Written Answers of 17 January 1995

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Mediation Service
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to establish a comprehensive national mediation service; in what way mediators will be trained and accredited; and how much he expects such a service to cost each year.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor has no plans to establish a comprehensive national mediation service. The Lord Chancellor is currently looking at arrangements for the training and accreditation of mediators, the funding of local mediation services and a national quality assurance system.

  Legal Aid
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to improve the accounting system at the Legal Aid Board so that it provides a more detailed statistical breakdown of the relative costs of different types of case.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Legal Aid Board is currently developing new information systems which will, among other things, provide a more detailed breakdown of the costs of different types of case.

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what(a) classes of plaintiff and (b) types of case which currently qualify for legal aid the Lord Chancellor envisages making ineligible for legal aid in the future; and how much public expenditure he expects to save with such measures.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Lord Chancellor does not envisage removing either classes of plaintiff or types case from the scope of the legal aid scheme in the future. Under new proposals on which he will be consulting later in the year, it may be that, because of greater emphasis on assessments of local needs and priorities, some individual cases brought under the present system might not be brought. However, the proposals should mean that more people are assisted under legal aid than at present because of a more effective use of resources.

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he expects to publish a report on the results of the pilot projects in the use of citizens advice bureaux, law centres and other advice agencies as a means of dispensing legally aided services currently being undertaken in conjunction with the Legal Aid Board.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The Legal Aid Board expects to publish the results of its non-solicitor agencies franchising pilot in the spring of 1996.
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  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what costing analysis he has done of the proposals for the reform of the legal aid system announced at the Social Market Foundation on 11 January; and when he expects to publish this analysis.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  In his speech to the Social Market Foundation, the Lord Chancellor made it plain that he was outlining his preliminary ideas in advance of a more detailed consultation paper. No costings, therefore, have as yet been done.

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage of the total civil legal aid budget is currently deployed through citizens advice bureaux, law centres and other such advice centres.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  In 1993–94, the last complete financial year, £4.8 million was paid to law centres, citizens advice bureaux and other independent advice agencies in respect of work carried out under the legal aid scheme. This represents 0.3 per cent. of the gross amount expended on legal aid in that year.

  Multi-party Actions
  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to publish and to implement new rules governing the conduct of multi-party actions in the English courts.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  My Department is fully aware of the problems arising in multi-party actions and we are considering whether, and in what way, they might be mitigated by amendments to court rules and procedures. Any proposals for change will be put out to public consultation in the usual way.

  Mr. Boateng
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what estimate he has of the cost to the legal aid budget over the last five years of multi-party actions that(a) have come to trial and (b) have not come to trial.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Limitation Review
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he expects to complete the review of the limitation legislation.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  We have been looking at the rules on the time limits in proceedings for non-accidental personal injuries and have reached the conclusion that it would not be advisable to revise this aspect of the law in isolation. We are now considering whether a comprehensive review of the law of limitation generally should be undertaken.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Two of the individuals appointed to the Lord Chancellor's Department's public positions were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  War Criminals
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the special unit set up at Scotland Yard to hunt for suspected Nazi war criminals living in Britain will be disbanded when funding ceases at the end of March; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Maclean
  The future of the Unit is a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

  Fines
  Mr. Clelland
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the total number of warrants issued for the non-payment of fines which were issued for the first time by(a) the Central Gateshead magistrates court in 1993, (b) the Central Gateshead magistrates court in 1994, (c) the Central Newcastle

  Fines1 data for Gateshead and Newcastle magistrates courts 1993 and 1994

  Gateshead

  Newcastle

  1993

  1994

  1993

  1994

  Number of warrants issued

  5,714

  7,632

  23,143

  17,592

  Number of distress warrants issued

  3,420

  4,256

  13,915

  12,716

  Number of fines imposed

  10,616

  10,556

  21,758

  19,699

  Amount of fines imposed

  £1,175,145

  £1,301,044

  £2,122,020

  £1,955,879

  Number of fines unpaid2 at end of year

  14,211

  11,274

  14,949

  14,581

  Amount of fines unpaid2 at end of year

  £1,055,528

  £1,057,376

  £1,141,760

  £1,283,425

  1 'Fines' includes fines, compensation, fixed penalties and costs.

  2 Unpaid fines may include those where there is 'time to pay'.

  Source:

  Gatesheas and Newcastle magistrates courts

  Nationality Applications
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for British nationality are currently outstanding for(a) more than one year, (b) more than two years and (c) more than three years; what is the current average length of time taken to process applications; and what were the figures over the previous (i) 12 months, (ii) 24 months, (iii) 36 months and (iv) 48 months.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  As at 31 December 1994, the number of applications for British nationality outstanding for more than one year was 9,630 broken down as follows:

  Number

  more than one year (but less than two years)

  7,717

  more than two years (but less than three years)

  1,428

  more than three years

  485

  Comparable figures for 1990–1993 are not available. Average waiting times, in months,are shown in the following table:
  380
  magistrates court in 1993 and (d) the Central Newcastle magistrates court in 1994; and what is the total number of warrants for arrest for non-payment of fines issued for the second and subsequent time by (i) the Central Gateshead magistrates court in 1993, (ii) the Central Gateshead magistrates court in 1994, (iii) the Central Newcastle magistrates court in 1993 and (iv) the Central Newcastle magistrates court in 1994;

  (2) if he will list (a) the total numbers of fines issued by (i) the Central Gateshead magistrates court in 1993, (ii) the Central Newcastle magistrates court in 1993, (iii) the Central Gateshead magistrates court in 1994 and (iv) the Central Newcastle magistrates court in 1994, (b) the total amounts of fines issued for those periods and by those courts, (c) the total numbers of fines remaining unpaid in those periods and to those courts and (d) the total amount of fines remaining unpaid in those periods and to those courts.

  Mr. Maclean
  The detailed information requested is not collected centrally but inquiries have been made of the two courts and information is given in the table.

  Naturalisations

  Registrations

  All

  December 1994

  13

  7

  12

  December 1993

  16

  12

  15

  December 1992

  22

  15

  20

  December 1991

  30

  18

  26

  December 1990

  35

  22

  31

  Hong Kong Citizens
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Hong Kong citizens were granted entry into the United Kingdom(a) temporarily and (b) permanently in (i) 1992 and (ii) 1993; and how many Hong Kong citizens he estimates will be granted permanent residence rights in the United Kingdom before 1997.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The information on British dependent territories citizens and British nationals (overseas) from Hong Kong given leave to enter the United Kingdom is given in the table. The numbers of such persons accepted for settlement—that is, allowed to stay indefinitely—were 1,590 in 1992 and 1,520 in 1993. No estimates have been made of the corresponding numbers up to 1997.
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  Admissions to the United Kingdom of BDTCs and BN(O)s from Hong Kong

  Admission category

  1992

  1993

  Spouses, fiance(e)s, children, parents, grandparents1

  380

  190

  Other categories2

  91,400

  90,400

  91,800

  90,600

  1 Seeking, or accepted for, settlement in the United Kingdom.

  2 Some of whom subsequently become eligible to apply for settlement.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are currently being held in detention in police stations in(a) North Yorkshire, (b) South Yorkshire, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) Humberside broken down by (i) police station and (ii) nationality of asylum seeker; how many are being held in total in those areas, broken down by nationality; and what were the figures as at 15 January for each year since 1991.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  As at 12 January 1995, no persons who had sought asylum were being held in police cells in North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire or Humberside. However, five persons who had sought asylum are being detained at Her Majesty's prison, Armley, West Yorkshire consisting of two Indians and one Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese; another one Pakistani was being detained at HMP The Wolds in Humberside. This figure includes people awaiting the setting of directions for removal following refusal of the application, as well as those whose application was under consideration or subject to appeal.

  Information on the number of persons who had sought asylum and were detained in these areas on 15 January, in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994 is not available.

  Calf Exports
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many protestors have been arrested to date at Shoreham in connection with calf exports; and how many have been charged;

  (2) what police forces have been involved in policing the current series of protests at Shoreham;

  (3) what has been the average number of police officers on duty each night during the current campaign against the export of veal calves at Shoreham;

  (4) who took the decision for police officers to wear full riot gear at Shoreham; and what were the reasons stated.

  Mr. Maclean
  Up to 11 January, 76 people were arrested, of whom,66 have been charged. Sussex police have been aided by the following forces in policing the disturbances at Shoreham; City of London police, Essex police, Hampshire constabulary, Kent county constabulary, the Metropolitan police, Surrey constabulary and Thames Valley police. Since 4 January about 1,000 officers have been deployed on each occasion that lorries carrying calves have driven to the harbour. The decision to deploy officers with public order protective equipment was taken by the chief constable of Sussex on operational grounds.

  Immigration
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people detained at the behest of the immigration service last year spent more than(a) 24 hours and (b) 48 hours in a police cell; and what was the longest continuous period spent by an individual detainee.

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

  Seamen
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what resources he has allocated for the enforcement of regulations governing the contract employment of seamen on vessels normally plying between two or more United Kingdom ports; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will give details of all breaches of the regulations relating to the employment of contract seafarers plying between United Kingdom ports in the last three years.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that regulations relating to the contract employment of seamen on vessels plying between two or more United Kingdom ports and normally not leaving the United Kingdom waters are properly enforced; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I have been asked to reply to the third question as well.

  Administration of the regulations relating to the employment of contract seamen on board ships plying between United Kingdom ports is a matter for the Department of Employment. However, there is power in the Immigration Act 1971 to enforce the removal of those seamen under contract to join vessels in the United Kingdom who fail to comply with the conditions on which they were given leave to enter or who are reasonably suspected of intending to do so. The immigration service has dealt with 49 seamen under these powers in the past three years.

  Specific resources are not allocated by the immigration service to the enforcement of the immigration laws relating to contract seamen.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to discuss with European parties the extension of immigration regulations relating to contract seamen on board vessels plying between two or more member states; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  None; we have no plans to alter our policy, which is not to require work permits for crews serving on ships on international voyages, including voyages to other member states of the European Union., where the crews are not living in the United Kingdom.

  Domestic Violence
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the inter-departmental group on domestic violence will next meet; and what policy decisions arose from the last meeting.

  Mr. Maclean
  At its last meeting, the ministerial group on domestic violence endorsed proposals in respect of a public awareness campaign on domestic violence, and the preparation of an inter-agency circular to encourage local
  383
  statutory and voluntary agencies to co-ordinate responses to domestic violence. It also decided that the issue of a centrally co-ordinated policy on refuge provision would be considered further at its next meeting, a date for which will be settled shortly.

  Young Offenders Report
  Mr. Hunter
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish his report on young people and crime following the recent survey of youth lifestyles and self-report offending.

  Mr. Maclean
  Neither I nor my ministerial colleagues have yet had an opportunity to consider this report, which is still in preparation, but nearing completion. I expect the report to be published later in the year, once it has been finalised and arrangements for its publication agreed.

  Voting
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British citizens living overseas are registered for voting in each constituency in England; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Information on overseas electors is published in table 1.4 of "Electoral Statistics 1994" published by HMSO—series EL No 21—a copy of which is in the Library.

  Internet
  Mr. David Shaw
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the plans of his Department to make information available on Internet and the documents which he intends to be made available on Internet over the next year which will be accessible via the worldwide web server "open.gov.UK" or any specific departmental server.

  Mr. Howard
  We are considering using the Internet to provide access to information, including in particular published statistics. The option of making this information accessible via the worldwide server "open.gov.UK" will be assessed. Home Office press notices are already available via the Internet from a number of commercial information providers.

  Electronic Mail
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be able to receive and respond to communications via electronic mail.

  Mr. Howard
  I appreciate that there are great benefits to be derived from the use of electronic mail and its associated technologies. Electronic mail is already used extensively within. my Department and its use for communications outside my Department is under review.

  Telephone Dialling Codes
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made as to the additional costs which will be incurred by his Department as a result of the changes in national telephone dialling codes next year; and how much this change will cost his Department in additional expenditure.
  384
  Mr. Howard
  Many of my Department's telephone systems have been converted to cope with the national code change without cost to the Department. For others a charge has been incurred, amounting to about £200,000 across about 300 sites, including executive agencies. Changes to stationery and published material have been incorporated at negligible cost.

  Stolen Vehicles
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) to what factors he attributes the fall in stolen vehicle recovery rates between 1992 and 1993;

  (2) what information is currently available for the number of stolen vehicles and the recovery rate in 1994; and when the full calendar year figures will be available;

  (3) what recovery rate has been achieved in each police authority area for stolen vehicles in 1992 and 1993.

  Mr. Maclean
  This information is not yet available for 1994. The next statistics to be published will be for the calendar year 1994 and will be available in the spring of 1995. Figures for 1992 and 1993 are published in table 2.14 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales". It is not possible to attribute the fall in stolen vehicle recovery rates between 1992 and 1993 to any particular factor.

  Ethnic Minorities, Bradford
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce his decisions on applications by local authorities for financial assistance under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 as soon as possible, possibly on a phased basis; when he intends to announce his decision on applications submitted by Bradford council; what representations he has received from local authorities and others for decisions to be announced as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Well over 800 project applications have been received. The deadline for applications was deferred to 30 December to take account of my right hon. and learned Friend's announcement that the funding available was being doubled. Nevertheless, we hope that it will still be possible to make the outcome known to all applicants in accordance with our original target of the end of February. As available funds have been oversubscribed, decisions could not be taken and announced on a phased basis without prejudicing the position of other bids.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Howard
  Of the 366 individuals appointed or reappointed to public positions in the Home Office in the last year, 55 were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Speed Cameras
  Mr. Day
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many speed cameras have been in operation each year since their inception; how many
  385
  speeding charges have been made annually as a result of their evidence and what percentage of all speeding charges annually have been made on the basis of evidence from speed cameras, in each police authority.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information on the number of speed cameras in operation is not available centrally in the form requested. However, a survey by the Department of Transport in early 1994 stated that 27 speed cameras were in use in England and Wales at the end of 1993.

  Fixed penalities and prosecutions for speeding offences detected by automatic cameras

  England and Wales

  Number of offences

  Police force

  Fixed penalties

  Prosecutions

  Camera offences

  As a percentage of all offences

  Camera offences

  As a percentage of all offences

  1992

  1993

  1992

  1993

  1992

  1993

  1992

  1993

  Avon and Somerset

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  71

  —

  2

  Devon and Cornwall

  —

  9,241

  —

  66

  6

  910

  —

  40

  Dorset

  —

  1,129

  —

  11

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Essex

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  659

  —

  8

  Leicestershire

  —

  —

  —

  —

  1

  95

  —

  4

  Metropolitan

  —

  3,804

  —

  9

  283

  3,225

  2

  24

  Northumbria

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  218

  —

  9

  South Yorkshire

  —

  46

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Thames Valley

  —

  11,547

  —

  54

  —

  1,196

  —

  30

  Gwent

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  16

  —

  2

  Total

  —

  25,767

  —

  7

  290

  6,390

  —

  6

  Police (Electric Shields and Batons)
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what authorisation he has given for(a) the testing and (b) the use of electric shields or electric batons by the police.

  Mr. Maclean
  None. Chief officers are responsible for deciding what equipment to obtain, and except for the Metropolitan police, where my right hon. and learned Friend is police authority, do not require his authorisation. No chief officer possesses or, so far as the Home Office is aware, is considering the introduction of such equipment for use against people. My right hon. and learned Friend would certainly expect to be consulted about any such proposal. I understand that some chief officers have obtained electric shock equipment to protect officers against ferocious dogs in pre-planned operations.

  Police
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have left the service in each of the past 15 years because of(a) retirement, (b) sickness and (c) other reasons.

  Mr. Maclean
  Detailed information is not available in the form requested. The available data on wastage for the years 1979 to 1989 are contained in the annual reports of HM chief inspector of constabulary. I shall write to the hon. Member with information for the years 1990 to 1993.

  Policing, Caerphilly
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future policing arrangements for the new unitary district of Caerphilly.
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  Information available to me shows that 290 speeding prosecutions were brought in England and Wales in 1992 following evidence produced by automatic cameras and 6,390 in 1993. In addition, 25,767 fixed penalties notices were issued in 1993. Figures for 1994 are not yet available.

  The following table shows the proportion of fixed penalty notices and prosecutions resulting from evidence from speed cameras.

  Mr. Howard
  I have consulted the forces, police authorities and local authorities in the area on the future policing arrangements for the new unitary district of Caerphilly. I also asked Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary to report on this issue.

  In the light of the replies received and of the professional views of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, I have decided that the Gwent constabulary shall be responsible for policing the whole of the new district from 1 April 1996.

  An order will be made in due course, under section 21 A of the Police Act 1964—as inserted by section 14 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994—to give effect to this decision, following discussions with the police authorities and forces concerned on the details of its content.

  Disclosure Requirements
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the prosecution are to be required to provide the defence with advance copies of witnesses' statements in summary only proceedings.

  Mr. Maclean
  I am considering the issues raised by the current disclosure requirements generally, and will take this point into account as part of that consideration.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Child Support Agency
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the costs to the Child Support Agency of employing bailiffs for each of the last two years.
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  Mr. Burt
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter From Ann Chant to Ms Dawn Primarolo, dated 16 January 1995:

  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the costs to the Child Support Agency of employing bailiffs.

  In accordance with the contract awarded in January 1994, bailiff services are provided at no administrative cost to the Agency.

  Strathclyde Flooding
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the most up to date figures in relation to Benefits Agency activity in each parliamentary constituency affected by the floods in Strathclyde during December 1994 for(a) the number of claims for community care grants, (b) the numbers accepted and paid as per claim, (c) the value of grants claimed expressed as (i) a total and (ii) an average, (d) value of grants paid expressed as (i) a total and (ii) an average, (e) the numbers of claims for crisis loans, (f) the numbers accepted and paid as per claim, (g) the value of applications claimed expressed as (i) a total and (ii) an average, (h) the numbers of claims for community care grants refused expressed as (i) a total and (ii) a percentage, (i) the number of claims for crisis loans refused expressed as (i) a total and (ii) a percentage, (j)

  Community care grant applications made by Strathclyde flood victims as at 12 January 1995

  District

  Number of applications received

  Number awarded

  Percentage award

  Amount awarded (£)

  Average award (£)

  Number refused

  Percentage refused

  Renfrew

  421

  400

  95.0

  70,340

  175.85

  21

  5.0

  Glasgow South-west

  14

  14

  100.0

  17,712

  1,265.14

  n/a

  n/a

  Glasgow Laurieston

  4

  4

  100.0

  1,978

  494.50

  n/a

  n/a

  Glasgow East

  1

  1

  100.0

  520

  520.00

  n/a

  n/a

  Springburn and Cumbernauld

  4

  2

  50.0

  2,139

  1,069.50

  2

  50.0

  Totals

  444

  421

  —

  92,689

  —

  21

  —

  Crisis loan applications made by Strathclyde flood victims as at 12 January 1995

  District

  Number of applications received

  Number awarded

  Percentage awarded

  Amount awarded (£)

  Average award (£)

  Number refused

  Percentage refused

  Renfrew

  102

  94

  92.2

  10,868.00

  115.62

  8

  7.8

  Glasgow South west

  2

  2

  100.00

  1,760.00

  880.00

  n/a

  n/a

  Glasgow Laurieston

  3

  3

  100.00

  221.24

  73.75

  n/a

  n/a

  Glasgow East

  1

  1

  100.00

  1,000.00

  1,000.00

  n/a

  n/a

  Springburn and Cumbernauld

  1

  1

  100.00

  69.00

  69.00

  n/a

  n/a

  Totals

  109

  101

  —

  13,918.24

  —

  8

  —

  Disability Living Allowance
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average cost of processing a claim for disability living allowance when it goes to appeal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Hague
  The administration of disability living allowance 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.
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  the number of community care grants reduced from claim as (i) a total and (ii) a percentage and (k) the number of crisis loans reduced from claim as (i) a total and (ii) a percentage; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The administration of the social fund 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. Gordon McMaster, dated 16 January 1995:

  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Community Care Grant (CCG) and Crisis Loan (CL) applications received by the Benefits Agency (BA) from people affected by the recent flooding in the Strathclyde area.

  BA District boundaries do not correspond with county or local authority boundaries and information relating to Strathclyde has, therefore, been provided for the five BA Districts serving Strathclyde; Renfrew, Glasgow South West, Glasgow Laurieston, Springburn and Cumbernauld, and Glasgow East.

  Information relating to the amounts requested and the number of awards made which did not meet the full amounts requested can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. This is because this information could only be obtained by examining every application made by the flood victims. However, the Districts keep simple separate records relating to applications by the flood victims in respect of the amount paid and category of application. I have, therefore, provided at Annex A and Annex B information on the total number of CCG and CL applications received, the number and amounts awarded and the numbers refused for each District as at 12 January 1995, the latest information available.

  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Alex Salmond, dated 16 January 1995:

  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the average cost of processing a claim for Disability Living Allowance when it goes to appeal.

  Information regarding the overall cost is not available in the exact format required.

  Benefits Agency (BA) staff are responsible for preparing an appeal which is then submitted to the Independent Tribunal Service

  389
  (ITS). The papers are returned to the BA once the appeal decision has been given. The estimated cost to the BA of preparing an appeal for submission to the ITS is £10.93 per case. This figure does not include the cost to the ITS in hearing the appeal.

  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Hague
  There were four such appointees in the year ended 31 December 1994.

  Unemployment Benefit
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average cost of unemployment benefit and income support for a couple with two children of school age, where there is no other income apart from child benefit, and no capital resources available to them at the latest date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The information is set out in the table.

  Benefit in payment

  Average amount £

  Unemployment Benefit and Income Support

  112.29

  Income Support only

  115.46

  Overall Average

  115.04

  Notes:

  1. School-age children have been assumed to be those between five and 16 years of age. There may be other children included in the benefit unit.

  2. Amounts are rounded to the nearest penny and include any Unemployment Benefit paid to the partner in his/her own right.

  3. Amounts are derived from the Income Support Statistical Enquiry, February 1994.

  Young Carers
  Mrs. Golding
  To aks the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent research his Department has done into the number of children acting as carers for adults or other children; and what plans there are to do so in the foreseeable future.

  Mr. Bowis
  I have been asked to reply.

  We are currently testing questions in the Office of Population Census and Surveys omnibus survey, to see whether reliable information may be gathered on young carers.

TREASURY

  Royal Properties (Tax)
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the difference in the tax arrangements in respect of the treatment of(a) Buckingham palace, (b) Windsor castle, (c) Sandringham and (d) Balmoral.

  Mr. Nelson
  Buckingham palace and Windsor castle are treated as being occupied by the Crown. Both properties comprise domestic and non-domestic accommodation. The domestic accommodation is valued 390
  for council tax. Because the Crown is exempt from rating, a contribution in lieu of rates is paid in respect of the non-domestic accommodation.

  Sandringham house and Balmoral castle are occupied by Her Majesty in person. In each case, the property is valued for council tax.

  Public Limited Companies
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to penalise public limited companies which fail to pay their bills promptly.

  Mr. Aitken
  It is for individual suppliers rather than Government to seek redress from business customers who fail to honour agreed credit terms. There are therefore no plans to introduce any system of penalties. The Government announced a package of measures, in the White Paper on competitiveness in May 1994, to address late payment. One of the measures is the implementation of proposals to require public companies to state their payment policies in the directors' reports.

  VAT (Charities)
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from(a) hon. Members and (b) organisations outside the House, during the past 12 months relating to making exempt from VAT repairs to public buildings owned or run by charitable organisations; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I have received a small number of representations for repair and maintenance to charity buildings to be exempt from VAT. Such an exemption would not be permissible under the EC sixth VAT directive.

  Amusement Machines
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultations he has had with the British Amusement and Catering Trades Association with regard to the proposed amusement machine licence duty; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  As announced in the Budget, implementation of this new duty will not take place until November 1995. This will allow Customs and Excise to consult with the trade on the scope and coverage of amusement machine licence duty. I am aware that BACTA is collating information from its members and will be making representations to me in a meeting on 23 January.

  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the duty on amusement machines is to be imposed on the basis of the number of players per machine; and how he expects the imposition of duty to affect employment prospects within the industry at all levels.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The proposals contained in the Finance Bill for the duty on amusement machines provide that the number of chargeable machines equates to the number of simultaneous playing positions. This mirrors the existing provisions for gaming machines. I am meeting representatives of the industry on 23 January and will give careful consideration to any representations they make about employment prospects as a result of the introduction of this new duty.

  Blind Persons' Tax Allowances
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes have taken place in the blind persons' tax allowances in each year since 1989; what was the cost thereof; and if he will make a statement on his decision in the November 1994 Budget.

  Sir George Young
  The blind person's allowance is not subject to statutory annual indexation. However, it was doubled in 1990–91 from £540 to £1,080 and further increased to £1,200 in 1994–95. At 1995–96 income levels, the cost of the allowance is expected to be about £3 million greater than if the allowance were available only at its 1989–90 level of £540. Between 1989–90 and 1995–96, the allowance has increased by almost 70 per cent. in real terms.

  Investor's Losses
  Mr. Butterfill
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much compensation has been paid out directly by insurance companies regulated by the Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Organisation to investors who have suffered losses in respect of life and pensions business as a result of bad advice and fraud in each year since 1988.

  Mr. Nelson
  I regret that this information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In the first instance, investors' complaints go directly to the life office involved. Where agreement is reached at this stage, firms are not required to publish details. If agreement cannot be reached, the Insurance Ombudsman Bureau can intervene. The ombudsman does not publish a breakdown of awards made to investors in the form requested.

  Value Added Tax (Transport) Order
  Sir Peter Fry
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that the hon. Member for Wellingborough receives a written reply to the questions he asked the Paymaster General during the debate on the Value Added Tax (Transport) Order on 11 January concerning the Confederation of Passenger Transport's query on exclusive tours and the effect of the sixth VAT directive M/388 EEC on the implementation of the order.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  I can assure my hon. Friend that I shall be writing to him in reply to the questions that he asked.

  Finance Bill
  Mr. Andrew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect of the Government's proposals in clause 140 of the Finance Bill 1995 on(a) the public expenditure new control total and (b) the total tax revenue in (i) 1993–94, (ii) 1994–95 and (iii) 1995–96.

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 13 January 1995]: Clause 140 will put right a defect in existing law and does not represent any change in existing practice. The recent "Financial Statement and Budget Report" does not show it as having any effect.

  Private Medical Insurance
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions the Treasury has had with(a) the Department of Health and (b) representatives of the
  392
  private medical insurance providers, regarding extending tax relief to all people with private medical insurance.

  Sir George Young
  [holding answer 13 January 1995]: The Treasury receives representations from, and has discussions with, a wide range of organisations with regard to taxation issues. These have included both the Department of Health and representatives of private medical insurance providers.

  Insurance Premium Tax
  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the principal reasons for the reduction in forecast receipts from the insurance premium tax in 1994–95 and 1995–96 contained in table 4A.1 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1995–96" compared with the equivalent figures in table 4.1 of the "Financial Statement and Budget Report 1994–95".

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Revision to the forecast for insurance premium tax for 1994–95 reflects the decision made after the publication of the 1994 FSBR to change from monthly to quarterly tax returns. This is expected to delay some receipts from 1994–95 into 1995–96. The revision to receipts for 1995–96 is well within likely forecasting error, but reflects a revised view of the likely trend of lower premiums.

  Mr. Darling
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the insurance industry in response to the consultations he announced on 29 November 1994 on his proposals to extend the powers of Customs and Excise in connection with the collection of insurance premium tax.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Representations were received from the Association of British Insurers, which represents insurance companies that will account for the vast majority of insurance premium tax. Representations concerned the implementation and application of the tax and they have been taken into account in drafting legislation.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Cable Franchises
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the initial cash bid received from each cable franchisee awarded a cable franchise under the Broadcasting Act 1990.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The initial cash bids for the West Kent and the Blackpool and Fylde franchises were £1,600,210.75 and £762,000 respectively.

  Mr. Timms
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many cable franchises have been awarded under the Broadcasting Act 1990 in each year since the Act became law.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Two local delivery franchises have been awarded since the Broadcasting Act became law. Both were awarded during 1994, the first for the West Kent franchise, awarded on 19 May, and the second for the Blackpool and Fylde franchise, on 15 September.
  393
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much revenue has been derived from cable franchisees in(a) application fees and (b) tender payments in each year since the enactment of the Broadcasting Act 1990.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The application fee for the two franchises which have so far been awarded was £15,000 each. No tender payments have yet been made.

  Development Initiatives, Northern Region
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what economic development initiatives his Department has undertaken in the northern region in 1994; and what initiatives are planned for 1995.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  In 1994, Government offices began to implement the measures contained in the competitiveness White Paper in consultation with the northern regional business community. In addition, my Department's programmes of assistance continue to operate in the region—for example, regional selective assistance in assisted areas—and a range of economic development projects will be funded through the single regeneration budget. For 1995, the focus will again be on the competitiveness White Paper and establishing full regional business link coverage by the middle of the year. A significant proportion of the region will also benefit from European structural funds as well as the continuation of the full range of other programmes.

  Civil Servant Travel
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which airlines have been granted preferred carrier status for civil servant travel to overseas destinations.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The preferred carrier for any particular civil servant's travel will depend on the circumstances of the journey concerned and value for money. My Department has non-exclusive arrangements with British Airways, British Midland Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Sabena Belgian Airlines, Air UK, Manx Airlines (Europe), Teeside Aviation and Air France.

  Prison Labour
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action is being taken to control the import of raw materials produced by prisoners or those kept in similar conditions.

  Mr. Needham
  With limited exceptions, the importation into the United Kingdom of any goods produced in any foreign prison or like establishment is banned by the Foreign Prison Made Goods Act 1897, as amended in 1988. Enforcement is a matter for HM Customs and Excise, which is dependent on receiving sufficient evidence, specific to the consignment concerned, of prison-made origin.

  Inward Investment, Northumberland
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what role his Department has played in assisting inward investment by Taiwanese manufacturing companies in Northumberland.
  394
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  My Department has provided regional selective assistance grants to the following projects:

  (i) £8.25 million to Europa Magnetics Corporation of Cramlington to create 550 new jobs manufacturing floppy disks;

  (ii) £250,000 to Synpac Chemicals Ltd. of Bedlington to create 57 jobs manufacturing chemicals; and

  (iii) £90,000 to Lite-On Ltd. of Ashington to create 85 jobs manufacturing customised power supply component; for electrical and electronic equipment.

  In addition, my Department is working closely with the Northern Development Co., the local authorities, Northumberland training and enterprise council and others to provide a full aftercare service to all inward investors in the county, including those of Taiwanese origin.

  Bankruptcies
  Mr. Deva
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of companies which are founded in the United kingdom go bankrupt within two years.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  The information requested is not available.

  Professional Football
  Ms Hoey
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider setting up an inquiry into the trading and competition practices within professional football.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  Under competition legislation, responsibility for considering and, if appropriate, investigating allegations of anti-competitive behaviour lies with the Director General of Fair Trading in the first instance. If the hon. Member has any evidence of business practices within professional football which may merit investigation under competition legislation, she should pass the evidence to him.

  Biotechnology
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how much his Department spent supporting academic research into the applications of biotechnology in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of the total public research and development budget this represents.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  I have been asked to reply.

  Some £102 million was spent supporting academic research into biotechnology by the research councils in 1992–93. This was 1.9 per cent. of the total public civil and defence research and development budget.

EDUCATION

  Higher Education Students
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what was the total number of full-time students in higher education in each of the last five years.
  395
  Mr. Boswell
  The information requested is shown in the table:

  Full-time higher education student enrolments (all domiciles) in England—1989 to 1993

  Year

  Number

  1993–94

  1839,000

  1992–93

  763,000

  1991–92

  671,000

  1990–91

  593,000

  1989–90

  544,000

  Source:

  USR, DFE (FESR).

  1 Provisional.

  Nursery School Places, Northumberland
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many nursery school places are currently available in Northumberland.

  Mr. Forth
  Information on the number of nursery school places is not collected centrally. The number of pupils being taught in maintained nursery schools in Northumberland local education authority in January 1994 was 128.

  Primary Schools, Northumberland
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the total number of pupils on school rolls and the pupil-to-teacher ratio in primary schools in Northumberland for each year since 1988 to 1994.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The information requested is shown in the table.

  Pupils and pupil: teacher ratios in maintained primary schools in Northumberland LEA 1988–94

  Position in January each year

  Pupils (FTEs1)

  Pupil:teacher ratio2

  1988

  19,382

  22.8

  1989

  19,168

  22.5

  1990

  19,505

  23.0

  1991

  19,468

  23.5

  1992

  19,710

  23.2

  1993

  20,131

  23.8

  1994

  20,243

  24.3

  1 Counting each part-time pupil as 0.5 full-time equivalent.

  2 Including the full-time equivalent of part-time teachers.

  Free School Meals
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in the Northumberland education authority from families currently on income support or the family credit scheme will be entitled to free school meals.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Only income support entitles pupils to a free school meal, although there is cash assistance within family credit. On census day in January 1994, the number of pupils known to be eligible for a free school meal in maintained schools in Northumberland education authority was 7,950–15.4 per cent. of day pupils.

  Grants for Education Support and Training
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what amount of GEST funds was available at the original introduction of the national curriculum; and what amount is available to local education authorities now;

  (2) if she will list the amount of GEST funds allocated to each education authority at the original introduction of the national curriculum and for each subsequent year.

  Mr. Forth
  The GEST programme in 1988–89, when the national curriculum was introduced, supported LEA expenditure of £322.5 million, of which £9 million was for activities related to the national curriculum. In 1995–96, the GEST programme will support LEA expenditure of £251 million, of which £40.1 million will be for national curriculum related activities. The Department pays grant on this expenditure at the rate of 60 per cent. in most cases.

  This information sought for each education authority for each year since 1988–89 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  General National Vocational Qualifications
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list by individual school and further education college in England the total budget allocated to each participating institution to fund GNVQs in each year since 1991; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  This information is not available to the Department. The great majority of the funding allocated to schools and colleges by local education authorities, the Further Education Funding Council and the Funding Agency for Schools is unhypothecated and total funds for the support of GNVQs are not therefore identified separately.

  As part of the GNVQ part 1 pilot scheme announced by the Minister of State on 21 December, 118 schools will receive specific support for part 1 GNVQ in 1995–96 under the Government's GEST programme or through other special grants. A table concerning the allocations made for individual schools has been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what resources were specifically allocated in order to fund general national vocational qualifications in schools and further education colleges in England in each year since 1990; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  Under the Government's specific grant programmes, the following allocations have been made for vocational qualifications since 1990–91. Since 1992–93, these have focused on GNVQ support in schools, following the introduction of GNVQs in September 1992.

  Year

  £ million

  1990–91

  2.0

  1991–92

  2.1

  1992–93

  3.0

  1993–94

  5.5

  1994–95

  5.2

  1995–96

  13.3

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between her departmental Ministers and agencies.

  Mr. Forth
  In the case of the Department's one next steps agency, the Teachers' Pensions Agency, the respective responsibilities of the Secretary of State and the chief executive are set out in the agency's framework document of 1 April 1992, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

  Residential Care Pupils
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in residential care are excluded from local authority schools in(a) Kirklees, (b) in all Yorkshire council areas and (c) nationally.

  Mr. Forth
  This information is not available centrally.

  State Nursery Schools, Leeds
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of(a) three-year-olds and (b) four-year-olds were attending state nursery schools in Leeds in each year since 1985.

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

  Percentage of pupils aged 3 and 41 in maintained nursery schools in Leeds LEA 1985–94

  Ages at previous 31 August

  Pupils aged 3

  Pupils aged 4

  1985

  2

  2—

  1986

  2

  1

  1987

  2

  1

  1988

  2

  2—

  1989

  2

  2—

  1990

  2

  1

  1991

  2

  1

  1992

  2

  1

  1993

  1

  1

  1994

  1

  2—

  1 Excluding pupils who became 5 years of age by 1 January.

  2 Less than 0.5.

  Further Education Colleges
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment her Department has made of the differential growth rates across colleges of further education; what measures she has taken or intends to take in order to reform the method of funding further education colleges in England; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  The Further Education Funding Council has developed a new funding methodology after wide consultation; its proposals gained a high degree of acceptance. The new methodology was introduced for the academic year 1994–95. Refinements to the methodology, and examination of information about the sector to assess the sufficiency and adequacy of further education provision, are matters for the council.

  Student Loans
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students are eligible to apply for student loans; and how many receive mandatory grants.
  398
  Mr. Boswell
  In 1993–94, there was estimated to be around 752,000 students who were eligible to apply for a student loan in England and Wales, compared with a figure of around 688,000 in 1992–93. In 1992–93, the latest year for which information is available, there were 666,100 mandatory award holders in England and Wales. The coverage and conditions of eligibility for student loans differ from those for mandatory awards.

  Pre-school Provision
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many three and four-year-olds there are in nursery classes, nursery schools or primary reception classes for each local education authority; and what percentage this represents of the population in those age groups in January 1994.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Information about the number of pupils under five years of age being taught in maintained nursery and primary schools in each local education authority in England in January 1994 is shown in the table.

  Pupils under five in maintained nursery and primary schools in each LEA in England January 1994

  LEA

  Pupils1

  Percentage of Population

  Camden

  1,979

  49

  Greenwich

  4,267

  62

  Hackney

  3,170

  52

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  2,179

  58

  Islington

  3,261

  69

  Kensington and Chelsea

  1,264

  38

  Lambeth

  3,457

  49

  Lewisham

  3,763

  52

  Southwark

  5,167

  73

  Tower Hamlets

  4,897

  84

  Wandsworth

  4,089

  62

  Westminster

  1,671

  44

  Barking and Dagenham

  3,340

  74

  Barnet

  4,751

  57

  Bexley

  2,475

  40

  Brent

  4,662

  68

  Bromley

  2,491

  33

  Croydon

  4,376

  47

  Ealing

  5,816

  73

  Enfield

  3,999

  54

  Haringey

  4,394

  76

  Harrow

  2,633

  50

  Havering

  2,435

  43

  Hillingdon

  3,278

  48

  Hounslow

  4,189

  72

  Kingston upon Thames

  2,172

  61

  Merton

  3,683

  75

  Newham

  4,563

  58

  Redbridge

  2,443

  40

  Richmond upon Thames

  1,887

  44

  Sutton

  1,885

  40

  Waltham Forest

  3,635

  54

  Birmingham

  20,363

  66

  Coventry

  5,097

  58

  Dudley

  5,636

  69

  Sandwell

  7,509

  90

  Solihull

  3,707

  71

  Walsall

  6,808

  92

  Wolverhampton

  6,012

  85

  Knowsley

  4,334

  88

  Liverpool

  10,904

  87

  St Helens

  3,210

  68

  Sefton

  4,967

  64

  Wirral

  5,188

  57

  Bolton

  5,632

  72

  399

  Pupils under five in maintained nursery and primary schools in each LEA in England January 1994

  LEA

  Pupils1

  Percentage of Population

  Bury

  3,165

  61

  Manchester

  9,875

  73

  Oldham

  4,653

  70

  Rochdale

  4,133

  64

  Salford

  5,541

  88

  Stockport

  4,363

  57

  Tameside

  4,731

  73

  Trafford

  3,942

  69

  Wigan

  4,971

  57

  Barnsley

  3,959

  66

  Doncaster

  6,187

  74

  Rotherham

  4,337

  60

  Sheffield

  8,230

  63

  Bradford

  10,243

  70

  Calderdale

  3,637

  68

  Kirklees

  7,732

  72

  Leeds

  14,534

  75

  Wakefield

  6,438

  72

  Gateshead

  3,456

  68

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  5,039

  72

  North Tyneside

  4,195

  87

  South Tyneside

  3,555

  86

  Sunderland

  6,024

  74

  Avon

  13,259

  53

  Bedfordshire

  8,115

  49

  Berkshire

  7,077

  33

  Buckinghamshire

  5,906

  32

  Cambridgeshire

  8,078

  43

  Cheshire

  13,995

  53

  Cleveland

  14,481

  90

  Cornwall

  5,242

  45

  Cumbria

  6,954

  56

  Derbyshire

  15,235

  60

  Devon

  6,946

  27

  Dorset

  5,655

  37

  Durham

  12,050

  77

  East Sussex

  6,772

  39

  Essex

  9,208

  22

  Gloucestershire

  4,467

  32

  Hampshire

  15,098

  36

  Hereford and Worcester

  4,044

  22

  Hertfordshire

  13,880

  50

  Humberside

  14,567

  62

  Isle of Wight

  1,087

  39

  Kent

  15,102

  36

  Lancashire

  20,212

  53

  Leicestershire

  9,922

  38

  Lincolnshire

  6,205

  43

  Norfolk

  6,254

  34

  North Yorkshire

  8,861

  49

  Northamptonshire

  8,471

  50

  Northumberland

  5,405

  71

  Nottinghamshire

  15,688

  57

  Oxfordshire

  4,033

  25

  Shropshire

  4,026

  36

  Somerset

  4,466

  37

  Staffordshire

  15,928

  56

  Suffolk

  5,595

  32

  Surrey

  7,622

  29

  Warwickshire

  6,344

  49

  West Sussex

  3,901

  22

  Wiltshire

  3,829

  24

  England2 3

  674,596

  52

  1 Excludes pupils who became 5 years of age by 1 January 1994

  2 Includes the Isles of Scilly

  3 Includes the Corporation of London

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many of the individuals appointed by her Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Boswell
  In the past year, six individuals appointed by the Department to public bodies had been first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Adult Literacy
  Mr. Harris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government have concluded their review of the adult literacy and basic skills unit; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Boswell
  The Government have concluded their review of the adult literacy and basic skills unit. I am writing today to the chairman of ALBSU, Mr. Peter Davis, to inform him of our conclusions.

  The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are fundamental to the United Kingdom's future competitiveness. Too many people have inadequate basic skills for the modern world. ALBSU plays an important role in tackling that problem.

  Earlier this year, ALBSU published proposals in its document "Making it Happen" that it should be redesignated as a general basic skills unit with a wider remit. ALBSU argued that this would allow the unit to.develop a more coherent national basic skills strategy and tackle the problem of poor basic skills more effectively.

  In the light of ALBSU's proposals, and of the Government's review of the unit's effectiveness and efficiency, the Government have decided that ALBSU should remain as an independent basic skills unit funded by the Department for Education and the Welsh Office, but working closely with the further education funding councils and the Further Education Development Agency.

  We have also decided that ALBSU's remit should be extended so that it becomes a more general basic skills unit, with responsibilities extending to basic skills training in the workplace, for the unemployed, for young people and between generations.

  These decisions represent a vote of confidence in ALBSU. They also demonstrate the Government's commitment to improving the basic skills of the whole population, as part of our broader commitment to achieving the national targets for education and training.

PRIME MINISTER

  Engagements
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 17 January.

  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.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Prime Minister how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public
  401
  positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  The Prime Minister
  Recommendations for appointments are made from a number of sources. It is not practicable for my Office to detail those first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Strathclyde Floods
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Prime Minister when he intends to visit the victims of the Strathclyde floods.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer Monday 16 January 1995]: My hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Local Government for Scotland visited the victims of the flooding, on my behalf, on 12 December 1994 and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland made a private visit on 27 December 1994.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Attorney-General how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  The Attorney-General
  No such appointments have been made in the last year.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between the next steps agencies and Ministers.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The division of responsibilities and the relationship between the chief executive of an agency and the Minister in charge of the Department is set out in the individual agency's framework document. A copy of the framework document for each of the 102 agencies now in existence is available in the Library of the House.

  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between his departmental Ministers and agencies.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  The division of responsibilities and relationship between Ministers and agencies in my Department is set out in the framework document of each agency. Copies of these framework documents, a number of which are undergoing review at present, are in the Library of the House.

  Executive Agencies
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, if he will set out the principal division of the annual budgets of each of the next steps agencies for each year since their formation.
  402
  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  Information on the budgets of each of the next steps agencies can be found in their published annual accounts, which are in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Kaufman
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will set out for each of the next steps agencies, whether they have acquired their own headquarters buildings and, if so, at what purchase cost or annual rental; how many support staff they have required which were not required when their operations were within their parent Government Department; how many of them publish periodical journals and at what annual cost; how many have fleets of executive cars or single executive cars and at what annual cost; how many have specially designed logos and at what cost; how many have corporate clothing and at what cost; and what is the cost of specially designed and printed corporate stationery.

  Mr. David Hunt
  These are matters for individual departmental Ministers and their agency chief executives.

  Agencies operate within the framework of demanding quality standards and tight control of civil service running costs and other financial targets, as set out in the White Paper "The Civil Service—Continuity and Change", Cm 2627. In the usual way, their expenditure is subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. As tasks are delegated to agencies, staff in departmental headquarters previously performing the task are reduced. Staff in agencies remain, of course, civil servants—total civil service manpower has reduced at the same time as more next steps agencies have been established. The record of agencies in improving effectiveness and efficiency in government is summarised in the "Next Steps Review 1994", Cm 2750.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Robert G. Hughes
  One.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Subsidiarity
  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the instances since the treaty of Maastricht when the principle of subsidiarity has been applied to Community decisions.

  Mr. David Davis
  The principle of subsidiarity applies to all Community decisions. Article 3b of the Maastricht treaty makes this clear, as do the conclusions of successive European Councils since Lisbon in June 1992, and the October 1993 inter-institutional agreement.

  Sir Richard Body
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the instances when Her Majesty's Government have sought to have the principle of subsidiarity applied since the ratification of the Maastricht treaty.

  Mr. David Davis
  We examine closely the subsidiarity implications of all Community decisions, and have done so since long before the Maastricht treaty entered into
  403
  force. The incorporation of subsidiarity into article 3b of the treaty and the undertakings by the Council, Commission and the European Parliament in the 1993 inter-institutional agreement to ensure that subsidiarity checks form an integral part of their internal procedures have helped to entrench subidiarity further into all Community business.

  Caribbean
  Sir Thomas Arnold
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his policy to encourage incremental constitutional development suited to the needs of each territory in the dependent territories in the Caribbean.

  Mr. Baldry
  Our policy is to consider constitutional development in the light of the needs of individual dependent territories and ourselves, but such development is subject always to the good government of the territories concerned.

  Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy in respect of an increase in the allocation of financial resources to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Our policy is to seek to restrict the annual increase of the budgets of international organisations to zero real growth. In the case of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, we distinguish between administrative and operational expenditure. Administrative expenditure should be subject to ZRG. Operational expenditure is more difficult to foresee and requires more flexible treatment, although it, too, must be cost-effective.

  Since the end of the cold war, the OSCE has increased its activities in conflict prevention and crisis management. These include OSCE missions presently operating in eight OSCE countries and an expansion of the preventive diplomacy work by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the High Commissioner on National Minorities. We fully support these activities.

  The United Kingdom delegation to the OSCE plays an active role in the negotiation of the OSCE' s annual budget and ensuring value for money.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Goodlad
  The number of individuals appointed in the last year by this Department who were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit are as follows:

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  None

  Overseas Development Administration

  One (1)

  Iran
  Mr. Corbett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made 404
  of the compatibility of FCO sponsorship of a seminar organised by the Society for Contemporary Iranian Studies on the political economy of contemporary Iran at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, on 18 and 19 January with present Government policy towards Iran; and what is the estimated cost of the seminar to public funds.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  Our support for the forthcoming conference on Iran is in line with our policy of critical dialogue with Iran. This conference is aimed at promoting understanding of the Iranian economy and strengthening academic and economic contacts with Iranian professionals. We are contributing £1,500 towards conference costs.

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Private Members' Bills
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Lord President of the Council which private Members' Bills in the current parliamentary Session have been or are being drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Council, wholly or in part; and on whose instructions the drafting is or has been undertaken in each case.

  Mr. Newton
  To date, Parliamentary Counsel has provided drafting assistance for the following Bills on the-instructions of the Departments shown and acting on the authority of Ministers.

  Insurance Companies (Reserves) Bill (Trade and Industry)

  Charities (Amendment) Bill (Home Office)

  Proceeds of Crime Bill (Home Office)

  Road Traffic (New Drivers) Bill (Transport)

  Olympic Symbol Etc. (Protection) Bill (National Heritage)

  Dogs (Fouling of Land) Bill (Environment)

  Prisoners (Return to Custody) Bill (Home Office)

  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Lord President of the Council what would be the current value of the financial assistance available to private Members for the drafting of balloted bills if it had been increased in line with inflation since its introduction.

  Mr. Newton
  A resolution of the House in 1971 authorised the payment of up to £200 to hon. Members securing one of the first 10 places in the ballot for private Members' Bills, to assist in the cost of drafting. The equivalent sum at 1994–95 prices would be £1,454.

  Laptop Computers
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Chairman of the Information Committee if he will request a copy of the report of the California Senate into the use of laptop computers for hon. Members in the House and Chamber; and if he will make a statement on whether a similar scheme could be analysed by his Department for implementation in the Commons.

  Mr. Waller
  I understand that the computer officer has requested a copy. I shall ask him to circulate it to the Committee when it is received, and to inform the hon. Member.

  Upper Waiting Hall Exhibition
  Sir Geoffrey Pattie
  To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he has considered an
  405
  application for an exhibition relating to the Shaftesbury Society to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

  Mr. Michael J. Martin
  I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Administration Committee, arrangements have been made for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from Monday 27 March to Friday 31 March 1995.

ENVIRONMENT

  Fire Services
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will review the standard spending assessment formula in respect of the Staffordshire fire services;

  (2) what was the standard spending assessment formula relating to fire service work for (a) inland and (b) coastal fire service authorities relating to fire service work for (i) 1992–93, (ii) 1993–94, (iii) 1994–95 and (iv) proposed for 1995–96.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  We are considering representations from local authorities about the proposed settlement for 1995–96, including one dated 6 January 1995 from Staffordshire county council, which asks for a change to the proposed methodology on the fire element of SSAs.

  The same formula is used for inland and coastal authorities. The formulae for 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95 are published in part 4 of the local government finance report for the relevant year and for 1995–96 in the draft local government finance report 1995–96.

  House Renovation Grants
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses in Lewisham are in a condition which would qualify them for repairs or renovation grants; and what is the average cost per household of such grants.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  My Department has not made estimates of numbers of properties which would qualify for renovation grants in individual London boroughs. Qualification depends both on the condition of the property and the circumstances of the owner.

  The London borough of Lewisham commissioned the Lewisham private sector house condition survey in 1993. This estimated that 9,500 private homes—14 per cent.—in the London borough of Lewisham did not meet current fitness standards. It does not estimate how many of these homes would qualify for renovation grants if their owners applied, or the cost of such grants.

  Mandatory renovation grants made by the local authority to households in Lewisham in 1994–95 are expected to average around £12,300 each, while discretionary minor works grants are expected to average around £600 each.

  Blyth Valley
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much was spent on industrial investment and environmental improvements by the 406
  northern development company in the Blyth Valley constituency in each year since 1989.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  I have been asked to reply.

  Nil. The Northern Development Co. is essentially a promotional organisation co-ordinating inward investment activities in the region.

  Damping Grant
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what damping grant is allocated to Nottinghamshire county council in(a) actual and (b) real terms; and what level in each case is allocated to the average shire council.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  "Damping" or SSA reduction grant was introduced in 1994–95 to assist local authorities which experienced a reduction of more than 2 per cent. in their standard spending assessment as a result of the revision of SSA methodology in 1993 or by the incorporation of 1991 census data. No county council experienced such changes and none therefore received SSA reduction grant. Nottingham city council did and received £1.146 million in 1994–95.

  Under the proposed settlement, reduction grant in respect of the changes in 1994–95 will continue to be paid in 1995–96 with an increase in the threshold for payment up to a further 2 per cent. to 4 per cent. The amount of SSA reduction grant that Nottingham city council will receive under the proposed settlement is £348,000.

  Building Research Establishment
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what redundancies have been made at the Building Research Establishment; what plans he has for the future of the centre; what assistance is provided by the centre to developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  There have been no redundancies at the Building Research Establishment.

  The establishment's policy and resources framework is under review; this includes consideration of whether executive agency status is the most appropriate basis for BRE's future operations. My right hon. Friend will make a statement in due course.

  I have asked the chief executive of BRE to write to the hon. Member about the establishment's work in developing countries.

  Letter from R.G. Courtney to Mr. George Foulkes, dated 13 January 1995:

  BRE ASSISTANCE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

  The Minister for Construction has asked me to reply to the part of your Parliamentary Question which concerns the assistance BRE provides to developing countries. This currently takes various forms which I outline below.

  Research and associated advice

  Medium-term programmes of research, carried out over a period of three years or so, have addressed many issues relevant to construction in developing countries. They are normally funded by the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) and often includes joint research undertaken with organisations in developing countries. A current ODA-funded programme is demonstrating the value of energy-efficient refurbishment of domestic apartments in China. In this, we are working with the Chinese Academy of

  407
  Building Research. BRE recently concluded a project on low-cost housing in Malaysia carried out with the Universiti Sains Malaysia and the University of Wales. This was partly funded by ODA, with further assistance from the British Council.

  Commissions

  BRE receives commissions, often through ODA or other aid agencies but sometimes directly from the countries concerned, to undertake short-term research-based work to meet specific needs. Examples of this during 1994/95 have included assistance to the timber industry in Honduras, and to the Ministry of Construction in Vietnam. We have also assisted developing countries establish their own building research organisations. For example, BRE advised the Ministry of the Interior in Taiwan on the development of its Building Research Institute, and now continues to provide advice and training to the Institute, at present in fire research and testing.

  Attached workers

  BRE has 'attached workers' from developing countries, for periods of training or to gain research experience. The enclosed BRE Overseas Information Paper explains the scheme. At any time there are usually two or three attached workers at BRE. They are generally in receipt of a scholarship from an aid agency or from their own government.

  Advice to enquirers

  Provision of advice to enquirers from developing countries is funded by ODA at a cost in 1994/95 of nearly £20k. Enquiries are usually concerned with the design of low cost housing and community buildings, the use of alternative building materials and the principles of construction suitable to withstand natural forces such as earthquakes and hurricanes. They are replied to individually, but are often answered by sending an Overseas Building Note. This series of publications has been funded by ODA although no funds are currently available for its development.

  Distribution of research reports

  BRE distributes a limited number of free copies of research reports, and other publications to similar organisations in developing countries, usually on an exchange basis but sometimes as gifts to develop international co-operation.

  International collaboration

  In its main programmes, BRE collaborates with universities and technical institutions from many countries, including developing countries. For example, BRE has an agreement with the Sichuan Institute of Building Research in China, under which the Institute assists BRE by carrying out a small programme of masonry research under a sub-contract.

  In total, BRE received £141k from ODA programmes in 1993/94.

  I hope this information will be helpful; please let me know if you would like me to expand on any aspect of our work.

  River Quality
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many rivers in Britain were found not to be conforming to the basic European standards of hygiene in the last year for which information is available; and if he will list them.

  Mr. Atkins
  No rivers in the United Kingdom are subject to European Union hygiene standards.

  Nottingham City Council

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Total

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  Urban Programme

  4,178.0

  3,783.0

  3,790.0

  2,694.0

  1,582.0

  16,027.0

  Urban Partnership Fund

  0.0

  0.0

  0.0

  370.0

  0.0

  370.0

  Derelict Land Grant

  25.0

  139.0

  600.0

  360.0

  104.0

  1,228.0

  Charging (Water and Sewerage)
  Mr. Gareth Wardell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the expected date when he will announce his decision on the future charging arrangements for water and sewerage.

  Mr. Atkins
  In due course.

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between his departmental Ministers and agencies.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The Secretary of State for the Environment is responsible for six executive agencies: Ordnance Survey; the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre; Security Facilities Executive; Building Research Establishment; the Buying Agency; and the Planning Inspectorate. The division of responsibilities and relationship between the Secretary of State and each of these agencies is set out in their respective framework documents. Copies of these documents are available in the House of Commons Library.

  BATNEEC
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 December,Official Report, column 1104, if he will qualify what' constitutes BATNEEC, best available techniques not entailing excessive costs; when his Department first instigated this acronym; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  Chapter 7 of the "Integrated Pollution Control: A Practical Guide", available in the Library of the House, provides guidance as to the meaning of BATNEEC. Guidance is issued by the Secretary of State and the chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution as to BATNEEC standards for industrial processes falling within the local authority air pollution control and integrated pollution control systems respectively. The acronym derives from section 7 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, but has its origins in the concept of best practicable means first set in national legislation in the Alkali Act of 1874.

  Regeneration Funding
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the total resources made available to(a) Nottingham city council and (b) Nottinghamshire county council for regeneration in each of the last five years by central Government programmes.

  Mr. Curry
  The following resources were made available to Nottingham city council and Nottinghamshire county council specifically for regeneration purposes in each of the last five years:
  409

  Nottingham City Council

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  Total

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  City Challenge

  0.0

  0.0

  7,585.0

  8,420.0

  7,580.0

  23585.0

  Estate Action

  934.0

  5,527.0

  5,083.0

  5,702.0

  7,108.0

  24,354.0

  Flats over Shops Scheme

  0.0

  0.0

  0.0

  92.0

  80.0

  172.0

  Compacts

  0.0

  3.5

  77.8

  124.5

  104.9

  310.8

  Teacher Placements

  0.0

  2.4

  27.6

  37.7

  5.2

  72.9

  Education Business Partnerships

  0.0

  0.0

  19.0

  11.9

  4.8

  35.7

  Total

  5,137.0

  9,459.9

  17,182.5

  17,812.0

  16,569.0

  66,155.4

  In addition, the city council has received approval to £8.96m European regional development funds over the five-year period.

  Nottingham County Council

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Total

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  £k

  Urban Programme

  672.0

  1218.0

  947.0

  531.0

  227.0

  3595.0

  Urban Partnership Fund

  0.0

  0.0

  0.0

  65.0

  0.0

  65.0

  Derelict Land Grant

  1200.0

  1728.0

  2631.0

  2134.0

  2970.0

  10663.0

  Coal Area Fund

  0.0

  0.0

  0.0

  384.0

  0.0

  384.0

  1GEST 19 (for raising standards in Inner City Schools)

  0.0

  0.0

  300.0

  508.0

  173.0

  981.0

  Compacts

  0.0

  0.0

  0.0

  50.0

  22.1

  72.1

  Teacher Placements

  0.0

  0.0

  20.8

  27.3

  18.9

  67.0

  Education Business Partnerships

  0.0

  0.0

  38.8

  93.9

  55.7

  188.4

  Total:

  1872.0

  2946.0

  3937.7

  3793.2

  3466.7

  16015.5

  1GEST = Grant for Education Support and Training.

  In addition, the city council has received approval to £8.96m European regional development funds over the five-year period.

  Desulphurisation
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the number of days in 1993 and 1994 that power generation desulphurisation plant was switched off.

  Mr. Atkins
  Drax and Ratcliffe-on-Soar are the only two power stations fitted with flue gas desulphurisation equipment; installation of FGD at these stations is still in progress.

  The first two FGD units at Drax have been operational since February 1994. From then until the end of 1994 they have operated for 98 per cent. of the time that the boilers to which they are linked were operating. The FGD units were off-line for the remainder of the time primarily due to a shut-down for a planned inspection.

  The first FGD unit at Ratcliffe-on-Soar has been operational since March 1994. From then until the end of 1994 it has operated for 95 per cent. of the time that the boilers to which it is linked were operating. The FGD unit
  410
  was off-line for the remainder of the time for inspection work and running repairs-fault rectification.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by power station the funds received from the European Economic Community for desulphurisation plant.

  Mr. Atkins
  I am not aware that the two generating companies in England and Wales have received any such funds.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which coal-burning power stations currently have desulphurisation plants.

  Mr. Atkins
  At present, flue gas desulphurisation equipment operates, or is under construction, for 4 GW of capacity at National Power's Drax power station and for 2 GW of capacity at Powergen's Radcliffe-on-Soar power station.

  Dog Fouling
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the recommendations of the advisory group on litter concerning dog fouling; and what is his response.
  411
  Sir Paul Beresford
  The recommendations of the litter advisory group concerning dog fouling were published as a consultation document on 20 July 1994. The Government's response was set out in the reply by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton, South (Sir G. Bright) on 14 December 1994,Official Report, column 664.

  Tyne and Wear
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made with the creation of an enterprise zone in the catchment area of the former Swan Hunter's shipyard following the Minister for Industry's statement to the House on 12 May 1993,Official Report, columns 801–809.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Progress on proposals for new enterprise zone sites on Tyneside has been necessarily delayed during the period of uncertainty over the future of the Swan Hunter shipyards. The three local authorities concerned and the Tyne and Wear development corporation have now submitted a package of sites for consideration and this is being examined by the Government Office for the North East.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact of a new enterprise zone in Tyne and Wear on(a) the work of the existing city challenge projects in inner west Newcastle and North Shields and (b) employment levels in the former shipbuilding communities of east Newcastle and Wallsend.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  No decision has been taken on the sites to be included in the proposals for a new enterprise zone in Tyne and Wear. As soon as agreement is reached, the relevant planning authorities will be asked to submit detailed economic analyses of their proposals.

  Water Supply Disconnections
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many domestic properties had their water supply disconnected in Walthamstow in 1994; and how many of these were in properties which had water meters.

  Mr. Atkins
  Information on disconnections by local authority district and by charging method is not available centrally. The Director General of Water Services publishes information on disconnections twice a year, by water company area and by domestic and non-domestic customer. Information on disconnections in the six months to 30 September 1994 was published in an Ofwat news release on 15 November 1994, a copy of which is in the Library.

  Erosion Review
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his review of erosion, deposition and flooding in Great Britain.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  It is expected that the review of erosion, deposition and flooding in Great Britain, commissioned by my Department, will be published in May 1995.
  412

  Civil Servant Travel
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which airlines have been granted preferred carrier status for civil servant travel to overseas destinations

  Sir Paul Beresford
  My Department has not granted preferred carrier status to any airline.

  Absenteeism
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the absenteeism rate for the Building Research Establishment in each year since 1991.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The information available is:

  Year

  Proportion of working days lost through sick absences per cent.

  1991

  2.0

  1992

  2.0

  1993

  2.1

  1994

  2.1

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the absenteeism rate for the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in each year since 1991.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  Number of staff employed

  Number of sick days

  1991

  67

  268

  1992

  66

  1582

  1993

  64

  1356

  1994

  64

  1314

  1 These figures are distorted by the following individual sick records:

  Year

  Number and reason

  Days

  1992

  1—Depression

  124

  1—M.E.

  106

  1—Pregnancy problems

  98

  1993

  1—Heart bypass

  119

  1994

  1—Depression

  80

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the absenteeism rate for the Security Facilities Executive in each year since 1991.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The Security Facilities Executive was established as an executive agency in October 1993. In its first year of operation the average sick absence rate to the nearest whole number of days was eight per person.

  Geevor Tin Mine
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment his Department has made of the pollution threat caused by the flooding of Geevor tin mine in Cornwall; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Atkins
  The National Rivers Authority has monitored closely the level and quality of water in Geevor mine. In its view, the water now flowing from the mine has had a localised and limited impact, and is easily dispersed by the coastal waters.
  413
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment who currently owns and has responsibility for maintaining Geevor tin mine in Cornwall.

  Mr. Atkins
  The surface freehold of Geevor mine is owned by Cornwall county council. I understand that the underground workings of the mine were abandoned in 1991.

  Dog Registration
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations have been made to him since the 1992 general election in favour of the introduction of a dog registration scheme; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  My Department regularly receives representations on this issue. For example, in response to the advisory group on litter recommendations on dog fouling last year, we received 104 letters which supported the idea of dog registration.

  However, the Government's view has consistently been that dog registration would be bureaucratic and difficult to enforce and that the irresponsible owner would be very unlikely to register. Dog control legislation related to specific problems, as in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and elsewhere, is, we believe, the most appropriate way of tackling these issues.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  No central record is maintained of the sources of names of appointees and in some cases they may have been nominated from more than one source. However, from the information readily available, it appears that three of the individuals appointed during 1994 were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Albert Dock Development
  Mr. Parry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he next intends to visit the Merseyside development corporation to investigate complaints by residents about the Albert dock development; and if he will make a statement.
  Sir Paul Beresford
  I have no plans to visit the Merseyside development corporation for this purpose.

  I am aware of the concerns of the residents of the Albert dock on some points and have written to the hon. Member. The corporation is continuing to work with the residents, long leaseholder and developer to find a way to resolve problems. In particular, the MDC has liaised with the leaseholder and the residents on the question of the unsatisfactory windows and is hoping to set up a meeting with the two parties on the other issues. A meeting between the developer and the residents has also enabled progress to be made on the question of the further development of residential accommodation.

  Grand Regatta Columbus
  Ms Eagle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he plans to take with respect 414
  to the chairman and chief executive of the Merseyside development corporation following the publication of the third report of the Committee of Public Accounts of Session 1994–95, HC 94, on the grand regatta Columbus.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  I have no plans to take action. I have every confidence that the chairman and chief executive of the Merseyside development corporation will take the necessary action to address the shortcomings in financial management highlighted in the PAC report. Indeed, they have been co-operating with the Department to that end since the publication of the NAO report on the grand regatta Columbus and fanfare for a new world concert in March 1995.

  Council Tax
  Mr. Sutcliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the impact of a significant event affecting the valuation of properties on valuation of properties for council tax purposes.

  Mr. Curry
  For council tax purposes, all dwellings are allocated to valuation bands according to the price that they might reasonably have been expected to have fetched had they been sold, subject to certain assumptions, on 1 April 1991. The listing officer will be prepared to review the banding where there has been a change in the physical state of its locality, for example where a major new road is opened, which has the effect of reducing the value of the dwellings in that area. The impact of such a "significant event" on the housing market will, of course, vary from case to case.

TRANSPORT

  Merchant Navy Veterans
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement in respect of travel, accommodation and light refreshment expenses payable to Merchant Navy veterans for 1995–96; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The extent of future funding for Merchant Navy representatives on Remembrance Sunday has not yet been decided, but the Department will continue to meet reasonable travel and subsistence costs incurred by MN wreath layers.

  Selby Bypass
  Mr. Alison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many objections have been identified to the draft compulsory purchase orders for the projected Selby bypass; what public inquiry proceedings are expected in relation to the objections received; and when the inquiry will be held.

  Mr. Watts
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my right hon. Friend.

  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Michael Alison, dated 17 January 1995:

  I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the draft Compulsory Purchase Order for the proposed A63 Selby Bypass scheme.
  415
  To date, 10 objections to this draft Order have been received. Arrangements are being made for these to be dealt with, along with the 14 objections to the draft Supplement Side Roads Order, at a Public Inquiry starting on 30 May this year.

  I hope this is helpful.

  Roads
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of (i) motorway and (ii) trunk roads are currently(a) open, (b) under construction, (c) at the planning inquiry stage or (d) under active consideration as part of the roads programme either (1) as new motorway-trunk road or (2) as existing motorway-trunk road being widened; if he will identify in each case the location and parliamentary constituency; which projects will now be subjected to further review arising out of his response to the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment report; and what new assessment will be used.

  Dr. Mawhinney
  The information, which covers England only, is in the following table:

  Miles of motorway

  Miles of all purpose trunk road

  a) Open

  1,905

  9,465

  b) Under construction

  (Start of works to completion)

  New

  59

  24

  Widening

  14

  89

  c) Planning Inquiry Stage (Orders Published to Start of Works)

  New

  30

  43

  Widening

  193

  55

  d) Under active consideration as part of the Road Programme

  New

  99

  798

  Widening

  598

  176

  The location of schemes in the national road programme is shown in the "Trunk Roads in England 1994 Review" published by my Department in March last year. Copies are in the Library of the House.

  I have asked the chief executive of the Highways Agency to send the hon. Member details of the parliamentary constituencies in which those schemes fall. A copy of those details will be placed in the Library.

  All schemes at the planning stage will be reviewed against the guidance issued to the Highways Agency with the Government's response to the SACTRA report.

  Rail Track Sale (London)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was raised from the sale of rail track from the area south-west of London Underground Leyton Central line station; what organisation received the profits from the sale; what has happened to the proceeds of the sale; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Watts
  The Secretary of State is acquiring by compulsory purchase land and rights over land to the south-west of Leyton underground station extending to some 12 acres of former railway land in and around the Temple Mills area. Negotiations over the terms of purchase and compensation settlement continue.

  Double-decker Buses
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what EC regulations apply to the manufacture and use in the United Kingdom of double-decker buses; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  The Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 require certain systems and components in vehicles to comply with the performance requirements of EC directives or United Nations Economic Commission for Europe regulations. We are currently awaiting an EC proposal for a draft directive on bus and coach construction.

  A15 (Telephones)
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when work to install emergency telephones on the A15 Barnetby Top-Humber Bridge section will commence; and when it will be completed.

  Mr. Watts
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Michael Brown, dated 17 January 1995:

  John Watts, the Minister for Roads and Railways, has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about when work will begin, and be completed, to install emergency telephones on the A 15 between Barnetby Top and Humber Bridge.

  Work will start at the end of January and will take four weeks, subject to good weather.

  Commercial Vehicles (Safety)
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many commercial vehicles were stopped and inspected; how many were found to be defective; and how many of those defective had defective brakes in(a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c)

  Mr. Norris
  This is an operational matter for the Vehicle Inspectorate agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Ron Oliver to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 17 January 1995:

  Vehicle Spot Checks.

  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of commercial vehicles stopped and inspected, how many were found to be defective and how many of those defective had defective brakes in 1991, 1992 and 1993.

  The information requested is not available by calendar year and has been provided for the financial years (April to March) 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 and is shown in tabular form below.

  Number of Vehicles Inspected during Roadworthiness Spot Checks

  Heavy goods vehicles

  Trailers (HGV)

  Buses and coaches

  1991–92

  90,118

  22,565

  21,106

  1992–93

  100,337

  26,033

  24,895

  1993–94

  93,690

  26,645

  24,521

  The inspections above revealed that the following number of vehicles had serious roadworthiness defects which resulted in prohibition action being taken.
  417

  Number of immediate and delayed roadworthiness prohibitions

  Heavy goods vehicles

  Trailers (HGV)

  Buses and coaches

  1991–92

  14,075

  3,557

  2,552

  1992–93

  14,678

  3,354

  2,289

  1993–94

  14,888

  3,882

  2,419

  The number of these vehicles inspected during roadworthiness spot checks, which had defective brakes, is not available for these inspections alone or in the form requested. The information available, provided below, shows recorded brake related defects as a percentage of all defects recorded from prohibition notices. The data is taken from roadworthiness spot check inspections and roadworthiness inspections done for operator licensing purposes. Data for 1991/92 is not available.

  Heavy goods vehicles per cent

  Trailers (HGV) per cent

  Buses and coaches per cent

  1991–92

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  1992–93

  30.5

  42

  19

  1993–94

  32.5

  43

  19

  The information on inspections does not include:

  (i) roadworthiness enforcement activity on light goods vehicles; and

  (ii) limited roadworthiness spot checks confined to vehicle lighting or exhaust emissions.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to remove any commercial vehicles found to have defective brakes from the roads(a) for three months for the first offence, (b) for 12 months for a second offence and (c) confiscation for the third offence by the same owners/operators.

  Mr. Norris
  No. Sanctions are properly a matter for the courts and the traffic commissioners.

  Marine Pollution
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Marine Safety Agency will complete its survey of those ports which have facilities to accept chemical contaminated waste; if he will list the ports so designated; 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 Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 17 January 1995:

  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about ports which have facilities for accepting chemical contaminated wastes.

  The Marine Safety Agency has a policy of constantly reviewing the provision of waste reception facilities at ports. This is in part to meet our commitment to ensure that the facilities are adequate under the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, know as MARPOL. The Department of Transport is also assessing the provision of facilities to assist in the development of measures following the recommendations in Lord Donaldson's report into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping "Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas".

  At the moment we have two surveys in hand: a questionnaire survey of the types and capacity of reception facilities and an independent assessment of the adequacy of those facilities. The responses from the questionnaire survey were received in late 1994 and are currently being analysed. We also hope that the team of consultants carrying out the second assessment will have finalized
  418
  their reports shortly. I will send you personal copies of both reports when they are available.

  Vehicle Checks
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he currently assesses the roadworthiness of cars, heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles; and what plans he has to vary the present requirement for the production of MOT certificates as a prerequisite for the purchase of vehicle excise duty tax discs.

  Mr. Norris
  Vehicles are assessed for roadworthiness at annual tests. They are also checked at the roadside by the police and examiners from the Vehicle Inspectorate.

  I have no plans to change the current check of MOT test certificates when vehicles are relicensed.

  Concessionary Travel, London
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of Slate for Transport what plans he has to impose a concessionary travel scheme for pensioners and disabled people across London for the coming year; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  None. The provision of travel concessions for elderly and disabled people is a matter for the London local authorities. I understand that the boroughs have agreed a scheme for London Transport services for the coming year, but are still considering the arrangements for London rail services.

  Wrightington Hospital Mobility Centre
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding assistance his Department will give to the accredited mobility centre at Wrightington hospital in Lancashire when its grant from the regional health authority ends.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department of Transport mobility advice and vehicle information service has provided support to the mobility centre at Wrightington over a number of years through loans of vehicles and equipment and the services of its peripatetic driving adviser. The Department has no means to provide funding assistance.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Norris
  Two.

  Cones Hotline
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest calculation of the total number of calls to the cones hotline that(a) required the removal of cones and (b) did not justify action; and what was the total loss of cones hotline.

  Mr. Watts
  This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
  419
  Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr. Paul Flynn, dated 17 January 1995:

  You asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his latest calculation of the total number of calls to the Cones Hotline that (a) required the removal of cones and (b) did not justify action; and what was the total cost of the Cones Hotline.

  As this is an operational matter for the Highways Agency, I have been asked to reply.

  The Cones Hotline has currently received 12,100 calls since its inception in June 1992. Of these, 6,100 cases have been complaints about observations on cones and traffic management at roadworks which have been followed up by the relevant regional office. As a consequence of this follow up action, there have been 5 cases where it has been necessary to remove the traffic management. The remaining calls have comprised general enquiries and requests for information which have been dealt with immediately.

  Since March 1994, the Cones Hotline has operated on a dedicated local call rate number. The cost of running the Cones Hotline is approximately £5000 per annum, including call charges. Other running costs are not separately identifiable since they have been, and are still being, met from within budgets agreed before the Hotline was established.

  I hope this information is helpful.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Speeding
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has for controlling excessive speeding by vehicles along the Shore road, Ballyhalbert; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moss
  The Department is not aware of a speeding problem at Shore road, Ballyhalbert where a 30 mph speed limit exists. However the matter will be brought to the attention of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which is responsible for enforcing speed limits.

  RUC
  Rev. Ian Paisley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number and names of the groups and organisations which are to be consulted by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland with regard to changes in the structure of the Royal Ulster Constabulary; and what is the estimated cost of this exercise.

  Sir John Wheeler
  This is a matter for the Police Authority for Northern Ireland. However, I understand that, in pursuit of its statutory obligation to make arrangements for obtaining the views of people about policing, after consulting the Chief Constable the authority wishes to give as many individuals, community groups and organisations as possible the opportunity to have their say about future policing needs and priorities in Northern Ireland. Accordingly, the authority plans to provide information about the consultation exercise to each household in Northern Ireland. Accordingly, the authority plans to provide information about the consultation exercise to each household in Northern Ireland and to invite views from political and religious groupings, business and trade union organisations, justice, peace, legal, community, sporting, social, charity and youth bodies. Including newspaper advertisements, printing and postage, the cost of the project is estimated at £70,000. The authority is seeking responses by 2 May 1995.

  Eggs
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the expected impact of the compulsory user of heat-treated feed on Northern Ireland egg production; whether the Northern Ireland Egg Producers Association was consulted prior to the decision to make this feed compulsory; whether the use of heat-treated feed is compulsory for egg production in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the future prospects for the Northern Ireland egg industry.

  Mr. Ancram
  There is an additional cost in the use of heat-treated feed. Although some egg producers are concerned about possible adverse effects on egg quality, this has not been substantiated in the experimental work carried out by the Department of Agriculture. A significant number of egg producers in Northern Ireland are using heat-treated feed successfully.

  The heat treatment requirement was introduced in 1991 following consultation with the egg and poultry industry to protect the industry against the introduction of Newcastle disease through a feed source. The Northern Ireland Egg Producers Association was not in existence at the time.

  The use of heat-treated poultry feeding stuffs is not compulsory in Great Britain.

  The Northern Ireland egg industry, which has a reputation for producing quality eggs, can maintain its. position on the export market and look forward with confidence to the future.

  Maze Prison
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many firearms are under the control of prisoners at Her Majesty's prison at the Maze; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Wheeler
  None.

  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners at Her Majesty's Maze prison have access to mobile telephones; and if he will make a statement.

  Sir John Wheeler
  Prisoners are not permitted mobile telephones. There are reports about the supposed availability of mobile telephones in HMP Maze and these are subject to investigation and regular searching procedures.

  Industrial Development Board
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new jobs have been provided in the boroughs of(a) Ards and (b) Castlereagh in each of the past five years as a result of assistance from the Industrial Development Board; and when the IDB last arranged a visit to each of these boroughs by a potential inward investor.

  Mr. Ancram
  Information on jobs promoted with assistance from the Industrial Development Board in the Ards and Castlereagh district council areas is set out in the table. The last visit by potential inward investors, arranged by IDB, was on 15 September 1994 in the case of Ards district council and on 14 December 1994 to Castlereagh district council area.
  421

  Jobs promoted with IDB assistance

  Ards

  Castlereagh

  1990–91

  50

  68

  1991–92

  149

  84

  1992–93

  49

  —

  1993–94

  41

  —

  1994 (April to December)

  —

  14

  Total

  289

  166

  AIDS
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have died as a result of AIDS or illness associated with AIDS in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Moss
  The number of persons known to have died in Northern Ireland as a result of AIDS, or illness associated with AIDS, in each of the past five years is given below:

  1990: 91

  1991: 5

  1992: 4

  1993: 31

  1994: 5 (provisional)

  1Includes one case diagnosed in England

  Cattle
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the current number of cattle aged 30 months or under with enzootic bovine leucosis; what the figure was 12 months ago; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ancram
  None. There has never been any recorded outbreaks of enzootic bovine leucosis in Northern Ireland. In 1991 Northern Ireland was recognised as an EBL free region of the EC.

  Civil Servants
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants are employed by the Northern Ireland Office(a) in Stormont and (b) in Whitehall.

  Sir John Wheeler
  The number of civil servants employed by the Northern Ireland Office on 30 December 1994 was 1,556.

  Of this total, 486 are employed in Stormont, 104 in Whitehall and the remainder at other locations throughout Northern Ireland.

  Terrorists (Educational Background)
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what studies have been carried out by his Department into the educational attainments of persons convicted of terrorist-type crimes in Northern Ireland.

  Sir John Wheeler
  It is not normal practice to conduct general studies of prisoners' attainments regardless of their convictions. However, the prior educational attainments of individual prisoners are assessed when they are being advised about the opportunities available to them during their imprisonment.
  422
  Records of examination results achieved in prisons are included each year in the annual report of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

  Vehicle Registration Numbers
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the ranges of the vehicle registration numbers in Northern Ireland which have not been issued; what arrangements he has made for the sale of those numbers; when he now expects to dispose of them; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moss
  Registration marks in the following series have not been issued:

  Marks 1 to 99 in each of the following series:

  ABZ, BBZ, BDZ, CBZ, DBZ, DDZ, DUI, EDZ, FDZ, FIL, GDZ, IIW, IXI, JJI, JIW, JXI, KIB, KJI, KXI, LIB, LJI, LXI, MIB, MXI, NXI, OXI, WIJ, XIJ, CDZ, JIB, YIJ.

  Marks 1 to 999 in each of the following series:

  AAZ, BAZ, CAZ, DAZ, EAZ, EBZ, EUI, FAZ, FBZ,GBZ, GIL, GUI, HBZ, HUI, IBZ, IDZ, IIL, JBZ, JDZ, KBZ, KDZ, KIW, LDZ, LIW, MDZ, MIW, MJI, NDZ, NIB, NIW, NJI, OIB, OIW, OJI, PIW, PDZ, PIB, PXI, RDZ, RIB, RIW, RJI, RXI, SDZ, SIB, SXI, TIB, TJI, TXI, UIB, UXI, VIB, VXI, WIB, WXI, XXI, YXI.

  Marks 1 to 1999 in the following series:

  JIL, HIL, LIL.

  The series FUI and KIL were not issued since it was considered that their use might give rise to offence.

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland—the agency with responsibility for the registration of vehicles in Northern Ireland—is considering the administrative arrangement, including the need for legislation, which would be required to enable these marks to be offered for sale to the public. I hope to be in a position to make an announcement in a few months about the introduction of a sale of marks scheme in Northern Ireland.

  Hospital Admissions
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 25 November 1994,Official Report, column 403, what percentage of total admissions was represented by emergency hospital admissions.

  Mr. Moss
  The information is as follows:

  Year

  Emergency admissions as a percentage of total admissions

  1989–90

  45

  1990–91

  42

  1991–92

  40

  1992–93

  37

  1993–94

  37

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the individuals appointed
  423
  by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Sir John Wheeler
  None of the individuals appointed to public positions in the last year was first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Stormont (Fire)
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the cost of repairing and restoring the Parliament buildings, Stormont; when he expects the work to begin and end; and if he will ensure that the building will be repaired to the standard existing before the fire of 2 January.

  Mr. Moss
  No estimate has yet been taken about the restoration of the former House of Commons Chamber. I will, however, be reviewing options in the light of prevailing circumstances.

  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the fire and smoke detection equipment installed in the Parliament buildings, Stormont, and whether any fire suppression or control equipment including sprinkler systems were in place;

  1991

  Class

  Killed

  Alcohol principle factor

  Alcohol contributory factor

  Speed principle factor

  Speed contributory factor

  Pedestrians

  45

  8

  3

  6

  0

  Pedal cyclists

  9

  1

  0

  2

  0

  Motor cyclists

  17

  4

  0

  4

  3

  Car passengers

  49

  6

  1

  17

  0

  Car Drivers

  57

  14

  0

  15

  9

  HGV drivers

  5

  0

  1

  2

  0

  HGV passengers

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Others

  3

  1

  0

  0

  0

  Scar belt usage for fatalities in 1991

  Class

  In use

  Not in use

  Not known

  Exempt

  Car passengers

  23

  16

  9

  1

  Car drivers

  33

  13

  8

  3

  HGV drivers

  Category

  Exempt

  —

  —

  HGV passengers

  Category

  Exempt

  —

  —

  Others

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1992

  Class

  Killed

  Alcohol principle factor

  Alcohol contributory factor

  Speed principle factor

  Speed contributory factor

  Pedestrians

  47

  13

  0

  2

  2

  Pedal cyclists

  7

  3

  0

  1

  1

  Motor cyclists

  11

  2

  0

  4

  1

  Car passengers

  29

  8

  0

  5

  4

  Car drivers

  43

  10

  0

  13

  9

  HGV drivers

  2

  1

  0

  0

  0

  HGV passengers

  2

  0

  0

  1

  0

  Others

  9

  1

  0

  0

  0

  Seat belt usage for fatalities in 1992

  Class

  In use

  Not in use

  Not known

  Exempt

  Car passengers

  12

  11

  5

  1

  Car drivers

  20

  10

  11

  2

  424
  what was the distance between the building and the nearest fire hydrant; and if he will make a statement on the fire of 2 January.

  Mr. Moss
  I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson) on 13 January,Official Report, columns 235–36.

  Road Deaths
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons have died in road accidents in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; in each year how many were(a) pedestrians, (b) drivers, (c) motor cyclists, (d) car passengers, (e) car drivers, (f) heavy goods vehicle drivers, (g) heavy goods vehicle passengers and (h) others; and in regard to each such category how many of the deaths were attributable in some degree to (i) alcohol, (ii) speed and (iii) not wearing a seat belt.

  Sir John Wheeler
  It is not possible to state whether or not fatalities are attributable in any degree to failure to wear a seat belt. Seat belt usage information for fatalities is provided for information.
  425

  Seat belt usage for fatalities in 1992

  Class

  In use

  Not in use

  Not known

  Exempt

  HGV drivers

  Category

  Exempt

  —

  —

  HGV passengers

  Category

  Exempt

  —

  —

  Others

  0

  8

  1

  0

  1993

  Class

  Killed

  Alcohol principle factor

  Alcohol contributory factor

  Speed principle factor

  Speed contributory factor

  Pedestrians

  42

  11

  0

  0

  0

  Pedal cyclists

  6

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Motor cyclists

  16

  4

  0

  3

  2

  Car passengers

  21

  5

  0

  8

  2

  Car drivers

  54

  16

  1

  14

  8

  HGV drivers

  1

  0

  0

  0

  1

  HGV passengers

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Others

  3

  0

  0

  1

  0

  Seat belt usage for fatalities in 1993

  Class

  In use

  Not in use

  Not known

  Exempt

  Car passengers

  9

  1

  11

  0

  Car drivers

  18

  11

  24

  1

  HGV drivers

  Category

  Exempt

  —

  —

  HGV passengers

  Category

  Exempt

  —

  —

  others

  0

  0

  0

  3

  The provisional road traffic accident fatalities figure for 1994 is 157. A breakdown is not yet available.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  Swimming Teaching
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what guidelines he has issued in respect of minimum levels and standards of swimming teaching in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

  Mr. Forth
  I have been asked to reply.

  Detailed advice on safe practice in the teaching of swimming is included in the handbook "Safe Practice in Physical Education" which was first published in 1985 by the British Association of Advisers and Lecturers in Physical Education. A revised edition of the handbook was published in 1990 with the approval and recommendation of the, then, Department of Education and Science.

  The advice includes details about recommended teacher/tutor qualifications, supervision, pupils' behaviour, pool safety and equipment.

  Precise teaching methods are a matter for individual schools, and it is for schools to satisfy themselves that those who teach swimming are suitably qualified.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will visit James Brindley high school and Tunstall swimming pool to discuss the operation of the standard spending assessment formula applied by the Department of Environment in respect of the teaching of swimming to school children.
  426
  Mr. Forth
  I have been asked to reply.

  Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage nor I has any immediate plans to visit this school or swimming pool. The Government have set the overall totals for local authority spending in a way which allows all authorities to increase their spending in 1995–96. But each council is solely responsible for determining its spending priorities between and within services, in deciding the amount to be spent on schools swimming.

  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what assessment he has made of the teaching resources required to ensure adequate levels of swimming teaching for(a) primary and (b) secondary schools;

  (2) what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Environment to ensure adequate provision is made for swimming teaching in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

  Mr. Forth
  I have been asked to reply.

  Surveys carried out by this Department have shown a considerable commitment from schools and local education authorities to swimming in schools. Implementation of national curriculum physical education began in August 1992. However, because of the difficulty which some schools might have had in providing swimming tuition, the implementation of the swimming requirements of the PE curriculum were deferred until August 1994. This allowed those schools which needed it another two years to make the arrangements necessary to provide swimming tuition.

  Second World War Commemoration
  Mr. Hawkins
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how he proposes to fund the programme of events in Hyde park, from 6 to 8 May, to
  427
  commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end in Europe of the second world war.

  Mr. Dorrell
  During the current financial year it will be necessary to make payments to Messrs Unusual Industries, which has been contracted to provide the specified service. Consultancy payments will also be made to a programme project manager. Parliamentary approval for this new service is being sought in a supplementary estimate for the Department of National Heritage vote for film, tourism, sport and broadcasting—class XI, vote 5.

  The associated costs of the Department's support team will be met from the Department of National Heritage administration vote—class XI, vote 7—within existing provision.

  National Lottery
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the charities that have so far benefited from the Government share of the national lottery.

  Mr. Dorrell
  No applicants, including charities, have yet received funding from the proceeds of the national lottery. The proceeds will remain invested until the distributing bodies are ready to pay grants to good causes.

  Mr. Dafis
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what discussions he has had with Camelot plc on measures to ensure that the operation of the national lottery reflects the policy of equal validity of the Welsh and English languages; if he will make it his policy to ensure implementation of the policy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  This is a matter for the Director General of the National Lottery. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Library of the House.

HEALTH

  GP Fundholding
  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to encourage more general practitioner practices to become fundholding.

  Mr. Malone
  We have recently announced a major extension of the options for general practitioner fundholding. Our aim is to extend the benefits for patients as widely as possible.

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 9 December 1994,Official Report, column 401, if she will now publish information for 1993–94 on general practitioner fundholders' savings.

  Mr. Malone
  Final audited information is not yet available.

  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the total administrative costs of general practitioner fundholding in 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Malone
  [holding answer 13 January 1995]: General practitioner fundholding practices receive additional allowances for directly managing their funds and purchasing care on their patients' behalf. These costs represent about 2 per cent. of budgets set and amounted
  428
  to £14.1 million in 1991–92, £29.5 million in 1992–93 and £49.5 million in 1993–94. Figures for 1994–95 are not yet available.

  It is not possible to disaggregate other administration costs from total costs.

  Patient Services (Charges)
  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those trusts that are charging for television use and other patient services; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Guy's Hospital
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received concerning the proposed closure of Guy's hospital accident and emergency unit.

  Mr. Malone
  South East London health authority is currently consulting on future services at Guy's and St. Thomas's hospitals and all representations received by the Department have been passed to SELHA to be taken into account.

  Patient Treatments, North West Region
  Mr. Nigel Evans
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were treated in the north-west region in the last year for which figures are available; and what was the figure in the previous year.

  Mr. Sackville
  The number of finished consultant episodes in the general and acute sector purchased by the national health service for patients from the former north-western region was 782,000 in 1993–94 compared with 748,000 in 1992–93—an increase of 4.5 per cent.

  Ward Running Costs
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are estimated to be the respective costs of running the average(a) single sex and (b) mixed ward; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available. The cost of maintaining a bed for a patient depends more upon the specialty than on the sex of the patient. However, when properly used, mixed-sex accommodation can lead to a more efficient use of hospital beds, and better quality care for patients.

  NHS (Private Sector Involvement)
  Mr. Kevin Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to further involve the private sector in the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Government welcome cost-effective co-operation between the national health service and the independent sector. NHS managers and general practitioner fundholders are encouraged at a local level to seek improved quality, better value for money and best use of resources, irrespective of whether it is from the public or private sector. Such co-operation is to the advantage of patients and the NHS.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health
  429
  if she will make a statement on her Department's plans to contract with the private sector to design, build and run district general hospitals.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a matter for local decision.

  Capitation Funding Formula
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to issue a simplified explanation of the new needs-driven formula of capitation funding for health authorities.

  Mr. Sackville
  A booklet entitled "HCHS (Hospital and Community Health Services) Revenue Resource Allocation: Weighted Capitation Formula" has been placed in the Library. It gives a simplified explanation of the modified weighted capitation formula.

  Hospital Trust Boards
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the criteria for appointment to hospital trust boards.

  Mr. Malone
  Non-executive directors of national health service trusts are appointed for their personal qualities and the knowledge and skills which they can bring to the post and not to represent any particular body or interest.

  District Health Authorities
  Mr. Peter Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of district health authorities in England; what was the number in March 1991; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Malone
  There are 110 district health authorities in England. In March 1991 they numbered 189.

  The reduction in the number of district health authorities is part of our programme for achieving more effective and efficient health authorities which link primary and secondary care, for streamlining management structures and improving the health of the population.

  Health Services, Northumberland
  Mr. Jack Thompson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the provision of health services in south-east Northumberland; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a matter for the Northumberland health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chief executive, Mrs. J. Axelby, for details.

  Health Information
  Mr. Wolfson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to improve the provision of information on health matters for NHS patients and the wider public.

  Mr. Malone
  The patients charter sets out the right of every citizen to be given information on local health services, including quality standards and maximum waiting times. In January 1993, a national freephone health information service was launched which puts callers in contact with their local regional health information services. The service can be contacted free of charge on 0800 665544. It provides information in confidence about local national health services; patients 430
  charter standards and waiting times; common diseases, conditions and treatments, including details of self-help groups; how to complain about NHS services; and how to maintain and improve personal health. Health authorities produce annual reports for the public on hospitals' patients charter performance, and hospitals publicly display information to patients about their services, including their own patients charter performance, and a named person to whom complaints should be made. In June 1994, the first set of annual NHS comparative performance tables were published, showing the public how their local health services were performing under six main headings based upon patients charter information.

  In addition, NHS trusts are required to publish an annual report and accounts, which includes information about the principal activities of the trust together with details of any activities in research and development with a comparison with that of the previous year. Recent measures have been taken to increase the information published in this document and from 1994–95, the report will include information on the trusts performance against a number of local-national patients charter standards.

  NHS Waiting Times
  Mr. Heald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the change in the average NHS waiting time since March 1988.

  Mr. Malone
  The average waiting time for hospital treatment has fallen from 9.2 months in March 1988 to 4.6 months in March 1994.

  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS patients are seen(a) within five weeks and (b) within three months; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Malone
  In 1992–93, the latest year for which information is available, 56 per cent. of national health service patients admitted to hospital were admitted within five weeks, and 73 per cent. within three months.

  Mr. Mark Robinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to make further progress in reducing the amount of time patients have to wait for hospital treatment.

  Mr. Malone
  The national health service has already made huge strides in reducing waiting times. In all but a handful of cases no one now waits more than two years for treatment, and the average waiting time has been cut from over nine months in 1987 to less than five months now. We expect to see further progress and from 1 April 1995 the maximum length of wait for in-patient or day case treatment for all patients will be reduced from 24 to 18 months. We will also introduce two new standards—a maximum waiting time of 12 months for patients waiting for coronary artery bypass grafts and some associated procedures and also, for the first time ever, a standard for the maximum wait for a first out-patient appointment.

  Blood
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made by her Department of the current shortfall in blood stocks at the present time.

  Mr. Sackville
  The National Blood Authority has sufficient stocks to meet the needs of hospitals for blood at the present time.

  Mr. Alton
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health
  431
  when she expects to make a decision about the future of the blood transfusion service.

  Mr. Sackville
  The National Blood Authority has announced that it will ask an independent panel consisting of Professor A. Bellingham, president of the Royal College of Pathologists; Professor A. Breckenridge; Professor in Pharmacology, university of Liverpool; Dr. H. Gunson; previous medical director, National Blood Authority; and Mr. P. Griffiths; director, King's Fund college, to ensure that the authority, in coming to its final decisions, has given due and objective consideration to the comments received during its recent consultation. The authority will publish its final proposals in due course.

  Alzheimer's Disease
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's policy is on meeting the needs of younger people with Alzheimer's disease; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  It is for the local health and social services authorities to assess the needs of younger people with Alzheimer's disease and to arrange to provide the appropriate services.

  Community Care
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to assess unmet community care needs.

  Mr. Bowis
  Local authorities have the responsibility of assessing individual needs under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1989 and to decide with the individual concerned how best to meet these needs.

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the Association of Directors of Social Services on the practice of cost-shunting of vulnerable elderly people between health authorities and local councils; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  As part of the new community care arrangements in England, local authorities have been required to reach agreements with health authorities on their respective responsibilities for continuing care and procedures for hospital discharge. These arrangements are being repeated for 1995–96 and local authorities have been asked to provide evidence of joint strategies to address any operational problems which have been identified. Arrangements in Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  New-born babies
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new-born babies died in(a) the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust hospitals and (b) Ashington hospital in each year since 1990.

  Mr. Sackville
  No reliable figures are held centrally on this subject. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of the trust, Mr. Roger Baker, for details.

  Drug and Alcohol
  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what purposes the drug and alcohol specific grant is intended to be put.
  432
  Mr. Bowis
  The purposes of specific grant are:

  1. to assist local authorities to develop the voluntary sector's contribution to improving the adequacy, quality and suitability of the social care elements of services for alcohol and drug misusers;

  2. to support residential, day and domiciliary services as appropriate, according to local needs, especially for "hard to reach" groups;

  3. to contribute to the planned provision of services for alcohol and/or drug misusers within local community care plans.

  Mr. Dowd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the amounts of drug and alcohol specific grant awarded to each London borough since 1990–91.

  Mr. Bowis
  The amounts of specific grant awarded at the start of each financial year since 1990–91 are shown in the table.

  Name of borough

  1991–92 £

  1992–93 £

  1993–94 £

  1994–95 £

  Barnet

  —

  —

  5,274

  5,387

  Bexley

  —

  6,048

  —

  —

  Brent

  —

  —

  43,458

  79,067

  Barking and Dagenham

  —

  7,161

  24,360

  31,360

  Camden

  22,600

  10,044

  7,984

  47,420

  Corporation of the City of London

  —

  —

  —

  61,788

  Croydon

  7,350

  5,325

  8,883

  16,310

  Ealing

  —

  —

  —

  24,358

  Greenwich

  5,500

  6,000

  6,125

  —

  Hackney

  —

  21,000

  35,000

  35,000

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  35,706

  31,006

  42,321

  15,165.50

  Haringey

  —

  —

  —

  63,000

  Harrow

  —

  —

  8,520

  —

  Havering

  —

  7,161

  —

  —

  Hillingdon

  —

  —

  —

  7,025

  Hounslow

  17,505

  16,862

  21,490

  61,888

  Islington

  34,009

  50,030

  73,289

  91,688

  Kensington and Chelsea

  102,492

  135,812

  126,910

  63,888

  Kingston

  11,666

  18,500

  —

  —

  Lambeth

  17,500

  21,000

  39,746

  18,630

  Lewisham

  12,527

  47,599

  15,619

  14,619

  Merton

  —

  —

  10,066

  —

  Newham

  —

  7,161

  —

  93,842

  Redbridge

  —

  19,761

  —

  —

  Richmond

  7,700

  7,700

  15,400

  —

  Southwark

  41,548

  105,957

  65,910

  35,641

  Sutton

  —

  18,512

  18,512

  124,212

  Tower Hamlets

  104,062

  166,660

  117,165

  100,500

  Waltham Forest

  50,505

  65,225

  62,841

  —

  Wandsworth

  —

  44,882

  49.666

  49,866

  Westminster

  42,000

  18,340

  79,552

  109,091

  Cheviot and Wansbeck Trust
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many audited accounts she has seen for the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust; and if she will make a statement;

  (2) if she will instigate an inquiry into the accounts of the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust.

  Mr. Sackville
  Accounts for the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust's first year are not due to be audited until the summer of 1995. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will not see the accounts until the audit is complete.

  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions serious conditions were later discovered to have been misdiagnosed in the
  433
  Wansbeck and Cheviot maternity unit and the Northumberland health authority in each year since 1992.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a matter for the Cheviot and Wansbeck national health service trust and Northumberland health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of the trust and the vice-chairman of the authority, Mr. Roger Baker and Mr. David Wright, for details.

  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to provide additional funding for the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  National health service trusts receive no direct funding from the Department of Health. They derive their income principally from contracts with purchasers—health authorities and general practitioners fundholders—to provide health care.

  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received relating to financial irregularities at the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  None.

  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the waiting list(a) for out-patient examinations and (b) for in-patient surgery in the Northumberland health authority and the Cheviot and Wansbeck hospital.

  Mr. Malone
  Information on the waiting time for first out-patient appointments will be published shortly.

  Information on waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment by national health service trust and non-trust hospital is given in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England", copies of which are available in the Library.

  Forensic Psychiatry
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list, for each regional health authority, how many doctors have been trained each year for the last five years in forensic psychiatry; and how many qualified in forensic psychiatry are practising by region in the national health service.

  Mr. Malone
  The tables show the numbers of registrars, senior registrars and consultants in forensic psychiatry.

  Table 1: Forensic psychiatry: numbers as at 30 September each year: senior registrars and registrars

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  England

  31

  28

  46

  40

  40

  Total for all regions listed below:

  32

  28

  46

  40

  40

  Northern

  1

  1

  —

  3

  1

  Yorkshire

  2

  —

  1

  2

  2

  Trent

  1

  —

  1

  1

  —

  East Anglia

  1

  —

  2

  2

  2

  1993

  1994

  Transplant

  Heart

  Heart/Lung

  Lung

  Heart

  Heart/Lung

  Lung

  Freeman Hospital

  35

  3

  29

  46

  4

  20

  Northern General Hospital

  22

  —

  1

  22

  —

  2

  Papworth Hospital

  44

  16

  20

  49

  21

  20

  Harefield Hospital

  70

  9

  30

  83

  14

  51

  Great Ormond Street Hospital

  9

  5

  —

  12

  5

  —

  434

  Table 1:Forensic psychiatry: numbers as at 30 September each year: senior registrars and registrars

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  North West Thames

  1

  —

  2

  3

  4

  North East Thames

  1

  —

  —

  2

  3

  South East Thames

  1

  2

  2

  3

  2

  South West Thames

  2

  2

  3

  1

  —

  Wessex

  1

  2

  3

  1

  2

  Oxford

  —

  —

  1

  1

  1

  South Western

  2

  2

  3

  2

  3

  West Midlands

  6

  7

  13

  5

  2

  Mersey

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  North Western

  2

  2

  3

  4

  2

  SHAs

  4

  2

  2

  3

  3

  Special hospitals

  7

  8

  10

  7

  13

  Notes:

  Some staff are counted in more than one region. Hence the total for all regions may exceed the corresponding figure for England. There were slight undercounts in the censuses for 1990 and 1991. It is not known whether these affected the data for forensic psychiatry.

  Forensic psychiatry: numbers as at 30 September each year: consultants

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  England

  75

  71

  68

  80

  82

  Total for all regions listed below:

  77

  74

  71

  83

  85

  Northern

  2

  2

  2

  2

  1

  Yorkshire

  5

  3

  3

  5

  5

  Trent

  4

  3

  3

  4

  4

  East Anglia

  3

  3

  3

  2

  3

  North West Thames

  3

  3

  3

  4

  1

  North East Thames

  4

  2

  2

  3

  3

  South East Thames

  7

  6

  6

  4

  3

  South West Thames

  2

  2

  2

  1

  2

  Wessex

  2

  2

  2

  1

  2

  Oxford

  1

  1

  1

  1

  2

  South Western

  3

  3

  4

  4

  4

  West Midlands

  4

  5

  5

  6

  6

  Mersey

  3

  5

  3

  4

  3

  North Western

  4

  4

  5

  5

  5

  SHAs

  5

  5

  5

  4

  5

  Special hospitals

  25

  25

  22

  33

  36

  Notes:

  Some staff are counted in more than one region. Hence the total for all regions may exceed the corresponding figure for England.

  There were slight undercounts in the censuses for 1990 and 1991. It is not known whether these affected the data for forensic psychiatry.

  Heart and Lung Transplants
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each designated heart and lung transplant unit the numbers of(a) heart, (b) lung, single or double and (c) heart and lung transplants carried out in the calendar years 1993 and 1994.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information for England is shown in the table. The figures for 1994 are provisional. Responsibility for such provision in Scotland rests with the Secretary of State for Scotland.
  435

  1993

  1994

  Transplant

  Heart

  Heart/Lung

  Lung

  Heart

  Heart/Lung

  Heart

  St. George's Hospital

  45

  —

  —

  37

  —

  2

  Queen Elizabeth Hospital

  26

  1

  —

  21

  6

  1

  Wythenshawe Hospital

  29

  2

  16

  26

  3

  21

  Total

  280

  35

  96

  296

  53

  117

  Figures provided by the United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority.

  Health Trusts and Authorities
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the differences between(a) a health trust and (b) a district health authority (i) statutory and (ii) management accounts; and which accounts are used to assess the financial position of the trust or authority.

  Mr. Sackville
  Management accounts are produced during the financial year by trusts and health authorities for performance management purposes. They provide internal information based upon unaudited figures, including some estimates and forward forecasts. This internal management information is succeeded by the statutory annual accounts which are subject to full audit and are therefore not available until after the end of the year.

  NHS Trusts
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish by national health service trust for 1993–94 the expenses paid to the chairman.

  Mr. Malone
  This information is not available centrally.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the names of NHS trust chief executives who resigned or whose contracts were terminated in 1993–94 stating, in each case, the name of the trust involved and the amounts paid for loss of office.

  Mr. Malone
  This information is not available centrally.

  Departmental Responsibilities
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the division of responsibilities and relationship between her departmental Ministers and agencies.

  Mr. Sackville
  Next steps agency framework documents, copies of which are available in the Library, set out the relationship between Ministers and agencies and their respective responsibilities.

  Maternity Units
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average time mothers spend in maternity units in(a) the Northumberland health authority and (b) the Wansbeck and Cheviot hospital.

  Mr. Sackville
  In 1992–93, the latest year for which information is available, the average length of stay for mothers in maternity units was 4.3 days in both the Northumberland district health authority and the former Wansbeck and Cheviot unit.

  Management Allowances
  Mr. Mullin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will call for a report on the level of management 436
  allowance given to general practitioners in Sunderland who are (a) fundholders and (b) non-fundholders.

  Mr. Malone
  No. Management allowances reimburse fundholding general practitioners for costs incurred in directly managing their funds and purchasing care on behalf of their patients.

  Non-fundholders do not have such additional responsibilities and do not receive management allowances.

  Bed Statistics
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what has been the change in the number of beds in Northumberland district health authority in each year since 1987;

  (2) what were the numbers of beds available to the national health service in each since 1988 in (a) the Northumberland health authority, (b) the Cheviot and Wansbeck hospital and (c) the Ashington hospital.

  Mr. Sackville
  Figures for 1987 are published in "Summary of KHO3 Pt. II Wards open overnight England, National, Regional and District Summaries for the financial year 1987/88"; figures for years since 1988 to March 1994 are published in "Bed availability for England". Copies of both publications are available in the Library.

  Dementia
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total cost of providing health care services to support people with dementia and their carers; and what estimates her Department has made of future costs.

  Mr. Bowis
  Information is not collected in such a way that we can identify costs specifically for dementia services.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS research and development funds are spent on dementia care.

  Mr. Bowis
  The national health service funds a range of research and development work into dementia care. Detailed information on the amount and proportion spent is not available centrally.

  Mattress Covers
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she is taking with respect to the use by national health service trusts of mattress covers which have antimony and phosphorous in the tire retardant material.

  Mr. Sackville
  The chief medical officer has set up an expert working group chaired by Lady Limerick to undertake a new investigation of the claims and hypotheses recently made which link these two chemicals
  437
  with cot deaths, and to report as soon as possible. The 1991 Turner report said such claims were unfounded. Further action will depend on the advice of the expert group.

  Merit Awards
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number and total cost of merit awards currently made to consultants for each health authority in England.

  Mr. Malone
  Information on the number of consultants in receipt of distinction awards employed by each health authority in England is shown in the table. Data on the total costs of these awards could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Consultants' Distinction Awards: Awards held by consultants employed by regional and district health authorities and by the London special health authorities

  Number

  Northern and Yorkshire

  Northern and Yorkshire RHA

  8

  Northumberland HA

  0

  Newcastle and North Tyneside HA

  0

  Sunderland HA

  0

  North Durham HA

  0

  South Durham HA

  0

  Tees HA

  0

  South of Tyne HA

  0

  North Cumbria HA

  2

  East Riding HA

  2

  United Health (Grimsby and Scunthorpe) HA

  0

  North Yorkshire HA

  2

  Bradford HA

  1

  West Yorkshire HA

  0

  Leeds HA

  17

  Wakefield HA

  0

  Trent

  Trent RHA

  4

  North Derbyshire HA

  0

  South Derbyshire HA

  0

  Leicestershire HA

  3

  Nottingham HA

  2

  Barnsley HA

  0

  Doncaster HA

  0

  Rotherham HA

  0

  Sheffield HA

  9

  North Nottinghamshire HA

  0

  Lincolnshire HA

  4

  Anglia and Oxford

  Anglia and Oxford RHA

  11

  North West Anglia HA

  1

  Huntingdon and Cambridge HA

  0

  Suffolk HA

  1

  East Norfolk HA

  0

  Bedfordshire HA

  0

  Berkshire HA

  3

  Buckinghamshire HA

  1

  Northamptonshire HA

  2

  Oxfordshire HA

  8

  North Thames

  North Thames RHA

  14

  Hertfordshire HA

  0

  Barnet HA

  1

  Hillingdon HA

  0

  Brent and Harrow HA

  1

  Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow HA

  0

  Kensington Chelsea and Westminister HA

  2

  North Essex HA

  17

  438

  Consultants' Distinction Awards: Awards held by consultants employed by regional and district health authorities and by the London special health authorities

  Number

  South Essex HA

  0

  Barking and Havering HA

  0

  Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA

  0

  East London and The City HA

  43

  New River HA

  2

  Camden and Islington HA

  4

  South Thames

  South Thames RHA

  7

  Bromley HA

  0

  East Sussex HA

  3

  East Kent HA

  1

  West Kent HA

  1

  Bexley and Greenwich HA

  0

  South East London HA

  4

  East Surrey HA

  1

  Chichester HA

  0

  Mid Downs HA

  1

  Worthing HA

  2

  Croydon HA

  2

  North West Surrey HA

  0

  South West Surrey HA

  0

  Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth HA

  19

  Mid Surrey HA

  3

  Kingston and Richmond HA

  0

  South and West

  South West RHA

  7

  Dorset HA

  2

  Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA

  1

  Southampton and South West Hampshire HA

  0

  North and Mid Hampshire HA

  0

  Wiltshire and Bath HA

  1

  Isle of Wight HA

  0

  Bristol and District HA

  2

  Cornwall and Isles of Scilly HA

  0

  Exeter and North Devon HA

  1

  Plymouth and Torbay HA

  2

  Gloucestershire HA

  0

  Somerset HA

  1

  West Midlands

  West Midlands RHA

  3

  Herefordshire HA

  0

  Worcester and District HA

  0

  Shropshire HA

  0

  North Staffordshire HA

  0

  Coventry HA

  0

  Dudley HA

  0

  Sandwell HA

  3

  Solihull HA

  8

  Walsall HA

  1

  Wolverhampton HA

  1

  South Birmingham HA

  110

  North Worcestershire HA

  0

  South Staffordshire HA

  1

  Warwickshire HA

  0

  North Birmingham HA

  1

  North West

  North West RHA

  12

  Chester HA

  0

  South East Cheshire HA

  0

  North Cheshire HA

  0

  Liverpool HA

  1

  St. Helens and Knowsley HA

  0

  Sefton HA

  1

  Wirral HA

  0

  Stockpot HA

  0

  Wigan and Bolton HA

  1

  North West Lancashire HA

  1

  East Lancashire HA

  0

  439

  Consultants' Distinction Awards: Awards held by consultants employed by regional and district health authorities and by the London special health authorities

  Number

  South Lancashire HA

  0

  Bury and Rochdale HA

  1

  West Pennine HA

  1

  Manchester HA

  2

  Salford and Trafford HA

  26

  Morecambe Bay HA

  1

  London SHAs

  National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

  45

  Eastman Dental Hospital

  16

  Mixed Wards
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS beds are currently in mixed wards; and what proportion this is of the total.

  Mr. Sackville
  This information is not available centrally.

  Nursing Education
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to maintain records centrally by regional health authority on the number of entrants to initial pre-registration nursing education(a) by course of study and (b) by academic qualification; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  Data on the number of entrants to initial pre-registration nursing education are collected by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. Copies of the board's annual report for 1993–94 are available in the Library.

  Waiting Lists, Northumberland
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current waiting list for each specialty in the Northumberland health authority; and what is the number of people who have waited(a) for over one year and (b) for over two years in each speciality.

  Mr. Malone
  Information on waiting times by trust and district health authority is given in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England", copies of which are available in the Library. The latest published data are for September 1994.

  Consultants, Northumberland
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant posts in the Northumberland district health authority there are at present; and what was the figure in each year since 1989.

  Mr. Malone
  The numbers of consultant posts have up to now been collected either by region or teaching district. This is not a teaching district and therefore no figures are available at district level. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of the Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority, Mr. John Greetham, for details.

  Midwives
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives in the Northumberland 440
  health authority are in the intensive midwifery training programme.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a matter for Northumberland district health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the vice—chairman of the authority, Mr. David Wright, for details.

  NHS Finance, London
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the figures for the deficit or surplus of each London NHS trust and district health authority at the end of the last financial year according to those trusts and authorities' management accounts.

  Mr. Sackville
  Management accounts information is unaudited information used for internal performance management purposes. As such, it is not suitable for publication.

  Rural Community Hospitals
  Mr Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to maintain records centrally on returns of hospital activity data under the classification of rural community hospitals; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have no plans to do so.

  Nurses, Northumberland
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects nursing clinical grading appeals in Northumberland health district to be completed.

  Mr. Sackville
  Over 60 per cent. of the outstanding appeals in the former Northern region have been resolved since last April. The four outstanding appeals in Northumberland will he cleared as soon as possible.

  Disabled Persons
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the full cost of implementing those sectors of the Disabled Persons, (Services, Representation and Consultation) Act 1986 which are in force.

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Cancer
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are currently suffering from cancer in the United Kingdom; what is the projection for 2015; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 30 November 1994,Official Report, column 791.

  Hospital Death Rate Tables
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to ensure that publication of hospital death rate tables does not result in NHS trusts refusing to admit seriously ill patients.

  Mr. Malone
  The national health service treats, and will continue to treat, patients on the basis of clinical need.
  441

  Medical Records
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will issue guidelines ensuring that the rights of access by patients to their own medical records shall extend to the school and community health records as well as hospital and general practitioner records; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Access to Health Records Act 1990 gives individuals the right of access to health records compiled by or on behalf of health professionals in connection with their care. Records kept by the school health service or community health service are covered by the provisions of the Act. Guidelines issued in August 1991, HSG(91)6, apply equally to these records. Where the records are held on computer, the right of access is provided by the Data Protection Act 1984.

  Infertility Treatment
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health where she lists her priorities for in video fertilisation treatment within the NHS; and if she will make a statement on IVF treatment within the NHS.

  Mr. Sackville
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 5 December 1994,Official Report, columns 91–92.

  Edgware General Hospital
  Mr. Dykes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she has received further representations from the public about the possible closure of Edgware general hospital since the new year; and if she will make a statement on the future outlook for this hospital.

  Mr. Sackville
  We have received a number of representations. Barnet health authority and Brent and Harrow health authority are considering the results of public consultation on proposals for the hospital.

  Mobility Centres
  Mr. Pickthall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she intends to continue the funding of accredited mobility centres whose funding from regional health authorities has ended.

  Mr. Bowis
  The main source of national health service funding is and will continue to be local health purchasers who place contracts for assessment. In some cases, regional health authorities have made grants to such centres under their medical innovations budget. The future of such budgets beyond the reorganisation of RHAs under the Health Authorities Bill anticipated for April 1996 is currently being considered by the national health service executive.

  Toxocariasis
  Mr. Barnes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are taken to(a) prevent and (b) deal with eye damage caused by toxocariasis; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Department of Health provides a grant to the charity Community Hygiene Concern, which produces information for the public on toxocariasis, and also supports the work of the Department of the Environment to encourage responsible dog ownership.
  442
  If patients with toxocariasis present early enough drug treatment may be useful. Eye damage caused by toxocariasis is treated on a case-by-case basis.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the individuals appointed by her Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Sackville
  The Public Appointments Unit provides names of suitably qualified candidates for consideration for a wide range of appointments. Information on the source of names of individual appointees to public bodies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Nurse Inspectors
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms exist to monitor at national level the work of nurse inspectors operating under the Registered Homes Act 1984.

  Mr. Bowis
  None. The registration and inspection of nursing homes under the Registered Homes Act is wholly delegated to health authorities.

  Accident and Emergency Provision, Liverpool
  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the present situation in respect of progress towards the restructuring of accident and emergency provision in NHS hospitals in Liverpool.

  Mr. Sackville
  This is a local matter. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. D. H. Tod, chairman of Liverpool health authority, to establish the latest position.

  Lynfield Mount Hospital, Bradford
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instruct the Bradford community health trust to publish in full the recent report of the external review team on matters relating to the secure unit at Lynfield Mount hospital in Bradford, with particular reference to the escape from the unit of Mr. Raymond Pemberton; if she will place a copy of the report in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  No. The report's 35 recommendations have been published by the Bradford community health national health service trust. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 10 January,Official Report, column 127.

  Departmental Openness and Accountability
  Mr. Trend
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways openness and accountability are promoted An her Department and the services for which she is responsible.
  443
  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  The information is as follows:

  National Health Service

  accountability through Ministers to Parliament.

  annual reports and audited accounts from health authorities and national health service trusts.

  health authority meetings open to the public.

  NHS trusts' annual public meetings.

  summary business plans by NHS trusts.

  reports by local directors of public health on health needs and services.

  clear patients' rights and national and local standards under the patients charter, and reports on results.

  power to patients through general practitioner fundholders to ensure more accountability of service providers.

  annual plans and reports by GP fundholders.

  first ever performance ("league") tables giving comparative information for the public on their hospitals and ambulance services.

  codes of conduct and accountability for the members of NHS bodies.

  audit and remuneration committees to strengthen the role of non-executive members of NHS bodies.

  registers of members' interests.

  external, independent scrutiny by the Audit Commission.

  statutory obligations to consult on substantial changes to services.

  consultation documents on major proposals, with background and options.

  statutory rights for community health councils to be consulted on substantial changes to services and to obtain information.

  published strategies and plans for the purchase of health services for local people.

  public contracts between the purchasers and providers of health services, including the quantity and quality of services to be provided.

  statutory rights of access to personal health information.

  published information on complaints.

  Further plans include a code of practice on openness in the NHS, now out for consultation, setting out the public's right to information except in clearly defined circumstances; an accountability framework for GP fundholders; new procedures for appointments to NHS bodies, including advertisements, independent sifting panels and published criteria; a response to the Wilson review on NHS complaints; and a new and expanded patients charter.

  Social services

  statutory obligation on local authorities to publish information on children's services

  statutory obligation on local authorities to publish community care plans and reviews of day care for children

  local inspection units with a lay element, and published reports

  national framework for local community care charter issued

  statutory rights of access to social work records

  statutory requirement for complaints procedures

  Social Services Inspectorate's national programme covering all local authorities in England, with reports published and accessible to the public

  444
  Department of Health

  accountability of Ministers to Parliament

  a comprehensive overview of priorities, progress, expenditure and activity in the annual departmental report

  National health service annual report, containing more information on developments and performance

  detailed financial information contained in estimates and appropriation accounts, scrutinised by the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee

  annual report from the social services inspectorate on its activities and programme

  annual report from the chief medical officer on the state of the public health

  5,649 replies to parliamentary questions in 1993–94

  over 84,000 letters dealt with in 1993, including more than 25,000 for ministerial reply

  a commitment to make information available except in clearly defined circumstances under the code of practice on access to Government information

  detailed quarterly, six-monthly and annual statistical information in bulletins and reports, including a comprehensive annual compendium on health and personal social services in England

  accountability to select committees, including the Select Committee on Health, the Public Accounts Committee and the Select Committee on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

  framework documents and published reports from the Medicines Control Agency, the Medical Devices Agency, the NHS Estates agency and the NHS Pensions agency; and reports and accounts from the youth treatment service

  statements from all agencies adopting citizens charter principles

  a charter for scheme members being produced by the NHS Pensions agency

  NHS Estates agency accreditation for British standard 5750 on quality assurance and customer service

  Health Education Budget
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was her Department's budget for health education in each of the last five years; and what is the projected budget for the next three years.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 13 January 1995]: Expenditure on health education falls to a number of budgets. Apart from funding for the Health Education Authority in 1994–95—to date, £36,984,000—and expenditure on health education publicity campaigns run by the Department, there is other, unquantifiable, expenditure on a variety of services and programmes which involve elements of health education, run by health authorities, trusts and other agencies.

  Insulin
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's assessment of the qualities and advantages of human and animal insulin, respectively.

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: The assessment of the qualities and advantages of human and animal insulin is a matter for the clinical judgment of individual doctors.

WALES

  Intensive Care Beds
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many intensive care beds there are in each of the health trusts in Wales.

  Mr. Richards
  At 30 June 1994—the latest date for which information is available—the number of staffed beds allocated to intensive care was as follows:

  Number

  NHS Trusts:

  Bridgend and District NHS Trust

  9

  Carmarthen and District NHS Trust

  3

  East Glamorgan NHS Trust

  6

  Glan Clwyd General Hospital NHS Trust

  6

  Glan Hafren NHS Trust

  7

  Gwynedd Hospital NHS Trust

  7

  Llandough Hospital NHS Trust

  5

  Morriston Hospital NHS Trust

  7

  Nevill Hall and District NHS Trust

  6

  Pembrokeshire Trust

  3

  Swansea NHS Trust

  9

  Wrexham Maelor Hospital NHS Trust

  6

  Other Health Units:

  Merthyr/Cynon Health Unit

  4

  UHW/CRI Group of Hospitals

  22

  West Glamorgan East Health Unit

  7

  Source:

  QSI return.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to provide the resources for more intensive care beds in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Richards
  It is for individual health authorities and hospitals to agree on its provision of intensive care beds in the light of local needs and circumstances.

  Greenfield Bypass
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet Clwyd county council to discuss funding of the Greenfield bypass, A548; and if he will make a statement with regard to his view on a start date.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so. His officials meet regularly with the county council to discuss potential transport grant schemes.

  It is for Clwyd county council to take forward the scheme.

  Dobshill Hospital
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of Dobshill hospital, near Buckley, Clwyd.

  Mr. Richards
  The future of Dobshill hospital is a matter for the Clwyd health authority and the Clwydian Community Care NHS trust at this stage.

  Schools (Information Technology)
  Sir Wyn Roberts
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to develop information technology in(a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
  446
  Mr. Richards
  We have undertaken a substantial programme of investment in information technology in both primary and secondary schools. Under the grants for education support and training programme, it is estimated that £1.9 million will be spent in 1994–95, and expenditure of a similar amount is planned for 1995–96.

  Developing a sound knowledge of information technology and its implications is an essential part of children's education. Information technology is, therefore, a compulsory element of the revised national curriculum for all pupils aged five to 14 in maintained schools in Wales. It will also be a common requirement, for all subjects, that pupils should be given opportunities, where appropriate, to develop and apply their information technology capability in their study of all national curriculum subjects.

  North Wales Police Force
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has been given by the North Wales police force and by Gwynedd and Clwyd county councils concerning the reduction in the number of police officers in North Wales which will follow from the budget for 1995–96 which has been provided for the North Wales police force; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  Mr right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary met a deputation from the North Wales police authority on 20 December. The authority estimates that it will have to make a reduction of 60 officers in 1995–96 on the basis of the provisional police settlement. I am considering the representations made by the authority and I will announce my final settlement decisions at the end of January.

  Community Care
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will increase the budget of the Clwydian community trust to enable it to meet its overall commitments with specific reference to the responsibilities it has for community care; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Richards
  The Clwydian community NHS trust secures its income through contracts negotiated with commissioning health authorities.

  Meadowslea Hospital
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of Meadowslea hospital, Penyffordd, Clwyd.

  Mr. Richards
  The future of Meadowslea hospital is a matter for the Clwyd health authority and the Clwydian community care NHS trust at this stage.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Redwood
  One. The Public Appointments Unit holds a register of candidates for appointment nationally. The Welsh Office maintains its own register of candidates for public appointment to which people interested in appointment to bodies in Wales may apply.
  447

  Trans-European Rail Network
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which Welsh rail links are included in the proposed trans-European network; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The European Commission's proposal for a trans-European transport network, as currently drafted, includes the following railway lines:

  Holyhead-Crewe

  Aberystwyth-Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton-Birmingham

  Fishguard-Cardiff-London

  The Government have proposed to the Commission a number of additional rail lines. These include:

  Clarbeston Road-Milford Haven

  Whitland-Pembroke Dock

  Newport-Hereford-Shrewsbury-Crewe

  Cardiff-Birmingham

  Local Government Code of Conduct
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the relevance for councils in Wales of the code of conduct for local government employees published by the Local Government Management Board.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  It is for individual local authorities to decide whether they wish to adopt the code of conduct for local government employees.

  South America (Trade Links)
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to encourage Welsh trade links with south American countries.

  Mr. Redwood
  The economies of south America are now potentially attractive markets for Wales-based companies, with Argentina and Chile providing a broad range of opportunities. The Welsh Office intends to organise a trade mission there in May this year.

  Brynglass Tunnels Scheme
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish details of the reasons for every delay in the work on the Brynglass tunnels scheme and the explanation of the hiatus planned between its completion and opening.

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information requested is commercial in confidence between the parties to the contract. However, main delays were caused by the discovery of contaminated fill at Glebelands, service diversions at the Harlequin and the collapse of a cofferdam in the River Usk.

  The A4042 section of the scheme is expected to be opened to traffic in a few weeks' time. The contractor has advised that the remaining works should be completed in the summer of 1995.

  Non-Christian Pupils
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the schools he has visited in the past year in 448
  which a substantial proportion of their pupils were from families of non-Christian faiths.

  Mr. Redwood
  This information is not held centrally.

  Lobbying Organisations
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to eliminate the use of lobbying firms by local authorities and in support of all communications to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  I have made it clear to my department that if a local authority asks to meet me via a Member of Parliament, I or a Welsh Office Minister will usually see it. There is no need to employ a lobbying firm. I want local authorities to concentrate on providing services for their taxpayers.

  A483 (Pool Quay)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will establish a speed limit on the A483 trunk road at Pool quay, Powys; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Redwood
  [holding answer 12 December 1994]: My Department has again considered a reduction in the national speed limit at Pool quay. It has been concluded that the effective way forward is to continue to try to reduce speeds by improving the driver's perception of the developed area. Additional signing and road markings have recently been provided but further traffic management measures are being considered.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Surplus Stocks
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made since the publication of Cmnd. 6003—"Membership of the European Community-Report on Renegotiation"—in discouraging the creation of surplus stocks and enacting measures to discourage surplus production of milk products and cereals; and what was the tonnage of surplus stocks in 1974 and 1993 together with the annual cost of storage and the losses incurred on their disposal for export or industrial use.

  Mr. Jack
  Since 1979, the common agriculture policy has seen a number of changes, including, in 1984, the introduction of milk quotas. The other most notable change was the 1992 CAP reform agreement, which was a major development in moving the CAP closer to the market and reducing dependence on intervention. The agreement included significant reductions in support prices for major commodities and other measures to cut excess production, such as a limit to the total arable area eligible for direct support, coupled with a requirement to set land aside, and livestock premium quotas.

  Tables showing levels of all produce held in intervention within the EU, including cereals and milk products, are deposited in the Library of the House monthly, most recently on 5 December. The information currently held in the House Library goes back to January 1985. Figures for earlier years were not prepared on the same basis.
  449
  The budgetary cost of intervention in the cereals and milk sectors which would include storage costs and losses on resale, for the years 1974, EC9 and 1993, EC12 are:

  1974

  1974

  1993

  1993

  mua

  £ million

  mecu

  £ million

  Cereals

  323.6

  163.6

  2,724

  2,142

  Milk products

  342

  168

  294

  231

  Exchange rates:

  1974: 1 ua = £0.491712

  1993: 1 ecu = £0.78627

  Telephone Dialling Codes
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment has been made as to the additional costs which will be incurred by his Department as a result of the changes in national telephone dialling codes next year; and how much this change will cost his Department in additional expenditure.

  Mr. Jack
  The amendments to our telephone exchanges required as a result of the code changes have been made by the maintainers free of charge with the exception of five small exchanges that required total expenditure of approximately £3,500. Changes will also be required to ancillary items such as stationery, signs and fax machines. No information is available centrally on the cost to change these items, but they are being managed within existing budgets.

  Bovine Tuberculosis
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has that the spread of bovine tuberculosis is caused by badgers.

  Mrs. Browning
  Experimental control areas in Dorset and Gloucestershire, set up in 1975, provided evidence of the causal link between infection in badgers, and cattle herds. After removal of the badgers, there were no further cattle TB herd breakdowns in these areas for many years. Two independent reports, by Lord Zuckerman in 1980 and Professor Dunnet in 1986, concluded from the evidence obtained under laboratory conditions at the Central Veterinary Laboratory and from the field that badgers can and do harbour bovine tuberculosis and represent a potential threat to cattle. All cattle tuberculosis breakdowns are the subject of detailed epidemiological investigation by MAFF veterinary staff. These show that badgers are implicated in at least three quarters of cattle herd tuberculosis breakdowns in south-west England.

  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many badgers he estimates have been culled as a result of bovine tuberculosis in each of the last three years(a) in England and (b) in Nottinghamshire.

  Mrs. Browning
  The number of badgers killed in Ministry removal operations as a result of bovine tuberculosis in England in the last three years is as follows:

  1992: 1,054

  1993: 1,094

  1994: 1,674

  None of these operations took place in Nottinghamshire.

  Veal Products
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to require all veal products to be labelled according to the method of production.

  Mrs. Browning
  No. The food advisory committee considered the question of labelling relating to methods of production during a wide-ranging review of food labelling and advertising practices, which it conducted in 1990. The committee did not recommend imposing any requirements to indicate animal rearing methods on food labels and the Government have accepted this advice. This does not prevent the voluntary inclusion of such information, providing it is true and not misleading.

  Enzootic Bovine Leukosis
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current number of cattle aged 30 months or under with enzootic bovine leukosis; what was the figure at 31 October 1993, and if he will make a statement.

  Mrs. Browning
  The information on the number of animals under the age of 30 months confirmed as being infected with enzootic bovine leukosis is not available, but the number would be low as infection has been confined in a total of only 90 animals on 33 premises since October 1992, of which 29 animals were found on 10 premises since 31 October 1993. It is often not possible to classify young animals as either infected or not infected until they are at least two years of age, by which time many of the animals which might be suspected of being infected have been slaughtered.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Jack
  Our officials regularly consult the public appointments unit for names of suitable, qualified candidates for public appointment. Of the appointments made by my right hon. Friend in the last year, 13 were made from names supplied by the unit.

  Live Animal Exports
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he now has to prevent Albert Hall Farms from exporting calves.

  Mrs. Browning
  We have no such plans. The powers available to prevent the transport or further transport of animals can be applied in circumstances where breaches of the legislation are disclosed in respect of particular consignments.

DEFENCE

  Redundancies
  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a table showing the cash sums
  451
  allocated for (a) civilian and (b) military redundancies in each service in 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1997–98; what additional annual costs will fall to his Department in each of those years as a result of accruing superannuation liability changes associated with the early payment of lump sum benefits and annual pension payments to redundant service personnel; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  The costs of service redundancies and those civilian redundancy costs which fall to my Department will be met from within the planned defence budget totals announced on 29 November 1994. Those plans contain some £220,000,000 in 1995–96 and £310,000,000 in 1996–97, more in real terms—at 1993–94 prices—principally to meet the costs of service redundancies which I announced in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, North-East (Mr. Thurnham) on 19 December 1994,Official Report, column 870. No additional costs will fall to the defence budget in the years in question to meet the costs associated with the early payment of lump sum benefits and annual pensions to redundant service personnel.

  Aircraft (Falling Materials)
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of all incidents in the past three years in which stores, weaponry, equipment or other material have unintentionally fallen from military aircraft in flight.

  Mr. Soames
  Full details of all incidents could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Excluding inadvertent weapons releases inside range areas, however, the total number of incidents involving inadvertent releases of stores, weaponry, equipment and other material in the past three years is 310.

  RAF Leuchars
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of the visit of three Danish F16 aircraft to RAF Leuchars from 12 to 14 December 1993; which RAF unit hosted the exchange visit; how many sorties were flown by the aircraft on each of the days of their deployment; and how many of these were at low level.

  Mr. Soames
  The aircraft deployed to RAF Leuchars, which hosted the visit, to conduct low flying training. Following their arrival at the station on 12 December, no sorties were flown that day. Five sorties were flown on 13 December, none of which were booked at low level. The aircraft departed on 14 December and, as the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces made clear in his answer of 24 June,Official Report, column 389, to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Mr. Home Robertson), flew part of their sortie without authorisation within the United Kingdom low flying system. Details of that incident were passed to the Royal Danish air force for appropriate action.

  Military Aircraft (Birds)
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many collisions have occurred between military aircraft and birds within five miles of the wildfowl and wetlands trust site at Caerlaverock, Dumfries, within the last five years: what species of bird was involved in each 452
  incident; and what was the altitude at which each collision occurred.

  Mr. Soames
  Although my Department's computerised aircraft incident records do include details of all reported birdstrikes by service aircraft, they are not held in a form that would allow easy retrieval, and the information requested could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Harry Mills
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will de-classify and publish the report of the Deputy ARP Controller Newport on the death of Harry Mills aged 12 in Newport, Gwent, on 2 January 1943.

  Mr. Soames
  My Department does not hold a copy of this report.

  Chemical Weapons
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the safety of the decontamination and re-use of all sites used during the 1939–45 war for the storage of and exercises involving chemical weapons; when each site was last inspected; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  During world war two there were a large number of sites concerned with the development, production, storage and testing of chemical weapons. Sites which were subsequently disposed of were checked to ensure no residual chemical contamination was present. It has not been possible to identify when each of these sites was inspected, but there is no evidence to suggest that there have been any subsequent contamination problems. We are aware of our duty of care responsibilities and thus sites remaining in my Department's ownership are subject to review to ensure there is no risk to the public.

  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will de-classify and publish full details of all reports of wartime casualties of civilian and military personnel attributed to mustard gas and other chemical weapons poisoning.

  Mr. Soames
  My Department holds no central collation of information on such incidents. Medical records relating to individuals are at present withheld from the Public Record Office as medical in confidence.

  Second World War Secret Documents
  Mr. Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will arrange for all previously secret reports on Britain during the second world war that are now available for public inspection in the United States to be de-classified in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Soames
  In accordance with the initiatives set out in the White Paper on open government, Cm 2290, my Department, in common with other Government Departments, has been re-examining records closed for more than 30 years. To date, more than 6,500 such records have been released, most covering the events of the second world war. Not all the material now de-classified in the US has survived in British archives.

  Civil Servant Travel
  Mr. Spellar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which airlines have been granted preferred carrier status for civil servant travel to overseas destinations.
  453
  Mr. Freeman
  My Department has not granted preferred carrier status to any airline.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Soames
  Although the Cabinet Office's Public Appointments Unit may be consulted for appointments to a range of MOD or MOD sponsored public positions, nominations may also be made from a variety of other sources. Additionally, candidates are sought through various professional and group organisations. My Department does not maintain central records about the means by which individuals were nominated or identified for such appointments.

  Crown Housing Trust
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the total cost to his Department of establishing the Crown housing trust to manage MOD service quarters; and if he will make a statement about its future;

  (2) how many people are employed by the Crown housing trust; and what has been the total cost in salaries to its employees since its inception.

  Mr. Soames
  Work has been under way in my Department since 1991 on new arrangements for the married quarters estate, at a total cost to date of some £5 million. This figure includes salary costs, to the end of November 1994, of approximately £160,000 for eight staff initially recruited for a housing trust and now engaged on setting up the defence housing executive, as announced by the Secretary of State for Defence on 17 November 1994,Official Report, column 1.

  David Hart
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the possibility of conflict of interests arising by his employment of Mr. David Hart as his special adviser in relation to his Department's plans for married service quarters; whether Mr. Hart has played any role in the development of the plans for married service quarters or has seen them; and what interest Mr. Hart has shown in the purchase of married service quarters.

  Mr. Freeman
  Mr. David Hart, as special adviser to my right hon. Friend, is one of several independent advisers who have contributed to the development of plans for the married quarters estate. His involvement has been, and continues to be, very productive. The need to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in the involvement of advisers in the next phase of the privatisation of the married quarters estate is fully recognised; this will be subject to the provision of formal undertakings.

  Vacant Dwellings
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to dispose of the vacant dwellings currently owned by his Department.
  454
  Mr. Soames
  Not all vacant dwellings are surplus to our requirements. The majority are undergoing or awaiting major maintenance, held for future deployments, or form part of the management margin needed to ensure that accommodation is available for entitled service families. However, empty properties which are surplus to requirements are sold. Properties which are not surplus to long-term requirements but which are not needed immediately for service families are, wherever possible, leased to local authorities, housing associations or civilians.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for the implementation of the United Kingdom's obligations under article VI of the 1968 treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Soames
  We are committed to work towards nuclear disarmament in the context of general and complete disarmament, and have played and continue to play an active role in a wide range of non-proliferation and arms control negotiations. We have also reduced our holdings of nuclear weapons, eliminating our surface maritime and ground tactical capability and substantially reducing our stockpile of nuclear free-fall bombs.

  Electro-shock Batons
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stocks of electro-shock riot batons his Department possesses; and what tests his Department have conducted on electro-shock riot batons.

  Mr. Freeman
  None.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if electro-shock riot batons were part of the Al-Yamamah arms deal; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Freeman
  No electronic shock weapons have been supplied under the Al-Yamamah programme.

  Faslane
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether changes were made to the safety plans for the Faslane nuclear site following discovery of seismic problems; what was the total cost of these changes; and when they were carried out;

  (2) what frequency his Department assumed when planning the Faslane nuclear site for earthquakes measuring 0.2 G or more horizontal ground acceleration;

  (3) what steps his Department took to ensure that. appropriate (a) seismic surveys and (b) geological structure surveys were conducted in the planning stage of the Faslane nuclear site;

  (4) what technical changes were made to the shiplift facility for the Trident system at Faslane following lessons learnt from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion; and what was the total cost of these changes;

  (5) what is the maximum horizontal ground acceleration that the Faslane nuclear site is able to withstand from an earthquake.

  Mr. Freeman
  Safety plans for the Clyde submarine base, Faslane, are kept under continuous review and amended as necessary in the light of all relevant information. During the planning stage of the Trident
  455
  support facilities at Faslane, a number of geotechnical reports on the site were commissioned on behalf of the Ministry of Defence from distinguished academics and other experts. These included one specifically on geology and seismicity. Planning also drew on the British Geological Survey's national database of fault lines and seismic events. The support facilities were designed in accordance with the relevant national standard, namely, that a reactor plant must be capable of being shut down and maintained in a safety shut down condition following an earthquake of a severity with a probability of occurrence not exceeding one in 10,000 years. For Faslane the design peak horizontal ground acceleration of such an earthquake is 0.2 G. In the event, the Ministry of Defence achieved a more demanding criterion for the shiplift in the light of developments in United Kingdom civil practice which had followed the Chernobyl incident.

  It is not possible to identify separately the financial effects of the changes in the design of facilities during planning and construction nor of past and prospective refinements to safety plans.

EMPLOYMENT

  City Challenge
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the unemployment figures for each area which successfully bid for city challenge(a) at the time the bid was accepted and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Information on claimant unemployment in those local authority areas and wards which are covered by the city challenge scheme can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Redundancies (Walthamstow)
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundancies were notified in Walthamstow in each of the past five years.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information is not available.

  Health and Safety Executive
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) prosecutions and (b) enforcement actions were taken by the Health and Safety Executive in each year from 1980 to 1994 against employers who have imposed on their employees excessive working hours or shift patterns in contravention of section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Income Support
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will review the policy of refusing travel claims for income support recipients who have applied for positions of less than one year in duration.

  Miss Widdecombe
  The rules of the travel-to-interview scheme have been reviewed recently and the Employment Service is at present testing changes to the 456
  scheme in its north-west region. One of the changes is a more flexible approach to the rule that the prospective job must be expected to last for more than a year. However, this relaxation does not include seasonal jobs, or very short-term temporary jobs.

  If the test shows that the changes are effective and can be paid for within the resources available, we would hope to introduce the revised scheme nationally in the autumn.

  Disabled People
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled(a) men and (b) women in the Doncaster and Mexborough area were registered unemployed (i) at the last date for which figures are available and (ii) on the same date for each of the previous four years.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Information on the number of disabled people claiming unemployment-related benefit is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Occupational Asthma
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps his Department is taking following the findings of Professor Anthony Newman on the relationship between the amount of workplace exposure to respiratory sensitisers and the development of occupational asthma.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The Health and Safety Executive was aware of the emerging findings of Professor Newman Taylor's research when it launched its "Breathe Freely" campaign last April. The campaign focuses on preventing occupational asthma by raising awareness of the dangers of respiratory sensitisers and reminds employers of their duty under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 to control exposure to these substances. The results of Professor Newman Taylor's research, which was jointly funded by HSE and the National Asthma Campaign, underline the message of the "Breathe Freely" campaign: controlling exposure to respiratory sensitisers will reduce the prevalence of occupational asthma.

  Gas Explosions
  Mr. Nigel Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will commission a report on gas explosions since mid-December.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The Health and Safety Executive has been investigating four separate incidents since mid-December 1994. Any lessons to be learned will be discussed as a matter of urgency with British Gas and will be more widely available under the terms of the Health and Safety Commission's policy of openness.

  National Vocational Qualifications
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the percentages of youth training leavers(a) nationally and (b) in London obtaining full qualifications at NVQ levels, 1, 2, 3 and 4 or their equivalents; and what is the percentage obtaining no qualification for each of the years since 1990 for which data are available.
  457
  Mr. Paice
  The information requested is given in the following tables. Information on qualifications in

  Highest NVQ equivalent gained whilst on YT

  Table 1: 1990–91 all leavers

  Per cent.

  Level 4

  Level 3

  Level 2

  Level 1

  Scotvec

  Other

  Did not gain a qualification

  Great Britain

  1—

  3

  11

  11

  4

  12

  49

  England and Wales

  1—

  3

  13

  12

  n/a

  13

  49

  London

  1—

  2

  10

  13

  n/a

  11

  53

  Table 2: 1991–92 all leavers

  Per cent.

  Level 4

  Level 3

  Level 2

  Level 1

  Scotvec

  Other

  Did not gain a qualification

  Great Britain

  1

  5

  14

  10

  1—

  4

  49

  England and Wales

  1

  5

  15

  10

  n/a

  4

  48

  London

  1—

  4

  12

  11

  n/a

  4

  51

  Table 3: 1992–93 all leavers

  Per cent.

  Level 4

  Level 3

  Level 2

  Level 1

  Scotvec

  Other

  Did not gain a qualification

  Great Britain

  1

  5

  15

  6

  1

  4

  50

  England and Wales

  1

  6

  16

  6

  n/a

  4

  50

  London

  1

  5

  14

  7

  n/a

  4

  51

  Table 4: April 1993 to August 1993 all leavers

  Per cent

  Level 4

  Level 3

  Level 2

  Level 1

  Scotvec

  Other

  Did not gain a qualification

  England and Wales

  2

  8

  20

  6

  n/a

  3

  44

  London

  1

  5

  17

  8

  n/a

  3

  49

  Source:

  YT national follow-up survey.

  Notes:

  n/a—not applicable

  1less than 0.5 per cent

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate of jobs gained and lost since 1972, as a result of Britain's membership of the EEC.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 7 December 1994,Official Report, column 218.

  Northern Region
  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the enhanced range of labour market help to those affected by the closures referred to by the Minister for Industry in his statement on 12 May 1993,Official Report, columns 801–809, as being provided by the Tyneside training and enterprise council and local employment service following the receivership of Swan Hunter Shipbuilders.
  458
  Scotland is available only on a comparable basis up to 1992–93.

  Mr. Paice
  Tyneside training and enterprise council and the local employment service provided a range of additional job search assistance and training opportunities following the receivership of Swan Hunter Shipbuilders. This included:advice and guidance on retraining, further and higher education, self-employment and resettlement assistance, leading to appropriate employment opportunities;
  a training hotline between jobcentres and the TEC, a dedicated job shop and canvassing or employers;
  a drive in respect of apprentices to secure the opportunity to finish their training programmes with a new employer, or exceptionally wholly within a TEC supported training centre;
  immediate access to training courses, with particular emphasis on adapting and developing existing skills to suit alternative employment opportunities;
  a partnership with North Tyneside city challenge to provide extra support for any "high cost" skills training for North Tyneside city challenge area residents;

  459
  the offer of training vouchers to each individual to help them secure jobs with new employers. Employers can then use the vouchers to implement customised training for these new recruits;
  business skills training for those preparing for entry into self-employment.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the measures taken by his Department in the northern region in response to redundancies and closures in the shipbuilding, ship repair, offshore technology, heavy engineering, mining, utility and construction industries.

  Miss Widdecombe
  A range of measures has been introduced in response to redundancies and closures in north-east traditional industries. These have focused on helping those affected to find jobs and access training, further and higher education opportunities and, in appropriate cases, enter self-employment.

  Tyneside training and enterprise council and the Employment Service have worked closely with local authorities, Tyne and Wear development corporation, further and higher education institutions and local employers in developing and implementing the measures.

  The measures cover:
  advice and guidance about employment opportunities, training opportunities and further and higher education opportunities;
  efforts by ES to build up job banks and find vacancies for redundant workers;
  provision of additional training opportunities: additional funds have been allocated to Swan Hunter and coal closures;
  further and higher education institutions have responded readily to requests for information from redundant workers.

  Tyne and Wear development corporation and local city challenge companies have also been involved in the creation of new opportunities for redundant workers. In the wider context of the Government office for the north-east, the Employment Department works closely with the Department of the Environment and the Department of Trade and Industry in ensuring that the needs of redundant work people are taken into account.

  In addition to the above specific measures, efforts have been made to ensure that people affected by redundancies have ready access to the existing range of TEC and ES services. In particular, arrangements have been made to ensure the speedy processing of claims for unemployment benefit and advice on benefit entitlements and the normal eligibility conditions for access to training for work have been waived for redundant employees.

  Mr. Nicholas Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what special initiatives he has undertaken to respond to high levels of male unemployment in Newcastle, East and Wallsend following the closure of Swan Hunter and further redundancies at NEI Parsons.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Following the receivership of Swan Hunter, Tyneside training and enterprise council and the local employment service have provided a range 460
  of additional job search assistance and training opportunities:
  advice and guidance on retraining, further and higher education, self-employment and resettlement assistance leading to appropriate employment opportunities;
  a training hotline between jobcentres and the TEC, a dedicated job shop and canvassing of employers;
  a drive in respect of apprenticeships to secure the opportunity to finish their training programmes with a new employer, or exceptionally wholly within a TEC supported training centre;
  immediate access to training courses, with particular emphasis on adapting and developing existing skills to suit alternative employment opportunities;
  a partnership with North Tyneside city challenge to provide extra support for any "high cost" skills training for North Tyneside city challenge area residents;
  the offer of training vouchers to each individual to help them secure jobs with new employers. Employers can then use these vouchers to implement customised training for these new recruits;
  business skills training for those preparing for entry into self-employment.

  Following the announcement of the redundancies at NEI Parsons, Tyneside TEC and the local ES have given those people affected immediate eligibility to their range of job search assistance and training opportunities.

  Unemployment
  Mr. Ronnie Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the Blyth Valley constituency, for each year since 1988, had been unemployed(a) for less than six months, (b) for six months to one year, (c) for one year to two years and (d) for over two years.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Unadjusted claimant unemployment statistics by duration are available for the months of January, April, July and October and can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many unemployed people are currently seeking work but receive no unemployment benefit because of the length of their period of unemployment, and no social security payments because of the income of a spouse or partner in work.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from M.E.G. Fogden to Mr. Dafydd Wigley, dated 17 January 1995:

  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of unemployed people who are currently seeking work, but have exhausted their entitlement to unemployment benefit (UB) and who do not receive social security payments because of the income of a spouse or partner in work.

  Unfortunately this information is not fully available.

  There are 641,000 people who are currently seeking work and have exhausted their entitlements to UB, but continue to sign at an Employment Service (ES) local office. While most clients registered with the ES would be entitled to and in receipt of some form of social security payment such as Housing benefit, family credit or National Insurance contributions credits, 97,099 of the above figure were not receiving any payment in respect of Income Support.

  Social security data are not held on the reasons why a person does not receive an income related benefit so I am afraid I am unable to be more helpful.
  461
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the level of unemployment in each year since 1979.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Unemployment statistics on both the claimant count basis and on the internationally recognised standard definition of the International Labour Organisation can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the current(a) unemployment rate and (b) number of persons unemployed among black people under 25 years of age in (i) London and (ii) Tottenham, in each case breaking the total rate down by gender;

  (2) what is the current (a) unemployment rate and (b) number of persons unemployed among black people in (i) London and (ii) Tottenham, in each case breaking the total down by gender.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: The following table gives the latest information available from the labour force survey:

  ILO unemployed people in London from the black ethnic group summer 1994 (not seasonally adjusted)

  All persons

  Men

  Women

  ILO unemployment rate (per cent.)

  28

  34

  22

  Numbers unemployed (000s)

  72

  46

  26

  Of which aged 16–24

  ILO unemployment rate (per cent.)

  48

  62

  1

  Numbers unemployed (000s)

  21

  15

  1

  1 Estimates below 10,000, therefore not shown

  Training
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the percentage of those leaving youth training schemes who progressed to(a) full-time work, (b) part-time work, (c) self-employment, (d) further education and training and (e) unemployment, in Southampton, Itchen, in Southampton and in Hampshire in each of the last five years.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  The information requested can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Claimant unemployment statistics by duration are only available, only on the unadjusted basis and for the months of January, April, July and October.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what are the results of the youth training leavers survey for each region and for Great Britain as a whole, for the period December 1992 to January 1994, for all leavers and separately for male and female, for each ethnic group and for those with a disability or health problem, the number and proportion of trainees who six months after leaving were(a) in a full-time job with their work experience employer, (b) in a full-time job with another employer, (c) employed in their own business, (d) in a part-time job, (e) in voluntary work, (f) on another Government training programme, (g) on a full-time education or training course, (h) unemployed and
  462
  claiming benefit, (i) unemployed and not claiming benefit, (j) in a jobclub and (k) doing something else;

  (2) what are the results from the training for work leavers survey for the period December 1992 to January 1994 for each training and enterprise council area in England and Wales and each local enterprise company area in Scotland broken down to show the number and proportion of leavers who had (a)been entered for a vocational qualification, (b) obtained a vocational qualification, (c) had failed to obtain a vocational qualification and (d) were awaiting their results; and what is the number and proportion of training for work leavers who, six months after leaving, were (i) in a full-time job with their work experience employer, (ii) in a full-time job with another employer, (iii) employed in their own business, (iv) in a part-time job, (v) in voluntary work, (vi) on another Government training programme, (vii) on a full-time education or training course, (viii) unemployed and claiming benefit, (ix) unemployed and not claiming benefit, (x) in a jobclub and (xi) doing something else, and the number and proportion of training for work leavers who had completed the training agreed in their initial action plan;

  (3) what are the results of the youth training leavers survey for the period December 1992 to January 1994 for each training and enterprise area in England and Wales and each local enterprise council area in Scotland broken down to show the number and proportion of youth training leavers who were (a) in full-time work with the same employer, (b) in full-time work with a different employer, (c) in part-time work, (d) on a full-time course at a college/training centre, (e) on another youth training scheme, (f) doing something else, (g) who were unemployed and (h) who had obtained a vocational qualification; and what were (i) the number of questionnaires issued, (ii) the usable percentage response rate and (iii) the percentage or respondents who were early leavers;

  (4) what are the results of the training for work leavers survey for each region and for Great Britain as a whole, for the period between December 1992 and January 1994, for all leavers and separately for male and female, for each ethnic group, and for those with a disability or health problem, the number and proportion of training for work leavers who had (a) been entered for a vocational qualification, (b) obtained a vocational qualification, (c)had failed to obtain a vocational qualification and (d) were awaiting their results; and what was the number and proportion of training for work leavers who six months after leaving were (i) in a full-time job with their work experience employer, (ii) in a full-time job with another employer, (iii) employed in their own business, (iv) in a part-time job, (v) in voluntary work, (iv) on another Government training programme, (vii) on a full-time education or training course, (viii) unemployed and claiming benefit, (ix) unemployed and not claiming benefit, (x) in a jobclub and (xi) doing something else, and the number and proportion of training for work leavers who had completed the training agreed in their initial action plan.

  Mr. Paice
  [holding answer 8 December 1994]: I have recently written to the hon. Member and placed a copy of my reply in the Library.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Miss Widdecombe
  In 1994, 23 individuals who were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit were appointed to the public bodies which are the responsibility of the Employment Department group.

  Minimum Wage
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what independent evidence is available which examines the employment effects of the minimum wage.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: There is a large body of evidence which examines the effects of minimum wages on employment. This includes most recently the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's jobs study, the International Monetary Fund's world economic outlook, and the European Commission's White Paper on competitiveness.

  Details of earlier studies and reports were given in the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin), on 4 November 1992, Official Report, column 299.

SCOTLAND

  Scottish Universities
  Mr. Wallace
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the number of students attending Scottish universities in the academic year 1994–95; and if he will give the figures for attendance at the same institutions in 1984–85 and 1989–90.

  Mr. Lang
  Information for 1994–95 is not yet available. Figures for universities alone would not be directly comparable because five higher education institutions in Scotland have been awarded university title since 1992.

  For the other academic years requested and for 1993–94, the numbers of students undertaking higher education courses in higher education institutions in Scotland, by mode of study, are as follows:

  Year

  Full-time

  Part-time

  Total

  1984–85

  71,030

  13,333

  84,363

  1989–90

  81,496

  17,043

  98,539

  1993–94

  112,167

  20,306

  132,473

  Sea Freight Subsidies
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the 1994 KPMG report on sea freight subsidies to the Scottish islands.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  After full and careful consideration, my right hon. Friend concluded that as the 464
  report was commissioned to inform consideration of policy options by Government and contains a considerable amount of commercial confidential information, it would not be appropriate to publish it.

  Housing
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many homeless applications to local authorities in Scotland there were in 1978 and in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The most recent information on homelessness applications for 1992–93 is published in statistical bulletin HSG/1994/3. The 1978–79 figure was published in the "Scottish Housing Statistics" No. 6. Copies of both can be obtained from the House Library.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what were the levels of(a) new build starts and (b) new build completions by (i) Scottish local authorities, (ii) new towns and (iii) Scottish Special Housing Association-Scottish Homes in 1978 and in the latest year for which figures are available;

  (2) what were the levels of new build starts and completions by housing associations and co-operatives in Scotland in 1978 and in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The most recent information is published in the Scottish Office statistical bulletin HSG/1994/9. The 1978 figures were published in "Scottish Housing Statistics". Copies of both can be obtained from the House Library.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the levels of Government financial support for housing associations and co-operatives in 1978 and in the latest year, expressed in 1994–95 prices.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The levels of Government financial support to housing associations and co-operatives in 1978–79 and 1993–4, expressed in 1994–95 prices, were £91.9 million and £268.3 million respectively.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total number of(a) local authorities, (b) new town and (c) Scottish Special Housing Association dwellings in Scotland in 1978, and in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The most recent information is published in the Scottish Office statistical bulletin HSG/1994/9. The 1978–79 figures were published in the "Scottish Housing Statistics" No. 6. Copies of both can be obtained from the House Library.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of the total capital spend by(a) Scottish local authorities, (b) new towns and (c) Scottish Special Housing Association-Scottish Homes was (i) new build and (ii) modernisation in 1978 and in the latest year for which figures are available.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The available information for new towns and SSHA-Scottish Homes is contained in the tables. Figures for capital expenditure by local authorities on new build and modernisations in 1978–79 and 1993–94 are published annually in "Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics" which is available in the Library of the House.
  465

  Table 1: (New Towns)

  New build Per cent.

  Modernisation Per cent.

  1978–1979

  Unavailable

  Unavailable

  1993–1994

  48

  52

  Table 2: (SSHA—Scottish Homes)1

  New Build Per cent.

  Modernisation Per cent.

  1978–79

  68.5

  31.5

  1993–94

  —

  100

  1 Own stock expenditure only.

  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was(a) the total capital spend and (b) the total revenue spend on local authority, new town and Scottish Special Housing Association housing in

  Local Authority

  SSHA/Scottish homes

  New Towns

  1978–79 £ million

  1993–94 £ million

  1978–79 £ million

  1993–94 £ million

  1978–79 £ million

  1993–94 £ million

  Revenue Expenditure

  —

  1,064.0

  156.0

  89.5

  142.6

  70.8

  Capital Expenditure

  683.3

  580.4

  94.6

  51.7

  99.2

  35.3

  Central Government Grants

  451.2

  36.6

  79.9

  Nil

  105.1

  21.7

  All figures are expressed in 1994–95 prices.

  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will detail the total number of residential property sales in Scotland for each of the complete years since 1982–83 indicating for each year how many were as a result of public sector tenants exercising their right to buy.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Statistical information is not held centrally on residential property transactions in Scotland.

  School Inspectors
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if all inspectors of schools have personal, practical experience of teaching in the sector and subjects they are inspecting.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Posts as Her Majesty's inspectors of schools are open to applicants who have distinguished service and occupied senior posts in education or who bring relevant experience gained elsewhere which can be applied within education. All Her Majesty's inspectors currently inspecting schools, colleges of further education and community education services have appropriate personal and practical experience relevant to the sectors and subjects they inspect. An extensive programme of staff development

  NHSIS—Emergency Hospital Admission1 by Health Board Area of Treatment; Years ending 31 March 1990–1994

  Discharge in Year ending 31 March

  Health board area of treatment

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  19942

  Argyll and Clyde

  29,507

  30,124

  31,021

  32,497

  33,864

  Ayrshire and Arran

  21,949

  22,653

  24,571

  26,617

  28,881

  Borders

  7,188

  7,614

  8,099

  8,351

  8,534

  Dumfries and Galloway

  9,350

  10,538

  10,773

  10,933

  11,317

  Fife

  18,041

  18,347

  19,164

  19,310

  19,937

  Forth Valley

  16,316

  17,790

  18,242

  19,255

  20,395

  Grampian

  36,383

  38,769

  38,825

  39,309

  40,387

  Greater Glasgow

  75,624

  78,661

  79,312

  89,012

  96,772

  Highland

  14,944

  14,839

  15,782

  17,027

  14,444

  466
  Scotland in 1978 and in the latest year, expressed in 1994–95 prices; and how much of the total revenue spend in each year was financed by direct central Government grant.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The available information is set out in the following table. Comparable information on local authority revenue expenditure in 1978–79 was not readily available and I shall write to the hon. Member.

  The reduction in revenue and capital expenditure between 1978–79 and 1993–94 largely reflects the substantial reduction in size of the public sector housing stock. The reduction in central Government grant is in line with the policy of moving away from indiscriminate general subsidies and targeting tenants in greatest need through the housing benefit system. The expenditure attributed to Scottish Homes is on its own stock and excludes support for housing associations.

  allows updating and extension of their expertise and experience across sectors.

  Homelessness
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to outline the Government's proposals on homelessness following the responses to the consultation paper "Tackling Homelessness", and when he intends to resume the planned consultation exercise on amending the 1991 code of guidance on homelessness.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  We are still considering the nearly 160 responses received to "Tackling Homelessness", and we will announce our decisions in due course. A revised draft code of guidance on homelessness, taking account of these decisions, will be issued for comment later this year.

  Hospital Admissions
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many emergency admissions were recorded for each health board for the last five years for which figures are available.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested is shown in the following table.
  467

  NHSIS—Emergency Hospital Admission1 by Health Board Area of Treatment; Years ending 31 March 1990–1994

  Discharge in Year ending 31 March

  Health board area of treatment

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  19942

  Lanarkshire

  36,114

  37,224

  38,306

  39,566

  41,237

  Lothian

  57,648

  58,934

  60,638

  63,428

  63,884

  Orkney

  1,026

  1,160

  1,158

  1,175

  1,204

  Shetland

  1,301

  1,324

  1,190

  1,221

  1,525

  Tayside

  34,237

  34,778

  34,942

  35,201

  37,692

  Western Isles

  1,988

  1,927

  2,102

  2,127

  2,476

  Scotland

  361,616

  374,682

  384,125

  405,029

  425,549

  Notes:

  1 Discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric specialities. Excludes patients transferred between hospitals, specialities or consultants.

  2 Provisional

  Source SMRI

  Ref Unit2/950I4

  Date 13 December 1995

  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 24 November 1994,Official Report,column 336, what percentage of total admissions was represented by emergency hospital admissions.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The table below shows emergency admissions as a percentage of total in-patient admissions for Scotland for the calendar years 1989 to 1993.

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  48.8

  49.5

  50.3

  50.4

  51.6

  Supermarket, Anstruther
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 26 October,Official Report, columns 724–25, when he now expects to announce his decision in the public local inquiry into the provision of a supermarket in Anstruther.

  Mr. Stewart
  My right hon. Friend expects to announce his decision by the end of this month.

  Public Appointments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the individuals appointed by his Department to public positions in the last year were first identified by the Public Appointments Unit.

  Mr. Lang
  The Scottish Office maintains its own public appointments list and therefore makes limited use of names from the Public Appointments Unit. The Scottish Office public appointments list is used as a source of names of suitably qualified candidates for consideration for a wide range of appointments which I make. From time to time the Public Appointments Unit passes names to the Scottish Office for the public appointments list, and vice versa. No central records are kept of the source of names of those who are appointed to public bodies.

  GP Fundholders
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 24 November 1994,Official Report, columns 336–37, if he will now publish information, for 1993–94 on general practitioner fundholders' savings.
  468
  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The information requested relates to GP fundholder savings which are retained by the health board on the fundholder's behalf to be used for the benefit of patients. These figures are available only for those years for which audited health board accounts have been completed. The audited accounts for 1993–94 have still not been finalised but it is estimated that savings will be about 4 per cent.

  NHS Helpline
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the distinction between an interactive and non-interactive phone call made to the NHS helpline; how many calls were made to it in each month since 25 October 1994; and what were the costs of administering and operating the helpline since his parliamentary answer of 26 October 1994,Official Report, column 727

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Interactive calls are those which are answered by the NHS helpline and information is provided by the adviser about the NHS in Scotland. Non-interactive calls are those which are hoax calls; those which are from people who remain silent when put through to the adviser; or those who have dialled the wrong number.

  Expenditure on administering and operating the NHS helpline between 25 October and 16 January totals £61,987.50. This includes additional resources totalling £16,000 in order to extend the hours of operation of the helpline and the number of telephone lines available to meet public demand for information during the measles-rubella immunisation campaign. The number of calls, both interactive and non-interactive, each month since 25 October 1994 is as follows:

  Date

  Number

  26 October-18 November

  5,066

  19 November-16 December

  2,431

  17 December-12 January

  1,080

  Total

  8,577

  Ophthalmic Services
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which health boards in Scotland operate remote area schemes under the General Ophthalmic Services Regulations; when these services were introduced in these areas; what was the cost of
  469
  providing this service in the health board areas in each financial year for each health board; which areas are covered by the remote area schemes; what are the numbers of opticians employed by each health board to provide this remote area service; and how many patients are seen as part of these schemes.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Provisions permitting the operation of remote area schemes within general

  General Ophthalmic Services: Remote areas schemes

  Health Boards

  Date of introduction

  Argyll and Clyde 1976

  Highland 1976

  Orkney 1989

  Shetland 1976

  Western Isles 1976

  1991–92

  Cost1

  £2,764

  £1,104

  £1,142

  —

  —

  No. of Opticians

  3

  1

  1

  3n\a

  n\a

  No. of Patients seen2

  293

  142

  191

  —

  —

  1992–93

  Cost

  £2,375

  £862

  £949

  —

  —

  No. of Opticians

  3

  1

  1

  n\a

  n\a

  No. of Patients seen

  291

  98

  164

  —

  —

  1993–94

  Cost

  £2,405

  £878

  £700

  4—

  £1,849

  No. of Opticians

  2

  1

  1

  1

  1

  No. of Patients seen

  295

  92

  151

  21

  135

  1 Cost includes the expenses of the optician but does not include the cost of sight tests performed as vouchers dispensed.

  2 The same patient may be counted more than once if he/she was seen on more than one occasion.

  3 Information not readily available: could only be provided at excessive cost.

  4 No claim for expenses made by optician.

  Housing Associations
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much money each development corporation in Scotland has spent on the establishment of housing associations within their areas; and if he will list these associations and the amounts of money received.

  Mr. Stewart
  Expenditure up to 31 December 1994 is set out in the following table.

  Development Corporation

  Housing Association

  Amount £

  Cumbernauld

  Abronhill Housing Association

  10,500

  East Kilbride

  East Kilbride and District Housing Association

  64,923

  Glenrothes

  Glenrothes Community Housing Association

  25,782

  Irvine

  Irvine Housing Association

  1301,000

  Livingston

  Almond Housing Association

  62,782

  1 Irvine Development Corporation has seconded two staff to Irvine Housing Association and their costs are included. Scottish Homes is expected to make a contribution towards the costs of setting up the association after the deduction of the costs of the secondments.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many properties in each development corporation in Scotland have been transferred to housing associations as a result of(a) trickle transfer and (b) lease of new build properties since the inception of this policy.

  Mr. Stewart
  As at 31 December 1994, Livingston development corporation had transferred 63 vacant properties to housing associations under trickle transfer. No other corporations have transferred properties under trickle transfer and no corporations have transferred properties following the lease of new build.
  470
  ophthalmic services were introduced in 1975. Health boards can apply to the Secretary of State to operate a scheme in any area where this is required to meet the needs of residents. Under such schemes opticians may be reimbursed for their expenses incurred in travelling to remote locations to provide general ophthalmic services. Information about current schemes for the last three financial years is in the table.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what procedure exists for the long-term transfer of housing to the housing associations within each of the development corporation areas which currently lease these properties.

  Mr. Stewart
  The only leasing arrangement is between Irvine housing association and Irvine development corporation. The association has made an offer to purchase 160 of the 183 homes it presently has on lease. This offer is being considered by the corporation.

  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what financial agreement has been reached between Irvine development corporation and the Irvine housing association as regards the properties leased to it by the Irvine development corporation.

  Mr. Stewart
  The terms of the agreement require Irvine housing association to collect the rents for Irvine development corporation.

  The association recovers separately from the corporation the costs it incurs in managing and maintaining the homes.

  Royal Visits
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing each royal visit to Scotland since 1984, giving details of the(a) date, (b) location, (c) purpose and (d) participating Scottish Office Minister or Ministers.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Where possible, I or one of my ministerial colleagues accompanies, Her Majesty the Queen as Minister in attendance when she is carrying out public engagements in Scotland. Members of the royal family are conscious of the demands on Ministers and it has been the practice

  471
  for many years that Ministers are not, as a matter of course, in attendance on all visits. Ministers do not normally accompany other members of the royal family on visits to Scotland.

  The Scottish Office information directorate acts on behalf of the press secretary to Her Majesty the Queen in making media arrangements for visits to Scotland by Her Majesty the Queen and immediate members of the royal family and, in this capacity, is present on such visits.

  While the date and location of visits by Her Majesty the Queen and immediate members of the royal family are available, no central records are held as to the purpose of a visit or whether or not a Minister was present. The available details are being extracted and will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which Scottish Office(a) Ministers and (b) civil servants accompanied His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on his visit to Strathclyde flood sites; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Representatives of the Scottish Office information directorate assisted with the media arrangements during the visit by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to the flood sites.

  The answer to a question about ministerial attendance at royal visits, which I gave to the hon. Member today, explains the practice followed for many years. On this occasion, no Minister was present.

  Flooding, Strathclyde
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on how the Bellwin formula will apply to(a) Renfrew district council and (b) Strathclyde regional council in relation to the floods in December 1994; what will be the trigger levels; what is his latest estimate of the total relevant costs in relation to the formula and the amount likely to be payable to each authority by his Department; what these amounts will cover; and what these amounts will exclude;

  (2) in what ways the Bellwin scheme might be utilised to (a) defray the costs of repairing and/or reinstating housing stock owned by local authorities, (b) defray the costs of repairing and/or reinstating housing stock owned by housing associations, (c) defray costs of repairing and/or reinstating houses owned by individual owner-occupiers and (d) pay the costs of replacing houses which are deemed to be technically or economically unviable.

  (3) what is his latest estimate of the direct costs of the flooding in December 1994 to (a) the Scottish Office, (b) Strathclyde regional council, (c) Renfrew district council, (d) affected tenants and (e) affected owner-occupiers; and if he will make a statement;

  (4) if he will detail the expenditure his Department has committed to dealing with the problems created by the floods of December 1994, excluding additional borrowing consent for local authorities and moneys payable through the application of the Bellwin formula; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: Under the Bellwin scheme, each authority will receive grant at 85 per cent. of all eligible expenditure above its threshold. The threshold for Renfrew district council is
  472
  £46,490 and for Strathclyde regional council £3,591,706. I do not yet have sufficient information from the authorities to estimate what may eventually be payable. However, all eligible expenditure above the thresholds will qualify for support. My officials are in contact with those authorities, but I do not want to press them for estimates before they are ready and while their priority must be to deal with the remaining effects of the flooding. The scheme on this occasion gives authorities until 31 May this year to prepare and submit their claims.

  In order to be eligible for grant, expenditure must be incurred by a local authority in providing relief and carrying out immediate works to safeguard life or property or prevent suffering or severe inconvenience to affected communities. Expenditure by local authorities on repairing their own housing stock could be eligible for grant in as much as it met these criteria, but expenditure on reinstating stock would seem less likely to be so. The cost of longer-term repair and restoration of local authority housing stock, and the cost of constructing new houses to replace any houses made permanently unusable, would be of a capital nature and therefore not eligible for grant under the Bellwin scheme. Under the scheme, grant is payable only to local authorities, and therefore costs incurred by housing associations and individual owner-occupiers would not be eligible for grant.

  The direct costs of the flooding to the Scottish Office will be those arising from Government support under the. Bellwin scheme for the expenditure incurred by local authorities. Strathclyde regional council has given me a preliminary estimate of £10 million for the costs of emergency action, including around £4 million for damage to the rail network. The regional council's capital costs falling in 1994–95 are estimated to be £1.365 million, for which I have already issued a supplementary allocation. I have said that I am prepared to consider further requests from the council for capital allocations arising from the flooding and if necessary will take these into account in setting the council's allocation in 1995–96. The Scottish Office is presently awaiting Renfrew district council's assessment of the extent of the damage to the housing stock, both public and private sector, and to other council property, and the costs likely to be involved in repair works.

  Excluding the additional housing and non-housing capital allocations which have to date been made available to the local authorities affected, of some £100,000 and £1,365,000 respectively, and the Government's open-ended commitment to 85 per cent. grants under the Bellwin scheme, the other expenditure so far committed by the Scottish Office is £10,000 which is to he paid to the Clyde River Purification Board to help meet the costs of a hydrological study into the flooding. The Scottish Office is prepared to support other joint studies into the flooding. Should Strathclyde regional council, as the flood prevention authority, decide in the light of that study, or following its general consideration of the issues arising from the flooding, to carry out flood prevention schemes, grant of 50 per cent. will be payable on the cost of any such schemes which may be submitted to and approved by the Secretary of State.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was(a) the date and (b) the purpose of each visit by a Scottish Office Minister to the areas in Strathclyde which suffered flooding in December 1994; what were the main issues arising from each of these

  473
  visits; what specific action followed each visit; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) if he will make a statement on his visit to (a) the Park avenue and (b) the Collier street area of Johnstone following the recent flooding;

  (3) if he will make a statement on his visit, and those of his ministerial colleagues, the hon. Members for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) and for Edinburgh, West (Lord James Douglas-Hamilton), to the Stockholm crescent and Barterholm-Thrushcraigs areas of Paisley following the recent floodings.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: I visited areas affected by flooding on 12 December and my right hon. Friend made visits to affected areas in Irvine on 24 December, Kirkintilloch on 26 December and Paisley on 27 December, accompanied by the local Members of Parliament.

  The purpose of these visits was to convey our sympathy, and that of the Government, to those who had suffered loss and disruption of their lives, to express our thanks to the members of the emergency services and others, and to assess how the Government could help. As a result, we instructed our officials to ensure that all possible sources of assistance were made available to the councils involved and to explore various related matters.

  My hon. Friend the Minister with responsibilities for education and housing later visited Renfrew district council on 6 January to see for himself the areas of local authority housing which had been most affected by the recent flooding in advance of making decisions concerning local authority housing capital allocations for 1995–96 in the next few weeks. He had a useful discussion with the council and we await its further assessment of the repair costs and implications for its housing programme. My hon. Friend confirmed that the Government would look sympathetically at the council's case for additional housing capital resources in 1995–96 to tackle flood damage.

  Strathclyde regional council will also wish to review its flood prevention policy. Developers and planners will also wish to give careful consideration to flood risks for new developments. Scottish Office Environment Department officials are currently working on, as a matter of priority,

  Households affected by floods damage—December 1994

  Uninhabitable

  (a)

  (b)

  (c)

  (c)

  Total

  Remaining partially habitable

  2 days or less

  > 2 days but < 2 weeks

  > 2 weeks

  Renfrew District

  Paisley North constituency

  177

  nil

  47

  59

  71

  Paisley South constituency

  102

  nil

  nil

  nil

  102

  West Renfrew/Inverclyde constituency

  54

  nil

  53

  nil

  1

  Eastwood constituency

  1

  nil

  nil

  nil

  1

  Strathkelvin District1

  255

  nil

  10

  6

  4

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun District

  19

  7

  5

  5

  2

  Cunninghame District

  29

  13

  nil

  nil

  16

  1 Breakdown in categories (a)—(d) is available for local authority stock only.

  1. In Glasgow and Falkirk districts some houses required repair but remained habitable throughout. The figure for Glasgow was 2,800. Most of these were not affected by flooding, and 32 were uninhabitable for between 2 days and 2 weeks and 23 for over 2 weeks. The figure for Falkirk was 17. None of these houses was uninhabitable.
  474
  a new national planning policy guideline on planning and flooding for publication by the spring.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing, in descending order of severity, the worst floods recorded in Scotland in terms of(a) average depth, (b) greatest depth and (c) the number of houses affected since 1965.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: This information is not held centrally. However, the January 1993 Tay floods and the recent floods in west central Scotland were more extreme than any previous floods in the period of record. The return period of both of these flood events is estimated at more than 100 years on the major rivers, and possibly 200 years on the Clyde.

  In the 1993 Tay floods, about 1,500 houses were inundated, over 1,100 in North Muirton, while in December 1994, 450 houses were inundated in Strathclyde. The total number of houses suffering damage was much greater in both events, some 3,500 in the recent flooding.

  Previous major flooding events affected mainly agricultural land with few houses being flooded. Nevertheless, there have been many cases of localised flooding of housing in areas such as Langside on the White Cart water and adjoining the Brock burn.

  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the total number of households in each relevant parliamentary constituency which were affected by flood damage in December 1994; which of these(a) remained partially habitable, (b) were uninhabitable for two days or less, (c) were uninhabitable for more than two days but less than two weeks and (d) were uninhabitable for more than two weeks; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: The table sets out the information in the form requested, and is based on provisional information provided by the local authorities concerned. In some cases, particularly Glasgow, the figures include houses which remained habitable but required some repairs attributable to flood damage. Where the information was not available on a parliamentary constituency basis, the relevant district council area has been used.

  NHS Redundancy Payments
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been the costs of redundancy payments to NHS staff in each of the last five years.

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

  Natural Disasters (Scotland) Bill
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will meet the hon. Member for Paisley, South to discuss the provisions of the Natural Disasters (Scotland) Bill to(a) avert natural disasters including floods and (b) assist victims of such disasters; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Stewart
  [holding answer 16 January 1995]: I will be happy to meet the hon. Member, and I have asked for this to be arranged as soon as possible.

  Hospital Closures
  Mrs. Beckett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 19 December,Official Report, column 951, what information is collected from health boards by his Office regarding hospital closures.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 13 January 1995]: The Scottish Office receives information from health boards on which hospitals have closed. My reply of 19 December on this subject refers to that subject.

  Independent Schools
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the impact of the operation of the assisted places scheme in ensuring the continued operation of the independent schools sector.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 13 January 1995]: The aims of the assisted places scheme are to enable children to attend independent schools which would otherwise be beyond their parents' financial circumstances and to widen parental choice. The scheme is not intended as a means of providing financial assistance to the independent schools sector. Currently, some 3,000 children receive assistance under the scheme. An independent survey report, published in 1992, provided clear evidence that it was meeting its objectives.

  Manual Handling Operations
  Ms Rachel Squire
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) improvement notices, (b) prohibition notices and (c) prosecutions have been issued by the Health and Safety Executive to NHS trusts in Scotland in relation to breaches of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 since 1 January 1993.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  I have been asked to reply.

  No enforcement notices were issued or prosecutions initiated by the Health and Safety Executive against health services in Scotland in relation to breaches of the Manual. Handling Operations Regulations 1992 during the period 1 January 1993 to 31 March 1994. Figures for the current financial year are not yet available.

  MOROCCO—GIBRALTAR—PARIS AIR SERVICE
  Lord Merrivale
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  Whether discussions are proposed for an airline designated by Morocco to operate a route with points in Morocco, Gibraltar and Paris in accordance with the provision of Schedule (II) (1) of the Exchange of Notes (Cm 6798) which entered into force on 20 December 1976.

  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Transport (Viscount Goschen)
  Royal Air Maroc, the only airline currently designated by Morocco, can commence operations on a route Morocco—Gibraltar—Paris at any time without the need for prior discussions with the United Kingdom Government. The 1976 Exchange of Notes (CM 6798) does not, however, confer the right to pick up passengers in Gibraltar on this route. If a Moroccan airline wished to pick up passengers in Gibraltar for Paris, and vice versa, it would be for the Moroccan authorities to seek to amend the current UK—Morocco air services arrangements accordingly. At air services talks held in Rabat on 12 and 13 January the Moroccan authorities made no such request.

  WHEELCHAIR ACCOMMODATION PROVISION: REPORTS
  Lord Swinfen
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  Whether they can confirm the findings of the housing research report entitled Living Independently published by the Department of the Environment on 16th December 1994 which suggests that there is a shortfall of 12,988 wheelchair units in England as outlined in table 2.22 page 55 of the report;

  Whether they can confirm the findings of the housing research report entitled Housing for People with Disabilities published by the Housing Corporation in October 1991 which suggests that there was a shortfall of 330,000 wheelchair units in England at that time as outlined on page 21 of the report; and

  What is the cause of the discrepancy between the estimated shortfall in wheelchair units outlined in the report entitled Housing for People with Disabilities published by the Housing Corporation in October 1991 at 330,000 and the estimated shortfall of 12,988 as outlined in the report entitled Living Independently published by the Department of the Environment on 16 December 1994.

  The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Viscount Ullswater)
  Her Majesty's Government are aware of the different figures in these two research reports for shortfalls in provision of wheelchair accommodation in England.

  The data is not comparable because:
  WA 36

  a. the source of the estimate in Housing for People with Disabilities was a general survey of disability which did not specifically examine housing needs and provision. The Living Independently estimate was based on a survey of disabled adults which was intended to produce estimates of housing need;

  b. the Housing for People with Disabilities estimate covered all tenures whereas the Living Independently estimate covers only the shortfall in accommodation provided by local authorities and housing associations;

  c. the Housing for People with Disabilities estimate was a shortfall of wheelchair standard dwellings, whether purpose-built or not. The Living Independently estimate relates to purpose-built wheelchair dwellings only; and,

  d. the Living Independently estimate contains an element to take account of the housing aspirations of disabled people. The study showed that 70 per cent. of disabled people households wish to remain in their existing homes. The Housing for People with Disabilities estimate took no account of housing aspirations.

  ROUGH SLEEPERS INITIATIVE
  Baroness Fisher of Rednal
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  Whether the rough sleepers initiative, which started in London, also operates in Birmingham and other large cities.

  Viscount Ullswater
  The Government's £182 million rough sleepers initiative continues to be focused on central London where there remain the greatest concentrations of people sleeping rough. A count by voluntary sector organisations in November 1994 found 288 people sleeping rough in the main central London sites. Outside central London, it is properly the responsibility of each local authority to consider the housing needs of all the people living in its area, including people sleeping rough, when drawing up its housing strategy. The rough sleepers initiative has shown how voluntary and statutory agencies can work together towards the relief of street homelessness, and I commend this model to all local authorities.

  CAERPHILLY NEW DISTRICT: POLICING
  Lord Brougham and Vaux
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  What plans they have for the future policing arrangements for the new unitary district of Caerphilly.

  The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch)
  We have consulted the forces, police authorities and local authorities in the area on the future policing arrangements for the new unitary district of Caerphilly. We also asked Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary to report on this issue. In the light of the replies received and of the professional
  WA 37
  views of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, we have decided that the Gwent Constabulary shall be responsible for policing the whole of the new district from 1 April 1996. An order will be made in due course, under Section 21A of the Police Act 1964 (as inserted by Section 14 of the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994), to give effect to this decision, following discussions with the police authorities and forces concerned on the details of its content.

  EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS
  Lord Bruce of Donington
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  Whether they will state, in respect of legislation published in the Official Journal of the European Communities for each of the years 1993 and 1994 whose titles are printed in bold type and preceded with an asterisk, the number of decisions, directives, regulations and recommendations (stated separately) on the authority of (a) the European Council and (b) the European Commission.

  The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Howe)
  According to the Commission's CELEX Database on Community legislation, and the Official Journal of the European Communities, legislative instruments produced by the Council and Commission in 1993 and 1994 fall into the following categories:

  1993

  1994

  Council

  Commission

  Council

  Commission

  Directives

  65

  52

  17

  24

  Regulations

  325

  1,160

  180

  1,579

  Decisions

  135

  520

  72

  445

  Recommendations

  5

  2

  5

  3

  A breakdown which excluded those acts not printed in bold type with an asterisk in the Official Journal (i.e. relating to day-to-day management of agricultural matters which are generally valid only for a limited period) could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

  EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHAPTER
  Earl Russell
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  Whether they will submit their decision to opt out of the European social chapter to a referendum.
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  Lord Inglewood
  The United Kingdom Government's refusal to accept the proposed new social chapter was enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty and approved by Parliament in agreeing to the ratification of that treaty. The question of a referendum on the issue does not therefore arise.

  ADOPTED CHILDREN: STATISTICS
  Lord Braine of Wheatley
  asked Her Majesty's Government:

  Whether they will publish in the Official Report a table showing the total number of children in England and Wales who were adopted at (a) under one year of age, (b) between one year and five years, and (c) over five years for each of the last 30 years for which figures are available.

  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)
  The information is given in the table.

  Children adopted, by age at adoption, 1962–1992, England and Wales

  Year

  Age at adoption

  Under 1

  1–4

  5 and over1

  All ages of children2

  1962

  9,214

  3,872

  3,808

  16,894

  1963

  9,896

  4,129

  3,757

  17,782

  1964

  11,506

  4,699

  4,207

  20,412

  1965

  11,650

  5,049

  4,333

  21,032

  1966

  12,308

  5,611

  4,873

  22,792

  1967

  12,170

  5,688

  4,944

  22,802

  1968

  12,641

  6,313

  5,877

  24,831

  1969

  11,096

  6,344

  6,268

  23,708

  1970

  8,833

  6,776

  6,764

  22,373

  1971

  7,780

  6,502

  7,213

  21,495

  1972

  6,593

  6,421

  8,585

  21,599

  1973

  6,026

  6,298

  9,923

  22,247

  1974

  5,172

  6,148

  11,182

  22,502

  1975

  4,548

  5,523

  11,228

  21,299

  1976

  3,608

  4,216

  9,797

  17,621

  1977

  2,945

  3,002

  6,801

  12,748

  1978

  2,816

  2,593

  6,712

  12,121

  1979

  2,649

  2,183

  6,038

  10,870

  1980

  2,599

  2,090

  5,920

  10,609

  1981

  2,365

  1,910

  5,009

  9,284

  1982

  2,177

  2,162

  5,901

  10,240

  1983

  1,962

  2,094

  4,973

  9,029

  1984

  1,836

  1,935

  4,859

  8,648

  1985

  1,605

  1,645

  4,340

  7,615

  1986

  1,572

  1,748

  4,496

  7,892

  1987

  1,333

  1,694

  4,121

  7,201

  1988

  1,235

  1,975

  4,099

  7,390

  1989

  1,115

  1,875

  4,033

  7,044

  1990

  969

  1,871

  3,688

  6,533

  1991

  895

  2,071

  4,205

  7,171

  1992

  661

  2,270

  4,409

  7,342

  1 Age 5–17 for 1973–1992; age 5–20 for 1962–1972.

  2 From 1984, the total includes adoptions where age was not stated.