Written Answers of 2 February 1995

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Patrick Thompson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals there are to change the 1994–95 cash limit for Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, class XVIII, vote 4, will be increased by £59,000 from £2,093,000 to £2,152,000. The increase is necessary to meet a higher than expected level of demand for official publications from United Kingdom Members of the European Parliament, and to restore a shortfall in compensation for the public library discount on official publications, which was occasioned in 1993–94 by excess expenditure on behalf of Members of the European Parliament. The increase will be offset by savings on class XVIII, vote 1, and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Mrs Gillan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has to change the 1994–95 cash limit or running costs limit for the Office of Public Service and Science.

  Mr. David Hunt
  The cash limit for the Office of Public Service and Science, class XVIII, vote 1 will be decreased by £1,556,000 from £66,428,000 to £64,872,000 and the gross running cost limit will also be decreased by £1,556,000 from £85,506,000 to £83,950,000. The majority of this decrease, £1,500,000, is in effect a transfer to Cabinet Office other services, class XIX, vote 1, in final settlement of an earlier transfer of functions. The remaining £56,000 is being transferred to HMSO, class XVIII, vote 4, to cover the increase in Members of the European Parliament supplies. The decrease is offset by increases to other Government Departments and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Science Budget
  Mr. Hawkins
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes he proposes to the estimates, class XVIII, vote 2—Science—for 1994–95.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XVIII, vote 2 will be increased by £840,000 from £1,225,527,000 to £1,226,367,000 to enable the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to meet the cost of certain redundancies at Horticulture Research International. The increase is offset by a similar reduction in class III, vote 4 and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  The opportunity of the supplementary estimate is also being taken to show changes to the appropriations in aid
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  of the vote and to switch resources between certain subheads of the vote.

  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the distribution of the science budget in 1995–96.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I have discussed the allocations with the Director General of Research Councils and have decided that, subject to parliamentary approval of the supply estimates in due course, the science budget of £1,281.675 million should be allocated as follows.

  Allocations for 1995–96

  £ million

  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

  161.631

  Economic and Social Research Council

  61,232

  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  365.702

  Medical Research Council

  277.809

  Natural Environment Research Council

  155.483

  Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

  196.367

  Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils

  1.500

  Additional funding for LINK schemes (to be allocated to Research Councils in due course)

  3.000

  Royal Society

  20.786

  Royal Academy of Engineering

  2.617

  OST initiatives

  2.250

  Research Councils' Pension Scheme

  33.298

  Total

  1,281.675

  In making these allocations, I need to ensure that momentum is maintained with implementing the science, engineering and technology White Paper "Realising Our Potential". I have therefore decided that some 5 per cent. of the science budget should be targeted to priority initiatives aimed specifically at taking White Paper issues forward. Further details are set out in the paper "Allocation of the Science Budget 1995–96" which I have placed in the Library of the House.

  Absenteeism
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the absenteeism rate for(a) the Central Office of Information, (b) the Office of Public Service and Science, (c) the Chessington Computer Centre, (d) the Civil Service college, (e) HMSO, (f) the occupational health service and (g) the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency in each year since 1991.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The average number of days sick leave taken by members of the staff of OPSS in each of the last four years was:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Office of Public Service and Science

  3.2

  4.5

  4.3

  3.3

  These figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence.

  I have asked the chief executives of each of the other Departments and agencies the hon. Member mentions to write to him with the information he seeks as they are responsible for operational matters within their organisations.
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  Letter from Michael D. Geddes to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 30 January 1995:
  Mr. Robert Hughes has asked me to let you have the following information in respect of the average number of days sick leave taken by the staff in the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency; it was:

  1991: 7.2

  1992: 11.1

  1993: 15.8

  1994: 15.1

  I hope that this information is useful to you.

  Letter from Dr. Stephen Hickey to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
  I have been asked to reply to your question about the absenteeism rate for the Civil Service College in each year since 1991.
  The average number of days sick leave taken by members of the staff in each of the last four years was:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  4.6

  5.3

  8.2

  7.4

  The figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence.

  Letter from Mike Devereau to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
  I have been asked by the Challcellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to reply to part of your question on absenteeism.
  The average numbr of days sick leave taken by members of staff in HMSO in each of the last four years was:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  10.0

  9.2

  10.4

  7.2

  Letter from Dr. E. C. McCloy to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 27 January 1995:
  The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science (Mr. Robert Hughes) has asked me to provide for my Agency, the information requested in your Parlimentary Question to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster about the absenteeism rate since 1991.
  The average number of days sick leave taken by members of the staff of the Agency in each of the years since 1991 was:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  4.9

  6.2

  9.5

  11.4

  The information has been taken from records produced by Chessington Computer Center and is provided on the same basis as that given for the Office of Public Service.
  The figures therefore include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness, and do not necessarily reflect days absent from the office due to sickness.

  Letter from R. N. Edwards to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:

  Research Scientists and Engineers engaged on R and D within Government 1981–82 to 1994–951

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  United Kingdom2

  20,641

  20,462

  19,914

  19,889

  19,299

  15,4563

  15,121

  Notes:1 This table refers to personnel engaged in R and D, according to the "Frascati" definition, and excludes HEIs.

  2 Includes (a) DTI and its agencies and (b) the Sports Council for Wales, with manpower of 33—FTE—included for the first time in 1990–91.

  3 The drop in numbers reflects the fact that the UKAEA became a public corporation in 1986.

  Sources:

  Annual Review of Government Funded R and D, 1984 (Table 7.1).

  Annual Review of Government Funded R and D, 1992 (Table 2.5.2).

  Forward Look 1994 Statistical Supplement (Table 1.7.3).
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  SICK ABSENCE AT CHESSINGTON COMPUTER CENTER
  I refer to your enquiry of 19 January to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster regarding absenteeism at Chessington Computer Centre.
  The average number of days sick leave taken by members of staff at Chessington Computer Center in each of the last four years was:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  8.6

  9.3

  11.5

  10.8

  The figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence.

  Letter from Mike Devereau to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
  In response to your PQ addressed to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the absenteeism rates for the Central Office of Information in each of the last four years were as follows:

  Year

  Number of staff

  Total number of days sick

  Average rate (days)

  1991

  669.5

  4,776

  7.1

  1992

  620.5

  3,632

  5.9

  1993

  541 5

  5 467

  10 1

  1994

  498.0

  5,033

  10.1

  These figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence, so do not necessarily indicate the number of days absence from the office.

  Scientific Researchers
  Dr. Lynn Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of the total number of scientific researchers employed in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries was employed in United Kingdom in each year since 1975.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The only available data are for the years 1981, 1985 and 1989 and are shown in the table.

  Total number of scientific researchers employed in the UK as a percentage of the total employed in OECD countries

  Per cent.

  1981

  1985

  1989

  United Kingdom

  8.0

  6.9

  6.0

  Source:

  OECD, STIU database (DSTI, EAS Division), January 1995.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what number of scientific researchersunder the Organisation for Economic Co-operationand Development definition were employedby publicy funded institutions in each year since 1975.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Available data start from 1981–1982 and are shown in the table.
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  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  United Kingdom1

  15,019

  14,668

  15,061

  15,027

  15,064

  14,184

  13,487

  Notes:1 Includes (a) DTI and its agencies and (b) the Sports Council for Wales, with manpower of 33—FTE—included for the first time in 1990–91

  Sources:

  Annual Review of Government Funded R and D, 1984 (Table 7.1).

  Annual Review of Government Funded R and D, 1992 (Table 2.5.2).

  Forward Look 1994 Statistical Supplement (Table 1.7.3).

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Cash Limits
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes he plans to the 1994–95 cash limits for the votes of the Lord Chancellor's Department, class IX, vote 1 and the Public Record Office, class IX, vote 5.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IX, vote 1 has been increased by £18,175,000 from £760,918,000 to £779,093,000 as a result of a shortfall in civil court fee income. The running cost limit has been reduced by £2,884,000 from £431,330,000 to £428,446,000.

  The cash limit for class IX, vote 5 has been reduced by £3,000,000 from £53,993,000 to £50,993,000 as a result of reduced expenditure on a major capital project. The running costs limit has been increased by £199,000 from £25,246,000 to £25,445,000. Some £196,000 is for take-up of end-year flexibility entitlement as announced by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report, columns 729–34. The remaining £3,000 has been transferred from HM Treasury for the move to repayment of the average property price lists for calculating additional housing cost allowance. The additional running cost provision is covered by savings in capital provision.

  The increase in the cash limit on class IX, vote 1 is partially offset by the cash limit reduction on class IX, vote 5. The remaining £15,175,000 will be charged to the reserve and will not add to the planned total of public expenditure.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Nuclear Safety
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) which advanced gas-cooled reactors owned by Nuclear Electric are affected by the cracking of welds in steam headers; which Scottish reactors are affected by the same problem; and what changes have been made in their position on privatisation following these problems;

  (2) what considerations his Department is giving within the nuclear review to generic cracking faults in welds on steam leaders of advanced gas-cooled reactors.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leyton on 19 January 1995,Official Report, column 589, explained that cracks had been identified in some of the steam header welds at Heysham 1 and
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  Dungeness B advanced gas-cooled reactor power stations. The power stations owned and operated by Scottish Nuclear Ltd. are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland but I understand that no such cracks have been identified in any Scottish nuclear power station. The matter of the cracks does not fall within the scope of the terms of reference of the nuclear review.

  China (Import Quotas)
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he plans next to meet representatives from the People's Republic of China to discuss import quotas.

  Mr. Needham
  My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has no such plans.

  Oxygenated Petrol
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what research his Department has carried out into oxygenated petrol; what plans for research into the environmental suitability of oxygenated petrol he has.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The Government are supporting the tri-partite programme, sponsored by the European Commission and the oil and motor industries, which is looking into the effects of motor fuel quality, including the use of oxygenates in petrol, and engine technology on air quality. A report is expected by mid-1995.

  Tenant Farmers
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take to protect tenant farmers whose farms are being sold by British Coal.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  The sale of British Coal's property is a matter for the corporation.

  However, British Coal, in considering potential purchasers of the proposed agricultural land, will take every step to satisfy itself that they meet appropriate tests on viability and commitment to the future of the property which they are purchasing. Tenants' rights of tenure are also protected by the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986.

  Iraq Trade Delegation
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what grounds he has given authorisation for a British trade delegation to Iraq on 15 February.

  Mr. Needham
  I have not given authorisation for a British trade delegation to visit Iraq, nor has such authorisation been sought.

  Coal Privatisation
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will detail the present involvement of former
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  employees of British Coal in the ownership and management of new companies formed following the privatisation of British Coal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Eggar
  Tower Colliery was purchased by a team of its former employees and the South Wales regional coal company was purchased by a management buy-out team. Bidders' proposals for employee participation were taken into account in the selection of preferred bidders for the regional coal companies and care and maintenance collieries. The purchasers of the regional coal companies have all undertaken to provide the opportunity for employees to acquire shares.

  Video Games
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 5 December 1994,Official Report, column 105, on the publication of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the supply of video games received on 14 November 1994, when he now expects the report to be published; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  Publication will take place as soon as possible. As related in my previous answer, I shall make an announcement once the report has been published.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent changes have been made and what future changes are planned to his Department's cash and running costs limits for 1994–95.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The cash limit for class IV, vote 1—support for business, consumer and investor protection, energy programmes and administration—has been reduced by £710,000 from £1,185,602,001) to £1,184,892,000. This reduction results from the transfer of responsibility for consultancy initiatives to the Scottish—£400,000—and Welsh—£310,000 —Offices for their respective territories.

  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the same vote will be increased by a token £1,000 to £1,184,893,000.

  The gross running cost limit for the Department of Trade and Industry will be reduced by £2,758,000 from £342,217,000 to £339,459,000. This reduction will be offset by an increase of £2,759,000 to cover the expected shortfalls against the Department's research laboratories' original net voted provisions.

  In addition, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class IV, vote 4—privatisation of the coal industry—will be increased by £2,000,000 from £15,897,000 to £17,897,000. The increase mainly covers additional costs of privatisation advisers' fees.

  N. M. Rothschild and Son Ltd.
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the decision was taken to award the contract to advise the Department of Energy on the future of the coal 760
  industry to N. M Rothschild and Son Ltd.; who took the decision; what other companies were invited to tender; what criteria were used for awarding the contract; what was the value of the contract; and if the contract was awarded to the lowest tenderer.

  Mr. Eggar
  [holding answer 31 January 1995]: N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. was appointed on 31 May 1991. The decision to appoint the company was taken by the then Secretary of State for Energy after receiving recommendations from an interdepartmental panel of officials. In addition to N. M. Rothschild, a further seven companies were invited to tender. Their identity is commercially confidential. The contract was awarded to the tenderer offering the best value for money. The value of the contract, which is still continuing, is commercially confidential.

  Nitric Acid
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has authorised the importation of nitric acid from the United States Hanford plant for use in the reprocessing at Sellafield.

  Mr. Charles Wardle
  [holding answer 30 January 1995]: The Department of Trade and Industry has responsibility for granting import licences. The import of nitric acid from the United States Hanford plant will be subject to import licensing. Applications for import licences are commercially confidential.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Disabled People
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Attorney-General what proportion and number of non-industrial civil servants in the Departments and agencies for which he has responsibility are registered disabled and disabled as defined by the Cabinet Office document, "Focus on Ability".

  The Attorney-General
  The information for the Departments for which I am responsible as at 1 July 1994 is set out in the table.

  The Treasury Solicitor's Department also employs people with disabilities who are not registered, but the numbers are not readily available.

  Each of the Law Officers' Departments is an equal opportunities employer.

  Registered disabled staff

  Non-registered disabled staff

  Proportion Per cent.

  Number

  Proportion Per cent.

  Number

  Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Crown Prosecution Service

  0.5

  31

  0.6

  41

  Serious Fraud Office Treasury Solicitor's

  —

  —

  2.25

  3

  Department

  2.2

  11

  n/a

  n/a

ENVIRONMENT

  Radioactive Waste
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government are planning to complete its review of radioactive waste policy.

  Mr. Atkins
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) on Tuesday 6 December,Official Report, column 132.

  Greenpeace
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 24 January,Official Report, columns 109–10, what possible causes of Greenpeace's high readings were investigated apart from the misuse of equipment.

  Mr Atkins
  The radiological measurements made by Greenpeace personnel at the Drigg low level radioactive waste disposal site were just one component of the complaints made by Greenpeace following its illegal entry. Each component was investigated thoroughly by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.

  The Greenpeace complaint provided no reliable evidence of unauthorised disposals of low level radioactive waste, least of all from its radiological monitoring of waste in the disposal trench.

  HMIP considered the breadth of the findings from its investigations and found no evidence to support the Greenpeace contention that radioactive waste of levels in excess of those permitted had been disposed of at Drigg.

  Energy Efficiency Advertising
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 24 January,Official Report, column 109, who carried out the monitoring of the advertising campaigns run by his Department; and what were the conclusions of this monitoring, with particular regard to projected energy savings flowing from the campaigns and cost-effectiveness of the campaigns.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  The "Helping the Earth Begins At Home" campaign was monitored by BMRB International, which tracked significant changes in public knowledge, attitudes and intended energy saving behaviour. The current "Wasting Energy Costs The Earth" campaign, which is closely synchronised with the private sector, therefore places more emphasis on individual actions and is being monitored by National Opinion Poll.

  Consultants
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 24 January,Official Report, column 112, if he will list those firms of consultants which are known centrally by his Department to have worked for his Department in 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Firms of consultants known centrally to have worked for the Department in 1992–93 762
  and 1993–94 are those employed specifically in connection with the market testing programme.

  The list, excluding those employed direct by the agencies, is as follows:

  Amtec Consulting

  Andersen Consulting

  Capita Management Consultancy Ltd.

  Castle Management Consultants

  Civil Service College

  Coopers and Lybrand

  CSL Group

  Dun and Bradstreet

  Mr P. Dworkin

  Hoskyns Group plc

  PA Consulting Group

  Prime Strategy Consultants

  Ray Tilly Associates

  Shreeveport Limited

  Smith and Williamson

  SPT (Simon Thorpe)

  Symonds Facilities Management plc

  Mr. J. Wormald

  Planning (Funds)
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what controls exist on the use to which local authorities may put planning gain money and on the geographical area in which it may be spent; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The use to which local planning authorities put money received in connection with agreements under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the geographical area in which such money may be spent, will largely depend on the precise terms of the agreement, which will be registered as a local land charge.

  Recycling
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what considerations he proposes to bear in mind in formulating an approach to legislation to increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.

  Mr. Atkins
  Clauses 76 to 78 of the Environment Bill, which is currently before Parliament, empower the Secretary of State, subject to certain conditions, to make regulations placing on particular industry sectors a producer responsibility obligation in relation to the waste which arises from their products, and the packaging around them. Individual companies may choose to discharge the obligation by acting alone or by joining an "exemption scheme" which will organise recovery and recycling operations on their behalf.

  The Government propose to legislate using these powers to provide a framework for an industry-led approach to increase the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. This is in response to requests from industry to overcome the potential problem of "free-riders" who might seek to avoid their share of the responsibility to act. The legislative framework will serve to deliver our recovery and recycling obligations under the EC directive on packaging and packaging waste. It will build on the work of the former producer

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  responsibility group and the working representative advisory group, which has now been formed with the backing of some 50 major companies.

  The proposed powers are wide in scope and allow a variety of different approaches to suit the circumstances of different waste streams, should legislation be necessary or appropriate. In reaching a conclusion on the best approach for packaging waste, we propose to bear in mind the following considerations:

  (i) the need to be confident that the available options can ensure that the targets set by the packaging directive will be met;

  (ii) the practicality, cost-effectiveness, potential benefits as against the likely costs, taking account of environmental and economic considerations, and fairness of the available options;

  (iii) the desirability of minimising regulatory burdens on business;

  (iv) the desirability of business choice in the manner in which the obligation is satisfied, both in terms of the provision of an individual compliance route which is reasonable and practicable, and the potential for multiple exemption schemes to co-exist;

  (v) the compatibility of the available options with existing EC and domestic law, for example to ensure that they do not create a barrier to trade with other member states in the Community;

  (vi) the need to take account of competition policy, for example to ensure that the regulations do not have the effect of distorting competition unnecessarily;

  (vii) the desirability of business freedom and flexibility to control and administer collaborative schemes run on its behalf and of minimising the role of the public sector agencies, compatible with effective enforcement;

  (vii) the desirability of targeting as closely as possible those responsible for determining the content, nature and amount of packaging used for a particular product.

  In drawing up the statutory obligation for individual businesses, consistent with these considerations, the main issues concern the coverage and nature of the obligation. On the coverage of the obligation, there are options encompassing all those businesses which are involved in some way with packaging or packaged products; or a narrower obligation, perhaps on those who make use of packaging for products which they manufacture or control; or some combination of the two. In reaching a view, we will take into account market characteristics, the nature of the recovery and recycling operations, and evidence of the willingness of different business sectors to work together, as well as the need to minimise the extent of the legislative burden placed on industry. In the event that the regulations were found not to work there would, however, be scope for changing the obligation.

  The second main issue concerns the nature of the legal obligation. Value from packaging waste is recovered in a variety of ways. Detailed involvement by an enforcement agency in monitoring a large number of processes for those businesses involved in packaging would require significant resources and is likely to prove expensive for the businesses concerned. We will therefore seek to define the producer responsibility obligation in a simple and straightforward way which:

  (a) is intended to achieve our obligations under the packaging directive;

  (b) allows wide discretion to industry as to how to respond;

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  (c)is amenable to external auditing. The scope for independent certification is an important objective in minimising the burdens of the regulatory approach.

  Officials from my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry are continuing discussions with a wide range of interested parties in the packaging industry. Once we have formulated a set of proposals, we will bring forward a consultation paper on these issues.

  Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
  Mr. Deva
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to increase the funds available for the home energy efficiency scheme in the current financial year.

  Mr. Gummer
  I am pleased to announce that we have been able to increase the provision for the home energy efficiency scheme by £8.85 million, bringing the total available for grants in 1994–95 to about £77 million. This is a welcome boost to a successful and high quality scheme.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Coe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to change his Department's cash limits and running costs limits for 1994–95.

  Mr. Gummer
  The Housing Corporation non-voted cash limit, covering grants and capital expenditure financed by the Housing Corporation in England, will be increased by £5,832,000 to £1,484,540,000. The increase will allow additional expenditure of £2,177,000 on city challenge projects, and of £3,655,000 on the corporation's approved development programme.

  The regeneration initiatives non-voted cash limit will be increased by £2,612,000 from £292,853,000 to £1,295,465,000. The changes reflect a transfer of £2,177,000 to the Housing Corporation cash limit to cover additional expenditure on city challenge projects; a transfer of £715,000 from the regeneration initiative cash limit to allow increased payments on urban programme loan charges within class VII, vote 3, regeneration initiatives; and an increase of £5,504,000 to allow the issue of an all—purpose supplementary credit approval in respect of East Manchester regeneration programme expenditure. The increase is covered in full by take-up of part of the entitlement to capital end year flexibility announced by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report, columns 729–34.

  The cash limit for class VII, vote 5—central environmental services and so on—will be reduced by £2,500,000 from £439,645,000 to £437,145,000. This change reflects a reduced requirement for grant in aid by the National Rivers Authority. The savings will be transferred to the Housing Corporation cash limit to cover increased expenditure on the Housing Corporation's approved development programme.

  The cash limit for class VII, vote 6—property holdings and other services to Government—will be increased by £1,000 to £3,000. This reflects the token supplementary

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  estimate for this vote. Property holdings gross running costs limit will be increased by £135,000 to £19,976,000.

  The cash limit for class VII, vote 7—administration—will be reduced by £612,000 from £227,347,000 to £226,735,000. This reflects the net position after a number of small transfers, the most significant being transfers to the Department of National Heritage of £184,000 in respect of the conservation unit, and of £255,000 to the Housing Corporation cash limit to cover increased expenditure on the Housing Corporation's approved development programme. The Department of the Environment's gross running costs limit will be reduced by £2,316,000 from £227,465,000 to £225,149,000. In the main, this reduction is due to savings made to enable the Department to capitalise early retirement costs.

  The cash limit for class VII, vote 8—revenue support grant, payments of non-domestic rates, Valuation Office services, and so on, England—will be reduced by £900,000 from £29,634,332,000 to £29,633,432,000 to reflect savings in expenditure by, and on behalf of, the Valuation Tribunals. The savings will be transferred to the Housing Corporation cash limit to cover increased expenditure on the Housing Corporation's approved development programme.

  The local government reorganisation non-voted cash limit will be reduced by £9,540,000 from £54,200,000 to £44,660,000. This reduction consists of £9,440,000 for deemed debt supplementary credit approvals and £100,000 for local government residuary body borrowing provision.

  The running costs limit for the Office of Water Services—class VII, vote 9—will be increased by £254,000 from £9,106,000 to £9,360,000 under end-year flexibility arrangements for running costs announced by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report, columns 729–34. This will be offset by reductions on capital expenditure so no overall increase in the cash limit is required.

  The cash limit for class VII, vote 1 I—PSA Services—will be reduced by £40,000 from £98,661,000 to £98,621,000. This reflects a transfer to Property Holdings to cover senior staff costs. The net running cost limit on this vote will also be reduced by £40,000 from £98,261,000 to £98,221,000.

  All increases will be offset by savings or charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

EMPLOYMENT

  Employment Agencies
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many employment agencies provided social work or social work or social care staff for each of the last five years;

  (2) how many employment agencies provided domiciliary care staff for each of the last five years.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information is not available in the form requested. However,.it is estimated that immediately prior to the abolition of licensing on 3 January 1995, there were about 3,000 licensed 766
  employment agencies which had indicated that their field of activity might include domiciliary or social care work.

  I also refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State on 30 November 1992, Official Report, column 55.

  Careers Service
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has of the cost of market testing the careers service; and if he will detail(a) the transaction costs and (b) the tendering costs.

  Mr. Paice
  The process by which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State is meeting his duty to provide the careers service is competitive tendering, not market testing.

  I have no information on the costs of compiling bids; they were met by the bidders. The costs to the Employment Department were about £300,000, which were found from existing resources. They included £220,000 on staff and associated costs for a small team of administrators—1994–95—and £74,000 on a prospectus and publicity for tendering in 1994–95. In addition, some staff from the 10 Government offices were involved. Further figures could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list which of the careers services that have gone out for tender have(a) remained in-house, (b) been won by the private sector and (c) are still outstanding.

  Mr. Paice
  This information is not yet available. No contracts have been awarded. Preferred bidders have been selected for post-tender negotiation and the contracts will be announced after negotiations are complete.

  Tele-workers
  Ms Coffey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently employed as tele-workers; and what is his estimate of the number that will be employed in 2000.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  I regret that the requested information is not available.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the principal components of the league tables by which he measures the effectiveness of training and enterprise councils.

  Mr. Paice
  The most recent table of inter-TEC performance comparisons consisted of the following indicators:

  1. The cost per output point for youth training and youth credits;

  2. The number of national vocational qualifications per 100 leavers for youth training and youth credits;

  3. The cost per output point for training for work;

  4. The number of NVQs per 100 leavers for TfW;

  767

  5. The number of positive outcomes per 100 leavers for TfW;

  6. The percentage achievement against the investors in people commitments target;

  7. The performance of the TEC in relation to the Government's YT guarantee.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the rules for approving spending projects by the training and enterprise councils to spend surpluses earned in contracts with his Department.

  Mr. Paice
  Training and enterprise councils are required to agree annual business plans and three-year corporate plans with the Department. Where an operating surplus occurs, a TEC is contractually required to use it solely on activities agreed with the Department to further the objectives of its corporate plan and business plan. Where projects have been specifically identified in an agreed business plan, a TEC may carry them out without further agreement. Separate approval is required for the use of surpluses on projects not specifically identified in the business plan, although meeting the plan's objectives. For such a project, the Department needs to be satisfied that it is in accordance with the aims of the plan and represents value for money. The TEC also needs to show that it has the authority to implement the project under its memorandum and articles of association, that the project is financially viable and that it is not in conflict with other parts of the TEC operating agreement or with Government policy. TECs are under a general contractual obligation to provide value for money on the expenditure of all funds which derive from the Government.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the principal elements of the debenture held against each of the training and enterprise councils at the commencement of each financial year.

  Employees whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence—distribution of gross hourly earnings showing numbers and percentages. April 1994

  Below £1.50

  £1.50 to £2.50

  £2.50 to £3.50

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number

  Per cent.

  Full-time males

  Wales

  0

  0

  4,741

  1.1

  18,964

  4.4

  Great Britain

  9,000

  0.1

  66,000

  0.7

  292,000

  3.1

  Full-time females

  Wales

  0

  0.1

  2,000

  0.7

  24,000

  9.9

  Great Britain

  6,000

  0.1

  50,000

  0.9

  427,000

  7.7

  Part-time males

  Wales

  0

  0.9

  3,000

  5.4

  15,000

  29.5

  Great Britain

  17,000

  1.5

  48,000

  4.3

  269,000

  23.9

  Part-time females

  Wales

  9,000

  3.8

  5,000

  2.1

  57,000

  24.1

  Great Britain

  43,000

  0.9

  116,000

  2.4

  1,099,000

  22.8

  Note:

  Estimates of numbers of employees are rounded to the nearest thousand.

  Labour Statistics
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of persons in Islwyn in full-time work in(a) hairdressing, (b) the retail trade, (c) clothing manufacturing and (d) hotel and
  768
  Mr. Paice
  The Department agreed the same debenture arrangements with all training and enterprise councils when they were first set up. The debenture gives the Department a charge over all of a TEC's fixed and floating assets. I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.

  Training Providers
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training providers will have to close as result of the reduction in expenditure on training for work announced in the Budget.

  Mr. Paice
  Training and enterprise councils contract with training providers for the delivery of training for work. It is a matter for TECs to decide with whom they will contract according to the scale and nature of the training required locally. Government regional offices are currently negotiating with TECs for 1995–96 contracts.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list for(a) Islwyn, (b) Wales and (c) Great Britain the number of persons and percentage of persons in (i) full-time work and (ii) part-time work earning (1) less than £1.50 an hour, (2) between £1.50 and £2.50 an hour and (3) between £2.50 and £3.50 an hour breaking these figures down by gender;

  (2) what is the (a) mean hourly rate of pay, (b) median hourly rate of pay and (c) modal hourly rate of pay for (i) full-time work and (ii) part-time work in Islwyn;

  (3) if he will list the current average hourly pay rate in Islwyn for full-time work in (a) hairdressing, (b) retail trade, (c) clothing manufacturing and (d) hotel and catering sectors.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Information for Islwyn is not available.

  Information available from the new earnings survey for Wales and Great Britain is provided in the table:

  catering sectors in the last five years, also expressing these numbers as a percentage of the work force.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The available information is from the periodic censuses of employment and is shown in the table.
  769
  The information for hairdressing and clothing manufacturing, is confidential under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947.

  Number of full-time jobs in the retail trade1 in Islwyn, September of each year

  Year

  Number

  Per cent.

  1987

  700

  5.3

  1989

  400

  3.3

  1991

  700

  5.8

  1 Class 64/65 of the standard industrial classification 1980. 1. Percentages are of total number of employees rather than the total work force.

  Number of full-time jobs in the hotel and catering sectors1 in Islwyn, September of each year

  Year

  Number

  Per cent.

  1987

  200

  (1.4)

  1989

  200

  (1.6)

  1991

  100

  (1.0)

  1 Class 66 of the standard industrial classification 1980. 1. Percentage are of total number of employees rather than the total work force.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Heald
  To ask the Secretary of State Employment what proposals he has to change for his Department's cash limits and running costs limits in 1994–95.

  Mr. Portillo
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, these changes will be made:

  (a) the cash limit for class V, vote 1, Department of Employment: programmes and central services, will be increased by £14,414,000 from £2,302,056,000 to £2,316,470,000. The increase in the cash limit arises from additional Employment Department group restructuring costs, training and enterprise councils' administrative costs and Skills Training Agency costs of £36,514,000 offset by programme underspends of £15,300,000 and running costs underspends of £6,800,000;

  (b) the cash limit for class V, vote 2, Department of Employment: Employment Service, will be reduced by £15,300,000 from £738,529,000 to £723,229,000;

  (c) the single running costs limit for class V, vote 1, Department of Employment: programmes and central services, and class V, vote 2, Department of Employment: Employment Service, will also be increased by £14,414,000 from £1,437,932,000 to £1,452,346,000. The increase reflects the take-up of £12,614,000 in respect of end-year flexibility arrangements for running costs expenditure, as announced by my right hon. Friend, the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report, columns 729–34, and a transfer of £1,800,000 from class V, vote 3, Health and Safety Executive;

  (d) the cash limit on class V, vote 3, Health and Safety Executive and Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, will be reduced £1,800,000 from £212,779,000 to £210,979,000 as a result of a transfer to class V, vote 1, Department of Employment: programmes and central services;

  (e) the Health and Safety Executive running costs limit will be reduced by £1,800,000 from £179,124,000 to £177,324,000 as a result of a transfer to class V, vote 1, Department of Employment: programmes and central services.

  770
  The increases will be offset by savings, transfers or charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Palestinian Non-governmental Organisations
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the actual or estimated level of funding from the Overseas Development Administration budget to Palestinian non-governmental organisations in each of the years 1991 to 1995; and if he will list the organisations funded.

  Mr. Baldry
  We fund the programmes of a number of British non-governmental organisations which provide assistance to Palestinians. The majority of these work with Palestinian partner organisations. We estimate that since 1991–92, our expenditure through such agencies operating in the occupied territories has been:

  Year

  £

  1991–92

  953,000

  1992–93

  1,271,000

  1993–94

  1,280,000

  1994–95 (to date)

  845,000

  In addition, Palestinians have benefit from assistance provided through non-governmental organisations working in the Lebanon.

  Overseas Aid
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the European Community attribution of overseas aid by recipient country in 1993–94.

  Mr. Baldry
  Country by country figures for EC aid spending in 1993–94 are not readily available.

  For the calendar year 1993, total payments on aid from EC budget, as set out in the draft EC general budget for 1995, were:

  mecu

  Food aid and humanitarian aid

  774.7

  Asia and Latin America

  354.0

  Mediterranean

  351.5

  Eastern and central europe

  719.5

  Other co-operation measures (includes co-operation with NGOs and aid to South Africa)

  338.3

  Total

  2,538.0

  The cost to the United Kingdom of this expenditure was as shown in the table, based on an average exchange rate for 1993 of £1 = ecu 1.2829, and a United Kingdom share of the EC budget for 1993 of 16.52 per cent.

  £ million

  Food aid and humanitarian aid

  99.8

  Asia and Latin America

  45.6

  771

  £ million

  Mediterranean

  45.3

  Eastern and central europe

  92.7

  Other co-operation measures

  43.6

  Total

  327.0

  World Health Organisation
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms exist for the Government to review the value for money of contributions to the World Health Organisation for its work in the developing world.

  Mr. Baldry
  The United Kingdom has been active in seeking reforms necessary to ensure that its assessed and voluntary contributions to the World Health Organisation achieve the optimum value for money. For instance, the United Kingdom has chaired the committee of the WHO executive board set up to review the role of WHO. In addition, the United Kingdom targets its voluntary contributions to specific WHO-managed programmes on those that tackle priority problems in developing countries and has established a set of procedures by which to assess their effectiveness.

  International Atomic Energy Authority
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was given to the International Atomic Energy Authority out of the overseas aid budget in 1993–94; and on what grounds.

  Mr. Baldry
  In 1993–94, the Overseas Development Administration gave the IAEA an accountable grant of £500,000 to cover the cost of selected projects, aimed at sustainable development, in developing countries who are signatories of the non proliferation treaty. This grant was paid as part of the £2.5 million pledged by the UK over five years commencing 1991–92 to encourage countries who are signatories of the non-proliferation treaty in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

  Bilateral Emergency Aid
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which 10 countries have received most out of the bilateral emergency aid budget in the last 10 years; and what amounts they have received.

  Mr. Baldry
  It is not possible to provide comparable country-specific information on the bilateral emergency aid programme for years before 1987–88. The top 10 bilateral emergency aid recipients between 1987–88 and 1993–94 are given in the table.

  Top 10 ODA bilateral emergency aid recipients 1987–88 to 1993–94

  Country

  Expenditure (£ million)

  Ethiopia

  100.8

  States of ex-Yugoslavia

  89.9

  Sudan

  78.0

  Mozambique

  59.3

  Iraq

  47.3

  Pakistan

  30.2

  Malawi

  29.3

  772

  Top 10 ODA bilateral emergency aid recipients 1987–88 to 1993–94

  Country

  Expenditure (£ million)

  Somalia

  25.5

  Bangladesh

  21.1

  Angola

  17.8

  Note: There is no United Kingdom aid to the Government of Iraq. The amounts recorded as emergency aid to Iraq are provided through UN agencies and NGOs for Iraqi citizens.

  Aid and Trade Provision
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which 10 countries have received most out of the aid and trade provision of the overseas aid budget in the last 10 years; and what amounts they have received.

  Mr. Baldry
  The top 10 recipients of the aid and trade provision expenditure between 1984 and 1993–94 are given in the table:

  Country

  Expenditure (£ million)

  China

  117.6

  Malaysia

  82.2

  Indonesia

  44.5

  Turkey

  43.2

  Zimbabwe

  40.9

  Kenya

  31.4

  India

  30.9

  Philippines

  25.0

  Morocco

  21.9

  Ghana

  19.7

  Nigeria
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what British aid to Nigeria was spent in 1993 to 1995.

  Mr. Baldry
  At the time of the annulment of democratic elections in June 1993, British aid to Nigeria was supporting projects in education, agriculture, forestry, health, energy and public administration. There was also residual expenditure from balance of payments agreements signed in 1989 and 1990. Since June 1993, new aid has been confined to projects bringing direct benefits to poor Nigerians in the health/water, education and natural resources sectors. This accords with EU guidelines agreed last year. We have also met outstanding commitments to projects already under way in June 1993.

  Africa
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the European Community's attribution of overseas aid to Africa in 1993–94.

  Mr. Baldry
  For the calendar year 1993, total payments from the European Development Fund—most of the beneficiaries of which are in sub-Saharan Africa—were 1,337 million ecu or £1,042 million1. A country by country breakdown of cumulative expenditure from successive European development funds is available in the

  773
  Commission report "EU-ACP Co-operation", a copy of which has been placed in the library.'

  United Kingdom contributions to the European Development Fund totalled £172 million in the UK financial year 1993–94.

  Expenditure from the European Community budget in 1993 on the "Programme of positive measures regarding South Africa" amounted to 60.4 million ecu or £47.1 million.

  1 At an average exchange rate for the year of £1 = 1.2829 ecu.

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made in the 1994–95 cash limit for expenditure by the Overseas Development Administration.

  Mr. Baldry
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit on the external assistance vote-class II, vote 5—will be reduced overall by £24,176,000 from £1,923,943,000 to £1,899,767,000. The overall reduction is the net effect of a decrease of £30,500,000 due to overspend on European Community budgetary spending on aid for developing countries in 1993; a decrease of £2,700,000 under roll-over arrangements in respect of the Commonwealth Development Corporation's excess cash holding at the end of 1993–94; an increase of £8,964,000 in respect of new provision for certain aid and trade provision projects which are no longer being financed under the authority of the Overseas Development and Co-operation Act 1980; and an increase of £59,000 in respect of the eventual transfer of the Crown Agents to an independent foundation. Pending parliamentary approval of the new provision for certain aid and trade provision projects, urgent expenditure, estimated at £4,627,000, will be met by a repayable advance from the contingencies fund.

  Zambia and Zimbabwe
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give figures for each of the last five years, including current expenditure plans, for balance of payments support for Zambia and Zimbabwe paid for from(a) the overseas aid budget and (b) any other source.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: Expenditure from the overseas aid budgets is as follows:

  Bilateral programme aid to Zambia and Zimbabwe 1989–90 to 1993–94 (£000)

  Zambia

  Zimbabwe

  1989–90

  —

  53

  1990–91

  30,000

  1-6

  1991–92

  12,500

  7,500

  1992–93

  27,500

  22,500

  1993–94

  25,000

  15,000

  1 Undisbursed programme aid repaid by Crown Agents.

  During the current financial year, 1994–95, for Zambia we have already spent £12.5 million and plan to disburse a further £12.5 million shortly, and for Zimbabwe we plan
  774
  to disburse £15 million programme aid subject to confirmation from the IMF board that the Government's economic reform programme is on track.

  We do not have figures for other donors' balance of payments support for Zimbabwe.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each year since 1988, including current expenditure plans, expenditure on aid to(a) Zimbabwe and (b) Zambia in (i) cash terms and (ii) real terms, broken down according to the principal objectives for British aid as stated in the British aid overseas aid annual review 1994.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: Tables containing the information have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give details of publications produced by his Department assessing the performance of British aid in(a) Zambia and (b) Zimbabwe.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: Recent published reports on British aid projects in Zambia and Zimbabwe are listed in ODA's catalogue of evaluation studies, copies of which are in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each of the last five years, total aid expenditure to(a) Zambia and (b) Zimbabwe in support of structural adjustment programmes; and if he will give these figures as a proportion of total aid expenditure to these countries.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: A table showing support for economic reform has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Training Courses
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last i2 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by his Department or agency.

  Mr. Newton
  No training course undertaken by staff of the Privy Council Office in the last 12 months has cost in excess of £5,000. I am not responsible for any agencies.

PRIME MINISTER

  Ministerial Visits
  Rev. Martin Smyth
  To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has to visit Belfast, South.

  The Prime Minister
  I have no immediate plans to do so.

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 2 February.

  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.

  Countryside Council for Wales
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 26 January,Official Report, column 300, to the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan), if he will list the representations he has received concerning the impact of reduced activity by the Countryside Council for Wales on the commitment arising from the biodiversity convention under the Rio treaty; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  I have now received three such representations—from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wales Wildlife and Countryside Link and a member of the public. My right hon. Friend has no plans to privatise the Countryside Council for Wales.

  Cabinet Office Funding
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Prime Minister what proposals there are to change the 1994–95 cash limit or running costs limit for the Cabinet Office: other service vote.

  The Prime Minister
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for the Cabinet Office: Other Services, class XIX, vote 1, will be increased by £1,500,000 from £44,833,000 to £46,333,000. At the same time the running costs limit will be increased by £1,000,000 from £43,214,000 to £44,214,000.

  The increases reflect transfers from the Cabinet Office: Office of Public Service and Science, class XVIII, vote 1, of £500,000 for central services and £1,000,000 running costs coverage in respect of functions already transferred to class XIX, vote 1.

  Both increases are offset by inter-departmental transfers and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Training Courses
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by the Department or agency.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The breakdown of expenditure over the last 12 months by the Department of National Heritage, including its two executive agencies, Royal Parks and Historic Royal Palaces is as set out. The breakdown 776
  covers individual courses or series of courses where the total costs exceeds £5,000.

  (a) Training for the Department of National Heritage
  (1) Title: Introduction to WordPerfect 6 For Windows
  Objectives: To make staff aware of the functions available within WordPerfect 6 For Windows enabling competent use in their everyday work.
  Training Provider: Harley-West.
  Staff Responsibilities: Open to all grades upon receipt of the software upgrade of WordPerfect 6 on their Personal Computers.
  Cost: £5,170 (for a series of courses)
  Post Course Evaluation: By Information Services Branch of DNH and by the provider, Harley-West.
  (2) Title: Introduction to Excel 5
  Objectives: To give the user a good understanding of spreadsheet design, commands etc, to help them become competent in the use of the software in their everyday work.
  Training Provider: Harley-West
  Staff Responsibilities: Those staff who have financial management responsibilities.
  Cost: £6,227.50 (for a series of courses)
  Post Course Evaluation: Information Services Branch of the DNH and by the provider, Harley-West.
  (3) Title: Promotion Board Interviewing Skills Course for Board Members
  Objectives: Awareness of procedures which underpin a Promotion board. To provide a full understanding of the importance of good interviewing techniques including assessing candidates fairly and accurately.
  Training Provider: Recruitment and Assessment Services
  Staff Responsibilities: Staff within the Department who have volunteered to sit on Promotion Boards.
  Cost: £6,050 (for a series of courses)
  Post Course Evaluation: By Personnel Division of the DNH and by Recruitment and Assessment Services.
  (4) Title: Performance Management Course
  Objectives: To familiarise and prepare staff for the introduction of the newly created Performance Appraisal System.
  Training Provider: KMPG Marketing Consultancy
  Staff Responsibilities: For all staff in the Department.
  Cost: £93,990.61 (for a series of courses)
  Post Course Evaluation: By Personnel Division within the DNH and by the provider, KMPG Marketing Consultancy

  (b) Training for the Historic Royal Palaces Agency (HRPA) and Royal Parks Agency (RPA)
  HRPA: Tower of London
  (1) Title: Customer Care and Interpersonal Skills
  Objectives: To develop 'dealing with people skills' of the Warding staff in the Yeoman body, the Jewel House and sales staff in the Retail Department.
  Training Provider: MSB Training
  Staff Responsibilities: All front of house staff dealing with the public.
  Cost: £13,500
  Post Course Evaluation: By Personnel Unit within the Agency and by the provider MSB Training
  HRPA: Hampton Court Palace
  (1) Title: Customer Care and Interpersonal Skills
  Objectives: To develop 'dealing with people skills' of the State Apartment Warding Team.
  Training Provider: MSB Training
  Staff Responsibilities: All front of house staff dealing with the public.
  Cost: £31,192 (for a series of courses)

  777
  Post Course Evaluation: By Personnel unit within the Agency and by the provider MSB Training
  RPA:
  (1) Title: Objective Setting and Appraisal Workshops
  Objectives: Direct staff performance towards the Agency goals. Raise standards of performance and appraisal.
  Training Provider: RTCC Training Consultancy Company Ltd
  Staff Responsibilities: All staff excluding constables of the Royal parks Constabulary.
  Cost: £10,562 (for a series of courses)
  Post Course Evaluation: End of course review conducted jointly by the Personnel Unit and by the course provider.

  Summary
  The total cost of the training and tuition outlined above was £138,692.11.

  National Lottery
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the weekly revenue to the Football Trust and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts since 1 April 1994; what is his estimate of the national lottery's impact on the work of these two bodies; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sproat
  Details of the weekly revenue to the Football Trust and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts since 1 April 1994 are shown in the table. It is for the foundation and the Football Trust to assess the extent of any impact that the national lottery may have on their operations. I understand that the foundation is considering how best to adjust its grant regime to complement the national lottery, in particular through a greater element of revenue funding. I welcome this.

  Week

  FT/RPBD1 £

  FT/STB2 £

  FSA3 £

  2 April 1994

  472,938

  290,772

  1,384,512

  9 April 1994

  455,776

  260,358

  1,368,005

  16 April 1994

  496,706

  299,212

  1,489,597

  23 April 1994

  460,668

  284,011

  1,381,482

  30 April 1994

  467,729

  287,575

  1,401,470

  7 May 1994

  465,822

  257,018

  1,396,952

  14 May 1994

  446,456

  321,889

  1,338,873

  21 May 1994

  453,330

  285,620

  1,359,497

  28 May 1994

  442,890

  292,099

  1,328,156

  4 June 1994

  425,367

  240,062

  1,275,652

  11 June 1994

  439,093

  297,768

  1,316,772

  18 June 1994

  437,215

  291,187

  1,311,169

  25 June 1994

  428,668

  268,868

  1,285,525

  2 July 1994

  426,861

  268,395

  1,280,104

  9 July 1994

  419,999

  262,881

  1,259,535

  16 July 1994

  428,982

  246,560

  1,286,472

  23 July 1994

  431,189

  265,883

  1,293,081

  30 July 1994

  415,037

  248,205

  1,235,054

  6 August 1994

  417,838

  243,639

  1,253,026

  13 August 1994

  429,801

  250,760

  1,288,889

  20 August 1994

  435,782

  247,901

  1,306,816

  27 August 1994

  453,486

  249,846

  1,359,927

  3 September 1994

  460,306

  262,087

  1,380,386

  10 September 1994

  453,154

  273,094

  1,358,920

  17 September 1994

  459,028

  270,485

  1,376,437

  24 September 1994

  467,589

  274,187

  1,402,085

  1 October 1994

  471,486

  254,502

  1,413,657

  8 October 1994

  467,954

  255,235

  1,402,557

  15 October 1994

  473,433

  260,026

  1,420,043

  22 October 1994

  473,752

  259,998

  1,419,991

  29 October 1994

  468,851

  255,899

  1,406,937

  5 November 1994

  479,946

  279,026

  1,439,882

  12 November 1994

  473,315

  256,843

  1,420,410

  19 November 1994

  455,816

  248,092

  1,367,132

  26 November 1994

  450,908

  243,429

  1,354,540

  778

  Week

  FT/RPBD1 £

  FT/STB2 £

  FSA3 £

  3 December 1994

  448,161

  227,548

  1,343,960

  10 December 1994

  460,085

  236,057

  1,379,731

  17 December 1994

  924,477

  535,887

  2,772,122

  26 December 1994

  116,368

  2,955

  349,055

  31 December 1994

  160,420

  1,329

  481,210

  7 January 1995

  393,654

  189,906

  1,180,499

  14 January 1995

  404,662

  205,343

  1,213,509

  1 Funding received from the pools companies, representing a 2.5 per cent. reduction in pool betting duty.

  2 Funding received from the pools companies from spotting the ball and spot the ball competitions.

  3 Funding received from the pools companies, representing a further 2.5 per cent. RPBD; and from a 5p in the pound levy on pools coupons.

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of(a) the revenue earned for the Exchequer to date by national lottery ticket sales, (b) the interest earned on the moneys lodged in the national lottery distribution fund prior to disbursement by the lottery distribution bodies and (c) the revenue accrued to the Exchequer from any of the funds under (b) above invested in gilt-edged securities.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Lottery duty collected by Customs and Excise for the period to the end of December 1994 was £44,348,381. Interest earned to date by the national lottery distribution fund through investment of the proceeds of the lottery, and which accrues to the good causes, totals £661,699. No revenue accrues to the Exchequer from the investment of the NLDF in gilt-edged securities; all gains are for the benefit of the good causes.

  Electricity Companies (Sponsorship)
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his estimate of the amount spent on sponsorship of arts, sporting and other local community events by(a) Northern Electric and (b) the other regional electricity companies.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Detailed information on the sponsorship activities of individual companies is not held by my Department.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Peter Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes he proposes to make to his Department's cash limits and running costs limits for 1994–95.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:

  (i) The cash limit of class XI, vote 1, museums and galleries, will be increased by £4,226,000 from £223,122,000 to £227,348,000 to increase provision for the Government indemnity scheme by £200,000 and for assets accepted in lieu of tax by £4,160,000.

  (ii) The cash limit for class XI, vote 3, libraries, will be increased by £6,500,000 from £139,303,000 to £145,803,000 to increase provision for British Library St. Pancras project.

  (iii) The provision for class XI, vote 4, home broadcasting, will be increased by £8,438,000 from £1,826,205,000 to £1,834,643,000 to provide extra funds for the British Broadcasting Corporation of £10,107,000, additional provision for the Independent Television Commission to reimburse certain independent television companies who paid excess levy to the consolidated fund in 1992 of

  779
  £330,000, and to meet certain reimbursement costs in respect of the overpayment of television broadcasting licence fees of £390,000.

  (iv) The cash limit for class XI, vote 5, film, tourism, sport and broadcasting, will be increased by £3,122,000 from £129,653,000 to £132,775,000 to reflect the increased receipts in respect of tourism grant repayments of £250,000, the appropriation in aid of certain receipts from the Sports Council of £459,000, increased provision for the Broadcasting Standards Council and for broadcasting regulatory services of £1,244,000, and to provide provision for the commemorations to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of world war II of £3,000,000.

  (v) The cash limit for class XI, vote 6, royal palaces, Historic Royal Palaces Agency, Royal Parks Agency, historic buildings, ancient monuments and national heritage, will be increased by £2,154,000 from £194,962,000 to £197,116,000. The increase is the net result of additional provision of £1,438,000 for urgent capital works and maintenance expenditure on certain historic buildings and £100,000 in the Royal Parks; and to cover the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England superannuation costs of £675,000.

  (vi) The cash limit for class XI, vote 7, administration, has been increased by £283,000 from £21,600,000 to £21,883,000. This is required to provide for the transfer of functions of the conservation unit from the Department of the Environment to the Department of National Heritage. As a result, the Department's gross running cost limit will be increased by £281,000 from £27,928,000 to £28,209,000.

  (vii) The cash limit for class XI, vote 8, Office of the National Lottery, has been increased by £500,000 from £2,500,000 to £3,000,000. This is required to meet the capital costs of setting up Oflot's new offices and as a result of firmer costs being produced for consultancy, professional arid legal advice associated with the grant of licences. Consequently, the Departments running costs limit will be increased by £266,000 from £2,070,000 to £2,336,000. A sum equal to the net provision required will be paid from the national lottery distribution fund to the consolidated fund as extra receipts.

  (viii) The increases will be offset by savings and charges to the reserve, and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

EDUCATION

  Private Schools
  Mr. Purchase
  To ask the Secretary of State for Eduction how many and what percentage of the school-age population, aged five to 16 years, are being educated in private schools.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  In England in January 1994 there were 411,200 pupils aged five to 16 in independent schools. This represents 6.2 per cent. of pupils aged five to 16 in all schools.

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many four-year-olds are in receipt of nursery education; and what percentage of the total number of children in that age group that constitutes.

  Mr. Forth
  In January 1994, 48,000 four-year-olds, who were also aged four at the previous 31 August in England were being taught in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained primary schools, representing 11 per cent. of the relevant age group. The 780
  number of pupils who reached age four during the autumn term is not collected centrally.

  Absenteeism
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the absenteeism rates for(a) her Department and (b) the Teachers' Pensions Agency in 1994.

  Mr. Forth
  Information about sickness absence rates for 1994 in the Department, including the Teachers' Pensions Agency, is not yet available.

  Schools, Warwickshire
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the current number of children of statutory school age in Warwickshire schools other than grant-maintained schools; and what was it in 1990.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  In January 1994, 57,900 pupils aged five to 16 were being taught in primary, middle secondary and special schools maintained by Warwickshire local education authority. In January 1990, the corresponding figure was 60,100.

  "The World at War"
  Mr. Critchley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will encourage all secondary schools in the public sector to show the Thames Television film "The World at War" every four years.

  Mr. Forth
  Decisions on the use of any particular television programme or other source material as a teaching aid in schools are a matter for individual schools and teachers. However, the Government have taken steps to ensure that pupils are taught about the second world war by ensuring that it remains a compulsory part of the history curriculum taught to pupils aged 11 to 14 in maintained schools in England and Wales. In addition, and in view of the importance of the forthcoming national commemorations of the end of the second world war, the Department has commissioned the production of educational packs for all primary and secondary schools on the ending of the second world war and the significance of VE and VJ days.

  Local Education Authorities
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information he has(a) on the capital borrowing allocation given to each local education authority, the bid submitted by each authority and the number of pupils in the area and (b) the same information for grant-maintained schools within each local education authority area.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Information on local education authority capital bids for 1995–96 was given in the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers) on 1 December 1994,Official Report, columns 955–58. Information on capital borrowing allocations for 1995–96 was given in the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Gravesham (Mr. Arnold) on 20 December 1994, Official Report, columns 119–20. Information on numbers of

  781
  pupils in maintained schools and grant-maintained schools by local authority area, as at January 1994, is attached.

  The information requested on capital bids and allocations for grant-maintained schools are a matter for the Funding Agency for Schools. I have asked the chairman of the Funding Agency for Schools to write to the hon. Member with this information.

  Pupils in maintained schools in each LEA in England January 1994

  Primary and secondary schools

  LEA maintained

  Grant-maintained

  Corporation of London

  214

  0

  Camden

  19,204

  2,381

  Greenwich

  35,060

  0

  Hackney

  24,328

  0

  Hammersmith

  13,839

  1,237

  Islington

  22,872

  0

  Kensington and Chelsea

  8,659

  944

  Lambeth

  20,645

  4,593

  Lewisham

  31,281

  421

  Southwark

  27,771

  4,133

  Tower Hamlets

  32,729

  891

  Wandsworth

  19,197

  7,181

  Westminster

  16,690

  0

  Barking

  25,858

  0

  Barnet

  33,023

  9,769

  Bexley

  30,746

  3,287

  Brent

  26,095

  8,997

  Bromley

  27,777

  11,803

  Croydon

  37,245

  4,680

  Ealing

  31,667

  7,408

  Enfield

  35,880

  5,791

  Haringey

  28,999

  0

  Harrow

  27,140

  528

  Havering

  31,123

  3,877

  Hillingdon

  19,487

  15,171

  Hounslow

  31,998

  2,123

  Kingston upon Thames

  15,409

  3,149

  Merton

  22,967

  0

  Newham

  39,071

  582

  Redbridge

  33,944

  1,125

  Richmond upon Thames

  18,817

  0

  Sutton

  17,257

  7,572

  Waltham Forest

  29,571

  2,099

  Birmingham

  157,626

  14,802

  Coventry

  48,838

  0

  Dudley

  42,652

  5,054

  Sandwell

  50,056

  653

  Solihull

  33,066

  559

  Walsall

  41,666

  6,366

  Wolverhampton

  39,205

  2,404

  Knowsley

  27,365

  731

  Liverpool

  79,806

  2,366

  St. Helens

  29,394

  0

  Sefton

  46,429

  0

  Wirral

  50,684

  2,107

  Bolton

  41,408

  3,261

  Bury

  27,348

  232

  Manchester

  68,616

  0

  Oldham

  41,105

  0

  Rochdale

  32,590

  2,010

  Salford

  34,474

  430

  Stockport

  41,614

  0

  Tameside

  34,297

  2,371

  Trafford

  29,429

  3,083

  Wigan

  49,486

  0

  Barnsley

  34,232

  0

  Doncaster

  51,327

  0

  Rotherham

  43,141

  0

  Sheffield

  69,039

  2,505

  Bradford

  81,961

  5,565

  Calderdale

  28,562

  4,709

  782

  Pupils in maintained schools in each LEA in England January 1994

  Primary and secondary schools

  LEA maintained

  Grant-maintained

  Kirklees

  61,327

  1,267

  Leeds

  111,871

  1,184

  Wakefield

  50,792

  0

  Gateshead

  30,117

  0

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  39,343

  0

  North Tyneside

  30,957

  0

  South Tyneside

  25,593

  0

  Sunderland

  49,493

  0

  Isles of Scilly

  291

  0

  Avon

  133,408

  1,710

  Bedfordshire

  78,655

  9,567

  Berkshire

  99,627

  9,833

  Buckinghamshire

  87,878

  11,653

  Cambridgeshire

  82,757

  17,274

  Cheshire

  150,600

  2,927

  Cleveland

  101,539

  0

  Cornwall

  69,508

  0

  Cumbria

  64,282

  9,773

  Derbyshire

  125,694

  17,272

  Devon

  134,476

  4,983

  Dorset

  77,498

  9,591

  Durham

  94,042

  0

  East Sussex

  86,330

  0

  Essex

  143,358

  76,532

  Gloucestershire

  55,272

  21,714

  Hampshire

  197,332

  19,180

  Hereford and Worcester

  93,080

  3,643

  Hertfordshire

  134,073

  19,099

  Humberside

  141,179

  341

  Isle of Wight

  17,712

  0

  Kent

  180,360

  51,103

  Lancashire

  207,730

  7,103

  Leicestershire

  137,141

  3,270

  Lincolnshire

  65,275

  22,410

  Norfolk

  92,362

  11,347

  North Yorkshire

  103,253

  0

  Northamptonshire

  83,709

  12,466

  Northumberland

  50,371

  650

  Nottinghamshire

  154,815

  1,837

  Oxfordshire

  76,359

  81

  Shropshire

  57,225

  3,989

  Somerset

  63,860

  631

  Staffordshire

  158,531

  4,470

  Suffolk

  92,379

  0

  Surrey

  105,591

  13,139

  Warwickshire

  66,750

  4,783

  West Sussex

  93,110

  0

  Wiltshire

  69,765

  12,927

  England

  6,618,649

  556,699

  The numbers of pupils are a headcount of pupils of all ages on roll. Information on pupils is derived from returns made by the schools to the Department in January each year (annual schools census—form 7).

  Does not include special schools.

  Head Lice
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment she has made of the incidence of the problem of head lice in schools; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Forth
  Neither the Department for Education nor the Department of Health, which leads in this subject,
  783
  conducts surveys of the incidence of head lice in schools. There are limited benefits in holding such information centrally because the incidence fluctuates so quickly and widely. However, figures maintained by the pharmaceutical industry show that around 2.5 million units of head lice treatment are supplied through retail pharmacies each year.

  The Government seek to combat this distressing problem through advice to teachers, children and parents as part of health promotion in schools.

  Departmental Funding
  Mrs. Angela Knight
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what changes she has to announce to cash limits and running costs on votes within her responsibility for 1994–95.

  Mrs. Gillian Shephard
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limits for class X, vote 1—schools, research and miscellaneous services—vote 2—higher and further education—and vote 6—Office of Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools in England—will be amended. The changes are as set out:

  Class and vote

  Current cash limit £

  Change £

  Revised cash limit £

  X.1

  800,296,000

  -12,500.000

  787,796,000

  X.2

  5,672,793,000

  +3,415,000

  5,676,208,000

  X.6

  76,901,000

  -12,500,000

  64,401,000

  The reduction in cash limits on class X, vote 1 and vote 6 are made as a contribution towards offsetting the increase of £117.5 million sought via a supplementary estimate for class X, vote 3—student awards, loans and compensation payments—which is not cash limited.

  The opportunity is being taken to provide for the appropriation in aid to class X, vote 1 of additional receipts from the Welsh office, representing contributions to the Centre for Information on Language Teaching, and from OFSTED, representing their contribution to the costs of the third international maths and science study. There will be no increase in net provision on the vote as a result.

  The increase of £3,415,000 on class X, vote 2 is to be made available to the Higher Education Funding Council for the costs of students attending diploma in social work courses and funding of probation training. The opportunity has also been taken to provide for the appropriation in aid of additional receipts from the scale of properties by the Royal College of Art to support increased capital expenditure by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. This increase will be offset by transfers of £2,946,000 from the Department of Health and £469,000 from the Home Office and increased receipts, and will not therefore add to the planned total for public expenditure.

  The reduction to the cash limit on class X, vote 6 arises principally because fewer independent registered inspectors than expected put themselves forward to lead
  784
  primary and special school inspections. A number of the inspections planned for 1994–95 have therefore been postponed.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Rwanda
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by the United Nations towards achieving its target of human rights monitors in Rwanda.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  On 26 January, 79 human rights monitors were in Rwanda. The eventual target is 147. We expect more to be deployed shortly.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions he has had with representatives of the United Nations in regard to assisting the Rwandan authorities in bringing those responsible for human rights violations to justice;

  (2) what discussions he has had with the United Nations regarding the establishment of an international criminal tribunal for Rwanda.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 30 January,Official Report, column 490.

  Kenya
  Mr. Worthington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has made to the Kenyan Government about events in Nakuru just before Christmas involving compulsory dispersal of victims of ethnic clashes;

  (2) if he will seek a report from the United Nations. Development Programme in Kenya about the forced closure of Maela camps, in Nakuru on 23 December, and place that report in the Library;

  (3) if he will ask the high commission in Nairobi for a report on the forced closure of Maela camps on Friday 23 December, and the number of people removed and their destination; and if he will place that report in the Library.

  Mr. Baldry
  The UNDP has not published a report øn the dispersal at Maela. However figures from them, confirmed by the British High Commission in Nairobi, indicate that up to 2,500 displaced people were moved from Maela, on or soon after 23 December 1994. Of these, some 1,200 were resettled on Agricultural Development Corporation land in the area; the rest were taken to locations in central province.

  We have made clear to the Kenyan Government at high level our concerns about the way in which the dispersal was carried out. We support the joint Kenya Government-UNDP programme which is addressing the needs of displaced people in Kenya both financially and through the High Commission's participation in Nairobi in the National Committee for Displaced Persons. We are keen to see the programme continue in an orderly fashion.

  European Council
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement
  785
  on forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The following meets are planned:

  Date

  Business

  February 6–7

  Foreign Affairs Council

  February 20

  ECOFIN

  February 20–21

  Agriculture Council

  The following subjects are likely to be discussed:

  6 to 7 February: Foreign Affairs Council
  Provisional agenda.
  Adoption of the agenda
  Approval of the list of "A" items
  Resolutions adopted by the European Parliament at its part-session (Strasbourg, 16–20 January 1995)
  Commission report on the setting up of the WTO, policy debate on the sectoral negotiations (aeronautics, steel, negotiating directives on services) and on new subjects (environment, Social standards)
  Negotiations under article XXIV-6 of GATT following Enlargement: adoption of negotiating directives
  Relations with the countries of cEntral and eastern Europe
  Commission report on the preparation of the White Paper
  Current state of negotiations with the Baltic Countries
  Slovenia: Adoption of negotiating directives
  Stability pact, including submission by the Commission of the report on accompanying measures
  Former Yugoslavia, in particular:
  financing the Mostar administration in 1995
  Chechnya
  Ukraine: European Union action programme for nuclear safety progress report
  Mediterranean policy
  (poss) Relations with Israel
  Preparation for the 13th meeting of the EC-Israel cooperation council at ministerial level.
  Mid term review of the Lomé IV and 8th EDF preparation for the second ministerial conference to renegotiate the fourth ACP-EC convention (Brussels, 16 and 17 February 1995)
  Rum: discontinuation of the ACP and OCT import quotas and measures to be adopted within the framework of Poseidom
  (poss) Preparation for the Panama meeting with the San Jose group (23 and 24 February 1995)
  Adoption in the official languages of the communities of a common position on the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.

  20 February, ECOFIN
  Presentation by Commission of work programme within ECOFIN's area of competence
  Follow up to Essen European Council
  Fight against money laundering. Examination of Commission report
  Fight against fraud. Commission work programme for 1995
  Preparation for meeting with associated countries of central and Eastern Europe.

  20 to 21 February: Agriculture Council
  Reform of the wine regime
  Reform of the sugar regime
  Set-aside (biomass)
  CAP financing
  Rules for the recovery of FEOGA securities
  Amending directive 64/432 (trade in live animals).

  Human Rights
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has received from human rights organisations regarding human rights violations in Rwanda and Nigeria;

  (2) what investigation he has made of human rights violations in Rwanda and Nigeria regarding (a) the welfare of refugees and (b) allegations of killings taken place.

  Mr. Baldry
  We have received many representations from human rights organisations, hon. Members and members of the public concerning human rights in Nigeria and Rwanda.

  Britain fully supported the UN Commission of Experts' investigation into the atrocities committed in Rwanda last year and subsequently co-sponsored the resolution that established the International Criminal Tribunal which is now being set up in Rwanda and which aims to bring the organisers of the genocide to justice. We have also made it clear to the Rwandan authorities that we hold them responsible for the safety of returning refuges and internally displaced persons.

  We are well aware of the recent reports of extra-judicial killings in Nigeria. The European Union has made efforts to establish the truth of the allegations, but the results have been inconclusive. We continue to watch the situation closely.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further changes he proposes to make in his Department's diplomatic wing cash limits and running costs limits for 1994–95.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made.

  The cash limit for class II, vote 1, overseas representation, will be increased by a token amount of £1,000 from £688,207,000 to £688,208,000. Parliamentary authority will be sought for additional provision for higher than expected expenditure on running costs, other current expenditure and capital as a result of adverse overseas price expenditure and capital as a result of adverse overseas price movements; to take up capital provision of £13,940,000 under the end-year flexibility scheme, as announced by the then Chief Secretary of the Treasury on 14 July 1994, Official Report, columns 729–34, and to reflect inter-departmental transfers totalling £239,000 net. These increases are offset by reduced running costs and by increased appropriations in aid.

  The gross running costs limit on class II, vote 1 will be reduced by £12,715,000 from £512,892,000 to £500,177,000. This is a net decrease taking account of

  787
  transfers between departments, adjustment for adverse overseas price movements and additional VAT receipts.

  The cash limit for class II, vote 2, other external relations, will be increased by a token amount of £1,000 from £456,842,000 to £456,843,000. Parliamentary authority will be sought for additional expenditure in respect of certain international organisations and for adverse overseas price movements. The increase will be met by increased appropriations in aid and by provision from elsewhere in the vote.

  The cash limit for class II, vote 4, the British Council, will be increased by £2,119,000 from £97,499,000 to £99,618,000 in respect of adverse overseas price movements. The increase will be met from the reserve.

  North Belfast

  Enrolments

  School

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Holy Cross Boys' PS

  441

  439

  439

  430

  443

  Holy Family Boys' PS

  291

  290

  284

  291

  228

  Our Lady of Lourdes CB PS

  506

  526

  545

  572

  580

  Our Lady's Girls' PS

  466

  458

  462

  463

  463

  Edmund Rice CB PS

  439

  427

  416

  418

  417

  Holy Family Girls' PS

  303

  305

  285

  285

  268

  Holy Cross Girls' PS

  223

  217

  245

  248

  243

  Mercy PS

  708

  674

  628

  602

  593

  St. Vincent De Paul PS

  247

  254

  247

  235

  214

  St. Mary's Star of the Sea

  256

  253

  253

  244

  236

  St. Therese of Lisieux PS

  471

  501

  500

  494

  482

  Star of the Sea PS

  243

  260

  269

  289

  305

  Sacred Heart Boys' PS

  305

  311

  344

  377

  399

  St. Patrick's Boys' PS1

  220

  213

  413

  425

  376

  St. Patrick's Girls' PS1

  214

  211

  413

  425

  376

  1 St. Patrick's Boys' and St. Patrick's Girls' amalgamated in 1991 to form St. Patrick's Primary School.

  West Belfast

  School

  Enrolments

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  St. Catherine's PS

  232

  255

  253

  261

  264

  St. Gall's Monastery PS

  317

  325

  329

  336

  350

  St. John's Girls' PS

  92

  88

  111

  109

  125

  St. Mary's Boys' and Girls' PS

  119

  115

  110

  102

  102

  St. Aidan's CB PS

  384

  378

  376

  411

  382

  St. Bernadette's Girls' PS

  399

  391

  391

  383

  385

  St. Paul's Boys' PS

  191

  203

  216

  239

  218

  St. Teresa's Boys' PS

  336

  334

  339

  343

  347

  St. Teresa's Girls' PS

  307

  296

  290

  302

  305

  Holy Trinity Boys' PS

  416

  435

  449

  472

  465

  St. Oliver Plunkett Boys' PS

  384

  374

  379

  363

  387

  St. Oliver Plunkett Girls' PS

  391

  376

  394

  380

  380

  Holy Trinity Girls' PS

  409

  421

  430

  418

  403

  St. Bride's PS

  694

  700

  710

  739

  755

  St. John the Baptist Girls' PS

  625

  639

  646

  664

  679

  St. John the Baptist Boys' PS

  723

  725

  738

  757

  753

  St. Mary's Girls' PS

  197

  189

  214

  214

  218

  St. Paul's PS

  135

  127

  140

  183

  171

  St. Malachy's PS

  290

  277

  291

  287

  299

  St. Peter's PS

  535

  517

  495

  492

  474

  St. Joseph's PS

  253

  264

  266

  261

  257

  St. Comgall's PS

  152

  159

  153

  137

  122

  St. Kevin's Boys' PS1

  311

  325

  328

  647

  673

  St. Kevin's Girls' PS1

  261

  278

  298

  647

  673

  Holy Child Boys' PS2

  364

  354

  366

  366

  764

  Holy Child Girls PS2

  321

  329

  354

  371

  764

  Bunscoil Ghaelach PS

  361

  370

  382

  387

  371

  Gaelscoil Na Bhfal

  —

  —

  —

  97

  122

  1 St. Kevin's Boys' and St. Kevin's Girls' amalgamated in 1992 to form St. Kevin's Primary School.

  2 Holy Child Boys' and Holy Child Girls' amalgamated in 1993 to form Holy Child Primary School.

  788
  All the increases will be offset by savings or charged to the reserve, and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Primary School Pupils
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number of pupils enrolled at each maintained primary school in the constituencies of Belfast, West and Belfast, North, in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Ancram
  Information requested is as set out:

  Patients Charter
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost to public funds of the production, printing, distribution and advertising of the patients charter when launched in 1991; and how many copies were printed.

  Mr. Moss
  The total cost to public funds of the launch of the Northern Ireland charter for patients and clients in March 1992 was £85,328. This was made up of £17,900 for production, £49,318 for printing and £18,110 for distribution. There were no advertising costs. Some 17,000 copies of the full charter and 1 million copies of the summary guide were printed.

  Super Dump, Magheramorne
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how objectors to the proposal for a super dump at Magheramorne, County Antrim former limestone quarry will be able to know that their response to the Blue Circle published planning application has been received at the Department of Environment Northern Ireland planning service if no acknowledgement is issued to each objector who writes to the Department of Environment, Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Moss
  All representations received will be acknowledged.

  Fishing
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fishing boats over 10m there were at Portavogie harbour; how many persons were employed in the fishing industry in Portavogie in 1985; and what are the current figures.

  Mr. Ancram
  Information on the number of fishing boats at Portagovie harbour over 10m length in 1985 is not available but there were 62 vessels of 40ft and over in length at 31 December 1985. The comparable figure at 31 December 1994 was 68 vessels, six of which are to be taken out of the fleet under the decommissioning scheme. In February 1985 it was estimated there were 586 full-time and part-time persons employed at Portagovie in fish catching, processing and ancillary services. The comparable estimate in February 1994 was 454 persons.

  Agricultural Land
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has showing the proportion of agricultural land which was tenanted in Northern Ireland for(a) 1965, (b) 1970, (c) 1980, (d) 1990 and (e) the latest available date.

  Mr. Ancram
  The requested information is not readily available. However, in general terms, tenancies do not feature to any meaningful extent as a basis of land tenure in Northern Ireland and the proportion of agricultural land involved in tenancies is therefore negligible.

TREASURY

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. Bennett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much a 1 per cent. increase in interest 790
  rates increases Government expenditure on housing benefit.

  Mr. Aitken
  Interest rate changes do not affect expenditure on housing benefit which provides assistance towards rents.

  Public Sector Debt
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the current public sector debt and its forecast growth.

  Mr. Aitken
  Net public sector debt stood at 38.3 per cent. of GDP at end-March 1994. It is forecast to peak as a share of GDP at end-March 1996, and to decline thereafter.

  Budget (Effects)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of how much an individual on five times average earnings will gain from his last Budget.

  Sir George Young
  Tax measures taking effect over the next year are expected to cost the richest 20 per cent. of households an average of £3.90 a week compared to £2.30 a week averaged across all households. Pensioners, on average, will be no worse off. The effect for any particular individual will vary with their household composition and spending pattern.

  Investment Levels
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the level of general and local government investment in 1997–98; and what it is currently, in real terms.

  Mr. Aitken
  General Government capital expenditure at 1993–94 prices is projected to be £15.2 billion in 199798 of which £5.9 billion is projected to be by local authorities. In the current year, we estimate the capital expenditure figure will be £16.8 billion of which local authorities will contribute £7.9 billion.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Mr. Evennett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on recent progress under the private finance initiative.

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I announced in the Budget that we are on target to sign contracts in 1995 under the private finance initiative leading to £5 billion of capital investment. Since then, additional projects worth a further £1 billion have been identified and are being taken forward.

  Vehicle Excise Duty
  Mr. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the vehicle excise duty for lorries in the light of the discrepancy between revenue raised and total cost to public funds revealed by the Royal Commission on environmental pollution.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Vehicle excise duty for lorries is reviewed before each Budget.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce United Kingdom road tax in respect of international hauliers.
  791
  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer reviews vehicle excise duty before each Budget, taking account of a number of factors, including the competitive position of international hauliers. Vehicle excise duty for most lorry classes has been frozen in the past five budgets.

  Public Limited Company Directors
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the initiative of the Confederation of British Industry to investigate the structure within which the pay and conditions for public limited company directors is determined.

  Mr. Aitken
  I welcome the group set up under Sir Richard Greenbury to review this matter and look forward to their proposals. The CBI initiative gives positive proof of the private sector's willingness to respond positively to public concerns.

  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the initiative of the Confederation of British Industry to investigate the structure within which the pay and conditions for public limited company directors is determined.

  Mr. Aitken
  I refer the hon. member to the reply I gave the hon. member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) earlier today.

  Single European Currency
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the EU will establish a single currency; and what assessment he has made of the benefits and disbenefits of United Kingdom participation.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has made it clear he does not expect conditions to be right for any move to a single currency in 1997. Whether the United Kingdom would benefit from a later move to a single currency would depend a great deal on whether significant convergence had been achieved among the member states concerned. When and if the timing of any moves to stage 3 becomes clearer, the Government have ensured that United kingdom participation could not occur without the approval of a full Act of Parliament.

  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake a compliance cost assessment with regard to the obligations likely to be imposed upon the United Kingdom's financial institutions in order to be prepared for the possible adoption of the single European currency; what discussions he, his Department, or the Bank of England have had on such obligations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  At the appropriate time, the Government will make an assessment of the costs and benefits of participating in a single currency, should this question arise. In carrying out their functions, both the Treasury and the Bank of England maintain a wide range of contacts with financial institutions. In this context, a number of them have raised the question of the implications for the United Kingdom financial sector and the wider United kingdom economy of a single European Currency.

  Growth Rates
  Mr. Mans
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the growth rates over the past two years for each EC country; and if he will list them, with the least growth first.

  Mr. Nelson
  The UK achieved the highest growth rate of any major EU economy over the last two-years for which full year data are available. EU member countries' growth rates over the two-year period 1992 to 1993 were as set out:

  Percentage change real GDP 1992–93

  Finland

  -6.4

  Sweden

  -4.0

  Spain

  -0.7

  Germany

  -0.3

  Belgium

  0.1

  Italy

  0.1

  France

  0.5

  Portugal

  0.8

  Greece

  0.8

  Austria

  1.4

  Netherlands

  1.6

  UK

  1.6

  Luxembourg

  2.2

  Denmark

  2.7

  Ireland

  7.1

  Monetary Conditions
  Ms Eagle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the European Finance Ministers to discuss monetary conditions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  European Finance Ministers discuss monetary conditions as a matter of course in meetings of the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Union—ECOFIN.

  There is strong agreement that, to sustain the recovery, it will be necessary to maintain progress towards price stability. This commitment to sustaining low inflation depends to a large extent on the conduct of macroeconomic and structural policies.

  Inward Investment
  Mr. Whittingdale
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has that the business taxation regime has encouraged inward investment into Britain; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir George Young
  A business takes a large number of factors into account when deciding on the location of international investment, and it is difficult to isolate the role of tax or any other factor. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom has the lowest rate of tax amongst the major industrial countries. This is one of the reasons why in 1993, the UK attracted more than 40 per cent. of inward investment into the European Union from both the USA and Japan.

  Non-aid Debt
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to write off non-aid debt
  793
  from developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Government have sought agreement for their Trinidad terms proposals launched by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in 1990. In December 1994, the Paris Club group of official creditors agreed to implement these terms in full. These offer reductions in the stock of eligible debt at a benchmark of 67 per cent. to the poorest, most severely indebted countries on a case by case basis.

  Demand
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the level of total demand in the economy.

  Mr. Aitken
  Total final demand rose by 0.5 per cent. in the third quarter of 1994 to a level of 3.8 per cent. above its previous peak in the second quarter of 1990.

  Trade Figures
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present trend in trade figures; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Aitken
  The United Kingdom's recent trade performance has been much better than expected: latest figures show a current account surplus, the first since 1987; and exports growing at 13 per cent., more than double the rate for imports. Prospects remain excellent. The CBI reports export optimism for the year ahead at its highest level since 1973.

  Job Creation
  Mrs. Roe
  To as the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the effect of the Budget on job creation.

  Mr. Aitken
  The Budget contained a package of measures, estimated to cost £700 million in a full year, to improve work incentives and reduce the cost to employers of taking on unemployed people. The Budget also underlined the Government's commitment to sound public finances and low inflation, which are necessary for a sustainable recovery and falling unemployment.

  Fraud
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he has taken or intends to take to enable the Inland Revenue to exchange information with the Department of Social Security and other agencies to assist in the detection of fraud; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir George Young
  The Government's determination to detect fraud is reflected in existing arrangements for the Inland Revenue to share information with other Government Departments relevant to specific risks. Under plans announced in the Budget, the Inland Revenue will be exchanging more information with Customs and Excise, but the effectiveness of the inland Revenue's own work is largely dependent on its ability to obtain information from taxpayers. This information will be 794
  given more freely if taxpayers are assured that it will be treated as confidential. The need to provide privacy is extremely important to the Inland Revenue because it encourages openness by taxpayers in providing the fullest information on which the Revenue can base assessments of tax.

  Foreign Vehicles
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce a tax on foreign vehicles entering the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has no such plans.

  Redundancy Terms
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will place a copy of the Treasury document, "Information on Outplacement Services and Redundancy Terms", in the Library;

  (2) what are the redundancy terms for Treasury civil servants contained in the documents "Information on Outplacement Services and Redundancy Terms".

  Mr. Nelson
  Redundancy terms for Treasury civil servants are contained in the document "Information on Outplacement Services and Redundancy Terms". They apply, under the civil service compensation scheme formerly section 10 of the principal civil service pensions scheme, to permanent civil servants with more than one year's service. These terms operate throughout the civil service and are not unique to the Treasury. Details of the redundancy terms can be found in the civil service compensation scheme 1994 which was laid before Parliament on 20 December 1994.

  I have arranged for a copy of the document "Information on Outplacement Services and Redundancy Terms" to be placed in the House Library.

  EU Economic and Social Committee
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the annual cost of the United Kingdom contribution to the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union in the current year and over the past five years.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Member states contributions are made in respect of the whole of the Community budget, and not to particular parts. On the assumption that our overall financing share, after abatement, applies equally to all parts of the budget then, as a matter of arithmetic, the United Kingdom's contributions to the Economic and Social Committee for 1995 and the previous five years are as set out:

  Year

  Economic and Social Committee annual cost £ million1

  United Kingdom share of Community revenue (after abatement) Percentage2

  Implied United Kingdom contributions to the ESC £ million

  1990

  31,838,027

  15.0

  4,775,704

  1991

  33,776,369

  11.7

  3,951,835

  1992

  37,881,157

  12.5

  4,735,145

  795

  Year

  Economic and Social Committee annual cost £ million1

  United Kingdom share of Community revenue (after abatement) Percentage2

  Implied United Kingdom contributions to the ESC £ million

  1993

  43,554,261

  12.1

  5,270,066

  19943

  57,835,872

  11.6

  6,708,961

  19953

  57,412,830

  12.7

  7,291,429

  1 The annual costs for 1990–1993 are outturn figures. For 1994, the figure is taken from the 1994 adopted Budget. For 1995, the figure is taken from the draft general budget.

  2 Calculated from the revenue tables for the adopted budgets for the years in question.

  3 Includes appropriations for the joint organisational structure with the Committee of the Regions.

  Unearned Income
  Mr. Mandelson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total unearned income of the top 1 per cent. of tax payers for each year since 1990–91 divided into income from(a) shares and securities, (b) bank and interest-bearing accounts, (c) building societies accounts and deposits, (d) rents, (e) pensions and annuities and (f) other.

  Sir George Young
  Estimates for the top 1 per cent. of taxpayers are given in the table for 1991–92 and 199293, the latest year for which a breakdown of unearned income is available. Income from pensions is not included in the table as this is classified as earned rather than unearned.

  £billion

  Dividends

  Bank and building society interest

  Rents

  Other unearned income

  1991–92

  3.6

  1.9

  0.5

  1.8

  1992–93

  3.0

  1.1

  0.5

  1.8

  World Economic Forum
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals in regard to the financing of environmental protection and environmentally friendly manufacturing have been put forward by Her Majesty's Government to the world economic forum in Davos in Switzerland, which started on 26 January.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  None.

  Economic Growth
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the average growth of the economy between the years February 1974 to 1979 and 1979 to date; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nelson
  Average growth in real GDP—gross domestic product at constant factor cost—between the 796
  years 1974 to 1979 is 2 per cent. Between 1979 and the present day, average growth in GDP is 1.9 per cent.

  Public Bodies (Running Costs)
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Registry of Friendly Societies running costs limits in 1994–95.

  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the running costs limit for class XVII, vote 10 will be increased by £158,000, from £8,365,000 to £8,523,000. The increase will be offset by additional appropriations in aid and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  The increase in the running costs limit is made up of two components: first, to meet unexpected additional expenditure of £108,000 in legal costs resulting from the Lloyds/Cheltenham and Gloucester case; and second, to carry out an investigation in support of prudential supervision by the sector, at an estimated cost of £50,000.

  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the National Investment and Loans Office cash and running costs limits in 1994–95.

  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XVII, vote 11 will be increased by £199,000 from £1,000 to £200,000. The additional provision is required to cover a shortfall in fees payable on loans to local authorities. The increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure. The running costs limit will be reduced by £25,000 from £1,334,000 to £1,309,000.

  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes are proposed to the Central Statistical Office's cash and running costs limits in 1994–95.

  Mr. Nelson
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate the cash limit for class XVII, vote 13 will change from £48,002,000 to £48,062,000 and the running costs limit will decrease by £641,000 from £48,463,000 to £47,822,000.

  These changes reflect a transfer of £60,000 from the Department of Employment, class V, vote 1, in respect of funding for the international passenger survey and the transfer of £701,000 to non-running costs. These changes do not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions departmental officials met representatives of Ian Greer Associates(a) formally and (b) informally on 26 January to discuss matters relating to their clients' interests.

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 31 January 1995]: To my knowledge there were no meetings, formal or informal, between Treasury officials and representatives of Ian Greer Associates on 26 January 1995.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Parkhurst Prison
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who authorised the removal of the governor from his duties and prison staff from Her Majesty's prison, Parkhurst.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking who authorised the removal of the Governor from his duties and prison staff from Her Majesty's Prison, Parkhurst.
  The decision that the Governor of Parkhurst should be moved from his duties at Parkhurst, for operational reasons, was taken by me and the Directors of Custody, Security and Personnel. I should make it clear that he was neither sacked nor suspended. He will be assisting the further inquiries which have now to take place into the escapes and will then take up a non-operational post in Prison Service Headquarters. Authorisation for the sending of any other staff closely involved in the events of 3 January on detached duty pending the further investigations (including the disciplinary investigation) and in their own interests was given in principle by me in conjunction with the Directors of Personnel and Custody.
  I want to make it quite clear that these moves are entirely without prejudice to the disciplinary investigation, which will take place as soon as Sir John Learmont's assessment of security has been completed, or to any disciplinary proceedings which may follow the disciplinary investigation.

  "Red Book of Captain Ramsey"
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the circumstances in which the "Red book of Captain Ramsey", mentioned in his answer of 29 March 1994,Official Report, column 614, was returned to private hands; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the entries in the "Red book of Captain Ramsey" made when he was imprisoned under regulation 18B.

  Mr. Howard
  No. Records do not show the movements of "Captain Ramsey's Red Book". I therefore cannot comment on its current whereabouts or how it reached its present owner. As the book is private property and is not held by the Government, the question of my placing copies of extracts in the Library does not arise.

  Prisoners
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he or the Director of Prison Services has received to the effect that the testing of prisoners for cannabis use encourages the use of harder drugs; and if he will make a statement.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question enquiring about representations received to the effect that the testing of prisoners for cannabis use encourages the use of harder drugs. The Secretary of State has not received any
  798
  specific representations; I have received one letter recently which touched on the issue.
  We are aware that heavy users of cannabis may retain the drug in their bodies for much longer than light users of cannabis or users of harder drugs. This has been taken into account in the development of the drug testing policy within prisons and we are taking a number of precautions to ensure that prisoners are not encouraged to move from cannabis to harder drugs in the mistaken belief that they will more easily escape detection.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on(a) sentence planning for all sentenced prisoners and (b) custody plans for remand prisoners.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what progress has been made on extending sentence planning to all sentenced prisoners and custody plans for remand prisoners.
  Sentence planning was introduced for longer term prisoners (serving 4 years or more) in October 1992 and for prisoners serving 12 months and over in November 1993. It is undertaken for all young offenders in Young Offender Institutions. In addition, some establishments have extended the process to prisoners serving under 12 months and remand prisoners.
  An extensive review of all aspects of sentence planning is currently underway. Consideration will then be given to extending it formally to a wider group of prisoners, including the introduction of custody plans for remand prisoners.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were serving four years or more on(a) 30 June 1979, (b) 30 June 1984 and (c) 30 June 1989.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many prisoners were serving four years or more on (a) 30th June 1979, (b) 30th June 1984 and (c) 30th June 1989.
  The following information is for prisoners with sentence lengths of over four years, including those serving life sentences.

  Year

  Number

  1979

  5,678

  1984

  6,191

  1989

  12,112

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what national studies his Department is undertaking into vulnerable prisoners.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
  799
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what national studies are being undertaking into vulnerable prisoners.
  The Prison Service is currently conducting a review of arrangements for the management of vulnerable prisoners. In addition, a research study commissioned to examine the effectiveness of integrated regimes between vulnerable and ordinary prisoners is in progress at Risley prison and other establishments.

  Advertisements
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions and in what circumstances in the last five years advertisements have been placed in newspapers or periodicals which have been described as being issued by or on behalf of Ministers in his Department rather than on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.

  Mr. Howard
  No advertisements have been placed in newspapers or periodicals in the past five years which have been described as being issued by or on behalf of Ministers in my Department.

  Prison Population
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the prison population of the United Kingdom in 1991, 1992 and 1993; and what is the current figure.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Ellyn Llwyd, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent question asking about the size of the prison population of the United Kingdom in 1991, 1992 and 1993; and about the current figure.
  The available information is given in the attached table. The latest available figure for the prison population for the United Kingdom is 56,836. This uses figures for 27 January for England, Wales and Scotland and for the end of November from Northern Ireland.

  Average population in custody1 United Kingdom

  Year

  Average population

  1991

  52,532

  1992

  52,884

  1993

  52,136

  1 Includes prisoners held in police cells.

  Absenteeism
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the absenteeism rates for(a) the United Kingdom Passport Agency and (b) his Department in 1994.

  Mr. Howard
  I regret that information on sick absence for the Department as a whole in not yet available.

  A special exercise by the United Kingdom Passport Agency has shown that the average number of working days lost through sick absence for the calendar year 1994 is 14.09 days. This figure is calculated by including
  800
  non-working days which fall within the period of sick absence.

  Licensed Premises
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licensed premises in each region have applied for children's certificates.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The changes to the Licensing Act 1964 which enable licensees to apply to the licensing justices for children's certificates came into effect on 3 January 1995. No information about the number of applications made is yet held centrally.

  Asylum Division
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from what date the reorganisation of the asylum division, with separate allocations of staff to deal with incoming or existing cases, took effect.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  From July 1993.

  Blakenhurst Prison
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the latest figure of the number of assaults on prisoners at Blakenhurst prison;

  (2) what is the latest figure for the number of assaults on custody officers at Blakenhurst prison.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dared 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the number of assaults on prisoners and on custody officers at Blakenhurst prison.
  The latest information is for assaults proved at adjudication during the calendar year 1994. Figures for 1993 were published in "Statistics of offences against prison discipline and punishments, England and Wales, 1993" (cm. 2664).
  Provisional figures are that in 1994 there were 23 assaults on prisoners and 89 on staff (includes a number of assaults on others).
  The current rate of assaults at Blakenhurst, relative to the size of the prisoner population, is comparable to the average of other local prisons.

  Suicidal Prisoners
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in implementing the chief inspector of prisons' recommendation of November 1994 in respect of monitoring of suicidal prisoners.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your Question on the progress on implementing the Chief Inspector of Prisons'

  801
  recommendation of November 1994 on the monitoring of suicidal prisoners.
  In his Annual Report for 1994, Judge Tumim commented that a better way of continuous monitoring of suicidal prisoners should be found.
  Twenty four hour monitoring is carried out where it is considered appropriate in the clinical judgement of the medical officer. However, care has to be exercised to ensure that lack of privacy does not create a feeling of oppression which exacerbates suicidal feelings. In November 1994 an Instruction to Governors was issued which prescribed that 15 minute watches should only be used as a supplement to other supportive precautionary measures, such as cell sharing.

  Probation Service
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) probation orders, (b) community service orders and (c) combination orders were held by the probation service in England and Wales on (i) 30 June 1992, (ii) 30 June 1993 and (iii) 30 June 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Information relating to 31 December is published annually in "Probation Statistics England and Wales"—table 1.3 of the 1993 issue—copies of which are in the Library. The table gives the information for 30 June; figures for 1994 are not yet available.

  Persons supervised by the probation service, England and Wales

  30 June 1992

  30 June 1993

  Probation orders

  51,884

  46,695

  Community service orders

  30,807

  36,180

  Combination orders

  Nil1

  5,072

  1 Introduced on 1 October 1992.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many posts he estimates were lost from the probation service in England and Wales during the financial years 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Information recorded in probation services returns of staff establishment shows an increase of about 570 posts between 31 March 1993 and 30 June 1994, the latest date for which information is currently available.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation service officers or their equivalent were employed by the probation service in England and Wales in(a) 1970, (b) 1980, (c) 1990 and (d)

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The number of probation services' officers—formerly ancillaries—employed by probation services in England and Wales since 1980 is as follows:

  1980: 913

  1990: 1,918

  1993: 2,104

  Information about 1970 is not readily available in the form requested.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff and at what levels were employed by the probation service in England and Wales on 30 June 1991, 30 June 1992, 30 June 1993 and 30 June 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The information is given in the table.
  802

  Staff employed by probation services in England and Wales, in post at 30 June, full time or part time, by grade and type.

  Probation Officers

  30 June 1991

  30 June 1992

  30 June 1993

  30 June 1994

  Chief

  55

  55

  55

  54

  Deputy and assistant chief

  230

  252

  268

  270

  Senior

  1,152

  1,195

  1,261

  1,274

  Main grade

  5,747

  6,013

  6,294

  6,419

  Total

  7,184

  7,515

  7,878

  8,017

  Non-probation grade staff

  Probation services officers1

  1,955

  2,043

  2,116

  2,145

  Clerical/secretarial

  4,407

  4,553

  4,697

  4,735

  Administrative

  689

  745

  832

  936

  Other non-probation grade staff2

  3,088

  3,095

  3,131

  3,011

  Hostel staff

  843

  981

  1,141

  1,187

  Total non-probation grade staff

  10,982

  11,417

  11,917

  12,014

  Total probation staff

  18,166

  18,932

  19,795

  20,031

  1 Formerly ancillaries

  2 Figures include sessional supervisors on community service schemes, staff employed in student training units and on miscellaneous functions.

  Figures exclude hostel staff.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average number of court reports compiled per qualified probation officer in England and Wales in(a) 1992, (b) 1993 and (c)

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The average number of reports completed per main grade probation officer was 52.5 in 1992 and 51.1 in 1993—table 12.3 of "Probation Statistics, England and Wales 1993". The information for 1994 is not yet available. The figures for probation officers are on the basis of whole-time equivalents of established main grade probation officers on field work duties excluding temporary and trainee officers.

  The Wolds Prison
  Mr. Hall
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number and types of instances where the required level of service has not been provided or specific contract terms have not been met by Group 4 since the start of the contract to run The Wolds prison.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Mike Hall, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about Group 4 and the Wolds prison.
  There has been one default notice. This was issued as a result of the escape of a prisoner from hospital, early in 1994.

  Departmental Reports
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the internal report and project on violence in prisons.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the Prison Service project to reduce violence against staff.
  The position on this project remains unchanged from that given in my letter of 20 December in reply to your earlier Question (Hansard 20 December, col 251), in which I indicated that there are no plans to publish the internal report which contains the preliminary results.

  Prisons
  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to limit use of private cash in prisons.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what plans there are to limit private cash in prisons.
  The Secretary of State announced in the House on 19 December 1994 that a system under which prisoners would have to earn privileges would be introduced. At the same time, he stated that, as part of this new approach, the amount of private cash that prisoners

  Police overtime

  Total cost 1992–93 £

  Average per officer £

  Total cost 1993–94 £

  Average per officer £

  Avon and Somerset

  6,483,805

  2,113

  3,411,264

  1,125

  Bedfordshire

  2,465,006

  2,110

  2,005,596

  1,742

  Cambridgeshire

  3,482,000

  2,753

  2,452,994

  1,942

  Cheshire

  4,442,473

  2,328

  2,849,688

  1,498

  City of London

  2,173,705

  2,635

  2,414,334

  2,704

  Cleveland

  1,645,093

  1,113

  1,860,389

  1,302

  Cumbria

  2,355,384

  1,969

  1,772,714

  1,510

  Derbyshire

  3,258,958

  1,781

  2,606,392

  1,432

  Avon and Cornwall

  6,061,765

  2,083

  4,308,050

  1,478

  Dorset

  1,729,899

  1,329

  1,496,308

  1,154

  Durham

  1,670,907

  1,210

  1,850,700

  1,338

  Dyfed Powys

  2,142,357

  2,215

  1,385,499

  1,436

  Essex

  5,628,590

  1,917

  5,897,104

  2,008

  Gloucestershire

  1,539,963

  1,340

  1,986,563

  1,714

  Greater Manchester

  24,271,289

  3,438

  15,174,820

  2,178

  Gwent

  1,553,956

  1,548

  1,381,970

  1,392

  Hampshire

  7,107,374

  2,170

  6,577,017

  2,011

  Hertfordshire

  2,324,840

  1,368

  2,721,585

  1,618

  Humberside

  3,280,068

  1,614

  3,583,821

  1,758

  Kent

  5,598,524

  1,780

  6,013,068

  1,912

  Lancashire

  6,967,479

  2,173

  4,521,393

  1,426

  Leicestershire

  3,875,318

  2,147

  2,165,623

  1,187

  Lincolnshire

  2,343,488

  1,953

  2,090,057

  1,734

  Merseyside

  13,660,235

  2,926

  9,685,750

  2,064

  Norfolk

  3,484,596

  2,420

  2,926,125

  2,022

  Northamptonshire

  2,804,613

  2,339

  2,043,539

  1,747

  Northumbria

  10,559,857

  2,964

  6,289,065

  1,748

  North Wales

  2,351,525

  1,729

  2,037,388

  1,507

  804
  are permitted to spend would be reduced. Detailed plans for the implementation of this policy are currently being finalised.

  Mr. George Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the progress which has been made in respect of improvements in co-operation between Prison Service establishments in close proximity to each other.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. George Howarth, dared 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what assessment he has made of the progress in respect of improvements in co-operation between prison service establishments in close proximity to each other.
  Community prison clustering arrangements are being developed in the Kent and East Anglia Areas; where co-ordinated regime provision and population management procedures are working satisfactorily. In addition, opportunities are being taken by other prisons in close proximity to share resources. Examples include the merger of Thorp Arch and Rudgate prisons and co-operation between Blakenhurst, Brockhill and Hewell Grange prisons.

  Police (Overtime Payments)
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were(a) the total and (b) the average overtime payments for police officers in each police force in England and Wales for each year since 1990.

  Mr. Maclean
  The table shows overtime costs for each police force in 1992–93 and 1993–94. Figures for earlier years are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The average overtime payment has been calculated by dividing the total cost of overtime for the force by its recorded police strength as at 31 March in the year in question.
  805

  Police overtime

  Total cost 1992–93 £

  Average per officer £

  Total cost 1993–94 £

  Average per officer £

  North Yorkshire

  3,001,970

  2,155

  2,155,751

  1,636

  Nottinghamshire

  2,582,689

  1,110

  2,176,532

  935

  South Wales

  5,553,765

  1,749

  4,840,639

  1,546

  South Yorkshire

  7,415,640

  2,446

  6,150,043

  2,034

  Staffordshire

  3,716,068

  1,705

  3,555,875

  1,610

  Suffolk

  2,358,621

  1,901

  1,937,984

  1,604

  Surrey

  3,244,020

  1,916

  2,761,499

  1,655

  Sussex

  6,215,486

  2,066

  4,857,135

  1,614

  Thames Valley

  9,882,241

  2,574

  9,822,938

  2,514

  Warwickshire

  1,836,204

  1,800

  1,679,423

  1,606

  West Mercia

  4,261,532

  2,075

  3,097,475

  1,504

  West Midlands

  11,628,414

  1,672

  9,948,439

  1,418

  West Yorkshire

  7,933,671

  1,575

  7,361,286

  1,459

  Wiltshire

  2,387,129

  1,887

  1,653,739

  1,308

  Metropolitan

  76,857,000

  2,900

  71,113,000

  2,567

  Electric Shock Equipment
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies he has issued with section 5 firearm licences for the storage, handling or development of electro-shock equipment since 1988.

  Mr. Maclean
  No company has been granted authority specifically to store, handle or develop electric shock weapons in the last three years. Information about the granting of authority for these purposes in earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  British Visitors Passports
  Sir John Hunt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British visitors passports were issued in each of the years 1992, 1993, and 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The number of British visitors passports issued in each of the last three years was:

  1992: 2,058,977

  1993: 1,972,312

  1994: 1,812,237

  National Criminal Intelligence System
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 29 November 1994,Official Report, columns 552–53, on the cost of developing the computer for the national criminal intelligence services, how many police officers were trained to use the new computer system; what is the cost of this training; how many police forces now share computer facilities; and if there is a requirement that a police authority establishing its own computer facilities must ensure that it is compatible with computers operated by other police authorities.

  Mr. Maclean
  As the integrated national criminal intelligence system did not proceed beyond the design stage, no police officers were trained to use the system. All police forces share some of their computer facilities; for example, through their use of the police national computer. The national strategy for police information 806
  systems, which was launched by my right hon. and learned Friend in November 1994 sets out arrangements for ensuring compatibility and interoperability between computers operated by different police forces.

  Speeding
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of persons prosecuted for speeding offences last year and the year before was male.

  Mr. Maclean
  The readily available information relates to the percentage of findings of guilt for speeding offences which had been committed by males and was 92 per cent. in 1993.

  Figures for 1994 are not yet available.

  Metropolitan Police
  Mr. Tracey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to enable the Metropolitan police to create a financial reserve.

  Mr. Howard
  I have arranged to make available to the Metropolitan police £20 million to help create a financial reserve. This sum represents the total value of savings the force has said that it expects to make against the cash limit for 1994–95. The reserve will be available for use in subsequent years outside the Metropolitan police non-voted cash limit and I am reducing the 1994–95 cash limit by £20,000,000 from £1,616,511,000 to £1,596,511,000 accordingly. The relevant sum of police current grant will be paid as a special grant under section 1 of the Police Act 1909.

  This new flexibility is, I know, welcomed by the commissioner and the receiver.

  Criminal Justice Act 1993
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of state for the Home Department, when he expects to implement the remaining confiscation provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 1993.

  Mr. Howard
  The Drug Trafficking Act 1994, which enters into force tomorrow, implements and consolidates the following drug trafficking confiscation provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1993: sections 7 to 15, 24(1) to (11), section 25 and consequential amendments in schedule 5. These include new powers to obtain a
  807
  revaluation of the defendant's proceeds of drug trafficking within six years of conviction and to confiscate the proceeds of drug traffickers who abscond or who die after conviction.

  The following confiscation provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 are also being brought into force tomorrow by means of Commencement Order No 8: sections 24(12) to (15), 27, 28 and 36 to 43, together with related provisions in schedules 5 and 6. The provisions mainly amend the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1991, which provides for the confiscation of the proceeds of terrorist related activity in Northern Ireland.

  With these measures the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1993, except part I of that Act, is complete. A further announcement about the implementation of part I will be made in due course.

  Charity Commission Funding
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made to the cash limits and running costs limits for the Charity Commission for 1994–95.

  Mr. Howard
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII, vote 4, Charity Commission, will be increased by £300,000 from £24,924,000 to £25,224,000 and the running costs limit by £200,000 from £23,254,000 to £23,454,000. The increases reflect a transfer of £300,000 from Property Holdings as a contribution towards the Charity Commission's removal and fitting out costs incurred during the relocation of its Liverpool office. The transfer represents part of an estate rationalisation scheme.

  Departmental Funding
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1994–95 cash limits and running costs within his responsibilities.

  Mr. Howard
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII, vote 3, Home Office administration, immigration, probation and police support services, England and Wales, will be increased by £20,422,000 from £1,212,721,000 to £1,233,163,000. This includes the take-up of £13,650,000 running costs end year flexibility and £7,591,000 claim on the reserve. Transfers are also being made of £154,000 from the Department of National Heritage in respect of royal palace security work and £3,000 in respect of administration of additional housing costs allowance.

  In consequence of these changes, the Home Office gross running cost limit will be increased by £13,653,000 from £1,706,176,000 to £1,719,829,000.

  The amount required has been reduced by a diminution in provision for administration of justice of £5,000,000; and by transfers of voted provision of £487,000 to the
  808
  Crown Prosecution Service in respect of forensic science service charges: and £469,000 to the Department for Education for additional places for probation students. Additional spending on ethnic minority grants and DTELS residual privatisation will be offset by increased appropriations in aid.

  Prison Escapes
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many escapes occurred from prisons in the Greater London region in(a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) the last year for which figures are available;

  (2) how many escapes occurred from prisons in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answers 18 January 1995]: Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the number of escapes from prisons generally and the number from the Greater London region in (a) 1979, (b) 1985 and (c) the last year for which figures are available.

  The information you request is shown in the table below:

  Year

  Escapes from Prisons

  Escapes from Greater London Prisons

  1979

  97

  2n/a

  1984–85

  114

  2n/a

  1985–86

  117

  2n/a

  1993–94

  1171

  11

  1 Excludes non-Key Performance Indicator escapes (i.e. those recaptured within 15 minutes).

  2 Information not available

  Recruitment
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent during 1994 on recruiting staff to his Department and its executive agencies; and how many staff were recruited.

  Mr. Howard
  [holding answer 27 January 1995]: Excluding the Prison Service, the Home Office spent £869,816 in 1994 on recruiting staff to the Department. This figure excludes salary costs. Some 850 staff were recruited. Figures for the Prison Service could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Sop and Search
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and search incidents took place in each division of the Metropolitan police in each of the last three years; and if he will provide the ethnic breakdown of those stopped and searched.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 26 January 1995]: Figures are not available for 1992, 1993 or, at present, for the final quarter of 1994. The tables give the divisional breakdown for each area of the Metropolitan police district, by ethnic appearance, for the first three—quarters of 1994.
  809

  White

  Black Afro Caribbean

  Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi

  Other ethnic minority

  Unknown

  Total

  1 Area

  Belgravia

  2,881

  534

  149

  313

  104

  3,981

  Brompton

  2,617

  1,210

  149

  1,045

  75

  5,096

  Notting Hill

  519

  705

  31

  298

  0

  1,553

  West End Central

  4,459

  1,241

  273

  835

  1

  6,809

  Charing Cross

  3,576

  740

  222

  723

  707

  5,968

  Paddington

  1,710

  1,713

  289

  655

  300

  4,667

  Marylebone

  1,488

  714

  170

  246

  169

  2,787

  Fulham

  866

  522

  28

  53

  15

  1,484

  Hammersmith

  1,192

  1,029

  93

  114

  329

  2,757

  2 Area

  Hampstead

  848

  239

  49

  57

  4

  1,197

  Kentish Town

  1,031

  350

  184

  113

  257

  1,935

  Holborn

  1,830

  682

  119

  188

  106

  2,925

  Holloway

  3,108

  1,728

  188

  509

  0

  5,533

  Islington

  2,340

  886

  113

  242

  0

  3,581

  Barnet

  1,377

  92

  38

  70

  0

  1,577

  Golders Green

  674

  187

  64

  62

  95

  1,082

  West Hendon

  1,003

  200

  65

  73

  0

  1,341

  Harrow

  1,024

  233

  122

  19

  4

  1,402

  Wembley

  531

  428

  238

  23

  35

  1,255

  Kilburn

  1,017

  1,500

  135

  90

  152

  2,894

  Ealing

  1,456

  981

  264

  99

  99

  2,899

  Southall

  1,046

  534

  1,106

  30

  188

  2,904

  Hornsey

  638

  566

  37

  108

  87

  1,436

  Tottenham

  1,945

  2,462

  149

  736

  3

  5,295

  3 Area

  Hackney

  2,178

  2,111

  205

  318

  361

  5,173

  Stoke Newington

  2,396

  3,392

  303

  1,229

  0

  7,320

  Limehouse

  1,342

  403

  231

  76

  246

  2,298

  Whitechapel

  2,208

  805

  2,239

  173

  267

  5,692

  Barkingside

  1,845

  189

  124

  72

  350

  2,580

  Ilford

  1,539

  389

  349

  73

  111

  2,461

  Leyton

  1,306

  972

  411

  97

  98

  2,884

  Havering

  2,102

  88

  21

  28

  470

  2,709

  Forest Gate

  1,680

  1,212

  1,033

  139

  0

  4,064

  Dagenham

  1,780

  188

  56

  26

  20

  2,070

  Plaistow

  1,485

  627

  380

  64

  164

  2,720

  Edmonton

  1,734

  621

  134

  631

  95

  3,215

  Enfield

  3,422

  258

  67

  371

  235

  4,353

  Chingford

  976

  513

  192

  46

  131

  1,858

  4 Area

  Southwark

  2,385

  485

  93

  111

  267

  3,341

  Peckham

  3,126

  2,678

  66

  226

  879

  6,975

  Walworth

  3,329

  2,155

  87

  268

  14

  5,853

  Catford

  2,003

  677

  35

  92

  16

  2,823

  Lewisham

  3,596

  3,283

  139

  331

  92

  7,441

  Orpington and Bromley

  4,574

  389

  45

  55

  24

  5,087

  Plumstead

  1,643

  266

  53

  49

  192

  2,203

  Greenwich

  4,743

  823

  115

  161

  314

  6,156

  Bexleyheath

  3,929

  43

  64

  18

  0

  4,054

  Croydon

  2,657

  618

  112

  61

  112

  3,560

  South Norwood

  849

  390

  42

  25

  7

  1,313

  Epsom and Sutton

  2,257

  116

  44

  59

  0

  2,476

  5 Area

  Brixton

  988

  1,970

  24

  124

  316

  3,432

  Streatham

  1,779

  1,573

  105

  96

  498

  4,051

  Vauxhall

  2,881

  2,145

  113

  210

  255

  5,604

  Hounslow

  1,324

  137

  383

  29

  0

  1,873

  Chiswick

  1,483

  368

  305

  69

  1

  2,226

  Twickenham

  1,101

  176

  80

  56

  352

  1,765

  Spelthorne

  1,370

  21

  15

  21

  0

  1,427

  Kingston

  2,044

  81

  47

  43

  0

  2,215

  Wandsworth

  1,761

  952

  118

  82

  249

  3,162

  Battersea

  1,239

  1,418

  93

  41

  66

  2,857

  Hillingdon

  2,391

  147

  285

  69

  3

  2,895

  Merton

  2,754

  439

  74

  93

  149

  3,509

  Heathrow

  231

  32

  34

  16

  0

  313

  810

  Crime Victims (Telephone Hotline)
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the telephone hotline for crime victims was established; how many calls have been made to it; how many staff have been employed to operate the hotline; how many hours a day it is in operation; and what has been the total cost of operating the service since its inception.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 30 January 1995]: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Stephen Byers, dated 2 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the Victim's Helpline.
  The Helpline started operation on 5 December 1994 and by 26 January had received 49 calls. Three staff are available at any one time, undertaking other duties when they are not taking calls. Initial start-up costs for staff training, telephone lines and equipment, and other items were £8,400. Subsequent running costs are estimated to be in the region of £6,000.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have made applications since the enactment of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993; how many of these applications have been determined; and how many applicants whose cases have been detained have(a) been granted refugee status, (b) been granted exceptional leave to remain and (c) been refused.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  During the period 1 August 1993 to 31 December 1994, 20,255 decisions were taken on 41,765 applications for asylum which were lodged during the same period. A further 1,935 of these applications were withdrawn.

  As at 30 January 1995, 471 persons who had sought asylum and had their application for asylum refused, were detained. This figure includes people awaiting removal following refusal of the application and dismissal of any appeal and those whose appeal was still pending. Information on the number of persons who have had an initial decision on their claim for asylum and who had at some time in the application stage spent time in detention, is not available.

  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the cases unresolved at the date the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 came into force remain unresolved.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  At 31 December 1994—the latest date for which information is available—an estimated 35,700 asylum applications which were lodged prior to the implementation of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, 26 July 1993 were outstanding.

WALES

  National Park Authorities
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice he has given to local authorities and other bodies in Wales about the potential establishment of the 812
  national authorities provided for in the Environment Bill; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have today issued advice to the local authorities in Wales about the national park authorities which I intend to establish for the three national parks in Wales should the Environment Bill receive Royal Assent. I have placed a copy of this advice in the Library of the House.

  The advice also covers the interaction between the national park provisions in the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 and the Environment Bill, and the effect that local government reorganisation will have on the process of establishing Welsh national park authorities.

  Further guidance will be issued once the Environment Bill is enacted and comments are being sought from the local authorities and other bodies in the interim.

  The national park authorities in Wales will operate with the same purpose and duties, and with the same relationship towards their constituent local authorities as those in England.

  Health Services (Resources)
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has now reached decisions about the allocation of resources for hospital, community and family health and related services for Wales for 1995–96.

  Mr. Redwood
  I announced on 14 December, an additional £114 million for the national health service in Wales for 1995–96. This brings total NHS spending to £2,191 million. Within this sum I now propose to allocate £1,620 million to hospital and community health services and the cash limited element of the family health services in Wales. This amount will be distributed as follows: health authorities will receive £1,364.7 million for revenue purposes, an increase of £69.3 million or 5.3 per cent. over 1994–95 plans. They will also receive £118.7 million for capital investment.

  £69.5 million is due to be invested in education and training for NHS staff. Family health services authorities will receive £12.6 million to meet their support costs and £50.8 million for general medical service practice costs. A further £3.6 million will be provided as contributions toward FHSA-related services; most notably as contributions toward the running cost of England and Wales bodies and centrally administered services.

  In addition, authorities and trusts will be expected 1:0 generate efficiency savings of at least 3 per cent. This amounts to some £49 million including £3.25 million savings in management costs. These savings, together with the £82 million cash increase, will be available to meet inflationary and other pressures and enable further investment to be made in patient care.

  Details of the allocations to health authorities and family health authorities and the provisional external financing limits for NHS trusts is contained in a statement which has been placed today in the Library of the House.

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changes he proposes to make to the cash limits for his Department for the current financial year.

  Mr. Redwood
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, the cash limit on class XV, vote 2 will be reduced by £8,000,000 from
  813
  £153,581,000 to £145,581,000; the cash limit on class XV, vote 4 will be increased by £6,810,000 from £570,153,000 to £576,963,000, the cash limit on class XV, vote 8 will be reduced by £7,230,000 from £1,511,411,000 to £1,504,211,000; and the cash limit on class XV, vote 10 will be reduced by £1,000,000 from £2,214,412,000 to £2,213,412,000.

  The decrease on the cash limit for vote 2 results mainly from lower than expected expenditure on agricultural and environmental schemes and slippage on arterial drainage, flood and coast protection grant schemes. The increase in the cash limit for vote 4 will provide for an additional £4,500,000 for the Higher Education Funding Council for equipment and building maintenance, £2,000,000 for equipment to expand the modern apprenticeship scheme and £310,000 for the enterprise initiative consultancy scheme transferred from class IV, vote 1.

  The net decrease in the cash limit for vote 8 allows mainly for an additional £2,500,000 for improvements to the community dental service and a transfer of £9,757,000 of provision to class XV, vote 7 in respect of a revised estimate of drug expenditure for GP fundholders. This transfer comprises part of a spring supplementary estimate for class XV, vote 7 of £23,051,000.

  The reduction of £1,000,000 in the cash limit for vote 10 results mainly from lower than expected unit costs at the Valuation Office Agency.

  None of the proposed changes will add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Educational Funding Councils
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she proposes to make additional resources available this year to the educational funding councils.

  Mr. Redwood
  Yes. I have announced today that, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, I will be making £4.5 million available to the Higher Education Funding Council. Because of underspendings elsewhere, I am also able to allocate a further £3.5 million to the funding councils.

  I have decided to provide an extra £5.5 million in total to the Higher Education Funding Council and an extra £2.5 million to the Further Education Funding Council.

  The £5.5 million for the higher education sector will be made available for information technology developments, for facilities to support students with special needs and for projects to increase efficiency in estate management.

  The additional £2.5 million for the Further Education Funding Council is in addition to £4.5 million extra funds made available earlier in the year and will be used to assist colleges in meeting equipment needs to cater for the growing number of students and new educational initiatives.

  Forestry
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many stands of woodland in Wales under the control of Forest Enterprise are currently offered for sale.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Thirty.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many disposals of woodlands were made by Forest Enterprise in Wales in 1992, 1993 and 1994.
  814
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Forestry Commission sold 55 woodlands in 1992, 79 in 1993, and 85 in 1994.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hectares of wooded land under the control of the Forestry Commission and Forest Enterprise there are in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  At 31 March 1994, the Forestry Commission's Forest Enterprise managed 124,931 hectares of woodland in Wales.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many access agreements have been completed by Forest Enterprise and the Forestry Commission in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Twenty-three.

  Agriculture
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current number of agricultural holdings in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  It is estimated that there are currently 36,600 holdings in Wales. This total includes an estimate of 6,800 very small holdings derived from the 1989 census of minor holdings.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total acreage of agricultural land in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The total area of agricultural land at 1 June 1994, the latest date for which information is available was 1,689,000 hectares. This total was derived from the 1994 June agricultural census and includes estimates for very small holdings from the 1989 census of minor holdings. Also included are estimates for areas of common rough grazing which are not collected in these two censuses.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many agricultural holdings there were in Wales in 1990.

  Mr. Gwilyn Jones
  There were an estimated 36,500 holdings in Wales at 1 June 1990. This total includes an estimated 6,800 very small holdings derived from the 1989 census of minor holdings.

  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has showing the proportion of agricultural land which was tenanted in Wales for(a)1965, (b)1970, (c)1980, (d)1990 and (e)the latest available date.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The proportion of land on holdings that is rented by their occupiers has been collected in the June agricultural census since 1969. The following table shows the available information.

  Proportion of rented agricultural land in Wales1

  Year

  Percentage

  1970

  38.3

  1980

  29.8

  1990

  24.0

  1994

  22.9

  Source:

  June agricultural and horticultural census.

  Note:

  1 Estimates for minor holdings are included except for 1970.

  Common Land
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many hectares of registered common land there are currently in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilyn Jones
  The latest information available is that published by the Countryside Commission in 1989 which was obtained from the registers of common land held by local authorities. The total for Wales was estimated to be 185,300 hectares.

  Gross Domestic Product
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the GDP in Wales expressed as a percentage of the United Kingdom average figure in each year from 1990 to 1993.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information requested is shown in the following table:

  GDP per head in Wales as a percentage of United Kingdom GDP per head—at factor cost, current prices

  Year

  Percentage

  1990

  84.6

  1991

  85.0

  1992

  83.4

  19931

  84.7

  Note:

  1 Provisional

  Source:

  CSO

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current GDP in Wales expressed as a percentage of the average United Kingdom figure.

  Mr. Redwood
  The latest available data are for 1993, when GDP per head in Wales, at factor cost, was estimated to be 84.7 per cent. of the United Kingdom figure.

  Wales Tourist Board
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many times he or other Ministers met representatives of the Wales tourist board in 1994.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Twice.

  Local Government Reorganisation
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met with the Council of Welsh Districts to discuss the progress of local government reorganisation in Wales.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I met a delegation from the Council of Welsh Districts on 7 June last year to discuss progress with reorganisation.

  Less Favoured Areas
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total acreage of land in Wales classed as less favoured areas.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The less favoured area classification of agricultural land applies to an estimated 1,365,900 hectares-81 per cent. of all agricultural land.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of the holdings in Wales in the less favoured areas as on 31 December 1994.
  816
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  A farm holding is normally classed as being in the less favoured areas if more than half of its land is within the boundaries of the areas designed as being less favoured. At 31 December 1994 there were an estimated 23,400 such holdings in Wales. This total includes an estimate of 3,400 very small holdings derived from the 1989 census of minor holdings.

  Police Authorities
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State when a final announcement on the standard spending assessments for police authorities in Wales will be announced; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I announced my decisions on police funding for 1995–96 on 30 January,Official Report,column 533.The House will have the opportunity shortly to debate my decisions.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current number of non-departmental public bodies operating in Wales; and what is their combined annual budget.

  Mr. Redwood
  Details of the Welsh Office's executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies will be included in "Public Bodies 1994", to be published in the next few days. Total expenditure in 1994–95 is expected to be £948.1 million.

  Smallholdings
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many council-owned rented smallholdings there are in each of the existing Welsh counties.

  Mr. Redwood
  At 31 March 1994, the numbers of county council smallholdings rented or available for rent in each of the existing Welsh counties were as follows:

  Number

  Clwyd

  154

  Dyfed

  163

  Gwent

  92

  Gwynedd

  178

  Mid Glamorgan

  4

  Powys

  219

  West Glamorgan

  2

  South Glamorgan

  35

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the principal elements of the debenture held against each of the training and enterprise councils at the beginning of each financial year.

  Mr. Redwood
  The same debenture arrangements were agreed with all TECs when they were first set up. The debenture protects the Department against any debts it is owned by a TEC by providing a charge over all of the TEC's assets. A copy will be available in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the procedure and criteria for his Department's approval of training and enterprise council projects for spending surpluses earned on training
  817
  contracts with his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Training and enterprise councils are required to give details of their proposals for the utilisation of surpluses in their business plans which are submitted to the Welsh office each year. TEC business plans are approved as part of the process by which annual contracts are agreed with TECs. Separate approval is required for spend of surplus on projects not identified in the business plan.

  TEC proposals for utilising surpluses are assessed against the following criteria as set out in the TEC operating agreement.

  The proposals must be:

  (i) within the terms of the TECs memorandum and articles of association;

  (ii) consistent with the terms of the operating agreement;

  (iii) not in conflict with current Government policy;

  (iv) financially prudent and take account of independent professional advice where appropriate;

  (v) practical and represent good value for money.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many expenditure projects have been submitted from each of the training and enterprise councils; if he will give details of the main projects awaiting his approval; and how long each project has been awaiting his approval.

  Mr. Redwood
  TEC proposals for expenditure across the whole range of training, education and enterprise activities are set out in the annual business plan which is integral to the contracting process with the Welsh Office. This contractual relationship is commercial in confidence.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what league tables he has set up to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the training and enterprise councils; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  A table of inter-TEC performance comparisons covering all TECs in England and Wales was published on 25 August 1994. A copy is available in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the aggregate level of surpluses of the Welsh training and enterprise councils at the latest date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Redwood
  The latest information on the aggregate level of surpluses of training and enterprise councils in Wales is contained in the appropriation accounts for 1993–94, volume 11, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

  Schools
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the average school rolls in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local education authority in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  The average size of LEA and grant-maintained primary and secondary schools, in terms of number of pupils, in each local education area in Wales as at January 1994 is given in the following table.
  818

  Primary schools

  Secondary schools

  Clwyd

  167

  836

  Dyfed

  103

  793

  Gwent

  214

  909

  Gwynedd

  105

  666

  Mid Glamorgan

  189

  919

  Powys

  99

  610

  South Glamorgan

  257

  1,052

  West Glamorgan

  231

  884

  Business Links
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of his proposed expenditure on(a) telecommunications and data links and (b) other items on the proposed new business links organisations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have approved expenditure of £1 million in 1994–95 and £0.5 million is potentially available in 1995–96 as start-up finance for the new arrangements. It supports the provision of information and new training and communications facilities.

  In addition, European regional development fund resources are available in 1995–96 to pump prime the business development consortia in both industrial south wales and rural Wales.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the business links organisations to provide a one-stop shop service for small and medium-sized enterprises that he proposes; and what consultations he has had with the chairmen of the training and enterprise councils concerning their participation.

  Mr. Redwood
  In June 1994, my "Prospectus for Improving Business and Enterprise Support Services in Wales" invited local authorities, training and enterprise councils and other local partners to put forward proposals for improving the co-ordination of business support services in Wales. The prospectus set out general guidelines. All seven training and enterprise councils were part of the eight successful consortia bids which I approved last month.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Training Courses
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by his Department or agency.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the headings under which
  819
  the Child Support Agency returns data each month to Ministers on the operations of the agency.

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

  Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Frank Field, dated 2 February 1995:
  I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the headings under which the Child Support Agency returns data to Ministers.
  The six headings under which the Agency reports monthly performance to Ministers are as follows; Targets; Maintenance Assessment; Operational Accounting; Reviews and Appeals; Customer Service and Quality; Recovery Plan Implementation and Other Issues.
  I hope that this is of help.

  Income Support (Housing Costs)
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 January,Official Report,columns 82–83,when he expects to be able to publish figures for 1994 on the assistance towards mortgage interest and rents to recipients of income support.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  Information on local authority tenants and private and housing association tenants for 1994 will be available when the housing management information statistics are published in late August or early September. Information on income support mortgage interest recipients is available from the February 1994 quarterly statistical inquiry and is set out in the table. We expect information for May 1994 to be available in March.

  February 1994

  Number of Income Support recipients with mortgage interest included in the assessment

  548,000

  Average weekly cost

  £37.98

  Implied annual cost

  £1,082 million

  Notes:

  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand, average amount to the nearest penny and annual expenditure to the nearest million.

  2. The implied annual expenditure has been calculated from the average weekly amount at the time of the enquiry.

  Source:

  Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry February 1994.

  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who may not be able to obtain insurance to cover the payment of their mortgages in the event of becoming unemployed and income support no longer being available.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  No such estimate has been made. We expect the proposals for income support mortgage interest will stimulate the insurance market and more comprehensive cover will develop. The Association of British Insurers has said that there is no reason why anyone meeting the criteria to obtain a mortgage should be refused insurance. We recognise that in some circumstances insurance may not be available. For this reason, pensioners will be protected under the new scheme. We shall be considering the position of other groups during the consultation period.

  Advertising
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on which occasions in the last five years his Department has placed newspaper advertisements arising from Government Bills from his Department(a)before proceedings in Standing Committee on the Bills have begun and (b)on the publication of a White Paper relating to the Bill.

  Mr. Hague
  In the past five years, this Department has placed press advertisements on three occasions on the publication of a White Paper relating to a Bill."Security, Equality and Choice: the future for pensions"—July 1994;
  "Ending Discrimination Against Disabled People"—January 1995;
  "Improving Child Support"—January 1995.

  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on how many occasions and in what circumstances in the last five years advertisements have been placed in newspapers or periodicals which have been described as being issued by or on behalf of Ministers in his Department rather than on behalf of Her Majesty's Government.

  Mr. Hague
  The office of Minister for Social Security and Disabled People has a Government-wide remit and as such all advertisements relating to this area are described as issued on behalf of the Minister for Social Security and Disabled People. These campaigns are:Everyone needs access for a better living environment (Enable) March 1994;
  Government measures aimed at tackling discrimination against disabled people, July 1994;
  You and Disability, December 1994; and
  Ending discrimination against disabled people, January 1995.

  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what factors were taken into account in deciding to place the advertisement, "Ending discrimination against disabled people", in The Guardian newspaper on 25 January, and that on child support in The Daily Telegraph on the same date.

  Mr. Hague
  As part of a series of insertions in a variety of publications between 18 and 26 January 1995,The Guardian was selected because of the society supplement on that day. Other insertions are as follows:

  The Guardian, 18 and 25 January 1995

  The Independent, 19 and 26 January 1995

  Community Care w/c 23 January 1995

  Care Weekly w/c 23 January 1995

  The child support advertisement appeared in The Daily Telegraph on that day as part of a series of inserts in a variety of national newspapers as follows:

  The Independent, 24 January 1995

  Daily Express

  Daily Star

  The Sun

  The Daily Telegraph, 25 January 1995

  Today, 26 January 1995

  Belfast Telegraph

  Daily Record, 27 January 1995

  The Independent, 28 January 1995

  The Sunday Telegraph, 29 January 1995

  The Observer

  The Independent on Sunday

  The Mail on Sunday

  News of the World

  Sunday Mirror

  The People

  821
  Advertisements are booked to achieve value for money and to reach appropriate audiences.

  Ms Corston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the cost of the advertising campaign entitled, "Ending discrimination against disabled people";

  (2) in which newspapers, journals or periodicals the advertisement headed "Ending Discrimination against Disabled People" has appeared; and what are the future plans for using the advertisement.

  Mr. Hague
  The advertisement, "Ending discrimination against disabled people", has appeared in the following publications:

  The Guardian 18 and 25 January 1995

  The Independent 19 and 26 January 1995

  Community Care w/c 23 January 1995

  Care Weekly w/c 23 January 1995.

  Number and percentage of claimants by benefit entitlement

  Thousands

  Year

  Total unemployment count(100 per cent.)

  Unemployment

  Benefit only

  Unemployment Benefit and Income Support

  Income Support only

  No Benefit

  (Percentages of total count are shown in parenthesis)

  1965

  319

  139

  (43.6)

  24

  (7.5)

  75

  (23.5)

  81

  (25.4)

  1966

  295

  128

  (43.4)

  25

  (8.5)

  65

  (22.0)

  78

  (26.4)

  1967

  543

  260

  (47.9)

  76

  (14.0)

  94

  (17.3)

  114

  (21.0)

  1968

  559

  236

  (42.2)

  70

  (12.5)

  135

  (24.2)

  119

  (21.3)

  1969

  532

  218

  (41.0)

  63

  (11.8)

  129

  (24.2)

  122

  (22.9)

  1970

  576

  237

  (41.1)

  65

  (11.3)

  140

  (24.3)

  134

  (23.3)

  1971

  736

  302

  (41.0)

  94

  (12.8)

  177

  (24.0)

  163

  (22.1)

  1972

  873

  343

  (39.3)

  114

  (13.1)

  255

  (29.2)

  161

  (18.4)

  1973

  621

  196

  (31.6)

  58

  (9.3)

  234

  (37.7)

  133

  (21.4)

  1974

  546

  176

  (32.2)

  59

  (10.8)

  190

  (24.8)

  121

  (22.2)

  1975

  808

  301

  (37.3)

  95

  (11.8)

  251

  (31.1)

  161

  (19.9)

  1976

  1,200

  446

  (37.2)

  141

  (11.8)

  413

  (34.4)

  200

  (16.7)

  1977

  1,229

  408

  (33.2)

  130

  (10.6)

  489

  (39.8)

  202

  (16.4)

  1978

  1,283

  413

  (32.2)

  113

  (8.8)

  511

  (39.8)

  246

  (19.2)

  1979

  1,106

  366

  (33.1)

  85

  (7.7)

  466

  (42.1)

  188

  (17.0)

  1980

  1,304

  489

  (37.5)

  105

  (8.1)

  486

  (37.3)

  225

  (17.3)

  19811

  2,195

  940

  (42.8)

  225

  (10.3)

  735

  (33.5)

  294

  (13.4)

  1982

  2,573

  731

  (28.4)

  251

  (9.8)

  1,202

  (46.7)

  390

  (15.2)

  1983

  2,864

  713

  (24.9)

  253

  (8.8)

  1,539

  (53.7)

  359

  (12.5)

  19841

  2,999

  750

  (25.0)

  223

  (7.4)

  1,661

  (55.4)

  364

  (12.1)

  19852

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1986

  3,079

  732

  (23.8)

  194

  (6.3)

  1,684

  (54.7)

  469

  (15.2)

  1987

  2,752

  645

  (23.4)

  152

  (5.5)

  1,514

  (55.0)

  442

  (16.1)

  1988

  2,264

  504

  (22.3)

  132

  (5.8)

  1,254

  (55.4)

  374

  (16.5)

  1989

  1,649

  278

  (16.9)

  100

  (6.1)

  997

  (60.5)

  274

  (16.6)

  1990

  1,432

  251

  (17.5)

  48

  (3.4)

  914

  (63.8)

  220

  (15.4)

  1991

  2,048

  453

  (22.1)

  102

  (5.0)

  1,212

  (59.2)

  280

  (13.7)

  1992

  2,546

  545

  (21.4)

  124

  (4.9)

  1,564

  (61.4)

  313

  (12.3)

  1993

  2,759

  543

  (19.7)

  116

  (4.2)

  1,765

  (64.0)

  335

  (12.1)

  1994

  2,551

  428

  (16.8)

  113

  (4.4)

  1,729

  (67.8)

  281

  (11.0)

  Notes:

  1 February figures are given: figures for May are not available due to industrial action.

  2 Figures not available due to industrial action.

  1. Figures and percentages are as at second Thursday of May each year.

  2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  3. Percentages have been rounded to one decimal place.

  4. Figures are based on a 100 per cent. count.

  5. Component parts may not sum to totals due to rounding.

  6. Income support replaced supplementary benefit in 1988.

  7. Supplementary benefit replaced the national assistance scheme in 1966.

  Sources:

  Before November 1978: 100 per cent. count of the registered unemployed.

  From November 1978: 100 per cent. count of the registered unemployed claimants.

  From November 1992: 100 per cent. count of unemployed claimants.
  822
  The cost of the advertising campaign was £16,581. There are no future plans for using this advertisement.

  Benefits
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each of the past 30 years(a)the number and percentage of unemployed who draw national insurance benefit only, (b)the number and percentage claiming unemployment benefit and income support, (c) the number and percentage claiming income support only, (d)the number and percentage claiming housing benefit only and (e)the number claiming no benefit.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The available information is set out in the table. Information relating to unemployed claimants claiming housing benefit is not kept.

  Gulf War Syndrome
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pension awards have been made by the War Pensions Agency to service personnel(a)who are claiming to suffer from gulf war syndrome and (b)who have claimed disablement as a result of being the subject of tests and studies at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  No awards have been made in respect of alleged Gulf war, or Desert Storm, syndrome, which is not recognised as a discrete medical condition. Eleven awards have been made in respect of ex-service personnel making such claims, but in all cases the awards were for recognised medical conditions.

  The other information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Family Credit
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of family credit claimants currently employed in schools, who have lost or will lose benefit as a result of the ruling by Social Security commissioners in October 1994; what plans he has to monitor the situation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  Precise information is not available but we estimate that there may be about 7,500 people who work in schools, or similar establishments, who have been affected by the commissioner's decision. Although these people may have lost eligibility for family credit, many have been able to claim income support. We have been monitoring the situation closely and intend to amend the regulations, to reverse the effects of the commissioner's decision, at the earliest opportunity, following consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee and the local authorities associations.

  Mucous Membrane Disease
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give details, including dates, duration and numbers attending, of all specialist training courses held since January 1994 on the industrial disease mucous membrane PD4 for experienced medical practitioners employed by the Benefits Agency Medical Services Section which has responsibility for Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

  Mr. Hague
  All the doctors employed by the Benefits Agency medical services and the doctors who act as independent adjudicating medical practitioners assessing disablement benefit have had access to an up-to-date paper on prescribed disease D4—inflammation or ulceration of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory passages or mouth produced by dust, liquid or vapour—prepared by a senior medical adviser of the Department of Social Security in January 1995.

  In addition, two full-time medical advisers from the Northumberland and Tyne and Wear areas attended a one day international symposium on PD D4 on 20 June 1994.

  Net Incomes
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much the real net incomes after housing costs of(a)the poorest 10 per cent. and (b)the richest 10
  824
  per cent. of householders with children have changed since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Burt
  Reliable estimates of the changes in the real net incomes for the top 10 per cent. and bottom 10 per cent. of householders with children are not available. The following table gives the information for the top 20 per cent. and bottom 20 per cent. The latest period for which information is available is 1991–92, that is the two calendar years combined.

  Information is given both before and after housing costs.

  The fall in income for the bottom 20 per cent. was due mainly to the decline in employment among couples with children and the increased in lone parenthood.

  Percentage change in real incomes of top 20 per cent. and bottom 20 per cent. of families with children, 1979 to 1991–92

  percentage change

  Quintile 1 bottom 20 per cent.

  Quintile 5 top 20 per cent.

  Before housing costs

  (-2)

  51

  After housing costs

  (-12)

  49

  Notes:

  1. The figures relate to the top 20 per cent. and bottom 20 per cent. of individuals in families with children.

  2. Percentage growth estimates are calculated from the median income of each quintile.

  3. Estimates in brackets 0 are particularly uncertain; see Appendix.

  5 Of "Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1991–92"—a copy of which is in the Library—for details of the tests applied to estimates of changes in real incomes.

  National Insurance
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the increase in employees' national insurance contributions since 1979.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  In 1979, not contracted-out employees paid national insurance contributions at a flat rate of 6.5 per cent. of earnings. Currently, all employees pay an initial contribution of 2 per cent. on earnings up to the lower earnings limit of £57 a week and then at 10 per cent. on the balance of earnings up to the upper earnings limit of £430 a week. As a result, the percentage of earnings paid in contributions rises progressively as earnings increase; from 2 per cent. for those earning at the lower earnings limit to just under 9 per cent. for those earning at the upper earnings. limit. The present structure benefits the lower paid more. Employees earning up to about £130 a week pay less contributions now than they would have done if the flat 6.5 per cent. contribution rate and structure in force in 1979 still applied.

SCOTLAND

  Departmental Running Costs
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the budgets for departmental running costs for each of the past five years for which figures are available for(a)his Department, (b) Historic

  825
  Scotland, (c) the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, (d)the Scottish Fish Protection Agency, (e)the Scottish Office Pensions Agency, (f) the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, (g)Scottish Home and Health Department Prison Service, (h)the Scottish Courts Administration, (i) the General Register Office (Scotland), (j) Registers of Scotland and (k)the Scottish Records Office.

  £ million

  1989–90 Outturn

  1990–91 Outturn

  1991–92 Outturn

  1992–93 Outturn

  1993–94 Outturn

  (a) Scottish Office Administration

  114.7

  123.5

  142.9

  155.5

  152.0

  (b) Historic Scotland

  8.6

  9.8

  11.4

  12.7

  12.6

  (c) Scottish Agricultural Science Agency

  3.8

  4.0

  4.0

  4.5

  4.7

  (d) Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

  9.5

  10.0

  10.8

  11.2

  12.1

  (e) Scottish Office Pensions Agency

  3.8

  3.9

  4.0

  4.2

  4.5

  (f) Student Awards Agency for Scotland

  1.7

  1.9

  2.1

  2.3

  2.6

  (g) Scottish Prison Service

  97.9

  105.0

  119.4

  114.8

  135.3

  (h) Scottish Courts Administration

  26.0

  33.0

  36.8

  39.3

  40.0

  (i) General Register Office (Scotland)

  6.2

  8.5

  13.5

  8.3

  7.6

  (j) Registers of Scotland

  14.6

  20.8

  26.3

  28.6

  27.5

  (k) Scottish Record Office

  2.9

  3.3

  3.8

  4.1

  4.0

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the figures for total full-time equivalent staff for each of the past five years for which figures are available for(a) his Department, (b) Historic Scotland, (c) the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency, (d) the Scottish Fish Protection Agency, (e) the Scottish Office Pensions Agency, (f) the Student Awards Agency for Scotland, (g) the Scottish Home and Health

  Staff in post (full time equivalent) 1990 to 1994.

  Figures as at 1 April.

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  The Scottish Office Core

  6,275.0

  5,475.0

  5,247.5

  4,923.0

  4,835.0

  Scottish Office Agencies1

  Historic Scotland

  —

  610.5

  630.5

  642.0

  636.0

  Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

  —

  196.5

  215.5

  226.5

  250.0

  Scottish Agricultural Science Agency

  —

  —

  138.5

  142.0

  138.0

  Scottish Office Pensions Agency

  —

  —

  —

  164.5

  175.5

  Scottish Prison Service

  3,999.5

  4,004.0

  4,228.5

  4,625.0

  4,498.5

  Other:

  Scottish Courts Administration

  887.0

  928.0

  939.0

  952.0

  977.0

  General Register Office

  303.0

  332.5

  309.0

  271.5

  246.5

  Scottish Record Office

  113.5

  119.0

  117.0

  114.5

  115.5

  Registers of Scotland

  997.0

  1,204.5

  1,336.5

  1,257.5

  1,187.5

  1 On 5 April 1994 the Student Awards Agency for Scotland was established.

  Staff are counted in the Scottish Office core prior to that date.

  Egg Market
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what percentage of the Scottish egg market is supplied by egg producers in(a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) the Republic of Ireland;

  (2) what percentage of the Scottish egg market is supplied by Scottish egg producers;

  (3) from which countries eggs are imported into Scotland; and what percentage of the Scottish egg market each country has.

  Sir Hector Monro
  There is no reliable information on the size of the Scottish egg market or the share of its supplies from different sources.
  826
  Mr. Lang
  The information is set out in the table below.

  Agencies came into being on various dates during this period. To give a consistent time series a full five-year run of figures has been prepared irrespective of when the agencies were created. The table shows outturn expenditure since information is not readily available over the full five-year period on a budget basis.

  Department Prison Service, (h) the Scottish Courts Administration, (i) the General Register Office (Scotland), (j) Registers of Scotland and (k) Scottish Records Office.

  Mr. Lang
  The total full-time equivalent staff in post figures for the Scottish Office, its executive agencies, associated departments, Scottish courts administration and Registers of Scotland for the years from 1990 to 1994 are shown in the table.

  Training Courses
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by(a) his Department and (b) his agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisation engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by his Department or agency.

  Mr. Lang
  The list of courses paid for from the Department's central budget for developmental training is set out below. Information about agencies is not held centrally. Staff members taking part in the courses listed
  827
  undertake a wide range of administrative and professional duties within the Department. The Department operates a system of evaluation which involves participants, line

  Courses costing more than £5,000

  Course

  Cost

  Aim

  Effective Manager I

  £17,273

  To help course members to operate effectively as managers by making the test use of their staff resources. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to the manager's task and develops relevant awareness and skills.

  Effective Manager II

  £16,852

  To improve course members' effectiveness as managers by helping them to meet new demands facing them by extending and enhancing their capabilities in areas selected according to individual needs.

  Policy Programme II

  £15,214

  To enhance and develop policy-related skills building on a foundation of knowledge. By the end of the module students should be able to demonstrate written and oral policy skills in drafting, briefing and presenting. This is the second stage of the central Policy Programme and provides a body of skills essential to its completion.

  Leadership Development for Managers

  £17,719

  To increase middle managers' understanding of their role as active leaders by expanding their knowledge of current thinking about leadership and practising the appropriate skills that will enable them to be more effective leaders.

  EC Personal Development

  £16,094

  To enable participants to identify their strengths and preferences at work and to give an indication of competences and skills that need further development for their future career.

  Introduction to Management for Senior Staff: Resource Management

  £9,835

  To develop a practical understanding and awareness of the essentials of resource management.

  Policy Programme I (2 courses)

  £29,563

  To train managers for active involvement in policy work by examining the outline structure of central Government and the pressures and constraints on civil servants working within it. By the end of the module students should be able to describe the key elements of the government framework.

  Note:

  All these courses were provided by the Civil Service College.

  Beaches
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) beach rangers are working in Scotland and (b) beaches are patrolled by beach rangers; and what is the estimated size of coastline of the beaches patrolled.

  Sir Hector Monro
  District and islands councils are responsible for management of beaches in their control. Information on beach rangers is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what community initiatives he has proposed to clean up Scotland's beaches.

  Sir Hector Monro
  Beach clean-ups are organised by district and islands councils, "Keep Scotland Beautiful" and other voluntary organisations. Local community groups are often involved in these projects.

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many GP fundholding practices there are in(a) Fife and (b) North East Fife.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  There are currently four GP fundholding practices in Fife. In addition, one practice is preparing to commence operational fundholding from 1 April 1995. None of these practices is in North East Fife district.
  828
  managers and training professionals and ranges from validation of the event itself to the effect of the training on the work of the Department.

  Information Technology
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money has been allocated to the development of information technology in(a) criminal and (b) civil courts in Scotland; and what arrangements have been made for (i) judges, (ii) sheriffs and (iii) clerks of court who participate in information technology training courses.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Since 1989, an investment programme at a level of approximately £1.1 million annually has been allocated to information technology provision in the supreme and sheriff courts. Initially, the investment was used primarily to produce a criminal operations system for the sheriff courts and is now being utilised mainly to develop a system to support the handling of civil business in the court of session and the sheriff courts, and to provide personal computers to members of the judiciary. Training is provided either by commercial organisations, under contract, or by the court service training centre, as appropriate.

  Courtroom Assaults
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of assault by an accused have taken place in courtrooms in Scotland in the last 10 years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not held centrally.

  Housing, Irvine
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions there were in the agreement reached between Irvine development corporation and Irvine housing association for the lease of development corporation properties for the eventual purchase of these properties by Irvine housing association; and how much money has been received by Irvine development corporation from Irvine housing association under this agreement.

  Mr. Stewart
  The leases between Irvine development corporation and Irvine housing association contain an option to purchase. No sales have been finalised to date.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the agreement was reached between Irvine development corporation and Irvine housing association for the lease by the association of the corporation's properties; and whether Scottish Office approval was sought and given for this agreement.

  Mr. Stewart
  The agreement was reached in July 1994. There was no requirement to seek approval from the Scottish Office.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of how the rent levels for tenants of Irvine development corporation compare with the rent levels of tenants of Irvine housing association living in Irvine development corporation tenancies.

  Mr. Stewart
  None. This is not a matter for my right hon. Friend.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 January,Official Report, column 468, if he will make a statement giving further information about how the money spent by Irvine development corporation on the Irvine housing association has been spent.

  Mr. Stewart
  The expenditure by Irvine development corporation has met start-up costs of Irvine housing association. These have comprised consultancy fees, staffing and the fitting out of the association's offices.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 January,Official Report, column 468, how much rental income Irvine housing association has collected on behalf of Irvine development corporation; and how much the Irvine housing association has recovered from Irvine development corporation to offset its management and maintenance costs.

  Mr. Stewart
  The total rents remitted by Irvine housing association were £94,300 as at 31 December 1994. The association has not yet incurred costs on management and maintenance expenditure.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the right to buy of the tenants occupying the Irvine development corporation properties leased to Irvine housing association has been altered by their current tenancy status.

  Mr. Stewart
  No tenanted stock has been leased by Irvine development corporation to Irvine housing association. There were therefore no tenancy agreements to be altered. The tenancy agreements offered by Irvine housing association are a matter for the association.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many vacant properties Irvine development 830
  corporation has let during each of the last five financial years.

  Mr. Stewart
  The information is shown in the table:

  Number

  1989–90

  418

  1990–91

  378

  1991–92

  404

  1992–93

  372

  1993–94

  311

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many residential properties Irvine development corporation expects to lease to Irvine housing association prior to the start of the process of balloting its tenants on the disposal of the housing stock.

  Mr. Stewart
  Approximately 300 houses.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which housing associations other than Irvine housing association have indicated an interest to Irvine development corporation in bidding for its properties prior to the corporation's wind-up.

  Mr. Stewart
  Irvine development corporation will shortly be seeking expressions of interest.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what involvement he will have in making the decision on the possible purchase of the properties currently leased by Irvine housing association from Irvine development corporation.

  Mr. Stewart
  In terms of the guidance issued by the Scottish Office to the development corporations for the disposal of housing, my right hon. Friend will be asked to approve the sale only if the corporation proposes to accept a price below the valuation of the district valuer.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Irvine housing association offered to purchase housing stock from Irvine development corporation; and when he expects Irvine development corporation to make a decision on this offer.

  Mr. Stewart
  The offer to purchase was received by Irvine development corporation on 12 January 1995. The timing of the corporation's decision on it is a matter for the corporation.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 17 January,Official Report, column 468, which of the 183 Irvine development corporation properties leased by Irvine housing association are not the subject of a purchase offer by Irvine housing association to Irvine development corporation.

  Mr. Stewart
  The 23 houses leased to Irvine housing association after the date on which the district valuer was instructed to value the 160 houses currently under offer are not currently the subject of a purchase offer. Irvine housing association is expected to include the 23 houses in a future bid for Irvine development corporation stock.

  Head Lice
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the incidence of the problem of head lice in Scottish schools; and if he will make a statement.
  831
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Housing Associations
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many residential properties belonging to each of Scotland's development corporations have been transferred to housing associations; if he will name the bodies to which these properties have been transferred; what was the number of properties involved in each case; and if he will make a statement on the nature of the agreement which exists in each case.

  Mr. Stewart
  The information as at 31 January is set out in the table:

  Development corporation

  Housing association

  Number of properties transferred

  Glenrothes

  Kingdom

  234

  Link

  30

  Collydean

  190

  East Kilbride

  Loretto

  20

  Link

  60

  East Kilbride and District

  130

  Cumbernauld

  Bield

  64

  Link

  163

  West of Scotland

  136

  Gap

  57

  YWCA

  23

  Livingston

  Almond

  71

  Castle Rock (Livingston)

  29

  Edinvar in Livingston

  23

  Canmore

  92

  Information on the terms of the transfer agreements between the Corporations and the housing associations are not held centrally.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the housing associations on which Scottish Homes has spent money establishing or administering up until 31 December 1994; and how much each housing association received in payments.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is a matter for Scottish Homes. I have asked the chairman of Scottish Homes, Sir James Mellon, to write to the hon. Member with the relevant information.

  Agricultural Land
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has showing the proportion of agricultural land which was tenanted in Scotland for(a) 1965, (b) 1970, (c) 1980, (d) 1990 and (e) the latest available date.

  Sir Hector Monro
  The answer is as set out in the table:

  Percentage

  1965

  1970

  1980

  1990

  1994

  41

  43

  42

  39

  38

  1 Includes minor holdings.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes he intends to make to the cash limits and running costs provision for 1994–95 within his responsibility.

  Mr. Lang
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimates, I intend to make changes to seven voted cash limits, one non-voted cash block, one non-voted cash limit and four running costs limits:

  a. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 3, training programmes, roads and transport services and industrial support, Scotland, will be increased by £25,487,000 from £876,652,000 to £902,139,000. The increase includes a transfer of £400,000 from the Department of Trade and Industry to provide innovation and technology support to small and medium sized businesses: a transfer of £16,000 to class XIV, vote 9 in respect of additional revenue support grant for air passenger duty inter-island services: increased provision of £15,984,000 for roads and transport to meet revised expenditure plans; and increased provision of £9,103,000 transferred from Department of Transport for grants to Strathclyde passenger transport authority to meet the revised costs of supporting rail services resulting from the restructuring of the railways.

  b. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 7, housing and environmental services, Scotland will be decreased by £1,018,000 from £433,798,000 to £432,780,000. The reduced cash limit takes account of a reduced requirement of £1,267,000 for housing support grant; and a decrease in provision of £2,000 in appropriations in aid. There is a £250,000 increase in Scottish Homes's grant in aid to assist housing associations in the acquisition of local authority and new town development corporation housing stock. This increase will be fully offset by a reduction in the SO/LA2 non-voted cash limit. Gross running cost provision for Historic Scotland will be increased by £396,000 from £14,704,000 to £15,100,000, which will be offset fully by a matching increase in appropriations in aid for the agency.

  c. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 9, revenue support grants, etc, Scotland, will be decreased by £14,000 from £4,882,291,000 to £4,882,277,000. The decrease takes account of a reduced requirement of £100,000 for council tax valuation grant offset by a transfer of £70,000 from Department of Social Security for additional revenue support grant arising from the transfer of Scottish Homes property to the WESLO housing association: and a transfer of £16,000 from class XIV, vote 3 in respect of additional revenue support grant for air passenger duty inter-island services.

  d. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 14, hospital, community health, family health (part) and other health services, Scotland will be decreased by £1,712,000 from £3,012,073,000 to £3,010,361,000. The decrease takes account of a transfer of £1,500,000 to class XIV, vote 13, for changes in the requirements for GP practice fundholders: and a decrease of £212,000 as a result of an increase in the non-voted element of the NHS trusts' external financial limit. Overall, the NHS trusts' external financing limit has been increased by £6,714,000.

  e. The cash limit for clause XIV, vote 21, Scottish Office administration, will be decreased by £75,000 from £168,734,000 to £168,659,000 with the provision being transferred to class XIV, vote 22.

  f. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 22, Scottish Record Office, will be increased by £75,000 from £9,027,000 to £9,102,000. Within this total, the SRO running cost limit increases by £30,000 from £5,203,000 to £5,233,000 in order to give archive advice to local governments as a result of local government reorganisation. This increase will be offset fully by a matching increase in appropriations in aid. The additional capital provision is needed for the early installation of mobile shelving for the new purpose built repository.

  g. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 23, General Register Office (Scotland), will be increased by £1,000 from £5,994,000

  833
  to £5,995,000. Within this total, the running cost limit for GRO(S) increases by £95,000 from £7,380,000 to £7,475,000 to offset unforseen delays attributed to the Census output programme. This increase will be mostly offset by excess income related to the census programme and as a result the appropriations in aid increase by £94,000.

  h. The cash limit for class XIV, vote 24, the registers of Scotland, will be increased by £1,000 from £1,000 to £2,000. Within this total, running cost provision increases by £611,000 to allow for the compensation payments for the increased number of staff taking voluntary early retirement and also the costs associated with the advancement of the agency's information technology strategy. The increase will be met from additional fee income of £610,000.

  i. The non-voted cash limit SO/LA2, which covers housing capital expenditure by local authorities and capital expenditure by new towns, will be reduced by £250,000 from £276,207,000 to £275,957,000. This will fully offset the increase in Scottish Homes's grant in aid in class XIV, vote 7.

  j. The overall running cost limit for the Scottish Office together with its agencies, including the new student awards agency for Scotland, will be increased by £396,000 from £338,589,000 to £338,985,000.

  k. The non-voted cash limit SO/ERDF which covers European regional development fund payments in Scotland will be decreased by £24,000,000 from £124,000,000 to £100,000,000. This reflects slower than expected claims for payment and delays in new programmes coming on stream. (The cash limit of £124,000,000 was incorrectly shown as £122,977,000 in "Supply Estimates 1994–95: Summary and Guide", printed in March 1994 by HM Treasury, although the figure was correct in the estimate itself).

  The net increase will be charged to the reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

  Parliamentary Answers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many parliamentary answers on health issues have been refused on the grounds of disproportionate cost or information not being held centrally(a) as a total and (b) as a percentage of all health answers in each of the last five years.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: The number of parliamentary questions on readily identifiable health issues in each of the last five years for which it was not possible to provide an answer because of disproportionate cost is as follows:

  Session

  Number

  Percentage

  1989–90

  2

  0.6

  1990–91

  4

  1.1

  1991–92

  0

  0

  1992–93

  2

  0.6

  1993–94

  5

  1.1

  In addition, the following parliamentary questions were not given a full answer because the information requested was not held centrally:

  Session

  Number

  Percentage

  1989–90

  12

  3.6

  1990–91

  13

  3.7

  1991–92

  5

  4.3

  1992–93

  15

  4.3

  1993–94

  35

  7.6

  Electric Shock Equipment
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what assessment he has made that guidelines relating to the manufacture, marketing and supply of(a) electro-shock weapons and (b) instruments of torture are being fully complied with; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what further steps he is taking to review the operation of guidelines relating to the manufacture, marketing and supply of (a) electro-shock weapons and (b) weapons of torture; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 30 January 1995]: Electric shock weapons are prohibited by section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968, and cannot be possessed, manufactured or sold without the authority of the Secretary of State. The procedures for granting or refusing authority to possess prohibited weapons are kept under regular review.

  It is not practicable to control trade in the wide range of goods which could be misused for the purposes of torture. The Government are willing to look at any tangible evidence of British companies knowingly involved in supplying materials and expertise for the purposes of repression.

  British Rail
  Mr. Charles Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in respect of his meeting with the chairman of British Rail on 24 January(a) the specific issues which were discussed, (b) the conclusions arrived at over each and (c) when he next plans to discuss these and other related matters with the chairman.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 30 January 1995]: My right hon. Friend and I discussed with the chairman of British Rail a wide range of topics relating to railway matters affecting Scotland. The meeting was private. Further contacts will be arranged as necessary.

  Commercial Lobbying
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in the last four months he or any of his Ministers have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 25 January 1995]: Ministers receive numerous representations about a wide variety of matters at informal or unofficial engagements but the information requested is not collected.

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions in the last four months of which he has knowledge any civil servants in his Department have been approached by commercial lobbying organisations on behalf of their clients at informal or unofficial engagements.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 25 January 1995]: Officials may receive representations about a variety of matters at informal or unofficial engagements, but the information requested is not collected.

  Environmental Protection
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to meet Monklands district
  835
  council to discuss matters of environmental concern including (a) the Dalmacoulter landfill project and (b) the dumping at Kilgarth tip; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 26 January 1995]: I have no plans to meet Monklands district council to discuss these matters.

  The Dalmacoulter landfill gas project was one of eight such projects bidding for support under the Scottish renewables obligation. I understand that the Dalmacoulter bid was the most expensive of all the bids from landfill gas projects and was above the price ceiling recommended by the Director General of Electricity Supply for waste-to-energy projects.

  I understand that the City of Glasgow district council is continuing to deposit waste at Kilgarth coup. Any environmental concerns at the site are for the two district councils to resolve.

HEALTH

  Nurses
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were employed by the NHS(a) in 1989 and (b) at present.

  Mr. Sackville
  Qualified and unqualified nursing and midwifery staff employed in the NHS, excluding agency staff, in England as at 30 September each year, whole-time equivalents1.

  Number

  1989

  Total

  3340,590

  Student population

  262,100

  1993

  Total

  3350,020

  Student population

  249,040

  Source:

  Non-medical work force census.

  Notes:

  1 All figures are whole-time equivalents, rounded to the nearest 10, as at 30 September of each year.

  2 The student population figure for 1993 includes approximately 28,000 Project 2000 students. Traditional salaried training of nurses is being replaced by non-salaried Project 2000 training which was implemented in 1989, although the student population for 1989 does not contain any project 2000 students. Project 2000 students are supernumerary and not included in workforce numbers.

  3 Figures include practice nurses who are employed and paid by general practitioners.

  Source:

  PD (scats) B non-medical work force census.

  Project 2000 figures obtained from English National Board annual report.

  Consultants
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what average hours consultants on maximum part-time contracts work for the NHS and how many in the private sector;

  (2) what is the definition of reasonable used in deciding how many half-days a consultant may take off for private practice if he or she is full-time or maximum part-time in the NHS.
  836
  Mr. Malone
  National health service consultants are able to undertake private work as well as NHS work provided that it is not to the disadvantage of the NHS or NHS patients. Consultants employed on a whole-time basis may not earn more than 10 per cent. of their gross NHS earnings from private work. The provisions of the maximum part-time contract allow practitioners to carry out private practice without a specific limit and it is for the employer and the employee to agree the balance between NHS and private work. The actual number of hours spent on NHS work is for local agreement. Consultants on both forms of contract under national terms of service are expected to devote substantially the whole of their professional time to their NHS duties. Information is not available on the average number of hours such consultants work in the private sector.

  Mental Illness
  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many young people under the age of 14 years have been admitted to psychiatric hospitals with severe emotional problems in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Bowis
  "Severe emotional problems" is not a term used in the collection of information.

  Senior Citizens
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to implement the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1993 in full, with particular reference to senior citizens.

  Mr. Bowis
  The implementation of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 was phased in between 1991 and 1993. The core provisions, including those for older people, have all been in force since 1 April 1993.

  Childline
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proposals she has for increasing the amount of grant paid to the charity, Childline;

  (2) what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding value added tax paid by Childline.

  Mr. Bowis
  The overall level of tax reliefs for charities is worth over £1.4 billion a year. The full range of reliefs means that charities are relieved of about one third of their potential VAT bill. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had not discussions with my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer about value added tax. Amounts of funding under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act (1968) for 1995–96 will be made in due course.

  In the past eight years, Childline has received start-up, core and project funding from this and other Government Departments and I am pleased to note that this has enabled it to attract other funding such that its total income last year was £3.9 million and that it has been able to build up assets of some £1.4 million.

  Information
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she intends to publish a code on practice on access to health service information.
  837
  Mr. Malone
  Yes. The code of practice of openness in the national health service will be published during 1995.

  Training Courses
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list each training and tuition course with a total cost exceeding £5,000 paid for by(a) her Department and (b) her agencies during the last 12 months, showing the title and objectives of each course, the name of the organisations engaged, the total cost of each course, a summary of the responsibilities of staff members taking part and the process for course evaluation by the Department or agency.

  Mr. Sackville
  Decisions on training have been largely devolved to line management. The information the hon. member seeks is therefore not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I understand, however, that courses with per capita costs exceeding £5,000 would be very rare.

  One agency sponsored a member of staff for a course where fees exceeded £5,000. The details requested are:
  Title: Master of Business Administration
  Cost: £6,000
  Organisations: Henley Management College
  Summary of responsibilities of staff member taking part: Project manager for health facilities engineering team, including strategic management and provision of professional advice. Objectives: To enhance business management skills to enable the officer to take a more proactive and growing role in the success of the agency. To develop consultancy skills to work effectively in support of health service clients. To develop own major projects.
  Course evaluation: An evaluation form is completed by the individual. This is used in a formal evaluation process to access the contribution of the course to overall business objectives and individual development needs. A subsequent review assesses long-term impact on individual and business performance.

  Residential and Domiciliary Care
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the latest statistics available showing the proportion of(a) residential accommodation and (b) domiciliary services which are provided by the independent sector in each local authority area.

  Mr. Bowis
  The information requested on residential accommodation (excluding nursing homes) is published in table Al of "Key indicators of local authority social services 1994", copies of which are available in the Library. Information on domiciliary services purchased by local authorities is included in table A3 of the same publication. More recent statistics on the number of residential accommodation places, excluding nursing homes at 31 March 1994 were published in table 1 of "Residential Accommodation in England 1994", Statistical Bulletin 1994/13, copies of which will be placed in the Library.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authority residential care home beds were provided under part III of the National Assistance Act 1948 by local authority in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Bowis
  The information requested for England for the period 1988 to 1994 and by local authority for 1994 was published in "Personal Social Services: Residential Accommodation in England 1994", Statistical Bulletin 1994/13. The readily available information by local authority for earlier years was published in "Residential 838
  Accommodation for Elderly and for Younger Physically Disabled People: All Residents in Local Authority, Voluntary and Private Homes Year Ending 31 March 1988 to Year Ending 31 March 1993 England", RA/88–93/2(H). Copies of both publications are available in the Library.

  Royal Infirmary, Leicester
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the length of time the royal infirmary, Leicester takes to perform operations on women;

  (2) if she will make a statement on the case of Yvonne Smith and others whose operations at the royal infirmary, Leicester were delayed;

  (3) if she will issue guidelines to ensure that there are no delays in the performing of operations on women whose pregnancies have come to an end.

  Mr. Sackville
  Any delays experienced in these cases are regrettable.

  Hospitals take such decisions on the basis of clinical need and these are matters for Leicester royal infirmary national health service trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Philip Hammersley, chairman of the trust, for details.

  NHS Trusts (Termination Payments)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answers of 9 December 1994,Official Report, column 395, and 16 December, Official Report, columns 831–32, what were the reasons why severance payments did not conform to the guidance set out in TEL(94)3.

  Mr. Malone
  The national health service executive has requested additional information about certain payments to establish whether they conformed to guidelines in TEL(94)3. Until this additional information is received and analysed, the NHS executive cannot say whether the level of payment was or was not consistent with the recommended method of calculation.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 December,Official Report, columns 985–86, if she will update the table on termination payments made to chief executives and general and senior managers of trusts.

  Mr. Malone
  The table sets out the latest information about termination payments made since April 1994 which national health service trusts have notified to the NHS Executive, under the arrangements in TEL(94)3.

  NHS Trust

  Number of payments

  Amount £

  Broadgreen Hospital NHS trust

  3

  4,487

  7,323

  31,078

  Bromley Hospitals NHS trust

  25,400

  Burnley Health Care

  245,000

  Burton Hospitals NHS trust

  7,053

  Cheviot and Wansbeck NHS trust

  2

  10,086

  6,329

  839

  NHS Trust

  Number of payments

  Amount £

  Chorley and South Ribble NHS trust

  28,749

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Learning Disabilities NHS trust

  11,000

  Dudley Priority Health NHS trust

  3

  37,222

  7,481

  9,639

  East Surrey Learning Disability and Mental Health Services NHS trust

  36,677

  Enfield Community Care NHS trust

  35,522

  Epsom Healthcare NHS trust

  15,000

  Fosse Health NHS trust

  19,500

  Hammersmith Hospitals NHS trust

  2

  47,616

  75,073

  Herefordshire Community Health NHS trust

  28,416

  Heathlands Mental Health NHS trust

  25,008

  Hertfordshire Health agency

  3

  3,000

  3,000

  3,000

  Kings Healthcare NHS trust

  3

  55,573

  1,005

  23,627

  The Medway NHS trust

  3

  12,991

  12,803

  13,501

  Mid Anglia Community Health

  5,449

  Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS trust

  31,549

  North East Essex mental health services

  26,188

  North Hampshire Hospitals NHS trust

  30,000

  North Mersey Community NHS trust

  11,300

  North Tees Health NHS trust

  27,764

  Northern Devon Healthcare NHS trust

  25,000

  Northampton Community Healthcare NHS trust

  2

  20,259

  19,540

  Pilgrim Health NHS trust

  7,864

  Plymouth Hospitals NHS trust

  7,865

  Queens Medical Centre Nottingham University NHS trust

  77,715

  Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust

  35,295

  Royal Liverpool University hospital

  2

  47,355

  7,242

  Royal Liverpool Children's NHS trust

  18,466

  Royal United Hospital Bath NHS trust

  19,343

  Salford Mental Health Services NHS trust

  15,847

  South Bedfordshire Community Healthcare trust

  17,771

  South Kent Community Healthcare trust

  30,636

  South Kent Hospitals NHS trust

  8,626

  South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS trust

  34,829

  Southend Healthcare NHS trust

  3

  43,908

  29,901

  7,031

  Stockport Healthcare NHS trust

  21,940

  Teddington Memorial Hospital NHS trust

  18,750

  United Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust

  30,000

  Walsall Community NHS trust

  35,000

  Walsall Hospital NHS trust

  6,926

  West Herts Community Health NHS Trust

  4

  2,633

  2,276

  29,505

  40,000

  Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS trust

  27,314

  Worcester Royal Infirmary NHS trust

  22,167

  Worthing and Southlands hospitals NHS trust

  2

  34,547

  18,200

  840
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 19 December 1994,Official Report, columns 985–86, how many of those receiving termination payments are still working in the NHS in any capacity.

  Mr. Malone
  This information is not available centrally.

  Private Psychiatrists
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by district health authorities on private psychiatric services over the last five years by authority.

  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 1 July 1993,Official Report, column 616.

  NHS Contracts
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library a copy of the agreement made with the chief executive of the NHS executive between 1986 and 1989 regarding his non-involvement in NHS contracts with IBM.

  Mr. Sackville
  The agreement between IBM and the Department of Health and Social Security dated 10 February 1986 formed the contractual basis of the secondment of Sir Leonard Peach as director of personnel, national health service management board. It sets out the detailed terms and conditions of his appointment. It would not be appropriate to place a copy in the Library.

  The relevant extract from the agreement covering Sir Leonard Peach's non-involvement in NHS contracts with IBM reads:
  "The secondee will not undertake work in any way connected with procurement of products or selection of suppliers in any of IBM's spheres of operation. His work should not in any way relate to IBM or any of its competitors and he will be asked to sign a conflict of interest statement, a copy of which is attached to this contract.
  In addition he will absent himself from any discussions on the NHS Management Board or elsewhere, which might lead to DHSS letting a contract or commission to IBM. Also he is required to make a declaration to the Chairman of the NI-IS Board whenever IBM submits a tender to the DHSS or a Health Authority in England or obtains a contract PROVIDED that such declaration shall only be required in respect of major bilis. These are defined as IBM System 370 architectured systems or volume purchase agreements for small systems. In particular, this definition excludes typewriters, personal computers, supplies, single small-system bids and all bids or sales by Agents or third parties."
  I regret that it has not been possible in the time available to find a copy of the conflict of interest statement referred to in the first paragraph of this extract.

  St. Bartholomew's Hospital
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many operations have been cancelled at St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, because of bed shortages in the past two years;

  (2) how many people were admitted to St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, in 1990–91, 1991–2, 1992–93 and 1993–94;

  (3) how many patients were admitted to St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, and through what routes

  841
  other than accident and emergency, in 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Mr. Malone
  This information is not available centrally. Detailed information may be obtained by contacting Sir Derek Boorman, chairman of the Royal Hospitals NHS trust.

  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many nursing posts will be lost as a result of the closure of St. Bartholomew's hospital, London;

  (2) what will happen to the specialist services currently provided on the St. Bartholomew's hospital site after its closure; and what will happen to existing nursing terms working on specialist wards at St. Bartholomew's hospital;

  (3) how many extra beds will be added to (a) St. Thomas's hospital, London, (b) King's College hospital, London, (c) Royal London hospital, (d) Homerton hospital, London, (e) University College hospital, London and (f) Whittington hospital, London to accommodate the extra demand as a result of St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, closure;

  (4) to which hospital patients will be referred once St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, has closed.

  Mr. Malone
  Detailed changes in the deployment of resources at the Royal Hospitals national health service trust and neighbouring hospitals are a matter for local providers and commissioning authorities, taking account of the outcome of the public consultation exercise currently being undertaken by East London and the City health authority.

  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much extra money is being invested in primary health care and community care to offset the effects of the closure of St. Bartholomew's hospital, London.

  Mr. Malone
  For 1993–94 and 1994–95, an extra £15 million is being invested in developing primary health care in the East London and the City health district.

  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people attended the accident and emergency department at St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, in 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94.

  Mr. Malone
  Figures are shown in the table.

  A and E attendances at St. Bartholomew's Hospital by financial year

  Year (April/March)

  First attendances

  Follow-up attendances

  Total attendances

  1990–91

  37,139

  5,185

  42,324

  1991–92

  35,184

  4,529

  39,713

  1992–93

  31,187

  2,740

  33,927

  1993–94

  29,801

  2,559

  32,360

  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she intends to respond to the open letter sent to her on 26 January by the Islington Gazette about the future of St. Bartholomew's hospital and of health services generally for the people of Islington.

  Mr. Malone
  We have no record of receiving any such letter.

  Hospitals, London
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average and mean rate of bed occupancy 842
  for (a) St. Thomas's hospital, London, (b) King's College hospital, London, (c) Royal London hospital, (d) Homerton hospital, London, (e) University College hospital, London and (f) Whittington hospital, London, in 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94; and what is the estimated increase in journey times for patients in the areas immediately surrounding St. Bartholomew's hospital, London, to travel to these hospitals.

  Mr. Malone
  Information on the average and mean rates of bed occupancy is not available centrally. Detailed information about individual trusts may be obtained by writing to the appropriate trust chairmen.

  Studies have shown that St. Thomas hospital, King's College hospital, the Royal London hospital, Homerton hospital and University College hospital are all within 15 minutes driving time1 of St. Bartholomew's hospital. The journey time to the Whittington is only slightly longer.

  1 Based on average traffic speed, Monday to Friday off-peak.

  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current bed capacity of(a) St. Thomas's hospital, London, (b) Kings College hospital, London, (c) Royal London hospital, (d) Homerton hospital, London, (e) University College hospital, London and (f) Whittington hospital, London.

  Mr. Malone
  The bed capacity of individual hospital sites within hospital trusts is not available centrally. Available information for hospital trusts is shown in the table:

  Acute bed numbers in inner London trusts—average available beds 1993–94

  Trust

  Acute

  Guys and St. Thomas's Hospital Trust1

  1,054

  King's Healthcare2

  634

  Royal Hospitals NHS Trust3

  610

  Homerton Hospital4

  321

  University College London Hospitals5

  562

  Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

  420

  1 Includes Guy's hospital and St. Thomas's hospital.

  2 Includes King's College hospital and Dulwich hospital.

  3 Includes the Royal London hospital, St. Bartholomew's hospital and the London Chest hospital.

  4 Shadow Trust.

  5 Includes University College hospitals and the Central Middlesex hospital.

  Acute beds includes:
  General patients excluding elderly, younger physically disabled, neonatal cots not in maternity wards, terminally ill/palliative care. Mental illness and maternity beds are not included.

  Fertility Treatment
  Mr. Betts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the policy of each health authority with regard to fertility treatment in general and in vitro fertility treatment in particular, including details of restrictions placed by age and the existence of children by the present or previous relationship.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally. It is the responsibility of each individual health authority to determine the local availability of infertility services.

  Waiting Times
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the average current waiting times in the accident and emergency departments in(a) St. Thomas's hospital, London, (b) King's College hospital, London, (c) Royal London hospital, (d) Homerton hospital, London, (e) University College hospital, London and (f) Whittington hospital, London.

  Mr. Malone
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Hugh Fraser
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will direct the chief executive of the Lewisham hospital trust to reply to the inquiries of 29 November 1994, 20 December 1994 and 18 January from the hon. Member for Lewisham, West relating to the case of Mr. Hugh Fraser.

  Mr. Sackville
  I understand Lewisham Hospital national health service trust has now sent a full reply.

  Tobacco Advertising
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whom she has appointed as the new chairman of the Committee for Monitoring Agreements on Tobacco Advertising and Sponsorship.

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  I have recently appointed, in consultation with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for National Heritage, for Scotland and Wales and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Sir Clive Whitmore GCB CVO to be the new chairman of the Committee for Monitoring Agreements on Tobacco Advertising and Sponsorship.

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes she plans to make to the cash limits of her Department in 1994–95.

  Mrs. Virginnia Bottomley
  The cash limit for class XII, vote 1—hospital, community health, family health services, part, and related services, England—will be increased by £9,076,000—from £21,734,116,000 to £21,743,792,000. This allows for an increase of £11,287,000 to the external financing limits of national health service trusts—£25,887,000 in respect of 1993–94 external financing limit end-year flexibility carryforward less £14,600,000 financed from trusts own cash balances—partially offset by transfers of £1,457,000 to class XII, vote 3—Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England—for the work of the Health Education Authority; for part-time training posts for career registrars in the public health laboratory service and a grant towards the renovation of Tadworth Court hospital; £116,000 to class XIV, vote 18—Student awards, Scotland—for orthoptic clinical placements of Glasgow Caledonian university students; £11,000 to—Department of Health and Social Services, Northern Ireland—and £27,000 to class XV, vote 8—hospital, community health, family health services, part, and related services, Wales—for the national poisons information service.

  The cash limit for class XII, vote 3—Department of Health, administration, miscellaneous health services and
  844
  personal social services, England—will be reduced by £1,369,000—from £1,591,256,000 to £1,589,887,000. This reduction allows for a transfer of £2,946,000 to class X, vote 2—higher and further education—for the conversion of social work training courses. The overall decrease is partially offset by a transfer of £1,457,000 from class XII, vote 1 as mentioned above and £120,000 from class XIV, vote 14—hospital, community health, part, and other health services, Scotland—for the work of the clinical standards advisory group.

  The Department's gross running cost limit will be reduced by £5,655,000 from £257,853,000 to £252,198,000. This reflects a reallocation of £4,800,000 for capital works, £625,000 for the work of the Mental Health Act Commission and £230,000 for the national aids helpline.

  All increases will either be offset by savings, increased receipts or transfers to or from other votes and will not therefore add to the planned total of pubic expenditure.

  Overall the external financing limit for NHS trusts is increased by £42,190,000 from £588,264,000 to £630,454,000.

  Intensive Care Units
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) intensive care units in London and (b) intensive care beds in total there were in each year since 1989.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 30 January 1995J: Information on the number of intensive care units is not available centrally. Information is provided in the table on the average daily number of available designated intenslive therapy beds in London.

  In addition to these services provided in units designated as intensive therapy units, intensive therapy can also be delivered in a variety of hospital departments, such as neonatal intensive care, coronary care units, accident and emergency departments, renal units and high dependency units.

  1989–90: 484

  1990–91: 459

  1991–92: 458

  1992–93: 480

  1993–94: 501

  Note:

  For the years 1989–90 to 1992–93, Ashford hospital intensive care beds were included in Hounslow and Spelthome DHA figures as follows: 1989–90, four beds; 1990–91, four beds, 1991–92 four beds, 1992–93, four beds. From 1993–94 Ashford hospital intensive care beds—two have been included in North West Surrey returns and are therefore no longer included in the London figure.

  Source:

  KHO3 returns.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Live Animal Exports
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the EC law which prevents the banning of the export of calves for rearing in veal crates.

  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the legal opinion that he has
  845
  received relating to the export of veal calves and other live animals for slaughter; and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Browning
  My right hon. Friend the Minister has consulted further on the legality under Community law of measures banning the export of calves, or imposing selective restrictions intended to ensure that they are reared in other member states under conditions corresponding to those applied here by virtue of the Welfare of Livestock Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2126).

  Consideration has been given to the best case that could be made in favour of such measures. However, the conclusion that emerges from the legal advice available to him is that such measures cannot be justified, for the following reasons:
  there is already in existence a directive on welfare standards for calves which forms part of the Community legislation governing trade in calves and it is advised that the terms of that directive would preclude member states from introducing export restrictions;
  Article 36 of the treaty can in some circumstances justify export restrictions, on the grounds of the protection of health and life of animals, which includes animal welfare. That article, however, is only available to member states where there is no Community legislation governing the particular area. But that is not the case here, given the directive on welfare standards; also it is very probable that measures banning or restricting the export of calves would constitute an unacceptable interference with the operation of the common agricultural policy, as it affects the market for beef and veal;
  a total ban on all calf exports could not in any event be justified under article 36, because it would be deemed to be disproportionate;
  in addition to the grave difficulties of justifying them legally, and the consequent high risk of their being struck down in court, selective restrictions would present severe practical problems of enforcement.

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 23 January,Official Report, column 71, what was the age of the cattle exported to (a) France, (b) the Netherlands, (c) Eire and (d) Northern Ireland for immediate slaughter.

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 30 January 1995]: I cannot add to my earlier replies as the information is not available. Exports to the other member states were restricted under EC rules to calves under six months of age. Cattle, including calves, to destinations in Northern Ireland would not have been subject to an age restriction.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the policy objectives of Her Majesty's Government for 1995 on the subject of transportation of live animals.

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 26 January 1995]: We shall continue to press for the further detailed Community measures—for example on feeding, watering and rest and on limits on journeys to slaughter—that we consider to be necessary to ensure effective Community-wide safeguards for the welfare of livestock in transit. In the meantime, we shall maintain our existing strict national measures which protect the welfare of livestock, including exported livestock, during transit and which we have recently tightened up. We shall supplement these measures with a code of practice, and will continue to scrutinise all new proposals to export livestock to ensure that only those which meet welfare requirements are allowed to proceed. On the related issue of veal crates on the continent, we shall press, in the Council of Ministers' review of the directive which permits the veal crate, for changes which bring an end
  846
  to this system of production. It is encouraging that the Commission has agreed to my right hon. Friend's request to facilitate this review by bringing forward to this year its review report scheduled for 1997.

  Meat Imports
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he is in a position to ban the import into the United Kingdom of pork and pork products which are not reared in conditions permitted here;

  (2) if he is in a position to ban the import into the United Kingdom of veal and veal products which are not reared in conditions permitted here.

  Mrs. Browning
  It is not apparent that it would be feasible to identify the production methods used for the imported goods mentioned. In any case, I am advised that selective import restrictions of the type proposed would not be compatible with Community law.

  New Zealand Flatworm
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are being taken by his Department to support research into and curb the New Zealand flatworm.

  Mrs. Browning
  The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is funding a study to review current knowledge of the New Zealand flatworm in the British Isles, to assess its effects. The results of this research are expected this spring, and will provide a basis on which to assess what further action may be appropriate.

  Anglo-European Livestock Exporters Association
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met representatives of the Anglo-European Livestock Exporters Association.

  Mrs. Browning
  My ministerial colleagues and I have never met representatives of the Anglo-European Livestock Exporters Association. Nevertheless, officials maintain regular contacts with the association.

  Salmon and Sea Trout
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food what initiatives his Department is pursuing to protect and enhance stocks of wild salmon and sea trout; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  The National Rivers Authority is responsible, within the policy and legislative framework determined by my right hon. Friends the Minister, and the Secretary of State for Wales, for maintaining, improving and developing salmon and sea trout fisheries in England and Wales. It carries out a range of activities, including habitat restoration, restocking and enforcement of legislation designed to combat illegal fishing. Much of this work is funded by the Government through grant-in-aid. The authority has recently prepared a draft salmon management strategy which considers how salmon stocks might best be managed in the future. In addition, the Government also fund a significant programme of research on wild salmon and sea trout.

  Dredging (Docking Shoal)
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the current situation as regards dredging off the Docking shoal; whether he has given permission to dredge in this area; and what other areas the National Rivers Authority has applied to dredge.

  Mr. Jack
  Licences for dredging of marine aggregates are issued by the Crown Estate. A Government view on each application is co-ordinated by the Department of the Environment.

  The Ministry will in due course be providing its contribution to the Government view on an application from the NRA to dredge Docking shoal. The NRA has also applied to the Crown Estate for a licence to dredge an area known as Race bank.

  Pesticides
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health regarding the use and effects of pesticides and any other animal treatments on the animal food chain.

  Mrs. Browning
  My right hon. Friend the Minister and the Secretary of State for Health are among the Ministers responsible for the regulation of pesticides and regularly discuss such matters. An important part of the regulatory process is consideration of effects on the food chain.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to reduce the amount of pesticides and other chemicals being used in agriculture.

  Mrs. Browning
  The Government's policy is that pesticide usage should be the minimum necessary for effective pest control compatible with the protection of human health and the environment. This policy is pursued by a variety of means including a rigorous approvals policy, codes of practice for pesticide users and an extensive research and development programme.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food what plans he has to implement more stringent regulations on the use of chemical treatments.

  Mrs. Browning
  None. Ministers have sufficient powers to ensure the proper protection of health and to safeguard the environment.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what discussions he has had with other countries regarding legislation used in those countries to ban the use of toxins and pesticides;

  (2) what proposals he has for legislation to be introduced in this country which will bring this country into line with other countries which have banned the use of pesticides, toxins and chemicals.

  Mrs. Browning
  The United Kingdom has a well-developed system for regulating pesticides which protects people and the environment while ensuring that those who need them have effective pesticides available. We can and do restrict or ban pesticides where they cannot be used safely. Our system is widely respected abroad and the new Community regime closely resembles it.

  Tenanted Land
  Dr. Strang
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has showing the proportion of agricultural land which was tenanted in England for(a) 1965, (b) 1970, (c) 1975, (d) 1980, (e) 1985, (f) 1990 and (g) the latest available date; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The proportion of agricultural land which was rented as recorded in the June agricultural and horticultural census is as follows:

  Percentage

  1965

  not collected1

  1970

  48.3

  1975

  47.8

  1980

  43.4

  1985

  40.4

  1990

  37.0

  1994

  35.6

  Note:

  1 World Census of Agriculture (FAO) records 50.9 per cent. in 1960 for England and Wales combined.

  The continuing decline in the proportion of let land is one reason why the main industry organisations all agree that the reforms in our Agricultural Tenancies Bill are badly needed.

  Agricultural Wages Board
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many people in Islwyn are covered by the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales; and what percentage this is of the work force in employment.

  Mr. Jack
  There were 31 hired workers on agricultural holdings in the district of Islwyn recorded in the June census of 1993. This represents 0.1 per cent. of the work force in employment in that district.

  Departmental Cash Limits
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes are proposed in his Department's cash limits for 1994–95.

  Mr. Waldegrave
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class III, vote 4—Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: agricultural, food and fishing services—will be reduced by £10,045,000 from £372,630,000 to £362,585,000. Within this limit, the estimated provision will be reduced by £6,205,000 on environmentally sensitive area grants and by £3 million on coast protection. The remaining reduction, £840,000, reflects a transfer of funds to the Office of Science and Technology to cover the cost of redundancies arising among staff of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council seconded to Horticulture Research International.

  Recruitment
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much his Department spent during 1994 on recruiting staff to his Department and its executive agencies; and how many staff were recruited.

  Mr. Jack
  In 1994, 411 staff were recruited to the Department and its agencies at a cost of £579,987.

  Sheep Exporters
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the exporters of sheep currently using Brightlingsea have convictions for livestock animal cruelty; and if he will specify the date and nature of the offences.

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 23 January 1995]: Complete information is not available centrally on convictions of exporters and others for offences related to animal welfare.

DEFENCE

  Ex-service Men's Organisations
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he and his colleagues in other Government departments have had with ex-service men's organisations regarding the abolition of compensation for noise-induced deafness.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I have been asked to reply.

  Where disablement due to noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss is assessed at 20 per cent. or more, a war pension is paid.

  The Government's proposals to abolish war pension gratuities for noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss causing disablement of less than 20 per cent. were discussed with the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions, which includes representatives of ex-service organisations on 3 December 1992. The Central Advisory Committee is the statutory body with which Ministers, by convention, discuss proposals to amend the war pensions scheme.

  The matter has been discussed on several occasions since, including at later meetings of the central advisory committee and of the regional war pensions committees attended by the Minister with special responsibility for war pensions. It has also been raised at meetings he has had with delegations from the Royal British Legion.

  Departmental Funding
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will announce changes to the class 1 cash limits and operating costs limited for 1994–95.

  Mr. Soames
  Subject to parliamentary approval of the spring supplementary estimates, the following changes will be made:

  Class I cash limits

  Vote

  Current cash limit

  Change

  Revised cash limit £000

  1

  11,549,651

  -25.675

  11,523,976

  This change decreases the block Defence cash limit by £25,675,000 from £22,761,260,000 to £22,735,585,000. It reflects the net effect of transfers between the Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments and a revision to the estimated costs for redundancy.

  The Ministry of Defence operating costs limit will be reduced by £19,181,000 from £17,399,500,000 to £17,380,319,000. This also reflects the net effect of
  850
  transfers between the Ministry of Defence and other Government Departments, a revision to the estimated costs for redundancy and an overestimate of receipts.

  Service Career Review
  Mr. Butler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with Mr. Bett's review of service career and manpower structures and terms and conditions of service; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence expects to receive Mr. Bett's report at the end of March. The terms of reference for the review require Mr. Bett to consult widely within MOD and the services. He very much appreciates the response he has received to his request for ideas and information, both in his visits programme and the extensive questionnaires and surveys which have formed an important part of the review. As part of this continuing dialogue, Mr. Bett and his team are now at the stage of testing elements of their ideas with those concerned in my Department and the services. Not all of these ideas will necessarily develop into recommendations, and others may be modified. There is bound to be speculation, some of it inaccurate and ill-founded, about what the report will recommend, but we regard Mr. Bett's continuing dialogue with us as important to the success of the review. Final decisions on Mr. Bett's recommendations will of course be taken by Ministers, in a process of consultation involving the armed forces and others, following receipt of his report.

  Buried Atomic Bombs
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will establish an investigation into the allegations by former Royal Ordnance employee, Harry Southall, that two atomic bombs were buried at the Royal Ordnance site at Pembrey, Dyfed.

  Mr. Soames
  Until its closure in 1964, the former royal ordnance factory Pembrey was primarily engaged in the production of explosives although, in its final years of operation, it acted as a munition breakdown centre. The factory was never associated with our nuclear weapon programme and at no stage in its operations was the factory used for the production, storage or disposal of nuclear weapons.

  Disabled People
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion and number of non-industrial civil servants in the Departments and agencies for which he has responsibility are registered disabled and disabled as defined by the Cabinet Office "Focus on Ability".

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department monitors its non-industrial staff to gather data on those who have a disability, for which they may or may not be registered. The results from the monitoring show that on 1 July 1994, the Ministry of Defence and its agencies employed 1,096 non-industrial staff who were registered disabled, representing 1.3 per cent. of the total. In addition to this, on 1 October 1994—figures for 1 July are not available–3,050 non-industrial staff, representing 3.7 per cent. of the total, were recorded as having declared some form of disability for which they were not registered.

  Live Animal Research
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for defence what plans he has to carry out an investigation into the use of live animals for MOD experiments; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  There are no plans to carry out an investigation into the use of live animals for MOD experiments.

  Animal experiments are a small but essential part of the MOD's research and development programme. Animal experiments are carried out only when careful consideration of alternatives to the use of animals has shown that there is no adequate substitute and where it is judged essential to use animals for this purpose. The experiments carried out fully meet the spirit and letter of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and are subject to unannounced visits by Home Office inspectors.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals were used in research by or on behalf of his Department in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Freeman
  Animals used in research include not only those used in animal experiments, but also those used for the provision of tissues, those not used and those used as passive control. The total numbers of animals used in each of the last 10 years is as follows:

  1984: 11,445

  1985: 7,855

  1986: 7,712

  1987: 10,628

  1988: 10,462

  1989: 10,419

  1990: 9,270

  1991: 7,028

  1992: 5,088

  1993: 7,329

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of animals used for the testing of military equipment by or on behalf of his Department are kept alive after the experiment has taken place.

  Mr. Freeman
  No animals are used to improve weapons or ammunition. Experiments involving animals have been used in the development of protective measures against certain weapons and to test procedures relating to submarine crew and aircrew safety. At the completion of experiments, animals are killed humanely in accordance with the project licence granted by the Home Office.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many live animal experiments have been carried out by his Department over each of the last three years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Freeman
  Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the number of animal experiments reported to the Home Office as required by the legislation in each of the last three years for which figures are available was as follows:

  1991: 6,100

  1992: 4,500

  1993: 6,796

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been conducted by or on behalf of his Department into the application of results of military research on animals to draw conclusions about the effects on humans; and if he will publish this research.

  Mr. Freeman
  Animal experiments are carried out only when careful consideration of the use of animals has 852
  shown that there is no adequate substitute and where it is judged essential to use animals for this purpose. In the context of the work at CBDE Porton Down, which accounts for the majority of the animal experiments carried out by the MOD, it is important to recognise that as there is no group suffering from chemical or biological warfare agents in the population at large, the effectiveness of medical counter-measures cannot be evaluated, unlike drugs developed against naturally occurring illness or disease, using human beings. It is consequently necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of medical counter-measures against chemical and biological weapons using the most appropriate animal model for man. This work is published as appropriate in the scientific literature. In addition, studies of the interaction of drugs with animals have been compared with the interaction of the same drugs in man and a common mechanism has been established. Work on submarine and aircrew safety has been successfully applied to humans and the results published.

  Work has also been undertaken to compare the relative mechanical properties of human and animal tissue, and has been presented to scientific conferences and published in the scientific literature. Computer models to predict the response of the human torso to impact and blast injury are also being developed.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has commissioned or undertaken into the effectiveness and necessity of using live animals for testing military equipment.

  Mr. Freeman
  No animals are used to improve weapons or ammunition or to practise surgery. All MOD experimental work with animals is subject to the conditions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, and related legislation. Before any project involving animals is begun, a project licence must be granted by the Home Office as a critical part of the project licence application is a closely argued justification of the proposed use of animals considering the ethical and scientific issues. At each stage, the use of non-animal alternatives has to be considered and the licence is only granted where no alternatives are possible. Alternatives to the use of animals are used whenever possible. Some such methods have been developed and published in the scientific literature.

  In some cases, in vitro methods which do not use living animals have been shown to be scientifically superior.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many experiments by or on behalf of his Department have involved the use of live pigs in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many pigs were(a) involved and (b) killed in each year.

  Mr. Freeman
  Under the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the number of animal experiments reportable concerning live pigs in each of the last five years was:

  1989 : 54

  1990 : 86

  1991 : 102

  1992 : 132

  1993 : 109

  At the end of each experiment, the pig was humanely killed in accordance with the conditions of the project licence issued by the Home Office.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been conducted by or on behalf of his Department into the applicability of weapons
  853
  research on unconscious animals to draw conclusions about their effect on conscious humans; and if he will publish this research.

  Mr. Freeman
  No animals are used to improve weapons or ammunition or to practise surgery. Work has been undertaken to compare the relative mechanical properties of human and animal tissue, and has been presented to scientific conferences. Computer models to predict the response of the human torso to impact and blast injury are also being developed.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of animals used for the testing of military equipment by or on behalf of his Department are killed while still under anaesthetic.

  Mr. Freeman
  No animals are used to improve weapons or ammunition or to practise surgery. The total number of experiments involving animals in 1993 that were reportable to the Home Office under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 was 6,796. Around 6.5 per cent. of the animals involved were killed while under anaesthetic. All other animals were put down humanely in accordance with the Act.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many animals experiments by or on behalf of his Department took place in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Freeman
  All research carried out by the MOD using animals is carried out under the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The number of animal experiments reportable to the Home Office in each of the last 10 years was as follows:

  1984: 10,941

  1985: 6,611

  1986: 6,400

  1987: 8,300

  1988: 8,148

  1989: 9,129

  1990: 8,146

  1991: 6,100

  1992: 4,500

  1993: 6,796

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many experiments(a) involving animals, (b) leading to the death of an animal and (c) causing injury to an animal were carried out at Porton Down in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  This is a matter for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive CBDE to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Graham S. Pearson to Mr. Matthew Taylor, dated 2 February 1995:

  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking how many experiments (a) involving animals, (b) leading to the death of an animal and (c) causing injury to an animal were carried out at Porton Down in each of the last five years, and if he will make a statement has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical and biological weapons may be used against them.

  3. It is an essential but relatively small part of the work of CBDE that a small number of experiments with animals, mainly mice, rats and guinea-pigs are carried out in order to ensure that the protective measures provided to the Armed Forces are effective and are safe.
  854
  No animals are used to practice surgery or in work to improve weapons or ammunition performance. The number of animal experiments reported to the Home Office in each of the last five years was as follows:

  1989: 9,000

  1990: 8,100

  1991: 6,100

  1992: 4,500

  1993: 6,700

  In accordance with the conditions of the Project Licences issued by the Home Office, all animals were humanely killed at the completion of the experiments. The Project Licences currently in effect at CBDE cover mild 7, moderate 14, substantial 4 and unclassified 1.

  4. It should be recognised that the total number of all animal experiments carried out at CBDE in any one year is less than one half of one percent of all the animal experiments conducted in the United Kingdom. Indeed the number of animal experiments at CBDE has dropped over the past decade. However, the number of experiments carried out in any one year will vary according to the MOD programme. It was recognised during and after the Gulf War that there was an increasing potential biological warfare threat and that it is necessary to strengthen the UK's biological defence capability. This has required the use of more animals.

  5. The United Kingdom does not possess chemical or biological weapons and abandoned its capability relating to such weapons in the late 1950s. Consequently, there is absolutely no use of animals to develop or improve chemical or biological weapons. We have to recognise, however, that a number of countries do possess such weapons and it is essential that our Armed Forces are provided with adequate protection against their use and against the use of biological weapons. There is evidence of proliferation around the world in the availability of such weapons and the recent hostilities in the Gulf have demonstrated the reality of that threat which our Armed Forces have to be prepared to face.

  6. Animal experiments are carried out at CBDE Porton Down only when careful consideration of alternatives to the use of animals has shown that there is no adequate substitute and where it is judged essential to use animals for this purpose. It is, important to recognise that there is no population suffering from chemical or biological warfare agents in the population at large and consequently the effectiveness of medical countermeasures cannot be evaluated, as can drugs developed against naturally occurring illness or disease, using human beings. It is consequently necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of medical countermeasures against chemical and biological weapons using an animal model for man.

  7. The experiments carried out at CBDE involving the use of animals fully meet the spirit and letter of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of 1986. CBDE is a registered place under the Act and all animal experiments and all the staff involved in them are licensed by the Home Office. Unannounced visits are made by Home Office inspectors to satisfy themselves that the requirements of the Act are met.

  8. All work at CBDE is carefully controlled and monitored and is conducted by appropriately qualified personnel to the highest standards. It is vital that the protection provided for our Service personnel against the threat that they may be exposed to chemical or biological weapons should have been developed and tested to ensure safety and efficacy. Our role is to save the lives of the members of the British Armed Forces and this work is of continuing importance to the nation.

  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the research carried out by or on behalf of his Department using live animals leading to the death or injury of that animal for each of the last five years.
  855
  Mr. Freeman
  The research carried out was designed to:investigate gravitiational effects;
  demonstrate the results of exposure to different pressures of air or oxygen;
  provide effective protective measures for the armed forces against the threat that chemical or biological weapons might be used against them;
  provide effective protective measures against conventional weapons.

  Facsimile Messages
  Mr. Peter Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reports he has received of facsimile messages to and from royal naval establishments being sent to civilian addresses as a result of mis-dialling; and what proposals he has to eliminate the problem.

  Mr. Soames
  Three messages containing management information have been reported as having reached The News, Portsmouth as a consequence of mis-dialling a Plymouth terminal number. The terminal number in question has been changed, users are being advised and reminded to take care that the correct number has been dialled before material is transmitted.

  Sniper Protection Armour
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cabs of logistics vehicles in Bosnia have been fitted with sniper protection armour; and whether any such vehicles so fitted have been detained for any period by any local military or paramilitary forces operating in Bosnia.

  Mr. Soames
  No logistic vehicles in Bosnia have been fitted with protective armour. However, this equipment is held in theatre and vehicles could be so fitted if this was warranted by operational circumstances.

  Emergency Tour Tasks
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of known or foreseeable emergency tour tasks; what relation the size of units on emergency tour tasks bears to battalion size; and which units are currently on emergency tour tasks and are expected to be in the foreseeable future.

  Mr. Soames
  The list of current operational tour commitments, and the units undertaking them are set out below. Those units at serials 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 11 are of battalion size—or equivalent in non infantry-arms—those of 14 and 15 are of battalion group size; others are of less than battalion size. In all cases, the minimum manning strength required of the unit to carry out its operational tour commitment is less than that unit's peace establishment. It is not our usual practice to identify those units which are planned to take up operational tour commitments in the future.

  NORTHERN IRELAND (NI) OPERATIONAL TOUR PLOT

  1. Armagh Roulement Battalion

  42 Commando Regiment, Royal Marines

  2. Belfast Roulement Battalion

  1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment

  856
  3.Fermanagh Roulement Battalion

  1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment

  4. East Tyrone Battalion

  1st Battalion The Green Howards

  5. Girdwood Roulement Battalion

  40 Regiment, Royal Artillery

  6. Drumadd Roulement Battalion

  5 Regiment, Royal Artillery

  7. Prison Guard Force

  The Queen's Royal Hussars

  8. NI Roulement Engineer Squadron

  37 Field Squadron, 35 Engineer Regiment

  9. NI Roulement Engineer Search Troop

  37 Field Squadron, 35 Engineer Regiment

  10. NI Roulement Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron

  4 General Support Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps

  UNITED NATIONS FORCES IN CYPRUS (UNFICYP) OPERATIONAL

  TOUR PLOT

  11. UNFICYP Roulement Regiment

  The Queen's Royal Lancers. Royal Armoured Corps

  FALKLAND ISLANDS OPERATIONAL TOUR PLOT

  12. Falkland Islands Roulement Infantry Company Group

  2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

  13. Falkland Islands Roulement Field Squadron

  53 Field Support Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps

  UNITED NATIONS PROTECTION FORCE INFANTRY OPERATIONAL TOUR PLOT

  14. Britbat 1

  1st Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers

  C Squadron Household Cavalry Regiment

  15. Britbat 2

  1st Battalion The Royal Gloucester, Wiltshire

  B Squadron Household Cavalry Regiment

  Bilateral Cost-sharing Agreement

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the nature of the bilateral cost-sharing agreement under which the United Kingdom Government carry out construction work for the United States military at their bases and other property in the United Kingdom; when this agreement was first started; what is the value of the work currently being carried out; and at which United States bases and facilities this work is currently being carried out.

  Mr. Soames
  The confidential exchange of notes between the Governments of the United Kingdom and of the United States relating to the cost-sharing arrangement was signed on 4 April 1973. It is not our practice )o comment on the details of such arrangements. The value of work currently being carried out is a matter for the United States Government. Work is being carried out under the provisions of the above arrangement at the following main locations and their associated sites:

  RAF Alconbury

  RAF Brawdy

  RAF Chicksands

  RAF Croughton

  RAF Daws Hill

  RAF Edzell

  RAF Fairford

  RAF Feltwell

  RAF Hythe

  RAF Lakenheath

  RAF Machrihanish

  Menwith Hill Station

  RAF Mildenhall

  RAF Molesworth

  RAF St. Mawgan

  RAF Upwood

  RAF Welford

  Mr. John Anderson
  Mr. Charles Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what disciplinary action he has initiated against any of his Department's personnel involved in the arrest of Mr. John Anderson.

  Mr. Soames
  None. The Ministry of Defence police investigated the complaint under the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority. The investigation concluded that there were no grounds for disciplinary action.

  Haymes Garth
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to announce the finding of the Peat Marwick investigation into expenditure at Haymes Garth; if he will publish the findings, report and recommendations in full; whether disciplinary action is to be taken against any individual; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  As I said in my answer to the hon. Member for Dorset, West (Sir J. Spicer) on 4 July 1994,Official Report, column 85, we will make a full report to the House on the conclusion of the work which has been set in hand to look into expenditure on Haymes Garth and other official service residences.

TRANSPORT

  International Station, Ebbsfleet
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he(a) reached and (b) announced the decision to site the international station at Ebbsfleet in Kent.

  Mr. Watts
  My right hon. Friend announced the Government's decision on 31 August, shortly after the choice was finally settled.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on which occasions his Department had meetings's attended by or arranged with(a) Mr. Oliver Colville, (b) Decision Makers and (c) Blue Circle in connection with the channel tunnel link and the location of the international .station.

  Mr. Watts
  The Department has had no meeting with Mr. Colville. Miss Maureen Tomison of Decision Makers was present on one occasion, when the Ebbsfleet promoter group made a presentation to my predecessor. The delegation was led by the hon. Members for Gravesham (Mr. Arnold) and for Dartford (Mr. Dunn); representatives of Dartford borough council, Blue Circle, Union Railways and departmental officials were also present. The Department has had numerous meetings on this subject with Blue Circle.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if the channel tunnel route announced in October 1991 was compatible with the location of the international station at Ebbsfleet, Kent;

  (2) what were the factors that led to the revision in 1993 of the final line of the route for the channel tunnel link as announced by his predecessor in October 1991; and what consideration underlay the alterations to the location and line of the link at its crossing of the River Thames.
  858
  Mr. Watts
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: The route corridor announced in October 1991 offered the opportunity for a station at several locations in north Kent, although not at Ebbsfleet. In his statement of 22 March 1993—announcing that the channel tunnel rail link would run along the Ebbsfleet valley then tunnel under the Thames, to run alongside the London Tilbury and Southend line from north of Purfleet to Barking—the then Secretary of State for Transport made it clear that this route overcame a number of engineering and environmental difficulties associated with the route published in 1991.

  Channel Tunnel (Safety)
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if(a) his Department and (b) Channel Tunnel safety authority accepted the view of the inter-governmental commission into the operation of the channel tunnel with regard to fire resistant end barriers and pass doors; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) for what reason the inter-governmental commission into the operation of the channel tunnel objected to the request of Eurotunnel to vary the agreed width of the pass doors on the wagons carrying passengers with their cars from 0.7m to 0.6m; to whom this objection was communicated at Eurotunnel and when; and if he will make a statement;

  (3) on what date Eurotunnel confirmed its acceptance of the requirement that wagons carrying passengers with their cars on the channel tunnel should have 30-minute fire and smoke-resistant end barriers and that both would have pass doors not less than 0.7m wide; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Watts
  The CTSA advised the IGC on safety grounds not to accept Eurotunnel's proposed reduction in the width of pass doors. The advice was based on French and British regulations, guidelines and practice for the sizing of emergency exits. The IGC accepted the CTSA's advice and raised a formal objection to the Eurotunnel proposal. This was notified to the joint chief executives of Eurotunnel on 30 April 1990.

  Eurotunnel confirmed its acceptance of the wider pass doors in a letter dated 21 March 1991 to the IGC.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek to end the constraint imposed un the inter-governmental commission into the operation of the channel tunnel that prevents it publicising any documentation used in reaching decisions on approval of safety matters relating to the channel tunnel's operation; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Watts
  The requirement to maintain the confidentiality of documents passed between the different parties involved in the channel tunnel is set down in the concession agreement. It arose from the proper concern about the need for confidentiality in a commercial operation. However, Eurotunnel has published its safety case, the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority publishes annual reports on its work, and a number of technical reports has been published.

  Transport Police
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what support officers of the British Transport police may given when they are asked by
  859
  members of the public for help in a situation outwith their current jurisdiction as a constable;

  (2) what support officers of the British Transport police may give when they are asked by members of the Home Department forces for supporting action in situations away from the railway.

  Mr. Watts
  None, other than that which any member of the public may render to another or to a Home Department police officer.

  Runway Capacity, South-East
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has considered the report of the working group to consider runway capacity to service the south-east; and if he will make a statement.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The Government are firmly committed to enabling the development of additional airport capacity where this makes economic, social and environment sense. The economic benefits to business and industry are clear, as are the average of greater opportunities for leisure travel. The quality of airports in the South-East provides the United Kingdom and London with a vital competitive advantage and make the UK a world centre for commerce and tourism.

  The Government wish to ensure that capacity can be made available in response to future demand, but in such as way that recognises and takes reasonable account of the environmental impacts, including the impacts of increased air traffic associated with additional runway capacity.

  The working group on runway capacity to serve the south-east—RUCASTE—considered a number of options of increasing runway capacity at airports in south-east England, taking account of the contribution which regional airports can be expected to make. The group considered the need for and the impacts of the provision of additional runway capacity at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead and Luton. It also noted, but did not examine in detail, the suggestion for a new airport in the Thames estuary. The group's report contains no specific recommendations although it concluded that benefits to passengers would justify a further runway at Heathrow or Gatwick by 2010, or at Stanstead by 2015. This conclusion was based on an assumption about the maximum achievable passenger throughput on the existing runways. The report was published in July 1993 and was followed by a period of public consideration. I am grateful to all the participants in the group for their assistance in producing a thorough and useful report.

  The Government have concluded that RUCATSE's analysis shows a strong case for additional runway capacity in the south-east; but that more work is needed to inform decisions on any proposals which operators may bring forward for that additional capacity.

  Our airports operate on a commercial basis and it is for the operators to bring forward proposals for development, where they see a business case, and take them through the planning processes. In doing so, they need to take account of the overall framework of the Government's airports policy, which indicates the factors that would weigh in Government decisions on such proposals. It has been suggested that the Government should seek to reintroduce traffic distribution rules in order to direct air traffic to use specific airports; the Government have considered this option and concluded that they do not wish to seek to
  860
  influence the pattern of demand for commercial passenger services by the reintroduction of these rules.

  Three important new considerations have emerged since the group reported; these require more work. First, an independent study of runway capacity at Heathrow, sponsored by National Air Traffic Services, BAA plc and the airlines, has produced a report suggesting that there is greater scope for increasing the utilisation of the existing runways at Heathrow than was previously envisaged. Before reaching any decisions, I am asking the CAA, in consultation with BAA and others, to examine further the gains that might be achieved and the environmental impact involved in making better use of the existing infrastructure at Heathrow.

  Secondly, I am clear that BAA should not consider the options studied in RUCATSE for a third runway at Heathrow or for a second runway at Gatwick. However, it has been suggested that there may be better, less environmentally damaging, runway options than those considered by RUCATSE. I am therefore asking BAA to examine whether there might be less damaging options for development, such as a close parallel runway at Gatwick.

  The above is without prejudice to my or the Secretary of State for the Environment's role in decisions on any future planning applications.

  Thirdly, it has become clear that the issue of surface access to airports in the south-east, and particularly the scope for improved public transport links to, and between, the airports need further examination. I note that BAA has initiated a study and I will be commissioning further work on this.

  The Government welcome the growth of regional airports. They recognise the benefits of liberalising air services to and from the regions. They also wish to provide the opportunity for the less busy airports in the south-east to develop. In particular, the Government draw attention to the capacity available at Stansted. The Government sought to accelerate these processes recently by liberalising transatlantic arrangements for regional airports, Luton and Stansted. Even on the most optimistic assumptions, however, regional growth will have a limited! effect on the demand for additional airport capacity in the south-east. The Government also recognise the valuable: contribution that small airfields can play, for example in serving business aviation.

  We will continue to address the global impacts of air travel through work at the international level, to meet the goals of sustainable development; but these impacts are of very limited relevance to decisions on capacity at United Kingdom airports.

  I expect the further work that I have commissioned to take between two and three years.

  Train Accident, Kirkby Stephen
  Mr. Mark Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a statement about the passenger train collision near Kirkby Stephen on 31 January.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The accident happened at about 18.56 after the 16.23 Carlisle-Leeds train was instructed to return to Carlisle because of flooding. Travelling north, the train ran into a landslide and was derailed into the path of the 17.45 Carlisle-Leeds train which was approaching on the adjacent line.
  861
  British Rail and Railtrack are conducting a joint injury into the accident. In addition, one of HM railway inspectorate's inspectors visited the scene of the accident and is investigating the circumstances.

  HM coroner for the Carlisle area will be holding an inquest into the fatality that occurred, and has indicated that he wishes an inspector from HM railway inspectorate to assist in holding the inquest. The inspector's report under section 8 of the Railway Regulation Act 1871 will be made public.

  Privatisation Programmes
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide estimates for the total amount that has been paid to N. M. Rothschild and Sons Ltd. with respect to any work undertaken by them on privatisation programmes in which his Department has been engaged since 1979 after taking account of inflation.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 31 January 1995]: The table lists the sales conducted by my Department in which N. M. Rothschild were appointed and the role to which they were appointed. The fees paid to firms
  862
  appointed within the privatisation programme are commercially confidential.

  British Airways—1987

  Underwriting sale as secondary underwriters

  British Airports Authority—1987

  Underwriting sale as secondary underwriters

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the severance payments made to special advisers in each of the last five years indicating(a) the amount and (b) the date.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  [holding answer 1 February 1995]: The severance payments made to special advisers in the Department of Transport in each of the last five years are as follow

  Year

  £

  1990

  6,654

  December

  1991

  Nil

  1992

  3,197

  1993

  Nil

  1994

  33,180

  August/September—two individuals.

  RUNWAY CAPACITY IN THE SOUTH EAST
  RUNWAY CAPACITY IN THE SOUTH EAST
  EUSTON/FORT WILLIAM: SLEEPER AND MOTORAIL SERVICES
  EUSTON/FORT WILLIAM: SLEEPER AND MOTORAIL SERVICES
  THE RIDGEWAY
  THE RIDGEWAY
  FLUORIDATION
  FLUORIDATION
  HOME SECRETARY: ADVERSE JUDGMENTS
  HOME SECRETARY: ADVERSE JUDGMENTS
  MoD CHURCHES AND CHAPELS: REDUNDANCY
  MoD CHURCHES AND CHAPELS: REDUNDANCY
  SERVICE CAREER AND MANPOWER STRUCTURES: REVIEW
  SERVICE CAREER AND MANPOWER STRUCTURES: REVIEW
  ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE, GREENWICH
  ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE, GREENWICH
  GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE AUTHORITY: BUDGET
  GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE AUTHORITY: BUDGET
  PACKAGING WASTE
  PACKAGING WASTE
  CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
  CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY
  NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITIES, WALES
  NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITIES, WALES
  SCIENCE BUDGET
  SCIENCE BUDGET