Written Answers of 28 February 1995

TREASURY

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Nelson
  None.

  Public Bodies
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 22 February,Official Report, column 195, how many "Dear Accounting officer" letters he has sent to non-departmental bodies giving guidance on the schedule E classification and tax status of non-executive board members; on what date they were sent; and what their principal elements were.

  Sir George Young
  None. Where necessary, guidance on these matters is provided on an individual case by case by the Inland Revenue.

  Value Added Tax
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the law on VAT group registration is to be changed, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have asked Customs and Excise to review the current provisions on VAT group registration and report to me by the early summer with a view to including any necessary changes in next year's Finance Bill. However, following a recent VAT tribunal decision, I have decided to propose some changes in the law immediately to prevent continuing tax losses by manipulation of the current provisions for tax avoidance purposes. The new clause will be tabled in the course of this year's Finance Bill. The clause, if approved, will have effect as from midnight tonight.

  Customs and Excise will be issuing a press notice, together with a draft of the clause, today. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 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. Nelson
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: I refer to the reply given on 27 February by the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

  Ashford Great Park
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, what losses were sustained by the Commissioners over the Ashford Great Park programme; and what charge exists, or legal action has been taken by them against the European Land group of companies, or family trusts or interests of Mr. James Cookson and his successors.

  Mr. Alison
  Companies within the European land group and controlled by the late Mr. James Cookson were one of the commissioners' partners in the Ashford Great Park project, but they went into receivership in 1992. Shortly afterwards the Commissioners exercised their legal charge over the land purchased for the project in order to offset the loans owed to the Commissioners by their partners. No further action is being taken against European Land or its subsidiaries or the family interests of Mr. Cookson following his death. All of the land purchased for the project now belongs to the Commissioners and, for the present, this land has been written down to its value at an agricultural estate but with the benefit of the local plan allocation for redevelopment at some stage in the future. The cost of the Commissioners' investment in the partnership amounted to £80 million.

LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

  Disabled Employees
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what is the percentage of disabled people directly employed by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Newton
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North, (Mr. McNamara) on 5 December 1994,Official Report, column 251.

  Parliamentary Pension Fund
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Lord President of the Council if he has at any time met the chairman and/or members of the senior salaries review body to discuss its current review of the parliamentary contributory pension fund.

  Mr. Newton
  I have had no such meetings.

TRANSPORT

  Office of Passenger Rail Franchising
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what will be the continuing sum available for the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising over the next three financial years for the support of passenger services both franchise and those operated by British Rail.

  Mr. Watts
  An estimated £1,800 million of grant to support passenger services will be provided in 1995–96
  467
  of which £1,610 million will be paid by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising to British Rail and franchisees, and £190 million will be paid by the Department of Transport to passenger transport authorities.

  Estimates of the level of grant support for later years are not yet available.

  Furness Bridge (Rudder Assembly)
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received in relation to the rudder assembly of the Furness Bridge; what recent assessment he has made of rudder assemblies in other ships in the Derbyshire class; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  This is an operational matter for the Marine Safety Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mrs. Joan Walley, dated 28 February 1995:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about the rudder assembly of the Furness Bridge and other ships in the Derbyshire class.
  Two representations have been received in relation to the rudder assembly of the Furness Bridge. I am not aware of any recent assessments of rudder assemblies of other ships in the Derbyshire class.

  Heavy Lorries (Track Costs)
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if delays to motorists arising from structural maintenance of the road network are included in the assessment of the track costs of heavy lorries.

  Mr. Watts
  Track costs are restricted to the provision and maintenance of the track, and do not include delay costs.

  Buses (Pollution)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will issue guidelines to London bus operators to direct their drivers to switch off their engines when a bus is parked; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  This is a matter for London Transport Buses.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  No items of correspondence were received by Ministers in the Department of Transport from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Suriname
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will include in the United Kingdom overseas aid programme provision for 468
  financial assistance to the Government of Suriname for the purpose of strengthening the Surinamese forest management service.

  Mr. Baldry
  We provide substantial assistance in promoting sustainable forest management to a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras and Guyana, but we have no plans to introduce a bilateral aid programme to Suriname.

  Aid Distribution
  Mr. Hendry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the Overseas Development Administration's aid to developing countries goes to the poorest countries.

  Mr. Baldry
  In 1993–94, 69 per cent. of ODA's aid to developing countries which can be attributed to individual country programmes went to the poorest countries.

  The change-over the figure of 80 per cent. previously given for the proportion of aid going to the poorest countries in 1992–93 is explained by the following factors:
  (i) technical changes in the definition used for aid to the poorest including:

  a reclassification of some emergency aid provided through multilateral agencies from multilateral to bilateral aid, reflecting the fact that the aid is made available for countries that ODA specifies and is thus bilateral is character. Since many of the recipients for instance, in the former Yugoslavia—are not among the poorest countries, this has the effect of reducing bilateral aid to the poorest. This accounts for a change of over two percentage points;

  a change in the OECD definition of income groups, lowering the threshold for low income countries from an annual income per head of $765 to $675. This accounts for a change of two percentage points;

  (ii) some shift of aid expenditure from low income countries to lower middle income countries accounting for the remaining change of over six percentage points. This includes emergency aid in Bosnia and Angola, neither of which are classified by the OECD as low income countries.

  Brazil
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that timber imports from Brazil to the United Kingdom do not come from indigenous and biological reserves.

  Mr. Baldry
  It is the Brazilian Government's responsibility to ensure that timber extraction in Brazil is undertaken legally. The Brazilian Government are aware of our concern that logging in the Amazon should be legal and sustainable.

  Our embassy in Brasilia has helped arrange discussions between representatives of United Kingdom timber importers and interested bodies in Brazil aimed at ensuring that all mahogany imported from Brazil comes from legal sources.

  Through our aid programme we aim to help strengthen forest policies and management in Brazil.

  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring he is carrying out in respect of the World Bank funded Carajas project in Brazil; and what are his conclusions in relation to evidence of illegal logging and mining activities in indigenous people's territories.
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  Mr. Baldry
  The World Bank loan for the Carajas iron ore project and associated railway was approved in 1982 and closed in 1987. We have no recent information about logging and mining activities in the region.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Attorney General what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  The Attorney-General
  None.

ENVIRONMENT

  Climate Change
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which elements of the carbon dioxide emission reduction programme outlined in "Climate

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Number of vacants

  Ministry of Defence

  16,286

  13,991

  11,975

  11,180

  10,973

  11,313

  Department of Health1

  15,911

  n/a

  14,729

  n/a

  1,800

  n/a

  Home Office2

  3,241

  2,382

  1,641

  1,406

  1,672

  n/a

  Scottish Office

  502

  319

  310

  246

  239

  158

  Department of Transport

  n/a

  n/a

  584

  483

  788

  887

  Welsh Office3

  85

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  40

  43

  Percentage of housing stock vacant

  Ministry of Defence

  21

  18

  16

  15

  15

  16

  Department of Health1

  18

  n/a

  15

  n/a

  12

  n/a

  Home Office2

  16

  14

  10

  9

  12

  n/a

  Scottish Office

  23

  16

  16

  15

  14

  10

  Department of Transport

  n/a

  n/a

  22

  16

  22

  23

  Welsh Office3

  19

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  17

  18

  1 Includes NHS. The 1989 and 1991 figures include empty bed-spaces in hostels.

  2 Includes the Prison Service and Metropolitan and provincial police authorities.

  3 Excludes dwellings awaiting demolition or conversion to non-residential use.

  n/a = Not available.

  Housing, Westminster
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses were built in each of the wards of the borough of Westminster in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.

  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money was spent on the provision of disabled facilities in each of the wards within the borough of Westminster in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  The information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money was spent in each of the wards within the borough of Westminster for council house refurbishment for(a) facade improvements, (b)
  470
  Change: the UK Programme" are (a) delivering and (b) now expected to deliver greater savings than were initially expected.

  Mr. Atkins
  We are currently reviewing the contributions expected from the measures in our climate change programme in the light of recent developments, taking account of the revised energy projections that the Department of Trade and Industry is working on. I shall make an announcement to the House shortly.

  Departmental Property
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many dwellings owned by each Government Department lay vacant in each year since 1979; and what proportion of each Department's total housing stock this represented in each case.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Comprehensive data on Government Department vacant dwellings are not available. The table sets out the readily available estimates of vacants, including those in need of refurbishment or awaiting sale or demolition, for the Departments with the largest numbers of dwellings. In response to the report of the task force on Government Departments' empty homes, the Government have undertaken to monitor empty residential properties owned by Departments and to set annual targets for reducing vacants; the targets for 1994–95 were announced on 30 November last year.

  stone cleaning, (c) tree planting and (d) improving pavements in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  The information requested is not held centrally in this detail.

  Westminster City Council
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the leader of Westminster city council to discuss the district auditor's interim report.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  No such meeting has taken place. This is not a matter for the Government, but for the local authority and its appointed auditor.

  Councillors and Officers (Penalties)
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the
  471
  adequacy of the level of penalties that can be imposed on councillors and officers who do not comply with district auditors' demands; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any requirement of an auditor under sections 16(1) and 16(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1982 is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to £200 and to an additional fine of £20 for each day on which the offence continues after conviction. I am not aware of any evidence that this is an inadequate penalty.

  Tree Preservation Orders
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, how many prosecutions were carried out in respect of breaches of tree preservation orders in each of the last five years; and what assessment he had made as to the extent to which this mechanism is effective.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Information on the numbers of prosecutions in respect of breaches of tree preservation orders is not collected centrally. The effectiveness of this mechanism was considered as part of a wide-ranging review of tree preservation policies and legislation. The outcome, following public consultation, was announced by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside in July last year. A number of changes are proposed to ensure that local authorities have adequate powers to bring effective action against abusers of the system. A paper setting out the Government's conclusions in more detail was placed in the Library of the House.

  House Building Requirements
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list(a) the house building requirements imposed by his Department in each county authority for the period 1991 to 2006 and (b) the environmental constraints which have affected the requirement downwards; what considerations determine the house building requirement (i) nationally and (ii) regionally; and what assessments he makes of the infrastructure required to support such a building requirement.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The proposed provision of additional housing for each county in England is set out in "Regional and Strategic Planning Guidance". The figures for each county are shown in the table.

  National population projections are provided by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in consultation with local authorities. The Department of the Environment produces household projections for counties, and the metropolitan boroughs, which are adjusted to be consistent with national totals. The proposed regional dwelling provision is based on the household projections, and take into account factors such as the need for house replacement, vacancy rates, second homes, and tied accommodation.

  Regional conferences of local authorities are consulted on the distribution of the regional figures. In considering the figures they are required to take national planning and environmental policies into account, as well as local circumstances and constraints.
  472
  The figures in regional planning guidance are then tested through the structure plan process, and subject to scrutiny through an examination in public. This enables the figures to be refined in the light of local circumstances.

  Infrastructure requirements should be considered at the regional, county, and local level according to the size and strategic nature of proposed developments.

  Proposed regional level dwelling provision for counties in England

  (Figures are annual averages for the period stated, and are taken from "Regional or Strategic Planning Guidance" unless otherwise stated.)

  Number

  East Midlands region—1991 to 2011

  Derbyshire

  3,250

  Leicestershire

  3,500

  Lincolnshire

  3,400

  Northamptonshire

  3,500

  Nottinghamshire

  3,250

  Eastern region—1986 to 2006

  Cambridgeshire

  3,700

  Norfolk

  3,450

  Suffolk

  3,100

  Northern region—1991 to 2006

  Cleveland

  933

  Durham

  1,400

  Northumberland

  1,033

  Tyne and Wear Metropolitan area SPG1

  2,315

  South East region—1991 to 2006

  Bedfordshire

  2,467

  Berkshire

  2,667

  Buckinghamshire

  3,267

  East Sussex

  2,333

  Essex

  5,333

  Hampshire

  6,133

  Hertfordshire

  3,333

  Isle of Wight

  533

  Kent

  5,800

  Oxfordshire

  2,467

  Surrey

  2,400

  West Sussex

  2,933

  London Metropolitan area

  1,155

  South West region—1991 to 2011

  Avon

  2,950

  Cornwall

  2,250

  Devon

  4,950

  Dorset

  3,150

  Gloucester

  2,650

  Somerset

  2,500

  Wiltshire

  3,450

  West Midlands region 1991–2011 (consultation draft figures)

  Hereford and Worcester

  2,500

  Shropshire

  2,150

  Staffordshire

  2,850

  Warwickshire

  1,750

  West Midlands (Metropolitan area)

  5,000

  Yorkshire and Humberside region 1991–2006 (consultation draft figures)

  Humberside

  3,500

  North Yorkshire

  3,000

  South Yorkshire (Metropolitan area)

  3,400

  West Yorkshire (Metropolitan area)

  6,700

  473

  Number

  North West region(draft RPG forthcoming—figures are for time scales as detailed)

  Cheshire structure plan (1986–2001)

  3,933

  Cumbria structure plan (1981–1996)

  1.573

  Further proposed modifications (1991–2006)

  1,833

  Lancashire structure plan (1986–1996)

  4,120

  Deposit replacement plan (1991–2006)

  4,403

  Merseyside SPG, 1986–2001 (Metropolitan area)

  3,303

  Greater Manchester SPG, 1986 to 2001 (Metropolitan area)

  4,000

  1 1988 to 2001

  (1) Includes NHS. The 1989 and 1991 figures include empty bed-spaces in hostels.

  (2) Includes the Prison Service and Metropolitan and provincial police authorities.

  (3) Excludes dwellings awaiting demolition or conversion to non-residential use.

  NCM Ltd.
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations there have been with the trustees of the Marquis of Bute's estate regarding the permission granted for three years from 1 January 1992 to January 1995, for NCM Ltd. to remain co-located with his Department at Crown buildings, Cathays park; on what date and until what date an extension to the permission was granted; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  [holding answer 23 February 1995]: The permission given on behalf of the Bute estate for NCM Ltd. to occupy Crown buildings, Cathays park, contrary to a restrictive covenant within the deeds for the premises, has been excited.

  The liquidator of Mountjoy Ltd., successors in title to all the Cardiff property formerly owned by the Marques of Bute, consented by letter dated 31 January 1995 to waive the restrictive covenant for a period of six months from the date of that letter.

  Negotiations of a commercial nature are continuing between my Department and NCM Ltd. It is therefore not appropriate for any statement to be made.

  Objective 1 Funding
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps her Majesty's Government are taking to monitor access and take-up of objective 1 funds by small and medium enterprises and, in particular Department of Trade and Industry co-financed schemes.

  Mr. Curry
  [holding answer 20 February 1995]: Monitoring of objective 1 funds on Merseyside will be undertaken by the Government office for Merseyside for European regional development fund including DTI co-financed schemes, the Employment Department for European Structural Fund and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund. The Merseyside single programme document sets clear targets for the assistance of SMEs through the programme and progress towards these targets will form part of the monitoring process.

  Single Regeneration Budget
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, how much is being spent in 1994–95 under the single regeneration budget in London in 474
  (a) Greater London (b) metropolitan districts and (c)
  elsewhere; what are the figures for each year since the establishment of the single regeneration budget; and how much is planned to be spent in (i) 1995–96 and (ii) 1996–62.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  [holding answer 21 February 1995]: The single regeneration budget came into
  operation in April 1994. Outturn expenditure in 1994–95 on the contributing programmes within the SRB is expected to be:

  £ million

  a) Greater London

  373.7

  b) Metropolitan districts

  639,5

  c) elsewhere

  254.5

  Total

  1,267.7

  These figures exclude expenditure by English Partnerships, whose budget has not been regionally allocated. Total expenditure may also be higher in areas where contributing programmes make use of receipts or contributions from local authorities or the private sector.

  Planned SRB expenditure, including English Partnerships, in future years is £1,329.0 million in 1995–96 and £1,324.2 million in 1996–97. As allocations to specific areas are not finalised and new SRB partnerships will, in some cases, operate across local authority areas, a breakdown of this planned expenditure by the areas sought is not available.

  Ethnic Minorities
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 21 February 1995,Official Report, column 149, regarding additional section 11 funding, if he will give the amounts of section 11 funding ring-fenced within the single regeneration budget, in November 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: I have been asked to reply.

  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. and learned Friend has given today to a question by the hon. Member for Edmonton (Dr. Twinn).

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Gummer
  None.

  EC Directives
  Mr. Dobson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those directives from the European Union/Community since 1990 which have had an effect on local government, stating for each(a) the manner in which the directive has been absorbed into United Kingdom law, (b) the means of enforcing the directive and (c) the extra resources made available to local authorities to meet those consequences, differentiating between provision by way of standard spending assessments, annual capital guidelines and basic credit approvals.
  475
  Mr. Gummer
  I have today placed in the Library a table containing information about directives from the European Community which have affected local government, and the legislation which makes provision for their enforcement in national law. The European Union recognises that most of the activities of local councils are best regulated by local and national Government. However, many environmental issues can be addressed effectively only in the context of the European Union and the UK plays its proper part at the heart of the Union seeking to ensure that directives are good for Britain and good for Europe. The annual local government finance settlement takes full account of the cost to local authorities of all new burdens, including those arising from the European Community. Basic credit approvals issued to each authority are calculated by reference to annual capital guidelines; these are assessments of the authority's need to spend and are determined by the Government Department with the policy responsibility for each service.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Television Without Frontiers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the research projects undertaken in his Department to ascertain the impact of quotas for European work in the television without frontiers directive, and its effect on strengthening the European audio-visual industries ability to produce and distribute television programmes.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My Department has not undertaken any research projects into the effect of the European programme requirements in articles 4 and 5 of the television without frontiers directive. The hon. Gentleman may, however, be interested in a study conducted by London Economics, "The Economic Impact of Television Quotas in the European Union", published in 1994, which concluded that quotas were an ineffective means of encouraging growth in the production sector and might actually have a negative effect.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what was the outcome of his meeting in Bordeaux regarding quotas; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) when he expects to (a) receive an official text from the Commission and (b) the House to receive a document on television without frontiers from the European Union.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The informal meeting of European Union Culture and Audio-visual Ministers in Bordeaux on 13 to 14 February discussed a number of issues of audio-visual policy, among which was the European Commission's review of the implementation by member states of the television without frontiers directive. There was a spirited debate on the European programme requirements of the directive's articles 4 and 5, which revealed a large measure of agreement against tightening the existing quota regime.

  In the light of this discussion, the Commission has undertaken to try to bring forward proposals for a revised directive before the end of March.
  476
  Any proposals from the European Commission for revision of the directive will be deposited for parliamentary scrutiny in accordance with the usual procedures.

  West Cumbria
  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he is taking to promote west Cumbria as a destination for leisure travel.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Grant in aid to the English tourist board supports a range of development and marketing programmes which benefit tourism in all parts of England. Many of these are delivered by the regional tourist boards, including the Cumbria tourist board, which receive substantial funding from the ETB. The CTB will receive a block grant of £342,000 in the current financial year, and can also bid for support for specific projects from the ETB's £2.25 million tourism development fund.

  Tourism in west Cumbria also benefits from the overseas activities of the British Tourist Authority. The CTB is now part of the BTA's marketing consortium "England's North Country" which provides a higher profile for the area in overseas markets.

  National Lottery
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if applications for improvements to public libraries are eligible from the national lottery fund.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The National Heritage memorial fund's guidelines to applicants for lottery funds state that grants can be made to library buildings which are of recognised importance to the heritage. Copies of these guidelines are available in the Library of the House. The Arts Council of England has stated that it can make grants out of lottery funds for the enhancement of library facilities through the provision of space for activities such as readings, literary events, exhibitions, concerts and performances.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what directives he has issued to the Director General of the National Lottery in pursuit of the policy of Her Majesty's Government not to stimulate the demand for gambling.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Under section 11 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993, my predecessor as Secretary of State for National Heritage issued a number of directions to the Director General of the National Lottery. These include a direction which requires the director general to exercise his functions under sections 5 and 6 of the Act in such a way as to ensure that no licence is granted which authorises the promotion of any lottery which in his opinion encourages excessive participation or does not have sufficient controls to prevent the participation of young people under the age of 16. A complete set of the directions issued to the director general are available in the Library of the House.
  477
  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to require the Camelot Group plc to publish regularly its profitability derived from the operation of the national lottery.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I have no plans to impose further reporting requirements on Camelot Group plc in addition to those to which it is already subject under the Companies Acts.

  Football Matches
  Mr. Chris Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what discussions he has held with football clubs and the Football Association in the aftermath of the recent Dublin riot, about the involvement of extremist political organisations in crowds at football matches.

  Mr. Sproat
  None. Such discussions would be for my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary or the police.

  Media II Programme
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when Her Majesty's Government expect to receive notification of the EU's media II programme; and what parliamentary proceedings it will be subject to.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We have yet to receive the European Commission's formal proposal, although we have seen an informal draft. According to the current timetable, we would expect to receive the final proposal by 22 March. Normal parliamentary scrutiny arrangements would apply.

  European Audio-visual Policy
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the timetable for further public meeting proceedings on EC document 6398/94.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The European Commission's Green Paper on European Audio-visual policy raised wide-ranging issues about the future of the European programme production industry and the measures which member states and the European Community should take to promote and strengthen it.

  In the light of the response to the document, and of the audio-visual conference held in Brussels on 30 June to 1 July, the Commission on 8 February adopted a proposal for a new programme, media II, to replace the existing EC media programme, and this has now been communicated to the Council. Discussions between member states on the proposal, which will be deposited for parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way, have now begun in an ad hoc Council working group. I cannot say when they will be completed. We expect the Commission to bring forward further proposals arising from the Green Paper in due course.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the EU's media II programme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  We have yet to receive the Commission's formal proposal. Although we broadly support, the approach set out in an informal text, for a more focused programme, which concentrates resources on training, development and distribution, we have yet to agree details of how media II would be implemented.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

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

  Mr. Jack
  I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Service Commissioners Report for 1991 and 1992 for the figures requested. The figures for 1993 and 1994 are not published in the form requested. For the years 1993 and 1994, the percentage of women recruited into the Department's fast stream in the administration, legal statistician and economist groups was 50 per cent. and 58 per cent. respectively. The European fast stream, for whom the Cabinet Office is responsible, is excluded.

  Standards for Livestock Vehicles
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the draft proposal for the EC directive on standards for livestock vehicles.

  Mrs. Browning
  The Commission draft proposal was circulated widely, on 8 February, to interested organisations and individuals for their comments. The Commission working group has had one meeting so far and further meetings are expected before it is discussed in the Council.

  Quality Beef Promotion Scheme
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he is making to the European Commission to obtain additional funds from the European quality beef promotion scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Jack
  The Government are making representations to the European Commission to improve the suitability of the European quality beef promotion scheme to the UK market. However, we are not seeking an increase in the overall funds available for the scheme in the European Union. This is because it is not clear that in the UK at least, the scheme is currently achieving its aim of increasing beef consumption.

  Live Animal Transport
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he had with British protesters objecting to the humane transport and export of animals in Brussels on the occasion of the Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels on 20 February, and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Browning
  My right hon. Friend the Minister and I met with animal welfare organisations in advance of the Agriculture Council on 16 February to discuss the prospects for discussions on animal welfare issues. My right hon. Friend talked to protesters demonstrating outside the Council building in Brussels on 20 February, and welcomed their presence as a useful contribution to raising public awareness of animal welfare issues in other member states. He also received a petition organised by
  479
  the RSPCA, which had been signed by a large number of members of the public from several EU member states.

  Genetically Modified Food
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what safeguards are in place to regulate the sale to the public of genetically modified food.

  Mrs. Browning
  The sale of food containing genetically modified organisms is controlled under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) Regulations 1992, as amended. The safety of foods produced using genetic modification is assessed by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes whose approach to safety assessment is held in high esteem worldwide. The Food Advisory Committee considers the labelling of genetically modified food on a case-by-case basis.

  Ochratoxin A
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the present view of the safe limit for consumption of ochratoxin A; and what plans he has to revise the limit.

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: There are at present no legislative limits for ochratoxin A in foods. The European Commission has initiated negotiations to set regulatory limits for ochratoxin A in some foodstuffs. The Department of Health's Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has recommended that levels of ochratoxin A should be reduced to the lowest technologically achievable. The European Commission's Scientific Committee for Food has recently concluded
  "that an acceptable safe level of daily exposure of ochratoxin A would fall in the range of a few nanograms per kilogram body weight per day".

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research work he has undertaken on the alleged connection between ochratoxin A in coffee and cases of kidney cancer.

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: It is accepted that ochratoxin A is a genotoxic carcinogen and causes kidney cancer. The mycotoxin that produces ochratoxin A occurs naturally in the environment and is an opportunistic contaminant of a variety of foodstuffs, not only coffee beans. The levels found in UK food are generally low. MAFF surveillance of ochratoxin A in coffee began in October 1994 and will be completed in late 1995. The results will be published in the "Food Safety Information Bulletin". MAFF-funded research to investigate the effects of decaffeination, roasting and brewing on levels of ochratoxin A in coffee is planned to start in April 1995. It is expected that the results from this study will be published in the scientific literature.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Policy Appraisal and Fair Treatment Scheme
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what documentary evidence there is to show how successful has been the application of (1)480
  policy appraisal and (2) fair treatment to the Industrial Development Board.

  Mr. Ancram
  Revised Government guidelines on the policy appraisal and fair treatment initiative, which came into effect in January 1994, contain provisions for an annual report. The first report is currently being prepared and will include reports on individual Departments. The Department of Economic Development's report will cover the Industrial Development Board.

  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he has taken to evaluate the implementation of the policy appraisal and fair treatment scheme and the targeting social need scheme; and what documentation on the results of the schemes is available.

  Sir John Wheeler
  Annual reports will be published on the implementation of the policy appraisal and fair treatment initiative. The first is currently being prepared. During 1994, the Department of Economic Development commissioned management consultants to undertake a review of how the objectives of targeting social need related to those of the Department and its agencies. Their report made a number of recommendations, which are currently being implemented. A summary of these recommendations will shortly be published in a DED strategy review and I will ensure that the hon. Lady receives a copy.

  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the contribution of(a) policy appraisal of fair treatment and (b) targeting social need to the creation of employment opportunities for women.

  Mr. Ancram
  The aim of the policy appraisal and fair Treatment initiative is to ensure that issues of equality and equity condition policy making and action in all spheres and at all levels of Government activity in Northern Ireland. It is not directly concerned with the creation of employment opportunities.

  Targeting social need is a public expenditure priority established to ensure that resources are directed towards areas identified as socially and economically disadvantaged and that community differentials are thereby reduced. No assessment has been made of the effect of TSN specifically on employment opportunities for women.

  Fair Employment Tribunal
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average length and cost of a case dealt with by the fair employment tribunal.

  Mr. Ancram
  The average length of time taken to deal with a fair employment tribunal case is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The average direct cost to the fair employment tribunal of dealing with a complaint is approximately £290. The cost estimate excludes rent/rates, capital works, furniture/equipment and costs of the parties involved.

  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of complaints taken up by the fair employment tribunal since the implementation of the Fair Employment Act 1989 concluded in a pre-trial settlement.

  Mr. Ancram
  Since its formation, to 31 December 1994, 4 per cent. of the complaints made to the fair employment tribunal were conciliated by the Labour
  481
  Relations Agency or agreed between the parties and a further 43 per cent. of complaints were withdrawn by the complainants. Reasons for withdrawal are not required to be notified.

  RUC
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Catholics applied to join the RUC in its recruitment in December 1994.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The last advertisement period for recruitment to the RUC was from 28 November 1994 to 13 January 1995. The number of applicants perceived to be from the Roman Catholic community was 512.

  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to modify the system of internal discipline within the RUC.

  Sir John Wheeler
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on 17 February 1995,Official Report, column 833.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Sir John Wheeler
  None.

PRIME MINISTER

  Engagements
  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28 February.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister, if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 28 February 1995.

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

  Northern Ireland
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will consult the people of Northern Ireland on the acceptability of the draft framework document as a basis for discussion and negotiation through a referendum in the event that Unionist parties in Northern Ireland do not agree to enter into discussion and negotiation.

  The Prime Minister
  The proposals contained in "Framework for the Future" provide a basis for discussion, consultation and negotiation with the political parties in Northern Ireland. If agreement is reached in the negotiations, the outcome will be put to the people of Northern Ireland in a referendum.

  The Government will not put proposals to the people of Northern Ireland in a referendum before there is a widespread agreement between the main political parties.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Prime Minister what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  The Prime Minister
  As far as I am aware, none.

  Ministerial Payroll
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Prime Minister what has been the cost of the ministerial payroll; and how many ministers it has covered in each year since 1979.

  The Prime Minister
  The number of salaried Members of the Government, including Whips, was 106 in May 1979 and is 108 now. The total salary bill for all Government Ministers and Whips is currently some £3.6 million per annum. Information about ministerial salary costs in earlier years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Prime Minister if the duties of accountability set out in paragraph 27 of "Questions of Procedure" for Ministers apply in all respects to departmental agencies.

  The Prime Minister
  Yes.

  Departmental Advisers
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) how many special or political advisers to Ministers are currently employed in the civil service; in which Departments they work; and on which grades they are paid;

  (2) what is the role of special advisers appointed to serve Ministers and Departments; what guidance is issued relating to the scope of such advisers to become involved in party political activity in the course of their duties; what is the salary range for such posts; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  There are currently 32 special advisers, 28 political and four expert advisers, serving Ministers in the following Departments:

  Numbers

  Department

  Political

  Expert

  Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  1

  —

  Chief Whip's Office

  1

  —

  Defence

  1

  —

  Education

  1

  —

  Employment

  1

  —

  Environment

  2

  2

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  2

  —

  Health

  1

  —

  Home Office

  2

  —

  Lord Privy Seal

  1

  —

  Northern Ireland Office

  1

  —

  Office of Public Service and Science

  1

  —

  Prime Minister's Office

  4

  —

  Lord President

  1

  —

  Scottish Office

  2

  —

  Social Security

  1

  —

  Trade and Industry

  1

  2

  Transport

  1

  —

  HM Treasury

  2

  —

  Welsh Office

  1

  —

  483
  Political advisers assist Ministers with that part of their work which is partly governmental and partly political, and expert advisers complement advice given to Ministers by their Departments with that of their particular professional fields. In the course of their duties, advisers are subject to the same rules of conduct as other civil servants. Special advisers are bound generally by the rules on political activity applicable to civil servants, but with specific exemptions. They may, with the approval of their Ministers, attend party functions and maintain contact with party members, and take part in policy reviews undertaken by the party. In addition, and also subject to approval by their Minister, special advisers are allowed to undertake all forms of local political activity, apart from local activities in support of national political activities.

  Salaries for special advisers are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential. They are, however, normally paid on a special advisers' salary spine of 34 points ranging from £19,503 to £67,609. Appointments are non-pensionable, and the salary spine reflects this.

  Public Sector Employees
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Prime Minister what is the total number of people employed(a) directly and (b) indirectly by Government-funded sources in the United Kingdom on a (i) full-time and (ii) part-time basis in each year since the introduction of (1) privatisation or

  £ million

  Year

  Department

  Figures relate to year ending CY/FY1

  Department of Transport FY

  Employment Department FY

  Department of Trade and Industry CY

  Department of the Environment FY

  Department of National Heritage FY

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food FY

  1979

  —

  —

  9.909

  —

  —

  —

  1980

  n/a

  n/a

  14.035

  184.740

  1.629

  n/a

  1981

  n/a

  n/a

  19.902

  169.414

  1.821

  n/a

  1982

  n/a

  n/a

  17.597

  179.524

  2.248

  n/a

  1983

  n/a

  n/a

  13.177

  183.959

  2.481

  n/a

  1984

  n/a

  n/a

  13.542

  167.435

  2.612

  n/a

  1985

  30.637

  n/a

  15.182

  143.667

  2.813

  n/a

  1986

  33.845

  n/a

  16.243

  134.979

  3.483

  0.013

  1987

  37.954

  n/a

  26.302

  135.973

  5.184

  18.333

  1988

  51.313

  n/a

  41.912

  145.973

  5.830

  16.980

  1989

  59.695

  n/a

  51.064

  210.957

  7.421

  17.825

  1990

  89,581

  124.2

  23.694

  464.622

  8.783

  23.501

  1991

  95,075

  119.1

  31.649

  502.481

  16.593

  28.947

  1992

  91,849

  129.1

  33.488

  520.557

  16.928

  31.005

  1993

  110,704

  126.0

  29.735

  544.698

  18.328

  70.084

  1994

  103,094

  164.7

  22.781

  467.967

  10.697

  n/a

  1995

  n/a

  132.1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1FY—Financial year ending 31 March; CY—Calendar year ending 31 December.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Chessington Computer Centre
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when a decision will be made and announced regarding the privatisation of the Chessington computer centre.484
  denationalisation, (2) next steps agencies and (3) NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  Information showing the number of employees in the public sector is published in the January 1995 edition of Economic Trends. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.

  Russia (Seal Killing)
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 23 January,Official Report, column 22, what action the Russian officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to take on the issue of seal pup slaughter.

  The Prime Minister
  Russian officials have taken note of British opposition to the practice of seal culling but have not agreed to take any action as a result of our representations. Embassy officials are in regular contact with the Russian ministry of foreign affairs on this subject.

  Northern Region
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list by Government Department the principal aid given to the Northern region of England in each year since 1979.

  The Prime Minister
  The principal aid given to the area covered by the Government office for the north east—which covers Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and Cleveland—since 1979 is as follows:

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  A study is currently under way to advise me on the suitability of Chessington computer centre for privatisation and how best to achieve it. An announcement will be made at the appropriate time.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which parts of the Chessington computer centre are being considered for privatisation.
  485
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The suitability of all parts of Chessington computer centre for privatisation is being considered.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which private sector companies have expressed an interest in buying part of all of the Chessington computer centre.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  This information is commercially confidential.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, what are the criteria on which a decision will be based regarding the privatisation of the Chessington computer centre.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The key criterion will be how best to ensure that the range and quality of services provided by Chessington computer centre continue to be available and are improved.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who contributed to his review of the case for privatisation of the Chessington computer centre.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced in the

  £ million

  England

  Scotland

  Northern Ireland

  Wales

  Total

  1991–92

  Cash

  689.3

  82.6

  3.7

  35.6

  811.2

  1994–95 prices

  753.3

  90.3

  3.9

  39.0

  886.5

  Percentage

  85.0

  10.2

  0.4

  4.4

  —

  1992–93

  Cash

  805.9

  95.3

  5.2

  34.5

  941.0

  1994–95 prices

  847.2

  100.2

  5.5

  36.3

  989.2

  Percentage

  85.6

  10.1

  0.6

  3.7

  —

  1993–94

  Cash

  887.5

  109.4

  6.3

  33.8

  1,037.0

  1994–95 prices

  905.2

  111.6

  6.4

  34.5

  1,057.7

  Percentage

  85.6

  10.5

  0.6

  3.3

  —

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Payment Policies
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how he intends to require public companies to state their payment policies in their directors' reports as announced in the White Paper on Competitiveness (Cm. 2563).

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  The Government wish to bring about a change in business culture to encourage shorter payment times. We announced in the Competitiveness White Paper a package of measures to achieve this.

  As part of this, my Department proposes that directors of public companies should state in their annual reports what their policies are towards paying their suppliers. This will provide suppliers with information about how they can expect to be treated by their major customers. At the same time, we intend to ensure that the compliance costs for public companies are not onerous.

  Under the proposals, companies which follow the CBI prompt payment code or an equivalent—such as a British standard for prompt payment currently under
  486
  House on 17 November 1994, contributions to the review were welcome from those with an interest in Chessington and its work. All contributions that were elicited are covered by an undertaking of confidentiality.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  None.

  Science and Research Budget
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the amount in cash, in real terms, and the percentage allocated for(a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales of (i) the science budget and (ii) the research councils' budget in each of the last three years.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The science budget is allocated on the basis of the United Kingdom as a whole. Research councils' expenditure over the last three years, excluding overseas spend, is analysed as follows:

  consideration—would simply state this in their annual report and show where information about the code can be found. The DTI is also seeking views on two options for public companies that do not follow a code.

  Comments are sought by 11 May 1995.

  Cable Companies
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list those cable companies franchised and licensed by(a) Oftel and (b) the Independent Television Commission stating, in each case, whether the company has reached its most recent agreed milestone; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Compliance with the obligations contained in Telecommunications Act licences issued by my Department is a matter for the Director General of Telecommunications. I have therefore asked the director to write to the hon. Member with details of the 125 cable franchisees which have been licensed under both broadcasting and telecommunications legislation and whether they have complied with their most recent build obligations. In addition to these franchises, the ITC has
  487
  awarded three further franchises which have yet to be licensed under the Telecommunications Act 1984. The franchises for west Kent, Blackpool and Fylde, and southern-east Anglia have been awarded to Eurobell, SBC Cablecomms and Cambridge Cable respectively.

  Debt Recovery
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what regulations currently apply to large companies when dealing with small businesses in relation to debt recovery; and what penalties he is considering introducing for large companies if they default on payments to small businesses.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Recovery of debt is a matter on which a number of statutory provisions and rules of common law impinge, both generally and in relation to specific circumstances and sectors. Not all of these are the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry.

  In the White Paper on Competitiveness, (Cm 2563), in May 1994 the Government announced that they would re-examine the case for legislation for a statutory right to interest in two years if there has been no significant improvement in payment performance.

  Palestine National Authority
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what initiatives his Department has undertaken to promote United Kingdom business in the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  We have sponsored a number of inward visits to the UK of senior Palestinians involved in areas such as water, housing and the medical sector. Sir Derek Hornby, chairman of the British Overseas Trade Board, took a group of business men with him when he visited the occupied territories last October and discussions were held with several groups of Palestinian business men as well as with the Palestinian authorities. We look forward to further enhancing these ties as a result of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's forthcoming visit, where he will be accompanied by me and by a group of leading business people.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much Export Credits Guarantee Department cover is available for projects in the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  No cover is currently available, although the situation is under review.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many projects financed by the Japanese funds have been won by United Kingdom companies in the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  We are not aware that any UK firms have secured such contracts.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Palestine National Authority to discuss trade matters of mutual interest.

  Mr. Needham
  My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has no immediate plans to meet Chairman Arafat. However, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I, accompanied by a delegation of senior business men, will be meeting him in Gaza to discuss trade matters on 14 March. I last met Mr. Arafat in Tunis in March 1994.
  488
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much Export Credits Guarantee Department cover has been already allocated to projects in the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  None.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with European Union Partners to promote European Union partner countries' business with the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  None.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the value of existing United Kingdom trade activity with the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  No separate trade statistics exist for the occupied territories so it is not possible to make a realistic estimate of the level of trade activity.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from United Kingdom companies seeking assistance for business in or with the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Needham
  We have a continuing dialogue with a wide range of companies interested in this market.

  Employment of Children
  Mrs. Golding
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for making offences relating to employment of children grounds for disqualification as a company director.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  The Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 contains a provision, in section 2, for the disqualification of a person who has been convicted of an indictable offence in connection with the management of a company, which would include matters relating to employment. It also provides, in section 6, for the disqualification of a person who has been a director of an insolvent company and whose conduct makes him unfit to be concerned in the management of a company.

  It would be for the appropriate court to determine whether the circumstances fell within either of the provisions outlined above, and whether a disqualification order should be made. In the case of section 6, the court would have regard to the totality of unfit conduct of which the offence could form part.

  There are no plans to extend section 2 of the CDDA to cover summary offences.

  Post Office
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the Post Office complex buildings in Oldfield lane, Greenford, was sold; to whom and for what purposes; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Page
  Matters relating to the day-to-day running of the Post Office business, such as the sale of Post Office buildings, are the responsibility of Post Office management. However, I understand that the buildings concerned have not yet been sold.

  British Steel
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what percentage of the United Kingdom steel crude industry and the engineering steel industry is under the
  489
  control of British Steel following the British Steel purchase of GKN's interest in United Engineering Steels.

  Mr. Page
  Based on tonnage output, British Steel produced approximately 75 per cent. of all UK crude steel produced last year. British Steel and UES together, based on last year's figures, would increase the percentage to approximately 82.5 per cent. with a similar figure for UK engineering steel production. However, the situation is fluid as output this year is increasing at present around 3 to 4 per cent.

  UK imports of steel1

  000 tonnes

  1990 per cent, of total

  1991 per cent, of total

  1992 per cent, of total

  1993 per cent, of total

  Germany

  1,306

  24.1

  1,719

  30.8

  1,490

  27.3

  1,342

  27.3

  Italy

  264

  4.9

  275

  4.9

  303

  5.5

  306

  6.2

  France

  556

  10.3

  779

  14.0

  795

  14.5

  673

  13.7

  Spain

  396

  7.3

  391

  7.0

  406

  7.4

  340

  6.9

  Former USSR

  14

  0.3

  10

  0.2

  62

  1.1

  90

  1.8

  Poland

  75

  1.4

  67

  1.2

  67

  1.2

  52

  1.1

  Czech Republic and Slovakia

  38

  0.7

  25

  0.4

  62

  1.1

  50

  1.0

  USA

  31

  0.6

  53

  1.0

  58

  1.1

  43

  0.9

  Other

  2,731

  50.5

  2,257

  40.5

  2,222

  40.7

  2,022

  41.1

  World total

  5,411

  100

  5,576

  100

  5,465

  100

  4,917

  100

  Source:

  Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.

  Note:

  1 Products of the steel industry in the Standard Industrial Classification (1980), Groups 221, 222 and 223.

  Manufactures (Import Penetration)
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he is now able to publish firm figures for import penetration of the United Kingdom market for manufactures in 1993; and if he will publish(a) a table showing for 1988 and 1992 his best estimate of the sales value and volume of United Kingdom output of manufactures less food, drink and tobacco together with the value and volume of imports and exports of such manufactures and (b) a table showing the corresponding figures for manufactures including food, drink and tobacco.

  Mr. Needham
  Information for 1993 is expected to be published by the Central Statistical Office at the end of April 1995. The available information for 1988 is published in Central Statistical Office Business Monitor MQ12, available in the Library of the House. Figures for 1992 are not available.

  Deregulation Orders
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what deregulation orders the Government propose to bring forward in the next three months.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  The Government intend to bring forward a number of proposals under the deregulation order-making power.

  Steel Imports
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the tonnage in tonnes of steel imported into the United Kingdom in each year since 1990 from(a) Germany, (b) Italy, (c) France, (d) Spain, (e) the former USSR, (f) Poland, (g) the Czech Republic/Slovakia and (h) the USA; and what was the percentage of total imports from each country.

  Mr. Page
  The information is in the table.

  The Government agreed to a recommendation of the Procedure Committee that the new Deregulation Committee should be allowed 28 days before any orders were proposed.

  The first orders are likely to include some of those measures identified as candidates for the order-making power in "Cutting Red Tape", published in January 1994. Copies of that publication have been placed in the Library of the House.

  British Coal
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how British Coal's commitments under the Moynihan agreement will be carried out after British Coal is wound up; and what finance has been made available to meet these commitments.

  Mr. Page
  It is too soon to say when British Coal will be dissolved or what arrangements might be appropriate for the discharge of any obligations then outstanding. The financing of British Coal's specific obligations is a matter for the corporation, within the overall funding made available.

  Hydrates
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assessment he makes of the quantities of hydrates contained in ocean sediments around the waters of the United Kingdom which could be commercially exploited to produce fuel; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what technological advice and financial support his Department is preparing to give to companies active in the North sea to assist them to explore for hydrates which can be turned into fuel; and if he will make a statement;

  Mr. Page
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The Department of Trade and Industry, and its predecessor the Department of Energy, has funded research into the systematic mapping of the UK continental shelf over the last three decades ending in the early 1990s. No evidence was found to indicate the presence of hydrates. Further research is under way but not funded by the DTI.

  Mr. Edmund Sykes
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when Ministers or officials of his Department last met Mr. Edmund Sykes.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  [holding answer 24 February 1995]: It is not possible to answer this question on the information provided.

HEALTH

  Patients Charter
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will introduce into the patients charter a standard for the maximum delay for(a) the assessment and (b) the treatment of children with speech defects.

  Mr. Malone
  The patients charter already sets standards for maximum waiting times for in-patient treatment and out-patient treatment offered by hospital consultants. The national health service executive encourages the setting of challenging targets for other non-consultant out-patient clinics.

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

  Mr. Sackville
  The information requested for 1991 and 1992 is published in the Civil Service Commissioner's report for the relevant year, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Seven out of 14 of those accepted for entry into the fast stream in 1993 were women, compared to one out of six in 1994.

  Hospital and Community Health Services
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what considerations underlay the allocation of 75 per cent. rather than 100 per cent. of funds to health and community health service under the new York formula; and how the 25 per cent. of funds not allocated by the 492
  new York formula will be allocated to health and community health services;

  (2) if she will list for a typical health authority the effect of funding by head of population (i) under the present formula, (ii) under the 75 per cent. York formula and (iii) under a 100 per cent. York formula.

  Mr. Sackville
  There is no "York formula". The consultants from York university were contracted to undertake an analysis of hospital utilisation but it was not part of their remit to produce an allocations formula.

  The modified weighted capitation formula—announced in October 1994—is applied to 100 per cent. of hospital and community health services expenditure.

  It is not therefore possible to calculate hypothetical targets on the basis sought.

  Patients
  Mr. Pawsey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are currently treated in the NHS; and what was the figure in 1979.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information is not available centrally in the precise form requested. The available information is shown in the table:

  General and acute specialties

  thousands

  Out-Patients first attendances

  Hospital admissions

  1979

  6,771

  14,993 discharges and deaths

  1993–94

  8,832

  8,205 finished consultant episodes

  Note:

  1Recording of in-patient activity changed in 1988–89 following a review of Health Services Information. As a result in-patient figures prior to 1988–89 are not directly comparable with later years.

  Sources:

  1979, SH3 returns; 1993–94, KHO9 and KP70 returns.

  Kawasaki's Disease
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice is issued to general practitioners about the diagnosis and treatment of Kawasaki's disease; and if she will ensure that all general practitioners in the country receive information at least as comprehensive as that being issued to Birmingham general practitioners by local consultants in communicable disease control;

  (2) what are the most recent figures on the incidence of Kawasaki's disease in (a) England and Wales and (b) the west midlands region.

  Mr. Sackville
  Information on the diagnosis and treatment of Kawasaki's disease is available to general practitioners in medical journals. The advice from the Birmingham consultants is helpful and we shall consider whether similar information on this uncommon disease should be issued centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 13 July 1994 at column 602 for the most recent figures available on the incidence of Kawasaki's disease.

  Residential Homes (Devon)
  Mr. Allason
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of whether sufficient weight is given to medical opinion as distinct from advice
  493
  from social services advisers, when placements are made in residential homes under the care in the community policy in Devon.

  Mr. Bowis
  Local social services departments are responsible for assessing and deciding with users and carers how the needs of local people should be met, but I have made it clear that there should be an input from doctors or nurses, when appropriate, in continuing care assessment procedures.

  Dental Services
  Dr. John Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the current shortfall in funding for NHS dental treatment in Whitehaven, Cumbria; and what is her policy for remedying it.

  Mr. Malone
  Expenditure on the hospital and community dental services in any area is a matter for local purchasers to decide. Expenditure on the general dental services in an area depends upon the number of treatments provided under the national health service by local general dental practitioners, all of whom are independent contractors. Cumbria family health services authority is able to help patients find a national health service dentist.

  Birth Registration
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will bring forward regulations to allow a mother, when registering birth, the option of requiring her address to be confidential.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information to be entered in a register of births is prescribed by regulations. This includes the mother's address. A birth certificate is a certified true copy of the entry in the register and it is not therefore possible to omit from the certificate information contained in the register. We have no plans to change statutory requirements.

  Population Estimates
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of the

  Long term residents in residential care homes for elderly and physically and/or sensorily disabled people, England

  Long term residents aged

  Percentage of population aged

  As at 31 March

  65–74

  75–84

  85 and over

  65–74

  75–84

  85 and over

  1979

  33,900

  62,500

  57,300

  0.78

  3.01

  11.98

  1984

  24,100

  74,200

  75,000

  0.58

  3.12

  13.86

  1989

  24,600

  92,100

  107,700

  0.58

  3.56

  16.05

  1994

  22,300

  80,100

  122,000

  0.52

  3.15

  14.53

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in her Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Sackville
  Ministers receive numerous representations about a wide variety of matters.

  Juice Plus
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what correspondence has been exchanged 494
  population who will in the years 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014, be in the age cohorts 60 to 64, 65 to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79, 80 to 84, 85 to 89, and 90 years and over.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information, using the most recent—1992-based—national population projections, is shown in the table:

  Projected resident population of England

  Thousands

  Year

  Age (years)

  1999

  2004

  2009

  2014

  60–64

  2,368

  2,509

  3,145

  2,938

  65–69

  2,140

  2,197

  2,343

  2,954

  70–74

  1,937

  1,898

  1,968

  2,117

  75–79

  1,724

  1,590

  1,582

  1,660

  80–84

  984

  1,252

  1,180

  1,194

  85–89

  661

  602

  783

  756

  90 and over

  354

  424

  428

  527

  Residential Care
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average cost per person to public funds of those receiving continual residential care, at full or part cost to the public purse in(a) 1979, (b) 1984, (c) 1989 and (d)

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the percentage of the elderly who will require residential care in the years 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 and who will, in that year be in the age cohorts 60 to 64, 65 to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79, 80 to 84, 85 to 89 and 90 years and over.

  Mr. Bowis
  Estimates for the total number of people who require residential care are not made.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table showing, for 1979, 1984, 1989 and 1994 the number of elderly people requiring continual residential care in each of the age cohorts 60 to 64, 65 to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79, 80 to 84, 85 to 89, and 90 years and over; and what these figures represent of the total population in that age cohort.

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

  or received by or between Ministers in her Department in the last three years on the use, distribution or approval of Juice Plus;

  (2) what meetings have taken place between Ministers in her Department and others in the last three years on the use, distribution or approval of Juice Plus.

  Mr. Sackville
  Two letters promoting Juice Plus have been addressed to Ministers in the Department and there has been correspondence with officials in the Medicines Control Agency. There have been no meetings about these products.

  NHS Pensions
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what types of information are supplied by NHS Pensions-Paymaster to(a) commercial and (b) other outside organisations.

  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 front A. F. Cowan to Ms Dawn Primarolo, dated 28 February 1995:
  The Secretary of State for Health has asked me to respond to your written Parliamentary Question of 23 February 1995.
  The NHS Pensions Agency is responsible for the administration of the NHS Pension Scheme. It contracts Paymaster for the administration of pensions payments to retired NHS employees. As a matter of policy the NHS Pensions Agency does not disclose any material about NHS Scheme members to third parties. This policy extends to those whom we contract.

  National Blood Service
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the crown forming part of the blood transfusion service logo has been removed permanently from the new design; what are the reasons for changing the design; what consultation was undertaken over the design of the logo; and whether formal authorisation has been obtained for the removal of the crown.

  Mr. Sackville
  The National Blood Service logo was introduced in April 1994 as one part of the National Blood Authority's identity and communications review. The review, which included consultation with blood donors and blood service staff, indicated that the design of the current logo best reflects the service provided by the NBA. There are no plans to change the design.

  Official advice was that it was not necessary to seek formal permission to remove the crown from the logo.

  NHS Sight Tests
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many national health service eyesight tests were conducted in each year since 1978.

  Mr. Malone
  The number of national health service sight tests paid for by family health services authorities in England is shown in the table:

  Year

  Millions Sight tests

  1978–79

  7,894

  1979–80

  8,331

  1980–81

  8,332

  1981–82

  8,469

  1982–83

  8,678

  1983–84

  9,266

  1984–85

  9,882

  1985–86

  10,246

  1986–87

  10,615

  1987–88

  11,695

  1988–89

  12,493

  1989–901

  5,280

  1990–911

  4,154

  1991–92

  4,979

  1992–93

  5,528

  1993–94

  5,935

  496
  1 From 1 April 1989, NHS sight tests were restricted to certain groups in the population.

  The figures for 1989–90 include sight tests paid for in 1989–90 but conducted in 1988–89 under the previous scheme. The remaining tests were conducted and paid for in 1989–90 which does not constitute a full 12 months of the new scheme. The figures for 1990–91 which do represent 12 months under the new scheme, are not, therefore, directly comparable with those for 1989–90.

  Two surveys carried out jointly by the Department of Health and the optical profession estimated that 13.184 million sight tests were performed in Great Britain in the year to 31 March 1994; the estimate for the year to 31 March 1995 is 12,673 million.

  Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield
  Sir Norman Fowler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were provided in the last 12 months at the Good Hope hospital, Sutton Coldfield; and what was the comparable figure for 1978.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally, although I understand from the Good Hope hospital that the total number of operations undertaken at the hospital in the current year is expected to show a 47 per cent. increase on 1989–90. I refer my right hon. Friend to Mr. Doug Ellis, chairman of the Good Hope hospital, for further details.

  World Health Organisation
  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contributions the United Kingdom Government made to the World Health Organisation in(a) 1981, (b) 1991 and (c) 1994; if these funds were directed to (i) the World Health Organisation headquarters or (ii) the regional office in Copenhagen; who determined the level of contributions; at what time of the year the contributions were requested; if such funding is linked to inflation; and when the next review of financial allocations will take place.

  Mr. Malone
  The United Kingdom contribution to the World Health Organisation regular budget was as follows:

  1981: £4,286,214.93

  1991: £8,357,571.23

  1994: £13,432,053.21

  These funds were directed to the WHO's headquarters in Geneva. The level of the United Kingdom contribution is in accordance with the United Nations's scale of assessment adjusted to the specific requirements of the WHO. The WHO biennial budget is set at the world health assembly. Contributions are payable in two instalments to be submitted by 1 January. Inflation, in line with the standard assessment for all United Nations organisations, is one of the factors taken into account in determining the budget with the next biennial budget for 1996–97 is due to be set at the world health assembly in May.

WALES

  Non-departmental Public Bodies
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales will the Secretary of State provide details of what performance targets for 1995–96 he has proposed for the Welsh Development Agency, the Development Board for
  497
  Rural Wales, the Wales tourist board and the Cardiff Bay development corporation.

  Mr. Redwood
  The targets I am proposing to the chairman of the bodies concerned are:

  1995–96 target

  Welsh Development Agency

  Job creation

  Number safeguarded or created

  13,000

  Minimum percentage outside M4 and A55 catchment areas

  20

  Inward Investment

  New jobs

  10,000

  Investment (£ million)

  500

  Industrial and commercial floor space (direct build and joint ventures)

  Square metres

  100,000

  Property

  Disposal (£ million)

  90

  Vacant space (000 Sq metres)

  116

  Investment

  In conjunction with capital programme (£ million)

  650

  Derelict land

  Reclamation hectares

  850

  Efficiency

  Management funning costs (£ million)

  13.2

  Reduction in consultancy (costs £000)

  700

  DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR RURAL WALES

  Job creation

  Number safeguarded or created

  1,500

  Property

  Disposal (£ million)

  6.0

  Void rate (percentage)

  10.0

  Investment in conjunction with capital programme

  £ million

  30

  Management

  Running costs £ million

  3.689

  Reduction in consultancy costs (£000)

  170

  CARDIFF BAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CBDC'S PROGRAMME BARRAGE

  Expenditure in year (£ million)

  42.0

  Percentage completed

  54

  Land reclamation

  Hectares

  24

  Land disposal

  Hectares

  30

  Receipts (£ million)

  10.3

  Roads

  Constructed (kilometres)

  3.5

  Running costs (£ million)

  4.1

  PRIVATE SECTOR ACTIVITY DEVELOPMENT

  Private Sector Investment (£ million)

  120

  Industrial/Commercial floor space (sq metres)

  69,500

  Residential (units)

  560

  Jobs

  3,000

  498

  1995–96 target

  WALES TOURIST BOARD

  Capital development

  Private sector investment (£ million)

  18.0

  Leverage Private: Public

  6.1

  Direct marketing: cost per response

  75p

  Wales share of GB market, (percentage)

  9.5

  Average occupancy rates, (per cent.):

  Hotel and Guest Houses

  40

  Caravan Sector

  62

  Self Catering

  72

  Running costs (£ million)

  4.15

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the answer of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 22 February,Official Report, column 195, what information he has on the numbers of non-executive members of the boards of non-departmental public bodies sponsored by him who are paid other than on a schedule E basis, and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  This information is not held centrally. However, non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department were instructed in May 1994 that hoard members' remuneration should he subject to national insurance and tax in the usual way.

  Live Animal Exports
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the loss of revenue to farmers in Wales so far this year resulting from their inability to get their products to market as a result of public disorder incidents; and what is his estimate of the full-year effect on current trends.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  There has been little effect so far on prices on beef animals and sheep as a result of the present action on live exports. The main effect has been on dairy producers, who are receiving less for their surplus male calves. If these animals are fattened for beef in this country, this may impact on producer prices in the medium term, but this could be mitigated by increases in exports of carcases and boned meat.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take immediate steps to ensure that no Welsh farmers are prevented from transporting their animals to market within the framework of legislation that safeguards animal welfare and in accordance with the trading laws of the European Community; and how many representations he has received from(a) farmers and (b) farming unions on this matter.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Numerous representations have been received on this subject and I have met the farming unions on a number of occasions to discuss the matter. The export of live animals is a legal trade. The Government fully appreciate the strong feelings and concern expressed by those calling for higher animal welfare standards; but pursuing these aims by violent means is completely unacceptable. We do share their views about standards elsewhere and we have been doing our best to reach an acceptable agreement throughout the European Community on the transport of live animals which would allow the trade to operate on a basis acceptable to all.

  Minerals Planning Guidance
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to issue a Welsh equivalent of the new version of minerals policy guidance note 6 on guidance for aggregates provision in England.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  My right hon. Friend is considering what guidance is needed in Wales to supersede that contained in minerals planning guidance note 6, 1989.

  Planning Policy Guidance
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to issue Welsh equivalents of planning policy guidance notes(a) No. 15, on planning and the historic environment, (b) No. 23, on planning and pollution control, (c) No. 24 on planning and noise and (d) No. 2 on green-belts.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  My right hon. Friend is preparing draft planning policy guidance for Wales, covering those policy planning guidances recently issued in England.

  Minewater Pollution
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will draw up a list of watercourses and their surrounding areas which are vulnerable to minewater pollution and develop a programme of remedial and preventative work along with estimates of the funding required.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  A survey report on ferruginous minewater impacts in the Welsh coalfields was published in March 1994 and copies have been placed in the Library of the House. A follow-up report studying remedial options for the most significant minewater discharges is due to be published shortly.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Redwood
  The Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards), received a request on 3 February 1995 from Ian Greer Associates Ltd. for a meeting with representatives of Boeing, which was declined.

  Biodiversity
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research his Department has carried out upon the impact of recreation on biodiversity.

  Mr. Redwood
  My Department has not recently carried out an research on the impact of recreation on biodiversity.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what prime biodiversity areas within the meaning of the report, "Biodiversity—The UK Action Plan", he has identified in Wales; and if he will make a statement about his strategy to protect and enhance such sites.

  Mr. Redwood
  The biodiversity steering group is considering this issue. Its report is due to be published by the end of this year.
  500
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the suitability of existing financial incentives to encourage environmentally sensitive forms of agriculture to ensure that they are contributing to biodiversity objectives.

  Mr. Redwood
  The environmentally sensitive area scheme is an obvious example of the application of biodiversity objectives to agricultural policy. A detailed monitoring programme to examine the environmental and economic effects of the scheme has been established and will continue.

  Policy reviews are undertaken every five years to assess the suitability of the scheme and reports of the findings in the Cambrian mountains "Original", and Cambrian mountains "Extension" and Lleyn peninsula ESAs were published in 1991 and 1992 respectively. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. Payment reviews are undertaken biennially.

  The new agri-environmental schemes will be similarly monitored to ensure they also contribute to biodiversity objectives.

  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he has issued to encourage the tourism industry in Wales to include information about the need for environmental conservation, and information about local biodiversity, in promotional literature.

  Mr. Redwood
  Planning policy guidance note 21: "Tourism", issued November 1992, outlines the economic significance of tourism, its environmental impact and how it should he dealt with in local authority development plans. Local authorities, working with the Wales tourist board are best placed to decide how to promote such policies.

  Welsh Health Common Services Authority
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what financial assistance from public services was provided to the Welsh Health Common Services Authority and to Grosvenor Waterside with respect to the development of Crickhowell house as the authority's new headquarters.

  Mr. Redwood
  A contribution of £478,000 was paid by the Cardiff Bay development corporation to Grosvenor Waterside towards infrastructure costs associated with the construction of Crickhowell house.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority concerning the number of inquiries made with regard to the market testing of the prescription-pricing service; how many inquiries have been made to date; and what is the proposed modus operandi for organising the market-testing bidding procedure.

  Mr. Redwood
  None. By 23 February, 38 organisations, including the prescription pricing services' in-house team, had asked for a copy of the authority's market testing information pack. The closing date of the submission of outline proposals is 24 March 1995. The bidding procedure will be organised according to the established public sector procurement rules.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority concerning damage to the authority's premises arising from leaks;
  501
  what compensatory measures he has discussed to remedy the problem; and who will pay for it.

  Mr. Redwood
  None. The defects liability period for the external envelope of Crickhowell house has been extended to 31 March 1995. The rectification of any building defects is a contractual matter for Grosvenor Waterside and the parties responsible for the design and construction of the building.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the oral statement of the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards) of 21 February,Official Report, columns 223–24, if he will list those sections of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority which will be market tested under the conventional procedure and those sections where other procedures will be followed.

  Mr. Redwood
  Prescription pricing services is being market tested conventionally. As my hon. Friend indicated on 21 February,Official Report, column 223, options for other non-clinical services still have to be considered.

  Bryn Alyn Hall School
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer to 23 February,Official Report, column 300, on what date the latest inspection of Bryn Alyn Hall school took place; what representations he has received and from whom under section 87 of the Children Act 1989 following the Department's inspection of welfare of children at the school, and what was his Department's response to their representation.

  Mr. Redwood
  At the request of my Department, the office of Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools inspected the school in November 1994. Its advice was received in January 1995 and is currently being considered.

  The responsibility to inspect the welfare of children at the school under the Children Act 1989 rests with the Clwyd social services department. I understand that that Department visited the school in November/December 1994 and its final report is expected to issue shortly. My Department has received for information a copy of a previous report on the school by the SSD, but has received no formal notification of a concern about welfare under section 87(4) of the Children Act.

  Sites of Special Scientific Interest
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress is being made in the preparation of summary management plans for biological sites of special scientific interest in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  The designation and management of SSSIs is the responsibility of the Countryside Council for Wales. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member with the information requested. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Coastal Defence
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what research his Department has undertaken to assess the scope for habitat creation through managed retreat of the coast.
  502
  Mr. Redwood
  Strategic research in this area is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. A full-scale managed set-back trial is being carried out at Tollesbury creek, Essex. Nevertheless, my Department ensures that, where appropriate, a managed set-back option is among those considered for coastal defence schemes approved for grant aid.

  Red Kites
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made to maintain the annual red kite population increase in Wales at more than 5 per cent. per annum since the publication of the report "Biodiversity—The UK Action Plan": and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Sixty-nine breeding pairs of red kite were observed in Wales in 1994, as opposed to 61 pairs in 1993—an increase of 13.1 per cent.

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the aggregate outturn level of savings by general practitioner fundholders for the current financial year.

  Mr. Redwood
  The latest estimate is £6 million.

  Special Areas of Conservation
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those areas he intends to designate special areas of conservation in Wales over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  A list of candidate sites of community importance will be published as soon as possible.

  Special Protection Areas
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what plans he has to designate any marine special protection areas in Wales.

  Mr. Redwood
  No such sites have yet been submitted to me for designation.

  Nature Conservation
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what guidance he has issued to local authorities to encourage them to make reasonable provision for local nature reserves and natural green space in local plans.

  Mr. Redwood
  Advice and guidance to local authorities on the needs of nature conservation are set out in Welsh Office circular 52/87. In addition, the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 which implement the habitats directive encourages the management of features of the landscape which are of major importance of wild flora and fauna, which would include sites which are important to local communities.

DEFENCE

  Yorks and Lancaster Regimental Museum
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will guarantee the future of the Yorks and Lancaster regimental museum in Rotherham.
  503
  Mr. Soames
  With the exception of one member of staff, my Department does not fund this museum and I cannot therefore comment on its future.

  Official Service Residences
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's procedures for controlling expenditure on the official service residences of senior officers.

  Mr. Soames
  The control of expenditure on accommodation, including official service residences, is delegated to budget holders. Work is in hand to prepare comprehensive guidance on expenditure on such residences.

  Killing of Civilians
  Mr. Luff
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on members of the armed services who are accused of killing civilians while on duty.

  Mr. Soames
  Members of the armed forces are subject to the criminal law. Where a member of the armed forces is alleged to have committed murder or manslaughter in the United Kingdom, jurisdiction lies with the civil authorities.

  Submarines and Fishing Vessels
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the measures taken to avoid hazardous encounters between submarines and fishing vessels in and around the Firth of Clyde and on traditional fishing grounds.

  Mr. Soames
  A comprehensive package of dynamic measures provides for the safe co-existence of submarines and fishing vessels in UK waters. These have been implemented only after extensive consultation with the fishing industry, with whom my officials and those of the Department of Transport regularly consider such matters.

  Armed Services Ranks
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed services were estimated to be in post on 1 January; how many of them held(a) one of the six highest commissioned ranks, (b) the three highest non-commissioned rank and (c) no rank at all; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  At 1 January 1995, the total strength of the regular armed forces was 236,667. On the same date, 1,752 personnel on the active list held one of the six highest commissioned ranks. 28,144 personnel held one of the three highest non-commissioned ranks. No service personnel had no rank at all.

  European Defence Co-operation
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to discuss European defence co-operation with the Council of Ministers of the Western European Union at their next meeting.

  Mr. Soames
  We look forward to participating fully in discussions on a range of issues affecting European defence and security at the next meeting of WEU Ministers in May. The development of the WEU as a504
  means of European co-operation in this area will undoubtedly be on the agenda.

  "Front Line First"
  Mr. Fabricant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to undertake a review along the lines of "Front Line First"; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  The defence costs study was highly successful and achieved all of its aims and we do not plan, nor do we need, to conduct another similar exercise. The Ministry of Defence will, however, continue to subject all of its activities to close and continuous scrutiny as part of its normal arrangements for maximising efficiency and effectiveness.

  Atomic Weapons Establishment, Llanishen
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received in relation to the percentage allowance for overheads on bids for non-Trident warhead diversification work by the atomic weapons establishment, Llanishen, Cardiff.

  Mr. Freeman
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence has received no such representations.

  Defence Industry Scientists
  Dr. Michael Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he is taking to help find gainful employment for defence industry scientists following reduced demand for defence equipment.

  Mr. Freeman
  The Government described in "Realising our Potential", Cm 2250, the considerable efforts being made to exploit the wealth-creating potential of the defence research and development programme. Further details were given in the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1994, Cm 2550.

  European Defence Co-operation
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to develop increased European defence co-operation through existing NATO structures.

  Mr. Soames
  European allies co-operate closely within the alliance. As agreed at last year's NATO summit, the alliance is prepared to make its collective assets available for WEU operations undertaken by the European allies in pursuit of their common foreign and security policy. NATO's combined joint task force concept, which was also endorsed at the summit, will make NATO command and control facilities available for European-led operations. These developments have paved the way for the generation of separable but not separate European capabilities.

  Bosnia
  Sir Fergus Montgomery
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to visit Bosnia; and if he will make a statement on the level of humanitarian supplies so far delivered and the number of lives saved.

  Mr. Soames
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence made two visits to Bosnia
  505
  last year, most recently in December 1994. It is too early to say how many he will make this year, or when.

  UNHCR records show that a total of 315,000 tonnes of food aid was delivered to over 2,700,000 people in Bosnia in 1994, including almost 71,000 tonnes to Sarajevo. As part of this, British UNPROFOR troops have assisted with the delivery of over 234,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid since operations began in Bosnia in Autumn 1992; the RAF airlift into Sarajevo has flown in a further 22,800 tonnes of aid since July 1992.

  Land Contamination (Woolwich Arsenal)
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of land contamination on the Woolwich arsenal site; and if his Department will hear the costs of decontamination.

  Mr. Soames
  I refer the hon. Member to my written answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 15 February 1995,Official Report, column 723 about my Department's assessment of land contamination at the royal arsenal, Woolwich. The extent of decontamination required and the associated costs have yet to be defined and will be determined by the future use of the site.

  Chemical Weapons Agents (Russia)
  Mr. Alexander
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has made to the Government of Russia about the safe storage and ultimate destruction of its stock of chemical weapons agents; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  Officials are in regular dialogue with their Russian counterparts on all aspects of the chemical weapons convention through the preparatory commission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. Her Majesty's Government remain keen to see the Government of Russia, as the declared holder of one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, deposit early its article of ratification of the chemical weapons convention so that monitoring of the stockpiles's destruction can begin as soon as possible.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Norman Hogg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action his Department has taken to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the last 12 months.

  Mr. Soames
  The prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the main aims of the United Kingdom's security policy. My Department supports a wide range of measures to this end, including:Actively working to have the nuclear non-proliferation treaty extended idefinitely and unconditionally at the review and extension conference of states parties in April/May.
  Playing a positive and constructive part in negotiations for a comprehensive test ban treaty.
  Making a full contribution to the work of the Zangger Committee and Nuclear Suppliers Group.
  Scrutiny of export licence applications for nuclear-related goods to sensitive destinations.
  Trying to establish a mandate for an ad hoc committee at the conference on disarmament in Geneva to negotiate a Convention banning production of fissile material for military explosive purposes.

  Defence Contractors
  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department is providing to defence contractors, as a result of redundancies, in the procurement budget.

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department expects to remain the largest single customer of the United Kingdoms defence industry. To help defence contractors adjust to reductions in the defence budget, we provide them with as much information as possible on our future procurement plans.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to ensure that United States firms competing for United Kingdom defence contracts are treated in the same way as United Kingdom firms seeking to tender for United States defence contracts; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  It is our policy to promote fair and open international competition for defence equipment contracts and we encourage other countries to do the same. To this end we reviewed the US-UK defence co-operation memorandum of understanding in December last year, which helps to maintain a two-way street in bilateral defence trade between the UK and the US.

  Defence Costs Study
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decisions he has taken on the proposals contained in the consultative document, "The Way Ahead for Test and Evaluation", issued on 14 July 1994 as part of the defence costs study.

  Mr. Freeman
  Proposals recommending the closure of four establishments in the Directorate General of Test and Evaluation—Pendine, Kirkcudbright, Lavington and Hum—were announced as apart of the defence costs study last year. During the period of consultation, which closed on 14 October, representations were made by trade unions, local authorities, several environmental bodies which we had consulted and by a number of hon. Members. All the points raised have been carefully considered, against the background of the need to match demand and capacity within the directorate. The decisions we have now reached are as follows:a. We received a number of very constructive responses to our proposal to close Pendine, notably from the Pendine steering group. In the light of these, and of our own further analysis of the costs of reproviding certain facilities, we have decided that Pendine should stay open and that the dynamic test tracks and associated static warhead trials together with the small arms and cannon work should remain there. Administrative, stores and engineering support will in future be provided from Aberporth and mortar trials will be transferred from Pendine to Shoeburyness in the course of 1995. The net result will be that about 110 jobs will remain at Pendine.
  b. Kirkcudbright, too, will stay open but numbers will fall slightly from their current level of about 120 to about 90. We expect numbers to remain broadly at this level for two to three years to support the current tank armament development and integration work. On completion of this work and subject to there being no significant change in the anticipated workload, the intention would be to reduce test and evaluation activities to a small permanent level of about six staff with trials conducted on a "campaign" basis and trails teams brought in as required from other T&E facilities. However, in this eventuality, the army has declared a significant interest in using Kirkcudbright for training purposes. This idea, which would bring with it the possibility of additional recruitment of civilian support staff and significant capital spend on the range, is currently under study.

  507
  c. Lavington will close four months from now and its work, but not its personnel, will be transferred in the main to Shoeburyness.
  d. Hurn will close as a manned site four months from now. Thereafter it too will be operated on a "campaign" basis but large plant will be transferred to Chertsey.

  Compared with the current costs of running the establishments, these measures are estimated to save about £83 million over the next 10 years and a little over £8 million per year thereafter.

  Strategic Defence Initiative
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) of 3 February 1995,Official Report, column 888, if he will list all the projects carried out in the United Kingdom in the 1985 US-UK strategic defence initiative memorandum.

  Mr. Soames
  US-funded work performed in the UK under the 1985 US-UK "SDI" memorandum of understanding is effected by the agreement of Government-to-Government arrangements called letters of offer and acceptance. Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding, 26 letters of offer and acceptance have been awarded amounting to a total value of $129.4 million. The majority of work and funding effort has been sub-contracted to UK industry.

  The purpose of two of these arrangements is classified; the remainder are as follows:

  UK SDI architecture study

  European BMC3 architecture

  Electromagnetic railgun

  Countermeasures to SDI components

  Laser impulse coupling, interaction

  European test bed requirements study

  Catalysts for CO2 laser system

  Advanced sensor hardening

  Higher operating temperature IR detectors

  Delay lines for use at 10 micrometers

  UK extended air defence test bed

  Artificial intelligence discrimination

  Data fusion demonstrator

  MESAR radar trials

  Tretraform

  UKAS follow-on study

  Lethality database

  Sensor hardening (follow-on studies)

  Phase conjugation programme

  Target oriented tracking system

  Evolution and test of IR window materials

  Lethality technology

  Threat generation study

  Interceptor avionics

  Armoured Vehicles, Bosnia
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether, pursuant to his answer of 3 February 1995,Official Report, column 857, sniper protection armour has been fitted to any vehicles at a time when such vehicles have been detained by any local military or paramilitary forces operating in Bosnia.

  Mr. Soames
  No vehicles so fitted have been detained by the warring factions.

  Personal and Family Services
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on personal and family services for(a) the RAF, (b) the Army and (c) the Royal Navy in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Soames
  Work in these areas is carried out by a number of different people and organisations; these are funded from different budgets, and may work wholly or partly providing such services. The overall cost of personal and family services is not, however, separately identifiable.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the budget for naval personal and family services based at(a) HMS Nelson, Portsmouth, (b) HMS Drake, Plymouth and (c) HMS Cochrane, Rosyth, in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  According to available records, which are held only for the last three years, the budget for the naval personal and family services organisation at these establishments is as follows:

  £milion

  Financial Year

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  HMS Nelson

  0.762

  0.866

  0.924

  HMS Drake

  0.838

  0.973

  1.034

  HMS Cochrane

  n/a

  0.514

  0.522

  Note:

  1994–95 figures show the end of year forecast.

  The overall cost of providing personal and family services is not separately identifiable, however, and could not therefore be provided.

  Uranium
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will set out his Department's procedures for disposal of uranium swarf; and if he will identify the burial sites around Britain.

  Mr. Freeman
  Depleted and natural uranium swarf is sent to British Nuclear Fuels plc for recycling or storage pending the identification of a disposal route. Enriched uranium swarf is always recycled for possible future use. There are at present no UK sites approved for the bulk burial of either natural or depleted uranium swarf.

  Service Housing
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the amount of rent arrears currently outstanding on service housing;

  (2) how many ex-service families were evicted as result of non-payment of rent for service housing in each of the last two years.

  Mr. Soames
  All serving personnel who occupy service families accommodation have their accommodation charges deducted from their pay. Personnel who have left the services lose their entitlement to this accommodation. If they continue to occupy it they become irregular occupants and must pay damages for trespass, which are charged at a level considered to he a fair market rent. At present, there are DFT arrears of some £2.9 million for the Army and Navy. The RAF does not hold these figures centrally.
  509
  Although proceedings to evict irregular occupants for non-payment of rent have been initiated in a number of cases in the last two years, no evictions have been necessary.

  RAF Machrihanish
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the current building work being carried out at RAF Machrihanish; if he will list the companies involved; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  Apart from regular maintenance, no major building work is currently being carried out at RAF Machrihanish at present.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the companies involved in the upgrading of RAF Machrihanish since 1990; what was the value of each contract awarded by(a) his Ministry and (b) NATO; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  The following companies have been employed in building projects at RAF Machrihanish since 1990:

  Amey Construction Ltd.

  Amey/Res

  B and D Builders

  Colas

  C. R. Smith

  Devon

  Hattrick Bruce

  Hendry Boot

  James Scott

  Kelsey

  Lilley Construction

  Maurice Hill Ltd.

  McFarlane

  Molem Ltd.

  NEI Cochrane

  N. W. Hoist

  Parkinson Twaddle Ltd.

  Pirie

  Pottins Ltd.

  PSA BM Edinburgh

  R. G. McLeod

  Strathclyde regional council

  Topek Roofing

  Trafalgar House Group

  Watson Norrie Ltd.

  Weir Ferguson and Martin

  The value of individual contracts awarded is commercially confidential; however, the total funding by my Department and NATO for building projects at the station since 1990 is £16.0 million and £39.9 million respectively.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the current functions of RAF Machrihanish; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  RAF Machrihanish is a NATO forward operating base which is assigned to SACLANT.

  Redundant Churches and Chapels
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the redundant churches and chapels sold by his Department in the last five years; and what 510
  were (a) the original valuation, (b) the eventual selling price and (c) the buyer in each case.

  Mr. Soames
  No redundant churches or chapels have been sold as individual buildings by my Department in the last five years, although St. George's chapel in Chatham is in the process of disposal and is to be sold to Gillingham borough council. In addition, a building at Netheravon, Wiltshire which had been used as a Roman Catholic church some years ago was sold on the open market to Mr. P. Hilliyard who has subsequently converted the property to a house for his own occupation. It is not my Department's practice to disclose the sale price of buildings or sites, which is commercial in confidence to the purchaser.

  Eurofighter 2000
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the progress towards memorandum 4 for Eurofighter 2000 with particular reference to the development assurance phase and integrated logistic support.

  Mr. Freeman
  We and our Eurofighter 2000 partners hope to sign the memorandum of understanding governing the reorientation of the development phase of the programme within the next few months. This will permit the start of the development assurance phase and preparatory integrated logistic support activities.

  Honorary Officers to the Queen
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will name the current(a) personal aides-de-camp to the Queen, (b) the first and principal naval aide-de-camp to the Queen, (c) the flag aide-de-camp to the Queen, (d) naval aides-de-camp to the Queen, (e) the royal marine aide-de-camp to the Queen, (f) extra naval equerries to the Queen, (g) royal naval reserve aides-de-camp to the Queen, (h) the royal marine reserve aide-de-camp to the Queen, (i) honorary chaplains to the Queen,(j) the honorary surgeons to the Queen, (l) honorary dental surgeons to the Queen, (m) the Royal Navy reserve honorary surgeon to the Queen and (n) the honorary nursing officer to the Queen; what are the duties of each postholder; and if he will list the salaries or other benefits to which each postholder is entitled.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is given in the table. The duties of each post are not set out formally, but are mainly of a representational nature. No remuneration or other benefit is received by any of the postholders.

  Personal ADC to the Queen

  HRH the Prince of Wales

  HRH the Duke of York

  First and Principal Naval ADC to the Queen

  Admiral Sir Benjamin Bathurst

  Flag ADC to the Queen

  Admiral Sir Michael Layard

  Naval ADCs to the Queen

  Commodore B. B. Perowne

  Captain J. A. Benyon

  Captain A. S. Ritchie

  Captain J. G. F. Cooke

  Captain J. B. Simpson

  511

  Captain R. T. R. Phillips

  Captain J. K. Covell

  Captain A. E. Slater

  Royal Marine ADC to the Queen

  Colonel R. E. Dillon

  Extra Naval Equerries to the Queen

  Vice Admiral Sir Peter Ashmore

  Rear Admiral Sir Richard Trowbridge

  Rear Admiral Sir Paul Greening

  Rear Admiral Sir John Garnier

  Rear Admiral Robert Woodard

  Lieutenant General Sir John Richards

  Royal Naval Reserve ADC to the Queen

  Captain D. A. Carr

  Royal Marine Reserve ADC to the Queen

  Colonel T. H. Lang

  Royal Navy Honorary Chaplains to the Queen

  The Ven. M. W. Bucks

  Rev. W. E. Weldon

  Rev. B. F. Neill

  Rev. R. G. Devonshire

  Army Honorary Chaplains to the Queen

  The Ven. A. Deen

  Rev. Dr. V. Dobbin

  Rev. J. Holliman

  Rev. R. McAllen

  RAF Honorary Chaplains to the Queen

  Rev. J. Shedden

  Rev. G. B. McVoy

  The Ven. B. H. Lucas

  Rev. P. R. Turner

  Royal Navy Honorary Physicians to the Queen

  Surgeon Rear Admiral A. Craig

  Surgeon Captain D. L. Swain

  Surgeon Commodore R. Harland

  Army Honorary Physicians to the Queen

  Major General G. O. Cowan

  Brigadier W. R. Short

  Brigadier M. D. Conroy

  Brigadier T. B. N. Oldrey

  Brigadier G. C. Callow

  RAF Honorary Physicians to the Queen

  Air Commodore J. R. Creig

  Air Vice Marshal J. A. Baird

  Air Commodore A. F. Johnson

  Air Commodore J. D. C. Baxandall

  Royal Navy Honorary Surgeons to the Queen

  Surgeon Commodore I. L. Jenkins

  Surgeon Vice Admiral A. L. Revell

  Surgeon Commodore M. P. W. H. Paine

  Army Honorary Surgeons to the Queen

  Major General F. B. Mayes

  Brigadier D. G. Stork

  Brigadier M. H. Daly

  512

  Colonel D. W. Herring

  Brigadier B. Rowe

  RAF Honorary Surgeons to the Queen

  Air Commodore D. H. Hull

  Air Commodore F. K. Amroliwalla

  Air Commodore A. Nicholson

  Air Commodore H. Wober

  Royal Navy Honorary Dental Surgeon to the Queen

  Surgeon Commodore E. J. Grants

  Army Honorary Dental Surgeons to the Queen

  Brigadier C. D. Parkinson

  Brigadier R. A. Smart

  RAF Honorary Dental Surgeons to the Queen

  Air Commodore D. W. Marchant

  Air Vice Marshall J. Mackey

  Royal Naval Reserve Honorary Surgeon to the Queen

  Surgeon Captain T. A. Waterworth

  Royal Navy Honorary Nursing Officer to the Queen

  Principal Nursing Officer C. M. Taylor

  Army Honorary Nursing Officers to the Queen

  Brigadier H. S. Dixon-Nuttall

  Lieutenant Colonel A. Clouston

  RAF Honorary Nursing Officer to the Queen

  Group Captain V. M. Hand

  Fraud
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money was spent by his Department in each of the last 10 years to combat fraud.

  Mr. Soames
  Figures are available only from 1991–92 and relate to the cost of the Ministry of Defence police fraud squad and the defence fraud unit. They are as follows:

  Year

  Cost

  1991–92

  783,000

  1992–93

  932,000

  1993–94

  1,079,000

  1994–95

  1,087,000

  A good deal of effort is expended elsewhere in my Department to combat fraud, but the cost of this could not be separately identified.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many investigations into fraud have been made within his Department in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Soames
  Complete figures are available only from 1986 and include cases where the alleged fraud was not against my Department.

  Year

  Investigations

  1986

  3,983

  1987

  3,275

  1988

  3,205

  1989

  2,251

  1990

  3,837

  513

  Year

  Investigations

  1991

  4,413

  1992

  3,260

  1993

  12,277

  1 Includes MOD police investigations for January to March 1994.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money his Department has lost through fraud in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Soames
  The values of reported fraud for the financial years 1984–85 to 1993–94 inclusive are as follows:

  £

  1984–85

  41,000

  1985–86

  199,000

  1986–87

  244,000

  1987–88

  1,039,000

  1988–89

  334,000

  1989–90

  233,000

  1990–91

  984,000

  1991–92

  63,000

  1992–93

  205,000

  1993–94

  571,000

  These figures exclude "procurement fraud"—fraud perpetrated by contractors, including corruption of officials by contractors and collusion between officials and contractors—which is often difficult to quantify precisely.

  No abatement is made for subsequent recoveries.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by name the five fraud cases which have cost his Department the most money in the last 10 years.

  Mr. Soames
  The largest fraud cases characteristically relate to procurement fraud, where the extent of the cash loss to the Department is often difficult to quantify with any precision. The five highest value cases were as follows:

  Case

  Year

  Director of Ammunition Procurement (Foxley)

  1994

  VMS Ltd.

  1991

  Chellingworth and Singer Ltd.

  1990

  Gateway Motor Auctions

  1987

  CAS Aviation and Marine International

  1986

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what actions he has taken to combat fraud within his Department.

  Mr. Soames
  My Department has taken a range of measures to deter and detect fraud and to make staff aware of the need for vigilance. All suspected cases are vigorously pursued and an internal statement on fraud policy and law makes it clear that we will not tolerate dishonest behaviour among our employees. Investigations into suspected fraud are undertaken by the Ministry of Defence police fraud squad. The service police similarly investigate fraud in the service environment. The deterrence of fraud forms part of high level management plans with requirements placed upon senior line management to impose sound controls, follow up suspicions, and report suspected fraud. There is a514
  consultative panel on fraud and irregularity which is being reconstituted to involve line management representation, supported by a defence fraud unit which is tasked with collating information, assessing policy options and raising fraud awareness. Private sector expertise has been drawn on in the development of a methodology for fraud risk assessment. In the procurement field there has been extension of competitive procurement, a greater rotation of duties in significant procurement posts, and stress on fraud awareness.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the cases when employees of his Department have(a) been tried and (b) been successfully convicted of fraud in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Soames
  My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Army Base Repair Organisation, Old Dalby
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the prospects of allocating new sources of his Department's work to ABRO, Old Dalby.

  Mr. Freeman
  Prior to my announcement on 27 October 1994 of the intention to withdraw work from ABRO Old Dalby, ABRO had undertaken a number of studies to determine the practicality of moving work from its other facilities into Old Dalby. The studies clearly demonstrated that such a course of action was not cost-effective. ABRO also assessed the potential for transferring work undertaken by private contractors into Old Dalby, but concluded that this was neither practical nor cost-effective. The other services are also looking at the need to make effective use of the repair facilities at their disposal and some further rationalisation and consolidation of repair work may result from the defence costs study recommendation for tri-service rationalisation. This will not, however, alter the decision to withdraw all MOD work from ABRO, Old Dalby.

  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on possible private sector interest in purchasing all or part of ABRO, Old Dalby.

  Mr. Freeman
  Following my announcement of 31 January 1995 that MOD operations were to cease at the ABRO, Old Dalby workshop, a number of companies have expressed tentative interest in some of the facilities. As yet, however, none of these amount to substantive proposals.

  Any costed proposals received before the end of July 1995 will be carefully considered to see if they offer improved value for money compared with transferring work to ABROs Donnington or Bovington workshops or elsewhere within MOD. It is important to bear in mind however that the primary objective of the Old Dalby closure is to rationalise excess capacity within ABRO by moving work to other workshops where spare capacity exists.

  Industry has been invited to come forward with non-MOD uses for the Old Dalby workshop.

  Departmental Staff
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many personnel have joined his Department from defence or defence-related companies in the last 10 years;

  (2) if he will list the personnel who have joined his Department from defence or defence-related companies in the last two years; and what were the companies involved and the numbers joining each company.

  Mr. Freeman
  Information concerning previous employment is collected during the recruitment process and is retained on an individual's personal file. This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Freeman
  My ministerial colleagues and I keep no comprehensive records of all unsolicited mail or other items that we receive.

SCOTLAND

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

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Information on the numbers of accident and emergency units is shown in the table. The relocation of accident and emergency departments is a matter for health boards and the information held centrally does not allow this to be accurately identified.

  Numbers of hospitals with accident and emergency units1; years ending 31 March

  Year

  Number of hospitals

  1986

  104

  1987

  106

  1988

  103

  1989

  101

  1990

  100

  1991

  100

  1992

  101

  1993

  101

  1994

  101

  Note:

  1Hospitals with 100 or more accident and emergency attendances in each year.

  Source:

  Information and statistics division.

  Medical Register
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if inclusion in the medical register with a T(S) indication is the equivalent of accreditation.
  516
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The T(S) indication in the medical register has been used to record that a doctor has been accredited in a specialty—S indicates surgery—or been appointed to a consultant post in the NHS.

  Accreditation represents the decision of the relevant royal college body responsible for training in the specialty that the doctor has completed specialist training. The UK's system of specialist medical training is being reformed in the light of the Calman report "Hospital Doctors: Training for the Future".

  Peterhead Sheriff Court
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the cases dealt with by(a) summary complaint and (b) indictment in Peterhead sheriff court in each year from 1974 to 1994 involved accused with two or more previous convictions; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  The information requested is not available.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of theft by housebreaking were dealt with on summary complaint at Peterhead sheriff court in each year from 1974 to 1994; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  The available information is set out in table:

  Persons called to Peterhead sheriff court on indictment where the main crime was theft by housebreaking1, 1976–1993

  Year

  Persons proceeded against

  1976

  18

  1977

  25

  1978

  27

  1979

  38

  1980

  26

  1981

  44

  1982

  56

  1983

  31

  1984

  52

  1985

  76

  1986

  65

  1987

  80

  1988

  98

  1989

  55

  1990

  58

  1991

  51

  1992

  53

  1993

  28

  Notes:

  1Includes charges of attempted theft by housebreaking and housebreaking with intent to steal.

  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of theft by housebreaking were dealt with on indictment at Peterhead sheriff court in each year from 1974 to 1994; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  The available information is set out in the table:

  Persons called to Peterhead sheriff court on indictment where the main crime was theft by housebreaking1, 1976–1993

  Year

  Persons proceeded against

  1976

  0

  1977

  0

  1978

  7

  517

  Persons called to Peterhead sheriff court on indictment where the main crime was theft by housebreaking1, 1976–1993

  Year

  Persons proceeded against

  1979

  9

  1980

  20

  1981

  2

  1982

  5

  1983

  9

  1984

  4

  1985

  5

  1986

  1

  1987

  4

  1988

  3

  1989

  2

  1990

  1

  1991

  0

  1992

  0

  1993

  0

  1 Includes charges of attempted theft by house breaking and housebreaking with intent to steal.

  Breast Cancer Screening
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of Slate for Scotland what recent guidelines he has issued to national health service trusts and clinics regarding the subject of breast cancer screening programmes; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: A number of guidelines have been produced in recent years by the Scottish breast screening programme on breast cancer screening. Recent publications are set out in the table:

  Title

  Date Published

  Quality Assurance Guidelines for Mammography (Pritchard)

  March 1989

  Guidelines for Pathologists

  February 1990

  Pathology Reporting in Breast Cancer Screening

  February 1990

  Breast Cancer Screening—A Practical Guide for Primary Care Teams

  1990

  Quality Assurance Guidelines for Radiologists

  June 1990

  Radiographic Quality Control Manual for Mammography

  February 1992

  Quality Assurance Guidelines for Surgeons and Beast Cancer Screening

  May 1992

  Guidelines for Cytology Procedures and Reporting in Breast Cancer Screening

  September 1992

  Breast Clinics
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many breast clinics there are in(a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland as a whole; of these how many are located in out-patient departments; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: There are five specialist breast clinics for out-patients in Scotland located in Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and two in Glasgow.

  Breast Care Nurses
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of breast care nurses 518
  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
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: Statistics on the number of nurses engaged on breast care duties are not maintained centrally.

  Disabled People
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what recent discussions he has held with the Art Council concerning barrier-free access to theatres, galleries, museums and other buildings and freedom of movement within such for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what recent discussions he has held with the owners of cinemas regarding harrier-free access to their establishments and the freedom of movement within such for people suffering from disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: None. The provisions in the Disability Discrimination Bill will require service providers, including those who operate cultural and entertainment facilities, to remove physical barriers, where reasonable, in order to improve access for disabled people to their service. The Government's White Paper "Ending Discrimination against Disabled People" makes it clear that there will be a continuing process of consultation on the detailed implementation of their proposals.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has held with representatives of amateur and professional football clubs, cricket clubs and rugby clubs and others regarding(a) barrier-free access to sporting grounds and (b) the freedom of movement within such for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The provisions in the Disability Discrimination Bill, currently before the House, will require service providers, including those who operate sports stadiums, to remove physical barriers, where reasonable, in order to improve access for disabled people to their service. The Government's White Paper "Ending Discrimination against Disabled People" makes it clear that there will he a continuing process of consultation on the detailed implementation of its proposals. The Scottish Sports Council, as the Government's advisory body on sport in Scotland, has a strong track record in providing quality information on the design of facilities where people with a disability are concerned. The council has paid particular attention to such needs in preparing the guidelines for application for national lottery funding.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the conduct of the Sports Council in relation to the provision of sporting facilities and activities for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The Government regard the promotion of sport for people with disabilities as particularly important. The Scottish Sports Council is committed to a programme of initiatives, in partnership with the Scottish Sports Association for People with a Disability and others, to develop opportunities for people with disabilities to

  519
  participate at all levels of sport and generally to raise the profile of athletes with a disability in Scotland. Recent examples of the Scottish Sports Council's commitment in this area include their support for the ready, willing and able initiative, and the inclusion of sport for people with a disability within the teamsport programme.

  National Lottery
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money will be made available from the national lottery in the current financial year to distribute to voluntary organisations and charities; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The control and management of the national lottery distribution fund which channels lottery proceeds to the various distributing bodies is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage.

  Farmers and Crofters
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many farm or croft holdings are estimated to occur within the environmentally sensitive areas of(a) the Shetland Islands, (b) the Cairngorm Straths, (c) the Argyll Islands and (d) the revised Machair of the Uists.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The number of potentially eligible farm or croft holdings is estimated to be as follows:

  Number

  The Shetland Islands

  1,300

  The Cairngorms Straths

  400

  The Argyll Islands

  950

  The Revised Machair of the Uists and Benbecula, Barra and Vatersay

  1,050

  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many farmers or crofters have to date completed agreements with the Scottish Office under the environmentally sensitive area schemes in(a) the Shetland Islands, (b) the Cairngorm Straths, (c) the Argyll Islands and (d) the revised Machair of the Uists.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The number of farmers, crofters and crofters grazings committees who currently have environmentally sensitive area scheme agreements with the Secretary of State is as follows:

  Number

  The Shetland Islands Environmentally Sensitive Area

  9

  The Cairngorms Straths Environmentally Sensitive Area

  10

  The Argyll Islands Environmentally Sensitive Area

  13

  Machair of the Uists, Benbecula, Barra and Vatersay Environmentally Sensitive Area (revised boundaries)

  612

  Ground Nesting Birds
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many approved farm conservation plans in the Argyll Islands environmentally sensitive area scheme include measures to be undertaken under the voluntary 2 prescriptions for ground nesting birds.
  520
  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: Five.

  Agri-environment Programme
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 8 February,Official Report, column 308, if he will give a breakdown of the funds allocated to each of the schemes introduced under the Scottish agri-environment programme in (a) the current financial year, (b) 1995–96 and (c) 1996–97.

  Sir Hector Monro
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The table sets out the 1994–95 supply estimates provision and the Government's present plans for spending on these schemes for 1995–96 and 1996–97.

  Financial Year

  Scheme

  1994–95 £ million

  1995–96 £ million

  1996–97 £ million

  Environmentally Sensitive Areas1

  4.5

  5.7

  7.8

  Heather Moorland

  Nil

  0.6

  2.9

  Habitats

  Nil

  0.6

  0.6

  Organic Aid

  0.1

  0.1

  0.2

  Access to Set-aside

  Nil

  0.5

  0.5

  Total

  4.6

  7.5

  12.0

  1Including new scheme for informal recreation in ESAs.

  Community Care
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what national care standards arc being prescribed for care in the community.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: Standards can only realistically be set at local level. The general policy is that care should he such as to allow vulnerable people to live as independent lives as practical in homely settings in the community. Following reorganisation, we will ask local authorities to develop community care charters in which they will set our standards by which their performance can he judged locally.

  NHS Consultants
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many hospital consultants have been dismissed from their employment with national health service hospitals in each of the past 15 years; of those how many were reinstated following a successful appeal to him; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: Information on dismissals is not held centrally. The NHS management executive is informed of dismissals only when a consultant appeals to the Secretary of State against termination of the contract of employment. Since 1983, the earliest date of available records, there have been six such appeals by NHS consultants, two of which resulted in reinstatement.

EDUCATION

  Class Sizes
  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the average class sizes in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools in 1979–80; and what were the average class sizes for the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The average sizes of single-teacher classes in maintained primary and secondary schools in England in 1980 and 1994 are shown in the table.

  Position in January each year

  Primary

  Secondary1

  1980

  25 4

  21.0

  1994

  26.9

  21.4

  1 Excludes sixth form colleges which ceased to be classified as schools from 1 April 1993.

  School Places
  Sir David Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the average cost of a school place in a local education authority school in Hampshire; and how many surplus school places there are in local education authority schools in Hampshire.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The national average premises-related cost of maintaining a school place is estimated to be £182 a year for a primary school and £303 a year for a secondary school at 1995–96 prices. It is not possible to give separate estimates at LEA level. The actual cost and the scope for realising savings from removal of surplus school places in practice will depend on local circumstances.

  In January 1994, there were 18,287–13 per cent.—primary surplus school places and 8,834–13 per cent.—secondary places in local education authority schools in Hampshire. The authority has recently completed a reorganisation which, together with pupil population growth, will have reduced the amount of surplus from these levels.

  National Youth Agency
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when she plans to announce her decision on the future of the National Youth Agency.

  Mr. Boswell
  As my noble Friend the Lord Lucas said on Monday 23 January 1995,Official Report, House of Lords, columns 860–61. my right hon. Friend will not be making a decision on the policy review of the National Youth Agency until the final report is submitted. Meanwhile, some responses to the second phase consultations of the review team are still outstanding.

  Youth Service Unit
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people work in the youth service unit.

  Mr. Boswell
  The youth service unit of the Department for Education at present comprises 13 members of staff.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for 522
  Education (1) what was the work programme of the youth service unit for 1994–95;

  (2) what is the proposed work programme of the youth service unit for 1995–96.

  Mr. Boswell
  In addition to normal official duties, including policy advice to Ministers, the activities of officials in the Department's youth service unit include the following:administration of relevant DFE grants, including grants to the National Youth Agency, the youth exchange centre, and 60 national voluntary youth organisations;
  co-ordination within Whitehall of the Government's interest in youth issues in the European Union and the Council of Europe. including the proposed youth for Europe III programme, and representation of United Kingdom interests at meetings;
  commissioning or sponsoring national programmes and studies including the GEST youth action scheme and its national evaluation, the GEST activity on the training and youth and community workers, and a survey of youth service participation carried out as part of the OPCS omnibus survey;
  co-ordination of the Department for Education's policy on volunteering;
  liaison with other Government Departments on issues relevant to the youth service, including crime prevention and health education;
  co-ordination with the Department of Employment of national consultations on the scope for developing NVQ standards for youth and community work;
  policy review of the National Youth Agency and review of the administration of grants to national voluntary youth organisations.

  Grant-maintained Schools
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many grant-maintained schools were formerly(a) country, (b) voluntary aided, (c) voluntary controlled and (d) special agreement schools.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The numbers of grant-maintained primary and secondary schools in each category is as follows:

  Former status

  Number

  County

  698

  Voluntary aided

  226

  Voluntary controlled

  95

  Special agreement

  13

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list, by local authority, the capital bids from grant-maintained schools for 1995–96.

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

  Student Loan Fund
  Mr. Jim Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans she has to amend the rules of the Student Loan Fund to meet the specific and special needs of medical students in the fourth and fifth year of their undergraduate training.
  523
  Mr. Boswell
  The Government keep the operation of the loans scheme under review, but have no current plans to introduce any major changes.

  Schools
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total number of(a) voluntary controlled, (b) voluntary aided, (c) county and (d) special agreement schools in each year from 1992 to 1995.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The number of voluntary schools and county schools in England in the years 1992 to 1994, the latest date for which information is available, are shown in the table.

  Voluntary and County Schools1 in England 1992–1994 Position in January each year

  1992

  1992

  1994

  Voluntary schools

  Controlled

  2,998

  2,968

  2,909

  Aided

  4,221

  4,174

  4,032

  Special agreement

  67

  64

  54

  County Schools

  15,230

  14,942

  14,503

  1 Excluding sixth form colleges which ceased to be classified as schools in April 1993.

  Enforcement of School Attendance

  Education Welfare Officers1

  School Attendance Orders2

  Education Supervision Orders2

  Prosecutions2

  LEA

  Total

  FTE

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Avon

  61

  56.0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  12

  8

  27

  19

  14

  Barking and Dagenham

  11

  11.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  3

  2

  50

  62

  35

  Barnet

  12

  12.0

  2

  2

  1

  0

  0

  0

  3

  4

  6

  Barnsley

  17

  17.0

  3

  0

  0

  0

  6

  0

  13

  16

  26

  Bedfordshire

  32

  32.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  3

  2

  36

  39

  74

  Berkshire

  31

  31.0

  0

  0

  2

  2

  6

  1

  68

  22

  56

  Bexley

  7

  7.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  2

  24

  19

  21

  Birmingham

  89

  86.0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  1

  48

  67

  54

  Bolton

  22

  19.8

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  10

  12

  15

  Bradford

  37

  31.5

  1

  0

  0

  2

  4

  0

  91

  32

  78

  Brent

  19

  19.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  14

  6

  16

  Bromley

  11

  11.0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  1

  0

  33

  33

  27

  Buckinghamshire

  29

  28.5

  1

  3

  1

  1

  2

  2

  10

  52

  65

  Bury

  8

  8.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  22

  20

  33

  Calderdale

  14

  14.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  4

  6

  4

  6

  Cambridgeshire

  28

  26.6

  2

  1

  3

  2

  3

  6

  28

  24

  18

  Camden

  17

  16.7

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  1

  0

  0

  6

  Cheshire

  32

  32.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  6

  12

  24

  58

  Cleveland

  47

  45.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  6

  2

  3

  Cornwall

  15

  15.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  1

  14

  19

  22

  Coventry

  19

  19.0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  1

  38

  16

  11

  Croydon

  16

  16.0

  0

  0

  1

  2

  1

  4

  21

  29

  47

  Cumbria

  39

  36.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  4

  4

  11

  Derbyshire

  46

  41.5

  0

  0

  0

  1

  4

  3

  43

  45

  40

  Devon

  32

  31.0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  1

  22

  28

  38

  Doncaster

  27

  24.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  1

  12

  12

  5

  Dorset

  30

  28.0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  1

  1

  1

  2

  2

  Dudley

  10

  10.0

  1

  0

  0

  1

  0

  4

  5

  5

  14

  Durham

  38

  38.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  6

  5

  9

  21

  33

  Ealing

  20

  18.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  117

  83

  81

  East Sussex

  21

  12.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  2

  37

  12

  22

  Enfield

  19

  16.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  11

  7

  3

  Essex

  79

  75.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  11

  51

  64

  105

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in her Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Boswell
  As stated in my previous answer, on Wednesday 8 February 1995,Official Report, column 310, during the month of February three Ministers in the Department received invitations to a social event, which have been declined.

  School Attendance
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether she will publish the results of the survey of arrangements for enforcing school attendance undertaken by her Department last year.

  Mr. Forth
  The survey showed that 2,689 education welfare officers were employed by English local education authorities as at September 1994. LEAs were also asked to provide information on the number of school attendance orders, education supervision orders and prosecutions mounted against parents over the three school years up to and including 1993–94. The survey revealed that, over the period in question, the total number of SAOs had risen from 40 to 56 a year, ESOs from 81 to 314 a year, and the number of prosecutions had risen from 2,803 to 3,688 a year. The position for individual LEAs is set out in the following table.
  525

  Enforcement of School Attendance

  Education Welfare Officers1

  School Attendance Orders2

  Education Supervision Orders2

  Prosecutions2

  LEA

  Total

  FTE

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Gateshead

  20

  20.0

  1

  0

  0

  8

  5

  4

  22

  45

  46

  Gloucestershire

  16

  16.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  15

  11

  19

  Greenwich

  17

  15.3

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  109

  138

  151

  Hackney

  15

  14.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  5

  14

  4

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  15

  12.5

  1

  4

  6

  6

  4

  9

  10

  12

  14

  Hampshire

  83

  80.6

  1

  0

  0

  1

  1

  17

  48

  32

  65

  Haringey

  12

  11.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  5

  7

  8

  Harrow

  9

  9.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  9

  3

  5

  Havering

  13

  13.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  3

  9

  15

  19

  Hereford and Worcester

  20

  20.0

  2

  1

  0

  0

  0

  1

  22

  33

  49

  Hertfordshire

  43

  40.3

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  0

  8

  16

  14

  Hillingdon

  10

  10.0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  3

  0

  2

  0

  1

  Hounslow

  9

  9.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  1

  2

  8

  2

  Humberside

  47

  46.5

  0

  1

  0

  1

  6

  6

  83

  94

  83

  Isle of Wight

  9

  8.5

  0

  0

  0

  1

  2

  2

  4

  5

  5

  Isles of Scilly1

  0

  0.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Islington

  26

  22.6

  0

  0

  0

  6

  5

  6

  6

  6

  7

  Kensington and Chelsea

  15

  15.0

  0

  0

  1

  2

  4

  4

  11

  23

  4

  Kent

  47

  42.0

  2

  1

  0

  0

  8

  4

  96

  236

  244

  Kingston upon Thames

  6

  6.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  4

  0

  0

  Kirklees

  26

  23.0

  1

  0

  2

  2

  2

  0

  30

  49

  42

  Knowsley

  15

  14.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  72

  53

  27

  Lambeth

  32

  28.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0

  0

  11

  0

  Lancashire

  86

  84.8

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  4

  40

  36

  57

  Leeds

  62

  56.0

  1

  3

  3

  1

  3

  5

  18

  31

  21

  Leicestershire

  39

  38.5

  1

  0

  4

  1

  7

  11

  25

  35

  69

  Lewisham

  17

  14.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  25

  Lincolnshire

  22

  22.0

  3

  6

  7

  0

  1

  2

  74

  52

  74

  Liverpool

  60

  56.0

  0

  6

  0

  1

  1

  1

  32

  45

  61

  London, Corporation of

  1

  1.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Manchester

  29

  27.5

  3

  0

  0

  7

  5

  5

  142

  148

  129

  Merton

  8

  8.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0

  19

  39

  37

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  14

  14.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  21

  3

  0

  Newham

  17

  17.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  151

  77

  104

  Norfolk

  35

  30.5

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  16

  17

  26

  Northamptonshire

  26

  25.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  6

  70

  97

  79

  Northumberland

  12

  12.0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  3

  6

  6

  7

  North Tyneside

  12

  11.3

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  7

  0

  0

  6

  North Yorkshire

  37

  35.0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  4

  3

  4

  17

  21

  Nottinghamshire

  63

  63.0

  2

  3

  5

  0

  0

  0

  66

  148

  229

  Oldham

  7

  7.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  14

  11

  14

  39

  Oxfordshire

  25

  20.0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  0

  7

  5

  5

  12

  Redbridge

  10

  9.8

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  1

  6

  13

  5

  Richmond upon Thames

  10

  9.0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  5

  4

  Rochdale

  13

  12.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  Rotherham

  19

  18.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  45

  35

  45

  St. Helens

  12

  11.0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  24

  16

  30

  Salford

  22

  22.0

  2

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  10

  20

  27

  Sandwell

  23

  22.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  15

  21

  25

  Sefton

  24

  23.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  5

  3

  8

  21

  18

  Sheffield

  53

  48.5

  1

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  14

  21

  23

  Shropshire

  18

  17.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  44

  59

  25

  Solihull

  13

  10.0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  2

  2

  7

  0

  6

  Somerset4

  0

  0.0

  0

  0

  0

  2

  2

  10

  12

  10

  17

  South Tyneside

  17

  16.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  17

  21

  14

  Southwark

  18

  18.0

  3

  2

  5

  2

  4

  3

  12

  12

  11

  Staffordshire

  57

  57.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  15

  33

  8

  50

  Stockport

  19

  19.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  24

  18

  23

  Suffolk

  24

  24.0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  2

  2

  19

  26

  23

  Sunderland

  24

  24.0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  50

  76

  121

  Surrey

  28

  26.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  16

  14

  18

  Sutton

  10

  10.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  5

  3

  5

  8

  Tameside

  16

  16.0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  8

  8

  53

  43

  35

  Tower Hamlets

  18

  17.5

  4

  7

  3

  0

  5

  8

  31

  42

  30

  526 527

  Enforcement of School Attendance

  Education Welfare Officers1

  School Attendance Orders2

  Education Supervision Orders2

  Prosecutions3

  LEA

  Total

  FTE

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Trafford

  10

  10.0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  4

  3

  21

  31

  41

  Wakefield

  20

  20.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  0

  37

  24

  38

  Walsall

  21

  21.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  64

  44

  54

  Waltham Forest

  14

  14.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  4

  12

  Wandsworth

  17

  17.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  12

  9

  Warwickshire

  30

  25.8

  0

  0

  0

  7

  1

  4

  10

  31

  29

  Westminster, City of

  13

  13.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  1

  3

  2

  West Sussex

  27

  24.0

  0

  0

  2

  0

  4

  30

  0

  12

  25

  Wigan

  17

  17.0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  10

  0

  0

  Wiltshire

  21

  21.0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  1

  3

  15

  17

  10

  Wirral

  21

  20.5

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  8

  9

  1

  Wolverhampton

  18

  18.0

  0

  1

  1

  3

  5

  10

  21

  21

  48

  Total

  2,689

  2,556.6

  40

  47

  56

  81

  220

  314

  2,803

  3,080

  3,688

  1 Position as at September 1994.

  2 Relates to school years.

  3 On the Isles of Scilly, attendance problems are dealt with by headteachers (under 300 pupils in 4 schools)

  4 In Somerset, school attendance enforcement is dealt with by Education officers rather than EWOs.

  Sixteen to Eighteen-year-olds
  Ms Estelle Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students between the ages of 16 and 18 were studying in(a) sixth forms, (b) sixth form colleges and (c) colleges of further education in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Boswell
  The following table shows the number of pupils in school sixth forms, and students in sixth form colleges and colleges of further education in each of the years 1989–90 to 1993–94.

  16 to 18-year-olds in (a) school sixth forms (b) sixth form colleges, and (c) colleges of further education: 1989–90–1993–94

  Academic year-numbers (000s)

  1989–90

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  School sixth forms

  315.8

  322.3

  339.3

  344.3

  343.0

  Sixth form colleges

  73.8

  77.7

  84.1

  91.4

  98.7

  FE sector colleges 1

  Full-time

  293.4

  303.6

  341.8

  357.7

  369.6

  Part-time

  311.8

  265.4

  217.2

  172.6

  148.7

  1 Excluding sixth form colleges.

  Business Link, Wirral
  Ms Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial help her Department or its agencies has given to the Business Link, Wirral since its inception.

  Mr. Boswell
  None. This Department is not responsible, either directly or indirectly, for the funding of Business Links.

  School Budgets
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list in rank order the percentages of their total budgets under local management of schools which county councils delegate to individual schools; and if she will calculate how much extra per pupil Lancashire would have been able to spend if it had delegated as much as the authority which delegated most.
  528
  Mr. Robin Squire
  The percentages of general schools budgets delegated to schools by county councils in 1994–95 are shown in the table below. The percentage delegated does not affect the total spending per pupil by the education authority concerned; but if Lancashire had delegated 78.8 per cent. of the general schools budget rather than 70.3 per cent., schools' delegated budgets would have been larger by approximately £200 per pupil.

  English counties 1994–95

  Local education authority

  Percentage of GSB delegated

  Hertfordshire

  78.8

  Northamptonshire

  76.6

  Suffolk

  75.5

  Berkshire

  75.5

  West Sussex

  75.3

  Avon

  74.9

  North Yorkshire

  74.7

  Northumberland

  74.3

  Staffordshire

  74.2

  Nottinghamshire

  74.1

  Warwickshire

  74.0

  Cheshire

  74.0

  Leicestershire

  73.9

  Hereford/Worcester

  73.9

  Hampshire

  73.7

  Somerset

  73.2

  Durham

  72.8

  Wiltshire

  72.7

  Gloucestershire

  72.6

  Bedfordshire

  72.5

  Cleveland

  72.5

  Humberside

  72.4

  Essex

  72.2

  Lincolnshire

  71.9

  Norfolk

  71.7

  East Sussex

  71.1

  Devon

  70.9

  Dorset

  70.8

  Kent

  70.8

  Buckinghamshire

  70.7

  Lancashire

  70.3

  Isle of Wight

  70.1

  Cornwall

  70.1

  Cambridgeshire

  69.9

  Oxfordshire

  69.8

  529

  English counties 1994–95

  Local education authority

  Percentage of GSB delegated

  Shropshire

  69.1

  Cumbria

  68.9

  Derbyshire

  68.7

  Surrey

  67.9

  Note:

  The figures have been derived from budget statements published by local education authorities under section 42 of the Education Reform Act in respect of the financial year 1994–95, and received by the Department prior to 17 October 1994. The percentages have been rounded in the table to one decimal place.

  Kirklees Metropolitan Council
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the bid for capital allocation—permission to borrow—by Kirklees metropolitan council to assist with the removal of surplus places; and what is the sum allocated.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Kirklees metropolitan council bid for £445,000 in its 1995–96 annual capital guidelines to assist with the removal of surplus places. The notional allocation came to £165,000.

  It is, however, for Kirklees to decide how much of the ACG is spent on surplus place removal.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State of Education how much her Department is allowing Kirklees metropolitan council in capital allocation, permission to borrow, for the upgrading of science facilities at St. John Fisher RC high school in Dewsbury.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Kirklees metropolitan council has been allocated £16,000 to cover its liability on improvement minor works projects at voluntary aided and special agreement schools in 1995–96. The St. John Fisher RC high school project is in this category in the LEA's bid. All LEAs have received an allocation for their liability on such projects based on 20 per cent. of the total allocated for governors' expenditure.

  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the bids for capital allocation—permission to borrow—submitted by Kirklees metropolitan council for 1995–96 and the projects and amounts approved and rejected.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The council's annual capital guideline for county and voluntary controlled schools for 1995–96 has been calculated on the following basis. It is, however, for the LEA to use the allocation as it wishes.

  Bid

  Allocation

  Commitments

  £1,473,000

  £1,026,000 (Provisional Indicator of £1,022,000, plus £4,000 for Fartown surplus place removal)

  Basic need

  £594,000

  £137,000 (For Shelley First and Shelley High; bids for Fixby and Lydgate were unsuccessful)

  Surplus place removal

  £445,000

  £165,000 (For Birkenshaw, Slaithwaite, Wooldale, Shepley and Marsden. Cover for Royd Edge bid was placed in the 1995–96 Reserve. Rawthorpe and Deighton bids were unsuccessful)

  530

  Bid

  Allocation

  Special education

  £1,085,000

  Nil (unsuccessful bids were for Fairfield, Highfield and Turnshaws schools)

  VA liability

  £20,000

  £16,000 (Formula allocation; St. Saviour's bid placed in the Reserve and All Saints bid was unsuccessful)

  Remainder

  £6,145,000

  £110,000 (given by a national formula)

  Total

  £9,762,000

  £1,455,000

  Temporary Classrooms
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many temporary classrooms are in current use in each local education authority area in England and Wales.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This information is not held centrally.

  University of Cornwall
  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will give her support to proposals to set up a university of Cornwall.

  Mr. Boswell
  Support in the form of public funding for this purpose is a matter for the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

  Schools Budgets
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make a statement about the amount by which Lancashire county council intends to cut its delegated schools budget; and if she will list the percentage increases and decreases of other local education authorities' schools budgets.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Lancashire county council has provisionally fixed the size of its general schools budget for 1995–96, but the amount within that to be delegated to schools will not be finally determined until March. The information requested on other local education authorities' plans for their 1995–96 delegated school budgets is not yet available: authorities do not have to publish details of school budgets for that year until 31 March 1995.

  Lancashire County Council
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education when her Department last raised the base of surplus places in schools with Lancashire county council; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Department has had no specific contact with Lancashire county council on the issue of surplus places. In January 1994, there were 12,398–9 per cent.—primary surplus school places and 11,754–13 per cent.—secondary surplus school places in Lancashire LEA. Pupil population growth and the authority's plans to rationalise some provision will reduce the amount of surplus from these levels.

  Surplus School Places
  Mr. Martin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the latest figure for surplus school places for Hampshire local education authority.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  In January 1994, there were 18,287–13 per cent.—primary surplus school places and 10,114–12 per cent.—secondary surplus school places in Hampshire LEA. The authority has recently completed a reorganisation which, together with pupil population growth, will have reduced the amount of surplus from these levels.

  Staff Ratios
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make an assessment of the ratio of administrative employees to teaching staff in each local education authority in England and Wales.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I will write to my hon. Friend.

  Local Education Authorities
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent per(a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in each of the local education authorities in England in the most recent year for which figures are available, at constant prices.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd) on 21 February,Official Report column 177–79.

  School meal arrangements January 1994

  Number of day pupils

  Day pupils taking free meals

  Pupils known to be eligible

  William Parker school

  1,197

  143[12per cent.]

  210 [18 percent.]

  Helenswood school

  1,073

  159 [15 percent.]

  236 [22 per cent.]

  Hillcrest school

  1,250

  158 [13 percent.]

  300 [24 per cent.]

  The Grove school

  1,340

  255 [19 percent.]

  412 [31 percent.]

  Thomas Peacock community college

  928

  90 [10 per cent.]

  147 [16 per cent.]

  Figures are not available for Filsham Valley school, which did not open until September 1994.

  Staffordshire County Council
  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent in total on education in Staffordshire in each of the past 20 years, at constant prices.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table below shows total expenditure by Staffordshire local education authority from 1974–75 to 1993–94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available. These figures have not been adjusted for any changes of function.

  Staffordshire county council

  Gross expenditure (1994–95 prices)£ million

  1974–75

  460.1

  1975–76

  472.9

  1976–77

  478.9

  1977–78

  460.0

  1978–79

  470.0

  1979–80

  460.2

  532

  Feversham College, Bradford
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if an official or Ministers at any time since Feversham college in Bradford submitted an application for the college to be guaranteed voluntary aided status have suggested that the college might consider applying for grant-maintained status; if applying for grant-maintained status enables schools to obtain loans from her Department for capital and revenue purposes before a decision on the application is made; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Neither Ministers nor officials of the Department have suggested Feversham college might consider applying for grant-maintained status. The Department does not make loans available to the promoters of any school to approval of their proposals to become a voluntary aided or a grant-maintained school. The Funding Agency for Schools does not have powers to make loans to promoters of new grant-maintained schools.

  Free School Meals
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of children either take or are entitled to free school meals at(a) William Parker school, (b) Helenswood, (c) Hillcrest, (d) The Grove, (e) Filsham Valley in Hastings and (f) Thomas Peacock in Rye.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information, from returns made by schools to the Department, is as follows:

  Staffordshire county council

  Gross expenditure (1994–95 prices)£ million

  1980–81

  468.3

  1981–82

  475.8

  1982–83

  465.2

  1983–84

  470.4

  1984–85

  458.3

  1985–86

  449.2

  1986–87

  469.2

  1987–88

  481.9

  1988–89

  491.2

  1989–90

  466.5

  1990–91

  474.8

  1991–92

  479.3

  1992–93

  523.2

  1993–941

  413.3

  1 Provisional.

  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the pupil-teacher ratio in Staffordshire(a) in primary schools and (b) in secondary schools in each of the last 20 years.
  533
  Mr. Robin Squire
  The pupil-teacher ratios in primary and secondary schools in Staffordshire in each of the last 20 years are shown in the table.

  Pupil:teacher ratios in maintained primary and secondary schools in Staffordshire LEA Position in January each year

  Year

  Primary

  Secondary

  1975

  1—

  1—

  1976

  24.2

  17.2

  1977

  24.2

  17.2

  1978

  23.8

  17.0

  1979

  23.2

  16.8

  1980

  22.5

  16.7

  1981

  21.8

  16.5

  1982

  22.4

  16.6

  1983

  22.0

  16.5

  1984

  22.3

  16.4

  1985

  22.4

  16.3

  1986

  22.8

  16.6

  1987

  22.9

  16.6

  1988

  23.2

  16.4

  1989

  23.0

  16.0

  1990

  23.3

  15.8

  1991

  23.1

  15.9

  1992

  23.5

  16.1

  1993

  24.7

  17.0

  1994

  25.1

  17.5

  Sir David Knox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was spent per pupil in Staffordshire(a) in primary schools and (b) in secondary schools in each of the past 20 years, at constant prices.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The table shows expenditure by Staffordshire local education authority on(a) pre-primary and primary pupils combined, and on (b) secondary pupils from 1974–75 to 1993–94, the latest year for which provisional outturn figures are available.

  Staffordshire County Council Spending per pupil (1994–95 prices)

  Nursery/Primary

  Secondary

  1974–75

  1,197

  1,943

  1975–76

  1,204

  2,006

  1976–77

  1,223

  1,949

  1977–78

  1,167

  1,828

  1978–79

  1,180

  1,821

  1979–80

  1,195

  1,783

  1980–81

  1,186

  1,640

  1981–82

  1,253

  1,711

  1982–83

  1,279

  1,709

  1983–84

  1,324

  1,763

  1984–85

  1,288

  1,765

  1985–86

  1,281

  1,822

  1986–87

  1,344

  1,973

  1987–88

  1,418

  2,113

  1988–89

  1,442

  2,225

  1989–90

  1,451

  2,247

  1990–91

  1,464

  2,178

  1991–92

  1,527

  2,236

  1992–93

  1,538

  2,195

  1993–941

  1,565

  2,119

  1 Provisional.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home 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. Howard
  The information requested for the years 1991 and 1992 can be found in the reports of the Civil Service Commissioners for those years, which are available in the Library.

  In 1993, two of the 10 fast streamers assigned to the Home Office were women, and one women joined the Department after deferring entry from an earlier year. In 1994 both those assigned were men.

  Drug Abuse (Prisons)
  Mr. Frank Cook
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received alleging that prison staff may condone drug abuse in the interests of avoiding disruption in prisons.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Frank Cook, dated 28 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about representations received alleging that prison staff may condone drug abuse in the interests of avoiding disruption in prisons.
  I have received one representation recently on this issue. Ministers have received none.
  The Prison Service does not tolerate the use of illicit drugs within its establishments, nor do we accept staff condoning such use. This message will be reinforced shortly with the release of the new Prison Service drugs strategy.
  A national drug testing programme for prisoners has just begun. This will emphasise further that the use of illicit drugs within prison is unacceptable and that anyone doing so will now run a far greater risk of being identified and punished.

  Restriction Orders
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the people charged and to date fined as a result of offences committed before, during or after the recent Ireland v. England match in Dublin currently are subject to restriction orders.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  Of those so far charged with offences connected to the Ireland v. England match on 15 February, none have been subject to restriction orders.

  Refugees, Campsfield
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compatibility of detention of refugees at Campsfield with the UN convention on refugees.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The Government are committed to their obligations under the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees, and the protocol to that convention, and are satisfied that United Kingdom legislation and practice do not breach these or other relevant international obligations.
  535
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those who have been detained at Campsfield over the past 12 months have(a) been given permission to remain in the United Kingdom as political refugees and (b) been deported to their country of origin.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees in Campsfield have(a) died, (b) committed suicide and (c) attempted to commit suicide in the previous 12 months.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  No detainee has died or committed suicide at Campsfield house since it opened in November 1993. During the same period, two detainees have attempted to commit suicide.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those who have been detained at Campsfield over the past 12 months have(a) applied for and (b) been granted bail.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if all the detainees at Campsfield have(a) been told in writing why they are being detained and (b) been given the right to challenge that information in civil court.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  All immigration detainees at Campsfield house have been informed of the reasons for detention orally, in a language which they understand, with an interpreter present if necessary. They are entitled to challenge the lawfulness of their detention by applying for a writ of habeas corpus or by seeking judicial review.

  I do not believe that any further written notification of the reasons for detention is necessary. All detainees are informed of their rights of appeal to the independent immigration appellate authorities, but the question of any legal challenge would be a matter for their representatives.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list(a) the nationalities, (b) the gender and (c) the age and the number of each nationality of all those currently detained at Campsfield detention centre;

  (2) for how long the person who has been detained for the longest period of time has been in Campsfield detention centre;

  (3) how many people are currently detained in Campsfield detention centre.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  On 18 February 1995, 191 people were detained in the immigration detention centre, Campsfield house.

  A breakdown by age is as follows:

  Number

  Under 18

  0

  18–20

  4

  21–30

  102

  31–40

  67

  41–50

  18

  Over 50

  0

  Total

  191

  536
  A breakdown by nationalities and gender is as Follows:

  Nationality

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Albania

  3

  —

  3

  Algeria

  7

  1

  8

  Angola

  4

  —

  4

  Bangladesh

  6

  —

  6

  Cameroon

  2

  —

  2

  China

  4

  —

  4

  Colombia

  1

  2

  3

  Cyprus

  10

  —

  10

  Ecuador

  1

  1

  2

  Ghana

  17

  7

  24

  India

  13

  1

  14

  Ivory Coast

  1

  2

  3

  Jamaica

  1

  3

  4

  Kenya

  —

  3

  3

  Lebanon

  1

  —

  1

  Malaysia

  1

  —

  1

  Mauritius

  1

  —

  1

  Morocco

  3

  —

  3

  Niger

  2

  —

  2

  Nigeria

  40

  10

  50

  Pakistan

  12

  —

  12

  Philippines

  —

  1

  1

  Romania

  1

  —

  1

  Senegal

  2

  —

  2

  Sierra Leone

  1

  2

  3

  Somalia

  1

  —

  1

  South Africa

  1

  —

  1

  Sri Lanka

  2

  —

  2

  Sudan

  —

  1

  1

  Togo

  1

  —

  1

  Turkey

  9

  —

  9

  Uganda

  —

  1

  1

  Yugoslavia (former)

  2

  —

  2

  Zaire

  5

  —

  5

  Nationality doubtful

  —

  1

  1

  Total

  155

  36

  191

  The detainee who has been in Campsfield house for the longest period has been there since 5 March 1994.

  Pop Festivals, Isle of Wight
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers the police have(a) to refuse and (b) to control pop festivals on the Isle of Wight.

  Mr. Maclean
  The grant or refusal of a licence for such events is at the discretion of the local authorities concerned, but in coming to their decisions they are required to have regard to any observations submitted to them by the police or fire authority. Chief officers of police do not themselves have powers to refuse such an event.

  Part V of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 gives the police a new power, where two or more people are making preparations, for a large-scale rave on land in the open air or where 10 or more people have gathered on a site to attend a rave which is likely to cause serious distress to the local community through amplified music being played during the night, to direct those people to leave the land. It is a criminal offence to ignore the direction.

  These measures are specifically aimed at the public nuisance of unlicensed night time raves on land which can cause a great deal of distress to local residents.

  Crime, Lancashire
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about levels of crime in Lancashire.

  Mr. Maclean
  In the 12 months to June 1994, there were 128,534 recorded offences in Lancashire, a fall of 6.9 per cent. over the previous 12 months. The decrease for England and Wales as a whole was 5.5 per cent.

  North-east London Probation Service
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were supervised by the north-east London probation service on 30 June 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The latest available information is for December 1993, when the number of offenders supervised by the north-east London probation service was 3,887.

  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many court reports were completed by the north-east London probation service during 1992 and 1993.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  North-east London probation service completed 4,367 pre-sentence reports, social inquiry reports, family court reports and other reports for courts in 1992 and 5,105 such reports in 1993.

  Gambling
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy in respect of stimulating the demand for gambling.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The Government's policy is to ensure that people are free to gamble if they wish but that there should be some controls on the encouragement of gambling. These controls will vary according to the type of gambling.

  I am currently reviewing the controls on the advertising of commercial gambling and plan to go out to consultation in May.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish an independent panel to adjudicate on the cases of all those who seek asylum in Britain and are detained.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The decision to detain a person under Immigration Act powers is taken by a chief immigration officer or above and is reviewed within 24 hours by an immigration inspector. Thereafter, detention is reviewed locally at least every seven days and after one month the case is reviewed at immigration service headquarters monthly and at an increasingly senior level.

  There is also an extensive system under which bail may be sought. Anyone refused asylum has a right of appeal and anyone who has an appeal pending may apply to the independent immigration appellate authorities for bail at any stage until the appeal has been finally determined. In addition, any passenger who has been detained for longer than seven days pending further examination may apply for bail to the appellate authorities. Detention may also be challenged in the courts by way of an application for habeas corpus, or bail may be sought from the courts once a case is before them in an application for judicial review.
  538
  The Government believe that the internal review procedures, together with the opportunities available to apply for bail or to challenge detention through the courts, provide adequate safeguards and that a further independent review process is not justified.

  Burglary
  Mr. Batiste
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce the numbers of burglaries in England.

  Mr. Maclean
  Throughout the country, police forces have set up many initiatives which are successfully impacting on the number of domestic burglaries. The Metropolitan police's operation "Bumblebee" is the most widely known. West Yorkshire has run a "Hands Off" domestic burglary campaign and the Huddersfield division is currently developing and implementing a strategy for preventing repeat burglary. The Home Office will continue to encourage police forces to develop effective anti-burglary initiatives, including the project tackling the problem of repeat victimisation, and will support the police through its crime prevention training, publicity and research programmes.

  Life Sentences
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 February,Official Report, column 589, if he will name the prisoners who have been informed that Ministers have set a whole life tariff.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  No. The prisoners concerned have the right to make representations about the tariff set by previous Ministers. If they do so, their case will be considered afresh. No decision has yet been made in any of these cases. It would therefore be inappropriate to name the prisoners at this stage.

  Departmental Expenditure
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was his Department's expenditure on(a) prisons and (b) the probation service in Wales in the latest available year.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The net operating costs of Welsh prisons in 1993–94 were £18.8 million.

  Expenditure by Welsh probation areas in 1993–94 was £18.4 million. The Home Office meets 80 per cent. of this expenditure and the responsible local authorities meet the remaining 20 per cent.

  Pollok Free State
  Mr. Stewart
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the statement by the self-styled Pollok free state in Glasgow that foreign nationals are occupying the area claimed; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) what action he proposes to take to review the passports and visas held by the foreign nationals currently occupying the self-styled Pollok free state in Glasgow; and if he will make a statement.
  539
  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I understand that people, including a number of overseas nationals, are protesting against the construction of the M77 motorway through the Pollok area of south-west Glasgow and have been using the area adjacent to the construction site to enter it.

  I understand that while there are believed to be a number of overseas nationals involved in the protest, there is no information to suggest that any of them has breached the immigration laws. If the immigration service receives such information, it will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.

  Ethnic Minorities
  Dr. Twinn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the allocation of section 11 grant for 1995–96 for each local authority, school or college(a) following the recent applications round and (b) in respect of existing projects; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to announce his decisions on applications made by local education authorities under section 11.

  Mr. Howard
  I am announcing today the outcome of the bidding round for new section 11 projects from 1995–96. Applicants are being informed. As I announced in reply to a question from my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Sir I. Lawrence) on 22 November,Official Report, column 64, we have doubled the amount of funding on offer in each of the next two financial years to around £30 million. In deciding on the allocation of the funding, I gave highest priority to applications concerned with addressing additional educational needs among members of ethnic minorities, and particularly those seeking provision for the teaching of English as a second language in schools. Authorities and local communities will be pleased to learn that it has been possible to accommodate the key needs in this category of all authorities whose current section 11 funding is due to run out entirely at the end of this financial year.

  The table shows the allocations in relation to 1995–96 for new projects and for existing projects, allocations for which were recently notified separately to authorities and institutions.

  Section 11 Budget allocations for 1995–96 Existing and new projects

  Grant recipient

  New projects

  Existing projects

  Total allocation

  Local authorities and other. public bodies

  Avon

  568,144

  0

  568,144

  Barking and Dagenham

  258,362

  0

  258,362

  Barnet

  166,208

  609,490

  775,698

  Bedfordshire

  0

  1,988,238

  1,988,238

  Berkshire

  10,110

  715,258

  725,368

  Bexley

  19,900

  110,848

  130,748

  Birmingham

  43,676

  3,324,125

  3,367,801

  Bolton

  76,430

  501,946

  578,376

  Bradford

  3,612,026

  0

  3,612,026

  Brent

  155,693

  986,294

  1,141,987

  Bromley

  24,264

  0

  24,264

  Buckinghamshire

  884,119

  0

  884,119

  Bury

  0

  300,468

  300,468

  Calderdale

  0

  709,517

  709,517

  Cambridgeshire

  25,253

  862,061

  887,314

  Camden

  1,438,340

  0

  1,438,340

  Cardiff

  8,119

  0

  8,119

  540

  Section 11 Budget allocations for 1995–96 Existing and new projects

  Grant recipient

  New projects

  Existing projects

  Total allocation

  Cheshire

  0

  68,369

  68,369

  Cleveland

  93,483

  323,058

  416,541

  Coventry

  86,295

  1,781,970

  1,868,265

  Croydon

  431,698

  678,440

  1,110,138

  Derbyshire

  139,725

  964,843

  1,104,568

  Devon

  35,891

  10,850

  46,741

  Doncaster MBC

  0

  86,240

  86,240

  Dorset

  23,101

  0

  23,101

  Dudley

  776,954

  0

  776,954

  Durham

  0

  117,811

  117,811

  Ealing

  1,176,997

  0

  1,176,997

  East Sussex

  66,725

  113,948

  180,673

  Enfield

  423,923

  810,966

  1,234,889

  Essex

  24,258

  0

  24,258

  Gateshead

  25,803

  0

  25,803

  Gloucestershire

  68,213

  185,988

  254,201

  Greenwich

  845,944

  0

  845,944

  Gwent

  186,024

  52,321

  238,345

  Hackney

  147,091

  2,377,959

  2,525,050

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  449,738

  0

  449,738

  Hampshire

  0

  513,435

  513,435

  Haringey

  286,944

  1,804,773

  2,091,717

  Harrow

  27,286

  496,519

  523,805

  Havering

  35,875

  0

  35,875

  Hereford and Worcester

  177,430

  0

  177,430

  Hertfordshire

  29,319

  1,340,169

  1,369,488

  Hillingdon

  122,663

  203,954

  326,617

  Hounslow

  439,279

  624,548

  1,063,827

  Humberside

  17,187

  232,011

  249,198

  Hyndburn

  8,593

  0

  8,593

  Islington

  1,343,833

  0

  1,343,833

  Kensington and Chelsea

  0

  721,151

  721,151

  Kent

  174,943

  736,981

  911,924

  Kingston

  0

  83,838

  83,838

  Kirklees

  1,962,654

  0

  1,962,654

  Lambeth

  1,605,407

  0

  1,605,407

  Lancashire

  579,948

  3,319,356

  3,899,304

  Leeds

  118,702

  709,138

  827,840

  Leicester

  86,481

  0

  86,481

  Leicestershire

  165,605

  2,399,322

  2,564,927

  Lewisham

  1,069,847

  0

  1,069,847

  Lincolnshire

  18,640

  52,332

  70,972

  Liverpool

  127,746

  112,985

  240,731

  London Boroughs Grants Committee

  22,454

  0

  22,454

  Manchester

  243,642

  1,937,597

  2,181,239

  Merton

  136,574

  415,668

  552,242

  Middlesborough

  9,245

  0

  9,245

  Milton Keynes

  24,704

  0

  24,704

  Newcastle

  0

  209,981

  209,981

  Newham

  304,556

  1,287,757

  1,592,313

  Norfolk

  121,671

  0

  121,671

  North Tyneside

  0

  95,879

  95,879

  North Yorkshire

  0

  44,675

  44,675

  Northamptonshire

  114,936

  324,943

  439,879

  Nottingham

  57,122

  0

  57,122

  Nottinghamshire

  427,113

  793,892

  1,221,005

  Oldham

  91,495

  1,595,492

  1,686,987

  Oxford

  10,009

  0

  10,009

  Oxfordshire

  0

  425,844

  425,844

  Peterborough

  9,345

  0

  9,345

  Redbridge

  218,881

  730,452

  949,333

  Redditch

  13,686

  0

  13,686

  Richmond

  0

  47,343

  47,343

  Rochdale

  27,298

  904,920

  932,218

  Rotherham

  320,381

  0

  320,381

  Salford

  75,910

  0

  75,910

  Sandwell

  0

  1,044,197

  1,044,197

  Sheffield

  180,465

  973,053

  1,153,518

  Shropshire

  90,052

  0

  90,052

  Somerset

  28,875

  0

  28,875

  541

  Section 11 Budget allocations for 1995–96 Existing and new projects

  Grant recipient

  New projects

  Existing projects

  Total allocation

  South Glamorgan

  0

  344,337

  344,337

  South Tyneside

  99,071

  0

  99,071

  South Yorkshire FCDA

  12,328

  0

  12,328

  Southampton

  8,701

  0

  8,701

  Southwark

  710,672

  0

  710,672

  St. Albans

  28,070

  0

  28,070

  St. Helens

  15,367

  0

  15,367

  Staffordshire

  191,337

  560,176

  751,513

  Stockport

  0

  70,839

  70,839

  Suffolk

  11,121

  196,388

  207,509

  Sunderland

  0

  79,456

  79,456

  Surrey

  0

  247,145

  247,145

  Sutton

  71,781

  0

  71,781

  Tameside

  11,446

  327,957

  339,403

  Tower Hamlets

  120,688

  4,958,796

  5,079,484

  Trafford

  0

  210,477

  210,477

  Wakefield

  241,630

  0

  241,630

  Walsall

  1,198,599

  0

  1,198,599

  Waltham Forest

  23,080

  1,266,507

  1,289,587

  Wandsworth

  0

  1,112,048

  1,112,048

  Warwickshire

  762,421

  0

  762,421

  West Glamorgan

  244,221

  0

  244,221

  West Midlands FCDA

  56,191

  0

  56,191

  West Sussex

  0

  192,511

  192,511

  West Yorkshire FCDA

  51,142

  0

  51,142

  Westminster

  179,121

  1,217,389

  1,396,510

  Wigan

  57,627

  0

  57,627

  Wiltshire

  0

  109,967

  109,967

  Wirral

  0

  65,439

  65,439

  Wolverhampton

  1,185,096

  0

  1,185,096

  Grant-maintained schools and city technology colleges

  Ash Green GM school

  6,351

  0

  6,351

  Beechview Middle GM school

  6,913

  0

  6,913

  Bishop Challoner RG GM school

  5,298

  0

  5,298

  Brentside High school

  20,220

  0

  20,220

  Brushwood Middle GM school

  4,676

  0

  4,676

  Burntwood GM school

  0

  50,820

  50,820

  Castle Hall GM school

  6,976

  0

  6,976

  Castlefield GM school

  70,257

  0

  70,257

  Chadwell Heath GM school

  0

  13,583

  13,583

  Claremont GM school

  41,374

  0

  41,374

  Copland Community school

  63,693

  0

  63,693

  Deacons school

  23,003

  0

  23,003

  Desborough school

  11,627

  0

  11,627

  Djanogly City Technology college

  23,001

  0

  23,001

  Dormers Wells Infants GM school

  45,021

  0

  45,021

  Dormers Wells Junior GM school

  29,747

  0

  29,747

  Drayton Manor school

  25,275

  0

  25,275

  Dunraven GM school

  24,264

  0

  24,264

  Francis Bacon school

  13,143

  0

  13,143

  George Dixon GM school

  0

  78,054

  78,054

  Graveney GM school

  41,399

  0

  41,399

  Greenford High school

  55,656

  0

  55,656

  Greenwood Dale school

  23,828

  0

  23,828

  Hall Green GM school

  11,447

  0

  11,447

  Hamilton Combined GM school

  42,936

  0

  42,936

  Hendon GM school

  33,515

  0

  33,515

  Holly Hall GM school

  19,715

  0

  19,715

  Holy Trinity school

  10,182

  0

  10,182

  542

  Section 11 Budget allocations for 1995–96 Existing and new projects

  Grant recipient

  New projects

  Existing projects

  Total allocation

  John Kelly Girls' Technical college

  11,491

  12,872

  24,363

  London Oratory GM school

  27,868

  0

  27,868

  Manor Park GM school

  0

  9,755

  9,755

  Marlborough GM school

  0

  18,347

  18,347

  Myton GM school

  18,616

  0

  18,616

  Northampton Boys GM school

  11,615

  0

  11,615

  Northolt High school

  17,693

  0

  17,693

  Prospect school

  10,666

  0

  10,666

  Queens Park GM school

  75,825

  0

  75,825

  Radcliffe GM school

  11,627

  0

  11,627

  Reading Girls school

  11,472

  0

  11,472

  Sacred Heart RC school

  5,781

  0

  5,781

  Salesian college

  0

  15,526

  15,526

  Small Heath school

  62,991

  0

  62,991

  St. Andrews RC GM school

  13,329

  0

  13,329

  St. Luke's GM school

  0

  1,508

  1,508

  St. Marks West Essex GM school

  5,055

  0

  5,055

  Stantonbury Campus

  12,181

  0

  12,181

  Stopsley High school

  5,308

  0

  5,308

  Stratford GM school

  34,775

  0

  34,775

  Surrey Square GM school

  16,520

  0

  16,520

  Wood End Infant GM school

  7,406

  0

  7,406

  Wood End Junior GM school

  4,945

  0

  4,945

  Wrenn GM school

  25,199

  0

  25,199

  Colleges of further education

  Arnold and Carlton college

  17,964

  47,620

  65,584

  Bexley FE college

  9,782

  0

  9,782

  Birmingham FE Consortium

  950,000

  0

  950,000

  Cambridge Regional college

  15,165

  0

  15,165

  Charles Keene college

  210,000

  0

  210,000

  City college Manchester

  0

  72,798

  72,798

  City and Islington college

  52,000

  0

  52,000

  Clarendon college

  50,000

  0

  50,000

  Coventry Technical college

  26,539

  0

  26,539

  Crawley college

  4,158

  0

  4,158

  Croydon college

  36,752

  0

  36,752

  Ealing Tertiary college

  70,000

  0

  70,000

  Enfield FE college

  46,016

  0

  46,016

  Greenhill college

  130,000

  0

  130,000

  Hackney Community college

  46,759

  0

  46,759

  Hendon college

  106,155

  0

  106,155

  Huddersfield Technical college

  19,585

  0

  19,585

  Kingsway college

  25,000

  0

  25,000

  Language and Literacy

  Unit Southwark

  59,766

  0

  59,766

  Luton 6th Form college

  0

  60,221

  60,221

  Mancat

  0

  30,079

  30,079

  Newham FE college

  160,000

  0

  160,000

  Oaklands college

  43,000

  0

  43,000

  Park Lane college

  43,478

  0

  43,478

  Sandwell college

  0

  36,928

  36,928

  Sheffield college

  130,000

  0

  130,000

  South Nottingham college

  17,490

  0

  17,490

  Southgate college

  49,741

  0

  49,741

  St. Francis Xavier 6th Form college

  12,615

  8,631

  21,246

  Tameside college of Technology

  32,352

  0

  32,352

  543

  Section 11 Budget allocations for 1995–96 Existing and new projects

  Grant recipient

  New projects

  Existing projects

  Total allocation

  Thomas Danby college

  17,591

  0

  17,591

  Tile Hill college

  48,023

  0

  48,023

  Tower Hamlets college

  70,000

  0

  70,000

  Uxbridge college

  11,122

  0

  11,122

  West Hertfordshire college

  50,000

  0

  50,000

  Wirral FE college

  0

  10,121

  10,121

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Howard
  None.

  Female Prisoners
  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women with children under five years of age are in prison at the present time.

  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 Mrs. Helen Jackson, dated 28 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about how many women with children under five years of age are in prison at the present time.
  No information is held centrally on this subject. However, a census of mothers in prison is being undertaken by the Home Office Research and Planning Unit and the findings will provide information on the number of women with children under five years of age. It is expected that preliminary results will be available in June and a full report in September.

  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women are in Her Majesty's prisons in Britain currently one year ago, and five years ago; and what percentage this is of the total prison population.

  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 Mrs. Helen Jackson, dated 28 February 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many women are in Her Majesty's prisons in Britain currently, one year ago, and five years ago; and what percentage this is of the total prison population.
  The total number of women, and the percentages of the total prison population, on 17 February 1995, and at the end of January in the years 1994 and 1990 in England and Wales and Scotland are given in the attached table.
  544

  The number of women in prison in England, Wales and Scotland, and the percentage of the total prison population

  Date

  Number of women

  Percentage of total prison population3

  17 February 1995

  2,117

  3.8

  January 19941

  1,808

  3.5

  January 19902

  1,811

  3.5

  1 The population for England and Wales is for 31 January 1994, and for Scotland is for 28 January 1994.

  2 The population for England and Wales is for 31 January 1990, and for Scotland is for 26 January 1990.

  3 Total population includes persons held in police cells.

  Mrs. Helen Jackson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of female prisoners and the percentage of the total figures in each European Union country.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The countries of the European Union are covered by the statistics collated by the Council of Europe. The latest available information is given in the table. An article, "International comparisons of prison populations", by Collier and Tarling—Home Office research bulletin No. 23, pages 48 to 54—showed that the figures for different countries are unlikely to be strictly comparable because the definitions of prisons and prisoners vary from one country to another, reflecting different legal and administrative systems.

  Female prison population in each of the countries of the European Union as at 1 September 19931

  Country

  Number

  Proportion of prison population

  Belgium

  348

  4.8

  Denmark

  178

  4.8

  France

  2,100

  4.1

  Germany

  2,803

  4.3

  Greece

  300

  4.6

  Ireland

  34

  1.6

  Italy

  2,775

  5.5

  Luxembourg

  16

  3.8

  Netherlands

  339

  4.3

  Portugal

  795

  7.3

  Spain

  4,300

  9.4

  United Kingdom

  1,896

  3.6

  1 Provisional figures.

  Tote
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the future of the Horserace Totalisator Board.

  Mr. Howard
  I have been considering the future of the Horserace Totalisator Board, the Tote. In 1991, the Home Affairs Select Committee recommended that the Tote should be vested in a racing body which was truly responsible to representative groups of all who work in the industry. In their response, the Government accepted that the position of the Tote was anomalous but accepted the Committee's view that at that time no suitable body in the racing industry existed.

  There have been a number of significant developments in the racing industry since 1991 including, most significantly, the setting up of the British Horseracing Board. I therefore believe that the time is now right to take forward consideration of the Committee's recommendation. I therefore intend to review the options

  545
  for the Tote in a way which preserves the extent to which racing benefits from the Tote's activities.

  Any change to the Tote's status would require primary legislation. Before that, there will be full consultation on the many practical issues to be addressed with interested parties, including the Tote itself, the racing industry and bookmakers.

  I intend to address all these issues in a consultation document which will be issued in the next six months.

  In taking forward this process, I think it very desirable that we continue to benefit from Lord Wyatt's experience and expertise. I have therefore asked him to stay on as chairman for a further two years to enable him to contribute to the review process. This will be his last term and I would hope that by the end of his tenure a new framework for the organisation of the Tote will have been decided.

  In addition, I have decided that in view of its role as the governing authority for racing in Britain, the British Horseracing Board should have its own seat on the Tote Board.

  Research (Prisoners)
  Mr. Straw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public opinion research has been carried out since 1992 by or on behalf of his Department or the Prison Service Agency relating to prisoners and at what cost; and if he will place copies in the Library.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  [holding answer 8 February 1995]In January 1994, following a competitive tender, the Prison Service commissioned Market and Opinion Research International Ltd. to carry out some research into public attitudes towards the Prison Service for its own management purposes.

  The total cost of the research work was £29,000, including VAT.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Repossession
  Mr. Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what help is being given to those who

  Benefit cases where the claimant and/or partner has earnings

  Thousands

  Benefit

  Numbers where main earner works full-time

  Numbers where main earner works part-time

  Total

  Family credit1

  Male main earner

  202.9

  43.1

  571.7

  Female main earner

  97.5

  228.2

  Housing benefit2

  —

  —

  —

  390

  Notes:

  1 Source: Family credit statistical system—5 per cent., sample of awards at July 1994. Estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred.

  2Source: Housing benefit management information system—annual 1 per cent. sample of awards at May 1993. Estimate has been rounded to the nearest thousand.

  1. Cases refer to benefit units which may be a single person or a couple. In couple cases where both partners are working the sex of the main earner has been used.

  2. Individuals may be in receipt of family credit and housing benefit at the same time. The final column cannot be totalled because of the overlap between the benefits.

  Compensation Recovery Unit
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has for the contracting out of
  546
  have lost their life assets through having their homes repossessed.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  People who become homeless through no fault of their own and who have a priority need for housing are eligible for rehousing by local authorities under the homelessness legislation. Furthermore, people whose homes have been repossessed may be entitled to housing benefit and council tax benefit, subject to the normal income and liability tests, where they move to rented accommodation. A number of other social security benefits are available to help people meet day-to-day living expenses.

  Income-related Benefits
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many(a) men and (b) women in (i) full and (ii) part-time employment receive housing or family income benefit;

  (2) what is the number of people in work whose rates of take-home pay entitle them to housing or family income benefits.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  Information is not available in the precise form requested. The available information is in the table. Part-time employment has been interpreted to mean employment for fewer than 30 hours per week. Housing or family income benefits have been interpreted to mean housing benefit or family credit. A breakdown of full-time and part-time workers receiving housing benefit is not available.

  In addition to those actually receiving family credit and housing benefit, there will be some families who have not taken up their entitlement to benefit. Latest estimates of housing benefit take-up, which are for 1992, show that between 310,000 and 600,000 people, 7 to 12 per cent. of those eligible, are not taking up their entitlement. Not all of these people will be in work. It is estimated that in 1991 and 1992, 160,000 families had levels of take-home pay that would bring entitlement to family credit if a claim were made.

  From July 1995, a £10 premium will be introduced in family credit for those working 30 hours or more per week. It is estimated that 345,000 families will benefit from this change, including 50,000 who will become newly entitled to family credit.

  all or of some of the functions of the compensation recovery unit; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  None.

  Income Support
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of habitual residence tests on claimants for income support are conducted by interview; and what proportions of those who have failed the test were interviewed in person.

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

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review paragraphs 4 and 13 of Schedule 2 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  We have no plans to do so.

  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants have been refused income support under the habitual residence test(a) in total and (b) in each Benefits Agency office in England, Wales and Scotland; and how many in each case have won the appeal against this decision.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 27 February 1995:

  Gain from work at £3.20 per hour

  Hours worked

  Pay

  Income support

  Rent

  Housing benefit

  Council tax

  Council tax benefit

  Total net income

  Net income after payment of rent and council tax when in work

  Net income after payment of rent and council tax when not in work

  Net gain from work

  8

  25.60

  25.10

  30.91

  30.91

  6.60

  6.60

  88.21

  50.70

  45.70

  5.00

  16

  51.20

  —

  30.91

  30.59

  6.60

  6.50

  88.29

  50.78

  45.70

  5.08

  Notes:

  1. The person is assumed to be single, aged 25 or over, living in local authority accommodation and liable for average council tax and local authority rent.

  2. The person is assumed to take-up full entitlement to income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit.

  3. Tax and national insurance contributions are not payable at the earnings levels shown.

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of those accepted for fast-stream entry for which his Department is responsible

  Grade

  Men

  Women

  Total

  Percentage of women

  1993

  Administration Trainee/Higher Executive Officer (Development)

  6

  5

  11

  45

  Assistant Statistician

  3

  2

  5

  40

  Economic Assistant

  0

  3

  3

  100

  Trainee Statistician

  1

  2

  3

  67

  1994

  Administration Trainee/Higher Executive Officer (Development)

  4

  5

  9

  56

  Assistant Statistician

  0

  1

  1

  100

  Economic Statistician

  2

  1

  3

  33

  Trainee Statistician

  1

  0

  1

  0

  Social Fund
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of state for social security if he will publish a table showing the number of grants to funeral expenses made by his Department each
  548
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for statistical information in connection with the habitual residence test for each Benefits Agency district office.
  Information about the number of people refused Income Support after failing the habitual residence test has been collated for the period 1 August 1994 to 31 January 1994 and is provided at Annex A. The table shows the twenty one Benefits Agency Area Directorates that make up Great Britain and lists the districts that make up each area. A copy has been placed in the Library.
  Housing and Council Tax Benefits information is collected annually from Local Authorities by the Department of Social Security. Habitual residency test figures will not be available until after the end of the financial year.
  Data regarding the number of successful appeals, in cases where Income Support has been disallowed as a result of the application of the test, is not collected in the format requested; this could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Sir Ralph Howell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the net gain for a person who is on income support and has worked at £3.20 per hour for(a) eight hours and (b) 16 hours, showing calculations in each case.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  [pursuant to his reply, 17 February 1995, c.872–74]: The table provided included an incorrect figure for net pay for eight hours work at £3.20 per hour. The figure should be £25.60, not £25.50 as shown in the second column of the first row. The correct information is in the table.

  (a) in 1991, (b) in 1992,(c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994 were women.

  Mr. Hague
  The figures for 1991 and 1992 are contained in the Civil Service Commissioners report for the relevant year, copies of which are in the Library.

  The figures for 1993 and 1994 are as follows:

  year since the introduction of the social fund, together with the total and average costs of such grants.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The information requested is not available for the first year of the funeral payment
  549
  scheme—1987–88. Information for subsequent years is set out in the table.

  Year

  Number of awards(000)

  Gross expenditure(£m)

  Average award(£)

  1988–89

  37

  18.4

  497

  1989–90

  44

  23.9

  545

  1990–91

  49

  29.7

  612

  1991–92

  57

  40.1

  706

  1992–93

  63

  49.5

  789

  1993–94

  72

  62.5

  873

  1 April 1994 to 31 January 1995

  55

  51.1

  923

  Figures may not sum due to rounding.

  Housing Benefit
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of housing benefit claimants have changed the address for which they were claiming during each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what proportion of them moved into more expensive properties in each of these years.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The information requested is not available.

  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what proportion of housing benefit claimants have their rents paid in full for housing benefit; and what the comparable figure was for each year since 1979;

  (2) what proportion of new housing benefit claimants had their rents paid in full by housing benefit for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The available information is set out in the table. Data are not available prior to 1989 and no separate records are kept for new housing benefit claimants.

  Housing Benefit recipients—proportion who have their rents paid in full by Housing Benefit

  Inquiry

  All HB recipients

  HB recipients who have their eligible rent paid in full by HB(000s)

  Proportion who have their eligible rent paid in full by HB(Percentage)

  May 1989

  3,939

  2,302

  58

  May 1990

  3,979

  2,290

  58

  May 1991

  4,021

  2,315

  58

  May 1992

  4,320

  2,725

  63

  May 1993

  4,521

  2,941

  65

  Source:

  Housing benefit management information system, annual 1 per cent. sample inquiries with and without income support, taken at the end of May for each year.

  Notes:

  1. The numbers given refer to the number of benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.

  2. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand and the percentages to the nearest whole percent.

  3. Information on actual rent is not available, therefore the data given relates to rent eligible for HB.

  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what research he has undertaken on the 550
  effect of the changes to the eligible amount of rent for housing benefit purposes announced in the December 1994 Budget on the willingness of private landlords and potential private landlords to let properties.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  No specific research on the impact on landlords of the proposed housing benefit changes has been undertaken. However, the Department of the Environment has been undertaking more general research into the motives, experience and future intentions of landlords. Both Departments will be monitoring closely the impact of the proposed changes on both landlords and tenants through on-going research surveys and specific studies as necessary.

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security pursuant to his answer of 13 February to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd),Official Report, column 536, how many of those receiving invalidity benefit in Great Britain in 1993 (a) are single people and (b) have partners.

  Mr. Hague
  The information is not available in the form requested.

  On average, in the years 1991 to 1993, 30 per cent. of invalidity benefit recipients were single, and 70 per cent had partners.

  Source:

  1991, 1992 and 1993 family expenditure surveys.

  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants since the advent of statutory sick pay have been refused invalidity benefit on the basis that they would not have otherwise qualified for the national insurance sickness benefit; if he will divide these totals down into men and women claimants; what were the main causes of the failure of claimants to have full contribution records; and how many nevertheless gained full statutory sick pay.

  Mr. Hague
  [holding answer Monday 13 February 1995]The available information for the last five years is shown in the table below. Earlier figures can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Sickness benefit spells commencing in the period where 28 weeks statutory sick pay has previously been paid and the contribution conditions not satisfied

  Period

  Men

  Women

  4 April 1988 to 1 April 1989

  1,000

  3,000

  3 April 1989 to 31 March 1990

  1,000

  4,000

  2 April 1990 to 30 March 1991

  2,000

  5,000

  1 April 1991 to 4 April 1992

  1,000

  3,000

  6 April 1992 to 3 April 1993

  1—

  3,000

  Notes:

  1. If after 28 weeks statutory sick pay has been paid and the contribution condition is not satisfied, the claimant is not entitled to invalidity benefit and the spell becomes a sickness benefit spell.

  2. The information is based on a I per cent. sample of claimants to benefit within Great Britain, rounded to the nearest thousand.

  1Sample insufficient size to provide a figure.
  551
  Information on the reasons for claimants' failure to have full contribution records is not available.

  Pensions
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what plans he has to alter the retirement age for men and women; and when he is proposing to present measures to the House;

  (2) what plans he has to make changes in the provision of state pensions.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  We have issued two White Papers outlining the Government's proposals on state pension age and occupational and state pension provision. The first, "Equality in State Pension Age" (Cm 2420) was published in December 1993 and the second, "Security, Equality, Choice: The Future for Pensions" (Cm 2594) was published in June 1994, copies are available in the Library. The legislation needed to implement these proposals is included in the Pensions Bill, which was introduced into Parliament on 15 December 1994.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Hague
  Three items have been received, all of which were invitations to Ministers to attend a drinks engagement on 1 March.

EMPLOYMENT

  Civil Servants (Fast Stream)
  Mrs. Maddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment 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.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Information on 1991 and 1992 is contained in the Civil Service Commissioners' reports for those years, copies of which are available in the Library.

  The numbers and percentage of women recruited by the Employment Department from the civil service fast stream recruitment programme in 1993 and 1994 are shown in the following table:

  Year

  Number of women

  Percentage of women

  1993

  14

  67

  1994

  7

  58

  Training Schemes
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what instructions his Department has issued, when, and to whom, as to the mechanisms required to monitor(a) youth training scheme performance, (b) adult training schemes' performance and (c) financial performance by training and enterprise councils.

  Mr. Paice
  The monitoring and financial information which the Department requires from training and 552
  enterprise councils is set out in the TEC operating agreement and TEC annual funding agreement. The TEC management information guide gives further details to TECs on what information is required. These documents are revised annually and are available in the Library.

  Out-of-school Child Care Initiative
  Mr. Pearson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information is currently available, or will be available shortly, on(a) the labour market impact of the out-of-school child care initiative and (b) the number of projects achieving the self-financing criteria.

  Miss Widdecombe
  An interim evaluation of the initiative was published on 8 February this year by the Department in its research series under the title "The Out-of-School Childcare Grant Initiative: an Interim Evaluation". At the time when the evaluation was carried out, it was too early to assess the labour market impact of the initiative and few schemes had reached the end of their period of grant support. I will arrange for a copy of the evaluation to be placed in the Library.

  A further evaluation is currently in progress. The results will be available in late 1995.

  Health and Safety (Fire)
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, if the restriction contained within paragraph 12 of schedule 3 to the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 permits him to make regulations under that Act relating to general fire safety matters.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Paragraph 12 of schedule 3 to the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 provides that health and safety regulations may require, in specified circumstances, the taking of specified precautions in connection with the risk of fire. Paragraph 23 of that schedule defines "specified" as specified in the regulations. This therefore enables regulations to relate to general fire precautions if the circumstances and precautions are specified in the regulations and the regulations are made for the general purposes of the Act as set out in section 1.

  Young People (Employment)
  Mr. Barron
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people are employed as full-time workers; and what this number is as a proportion of the total number of full-time employed in each industrial sector;

  (2) how many young people are employed in each industrial sector; and if he will give the figures as a proportion of the total number employed in each sector.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information requested is given in the following tables:

  Full-time employees and self-employed aged 16 to 24 working in the following industry sectors in Great Britain Summer: 1994

  Thousands

  As proportion of all ages (per cent.)

  Agriculture and Fishing

  57

  14

  Energy and Water

  29

  10

  Manufacturing

  650

  15

  Construction

  246

  15

  Services

  1,831

  15

  553

  All employees and self employed aged 16 to 24 working in the following industry sectors in Great Britain Summer: 1994

  Thousands

  As proportion of all ages (per cent.)

  Agriculture and Fishing

  68

  14

  Energy and Water

  29

  9

  Manufacturing

  689

  14

  Construction

  253

  14

  Services

  2,763

  16

  Source:

  Labour Force survey.

  Defence Industry, North-west
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, what is his estimate of the number of people employed in the defence industry in the north-west region.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information requested is not available.

  South Thames Training and Enterprise Council
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what severance package the former director of finance for South Thames training and enterprise council received when he left his post in August 1994.

  Mr. Paice
  I have no knowledge of this, nor would it be appropriate for me to seek such commercial information from the board of South Thames training and enterprise council.

  Child Labour
  Mrs. Llin Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is(a) the total amount of compensation paid to children injured in employment and (b) the number of children who received awards for the last year for which figures are available.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Children who are injured while working as a result of their employer's negligence may be entitled to compensation from the employer under civil law. Details of compensation paid by employers or their insurers to children is not available.

  Mrs. Llin Golding
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many children were killed or injured while in employment for the last year for which figures were available.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  For 1993–94, the provisional figures for fatal and other injuries to employees aged under 16 reported to the Health and Safety Executive's field operations division inspectorates and local authorities are:

  Severity of injury

  Number of injuries1

  Fatal

  1

  Major2

  21

  Over-three-day3

  16

  Total

  38

  1Including injuries to trainees.

  2As defined under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985.

  3Any other injury that results in incapacity for normal work for more than three days.

  Football Pools
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the recent job losses announced by(a) Littlewoods and (b) Vernons.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Job losses are always regrettable and I sympathise with all those adversely affected. However, companies have to adjust to remain competitive in changing markets. The gambling sector is no exception, but the pools companies, as recently announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, will he allowed to advertise on television and modernise their operations in a number of other ways. People who are unfortunate enough to lose their jobs from any sector can benefit from the Department's extensive range of measures designed to help them find new jobs, re-train or set up in business.

  EU Industrial Hazards Directive
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 15 February,Official Report, column 703, if he has now decided upon the view on proposals put forward to be taken by his Department in respect of amendments to the EC industrial hazards directive 82/501.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The European Parliament considered amendments suggested by its members to the proposed Council directive on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances at its session on 16 February. The amendment to article 15 of the proposed directive was agreed by the European Parliament, but I understand that the Commission of the European Communities has not accepted it and the amendment will not therefore be put to member states for consideration.

  It is the view of the Health and Safety Executive and of the Department of Environment, which jointly lead on negotiations on the proposed directive, that the existing arrangements under directive EC 82/501 for member states to notify the Commission of major accidents has worked well and should continue. But no useful purpose would be served by having a duplicate requirement on member states to provide the same information to another EC institution.

  Pregnant Employees
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received in the past year concerning the impact of European Union directive 92/85 and the Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provision Order 1994, SI 1365, on the problems faced by pregnant employees handling horses.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Ministerial colleagues and I have received three such representations, all from the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes).

  Horse Riding Organisations
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from the Association of British Riding Schools and the British Horse Society in the past year; and what meetings he has
  555
  held with representatives of these organisations within the same period.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  None.

  Training Schemes (Women)
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many women are currently on Government training schemes by(a) training scheme and (b) individual TEC; and what is the overall figure as a percentage of the overall number of trainees on Government training schemes.

  Mr. Paice
  The information requested is given in the following table. The information covers those leaving youth training and training for work between April and September 1994. As these figures are estimated from incomplete information, it is possible only to give the percentage of women leavers and not the actual numbers.

  April 1994 to September 1994

  England and Wales and TECs

  Percentage of youth training leavers who were female

  Percentage of training for work leavers who were female

  England and Wales

  42

  30

  Bedfordshire TEC

  41

  29

  Central and South

  Cambridgeshire TEC

  39

  32

  North Derbyshire TEC

  37

  20

  South Derbyshire TEC

  47

  37

  Leicestershire TEC

  43

  29

  Lincolnshire TEC

  43

  39

  Norfolk and Waveney TEC

  38

  28

  Northamptonshire TEC

  47

  30

  Greater Nottingham TEC

  41

  23

  North Nottinghamshire TEC

  46

  25

  Greater Peterborough TEC

  38

  32

  Suffolk TEC

  45

  31

  County Durham TEC

  38

  23

  Northumberland TEC

  43

  34

  Teeside TEC

  40

  26

  Tyneside TEC

  39

  25

  Wearside TEC

  n/a

  25

  Barnsley and Doncaster TEC

  42

  25

  Bradford TEC

  40

  22

  Calderdale—Kirklees

  42

  35

  Humberside TEC

  38

  31

  Leeds TEC

  43

  36

  Rotherham TEC

  43

  22

  Sheffield TEC

  43

  25

  Wakefield TEC

  40

  16

  North Yorkshire TEC

  41

  33

  Bolton—Bury TEC

  45

  27

  North Chesire TEC

  46

  33

  South and East Chesire TEC

  32

  30

  Cumbria TEC

  41

  36

  East Lancashire TEC

  40

  32

  West Lancashire TEC

  42

  28

  Central Manchester TEC

  42

  24

  Merseyside TEC

  n/a

  31

  Oldham TEC

  48

  31

  Rochdale TEC

  43

  26

  St. Helens TEC

  39

  25

  Stockport—High Peak

  n/a

  n/a

  Wigan TEC

  45

  27

  Wirral—Chester TEC

  45

  37

  Birmingham TEC

  n/a

  n/a

  556

  April 1994 to September 1994

  England and Wales and TECs

  Percentage of youth training leavers who were female

  Percentage of training for work leavers who were female

  Central England TEC

  46

  38

  Coventry—Warwickshire TEC

  43

  30

  Dudley TEC

  45

  22

  Hereford—Worcestershire TEC

  40

  32

  Sandwell TEC

  45

  28

  Shropshire TEC

  37

  37

  Staffordshire TEC

  42

  24

  Walsall TEC

  53

  30

  Wolverhampton TEC

  46

  36

  Mid Glamorgan TEC

  32

  24

  South Glamorgan TEC

  n/a

  n/a

  Gwent TEC

  40

  29

  Powys TEC

  39

  34

  North East Wales TEC

  42

  28

  North West Wales TEC

  44

  34

  West Wales TEC

  34

  27

  Avon TEC

  46

  36

  Devon—Cornwall TEC

  n/a

  27

  Dorset TEC

  40

  26

  Gloucester TEC

  42

  25

  Somerset TEC

  39

  28

  Wiltshire TEC

  39

  31

  Essex TEC

  44

  35

  Hampshire TEC

  40

  31

  Heart of England TEC

  36

  36

  Hertfordshire TEC

  36

  32

  Isle of Wight TEC

  35

  25

  Kent TEC

  44

  31

  Milton Keynes TEC

  47

  32

  Surrey TEC

  41

  29

  Sussex TEC

  45

  30

  Thames Valley TEC

  43

  33

  Aztec TEC

  50

  41

  Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

  42

  42

  Brent, Harrow TEC

  35

  43

  Islington, Hackney TEC

  n/a

  n/a

  Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster

  40

  41

  London East TEC

  41

  38

  South London TEC

  43

  46

  West London TEC

  43

  43

  South Thames TEC

  n/a

  n/a

  Source:

  YT and TFW national leavers certificate databases.

  Notes:

  n/a—Not available due to low number of processed returns.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the expenditure on women on training programmes by(a) training schemes and (b) individual TEC; and what is the figure as a percentage of overall expenditure on training.

  Mr. Paice
  The information requested is not available.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in this Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Miss Widdecombe
  We have received one invitation to a reception from Messrs Ian Greer Associates.

  Labour Force Survey (Women)
  Ms Harriet Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer of 6 February 1995, Official Report, column 94, if he will list for each year since 1984 (a) annually and (b) quarterly the number of women in Great Britain surveyed by the labour force survey who, although they are without a job, have looked for a job within the four weeks prior to their labour force survey interview or are waiting to start a job within the two weeks following their labour force survey interview, and the number of women who are neither in employment nor unemployed on the International Labour Organisation measure but who said that they would like a job, also expressing the number of women in both categories who are single parents.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  This information is available from the labour force survey and can be obtained via the Quantime LFS service available in the Library.

  Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members
  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) who is the current Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members; what are the background and qualifications of the commissioner; how many days per week the commissioner is expected to work; and what remuneration the commissioner receives;

  (2) what has been the total expenditure to date on the Commission for the Rights of Trade Union Members; how many staff are employed by the Commission; how many specific applications for help have been received since its establishment; and in how many cases actions have been pursued by the Commission.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) on 17 February 1995, Official Report, columns 852–61.

  Mr. Nicholas Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to review the work and funding of the Commission on the Rights of Trade Union Members; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]Like other executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Department, the role and activities of the Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members are monitored and reviewed in accordance with the arrangements set out in the Cabinet Office/HM Treasury publication "Non-Departmental Public Bodies: A Guide for Departments". The commissioner's grant in aid is reviewed annually as part of the normal public expenditure procedures.

  Earnings
  Mr. Burden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) by what percentage the upper deciles weekly full-time earnings exceeded(a) the lowest deciles weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers, (b) the lower quartiles weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers, (c) the mean level of weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers and (d) the upper quartiles weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers in 1992;
  558
  (2) by what percentage the upper deciles weekly full-time earnings exceeded (a) the lowest deciles weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers, (b) the lower quartiles weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers, (c) the mean level of weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers and (d) the upper quartiles weekly full-time earnings for men, women and all full-time workers in 1994;

  (3) what was the percentage change in the gap between mean full-time weekly earnings and the upper quartiles full-time weekly earnings between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (4) what was the percentage change in the gap between mean full-time weekly earnings and full-time weekly earnings for the upper decile between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (5) what was the percentage change in the gap between mean weekly full-time earnings and the lower quartiles full-time weekly earnings between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (6) what was the percentage change in the gap between mean full-time weekly earnings and the lowest deciles full-time weekly earnings between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) full-time workers;

  (7) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between mean weekly full-time earnings and the lowest deciles weekly full-time earnings, adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (8) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between the upper deciles weekly full-time earnings and the upper quartiles weekly full-time earnings, adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (9) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between mean weekly full-time earnings and the lower quartiles weekly full-time earnings, adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (10) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between the upper deciles weekly full-time earnings and the lowest deciles weekly full-time earnings, adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (11) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between the upper deciles weekly full-time earnings and the lower quartiles weekly full-time earnings, adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (12) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between mean weekly full-time earnings and the upper deciles full-time weekly earnings, all adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men (b) women and (c) all full-time workers;

  (13) what was the percentage difference in pay rise between mean full-time weekly earnings and the upper quartiles full-time weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation, between 1992 and 1994 for (a) men, (b) women and (c) all full-time workers.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]The mean, deciles, median and quartiles of weekly earnings for full-time men and women in 1992 and 1994 are published in table 15 of part A of the 1994 new
  559
  earnings survey report. Corresponding statistics for all full-time employees is in table 17.

  The retail price index for April 1992 and for April 1994 can be found in table 6.4 of the Employment Gazette for June 1994. Changes in the index are in table 6.5.

  Copies of both publications are available in the Library.

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

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]The following is a list of statutory instruments produced by the Employment Department in the last 12 months:

  List of Statutory Instruments introduced by the Employment Department from February 1994 to January 1995 inclusive:

  The Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) Order 1994 (Johnson Field Development): Published 22 February 1994.

  The Health and Safety (Fees) Regulation 1994: Published 3 March 1994.

  The Redundancy Payments (Local Government) (Modification) (Amendment) Order 1994: Published 4 March 1994.

  The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Exemption (Amendment) Regulations 1994: Published 7 March 1994.

  The Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 1994: Published 9 March 1994.

  The Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 1994: Published 9 March 1994.

  The Certification Officer (Amendment of Fees) Regulations 1994: Published 10 March 1994.

  The Industrial Tribunals (Extension of Jurisdiction) (England and Wales) Order 1994: Published 10 May 1994.

  The Industrial Tribunals (Extension of Jurisdiction) (Scotland) Order 1994: Published 10 May 1994.

  The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (Commencement No 3 and Transitional Provisions) Order 1994: Published 25 May 1994.

  The Guarantee Payments (Exemption) Order No 29 1994: Published 6 June 1994.

  The Race Relations (Remedies) Regulations 1994: Published 8 July 1994.

  The Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) (No.2) Order 1994: Published 18 July 1994.

  The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994: Published 20 July 1994.

  The Maternity (Compulsory-Leave) Regulations 1994: Published September 1994.

  The Management of Health and Safety at Work (Amendment) Regulations 1994: Published 10 November 1994.

  The Suspension from Work (on Maternity Grounds) Order 1994: Published 21 November 1994.

  The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994: Published 22 December 1994.

  The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) General (Amendment) Regulations 1994: Published 6 January 1995.

  The Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 1994: Published 9 January 1995.

  The Industrial Training Levy (Engineering Construction Board) Order 1995: Published 10 January 1995.

  The Industrial Training levy (Construction Board) Order 1995: Published 10 January 1995.

  The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994: Published 10 January 1995,.

  The Employment Protection (Part-time Employees) Regulations 1995: Published 16 January 1995.

  Deregulation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment 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. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Zaire (Rwandan Refugees)
  Miss Lestor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what operational resources the United Nations has put in place to ensure that the Zairean military authorities comply with international standards including the international conventions on protection of the rights of refugees in relation to the army of Zaire policing camps for displaced Rwandese; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Baldry
  The UNHCR agreement with Zaire provides for a 50-man international "camp security liaison group" to organise material support, monitor the operation and liaise with the Zaire authorities. We have contributed £0.5 million towards the UNHCR's costs for the international liaison group. The first group of international monitors is undergoing selection by the UNHCR.

  Indonesia
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the reasons for the change in the cost of Britain's diplomatic presence in Indonesia since 1983–84 in relation to the number of United Kingdom based staff stationed in Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The change in the cost of Britain's diplomatic presence in Indonesia since 1983–84 results mainly from(a) substantial local inflation of about 125 per cent. (b) some upgrading of the United Kingdom based staff and an increase in locally engaged staff numbers and (c) the inclusion since 1990–91 of notional rent costs in respect of Government-owned residential properties.

  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 he will divide the totals of numbers of United Kingdom based staff stationed at the British embassy, Jarkarta, into the Government Departments and agencies of which they were part for each year since 1992.

  Mr. Goodlad
  It is not our practice to provide a detailed breakdown of other Government Departments' and agencies' staff functions is however available in the HM diplomatic service overseas reference list, a copy of which is placed in the Library of the House.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if any diplomatic staff
  561
  stationed in Indonesia since 1979 have been based outside of the British embassy, Jakarta.

  Mr. Goodlad
  There is no record of any diplomatic staff in Indonesia since 1979 having been based outside of the British embassy, Jakarta.

  Nuclear-capable Aircraft
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is the policy of the British Government to decline to supply nuclear-capable aircraft(a) to NATO and (b) to non-NATO countries; and what was the date from which such a policy came into operation.

  Mr. David Davies
  Any military aircraft can be made capable of delivering nuclear weapons during manufacture or later. Applications for the export of all defence equipment, whether to NATO or non-NATO countries, are subject to case by case consideration against the international criteria to which we are committed. These include consideration of whether such equipment fulfils the legitimate domestic security needs of the recipient country.

  Palestine
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met Mr. Yasser Arafat.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs last met Mr. Arafat on 28 November 1994 in Brussels.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to meet the chairman of the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans at present to meet Mr. Arafat. However, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister plans to meet him in Gaza in March.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy for the promotion of United Kingdom trade with the Palestine National Authority.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We encourage it. We consider such trade to be mutually beneficial in its own right and supportive of the middle east peace process. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a party of senior business leaders on his visit to Israel, the occupied territories and Jordan next month.

  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to visit(a) Gaza and (b) the west bank.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans at present to do so. However, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister plans to visit Gaza in March.

  UN Summit on Social Development
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will name the representatives of the United Kingdom Government at the United Nations summit conference on social development in March; and if he will list the names and status of the representatives of(a) United States, (b) the
  562
  Japanese and (c) the French Governments whose attendance has been notified to him.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The United Kingdom delegation to the world summit for social development in Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March will be led by Baroness Chalker of Wallasey. She will be accompanied by officials from the Foreign Office, the Overseas Development Administration, the Department of Employment and the Department of Social Security. We understand that the United States delegation will be led by Vice-President Al Gore and the French delegation by President Mitterrand. We understand that no decision has yet been taken on the leadership of the Japanese delegation.

  Northern Caucasus
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions Her Majesty's Ambassadors in the Baltic States have had with the Governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about Russian military activity in Chechnya; what concerns they expressed; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The Governments of all three Baltic countries have raised the question of Russian intervention in Chechnya with our ambassadors. In particular they are concerned, like ourselves, about the disproportionate use of force and about abuses of human rights.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the numbers of Russian troops so far committed to the military operation in Chechnya.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We estimate that the Russian army has deployed some 40,000 to 50,000 troops to Chechnya, and the interior ministry a further 10,000 to 15,000 troops.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department has yet made an estimate of the financial cost to the Russian Government of the military action in the northern Caucasus.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Because of the continuing uncertainty surrounding the situation in the region, we do not yet feel that we are in a position to make an accurate estimate of the likely costs. Russian official estimates have varied widely and indicate just how speculative such an exercise would be at this stage.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with President Shevardnadze about the security of the Republic of Georgia following the Russian military action in Chechnya; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the situation in Chechnya with Mr. Shevardnadze when he was visiting the UK earlier this month. Mr. Shevardnadze expressed support for the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation and understanding for the Russian decision to intervene militarily.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed Russian military action in the northern Caucasus with the Turkish Government; what concerns the Turks expressed; and if he will make a statement.
  563
  Mr. David Davis
  The Russian intervention in Chechnya was one of the subjects discussed when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, together with his French, German and Italian colleagues, met the Turkish Foreign Minister in London on 2 February. Mr. Karayalcin made clear to the press afterwards the importance of working for peace in the region.

  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the sovereignty of the trans-Caucasian republics with the Russian Government; what assurances he received about non-interference in their domestic affairs; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We fully support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. We have frequently made this clear in discussions with the Russian Government.

  Mr. Oleg Gordievsky
  Ms Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much United Kingdom public money has been provided to Mr. Oleg Gordievsky since his defection to the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Hurd
  I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 July 1994,Official Report, columns 711–12. It remains the Government's policy not to provide information on the operations, or detailed information about the expenditure, of the security and intelligence agencies.

  Russian Human Rights Commissioner
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will invite Russia's human rights commissioner, Mr. Sergei Kovalev, to visit the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We understand that Mr. Kovalev has already been invited to visit the United Kingdom and therefore see no need to issue an official invitation at this stage.

  WEU and Russian Federation
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 17 February,Official Report, column 888, if he will list the informal links between the Western European Union and the Russian Federation in which staff of his Department have participated in the last two years; what he attaches to such links; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Davis
  There has been only one informal contact between the Western European Union and the Russian Federation in which staff of my Department have been involved. This was an informal meeting in March last year between the Russian ambassador and permanent representatives of all full WEU members. However a number of informal contacts have also taken place involving the WEU Secretary-General and presidency.

  European Court
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many cases are currently before(a) the European Commission on Human Rights and (b) the European Court of Human Rights; how
  564
  many judgments were delivered by the European Court in 1994; how many member states have introduced the right of petition since 1989; and if he will make a statement on how it is proposed to speed up the procedures.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  We understand from the human rights directorate of the Council of Europe that, as of 31 December 1994, the European Commission of Human Rights had before it 2,927 applications, of which 583 had been declared admissible. As of the same date, there were 67 cases before the European Court of Human Rights. The court delivered 540 judgments in 1994.

  The following member states of the Council of Europe have recognised the right of individual petition since 1989:

  Bulgaria

  Cyprus

  Czech Republic

  Finland

  Hungary

  Poland

  Romania

  San Marino

  Slovakia

  Slovenia

  In addition, Turkey, which recognised the right of individual petition in 1987, recognised the compulsory jurisdiction of the court in 1990.

  Some streamlining of the procedures of the Commission and Court was introduced by additional protocol No. 8 to the European convention on human rights. A more radical reform is envisaged under additional protocol No. 11 to the convention, which provides for the present two-tier system of Commission and Court to be replaced by a single court. The aim is to enable the machinery to deal efficiently with the caseload arising from both the growing membership of the Council of Europe and increasing public awareness of the convention.

  Protocol 11 must be signed and ratified by all of the member states before it can come into effect. All 34 member states have now signed the protocol. Four, including the United Kingdom, have ratified it and others are expected to do so soon.

  Cyprus
  Mr. Tom Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the United States Government on joint policies which could lead to a settlement in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. David Davis
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs last discussed Cyprus in detail with the United States Secretary of State when he was in Washington on 22 June 1994. We are in regular contact with the US Administration over Cyprus at official level, most recently with Mr. Williams, the US special co-ordinator for Cyprus, on 22 February. We are also active in support of the UN Secretary-General's search for a settlement of the Cyprus problem.

  Bangladesh (Chittagong Hill Tracts)
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by Her Majesty's
  565
  Government to the Bangledeshi Government concerning the Chittagong hill tracts.

  Mr. Baldry
  We regularly discuss the Chittagong hill tracts with the Bangladesh authorities. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised this issue when he saw the Bangladesh Foreign Minister in Dhaka in January.

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in his 566
  Department from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Baldry
  None.

  UN Obscene Publications Agreement
  Mrs. Ann Winterton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which were the last five years in which a report was made to the United Nations under the provisions of the 1910 agreement for the suppression of the circulation of obscene publications; if he will place copies of those reports in the Library; if he will summarise the main provisions of the agreement; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  This information is not readily available. I will arrange for further research and write to the hon. Member shortly.

  ODA Aid to Poorest Countries
  ODA Aid to Poorest Countries
  Immigration Acts: Information to Detainees
  Immigration Acts: Information to Detainees
  Prisoners' Personal Files
  Prisoners' Personal Files
  Prisoners: Denial of Access to Television
  Prisoners: Denial of Access to Television
  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Channel Tunnel Rail Link
  Northern Ireland: Future Government
  Northern Ireland: Future Government
  European Commission: Delegated Powers of Implementation
  European Commission: Delegated Powers of Implementation
  Bethnal Green City Challenge: Grant
  Bethnal Green City Challenge: Grant