Written Answers of 27 February 1995

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Hague
  The 72 statutory instruments introduced by this Department in the past 12 months are as follows:

  SIs completed during period 20 February 1994 to 20 February 1995

  SI Number

  Title

  1994/470

  The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 1994

  1994/500

  The Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 1994

  1994/506

  The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/523

  The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Subsidy) Order 1994

  1994/527

  The Income-related Benefits Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1994

  1994/542

  The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 1994

  1994/544

  The Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating and National Insurance Fund Payments) Order 1994

  1994/559

  The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 1994

  1994/561

  The Statutory Sick Pay (Small Employers' Relief) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/562

  The Statutory Sick Pay (Rate of Payment) Order 1994

  1994/563

  The Social Security (Contributions) Amendment Regulations 1994

  384

  SIs completed during period 20 February 1994 to 20 February 1995

  SI Number

  Title

  1994/578

  The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1994

  1994/579

  The Housing Benefit (Permitted Totals) Order 1994

  1994/592

  The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/667

  The Social Security (Contributions)(Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1994

  1994/671

  The Workmen's Compensation (Supplementation) (Amendment) Scheme 1994

  1994/704

  The Social Security Pensions (Home Responsibilities) Regulations 1994

  1994/715

  The Personal Injuries (Civilians) Amendment Scheme 1994

  1994/726

  The Social Security (Categorisation of Earners) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/730

  The Statutory Sick Pay Act 1994 (Consequential) Regulations 1994

  1994/731

  The Child Support Act 1991 (Consequential Amendments) Order 1994

  1994/771

  The Home Guard (Amendment) Order 1994

  1994/772

  The Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Amendment Order 1994

  1994/773

  The Ulster Defence Regiment (Amendment) order 1994

  1994/781

  The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Subsidy) Regulations 1994

  1994/895

  The Occupational Pension Schemes (Deficiency on Winding up etc.) Regulations 1994

  1994/1003

  The Housing Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/1004

  The Income Support (General) Amendments Regulations 1994

  1994/1062

  The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 1994

  1994/1082

  The Social Security (Adjudication) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/1101

  The Social Security (Sickness and Invalidity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance) Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 1994

  1994/1105

  The Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order 1994

  1994/1230

  The Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay Regulations 1994

  1994/1367

  The Social Security Maternity Benefits and Statutory Sick Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1994

  1994/1553

  The Social Security (Contributions) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1994

  1994/1608

  The Income-related Benefits Schemes (Miscellaneous) Amendments (No. 2) Regulations 1994

  385

  SIs completed during period 20 February 1994 to 20 February 1995

  SI Number

  Title

  1994/1646

  The Social Security (Cyprus) Order 1994

  1994/1661 (C.30)

  The Social Security Act 1989(Commencement No. 5) Order 1994

  1994/1751

  The Protected Rights (Transfer Payment) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/1779

  The Social Security (Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 1994

  1994/1807

  The Income-related Benefits Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 3) Regulations 1994

  1994/1832

  The Social Security Benefit (Persons Abroad) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1994

  1994/1837

  The Social Security (Credits) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/1882

  The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/1906

  The Naval, Military and Air Forces etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Amendment (No. 2) Order 1994

  1994/1924

  The Income-related Benefits Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 1994

  1994/1925

  The Housing Benefit (Supply of Information) and Council Tax Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/2021

  The Personal Injuries (Civilians) Amendment (No. 2) Scheme 1994

  1994/2137

  The Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 1994

  1994/2138

  The Council Tax Benefit (Permitted Total) Order 1994

  1994/2139

  The Income-related Benefits Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 5) Regulations 1994

  1994/2194

  The Social Security (Contributions) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1994

  1994/2299

  The Social Security (Contributions) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 1994

  1994/2319

  The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/2343

  The Social Security (Industrial Injuries) (Prescribed Diseases) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1944/2556

  The Social Security (Severe Disablement Allowance and Invalid Care Allowance) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/2593

  The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/2686

  The Social Security (Adjudication) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1994

  1994/2802

  The Social Security (Jersey and Guernsey) Order 1994

  1994/2891

  The Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order 1994

  386

  SIs completed during period 20 February 1994 to 20 February 1995

  SI Number

  Title

  1994/2926(C.65)

  The Social Security (Incapacity for Work) Act 1994 (Commencement) Order 1994

  1994/2943

  The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1994

  1994/2944

  The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1994

  1994/2945

  The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit—Increases for Dependants) Regulations 1994

  1994/2946

  The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations 1994

  1994/2947

  The Social Security (Severe Disablement Allowance) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/2975

  The Social Security (Medical Evidence) Amendment Regulations 1994

  1994/3061

  The Income-related Benefits Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 6) Regulations 1994

  1994/3196

  The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Amendment (No. 4) Regulations 1994

  1995/35

  The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1995

  1995/74

  The Social Security (Widow's Benefit and Retirement Pensions) Amendment Regulations 1995

  1995/123

  The Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 1995

  Correspondence
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what pilot project his Department intends to initiate at the central correspondence unit following the report by Coopers and Lybrand reviewing the support work within DSS headquarters; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  A review of support services in our headquarters offices in London recommended that the Department should pilot the use of more centralised teams to provide replies to correspondence from Members of Parliament and members of the public. A pilot project will start in April and will be evaluated in the autumn.

  Habitual Residence Test
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants have won an appeal against refusal of income support under the habitual residence test.

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

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what separate sub-categories are used under the habitual residence test to identify those people who are to be refused income support.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The habitual residence test applies to all income support claimants who satisfy the conditions of entitlement for that benefit. No separate sub-categories
  387
  are used to identify those people who are refused income support because of the habitual residence test. As part of our monitoring of the change, we collect information on the numbers of British Citizens, European Economic Area nationals and others who pass or fail the test.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much invalidity benefit was paid to(a) men and (b) women in the latest available year; and what is the latest available number of (i) male and (ii) female claimants.

  Mr. Hague
  The available information is in the table.

  IVB beneficiaries Percentage of incapacitated on 3 April 1993

  Percentage of estimated annual IVB expenditure1

  Men

  1,156,000

  78 per cent.

  Women

  424,000

  22 per cent.

  1 estimated invalidity benefit—IVB— paid in the final week of the 1992–93 statistical year.

  Notes:

  1. All information in the table is based on a 1 per cent. sample of claimants to benefit within Great Britain, rated up by 100 and rounded to the nearest thousand.

  Housing benefit and council tax benefit estimated expenditure at May 93: by the number of working adults in a family unit and whether the claimant is aged between 18 and 24

  £ Millions

  Housing benefit Annual housing benefit expenditure (£) estimated from a sample taken in the last week of May 1993

  Council tax benefit Annual council tax benefit expenditure (£) estimated from a sample taken in the last week of May 1993

  Claimant aged between 18 to 24

  Others

  Total

  Claimant aged between 18 to 24

  Others

  Total

  No-one in the benefit unit working

  425.1

  1855.8

  2280.9

  58.3

  347.7

  406.1

  (a) One adult in the benefit unit working

  41.2

  359.3

  400.6

  5.0

  80.2

  85.3

  Single parents included in (a)

  n/a

  n/a

  222.2

  n/a

  n/a

  39.0

  (b) Two adults in the benefit unit working

  0.6

  17

  17.6

  0.1

  6.4

  6.5

  (c) Three or more adults in the benefit unit working

  1

  2

  2

  1

  0.5

  0.5

  Source:

  Housing benefit management information system, 1 per cent. sample May 93. Symbols and abbreviations:

  1Nil or negligible

  2 Amount rounded to zero

  n/a not appropriate

  Notes:

  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.

  2. Adults in work can include claimants, their partners and non-dependants.

  3. The figures are for family benefit units which may be a single person or couple, with a dependant aged up to 16, or 19 if the dependant is in full-time non-advanced education.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families currently receiving housing benefit have(a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the number of people aged 18 to 24 years

  Supplementary Benefit
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in which years the Comptroller and Auditor General decided to qualify his audit opinion of the supplementary benefit scheme before it was replaced by income support in 1988.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The Comptroller and Auditor General has never qualified his audit opinion of the supplementary benefit scheme before it was replaced by income support in 1988.

  Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the total amount of council tax benefit annually given to families with(a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the amount given to people aged 18 to 24 years in each category; and how much was given to single parents in category (a).

  (2) what is the total amount of housing benefit given annually to families with (a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working, specifying the amount given to people aged 18 to 24 years in each category; and how much is given to single parents in category (a).

  Mr. Roger Evans
  [holding answer 16 February 1995]: The available information is set out in the table.

  each category includes: and how many single parents are included in (a).

  Mr. Roger Evans
  [holding answer 16 February 1995]: The available information, as at the end of May 1993, is set out in the table:
  389

  Number of families in receipt of housing benefit where at least one adult is working.

  Thousands

  May 1993

  Number of adults working

  Total number of families

  Number of people aged 18–24 in the family

  Total number of people aged 18–24

  0

  1

  2

  3

  4

  1

  382

  268

  89

  22

  2

  1

  142

  2

  29

  12

  13

  4

  —

  —

  23

  3 or more

  2

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  2

  Total

  413

  281

  102

  27

  3

  1

  167

  The number of single parent families in receipt of housing benefit, with one adult working is 134,000.

  Source:

  Housing benefit management information system annual 1 per cent. sample enquiries taken at the end of May 1993.

  Notes:

  1. For the purpose a family has been defined as a household where there are dependants or non-dependants. It is not possible to separately identify non-dependants who are not part of the family.

  2. The number of people aged 18 to 24 includes the claimant, partner, dependants and any non-dependants, regardless of whether they are working or not.

  3. Adults working could possibly be the claimant, partner or any non-dependants.

  4. Figures are for GB and have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  5. "—" represents less than 500 rated-up cases.

  Council Tax Benefit
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families currently receiving council tax benefit have(a) one adult working, (b) two adults working and (c) three or more adults working,

  Number of families in receipt of council tax benefit where at least one adult is working

  Thousands

  Number of adults working

  Total number of families

  Number of people aged 18–24 in the family

  Total number of people aged 18–24

  0

  1

  2

  3

  4

  1

  514

  367

  118

  26

  3

  1

  182

  2

  63

  25

  27

  10

  1

  —

  50

  3 or more

  10

  3

  2

  4

  1

  1

  14

  Total

  587

  395

  147

  39

  5

  2

  247

  The number of single-parent families in receipt of council tax benefit, with one adult working is 137,000.

  Source:

  Council tax benefit management information system annual 1 per cent. sample enquiries taken at the end of May 1993.

  Notes:

  1. For the purpose, a family has been defined as a household where there are dependants of non-dependants. It is not possible separately to identify non-dependants who are not part of the family.

  2. The number of people aged 18 to 24 includes the claimant, partner, dependants and any non-dependants, regardless of whether they are working or not.

  3. Adults working could possibly be the claimant, partner or any non-dependants.

  4. Figures are for GB and have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  5. "—" represents less than 500 rated-up cases.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Civil Justice Review Committee
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the members of Lord Woolf's civil justice review committee and its working groups.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Lord Woolf is assisted in his inquiry into access to justice by a team of assessors. They are: John Bolton, solicitor and arbitrator; Dick Greenslade district judge; Rupert Jackson QC; Phillip Sycamore, solicitor; and Robert Turner, Master of the Queen's Bench Division. Professor Ross Cranston, professor of commercial law at the London School of Economics and 390
  specifying the number of people aged 18 to 24 years that each category includes: and how any single parents are included in (a).

  Mr. Roger Evans
  [holding answer 16 February 1995]: The available information, as at the end of May 1993, is set out in the table:

  Political Science, is acting as academic consultant to the inquiry. Professor Richard Susskind has just been appointed as an information technology consultant.

  A sub-group comprising Master Turner and District Judge Greenslade, with representatives of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux and the National Consumer Council, is working on a single code of rules. Mr. James Rennie, a retired Parliamentary Counsel, has been engaged as draftsman.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment of legal needs in respect of(a) social security, (b) housing, (c) debt, (d)

  391
  employment, (e) matrimonial law, (f) the Children Act 1989 and (g) immigration in different pats of the country his Department is making; and when he expects to publish these assessments.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  For a number of years, the Legal Aid Board has been undertaking pioneering work in establishing methods for predicting legal need in some of these areas of work. Details of this work—which is continuing—are contained in the Legal Aid Board's annual reports. This work will need to be built upon as the ideas outlined by the Lord Chancellor earlier this year are developed further. The results of such work will be published in due course if it seems appropriate to do so.

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible(a) in 1991, (b) 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994 were women.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  For information in respect of 1991 and 1992, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service Commissioners' Reports for 1991–92 and 1992–93 respectively. Copies of both reports are available in the Library of the House. In 1993 and 1994, there were 10 new fast-stream entrants to the Lord Chancellor's Department, as shown in the table.

  Parliamentary question for written answer on Monday 27 February

  Year

  Number appointed

  Females

  Males

  1993

  6

  2(Grade 7)

  4

  1994

  4

  3

  1

  Totals

  10

  5

  5

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he plans to publish the report of Lord Woolf's review of the civil justice system.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor expects to receive the first report of Lord Woolf's inquiry into access to justice after Easter this year.

  Civil Justice Reform
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to establish a permanent standing committee on civil justice reform.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor has no plans at present to establish a permanent standing committee on civil justice reform.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  East Timor
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to institute an inquiry into the Balibo killings of 16 October 1975.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We have no plans to institute an inquiry. The Australians took the lead at the time in investigating 392
  the deaths of five members of an Australian television team working in East Timor in October 1975. In view of the circumstances then prevailing in East Timor, there was no means of ascertaining the precise circumstances in which they died. No firm evidence was discovered of who was responsible for their deaths. It is most unlikely, at this distance from the events, that another inquiry would shed any new light on the matter.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response his Department has made to the report of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights concerning the killings at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Rili in November 1991 and the subsequent investigation by the national commission of inquiry.

  Mr. Goodlad
  We welcomed Indonesia's decision to invite the UN special rapporteur to visit East Timor last July. With our EU partners we are considering his report, and Indonesia's response, at the present session of the UN Commission on Human Rights.

  Peru
  Mr. McFall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place an English translation copy of the Interamerican Human Rights court ruling on the massacre of prisoners in the Peruvian El Fronton prison on 18 and 19 June 1987 in the Library.

  Mr. David Davis
  We have not received a copy of the ruling. However, we shall try to obtain one in order to place it in the Library.

  Indonesia
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 3 February,Official Report, column 884, if the representations about banning of three journals by the Government of Indonesia were made privately.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Yes.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests have been made to the Indonesian Government for information on the location and use of defence equipment exported from Britain.

  Mr. Goodlad
  Any such requests are made on a confidential basis. It is not our practice to disclose such exchanges.

  Border Controls
  Mr. Denzil Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will be presenting oral legal argument before the European Court of Justice in the action between the European Parliament and the Commission of the European Countries, case C-445/93, 18 March 1993, regarding the abolition of border controls.
  393
  Mr. David Davis
  We have submitted written observations to the ECJ in this case. An oral hearing has been requested by the Commission. In due course, we will receive notification of the date of that hearing.

  Surinam
  Mr. Davis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Surinam concerning the rights of indigenous and Maroon peoples to be consulted over land use divisions covering the areas in which they live.

  Mr. Baldry
  I am not aware of any recent problem concerning the Maroon people in Surinam and we have received no other request to make representations on their behalf. However, if the hon. Member would care to write about his concerns, I would be happy to look into the matter.

  Overseas Students
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many overseas students currently studying in the United Kingdom are in receipt of funding from his Department; and what expenditure this creates.

  Mr. Baldry
  In the current financial year, ending on 31 March 1995, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is providing funding for some 11,500 overseas students studying in the United Kingdom. The total costs will be approximately £97.6 million.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Baldry
  I shall write to the hon. Member shortly to provide him with a list of the 29 statutory instruments sponsored by my Department in 1994.

  Defence Exports
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions since 1979 his Department sought information from a recipient country on the location and use of defence equipment which was exported to that country from Britain.
  394
  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Any such requests are made on a confidential basis. It is not our practice to disclose such exchanges with other Governments.

  South Africa (Nuclear Weapons)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will authorise the United Kingdom permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors in Vienna to request that the agency investigates whether manufactured nuclear warheads were hidden from the IAEA investigation team which verified South Africa's non-nuclear status in connection with South Africa's application to become a member state of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

  Mr. David Davis
  The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed South Africa's non-nuclear weapon status in 1993. We have no plans to request another investigation.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 December to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett),Official Report, column 897, if he will detail applications to join defence, security and/or security defence-related companies approved by his Department for employees who had left his Department of its agencies within the last two years.

  Mr. Freeman
  I have been asked to reply.

  Since my answer of 1 December to the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett), the following applications from staff in my Department have been approved for employment with defence-related companies. Only one application to join a security company—an Air Vice Marshal to join TNT Express (UK) Ltd—has been approved during the last two years.

  Company

  Rank/Grade

  Action Information (Management)

  1 x Lt. Colonel

  Aramark plc

  1 x Captain

  BAe plc

  1 x Grade 3

  BAe Sema Ltd.

  1 x Commander RN

  BMT Defence Services Ltd.

  1 x Grade 7

  Cray Systems Ltd.

  1 x Lt. Colonel

  Data Sciences (UK) Ltd.

  1 x Squadron Leader

  EDS Scicon Defence Ltd.

  1 x HEO

  1 x SPTO

  1 x PTO

  1 x Lt. Commander RN

  1 x Major General

  1 x Group Captain

  Hewlett Packard Ltd.

  1 x Lt. Commander RN

  Hiller Parker May and Rowden

  1 x HEO

  IBM (UK) Ltd.

  1 x Group Captain

  M L Douglas Equipment Ltd.

  1 x HPTO

  NPBI

  1 x Colonel

  Olin Ordnance

  1 x HPTO

  Pennine Services

  1 x Major

  Racal Radar Defence Systems Ltd.

  1 x Squadron Leader

  Siemens Plessey Electronic Systems Ltd.

  1 x Grade 6

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible in(a) 1991, (b) 1992, (c) 1993 and (d) 1994 were women.

  Mr. Newton
  The Privy Council Office, which comprises only 38 staff, does not employ fast-stream entrants on their first civil service appointment.

TREASURY

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what are the criteria used for classifying grant-maintained schools as private sector institutions for the purpose of national income accounts;

  (2) if he will make a statement on the status of (a) grant-maintained schools and (b) universities and colleges as private sector institutions for the purpose of national income accounts; and what are the differences between them.

  Mr. Nelson
  The national accounts are constructed by the Central Statistical Office in accordance with internationally agreed standards. Current practice is described in the CSO publication "United Kingdom National Accounts: Sources and Methods", third edition, available in the House of Commons Library.

  At present, grant-maintained schools, universities and colleges are all classified as private non-profit-making bodies serving persons. There is no difference in their national accounts status.

  The main criterion for determining whether an organisation is classified to the public or private sector is who controls it. Grant-maintained schools are classified to the private sector primarily because they are considered to be run independently by governors appointed by the private sector.

  CSO will he reviewing the sector classification of these bodies as part of a wider review to identify whether any changes are necessary to meet recently revised international standards.

  Housing Associations (Discounted Securities)
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the implications of his plans to stop the tax loophole between companies in banking groups in respect of discounted securities on housing associations which are partly financed by the use of discounted securities.

  Sir George Young
  I assume that the hon. Gentleman has in mind the proposals at clauses 76 and 77 of the current Finance Bill. These are not directed solely at transactions between companies in banking groups, and I understand from representations that about a dozen housing associations have issued securities on discounted or indexed terms that they believe will be affected by my right hon. and learned Friend's proposal. It appears that 396
  these associations have given indemnities to the holders of their securities against the effects of changes to their tax treatment. It follows, if the clauses in question pass into law, that these borrowings and any further borrowings on similar terms will cease to offer reduced borrowing costs compared with more conventional borrowing. We have, however, proposed that existing borrowings by housing associations should not be subject to the new basis of charge until 1 April 1996. This will give the associations concerned a breathing space in which to rearrange their financial plans.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he and the Secretary of State for the Environment have made into how much of the private finance raised by the housing associations has been achieved via the use of discounted securities.

  Sir George Young
  I understand from representations received and from press reports that about £130 million of borrowing in aggregate may have been raised by housing associations' issuance of discounted securities, and about a further £30 million by issuance of indexed securities which may also be affected by the measure I believe the hon. Gentleman has in mind. These figures total some 2.5 per cent. of estimated total private sector borrowing by housing associations.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has had discussions with the Secretaries of State for Health and for the Environment, following the Department of Health's approving the use of discounted securities for a housing association to finance low-rent accommodation for student nurses and junior doctors in 1989.

  Sir George Young
  My right hon. and learned Friend took the views of ministerial colleagues fully into account in deciding to extend a degree of transitional protection to existing borrowings by housing associations.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy(a) to amend his proposals to exempt housing associations in his proposed plan to curb tax avoidance with discounted securities and (b) to issue advice to the Housing Corporation and other relevant bodies on alternative means to raise private finance.

  Sir George Young
  We have proposed amendments to this year's Finance Bill granting a degree of transitional relief for existing borrowings by housing associations. For the future, these bodies already know of alternative means of raising private finance to those affected by our Budget proposals, and have used them for the overwhelming majority of their borrowing.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Environment about ensuring that housing associations' issue of discounted securities will not be affected by any action to curb tax avoidance in respect of discounted securities between subsidiaries in a banking group.

  Sir George Young
  My right hon. and learned Friend's proposal is not directed solely at transactions between subsidiaries in a banking group, and it is appropriate that securities issued by housing associations should come within its scope if they have the relevant characteristics. We have, however, concluded that it is appropriate to extend a degree of transitional protection to existing borrowings by housing associations.

  Delegated Pay
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will(a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated pay option (i) from April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.

  Mr. Nelson
  None of the NDPBs sponsored by the Treasury falls into the categories listed. One NDPB follows its own pay arrangements; for the remainder, remuneration is on a fee paid basis.

  Housing (Negative Equity)
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what help is being given to home owners with negative equity.

  Mr. Nelson
  The Bank of England estimates that the number of households with negative equity has fallen by over 44 per cent. since the end of 1992. The Government are pursuing sound economic policies designed to sustain economic recovery. That is the surest route to rising prosperity for all, including home owners who currently have negative equity.

  St. John's House, Bootle
  Mr. Benton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the demolition of St. John's house in Bootle; how many civil servants are currently employed there; and what provision is being made for the continuation of their functions.

  Sir George Young
  St. John's house in Bootle is occupied by 1,650 Inland Revenue staff and 200 Home Office staff. The building is in need of major refurbishment and staff have had to put up with poor working conditions for a number of years. Detailed option studies were undertaken by Property Holdings and the Inland Revenue to consider how the problems associated with the building could be resolved. Having considered all the options, including value for money, the decision has been taken to demolish the whole of St. John's house and to put in its place a new, but smaller, building which will house 850 of the existing occupants. The other 1,000 Inland Revenue staff will move to private leased accommodation elsewhere in Bootle. There are no plans to move work out of Bootle and the Inland Revenue remains committed to retaining a substantial presence in Bootle.

  Value Added Tax (Sports Clubs)
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for refunding VAT paid on sports supplies which have been purchased by non-profit-making sports clubs; if it is the responsibility of sports clubs to consult their members on how any refund should be used or distributed to its members; and what discussions he has had with HM Customs and Excise regarding the payment of(a) VAT and (b) VAT refunds.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  In June 1994 Customs and Excise invited all non-profit-making sports clubs to claim repayment of VAT on certain sporting and physical education services supplied by them to members during the period 1 January 1990 to 31 March 1994. many of the 398
  repayments have now been made. Sports supplies purchased by clubs are generally not exempt from VAT.

  Whether or not sports clubs have a responsibility to consult members concerning allocation of the refunds is for the clubs and their members to determine between themselves. It is not a matter in which it would be appropriate for the Government or customs to intervene. VAT accounting arrangements fall within the statutory responsibilities of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise for managing the tax.

  National Lottery
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements are in place for the timing of payments of 12 per cent. tax to the Exchequer by the organisers of the national lottery; and what provision has been made of the payment of interest to the Exchequer.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Payments of lottery duty are made on the 15th of the month following the month in which the liabilities arises. There are no arrangements for the payment of interest to the Exchequer in relation to the lottery duty.

  Civil Service Job Losses
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of job losses in the civil service in the next two years.

  Sir George Young
  The statistical supplement to the "Financial Statement and Budget Report", published on 24 February, shows Departments' civil service staff plans as follows:

  Outturn

  Planned Figures

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  548,000

  527,000

  516,000

  494,000

  477,000

  This accords with the expectation, announced in the civil service White Paper—Cm 2627—that numbers would fall significantly below 500,000 in the next few years.

  Customs and Excise
  Mr. Ainger
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what changes he plans to implement in the number and the location of Customs and Excise officers in Wales; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) how many Customs and Excise officers were based in Wales dealing with (a) VAT, (b) import controls, including checking passengers at airports and ports, (c) coastal surveillance and (d) general intelligence in September 1979, September 1990 and September 1994; and what is the planned number in September 1995.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: As part of the implementation of the fundamental expenditure review, Customs and Excise currently plans the following changes in Wales which will take place over the next five years:

  399

  Locations

  Officers at 23 February 1995

  Officers at 31 March 2000

  Cardiff

  205

  275

  Merthyr

  22

  0

  Newport

  17

  0

  Swansea

  96

  40

  Haverfordwest

  12

  0

  Carmarthen

  49

  79.5

  Bangor

  0

  18

  Colwyn Bay

  26

  0

  Pembroke Dock Excise

  7

  0

  Aberystwyth

  5

  4

  Newtown

  6

  0

  Customs

  98

  47.5

  Total

  543

  464

  Over recent years, customs enforcement strategy has progressively moved away from a static presence at all ports and airports towards more flexible, better targeted checks operated by fast response teams. Accordingly, customs staff are deployed flexibly throughout Wales and it would not be in the public interest to identify their location in greater detail.

  Customs and Excise does not keep reports of local resource deployment for 1979. Its planning system does not easily allow it to identify staffing levels at a mid-point in the year and the figures in the schedule are, therefore, for fiscal years. The import control figures in the schedule include a small element of export freight resources which cannot easily be identified and excluded. Coastal surveillance is not a separately identified activity within Customs and Excise's operational planning system, so the figures requested under categories (c) and (d) are included as a global figure headed "Intelligence" in the schedule.

  Customs and Excise officers based in Wales

  1990–91

  1994–95

  1995–96

  VAT

  357.0

  306.0

  256.5

  Import controls1

  186.0

  88.5

  70.5

  Intelligence2

  16.0

  29.0

  51.0

  1 Includes a small element of export freight resources

  2 Includes both coastal and other intelligence.

  Fraud
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 14 February,Official Report, column 576, if he will itemise by year the level and number of frauds from each Department, indicating those involving (a) agencies and (b) non-departmental public bodies.

  Mr. Aitken
  [holding answer 23 February 1995]: The data which are gathered centrally on fraud are used primarily as a means of promoting awareness of fraud risks, and to identify trends in the types of fraud committed. The data are not kept in the form requested in the question.
  400

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Banbridge Sewage Treatment Works
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the nature of and the need for the proposed remedial work to Banbridge sewage treatment works contained in the May 1993 programme of the water service; and what is the current cost of that remedial work and the date on which the work is planned to start and be completed.

  Mr. Moss
  Two stages of improvements to Banbridge sewage treatment works were contained in the May 1993 programme.

  The first stage, costing an estimated £450,000, involves construction of a new inlet works and improvements to treatment units and the outfall. This work will commence in mid-March 1995 and is due for completion in early 1996. These planned improvements are required to replace and upgrade plant and to cater for increased loading on the works.

  The second stage will involve a further increase in the capacity of the works. This stage is currently programmed to commence in late 1997. The contract period is likely to be 1 year and current estimated cost is £500,000.

  Small Firms Employment Scheme
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 15 February,Official Report, column 679–80, on what basis consultants were selected for the small firms employment scheme; and if he will list the experience and qualifications of those consultants.

  Mr. Ancram
  The Fair Employment Commission formed a panel of consultants who were engaged under the small firms employment scheme to provide consultancy advice to companies. Applications for inclusion on the panel were invited from established management consultants or consultancy firms who had at least five years proven experience in human resources/personnel consultancy with specific expertise in one or more of the following areas: selection and recruitment systems: use of psychometric instruments; and promotion of equality of opportunity in employment.

  Applicants were also required to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Acts and the Fair Employment in Northern Ireland code of practice.

  Although information regarding the experience and qualifications of individual consultants is available, it could be provided in the form requested only at disproportionate cost.

  Northern Ireland Boundary Commission
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 7 February,Official Report, columns 167–68, and the answer of 1 December 1994 given by the Minister of State—the hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram)—to the hon. Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Mr. Maginnis), Official Report, column 1326, if he will clarify the number of occasions on which Irish Government Ministers sought to influence the work of the Northern Ireland Boundary

  401
  Commission, and the dates on which any meetings took place.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  [holding answer 15 February 1995]: My answer of 7 February explained that at the intergovernmental conference held on 28 January 1994 the Irish side was advised that there were statutory procedures for interested parties to make representations in respect of the Boundary Commission's published provisional recommendations. The Government's practice is that details of their exchanges with the Irish Government remain confidential, but I can confirm that when the Irish side referred again to the issue at the intergovernmental conference held on 10 March 1994 they were reminded of the independence of the Boundary Commission. My hon. Friend the Minister's answer referred to both these occasions.

  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 7 February,Official Report, column 167, if he will list the occasions on which Northern Ireland constituency boundaries were raised by the Irish members of the Anglo-Irish intergovernmental secretariat after the publication of the provisional recommendations of the Northern Ireland Boundary Commission.

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  [holding answer 15 February 1995]: The Government's practice is that details of its exchanges with the Irish Government remain confidential. As is reflected by the communiqué issued following the intergovernmental conference on 28 January 1994, the Irish have been consistently advised that there are statutory procedures for interested parties to make representations in respect of the Boundary Commission's published provisional recommendations.

  Abattoirs
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the throughput of abattoirs in each year since 1990, showing(a) overall units, (b) sheep, (c) pigs, (d) calves under six months and (e) bovines over six months.

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 22 February 1995]: The information requested is as follows:

  Year

  Livestock units

  Sheep

  Pigs

  Bovines over six months

  1990

  968,400

  754,608

  1,085,647

  498,717

  1991

  941,285

  631,494

  1,034,357

  506,286

  1992

  958,569

  970,891

  963,914

  498,565

  1993

  935,759

  1,003,623

  1,079,172

  432,660

  1994

  922,269

  803,472

  1,089,777

  444,229

  Throughput of calves under six months was negligible. (Council directive 91/497/EEC).

  Note:

  1. Livestock unit = one bovine, seven sheep or three pigs.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  National Lottery
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the position of those charities which appear not to be approved in the 402
  disbursement of the moneys provided from that part of the receipts of the national lottery available for the support of good causes.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  No. Within the framework of my general directions on the matters that should be taken into account, it is for the National Lottery Charities Board to determine its own priorities in relation to individual charities.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs in response to a similar question.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Howard
  A list of the 102 statutory instruments sponsored by the Home Office in the 12 months from February 1994 to January 1995 has been placed in the Library.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been undertaken under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984 for the last five years for which figures are available.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The number of prosecutions brought by the Data Protection Registrar for alleged offences under the Data Protection Act 1984 is as follows:

  Year

  Number

  1990

  30

  1991

  17

  1992

  27

  1993

  68

  1994

  32

  Note:

  Year ending 31 May

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum were received from citizens of the Ivory Coast in each month of 1994; how many have been(a) granted asylum and (b) refused; of those refused, how many have been given exceptional leave to remain; and how many are still awaiting determination.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The available information on nationals from the Ivory Coast is provided in the table. As at 31 December 1994, an estimated 1,150 applications for asylum from the Ivory Coast were outstanding.
  403

  Applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, by location of application, and decisions, nationals of the Ivory Coast, January to December 1994.

  Number of principal applicants

  Applications received

  Decisions 1 2 3

  Refusals

  Total applications

  Applied at port

  Applied in country

  Total decisions

  Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum

  Not recognized as a refugee but granted exceptional leave

  Total refused

  Refused asylum and exceptional leave after full consideration

  Refused on safe third country grounds

  Refused under para.180F of Immigration Rules4

  1994

  January

  25

  15

  10

  20

  —

  —

  20

  20

  —

  *

  February

  45

  10

  35

  10

  —

  —

  10

  5

  *

  *

  March

  40

  25

  15

  15

  —

  —

  15

  10

  —

  5

  April

  70

  50

  20

  20

  —

  —

  20

  15

  *

  *

  May

  65

  50

  20

  25

  —

  —

  25

  15

  5

  5

  June

  95

  55

  40

  25

  —

  —

  25

  25

  *

  *

  July

  50

  35

  15

  20

  —

  —

  20

  15

  *

  —

  August

  110

  80

  30

  35

  —

  —

  35

  25

  *

  10

  September

  135

  95

  40

  35

  *

  —

  35

  20

  *

  10

  October

  30

  5

  25

  35

  —

  —

  35

  20

  5

  10

  November

  25

  5

  20

  45

  —

  —

  45

  40

  —

  10

  December

  10

  —

  10

  30

  —

  —

  30

  25

  —

  10

  Total

  705

  425

  280

  320

  *

  —

  320

  240

  20

  60

  1 Provisional and estimated figures rounded to the nearest 5 with '*'= 1 or 2.

  2 Information is of initial determination decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.

  3 Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

  4 For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period.

  Electronic Surveillance
  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place within the European Community for the protection of employees in the workplace who may be subject to electronic surveillance without their prior authorisation or consent; and what legislation relates to the unlawful use of electronic monitoring equipment with respect to privacy and data protection.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  As to the first part of the question, I am aware of no such measures. As to the second part, I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to a question from him on 21 February,Official Report, column 158

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations have been undertaken in relation to organisations involved in electronic bugging of offices or other workplace premises in the last 10 years.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  No such records are held.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 21 February,Official Report, columns 158–59, if he will outline the nature and extent of complaints lodged with his Department in relation to the operation and practices of companies or organisations involving electronic surveillance services.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Advertisements offering information-gathering services, which may or may not involve electronic surveillance devices, attracted about 40 letters of complaint from hon. Members and others in 1994. The main point of concern was that confidential personal information could be obtained without authority and advertised for sale. The amendment to the Data Protection Act 1984 made by section 161 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 addresses this concern.

  Mr. Colin Dunning
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will release to solicitors acting for Mr. Colin Ivor Dunning the expert evidence referred to in the letter dated 11 January from his Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I am arranging for this evidence to be sent to Mr. Dunning's solicitors without further delay.

  Theft
  Mr. Michael
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the value of property stolen in theft by an employee in 1992, excluding the offence involving a pension fund referred to in table 2.20 of the 1992 "Criminal Statistics for England and Wales" Cm 2410.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Excluding the offence involving the pension fund, the value of property stolen was £55.7 million.

  Campsfield House
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees at Campsfield house detention centre are currently on hunger strike; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  On 23 February 1995, two detainees at Campsfield house were refusing meals; both were taking milk and water.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the annual cost to Her Majesty's Government of Campsfield detention centre.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The total cost to the immigration service of running its detention accommodation at Campsfield house in the financial year 1993–94 was £1,913,872.

  Miscarriages of Justice
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 7 February,Official Report, columns 214–15, how many of the 188 cases under consideration at the beginning of 1995 had been with C3 division for (a) six months, (b) 12 months and (c) 18 months or longer.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Of the 188 cases under consideration with C3 at the beginning of 1995, 106 had been with the division for over six months, 38 for over 12 months, and 25 for over 18 months.

  Drug-related Deaths
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths in the United Kingdom resulted directly from addiction to(a) heroin and (b) other drugs in each year since 1985.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The only clearly identifiable direct cause of death from addiction to drugs is from overdose, and the relevant information is contained in table 14 of the Home Office "Statistical Bulletin" entitled "Statistics of drug addicts notified to the Home Office, United Kingdom, 1993", a copy of which is in the Library.

  Gloucestershire Police
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors were taken into account before refusing a special grant to the chief constable of Gloucestershire for the exceptional costs of the Cromwell Street inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Applications for special grant are considered against the following criteria: the expenditure must be exceptional, unforseen and of a scale likely to threaten the efficiency of the force.

  The application by Gloucestershire police authority was carefully considered against these criteria, taking into account advice from Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, but was not judged to meet the criteria.

  Drug Action Teams
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in setting up regional drug action teams as set out in "Tackling Drugs Together".

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  "Tackling Drugs Together" is a consultation document. The Government are considering the responses to its proposals, which include the setting up of local drug action teams in 1995–96. Definite proposals will be published in a White Paper in the spring.

  Football Spectators
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many restriction orders have been made under the Football Spectators Act 1989 in each year since its introduction.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Part II of the 1989 Football Spectators Act, which provided the courts with the power to make restriction orders to prevent certain convicted hooligans from travelling to key football matches outside England and Wales, came into force on 24 April 1990. The number of restriction orders is as follows:406

  Year

  Number of orders

  1990

  19

  1991

  4

  1992

  2

  1993

  0

  1994

  1

  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many restriction orders made under section 15 of the Football Spectators Act 1989 were enforced with regard to the Ireland v. England football match of 15 February.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Two.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers exist to enable him to restrain within the United Kingdom people subject to a restriction order preventing them from attending certain sporting events in the United Kingdom or overseas who seeks to breach that order even though they are not suspected of committing any other offence.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Section 15 of the Football Spectators Act 1989 gave the courts power to impose restriction orders on those convicted of football-related offences to prevent them from attending key matches outside England and Wales. Those subject to such orders are required to report to a police station—of their choice—usually at a time when such a match is taking place. It is an offence to fail to do so without good reason. There is no separate power to prevent a person subject to a restriction order from leaving the country at the stipulated time.

  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action was taken by the football unit of the national criminal intelligence service to reduce the likelihood of crowd violence in advance of the Ireland v. England football match on 15 February.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  I refer the hon. Member to my written reply of 22 February,Official Report, column 234.

  Immigration (Non-NATO Forces)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records are kept, and what approval procedures are required, for the entry into the United Kingdom of members of non-NATO armed forces.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Separate records are not kept of the entry of members of non-NATO armed forces. Those coming for official duties or training who are subject to control under the Immigration Act must satisfy the immigration officer that they qualify under the immigration rules.

  Prisons (Drugs)
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the extent of drug abuse 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.
  407
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Frank Cook, dated 27 February 1995:
  I have been asked to reply to your recent Question on the extent of drug abuse in prisons.
  The information currently available on prisoners is limited to that provided by the Home Office Addicts Index which relates to those assessed as being addicted to Class A drugs. During 1993, 3,764 drug addicts were identified by prison medical officers in England, Scotland and Wales. Not all of these prisoners were, however, necessarily misusing drugs while in prison. In addition, it is known that a significant number of prisoners use Class B drugs but no statistical information is currently available.
  However, this year the Prison Service will be introducing a mandatory drug testing programme for prisoners. As part of the programme prisoners will be required to participate in random drug testing. This will provide a better indication of the extent of drug misuse in prison and the Service will be able to use this information to monitor the effectiveness of local drug strategies.
  The presence of drugs in prison is unacceptable and tackling drug misuse is a high priority for the Service.
  A new prison Service drugs strategy has been developed as part of the Government's strategy against the misues of drugs, as set out in the Green Paper "Tackling Drugs Together". The new strategy will be issued to all Prison Service establishments in the near future.
  The reduction in the level of drug misuse will be achieved through the implementation of local drug strategies which will have the objective of reducing the supply of drugs; reducing the demand for drugs; rehabilitating drug misusers; and reducing the potential for damage to health arising from the misuse of drugs.
  Mandatory drug testing is an important part of the strategy. The first phase of implementation has already started in eight establishments. This will be carefully monitored and evaluated and the results will provide the basis for testing throughout the Prison Service. Prisoners who test positive will be liable to the usual range of disciplinary action on adjudication including additional days, loss of privileges and fines. Other measures to be taken will include imposition of closed visits and removal of home leave. Prisoners who test positive will be offered treatment for their drug misuse problem.
  The strategy also contains measures to prevent drugs entering prisons. These include the increased use of drug dogs; more effective searching of prisoners, staff and visitors; the use of closed-circuit television cameras during visits; and the imposition of closed visits for prisoners found guilty of drug offences in prison.
  The Prison Service will also be substantially expanding the number and type of drug treatment programmes available to prisoners. Careful monitoring and evaluation of these programmes will help to determine the development of drug treatment in other establishments.

  Greater Manchester Probation Service
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many staff were employed and at what grades by the Greater Manchester probation service on 30 June 1992, 30 June 1993 and 30 June 1994;

  (2) how many court reports were completed by the Greater Manchester probation service during 1992 and 1993;

  (3) how many offenders were supervised by the Greater Manchester probation service on 30 June 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshaw (Mr. Morris) and the hon. Member for Rochdale (Dr. Clark) on 21 February 1995,Official Report, column 157.

  Ernest Saunders
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 February,408
  Official Report, column 585, what reasons the parole board gave for its recommendation to release Ernest Saunders.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Under the parole arrangements existing at the time when Mr. Saunders was released, the parole board was not required to give reasons for its recommendations.

  Prisons (Alcohol)
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many finds of illicit alcohol were made in gaols in England and Wales for each year since 1990.

  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 Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 27 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about how many finds of illicit alcohol were made in jails in England and Wales for each year since 1990.
  This information is not routinely kept by the Prison Service.

  Non-departmental Public Bodies (Pay)
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will(a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated pay option (i) from April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.

  Mr. Howard
  No decision has yet been taken on future pay arrangements for NDPBs sponsored by the Department.

  Illegal Immigrants
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list by European Union member state the most recent estimate of illegal immigrants living in that member state.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  There are no official data on the numbers of illegal immigrants in EU member states, because, by its very nature, illegal immigration is very difficult to measure and any estimates, including any for the United Kingdom, would be highly speculative.

  Pucklechurch Remand Centre
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 30 January,Official Report, column 503, about Pucklechurch remand centre, what were the appropriate arrangements that were put into effect to hold the category A prisoners; what has been the cost of putting these arrangements into effect to date; and how long they will remain in force.

  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.
  409
  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 27 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the arrangements for holding category A prisoners at Pucklechurch.
  As these arrangements concern the security of an establishment, it would not be appropriate for me to publish any details. Staff were diverted from elsewhere for this work. Additional costs of approximately £12,000 were incurred for travel and subsistence, excluding the cost of staff time which would have been incurred anyway.
  The prisoner was transferred to another prison on 15 February.

PRIME MINISTER

  Border Controls
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will inform the European Commission that he will ask Parliament to amend article 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 to make unenforceable in the United kingdom any directive or judgment of the European Court which diminishes the control on the movement of persons which the United Kingdom at present exercises at its frontiers.
  410
  The Prime Minister
  No. I have already made it clear that we will take whatever action is necessary to maintain our frontier controls. However, amendment of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 would not have the effect suggested.

  Social Development Summit
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Prime Minister what criteria he will use when deciding whether he will attend the world summit on social development.

  The Prime Minister
  I will not be attending. My right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Chalker will represent the United Kingdom.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Dining Rooms
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what is the current waiting time for booking dining rooms A, B, C, and D for(a) dinners, (b) lunches and (c) afternoon events.

  Mr. Colin Shepherd
  This is a matter for the Director of Catering Services. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member.

EDUCATION

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill apply to all regulations for which her Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the statutory instruments which her Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Boswell
  The information requested has been placed in the Library.

  School Curriculum (Swimming)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the status of swimming in the school curriculum and what is her Department's guidance to local education authorities and schools regarding charging for swimming lessons.

  Mr. Forth
  Swimming is a compulsory part of the national curriculum. The national curriculum for physical education requires that, by the age of 11, all pupils should be able to swim unaided at least 25 m and demonstrate an understanding of water safety. Local education authorities and schools should not charge for swimming lessons. They may, however, request voluntary contributions provided that it is made clear that these are optional and that registered pupils are not treated differently depending on the level of contributions made.

  Nursery Education
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions she has had with councillors in Lancashire concerning nursery education for four-year-olds and the funding of such provision.

  Mr. Forth
  My right hon. Friend has received representations from councillors in a number of local authorities, including Lancashire, concerning nursery education for four-year-olds and the funding of such provision.

  Learning Difficulties
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action her Department is taking to improve facilities in schools for children with moderate learning difficulties.

  Mr. Forth
  Annual capital guidelines for 1995–96 include notional allocations of over £7 million for special education projects. No specific sums are earmarked for schools for children with moderate learning difficulties: it is for local education authorities to decide their own capital expenditure priorities and to make the best use of the resources available to them through ACGs. Further sums will become available through supplementary credit 412
  approvals for specific special education projects in the course of the financial year.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action her Department is taking to bring up to the standards set out in "Building Bulletin 77" the schools for pupils with severe learning difficulty in Kirklees.

  Mr. Forth
  The guidance in "Building Bulletin 77" is not mandatory. It sets out good practice in the design of accommodation for new special school buildings and for the adaptation of existing special schools. My right hon. Friend takes account of how closely proposals for new construction in special schools—in Kirklees, and elsewhere—comply with the bulletin when considering the approval of premises under section 185 of the Education Act 1993.

  Staff Transfers
  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 16 February,Official Report, columns 783–84, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff responsible for sport were transferred to the Department of National Heritage in July 1992.

  Mr. Forth
  A total of 22 full-time staff.

  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 16 February,Official Report, columns 783–84, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff responsible for science were transferred from her Department to the Cabinet Office in July 1992.

  Mr. Forth
  A total of 42 full-time staff.

  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 16 February,Official Report columns 783–84, how many staff responsible for Her Majesty's inspectorate and support for Her Majesty's inspectorate still remain in her Department following the transfer of the majority of those staff to Ofsted in September 1992.

  Mr. Forth
  On the establishment of Ofsted in September 1992, 86 HMI and support staff remained in the Department and have since retired. Three HMI became DFE staff and remain in the Department, as do 20 former HMI support staff. Seventeen DFE staff remain on loan to Ofsted and may return to the Department in due course.

  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 16 February,Official Report, columns 783–84, how many of her staff responsible for Her Majesty's inspectorate and support for Her Majesty's inspectorate transferred to the Office for Standards in Education in September 1992.

  Mr. Forth
  A total of 493 full-time and 52 part-time staff.

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which her Department is responsible in(a) 1991, (b) 1992, (c) 1993 and (d) 1994 were women.

  Mr. Boswell
  I refer the hon. Member to the civil service commissioner's report for 1991 and 1992 which gave the required information for these years.
  413
  In 1993, the Department recruited seven staff to fast-stream grades of whom two were women. In 1994, there were 10 recruits, of whom six were women.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Eritrea
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what overseas aid has gone to Eritrea in the last two years; and what plans there are for future aid.

  Mr. Baldry
  Bilateral aid to Eritrea, including emergency assistance, totalled almost £2 million in 1992–93 and £6 million in 1993–94. Since 1992 we have also contributed more than £6 million through the EC. We expect to continue our bilateral technical co-operation programme of about £1 million a year. Future emergency assistance will reflect needs as they arise.

  Syria
  Sir Teddy Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total aid that the European Union has agreed to provide to Syria; why the aid package was agreed; and how much will be contributed by the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Baldry
  Since 1978 the European Community has provided to Syria a total of 461 mecu, or £362.9 million—exchange rate February 1995, 1 ecu equals £0.7889—of which the UK share was approximately 16 per cent. This support forms part of the EC's programme of assistance for all Mediterranean non-member states.

  Rwanda
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new proposal he has to reduce suffering in Rwanda.

  Mr. Baldry
  We continue to support the Rwandan Government's programme of reconciliation and socio-economic rehabilitation and recovery, which is the agreed framework for accelerating economic and social development in Rwanda. Donors have already pledged $583 million in support of the programme.

  Amazonian Rain Forest
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to discourage the destruction of the Amazonian rain forest.

  Mr. Baldry
  The United Kingdom has taken a leading role in promoting the implementation of the forest principles agreed in Rio. We have also provided more than £14 million for bilateral forest protection projects in Amazonia since 1989 and are supporting the joint G7-European Union pilot programme to conserve the Brazilian rain forest. We have provided £1.5 million to the pilot program trust fund managed by the World hank, and plan to provide additional assistance.

  South American Street Children
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support is currently being given to help South American street children.

  Mr. Baldry
  The Overseas Development Agency has committed over £800,000 to projects with street children in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru. This assistance is largely channelled through UK non-governmental organisations such as Childhope, the International Children's Trust, CAFOD and Oxfam. British partnership schemes, run by our embassies in the region, provide additional support to local NGO projects.

  Contracts
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the contract value, in pounds sterling, to(a) Coppee (UK) Ltd., (b) Westinghouse Brake and Signal, (c) NEI, (d) GEC Alsthom, (e) Cegelec, (f) Crown Agents, (g) Brecknell Willis, (h) Balfour Beatty and (i) Thorn EMI from the Ankara Metro project.

  Mr. Baldry
  (a) Coppee (UK) £51 million (b) Westinghouse Brake and Signal £8.15 million.

  The following companies are subcontractors of the contract awarded to Coppee (UK):

  Companies

  £ million

  (c)

  NEI

  3.2

  (d)

  GEC Alsthorn

  17.1

  (e)

  Cegelec

  8.9

  (f)

  Crown Agents

  4.2

  (g)

  Brecknell Willis

  4.7

  (h)

  Balfour Beatty

  5.7

  (i)

  Thorn TTSI

  1.9

  Commonwealth Development Corporation
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes have been made to the external finance limit for the current year for the Commonwealth Development Corporation.

  Mr. Baldry
  The external finance limit for CDC set out in the statistical supplement to the "Financial Statement and Budget report 1994–95", Cm 2519, has been increased from zero to £30.56 million. The increase is made up of £22 million due to a classification change, £2.7 million to allow for investment of cash balances held at the end of 1993–94 and £5.86 million in respect of continuing interest payments made by CDC.

  The classification change has no consequences for public expenditure and the other elements of the increase will be met by a decrease in the cash limit for, and reallocation of provision within class II, vote 5. The increase will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Victims' Families
  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Attorney-General to what extent the families of victims are taken into account by
  415
  the Crown Prosecution Service during the prosecution process.

  The Attorney-General
  When taking a decision to prosecute, the interests of the victim and his or her family are an important factor in determining the balance of the public interest.

  Racial Attacks
  Ms Abbott
  To ask the Attorney-General when he last met the head of the Crown Prosecution Service to discuss racial attacks.

  The Attorney-General
  I meet the Director of Public Prosecutions on a regular basis. Cases with a racial element are discussed as and when they arise.

  Public Order Act 1986
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Attorney-General how many applications from the Crown Prosecution Service to bring prosecutions under section 18 of the Public Order Act 1986 he has turned down.

  The Attorney-General
  Since the Public Order Act 1986 came into force, consent to prosecute under section 18 has been granted in five applications out of seven. I have also received 12 applications for consent to prosecute under other sections of part III of that Act, of which 10 have been granted and two have been refused.

  Crown Prosecution Service
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Attorney-General how many regional offices of the Crown Prosecution Service are below their recommended manning levels; and if he will make a statement.

  The Attorney-General
  Nationwide the Crown Prosecution Service has its full complement of lawyers and close to its full complement of administrative staff.

  Crime Victims (Compensation)
  Mr. Donald Anderson
  To ask the Attorney-General what role he played in the considerations by the Government of plans to alter the principles of compensation for victims of violent crime.

  The Attorney-General
  By convention the Law Officers do not normally disclose whether they have given advice on a particular subject or the substance of any advice that they may have given.

  Increased Sentences
  Mr. David Evans
  To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has to introduce an incentive pay scheme for his staff based on the number of times they obtain an increase in sentence on appeal.

  The Attorney-General
  None.

  Serious Fraud Office
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Attorney-General how many successful prosecutions were concluded by the Serious Fraud Office in the last year; and what was the total value of all payments to prosecuting counsel instructed by the Serious Fraud Office over the same period.
  416
  The Attorney-General
  During the period 1 April 1994 to 31 January 1995, 13 defendants were prosecuted to conviction by the Serious Fraud Office.

  The total payments on fees to prosecuting counsel during this period was £2,655,000. That amount includes some payments in relation to professional services carried out prior to that period but excludes costs incurred within the period where payment has not yet been made.

  Scott Inquiry
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Attorney-General what was the agreed cost of legal services to the Ministry of Defence by the Treasury Solicitor's Department in respect of the Scott inquiry; and what other or later invoices than those cited in his answer to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Mr. Byers) of 13 May 1994,Official Report, column 251, in respect of the Scott inquiry have been sent by the Treasury solicitors to the Ministry of Defence and all other Departments.

  The Attorney-General
  The agreed cost to date of legal services provided to the Ministry of Defence by the Treasury Solicitor's Department in respect of the Scott inquiry is £137,306.18.

  Invoices sent by the Department since 13 May 1994 are as follows:

  Department

  £

  Ministry of Defence

  2,311.38

  Department of Trade and Industry

  25,840.71

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  15,490.62

  Non-departmental Public Bodies (Pay)
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will(a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated pay option (i) from April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.

  The Attorney-General
  There are no NDPBs sponsored by the Departments for which I am responsible.

HEALTH

  Surgery
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to restrict the performance of keyhole surgery to surgeons trained in the specialty.

  Mr. Sackville
  Minimally invasive techniques have been used safely and effectively in various surgical specialties for many years. There is no one branch of surgery specifically devoted to these techniques.

  We are now talking to the royal colleges about a new system which will bring together groups of experts under the auspices of the royal colleges to evaluate major advances in surgery and medicine.

  It is for individual provider hospitals to ensure high standards of practice for all patients and for purchasing

  417
  authorities to ensure that their populations have access to high quality care. Surgeons practising minimal access techniques should he properly trained in those techniques and junior trainees should be closely supervised by experienced staff.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will add to the patient's charter the right to have surgery performed by a registered medical practitioner trained in surgery.

  Mr. Sackville
  No. All procedures should be carried out by an appropriate person. A consultant will normally have overall responsibility for the care of a particular patient.

  Long-term Care
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to stop NHS trusts entering into contracts with private contractors to provide very long-term care for elderly patients.

  Mr. Bowis
  None. The national health service has always contracted with private contractors. It is the responsibility of health authorities to arrange and fund continuing health care. We issued guidance to health authorities on their responsibilities for meeting continuing care needs on 23 February, copies of which are available in the Library.

  NHS Pensioners
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set up an investigation into the recent supply of the names and addresses of NHS pensioners and their Paymaster General's office reference numbers to third parties.

  Mr. Sackville
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the National Health Service Pensions Agency under its chief executive, A.F. Cowan. I have asked him to reply to the hon. Member.

  Letter from A. F. Cowan to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 27 February 1995:
  The Secretary of State for Health has asked me to respond to your written parliamentary question of 17 February 1995 because it falls within my area of responsibility.
  The Agency contracts Paymaster to administer the payment of NHS pensions. They had, without reference to us, issued promotional material to pensioners from a third party but I have been assured by Keith Sullens, who is the Chief Executive of Paymaster, that at no time has any information about NHS pensioners been released to third parties.

  NHS Efficiency
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the efficiency rating of the NHS in relation to other EU health services.

  Mr. Malone
  Between 1978–79 and 1992–93, hospital and community health services' efficiency in England increased by over a fifth. Data on health services in other European Union countries are available in "OECD Health Systems", Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development 1993.

  We share the judgment of OECD, whose latest "Economic Survey", July 1994, points out that the national health service
  "was, and is, a remarkably cost effective institution"
  418
  and that it achieves "comparable health outcomes" with other large OECD countries.

  Private Finance
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the value of business plans estimated under the private financial initiative, broken down by region.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) on 3 November 1994 at column 1269.

  Four further projects have been approved, each with a capital value of £1 million or over. These are:

  £ million

  Northern and Yorkshire Region

  Royal Victoria Infirmary and Associated Hospitals National Health Service Trust

  multi-storey car park

  3.2

  South Thames Region

  Eastbourne Hospitals National Health Service Trust

  clinical waste incinerator

  3.0

  Merton Sutton and Wandsworth Health Authority

  residential accommodation

  1.0

  Mid-Downs Health Authority (Princess Royal Hospital)

  magnetic resonance imaging

  1.0

  Child Protection Register
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children(a) in the Hastings and Rother area, (b) nationally and (c) in east Sussex are on the child protection register.

  Mr. Bowis
  Figures in "Children and Young People on Child Protection Registers Year Ending 31 March 1994", copies of which are available in the Library, show that 0.32 and 0.60 per cent. of the population aged under 18 were on the child protection register at 31 March 1994 in England and east Sussex respectively. Information is not available centrally for areas smaller than local authorities.

  Depressive Illness
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of clinical depression have been diagnosed in the NHS for each year since 1990;

  (2) how many cases of seasonal affective disorder have been diagnosed in the NHS for each year since 1992.

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally for England. The situation in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Insulin Pens
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the total annual projected cost of making the provision of insulin injection pens and needles available on general practitioner prescription.

  Mr. Malone
  The cost of making injection pens and needles prescribable by general practitioners would depend upon the price the Department is able to negotiate with the manufacturers, and the rate at which general practitioners prescribe them.

  Anabolic Steroids
  Mr. Pendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 7 February,Official Report, column 158, if she will list all seizures of anabolic steroids made by the Medicines Control Agency for each of the last five years.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Medicines Control Agency does not keep separate statistics on the quantities of anabolic steroids seized as a result of its enforcement action.

  However, investigations into the illegal trade in anabolic steroids remains a high priority of the MCA. During the last year, as a result of 28 investigations, anabolic steroids with a black market value of several million pounds were seized.

  Reactive Hypoglycaemia
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what study she is making of the south Cumbria alternative sentencing options study, and other evidence as to the links between reactive hypoglycaemia and crime; and what plans her Department has to recognise reactive hypoglycaemia as a medical condition requiring further clinical study and research.

  Mr. Sackville
  We are not aware of the study to which the hon. Member refers. If the hon. Member sends me a copy, I will write to him.

  The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each NHS trust the annual budget for public relations for(a) 1992–93, (b) 1993–94 and (c) 1994–95.

  Mr. Sackville
  We do not collect this information centrally. It is for each national health service trust to decide how much of its budget it should spend on public relations.

  If the hon. Member is concerned at the public relations expenditure of a particular NHS trust, he should write to the chairman.

  Disabled Living Centres
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each of the last three years the level of funding for disabled living centres by each district health authority.

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which her Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs gave him today.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the statutory instruments which her Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Sackville
  A list be will placed in the Library.

  The Royal Hospitals NHS Trust
  Mr. Shore
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her oral statement of 20 February,Official Report, column 31, on the London health service, what is the capital investment sum needed to provide at the Royal London Whitechapel site the services and facilities to be withdrawn from the London child hospital, the Queen Elizabeth hospital for children and St. Bartholomew's hospital; over what time scale the expansion of the Whitechapel site will take place; and how much of the capital needed will he provided by her Department.

  Mr. Malone
  The estimated gross capital cost of the proposed single site option, phased over five or six years, as set out in the consultation document "Health Services for the Future" published by East London and the City health authority, is £202 million. This is £106 million more than the £96 million needed to maintain the status quo.

  Funding sources will be confirmed when the Royal Hospitals Trust has developed its full business case following the outcome of public consultation.

  Paracetamol
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the link between paracetamol use and the occurrence of migraine.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Control Agency continually monitor the safety of all licensed medicines in the United Kingdom, including products that contain paracetamol. Since 1964, there has been one report of migraine as a suspected adverse reaction to paracetamol. An estimated 2,000 million paracetamol tablets are sold in the United Kingdom each year. The alleged link between paracetamol and the occurrence of migraine has not been substantiated.

  London Ambulance Service
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what number and percentage of emergency ambulance calls in London took 14 minute and each subsequent number of minutes up to 90 minutes in January.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information from the London ambulance service has been placed in the Library.

  Primary Care, London
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her oral statement of 20 February,Official Report, column 40, regarding further investment in primary care initiatives of £85 million in London, if she will list the areas which will receive it, the amounts that they will receive and the initiatives that will be funded.

  Mr. Malone
  The areas are those covered by the London initiative zone—LIZ:

  Brent (excluding Harrow)

  421

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  Barking (excluding Havering)

  Camden and Islington

  City and East London

  Eastern Enfield and Edmonton area of Haringey

  Waltham Forest (excluding Redbridge)

  Greenwich (excluding Bexley but including Thamesmead)

  Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham

  Wandsworth (excluding Sutton and Merton)

  North Croydon

  The amount of funding each area receives will be determined by North and South Thames regional health authorities and will he based on plans submitted by local health authorities.

  The investment will fund a wide range of primary and community care schemes, details of which can be obtained from local health authorities. A total of £10 million of the investment will be specifically allocated to develop a new educational programme for London general practitioners as I announced on 16 February 1995. Details of the schemes which will form part of this programme can be obtained from the Thames regional health authorities.

  Residential Care
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has of the extent to which local authorities have used their discretion to increase the personal expenses allowance of a married person in long-term residential care to enable them to support their spouse remaining at home; on how many occasions this rule has been operated by a local authority because the whole of a resident's occupational pension has been used to pay for the costs of care; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally. The Government have reminded local authorities that they have discretion to vary the resident's personal expenses allowance to assist the spouse remaining at home.

  Child Care
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest estimate of the number of mothers who do not live with or directly care for their natural dependent children.

  Mr. Sackville
  No suitable estimate is available.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Equal Opportunities
  Mr.Booth
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the current position in the civil service regarding equality of opportunity for women, people of ethnic minority origin and disabled people.

  Mr. David Hunt
  I am pleased to announce the publication today of the first in a series of annual data summaries of equal opportunities in the civil service. The Government are committed to equality of opportunity for all people and is determined that the civil service should set the best possible example. Figures show that, taking the service as a whole, steady progress has been made 422
  over the last five years by women, individuals with disabilities and members of ethnic minorities. They make up a higher proportion of the service overall and are increasingly to be found at senior grade levels.

  Hon. Members may also like to see an Office of Public Service and Science paper describing in more detail the current situation regarding ethnic minorities in the civil service. "Equal Opportunities in the civil service for People of Ethnic Minority Origin" was presented to the Home Secretary's advisory council on race relations by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary, OPSS, on 26 January 1995. Copies of both publications have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Science Budget
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, if he will make a statement on the allocation of the science budget.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy announced the allocation of the science budget of £1,281.675 million for 1995–96, subject to parliamentary approval of the Supply estimates,Official Report, 2 February, column 754.

  The figures for the two subsequent financial years have now been provided to assist the bodies funded from the science budget with their forward planning. As the table shows, part of the provision has not been attributed to individual bodies at this stage, in order to provide flexibility to target funding to emerging high priority initiatives, including those resulting from the technology foresight exercise. The total provision will also be reviewed in the normal way in the forthcoming public expenditure survey. Actual allocations for 1996–97 will be announced early next year following advice from the Director-General of Research Councils.

  Science budget: Planning figures for financial years 1996–97 and 1997–99

  1996–97 £ million

  1997–98 £ million

  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

  160.03

  161.63

  Economic and Social Research Council

  60.63

  61.23

  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  354.96

  358.51

  Medical Research Council

  275.06

  277.81

  Natural Environment Research Council

  153.94

  155.48

  Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council1

  196.37

  196.37

  Royal Society

  20.79

  20.79

  Royal Academy of Engineering

  2.62

  2.62

  Pensions

  34.77

  37.06

  OST initiatives

  2.25

  2.25

  High performance computing2

  12.21

  12.21

  Additional funding for LINK

  6.00

  12.00

  Technology Foresight/strategic initiatives

  20.76

  31.43

  Total

  1,300.39

  1,329.39

  Notes:

  1. includes £8 million provision for international subscriptions reserve (to be adjusted as necessary to provide the agreed level of cover).

  2. high-performance computing was previously included within the EPSRC allocation.

  Hydrates Research
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the British contribution to the research ship Joides Resolution experimental drilling programme for hydrates in the Atlantic; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  One scientist, a microbiologist from the geomicrobiology group of Bristol university, will join the programme for part of December 1995 to investigate the contribution of bacteria to the formation and breakdown of the gas hydrate.

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddox
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible in(a) 1991, (b) 1992, (c) 1993 and (d) 1994 were women.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  For the departments and agencies for which my right hon. Friend is responsible, and other areas which fall within the Cabinet Office vote, the information is as follows:

  1993

  1994

  Total

  42

  41

  Women

  16

  17

  Women (percentage)

  38

  41

  The figures include European fast streamers who are subsequently assigned to Departments.

  Information for the years 1991 and 1992 is contained in the Civil Service Commissioners' report for the relevant year. Copies of the reports are available in the Library.

  Multiple Sclerosis
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Medical Research Council spent on research into multiple sclerosis in(a) 1993–94 and (b) the current year.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The Medical Research Council is the main agency through which the Government support medical and related biological research. It receives its grant in aid from my Department. The MRC is an independent body deciding what research to support in the light of its own judgment of priorities and the quality of research application it receives. The council is always willing to consider soundly based scientific proposals in competition with other applications for research funding.

  The MRC supports a wide range of neurological research relevant to multiple sclerosis—in particular, studies of the neuromuscular system. The 1993–94 funding in this area was a total of £19 million.

  The council's specific expenditure on multiple sclerosis in the financial year 1993–94, the latest year for which figures are available, was £137,000. It is not yet possible to provide figures for the current financial year. In addition, the MRC's initiative on the neuroscience approach to human health will help to promote several approaches which may he relevant to the disease.

  Besides MRC-funded work, there is also research being undertaken in various universities and NHS hospitals with
  424
  public funding. However, information is not collected centrally on other Government-funded research on multiple sclerosis.

  Sick Leave
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28, what factors underlie the disparity between the figure given for sickness absence at the Department of National Heritage in 1993 and the figure given in the answer from the Secretary of State for National heritage to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Chidgey) of 25 January, Official Report, column 195; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The figure given in the answer of 25 January by the Secretary of State for National Heritage was for the number of spells of absence and not the number of days lost. The number of days lost is as given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member of Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, column 756, what factors underlie the disparity between the figure given for sickness absence at the Chessington computer centre in 1993 and the figure given in his answer to the hon. Member of Eastleigh of 26 January, Official Report, column 756; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February is based on workings days lost—excluding weekends and public holidays. The figure given in the answer of 26 January was calculated including weekends and public holidays, as explained in the letter from the chief executive.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28, what factors underlie the disparity between the figure given for sickness absence at the Lord Advocate's Department in 1993 and the figure given in the answer from the Secretary of State for Scotland to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 31 January, Official Report, column 651; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February is based upon workings days lost—excluding weekends and public holidays. The figure given in the answer of 31 January by the Secretary of State for Scotland was calculated including weekends and public holidays.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28, what factors underlie the disparity between the figure given for sickness absence at the Intervention Board in 1993 and the figure given in the answer from the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the hon. Member for Eastleigh on 3 February,

  425
  Official Report, columns 923–24; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February was for 1993. The figure given in the answer of 3 February by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was for 1994 as requested.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28 what factors underlie the disparity between the figures given for sickness absence at the Government property lawyers in 1993 and the figure given in the answer from the Attorney-General to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 27 January, Official Report, columns 409; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February is based upon working days lost—excluding weekends and public holidays. The figure given in the answer of 27 January by the Attorney-General was calculated including weekends and public holidays.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28, what factors underlie the disparity between the figures given for sickness absence at the Serious Fraud Office in 1993 and the figure given in the answer from the Attorney-General to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 27 January, Official Report, column 409; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February is based upon full-time equivalent staff years, excluding casual workers. The figure given in the answer of 27 January by the Attorney-General is based upon total staff, including casual workers. The remaining difference is accounted for by differing is accounted for by differing techniques for counting sickness absence, which extends over more than one year.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28, what factors underlie the disparity between the figure given for sickness absence at the Public Record Office in 1993 and the figure given in the answer from the Lord Chancellor to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 25 January, Official Report, column 389; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in my answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February was expressed as days lost per staff year. The figure given in the answer of 25 January by the Lord Chancellor used a lost time rate calculation which, when recalculated using the previous method, produces an analogous figure.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) of 7 February,Official Report, columns 124–28, what factors underlie the disparity between the figure given for sickness absence at the
  426
  Central Office of Information in 1993 and the figure given in his answer to the hon. Member for Eastleigh on 2 February, Official Report, column 754; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The sickness absence figure given in answer to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 7 February is based upon working days lost—excluding weekends and public holidays. The figure given in the answer of 2 February was calculated including weekends and public holidays, as I explained in that answer.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member of Eastleigh of 16 February,Official Report, column 782, what factors underlie his statement that the figure given for sickness absence at the Treasury Solicitor's Department in 1993, given in the answer from the Attorney-General of 27 January, Official Report, column 409, also includes factors not attributable to sickness.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The factors not attributed to sickness absence given in my answer of 16 February to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Mr. Chidgey) include maternity leave, special leave and secondment outside the Department.

  Consultants
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are his latest estimates of the expenditure on all external consultants, including management consultants, for each year since 1987, in 1994 prices, for his Department and its agencies; and what are the quantified annual cost savings which such expenditure has resulted in.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  [holding answer 9 February 1995]: This information is not held centrally and for the period prior to 1992–93 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The costs of all external consultants, including management consultants, met by Cabinet Office, including the Office of Public Service and Science and its agencies, since 1992–93 are as follows:

  Cabinet Office including OPSS and its agencies1

  £ 1994 prices

  1992–93

  6,450,700

  1993–94

  6,898,300

  1 Includes operational business expenditure undertaken by CCTA on behalf of other Departments.

  The major portion of this expenditure is incurred by CCTA on information technology projects to enable Government Departments to enhance the effectiveness of their IT systems.

  The costs of all external consultants, including management consultants, met by COI and HMSO since 1992–93 are as follows:

  £ (1994 Prices)

  COI

  1992–93

  143,400

  1993–94

  58,200

  427

  £ (1994 Prices)

  HMSO

  1992

  431,100

  1993

  1,082,200

  1994

  1,750,750

  Consultants are used in a variety of activities designed to produce different types of benefits. Much of the work undertaken by consultants is linked to the requirement of Government programmes such as training and designing IT systems, rather than cost saving exercises. In the financial year 1993–94 the OPSS spent £70,838 on consultancy support for its central market testing programme, which produced quantifiable savings of £393,924.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Postal Services
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects that a European Union policy for postal services will be in place; and what progress has been made towards this, so far.

  Mr. Eggar
  The European Council of Ministers' resolution of December 1993 mandated the Commission to bring forward proposals by July 1994 that defined the universal postal service and an appropriate area of reserved services, and established quality and technical standards. This flowed from the recommendations of the EC Green Paper on the development of the single market for postal services, published in June 1992. The Commission has not as yet come forward with these proposals: the delay, we understand, is due to problems with drafting the directives and debate about the appropriate legal basis. The Government will continue to press for draft directives, but it is too early to predict the likely time scale for their introduction, adoption and implementation.

  Exports (Indonesia)
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 8 February,Official Report, columns 314–15, with regard to the £17.1 million claims paid in respect of export credits for capital goods and projects to Indonesia in 1985–86 what percentage of those moneys related to exports unrelated to defence equipment.

  Mr. Needham
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 6 December 1994,Official Report, column 125.

  Bank Receptions
  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions since April 1992 banks and other commercial interests have hosted receptions for his Department; and if he will publish the names of the hosts involved in each event.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The right hon. Member is no doubt referring to the reception hosted by Standard Chartered bank on 22 February. This was arranged entirely on the initiative of the member concerned and Standard 428
  Chartered bank. As far as I am aware, this is the only event of its kind in recent history.

  Regional Selective Assistance
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many grants under assisted area status have been offered to companies in the Hastings area; how many have been accepted; how many jobs will be created over the next three years; and what is the total of public money offered in grants, and the total sum of money that has been or will be invested by those receiving the grants.

  Mr. Eggar
  The number of regional selective assistance grants offered to companies in the Hastings area totalled seven by the end of January 1995. Six of these offers have been accepted with the result that some 58 new jobs will be created at a grant cost of £229,000. Total project costs are £6,690,000.

  Electricity Pool Prices
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will take steps to prohibit the power generators from artificially withdrawing capacity from the grid in order to he able to charge higher pool prices for electricity.

  Mr. Eggar
  This is a matter for the independent regulator—the Director General of Electricity Supply—who made a statement on 27 January about electricity pool prices.

  Dr. Marek
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what evidence he has to show that PowerGen and National Power have artificially taken capacity out of the grid in order to raise the pool price for electricity.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have no evidence to that effect.

  National Strategic Technical Acquisition Plan
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action his Department has taken to implement the national strategic technical acquisition plan.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department has endorsed the technology priorities identified in the national strategic technology acquisition plan and reviewed its programme of aeronautics technology support, CARAD II, to ensure its alignment with the plan. My Department has also implemented the recommendation of the NSTAP industry/official joint working group, agreed with the Aviation Committee and the Society of British Aerospace Companies, to fund jointly with industry the appointment of NSTAP technology co-ordinators to promote the implementation of the plan. They are now being appointed.

  Aerospace Industries
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on Government support for research and technology in the aerospace industry.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department's policy is to work closely with the aerospace industry, helping it to improve its international competitiveness in aircraft technology. We recognise the importance of supporting research in the industry, including collaboration within the European Union, while working towards a progressive reduction in the international level of state aids. Since 1979, my Department has made £387 million available in support
  429
  for civil aircraft and aero-engine research and technology demonstration carried out in industry, universities and research establishments, as well as contributing £37 million towards the construction of the European transonic wind tunnel.

  China
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the value of exports from and imports to the United Kingdom from the People's Republic of China in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Needham
  The information is regularly published by the Central Statistical Office in "Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom", available in the Library of the House.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced in a speech to the British Retail Consortium on 24 January 1995 that the Government intend to make good use of the new enforcement provisions of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 to ensure that laws arc enforced fairly, transparently and consistently.

  Departments are currently reviewing their existing laws against this commitment to identify where the new powers should be used to improve existing procedures.

  Consideration is also being given to how to incorporate the provisions into new legislation and to the terms of the model appeals mechanism referred to in section 6 of the Act.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Heseltine
  Because of the number of statutory instruments, I have arranged for the list to be placed in the Library.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Arable Area Payments
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in how many cases payments made under the arable area payments scheme have been refused; in how many cases repayment has been demanded in each of the last three years and in the current year; and in how many of those cases these refusals or demands for repayment have followed contact with farmers which led to the belief that a favourable view had been taken.

  Mr. Jack
  The information requested is not held centrally for the United Kingdom and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

  Suckler Cow and Sheep Premiums
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many applicants for suckler cow premium and sheep annual premium have been refused because of insufficient documentation for the latest year for which figures are available;

  (2) what formal documentation is required to be produced by applicants for suckler cow premium and annual sheep premium under category 3(c) of the 1993 national reserve.

  Mr. Jack
  The conditions which had to be satisfied by applicants to category 3(c) of the 1993 national reserves for sheep and suckler cows are set down in schedule 2, part V of the Sheep Annual Premium and Suckler Cow Premium Quotas (Amendment) Regulations 1993.

  A total of 2,225 of the 2,560 applications for sheep quota and 1,210 of the 1,614 applications for suckler cow quota from category 3(c) of the 1993 national reserves were assessed as ineligible. Data are not available on the number of applications rejected because insufficient documentary evidence was submitted.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Jack
  This Department has been responsible for 130 statutory instruments during the period 1 February 1994 to 31 January 1995. These are as listed:

  The Dairy Produce Quotas (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/160)

  The National Rivers Authority (Severn-Trent and Anglian Regional Flood Defence Committees Areas) (Boundaries) Order 1994 (SI 1994/245)

  The Milk Marketing Scheme (Substitution of Date of Revocation) Order 1994 (SI 1994/282)

  The Agriculture Act 1986 (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/249)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (West Penwith) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/250)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Somerset Levels and Moors) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/251)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South Downs) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/252)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Pennine Dales) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/253)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (The Broads) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/254)

  The Marek's Disease (Restriction on Vaccination) (Revocation) Order 1994 (SI 1994/472)

  The Quick Frozen Foodstuffs (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/298)

  431

  The Medicines (Veterinary Drugs) (Pharmacy and Merchants' List) (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/599

  The Plant Breeders' Rights (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/675)

  The Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) (Fees) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/676)

  The Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Compensation Order 1994 (SI 1994/673)

  The Common Agricultural Policy (Wine) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/674)

  The Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/672)

  The Drinking Water in Containers Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/743)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Blackdown Hills) Designation Order 1994 (SI 194/707)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Cotswold Hills) Designation Order 1994 (SI 1994/708)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Shropshire Hills) Designation Order 1994 (SI 1994/709

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Dartmoor) Designation Order 1994 (SI 1994/710)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Essex Coast) Designation Order 1994 (SI 1994/711)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Upper Thames Tributaries) Designation Order 1994 (SI 1994/712)

  The Racing Pigeons (Vaccination) Order 1994 (SI 1994/944)

  The Milk Marketing Board Scheme of Reorganisation (Further Extension of Period for Application) Order 1994 (SI 1994/951)

  The Arable Area Payments Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/947)

  The Food Labelling (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/804)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (West Penwith) Designation (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/933)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Somerset Levels and Moors) Designation (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/932)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South Downs) Designation (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/931)

  The Environmentally Sensitive (Pennine Dales) Designation (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/930)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (The Broads) Designation (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/929)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Exmoor) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/928)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Avon Valley) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/927)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Lake District) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/926)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South Wessex Downs) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/925)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South West Peak) Designation Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/924)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Breckland) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/923)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Clun) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/921)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (North Peak) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/922)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (South River Valleys) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/920)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (Test Valley) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/919)

  The Environmentally Sensitive Areas (North Kent Marshes) Designation (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/918)

  The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/979)

  The Poultry Meat, Farmed Game Bird Meat and Rabbit Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1029)

  The Integrated Administration and Control System (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1134)

  432

  The Farm and Conservation Grant (Variation) Scheme 1994 (SI 1994/1302)

  The Habitat (Salt-Marsh) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1293)

  The Habitat (Former Set-aside Land) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1292)

  The Habitat (Water Fringe) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1291)

  The Wells Harbour Revision Order 1994 (SI 1994/1440)

  The Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1985)

  The Marketing Development Scheme (Specification of Activities) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1404)

  The Marketing Development Scheme 1994 (SI 1994/1403)

  The Milk and Dairies and Milk (Special Designation) (Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1446)

  The Channel Tunnel (Amendment of the Fisheries Act 1981) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1390)

  The Flavourings in Food (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1486)

  The Medicines (Medicated Animal Feeding Stuffs) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1531)

  The Suckler Cow Premium (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1528)

  The Fish Health (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1448)

  The Diseases of Fish (Control) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1447)

  The Home-Grown Cereals Authority (Rate of Levy) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1424)

  The Oil and Fibre Plant Seeds (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1423)

  The Medicines (Fees Relating to Medicinal Products for Animal Use) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1554)

  The Welfare of Livestock Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2126)

  The Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) Scheme 1994 (SI 1994/1568)

  The Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1610)

  The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Conservation Measures) (Amendment) (No. 6) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1680)

  The Third Country Fishing (Enforcement) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1681)

  The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Quota Measures) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1679)

  The Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/1716)

  The Organic Farming (Aid) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1721)

  The Nitrate Sensitive Areas Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1729)

  The Preserved Tuna and Bonito (Marketing Standards) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2127)

  The Medicines (Veterinary Medicinal Products) (Applications for Product Licenses) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2157)

  The Plaice and Sole (Specified Sea Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2169)

  The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2183)

  The Pig Carcase (Grading) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2155)

  The Brancaster Staithe Fishery (Variation) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2230)

  The Organic Products (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2286)

  The Animals, Meat and Meat Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2465)

  The Feedings Stuffs (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2510)

  The Thames Estuary Cockle Fishery Order 1994 (SI 1994/2329)

  The Arable Area Payments (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2287)

  The Countryside Access Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2349)

  433

  The Potato Marketing Scheme (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2404)

  The Dairy Produce Quotas (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2448)

  The Milk Marketing Board Scheme of Reorganisation (Third Party Rights) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2460)

  The Bovine Offal (Prohibition) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2628)

  The Spongiform Encephalopathy (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2627)

  The Apple Orchard Grubbing Up (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2731)

  The Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2741)

  The Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2740)

  The Bucellosis (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2762)

  The Milk Marketing Board (Residuary Functions) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2759)

  The Beef Carcase (Classification)(Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2853)

  The Medicines (Standard Provisions for Manufacturer's Licences for Veterinary Medicinal Products) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2852)

  The Sheep Annual Premium and Suckler Cow Premium Quotas (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2894)

  The Importation of Animal Products and Poultry Products (Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2920)

  The Agricultural Marketing Act 1958 Part I (Certification of Cessation of Effect in Relation to Milk) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2922)

  The Milk Marketing Scheme (Certification of Revocation) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2921)

  The Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants)(Amendment) Order 1994 (SI 1994/2965)

  The Dairy Produce Quotas (Amendment)(No.2) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2919)

  The Farm and Conservation Grant (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3003)

  The Farm and Conservation Grant (Variation)(No.2) Scheme 1994 (SI 1994/3002

  The Draft Milk Development Council Order 1994

  The Medicines (Veterinary Medicinal Products) Veterinary Surgeons from other EEA States) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2986)

  The Medicines (Restrictions on the Administration of Veterinary Medicinal Products) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/2987)

  The Diseases of Poultry Order 1994 (SI 1994/3141)

  The Meat Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3082)

  The Agricultural Processing and Marketing Grant Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3137)

  The Marketing Authorisations for Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3142)

  The Medicines (Veterinary Drugs) (Renewal Applications for Licences and Animal Test Certificates) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3143)

  The Beef Special Premium (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3131)

  The Medicines (Veterinary Drugs) (Pharmacy and Merchants' List) (Amendment No. 2) Order 1994 (SI 1994/3169)

  The Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1994 (SI 1994/3249)

  The Sole and Nephrops (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1994 (SI 1994/3273)

  The Enzootic Bovine Leukosis (Amendment) Order 1995 (SI 1995/13)

  The Fertilisers (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/16)

  The Beef Special Premium (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/14)

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  The Suckler Cow Premium (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/15)

  The Bovine Animals (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1995 (SI 1995/12)

  The Pigs (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 1995 (SI 1995/11)

  The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/77)

  The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Radioactivity in Sheep) (England) (Partial Revocation) Order 1995 (SI 1995/39)

  The Apple Orchard Grubbing Up (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/40)

  The Hill Livestock (Compensatory Allowances) Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/100)

  The Surplus Food Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/184)

  The Welfare of Animals During Transport (Amendment) Order 1995 (SI 1995/131)

  Animal Welfare
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further measures he is taking to promote animal welfare: and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 23 February 1995]: We shall continue to review and develop our animal welfare provisions in accordance with objective advice and will in particular:
  continue to press in Brussels for effective journey limits to be included in the proposed Community measures on the welfare of animals during transport;
  maintain our pressure to improve existing Community measures on farm animal welfare, pressing home in particular the case for phasing out the veal crate now that we have got the review of the relevant Community measure brought forward from 1997 to 1995;
  continue to work with interested parties to encourage the establishment of welfare-friendly outlets for surplus dairy calves;
  maintain our extensive programme of research and development and our provision of advice to farmers on welfare matters.

DEFENCE

  Chemical Weapons Convention
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether the chemical weapons convention will enhance international security; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  The chemical weapons convention provides for a comprehensive, global and verifiable ban of a complete class of weapons of mass destruction and also for the destruction of very large quantities of existing chemical warfare agents. Once fully implemented, it will make a significant contribution to international security.

  Wages
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the total wage and salary bill of(a) defence personnel and (b) civilian personnel at his Department's establishments, in each district council area in Hampshire, in 1989 and in the most recent year, expressed in constant prices.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
  435

  Defence Personnel
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list, for each district council area in Hampshire, the number and percentage of the population represented by(a) defence personnel and (b) civilian

  1 July 1989

  1 July 1994

  Number

  Service personnel1Percentage of population

  Number

  Civilian personnel2Percentage of population

  Service personnel1Number

  Civilian personnel2Number

  Hampshire

  36,715

  2.34

  20,397.50

  1.30

  29,092

  18,473.0

  Basingstoke and Deane

  0

  0.00

  69.5

  0.05

  0

  39.5

  East Hampshire Eastleigh

  2,398

  2.32

  799.5

  0.77

  1,316

  666.5

  Eastleigh

  0

  0.00

  20.0

  0.02

  0

  7.0

  Fareham

  1,785

  1,80

  279.5

  0.28

  1,511

  328.0

  Gosport

  6,520

  8.40

  3,978.50

  5.13

  4,141

  3,790.0

  Hart

  2,491

  3.09

  785.0

  0.98

  2,019

  840.5

  Havant

  0

  0.00

  17.0

  0.01

  0

  14.0

  New Forest

  570

  0.35

  142.0

  0.09

  699

  164.5

  Portsmouth

  9,080

  4,84

  5,851.0

  3.12

  9,016

  4,710.5

  Rushmoor

  7,142

  8.32

  5,072.5

  5.91

  4,621

  4,236.0

  Southampton

  53

  0.03

  237.5

  0.12

  13

  161.0

  Test Valley

  4,291

  4.21

  1,234.0

  1.21

  3,798

  1,578.5

  Winchester

  2,385

  2.46

  1,911.5

  1.97

  2,095

  1,937.0

  1 UK regular service personnel. The figures for 1 July 1994 provisional.

  2 UK based permanent civilian staff counted as full-time equivalents.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Soames
  In the last 12 months my Department has sponsored the following six statutory instruments:

  The Injuries in War (Shore Employments) Compensation (Amendment) Scheme 1994.

  The International Headquarters and Defence Organisation (Designation and Privileges) (Amendment) Order 1994

  The Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Application of Law) (Amendment) Order 1994.

  The Army, Air Force and Naval Discipline Acts Continuation Order.

  Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Application to the Armed Forces etc.) Regulations 1994.

  The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency Trading Fund Order 1995.

  Surplus Equipment Sales
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of Stale for Defence if he will set out the procedures adopted for the sale of surplus small arms prior to the establishment of the Disposal Sales Agency and list British companies 436
  personnel at his Department's establishments, in (i) 1989 and (ii) the most recent year.

  Mr. Soames
  Service and civilian personnel numbers are available at local authority area level and the available figures are as set out. Comparable population estimates are not yet available for 1994.

  involved over the previous five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The rules for the sale of small arms, prior to the establishment of the Disposal Sales Agency and continued since, are to restrict surplus sales to the export market. United Kingdom companies seeking to purchase surplus small arms are required to hold a section 5 firearms licence; to provide proof of a secured contract to an acceptable customer with end user certification and to obtain an export licence. Contracts have been let which ensure that other surplus weapons are reduced to scrap.

  It is not MOD policy to reveal details of purchasers without their written consent. A list of British companies involved over the previous five years would require disproportionate efforts to produce should all consents be forthcoming.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the position adopted for the sale of surplus armoured vehicles and tanks prior to the establishment of the Disposal Sales Agency, and the companies purchasing surplus armoured vehicles and tanks over the last five years; and what items were involved.

  Mr. Freeman
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Pembroke on 1 December 1994,Official Report, columns 899–900. The positions adopted prior to and subsequent to the establishment of the Disposal Sales Agency are unchanged.

  Royal Marines
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what review is being conducted into the strength of the Royal Marines; what is the target level for the future strength of the Royal Marines; and how many redundancies will be required from current levels.
  437
  Mr. Soames
  A redundancy programme for the Royal Navy, of which the Royal Marines are an integral part, was announced following the "Front Line First" study and other efficiency measures already in train. Included in this are about 100 regular Royal Marines personnel. The strength of the Royal Marines regulars is not otherwise under review, and—apart from those already mentioned—no RM redundancies are planned. There is no target or ceiling for future strength and manpower will continue to be maintained to meet commitments.

  My Department is at present reviewing the future requirement for the Royal Marines Reserve, but no decision on its future size and shape have yet been taken. Any proposals which are accepted in principal by Ministers would then be subject to a period of consultation, during which all interested parties would be offered the opportunity to comment.

  Anti-personnel Mines
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 10 February,Official Report, column 465, how much it would cost to fit self-destructing and self-neutralising mechanisms retroactively on those anti-personnel mines held by the United Kingdom armed forces for their use in any future conflict.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 23 February 1995]: Some theoretical work undertaken by the Defence Research Agency has indicated that it may be feasible to fit self-destructing mechanisms to existing Ranger anti-personnel mine stocks, but no detailed engineering study or cost analysis has been undertaken. This will be one of the options which will be assessed when Ranger comes to be replaced.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who is responsible for the purchasing by his Department of self-destructing and self-neutralising anti-personnel mines.

  Mr. Freeman
  [holding answer 23 February 1995]: Any acquisition of anti-personnel landmines, which would have a self-destructing or self-neutralising mechanism, would be purchased by my Department's procurement executive.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Tourism
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he is taking to ensure comparable investment per capita in the promotion of tourism in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Allocations to the national tourist boards reflect the differing circumstances and priorities in each country and are not made on a per capita basis. Direct comparisons are therefore misleading.

  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for National heritage what plans he has to promote tourism in the midlands.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Government support for tourism is channelled through the statutory British Tourist Authority and English tourist board. Through the English tourist board, support is made available to the 11 non-statutory 438
  regional tourist boards, including the heart of England tourist board and east midlands tourist board.

  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the current work of the British Tourist Authority.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The British Tourist Authority promotes Britain as a tourist destination in overseas markets. The Department of National Heritage will be providing £34.5 million in grant in aid to the BTA in the coming financial year.

  I shall be making public my agenda for action by Government and the tourist boards to help the tourist industry improve its competitive performance on 1 March.

  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his most recent estimate of the value of tourism to the English economy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The United Kingdom's earnings from domestic and inbound tourism are estimated to have been £33 billion in 1993. This represents 5.2 per cent. of gross domestic product. Figures for England alone are not available.

  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the estimated contribution from(a) the single regeneration budget, (b) the total public sector and (c) the private sector to London's tourism over each of the next five years.

  Mr. Dorrell
  London will benefit from the single regeneration budget by £316 million over the next seven years and an investment of this size will have a substantial effect in attracting visitors to the capital. In November, I announced £4 million of public funds that would be made available for BTA to run a marketing campaign in conjunction with the London tourist board; this will be matched from the private sector. The LTB will also receive £439,000 of public funds from the English tourist board this year. Forecasts of SRB, public and private funding for the next five years are not available.

  Playing Fields
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many local authority playing fields have been sold off since 1979.

  Mr. Sproat
  This information is not available centrally.

  Wakefield Sculpture Park
  Mr. Enright
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last visited Wakefield sculpture park; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Sproat
  I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting the Yorkshire sculpture park. I hope to have the opportunity to do so. The Yorkshire sculpture park is, I know, one of our national assets and is of international significance, and I look forward to experiencing its delights.

  National Lottery
  Lady Olga Maitland
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the effect of the national lottery on the sums available for good causes from football pools operators.
  439
  Mr. Sproat
  It is for the Football Trust and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts, in the first instance, to assess the impact of the national lottery on their incomes.

  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of Slate for National Heritage which organisations in the south-west have benefited from funds from the national lottery.

  Mr. Dorrell
  No funds from the national lottery have yet been distributed to good causes. The distributing bodies expect to begin making announcements about successful applications shortly with grants being made shortly thereafter.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received regarding the decision to fund only capital projects from national lottery receipts.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The national lottery distributors are able to provide limited revenue support for a lottery funded capital project where that funding cannot be found from any other source. It is necessary to limit the use of revenue funding from lottery proceeds to maintain the principle of additionality and to prevent the silting up of available funds with on-going commitments. The National Lottery Charities Board will not be subject to the presumption in favour of capital expenditure.

  Drama and Music Students
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action his Department is taking to support young people who would need financial support to go to drama or music school.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Responsibility for this issue rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education. I know that she is aware of particular concerns currently about discretionary grants from local authorities for dance and drama students.

  Channel 4
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received from Channel 4 regarding payments to the Independent Television Commission.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I have received a number of letters from the chairman and chief executive of Channel 4, and met them on 17 October 1994 to listen to their views.

  Press
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he has discussed with the Press Complaints Commission media coverage of crime and the press code of conduct.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I have met members of the Press Complaints Commission and the newspaper industry to discuss the effectiveness of press self-regulation. Amendments to the code of practice are matters for the industry's code committee.

  Mr. Bermingham
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 21 February,Official Report, column 158, when he expects to announce any decision on changes to the law as it relates to privacy following the reports on privacy and media intrusion by the National Heritage Committee HC 294 1992–93, and HC 38, 1993–94, and of the report of Sir David Calcutt's review of press self-regulation.
  440
  Mr. Dorrell
  The White Paper on privacy and media intrusion will set out what, if any, changes may he needed to the law as it relates to privacy. It will be published when we have completed our consideration of the legal issues relating to the proposed criminal and civil remedies.

  Teletext
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to review the allocation of television broadcasting line capacity in order to encourage further improvements in teletext services on ITV and Channel 4.

  Mr. Dorrell
  None. The present allocation aims to make the best use of spare capacity within the television signals on Channel 3 and 4 while enabling the provision of a public teletext service meeting the detailed content requirements specified in the Broadcasting Act 1990.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many letters were sent to hon. Members last month by each Minister in the Department.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 22 February 1995]: The following number of letters were sent to hon. Members last month:

  Member

  Number

  The right hon. Stephen Dorrell, MP

  33

  Iain Sproat, MP

  101

  Viscount Astor

  122

  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many letters were received in the Department from hon. Members last month.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 22 February 1995]: Some 297 letter were received in my Department from hon. Members last month.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My Department has sponsored 21 statutory instruments in the last 12 months as follows:

  Title of SI

  Number

  The National Lottery Regulations 1994.

  SI 1994/189

  The Broadcasting (Prescribed Countries) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/454

  The Broadcasting (Foreign Satellite Programmes) (Specified Countries) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/453

  The Hyde Park and Regents Park (Vehicle Parking) Regulations 1994.

  SI 1994/432

  The Return of Cultural Objects Regulations 1994.

  SI 1994/501

  The Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 1994.

  SI 1994/595

  The Grants to the Redundant Churches Fund Order 1994.

  SI 1994/962

  The European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1065

  The National Lottery (Licence Fees) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1200

  Ancient Monuments (Class Consents) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1381

  441

  Title of SI

  Number

  The National Lottery etc Act 1993 (Amendment of Section 23) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1342

  The National Lottery (Revocation of Licences) Procedure Regulations 1994.

  SI 1994/1170

  Sports Grounds and Sporting Events: the Football Spectators (Seating) Orders 1994.

  SI 1994/1666

  The Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1771

  The European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production (Amendment) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1904

  The Safety of Sports Grounds (Designation) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/2239

  The Protection of Wrecks (Designation, No. 1) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/1842

  The Broadcasting (Restrictive Trade Practice Act 1976) (Exemption for Networking Arrangements) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/2540

  The European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/3218

  The Films Co-Production (Amendment) Order 1994.

  SI 1994/3222

  The Broadcasting (Unlicensed Television Services) Exemption Order 1994.

  SI 1994/3172

EMPLOYMENT

  Youth Training
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many places are currently provided for youth training by further education institutions in each training and enterprise council area; and what this figure is expressed as a proportion of the total number of youth training places provided through each TEC.

  Mr. Paice
  The information requested is not available.

  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many young people in(a) the county of Cumbria and (b) the borough of Copeland he expects to be in receipt of youth training guarantees on 1 April.

  (2) How many youth training guarantees were made in 1994 to young people in the area covered by Cumbria TEC; how many youth training guarantees had been met by Cumbria TEC as at 21 December 1994; and how many youth training guarantees are projected to have been met by 31 March 1995 in the area covered by Cumbria TEC.

  Mr. Paice
  In 1994, 2,714 school leavers registered as eligible for youth training in Cumbria. As at 21 December 1994, all eligible young people bar one had received an offer of a place on YT within the guarantee period. At April 1995, it is expected that there will be 3,285 young people eligible for the YT guarantee in Cumbria, of which 632 will be from Copeland. The training and enterprise council expects fully to meet its obligations to offer a YT place to every eligible young person up to and beyond 31 March 1995.

  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many places were provided by further education institutions for youth training in each of the last five years for each region; what these numbers are as a proportion of the total places provided in each region in each year; what has been the cost in each region in each year of these training places; and what percentage of the youth training budget in each region in each year this represents.
  442
  Mr. Paice
  The information requested is not available.

  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many further education institutions are contracted as training providers for youth training by each training and enterprise council; and what this figure is expressed as a proportion of the total number of youth training providers contracted to each TEC.

  Mr. Paice
  Training and enterprise councils are private companies and are responsible for determining their own contracts with training providers. The Department does not have this information.

  Employment Training and Training for Work
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the number of starts in employment training and in training for work in each of the last five years; and what is the number in each year for those completing such training.

  Mr. Paice
  The information is given in the table. As figures on those completing training come from surveys, it is possible to give only an estimate of the percentage and not the actual number.

  Great Britain

  Year

  Total number of starts employment training 1989–90 to 1992–93, training for work1993–94

  Percentage of leavers in each year completing their agreed training—ET 1989–90 to 1992–93, TfW 1993–94

  1989–90

  431,000

  471

  1990–91

  389,000

  48

  1991–92

  293,000

  55

  1992–93

  291,000

  59

  1993–94

  338,000

  602

  Source:

  Management information provided by training and enterprise councils, the Welsh office and the Scottish Office, training for work national follow-up survey.

  Notes:

  1 July 1989 to March 1990.

  2 England and Wales only.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, what plans he has to provide training in Government organisational and financial procedures for non-executive directors of TEC boards.

  Mr. Paice
  None. Training and enterprise councils are private companies and the induction and training of their directors is a matter for the board.

  Mr. Pearson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many out-of-school child care places were delivered by Dudley TEC in 1993–94 and are planned to be delivered in 1994–95 and in future years; and at what cost.

  Mr. Paice
  Dudley training and enterprise council was not one of the pilot TECs for child care and therefore did not deliver any out-of-school child care places in 1993–94.

  In 1994–95 the TEC is planning to deliver 95 child care places and has a budget of £60,615 which covers development work and setting up costs.

  In 1995–96, 139 full-time places are allocated to the TEC, with a budget of £100,895.
  443
  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many contracts were issued by Cumbria TEC in the financial year 1994–95 to provide training for people with special needs.

  Mr. Paice
  One hundred and twenty four of the contracts issued by Cumbria training and enterprise council to date have capacity for training people with special needs.

  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, what estimate he has made as to the ability of Cumbria TEC to provide sufficient contracts to meet the needs of the unemployed; and what contingency plans he has made.

  Mr. Paice
  The Government office for the north west is currently in negotiation with Cumbria training and enterprise council for the 1995–96 financial year and is confident that Cumbria TEC will continue to deliver effective programmes to support the unemployed in the area for which it is responsible.

  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guidance his Department(a) has issued, (b) plans to issue and (c) plans to revise in respect of the requirement for evidencing outputs and starts for output-related funding of training providers by TECs; and if he will place in the Library copies of the guidance documents on evidencing outputs and starts that his Department produces.

  Mr. Paice
  The evidence the Department requires to support claims is set out in the training and enterprise council contractual documents, copies of which are placed in the Library each year. Copies of the documents for 1995–96 have been sent to TECs and will be placed in the Library.

  Further guidance, explaining the requirements in more detail and describing the checks to be made, will be available to TECs at the beginning of 1995–96 and will be revised as necessary.

  Technical and Vocational Education Initiative
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what evaluation he has made of the technical and vocational education initiative; and what plans he has for it achievements to be continued.

  Mr. Paice
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: The Department is responsible for the technical and vocational education initiative. We have undertaken three major evaluation studies of the programme: one covering students' experiences, one assessing TVEI's impact on the labour market, and one covering how well TVEI practices have become embedded in schools and colleges. There has also been research into the impact of specific TVEI themes. In addition, each local project is required to undertake its own evaluation. These studies suggest that TVEI has made a significant contribution to improving the preparation of young people for working life.

  Staff in Government offices continue to work with local education authorities, training and enterprise councils, schools and colleges to take forward the lessons of TVEI. In the White Paper, "Competitiveness: Helping Business to Win", CM 2563, additional funds were announced to support action to spread best practice identified through TVEI and to ensure that all pupils in their last year of compulsory education can have at least one week's work experience.
  444

  Funding for Training
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the amount and type of funding or other support received from his Department by(a) the National Council for Vocational Qualifications, (b) the Business and Technology Education Council and (c) City and Guilds in (i) the current year and (ii) each of the previous three years.

  Mr. Paice
  The Department has provided funding or other support to the National Council for Vocational Qualifications comprising grant in aid towards its operating costs and specific contract funding to enable it to undertake activities in support of the development of national vocational qualifications and general national vocational qualifications and to help support other Government initiatives. Details of the funding provided in the current year to date and in the previous three years is shown in the following table.

  Year

  Funding £

  1994–95

  Grant in aid funding

  1,928,000

  Support for specific activities

  3,271,648

  1993–94

  Grant in aid funding

  3,826,000

  Support for specific activities

  3,244,703

  1992–93

  Grant in aid funding

  3,900,000

  Support for specific activities

  3,202,932

  1991–92

  Grant in aid funding

  3,700,000

  Support for specific activities

  1,878,721

  No funding or other support has been provided by the Employment Department to the Business and Technology Education Council or to City and Guilds in the current year or any of the previous three years. The Department does not normally fund awarding bodies.

SCOTLAND

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the financial status of each NHS trust in Scotland as at 1 February.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  As at 31 January, the majority of NHS trusts in Scotland were forecasting that they would meet their financial targets. Of those that were not, only two will not break even on their income and expenditure account. The other trusts are within 1 per cent. of their target rate of return.

  Scottish Homes
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the remuneration of the chairman and the board members of Scottish Homes; what are the termination dates for their appointments; what compensation would be required for early termination; and what notice would be required.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information regarding the remuneration of the chairman and members appointed to the board of Scottish Homes and the termination date for their appointment is set out in the table. The terms of appointment of members indicate that, normally, no compensation is payable where a person
  445
  ceases to be a member before the expiry date of the term of office but schedule 1, paragraph 7(3) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 provides for circumstances where my right hon. Friend may consider it right for compensation to be paid. Such compensation would be of an amount which my right hon. Friend, with the approval of Treasury, may determine. No notice of termination is required.

  Name

  Annual remuneration£

  Termination date

  Sir James Mellon (Chairman)

  38,330

  31 March 1996

  Mrs. Frances McCall, MBE

  6,660

  31 March 1998

  Professor Duncan McLennan, MA, M Phil, FRSA

  6,660

  31 March 1997

  Dr. Tom N. A. Begg, OBE, JP, BA, PhD

  6,660

  31 March 1995

  Mrs. Heather Sheerin, OBE

  6,660

  31 March 1997

  Councillor Daphne M. W. Sleigh

  6,660

  31 March 1999

  Mr. Cameron H. Parker, OBE

  6,660

  31 March 1996

  Professor John Rankin Small, CBE

  6,660

  31 March 1997

  Mr. Alastair C. Dempster, FCIBS

  6,660

  31 March 1998

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if potential landlords who propose to acquire Scottish Homes or new town development corporation stock under large-scale voluntary transfers are excluded if they have no former experience or track record of managing and maintaining housing stock.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  No. However, when Scottish Homes and new town development corporations consider selling their houses to an alternative landlord it is essential that the organisation is able to demonstrate a long term guaranteed future for tenants and the ability to provide the required level of service. The appraisal and evaluation of any proposal will take these issues fully into account.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which registered housing associations, housing trusts, private landlords or private companies, community businesses or individuals have(a) expressed an interest in bidding for Scottish Homes stock or new town development corporation stock and (b) formally proposed to acquire such stock; and which of them are at (i) the initial screening stage to establish the validity of the proposal and (ii) the detailed evaluation stage involving consultation with tenants.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested relating to Scottish Homes stock is a matter for Scottish Homes and I have asked its chairman, Sir James Mellon, to write to the hon. Member.

  Details of organisation which have expressed an interest in new town development corporation stock are not held centrally. Glenrothes and East Kilbride have received formal bids for their stock from the following organisations:

  Glenrothes

  Kirkcaldy District Council

  The Munro Trust

  Kingdom Housing Association

  Glenrothes Community Housing Association

  Collydean Housing Association

  446

  Hillcrest Housing Association

  Bield Housing Association

  Kirk Care Housing Association

  East Kilbride

  East Kilbride District Council

  The Munro Trust

  All the offers received to date by the corporations have completed the evaluation stage including consultation with tenants, or have been withdrawn.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which will(a) follow the pay arrangements of the sponsoring Department and (b) pursue an independent and separate route under the delegated pay option (i) from April 1995 and (ii) from April 1996.

  Mr. Lang
  Such information will not be available for some time. Of the 49 existing executive NDPBs sponsored by my Department, around one third have pay arrangements involving a close link to national civil service settlements. It will be for the management in each NPDB concerned to develop and bring forward proposals over the coming year for new pay arrangements to operate following delegation of civil service pay to Departments and agencies and in the absence of national settlements from April 1996.

  Sheriff Court House, Haddington
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of whether the sheriff court house at Haddington satisfies the objectives set out in the justice charter for Scotland in respect of(a) accessibility for disabled people, (b) adequate and comfortable accommodation, (c) refreshment facilities, (d) services for defence witnesses and lawyers and (e) in all other respects; and if he will make a statement on plans to improve Haddington's sheriff court premises.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The accommodation for the sheriff court in County buildings at Haddington has a number of deficiencies, particularly in terms of facilities for court users. County buildings is partly owned by the Secretary of State for Scotland and partly by East Lothian district council. Substantial improvements to the sheriff court facilities within the building would therefore require participation by the council and my noble and learned Friend the Minister of State wrote to the hon. Member on 20 December 1994 indicating his willingness to consider proposals from the council.

  Breast Care Nurses
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of breast care nurses employed in(a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland; of these nurses how many are employed by way of funding from outwith the national health service; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Statistics on the number of nurses engaged on breast care duties are not maintained centrally.
  447

  Prison Management Costs
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the cost to public funds of managing each prison since 1979.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 20 February 1995]: The subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service. I have

  Scottish Prison Service—expenditure by individual establishment1

  Annex

  £ thousands

  1981–82

  1982–83

  1983–84

  1984–85

  1985–86

  1986–87

  1987–88

  1988–89

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Aberdeen

  1,165

  1,553

  1,777

  1,726

  1,713

  1,776

  1,934

  2,469

  2,969

  2,967

  3,364

  4,277

  4,494

  Barlinnie

  5,569

  6,058

  6,991

  7,983

  8,539

  9,096

  10,089

  11,573

  13,015

  13,029

  13,975

  15,367

  17,383

  Barlinnie Unit

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  42

  361

  391

  440

  Castle Huntly

  993

  973

  1,067

  1,055

  1,143

  1,119

  1,355

  1,697

  1,891

  1,882

  2,021

  2,406

  3,402

  Corton Vale

  2,127

  2,345

  2,457

  2,978

  2,953

  3,060

  3,195

  3,629

  4,600

  5,010

  4,760

  5,196

  6,017

  Dumfries

  1,206

  1,473

  1,503

  1,932

  1,761

  1,778

  3,221

  3,202

  2,740

  3,323

  3,475

  3,958

  4,390

  Dungavel

  1,109

  1,145

  1,256

  1,352

  1,185

  1,134

  1,462

  2,101

  2,100

  1,957

  2,273

  2,863

  2,945

  Edinburgh

  4,249

  5,310

  5,353

  5,944

  7,306

  7,222

  7,592

  8,505

  9,382

  9,992

  10,774

  12,743

  13,133

  Friarton

  558

  681

  653

  818

  972

  966

  1,074

  1,205

  1,163

  1,165

  1,302

  1,502

  1,731

  Glenochil

  4,199

  4,918

  5,082

  5,657

  6,348

  6,476

  7,245

  8,219

  9,320

  10,228

  11,569

  12,868

  14,346

  Greenock

  399

  1,076

  781

  1,435

  2,624

  2,601

  2,997

  3,426

  3,405

  3,246

  3,925

  4,101

  4,918

  Inverness

  921

  1,050

  1,258

  1,315

  1,308

  1,375

  1,966

  2,316

  2,441

  2,367

  2,506

  2,910

  3

  Longriggend

  1,481

  1,699

  2,006

  2,325

  2,426

  2,471

  3,345

  4,066

  3,384

  3,764

  4,021

  4,264

  4,788

  Low Moss

  1,218

  1,690

  2,280

  2,835

  2,280

  2,177

  2,623

  3,035

  2,901

  3,981

  4,344

  4,438

  5,195

  Noranside

  702

  836

  936

  1,182

  1,223

  1,085

  1,349

  2,200

  1,632

  1,614

  2,375

  2,228

  2,483

  Penninghame

  566

  643

  664

  690

  682

  677

  859

  1,060

  958

  1,178

  1,258

  1,342

  1,611

  Perth

  3,485

  3,674

  4,352

  6,119

  5,272

  5,428

  7,016

  7,845

  8,275

  9,555

  10,212

  10,854

  11,661

  Peterhead

  3,328

  3,631

  4,162

  4,538

  4,788

  4,940

  5,604

  5,818

  6,700

  6,320

  6,124

  6,364

  7,765

  Polmont

  2,911

  3,644

  3,769

  4,883

  4,550

  4,184

  4,699

  5,770

  7,619

  6,649

  8,230

  8,546

  10,960

  Shotts

  958

  1,112

  1,127

  1,513

  1,413

  2,983

  5,879

  8,069

  10,612

  10,929

  10,090

  10,753

  12,670

  Shotts Unit

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  83

  447

  505

  607

  Total by establishment

  37,143

  43,511

  47,474

  56,279

  58,487

  60,549

  73,503

  86,203

  95,105

  99,281

  107,431

  117,874

  133,939

  Other expenditure

  13,887

  13,104

  15,363

  16,164

  22,162

  24,563

  22,801

  24,870

  26,394

  26,627

  29,332

  34,340

  20,404

  Total expenditure

  51,030

  56,615

  62,837

  72,443

  80,649

  85,112

  96,304

  111,073

  121,499

  125,908

  136,763

  152,214

  154,343

  1 1979–80 and 1980–81 not available.

  Note:

  "Other Expenditure" represents the cost of Central Administration and expenditure met from the Votes of other Departments on behalf of the Scottish Prison Service. These costs cannot be allocated due to the data capture system being designed for Vote, rather than Management information purposes.

  NHS Consultants
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he intends to adopt to enable him to monitor and record the allocation of time that NHS consultants devote to(a) NHS responsibilities and tasks and (b) their private practice work.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 20 February 1995]: NHS consultants are contracted to work to the duties and responsibilities agreed with their employers. It is for the employing bodies to satisfy themselves that they are fulfilling their NHS commitments. NHS consultants are able to undertake private practice provided that it is not to the disadvantage of the NHS or NHS work. Whole-time consultants are expected to devote substantially the whole of their professional time to their NHS duties. They may not earn from private practice more than 10 per cent, of their gross NHS earnings; if they do so they transfer to a maximum part-time contract. The provisions of the maximum part-time contract allow the consultant to carry out private practice without a specific limit, but maintain the consultant's commitment to NHS responsibilities and tasks.
  448
  asked its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Dr. Godman, dated 27 February 1995:
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about the cost to public funds of managing each prison since 1979.
  The attached Annex sets out yearly expenditure per establishment, from financial year 1981/82 onwards. The Agency records do not provide for information detailed by establishment, prior to this.

  M77
  Mr. Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from Scottish Militant Labour with regard to the extension to the M77; and what action he proposes to take.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: No representations on the M77 have been received from Scottish Militant Labour.

  Waste Nuclear Fuel
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about Scottish Nuclear's proposal for a dry store for waste nuclear fuel at Torness power station.

  Mr. Kynoch
  My right hon. Friend expects to make a decision shortly.

ENVIRONMENT

  Sulphur Quotas
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to allocate unused
  449
  sulphur quotas from England and Wales to Northern Ireland.

  Mr. Atkins
  As my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Industry said in his reply to the question from the hon. Member for Antrim East (Mr. Beggs) on 8 February 1995,Official Report, columns 315–16, this is a matter which is kept under regular review.

  Exchange Sale Scheme
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many responses he has received to his proposed exchange sale scheme for council leaseholders; and what proportion supported the scheme.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  We received 38 responses to the proposal for the exchange sale scheme. More than three quarters supported the introduction of a scheme in principle and commented on the details.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish the exchange sale scheme for council leaseholders.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  We are reviewing the scheme in the light of the comments received to our consultation exercise. We hope to announce details shortly.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs earlier today.

  Item

  Type

  Date

  Number

  Location

  1

  Soil

  1988–89

  8

  Around Winchester municipal waste incinerator

  2

  Soil

  1988–89

  12

  Around Fawley chemical waste incinerator

  3

  Air

  1991–94

  5

  Stack emissions from Havant incinerator

  4

  Air

  1992–94

  6

  Stack emissions from Basingstoke incinerator

  5

  Air

  1991–94

  6

  Stack emissions from Marchwood incinerator

  6

  Air

  1992–94

  4

  Stack emissions from Winchester incinerator

  Irish Sea (Science)
  Mr. Faber
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made by the Irish sea science co-ordinator in reviewing Irish sea science since his appointment was announced on 11 March 1992.

  Mr. Atkins
  The co-ordinator has prepared "A Review of Current Activities and Future Needs" with the assistance of organisations on both sides of the Irish sea. The review which has been submitted to the UK and Irish Governments as the "Second Report of the Irish Sea Science Co-ordinator", concludes that the Irish sea is already receiving much scientific attention. The review assesses the contribution of current scientific work to understanding environmental change and human impact in the Irish sea and identifies broad priorities for further work. I am placing copies in the Library of the House today.
  450

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  A list of the statutory instruments will be placed in the Library sponsored by my Department in the last 12 months—1 February 1994 to 31 January 1995—will be placed in the Library. In addition to those orders, a further 254 local orders were also processed.

  Pollution
  Sir Trevor Skeet
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action the United Kingdom is taking to phase out the production of substances damaging the ozone layer.

  Mr. Atkins
  [pursuant to his reply, 15 February 1995 c. 674]: The production of chlorofluorocarbons has been phased out in the European Union except for some limited production for a small number of essential uses, such as gas medical inhalers, and to meet the domestic needs of certain developing countries as provided for under the Montreal protocol and European Union regulations.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all samples of the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in(a) soil and (b) air which have been taken by his Department and agencies responsible to his Department in Hampshire in the past 10 years and, in each case, the location of the sample site.

  Mr. Atkins
  In addition to the samples reported in Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollutions technical report, 1989, entitled "Determination of PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs in UK Soils", the following soil and air samples have been taken on behalf of HMIP. The results of items 1 and 2 will be published by HMIP this spring. The results of items 3 to 6 are already available on HMIP's public registers.

  The co-ordinator is now preparing a report on specific, immediate priorities for future research and monitoring. This further report will be made available to the House once it has been completed.

  New Forest
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 16 February,Official Report, column 808, if the terms of reference of the New Forest committee and the New Forest consultative panel which it administers apply to the Crown lands of the New Forest; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The terms of reference of both the committee and the panel apply equally to the Crown lands of the New Forest.
  451

  Nuclear Waste
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 February,Official Report, column 89, which waste consignments for the Drigg disposal facility contained quantities of free liquid.

  Mr. Atkins
  The following waste consignments have been seized by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution since 1990 and found to contain quantities of free liquids.

  Date of seizure

  Consignor

  18 May 1994

  Wylfa—Nuclear Electric

  7 October 1993

  AEA—WNL

  1 October 1992

  BNF—Sellafield

  24 January1992

  BNF—Sellafield

  24 January 1992

  Hunterston—Scottish Nuclear

  20 March 1991

  Dungeness—Nuclear Electric

  31 August 1990

  BNF—Sellafield

  20 July 1990

  Amersham International—Amersham

  18 July 1990

  AEA—Harwell

  26 June 1990

  AEA—Harwell

  15 March 1990

  Wylfa—Nuclear Electric

  1 March 1990

  Hinkley Point—Nuclear Electric

  Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he plans to announce the appointment of the new chair for the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee; what consultation he has carried out regarding the appointment; and what criteria were used in selecting the new chair.

  Mr. Atkins
  An announcement will be made in due course. The chairman of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee is appointed by the Secretaries of State for the Environment, for Scotland and for Wales, in consultation with other ministerial colleagues as appropriate, and is chosen on the basis of his or her abilities to fill what is an important and demanding position.

  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what plans he has to change the status of(a) the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and (b) the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations;

  (2) what plans he has to merge the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations.

  Mr. Atkins
  There are no current plans to change the status of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, although the effectiveness of all such committees is kept under review. Questions concerning the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations are a matter for the Health and Safety Commission in consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Scottish Office.

  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee.

  Mr. Gummer
  Sir John Knill, the current chairman of Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee is due to step down as chairman of RWMAC at the end of May of this year. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales and I had intended to 452
  invite Dr. David Harrison, chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations to be Sir John Knill's successor. However, in recent weeks differences have emerged between the RWMAC and ACSNI members of a joint study group examining the approach to site selection for disposal facilities.

  I have recently received their report including the minority views of the two ACSNI members, which I shall be publishing shortly. In the light of these differences, Dr. Harrison has indicated that he feels it would be in the best interests of both committees that they should not at the present time have the same chairman and he has therefore withdrawn his name from consideration for the chairmanship of RWMAC. I have reluctantly acquiesced.

  A further announcement will be made in due course about Sir John Knill's successor.

  European Regional Development Fund
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations have been made by the European Commission to Her Majesty's Government in respect of local labour clauses within contracts for objective 1 projects; what the Commission's position is on such contracts; what his response has been; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  No representations have been made by the Commission on this subject on Merseyside, though on the initiative of local partners it will be considered at a future meeting of the monitoring committee.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the European Commission calling for greater representation of local authorities and for the representation of social partners on the committees monitoring the use of objective 1 funds on Merseyside; what his response has been; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  The Commission has made no representations to me on these issues, following the agreement of the single programming document with the Commission last year.

  Ethnic Minority Funding
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 21 February,Official Report, column 149, regarding additional section 11 funding, if she will give the amounts of ring-fenced section 11 funding within the single regeneration budget of November 1994.

  Mr. Curry
  Expenditure on the section 11 schemes which are now part of the single regeneration budget is expected to be £60.5 million in the current financial year, 1994–95. These schemes will continue to receive funding through the single regeneration budget for their planned lifetimes.

WALES

  Child Care
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will establish a special "under-fives initiative"
  453
  along the lines of proposals submitted to him by Chwarae Teg.

  Mr. Richards
  I expect to make an announcement on this shortly.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will extend beyond the next financial year the funding of the training and enterprise council out-of-school initiative.

  Mr. Richards
  The out-of-school child care grant initiative was introduced in 1993 as a three-year pump-priming initiative to stimulate the market for child care for children of school age. There are no plans to extend the pump-priming period.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will establish a child care task force to draw up a child care action plan for Wales as proposed by the Equal Opportunities Commission in its report "Equal Opportunities Commission Evidence to the Welsh Office on EC Childcare Recommendations."

  Mr. Richards
  Chwarae Teg already has a central role in stimulating and guiding actions to promote child care, working with relevant agencies in Wales. I am not convinced that a child care task force will make effective action more likely.

  Mr Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proposals he has to raise awareness among employers of the EC child care recommendation adopted by the Council of Ministers in March 1992.

  Mr. Richards
  I look to Chwarae Teg to lead action to raise awareness among employers. The Welsh Office's core funding for Chwarae Teg recognises this.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he will take on EC child care recommendations evidence from the Equal Opportunities Commission in Wales.

  Mr. Richards
  The Equal Opportunities Commission's evidence will be taken into account in the Welsh Office contribution to the Government's report on the EC child care recommendation 1992.

  I refer the hon. Member the the replies given to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) today.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the development of the NHS trusts in Wales.

  Mr. Richards
  There are currently 24 operational NHS trusts in Wales and I announced on 16 January that we were establishing a further three trusts with an operational date of 1 April 1995.

  Additionally, public consultation on applications received from the University hospital of Wales and Cardiff Royal Group and the West Glamorgan east unit—Neath and Port Talbot—and district service unit has now ended. In the light of representation received, and taking account of the individual merits of both applications, my right hon. Friend and I have decided to establish these units as NHS trusts to become operational from April 1995 and April 1996 respectively.

  The orders giving the effect on these decisions have been signed today.

  My right hon. Friend and I are satisfied that the new University hospital of Wales healthcare NHS trust can
  454
  become fully operational on 1 April 1995. However, we have always made it clear that we will only appose full trust status when management at a trust can concentrate on improving patient care, our key criterion for agreeing trust status. My right hon. Friend and I have therefore decided to approve trust status for the new Glan-y-Mor NHS trust to become fully operational on 1 April 1996.

  During the intervening period, when the trust will run in shadow form and undertake a limited number of functions of a fully operational trust, the new trust will be able to complete the integration of the West Glamorgan east unit and district services unit and make further progress on the development of the new Baglan hospital.

  We will announce shortly details on chairmen and non-executive directors for the new NHS trusts.

  Accident and Emergency Departments
  Mr. Keen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many accident and emergency departments there are in Wales; what was the corresponding figure in each year since 1986; and how many accident and emergency departments have been relocated in each year since 1986.

  Mr. Richards
  The number of accident and emergency departments in each year since 1985–86 is given in the following table. Information concerning relocation of these departments is not available centrally.

  Year

  Number of accidents and emergency departments1

  1985–86

  72

  1986–87

  71

  1987–88

  71

  1988–89

  71

  1989–90

  70

  1890–91

  70

  1991–92

  68

  1992–93

  69

  1993–94

  67

  1Includes all hospitals which reported treating patients in the speciality of accident and emergency during the year, including hospitals which treated only a small number of patients in this specialty.

  School Budgets
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the schools which have contributed to the total balance held by local education authority schools and the balances held by each school together with the date it was recorded.

  Mr. Redwood
  I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the reply my hon. Friend gave to the Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) on 23 February 1995,Official Report, column 301,

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 14 February Official Report, column 610, if he will list the date that the balances were recorded in the audited account of each grant-maintained school; and if he will list by local education authority the balance held by locally maintained schools on the same date.

  Mr. Redwood
  The financial balances detailed in my answer of 14 February were taken from the annual accounts of grant-maintained schools in Wales for the year ending 31 March 1994. According to financial
  455
  outturn statements for 1993–94 prepared by local education authorities under section 42 of the Education Reform Act 1988, locally maintained schools held the following balances.

  £

  Clwyd

  5,245,788

  Dyfed

  3,921,715

  Gwent

  7,730,178

  Gwynedd

  3,592,432

  Mid Glamorgan

  12,833,594

  Powys

  1,567,732

  South Glamorgan

  1,848,000

  West Glamorgan

  10,856,158

  Wales

  47,595,597

  Hedgerows
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has, and what guidance he has issued, to prevent further loss of hedgerows in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  The 1990 survey conducted by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology indicated that, although removal was a cause the loss of hedgerows was mainly due to poor management. The Countryside Council for Wales, at the request of Welsh Office Ministers, introduced the hedgerow renovation scheme in 1992 to improve management. The hedgerow clauses in the Environment Bill will enable the introduction of a notification scheme allowing local authorities to prevent the removal of important hedgerows.

  Tir Cymen
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to extend the Tir Cymen scheme to the whole of Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Tir Cymen is being run as an experimental scheme for five years. Decisions as to its future will be taken following a review to be undertaken before the end of the period.

  Designated Areas
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those designated areas in Wales that have been damaged in each of the last five years with the cause of the damage in each case; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  The protection and monitoring of designated habitats is the responsibility of the Countryside Council for Wales and the information is not held centrally. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member with the data requested; a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to increase the number of designated areas in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I will continue to consider each proposal for designation as it arrives.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to protect designated areas in Wales from being damaged; and what advice he has issued to local authorities in respect of this.
  456
  Mr. Redwood
  The protection of designated habitats is the responsibility of the Countryside Council for Wales. National parks are the responsibility of their committees and areas of outstanding natural beauty are managed by the appropriate local authority or authorities.

  Guidance on the protection of such areas is contained in various planning policy guidance notes, regulations, letters and circulars.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what discussions he has had with the Council of Welsh Districts and the Assembly of Welsh Counties with respect to the shift in monitoring of small sites of special scientific interest from the Countryside Council for Wales to local authorities;

  (2) what assessment he has made of the scientific competence of local authorities with respect of their monitoring of small sites of scientific interest;

  (3) what additional funding will be made available to Welsh local authorities to enable them to carry out effective monitoring of small sites of scientific interest.

  Mr. Redwood
  No decisions have yet been taken on the extent to which local authorities in Wales will be involved in the oversight and monitoring of small sites of special scientific interest. No new duties will be imposed on local authorities in Wales. Although no discussions have yet taken place, I fully intend involving local authority associations in discussions on how their members might become more involved in local nature conservation and countryside matters. I would expect these discussions to cover the questions of resources and scientific competence.

  Country Parks
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional funding will be made available to local authorities to fund country parks following the reduction in the budget of the Countryside Council for Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  The designation and maintenance of country parks is entirely a local authority matter. It is for the Countryside Council for Wales to decide upon its level of funding of education and interpretation interests in country parks.

  Forestry
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what hectarage of new forest has been planted in Wales in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information is as follows:

  Year ended 31 March

  New planting (hectares)

  1979

  1,163

  1980

  1,353

  1981

  1,244

  1982

  1,330

  1983

  1,347

  1984

  1,339

  1985

  1,079

  1986

  792

  1987

  846

  1988

  1,102

  1989

  984

  457

  Year ended 31 March

  New planting (hectares)

  1990

  648

  1991

  525

  1992

  411

  1993

  429

  1994

  626

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what amount of woodland grant scheme has been paid to landowners in Wales in each year since its interception.

  Mr. Redwood
  The information is as follows:

  Year ended 31 March

  £ thousands

  19891

  25

  1990

  405

  1991

  463

  1992

  622

  1993

  756

  1994

  1,222

  1 Part year.

  Technology band

  Prosper

  Site name

  MW DNC

  Parliamentary constituency

  Landfill Gas

  AD Waste Ltd.

  Standard

  0.875

  Alyn and Deeside

  Landfill Gas

  Renewable Power Generation Ltd.

  Tythegston

  1.175

  Bridgend

  Municipal and Industrial Waste

  Associated Energy Projects plc

  Lamby Way

  1.446

  Cardiff South and Penarth

  Municipal and Industrial Waste

  Pyrogen (Merthyr) Ltd.

  Taff Merthyr Colliery

  9.000

  Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

  Out of Town Retailing
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many planning applications for our out-of-town developments have been referred to him in the last two years, what was the result of those applications; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Between 1 February 1993 and 31 January 1995, 26 out of town centre retail applications were referred to me under the Town and Country Planning (Shopping Development) (England and Wales) (No. 2) Direction 1993, or as departures from the development plan or as a result of call-in requests. It was decided not to intervene in 23 cases; three are still under consideration. In addition, 25 such proposals came forward on appeal of which three have been dismissed, 12 were withdrawn by the applicants, four were allowed and six have yet to be determined.

  Recycling Plans
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Welsh local authorities have now produced recycling plans: and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  All 37 district authorities have produced recycling plans.

  Organic Farming
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he has issued to farmers in respect of encouraging organic farming.
  458
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he has issued to landowners for increasing forest cover in Wales; and what plans he has to make extra funds available for this under the woodland grant scheme.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Forestry Commission has published a wide range of information and advice on the creation of new woodlands. In his statement of 19 July 1994,Official Report, columns 177–91, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland announced that significant extra funds would be provided for forestry throughout Great Britain.

  Waste to Energy Project
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 7 February,Official Report, column 152, which four projects in Wales have been awarded contracts for waste-to-energy schemes under the third round of the non-fossil fuel obligation.

  Mr. Redwood
  The following waste-to-energy projects were awarded contracts under the third round of the NFFO:

  Mr. Redwood
  An organic aid scheme was introduced by WOAD on 1 September 1994 in order to aid farmers wishing to convert land to organic production. An information pack containing details of the scheme and listing addresses where further advice might be obtained is available from divisional office.

  Showering Facilities
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what changing and showering facilities are available to Welsh Office staff who work at(a) Gwydyr house and (b) Cathays Park.

  Mr. Redwood
  At Gwydyr house there are showers in toilet/washroom areas. At Cathays Park there are separate changing rooms with showers.

  Rights of Way
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made on the introduction of a public rights of way network in Wales as promised in "This Common Inheritance—The Third Year Report".

  Mr. Redwood
  The latest available information is that 66 per cent. of the 1995 target strategic network will be open by the end of the financial year 1994–95. The 1995 target is a milestone towards the end of the century deadline, by which time the entire system of public rights of way is intended to be open and properly signposted in Wales.
  459

  Local Development Plans
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many Welsh local authorities have produced local development plans under the terms of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  The relevant planning provision of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 came into effect on 10 February 1992. Since that date, five districts have adopted local plans which cover the whole of their area. A further two districts have deposited plans and 11 districts and two national parks have published consultation drafts. Local plans, taking into account government guidance and local needs and priorities, have an important role in promoting and guiding development and in protecting and conserving our natural and build heritage. I want to see full local planning coverage in Wales at the earliest possible date and up to date and succinct plans giving clear guidance on acceptable land uses.

  Reclaimed Land (Building)
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what guidance he has issued to local authorities in Wales to ensure that new building takes place on reclaimed land wherever practicable.

  Mr. Redwood
  Welsh Office circular 21/87—development of contaminated land—indicated that the Government wished to encourage full and effective use of land in urban areas and the re-use of sites which have been previously developed. Planning policy guidance note 12, Wales, published in February 1992 requires local authorities to include in development plans, land use policies for the improvement of the physical environment, for example, by reclaiming contaminated and derelict land so that it can be brought back into use more quickly and reduce pressure on green-field sites. In addition, the need for reclamation is referred to in other planning guidance. The value of using reclaimed land for new building is repeated in "The Environmental Agenda for Wales", published recently. I have stressed the priority of this work to the WDA and local authorities in the meetings I have held with it about developments.

TRANSPORT

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ensure that the enforcement provisions contained in the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 apply to all regulations for which his Department is responsible, past, present and future; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Watts
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given today by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

  Statutory Instruments
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory instruments which his Department has sponsored in the last 12 months.
  460
  Mr. Norris
  My Department was responsible for 116 statutory instruments during this period. I have placed a list in the Library.

  Bray's Detective Agency
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 20 February Official Report, column 3, on what date Bray's Detective Agency ceased to be contracted to his Department; and what was the total expenditure by his Department in relation to the contract or contracts with Bray's.

  Mr. Watts
  Bray's Detective Agency ceased to be contracted to the Department of Transport on 31 July 1994. The total sum paid to Bray's by the Department on 31 July 1994. The total sum paid to Bray's by the Department amounted to £267,377.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on which road schemes promoted by his Department private detective agencies are being retained to identify protestors, serve writs, or for other purposes; in each case, what is the name of the agency and to whom the agency is contracted; and what financial liability rests with his Department for his contract.

  Mr. Watts
  Bray's Detective Agency is currently being employed through the Treasury Solicitor in connection with the A12 Hackney Wick-M11 link and M65 Blackburn southern bypass schemes. The question of financial liability will depend on the degree and amount of any work that Bray's might be instructed to undertake.

  Royal Train
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mileages were covered by the royal train in each of the past seven years; and what were the total costs measured per mile travelled.

  Mr. Watts
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  Mileage covered by the royal train

  Total costs charged to Department of Transport, averaged per mile travelled £

  1987–88

  21,936

  44.40

  1988–89

  22,611

  45.64

  1989–90

  19,979

  58.55

  1990–91

  25,207

  78.66

  1991–92

  28,568

  78.20

  1992–93

  24,629

  87.23

  1993–94

  30,494

  80.33

  Notes:

  1. Information has been provided by British Railways Board.

  2. 1989–90 was the first year in which police costs were charged as a separate item to the Department of Transport. Full police costs were charged from 1990–91. In that year, police costs amounted to £600,000.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the total amounts paid for the royal train in each of the past seven years; what additions or reductions were listed in estimates; and what is his estimated total for the next two years.

  Mr. Watts
  Expenditure met by the Department of Transport and estimated expenditure for 1994–95,
  461
  1995–96 and 1996–97 in respect of the royal train, including refurbishment, and travel by scheduled train on official business by members of the royal family and their households has been as follows:

  Year

  Total paid £000s

  Supplementary estimates included £000s

  1987–88

  3,081

  —

  1988–89

  3,301

  —

  1989–90

  2,288

  —

  1990–91

  2,868

  +700

  1991–92

  2,628

  +1,075

  1992–93

  2,556

  +1,000

  1993–94

  2,827

  +730

  1994–95

  2,360

  +351

  1995–96

  2,041

  —

  1996–97

  2,041

  —

  Notes:

  1. The figures for 1987–88 to 1993–94 are outturns, for 1994–95 a forecast outturn and for 1995–96 to 1996–97 planned expenditure.

  2. Costs are met by the Department of Transport following receipt of agreed claims for journeys undertaken.

  Fish Factory Ships
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 14 February,Official Report, column 633, when the consultation document on the regulation of fish factory ships will be published; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

  Mr. Norris
  A consultation paper on possible further measures to ensure that fish factory ships meet agreed safety standards and carry adequate liability insurance will be issued shortly. Copies will be made available in the Library.

  Nuclear Waste Shipments
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 30 January,Official Report, column 482, if he has now received representations from the Channel Islands on nuclear waste shipments.

  Mr. Norris
  No.

  Newbury Bypass
  Mr. Rendel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what change there has been since 19 December 1994 to the timetable for the announcement of his decision on the Newbury bypass.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  I will announce my decision after I have had an opportunity to consider carefully the Highways Agency's answer to the questions I have posed.

  Donaldson Inquiry (MV Braer)
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he hopes to publish the Government's response to Lord Donaldson's inquiry recommendations set up after the Braer disaster.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  Shortly.

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of those accepted for 462
  fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible (a) in 1991, (b) 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994 were women.

  Mr. Norris
  Intake to the Department's administrative and specialist fast stream for 1991 and 1992 are contained in the Civil Service Commissioners' report for both years. For 1993 the split was six men and three women; and for 1994, seven men and five women.

  Blackwall Tunnel
  Mr. Dunn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the need to undertake remedial works on the Blackwall tunnel; and what estimate he has made of the likely length of time for such works if deemed necessary.

  Mr. Norris
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Bob Dunn, dated 27 February 1995:
  I refer to your request in the House for information on the need for remedial works at Blackwall Tunnel. This is a trunk road operational matter and your request has therefore been referred to the Highways Agency.
  I imagine that your enquiry is a result of recent press reports about subsidence caused during the excavation of a pilot heading for the Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) at Blackwall Tunnel in Greenwich. These gave the impression that the problem was far worse than was the case. There has been no damage to the tunnels and no remedial works are required beyond placing grout and concrete in and around the pilot heading. The incident in question was in any case under the southbound tunnel exit ramp, not under the tunnels.
  You may be interested to know that the normal maintenance regime provides for routine work such as cleaning, removal of debris, changing of light bulbs etc. to be carried out in the northbound tunnel during regular Tuesday night closures. Such work in the southbound tunnel takes place under lane closures that are implemented on two nights every week. Further, there are full closures of the southbound tunnel on six Saturdays nights per year—three in March and three in November for more extensive cleaning works.
  As you know major refurbishment of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel was completed as recently as 1992 at a cost in excess of £20 million.
  A recent study of the southbound tunnel has shown that after being in operation for 27 years the cladding and the ventilation system are in need of refurbishment/replacement. These works will take about eighteen months to complete, and are planned to start in 1996/97. Suitable advance publicity will be arranged closer to the start of works.
  I hope this reply is helpful.

  Wheelclamping
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who will be allowed to wheelclamp unlicensed vehicles on his behalf; whether private contractors or local authorities will be allowed to wheelclamp vehicles; whether the authority to wheelclamp unlicensed vehicles will remain following the introduction of continuous liability; and what level of remuneration will be set for
  463
  the wheelclamping companies for each vehicle that is wheelclamped.

  Mr. Norris
  The scheme for wheelclamping unlicensed vehicles is being developed in consultation with the police and local authorities. A pilot will take place in London later this year. The London boroughs now have responsibility for much of the parking enforcement in the capital, which includes responsibility for vehicle clamping and removal. Details of the scheme, including levels of remuneration for contractors, have yet to be agreed upon. Decisions on the use of wheelclamping under continuous licensing will be based on its effectiveness in tackling evasion under the current system.
  464

  Kidsgrove Station
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will seek assurances from Railtrack to keep open the booking office at Kidsgrove station beyond October 1995.

  Mr. Watts
  I understand that Regional Railways Central has no plans to close this booking office.

  Track Access Grants
  Sir David Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many track access grants to reduce Railtrack charges have been made since the announcement of this facility.

  Mr. Watts
  Ten.

  Commonwealth Development Corporation
  Commonwealth Development Corporation
  Peru: Cease-Fire
  Peru: Cease-Fire
  Burma: British Week
  Burma: British Week
  Iraq: Human Rights Violations
  Iraq: Human Rights Violations
  Kosovo: Human Right Violations
  Kosovo: Human Right Violations
  Age of Criminal Responsibility
  Age of Criminal Responsibility
  Treaty on European Union: Protocols
  Treaty on European Union: Protocols
  Japanese Companies Operating in the UK: Corporation Tax
  Japanese Companies Operating in the UK: Corporation Tax
  European Commission: Tax Arrangements
  European Commission: Tax Arrangements
  Consumer Credit Deregulation
  Consumer Credit Deregulation
  European Fast Reactor Project
  European Fast Reactor Project
  MOX Fuel
  MOX Fuel
  AT&T: Public Telecommunications Operator Licence
  AT&T: Public Telecommunications Operator Licence
  Land Mines
  Land Mines
  Fishing Vessel Decommissioning and Access to Irish Box
  Fishing Vessel Decommissioning and Access to Irish Box
  Housing Act 1985, s.73 Grants
  Housing Act 1985, s.73 Grants
  Freshwater Quality: Royal Commission Report
  Freshwater Quality: Royal Commission Report