Written Answers of 8 March 1995

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years, and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  No permanent secretary has left the Lord Chancellor's Department's employment in the last five years.

  Career Breaks
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many men and women applied for career breaks in his Department; and how many have had their employment terminated in the last five years.

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  Details of how many men and women applied for a career break within the last five years were not recorded centrally until July 1994. Since then 20 applications have been made, two of which were refused. None of the 20 have had their employment terminated.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Civil Service (Market Testing)
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what evidence he has in support of the conclusion of the White Paper on the future of the civil service that market testing has created savings.

  Mr. Horam
  The evidence can he found in the "Market Testing Bulletin Special Report", published in January, which is available in the Library. The report includes full details of the results of the "Competing for Quality" programme—including market testing— to September 1994 and shows that Departments have now identified annual cost savings of over £400 million from a programme covering over £2 billion of Government services.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. David Hunt
  In the five years from 1 March 1990, Sir Peter Kemp KCB, has left this Department's174
  employment as a permanent secretary, and Sir Peter Graham KCB QC and Sir Constant Henry de Waal, KCB, QC have left as first parliamentary counsels.

  Sir Peter Kemp has been subsequently appointed as a part-time commissioner with the Audit Commission.

  Women's Unit
  Mrs. Anne Campbell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are employed in the development unit for women in science and engineering located within the office of Science and Technology; what are its aims and objectives; and for how many years its funding is guaranteed.

  Mr. Horam
  The development unit on women in science, engineering and technology has a staff of two plus administrative support; its aims and objectives are outlined in the Government's response to the "Rising Tide" report; and its future will be reviewed after an initial period of two years.

  Technology Foresight
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what practical benefits to British industry have arisen from the technology foresight initiative.

  Mr. David Hunt
  Many—in particular in the medium to longer term.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  BBC
  Mr. Paul Flynn
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the current calculation of the amount of money that the BBC will reallocate to the regions and what percentage that will be of the present level of spending on network productions.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The BBC last year published plans for a gradual reallocation of expenditure on network production to regions outside London and south east England. This will be worth an additional £75 million a year by 1997–98, and represents an increase of 48 per cent. over 1993-94 expenditure of £155 million.

  Historic Government Buildings
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he is taking to improve the care of historic Government buildings.

  Mr. Dorrell
  The Government committed themselves in 1992 to a nine-point plan for the care of historic buildings on their own estate. This provides for regular inspection and maintenance of these buildings and an annual report by my Department's conservation unit on their condition. I am today publishing, for the first time, the conservation unit's report.

  I am also issuing today new guidance to Departments on the disposal of surplus historic buildings. This follows from the "Efficiency Scrutiny of the Management of the Government Estate," published last year, which identified the need for guidance on the particular considerations arising in respect of the disposal of historic properties,

  175
  over and above those applying to disposals generally. The main emphasis of the guidance is that "best price" should not be the overriding concern when considering the disposal of a building. Rather, Departments should aim to obtain the best return for the taxpayer that is consistent with Government policies for the protection of historic buildings and areas.

  I am placing copies of both documents in the Library.

  Pink Pound
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the significance of the pink pound to Britain's tourism and leisure industry.

  Mr. Dorrell
  None.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last three years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Mr. Hayden Phillips was appointed as permanent secretary to my Department when it was created in April 1992. Mr. Phillips is still in post.

  ITV Companies
  Mr. Graham Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what information he collects on the amounts ITV companies are spending on new British programmes and on dividends to shareholders.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Such information is not collected by Government. These are commercial matters for ITV companies, acting within the terms of their licences.

  Planning and Management Systems
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what system of planning and management information systems is currently in place in his Department; and what documents pertaining to it are available to(a) hon. Members and (b) the public.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My Department prepares internal business and forward management plans, and the many bodies which my Department funds produce business and strategic plans, some of which are published. The DNH annual report, containing the Department's expenditure plans, is prepared each year as part of the series of departmental reports presented to Parliament. It is published and available to the public through HMSO bookshops.

  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what changes he is making to his Department's planning and management information systems in the light of the fundamental expenditure review of the Department and the recommendations of the multi-departmental efficiency scrutiny of such systems.

  Mr. Dorrell
  Neither of these reviews has yet reported. I will consider any action I wish to take when they do so.

  Children's Play
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he intends to announce plans for a national framework for children's play.

  Mr. Dorrell
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Eltham, (Mr. Bottomley) on 2 March,Official Report, column 640.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proposals he has to fund the National Voluntary Council for Children's Play in 1995–96.

  Mr. Dorrell
  My Department currently has no budget for children's play. I understand that the NVCCP has submitted an application to the Sports Council's Trust Company for an extension of its present grant into the 1995–96. In relation to funding for children's play from October 1995, I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 2 March,Official Report, column 640.

  National Lottery
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how much money will be made available from national lottery funds to sports clubs, including football clubs.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 7 March 1995]: Twenty per cent. of the net proceeds from the national lottery will be made available to sport and distributed through the four national sports councils. This amount currently stands at around £48 million. It will be for the sports councils themselves to decide which projects should receive funding, based on the applications they receive.

  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which listed buildings in(a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland are deemed eligible for financial assistance towards the cost of renovation by Historic Scotland from moneys obtained from the national lottery; what criteria are used to assess such applications; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 6 March 1995]: Repairs to historic buildings throughout the United Kingdom are eligible for lottery funding directly from the National Heritage Memorial fund—NHMF—if they fulfil the criteria set down within the "Guidelines for Applicants to the Heritage Lottery Fund" published by the trustees of the NHMF, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Repairs to historic buildings within the care of Historic Scotland itself are similarly eligible for lottery funding from the NHMF.

  Scratch Lottery
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made on the impact of the income of football pools and society lotteries on the introduction by Camelot of a scratch lottery.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 7 March 1995]: National lottery instant win games have not yet been introduced. It will be for the football pools companies and the promoters of society lotteries, in the first instance, to assess any impact which the introduction of such games may have on their income.

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

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 28 February 1995]: In the last month Ministers in my Department have received one such item of correspondence.

  Works of Art
  Mr. Faulds
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the items for which the issuing of export licences was withheld on the recommendation of the reviewing committee on the export of works of art during the half year ended 31 December, specifying in each case the valuation and whether any item was exported or retained, with particulars in the latter event of the acquiring institution; and if he will list any items for which licences have been withheld but the final disposal of which is not yet decided, specifying in each case(a) the valuation and (b) the relevant time limit.

  Mr. Dorrell
  [holding answer 19 January 1995]: The information is as Follows:-

  Description of item

  Valuation £

  Outcome

  A drawing, 'Two Horsemen Fighting' dated 1620–30 by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called II Guercino

  147,807

  Export licence granted.

  The Narcissus Washstand designed by William Burges c.1865–67

  250,000

  Acquired by the Cecil Higgins Trust.

  An autograph working manuscript of 21 keyboard pieces, by Henry Purcell, c. 1680–1690

  281,137.50

  Acquired by the Trustees of the British Library.

  A Ceremonial bronze dirk, middle Bonze Age 1500–1350 BC, From Oxborough, Norfolk

  52,050

  Acquired by the Trustees of the British Museum.

  A carved Narwhal ivory horn from the mid 12th century

  448,762.50

  Decision Further deferred until after 18 March 1995.

  A painting, 'The Painter's Room', by Lucien Freud, dated 1943

  515,812.50

  Decision deferred until after 1 April 1995.

  An arithmetical Rotula

  46,462.50

  Under consideration by the Secretary of State.

  The Stanhope Calculator

  247,612.50

  Under consideration by the Secretary of State.

  Materials relating to Stanhope's Demonstrator

  46,462.50

  Under consideration by the Secretary of State.

  A sculpture by Henry Moore, 'Head and Shoulders' (1927–28)

  475,000

  Decision deferred until after 6 April 1995.

  A bust of Thomas Hollis by Joseph Wilton, c. 1700

  400,000

  Export licence granted.

  A painting, 'Daniel and Cyrus before the Idol Bel' by Rembrandt dated 1633

  4,800,000

  Export licence granted.

  178

  Description of item

  Valuation £

  Outcome

  A drawing, 'Samson and Delilah' by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called II Guercino

  76,425.82

  Export licence granted.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Howard
  Sir Clive Whitmore retired from the Home Office as permanent secretary within the period covered by the question. He has not been appointed to any position by Ministers.

  Mr. John Shaw
  Mr. Lewis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to respond to Mr. John Shaw of 33 Bellpit close, Worsley in the matter of pension entitlement from Crown service overseas.

  Mr. Howard
  It has not been possible to trace any correspondence from Mr. John Shaw on the matter of pension entitlement from Crown service overseas. I have asked my officials to write to Mr. Shaw asking him to write in again, or to send a copy of his original letter, and the matter will then receive early attention.

  Offenders in the Community
  Sir Ivan Lawrence
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish the 1995 "National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders in the Community".

  Mr. Howard
  I shall publish tomorrow the 1995 "National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders in the Community" jointly with my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Wales and simultaneously will place copies in the Library.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total annual cost to public funds of housing in detention all those seeking asylum.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The available information does not identify separately those costs which relate to asylum seekers.

  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the cost per detainee per year for each of the establishments in which those who are seeking asylum in the United Kingdom are detained.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The overall cost of detaining a person in detention accommodation for which the Immigration Service is responsible is currently estimated at £540 per week including full Immigration Service staffing costs. This would equate to £28,080 in a year but
  179
  detention for this period would be most unusual. Figures for individual centres are not kept separately. Some people are detained under powers in the Immigration Act 1971 in Prison Service establishments, where the average cost per place in 1993–94 was £411 per week–£21,372 per year–but these figures exclude headquarters staffing costs.

  Ethnic Minorities (Police)
  Mr. Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the relationship between black people and the police; and what plans he has to improve it.

  Mr. Maclean
  The police service and the Government are committed to developing positive relationships between the police and all sections of the community, including minority ethnic groups. Measures taken to meet the needs of these communities include a statutory requirement for consultation with the community; the introduction of ethnic monitoring of police activity; the establishment of the inter-departmental racial attacks group and other activities in police forces to deal with racial violence; provision of a range of training in community and race relations; force recruitment campaigns aimed at encouraging ethnic minority candidates to apply to join the police; and improved grievance procedures against allegations of discrimination within police forces.

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many court reports were completed by the north east London probation service during 1992 and 1993;

  (2) how many offenders were supervised by the north east London probation service on 30 June 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Timms) on 28 February 1995 (column 539).

  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed and at what grade by the north east London probation service on 30 June 1992, 30 June 1993 and 30 June 1994.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard) on 6 March 1995 at column 31.

  Combat 18
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what evidence he has of the activities of Combat 18 amongst supporters of Chelsea football club;

  (2) what assessment he has made of the role of the British National party and Combat 18 in the disturbances in Bruges on 27 and 28 February.

  Mr. Maclean
  Responsibility for gathering information about extremist organisations and their members, and for the investigation of specific criminal offences, rests with the police. I understand from the police that there is no evidence that Combat 18 is itself involved amongst the supporters of Chelsea football club, although some of those who associate with the supporters may have sympathies with this group. Neither is there evidence to suggest that the BNP or Combat 18 were involved in the disturbances in Bruges on 27 and 28 February.

  Dangerous Dogs Act
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  The Dangerous Dogs Act is kept under continuing review in the light of how it works, including consideration of the points made in the private Peer's Bill currently before another place.

  Ethnic Minorities
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the section 11 allocations made for each local authority in 1994–95.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  Allocations to individual authorities are subject to adjustment from time to time in the light of a change in circumstances—for example, when a school or college opts to set up a separate project. The following table shows the current allocations for the 1994–95 financial year.

  Authority

  Home Office cash allocations

  Avon

  615,251

  Barking and Dagenham

  230,860

  Barnet

  748,243

  Bedfordshire

  2,361,022

  Berkshire

  1,053,875

  Bexley

  100,138

  Birmingham

  4,035,694

  Blackburn

  49,539

  Bolton

  880,505

  Bradford

  4,204,150

  Brent

  1,742,385

  Buckinghamshire

  1,095,250

  Burnley

  18,774

  Bury

  354,547

  Calderdale

  853,361

  Cambridgeshire

  976,563

  Camden

  1,111,346

  Cardiff

  7,888

  Cheshire

  73,862

  Cleveland

  479,638

  Coventry

  2,108,375

  Croydon

  949,775

  Derbyshire

  1,046,415

  Devon

  11,949

  Doncaster

  100,338

  Dudley

  877,198

  Durham

  119,090

  Ealing

  2,615,675

  East Sussex

  139,412

  Enfield

  1,058,164

  Essex

  25,755

  Gateshead

  22,732

  Gloucester

  28,983

  Gloucestershire

  265,008

  Greenwich

  1,329,673

  Gwent

  192,662

  Hackney

  3,147,620

  Hammersmith

  713,289

  Hampshire

  558,367

  Haringey

  2,604,874

  Harrow

  556,992

  Havering

  36,169

  Hereford and Worcester

  175,235

  Hertfordshire

  1,492,311

  Hillingdon

  317,055

  Hounslow

  1,389,502

  Humberside

  275,863

  Hyndburn

  17,860

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  Authority

  Home Office cash allocations

  Islington

  1,434,673

  Kensington and Chelsea

  899,845

  Kent

  1,095,957

  Kingston

  105,071

  Kirklees

  2,394,143

  Lambeth

  1,085,102

  Lancashire

  4,629,966

  Leeds

  1,725,338

  Leicester

  115,597

  Leicestershire

  3,013,512

  Lewisham

  1,637,467

  Lincolnshire

  61,319

  Liverpool

  165,185

  London Boroughs Grants Unit

  123,071

  Manchester

  2,222,999

  Merton

  490,246

  Newcastle

  303,140

  Newham

  2,181,976

  Norfolk

  68,285

  Northamptonshire

  663,758

  North Tyneside

  115,586

  North Yorkshire

  49,312

  Nottingham

  61,435

  Nottinghamshire

  1,519,199

  Oldham

  1,909,961

  Oxford

  3,322

  Oxfordshire

  684,260

  Preston

  12,834

  Redbridge

  918,005

  Redditch

  12,971

  Richmond

  56,225

  Rochdale

  1,193,213

  Rotherham

  327,313

  St. Albans

  18,105

  St. Helens

  14,043

  Salford

  47,498

  Sandwell

  1,228,775

  Scunthorpe

  16,103

  Sheffield

  1,697,662

  Number of Prosecutions and convictions under the Intoxicating Substances (Supply)Act 19851, 1985–1993

  England and Wales

  1985

  1986

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  Prosecutions

  —

  6

  15

  7

  12

  7

  8

  5

  5

  Convictions

  —

  2

  11

  4

  9

  4

  6

  3

  3

  1 Came into force August 1985.

  Data Protection
  Mr. Neil Hamilton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish the compliance cost assessment for the draft data protection directive as it applies to the United Kingdom(a) as regards the 1992 draft and (b) the draft agreed at the latest Council of Minsters meeting;

  (2) if he will state the categories of paper records to which the draft data protection directive now applies; and what estimate he has made of the costs which this provision will impose on British businesses.

  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  A paper showing the results of a survey of the estimated cost of implementing the 1992 draft of the directive in the United Kingdom has been made publicly available. A copy of this paper was placed in the Library of the House last year. We have as yet made no estimate of the cost of implementing the present
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  Authority

  Home Office cash allocations

  Shropshire

  84,104

  Southampton

  11,422

  Southwark

  1,955,157

  South Glamorgan

  444,978

  South Yorkshire FCDA

  12,751

  Staffordshire

  924,043

  Stockport

  76,079

  Suffolk

  237,235

  Sunderland

  87,284

  Surrey

  291,845

  Sutton

  46,902

  Tameside

  585,940

  Tower Hamlets

  6,826,782

  Trafford

  242,981

  Wakefield

  296,729

  Walsall

  1,579,939

  Waltham Forest

  1,585,015

  Wandsworth

  1,369,800

  Warwickshire

  785,021

  West Midlands FCDA

  65,241

  Westminster

  1,498,548

  West Sussex

  212,623

  West Yorkshire FCDA

  95,651

  Wigan

  44,078

  Wiltshire

  121,565

  Wirral

  75,839

  Wolverhampton

  1,575,008

  Intoxicating Substances
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought in each year since the passing of the Intoxicating Substances Supply Act 1985; and how many have been successful.

  Mr. Maclean
  Information for 1985 to 1993 is given in the table. 1994 data will not be available until the autumn 1995.

  draft of the directive, although the improvements made to the directive, as set out in my reply to my hon. Friend on 23 February at column 332, mean that the costs involved are now likely to be significantly lower.

  In its application to paper records, the draft directive covers personal data which form or are intended to form part of a filing system. Within certain parameters, it is for member states to decide what constitutes a filing system for the purposes of applying the directive. Determining the precise definition to use, in consultation with business and other interests which will be affected, will be an important part of the process of implementing the directive.

  Closed Circuit Television
  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy
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  of the good practice guidelines to local authorities and police authorities on the use of closed circuit television in public places.

  Mr. Maclean
  A copy of the Home Office publication "CCTV—Looking Out for You" has been placed in the Library.

  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the home Department if he will list(a) all local authorities and (b) all police authorities, indicating joint ventures, operating closed circuit television schemes in public places and give the total capital cost per scheme and annual operating cost per scheme.

  Mr. Maclean
  This information is not collected centrally. A list of some towns believed to be operating

  Research Project/Publication

  Institution/Research body/Author

  Cost

  Date of completion

  The Impact of Closed Circuit Television on Crime in the London Underground—Home Office Research Study No. 49

  Home Office; Research and Planning Unit

  Not available

  1978

  Close Circuit Television in Public Places—Crime Prevention Unit Paper No. 35

  T. Honess and E. Charman of Michael and Associates, Cardiff, for the Home Office Police Research Group

  £48,376

  Summer 1992

  Before and after research into the effectiveness of CCTV within Birmingham city centre

  T. Honess and E. Charman of Michael and Associates, Cardiff, for the Home Office Police Research Group

  £20,536

  results to be published Summer 1995

  Understanding public car parks, crime and CCTV: evaluation lessons from Safer Cities— Crime Prevention Unit Paper No. 42

  Nick Tilley of Nottingham University, consultant to the Home Office Crime Prevention Unit

  £12,000

  1993

  Town centre CCTV schemes: four case studies

  Home Office Police Research Group

  £ 10,000

  Summer 1995

  Effectiveness of CCTV security systems

  Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch

  £200,000 over 5 years

  April 1997

  Overseas Prisoners
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions take place when an overseas prisoner sentenced for crimes committed in the United Kingdom is returned to his country of origin to complete the remainder of his sentence as to the date of the release of such a person from prison.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 8 March 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the consultation that takes place concerning prisoners' release dates when prisoners are returned to their country of origin to complete their sentences.
  The transfer of prisoners between the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions is governed by the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 and international agreements. These require that both jurisdictions concerned and the prisoner seeking repatriation, consent to any transfer. In considering repatriation requests made by prisoners here, the foreign jurisdiction is required to provide information as to how the remaining balance of a prisoner's sentence would be administered and release determined following transfer. If both jurisdictions then consent to the prisoner's transfer, this information is communicated to the prisoner in seeking his or her consent. A prisoner transferred to a foreign jurisdiction receives full credit for
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  CCTV schemes is included at appendix 2 to the Home Office guidance booklet "CCTV— Looking Out for You", but it is not necessarily comprehensive. Costs are a matter for the individual operators. I have arranged for a copy of the booklet to be sent to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Etherington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of all Home Office research projects examining the effectiveness of CCTV in public places in reducing crime levels indicating the institution, research body or individual responsible for the project, the cost per project and date of completion or expected date of completion.

  Mr. Maclean
  The information is contained in the following table.

  all time spent in custody here relating to completion of sentence prior to the transfer, including any remand time. Following transfer, the remaining balance of time to serve attracts the early release arrangements of the foreign jurisdiction.

  Videos
  Mr. Beith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the sale of videos giving instructions on the use of explosives and on techniques for killing humans; and what response he has given.

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. and learned Friend has received three letters from Members of Parliament and two letters from the public in the last 12 months about the supply of instructional videos that show the use of explosives and criminal techniques. Under the Video Recordings Act 1984 these works were exempt from classification by the British Board of Film Classification—BBFC—and their unclassified supply was not therefore unlawful. We have, however, taken action in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to ensure that all video works which depict techniques likely to be useful in the commission of offences or, which to any significant extent, depict criminal activity which is likely to any significant extent to stimulate or encourage the commission of offences, are subject to classification by the BBFC. The BBFC may of course withhold a
  185
  classification certificate should it consider it appropriate to do so, particularly bearing in mind the statutory criteria set out in the Act which the board has to take into account when classifying works. Once the relevant provisions come into force anyone supplying a work in respect of which a certificate has been refused would be liable to prosecution.

  Private Clegg
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 February,Official Report, column 223, if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which a journalist interviewed Private Clegg at Wakefield prison using an assumed name; and what actions he is taking to prevent such incidents taking place.

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

  Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 8 March 1995:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what action has been taken following the interview of Private Lee Clegg at Wakefield prison by a journalist.
  Mr. Clegg's visitors are now required to produce satisfactory evidence of their identity before they are allowed to visit him.

  Market Testing
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of the market testing exercise in connection with his Department's data processing work.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The estimated cost of conducting the market test of the Home Office's administrative information technology services division was £1,565,000. Estimated average annual savings arising from this market test are about £4.8 million or a saving of about 30 per cent. of the cost of comparable IT services under the former arrangements.

  Police National Computer
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to privatise the police national computer; if he will list those bodies with whom he has recently discussed this topic; and what assessment he has made of(a) the advantages and (b) the disadvantages of privatising the computer.

  Mr. Maclean
  There are no plans for the privatisation of the police national computer— PNC2—which is housed at the Hendon data centre. But the Government continue to believe that it will in the longer term be beneficial to market test the operation of the police national computer service, with a view to contracting out its delivery while maintaining the ownership, control, and use of the records it contains in the hands of the police service. For the reasons given in my reply to a question by my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on 8 February at columns 254–55, the current market test of the Hendon data centre will not proceed to competitive tendering at present. The position will be reviewed in about 18 months' time, when the requirement for the third generation computer—PNC3—which will eventually replace the current installation, becomes clearer.
  186
  Recent discussions on these matters have been held with the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland), and the local authority associations under the aegis of the tripartite Police Information Services Board, which is the management board for the police national computer; and further discussions with the Hendon data centre trade union side have been arranged.

  Data Processing
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the ongoing cost to his Department of monitoring the current costs relating to the contract for his Department's data processing work.

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The total costs of managing the contract for information technology services provided by Sema Group plc are about £420,000 a year. They reflect the separation of purchaser and provider roles in the Department and would have been incurred whoever had won the market test for information technology services. Estimated average annual savings arising from this market test are about £4.8 million or a saving of about 30 per cent. of the cost of comparable IT services under the former arrangements.

  Warwickshire Police Authority
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria were used by him to assess the suitability of members of the new Warwickshire police authority when he considered the deletion of names from the list supplied to him.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: I exercised my judgment as to who were the best candidates for appointment using the criteria of the qualities listed in the information for applicants for these appointments: good communication and financial skills; the ability to challenge accepted views in a constructive way; the ability to represent a wide range of people in the community and have an understanding of their policing needs and the pressure and challenges which face the police themselves; and possession of skills and experience which would broaden the expertise available to the police authority.

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many names he himself deleted from the list supplied by the local nominating panel for the new Warwickshire police authority.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: Ten.

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with whom he consulted about deleting any of the names supplied by the nominating panel for the new Warwickshire police authority; and with which hon. Members he held discussions about the nominations to the Warwickshire police authority.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The Home Office Whip was consulted. Ministers did not hold discussions with any hon. Members.

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many names were supplied to him by the nominating panel for the new Warwickshire police authority; and how many he deleted from the list.
  187
  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 27 February 1995]: The selection panel for Warwickshire police authority supplied 20 names to me, which I reduced to ten for further consideration by the councillor and magistrate members of the authority.

  Police Statistics
  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) police officers and (b) civilians are currently serving in constabularies in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each constabulary in the east midlands; and how many were serving in 1979.

  Mr. Maclean
  [holding answer 7 March 1995]: Information on those police forces in which I understand the hon. Member is interested is set out in the table. Information on England and Wales was given in the reply to his question on 1 March at column 575.

  I Police officer strength

  Forces

  11979

  11994

  Derbyshire

  1,757

  1,793

  Leicestershire

  1,701

  1,838

  Lincolnshire

  1,167

  1,208

  Northamptonshire

  926

  1,171

  Nottinghamshire

  2,125

  2,331

  1 As at 31 December.

  II Civilian staff strength

  Forces

  11979

  11994

  Derbyshire

  646

  624

  Leicestershire

  362

  687

  Lincolnshire

  312

  504

  Northamptonshire

  249

  464

  Nottinghamshire

  535

  870

  1 As at 31 December.

ENVIRONMENT

  Birds
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the number of applications his Department received for the sale of birds listed in appendix 1 of CITES and appendix C I of EC regulation 3626/82, and how many such birds were sold in the last year for which figures are available;

  (2) what estimate his Department has made of the number of bird species and the number of individual birds currently held in captivity in the United Kingdom which are listed in appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and appendix CI of EC regulation 3626/82.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  In 1994 my Department received 1,276 individual applications to sell specimens of bird species listed on appendix I of CITES, or annex C1 of EC regulation 3626/82. Exemptions were subsequently issued permitting the sale of 1,958 birds. My Department has no estimate of the number of species or specimens in this category which are currently held in captivity.

  Westminster City Council
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he last met the officers and the 188
  councillors of Westminster city council to discuss the district auditor's interim report.

  (2) when he or any of his predecessors have met the hon. member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) and the right hon. member for City of London and Westminster, South (Mr. Brooke) to discuss (a) Westminster city council's designated sales policy and (b) the district auditor's report on the designated sales policy; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  So far as I am aware, no such meetings have taken place. These are matters for the local authority and their appointed auditor.

  Stellar's Sea Eagle
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the number of licences his Department has issued in each of the past two years for the importation of Stellar's sea eagle; if he will indicate the countries of origin and whether the birds were captive-bred; and if he will list the criteria that have to be met before a licence can be issued for the importation of Stellar's sea eagle.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  In the last two years my Department has issued one permit allowing the import of two specimens of Stellar's sea eagle. The birds were taken from the wild in Russia.

  The criteria that have to be satisfied before an import permit can be issued are set out in article III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and are that:
  the import will be for purposes which are not detrimental to the survival of the species involved;
  the proposed recipient of a living specimen is suitably equipped to house and care for it; and
  the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes.

  Local Government Commission
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he expects the case of Southport to be referred to and considered by the Local Government Commission;

  (2) when he expects those metropolitan areas which have expressed a strong desire for a change in the structure of local government to be referred to and considered by the Local Government Commission.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  We intend to consider directing the commission to conduct boundary reviews of metropolitan areas alongside, and in the light of, any individual district structure reviews that may be required following my right hon. Friend's announcement on 2 March,Official Report, col. 1183.

  Single Regeneration Budget
  Mr Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much money was allocated to the educational components of the single regeneration budget in the successful local authority bids; and what he estimates to be the change in level of funding for section type projects transferred to the single regeneration budget.

  Mr. Curry
  Some 135 of the 201 approved bids from successful single regeneration budget partnerships are expected to include educational components. The SRB provides flexible financial support towards the overall
  189
  cost of approved schemes. The amount of money likely to be spent on particular components, of what are generally multi-faceted bids, is therefore not available.

  The Government are providing £83 million in 1995–96 across the country for new and existing schemes under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 which assist minority ethnic communities overcome linguistic and cultural barriers. All the projects transferred to the single regeneration budget will continue to be funded for their planned lifetimes.

  Public Expenditure
  Mr. Lidington
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make an announcement about the spending plans of his Department, Ordnance Survey and the Office of Water Services for the years 1995–96 to 1997–98.

  Mr. Gummer
  Yes. I have today published the Department of the Environment's annual report for 1995. This sets out in detail the outcome of the public expenditure survey announced in the November 1994 Budget Statement as it affects the areas of my responsibility. The report provides an overview of how my Department, Ordnance Survey and Ofwat have discharged their functions over the past year. It provides background to each spending programme and sets out our plans for the future.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Robert Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will set out the amounts of the council tax which are currently owing to the Harrogate borough council and each of the other district councils in North Yorkshire.

  (2) if he will set out the amounts of community charge which are currently owing to the Harrogate borough council and each of the other district councils in North Yorkshire.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Information on uncollected community charge and council tax for each local authority

  Table 1—Interest rates and control totals

  Interest receipts element in the All Other Services block

  Interest receipts element in the Capital Financing block

  Notional interest rate Per cent.

  National control total £million

  Notional interest rate Per cent.

  National control total £ million

  1993–94

  10.4

  –525.8

  9.9

  –301.0

  1994–95

  5.9

  –432.4

  9.2

  222.0

  1995–96

  5.4

  –351.0

  9.1

  –237.0

  The interest rate used for the interest receipts element in the all other services block is the average LIBOR short-term interest rate. The rate used for the capital

  Table 2: Interest receipt SSA elements for County Councils

  All other services block

  Capital Financing block

  Local Authority

  1993–94 £Million

  1994–95£million

  1995–96 £million

  1993–94£million

  1994–95£million

  1995–96£million

  Avon

  -7.410

  -6.027

  -4.446

  -0.757

  -0.840

  -0.865

  Bedfordshire

  -4.761

  -3.881

  -2.844

  -0.470

  -0.513

  -0.525

  Berkshire

  -6.176

  -5.054

  -3.786

  -0.760

  -0.828

  -0.859

  Buckinghamshire

  -5.419

  -4.486

  -3.248

  -0.847

  -0.920

  -0.934

  190
  is not available centrally. However, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy regularly publish estimates for individual authorities: figures for 31 March 1994 are available in its "Revenue Collection Statistics 1993–94" publication and are as follows:

  Community charge arrears (£000)

  Council tax arrears (£)

  Craven

  752

  302

  Hambleton

  618

  467

  Harrogate

  4,288

  1,261

  Richmondshire

  1,234

  254

  Ryedale

  671

  413

  Scarborough

  2,144

  2,811

  Selby

  n/a

  n/a

  York

  2,783

  866

  The figures for Selby were not published by CIPFA.

  Mr. Rendell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the assumed rate of interest for 1995–96 in respect of local authorities' assumed interest receipts; and what were the corresponding figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95;

  (2) what is the control total for the interest receipts element of the standard spending assessments for 1995–96;

  (3) what is the assumed amount of interest receipts for each county council for 1995– 96; and what were the corresponding figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  [holding answer 6 March 1995]: Interest receipts appear in both the all other services and the capital financing SSA elements. The former element includes allowance for interest which local authorities might earn on cash balances, reserves and usable receipts; the latter an allowance for interest which could be earned on reserved receipts–the portion of a capital receipt which has to be set aside as provision for credit liabilities.

  Table 1 shows the interest rates used for each SSA element for 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96, together with the national control totals. Table 2 shows the assumed amounts for each county council.

  financing element is an average of short and long-term interest rates.
  191

  Table 2: Interest receipt SSA elements for County Councils

  All other services block

  Capital Financing block

  Local Authority

  1993–94£million

  1994–95£million

  1995–96£million

  1993–94£million

  1994–95£million

  1995–96£million

  Cambridgeshire

  -5.084

  -4.221

  -3.165

  -0.694

  -0.772

  -0.797

  Cheshire

  -7.498

  -6.160

  -4.597

  -0.947

  -1.058

  -1.128

  Clevelire

  -5.272

  -4.262

  -3.125

  -0.661

  -0.730

  -0.761

  Cornwall

  -3.664

  -3.040

  -2.308

  -0.586

  -0.643

  -0.658

  Cumbria

  -3.945

  -3.221

  -2.365

  -0.531

  -0.595

  -0.619

  Derbyshire

  -7.040

  -5.831

  -4.340

  -1.010

  -1.116

  -1.114

  Devon

  -7.944

  -6.526

  -4.947

  -0.986

  -1.096

  -1.132

  Dorset

  -4.797

  -3.943

  -2.995

  -0.612

  -0.678

  -0.689

  Durham

  -4.844

  -4.072

  -2.995

  -0.595

  -0.667

  -0.684

  East Sussex

  -5.524

  -4.529

  -3.421

  -0.768

  -0.853

  -0.910

  Essex

  -12.594

  -10.523

  -7.729

  -1.559

  -1.697

  -1.745

  Gloucestershire

  -4.050

  -3.289

  -2.482

  -0.563

  0.627

  -0.657

  Hampshire

  -12.037

  -9.909

  -7.285

  -1.529

  -1.697

  -1.795

  Hereford and Worcester

  -5.040

  -4.151

  -3.105

  -0.569

  -0.621

  -0.633

  Herefordshire

  -7.978

  -6.658

  -5.164

  -0.843

  -0.915

  -0.930

  Kent

  -7.400

  -5.998

  -4.439

  -0.985

  -1.086

  -1.106

  Lancashire

  -12.842

  -10.590

  -7.852

  -1.772

  -2.010

  -2.221

  Leicestershire

  -11.543

  -9.466

  -7.017

  -1.615

  -1.765

  -1.816

  Lincolnshire

  -7.348

  -5.942

  -4.428

  -0.969

  -1.052

  -1.068

  Norfolk

  -4.723

  -3.868

  -2.868

  -0.599

  -0.671

  -0.711

  Northamptonshire

  -5.713

  -4.724

  -3.503

  -0.669

  -0.749

  -0.781

  Northumberland

  -4.792

  -3.843

  -2.875

  -0.667

  -0.720

  -0.729

  North Yorkshire

  -2.327

  -1.958

  -1.582

  -0.319

  -0.362

  -0.389

  Nottinghamshire

  -5.251

  -4.336

  -3.282

  -0.690

  -0.776

  -0.915

  Oxfordshire

  -8.342

  -6.741

  -4.986

  -0.821

  -0.909

  -0.915

  Shropshire

  -4.272

  -3.557

  -2.633

  -0.421

  -0.476

  -0.503

  Somerset

  -3.156

  -2.590

  -1.949

  -0.499

  -0.557

  -0.581

  Staffordshire

  -3.535

  -2.907

  -2.147

  -0.486

  -0.541

  -0.558

  Suffolk

  -7.997

  -6.571

  -4.867

  -1.015

  -1.105

  -1.111

  Surrey

  -4.852

  -3.925

  -2.794

  -0.731

  -0.812

  -0.851

  Warwickshire

  -7.143

  -5.935

  -4.524

  -0.882

  -1.018

  -1.097

  West Sussex

  -3.637

  -2.977

  -2.197

  -0.361

  -0.401

  -0.413

  Wiltshire

  -5.324

  -4.480

  -3.361

  -0.596

  -0.642

  -0.651

  Isle of Wight CC

  -4.319

  -3.547

  -2.613

  -0.539

  -0.583

  -0.590

  Isle of Wight Council

  -1.014

  -0.843

  —

  -0.177

  -0.200

  —

  —

  —

  -0.969

  —

  —

  -0.882

  The 1995–96 figures do not include interest receipts in respect of shire police authorities. However, the figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95 for all shire countries, except Northumberland, contain an element in respect of police services since the SSA elements for police-related expenditure formed part of the county council SSA in those years.

  The figures for the Isle of Wight Council cover the whole Isle of Wight area.

  The interest receipts element in the capital financing block assumes that all reserved receipts are set aside to repay debt, ie no part of such receipts is used to repay debt early.

  Climate Change Programme
  Mr. Fishburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the implications of the Department of Trade and Industry's new energy projections for the United Kingdom climate change programme.

  Mr. Gummer
  The new projections, announced today by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Energy, show that we can be confident of meeting our commitment under the climate change convention and that we now expect to exceed it, with emissions of carbon dioxide by the year 2001 significantly below 1990 levels.

  This achievement reflects the impact of the United Kingdom climate change programme which was published in January last year.

  In some areas we have exceeded our earlier expectations. In particular there has been a significant reduction in the carbon intensity of fuels used for electricity generation, through increased investment in combined cycle gas turbines and through improved performance of nuclear generation. This reflects the success of our policies of privatisation and continuing deregulation of the electricity and gas industries.
  192
  Some parts of the programme are not now expected to deliver as much as originally envisaged. In part this reflects the lower carbon intensity of the electricity displaced by some energy saving measures as a result of the success of the supply side changes. On VAT on domestic fuel and power, the 8 per cent. rate is now expected to contribute about 0.4 million tonnes of carbon—MtC—compared with the original estimate of I.5MtC at the full rate of VAT. In addition, the Energy Saving Trust is currently reviewing its plans. It estimates that the programme of activities already established and financed and will save about 0.3MtC. This compares with an assumption in the new projections that the EST would deliver I 6MtC by 2000, based on full delivery of the original target of 2.5MtC, adjusted for changes in carbon intensity of electricity displaced. The trust's further schemes will make additional contributions to the programme but are not yet established.

  Overall, it would be reasonable to adjust the projections by about 1 MtC to reflect these changes in the trust's plans, suggesting that carbon dioxide emissions will he 6–13 MtC below 1990 levels by 2000. This represents

  193
  savings of 16–24 MtC against the projections of which the climate change programme was based.

  While there have been some changes in the relative contributions expected from the various elements of the programme, the Government continue to be fully committed to the package of measures set out in the UK climate change programme, and will continue to seek further cost effective ways of reducing carbon emissions. My Department will publish an update to the CO2 chapter of the climate change programme as soon as possible, reporting progress on each of the measures.

  Mr. Fishburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new commitments on greenhouse gas emissions for the period beyond 2000 he will be proposing at the first conference of parties to the climate change convention.

  Mr. Gummer
  In our national programme under the climate change convention we made clear the need to begin now to look beyond 2000 at further steps which may need to be taken to combat the risk of climate change. We held a national conference last year to discuss the way ahead. This will be an important issue at the first conference of the parties to the convention, which takes place in Berlin at the end of this month.

  The countries of the European Union have led the way in calling for a decision at Berlin to begin negotiations on new commitments beyond 2000. We have said that Berlin should set in hand the negotiation of a protocol which should strengthen and extend the existing commitments.

  The EU has called on all developed country parties to take measures aimed at stabilising CO2 emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000 and to work towards further steps to limit and reduce emissions of all greenhouse gases.

  At Berlin I shall therefore be calling on all OECD countries to accept this challenge recognising that, in order to encourage others to demonstrate their commitment to the convention, these countries must continue to take the lead. We cannot wait until the end of the century before deciding what to do next. Negotiations must start in Berlin towards agreeing new commitments which, using a comprehensive or "basket" approach, would aim at beginning to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries below 1990 levels.

  Local Authority

  Allocation 1995–96(£000s)

  Related Units (1994–95)

  Allocation 1995–96(£00s)

  Related Units(1995–96)

  Barnsley

  1,445

  59

  875

  33

  Beverley

  812

  20

  409

  11

  Boothferry

  708

  25

  295

  12

  Bradford

  8,373

  280

  5,438

  212

  Calderdale

  3,067

  92

  1,206

  47

  Cleethorpes

  867

  31

  367

  17

  Craven

  711

  28

  187

  7

  Doncaster

  2,878

  122

  1,585

  70

  East Yorkshire

  1,149

  42

  425

  25

  Glanford

  609

  31

  305

  16

  Great Grimsby

  2,047

  88

  1,108

  51

  Hambleton

  520

  27

  382

  16

  Harrogate

  1.851

  79

  815

  31

  Holderness

  368

  28

  252

  15

  Kingston upon Hull

  3,959

  145

  1,843

  87

  Kirklees

  6,950

  231

  3,126

  116

  Leeds

  9,877

  461

  4,708

  231

  Richmondshire

  530

  26

  249

  11

  Rotherham

  1,076

  45

  578

  30

  Ryedale

  821

  38

  444

  22

  Scarborough

  1,851

  86

  553

  23

  Scunthorpe

  –

  –

  155

  10

  194
  The Government believe that developed countries should agree a new objective for the year 2010 to guide their commitment to adopt appropriate policies and measures. Agreement on a figure for total greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the range of 5 to 10 per cent. below 1990 levels would seem to be a credible and achievable next step for these countries to take, within the framework of the convention.

  This would represent a challenge set against the projections of likely growth in our economies over the next 15 years. But the UK would undertake to set in hand work on implementing policies and measures needed to achieve such an objective, assuming others could agree to do the same. The prompt and successful implementation of our existing commitments, and the continuing effects of the measures we have already taken, will put us in an excellent position to do so.

  Water and Sewerage Companies
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with the director of the Office of Water Services about the pay and perks of directors and executives of the North West, Severn Trent and Yorkshire water and sewerage companies.

  Mr. Atkins
  None.

  Housing
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the sums(a) pledged to and (b) provided for housing associations to build new homes for rent in each local authority area in Yorkshire and Humberside in the latest available year, together with the number of such homes which will be built in 1995–96 and the number of applications on current housing lists in each area.

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  Allocations made to housing associations from the Housing Corporation's approved development programme at the start of 1994–95, and those for 1995–96, to build new homes for rent in Yorkshire and Humberside are as listed by local authority area.
  195

  Local Authority

  Allocation 1994–95(£000s)

  Related Units (1994–95)

  Allocation 1995–96(£000s)

  Related Units(1995–96)

  Selby

  743

  41

  370

  40

  Sheffield

  7,444

  291

  2,786

  121

  Wakefield

  2,861

  117

  1,126

  52

  York

  1,497

  72

  672

  42

  The number of households on local authority housing waiting lists in Yorkshire and Humberside on I April 1994 is given in section B of the "1994 HIP I All Items Print", a copy of which is in the Library.Data on housing associations waiting lists are not collected centrally.

  Mr. Waterson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the names of the authorities to be included in the programme for housing transfers by councils in 1995–96; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Curry
  I am today announcing the names of the II authorities who will be able to proceed, on a voluntary basis and subject to the approval of their tenants, with proposals to transfers their housing stock to housing associations in 1995–96.

  I am pleased that it has been possible to include 11 authorities on the 1995–96 programme of large scale voluntary transfers which comprises nearly 47,000 dwellings valued at over £500 million.

  This is part of the Government's commitment to a continuing programme of transfers as means of generating private finance to repair and improve the condition of social housing and to increase the diversity and choice for tenants.

  The 11 authorities which have successfully gained a place on the 1995–96 programme, together with 12 recipient housing associations, are as follows:
  East Hampshire District Council (4,300 dwellings) to East Hampshire Housing Association;Eastleigh District Council (4,682 dwellings) to Eastleigh Housing Association;Hastings Borough Council (4,662 dwellings) to the Hastings and St Leonards Housing Associations;Kennet District Council (4,996 dwellings) to Sarsen Housing Association;Manchester City Council (1,460 dwellings) to Manchester and District Housing Association;North Wiltshire District Council (6,300 dwellings) to the North Wiltshire Housing Association;Purbeck District Council (1,860 dwellings) to Purbeck Housing Association;Rushmoor District Council (5,000 dwellings) to Rushmoor Housing Association;Spelthorne District Council (4,291 dwellings) to Spelthorne Housing Association;The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (3,236 dwellings) to Windsor and District Housing Association.The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (2,981 dwellings) to Maidenhead and District Housing Association;Wyre Borough Council (3,036 dwellings) to Wyre Housing Association.
  To date, 37 authorities have disposed of all or part of their stock to new landlords and three more are due to do so by the end of this financial year. I know that, in addition to the 11 authorities listed, other authorities are working up proposals to transfer. There will be opportunities to add these authorities to the 1995–96 programme if they make good progress with their proposals in the coming months.

  The Government's policy is that transfers should be housing associations which are registered with the Housing Corporation and which are independent of the council. Authorities owning more than 5,000 dwellings
  196
  will normally be required to split these between two or more new landlords. Transfers are to be wholly funded by private sector sources and the Secretary of State will consent to transfers only where the majority of tenants are not opposed to the idea.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Sir Terry Heiser and Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield have retired as permanent secretaries in this Department in the five years from 1 March 1990. Ministers have appointed them to the following positions:

  Sir Terry Heiser to the trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum; Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield to continue as chairman of the sponsoring committee for the construction of the international cross channel gas interconnector. Sir Geoffrey has also carried out two internal management reviews; of the senior staffing of the Health and Safety Executive and of finance, planning and policy arrangements of the Royal Fine Arts Commission.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution the United Kingdom Government intend to make to the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. David Davis
  The nuclear non-proliferation treaty is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. It has established an international norm against the spread of nuclear weapons and provides for effective International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards to verify compliance. We are working hard to secure the treaty's indefinite and unconditional extension at he review and extension conference in April and May.

  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the achievement of an international agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons is an objective of the United Kingdom Government.

  Mr. David Davis
  We are committed to article VI of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, whereby we undertake to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
  197
  For our part, we have made a number of important changes to our nuclear forces: we have announced the elimination of our land and surface maritime tactical nuclear capability; we have substantially reduced the number of nuclear bombs carried by our aircraft, and we have decided that Trident will carry fewer warheads than originally envisaged. The overall effect of these changes will be that, when Trident is fully in service, the explosive power of the United Kingdom's entire operational nuclear inventory will have been reduced by more than 25 per cent. since 1990.

  Indonesia
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Indonesia about the arrest and subsequent treatment of East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao; and when he next intends to raise this case with the Government of Indonesia.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  With our EU partners, we made representations to the Government of Indonesia during the course of Xanana Gusmao's trial in 1993. We have urged the Indonesian Government to allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross regular access to him, and will continue to monitor developments in his case.

  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Indonesia about the arrest and subsequent treatment of Mr. Muchtar Pakpahan and Amosi Telaumbanua, of the Indonesian Welfare Labour Union; and when he next intends to raise these cases with the Government of Indonesia.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The European Union expressed concern in a public statement on 22 November 1994 about Mr. Pakpahan's conviction and sentencing on 13 February 1995 about the increased sentences given to him and Mr. Telaumbanua on appeal. With other EU embassies in Jakarta, we will continue to monitor their situation.

  Harjit Singh
  Ms Ruddock
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the report of the hearing on 28 January into the case of Harjit Singh has now been prepared by his officers in the high commission in New Delhi.

  Mr. Baldry
  At the 28 January hearing in the Harjit Singh case, a deputy superintendent of the Punjab police gave evidence. A senior police superintendent has since given evidence at hearings on 10 February and 3 March. The next hearing is due to take place on 11 March, when the police lawyer will give evidence. The case continues.

  Nuclear Waste
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press 198
  for restrictions on the international transportation of nuclear waste in discussions on the future of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

  Mr. David Davis
  No. The international transport of nuclear waste resulting from civil nuclear activities is a matter for the commercial utilities. Provided that strict adherence is paid to international regulations governing safety of material and transportation, we would not interfere.

  East Timor
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 1994,Official Report, column 172, what were the exact dates that staff attached to the Jakarta embassy visited East Timor in November 1991.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  The dates were 14 to 19 November.

  Vietnamese Refugees
  Mr. Fraser
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many refugees from Vietnam are still in Hong Kong.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  There are currently 1,696 refugees from Vietnam in Hong Kong, as well as 21,802 Vietnamese migrants who have been screened out as non-refugees, and 120 Vietnamese migrants awaiting screening.

  Fee-paying Schools
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department have(a) children in fee-paying schools for whom Her Majesty's Government meet the bill because the officials are posted abroad and (b) children in fee-paying schools for whom Her Majesty's Government meet the bill after the officials have returned because their children remain in the school; and if he will detail the cost for the last three years for each of these two categories.

  Mr. Baldry
  In 1994–95(a) 278 officers serving overseas and (b) 184 officers serving in the United Kingdom, have children at fee-paying schools in the United Kingdom. Costs in these categories are as follows:

  £million

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  a)

  3.97

  3.95

  4.13

  b)

  3.76

  3.93

  4.04

  The FCO does not meet the whole bill for each child. It makes a contribution towards basic fees but up to a ceiling based on the average fees of schools in the headmasters' conference.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which permanent secretaries
  199
  have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Baldry
  Lord Wright, Sir David Gillmore and Tim Lankester—ODA—have left this Department in the last five years from 1 March 1990. Ministers have not offered them any public appointments.

  Mr. Nick Leeson
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the German authorities in respect of denying access by the media to Mr. Nick Leeson.

  Mr. Baldry
  None. The German authorities have not denied access to Mr. Leeson by the media. Access is a matter for Mr. Leeson, his lawyer and the German police authorities.

  Western Sahara
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent actions have been taken to promote the referendum on the future of the Western Sahara.

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  [holding answer 6 March 1995]: The United Nations' identification commission is continuing the work of drawing up the voting list for the referendum in Western Sahara. UN Security Council resolution 973, adopted on 13 January this year, provided for an increase in the size of the identification commission. The UN sent a multi-disciplinary technical team to the area in February to plan the return of refugees, as provided for under the UN's settlement plan.

  Mexico
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings are held between representatives of Her Majesty's Government and different political parties in Mexico; and what monitoring is undertaken of human rights in the Chiapas region.

  Mr. David Davis
  [holding answer 6 March 1995]: Our embassy in Mexico City maintains close contact with the ruling political party and the main opposition parties of Mexico. They monitor human rights observance in the whole country, with particular attention to Chiapas at present.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Invalidity Benefit
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are currently on invalidity benefit in Northern Ireland; what percentage of the population this represents; what the figures were in(a) 1979, (b) 1983 and (c) 1987; and if he will make a statement.
  200
  Mr. Moss
  The information requested is as follows:

  Invalidity Benefit Statistics

  Year

  Recipients

  Percentage Of Year Population

  1979

  29,330

  1.9

  1983

  33,935

  2.2

  1987

  40,840

  2.6

  1994

  71,275

  4.4

  Mobility Allowance
  Mr. McGrady
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce mobility allowance for those under the age of five years; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Moss
  On 1 April 1992 mobility allowance was replaced by the mobility component of disability living allowance. There are no plans to extend the payment to children under five at present.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Sir John Wheeler
  Sir John Blelloch and Sir Kenneth Bloomfield have retired as permanent secretaries in the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments in the five years from I March 1990. Ministers have subsequently appointed them to the following positions:

  Sir John Blelloch
  Chairman of the Committee for Monitoring Tobacco Advertising and Sponsoring
  Chairman of the GB Committee of the NI Partnership.
  Member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.
  Member of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Public Records.
  Trustee of the RAF Museum.

  Sir Kenneth Bloomfield
  Member of Queen's University Senate.
  Member of the Law Reform Advisory Committee for NI.
  Non-Executive Director of Green Park Health and Social Services Trust.
  Chairman of NI Higher Education Council.

  Social Fund
  Dr. Spink
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further adjustments he will make to the discretionary social fund budget in the current financial year.

  Mr. Moss
  The Northern Ireland social fund discretionary budget for 1994–95 will be increased as a result of continuing better than expected loan recoveries by the Social Security Agency and adjustments will he made to take account of pressures and easements in the budgets of a number of the agency's 11 districts.
  201
  The overall budget for loans will be increased by £230,000 while the budget for grants will be increased by £20,000, increasing the original allocations to£20,693,600 and £9,756,400 respectively. There will also be a small internal adjustment to the grants budgets for

  Social fund budget 1994–95: proposed revised allocations

  Loans

  Grants

  District

  Current allocation

  Additional February 1995

  Revised total

  Current allocation

  Reduction

  Additional February 1995

  Revised total

  Belfast North

  1,943,032

  25,000

  1,968,032

  959,544

  —

  —

  959,544

  Belfast south And Down

  1,813,183

  —

  1,813,183

  813,294

  —

  —

  813,294

  Belfast west

  2,349,324

  90,000

  2,439,324

  957,128

  —

  —

  957,128

  Central

  1,874,063

  55,000

  1,929,063

  920,545

  —

  20,000

  940,545

  East

  1,551,236

  —

  1,551,236

  790,586

  —

  —

  790,586

  Laganbann

  1,656,630

  —

  1,656,630

  974,053

  —

  —

  974,053

  Mourne

  1,666,609

  —

  1,666,609

  827,611

  —

  —

  827,611

  North east

  1,681,632

  —

  1,681,632

  795,930

  30,000

  —

  765,930

  North west

  2,379,068

  30,000

  2,409,068

  925,935

  —

  —

  925,935

  South east Antrim

  1,735,170

  30,000

  1,765,170

  805,300

  —

  —

  805,300

  West

  1,813,653

  —

  1,813,653

  966,474

  —

  30,000

  996,474

  Total

  20,463,600

  230,000

  20,693,600

  9,736,400

  30,000

  50,000

  9,756,400

TRANSPORT

  Departmental Property
  Mr. Rowe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many domestic properties are currently owned(a) by his Department, (b) by his Department's agencies and (c) by contractors working under his Department's directions; and what is the estimated value of this stock.

  Mr. Watts
  All domestic properties acquired in connection with my Department's activities are owned in the name of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport.

  Day-to-day responsibility for properties purchased in connection with the trunk roads programme rests with the chief executive of the Highways Agency. At 1 March 1995 there were 4,038 such properties. The stock of properties held by the HA is being revalued on 1 April 1995 and I will write to my hon. Friend with this information as soon as it is available.

  A further eight domestic properties are held, in the name of the Secretary of State, by the Coastguard Agency. These properties are currently being valued as part of an overall asset valuation being undertaken by the agency and expected to be concluded in April.

  No properties are purchased by contractors on behalf of the Secretary of State.

  Driving Licences
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when and what measures he intends to introduce to give effect to the Council directive—91/439/EEC—on driving licences adopted in July 1991 to give effect to a separate theory testing as part of the driving test.

  Mr. Norris
  We shall he making an announcement shortly.
  202
  several districts to reflect variations in demand for assistance from the fund at local level.

  Details of the revised budgets have been placed in the Library.

  Light Goods Vehicles
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the LGV accident record on the Isle of Man following the introduction of the new law for instructors three years ago; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  None.

  Heavy Goods Vehicles
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has carried out in the last five years into the relationship between the HGV accident rate and the number of hours driven immediately before an accident.

  Mr. Norris
  My Department has commissioned research from the Transport Research Laboratory on sleep and driving. A composite report covering the accident involvement of heavy goods vehicle drivers in relation to sleep, together with sleepiness among male car drivers, is expected to be published by late May.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce the limit on the maximum length of working day permitted for HGV drivers.

  Mr. Norris
  European Community regulations set limits on HGV driving time and minimum requirements for daily and weekly rest periods which effectively limit the length of the driver's working day. Currently, we do not anticipate further changes.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.
  203
  Mr. Norris
  Sir Alan Bailey retired as permanent secretary in this Department on 25 June 1991. He was appointed as a part-time member of the London Transport Board in December 1991.

  East London River Crossing
  Mr. Austin-Walker
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish his consultation document on the future of the proposed east London river crossing.

  Mr. Norris
  Soon after Easter.

  Road Construction
  Mr. Devlin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all major road construction projects carried out by(a) local authorities and (b) his Department in each year since 1979, giving their costs at 1995 prices.

  Mr. Watts
  My Department does not hold information requested on major road construction undertaken by local authorities.

  Details of all national road programme schemes completed since 1979 by the Department and the Highways Agency, are contained in roads White Papers and departmental reports which are held in the Library. Costs are quoted as estimated outturn prices and could be updated to 1995 prices only at disproportionate cost.

  Career Breaks
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many(a) men and (b) women applied for career breaks in his Department or its agencies; and how many have had their employment terminated in the last five years.

  Mr. Norris
  The Department does not keep a central record of applications for career breaks, but the Department's personnel information system records that in the last five years, 67 men and 716 women were given discretionary special leave with or without pay. This does not include those taking statutory maternity leave or staff on long-term sick leave, but does include those suspended. Of these, six have had their appointment terminated while on special leave.

  Trans-European Road Network
  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with which bodies he consulted in drawing up the UK master plan on(a) the trans-European road network and (b) the trans-European rail and combined transport network.

  Mr. Watts
  Consultations took place with:

  a) Local authority associations in England and the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland, for Scotland and for Wales about the trans-European road network.

  b) British Rail, European Passenger Services, Railtrack and Northern Ireland Railways on railways.

  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what environmental and economic criteria he used to select schemes for inclusion in the trans-European road network.

  Mr. Watts
  The United Kingdom routes that the Government proposed for inclusion in the trans-European road network were put forward on the basis of their 204
  contribution to meeting the aims set out for trans-European networks in the treaty on European Union.

  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the average net present value for schemes designated part of the United Kingdom trans-European road network.

  Mr. Watts
  It is not possible to provide an average net present value.

  Net present values are calculated separately for each scheme and are normally published when individual schemes reach the public consultation stage. Not all schemes on TERN routes have reached this stage.

  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies his Department has conducted into the indirect economic benefits to the United Kingdom of the UK section of the trans-European road network.

  Mr. Watts
  The trans-European transport network plans are still in draft form pending adoption by the Council and the European Parliament.

  Mr. Keith Hill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates his Department has made of the cost of implementing the UK sections of(a) the trans-European road network, (b) the trans-European high-speed rail network, (c) the trans-European conventional rail network and (d) the trans-European combined transport network.

  Mr. Watts
  None. The network plans are still in draft form pending adoption by the Council and the European Parliament. The networks will, in any case, be indicative and place no obligation on member states to commit expenditure.

  Railtrack Access Changes
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what change he has made in the authorised charges to be made by Railtrack to train operating companies; what sums were previously expected to be received in total income and what sums are not expected; and what will he the effect of the difference in rail improvements and maintenance.

  Mr. Watts
  The Rail Regulator is responsible for approving the access charges levied by Railtrack. The regulator recently announced, following a review of Railtrack's access charges, that charges in 1995–96 should be, on average, 8 per cent. lower in real terms than their level in 1994–95. Thereafter, they will be reduced in real terms by 2 per cent. per annum. The regulator has stated that he considers that this level of income will generate sufficient cash flow to enable Railtrack to finance the investment programme needed to maintain a safe, effective and efficient network.

  Total access charges levied by Railtrack on franchised passenger train operators in 1994–95 were £2,065 million.

  Drive Programme
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to work with the EU in relation to its new Drive programme to develop an integrated road transport environment in the UK and Europe.

  Mr. Watts
  The Department of Transport has worked closely with the European Commission to design, build and manage both the previous phases of the Drive programme. We have helped the Commission to put
  205
  together the work plan for the next programme; where appropriate, we are supporting and joining consortia bidding to undertake the work; we are offering to help the Commission in its evaluation process; and we intend to participate fully in the arrangements that the Commission is making to monitor and manage the new programme itself.

  Chideock-Morcombe Lake Bypass
  Mr. Matthew Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) when he expects to announce his decision on the A35 Chideock-Morcombe lake bypass; and if he will make a statement;

  (2) when he expects to receive the inspector's report into the public inquiry on the A35 Chideock-Morcombe lake bypass.

  Mr. Watts
  The timing of an announcement will be subject to the receipt of the inspector's report, and the need for the Secretaries of State to give careful consideration to the inspector's conclusions and recommendations.

  I understand that the inspector expects to be able to submit his report to the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport by the middle of the year.

  Road Pricing
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent research his Department has undertaken into the concept of road pricing; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Norris
  A major research project into the implications of introducing congestion charging in London is nearing completion. The findings will be made public later this year. My Department has also provided some financial support for research by local authorities outside London.

  Particulate Pollution
  Ms Walley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Department of Health concerning the number of early deaths from particulate pollution.

  Mr. Norris
  Particulate emissions are currently being considered by a sub-group of the Department of Health's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants which was set up to advise Government on the effects on health of air pollutants both in outdoor and indoor air. My officials are fully involved with COMEAP.

PRIME MINISTER

  National Service
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of people who have performed national service(a) in each of the armed services, (b) in the Merchant Navy and (c) comparable service for the National Coal Board.

  The Prime Minister
  The information requested is not available.

  Internet
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards encouraging party political debate on the Internet.

  The Prime Minister
  Her Majesty's Government are all in favour of a full and frank political debate on the Internet or in any other forum.

  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will dismiss the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Sir P. Beresford); and if he will make a statement.

  The Prime Minister
  No.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Brazier
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement regarding manufacturing employment.

  The Prime Minister
  In the quarter to December 1994, employment in manufacturing industry rose by 37,000 the largest rise since quarterly records began.

EMPLOYMENT

  Training
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what legislative measures he will introduce to increase the number of unemployed young people who enter training programmes.

  Mr. Paice
  There are no legislative measures planned for this purpose. The Government are committed to increasing the range of options in education and training available to young people and increasing the level of advice and guidance provided by the Careers Service.

  EU Directives
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will instigate a publicity campaign giving advanced warning to employers of the retrospective application of the workplace, signs and construction products directive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  Whenever European Community directives are implemented, appropriate publicity is given to the relevant implementing regulations. The workplace directive, safety signs directive and construction products directive are at different stages of implementation. In no case do the regulations apply retrospectively.

  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the impact on small businesses of the workplace, signs and construction products directive; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Oppenheim
  A cost benefit analysis or compliance cost assessment is prepared in respect of all new regulations implementing European Community directives. The workplace directive, safety signs directive and construction products directive are at different stages of implementation. In each case assessments have been made of the likely costs of the relevant regulations.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Miss Widdecombe
  Sir Geoffrey Holland transferred from the Employment Department to the Department for Education on 13 January 1993.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  Ian Greer Associates
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what items of correspondence were received by Ministers in the Overseas Development Administration from Messrs Ian Greer Associates in the last month.

  Mr. Baldry
  [holding answer 28 February 1995]: One invitation to meet business men was received and accepted.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Attorney General which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  The Attorney-General
  Sir James Nursaw KCB, QC retired as Treasury Solicitor in October 1992. He was part-time legal adviser to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission during 1992–93 and is currently part-time counsel to the Chairman of Committees (House of Lords).

  Sir Allan Green QC resigned as Director of Public Prosecutions in October 1991. He has not been appointed to any public positions.

EDUCATION

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education which permanent secretaries have left her Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Boswell
  In the five years from I March 1990, Sir John Caines KCB and Sir Geoffrey Holland KCB have left the Department for Education. Sir John Caines has since been appointed as an advisor to the National Heritage memorial fund and a council member of the Open university. Sir Geoffrey Holland has not been appointed by Ministers to any public positions.

  School Funding
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her answer of 3 March,Official Report, column 775, concerning priorities in educational expenditure, if she will publish the text of the letters she has sent to her hon. Friends on this topic.

  Mr. Forth
  No.

  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what were the average sizes of single teacher classes in each year since 1979–80 in maintained(a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) overall.

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The average sizes of single teacher classes in maintained primary and secondary schools in England between 1980 and 1994, the latest date for which information is available, are shown in the table.

  Average sizes of single teacher classes in maintained primary and secondary schools in England 1980–1994

  Position in January each year

  Primary Schools

  1Secondary Schools

  Primary and Secondary Schools

  1980

  25.4

  21.0

  23.2

  1981

  25.2

  21.0

  23.0

  1982

  25.1

  20.9

  22.9

  1983

  24.8

  20.8

  22.7

  1984

  24.7

  20.6

  22.5

  1985

  24.9

  20.6

  22.7

  1986

  25.5

  20.6

  22.9

  1987

  25.4

  20.4

  22.9

  1988

  25.4

  20.1

  22.8

  1989

  25.7

  20.1

  23.0

  1990

  25.9

  20.3

  23.2

  1991

  26.3

  20.6

  23.7

  1992

  26.4

  20.9

  23.8

  1993

  26.6

  21.2

  24.1

  1994

  26.9

  21.4

  24.3

  1 excluding Sixth Form Colleges which ceased to be classified as schools from 1 April 1993.

  Overseas Students
  Mrs. Gillan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will announce the Government's decision on the proposal to amend the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1994 to allow institutions to charge overseas students on part-time courses higher fees; and further, whether she will publish the responses to the consultation exercise engaged in by her Department.

  Mr. Boswell
  The Government have carefully considered the responses to the consultation exercise announced last September. In the light of the general support for the proposal shown by the responses to the exercise from institutions, the Government have decided to lay before Parliament an amendment to the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1994 to allow higher and further education institutions to charge all students on part-time courses a higher fee, representing the full cost of their course, where they do not meet the three-year residency requirement and are not excepted.

  The amendment will not alter, in any way, institutions' present discretion to set their own fee levels or to waive or reduce fees for asylum seekers if they choose.

  In line with the code of practice on access to Government information, a summary of the responses to the consultation exercise will he provided by the

  209
  Department From today. A copy will be placed in the Library. Copies of individual responses will be made available in the public enquiry room of the Department, unless the respondent has specifically requested confidentiality.

  Community Facilities
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice her Department gives to local education authorities regarding the provision of community or adult education facilities financed by local education authorities; and what advice her Department gives to the Department of the Environment regarding the provision of finance for such facilities and courses.

  Mr. Boswell
  It is for individual local education authorities to secure the adequate provision for their areas of certain types of further education for adults, as defined by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The Department does not issue any advice to local education authorities on this matter.

  The Department keeps the Department of the Environment abreast of spending needs in this area, and discusses with them and the local authority associations the provision of funding to local education authorities.

  Discretionary Awards
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students are in receipt of discretionary grants for the latest year for which figures are available; and what are the main subjects or courses being studied.

  Mr. Boswell
  Local authority returns show that my Department in 1992–93, the latest year for which data are available, there were 220,000 discretionary awards. A total of 24,000 awards were for courses of higher education of which 3,000 were for postgraduate courses; and 196,000 awards were for further education courses. Information on the subjects studied by award holders is not collected centrally.

  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice her Department gives to local education authorities regarding the financing of student courses on a discretionary basis; and what advice her Department gives to the Department of the Environment regarding the provision of finance for discretionary grants.

  Mr. Boswell
  It is for individual local education authorities to determine their own discretionary awards policies in the light of local needs and priorities. The

  GUEST Allocation for Special Educational Needs 1994–95 and 1995–96

  £ thousand

  (a)

  (b)

  (c)

  LEA

  Training for SEN specialisms 1994–95

  Training for SEN specialisms 1995–96

  School SEN policies 1994–95

  School SEN policies1995–96

  SEN Parent partnership schemes 1994–95

  SEN Parent partnership schemes 1995–96

  Corporation of London

  0.3

  0.3

  0.3

  0.5

  0.0

  0.3

  Camden

  44.0

  39.8

  13.2

  24.8

  23.0

  23.0

  Greenwich

  76.4

  75.6

  23.0

  44.7

  18.0

  20.0

  Hackney

  37.0

  37.5

  19.7

  35.3

  31.0

  35.5

  Hammersmith

  69.0

  63.0

  11.9

  22.4

  10.0

  10.0

  Islington

  80.0

  137.4

  16.7

  32.8

  10.0

  13.0

  Kensington and Chelsea

  24.0

  21.6

  7.6

  13.4

  10.0

  10.0

  Lambeth

  28.5

  51.3

  21.2

  34.8

  24.0

  30.5

  Lewisham

  72.9

  65.0

  21.2

  40.7

  49.0

  52.5

  210
  Department does not produce any central guidance on this issue.

  The Department keeps the Department of the Environment abreast of spending needs in this area, and discusses with them and the local authority associations the provision of funding to local education authorities.

  Further Education (Funding)
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make a statement on the demarcation between(a) community and adult education courses funded by local education authorities, (b) courses of further and higher education funded by Higher Education Funding Council and (c) courses for which training and enterprise councils are responsible.

  Mr. Boswell
  Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the further education funding councils and local education authorities are jointly responsible for securing the adequate provision for their areas of all kinds of further education for adults. The FEFCs are responsible for securing the provision of the type of further education defined in schedule 2 to the Act—mainly vocational, academic, access and basic skills courses. LEAs have responsibility for securing the provision of all other kinds of further education— mainly leisure and recreational courses.

  The Higher Education Funding Council for England funds HE institutions for non-vocational community education through its funding methodology for part-time teaching, and for continuing vocational education where the institutions apply successfully for development funding.

  Training and enterprise councils are responsible generally for co-ordinating the training needs of their areas and specifically for delivering the youth training programme for young people and the training for work programme for adults.

  Special Needs
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the allocation for each local education authority for special educational needs support in 1994–95 and 1995–96, broken down into the categories(a) training, (b) school policies and (c) parent partnership schemes in each year.

  Mr. Forth
  The allocations to each local education authority for these grants, made under the grants for edcuation support and training programme, are shown in the table.
  211

  GUEST Allocation for Special Educational Needs 1994–95 and 1995–96

  £ thousand

  (a)

  (b)

  (c)

  LEA

  Training for SEN specialisms 1994–95

  Training for SEN specialisms 1995–96

  School SEN policies 1994–95

  School SEN policies1995–96

  SEN Parent partnership schemes 1994–95

  SEN Parent partnership schemes 1995–96

  Southwark

  43.9

  39.9

  21.5

  36.3

  41.0

  42.0

  Tower Hamlets

  45.5

  39.4

  22.5

  43.7

  66.0

  67.0

  Wandsworth

  160.7

  172.0

  19.2

  31.3

  51.0

  42.0

  Westminster

  8.4

  10.9

  12.4

  24,3

  19.0

  19.0

  Barking

  48.2

  32.6

  16.1

  30.8

  29.0

  30.0

  Barnet

  67.4

  137.4

  27.3

  48.2

  0.0

  38.0

  Bexley

  45.2

  40.4

  20.3

  35.8

  10.0

  13.0

  Brent

  65.6

  118.9

  20.0

  29.3

  66.0

  70.0

  Bromley

  39.9

  42.9

  23.5

  38.3

  14.0

  16.0

  Croydon

  52.4

  47.4

  29.3

  51.7

  21.0

  26.5

  Ealing

  52.6

  63.5

  25.5

  32.8

  10.0

  49.5

  Enfield

  43.4

  50.7

  21.5

  38.7

  58.0

  58.0

  Haringey

  65.0

  59.6

  21.7

  42.7

  14.0

  14.0

  Harrow

  44.7

  43.0

  16.4

  31.3

  24.0

  25.0

  Havering

  47.0

  45.8

  23.5

  43.7

  14.0

  14.0

  Hillingdon

  40.0

  36.9

  21.7

  29.8

  9.0

  10.0

  Hounslow

  44.0

  38.7

  19.5

  36.8

  14.0

  15.0

  Kingston upon Thames

  25.8

  23.3

  11.3

  19.9

  5.0

  10.7

  Merton

  29.9

  28.1

  15.5

  29.3

  19.0

  32.5

  Newham

  63.0

  70.0

  20.7

  39.7

  55.0

  56.0

  Redbridge

  46.1

  44.8

  17.7

  34.8

  15.0

  23.5

  Richmond upon Thames

  25.2

  19.8

  11.9

  23.3

  27.0

  30.5

  Sutton

  21.0

  40.2

  13.9

  21.9

  25.0

  25.0

  Waltham Forest

  98.4

  63.4

  20.3

  37.3

  15.0

  16.0

  Birmingham

  205.0

  216.3

  103.9

  192.2

  72.0

  72.0

  Coventry

  73.0

  118.0

  32.4

  61.6

  27.0

  40.0

  Dudley

  76.5

  76.3

  26.8

  48.7

  11.0

  21.5

  Sandwell

  65.0

  59.7

  33.6

  64.6

  54.0

  63.5

  Solihull

  40.0

  34.7

  21.2

  40.7

  14.0

  19.5

  Walsall

  56.0

  52.5

  31.3

  57.1

  33.0

  33.0

  Wolverhampton

  39.9

  34.5

  30.8

  58.1

  28.0

  27.0

  Knowsley

  40.0

  41.0

  18.7

  36.3

  44.0

  44.0

  Liverpool

  125.5

  124.6

  54.0

  103.3

  52.0

  53.0

  St. Helens

  45.0

  45.5

  21.7

  38.7

  24.0

  26.0

  Sefton

  53.0

  49.2

  29.3

  57.1

  25.0

  25.0

  Wirral

  58.8

  52.6

  32.6

  62.6

  20.0

  20.0

  Bolton

  62.7

  30.3

  31.1

  58.1

  17.0

  17.5

  Bury

  35.0

  33.7

  21.5

  41.2

  0.0

  19.0

  Manchester

  120.0

  136.8

  51.8

  99.8

  42.0

  43.0

  Oldham

  66.4

  64.0

  29.9

  58.1

  29.0

  25.0

  Rochdale

  50.0

  43.3

  22.5

  40.7

  14.0

  14.0

  Salford

  55.7

  48.3

  27.3

  51.2

  20.1

  27.0

  Stockport

  60.0

  57.8

  32.4

  62.1

  24.0

  24.0

  Tameside

  45.0

  44.7

  16.5

  47.7

  14.0

  14.0

  Trafford

  44.5

  72.3

  23.7

  44.7

  13.0

  22.5

  Wigan

  88.0

  81.5

  36.7

  71.0

  38.0

  39.0

  Barnsley

  48.6

  48.2

  27.3

  52.7

  20.0

  21.0

  Doncaster

  35.8

  56.7

  39.2

  77.0

  29.0

  33.0

  Rotherham

  60.0

  144.7

  33.6

  65.6

  28.0

  29.0

  Sheffield

  100.0

  89.5

  44.3

  86.4

  29.0

  30.0

  Bradford

  111.0

  87.6

  63.2

  118.7

  49.0

  49.0

  Calderdale

  33.7

  43.0

  12.4

  45.2

  17.0

  18.0

  Kirklees

  56.0

  88.8

  49.8

  93.4

  36.0

  40.5

  Leeds

  130.0

  116.4

  74.8

  144.6

  43.0

  46.5

  Wakefield

  60.0

  62.0

  42.7

  79.5

  29.0

  29.0

  Gateshead

  40.0

  34.7

  24.0

  46.7

  19.0

  20.0

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  114.0

  122.2

  26.3

  50.7

  37.0

  38.0

  North Tyneside

  33.0

  34.2

  21.7

  41.7

  15.0

  18.0

  South Tyneside

  35.0

  27.0

  17.6

  34.3

  30.0

  33.0

  Sunderland

  30.0

  53.6

  10.0

  60.1

  20.0

  29.0

  Isle of Scilly

  0.7

  2.5

  0.1

  2.5

  0.0

  3.5

  Avon

  140.0

  124.0

  108.7

  212.1

  41.0

  41.0

  Bedfordshire

  115.0

  131.2

  73.1

  137.1

  26.0

  28.0

  Berkshire

  147.2

  169.0

  83.6

  154.0

  36.0

  43.0

  Buckinghamshire

  135.0

  202.2

  83.4

  155.0

  49.0

  50.0

  Cambridgeshire

  120.0

  117.9

  78.3

  142.1

  58.0

  60.0

  Cheshire

  129.0

  151.5

  130.6

  247.4

  58.0

  60.0

  Cleveland

  170.0

  134.5

  64.7

  122.7

  29.0

  35.0

  212 213

  GUEST Allocation for Special Educational Needs 1994–95 and 1995–96

  £ thousand

  (a)

  (b)

  (c)

  LEA

  Training for SEN specialisms 1994–95

  Training for SEN specialisms 1995–96

  School SEN policies 1994–95

  School SEN policies 1995–96

  SEN Parent partnership schemes 1994–95

  SEN Parent partnership schemes 1995–96

  Cornwall

  90.0

  119.2

  70.7

  138.1

  29.0

  29.0

  Cumbria

  95.0

  80.0

  86.4

  151.5

  29.0

  32.5

  Derbyshire

  139.3

  140.0

  128.6

  239.9

  41.0

  41.0

  Devon

  200.0

  210.0

  126.8

  244.9

  91.0

  92.0

  Dorset

  91.9

  103.0

  64.7

  120.2

  27.0

  43.5

  Durham

  120.0

  120.08

  55.7

  168.4

  35.0

  29.0

  East Sussex

  130.0

  161.1

  64.7

  125.2

  47.0

  49.0

  Essex

  230.0

  230.9

  159.0

  249.9

  92.0

  96.0

  Gloucestershire

  120.8

  111.0

  74.8

  124.7

  27.0

  28.0

  Hampshire

  230.0

  248.8

  171.1

  313.5

  87.0

  87.0

  Hereford and Worcester

  138.0

  178.1

  92.4

  178.3

  0.0

  38.0

  Hertfordshire

  238.0

  313.4

  128.8

  237.0

  59.0

  60.0

  Humberside

  165.0

  200.0

  104.8

  203.2

  0.0

  60.0

  Isle of Wight

  37.0

  73.0

  16.9

  33.3

  9.0

  33.5

  Kent

  340.0

  510.0

  174.8

  303.0

  109.0

  111.0

  Lancashire

  280.0

  283.5

  178.8

  343.8

  94.0

  85.0

  Leicestershire

  174.0

  161.9

  76.9

  201.7

  25.0

  29.0

  Lincolnshire

  75.0

  65.0

  86.7

  144.1

  34.0

  32.0

  Norfolk

  110.0

  98.6

  113.0

  205.7

  24.0

  25.0

  North Yorkshire

  250.0

  128.0

  74.4

  223.5

  91.0

  91.0

  Northamptonshire

  130.0

  147.7

  83.9

  153.5

  39.0

  39.0

  Northumberland

  66.3

  66.7

  33.5

  101.3

  31.0

  32.0

  Nottinghamshire

  140.0

  129.0

  128.6

  249.4

  97.0

  97.0

  Oxfordshire

  105.0

  171.0

  71.2

  140.1

  8.0

  69.5

  Shropshire

  112.3

  95.2

  64.2

  119.7

  28.0

  28.0

  Somerset

  42.5

  2.5

  23.6

  130.2

  49.0

  50.0

  Staffordshire

  220.0

  217.8

  124.6

  240.9

  59.0

  59.0

  Suffolk

  125.0

  181.3

  83.9

  165.4

  38.0

  40.0

  Surrey

  124.0

  219.0

  106.8

  179.8

  0.0

  0.0

  Warwickshire

  105.0

  104.3

  71.5

  132.6

  32.0

  32.0

  West Sussex

  140.0

  126.3

  73.2

  142.6

  44.0

  46.0

  Wiltshire

  100.0

  143.3

  82.1

  148.5

  34.0

  34.0

  Total

  9,668.5

  10,500.5

  5,444.2

  10,500.1

  3,518.1

  4,000.0

  Support and Training
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will list the full bids for grants for education support and training for the 1995 assessment and testing arrangements for each local education authority.

  Mr. Forth
  The grants for education support and training allocations for the implementation of national curriculum assessment arrangements, which totalled £23.3 million in 1995–96, were distributed among local education authorities according to a formula, rather than requiring bids from LEAs.

  However, 34 of the 109 LEAs did indicate the level of support they were seeking. This information is shown in the table

  LEA

  implementation of National Curriculum Assessment Arrangements (Bids)£

  Corporation of London

  15,000

  Camden

  F

  Greenwich

  116,600

  Hackney

  F

  Hammersmith

  30,000

  Islington

  F

  Kensington and Chelsea

  21,200

  214

  LEA

  implementation of National Curriculum Assessment Arrangements (Bids)£

  Lambeth

  F

  Lewisham

  110,800

  Southwark

  110,000

  Tower Hamlets

  F

  Wandsworth

  F

  Westminster

  F

  Barking

  F

  Barnet

  F

  Bexley

  37,200

  Brent

  133,240

  Bromley

  F

  Croydon

  80,000

  Ealing

  F

  Enfield

  F

  Haringey

  F

  Harrow

  146,000

  Havering

  118,600

  Hillingdon

  90,000

  Hounslow

  F

  Kingston upon Thames

  F

  Merton

  F

  Newham

  F

  Redbridge

  65,500

  Richmond upon Thames

  F

  Sutton

  F

  Waltham Forest

  126,500

  215

  LEA

  implementation of National Curriculum Assessment Arrangements (Bids)£

  Birmingham

  F

  Coventry

  F

  Dudley

  122,400

  Sandwell

  F

  Solihull

  F

  Walsall

  F

  Wolverhampton

  90,500

  Knowsley

  F

  Liverpool

  F

  St. Helens

  F

  Sefton

  129,700

  Wirral

  115,560

  Bolton

  F

  Bury

  F

  Manchester

  F

  Oldham

  F

  Rochdale

  F

  Salford

  F

  Stockport

  F

  Tameside

  F

  Trafford

  80,000

  Wigan

  F

  Barnsley

  F

  Doncaster

  F

  Rotherham

  130,700

  Sheffield

  F

  Bradford

  F

  Calderdale

  F

  Kirklees

  215,310

  Leeds

  F

  Wakefield

  F

  Gateshead

  80,000

  Newcastle upon Tyne

  F+30,201

  North Tyneside

  67,720

  South Tyneside

  F

  Sunderland

  126,150

  Isles of Scilly

  32,300

  Avon

  F

  Bedfordshire

  F

  Berkshire

  F

  Buckinghamshire

  328,000

  Cambridgeshire

  F

  Cheshire

  F

  Cleveland

  F

  Cornwall

  F

  Cumbria

  F

  Derbyshire

  F

  Devon

  F

  Dorset

  F

  Durham

  F

  East Sussex

  F

  Essex

  F

  Gloucestershire

  244,000

  Hampshire

  F

  Hereford and Worcester

  240,000

  Hertfordshire

  F

  Humberside

  F

  Isle of Wight

  F

  Kent

  F

  Lancashire

  F

  Leicestershire

  350,000

  Lincolnshire

  F

  Norfolk

  F

  North Yorkshire

  F

  Northamptonshire

  F

  Northumberland

  F

  Nottinghamshire

  F

  Oxfordshire

  F

  Shropshire

  F

  Somerset

  203,000

  Staffordshire

  482,700

  216

  LEA

  implementation of National Curriculum Assessment Arrangements (Bids)£

  Suffolk

  F

  Surrey

  372,060

  Warwickshire

  F

  West Sussex

  277,100

  Wiltshire

  F

  Total

  4,918,041

  Notes:

  1. "F" indicates that the LEA did not submit a bid, but will take up its formula allocation

  2. Total is only the total of the bids made (34 of 109 LEAs)

HOUSE OF COMMONS

  Fire Safety
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee on what occasions over the past five years combined familiarisation drills and exercises have been held between the Palace of Westminster fire section, other security staff and the London fire brigade as part of incident pre-planning; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ray Powell
  Detailed records of familiarisation visits by London fire brigade crews prior to 1993 are not held. Since January 1993 16 familiarisation visits have taken place. Large scale exercises involving the extensive deployment of crews, including a fire boat crew on one
  occasion, have taken place as follows:2 October 1990
  1 May 1993
  1 May 1994
  A further large scale exercise with the London brigade is planned for 14 May 1995.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what lessons have been drawn from the fires at Hampton Court palace, Windsor castle and Stormont in relation to minimising fire risk at(a) the Palace of Westminster and (b) other buildings in the parliamentary estate; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Ray Powell
  Following the publication of the guide to the protection of historic buildings "Heritage Under Fire" in 1990, which drew on the experience of a number of fires including the one at Hampton Court, a fire safety manager was appointed in 1992 to advise on all aspects of fire precautions and means of escape. The publication of a fire safety strategy for the Palace of Westminster and parliamentary outbuildings in 1993 and the establishment of a fire safety committee to review fire risk management and ensure the fire safety strategy is implemented are both in line with the recommendations of the report by Sir Alan Bailey, "Fire Protection
  Measures for the Royal Palaces", published in May 1993, following the fire at Windsor castle. It is understood that the report into the fire at Parliament buildings, Stormont, will be published in due course.
  217
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee (1) if(a) the Palace of Westminster and (b) other buildings in the parliamentary estate reach the standard of fire safety which would be required for the issue of a fire certificate;

  (2) if he will make an assessment of the fire risk of (a) the Palace of Westminster and (b) other buildings in the parliamentary estate.

  Mr. Ray Powell
  Home Office fire inspectors have recently assessed the fire risk of the Palace of Westminster and have recommended further measures to be taken. These are being progressed and it is expected that a fire certificate will be issued later this year. The fire risks of the parliamentary outbuildings have also been assessed and fire certificates have already been issued for Norman Shaw North, Norman Shaw South, 1 Canon row and 2 the Abbey garden. A fire certificate for 3 Dean's yard is expected shortly. Some additional works are being carried out in 7 Millbank and the phase 1 building and it is expected that fire certificates will be issued later this year.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Chairman of the Accommodation and Works Committee what difficulties of access exist for the fire brigade and other emergency services in the event of fire in relation to(a) the Press Gallery area and (b) other areas presenting access difficulties.

  Mr. Ray Powell
  Vehicular access for fire brigade appliances into Speaker's Court and the inner courtyards has to be carefully managed because of the size of the archways. This has been tested on exercises held with the London fire brigade. There are no particular difficulties of access for fire brigade and emergency service personnel to the Press Gallery or other areas of the Palace of Westminster.

  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission (1) what changes in the number of fire officers within the Palace of Westminster's fire section were contained in the recommendation of the Metropolitan police internal reports into fire prevention that were prepared in February 1985 and December 1987.

  (2) how many additional fire officer posts within the Palace of Westminster's fire section were recommended by the fire safety manager in 1992; what were the reasons or basis for his recommendations; and how many additional officers were subsequently appointed.

  (3) if he will list the establishment of the Palace of Westminster's fire section for the last 10 years, indicating at each appropriate stage the size of the parliamentary estate over which their responsibility extended.

  (4) what changes to the establishment, watch rotas, pay and conditions of service of the Palace of Westminster fire section are (a) under consideration or (b) subject to consultation with trade unions; and if he will make a statement.

  (5) if he will make a statement about the role and functions of the members of the Palace of Westminster's fire section in the initial stages of any fire incident being reported.

  Mr. Beith
  Members of the Palace of Westminster fire section are civilian employees of the Metropolitan police subject to Metropolitan police terms and conditions of service. The role and responsibilities of the fire section are specified in the fire strategy for the Palace of Westminster and parliamentary outbuildings, which was 218
  approved by the relevant Committees of both Houses in 1993. A review of the fire section has recently been carried out by the staff inspector in conjunction with the staff inspector of the House of Lords and I have asked the Serjeant at Arms to write to the hon. Member about their recommendations.

  Motor Vehicles
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will have notices placed around the precincts of the Houses of Parliament ordering drivers of all motor vehicles to turn their motor engines off when their vehicle is stationary or parked; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Michael J. Martin
  No. In my reply to my hon. Friend on 17 February 1994,Official Report, column 938, I stated that this was a matter for the Serjeant at Arms. I understand that instructions have since been given to members of the security force to caution drivers who leave their engines running unnecessarily.

TREASURY

  Charges and Salaries
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what new measures he proposes to combat the impact of charges he assessed to be unfair, dividends he has assessed to be excessive and top salaries he has assessed to be contrary to(a) the consumers' interests and (b) the wider national interest.

  Sir George Young
  These are primarily matters for the companies concerned, within the framework of competition law, the Companies Act and any special regulatory regime prescribed by Parliament. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's remarks to the House on 28 February about board remuneration set out the Government's position.

  Civil Service
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many new positions are needed to run the new delegated pay systems which the Government has introduced for each department in the civil service.

  Sir George Young
  Responsibility for the pay and grading of almost two thirds of civil servants is delegated to Departments. "The Civil Service—Taking Forward Continuity and Change" (CM2748) confirmed the Government's intention that all Departments will become responsible for their own pay and grading arrangements below senior levels from I April 1996.

  It is not possible to give an assessment of the administrative implications of the changes. However, the Government believe that there is considerable potential in the civil service for further improvement both in quality of service, within what can be afforded, and in efficiency. Greater delegation of decisions will enable local needs and circumstances to he taken more fully into account in devising pay and grading systems, will allow Departments to manage and motivate their staff more effectively, and will further strengthen links between reward and performance.

  Performance-related Pay
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons he has introduced performance-related pay into the public service.

  Sir George Young
  Performance-related pay helps to support the Government's citizens charter objective to establish a regular and direct link between the contribution made by individuals to the standards of service provided, and their reward. First, it is fair, because it rewards those who have made the greatest contributions. Secondly, more flexible pay systems help to achieve a more effective distribution of resources. Thirdly, performance-related pay focuses effort on the delivery of key objectives by reinforcing an organisation's performance management system.

  Tobacco
  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what United Kingdom laws govern the distance selling of tobacco products to United Kingdom citizens on mail order from European countries with lower excise duties; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  The United Kingdom law governing the distance selling arrangements for excise goods is the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement, Warehousing and REDS) Regulations 1992. Under these regulations the vendor of the goods in the other member state is liable to pay the UK excise duty.

  Ms Primarolo
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate what effect distance selling of tobacco products has on the legal trade in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  Distance selling is a recognised legitimate activity for which provision has been made in EC legislation, which is implemented in United Kingdom legislation in the Excise Goods (Holding, Movement, Warehousing and REDS) Regulations 1992. Such transactions attract payment of UK duty. Accordingly, no separate assessment has been made on the effect that they have on UK trade.

  Business Expansion Scheme
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was(a) the number of new residential lettings created under the business expansion scheme in Scotland for each of the years 1988–89 to 1992–93 inclusive and (b) the cost per dwelling in Scotland of new residential lettings under business expansion scheme in terms of both income tax relief and exemption from capital gains tax.

  Sir George Young
  Available estimates for Scotland are in the table. It is not possible to give a reliable estimate of the cost of exempting gains arising from disposals of BES shares from capital gains tax.

  Year

  Number of BES new lettings

  Average cost of income tax relief per new letting (£)

  1988–89

  800

  17,000

  1989–90

  400

  21,000

  1990–91

  100

  22,000

  1991–92

  100

  10,000

  1992–931

  600

  20,000

  1 Provisional.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Common Fisheries Policy
  Mr. Gill
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the members of the committee which he has appointed to review the common fisheries policy.

  Mr. Jack
  I shall reply to the hon. Member when I have made the appointments concerned.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of outstanding second-tier reviews of child support cases carried out under section 18 of the Child Support Act 1991; and what steps he has taken to clear the backlog.

  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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 8 March 1995:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of outstanding requests for reviews to be carried out under Section 18 of the Child Support Act.At the end of January 1995, 8,099 such requests were outstanding. compared to 10,766 outstanding at the end of July 1994. This reduction reflects the increased emphasis which has been given to this type of work over recent months. I anticipate that the backlog will be cleared by 31 March 1995.
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what amount of new maintenance has been collected by the Child Support Agency in each year of its operation to the latest available date.

  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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 8 March 1995:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the new maintenance collected by the Child Support Agency.
  Figures for the whole of 1993/94 and from April 1994 to the end of January 1995 are shown in the table. I have included maintenance paid direct by absent parents (APs) to parents with care (PWCs) in income support (IS) cases. However, I have not included maintenance paid direct between parents who do not use the Agency's collection service in family credit (FC) cases, or cases where benefit is not in payment. This is because your Question seems to be directed specifically at those areas in which the Agency is most closely involved.

  £ million

  1993–94

  1994–951

  Paid direct by Absent Parents to Parents with Care on IS

  1

  0

  Paid through Agency collection service in IS. FC and DWA cases and offsets benefit spending2

  10

  32

  221

  £ million

  1993–94

  1994–951

  Paid through Agency collection service in IS, FC and DWA cases in excess of benefit paid, and to non benefit cases3

  3

  19

  Total

  415

  62

  1 1994–95 figures cover April 1994 to January 1995.

  2 Maintenance paid through the Agency collection service that offsets benefit spending and therefore leads to benefit savings.

  3Maintenance paid through the Agency collection service that is passed on to parents with care.

  4Includes a small element relating to PWCs who used the collection service and were receiving either FC; disability working allowance (DWA), or who were not receiving benefit.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number of(a) cases take on by the Child Support Agency since April 1993, (b) interim maintenance assessments made, (c) full maintenance assessments made, (d) cases cleared without an assessment being made, (e) cases deferred because an effective application has not been made by an income support claimant, (f) outstanding case involving a paternity dispute and (g) other outstanding cases awaiting assessment.

  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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 8 March 1995:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of cases taken on and assessment made by the Child Support Agency.
  Between April 1993 and the end of January 1995, the Agency issued 1,190,200 maintenance application forms (on some forms more than one absent parent may he involved); completed 129,000 interim maintenance assessments and 299,100 full maintenance assessments. 403,000 cases were cleared without an assessment being made.
  As at the end of January 1995, 432,000 cases were on hand awaiting a maintenance assessment, including 6,800 in which paternity was being disputed. Given the volume of cases dealt with by the Agency we would expect to have around 250,000 cases on hand at any one time.
  You also ask about cases deferred because an effective application had not been made by a client receiving income support. 1 have taken this to refer to those cases deterred as a one off exercise as part of the measures announced on 20 December 1994. This exercise was only completed last week so the full details will not he available until later this month; but by the end of January, there were 2,700 cases where IS applications had been deferred.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many maintenance enquiry forms have been issued to absent parents since the Child Support Agency commenced operation in April 1993;

  (2) how many maintenance application forms have been issued since the Child Support Agency commenced operation in April 1993; and what proportion have been issued to parents not already receiving maintenance.

  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.
  222
  Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 8 March 1995:
  I am replying to recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security abut the number of maintenance enquiry forms (MEFs) and maintenance application forms (MAFs) that have been issued by the Child Support Agency.
  From April 1993 to the end of January 1995, 692,900 MEFs were issued to absent parents.
  In the same period 1,190,200 MAFs were issued, of which we estimate that 77 per cent. were issued to parents not already receiving maintenance.

  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many requests for a review of a child support assessment have been made, and what proportion of these has resulted in an application for an appeal to a child support appeal tribunal.

  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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 8 March 1995:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about reviews and appeals.From April 1993 to the end of January 1995 the Child Support Agency had received 47,100 requests for review under Section 18 of the Child Support Act.In the same period 6,800 applications for appeal were made. As not all applications for appeal arise from Section 18 reviews, it is not appropriate to express this figure as a proportion of the total number of Section 18 reviews requested.
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of outstanding child maintenance applications are over(a) 13 weeks, (b) 26 weeks and (c) 52 weeks old.

  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 Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 8 March 1995:
  I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of state for Social Security about the proportion of outstanding child maintenance applications that are over 13, 26 and 52 weeks old.
  The table shows the proportion of cases within these age bands as a percentage of the caseload as at the end of January 1995.

  Percentage of caseload

  Cases over 13 weeks old

  83

  Cases over 26 weeks old

  69

  Cases over 52 weeks old

  48

  A significant number of the cases over 26 weeks old will he deferred as part of the measures announced on 20 December 1994.

  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the total payments being made to the Child Support Agency by absent parents in respect of children whose parents with care were in receipt of relevant state benefits before April 1993 and whose assessment has been completed by the Child Support Agency; and what is the total number of these cases.

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

  Social Fund
  Mr. Ron Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give(a) the figure of the amount lent in Wales under the social fund scheme, (b) the amount currently outstanding and (c) the numbers of those currently liable.

  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 Mr. Michael Bichard to Mr. Ron Davies, dated 7 March 1995:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting the figure for the amount lent in Wales under the Social Fund scheme, the amount currently outstanding and the numbers of those currently liable.
  You ask for the figure of the amount lent in Wales under the Social Fund scheme. You are probably aware that the Fund has two distinct parts—regulated and discretionary. Social Fund Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans are part of the discretionary part of the scheme.
  The amount of loans expenditure in Wales for the period 1 April 1994 to 31 January 1995 is £12,143,769.41. The amount currently outstanding (unspent) in Wales for loans in the current financial year is £2,823,256.00. I am also able to tell you that as at 31 January 1995 £13,597.79, in total, was owed by applicants in the Benefits Agency Districts in Wales. This figure will include amounts outstanding on loans currently being repaid and for loans where recovery has been interrupted or deferred.
  I am unable to supply the numbers of those currently liable as the Social Fund Computer System does not count the number of individual customers. However, the number of awards made in Wales for loans for the period 1 April 1994 to 31 January 1995 is 77,417. As a customer may have more than one loan outstanding, and many customers will have repaid their loan(s) within this period, this figure may he greater than the number of those currently liable.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Compensation Recovery Unit
  Mr. Dewar
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list the number of cases in which funds have been recovered by the Compensation Recovery Unit during the last year for which figures are available; what were the administrative and other costs of the unit during that period; and what was the gross and net sum ingathered after allowing for those costs;

  (2) how many staff are presently employed in the Compensation Recovery Unit.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  These are matters 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 Mr. Michael Richard to Mr. Donald Dewar, dated 7 March 1995:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the number of staff currently employed in the Compensation Recovery Unit: the administrative and other costs of the unit; the number of cases handled by it and the gross and net sums ingathered after allowing for these costs during the last year for which figures are available.
  The total number of people employed in the Compensation Recovery Unit at the present time is 196; this includes 46 part time staff.
  During the period from I April 1994 to 28 February 1995. the number of cases in which sums have been recovered amounts to 60,821 and the sum recouped was £91,750.000. After taking into
  224
  account costs of £4,070,000, the net amount recovered equates to £87,680,000.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Income Support
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of those who have been granted exceptional leave to remain are in receipt of income support.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  People who have been granted exceptional leave to remain are not separately identified within the income support scheme.

  Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema
  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many PDD12 claimants have appealed against category 0 X-ray evidence since September 1993.

  Mr. Hague
  The information requested is available only to 2 October 1994 when the total number of appeals received against the category 0 X-ray was 3,416.

  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many posthumous PDD12 claims there have been to date; and how many have received an award;

  (2) how many PDD12 claimants rejected for an award when they were living, because the X-ray evidence was category O have been made a posthumous award after death based on the findings of the pathologist's report:

  (3) how many PDD12 appellants have been referred for fresh X-rays because the ones on which the original diagnosis was made were unsuitable.

  Mr. Hague
  The information requested is not readily available and could he obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Benefit Payment Card
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) of 26 January,Official Report, column 320, if he will name the five potential suppliers of a benefit payment card.

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North-West (Mr. Bellingham) on 9 December,Official Report, column 385.

  Pneumoconiosis
  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants to whom an award was made for pneumoconiosis in(a) 1980, (b) 1986 and (c) 1993 had it increased because the disease worsened an attendant condition.

  Mr. Hague
  The information requested is not available.

  Mr. Clapham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many awards for pneumoconiosis were made in each of the coalfield areas in(a) 1980, (b) 1986 and (c)

  Mr. Hague
  The information requested is not available by coalfield areas. New awards for pneumoconiosis in the coal mining industry, analysed by disability benefit centre, are in the table.
  225

  New awards for pneumoconiosis in the coal mining industry by disability benefit centre

  Disability benefit centre

  1980

  1986

  1993

  Cardiff

  113

  71

  58

  Swansea

  22

  38

  22

  Glasgow

  6

  7

  10

  Stoke

  23

  38

  27

  Sheffield

  179

  142

  205

  Manchester

  30

  18

  12

  Newcastle

  84

  37

  58

  London

  4

  6

  3

  All panels

  461

  357

  395

  Note:

  Based on a 100 per cent, count.

  Housing benefit in Scotland average caseload and expenditure

  Year

  Caseload (thousands)

  Expenditure (millions)

  Rent rebate

  Rent allowance

  Rent rebate(£)

  Rent allowance(£)

  All private tenants(including HA tenants

  Housing association tenants

  1983–84

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  182.08

  29.81

  1984–85

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  200.63

  41.18

  1985–86

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  224.87

  55.47

  1986–87

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  258.33

  71.39

  1987–88

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  291.42

  88.67

  1988–89

  494

  72

  n/a

  314.15

  86.29

  1989–90

  478

  79

  n/a

  363.75

  113.23

  1990–91

  467

  76

  n/a

  400.30

  119.36

  1991–92

  466

  76

  n/a

  444.26

  136.37

  1992–93

  460

  83

  22

  489.82

  169.17

  1993–94

  457

  93

  30

  1523.99

  1202.31

  1994–95

  446

  103

  34

  1537.30

  1230.98

  Sources:

  Caseload, housing benefit information system.

  Expenditure, DSS planning and finance division.

  Notes:

  1. Rent rebate, includes local authority, new town and Scottish Homes' tenants.

  2. Rent allowance, includes housing association and other private sector tenants.

  3. n/a = Not available.

  1Provisional.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of I March,c. 623-24. how many of the asylum seekers in receipt of income support are (a) awaiting an initial decision on their application and (b) appealing against it.

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

  Habitual Residence
  Mr. Trimble
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons from the Republic of Ireland not habitually resident in the United Kingdom at the time of their claim have been in receipt of(a) income support, (b) housing benefit and (c) council tax benefit schemes since 1 August 1994, giving the sums paid under each heading.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The information is not recorded centrally and could he obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Residential Care and Nursing Homes
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of residents

  Housing Benefit
  Mr. McAllion
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was(a) the total cost of housing benefit in Scotland for (i) tenants of new towns, Scottish Homes and local authorities, (ii) tenants of housing associations and (iii) tenants of private landlords and (b) the total number of households in Scotland receiving housing benefit in respect of (1) Scottish Homes, local authorities and new towns, (2) housing associations and co-operatives and (3) the private rented sector for each year since 1982–83.

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

  of care or nursing homes whose total entitlement to care funding does not meet their fees for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Roger Evans
  Reliable in formation is not available before November 1992.

  The number of residents with preserved rights to the higher limits of income support whose total entitlement to social security benefits does not meet the fees is:

  Number

  November 1992

  91.500

  November 1993

  85.000

  February 1994

  78.500

  Source:

  Income support statistics quarterly inquiries November 1992. November 1993 and February 1994.

  Some of these residents may have disregarded benefits, income or capital which could he used to meet any shortfalls.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and
  227
  which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Hague
  None.

SCOTLAND

  Anti-Social Neighbours
  Mr. McMaster
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers are available to(a) local authority housing departments, (b) Scottish Homes, (c) housing associations, (d) housing co-operatives, (e) private sector landlords and (f) owner-occupiers to deal with anti-social behaviour by neighbours; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  In many cases, anti-social behaviour by neighbours will amount to nuisance. Local authorities, Scottish Homes, housing associations and housing co-operatives have powers under section 47 of, and part I of schedule 3 to, the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 to raise proceedings for the recovery of possession of one of their houses including where a tenant, or any one of joint tenants, or any person residing or lodging with him or any sub-tenant of his has been guilty of conduct in, or in the vicinity of, the house which is a nuisance or causing an annoyance to others. Recovery of possession can also he granted where a tenant has been convicted of using the house, or allowing it to be used, for immoral or illegal purposes.

  Local authorities also have powers under section 58 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 to deal with noise from premises which they consider amounts to a nuisance. In this case, noise also includes vibration.

  Private sector landlords have powers to raise proceedings to recover possession of their houses under section I I of, and schedule 2 to, the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 and section 18 of, and schedule 5 to, the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988. Private sector leases may also contain a condition under which the tenant agrees not to

  (a) £0––1.000

  (b) £1,001–£2.000

  (c) £2,001–£3,000

  (d) £3,001–£4.000

  (e) £4,001–£5,000

  (f) £5,001 and over

  Shetlands Islands

  —

  —

  1

  1

  —

  7

  Cairngorms Straths

  —

  —

  1

  —

  —

  9

  Argyll Islands

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  13

  Opencast Coal Mining
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list(a) all existing opencast coal sites in Scotland, (b) all sites for which planning consent has been granted and (c) any further sites which arc either subject to planning applications or which have otherwise been drawn to the attention of his Department.

  Mr. Kynoch
  The information requested is as follows:

  (a) Existing opencast coal mining sites in Scotland. by region:

  Central

  Auchengean West

  Blackrig

  Fencehillhead

  228
  cause nuisance or annoyance to neighbours, and I believe that such conditions are common.

  Owner-occupiers can go to court to seek an interdict against a nuisance beginning or continuing, and damages where they have incurred loss.

  On 22 February, the Scottish Office published a good practice note on tenancy management which described the legal and management remedies which arc available to landlords to deal with problems arising from anti-social behaviour. I also announced on 22 February the award of a grant to the Chartered Institute of Housing to undertake research into current practice in dealing with anti-social behaviour and to identify examples of good practice among public sector landlords.

  On 3 March, I announced that we would he consulting widely on a proposal which has been put to me, in the context of anti-social behaviour, for probationary tenancies. I expect to seek views on this in the near future. In making this announcement, I made it clear that I retain an open mind on action which might he required to help to deal with anti-social behaviour.

  Farm Conservation Grants
  Sir David Steel
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many farm conservation plans, so far approved in the Shetland Islands environmentally sensitive area scheme, involve payments in the(a) £0 to £1,000, (b) £1,001 to £2,000, (c) £2,001 to £3,000, (d) £3,001 to £4,000 and (e) £4,001 to £5,000 bands:

  (2) how many farm conservation plans. so far approved in the Cairngorm Straths islands environmentally sensitive area scheme, involve payments in the (a) £0 to £1,000, (b) £1,001 to £2,000, (c) £2,001 to £3,000, (d) £3,001 to £4,000 and (e) £4,001 to £5,000 bands;

  (3) how many farm conservation plans, so far approved in the Argyll islands environmentally sensitive area scheme, involve payments in the (a) £0 to £1,000, (b) £1,001 to £2,000, (c) £2,001 to £3,000, (d) £3,001 to £4,000 and (e) £4,001 to £5,000 bands.

  Mr. Lang
  The information, in the format requested, based on the total payments scheduled in each five-year farm or croft conservation plan is set out in the table:

  Greyrigg

  Ladywell

  Lower Redbrac

  Saline Park Wood

  South Roughcastle

  Dunfries and Galloway

  Crawick

  Fife

  Braehead

  Cairncubie

  Cotton Farm

  Halbeath

  Mooreland

  229

  Prathouse

  Westfield Link

  Woodbank (Windygates)

  Lothian

  Blindwells Extension

  Chesterswood Extension

  Northrigg Phase W

  Oxenfoord

  Rosslynlee

  Strathclyde

  Airdsgreen

  Auchline Mine

  Biggar Road

  Birneknowe

  Catcraig

  Chalmerston

  Dalquhandy

  Damside

  Drumbow

  Easter Baton

  Easter Baton (West)

  Easter Fortissat

  Edge Form

  Glenbuck

  Greenland Moss

  Greeside Farm

  Heckler's Yard

  Laigh Riggend

  Legbrannock Farm

  Morningside (Torbush)

  Mossband Farm

  Piperhill

  Royal George

  Skellyton Farm

  Smiths Farm

  Townhead Farm

  Viaduct West

  Waterloo

  Windyedge

  Woodsethead

  Tayside

  Lambhill Remainder

  Leuehars Wood

  (b) Information about specific planning consents is not held centrally.

  (c) Two applications are currently before the Secretary of State on appeal against the planning authorities' decision; these are Greenhead Moss and Wester Mosshat farm, both in Strathclyde. The following prospective opencast coal mining sites were identified in Scotland during the privatisation of the British Coal Corporation.

  Central

  Aitkenhead

  Dumfries and Galloway

  Glenmuckloch

  Fife

  Greenbank

  Strathclyde

  Broken Cross

  Chalmerston North

  Drumshangie

  House of Water, Cumnock

  Ladylands

  230

  Leadloch

  Powharnal

  Spireslack

  Gasswater

  Glentaggart

  Grievehill

  Pennyvenie

  Watsonhead

  Wilstontown

  NHS Trust Chief Executives
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if NHS trust chief executives are bound by the same rules concerning public statements as are their staff; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Rules of individual conduct are a contractual matter between an employee and the employing trust.

  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance is given to the chairmen and chief executives of NHS health hoards and trusts concerning public political comments; and if he will make a statement.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  It is one of the conditions of appointment of chairmen of health hoards and NHS trusts that they should not make political speeches on matters affecting the work of their hoard. The conditions of employment of NHS trust chief executives and hoard general managers of health hoards are a contractual matter between an employee and the employer.

  Kynoch Group plc
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance was given by his Department to Messrs Kynoch of Keith within the past 10 years.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 3 March 1995]: None. The Scottish Development Agency and later Scottish Enterprise took equity investment in Kynoch Group plc, formerly G and G Kynoch plc. This was an operational matter within the delegated authority of these two bodies.

  Water and Sewerage Directors
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the present salaries of each of the local government directors and depute directors responsible for water and sewerage in Scotland; and what arc the annual expenses paid to each of the councillors involved with water and sewerage committees in their duties on those committees.

  Mr. Kynoch
  [holding answer 7 March 1995]: From the information held centrally, it is not possible to provide information on the precise salaries of the directors and depute directors of water and sewerage. We believe that most directors of water and sewerage are paid in the broad range of £50,000 to £65,000. One earns in excess of £80,000.

  No information is available about the expenses paid to councillors serving on water and sewerage committees, as these are matters for local authorities to decide.

  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local government directors and depute directors have responsibility for water and sewerage services in Scotland.
  231
  Mr. Kynoch
  [holding answer 7 March 1995]: There are 12 directors and 14 depute directors with responsibility for water and sewerage services in regional and island councils. In addition, there is one director and one depute director in the Central Scotland water development board which is responsible for bulk supplies of water.

  Publications
  Mr. Boyes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all White Papers, Green Papers and pamphlets issued by his Department, or agencies for which it is responsible, in 1994 giving, in each case, the total cost to the Exchequer of their production, publication and distribution; and what was the total equivalent cost in 1980.

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 2 March 1995]: In 1994 my Department published two Command Papers. In addition, a wide range of other documents including consultation documents and pamphlets was issued. Detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  In respect of those publications published by HMSO, all costs are borne by HMSO, which aims to recover these from sales revenue.

  Highlands and Islands Enterprise
  Sir Russell Johnston
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the level of underspend on planned projects by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in the current year; and whether consideration has been given to the allocation of these resources to the funding of the joint European torus programme currently financed by the Highland regional council.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 2 March 1995]: I understand that there has been some slippage on Highlands and Islands Enterprise projects in the current year. However, assurances have been received from Highlands and Islands Enterprise that it will draw down its total grant in aid this year and that these funds are fully committed.

  Long-stay Mental Hospitals
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make it his policy to collect information about the number of long-stay mental hospitals which have trust status.

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  [holding answer 20 February 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given cm 6 February 1995, Official Report, column 73.

  Information about the number of long-stay mental hospitals is available from the Scottish health service costs hook published by the information and statistics division, directorate of information services, the NHS in Scotland. A copy of this publication has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Sleeper Services
  Mr. Martlew
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what were the gross revenues and gross costs of the sleeper services to Carlisle and Fort William in 1992–93 and 1993–94; and what is the estimate for 1994–95;
  232
  (2) pursuant to his oral statement of 8 February, to the Scottish Grant Committee, Official Report, column 2, if he will provide details of the calculations of the costs per passenger on the Fort William and Carlisle sleeper services; and what has been the passenger loading on the sleeper services for the same financial years.

  Lord James-Hamilton
  [holding answer 22 February 1995]: Responsibility for railways throughout Great Britain rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. Information on the operation of sleeper services is a matter for British Rail and the Franchising Director who have provided the following figures. The approximate gross costs, excluding the fixed element of track access charges, and gross revenues of the sleeper and night motorail services to Fort William and Carlisle are as follows:

  £ million

  Costs

  Revenue

  Fort William

  3.7

  1.0

  Carlisle

  0.6

  0.4

  The figures relate to 1993–94 passenger numbers but have been uprated to 1994–95 price levels. They also reflect an assessed provision for new charging systems such as rolling stock leases. No figures are available for 1992–93 and 1994–95.

  The calculations of the subsidy per passenger on the Fort William and Carlisle sleeper and motorail services noted by me in my oral statement to the Scottish Grand Committee on 8 February, were derived from the attributable subsidy—approximately £2.7 million and £200,000 for the Fort William and Carlisle services respectively—divided by the number of passengers in 1993–94.

  The passenger loading figures for the sleeper services are as follows:

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Fort William

  14,600

  14,600

  Carlisle

  6,700

  5,700

  No estimates are available for 1994–95.

WALES

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years: and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Redwood
  One—Sir Richard Lloyd Jones, who retired in August 1993. He was subsequently appointed chairman of the Staff Commission for Wales, and the advisory committee which preceded it, for 1.5 days a week at £15,900 per year, and as chairman of the Arts Council for Wales for 2 days a week, for which he receives no remuneration.

HEALTH

  Blood
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial structures exist between regional and district health authorities and the National Blood Authority for meeting variations in general trends in demand and supply of blood in the national health service; and what are the current price levels for blood transferred between them.

  Mr. Sackville
  National health service hospital trusts' contract with blood transfusion centres for the supply of blood, and fluctuations in supply and demand, are managed through the contracting process. Handling charges, which cover only the local transfusion centres' operating costs, are paid by hospitals for blood supplied. Handling charges are also paid for transfers between transfusion centres at a standard rate. There is never any charge for the blood itself which is freely given by our volunteer donors.

  Organ Donor Register
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the national health service organ donor register was established; how many people have registered with it; when the register will come into operation; and what proposals she has to promote public awareness of it.

  Mr. Sackville
  The national health service organ donor register was launched on 6 October 1994. More than 700,000 people have joined the register. The register is already fully operational. This month we launched an advertising campaign in England in addition to ongoing publicity initiatives.

  Note: Around 440,000 of these were transferred from the existing Lifeline Wales register.

  Community Care
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from local authorities regarding the increased demands for community care since the implementation of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990.

  Mr. Bowis
  Some local authorities have cited the popularity of the policy as a reason for increased demand for community care as a factor which is placing their services under pressure. It is for authorities to manage such factors within the context of the increased resources which we have made available for community care.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consultation takes place between the NHS and local authorities to determine the needs of particular areas for community care;

  (2) how much has been saved in the NHS by the recent allocation of community care responsibility to local authorities.

  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 13 December 1994 at columns 615–16.

  Smoking
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health when smoking was last discussed at the EU Health Minsters' Council.

  Mr. Sackville
  On 22 December 1994.

  Patients (Deaths)
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she intends to hold an investigation into the recent deaths of patients at Kneesworth psychiatric hospital.

  Mr. Bowis
  No. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 8 February at column 271.

  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she intends to take to reduce the number of deaths of patients undergoing psychiatric care.

  Mr. Bowis
  In the White Paper, "The Health of the Nation" we set a target to reduce the suicide rate of severely mentally ill people. A number of central initiatives designed to improve existing mental health services will complement local action to reduce the suicide rate among severely mentally ill people. These include the various measures in the ten point plan that we announced in August 1993 and the issue of the "Mental Illness Key Area Handbook" to all managers of national health service and local authority mental health services. The revised edition of the handbook provides a number of examples of interventions which may help to reduce suicide rates.

  Many of the measures being taken to reduce deaths from suicide among severely mentally ill people should also help to reduce the number of other premature and preventable deaths of patients undergoing psychiatric care.

  Medical Negligence
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many actions for medical negligence have been issued against the Fallodon hospital in Leeds, and Leeds Private Hospitals Ltd.

  (2) what action she is taking in response to claims for medical negligence against the Fallodon hospital in Leeds and Leeds Private Hospitals Ltd.

  Mr. Sackville
  In the private sector, any question of medical negligence is a matter between the parties concerned.

  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it a condition of any licence given to a private hospital that adequate insurance against medical negligence claims is obtained by that hospital;

  (2) what requirements are placed on private hospitals to insure themselves against claims for medical negligence.

  Mr. Sackville
  Any question of medical negligence is a matter between the parties concerned.

  Waiting Lists, West Midlands
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons additional resources made available in the present and forthcoming financial years for the West Midlands waiting list initiative are not being incorporated into district health authority budgets; and if she will make a statement on the impact of this on the
  235
  scale of the redundancy programme in South Birmingham health authority.

  Mr. Malone
  The allocation of resources for the West Midlands waiting times initiative is a matter for West Midlands regional health authority and I refer the hon. Member to Mr. Bryan Baker, chairman of West Midlands RHA, for this information. The redundancy programme in South Birmingham, and any possible impact that the waiting times initiative may have on this, is a matter for South Birmingham health authority and the hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Bryan Stoten, chairman of the authority, for further details.

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of the West Midlands waiting list initiative in 1996–97.

  Mr. Malone
  West Midlands are to be congratulated on the excellent progress that they have made in reducing waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment for their residents. I look to local purchasers and providers to build on this success in the future.

  Fallodon Hospital, Leeds
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been submitted to Leeds Healthcare regarding the Fallodon hospital and Leeds Hospitals Ltd.

  Mr. Malone
  This is a matter for Leeds Healthcare. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mrs. Pam Smith, chairman of Leeds Healthcare, for details.

  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will order an inquiry into the standards of health care provision at the Fallodon hospital and Leeds Private Hospitals Ltd.

  (2) what representations she has received regarding the Fallodon hospital in Leeds.

  Mr. Sackville
  Responsibility for the Fallodon's registration under the Registered Homes Act 1984 rests with the health authority. A number of concerns have been raised with the Department in relation to the Fallodon's approval by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 to provide treatment for termination of pregnancy. All were fully investigated. Improvements were required and implemented and the Fallodon continues to he approved under the Act.

  Osteoporosis
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to encourage bone density scanning for osteoporosis.

  Mr. Sackville
  My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Baroness Cumberlege, announced on 31 January that she had accepted the recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Group on Osteoporosis, copies of which are available in the Library. She wrote to the chairmen of all national health service bodies drawing their attention to the recommendation that bone densitometry should be available to assist clinical decision-making for certain patients identified as being at high risk. My noble Friend will also be discussing this aspect, and the report more generally, with regional chairmen.

  Domiciliary Care
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent to which the current NHS system meets the Government's objective to promote the development of the domiciliary day and respite care services to enable people to live in their own home wherever feasible and sensible.

  Mr. Bowis
  Recent guidance, HSG(95)8, on national health service responsibilities for meeting continuing health care needs reiterated the important responsibilities of the NHS to arrange and fund a full range of services to meet people's continuing health care needs. As well as continuing in-patient care the guidance included important responsibilities for rehabilitation, respite health care and community health and primary care services for people at home or in residential care homes. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.

  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people are currently under domiciliary day and respite care; and how many are in full nursing home facilities.

  Mr. Bowis
  The centrally available information on day and domiciliary services arranged by social services authorities shows that in a sample week in September 1993 there were estimated totals of 435,000 households in England receiving home help or home care where the oldest resident was aged 65 or over, 123,000 attendances at day centres by people aged 65 or over, and 287,000 people—nearly all aged 65 or over—had meals either delivered to their homes or served at luncheon clubs. Information is not available centrally about how many individuals were receiving services arranged by social services authorities.

  The number of local authority supported residents aged 65 and over in short-term placements in either residential care or nursing homes, many of which will he for respite purposes, was 11,000 on 31 March 1994.

  Information on all registered nursing homes is that there were 132,200 nursing home beds occupied by people aged 65 or over in 1993–94.

  Dental Practitioners
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when she expects to recover the average overpayment from each general dental practitioner;

  (2) what proposals she has to require general dental practitioners to repay the average overpayment to the Government.

  Mr. Malone
  The Green Paper, "Improving NHS Dentistry", states that the issue of past overpayments to dentists is one that needs to be addressed. The Government have been reviewing the issue as part of their consideration of the way forward following the Green Paper.

  Maternal Mortality
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of maternal mortality there have been following births in the Dewsbury area for(a) home confinements and (b) hospital births in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Sackville
  The information is shown in the table.
  237

  Maternal deaths of women (ICD 630–6761 aged 16–50 for Dewsbury district health authority, 1983–1992

  Year

  Number

  1983

  1

  1984

  0

  1985

  0

  1986

  0

  1987

  1

  1988

  0

  1989

  1

  1990

  0

  1991

  1

  1992

  1

  1 1CD 9 codes 630–676 refer to complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. Of these, codes 647 and 648 may be considered indirect causes of the pregnancy as they cover conditions in the mother classifiable elsewhere in the ICD 9 but which complicate pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. The remaining conditions may be considered direct causes relating to pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium.

  Notes

  1. There may have been other deaths among women who were pregnant or had recently given birth where this information was not given on the death certificate or was not selected as the underlying cause of death.

  2. Information collected on the death certificate gives the place where the woman died. This may be different from where her child was born. Therefore it is not possible to separate deaths following births from home confinements and hospital births.

  Mental Health Act 1983
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those services which an authority(a) can be required to provide and (b) can make available under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983; and if she will list the services actually available under that section.

  Mr. Bowis
  The specific services provided by health and local authorities under section 117 will vary according to individual needs and local arrangements. General guidance on the provision of after-care services for patients who have been detained in hospital is given in chapter 27 of the Mental Health Act code of practice, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 8 February,Official Report, columns 270–17, when she expects to publish the numbers of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in (a) NHS units and (b) private units.

  Mr. Bowis
  The Statistical Bulletin, "In-patients Formally Detained in Hospitals Under The Mental Health Act 1983 and Other Legislation, England: 1987–88 to 1992–93", is to be published shortly. A copy will be placed in the Library.

  Neuroleptic Drugs
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proposals she has to hold an inquiry into the use of neuroleptic drugs.

  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 8 February at column 273.

  Refugees
  Mr. Bernie Grant
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports she has received of NHS trust hospitals denying treatment to refugees properly referred by their general practitioners; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the rules as regards eligibility for free NHS hospital care are correctly applied.

  Mr. Sackville
  None. It is for national health service trusts to establish whether patients are eligible for exemption from charges for NHS hospital treatment, using the Department's Manual of Guidance on the NHS Treatment of Overseas Visitors.

  Private Hospitals
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the licensing procedures of private hospitals.

  Mr. Sackville
  The registration of private hospitals is subject to part II of the Registered Homes Act 1984. A review of registration and inspection procedures will commence this year.

  Human Rights
  Sir Andrew Bowden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will arrange for the draft convention for the protection of human rights and dignity of the human being with regard to the application of biology and medicine to he amended in response to opinion No. 184 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; when she expects the draft convention to he opened for signature; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  The United Kingdom Government will take account of the Parliamentary Assembly's opinion in considering the current draft convention. No date has as yet been agreed for the convention to be signed.

  The Government share with the Governments of other member states a commitment to the protection of human rights and dignity.

  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's policy towards the draft convention for the protection of human rights and dignity of the human being with regard to the application of biology and medicine; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Bowis
  My Department will continue its involvement in the Council of Europe's Steering Committee on Bioethics, which is drawing up a draft convention for the protection of human rights and dignity of the human being with regard to the application of biology and medicine for consideration by the Council of Ministers. This involvement will reflect the United Kingdom Government's firm commitment to the protection of human rights.

  Prescribing Incentive Schemes
  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about payments to 240
  general medical practitioners under the 1993–94 national practice based prescribing incentive schemes.

  Mr. Malone
  The schemes have been successful in encouraging cost-effective prescribing. Payments due to those who qualified under the 1993–94 schemes have been authorised on an extra statutory basis. Similar arrangements will apply to payments in respect of 1994–95 schemes. The total amount paid on this basis—estimated at £1.7 million in 1994–95—will be included in family health services authorities summarised accounts.

  Continuing Care
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is her estimate of the cost to the National Health Service of providing continuing care for each year from 1979 to 1996;

  (2) what is her estimate of the number of people in need of continuing care as provided by the national health service in each year from 1979 to 1996.

  Mr. Bowis
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) on 19 December 1994 at column 1147. The number of people in need of continuing care is not available centrally.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps she will take to monitor health authorities investment in continuing care provision; and how she will ascertain which health authorities are under-providing.

  Mr. Bowis
  The National Health Service Executive and social services inspectorate will work closely with authorities to ensure that the guidance is fully implemented. As part of this process, health authorities will be required to include managing any re-investment in their timed and costed plans which will he in place by I April 1996.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances patients will he able to challenge the criteria applied by the health authority to decide their entitlement to national health service continuing care.

  Mr. Bowis
  Health authorities must consult and fully involve local authorities, all general practitioners, national health service and independent providers and representatives of users and carers in drawing up local eligibility criteria.

  From April 1996, a patient or his or her family and any carer can ask the health authority to review the decision on entitlement to national health service funded continuing health care if they do not believe that the health authority's eligibility criteria have been applied correctly.

  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances a patient in need of continuing care as provided by the national health service can be placed in a nursing home.

  Mr. Bowis
  It is for health authorities to arrange and fund a full range of services to meet the continuing health care needs of their local population. They may purchase such care from national health service hospitals or other facilities, including nursing homes. If a patient meets the
  241
  eligibility criteria for continuing NHS in-patient care but a bed is not available within the health authority's contracted provision, agreement for an extra-contractual referral to another hospital or nursing home should be sought.

  Home Helps
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authority home helps there have been per 1,000 population in each year since 1979.

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

  Table: Whole time equivalent (WTE) home helps employed by local authorities, 1979–1993 England

  At 30 September

  WTE home helps per 1,000 population1

  1979

  0.96

  1980

  1.00

  1981

  0.99

  1982

  1.01

  1983

  1.05

  1984

  1.08

  1985

  1.10

  1986

  1.13

  1987

  1.19

  1988

  1.20

  1989

  1.18

  1990

  1.16

  1991

  1.13

  1992

  1.12

  19932

  1.05

  1 Home helps employed by direct service organisations or by independent organisations under contract to local authorities are not included.

  2 The statistical return collecting details of local authority staffing was very substantially revised in 1993 and this may have affected comparability with earlier years.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which permanent secretaries have left her Department's employment in the past five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Sackville
  Sir Donald Acheson and Sir Duncan Nichol have retired as permanent secretaries in this Department in the five years from I March 1990. Ministers appointed Sir Donald Acheson to chair the Home Office Health Advisory Committee to the Prison Service in 1992. Ministers have not offered Sir Duncan Nichol any public appointments.

  Operations
  Mr. Shersby
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the health services management centre of the University of Birmingham questioning the value of a number of operations commonly performed on patients; and if she will make a statement.

  Mr. Sackville
  No such representations have been received.

  Staff Relocation Expenses
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on staff relocation expenses in each year since 1990–91 by region.

  Mr. Malone
  This information is not separately identifiable within the annual accounts or annual financial returns of health authorities and national health service trusts.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Women Directors
  Mr. Khabra
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what initiatives his Department is taking to increase the number of female directors in Britain's industrial companies.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  It is for the board and shareholders of companies to choose directors, not Government.

  Company Assistance (Midlands)
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what concerns have been raised by companies and firms in the midlands about the provision of assistance to them by his Department.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Department deals with a large number of companies in the midlands on a daily basis on a wide variety of issues.

  Telecommunications
  Mr. Jacques Arnold
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what studies his Department has conducted on the relative costs of telecommunications services in the United Kingdom and other European Union countries.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  My Department has studied the overall competitiveness of United Kingdom telecommunications infrastructure, including costs. We also monitor studies by outside bodies. These studies show that UK telecom costs are amongst the lowest in Europe.

  Jaguar X200
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with Jaguar concerning financial assistance for the X200 project.

  Mr. Heseltine
  I have been keeping in very close touch with the top management in Ford and Jaguar as their plans for the X200 project have developed.

  The company has not yet decided whether to go ahead with the project or, if it does, where the car would he manufactured.

  I am of course keen to maximise the prospects of the project being located in the United Kingdom.

  Internet
  Mr. Streeter
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what use his Department is making of the Internet super-highway.
  243
  Mr. Ian Taylor
  My Department recognises the value of the Internet as a means to share information and develop contacts at a national and international level. We are already making use of its facilities for electronic mail, and to obtain and provide information, and I have instigated a programme to consider and develop the Department's usage from a strategic perspective.

  My E-Mail address is Taylor@mintech.demon.co.uk

  Private Mines
  Mr. Hanson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions he has had with private mine owners regarding terms and conditions of service for miners since privatisation.

  Mr. Page
  None. These are matters for the employers and their employees.

  Electricity Companies
  Mr. Eric Clarke
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what advice his Department has given to the Director General of Electricity Supply concerning the consequences on prices of the high remuneration of directors.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department has given no advice to the Director General of Electricity Supply regarding these matters.

  Trade Deficit
  Mr. Spring
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade by how much the United Kingdom deficit with countries outside the EU changed in 1994; and to what factors he attributes this.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  In 1994, the value of the visible trade deficit of the United Kingdom with countries outside the European Union was reduced by £2.7 billion, reaching its lowest level since 1987. UK exports to these countries increased in value by 10 per cent. in 1994 while imports increased by 5 per cent. UK exports are now at record levels both in terms of value and volume. This has been achieved by UK companies manufacturing goods that are competitive in quality and price in international markets.

  Steel
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what support he is giving to the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation's campaign in favour of British-made steel.

  Mr. Eggar
  The Government share the ISTC's concerns about continuing subsidies to the United Kingdom steel industry's competitors in Europe. We have consistently made it clear to the Commission and other member states the importance we attach to the strict application of the ECSC rules on state aid. To assist us in this task, I have recently set up a steel subsidies monitoring committee—consisting of Government and steel industry representatives—to help gather evidence of illegal state aid and to pass it on to the Commission for action. We are also working with the UK constructional steelwork industry to improve the transparency and rigour with which sub-contracts for steelwork are awarded for public sector projects.

  Manufacturing (East London)
  Mr. Gapes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he next plans to visit east London to discuss the future of manufacturing industry.

  Mr. Eggar
  I visited east London last Wednesday, 1 March, to discuss with local manufacturers how best to take forward the London manufacturing initiative that I launched in October.

  Company Profits
  Mr. Connarty
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average proportion of post-tax profits paid as dividends in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) the OECD as a whole in the last year.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  United Kingdom dividends accounted for 62.1 per cent. of profit after tax, interest and depreciation in 1992. Comparable figures are not available for the OECD as a whole, and could he produced only at disproportionate cost.

  Ceramic Imports
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received about the growth in the import of ceramic goods from the far east.

  Mr. Page
  My Department has received many representations on this subject, mainly about imports from China. United Kingdom manufacturers of ceramic products want the Government to support retention of the present quotas which limit imports into the European Community while many traders and retailers argue strongly that they are unjustified on economic grounds and should be removed.

  Information Society
  Mr. Ian Bruce
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the recent G7 meeting of Technology Ministers on the information society.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) on 2 March 1995,Official Report columns 715-16.

  Textphones
  Mr. Gerrard
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assistance his Department gives to businesses developing textphones and similar aids for disabled people.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  Seven different types of textphones have received approval from the British Approvals Board for Telecommunications. Whilst the development of aids of this type for disabled people is obviously important, I do not believe the companies involved in these developments need special support from my Department.

  Near East Trade
  Mr. Rathbone
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what special efforts are being made to encourage trade with near eastern countries.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The countries of the near east include many of the top 80 United Kingdom markets and dedicated desk officers and export promoters have been appointed to cover these. Their efforts have made a
  245
  significant additional contribution to the encouragement and support of trade with the area. Regular promotional seminars are held, and we support numerous trade missions, as well as participation by United Kingdom firms in trade fairs and exhibitions.

  As my hon. Friend knows, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, accompanied by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade will be visiting the area shortly accompanied by a team of senior business men.

  Coal Mines
  Mr. Illsley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received regarding the imposition of three-year fixed-term contracts on workers within the coal mining industry.

  Mr. Page
  None.

  Manufacturing
  Mr. Sutcliffe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what new measures he intends to take to revitalise the manufacturing base and its contribution to gross domestic product.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The Government's policies are geared towards improving the competitiveness of the whole economy, including the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing industry continues to perform strongly: the latest CBI survey shows export orders at their highest level since April 1977, and over the last year productivity has grown by almost 6 per cent. and output by nearly 4½ per cent.

  Building Insurance
  Mr. Parry
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received about levels of premiums for building insurance relating to cover for terrorist attacks.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  I have received no representations about the levels of terrorism insurance premiums which post-date my announcement of the premium arrangements for 1995, on 16 December 1994,Official Report, columns 850-51.

  Energy Demand
  Mr. Stern
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are his Department's latest projections of the range of future energy demand and of carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom.

  Mr. Eggar
  My Department has today published the results of an extensive review of their prospects for future energy use in the United Kingdom and of the associated emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases.

  The report, "Energy Projections for the UK: Energy Use and Energy-Related Emissions of Carbon Dioxide in the UK 1995–2020", Energy Paper No. 65 (EP65), updates the energy and carbon dioxide projections published in Energy Paper No. 59 (EP59) in 1992.

  The new projections provide a framework to monitor the development and direction of energy markets in the UK; to keep track of whether the UK is on target to meet its aim of returning carbon dioxide emissions to their 1990 levels in 2000; and to inform debate on possible future carbon dioxide commitments beyond 2000.
  246
  The new figures show that, on the assumptions about the climate change programme described as follows, the outturn for carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 is expected to be between 7 and 14 million tonnes of carbon—MtC—below the Government's target for that year.

  The full range of carbon dioxide projections for 2000 and later years in million tonnes of carbon is as follows.

  Energy Paper 65

  Energy Paper 59 reference scenario

  1990

  158

  158

  2000

  144–152

  169

  2005

  154–165

  182

  2010

  154–167

  194

  2015

  164–182

  207

  2020

  171–197

  219

  The EP59 reference scenario implied that, in order to meet its carbon dioxide commitment, the Government should aim to achieve savings of 10 MtC by the year 2000. The new projections show that, compared to the reference scenario, savings of 17 to 25 MtC are now expected to be achieved.

  These savings, and those in later years, are due to the following factors.

  First, the revised projections incorporate the carbon savings expected to arise from the climate change programme. The projections have been constructed on the assumption that virtually all the elements of the climate change programme set out in Cm 2427 are in place. The fiscal measures are those announced in the 1994 Budgets. It has also been assumed that the amounts of energy saved by the non-fiscal measures are the same as those assumed in producing Cm 2427.

  Secondly, the revised projections reflect new assumptions about future fossil fuel prices and about the responsiveness of energy demand to the price of energy and to changes in incomes and output. They also incorporate changes in the assumptions about the way in which energy is likely to be supplied. While EP59 assumed that there would be 12 GW of combined cycle gas turbines CCGT the projections now assume that, by the year 2000, some 16 to 18 GW of CCGT will he operating. The estimates also assume, on the evidence of recent performance, that the output of nuclear generating stations will be significantly higher than was anticipated in 1992.

  These various changes in supply side assumptions and in estimated demand relationships arc expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by between 7 and 17 MtC in 2000, compared with the scenario adopted for the climate change programme.

  The new projections alter the previous estimates of the carbon saved by the measures in the climate change programme. In part this reflects changes arising from the 1994 Budgets, particularly relating to VAT on domestic energy. The further assumed switch from coal to gas for electricity generation reduces the carbon savings attributable to reductions in electricity demand. The new projections assume a weaker link between changes in energy prices and changes in energy demand in the domestic sector.

  These changes work in different directions. Their net effect is that the savings associated with the programme of measures included in the original climate change

  247
  programme, allowing for the adjustments to the fiscal measures announced in the 1994 Budgets, would be between 8 and 9 MtC in 2000. This is what is included in the projections.

  Taking account also of reduced assumptions for the Energy Saving Trust, the net effect is now expected to be between 7 and 8 MtC. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is making an announcement today on the implications of the new energy projections for UK climate change policy.

  Electricity
  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answers of I and 20 December to the hon. Member for Brigg and Cleethorpes (Mr. Brown)Official Report, columns 807 and 1046-47, if he has now laid an order bringing further amendments to the Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order 1990 into effect.

  Mr. Eggar
  I have today laid before Parliament an order which will bring into effect two amendments to the Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order 1990. The first amendment will extend until March 1998 the transitional period in which companies who generated or supplied electricity before the electricity industry was vested are exempt from the requirement to hold generation or supply licences, and the second amendment will help clarify the position of on-site generators who belong to the electricity pool and supply qualifying consumers on the same site through a distribution or transmission system belonging to a third party. I have also taken the opportunity to consolidate the 1990 order and the two amending orders that were laid in April and June 1994.

  Special Advisers
  Mr. Campbell-Savours
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the names of all special advisers in his Department during the period 13 June 1987 to 24 July 1989.

  Mr. Heseltine
  The special advisers in the Department of Trade and Industry during the period 13 June 1987 to 24 July 1989 were:Charles Hendry
  Jonathan Hill
  Howell James
  Peter Luff
  Sir Jeffrey Sterling

  Distance Selling
  Mr. Simon Coombs
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on progress towards agreement on the European Union directive on distance selling.

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  The distance selling directive is on the agenda for the meeting of the Consumer Council on 30 March. The current text is broadly acceptable to all member states and the French presidency hopes to reach agreement on a common position. If a common position is achieved the directive will be submitted to the European Parliament, where the co-decision procedure will apply.

  Baghdad (Trade Delegation)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about the recent trade delegation to Baghdad.

  Mr. Needham
  The delegation went to Baghdad on its own initiative. It was not given assistance by the Government. Companies or individuals visiting Iraq with a view to discussing trade require a licence permitting them to do so from my Department. The organisers were advised of this requirement and asked to draw it to the attention of those travelling as part of the delegation. My Department has contacted known participants and will check to ensure they held, and complied with, the appropriate licences.

  Post Office
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the income to the Post Office during the past year from the sale of Post Office buildings; what was the cost of establishment from new Post Office buildings; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Page
  The income to the Post Office in the financial year 1993–94 from the sale of Post Office buildings was £13.5 million. The cost of establishment of new Post Office buildings is not recorded separately. Investment in land and buildings—including leased premises—in the financial year 1993–94 was £114 million. This figure includes the costs of refurbishing and adapting existing buildings.

  Nuclear Review
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the implications for the future of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty will be included within the scope of his Department's current review of policy on nuclear power.

  Mr. Eggar
  The nuclear review is being conducted within the framework of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and of the United Kingdom's other international obligations.

  Steel
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the ratio in percentage terms and the figures in tonnes of imported and United Kingdom produced steel for each year since 1979.

  Mr. Page
  The information is in the table:

  UK steel1 production and imports

  Year

  Production2(000 tonnes)

  Imports

  Imports as percentage of production

  1979

  16,816

  3,859

  23

  1980

  10,389

  4,707

  45

  1981

  12,689

  3,399

  27

  1982

  11,835

  3,925

  33

  1983

  12,259

  3,429

  28

  1984

  12,563

  3,646

  29

  1985

  13,073

  3,865

  30

  1986

  13,141

  4,233

  32

  1987

  15,011

  4,391

  29

  1988

  16,681

  5,225

  31

  1989

  16,879

  5,497

  33

  1990

  16,081

  5,411

  34

  249

  UK steel1 production and imports

  Year

  Production2(000 tonnes)

  Imports

  Imports as percentage of production

  1991

  15,032

  5,576

  37

  1992

  14,902

  5,465

  37

  1993

  15,103

  4,917

  33

  1994

  15,669

  n/a

  n/a

  Source:

  Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau.

  Notes:

  Products of the steel industry as defined by the Standard Industrial Classification (1980), groups 221, 222 and 223.

  Includes deliveries to home market and exports.

  Postal Services
  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the President of the hoard of Trade what is the current target timescale for completing first postal deliveries in urban areas.

  Mr. Page
  I understand from the Post Office that the general current target timescale for completing first deliveries in town areas is between 7 am and 9.30 am.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether the target timescale for completing first postal deliveries has been altered since 1975.

  Mr. Page
  I understand from the Post Office that there has been no change in the target timescale for completing first deliveries since 1975.

  Mrs. Mahon
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what proportion of first-class mail is currently delivered within the first-delivery timescale as defined in 1975;

  (2) what proportion of first-class mail is currently delivered within the first-delivery timescale, as currently defined.

  Mr. Page
  I understand from the Post Office that there has been no change in the first delivery timescale since 1975 and that information on the proportion of first-class mail currently delivered within the first delivery timescale is not available. However, taking into account that the general target timescale for first postal deliveries in rural areas is longer than in town areas, overall 88 per cent. of all classes of mail nationally is delivered on the first delivery.

  Tourism
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what government assistance has been given to depressed tourist areas in each year since 1976.

  Mr. Page
  There is no list of tourist areas to which Government assistance can be ascribed.

  Energy
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the board of Trade if he will make a statement on the distribution of investment between nuclear and non-nuclear sources of energy as sponsored or sanctioned by his Department.

  Mr. Page
  The distribution of expenditure by my Department between nuclear and non-nuclear sources of energy is given in "Trade and Industry 1995: The Government's expenditure plans 1995–96 to 1997–98" (Cm 2804), copies of which are available in the Library of the House. This includes information about the 250
  financing of public corporations in the energy sector: futher information about their expenditure can be obtained from their annual reports and accounts, also in the Library of the House.

  Nuclear Fuel
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultations took place between(a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department with (i) British Nuclear Fuels and (ii) Scottish Nuclear during their negotiations for additional reprocessing contracts and wet storage for spent nuclear fuel, announced on 28 February.

  Mr. Eggar
  Such contractual negotiations between British Nuclear Fuels plc and Scottish Nuclear Ltd., are a commercial matter for the companies concerned. BNFL has kept officials from the Department of Trade and Industry informed in general terms.

  Mr. Terry Venables
  Mr. Soley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on how a computer disk in the possession of his Department containing information on Mr. Terry Venables became public.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  It appears that the information concerned was improperly copied. The circumstances are the subject of an investigation by the police who are in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.

  Ship Finance
  Mr. Wilson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to publish the Theisen Securities report on ship finance; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Page
  The report by Theisen consultants on the financing of sales of new ships is expected to be available soon. I will place copies in the Libraries of the House.

  Konver Funding
  Mr. Dover
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he has obtained written confirmation from the European Commission that in the list of qualifying areas for Konver II funding, Preston is the travel-to-work area embracing Chorley and South Ribble.

  Mr. Eggar
  [holding answer 7 March 1995]: No; contrary to earlier expectations, the Commission has not yet published any list of areas in the Official Journal. But the list of British Konver II areas in the Government's programme, sent to the Commission on 1 March, includes Preston travel-to-work area.

  Insurance
  Mr. Bradley
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the estimated average additional costs of purchasing private insurance to protect against sickness or unemployment after October 1995 to a homeowner with a £50,000 mortgage(a) if they are self employed, (b) if they are in full time permanent employment and are not disabled and (c) if they are full time permanent employment and are disabled.

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  [holding answer 7 March 1995] Insurers currently charge standard rates of about £7 for every £100 of monthly mortgage payment and do not generally charge different rates for different situations.
  251
  Following the Budget announcement on changes to social security assistance, some insurers appear to be beginning to tailor their products more specifically to individual needs. However, it is too early to say whether this will have a significant impact on costs.

DEFENCE

  Job Losses
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department takes to changes to the size of the defence industry; and how many job losses have been recorded by his Department since July 1990.

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department monitors public announcements of job losses by United Kingdom defence contractors. Since July 1990, when "Options for Change" was announced, some 65,500 job losses have been recorded in this way.

  This figure includes those announcements of which my Department is aware either through the press or by direct notification from the company. It may not include job losses sustained by smaller companies, including sub-contractors and component suppliers, which have gone unreported. It may, however, include some announced job losses which in fact relate to the civil rather than the defence business of the company concerned. The figure is of announced job losses, not all of which may yet have been implemented. It does not include jobs created in the defence industry as a result of new orders.

  HMS Brazen
  Mr. Byers
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions between 1 January and 31 December 1994 HMS Brazen was used to transport fertiliser from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar for use at the official service residence; what quantity was involved; and at what estimated cost.

  Mr. Soames
  HMS Brazen transported fertiliser from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar for use at the official service residence on one occasion between 1 January and 31 December 1994. She transported four bags of fertiliser weighing I cwt. each. The transport of the fertiliser incurred no additional cost, as it occupied spare capacity on a ship already planned to visit Gibraltar.

  Sex Discrimination
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons documents relating to his Department's policy on sex discrimination are classified; in what circumstances they can be handed to employment appeal tribunals in cases of pregnancy dismissal by his Department; what considerations apply when they cannot be handed over; and if he will make a statement.

  Mr. Soames
  No special considerations apply to the disclosure in industrial tribunal proceedings of documents relating to my Department's policy on sex discrimination. Such a document would therefore be subject to disclosure if it was relevant to the issues to be determined in the proceedings and there were no other reasons such as legal 252
  professional privilege which would give the respondent cause to object to its production. In the context of pregnancy dismissal cases before tribunals, documents relating to sex discrimination policy are not considered by my Department to be relevant. This is because the only issue to be decided by the tribunal is that of quantum; the Ministry of Defence has accepted liability to compensate those service women who were unlawfully discharged on the ground of pregnancy.

  Strategic Weapons Systems
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the subject areas covered in the current programme of exchanges under the Polaris sales agreement, as amended for Trident.

  Mr. Freeman
  A joint official level United States-United Kingdom working group established under the Polaris sales agreement meets at regular intervals to discuss a range of technical, financial, logistics, planning and safety issues relating to the Polaris and Trident strategic weapon systems. Details of these exchanges arc classified.

  Atomic Control Office
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 February,Official Report, column 825, what amount of money is in the assistant chief scientific adviser (nuclear)'s intermediate higher level budget; and if he will provide an estimate, in percentage terms, of how much of this budget is spent on administration of the atomic control office, London.

  Mr. Freeman
  The assistant chief scientific adviser (nuclear)'s cash allocation for the current financial year is £1,285,000. It is estimated that between 5 and 10 per cent. of this will be spent on the administration of the atomic control office.

  Proto II Facility
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much it will cost in total to transfer and establish the proto II x-ray simulation facility, presently at the Sandia national laboratory, to AWE Aldermaston; and what proportion of this cost is to be met by the United Kingdom Government;

  (2) if he will make a statement on the proposal to transfer to Atomic Weapons Establishments (UK) the proto II x-ray simulation facility presently at the Sandia national laboratory and the plans to establish this facility at AWE Aldermaston as outlined in the United States Department of Energy fiscal year 1996 budget request for atomic energy defence activities.

  Mr. Freeman
  It has been decided not to proceed with the proposed transfer of the proto II facilitity to the United Kingdom.

  Mutual Defence Agreement
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 February,Official Report, columns 823–24, if he will make a statement on the role and function of the United Kingdom person stationed at (a) Laurel, Maryland, (b) Lawrence Livermore laboratory, (c) Dahlgren, Virginia, (d) Kings

  253
  bay, Georgia, (e) New London, Connecticut and (f) Crystal city, Arlington, Virginia.

  Mr. Freeman
  The United Kingdom personnel stationed in the United States as part of the Polaris sales agreement, as amended for Trident, provide direct liaison with US strategic systems project staff, supply staff and contractors on technical, financial, logistics, planning and safety matters. The individual stationed at the Lawrence Livermore laboratory is an employee of the Atomic Weapons Establishment on a short term appointment associated with the 1958 agreement, not the Polaris sales agreement as suggested by my previous reply.

  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many US personnel are stationed in the United Kingdom as part of(a) the 1958 US/UK mutual defence agreement, (b) the Polaris sales agreement and (c) the Trident sales agreement; and where they are located.

  Mr. Freeman
  There is one US employee stationed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston under the terms of the 1958 mutual defence agreement. There are five US employees in the United Kingdom as part of the Polaris sales agreement, as amended for Trident. These are as follows:London: 2
  Bath: 2
  Barrow in Furness: 1

  AWE Aldermaston
  Mr. Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the policy of pursuing pulsed power weapons physics applications at AWE Aldermaston.

  Mr. Freeman
  Pulsed power physics techniques support a range of programmes at AWE associated with warhead safety, effectiveness and capability.

  RAF Spadeadam
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was Royal Air Force Spadeadam's budget for each of the last five financial years.

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  1991–92: £6,750,000

  1992–93: £7,200,000

  1993–94: £8,500,000

  1994–95: £8,212,000

  Information for 1990–91 is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Nuclear Weapons
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's current estimates of the numbers of operational nuclear weapons held by the other nuclear-weapon states; and what estimates his Department has made of each state's rate of dismantling of nuclear weapons.

  Mr. Soames
  A comparison of the strategic nuclear forces of the nuclear weapon states is given in figure 3 on page 33 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1994" (Cm 2550). It would be inappropriate to publish our more detailed assessments of force holdings and dismantlement programmes.

  Flying Training, Slovakia
  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he had with the Government of Slovakia on access to flying training facilities in Slovakia for the Royal Air Force during his recent visit to that country; and what agreements have been reached on this subject.

  Mr. Soames
  During his meeting with the Slovakian Defence Minister on 15 February my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State discussed a wide range of issues, including possible United Kingdom military training opportunities in Slovakia. Although no agreements were concluded, our respective officials are considering ways of deepening co-operation between our two countries.

  Rugby League
  Mr. Hinchliffe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions have been made for the Rugby League within the Royal Air Force sports board's five-day sport officials and coaches courses for 1995–96.

  Mr. Soames
  No bid was received from the Rugby League for its sport to be included within the Royal Air Force sports board's five-day courses for 1995–96. Along with other sports, rugby league will he allowed the opportunity to hold a course in 1996–97.

  Permanent Secretaries
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State For Defence which permanent secretaries have left his Department's employment in the last five years; and which public positions they have been appointed to subsequently.

  Mr. Freeman
  Sir Peter Levene, Sir Michael Quinlan, Sir Kenneth Macdonald and Professor Sir Ronald Oxburgh have left the Department as permanent secretaries in the five years from I March 1990. Ministers have appointed them to the following positions:

  Sir P. Levene

  adviser to the Prime Minister on efficiency and effectiveness;

  special adviser to the President of the Board of Trade;

  special adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on competition and purchasing (1992 only);

  special adviser to the Secretary of State for Environment (1991–1992).

  Sir K. Macdonald

  chairman International Military Services Ltd.

  Sir M. Quinlan

  trustee of the Science museum.

  University Air Squadron
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the approximate annual cost of the training of Oxford university air squadron at RAF Benson; and which organisation finances these costs.

  Mr. Soames
  The current estimate of expenditure by Oxford university air squadron during this financial year is £436,000. This expenditure is funded by my Department with costs falling to the Royal Air Force college, Cranwell's budget.

  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the RAF bases which offer training to university air squadrons and the approximate annual cost of the training in each case.
  255
  Mr. Soames
  A list of university air squadrons based at RAF bases and airfields, together with estimates of expenditure during the present financial year, are as follows:

  University Air Squadron

  Airfield

  Estimate ofexpenditure £000

  Aberdeen Dundee and St. Andrews

  RAF Leuchars

  536

  University of Birmingham Air Squadron

  RAF Cosford

  549

  Bristol

  Colerne Airfield

  758

  East Lowlands

  RAF Turnhouse

  507

  East Midlands

  RAF Newton

  721

  Liverpool

  RAF Woodvale

  457

  University of London

  RAF Benson

  1,094

  Manchester and Salford

  RAF Woodvale

  700

  Northumbrian

  RAF Leeming

  514

  Oxford

  RAF Benson

  436

  Southampton

  RAF Boscombe Down

  680

  University of Wales Air Squadron

  RAF St. Athan

  504

  Yorkshire

  RAF Finningley1

  618

  1Should the decision be taken to close RAF Finningley, the Yorkshire UAS would relocate to RAF Church Fenton.

  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training facilities are available for Oxford university air squadron at RAF Benson.

  Mr. Soames
  At present, the Oxford university air squadron operates five Bulldog aircraft from RAF Benson. Generally, a full three year training syllabus comprises 99 hours of individual tuition on the aircraft. The squadron's working accommodation consists of a hangar, offices and a briefing facility. In addition, members have access to the infrastructure of an RAF operational base and the opportunity which that provides for training.

  Operation Granby
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of RAF personnel deployed during Operation Granby was logistical and support personnel.

  Mr. Soames
  Over 70 per cent. of RAF personnel deployed to the Gulf were logistics and support personnel.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the British 1st Armoured Division deployed as part of Operation Granby was logistical and support personnel.

  Mr. Soames
  A total of 43 per cent. of the British 1st Armoured Division deployed during Operation Granby was logistics or support personnel.

  Western European Union
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what actions his Department has proposed for the establishment of an intelligence satellite for the Western European Union.

  Mr. Soames
  The Western European Union is currently studying the possibilities of co-operation on a European satellite observation system. The United Kingdom is contributing fully to that work.

  Excess Equipment
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the receipts for the sale of excess equipment in each of the last 10 years.

  Mr. Freeman
  The following is the information:

  Financial year

  £ million

  1987–88

  61.3

  1988–89

  59.6

  1989–90

  37.0

  1990–91

  31.0

  1991–92

  32.8

  1992–93

  48.7

  1993–94

  66.7

  1994–95 (Forecast)

  72.4

  It would require disproportionate effort to establish details of receipts for previous financial years, as records are not readily available.

  Land Sales
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost in each of the last 10 years for the sale of land by his Department.

  Mr. Soames
  The sale of land and buildings over the past ten years has benefited the defence budget by some £789 million. The cost of achieving this level of receipt, however, is only recorded for the past five financial years, including the present year, and is as follows:

  1990–91: £2.9 million

  1991–92: £5.6 million

  1992–93: £6.3 million

  1993–94: £11.2 million

  1994–95: £14.7 million

  These levels of expenditure do not include in-house resources as this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The increasing costs are due to larger and more complex sites being introduced into the disposals programme.

  Bosnia
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will specify how many violations of the no-fly zone over Bosnia have been recorded for fixed wing aircraft in each of the last 12 months.

  Mr. Soames
  The monitoring of air activity over Bosnia is a matter for the UN and NATO. However, we understand that there have been 59 reported violations of the no-fly zone by fixed wing aircraft in the last 12 months. These are broken down as follows:

  Number

  1994

  March

  2

  April

  2

  May

  0

  June

  6

  July

  2

  August

  3

  September

  9

  October

  4

  November

  6

  257

  Number

  December

  2

  1995

  January

  0

  February

  23

  "Small Change" Experiments
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of LSD experiments called "Small Change" carried out at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down; in which years were the "Small Change" experiments conducted; how many service volunteers were tested under the "Small Change" experiments; what were the lowest and highest doses administered to service volunteers; what these volunteers were required to do under the "Small Change" experiments; how many animals were tested under the "Small Change" experiments and what types of animals were used; what was the conclusion of the "Small Change" experiments; with which countries the results of these experiments were shared; and under which defence agreement the results were shared with these countries.

  Mr. Freeman
  Responsibility for such matters rests with the chief executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment. I have therefore asked him to reply.

  Letter from Graham S. Pearson to Dr. David Clark, dated 8 March 1995:

  1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what was the purpose of LSD experiments called Small Change carried out at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down; in which years were the Small Change experiments conducted; how many Service volunteers were tested under the Small Change experiments; what were the lowest and highest doses administered to Service volunteers; what these volunteers were required to do under the Small Change experiments; how many animals were tested under the Small Change experiments and what types of animals were used; what was the conclusion of the Small Change experiments; with which countries the results of these experiments were shared; and under which defence agreement the results were shared with these countries has been passed to me to answer as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out work to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the treat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. As part of that programme, an evaluation is carried out of chemicals that may be utilised by an aggressor as a chemical warfare agent.

  3. Small Change, which took place in 1968, was one in a series of studies carried out to assess the effect of LSD on troops in a military setting where the behaviour of those volunteers who had been given LSD could be compared with control volunteers who had not been given LSD. No animals were used in these studies. The principal aim of the study was to assess the effects on the overall efficiency of an infantry platoon in attack when half of its personnel had been dosed with 160 pg each of LSD. The study was to determine whether the presence of volunteers who had not received LSD would:

  a. Mitigate the effects of the drug on the military performance of the unit as a whole.

  b. Modify the response of the individual members of the unit to the drug.

  4. Twenty eight volunteers participated in Small Change; fourteen received doses of 160 µg LSD in water. The volunteers were required to perform anti-terrorist sweeps as formed sections, each
  258
  sweep involving an advance over four kilometres and last about 2½ hours.

  5. Small Change showed that the platoon did not discharge its functions as well as would normally be expected. Overall its performance was adequate but it would have sustained a higher number of casualties than might have reasonably been expected. Unit efficiency fell by about 10% and the role of good discipline and mutual support between drugged and undrugged soldiers in mitigating the drug effects were demonstrated.

  6. The results from Small Change formed part of the technology database held by the Establishment in the area of evaluation of the potential hazard to Service personnel from possible chemical warfare agents. This information was drawn upon during the 1960s and 1970s in the agreements with our NATO allies to exchange information and so promote collaboration and cooperation in areas such as research and development in chemical and biological defence. The agreements at that time included:

  a. The Technical Cooperation Programme involving UK, US. Canada and Australia which had subsumed the earlier trilateral UK/US/Canada meetings.

  b. American, British, Canadian and Australian Armies (ABCA) agreement Quadripartite Working Group (QWG) on NBC defence.

  c. The NATO Panel VII on chemical and biological defence.

  Fraud
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 28 February,Official Report, column 515, if he will give a breakdown of the figure for fraud in the financial year 1993–94.

  Mr. Soames
  The breakdown of non-procurement fraud in my Department in financial year 1993–94 was as follows:

  £

  Fraudulent encashment of payable instrument

  2,000

  Travel and subsistence

  17,000

  Misappropriation of cash

  107,000

  Instrument of payment received on false documentation

  81,000

  Theft of assets

  358,000

  False claim for hours worked

  3,000

  Other

  3,000

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 28 February,Official Report, column 516, what were the estimated costs of fraud in the five highest value cases specified by his Department.

  Mr. Soames
  The estimated values of the frauds in question were as follows:

  £

  Director of Ammunition (Foxley)

  1,500,000

  VMS (Ltd.)

  150,000

  Chellingworth and Singer Ltd.

  1.000,000

  Gateway Motor Auctions

  111,000

  CAS Aviation and Marine International

  650,000

  259
  These figures do not, however, necessarily represent a quantifiable cash loss to the Department.

  Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's policy in respect of the biological and toxic weapons convention review conference to be held in 1996.

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department is working for a strengthening of the biological and toxic weapons convention by the inclusion of appropriate verification 260
  measures. We hope to have achieved progress towards this by 1996.

  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures his Department has considered to enhance the verification procedures of the biological and toxic weapons convention.

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department is currently giving consideration to a number of measures including declarations, visits and inspections, some of which could be at short notice, that could be included in a future verification regime for the biological and toxin weapons convention.

  Police Complaints Authority
  Police Complaints Authority
  Boundary Commission Report: Delay
  Boundary Commission Report: Delay
  Citizen's Charter and Electors' Rights
  Citizen's Charter and Electors' Rights
  Attendance Centre Order: Cost
  Attendance Centre Order: Cost
  Burmese Forces: Chemical Weapons Allegations
  Burmese Forces: Chemical Weapons Allegations
  Non-Proliferation Treaty (Israel)
  Non-Proliferation Treaty (Israel)
  Non-Proliferation Treaty: Civil Use of Nuclear Energy
  Non-Proliferation Treaty: Civil Use of Nuclear Energy
  Iranian Civil Nuclear Facilities: Threats
  Iranian Civil Nuclear Facilities: Threats
  Mr. Afif Safieh
  Mr. Afif Safieh
  NATO: Advanced Research Workshops
  NATO: Advanced Research Workshops
  NATO Science Budget: UK Contribution
  NATO Science Budget: UK Contribution
  NATO: Science Programme
  NATO: Science Programme
  NATO: Intellectual Property
  NATO: Intellectual Property
  NATO Research Projects: Scientists
  NATO Research Projects: Scientists
  Education Low-Priced Books Scheme: Funding
  Education Low-Priced Books Scheme: Funding
  Northern Ireland: Revenue from the EU
  Northern Ireland: Revenue from the EU
  Community Charge: Defaulters
  Community Charge: Defaulters
  MoD: Pictorial Records
  MoD: Pictorial Records