
  The then Minister of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Grantham, (Mr. Hogg), has his car telephone cloned twice: in October 1994 and June 1995. New numbers were allocated on both occasions.

  A programme is under way to replace Ministers' analogue telephones with digital units which will reduce the risk of cloning.

  BBC World Service
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the change in real terms since 1994–95 to his Office's funding to the BBC World Service. [4739]

  Mr. Hanley
  Foreign and Commonwealth Office funding to the BBC World Service through grant in aid decreased in real terms by 0.67 per cent. between 1994–95 and 1995–96.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what restrictions apply to the award of sponsorship rights to potential participants in any use of the private finance initiative of the BBC World Service; [4756]

  (2) what plans he has to allow the BBC World Service to take (a) advertising or (b) finance from overseas Governments or agencies. [4757]

  Mr. Hanley
  Under the terms of its current licence and agreement, the BBC is prohibited from broadcasting sponsored programmes. It would also need to seek agreement to accept advertising from any source or take finance from overseas Governments or agencies. Subject to the overriding requirements of safeguarding its impartiality, we would look at any proposals the World Service might make constructively, bearing in mind the increasing use of local rebroadcasting partnerships to reach audiences more effectively.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the BBC World Service's capital budget the reduction in funding announced on 28 November represents. [4755]

  Mr. Hanley
  The reduction in funding for 1996–97 amounts to 19.3 per cent. of the World Service's capital budget, but this takes no account of the opportunities presented by the private finance initiative.
  339
  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions he has had with the BBC World Service as to which transmitters will be affected by the reduction in the funding of the BBC World Service; and to what extent; [4763]

  (2) to what extent the private finance initiative can be applied to overseas projects of the BBC World Service; [4759]

  (3) what consultations he has had about the consequences of the reduction in the BBC World Service's budget; [4754]

  (4) what monitoring he has carried out as to the effect on programme services of the reduction in funding to the BBC World Service; with what result; and if he will make a statement; [4762]

  (5) if the private finance initiative will be applied to improvements in existing projects of the BBC World Service; [4758]

  (6) what recommendations he has made to the BBC World Service as to the areas of transmission in which economies should be made. [4760]

  Mr. Hanley
  We hold regular discussions with the BBC World Service, about its plans and priorities. I shall be meeting the managing director of the World Service shortly. Detailed talks on funding for the next three-year period will start in the New Year.

  It is for the World Service to judge the best deployment of transmitters. Audibility has been vastly improved as a result of a £166 million investment programme. A further new relay station is being built in Thailand at a cost of £29 million.

  The private finance initiative offers the World Service opportunity to involve private sector finance and expertise and may, in principle, be applied to projects overseas as well as in the United Kingdom. Projects which are already contractually committed are not affected.

  Mr. Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the BBC World Service budget for transmitters and satellite distribution is already contractually committed. [4761]

  Mr. Hanley
  Over 70 per cent. of the BBC World Service's capital budget for 1995–96, and all of the operating budget line, for transmitter and satellite distribution is already contractually committed.

  Guatemala
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that no training will be offered by the United Kingdom to Guatemalan police officers until the peace process has been fully implemented in Guatemala. [4520]

  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  No. Our limited assistance to the Guatemalan police is designed to encourage high standards, including proper respect for human rights.

  Mr. Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Guatemalan Government about the human rights situation in Guatemala with particular reference to 340
  the latest report of the United Nations human rights verification mission, MINUGUA. [4521]

  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  As I informed the House on 19 October,Official Report, columns 305–306, the British ambassador in Guatemala takes every appropriate opportunity to express to the authorities our concerns about human rights abuses, including problems identified in MINUGUA's third report to the UN Secretary-General.

  Mr. Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Guatemalan Government to ensure that the trial of the Guatemalan soldiers accused of the massacre of former refugees in Xaman on 5 October is carried out in a fair and proper judicial manner. [4522]

  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  In its statement on 12 October the European Union called for the punishment of those guilty of the massacre and expressed support for the measures announced by President de Leon Carpio to deal with the incident. The Guatemalan authorities are well aware of the need for a proper trial of those accused.

  European Monetary Union
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current status of the economy of each member state of the EC in relation to each of the convergence criteria for European monetary union in the Maastricht treaty. [160]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  I have been asked to reply.

  The question of which countries fulfil the necessary conditions for adoption of the single currency will be decided by the Council, meeting in the form of Heads of State or of Government. The latest Commission forecasts, released on 22 November 1995, provide information on the current status of each member state. The forecasts are available in the House of Commons Library.

DEFENCE

  Anti-tank Mines
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of anti-tank mines(a) possessed by or (b) in the process of being procured by the United Kingdom armed forces have self-destruct mechanisms. [4315]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  All anti-tank mines in service with the multiple launch rocket system phase II and JP233 will self-destruct after a pre-set time, once deployed. No other in-service anti-tank mines have self-destruct mechanisms. It is our established policy, for security reasons, not to reveal information relating to stock levels of munitions held.

  I recently announced on 29 November 1995, Official Report, column 768, our intention to purchase a vehicle-launched scatterable mine system. All the mines to be procured for VLSMS will have a self-destruct mechanism. We are currently procuring any other anti-tank mines.
  341
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the UK possess the means remotely to deliver anti-tank mines; and if the MLRS system is equipped remotely to deliver anti-tank mines. [4325]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  Yes. Both the multiple launch rocket system phase II and JP233 are capable of delivering anti-tank mines remotely. I recently announced on 29 November 1995,Official Report, column 768, our intention to purchase a vehicle-launched scatterable mine system, which will also be capable of delivering anti-tank mines remotely. All these systems utilise mines which self-destruct after a short laid life.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative(a) capital and (b) revenue costs to public funds (i) under the PFI and (ii) estimated to have been incurred had the scheme been funded wholly within the public sector. [3818]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 7 November 1995, Official Report, column 666.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3414]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The Government's defence policy is as stated in the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1995", Cm 2800.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3413]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 7 November,Official Report, column 666.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much capital expenditure is forecast to be included in the private finance initiative for the current financial year and the next five financial years. [3823]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: Capital expenditure on the PFI commitments in 1995–96 is forecast to be nil. Figures for later years are published in table 6.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1996–97". Projections are not currently available for years beyond 1998–89.

  Merchant Vessels
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the name of every merchant vessel and its country of registration chartered by his Department for(a) exercises and (b) military support and re-supply operations since the beginning of 1995. [4579]
  342
  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  Vessels chartered for exercise

  Vessel name

  Flag

  Arroyofrio Dos

  Spanish

  Dana Minerva

  Danish

  Condock V (Twice)

  German

  King of Scandinavia

  Danish

  Winston Churchill

  Danish

  Condock III

  German

  Wloclawek

  Polish

  Arcade Eagle (Twice)

  Spanish

  Parkhaven

  Maltese

  Dana Corona

  Danish

  Goya

  Spanish

  Prince of Scandinavia

  Danish

  Mercandian Senator

  Danish

  Norbay

  British

  Norcape

  Dutch

  Belvaux

  Panamanian

  Villars

  Swiss

  Feederteam

  Maltese

  Arcade Falcon

  Norwegian

  Marianne Danica

  Danish

  Sine Boye

  Danish

  Lyn

  Danish

  Italica

  Italian

  Vessels chartered for support

  Vessel Name

  Flag

  Kapitan Mezentsyev

  Ukrainian

  NDS Atlantic

  Dutch

  Neptune Olympic (Twice)

  Greek

  Mercandian Senator

  Danish

  Dana Hafnia

  Danish

  Yuriy Maksaryov

  Ukrainian

  Petro Mersey (Three times)

  British

  Petro Fawley (Twice)

  British

  Rotesand

  German

  Flex Installer

  Bahamian

  Dubalti

  Latvian

  Marine Explorer

  British

  Fionan of Skellig

  Irish

  Northella

  British

  Oil Mariner

  British

  Stena Constructor

  Bahamian

  OTS Yeoman

  British

  Maersk Ascension

  British

  Kommander Subsea

  British

  Discovery

  British

  Aquamarine

  Liberian

  Ottaviano

  Italian

  Ravello

  Italian

  Nordica

  Finnish

  Anfitrite

  Italian

  Sidsel Knutsen

  Norwegian

  Cargo Master

  Canadian

  Kondor

  Ukrainian

  St. Brandan

  British

  Celtic RoRo

  Bahamian

  Sea Bird

  Danish

  Pietersgracht

  Dutch

  Lion

  Danish

  Condock III

  German

  Condock V

  German

  Stevnsland

  Antiguan

  Rosen

  Danish

  Arneb

  German

  Jens Munk

  Danish

  Arcade Falcon

  Norwegian

  Maersk Gannet

  British

  Territorial Army
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of members of the Territorial Army who will be called up to serve(a) as part of the implementation force in Bosnia and (b) elsewhere in the next months. [4569]

  Mr. Soames
  I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 6 December 1995,Official Report, column 244.

  Dr. Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tasks are to be assigned to members of the Territorial Army as part of the implementation force in Bosnia. [4570]

  Mr. Soames
  Most members of the Territorial Army and Army reserve who are being called out to serve with the implementation force will fill war establishment posts in regular army units, primarily headquarters and signal units, military police companies and logistics units.

  Fire Training Establishments
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all his Department's fire training establishments in the United Kingdom; how many(a) military and (b) civilian personnel are currently (i) employed and (ii) being trained at these establishments giving the duration of the training; and what have been (1) the average running costs and (2) the annual maintenance costs of each establishment in each of the last five years. [4170]

  Mr. Soames
  The Department's only single role fire training establishment is the MOD fire service central training establishment at RAF Manston, where there are 27 civilian and 23 military established posts. The number of personnel being trained depends on which courses are being run; this year's figures show that there have been 834 civilian and 326 military students, and since the CTE was reorganised in 1991, 3,728 civilians and 1,230 military personnel have attended courses there. The duration will depend on the course, of which there are some 20, covering every aspect of fire training. The MOD FSCTE is a lodger unit at RAF Manston, thus disaggregating the running and maintenance costs for the centre from the overall station costs can be done only at disproportionate cost.

  The Department also has other training establishments where fire training can be part of the course structure. These are the school of flight deck operations at the royal naval air station Culdrose; the nuclear biological and chemical defence school at HMS Excellent; the Plymouth command NBCD school at HMS Raleigh; and the school of logistics, royal logistics training group at Deepcut. Additionally, some MOD personnel attend specialist fire safety courses at such training centres as the Home Office school at Moreton-in-Marsh.

  Where active fire cover is provided at MOD establishments, facilities for continuation training are provided. Moreover, the MOD has task training integrated across the board. All military and civilian personnel are given the appropriate fire fighting training as part of the Department's duty of care.

  Theft
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the cost to his Department of 344
  theft by (a) military personnel and (b) civilian personnel in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [4564]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The figures are as follows:

  Year

  Theft by service personnel £000s

  Theft by civilians £000s

  1985–86

  125.2

  49.0

  1986–87

  0.0

  0.0

  1987–88

  24.1

  222.1

  1988–89

  0.0

  150.0

  1989–90

  0.0

  19.7

  1990–91

  2.0

  581.8

  1991–92

  4.3

  0.0

  1992–93

  1.4

  39.0

  1993–94

  183.8

  126.7

  1994–95

  35.5

  272.7

  These figures are expressed in gross terms and they make no allowance for subsequent recoveries.

  There are wide fluctuations from year to year and no obvious trend, but we are far from complacent and have taken a range of preventive measures.

  Dr. Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) military personnel and (b) civilian personnel have been (i) charged and (ii) found guilty of theft in his Department in each of the last five years. [4566]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The information is in the table.

  Service

  Civilian

  Year

  Charged

  Guilty

  Charged

  Guilty

  1990–91

  10

  10

  10

  10

  1991–92

  3

  3

  0

  0

  1992–93

  1

  1

  9

  3

  1993–94

  11

  5

  18

  11

  1994–95

  9

  7

  28

  19

  Court Martial System
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his proposals for the reform of the court martial system. [5077]

  Mr. Soames
  We have undertaken a review of the court martial system as part of our preparations for the Armed Forces Bill which was introduced recently.

  As a result, we are including in the Bill proposals to reform aspects of the court martial system, while enabling it to continue to meet the armed forces' requirement to administer discipline firmly but fairly. I am today putting a note setting out the detail of these proposals in the Library, and copies will be available in the Vote Office. The main features of the changes are as follows: there will be changes in the formal part played in court martial proceedings by the military chain of command. Its functions, such as settling charges, responsibility for the prosecution and appointing court martial members, will remain in the services but generally be independent of the chain of command; there will be an enhancement of the part played at court martial by the judge advocate, who is similar in many ways to a judge in a civilian court; the right for defendants to choose to have their cases tried

  345
  by court martial, rather than dealt with summarily by the commanding officer, will be extended; access to the courts martial appeal court, which is composed of senior civilian judges, will be extended, to enable it to hear appeals against sentence as well as against conviction.

  This last proposal is already included in the Armed Forces Bill. Amendments to the Bill to address the other proposals which require legislation will be tabled shortly.

  The court martial system has served the services very well over the years. We believe that the proposals represent a major improvement to the present system and will enable it to continue to fulfil its purpose for a long time to come.

  Defence Contracts
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the contracts that his Department has with(a) Junghans, (b) Borletti and (c) Raufoss over the last five years; and if these companies are permitted to bid for current procurement contracts. [3865]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  [holding answer 5 December 1995]: As my predecessor stated on 23 November 1993, Official Report, column 309, and as has been confirmed on several occasions since, my Department will not be placing any new contracts with the firms concerned until all the facts relating to the Foxley case have been fully investigated. Details of contracts placed with Raufoss and Junghans in the last five years are given below. All these contracts have been completed. No contracts have been placed with Borletti in the last five years, but one contract has been placed with the division of Fiat which acquired Borletti's interests. This contract is due to complete in 1996.

  Company

  Store

  Date

  Value(£000s)

  Raufoss

  27mm Ammo

  7 January 1991

  233

  25mm Ammo

  25 February 1991

  24

  12.7mm Ammo

  29 October 1991

  5

  20mm Ammo

  16 July 1992

  11

  Rocket Warheads

  2 September 1993

  1,200

  Ammo Testing

  5 October 1992

  8

  Rocket Warheads

  11 September 1992

  342

  Study into Non-ricochet Ammo

  27 October 1993

  155

  Junghans

  Fuze L127A3

  2 October 1992

  589

  Fiat (Borletti Division)

  Fuze L85A2

  20 March 1991

  2,088

  Defence Medical Services
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of all the submissions received from the Department of Health, NHS executive, health authorities and NHS trusts in response to the "Front Line First" proposed changes to defence medical services. [4462]

  Mr. Soames
  Three formal submissions were received from the NHS in response to the defence costs study 15 consultative document. Copies of these submissions will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Rosyth Naval Base
  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on negotiations on the sale of Rosyth naval base to Rosyth 2000; and if he will ensure that commercial operations will be in place from 1 January 1996. [3647]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: Negotiations with the preferred bidder, Rosyth 2000 Ltd., a consortium of leading Scottish businesses, are under way. Commercial operations on a small scale are likely to be developed from 1 January 1996, with an anticipated date of transfer from military to civilian use on 31 March 1996.

  Mr. Fouad Uzzourni
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions since 1980 Ministers or officials of his Department have met Mr. Fouad Uzzourni since 1980; and what was the purpose of the meetings. [4191]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I am not aware of Ministers or officials in my Department having met a Mr. Fouad Uzzourni.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4274]

  Mr. Soames
  There are nine digital global systems for mobile communications mobile telephones in the Ministry of Defence which may be used by Ministers.

  Army (Establishment)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of(a) the Gurkhas and (b) the Royal Irish Regiment are included in the figure given for the strength of the Army on paragraph 507 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1995". [4574]

  Mr. Soames
  The figure included some 4,000 Gurkhas and 850 general service personnel of the Royal Irish Regiment. It excluded full and part-time soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service).

  Dr. Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the planned establishment in April 1996 of(a) the Gurkhas and (b) the Royal Irish Regiment. [4575]

  Mr. Soames
  The planned establishment for the Gurkhas at April 1996 is around 4,000; for the Royal Irish Regiment (General Service) 850, and for the Royal Irish Regiment (Home Service) 3,300 full-time soldiers and 2,400 part-time soldiers.

  Implementation Force (Bosnia)
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what inoculations against chemical and biological weapons British troops being deployed as part of the implementation force have received; [4578]

  (2) what assessment has been made of the implications for the implementation force of the potential use of chemical and biological weapons in Bosnia; [4576]
  347
  (3) what instructions have been issued to the implementation force regarding the potential use of chemical and biological weapons in Bosnia. [4577]

  Mr. Soames
  My Department has examined all aspects of the potential threat to the implementation force from chemical and biological weapons. All necessary measures are being taken, though it would not be appropriate to go into detail.

  Ambulance
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the outcome of the replacement order for his Department's ambulances. [4568]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The assessment of the competition to purchase ambulances for the Army is not yet complete. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to make a statement at this stage.

  Starstreak Missile
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the development of the Starstreak missile for the attack helicopter. [4572]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The United Kingdom is currently participating in the first phase of a United States programme to examine the feasibility of using a variant of the Starstreak high velocity missile, which recently entered service with the British Army in the ground-to-air role as an air-to-air missile fro Apache. This phase will culminate in the middle of next year in trials in the US to demonstrate safe release of Starstreak from a US Army AH-64A aircraft. Subject to the satisfactory outcome of these trials, further phases on a co-operative basis are planned.

  Mortar Shells
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the companies supplying his Department with 81mm illuminating mortar shells. [4573]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  There is no current contract for 81mm illuminating mortar rounds. The most recent contract, for which deliveries ended in December 1993, was with the Italian company, Simmel Difesa.

  Attack Helicopter
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the decision to place the contract for the helmet and associated avionics for the Army attack helicopter out to tender was taken; what companies are bidding for this contract; what is the total value of this contract; and what plans his Department had made for the manufacture of the helmet prior to that decision. [4580]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The possibility of an improved helmet and sighting system to replace the current, first generation US Army integrated helmet and display sighting system was identified by Westland Helicopters in its attack helicopter bid. As part of the selection process, it was decided to proceed with this option. As prime contractor, Westland has been tasked to hold a sub-contract 348
  competition for this equipment and will issue an invitation to tender early in the new year. The value of the contract will be dependent on the chosen system.

  Army Technical Support Agency
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce his Department's decision on the collocation of the Army Technical Support Agency on to one main site; when he originally anticipated making this announcement; and what factors underlay the delay. [4563]

  Mr. Soames
  I intend to announce our proposals shortly. This will be followed by a period of consultation.

  We originally intended to announce our proposals earlier this year but had to examine in detail more potential sites than had first been anticipated.

  Military Communications Satellites
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for further orders for military communications satellites. [5076]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  Subject to the successful completion of contractual negotiations, we intend to place an order worth more than £100 million Matra Marconi Space UK Ltd., for a third Skynet 4 stage 2 communications satellite. The stage 2 satellites will start coming into service from 1998. The Skynet 4 stage 2 programme will enable us to maintain dedicated satellite communications into the next century for British forces deployed throughout the world, in theatres as diverse as Bosnia, the middle east and the Falkland Islands. Such a capability is of great importance to mobile operations, including those of the joint rapid deployment force, where military units may be in range of reliable terrestrial communications. The planned order will also provide substantial further work for the British space industry.

  Departmental Vacant Dwellings
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many dwellings owned by his Ministry are(a) currently unoccupied and (b) have been unoccupied for six months or more in each parliamentary constituency in Cambridgeshire. [4764]

  Mr. Soames
  My Department owns the following vacant dwellings in these parliamentary constituencies in Cambridgeshire:

  Number

  Huntingdon

  552

  South-east Cambridgeshire

  8

  South-west Cambridgeshire

  54

  A total of 478 properties in Huntingdon have recently been handed back by the United States Air Force. Of these, 193 are surplus to requirements and will he sold while the remainder will be retained to house a squadron returning from overseas. In south-west Cambridgeshire, 42 of the vacant properties are awaiting sale. Information on the number of properties vacant for six months or more is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
  349
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how any dwellings owned by his Department are(a) currently unoccupied and (b) have been unoccupied for six months or more in each parliamentary constituency in Devon and Cornwall. [4554]

  Mr. Soames
  My Department owns the following vacant dwellings in these parliamentary constituencies in Devon and Cornwall.

  Number

  North Devon

  120

  Exeter

  8

  Plymouth Devonport

  340

  Plymouth Drake

  4

  Plymouth Sutton

  65

  Torridge and West Devon

  8

  North Cornwall

  65

  St. Ives

  98

  South East Cornwall

  13

  A total of 152 vacant quarters in Plymouth, Devonport, and 91 vacant quarters in St. Ives are in the process of being sold. A further 52 vacant quarters in Plymouth, Devonport have been identified for leasing to Plymouth city council. One hundred and twenty vacant quarters in north Devon and 50 in north Cornwall are being held for unit deployments. Information on the number of properties vacant for six months or more is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Consultancies
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consultancies his Department has placed in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [4571]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Departmental Properties
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many of his Ministry's properties there are on(a) the Dale Road estate, Haverfordwest an (b) the Trafalgar Road estate, Haverfordwest; [4736]

  (2) what are his plans for the disposal of his Ministry's housing at the Trafalgar Road estate, Haverfordwest and the Dale Road estate, Haverfordwest; [4738]

  (3) if he will list those parts of his Ministry's housing at (a) Dale Road estate and (b) Trafalgar Road estate, Haverfordwest, which the private sector has expressed an interest in buying; [4737]

  (4) how many of his Ministry's properties at (a) the Dale Road estate, Haverfordwest, and (b) Trafalgar Road estate, Haverfordwest, are currently vacant. [4735]
  350
  Mr. Soames
  My Department owns the following properties on the estate mentioned at Haverfordwest:

  Stock

  Vacant

  Dale Road estate

  188

  85

  Trafalgar Road estate

  253

  93

  The properties on the Trafalgar Road estate are surplus to our long-term requirements and we are currently negotiating to sell 216 of them to a housing association. The remaining 37 will probably be offered for sale to service personnel through the services' discount scheme. The vacant properties on the Dale Road estate are being held for a unit returning from Germany. In common with other parts of the married quarters estate in England and Wales, these married quarters may be transferred to the private sector as part of the proposal announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 30 November 1995, Official Report, columns 810-11.

ENVIRONMENT

  Smoke Detectors
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment for what reasons the Smoke Detectors Act 1991 has not fully been brought into force; and when he intends to fully bring it into force. [197]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Section 1(2) of the Smoke Detectors Act 1991 requires all new dwellings to he fitted with one or more smoke detectors in such a manner as to make adequate provision for the early detection of the outbreak of fire in the dwelling. I do not intend to bring the Act into force because its provisions would simply duplicate measures introduced under the Building Regulations 1991 for smoke alarms to be fitted in new dwellings.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average council tax bill in each English standard planning region in the latest year for which figures are available. [4296]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The average headline council taxes —band C, two adults—for the area in each English standard planning region in 1995–96 are as follows:

  Region

  £

  Northern

  602

  North West

  628

  Yorkshire and Humberside

  561

  East Midlands

  562

  West Midlands

  545

  East Anglia

  498

  South East

  505

  London

  512

  South West

  530

  England

  541

  Amounts shown are headline taxes, before transitional relief and council tax benefit/rebates after capping.

  Ealing Council
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what reserves are currently held by Ealing council; what were the equivalent figures for(a) 1 April 1994 and (b) 1 April 1990; and if he will make a statement. [4169]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The Department has recently conducted a survey of the general fund revenue reserves held by local authorities during 1994–95. The results show that the London borough of Ealing held about £36.9 million in revenue reserves at 1 April 1994, of which about £11.8 million were unallocated, the remainder being earmarked for specific purposes or held on behalf of schools under local management of schools schemes.

  At the time of the survey, Ealing expected its revenue reserves on 1 April 1995 to be £36.4 million, of which £3.9 million would be unallocated, £2.5 million held on behalf of schools, and £30 million held in other earmarked reserves.

  Figures for 1 April 1990 are not available on a comparable basis.

  Public Local Inquiries
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the time scale for inquiries under the Town and Country Planning Act recommended in the inquiries procedure rules; and if he will make a statement on the Planning Inspectorate's ability to meet this time scale. [4205]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  [holding answer 5 December 1995]: The provision of information on public local inquiries is the responsibility of the Planning Inspectorate. I have asked the inspectorate's chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from James Greenfield to Mr. John Austin-Walker, dated 5 December 1995:
  The Secretary of State asked the Chief Planning Inspector to reply to your question about the timescale for inquiries under the Town and Country Planning Act recommended in the Inquiries Procedure Rules, and the Planning Inspectorate's ability to meet this timescale. Mr. Shepley is away from the office at this time, and I am writing on his behalf.In the case of planning appeals and planning applications called-in for the Secretary of State's decision, the Inquiries Procedure Rules state that the inquiry shall be not later than 20 weeks or 22 weeks respectively after the relevant start date for the case, unless such a date is impracticable.Generally, the earliest possible date for an inquiry to be arranged is about 14 weeks after the relevant date (16 weeks or more for called-in applications), allowing the parties adequate time to submit and exchange statements and prepare proofs of evidence within the recommended timescales.There is a general delay in arranging dates for these inquiries caused by the need to provide Inspectors for development plan inquiries. The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 required mandatory district wide plans to be published by local authorities, so that future development control decisions were made in accordance with the plans, unless material considerations indicated otherwise. Ministers expectations were that all plans would be in place, by the end of 1996. Extra Inspectors have been recruited, but are undergoing an extensive training programme before they become fully effective.Within the Inspectorate's published Business Plan there are a number of performance targets, many of which are measured against the time taken to complete 80% of our caseloads. The latest statistics show that during September, 80% of the dates for inquiries proposed
  352
  by the Inspectorate to the parties were made within 40 weeks of the relevant dates. The earliest date proposed was made in week 18, and the latest date in week 51. The average waiting time for an inquiry date was 35 weeks.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3399]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December 1995,Official Report, column 239.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3400]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The policy aim of the PFI is to improve the quality and quantity of capital projects within whatever level of public funding is available at a given time. The agreement of specific schemes under the private finance initiative will not result in changes in the policy.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Departments have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4260]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The information we have received from service providers suggests that in the last 18 months one of the mobile/car telephones allocated for the use of Ministers and their private offices has been cloned. The phone was one allocated for use by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4259]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Thirteen car/mobile telephones are allocated for the use of Ministers and their private offices.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list the total external support available to Buckinghamshire county council from business rates and revenue support grant for each financial year since 1990–91 to 1996–97; and if he will make a statement; [4695]

  (2) if he will list the total external support available to (a) Aylesbury Vale district council, (b) Wycombe district council and (c) Chiltern district for each financial year since 1990–91; and if he will make a statement. [4696]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Between 1990–91 and 1992–93 redistributed non-domestic rates and revenue support grant were paid only into the collection funds operated by billing authorities. These payments supported expenditure incurred by both the billing authority and also by any precepting authorities. There is therefore no data for those
  353
  years in respect of Buckinghamshire CC, and the figures for the district councils are not comparable with those for later years. The figures from 1993–94 onwards are given.

  Non-domestic rates are redistributed to each authority on a per head basis. RSG is calculated as the difference between its standard spending assessment and the sum of the income from its council tax—assuming that its tax was set at the council tax for standard spending for that type of authority—and its share of the distributable amount non-domestic rates. At national level, the change in the amount of RSG reflects change in each of these elements. The differential increases in RSG between authorities will reflect changes in assessed need, function—in particular the changed arrangements for police funding in 1995–96—and in the size of their own tax base.

  £thousand

  Revenue support grant

  Non domestic rates

  Buckinghamshire County Council

  1993–941

  174,081

  131,508

  1994–951

  192,144

  121,802

  1995–962

  166,086

  118,192

  1996–972 (provisional Settlement)

  153,407

  134,972

  Aylesbury Vale District Council

  1993–94

  4,385

  5,199

  1994–95

  4,186

  4,846

  1995–96

  3,831

  5,069

  1996–97 (provisional settlement)

  2,893

  5,376

  Wycombe District Council

  1993–94

  3,505

  5,626

  1994–95

  4,263

  5,192

  1995–96

  3,903

  5,400

  1996–97 (provisional settlement)

  2,860

  5,754

  Chiltern District Council

  1993–94

  0

  3,149

  1994–95

  982

  2,912

  1995–96

  834

  3,037

  1996–97 (provisional settlement)

  584

  3,234

  1 Including funding for Buckinghamshire's share of Thames Valley Police.

  2 Excluding funding for police.

  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what impact the reduction in the amount of the area costs adjustment has had on the levels of standard spending assessment and total external support for 1996–97 for(a) Buckinghamshire county council, (b) Aylesbury Vales district council, (c) Chiltern district council, and (d) Wycombe district council; and if he will make a statement. [4694]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The changes proposed to the area cost adjustment factors for 1996–97 reflect information from the 1994 new earnings survey showing a narrowing of the cost differentials between authorities in London and the south-east and authorities elsewhere.

  We estimate that had we used the factors which were used in the 1995–96 settlement, proposed SSAs for the authorities would have been higher by approximately the following amounts.
  354

  £ million

  Buckinghamshire County Council

  2.23

  Aylesbury Vale District Council

  0.07

  Chiltern District Council

  0.06

  Wycombe District Council

  0.07

  The authorities' total external support would also have been higher by approximately the same amounts.

  Warwickshire Funding
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total funding made available to Warwickshire in 1995–96; and what it was in each of the three previous years. [4837]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  In 1992–93 redistributed non domestic and revenue support grant were paid only in the collection funds operated by billing authorities. These payments supported expenditure incurred by both the billing authorities and also by any precepting authorities. Data concerning total funding in 1992–93 are therefore not comparable with those for later years. The figures from 1993–94 to 1995–96 are given.

  Non-domestic rates are redistributed to each authority on a per head basis. Revenue support grant is calculated as the difference between its standard spending assessment and the sum of the income from its council tax—assuming that its tax was set at the council tax for standard spending for that type of authority—and its share of the distributable amount of non-domestic rates. Revenue support grant and specific grants declined in 1995–96 because of the establishment of the new Warwickshire police authority.

  Warwickshire County Council

  £ thousand

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Revenue support grant

  94,197

  106,115

  96,582

  Non domestic rates

  100,626

  92,801

  89,737

  Specific and special grants inside AEF

  36,834

  37,907

  12,563

  Specific and special grants outside AEF

  30,601

  35,104

  24,261

  Total funding

  262,258

  271,927

  223,143

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3409]

  Mr. Howard
  The Home Office has entered into two contractual agreements under the private finance initiative.

  The estimated revenue commitment per year for the police national network service is not available. Individual police forces' purchase usage of the network from public funds, but the value during the lifetime of the scheme will depend on demand. The contract is for five years.
  355
  The lease for the Gatwick airport immigration detention facility is for 25 years. Rental is £987,000 per annum fixed for the next five years. After this period the rental will be re-negotiated. There will also be a separately negotiated management contract.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3410]

  Mr. Howard
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of the PFI policy and offer us the opportunity further to refine the process of implementation. The lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy is available in the Library.

  Fine Enforcement
  Ms Quin
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the outcome of his discussions with the Lord Chancellor about the impact of the scheduled transfer of responsibility for the system of fine enforcement. [3974]

  Mr. Maclean
  The Lord Chancellor and my right hon. and learned Friend agree that it is important to remove from the police the administrative work relating to enforcement of warrants which divert them from more essential police work. There has been an exchange of correspondence about the timing of the proposed transfer of responsibility for the enforcement of certain categories of warrants from the police to the magistrates courts. The matter is now the subject of judicial review.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4257]

  Mr. Howard
  Six.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4258]

  Mr. Howard
  The number of detected instances of cloning of Ministers' official mobile telephones in my Department during(a) the last six months; (b) the previous six months; and (c) the six months before that were zero, two and zero respectively.

  The mobile telephones issued to the Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean), and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, when he was serving as Minister of State in my Department, were cloned.

  Executive Agencies
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if answers to questions tabled by hon. Members which fall within the responsibilities of executive agencies of his Office are submitted to Ministers for approval before publication in the Official Report. [4740]

  Mr. Howard
  It is the normal practice for Ministers to see the proposed replies to questions tabled by hon. Members which fall within the responsibility of chief executives of Home Office executive agencies before they appear in the Official Report.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Kaufman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out for each of the last 10 years for which information is available(a) according to country of origin the number of applications for asylum from those seeking to enter the United Kingdom from abroad together with the number accepted and (b) the number of applications for asylum from those already in the United Kingdom together with the number accepted. [4516]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Information on the number of asylum applications made and decisions taken, by location of application, for the years 1992 to 1994, is given in tables 4.1 to 4.3 of Home Office statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 1994" issue 15/95. Similar information on asylum applications for the years 1998 to 1991 is given in table 2.2 of issues 13/93 and 12/92 of the same publication. Copies of all issues of this bulletin are available in the Library. An equivalent breakdown of decisions prior to 1992 is not available.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers appealed against the initial decision on their claims in 1994; and what percentage of the total of those whose claims were initially rejected this represented. [4236]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  In 1994, there were 16,500 initial decisions to refuse asylum. During the same year, 10,580 appeals against the refusal of asylum were lodged with the Home Office. However, some of these appeals will have been made against decisions which were taken at the end of 1993 and some of those applications who were refused may have exercised more than one right of appeal. For these reasons, an accurate appeal rate cannot he calculated.

  Terrorism (Exclusion Orders)
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to establish a wholly independent authority to consider exclusion orders under prevention of terrorism legislation; and if the persons so appointed will be subject to official secrets legislation in respect of the information provided to them. [4523]

  Mr. Howard
  Independent persons have been appointed to consider exclusion orders since the prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 was introduced. The European Court of Justice has ruled
  357
  that the method of appointing the independent advisers is satisfactory. They are subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act 1989.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in cases where recommendations to exclude persons under the prevention of terrorism legislation are not approved by the wholly independent persons appointed to consider such cases. [4524]

  Mr. Howard
  The Secretary of State is not bound by legislation to accept the advisers' recommendations. Responsibility for national security results rests ultimately with the Secretary of State. However, in recent years, advisers' recommendations have generally been accepted. These recommendations have by no means always supported exclusion orders, which have sometimes been revoked accordingly.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the procedures to be followed by the wholly independent persons appointed to consider recommendations for exclusion under prevention of terrorism legislation with particular reference to the rights of persons being excluded learning of the nature of the evidence offered against them. [4525]

  Mr. Howard
  The adviser will offer the individual concerned an interview, either in Northern Ireland or in the British embassy in Dublin. Legal representation is permitted. The adviser will have access to the documentation on the basis of which a recommendation for exclusion has been made. The adviser will submit a report to the Secretary of State who then makes a final decision.

  Exclusion orders under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 relate to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, or travel for those purposes; details are highly sensitive and could not be divulged without prejudicing the fight against terrorism. That is why any individual may make representations to an independent adviser, and all cases are subject to further oversight as part of the annual review of the operation of the prevention of terrorism Act.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been excluded from the mainland of the United Kingdom under prevention of terrorism legislation; and on what basis he has concluded that none of them will be entitled to compensation. [4526]

  Mr. Howard
  Four hundred and forty-one people have been excluded from Great Britain or the United Kingdom since the introduction of this legislation in 1974. Differentiation between those excluded from Great Britain and those excluded from the United Kingdom since 1974 could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

  To claim compensation, an individual would have to show that he had suffered loss as a direct result of the failure to follow procedures deemed necessary by the European Court of Justice. There is no evidence to support this in any of these cases, since the Court has called into question the process, rather than the fact, of exclusion. In
  358
  many instances, the decision to exclude was subsequently backed up by an independent adviser who had had a chance to interview the individual.

  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he had made of the cost of providing a wholly independent review of persons considered for exclusion under protection of terrorism legislation. [4527]

  Mr. Howard
  An independent review process already exists. Each individual who is excluded is offered the opportunity to make representations to an independent adviser. The European Court of Justice judgment in Gallagher concerned the point at which the reference should be made to an adviser. We are currently considering its implications.

  Church Commissioners
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretay of State for the Home Department what discussions he has held with(a) the Church Commissioners and (b) the General Synod on the desirability of the commissioners ceasing to be covered by exempted status in respect of their supervision by the Charity Commissioners. [4591]

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Racism and Xenophobia
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his reasons for objecting to the proposed EEC draft joint action concerning action to combat racism and xenophobia. [4562]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  As currently drafted, the joint action would require us to change our law so as to criminalise certain forms of behaviour which are not currently offences in the United Kingdom or to derogate from the principle of dual criminality as regards judicial co-operation in respect of those forms of behaviour. United Kingdom civil and criminal law responds in a balanced way to the real mischiefs of which there is currently evidence in this country. The Government are committed to protecting people from threats, abuse and insults based on their race; and we are working towards a solution which will allow all 15 member states to agree a European Union instrument on this subject.

  Illegal Immigrants
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what number of illegal immigrants have been granted bail in each of the last 36 months; and what requirement they must meet in order to receive social security payments. [4593]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Statistics are not available on immigration offenders granted bail. The other information requested is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services.

  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people(a) entered the country illegally and (b) were apprehended entering the United Kingdom illegally by (i) lorry, (ii) small boat and (iii) light aircraft, in each of the last 36 months. [4592]
  359
  Mr. Kirkhope
  There are no official estimates of the number of people who have entered the United Kingdom illegally. The number of illegal entrants detected in each of the last three years for which statistics have been published are:

  1992: 5,658

  1993: 5,778

  1994: 7,389 (provisional).

  Information about the means by which these people entered, claimed to have entered or attempted to enter illegally is not maintained centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Asylum and Immigration Bill
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations underlay his decision not to issue a White Paper before publishing the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [4561]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  My right hon. and learned Friend made a full statement on 20 November,Official Report, columns 335–38, in which he explained the need for this proposed legislation.

  Police (Costs)
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how he proposes to implement and monitor the recruitment of 5,000 additional police officers; [4031]

  (2) what steps he intends to take to ensure that chief constables do not use their share of the cash for recruiting additional police officers for normal recruiting to replace wastage, or for other purposes. [4026]

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 5 December 1995]: The Government are providing sufficient funding to allow an additional 5,000 police officers to be recruited over the next three financial years. The additional funding is to be allocated separately to police forces. Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary will introduce a mechanism to monitor the use by forces of the extra funding.

  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his latest estimate of the average total annual cost of employing(a) a police officer for a year and (b) an additional police constable and what is the average cost of employing a new recruit to the police service including the cost of training and other costs during the first full year of employment. [4027]

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 5 December 1995]: The most recent estimate of the average total annual cost of employing a police officer is £42,000. The figure was calculated on the basis of total expenditure and total police strength of provincial forces in England and Wales.

  Data on the average annual cost of employing a police constable are not collected centrally.

  The estimated average costs of employing an additional probationer constable in 1996–97 are shown in the table:

  Cost of a probationer constable

  Outside London £

  London £

  Estimated salary

  16,117

  16,117

  London Weighting

  —

  1,398

  360

  Cost of a probationer constable

  Outside London £

  London £

  London Allowance

  —

  1,011

  Earning Related National Insurance Contributions

  1,251

  —

  Earning Related National Insurance Contributions

  —

  1,424

  Estimated training expenses

  2,000

  2,000

  Estimated cost of uniform

  370

  370

  Total

  19,738

  22,320

  Human Genetics Report
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take in response to data protection issues raised in the third report of the Science and Technology Select Committee, of Session 1994–95, on "human genetics: the Science and its Consequences", HC 41. [3918]

  Mr. Sackville
  The Government will be responding to the Select Committee in due course.

  Police (Speaking Engagements)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what(a) guidance and (b) instructions are issued to serving police officers of superintendent rank and above, concerning invitations to speak at meetings where (i) the invitation is by virtue of being a serving police officer and (ii) the meeting is arranged by a political organisation. [4005]

  Mr. Maclean
  Regulation 9 and schedule 2 of the Police Regulations 1995 prohibit a police officer from taking an active part in politics. This provision does not necessarily preclude an officer from accepting an invitation to speak at a political or other gathering.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to make a statement on the review of the Data Protection Act 1984. [3920]

  Mr. Sackville
  I expect to announce the outcome of the "prior options" study of the office of the Data Protection Registrar shortly. Work on the implications of the European Union data protection directive is in progress. I expect to publish a consultation paper in due course.

  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Social Security on the extension of data protection legislation. [3919]

  Mr. Sackville
  I have had no such discussions with my right hon. Friend.

  Police (Sandown Racecourse)
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the daily or hourly rate charged for and paid to police officers at the Sandown racecourse exhibition. [3785]
  361
  Mr. Maclean
  I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the decision to deploy police at this event was an operational one and as such no charges will be made to the organisers of the exhibition. The rates of pay for the individual officers involved are not readily available. I regret that the estimated additional total police cost for this operation given in my reply to a question from the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) on 27 November,Official Report, 467, was miscalculated. I understand that the correct total figure if £2,100.

  Police (Brightlingsea)
  Sir Alan Haselhurst
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on complaints about the policing of demonstrations against animal exports at Brightlingsea. [3789]

  Mr. Maclean
  The investigation of individual complaints against police officers is a matter for the chief constable and the Police Complaints Authority. I understand that 112 complaints have been received, and that none of the 68 so far dealt with has been substantiated. The report of the inquiry supervised by the Police Complaints Authority noted that on the whole officers had shown considerable constraint. I commend the chief constable of Essex police on a very successful operation in extremely difficult policing circumstances.

  Regional Crime Squads
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of HM inspectors' reports on the inspections carried out of the South and West Wales, the South West and North West and the South East regional crime squads during 1994–95. [3992]

  Mr. Maclean
  Copies of these reports are already in the Library.

SCOTLAND

  Health Boards
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of the general managers, chairs and board members and their correspondence addresses for each of the health boards in Scotland. [1187]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 28 November 1995]: As the information requested is lengthy, I have arranged for copies of the lists to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions his Department had with the officials of Greater Glasgow and Borders health boards relating to their under-drawing of their budgets for 1994–95; and what representations their boards have made in relation to these surpluses being carried forward into the current financial year. [4470]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Officials in my Department have had frequent discussions with officials of Greater Glasgow and Borders health boards relating to under-drawing of budget for 1994–95 and these 362
  discussions are continuing. The final amounts to be carried forward into the current financial year have not yet been agreed but the boards have made representations seeking to maximise the carry-forward amounts within the normal operating rules. The final figures will be determined soon.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the budgets for 1995–96 for each of Scotland's health boards; and if he will indicate for each board the percentage charge on the budgets for 1994–95. [4471]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information is set out in the table.

  Health board

  £thousand

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Percentage Increase

  Argyll and Clyde

  210,398

  217,764

  3.50

  Ayrshire and Arran

  171,635

  179,208

  4.41

  Borders

  53,658

  56,502

  5.30

  Dumfries and Galloway

  75,331

  80,587

  6.98

  Fife

  157,148

  164,276

  4.54

  Forth Valley

  124,511

  128,711

  3.37

  Grampian

  225,961

  233,520

  3.35

  Greater Glasgow

  484,605

  495,402

  2.23

  Highland

  99,118

  103,318

  4.24

  Lanarkshire

  241,124

  254,676

  5.62

  Lothian

  343,583

  356,919

  3.88

  Orkney

  10,377

  10,924

  5.27

  Shetland

  11,196

  11,571

  3.35

  Tayside

  198,080

  203,865

  2.92

  Western Isles

  18,150

  18,838

  3.79

  Total

  2,424,873

  2,516,081

  3.76

  Note:

  The figures report basic revenue allocations which are based on weighted capitation requirements with adjustment for moves to funding parity. Additionally Boards receive allocations for capital charges and to meet a range of service specific costs. These include, for example, the costs of nurse education and training, the additional costs associated with the teaching of doctors and such allocations reflect actual costs and will vary from Board to Board.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 23 November,Official Report, column 318, how much of the surpluses in the budgets for 1994–95 of Borders health board and Greater Glasgow health board were not transferred to the current financial year's budget for these boards. [4473]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The provisional figures provided in the previous answer of 23 November have still to be finalised and therefore no transfer of funding to the health boards has yet taken place. It is anticipated, however, that all of Borders health board's surplus will be transferred but that £1.837 million of Greater Glasgow health board's surplus will not be transferred as this element relates to a ring-fenced capital allocation underspend which is not available for carry-forward purposes.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the names of the chief executives, chairs and executive and non-executive directors and the trust correspondence addresses for each of the NHS trusts currently in operation in Scotland. [1188]
  363
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 28 November 1995]: As the information requested is lengthy, I have arranged for copies of the lists to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the budget for each of Scotland's NHS trusts for the 1994–95 financial year indicating the surplus or deficit declared by each NHS trust; and if he will list the budget for each NHS trust for 1995–96 indicating the percentage change against the previous financial year. [4472]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information is set out in the tables. The surplus-deficit and total income figures for each trust in 1994–95 have been taken from the 1994–95 NHS trust annual accounts. The 1995–96 total income figures have been taken from the latest financial monitoring returns provided by each trust.

  NHS Trust Income for 1994–95 and 1995–96

  Trust Name

  1994–95 Income

  1995–96 Income

  Percentage Difference

  Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

  123,084

  130,078

  5.38

  Angus NHS Trust

  40,874

  40,003

  -2.18

  Argyll and Bute NHS Trust1

  —

  29,579

  —

  Ayrshire and Arran Community Healthcare NHS Trust

  59,168

  59,705

  0.90

  Borders Community Health Services NHS Trust1

  —

  25,494

  —

  Borders General Hospital NHS Trust1

  —

  30,174

  —

  Caithness and Sutherland NHS Trust

  15,308

  15,542

  1.51

  Central Scotland Healthcare NHS Trust

  47,655

  70,188

  32,10

  Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust

  39,798

  41,384

  3.83

  Dumfries and Galloway Community Health NHS Trust1

  —

  40,860

  —

  Dundee Healthcare NHS Trust

  58,211

  58,229

  0.03

  Dundee Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

  114,524

  120,128

  4.67

  East and Midlothian NHS Trust

  53,711

  53,185

  -0.99

  Edinburgh Healthcare NHS Trust

  85,132

  83,328

  -2.16

  Edinburgh Sick Childrens' NHS Trust

  27,091

  27,771

  2.45

  Falkirk and District NHS Trust

  36,970

  37,052

  0.22

  Fife Healthcare NHS Trust

  81,677

  80,825

  -1.05

  Glasgow Dental Hospital and School NHS Trust1

  —

  10,280

  —

  Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust

  119,729

  124,824

  4.08

  Grampian Healthcare NHS Trust

  135,767

  128,628

  -5.55

  Greater Glasgow Community and Mental Health Services NHS Trust

  152,023

  147,365

  -3.16

  Hairmyres and Stonehouse Hospitals NHS Trust

  48,705

  48,063

  -1.34

  Highland Communities NHS Trust

  52,258

  47,917

  -9.06

  Inverclyde Royal NHS Trust

  39,095

  38,103

  -2.60

  Kirkcaldy Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

  46,759

  46,630

  -0.28

  Lanarkshire Healthcare NHS Trust1

  —

  84,851

  —

  Law Hospital NHS Trust

  45,318

  46,247

  2.01

  Lomond Healthcare NHS Trust1

  —

  32,192

  —

  364

  NHS Trust Income for 1994–95 and 1995–96

  Trust Name

  1994–95 Income

  1995–96 Income

  Percentage Difference

  Monklands and Bellshill Hospitals NHS Trust

  53,356

  56,035

  4.78

  Moray Health Services NHS Trust

  26,107

  28,838

  9.47

  North Ayrshire and Arran NHS Trust

  75,018

  76,766

  2.28

  Perth and Kinross Healthcare NHS Trust

  58,057

  58,356

  0.51

  Queen Margaret Hospital NHS Trust

  38,217

  38,507

  0.75

  Raigmore Hospital NHS Trust

  52,108

  53,707

  2.98

  Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS Trust

  69,419

  68,716

  -1.02

  Royal Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

  50,653

  50,588

  -0.13

  Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh NHS Trust

  157,192

  153,817

  -2.19

  Scottish Ambulance Service NHS Trust1

  —

  72,893

  —

  South Ayrshire Hospitals NHS Trust

  46,955

  46,148

  -1.75

  Southern General Hospital NHS Trust

  81,170

  88,007

  7.77

  Stirling Royal Infirmary NHS Trust

  40,741

  41,279

  1.30

  Stobhill NHS Trust

  66,459

  69,762

  4.73

  Victoria Infirmary NHS Trust

  59,298

  63,743

  6.97

  West Glasgow Hospitals University NHS Trust

  113,090

  127,156

  11.06

  West Lothian NHS Trust

  66,652

  68,100

  2.13

  Western General Hospitals NHS Trust

  75,258

  78,068

  3.60

  Yorkhill NHS Trust

  55,747

  56,366

  1.10

  Total

  2,608,354

  2,995,477

  12.92

  1These are 4th wave Trusts and became operational on 1 April 1995. Figures for Cental Scotland Healthcare NHS Trust include those for Royal Scottish National Hospital NHS Trust which dissolved on formation of the new Trust on 1 October 1995.

  Surplus/Deficit declared in 1994–95

  Trust Name

  Surplus/Deficit

  Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

  1,466

  Angus NHS Trust

  896

  Ayrshire and Arran Community Healthcare NHS Trust

  883

  Caithness and Sutherland NHS Trust

  319

  Central Scotland Healthcare NHS Trust

  214

  Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust

  433

  Dundee Healthcare NHS Trust

  1,120

  Dundee Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

  990

  East and Midlothian NHS Trust

  1,215

  Edingburgh Healthcare NHS Trust

  2,332

  Edingburgh Sick Children's NHS Trust

  230

  Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary NHS Trust

  985

  Fife Healthcare NHS Trust

  1,365

  Glasgow Royal Infirmary University NHS Trust

  2,559

  Grampian Healthcare NHS Trust

  2,799

  Greater Glasgow Community and Mental Health Services NHS Trust

  1,701

  Hairmyres and Stonehouse Hospitals NHS Trust

  625

  Highland Communities NHS Trust

  592

  Inverclyde Royal NHS Trust

  699

  Kirkcaldy Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

  731

  Law Hospital NHS Trust

  877

  Monklands and Bellshill Hospitals NHS Trust

  936

  Moray Health Services NHS Trust

  139

  North Ayrshire and Arran NHS Trust

  1,713

  365

  >Surplus/Deficit declared in 1994–95

  Trust Name

  Surplus/Deficit

  Pert and Kinross Healthcare NHS Trust

  1,449

  Queen Margaret Hospital NHS Trust

  1,292

  Raigmore Hospital NHS Trust

  815

  Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS Trust

  1,634

  Royal Alexander Hospital NHS Trust

  860

  Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh NHS Trust

  2,850

  South Ayrshire Hospitals NHS Trust

  516

  Southern General Hospital NHS Trust

  1,345

  Stirling Royal Infirmary NHS Trust

  824

  Stobhill NHS Trust

  1,190

  Victoria Infirmary NHS Trust

  -5,646

  West Glasgow Hospitals University NHS Trust

  2,233

  West Lothian NHS Trust

  989

  West General Hospitals NHS Trust

  1,061

  Yorkhill NHS Trust

  925

  Total

  38,156

  Notes:

  1. Figures for Central Scotland Healthcare NHS Trust include those for Royal Scottish Nation Hospital NHS Trust which dissolved on formation of the new Trust on 1 October 1995.

  2. The deficit recorded by Victoria Infirmary NHS Trust was due to revaluation of the Royal Samartian Hospital prior to its disposal.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all NHS trusts(a) as of 30 November 1995 and (b) with effect from 1 April 1996. [4052]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cunninghame, South (Mr. Donohoe) on 19 July 1995 at column 1534. The fourth wave of NHS trust hospitals in Scotland became effective on 1 April 1995. There are no plans to establish any further NHS trusts in Scotland.

  Greater Glasgow Health Board
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each of the last 10 years the amount lost to Greater Glasgow health board due to progress towards Scottish health authorities "Priorities for the Eighties" parity. [3914]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Greater Glasgow health board has been, and still is, overfunded against its weighted capitation target. The table below details the

  Sterilisations of NHSiS Patients by Age and Sex, 1990–1994

  Under 20

  20-24

  25-29

  30-34

  35-39

  40-44

  45+

  All ages

  1990

  Males

  5

  91

  1,137

  2,325

  1,732

  767

  325

  6,382

  Females

  17

  624

  2,494

  2,788

  2,046

  875

  125

  8,969

  Both Sexes

  22

  715

  3,631

  5,113

  3,778

  1,642

  450

  15,351

  1991

  Males

  1

  86

  993

  2,129

  1,637

  713

  266

  5,825

  Females

  8

  608

  2,468

  3,074

  2,135

  858

  142

  9,293

  Both Sexes

  9

  694

  3,461

  5,203

  3,772

  1,571

  408

  15,118

  1992

  Males

  1

  71

  961

  2,154

  1,715

  765

  333

  6,000

  Females

  27

  663

  2,517

  3,108

  2,272

  825

  155

  9,567

  Both Sexes

  28

  734

  3,478

  5,262

  3,987

  1,590

  488

  15,567

  1993

  Males

  1

  68

  907

  2,296

  1,760

  828

  299

  6,159

  Females

  19

  535

  2,364

  3,078

  2,294

  832

  181

  9,303

  366
  board's moves to parity and the amount by which they remained over-funded against their weighted capitation target for the past 10 years.

  £ million

  Year

  Parity move

  Remainder overfunded

  1985–86

  2.106

  12.326

  1986–87

  -3.499

  14.922

  1987–88

  -3.780

  15.218

  1988–89

  -4.016

  16.494

  1989–90

  -6.660

  18.916

  1990–91

  -7.223

  30.515

  1991–92

  -13.000

  21.264

  1992–93

  -11.000

  17.657

  1993–94

  -3.234

  17.443

  1994–95

  -9.665

  18.326

  1995–96

  -9.355

  13.057

  Police (Speaking Engagements)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what(a) guidance and (b) instructions are issued to serving police officers of superintendent rank and above, concerning invitations to speak at meetings where (i) the invitation is by virtue of being a serving police officer and (ii) the meeting is arranged by a political organisation. [4006]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Regulation 4 and regulation 1 of the Police (Scotland) Regulations 1976 prohibit a police officer from taking an active part in politics but do not preclude an officer from accepting an invitation to speak at meetings arranged by political organisations.

  Sterilisations
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) men and (b) women in Scotland are sterilised annually, by standard census age group. [4103]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The number of sterilisations performed annually from 1990–1994 on Scottish NHS in-patients and day cases is given in the table.
  367

  Sterilisations of NHSiS Patients by Age and Sex, 1990–1994

  Under 20

  20-24

  25-29

  30-34

  35-39

  40-44

  45+

  All ages

  Both Sexes

  20

  603

  3,271

  5,374

  4,054

  1,660

  480

  15,462

  1994

  Males

  —

  67

  895

  2,344

  1,914

  842

  359

  6,421

  Females

  23

  461

  2,169

  3,081

  2,303

  847

  150

  9,034

  Both Sexes

  23

  528

  3,064

  5,425

  4,217

  1,689

  509

  15,455

  Data includes hospital in-patients, day cases and those sterilised after pregnancy or abortion.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3403]

  Mr. Kynoch
  The Skye bridge involves no revenue commitment on the part of the Government. Figures for the revenue costs of the schemes completed or agreed so far in the health sector are not available centrally.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3404]

  Mr. Kynoch
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of PFI policy and offer the opportunity to further refine the process of implementation. The lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy is available in the Library.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4271]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  There have been no instances of the cloning of hand portables but official vehicles used by Scottish Office Ministers when in London were cloned in December 1994, May 1995, twice, and in June 1995.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4272]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No Minister has a mobile telephone for his exclusive use but Ministers' private offices have a total of six. In addition, official vehicles used by Ministers are fitted with car phones.

  Scottish Valuation Advisory Council
  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how he will obtain advice pertaining to rating valuation after the demise of the Scottish Valuation Advisory Council next year. [5285]
  368
  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I wish to continue to receive objective advice concerning rating valuation in a manner appropriate to today's needs and circumstances. I am therefore establishing, with effect from 1 April 1996, a non-statutory advisory body, the Scottish Valuation and Rating Council, which will be smaller than the former advisory council but composed of members representing a similar breadth of interests and experience.

  The council's remit will be to advise the Secretary of State for Scotland on any matter pertaining to valuation and rating, including evaluation of representations and recommendations made to him, the identification of issues requiring consideration, and advice in the preparation of legislation.

  I am happy to announce that the hon. Lord Clyde has agreed to accept appointment as the first chairman of this council. The appointment of other members will be announced at a later date.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Legislative Repeals
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what legislation from his Department passed in the last five years contains provision for statutory repeal or review. [2029]

  Mr. Boswell
  [holding answer 27 November 1995]: There were no such provisions in recent legislation. However, major reviews have been carried out on MAFF legislation relating to areas such as milk marketing, agricultural tenancies and food law. These have resulted in the abolition of the milk marketing scheme and the introduction of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, under which landlords and tenants entering new tenancies will be able to agree terms which reflect their own particular needs. By 1 January 1996, we expect to repeal or simplify a series of national measures relating to food composition and food additives.

  Overgrazing
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) sheep and (b) breeding ewes have been removed in each less-favoured area to meet requirements to prevent overgrazing. [3224]

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 30 November 1995]: The overgrazing provisions of the livestock premium schemes do not force farmers to remove animals from the less-favoured areas of the UK. They restrict the subsidy payments to farmers who continue to graze animals in excess of notified numbers on overgrazed land.

  369
  In England, notifications have been issued to 33 farmers, and over 8,500 sheep and about 400 breeding cows will have to be removed from overgrazed land if the graziers' livestock subsidies are to be unaffected by overgrazing penalties. Responsibility for the implementation of overgrazing provisions of the livestock subsidy schemes in other parts of the United Kingdom falls to the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3415]

  Mr. Boswell
  While several projects are currently being assessed for their potential, no schemes have so far been agreed under the private finance initiative.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3416]

  Mr. Boswell
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of the PFI policy and offer us the opportunity to further refine the process of implementation. The lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance initiative panel, and a copy is available in the Members' Library.

  Fish Discards
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimates he has of the weight and value of fish accidentally caught by United Kingdom-based fishing vessels which under current quota arrangements have to be thrown back; and what proposals he has in respect of this matter. [4010]

  Mr. Baldry
  Rates of discarding vary greatly between the various sections of the UK fleet due to the fact that the number of small fish entering the fisheries each year is itself highly variable. Discard rates in the haddock and whiting fisheries can be in the region of 50 per cent. by weight of the catch if there are large numbers of small fish present. Discard rates in the larger species fisheries such as cod are very substantially less than this. The impression gained of discard practices by scientific observers is that relatively low volumes of fish are discarded for quota reasons.

  The problem is a Community-wide one and needs to be addressed on a Community level. I am determined to have a thorough reappraisal of discarding and technical conservation measures and I shall be pressing in the Fisheries Council for a concerted effort on this in 1996.

  Tuna
  Mr. Morely
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (1) if he has received a copy of the interim report of the observer programme, conducted on 370
  the United Kingdom drift net fishery for albacore tuna in the summer of 1995, under contract to his Ministry; if he will make a statement on the results; if he will place a copy of the report in the Library; [4040]

  (2) if he will make the results of the observer programme of the United Kingdom tuna drift net fishery available to the European Commission, and to the members of the Council of Fisheries Ministers, prior to their next meeting on 21 December; [4041]

  (3) if he will make a statement on results of the observer programme of the United Kingdom tuna drift net fishery in respect of (a) the by-catch of dolphins and other species and (b) the adequacy of current EU regulations, limiting drift nets to 2.5 km in length, to protect non-target species. [4045]

  Mr. Baldry
  We have just received and are studying an interim report by the sea mammals research unit of the Natural Environment Research Council on the UK's 1995 tuna drift net fishery. I will place a copy in the Library of the House together with the Ministry's analysis of it. The report will also be made available to the Council of Ministers and the European Commission.

  Drift Net Fishing
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to ban high seas drift nets in EU waters and by EU vessels at the next Council of Fisheries Ministers meeting. [4042]

  Mr. Baldry
  The European Commission's Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries has twice examined the science relating to drift net fishing by EU vessels and concluded that there is no justification for a ban. My policy will continue to be based on the science, including an interim report just received from the sea mammals research unit.

  School Milk Scheme
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the consumption of milk in(a) secondary schools and (b) primary schools, of EU subsidies on milk in secondary schools and on milk in school catering. [3381]

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 30 November 1995]: We do not keep detailed figures on the consumption of subsidised milk in different categories of school. We estimate, however, that of the total expenditure under the EC school milk scheme in the United Kingdom, direct consumption in secondary schools accounts for about 15 per cent. and use as an ingredient in meals in both primary and secondary schools accounts for about 17 per cent.

  Alport Dale
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 28 November,Official Report, column 533 (1) on what date English Nature lodged its formal objection to Forest Enterprise's proposals for Alport dale; and on what date his Department was informed of the formal objection; [4276]
  371
  (2) on what dates the two letters objecting to the proposals by Forest Enterprise, for Alport dale were received by the Forestry Authority; and on what dates his Department was informed of the letters. [4278]

  Mr. Boswell
  The two letters objecting to the proposals by the Forest Enterprise for Alport dale were received by the Forestry Authority on 7 June and 15 August, and English Nature's formal objection was received on 17 August. The Forestry Commission reports directly to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on forestry matters in England.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Royal Fine Art Commission
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she will place in the Library the report of Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield into the Royal Fine Art Commission, together with his conclusions. [3666]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 4 December 1995]: Sir Geoffrey's report will be placed in the Library when we have completed the necessary consultations with other interested Departments and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has come to conclusions on the recommendations. I hope this will be early in the new year.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many mobile telephones there are available in her Department for the use of Ministers. [4253]

  Mr. Sproat
  The Department of National Heritage has three mobile phones and two car phones available for the use of Ministers.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in her Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within her Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4254]

  Mr. Sproat
  None of the mobile phones used by Ministers or officials in my Department has been cloned.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3408]

  £ million

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  Royal Armouries, Leeds

  1.5

  2.0

  3.0

  6.0

  6.0

  1.5

  Hampton Court catering

  —

  —

  0.3

  1+0.17

  Positive annual return expected

  Dell Restaurant, Regents Park

  —

  —

  —

  0.14

  Positive annual return expected

  Lido, Hyde Park

  —

  —

  —

  0.3

  Positive annual return expected

  Car Parking, Regents Park and Hyde Park

  —

  —

  —

  +0.275

  Positive annual return expected

  British Library IT equipment

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1 Positive figures indicate that projects generate income rather than requiring continuing revenue support.

  372
  Mr. Sproat
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of the PFI policy and offer the opportunity to refine further the process of implementation. The lessons learnt are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by the Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy is available in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much capital expenditure is forecast to be included in the private finance initiative for the current financial year and the next five financial years. [3829]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to table 6.5 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report, 1996–97", which was laid before the House on 28 November 1995.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative(a) capital and (b) revenue costs to public funds (i) under the PFI and (ii) estimated to have been incurred had the scheme been funded wholly within the public sector. [3813]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 6 December 1995]: The central Government contributions to the capital costs of projects so far agreed under the private finance initiative are as follows:

  £ million

  Royal Armouries, Leeds

  120.0

  Hampton Court catering

  0.3

  Dell Restaurant, Regents Park

  0.14

  Lido, Hyde Park

  0.3

  Car Parking, Regents Park and Hyde Park

  None

  British Library IT equipment

  None

  1 over financial years 1992–93 to 1997–98.

  There are no continuing revenue costs. Indeed, projects (2) to (5) above have generated, and will continue to generate, a positive annual return.

  All the projects were appraised in the normal way against other options, including wholly public funded alternatives, and represented best value for money.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3407]

  Mr. Sproat
  I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 7 November 1995 at column 717 for the value of the initial and continuing public sector contributions to, and returns from, projects so far approved under the private finance initiative. The annual profile of these contributions and returns is as follows:
  373
  Today

  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage on what date her Department first learned about the possible closure of Today newspaper; and what communications her Department had about this matter with News International. [4556]

  Mr. Sproat
  My Department first learned about the possible closure of Today on Thursday, 16 November. My Department has not discussed any issues raised by the closure with News International.

  Sports Sponsorship
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the amount spent by tobacco companies on sport in each year since 1992 under the terms of the voluntary agreement. [3965]

  Mr. Sproat
  The latest figures available for the amount spent by tobacco companies on sports sponsorship are: £10,403,000 in 1992–93, and £7,576,000 in 1993–94.

  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the total amount spent on sports sponsorship from all sources for each year since 1992. [3977]

  Mr. Sproat
  According to published reports, the total amount spent on sports sponsorship in the United Kingdom is estimated to have been £239 million in 1992, £250 million in 1993, and £265 million in 1994.

  Partnership Funding
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to allow the Sports Council to fund up to 100 per cent. of the capital project costs in the most economically deprived areas. [3784]

  Mr. Sproat
  The Sports Council can already make more substantial grant offers to schemes which are unable to raise the indicative 35 per cent. partnership funding. However, demonstrating the financial commitment of other parties to a project is a powerful expression of support for the scheme. Partnership funding means that more assistance can be offered to a larger number of applicants.

  Library Provision (Somerset)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the outcome of her Department's investigation of Somerset county council's library provision; what representations her Department has had on this subject since last January 1995; and if she will make a statement. [4015]

  Mr. Sproat
  Discussions between my officials and those of Somerset county councils continue, and I hope that it will be possible to resolve outstanding issues. I have received a small number of letters, principally from Somerset library users, about the situation.

  Consultants
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, if she will list those(a) consultants, (b) outside organisations and (c) individuals employed by her Department in each year since 1990, indicating the
  374
  purposes of their employment and the total payments made to them. [3969]

  Mr. Sproat
  My Department was established in April 1992 and took on responsibility for funding its own consultancies in August 1992.

  To list those consultants employed by my Department and its agencies and indicate their individual purposes would incur disproportionate costs. I am able to provide details of the total annual expenditure on outside consultancies incurred by my Department and its agencies during the last three financial years.

  1992–93: £4,239,207

  1993–94: £6,003,317

  1994–95: £2,746,028.

  To list all those outside organisations employed by my Department and its agencies with an indication of their individual purpose would require a large exercise, incurring disproportionate costs.

  For individuals employed by my Department, I refer the hon. Member to the copies of the civil service staff post summary tables, copies of which can be found in the House Libraries. These individuals are employed to assist the Department and its agencies to achieve their aims and objectives as set out in the annual departmental report.

  Red Hot Television
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what factors have led to the delay in concluding the case before the European Court of Justice between Her Majesty's Government and the broadcaster, Red Hot Television; and when she expects the case to be concluded. [3987]

  Mr. Sproat
  The case has been unable to proceed because the first and second applicants do not have solicitors on the record and the third applicant cannot be traced. The papers are at present before a judge of the Queen's Bench divisional court in London with a view to concluding the matter.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  War Widows' Pensions
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the implementation of the provisions of the Pensions Act 1995 that affect war widows' pensions. [3191]

  Mr. Heald
  These are matters for John Sheppard, the acting chief executive of the War Pensions Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Sheppard to Mr. Alfred Morris, dated 5 December 1995:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the implementation of the provisions of the Pensions Act 1995, that affect War Widows Pensions.375 It was estimated that there would be in the order of 16500 awards of War Widows Pension under these provisions. As at 1 December, 11152 claims have been received. Decisions have been made in 6834 cases, of which 2229 have been notified and 1487 pensions paid. It is expected that the exercise will be completed by March.I hope you find my reply helpful.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total amount of money in each of the last five years claimed back by the Benefits Agency from insurance companies in relation to invalidity benefit paid as a result of injuries caused by road traffic accidents. [4346]

  Mr. Burt
  This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Ms Harriet Harman, dated 6 December 1995:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the total amount of money in each of the last five years claimed back by the Benefits Agency from insurance companies in relation to invalidity benefit paid as a result of injuries caused by road traffic accidents.The information requested is as follows:

  Financial year

  Amount(£ million)

  1990–91

  0.44

  1991–92

  3.16

  1992–93

  6.86

  1993–94

  12.49

  1994–95

  18.99

  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Social Fund
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applicants to the social fund have been turned down on the grounds of ability to pay by year and by region since the fund's inception; and what percentage of the total applying this figure represented in each case. [2083]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  The figures requested are set out in the tables.

  Year

  Total number of applications

  Numbers refused on the grounds of inability to repay

  Numbers refused as a percentage of applications

  Great Britain

  1988–89

  1,749,000

  15,020

  0.85

  1989–90

  2,299,000

  22,270

  0.96

  1990–91

  2,317,000

  27,053

  1.17

  1991–92

  3,098,000

  37,213

  1.20

  1992–93

  3,519,000

  45,491

  1.29

  1993–94

  3,673,000

  44,179

  1.20

  1994–95

  3,744,000

  12,303

  0.33

  Scotland and northern territory

  1991–92

  1,071,689

  13,711

  1.28

  1992–93

  1,152,777

  17,368

  1.50

  1993–94

  1,200,819

  12,979

  1.08

  1994–95

  1,241,496

  2,873

  0.23

  376

  Year

  Total number of applications

  Numbers refused on the grounds of inability to repay

  Numbers refused as a Percentage of applications

  Wales and central territory

  1991–92

  1,118,867

  10,455

  0.93

  1992–93

  1,274,702

  14,545

  1.14

  1993–94

  1,298,118

  14,589

  1.12

  1994–95

  1,304,981

  4,223

  0.32

  Southern territory

  1991–92

  907,155

  13,047

  1.44

  1992–93

  1,091,903

  13,578

  1.24

  1993–94

  1,173,511

  16,611

  1.42

  1994–95

  1,197,571

  5,207

  20.43

  Information by region prior to the creation of the Benefits Agency in April 1991 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Executive Agencies (Overseas Travel)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each of his executive agencies for the last financial year in respect of overseas travel by staff of the agency(a) the cost, (b) the countries visited and (c) the posts held by the staff involved. [2357]

  Mr. Burt
  The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

  Cost of overseas travel—April 1994 to March 1995

  £

  Benefits Agency

  871,753

  Child Support Agency

  432,941

  Resettlement Agency

  10,980

  Contributions Agency

  36,618

  War Pensions Agency

  13,224

  Information Technology Services Agency

  240,563

  The principal countries visited, in order of the greatest number of journeys undertaken, were:

  Luxembourg

  Republic of Ireland

  Belgium

  France

  The Netherlands

  Switzerland

  Australia

  United States of America

  Germany.

  Fine Defaulters
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on how many occasions a deduction in income support was applied for in cases of those defendants who were gaoled for fine default in 1994. [3441]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  The information requested is not available.

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many housing benefits were claimed in Bournemouth in 1989–90 and 1994–95. [3442]
  377
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  The information is set out in the table.

  Average number of housing benefit recipients in the Bournemouth local authority area during 1989–90 and 1994–95

  Year

  Number of recipients

  1989–90

  11,900

  1994–95

  15,500

  Source:

  Housing Benefit Management Information System quarterly caseload counts.

  Notes:

  1. Figures refer to the number of benefit units which may be a single person or a couple.

  2. The figure for 1989–90 excludes those recipients of rate rebate only.

  3. Figures are an average of the four quarterly caseload counts taken in May, August, November and February of the above financial years.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3401]

  Mr. Burt
  The Department has agreed one project to date under the private finance initiative, to develop a new national insurance recording system. Revenue costs for each year of the agreed contract have not yet been finalised and are commercially confidential.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3402]

  Mr. Burt
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative has not resulted in changes to policy. Agreed schemes represent the application of the PFI policy and offer the opportunity to further refine the processes involved. The lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, a copy of which is in the Library.

  Benefit Rates
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what changes(a) have been made and (b) are planned in the amount paid in (i) the £75 limit on additional funeral expenses connected with a person's religion, (ii) the £2,500 exempt payments limit in the compensation recovery scheme and (iii) the £3,000 vaccine damage payment. [4125]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  No changes have been made to the £75 limit on additional funeral expenses arising from a requirement of the religious faith of the deceased, and none are planned.

  Since the introduction of the compensation recovery scheme in 1990, no changes have been made to the small payments limit of £2,500.

  A consultation document was published in October to assess the implications of possible changes to the compensation recovery scheme as proposed by the Social Security Select Committee. One issue discussed in this
  378
  document is the future of the small payments limit. The Government are now considering the responses to the consultation exercise, and will announce their decision in due course.

  The vaccine damage payments scheme began on 22 March 1979 when the payment was set at £10,000. The payment has subsequently been increased twice: to £20,000 on claims made on or after 16 August 1985 and to £30,000 on claims made on or after 15 April 1991. Whilst the value of the payment is reviewed periodically, there are no plans to change it at this time.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4247]

  Mr. Burt
  I am the only DSS Minister who has had his mobile telephone cloned in the last 18 months.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4248]

  Mr. Burt
  The Department of Social Security has six Ministers, each of whom has a mobile telephone. Additionally, four ministerial cars have telephones.

  Jobseeker's Allowance
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the total amount paid by his Department to consultants in connection with the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance; [4585]

  (2) which firms of consultants were employed by his Department in connection with the introduction of the jobseeker's allowance. [4584]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  The Department of Social Security has paid £2,224,000 through the Benefits Agency to consultants in connection with the introduction of jobseeker's allowance. The company used was Andersen Consulting.

  Disability Working Allowance
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent change there has been in take-up of disability allowance. [5235]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  In the 12 months to October 1995, the disability working allowance case load increased by 56 per cent. to 6,895.

  The number of new and repeat claims for October 1995 was 2,245. This compares with 1,471 for October 1994.

HEALTH

  Abortions
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were performed in 1994 on women(a) resident in each health region and (b) in

  379
  each district health authority without overnight stay; and how many of these operations involved NHS hospitals, NHS agency arrangements and other purchasers. [4105]

  Mr. Horam
  The information requested for 1994 will be placed in the Library. For reason of confidentiality, statistics for district health authorities are presented by DHA of woman's usual residence, not by DHA of termination.

  Mrs. Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated cost per NHS abortion without overnight stay, involving (a) NHS hospitals and(b) NHS agency arrangements. [4107]

  Mr. Horam
  The estimated average cost of a surgical abortion without overnight stay in a national health service hospital is £175, at 1993–94 figures. No information is available centrally about the cost of abortions performed in the private sector under NHS agency arrangements.

  Hip Replacements
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost to the NHS of a hip replacement. [2683]

  Mr. Horam
  The cost of individual procedures is not available centrally.

  Tobacco
  Mr. Hayes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has(a) evaluated and (b)commissioned into the amount of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in tobacco products other than manufactured cigarettes; if he will list the available data; and if he will make a statement. [3979]

  Mr. Horam
  On behalf of the Department of Health, the Laboratory of the Government Chemist has carried out research on the tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide content of hand-rolling tobaccos. A report on this work is in the course of preparation and will be submitted for publication in an appropriate scientific journal.

  NHS Land
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the NHS trusts and health authorities that have sold or leased land in 1995–96, indicating the amount of money received in each case, the purchaser and the total amount of money received in England from the sale and leasing of NHS land. [4083]

  Mr. Horam
  Information about total land sales in-year is not available centrally from national health service trusts. The information requested would be available only from the published accounts of each trust and health authority following their end of year. The name of the purchaser, and the amount of each sale and rental information is not available centrally.

  Influenza
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency plans his Department has considered for dealing with a flu epidemic; and to what conclusion they have come. [4182]
  380
  Mr. Horam
  Heavy demand on the national health service, whether from natural causes or man-made, is always a possibility and the NHS is required to have contingency plans in place to deal with such incidents and to exercise plans regularly. The weekly rate of influenza infection is monitored by the Royal College of General Practitioners clinical research unit and, if needed, an alert can be issued to public health doctors via the Epinet system.

  The Department of Health regularly takes steps to protect those most at risk from influenza by the provision of advice about who is most at risk from serious complications arising from the disease and who should therefore receive influenza vaccine. This year doctors were reminded during the summer of the need to plan their influenza vaccination campaign, which was launched in October.

  The Department has also produced a leaflet called "What should I do about flu?" which provides information on how to cope with the disease. Copies were sent to all GPs and made available through Post Offices and copies are available in the Library. We have also produced a video advert about the leaflet, which was shown in post offices.

  Hospital Discharges
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 27 November,Official Report, column 522, on hospital discharges if he will provide comparable figures for (a) 1990–91, (b) 1991–92 and (c) 1992–93. [4287]

  Mr. Bowis
  The information requested is shown in the table.

  Destination of discharge of patients treated by consultants in geriatric medicine in NHS hospitals in England

  Percentage

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  Usual residence

  68.79

  67.60

  68.78

  Deaths

  19.35

  17.69

  17.52

  NHS hospital outside district— general ward/younger physically disabled

  1.36

  4.90

  5.20

  Non-NHS institution

  4.29

  4.66

  4.57

  Local authority residential home

  1.85

  1.68

  1.59

  Temporary residence e.g. hotels, residential educational institutions

  1.73

  1.56

  1.43

  NHS hospital outside district—mentally ill/handicapped ward

  0.06

  0.26

  0.30

  NHS nursing home

  0.00

  0.05

  0.22

  Not known

  2.47

  1.42

  0.25

  Special hospital

  0.09

  0.15

  0.12

  Figures do not total 100 due to rounding.

  Mental Illness
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available for the treatment of all forms of acute mental illness but excluding beds involving learning disabilities, in each year since 1988–89; what was the number of finished consultant episodes in acute mental illnesses for the same years; and how many patients with acute mental illness were treated in those years. [4314]

  Mr. Bowis
  The number of beds available for the treatment of acute mental illness in each year since 1988–89 is shown in the table.

  Average daily number of available beds for acute mental illness for all ages

  England

  Year

  Number

  1988–89

  22,505

  1989–90

  22,754

  1990–91

  22,427

  1991–92

  22,159

  1992–93

  21,652

  1993–94

  21,447

  1994–95

  22,101

  Notes:

  1. Information held centrally on the number of National Health Service mental illness beds does not include the classification "acute". It does, however, differentiate between "long-stay" and "short-stay". "Acute mental illness" has therefore been interpreted as "short-stay" mental illness.

  2. Date is collected by broad ward classification rather than by clinical specialty and returns are made on a financial year, ie April to March, basis.

  Source:

  Department of Health KH03 returns.

  The number of finished consultant episodes in mental illness in each year since 1988– 89 is shown in the table.

  Finished consultant episodes for mental illness—ordinary admissions and day cases combined:

  England

  Year

  Number (thousands)

  1988–89

  216.3

  1989–90

  215.9

  1990–91

  219.9

  1991–92

  221.3

  1992–93

  234.1

  1993–94

  237.3

  1994–95

  239.0

  Notes:

  1. Information held centrally on finished consultant episodes does not include the classification "acute mental illness". It does, however, include the classification "mental illness".

  2. The definition of a "consultant episode" is the period that a patient spends under the continuous care of a specific consultant in a specific health care provider (which may be in more than one hospital within that health care provider). A hospital provider spell can comprise one or more consultant episodes. For example, a patient may be admitted under the care of a general physician and then be transferred to the care of a surgeon. This would count as two consultant episodes within a single hospital provider spell.

  Source:

  Department of Health KP70 returns.

  Information of the number of patients is not available centrally.

  Nursing Homes
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 27 November,Official Report, column 521, on nursing homes, what information his Department maintains on trust-run registered nursing homes. [4288]

  Mr. Bowis
  None.

  Sterilisation
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) men and (b) women in England are sterilised annually, by standard census age group. [4104]

  Mr. Horam
  The information available in respect to national health service hospital admissions is shown in the table.

  Estimated number of ordinary and day case admissions, principal operation—male and female sterlisation—in NHS hospitals in England—1993–94

  Ages

  Male

  Female

  0-4

  8

  4

  5-14

  12

  0

  15-44

  33,774

  52,141

  45-64

  2,663

  1,119

  65-74

  16

  0

  75-84

  4

  4

  85 and over

  12

  0

  Not known

  59

  19

  All Ages

  36,548

  53,287

  Source:

  Hospital Episode Statistics.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3393]

  Mr. Horam
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I him on 6 December, column 224.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3394]

  Mr. Horam
  This Government's policy is that high-quality health care should be available to those who need it on the basis of their clinical need without regard to their ability to pay. The private finance initiative in the national health service is concerned with the provision of modern and efficient facilities for the delivery of NHS health care. There have been no policy changes arising from the agreement of PFI schemes.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department have been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers within his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4269]
  383
  Mr. Horam
  During the past 12 months, there have been two instances of cloned telephone numbers affecting the mobile telephone of the then Under-Secretary of State for Health. The Department is not liable for any payment of charges arising from cloned telephone numbers.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4270]

  Mr. Horam
  There are 25 mobile telephones available to departmental private office for the use of Ministers and staff including four telephones fitted in ministerial cars.

  Buckinghamshire County Council (Resources)
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the special transitional grant and the social services standard spending assessment available to Buckinghamshire county council in each financial year from 1993–94 to 1996–97; and if he will make a statement. [4697]

  Mr. Bowis
  The information is shown in the table. Total resources available to Buckinghamshire county council for personal social services next year will be 35 per cent. higher in real terms than in 1993–94.

  Resources for personal social services Buckinghamshire county council

  £million

  Standard spending assessment

  Special transitional grant for community care

  1993–94

  45.920

  4.268

  1994–95

  55.524

  7.177

  1995–96

  62.001

  6.515

  1996–97

  68.723

  4.179

  Figures for 1996–97 are provisional, issued for consultation.

  Population Statistics
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the non-white proportion of(a) the electorate of London, (b) the population of London as a whole and (c) the population of London under the age of 16 years. [4595]

  Mr. Horam
  The electorial register does not give an indication of the ethnic group of electors, but information on people of voting age is shown in the table, together with the other information requested.

  Age group within Greater London Private household Population

  Estimated Percentage of People in ethnic groups other than White during Period June 1994 to May 1995

  Aged 18 or over

  19.2

  Age under 16

  33.8

  All ages

  22.5

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Arms Decommissioning
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the number and type of illegally held firearms and ordnance and the percentage which would have to be decommissioned in order for all-party talks to commence. [3041]

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  The security forces maintain information on illegal weapons holdings and supplies, but it would not be appropriate to make this public. There must be a credible and verifiable start to the process of decommissioning, sufficient to create the necessary circumstances of confidence for all-party round table talks to commence.

  Mr. Wilkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which groups in Northern Ireland have expressed their support for the decommissioning of arms as a precondition for the commencement of all-party talks on the political future of Northern Ireland. [3047]

  Mr. Ancram
  The position of the individual groups on the decommissioning issue is a matter for them.

  The Government's position is that we cannot see a way in which to secure the necessary confidence to bring all parties to the negotiating table without a start being made to the decommissioning of illegal arms.

  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on achieving the decommissioning of arms; and if he will make a statement. [3051]

  Mr. Maginnis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards the establishment of a disarmament commission to deal with the disposal of illegal weapons in Northern Ireland. [3053]

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what quantity of arms has to date been decommissioned by Republican terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland. [3036]

  Sir John Wheeler
  There have been no illegally held arms or equipment decommissioned to date. However, as the House will be aware, the British and Irish Governments announced on 28 November that they have agreed to establish an international body to provide an independent assessment of the decommissioning issue. That body has now been established and has been asked to report to the two Governments by mid-January 1996.

  Peace Process
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on co-operation with the Irish Government to promote peace in Northern Ireland. [3042]

  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress is being made on the Government's twin-track approach to the Northern Ireland peace. [3049]
  385
  Mr. Barnes
  To the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the latest position concerning the peace process; and if he will make a statement. [3052]

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Members for Wigan (Mr. Stott), for Bolsver (Mr. Skinner), for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) and for Neath (Mr. Hain).

  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had about furthering the peace process; and if he will make a statement. [3046]

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  I have had numerous recent discussions about furthering the peace process with the Tanaiste, and with the leaders of the Northern Ireland political parties. Final negotiations between my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach led to agreement and publication on 28 November of the two Governments' proposals for a twin-track process.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects all-party talks to commence on the future constitution of Northern Ireland. [3050]

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  As stated in the joint communique issued by the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach on 28 November 1995, which announced the "twin track" process, our firm aim is to launch all-party negotiations by the end of February 1996. We believe that, with co-operation from all the relevant parties in both tracks, this should prove achievable.

  West Link Junctions
  Mr. A. Cecil Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the timetable for construction of flyovers at west link junctions. [3043]

  Mr. Moss
  Schemes to provide flyovers at the Grosvenor road and Broadway junctions are included in the Department's six to 15 year major road works programme. However, the possibility of carrying out such schemes under the private finance initiative is currently being explored and this may lead to their earlier implementation.

  Army Strength
  Mr. Austin Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence about future Army strength in Northern Ireland. [3044]

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  Army force levels in support of the RUC are an operational matter for the Chief Constable and the General Officer Commanding. I discuss such matters with the Secretary of State for Defence as appropriate and in the light of advice from the chief Constable and the GOC.

  Extradition (Fraud)
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average time taken to obtain the extradition from the United States of America to Northern Ireland of a person suspected of having committed fraud after directions to prosecute have been issued in the United Kingdom. [3054]
  386
  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  There are no records of any such extraditions having been sought.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many statutory instruments have been passed through Parliament as a result of European Community directives in the past year. [3055]

  Sir John Wheeler
  My right hon. and learned Friend has not directly sponsored any statutory instruments through Parliament as a result of European Community directives in the past year.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the most recent figures in respect of the level of inward investment into Northern Ireland. [3056]

  Mr. Ancram
  So far this year, the industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland has announced 11 inward investment projects which offer the prospect of 3,655 new jobs.

  EU Funds
  Mr. Molyneaux
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the standards of financial accountability in regard to funds allocated to Northern Ireland through the European Union. [3057]

  Sir John Wheeler
  All structural expenditure which is borne on the votes of Northern Ireland Departments is subject to the normal requirements of government accounting and to audit by the Northern Ireland Audit Office and by the European Court of Auditors. I am satisfied that the standard of financial accountability in regard to EU funds is satisfactory and we will continue to operate procedures which seek to safeguard the taxpayers' interest.

  Social Housing
  Mr. William O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the provision of social housing in Northern Ireland for the current year. [3058]

  Mr. Moss
  The numbers of new public and voluntary sector dwellings which were completed in Northern Ireland from 1 April 1995 to 31 October 1995 were as follows:

  Number

  Northern Ireland housing executive (Public Sector)

  809

  Registered housing associations (Voluntary Sector)

  680

  Total

  1,489

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment
  387
  entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3405]

  Sir John Wheeler
  No scheme under the private finance initiative, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in November 1992, have been approved in Northern Ireland to date.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3406]

  Sir John Wheeler
  No schemes under the private finance initiative, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in November 1992, have been approved in Northern Ireland to date. A range of projects across all Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office are under consideration. It is too early, however, to identify any policy changes which might arise from projects agreed under the initiative.

  Trust Ports
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress he has made with the privatisation of trust ports. [3048]

  Mr. Moss
  The Ports (Northern Ireland) Order came into effect on 2 January 1995. This measure enables the Northern Ireland trust ports to bring forward privatisation schemes. It also provides reserve powers for the Department to initiate the privatisation of a port with a turnover in excess of £5 million, but these powers are not exercisable until two years after the order came into effect.

  Police (Community Involvement)
  Mrs. Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes he is planning to enhance community identification with policing in Northern Ireland. [3033]

  Sir John Wheeler
  We will publish shortly proposals for legislative reforms, to increase the ability of the community, through the Police Authority for Northern Ireland to shape the future direction of policing. The RUC, the Police Authority and the Government are also undertaking a fundamental review of policing needs, services and organisation, with community identification at its core.

  Access Rights (Grandmothers)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will study the issue of grandmothers' rights of access, in the light of Northern Ireland Office decisions on custody in relation to the case of Mrs. Vint, and Mr. Vint of Longridge in the Linlithgow constituency. [3045]

  Mr. Moss
  Decisions on the custody of children and access by relatives are solely a matter for the courts. It would not, therefore, be appropriate for me to comment on this particular case.

WALES

  Compulsory Competitive Tendering
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what savings have been delivered by compulsory competitive tendering. [2655]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  This information is not held centrally. However, researchers at the university of Birmingham investigated the financial impact of compulsory competitive tendering in the first three years—1989 to 1992—of competition under the Local Government Act 1988. They identified overall savings of 7 per cent. for local authorities in England and Wales across the service areas defined by the legislation, with variations by service area.

  Forestry Commission
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hectares of Forestry Commission woodland in Wales have been sold since October 1991; and, of these, how many hectares(a) remain open to the public and (b) have been closed to the public since October 1991. [3722]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Forestry Commission has sold 5,400 hectares of forest land in Wales since October 1991. The commission does not maintain records of public access to woodlands which it has sold.

  School Buildings
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the amount of cash needed to eliminate disrepair in local education authority schools in each of the local education authorities of Wales; and if he will make a statement. [4021]

  Mr. Richards
  My right hon. Friend and I have made no such estimate. Local education authorities are responsible for the repair and maintenance of their school buildings.

  Attendance Allowances
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what has been the percentage change in attendance allowances between 1994–95 and 1995–96 for each local authority in Wales; and for each local authority, which political party is in control. [3795]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Welsh Office does not collect or hold information in respect of attendance allowances set by local authorities. With regard to the political control on each existing county and district council, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Dover on 16 February. For the 22 unitary authorities elected on 4 May 1995, the latest information held by the Welsh Office is set out in the following table:

  Local authority

  Political control

  Aberconwy and Colwyn County Borough

  No overall control

  Anglesey County

  Independent

  Blaenau Gwent County Borough

  Labour

  Bridgend County Borough

  Labour

  Caernarfonshire and Merioneshire County

  Plaid Cymru

  389

  Local authority

  political control

  Caerphilly County Borough

  Labour

  Cardiff County

  Labour

  Cardiganshire County

  Independent

  Carmarthenshire County

  Labour with minority

  Denbighshire County

  No overall control

  Flintshire County

  Labour

  Merthyr Tydfil County Borough

  Labour

  Monmouthshire County

  Labour

  Neath and Port Talbot County Borough

  Labour

  Newport county Borough

  Labour

  Pembrokeshire County

  Independent

  Powys County

  No political groups declared

  Rhondda, Cynon, Taff County Borough

  Labour

  Torfaen County Borough

  Labour

  Swansea County

  Labour

  The Vale of Glamorgan County Borough

  Labour

  Wrexham County Borough

  Labour

  Hansard Volumn 254 Columns 761 and 762.

  Consultants
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will list those(a) consultants, (b) outside organisations and (c) individuals employed by his Department in each year since 1990, indicating the purposes of their employment and the total payments made to them. [3955]

  Mr. Hague
  Details of management and other consultants since 1990–91 have been placed in the Library of the House. Information on other outside organisations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Details of the number of staff employed in the Welsh Office, staff costs and the Department's aims and objectives are given in the Welsh Office departmental report for 1995 (Cm 2815).

  Work (Young People)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what new measures he will adopt to get 18 to 24-year-old people into work; and if he will make a statement. [3857]

  Mr. Richards
  Young people up to the age of 25 can benefit from youth training, youth credits, modern apprenticeships and accelerated apprenticeships. They can also receive support under training for work and a range of other measures available through the Employment Service. The Department will continue to work with training and enterprise councils to meet the needs of these young people.

  Roads
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet(a) Buckley town council, (b) Alyn and Deeside council and (c) the senior councillors and officials of the shadow county authority of Flintshire to discuss his policies concerning road building in Wales. [4018]

  Mr. Hague
  I have no plans to do so. Policies for road building are set out in the transport chapter of the Welsh Office's departmental report (Cm 2815) published on 9 March 1995. I will announce roads and transport expenditure plans for 1996–97 shortly.

  Housing Developments
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet residents of Liverpool road, Buckley, Clwyd, to discuss his planning policies as they affect applications to build new housing estates where there is only one access road; and if he will make a statement. [4022]

  Mr. Hague
  No. The determination of applications for planning permission is in the first place the responsibility of the local planning authority concerned. The local planning authority will need to have regard to, among other things, the series of planning policy guidance—PPG—notes, including PPG13, "Highways Considerations in Development Control", which incorporates guidance on access.

  Long-term Unemployed
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new measures he plans to adopt to get the long-term unemployed into work. [3860]

  Mr. Richards
  The training and enterprise councils in Wales and the Employment Service continue to provide a range of measures to help the long-term unemployed back into work. These include training for work and services such as client advice, job club, work trials and the job interview guarantee scheme offered by the Employment Service. In addition, North West Wales and Gwent training and enterprise councils, in partnership with the Employment Service, are piloting the sole traders employment initiative which helps sole traders to take on their first employee from among the long-term unemployed.

  Assisted Areas
  Mr. Donald Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consideration is being given to a change in the development area status of Swansea. [3798]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 21 November 1995 by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Trade and Industry,Official Report, column 77.

  Population Statistics
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many 18 to 24-year-old people there are in each of the constituencies in Wales. [3858]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The latest available information for each parliamentary constituency is from the 1991 census of population, and is given in the following table:

  Residents aged 18 to 24

  Number

  Aberavon

  5,983

  Alyn and Deeside

  8,346

  Blaenau Gwent

  7,459

  Brecon and Radnor

  5,457

  Bridgend

  6,983

  Caernarfon

  5,666

  Caerphilly

  8,572

  Cardiff Central

  9,970

  Cardiff North

  5,846

  Cardiff South and Penarth

  8,203

  391

  Residents aged 18 to 24

  Number

  Cardiff West

  7,907

  Carmarthen

  7,452

  Ceredigion and Pembroke North

  6,880

  Clwyd North West

  7,454

  Clwyd South West

  7,663

  Conwy

  6,289

  Cynon Valley

  6,613

  Delyn

  8,043

  Gower

  6,303

  Islwyn

  6,833

  Llanelli

  7,308

  Meirionnydd Nant Conwy

  3,648

  Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

  7,909

  Monmouth

  6,450

  Montgomery

  4,851

  Neath

  6,655

  Newport East

  7,109

  Newport West

  7,640

  Ogmore

  7,477

  Pembroke

  8,844

  Pontypridd

  8,700

  Rhondda

  7,691

  Swansea East

  7,740

  Swansea West

  7,397

  Torfaen

  8,260

  Vale of Glamorgan

  8,908

  Wrexham

  8,630

  Ynys Mon

  6,689

  Source:

  Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.

  Gross Domestic Product
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the most recent figures for(a) gross domestic product per capita and (b) the average wage in (i) Wales and (ii) each standard English planning regions. [4295]

  Mr. Hague
  The most recent figures for gross domestic product per capita in Wales and the English regions are for 1993. They are published in table 1, page 26 of the December 1994 edition of "Economic Trends". Figures for average earnings in Wales and the English regions are available for April 1995 and are published in table X5.3, part A, "New Earnings Survey 1995". Copies of these publications are in the Library of the House.

  Employment of Children
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the organisations and individuals he has consulted on the consultation document "Employment of Children". [4534]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The consultation paper, "Employment of Children" was sent on 30 October to the 24 organisation in Wales listed as follows:

  Assembly of Welsh Counties

  British Medical Association, Wales

  Children in Wales

  Church in Wales, Board of Social Responsibility

  Clybiau Plant Cymru

  Confederation of British Industry, Wales

  Council of Welsh Districts

  CYTUN (Churches Together in Wales), Commissions on Wales and the World)

  392

  Education Welfare Officers (all Wales group)

  Equal Opportunities Commission, Wales

  Farmers Union of Wales

  Health Promotion, Wales

  Health Visitors Association, Wales region

  Merched y Wawr

  National Association of Social Workers in Education, Wales

  National Federation of Women's Institutes, Wales

  National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Wales

  Royal College of General Practitioners, Wales

  Royal College of Nursing, Welsh Board

  Sports Council for Wales

  Wales Council for Voluntary Action

  Wales Trades Union Congress

  Wales Youth Agency

  Welsh Consumer Council.

  Road Bridges
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect of the use of 41-tonne lorries on road bridges; and how many currently need to be strengthened. [3370]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Of the 1,345 bridges on the trunk road network in Wales, 585 have been identified as requiring assessment, 424 have been assessed and 149 of these have been identified as requiring strengthening. The remaining 161 will be assessed, and all necessary strengthening programmed before 1 January 1999. Local authorities are responsible for bridges on non-trunk roads.

  House Condition Survey
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received in favour of a full house condition survey; if he will make it his policy to arrange for a new survey to be carried out without imposing administrative expenses on local councils; and if he will make a statement. [3392]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I have received representations from the Council of Welsh Districts and a number of local authorities about a further Welsh house condition survey. My right hon. Friend and I are currently considering the position.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases; [3411]

  (2) if he will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3412]

  Mr. Hague
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 7 November 1995,Official Report, column 808.

  Mobile Phones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many mobile telephones there are available in his Department for the use of Ministers. [4261]
  393
  Mr. Hague
  Three mobile phones are directly allocated to Welsh Office Ministers. They also have access to car phones in five official vehicles.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times mobile telephones used by Ministers in his Department had been cloned during(a) the last six months, (b) the last 12 months and (c) the last 18 months; and which Ministers in his Department have had their mobile telephones cloned. [4262]

  Mr. Hague
  (a) once, 28 September, (b) once further, 26 March 1995, and (c) nil; the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones).

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Ashford Project
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the terms of reference agreed with the Church Commissioners for the review the Audit Committee is undertaking on Church Commission Projects Ltd. (Ashford great park). [4590]

  Mr. Alison
  The terms of reference for the review set by the Audit Committee are:

  1. To review the origins of the Ashford project.

  2. To examine the information made available to the Commissioners (including by whom and when) on the basis of which a decision to go ahead with the project was taken.

  3. To consider the extent to which the outturn of the project to date has differed from the original projections (and why).

  4. To report on the details of the amount so far spent on the project, to whom monies were paid and whether there is any scope for recovery of abortive expenditure.

  5. To report on the results of the investigation including reference to any other relevant matters which may become apparent as part of the review.

  Closed Investment Fund
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, what factors underlie the Church Commissioners' operation of a closed fund. [4588]

  Mr. Alison
  The Church Commissioners have two principal tasks in the operation of their closed investment fund: first to optimise returns over the long term from their investments within appropriate risk management controls; secondly, to set a level of distribution in support of the Church's ministry which is sustainable.

  Other factors which underlie the commissioners' operation in pursuit of these aims are their responsibilities to make additional provision for the cure of souls in parishes, a trust inherited from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and to augment the maintenance of the poor clergy, inherited from the Queen Anne's bounty—their liabilities under the Clergy Pensions Measures; their other statutory obligations and their recognition of their partnership with parishes and dioceses who, increasingly, provide from giving for the maintenance of the Church's nationwide ministry. Without that giving, it could not be sustained.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Universities (Managers)
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she is taking to increase universities access to high-quality management expertise. [3991]

  Mr. Forth
  Universities are responsible for taking their own decisions on management matters. They, like other employers, can benefit from the use of the national occupational standards for managers. These represent best practice by managers at all levels and form the basis for national vocational qualifications.

  Student Loans
  Mr. Bryan Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her Department's estimate of the total outstanding student loan debt in(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1999–2000. [4048]

  Mr. Forth
  The Department's estimates, to the nearest million, for the United Kingdom are:

  Financial year-end

  £ million

  1995–96

  1,940

  1996–97

  2,929

  1997–98

  4,012

  1998–99

  5,077

  The Department does not hold figures for 1999–2000.

  Mr. Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list projected(a) gross student loan and outlay and (b) student loan repayments in (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1997–98, (iii) 1998–99 and (iv) 1999–2000. [4053]

  Mr. Forth
  The estimated UK figures are:

  £ million

  Financial year

  1996–97

  1997–98

  1998–99

  Loan outlay

  1,013.0

  1,145.8

  1,200.5

  Loan repayments (principal and interest)

  100.2

  154.3

  244.7

  The Department does not hold figures for 1999–2000.

  Mr. Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what has been the cumulative total expenditure on computer systems for the administration of student loans by the Student Loans Company since 1990 in current prices; and what are the constituent parts of this sum. [3924]

  Mr. Forth
  These are matters for the Student Loans Company. I have asked the acting chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is her Department's estimate of the public sector borrowing requirement effect of the
  395
  introduction of subsidised private sector loans in 1996–97 and each relevant year thereafter. [4047]

  Mr. Forth
  The extent of any overall reduction in public expenditure arising from the introduction of subsidised private sector loans to students will depend on what arrangements are made with the financial institutions and the extent to which students take out loans made under them. The plans announced at the time of the Budget made the following provisional assumptions about net savings.

  £ million

  1996–97

  100

  1997–98

  200

  1998–99

  250

  Mr. Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the meetings she or officials in her Department have had with(a) the Student Loans Company, (b) representatives of students and higher education institutions and (c) hon. Members regarding proposed reforms to the provision of student loans indicating the date of each meeting. [3926]

  Mr. Forth
  As I informed the hon. Gentleman during the Second Reading debate on 27 November,Official Report, column 954, I have personally spoken to the chairman and the chief executive of the Student Loans Company about our plans on two occasions. The first was on 16 August and the second on 19 September. My officials met with representatives of the company on

  Maintenance grants, loans and allowances

  £

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Grants and loans

  Main grant rates

  London

  2,845

  3,399

  2,845

  3,216

  2,845

  3,092

  2,845

  2,993

  2,560

  2,640

  2,340

  2,340

  Elsewhere

  2,265

  2,706

  2,265

  2,560

  2,265

  2,461

  2,265

  2,383

  2,040

  2,103

  1,885

  1,885

  Parental home

  1,795

  2,144

  1,795

  2,029

  1,795

  1,951

  1,795

  1,889

  1,615

  1,665

  1,530

  1,530

  Main loan rates (full year)

  London

  460

  549

  660

  746

  830

  902

  940

  989

  1,375

  1,418

  1,695

  1,695

  Elsewhere

  420

  502

  580

  656

  715

  777

  800

  842

  1,150

  1,186

  1,385

  1,385

  Parental home

  330

  394

  460

  520

  570

  619

  640

  673

  915

  943

  1,065

  1,065

  other allowances

  Dependant child allowance

  Aged under 11

  320

  382

  340

  384

  355

  386

  370

  389

  385

  397

  395

  395

  Aged 11 to 15

  640

  765

  680

  769

  710

  772

  735

  773

  765

  789

  785

  785

  Aged 16 or 17

  845

  1,009

  895

  1,012

  935

  1,016

  970

  1,021

  1,010

  1,041

  1,035

  1,035

  Aged 18 or over

  1,215

  1,451

  1,290

  1,458

  1,350

  1,467

  1,400

  1,473

  1,460

  1,505

  1,495

  1,495

  Other dependants allowance

  1,525

  1,822

  1,615

  1,825

  1,690

  1,836

  1,750

  1,841

  1,820

  1,877

  1,865

  1,865

  396
  7 August, 16 October, 18 October and 20 October for discussions. This is in addition to their usual contacts with the company which provide frequent opportunities for discussion.

  My officials have also invited representatives of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals and the National Union of Students in to discuss our proposals. The meeting with the CVCP was constructive. The NUS has not yet replied.

  No meetings were held with hon. Members prior to the First Reading of the Bill.

  Mr. Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what were the(a) maintenance grant, (b) student loan and (c) allowances available to students aged (i) 26, (ii) 27, (iii) 28, (iv) 29 to 50 and (v) 50 years or over in each year since 1990–91, both in cash prices and current prices. [4323]

  Mr. Forth
  Data on the main mandatory grant and student loan rates are shown in the following table. The allowances shown are available in addition to the main rates of grant. The amounts shown in the "current" columns have been calculated in 1995–96 prices using the September retail prices indices, excluding mortgage interest payments, at the start of each academic year.

  Student loans are not available to those who have attained the age of 50 before the date on which they begin their course. The older student's allowance is available according to the age of the student before the start of his course and provided that he meets the relevant earnings test. It is not available to most students who start their course on or after 1 September 1995.
  397

  Maintenance grants, loans and allowances

  £

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Cash

  Current

  Disabled students allowance

  Non-medical helper

  4,000

  4,778

  4,240

  4,792

  4,430

  4,814

  4,550

  4,787

  4,730

  4,877

  4,850

  4,850

  Specialist equipment

  3,000

  3,584

  3,180

  3,594

  3,325

  3,613

  3,420

  3,598

  3,560

  3,671

  3,650

  3,650

  Other

  1,000

  1,195

  1,060

  1,198

  1,110

  1,206

  1,140

  1,199

  1,185

  1,222

  1,215

  1,215

  Extra weeks allowance

  London

  63.15

  75.44

  66.30

  74.94

  69.30

  75.31

  71.20

  74.92

  74.05

  76.35

  75.90

  75.90

  Elsewhere

  47.30

  56.50

  49.65

  56.12

  51.90

  56.40

  53.30

  56.08

  55.45

  57.17

  56.85

  56.85

  Parental home

  33.15

  39.60

  34.80

  39.33

  36.40

  39.55

  37.40

  39.35

  38.90

  40.11

  39.85

  39.85

  Older students allowance

  Aged 26

  250

  299

  265

  300

  280

  304

  290

  305

  300

  309

  310

  310

  Aged 27

  455

  544

  480

  543

  500

  543

  515

  542

  535

  552

  550

  550

  Aged 28

  675

  806

  715

  808

  750

  815

  770

  810

  800

  825

  820

  820

  Aged 29 or over

  880

  1,051

  935

  1,057

  980

  1,065

  1,005

  1,057

  1,045

  1,077

  1,070

  1,070

  College Fees Payments
  Mr. Bryan Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what is(a) the total recurrent grant and (b) the amount by which the recurrent grant has been reduced in recognition of college fees payment, for each university with recognised collegiate status in the current academic year; [4312]

  (2) what is the total value of college fees payment to each university with recognised collegiate status in the current academic year; [4320]

  (3) what is the current level of college fees reimbursed through the student's mandatory award in each of the colleges of universities which have recognised collegiate structures. [4313]

  Mr. Forth
  The Higher Education Funding Council for England determines the total recurrent grant and the amounts by which the recurrent grant is reduced in recognition of college fees payments at each of these universities. The total recurrent grant and the amount by which it has been reduced in the current academic year are given as follows for each collegiate university in England.

  1995–96 (£)

  Recurrent grant

  Reduction

  Cambridge

  85,435,264

  11,475,844

  Durham

  29,136,143

  172,150

  Kent

  19,539,798

  105,798

  Lancaster

  25,244,075

  143,796

  Oxford

  82,561,694

  13,419,264

  York

  20,565,594

  90,244

  The HEFCE estimated the total value of college fees paid to the colleges of these universities to be as follows:

  £

  Cambridge

  28,689,610

  Durham

  1,223,208

  Kent

  736,230

  398

  £

  Lancaster

  1,132,250

  Oxford

  31,207,591

  York

  643,200

  The current maximum levels of college fees reimbursed through a student's mandatory award in each of the colleges of the collegiate universities are shown.

  £

  Cambridge colleges

  Christ's College

  2,622

  Churchill College

  2,634

  Clare College

  2,640

  Clare Hall

  2,553

  Corpus Christi College

  2,706

  Darwin College

  2,667

  Downing College

  2,769

  Emanuel College

  2,652

  Fitzwilliam College

  2,784

  Girton College

  2,688

  Gonville and Caius College

  2,646

  Hughes Hall

  2,610

  Jesus College

  2,670

  King's College

  2,613

  Lucy Cavendish College

  2,715

  Magdelene College

  2,769

  New Hall

  2,763

  Newnham College

  2,757

  Pembroke College

  2,760

  Peterhouse

  2,607

  Queen's College

  2,727

  Robinson College

  2,739

  St. Catherine's College

  2,688

  St. Edmunds College

  2,571

  St. John's College

  2,574

  Selwyn College

  2,757

  Sidney Sussex College

  2,757

  Trinity College

  2,550

  Trinity Hall

  2,706

  Wesley House

  2,703

  Wolfson College

  2,646

  Durham colleges

  University

  189

  399

  £

  Hatfield

  189

  Grey

  189

  Van Mildert

  189

  Collingwood

  189

  St. Hild and St. Bede

  189

  St. Cuthbert's

  189

  St. Mary's

  189

  St. Aidan's

  189

  Trevelyan

  189

  University College, Stockton

  189

  St. Chad's

  960

  St. John's

  960

  Ushaw

  960

  Kent colleges

  Darwin

  170

  Eliot

  170

  Rutherford

  170

  Keynes

  170

  Lancaster colleges

  Bowland

  175

  Cartmel

  175

  Charlotte Mason

  175

  The County

  175

  Furness

  175

  Fylde

  175

  Grizedale

  175

  Lonsdale

  175

  Pendle

  175

  Oxford colleges

  Balliol

  3,034

  Brasenose

  3,053

  Christ Church

  3,051

  Corpus Christi

  3,044

  Exeter

  3,086

  Hertford

  3,219

  Jesus

  3,057

  Keeble

  3,289

  Lady Margaret Hall

  3,211

  Lincoln

  2,999

  Magdalen

  3,084

  Merton

  2,966

  New

  3,075

  Oriel

  3,212

  Pembroke

  3,060

  Queen's

  3,017

  St. Anne's

  3,196

  St. Catherine's

  3,110

  St. Edmund Hall

  3,171

  St. Hilda's

  3,164

  St. Hugh's

  3,199

  St. John's

  3,014

  St. Peter's

  3,267

  Somerville

  3,169

  Trinity

  3,037

  University

  3,070

  Wadham

  3,130

  Worcester

  3,121

  York colleges

  Alcuin

  160

  Derwent

  160

  Goodricke

  160

  Langwith

  160

  Vanburgh

  160

  Wentworth

  160

  Further Education Colleges
  Mr. Bryan Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for 400
  Education and Employment what was the spending per student in colleges of further education in (a) 1993–94 and (b) 1994–95; and what is her Department's estimate for each year from 1995–96 to 1998–99. [4322]

  Mr. Paice
  Information on the total amount of spending in further education colleges is not held centrally. FE colleges have access to many sources of income, other than public expenditure, and are free to take their own decisions on how these resources are deployed. The Further Education Funding Council, however, holds collated accounting information from colleges, and I am therefore asking the council's chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Training for Work
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if the date of last claims criteria for training for work is still in force; and what are the numbers of training for work applicants rejected under this criterion. [4748]

  Mr. Paice
  Following discussions with training and enterprise councils and the Employment Service, the Government have announced plans to change from date of claim to an alternative measure of unemployment duration for funding purposes from 1 February next year. Eligibility for the programme is not based on this criterion, so no applicants will have been rejected on this basis.

  Schools Expenditure
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) primary and (b) secondary schools reach his Department's recommended expenditure level for (i) books and (ii) other resource items. [4544]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Government do not recommend expenditure levels for books or other school resources. They believe that schools should be allowed to decide themselves how to spend their own budgets.

  School Libraries
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many school library services have been closed in each of the past five years; [4542]

  (2) what was the expenditure on books and materials in respect of school library services in each of the past five years, in real terms. [4545]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Department does not collect this information.

  Mr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the schools library service. [4546]

  Mr. Squire
  The Government recognise that school library services can play an important role in supporting schools. They also believe that schools should have the freedom to decide themselves how to secure services, books and other resources to support learning.
  401
  Mr. Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools reach the chief inspector of schools' recommendation in respect of library resource items per head. [4543]

  Mr. Squire
  Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools does not make recommendations in respect of library resource items per head.

  Nursing Vouchers
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment after what period she expects to evaluate the pilot scheme for nursery vouchers; and by what means. [4493]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The operational arrangements for phase 1 will be evaluated in the course of 1996–97 in consultation with the local education authorities concerned and the company responsible for voucher issue. Inspection reports will also become available over that period.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list for each scheme so far agreed under the private finance initiative the revenue commitment entered into by the Government for each year until the commitment ceases. [3397]

  Mrs. Gillan
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 6 December.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will list the policy changes which will arise from the final agreement in respect of each scheme agreed under the private finance initiative. [3398]

  Mrs. Gillan
  The agreement of schemes under the private finance initiative does not result in changes to the policy of the Government on the PFI. Agreed schemes do, however, represent the application of the PFI policy and offer us the opportunity to refine further the process of implementation. The lessons learned are set out in the publication "Private Opportunity, Public Benefit". This is published jointly by HM Treasury and the private finance panel, and a copy is available in the Members' Library.

  Mobile Telephones
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many mobile telephones there are available in her Department for the use of Ministers. [4255]
  402
  Mr. Robin Squire
  Each Minister has his or her own personal mobile telephone—six in total. In addition, each Minister's private office has a mobile telephone—a further six. This makes a total of 12 immediately available for the use of Ministers.

  Jobseeker's Allowance
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what was the total amount paid by her Department to consultants in connection with the introduction of the job seeker's allowance; [4583]

  (2) which firms of consultants were employed by her Department in connection with the introduction of the job seeker's allowance. [4586]

  Mr. Forth
  The Department for Education and Employment has to date paid £88,000 to Andersen Consulting.

  Social Affairs Council
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will make a statement following the Social Affairs Council meeting on 5 December. [4940]

  Mr. Forth
  I attended the Social Affairs Council meeting on 5 December in Brussels.

  There was an open discussion on employment issues. The Council's report for the employment discussion at the Madrid European Council, and the paper covering that report together with reports by the Economic and Finance Council and the Commission were agreed unanimously.

  Unanimous agreement was reached on a fourth equal opportunities action programme with a budget of 30 mecu. There were no discussions on the draft community programmes on older people, health and safety—SAFE—and research and information exchange in the employment field—ESSEN. There were no other votes.

  There were Commission presentations on three issues being taken forward under the other member states' agreement on social policy, on a Commission communication on the future of social protection, on a draft recommendation on the balanced participation of women and men in decision making and on the work of a Commission group on the information society. The draft posted workers directive was formally remitted to the Italian presidency.

  The draft directive amending the use of work equipment directive was agreed as an A point, with the United Kingdom and Italy abstaining.

  Northern Ireland: Trial Delays
  Northern Ireland: Trial Delays
  Racism: ECC Recommendation
  Racism: ECC Recommendation
  Organophosphorus Sheep Dips: Purchase Controls
  Organophosphorus Sheep Dips: Purchase Controls
  Agriculture Council, 29 and 30 November
  Agriculture Council, 29 and 30 November
  Northern Region: Development Assistance
  Northern Region: Development Assistance