Written Answers of 8 February 1996

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Immigration
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will arrange for(a) papers relating to judicial review applications in respect of immigration matters to be lodged at district registries, (b) reference numbers to the applications to be obtained by telephone from the Crown Office by the district registry and (c) the district registry to forward the papers to the Crown Office in London; and if he will make a statement. [14283]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  The rules of the Supreme Court do not provide for papers relating to judicial review applications to be lodged at district registries. Applications must be filed at the Crown Office in London. Judicial review is one of the specialist areas being considered by Lord Woolf in the second stage of his review. His final report and proposed new rules are due in July. It would be inappropriate to make significant procedural or rule changes prior to Lord Woolf's recommendations being received.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Fire Safety
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he plans to take arising from the consultation on the interdepartmental review of fire safety legislation and enforcement; and if he will make a statement. [13629]

  Mr. Willetts
  The Government have been considering the findings of the review and the views expressed by interested parties, including the deregulation task force. It has also been further considering the fire safety aspects of the EC framework and workplace directives. An announcement on both will be made soon.

  EU Legislation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he plans to issue to Government Departments to ensure that fiches d'impact are properly prepared by the Commission in relation to proposals that result in significant burdens on business. [13642]

  The Deputy Prime Minister
  The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published on 25 January guidance for Government Departments on the preparation of compliance cost assessments for new domestic and EC regulatory proposals. Guidance on the preparation of fiches d'impact by the Commission is contained in this document.

  Private Sector Schemes
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what public bodies he has asked to produce schemes for moving into the private sector under the prior options exercise; what was the original time scale for such schemes; what is now the timetable; and if he will make a statement. [14114]

  Mr. Freeman
  I have not asked any of the public bodies for which my Department is the sponsor to produce schemes for moving into the private sector.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Departmental Publications
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which of his Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14032]

  Mr. Hanley
  The FCO code of management, diplomatic service regulations and home service regulations are available in the House of Commons Library.

  Diplomatic service procedure includes volumes which are classified. It is currently being revised, and volumes are being declassified where possible, with a view to sending unclassified sections to the House of Commons Library.

  One-off best practice manuals, covering such subjects as management practices and guidance on the presentation of papers, are unclassified and available on request.

  Hong Kong
  Mr. Menzies Campbell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what efforts he is making to encourage the Chinese Government to ensure that the proposed electoral college for Hong Kong will be democratically accountable; and if he will make a statement; [13954]

  (2) what discussions he has had with the Chinese Government about the establishment of an electoral college in Hong Kong to oversee the appointment of a chief executive; and if he will make a statement. [13955]

  Mr. Hanley
  [holding answer 7 February 1996:]: The Sino-British joint declaration on the question of Hong Kong provides for the chief executive of the Hong Kong special administrative region to be selected by election or through consultations held locally, and then appointed by the Chinese Government. When they adopted the Basic Law, Hong Kong's future constitution, the Chinese National People's Congress also decided on special arrangements for choosing the first chief executive by a selection committee consisting of 400 permanent residents of Hong Kong. My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary recently told Chinese leaders—and Chinese officials have made similar public remarks since—that it will be important for confidence in Hong Kong for the chief executive to command the support and respect of the Hong Kong civil service and of Hong Kong people.

  EU Legislation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how he ensures that the negotiating brief for his officials discussing EU legislation takes fully into account the need to minimise the burdens on United Kingdom business. [13712]

  Mr. David Davis
  Guidance on how officials are to apply deregulatory principles when negotiating EC regulations is contained in the DTF' s booklet, "Getting a Good Deal in Europe". This guidance has been supplemented by the recent publication of guidance on the preparation of compliance cost assessments, which stresses that the likely burdens on business highlighted by United Kingdom compliance cost assessments of EC proposals should be integral to the UK's negotiating strategy. Copies of both pieces of guidance are in the Library of the House.

  Newly Independent Countries
  Mrs. Ewing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a list of the countries granted independence by the United Kingdom since 1970 showing(a) when a formal decision was taken to proceed towards independence and (b) the actual date of independence day in each case. [14285]

  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  The countries granted independence by the United Kingdom since 1970 are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.

  I refer the hon. Member to the "Commonwealth Yearbooks" 1987 and 1993–94 (HMSO, 1987 and 1995) from which the other information may be obtained. Copies of the yearbooks are in the Library.

ENVIRONMENT

  Compulsory Competitive Tendering (Luton)
  Sir Graham Bright
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many times Luton borough council has been investigated by his Department for possible transgressions related to compulsory competitive tendering; and what has been the outcome in each case. [13628]

  Mr. Curry
  Luton borough council has been the subject of five investigations by the Department. Three of these investigations related to alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the award of refuse collection in 1991, building maintenance in 1993 and grounds maintenance work in 1995, to the council's direct service organisation. In each case, no statutory action was taken after the authority provided my right hon. Friend with an explanation of its conduct.

  The other investigations relate to the authority's failure in 1992–93 to achieve the statutory financial objective for building maintenance work and other—civic—catering. In both of these cases a notice was served, in 1994, under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1988 requesting the reasons for the failure. Following receipt of this
  286
  information, a direction was given requiring the authority to achieve the statutory financial objective for other catering in the financial year 1994–95 or close its DSO. The authority's accounts for the year indicate that that objective was achieved, although the external auditor's opinion on these accounts has not yet been received.

  Local Authority Investments
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what fiduciary duty councilors have to their council tax payers on decisions concerning(a) the local authority's pension fund and (b) investments in equities. [13941]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The fiduciary duties of a local authority to its council tax payers to exercise prudential care and propriety apply in relation to the exercise of all the authority's functions, including those in respect of superannuation funds and investment in equities. The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 require local authorities responsible for managing pension funds to have regard to the need to diversify investments, to consider the suitability of those investments and to seek qualified advice at reasonable intervals.

SCOTLAND

  Non-departmental Public Bodies
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 24 January,Official Report, column 303–4, if he will give the names of each councillor serving on the non-departmental public bodies. [12433]

  Mr. Kynoch
  The information is as follows:

  Councillor

  Highlands and Islands Enterprise

  Mrs. Val MacIver

  New Town Development Corporations

  Cumbernauld Development

  Tom Barrie OBE

  Corporation

  Rosemary McKenna CBE

  East Kilbride Development

  Stewart Crawford

  Corporation

  Colin Robb

  David Sanderson

  Glenrothes Development

  John McDougal

  Corporation

  Robert Taylor

  Irvine Development Corporation

  Jack Carson

  Thomas Colyer

  Livingston Development

  Isobel Brydie

  Corporation

  Brian Meek OBE

  William Percy

  Joseph Thomas

  Scottish Arts Council

  Keith Geddes

  Janette Richardson

  Scottish Community Education Council

  Mrs. Val MacIver

  287

  Councillor

  Scottish Environment Protection Agency

  Alison Magee

  Corrie McChord

  Jennifer Shaw

  Scottish Enterprise

  Rosemary McKenna CBE

  Scottish Examination Board

  Dr. R. Bull

  T. Farrell

  Mrs. Maginnes

  Mrs. J. P. Orskov

  Ms A. J. Smith

  W. A. Smith

  Scottish Homes

  Daphne Sleigh

  Scottish Sports Council

  George Urquhart

  SCOTVEC

  P. Watters

  Scottish Water and Sewerage Customers Council

  John Connolly

  Lynn Groundwater

  Rhona Kemp

  Alexander Scott

  The undernoted councillors are members of Health Boards and NHS Trusts:

  Health Boards

  Argyll and Clyde HB

  John Mullin

  Fife HB

  Agnes Smith

  Forth Valley HB

  Keith Harding

  Lanarkshire HB

  John Thomson

  Shetland HB

  Mary Colligan

  NHS Trusts

  Angus NHS Trust

  Pamela Bowman

  George Norrie

  Argyll and Bute NHS Trust

  John Wilson

  Borders General NHS Trust

  George Finlay

  Caithness and Sutherland NHS Trust

  Alison Magee

  Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity NHS Trust

  Ernest Gibson

  George Willacy

  Dumfries and Galloway Community Services NHS Trust

  Janette Richardson

  East and Midlothian NHS Trust

  Patricia Fawcett

  In-patient and day case discharges with a principal diagnosis of asthma by health board of residence, calendar years 1979–1994

  Health board of residence

  1979

  1980

  1981

  1982

  1983

  1984

  1985

  1986

  Argyll and Clyde

  291

  308

  326

  351

  472

  497

  489

  574

  Ayrshire and Arran

  241

  247

  336

  364

  373

  487

  503

  533

  Borders

  85

  80

  90

  128

  119

  172

  160

  184

  Dumfries and Galloway

  69

  106

  120

  135

  170

  143

  147

  175

  Fife

  192

  292

  292

  313

  374

  416

  377

  424

  Forth Valley

  138

  171

  163

  171

  180

  192

  225

  290

  Grampian

  334

  385

  446

  499

  577

  575

  604

  681

  Greater Glasgow

  845

  951

  1,089

  1,069

  1,235

  1,332

  1,372

  1,366

  Highland

  113

  146

  178

  189

  215

  249

  222

  248

  Lanarkshire

  253

  406

  498

  447

  591

  638

  686

  625

  Lothian

  908

  1,060

  1,099

  1,077

  1,148

  1,182

  1,298

  1,245

  Orkney

  4

  5

  5

  11

  10

  13

  25

  13

  Shetland

  3

  4

  8

  15

  23

  22

  17

  17

  Tayside

  402

  390

  459

  451

  484

  533

  604

  537

  Western Isles

  15

  22

  22

  20

  26

  31

  21

  24

  Scotland total

  3,893

  4,573

  5,131

  5,240

  5,997

  6,482

  6,750

  6,936

  Outside Scot/not known/other

  62

  59

  44

  72

  74

  64

  95

  91

  Grand total

  3,955

  4,832

  5,175

  5,312

  6,071

  6,546

  6,845

  7,027

  288

  Councillor

  Hairmyres and Stonehouse NHS Trust

  Janet Mitchell

  Lanarkshire Health Care NHS Trust

  Mary Smith

  Law Hospital NHS Trust

  Murdo Morrison

  Moray Health Services NHS Trust

  Margaret Davidson

  North Ayrshire and Arran NHS Trust

  Angela Dunbar

  Cherry Young

  Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS Trust

  Jean Goldie

  Royal Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

  George Murray

  West Lothian NHS Trust

  Peter Johnston

  GP Fundholding
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to his Department of the study carried out by the department of general practice at Edinburgh university for his Department into general practitioner fundholding. [1251]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The Scottish Office Department of health funded the research project, which was carried out over a period of three years, at a cost of £436,956.

  Asthma
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of asthma have been diagnosed in each health board area in Scotland in each year since 1979. [12512]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Available information relates to in-patient and day case discharges from hospitals and excludes patients treated by general practitioners and in hospital out-patient and accident and emergency departments.

  Details of numbers of discharges, by health board of residence, with a principal diagnosis of asthma, is shown in the table for calendar years 1979 to 1994. The figures for 1995 are not yet available.
  289

  Health board of residence

  1987

  1988

  1989

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Argyll and Clyde

  580

  632

  720

  807

  802

  765

  855

  717

  Ayrshire and Arran

  683

  653

  657

  648

  789

  760

  832

  740

  Borders

  197

  207

  227

  275

  185

  174

  201

  169

  Dumfries and Galloway

  184

  210

  189

  218

  226

  242

  252

  221

  Fife

  475

  532

  486

  465

  475

  483

  536

  445

  Forth Valley

  362

  356

  339

  411

  424

  361

  452

  460

  Grampian

  912

  846

  817

  1,148

  1,017

  1,013

  1,056

  1,009

  Greater Glasgow

  1,574

  1,621

  1,582

  1,839

  1,833

  1,988

  2,058

  1,870

  Highland

  269

  259

  242

  289

  310

  270

  367

  311

  Lanarkshire

  801

  895

  976

  1,032

  1,168

  1,074

  1,087

  979

  Lothian

  1,477

  1,468

  1,532

  1,579

  1,796

  1,702

  1,759

  1,660

  Orkney

  30

  16

  17

  17

  20

  19

  16

  13

  Shetland

  20

  15

  25

  29

  14

  14

  35

  27

  Tayside

  648

  708

  705

  734

  942

  834

  894

  828

  Western Isles

  14

  26

  19

  30

  31

  35

  38

  40

  Scotland total

  8,226

  8,444

  8,533

  9,521

  10,032

  9,734

  10,438

  9,489

  Outside Scotland/not known/other

  99

  133

  105

  129

  129

  155

  146

  137

  Grand total

  8,325

  8,577

  8,638

  9,650

  10,161

  9,889

  10,584

  9,626

  Mortgage Arrears
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many households have mortgage payment arrears of more than three months. [14288]

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  This information is not held centrally.

  Murray Green
  Mr. Kirkwood
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to make a decision on the complaint raised on behalf of Murray Green under section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in May 1994. [13766]

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  The Secretary of State's decision issued on 6 February 1996.

  Education authority primary schools1

  March 1990

  May 1992

  May 1994

  With school boards

  With school boards

  With school boards

  Number of eligible schools

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number of eligible schools

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number of eligible schools

  Number

  Per cent.

  Scotland

  2,373

  1,901

  80.1

  2,339

  1,789

  76.5

  2,329

  1,723

  74.0

  Borders

  77

  53

  68.8

  76

  52

  68.4

  72

  45

  62.5

  Central

  117

  90

  76.9

  116

  90

  77.6

  116

  86

  74.1

  Dumfries and Galloway

  116

  80

  69.0

  116

  83

  71.6

  116

  86

  74.1

  Fife

  145

  116

  80.0

  145

  95

  65.5

  145

  99

  68.3

  Grampian

  274

  190

  69.3

  274

  183

  66.8

  274

  175

  63.9

  Highland

  205

  140

  68.3

  197

  143

  72.6

  199

  140

  70.4

  Lothian

  243

  190

  78.2

  240

  163

  67.9

  240

  154

  64.2

  Strathclyde

  901

  820

  91.0

  884

  773

  87.4

  883

  741

  83.9

  Tayside

  190

  129

  67.9

  188

  125

  66.5

  187

  119

  63.6

  Orkney

  23

  20

  87.0

  23

  19

  82.6

  24

  17

  70.8

  Shetland

  35

  28

  80.0

  35

  29

  82.9

  29

  28

  96.6

  Western Isles

  47

  45

  95.7

  45

  34

  75.6

  44

  33

  75.0

  Strathclyde Divisions

  Argyll and Bute

  77

  68

  88.3

  76

  66

  86.8

  74

  65

  87.8

  Ayr

  151

  144

  95.4

  148

  133

  89.9

  150

  132

  88.0

  Dunbarton

  117

  109

  93.2

  117

  104

  88.9

  116

  99

  85.3

  Glasgow

  232

  202

  87.1

  228

  186

  81.6

  228

  161

  70.6

  Lanark

  214

  193

  90.2

  208

  183

  88.0

  208

  179

  86.1

  Renfrew

  110

  104

  94.5

  107

  101

  94.4

  107

  105

  98.1

  1 Includes primary departments of secondary schools.

  School Boards
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was, for(a) primary and (b) secondary schools for each education authority area in Scotland and for each sub-division within Strathclyde region (i) the number of schools with school boards, (ii) the total number of schools and (iii) the percentage of schools which had school boards for each year since the establishment of school boards. [13249]

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  The information held centrally is as follows. It is taken from statistical returns by education authorities to the Scottish Office on the results of the first elections to school boards held in 1988–89 and subsequent biennial elections in 1991–92 and 1993–94:
  291

  Education authority secondary schools

  March 1990

  May 1992

  May 1994

  With school boards

  With school boards

  With school boards

  Number of eligible schools

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number of eligible schools

  Number

  Per cent.

  Number of eligible schools

  Number

  Per cent.

  Scotland

  428

  412

  96.3

  410

  389

  94.9

  406

  376

  92.6

  Borders

  9

  8

  88.9

  9

  9

  100.0

  9

  9

  100.0

  Central

  19

  18

  94.7

  19

  16

  84.2

  18

  17

  94.4

  Dumfries and Galloway

  16

  16

  100.0

  16

  16

  100.0

  16

  16

  100.0

  Fife

  19

  18

  94.7

  19

  17

  89.5

  19

  16

  84.2

  Grampian

  39

  34

  87.2

  38

  31

  81.6

  38

  33

  86.8

  Highland

  27

  27

  100.0

  27

  25

  92.6

  26

  23

  88.5

  Lothian

  51

  48

  94.1

  48

  47

  97.9

  46

  43

  93.5

  Strathclyde

  185

  182

  98.4

  171

  169

  98.8

  171

  160

  93.6

  Tayside

  32

  30

  93.8

  32

  31

  96.9

  32

  30

  93.8

  Orkney

  6

  6

  100.0

  6

  6

  100.0

  5

  6

  100.0

  Shetland

  9

  9

  100.0

  9

  9

  100.0

  9

  9

  100.0

  Western Isles

  16

  16

  100.0

  16

  13

  81.3

  16

  14

  87.5

  Strathclyde Divisions

  Argyll and Bute

  9

  9

  100.0

  9

  9

  100.0

  9

  9

  100.0

  Ayr

  31

  31

  100.0

  30

  30

  100.0

  29

  26

  89.7

  Dunbarton

  25

  25

  100.0

  24

  23

  95.8

  24

  22

  91.7

  Glasgow

  50

  47

  94.0

  42

  42

  100.0

  43

  38

  88.4

  Lanark

  38

  38

  100.0

  37

  36

  97.3

  37

  36

  97.3

  Renfrew

  32

  32

  100.0

  29

  29

  100.0

  29

  29

  100.0

  Hip and Femoral Fractures
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many(a) hip fractures and (b) femoral fractures were recorded in 1993–94. [13842]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The numbers of hip fractures and femoral fractures recorded for NHS in-patients and day cases treated in Scotland in the year ending 31 March 1994 are given in the table.

  Recorded in

  Principal1 position

  Other position

  All

  Hip fracture (ICD=820)

  8,354

  913

  9,267

  Femoral fracture (ICD=821)

  1,293

  284

  1,577

  1 The SMRI allows six diagnoses to be recorded. The diagnosis recorded in principal is the main condition. Other diagnoses affecting the treatment of the patient are recorded in the remaining five positions.

  Osteoporosis
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the cost(a) of osteoporosis to the Scottish economy, (b) of running a basic diagnosis and prevention service and (c) of hospital treatment (i) per patient and (ii) in total in each health board. [13843]

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

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of beds in orthopaedic wards have been occupied by osteoporosis fracture patients over the last 12 months. [13844]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The percentage of average staffed beds' occupied by patients with a diagnosis of fracture and osteoporosis2 in the speciality of orthopaedics was 0.2 per cent.—4.1 average occupied 292
  beds out of 2,012 average available staffed beds—for the year ending September 1995. The data on occupied beds are provisional.

  Source:

  1 DS(S)1 31 March 1995.

  2 SMRI for the year ending 30 September 1995—ICD codes 733.0 (osteoporosis) in principal position with fracture (800–829) in a se condary position or fracture (800–829) in principal with osteoporosis (733.0) in a secondary position.

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people died in 1993–94 as a result of fractures due to osteoporosis. [13846]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The number of people in Scotland who died in 1993 and 1994 as a result of fractures due to osteoporosis' is as follows:

  1993: 13

  1994: 15

  Note:

  1 World Health Organisation International Classification of Diseases (Ninth Revision) code 733.1.

  Bone Densitometers
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many bone densitometers are in use in each health board area. [13845]

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

  Mortgage Repossessions
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the annual number of mortgage repossessions since 1979. [14287]

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  Figures supplied by the Council of Mortgage Lenders suggest that in 1994, 1,791 properties were taken into possession by mortgage lenders in Scotland. This represents 0.22 per cent. of the total
  293
  number of properties with mortgages outstanding. The comparable figures for 1993, were 2,330 and 0.29 per cent. respectively. The equivalent figures are not available for the period 1979–1992, and are not yet available for 1995.

  Labour Statistics
  Mr. Welsh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland were(a) of an economically active age and (b) in employment for each year since 1979. [14289]

  Mr. Kynoch
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Thousands

  Spring

  People of working age1 in Scotland Total

  In employment

  1979

  3,021

  2,187

  1980

  —

  —

  1981

  3,062

  2,066

  1982

  —

  —

  1983

  3,102

  2,043

  1984

  3,121

  1,999

  1985

  3,131

  2,060

  1986

  3,128

  2,027

  1987

  3,139

  2,044

  1988

  3,134

  2,119

  1989

  3,137

  2,207

  1990

  3,143

  2,226

  1991

  3,143

  2,204

  1992

  3,145

  2,235

  1993

  3,147

  2,171

  1994

  3,149

  2,203

  1995

  3,149

  2,225

  Source:

  Central Statistical Office, Labour Force Survey.

  Note:

  1 Aged 16–59 for females, aged 16–64 for males.

  Water Authorities
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what will be the opening capital structure of the new Scottish water authorities on 1 April. [14739]

  Mr. Kynoch
  The new water authorities have been set up to enable water and sewerage services to be provided in accordance with commercial principles and disciplines. It is therefore right that the authorities should have a capital structure which reflects these objectives.

  The opening capital of the new water authorities will mainly take the form of debt to the public Works Loan Board. There is likely in addition to be a small amount of debt to the European investment bank. This debt will represent borrowings for water and sewerage purposes by the current regional and islands councils which is transferable to the water authorities under section 91 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

  The total of such debts at 31 March 1996 is likely to be in the region of £1.7 billion. This is more than will be compatible with the requirement on the authorities, announced on 29 November last year, to earn a real rate of return of 61/2 per cent. on assets amounting in aggregate to £1,000 million. Accordingly my right hon. Friend
  294
  intends to commute up to £700 million of the transferable debt.

  The precise amount and details of the commutation have still to be worked out. Discussions will be held with the local authorities and the new water authorities.

  Commutation is a technical exercise. It will involve no net addition to public expenditure and no increase in the cash available to the water authorities. A reduction will be made in the authorities' external financing limits, previously announced as £274 million, to reflect the reduced debt servicing costs, so that the net effect on the authorities' finances, including their investment and charges will be neutral.

PRIME MINISTER

  Pay Review Bodies
  Sir Michael Shersby
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the reports and recommendations of the pay review bodies. [14718]

  The Prime Minister
  The 1996 reports of the five pay review bodies have been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House. The Government are grateful to the chairmen and members of the review bodies for the time and care that they have put into the preparation of the reports.

  The Government are concerned that pay settlements for these groups should be consistent with the approach to public sector pay. Under this approach, increases should be offset by efficiencies and other economies to help to deliver improved efficiency across the public sector. Specifically, the cost of pay settlements should be accommodated within the resources allocated to programmes. The Government have had to consider the recommendations of the pay review bodies against that background to determine the appropriate response.

  The main pay recommendations are as follows.

  The Armed Forces Pay Review Body has recommended a range of increases in daily rates of 3.2 to 3.8 per cent., plus an increase of 0.5 per cent. in the X factor reflecting the special demands of service life. This gives an average increase of 3.8 per cent. with effect from 1 April. Separately, following a quinquennial review of the value of armed forces pensions, it has recommended a 1 per cent. increase in pay to reflect reduced pension differentials with the private sector, with a further 1 per cent. increase next year.

  The Doctors and Dentists Review Body has recommended general increases of 3.8 per cent. for doctors and 4.3 per cent. for dentists. It has specifically recommended higher increases for junior hospital doctors of 5.3 per cent. for registrars and 6.8 per cent. for house officers, although the latter figure would be partly offset by a reduction in the rate for additional duty hours.

  The review body for nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions allied to medicine has recommended that pay for these groups should once again

  295
  be determined locally. The review body also recommended a 2 per cent. increase in the national scales which underpin local negotiations.

  The School Teachers Review Body has recommended a 3.75 per cent. increase in teachers' pay, and other changes in pay structures.

  The Senior Salaries Review Body has recommended:

  a. values for the pay ranges for the senior civil service in the pay structure set out in January 1995 in the White Paper, "Taking Forward Continuity and Change". Under these arrangements, Departments will determine individual salaries within the ranges and will be able to reward the best performers, with a framework in which the overall pay bill is expected to fall by some 7 per cent. next year as staff numbers are reduced;

  b. increases for senior military officers in the range 3.9 to 5.6 per cent. averaging 4.6 per cent. consistent with the AFPRB recommendations;

  c. increases of 3.9 per cent. for the judiciary.

  This is a complex set of recommendations covering a number of different issues that have been addressed in detail by the review bodies in preparing their reports. The Government have said that they will normally accept review body recommendations, and do not intend to reject them on this occasion. Nevertheless, if this year's

  Main pay recommendations percentage

  Pay bill costs £ million

  percentage

  AFPRB—Armed forces

  3.7–4.31

  211

  3.8

  DDRB—Doctors and dentists

  3.8–6.8

  245

  4.4

  NPRB—Nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions Allied to medicine

  2

  —

  —

  STRB—School teachers

  3.75

  421

  3.8

  SSRB Senior salaries

  Senior civil service

  3

  —

  —

  Senior military

  3.9–5.6

  1

  4.6

  Judiciary

  3.9

  6

  3.9

  1 Includes ½ per cent. increase in the X factor which reflects the special demands of military compared with civilian life. AFPRB has also recommended an additional 1 per cent. on pay as part of a staged pensions-related adjustment.

  2 To be determined in local pay negotiations but with a guaranteed 2 per cent. increase in national pay rates.

  3 Recommendations for the senior civil service affect the pay framework within which Departments will set individual pay rates.

  Crime Statistics
  Mr. Hain
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 1 February,Official Report, column 1120–21, if he will list the years since 1966 when crime fell. [13966]

  The Prime Minister
  Between June 1993 and June 1995 there were 572,000 fewer crimes recorded than in the preceding two years—the largest fall since records began last century.

  Complete year figures are available up to the end of 1994. Since 1966 recorded crime in England and Wales has fallen in the following years: 1973, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994.

  Nuclear Test Veterans
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Prime Minister what action he has taken to pay compensation to(a) British and (b) Australian nuclear test veterans from the 1950s. [14145]
  296
  recommendations were implemented as they stand, from the due date, they would represent a marked step up in the level of pay settlements in the public sector, compared with settlements over the past year, and a significant charge on public expenditure programmes.

  Accordingly, the Government intend to stage their introduction and propose that in most cases the settlements to be paid with effect from 1 April should be 1 percentage point less than the review body recommendations, the balance to be paid later this year on 1 December. This meets the requirements on affordability and the approach to public sector pay, while retaining the pattern of increases recommended by the review bodies.

  Staging arrangements will also extend to the awards that Departments will determine for the senior civil service within the framework set by the SSRB recommendations.

  The Government have, however, decided that it would not be appropriate to apply this general arrangement to the recommendations for nurses and other staff covered by the NPRB.

  The following table summarises recommendations of the review bodies.

  The Prime Minister
  In studies carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board of over 20,000 British nuclear test veterans, the incidence of death and cancer has been less than among the general public in the same age groups, and no higher than among a matched control group These facts do not sustain a case for compensation. The handling of claims in Australia is a matter for the Government of Australia.

  Professor al-Masari
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the information(a) made available to the courts about the case of Professor al-Masari and (b) passed to the Government of Dominica about Professor al-Masari; and if he will make a statement. [14130]

  The Prime Minister
  No. It is not my normal practice to do so.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Executive Pay
  Mr. Cohen
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures he plans on executive pay. [12641]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. French) by my hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 25 January 1996,Official Report, column 317.

  British Geological Survey
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what instructions or guidance has been given to the British Geological Survey regarding private sector involvement; when he expects to receive its response; and if he will make a statement. [14115]

  Mr. Ian Taylor
  No specific instructions regarding private sector involvement have been given to the British Geological Survey which is a component of the Natural Environment Research Council. The BGS has a long and successful tradition of working in partnership with the private sector which I applaud. Standard conditions, for public sector research establishments working with the private sector, apply.

  Industrial Tribunals
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade in what ways and according to what timetable he intends to bring about the changes in the organisation and procedures of industrial tribunals he announced on 20 November 1995. [13965]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The majority of the changes require primary legislation and, as mentioned in the reply from my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, North-East (Mr. Butler) on 20 November 1995,Official Report, column 20, detailed proposals will be brought forward when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

  Written Questions
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the written questions PQ No. 95/972, PQ No. 95/771, PQ No. 95/770, PQ No. 95/702, PQ No. 95/697, PQ No. 95/692 and PQ No. 95/691 will be answered by his Department. [14236]

  Mr. Lang
  PQ No. 95/770 was answered on 24 January 1996. PQ No. 95/692 was answered on 23 January 1996. The remaining questions will be answered as soon as possible.

  Directors' Pensions
  Mr. Jim Cunningham
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to require disclosure of directors' pensions. [12678]

  Mr. Oppenheim
  My Department is currently consulting on proposed changes to the requirements of the Companies Act 1985 relating to the disclosure of 298
  director's emoluments, including their pension entitlements. A copy of the consultative document is available in the Library of the House. Before finalising the proposed changes, my Department will take into account the results of the current consultation by the Institute of Actuaries and Faculty of Actuaries on the method which should be used to calculate the value of directors' pension entitlements.

  Grant Aid (South-west)
  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many companies have received grant aid from his Department in the south-west region since January 1990; and how many of those companies are still trading. [10112]

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 18 January 1996]: The number of businesses in the south-west receiving grants under the principal current regional and technology support schemes in the period is as follows:

  Number

  Regional selective assistance

  386

  Regional enterprise grant

  575

  Small firms merit award for research and technology

  112

  Support for products under research

  37

  As projets are normally monitored for only a limited number of years after final payment of grant, complete information on grant recipients' trading status is not readily available.

  Mr. Jamieson
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the companies in the south-west which have received financial assistance since 1985 from his Department showing(a) the year assistance was given, (b) how much was given and (c) if the company is still trading. [13109]

  Mr. Lang
  [holding answer 1 February 1996]: A full answer to the question could be prepared only at disproportionate cost. In summary terms, the number of businesses in the south-west receiving grants under the principal current regional and technology support schemes in the period is as follows:

  Number

  Regional selective assistance

  514

  Regional enterprise grant

  639

  Small firms merit award for research and technology

  112

  Support for products under research

  37

  In addition, around 2,000 payments were made under the regional development grant scheme and over 11,600 businesses received support for business reviews under the enterprise initiative consultancy service.

  As projects are normally monitored for only a limited number of years after final payment of the grant, complete information on grant recipients' trading status is not readily available.

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  British Geological Survey
  Mr. Foulkes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the contracts or work done by the British Geological Survey paid for by the Overseas Development Administration, the nature of work, and the cost in each case; what arrangements need to be made to continue these programmes if the survey is privatised; and if he will make a statement. [14113]

  Mr. Hanley
  Following are the current contracts that the British Geological Survey has with ODA:

  Contract

  Country

  Value £

  Yaoba Oasis Environmental Project (hydrogeological consultants)

  China

  186,688

  Establishment of coastal geology unit (IT training)

  Albania

  78,525

  Water Resources Management, lake Balkhash (environmental impact study)

  Kazakhstan

  26,046

  Primoyre Mineral Waters (water sampling)

  Russia

  24,973

  Environmental Thematic Mapping

  Slovakia

  36,500

  Resource centre scheme with ODA (call down contracts for ad hoc consultancy work)

  Global

  75,000

  Bapedal Groundwater Project (monitoring consultancy)

  Indonesia

  39,200

  World Bank Mining and Environmental Project (geological information mapping programme)

  Ecuador

  2,319,282

  Coal Bed Methane Pre-feasibility study

  Bangladesh

  44,500

  Land-ocean Contaminant study

  Mexico/Africa/Indonesia

  434,939

  Mitigation of mining related mercury pollution hazards

  Philippines/Ecuador

  268,000

  Protecting groundwater beneath wastewater recharge sites

  Mexico/Thailand

  207,271

  Groundwater management in drought prone areas of Africa

  Africa

  142,527

  Developing new well siting techniques

  Zimbabwe/Egypt

  203,822

  Groundwater resources degradation; socio-economic impacts and their mitigation

  China/India/Thailand/Mexico/Jersey/Palestinian Territories

  94,050 134,000 to BGS)

  1 Joint research project with the Natural Resources Institute

  If the BGS is privatised, the arrangements for continuing these programmes would be reviewed at the time. One option would be to transfer the contracts to the new owner.

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Child Support Agency
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of the parents with care referred to in his answer of 26 October 1995,Official Report, column 803, lifted off income support following the payment of maintenance assessed by the CSA, were in receipt of mortgage interest payments made in respect of their income support entitlement. [13598]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  The information requested is not readily available, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Although it is possible to give the number of parents with care lifted off income support following the payment of maintenance assessed by the Child Support Agency, it is not possible to identify those who were in receipt of mortgage interest payments as part of their income support entitlement. There is no business need for the Child Support Agency to record this information.

  Cold Weather Payments
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people claimed cold weather payments in the area covered by the benefits offices in Greenock and Port Glasgow in late December; on which dates they qualified; and what was the total amount paid to those whose claims were met. [13161]

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The administration of the social fund is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 7 February 1996:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people claimed Cold Weather Payments (CWPs) in the area covered by the benefits offices in Greenock and Port Glasgow in late December; on which dates they qualified; and what was the total amount paid to those whose claims were met.Customers who qualify for CWPs are automatically identified by a scan of the Income Support Computer System. Those customers who are being paid clerically also have their claims examined to identify those who qualify. There is no need, therefore, for a claim to a Cold Weather Payment (CWP) to be made.Data is not held on the number of people who qualified for a CWP, only on the number of payments made and the amount paid out in the area covered by Greenock and Port Glasgow Benefit Offices. This is because a customer may receive more than one payment in a cold weather period depending on the length of the recorded and/or forecasted period. Two recorded periods of Cold Weather were identified from 19 December 1995 to 1 January 1996 inclusive, and two forecast periods were identified from 23 December 1995 to 5 January 1996 inclusive.On 30 December 1995, 9,070 payments were issued by the computer system amounting to £77,095. On 6 January 1996, a further 9,085 payments were made amounting to £77,222.50. Statistics are not yet available for any clerical payments which may have been made.I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Disability Living Allowance
  Mr. Steinberg
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time taken to process a new claim for disability living allowance. [13173]
  301
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  This is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 7 February 1996:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what is the average time it takes to process a new claim for Disability Living Allowance. (DLA).The Secretary of State has set two targets in relation to new DLA claims. These are that 68% of new claims be cleared within 30 working days and that 85% be cleared within 53 working days. As at 31 December 1995, the DLA Unit cleared 70.73% new claims within 30 days and 92.57% within 53 days.The average time for processing a DLA claim is not a target set by the Secretary of State. However, at 31 December 1995, the average length of time taken to process a new claim to DLA was 27 days.I hope you find this reply helpful.

TRANSPORT

  EU Legislation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he ensures that the negotiating brief for his officials discussing EU legislation takes fully into account the need to minimise the burdens on United Kingdom business. [13713]

  Mr. Watts
  Guidance on how officials are to apply deregulatory principles when negotiating EC regulations is contained in the booklet, "Getting a Good Deal in Europe". This guidance has been supplemented by the recent publication of guidance on the preparation of compliance cost assessments, which stresses that the likely burdens on business highlighted by UK compliance cost assessments of EC proposals should be integral to the UK's negotiating strategy. Copies of both are in the Library of the House.

  Car Phones
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received in respect

  Estimated rail privatisation costs at 31 December 1995

  £ million

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–961

  Total

  Consultancy costs

  DOT

  0.5

  5.5

  10.5

  12.0

  12.1

  40.6

  OPRAF

  —

  —

  1.5

  13.1

  16.2

  30.8

  ORR

  —

  —

  0.6

  2.9

  1.8

  5.3

  Total

  0.5

  5.5

  12.6

  28.0

  30.1

  76.7

  Running costs

  DOT

  0.5

  1.2

  1.5

  2.2

  2.2

  7.6

  OPRAF

  —

  —

  0.9

  3.5

  5.1

  9.5

  ORR

  —

  —

  0.6

  4.7

  3.8

  9.1

  Total

  0.5

  1.2

  4.51

  10.4

  11.1

  127.7

  ORR capital costs

  —

  —

  0.2

  1.4

  0.2

  1.8

  Grand total

  1.0

  6.7

  17.3

  39.8

  41.4

  106.2

  1 To 31 December.

  2 Includes £1.5 million contribution by DOT to costs of setting up OPRAF and ORR.

  302
  of the use by car drivers of hand-held telephones while driving; and if he will make a statement. [14111]

  Mr. Norris
  My Department has received 32 letters and other representations over the past 12 months about this issue, the majority requesting legislation to prohibit the use of in-car telephones while driving. However, I believe that existing legislation provides sufficient powers of prosecution.

  Road Safety
  Mr. Peter Bottomley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will published the United Kingdom and EU research that he has(a) undertaken, (b) commissioned and (c) evaluated that indicates the scale and direction of the expected changes in death and serious injury from (i) the new eyesight standards for HGV drivers and (ii) the banning of coaches from the third lane of motorways. [14009]

  Mr. Norris
  The Department knows of no research, either published or commissioned, which could reliably estimate the effect of changes in eyesight standards for drivers in terms of a reduction in death and serious injury from road accidents. Work has begun on assessing the effect of banning coaches from the third lane of motorways, and the results will be made known when available.

  Rail Privatisation
  Mr. Chidgey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been the costs of railway privatisation to date, broken down into(a) payments to legal, financial and other advisers and (b) administrative costs within (i) BR, (ii) Railtrack, (iii) the Office of the Rail Regulator, (iv) the Franchise Director and (v) within Government departments; and what estimate he has made of total expenditure under the same headings to the end of financial year 1995–96. [9947]

  Mr. Watts
  Consultancy and administrative costs incurred to date by the Department, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and the Office of the Rail Regulator are as follows:
  303
  In addition, the Health and Safety Executive incurred administrative costs of some £2.8 million, of which £2.0 million has be paid by the Department of Transport.

  The forecast outturns to the end of the financial year are as follows:

  Estimated costs in the last quarter of 1995–96

  £ million

  Consultancy costs

  DOT

  14.8

  OPRAF

  9.9

  ORR

  2.0

  Total

  24.3

  Running costs

  DOT

  0.8

  OPRAF

  3.3

  ORR

  2.2

  Total

  6.3

  ORR capital costs

  0.4

  Grand total

  31.0

  British Rail and Railtrack have also incurred costs linked to privatisation, covering expenditure on administration, including consultancies, and on assets such as computer equipment and associated systems. Details of these costs are a matter for the industries themselves. However, we understand from BR and Railtrack that they will incur the following costs in the current financial year:

  £ million

  BR

  75

  Railtrack

  27

  1. Forecast expenditure to 31 March 1996.

  This expenditure has been incurred in support of Railtrack flotation and sales of rail businesses, which have so far yielded proceeds in excess of £2 billion.

  Spare Computer Capacity
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14075]

  Mr. Norris
  My Department has made no sales of spare computer capacity to other Departments. Processing capacity in excess of departmental requirements is not maintained, and redundant IT equipment is relocated within the Department, traded in part exchange or disposed of to the trade on competitive tendering terms.

  Coach Safety (Children)
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to introduce regulations to improve the safety of children travelling on coaches and minibuses. [14717]

  Mr. Norris
  I have laid regulations before the House today which will require seat belts to be fitted to minibuses and coaches used specifically to transport 304
  children. I have also laid regulations ending, where seat belts are fitted, the concession that allows three seated children to count as two passengers.

  The regulations on seat belt fitting only apply to a vehicle which is undertaking a journey specifically for the purpose of carrying children. The requirements will apply to:

  all minibuses used from 10 February 1997;

  all coaches used from 10 February 1997, if they are registered from 1 October 1988; and

  all coaches used from 10 February 1988, if they are registered before 1 October 1998.

  The regulations on the "three for two "Seating concession will take effect from 1 May 1996. They will recognise the incompatibility of the concession with the fitting of seat belts to minibuses and coaches.

  I believe that these measures will further improve the good safety record of minibuses and coaches and will go a long way towards reassuring parents who may be concerned for the safety of their children when travelling in these vehicles.

  I am pleased that we have been able to introduce these measures independently and ahead of our partners in the European Union.

  Meanwhile, I will continue to encourage operators to fit all their vehicles with seat belts voluntarily. We intend to require the mandatory fitting to all new minibuses and coaches as soon as the necessary agreement has been reached in Europe.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Delegated Legislation
  Mr. Hutton
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the powers to make statutory instruments exercisable by the Secretary of State under primary legislation enacted since 1979 are subject to(a) the negative and (b) the affirmative resolution procedure. [9594]

  Mr. Howard
  [holding answer 16 January 1996]: The numbers are as follows:

  (a) 71 subject to the negative, and

  (b) 49 subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

  Detailed tables of the measures have been placed in the Library.

  Immigration (Indian Sub-continent)
  Mr. Marlow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his assessment as to the reasons for the increase in arrivals and departures to the Indian sub-continent in the last two years. [13345]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The data on arrivals and departures are given in the table. The reasons for the increase in arrivals and departures between 1992 and 1994 are not known, but increases have occurred for all arrivals in and departures from the United Kingdom.
  305

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Arrivals in the United Kingdom from the Indian sub-continent of overseas residents

  252,000

  273,000

  313,000

  Departures from the United Kingdom to the Indian sub-continent of United Kingdom residents.

  372,000

  427,000

  477,000

  Source:

  CSO, International Passenger Survey. All figures rounded to three significant figures.

  Internet
  Mr. French
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 December,Official Report, column 735, what progress has been made by the interdepartmental group on obscenity in examining possible measures to control access to material disseminated via the Internet; and if he will make a statement. [13400]

  Mr. Sackville
  We are discussing with representatives of Internet service providers any concern about the availability of pornographic material on the Internet, and ways of controlling access by children and young people to such material.

  Telephone Tapping
  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend the law regarding telephone tapping; and if he will make a statement. [13198]

  Mr. Howard
  While the Government keep the operation of the law regarding interception under review, I have no immediate plans for changes to the law in this area.

  Mr. Kilfoyle
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the practice of intercepting private telephone calls; [13355]

  (2) if he will make a statement on the involvement of newspapers in provoking the interception of private telephone calls. [13356]

  Mr. Howard
  The unauthorised intentional interception of a communication in the course of its transmission on a public telecommunications system is an offence under section 1 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985. In addition, the unauthorised intentional use of wireless telegraphy apparatus to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any message, and the disclosure of such information are offences under section 5 of The Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. Soliciting or inciting a person to commit offences under the 1985 Act and the 1949 Act is itself a criminal offence. It is for the police to investigate allegations of unlawful interception.

  Reported Crime Statistics
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will express the number of reported crimes in each police authority area in 1981, 1986, 1991 and each subsequent year as a figure per head 306
  of the 18 to 24-year-old males estimated by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to be resident in each police authority area. [13262]

  Mr. Maclean
  The available information is for 1991–1994 and is contained in the table. Information for 1981 and 1986 is not available in the form requested.

  All offences recorded per head of 18–24 year old males by police force area, 1991–1994

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Avon and Somerset

  2.0

  2.3

  2.4

  2.3

  Bedfordshire

  2.0

  2.1

  2.2

  2.0

  Cambridgeshire

  1.4

  1.6

  1.6

  1.6

  Cheshire

  1.4

  1.7

  1.7

  1.7

  Cleveland

  2.7

  3.0

  2.8

  3.0

  Cumbria

  1.9

  2.0

  1.9

  2.0

  Derbyshire

  1.6

  1.9

  2.0

  2.0

  Devon and Cornwall

  1.4

  1.6

  1.7

  1.6

  Dorset

  1.7

  1.7

  1.7

  1.9

  Durham

  2.1

  2.2

  2.3

  2.3

  Essex

  1.4

  1.5

  1.5

  1.4

  Gloucestershire

  2.0

  2.3

  2.4

  2.5

  Greater Manchester

  2.6

  2.8

  2.7

  2.6

  Hampshire

  1.5

  1.6

  1.6

  1.6

  Hertfordshire

  1.1

  1.2

  1.2

  1.2

  Humberside

  2.5

  2.8

  3.1

  3.1

  Kent

  1.8

  2.1

  2.2

  2.2

  Lancashire

  1.7

  1.9

  1.9

  1.9

  Leicestershire

  1.7

  1.9

  2.0

  2.0

  Lincolnshire

  1.6

  1.8

  1.9

  1.9

  Merseyside

  1.9

  2.0

  1.9

  1.9

  Metropolitan Police1

  2.3

  2.5

  2.6

  2.5

  Norfolk

  1.7

  1.7

  1.7

  1.6

  Northamptonshire

  2.0

  2.0

  2.1

  2.1

  Northumbria

  3.0

  3.0

  2.9

  2.8

  North Yorkshire

  1.4

  1.5

  1.7

  2.0

  Nottinghamshire

  2.5

  2.9

  2.9

  2.9

  South Yorkshire

  1.6

  1.9

  2.2

  2.3

  Staffordshire

  1.5

  1.7

  1.8

  1.8

  Suffolk

  1.2

  1.4

  1.4

  1.3

  Surrey

  1.0

  1.1

  1.1

  1.1

  Sussex

  1.7

  1.9

  1.8

  1.9

  Thames Valley

  1.6

  1.8

  1.9

  1.9

  Warwickshire

  1.7

  1.9

  1.9

  1.9

  West Mercia

  1.4

  1.5

  1.6

  1.7

  West Midlands

  2.0

  2.2

  2.3

  2.3

  West Yorkshire

  2.4

  2.6

  2.7

  2.7

  Wiltshire

  1.3

  1.4

  1.4

  1.4

  Dyfed-Powys

  1.2

  1.3

  1.2

  1.0

  Gwent

  1.7

  1.9

  1.9

  1.9

  North Wales

  1.4

  1.6

  1.5

  1.4

  South Wales

  2.2

  2.4

  2.4

  2.4

  England and Wales

  1.9

  2.0

  2.1

  2.1

  1 Includes the City of London.

  Probation Service
  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was- the total staff establishment for the probation service in England and Wales by each grade; and how many from each grade were from an ethnic minority in(a) 1989 and (b) 1995; [13460]

  (2) how many probation staff in England and Wales were from an ethnic minority in (a) 1989 and (b) 1995. [13459]
  307
  Mr. Sackville
  The information available is given in the tables: they are not directly comparable since staff establishment figures are collected in whole-time equivalent terms and those of ethnic minority origin in terms of staff in post.

  Information on the ethnic origin of probation staff in 1989 is not available, but figures for 1987 are shown in table B.

  Table A: Staff establishment of the probation service, by grade, 31 March 1989 and 31 March 1995

  Number of staff, whole time equivalent1

  31 March 1989

  31 March 1995

  Probation grade staff

  Chief officers2

  273

  333

  Senior officers

  1,120

  1,282

  Main grade officers

  5,372

  6,289

  Total probation grade staff

  6,765

  7,905

  Non-probation grade staff

  Probation Services' Officers

  1,728

  2,077

  Clerical/secretarial

  3,392

  4,090

  Administrative and other non-probation grade staff3

  659

  1,030

  Non-probation grade hostel staff

  —4

  928

  Total non-probation grade staff

  5,779

  8,125

  Total staff

  12,544

  16,030

  1 Whole-time staff plus whole-time equivalent of part time staff. Figures rounded to the nearest whole number. Components and totals are rounded independently and so components may not add precisely to totals.

  2 Includes Chief, Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief Probation Officer.

  3 Excludes sessional supervisors.

  4 Figures not available for 1989.

  Table B: Probation staff from ethnic minority groups (full time and part time) in post, by grade

  31 December 1987

  31 March 1995

  Probation grade staff

  Chief officers1

  —

  8

  Senior officers

  3

  42

  Main grade officers

  124

  535

  Total probation grade staff

  127

  585

  Non-probation grade staff

  Probation Services' Officers

  62

  177

  Clerical/Secretarial

  144

  343

  Administrative and other non-probation grade staff2

  32

  86

  Non-probation grade hostel staff

  19

  112

  Total non-probation grade staff

  257

  718

  Total staff

  384

  1,303

  Rate of response (Per cent.)

  84.1

  94

  1 Includes Chief, Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief Probation Officer.

  2 Excludes sessional supervisors.

  Police Cautions (Burglary)
  Mr. Mackinlay
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 30 January,Official Report, column 708, if the 959 people who were cautioned by Metropolitan police for burglary offences during 1994 have been included in the figures for crimes cleared up. [13896]

  Mr. Maclean
  The numbers of persons cautioned are included within the overall statistics for crimes cleared up.

  Licensing Laws
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received following recent relaxation on the licensing laws; and how many have been in favour of the recent changes. [13891]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The Licensing (Sunday Hours) Act 1995, which came into effect on 6 August 1995, relaxed restrictions on the opening hours of licensed premises on Sundays and Good Friday. Since then we have received 14 letters on the subject of Sunday hours, two of which were in favour of this relaxation.

  Registered Drug Users (Blackpool and Fylde)
  Mr. Elletson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered drug users there are in Blackpool and the Fylde; and what estimate he has made of the total number of habitual users of prescribed drugs in Blackpool and the Fylde. [13838]

  Mr. Sackville
  Analysis of data held on the addicts index at the Home Office shows that in 1995 a total of 385 drug addicts were notified from the Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde area. Of these, 270 were persons who had been previously notified in the preceding 12 months.

  Asylum
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many without foundation appeals against a refusal of asylum were determined in(a) 1994 and (b) 1995; and how many of these appeals were (i) allowed, (ii) referred back to the Secretary of State for reconsideration under paragraph 5 of schedule 2 to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 and (iii) withdrawn. [13935]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Information regarding the decisions on without foundation appeals for 1995 is given in the table. The equivalent information for 1994 is published in table 8.4 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 1994", issue 15/95. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.

  Outcome of without foundation appeals to the adjudicator, excluding dependants, 1995

  1995 percentage

  Total determined1 of which:

  1,115 (100)

  Allowed

  3

  Dismissed

  59

  Withdrawn

  9

  Referred to the Secretary of State

  29

  1 Figures are provisional and rounded to the nearest 5 or percentage.

  309
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum by persons applying(a) at a port of entry to the United Kingdom and (b) after entry were decided in 1995; and how many in each category were granted asylum and exceptional leave to remain. [13989]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The information requested is given in the table.

  Decisions3 on applications1 received for asylum in the United Kingdom1 excluding dependants, by location of application, January to December 1995

  Principal applicants

  Applied at port

  Applied in-country

  Total

  Asylum applications2

  14,410

  29,555

  43,965

  Decisions3

  10,255

  16,755

  27,005

  Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum

  345

  950

  1,295

  Not recognised as a refugee but granted exceptional leave to remain4

  1,945

  2,465

  4,410

  Total refusals

  7,960

  13,340

  21,300

  Refused asylum and ELR after full consideration

  6,665

  11,040

  17,705

  Refused on safe third country grounds5

  1,300

  215

  1,515

  Refused under para 3406

  —

  2,085

  2,085

  1 Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5.

  2 Figures exclude information on applications made overseas.

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

  4 Usually granted for a year in the first instance, subject then to further review.

  5 Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country.

  6 Paragraph 180F prior to 1/10/94. For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to invitation to interview to establish identity.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of without foundation asylum appeals were determined within the time scale prescribed by the Asylum Appeals (Procedure) Rules 1993, in 1995. [13934]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  In 1995, 12 per cent. of all without foundation appeals were determined within the prescribed time scale.
  310
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications are currently awaiting an initial decision by his Department's asylum division; how many appeals against a refusal of asylum are currently being processed by the asylum division; and how many appeals against a refusal of asylum, which have been processed by the asylum division and despatched to the immigration appellate authority, are awaiting hearings by the authority. [13988]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  As at 31 December 1995, 69,650 asylum applications were awaiting initial decisions by the Home Office from people who had been refused asylum and 11,690 such appeals were awaiting hearings by the Immigration Appellate Authority.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons, having been refused asylum,(a) were removed or (b) made voluntary departures from the United Kingdom in (i) 1994 and (ii) 1995. [13990]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  In 1994, there were 2,108 removals, including 566 voluntary departures, of persons refused asylum. The provisional figures for 1995 are 2,629 and 759 respectively.

  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average time currently taken by his Department to reach an initial decision on(a) all asylum applicants and (b) asylum applications submitted (i) prior to and (ii) following implementation of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993; [13937]

  (2) what is the average time taken by his Department's asylum division to process and despatch to the immigration appellate authority an appeal against a refusal of asylum; and what is the average time taken by the authority to hear and determine such an appeal following its receipt from the asylum division. [13936]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Information on the times taken at the various stages of the asylum process are given in the table.

  Average times involved in deciding applications for asylum (June—November 1995)

  Months

  Time taken for an initial decision to be made (pre-act applications)

  40.0

  Time taken for an initial decision to be made (post-act applications)

  8.9

  Time taken by the Home Office to process an appeal

  3.7

  Time taken by the Immigration Appellate Authority to determine an appeal

  6.1

  Mohammed Riaz and Quayyum Raja
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mohammed Riaz and Quayyum Raja are to be informed of the decision concerning their tariff sentences; and if he will make a statement. [13743]

  Miss Widdecombe
  [holding answer 5 February 1996]: These prisoners will be informed of their tariff decisions as soon as current consideration of their cases is completed.

  EU Legislation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home department how he ensures that the negotiating brief for his officials discussing EU legislation takes fully into account the need to minimise the burdens on United Kingdom business. [13711]

  Mr. Howard
  Guidance on how officials are to apply deregulatory principles when negotiating European Community regulations is contained in the booklet "Getting a Good Deal in Europe". This guidance has been supplemented by the recent publication of guidance on the preparation of compliance cost assessments, which stresses that the likely burdens on business highlighted by United Kingdom compliance cost assessments of EC proposals should be integral to the United Kingdom's negotiating strategy. Copies of both pieces of guidance are in the Library.

  Policing of Football Matches
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the latest figures for payments received by the Metropolitan police from London's premier and football league clubs in the present football season in respect of police services. [14213]

  Mr. Maclean
  I understand from the Metropolitan police that the payments are those given in the table.

  Club

  Total paid this season1 (£)

  Arsenal

  112,233.68

  Barnet

  18,516.48

  Brentford

  19,148.18

  Charlton

  16,162.78

  Chelsea

  85,180.53

  Crystal Palace

  81,361.96

  Fulham

  19,454.48

  Leyton Orient

  21,483.75

  Millwall

  51,312.31

  Queens Park Rangers

  41,298.09

  Tottenham Hotspur

  65,323.43

  West Ham United

  63,008.32

  Wimbledon

  84,739.22

  Total

  679,223.21

  1 As at 31 January 1996.

  In addition, sums of £25,000 and £60,000 have been received respectively from the Leyton Orient and Millwall clubs, in respect of outstanding invoices for previous seasons.

  Asylum and Immigration Bill
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Glidewell panel on matters related to the Asylum and Immigration Bill; and if he will make a statement. [14240]

  Miss Widdecombe
  I have received no such representations.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for(a) ministerial correspondence and (b) other communications between his Department and members of the Standing Committee on the Asylum and Immigration Bill to be placed in the Library. [14282]

  Miss Widdecombe
  This has been arranged.

  Immigration
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have applied to regularise their immigration status; how many such applications were(a) approved and (b) refused; how many are currently awaiting decision in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [14153]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The table gives the readily available information on the numbers of persons accepted for settlement on a discretionary basis in the years 1986 to 1994, after a period of at least 10 years continuous residence in the United Kingdom. The numbers of refusals and the total number of applications made on the basis of long residence are not separately available.

  Grants of settlement on the basis of long residence, 1986–94

  Number

  1986

  1,200

  1987

  1,300

  1988

  2,300

  1989

  3,300

  1990

  2,550

  1991

  2,200

  1992

  2,100

  1993

  2,050

  1994

  1,950

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances people who have lived in the United Kingdom for(a) 10 years and (b) 14 years are able to apply to regularise their immigration status; what are the grounds on which the time limits of 10 and 14 years have been set; and if he will make a statement. [14121]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Under the long residence concession, a person who has 10 years or more continuous lawful residence in the United Kingdom, or 14 years continuous residence irrespective of legality, may be granted indefinite leave to remain in the absence of any strong countervailing factors. The grant of indefinite leave to remain under the long residence concession is discretionary and outside the immigration rules.

  The long residence concession has its origin in the European convention of establishment, article 3(3) of

  313
  which provides that nationals of any contracting party who have been lawfully residing for more than 10 years in the territory of another party may be expelled only for reasons relating to public order, public health or morality. In operating the concession, however, we do not distinguish between nationals of the contracting parties and other overseas nationals.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people(a) applied, (b) were granted and (c) were refused applications to regularise their immigration status in (i) 1974 and (ii) 1977. [14122]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The concession offered in 1974 to allow Commonwealth citizens who had entered the United Kingdom illegally before 1973 to regularise their stay attracted 2,430 applications, of which 1,810 were granted. This concession was extended in 1977 following further court judgments which widened the scope of illegal entry. A further 640 applications were dealt with, of which 460 were granted.

  Bedford Prison
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the practice of dye-stamping the hands of visitors visiting prisoners in Bedford prison started; what is the purpose of this practice; and if he will make a statement. [14125]

  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Alastair Papps to Mr. Max Madden, dated 8 February 1996:

  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about Bedford prison.

  Dye-stamping the hands of visitors to prisoners was introduced at Bedford in February 1995. It is an additional security measure to reduce the likelihood of the prisoner walking out of the visits area with visitors and escaping.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the arrangements in each European Union state for asylum seekers(a) to apply for social security benefit and (b) to seek employment; what time limits apply; and if he will make a statement. [14127]

  Miss Widdecombe
  Information about access to social security benefits and employment in other European Union countries is at paragraphs 17 to 19 of the Home Office memorandum on key asylum measures in other European countries, a copy of which is in the Library.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that asylum seekers who are granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom are able to apply for reunion with their families in less than the four years as required at present. [14129]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Those granted exceptional leave to remain will not necessarily be here on a permanent basis.314
  They will normally be eligible for family reunion only after four years, although this may be granted earlier in cases with wholly exceptional compassionate circumstances.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy in respect of those seeking asylum in the United Kingdom participating in political activities within the United Kingdom; how that policy has changed over the past 10 years; if such involvement by an asylum seeker may be regarded as being supportive of the application; and if he will make a statement. [14123]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  All applications for asylum in the United Kingdom are considered in the light of all available information and in accordance with the criteria set out in the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees.

  Those seeking asylum in this country are expected to act within the law. If an asylum seeker undertakes activities in the United Kingdom which are inconsistent with his previous beliefs and behaviour and calculated to create or substantially enhance his claim to refugee status, this may damage the credibility of his claim.

  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the net expenditure implications of allowing asylum seekers to seek employment from the date their asylum application is lodged; and if he will make a statement. [14126]

  Miss Widdecombe
  The opportunity to seek employment is a major incentive for economic migrants and undeserving asylum applicants. We have no plans to relax employment restrictions for asylum seekers.

  Illegal Working
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations supported the proposals outlined in the consultation document on prevention of illegal working; if he will place in the Library responses in those cases where the respondent is willing for their response to be made public; if he will list those respondents who are unwilling for their response to be made public; and if he will make a statement. [14164]

  Miss Widdecombe
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson) on 6 February at column 109. I will, however, place in the Library in due course an updated list of those who have responded and a revised summary of the main points made in the responses.

  Association of Circus Proprietors
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations take place between his Department and the Association of Circus Proprietors. [14154]

  Mr. Sackville
  The association was one of a large number of bodies consulted by the Home Office in 1993, in the course of a deregulation review. There have been no other contacts.

  Immigration Officers
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers there are in each of the immigration and nationality department's administrative areas. [14235]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The information is provided in the following table. The figures exclude members of the Immigration Service serving at ports of entry, enforcement offices and detention centres.

  Division/Directorate

  Immigration Officer

  Chief Immigration Officer

  HM Inspector

  Total

  Presenting Officer Units

  —

  10

  —

  10

  Personnel Management Unit1

  18

  12

  3

  33

  Immigration Service (Ports)1

  15

  15

  9

  39

  Immigration Service (Enforcement)1

  33

  15

  6

  54

  Total Staff

  136

  1 Includes staff based at Croydon and West London on administrative duties

  Human Rights Reports
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those organizations whose reports on human rights internationally are routinely considered by his Department; with special reference to those who consider asylum application procedures. [14119]

  Miss Widdecombe
  The asylum division considers a wide range of material relating to human rights including from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Commission of Jurists, the parliamentary human rights group, the Commonwealth human rights initiative, Human Rights Watch, the Refugee Council, the Minority Rights Group, Asylum Aid, the United States Department of State and the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board. The Department also has access to Council of the European Union Heads of Mission reports and advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on human rights issues. Other non-governmental and media reports are monitored on a regional or country basis.

  UNHCR, Amnesty International, Asylum Aid, the Refugee Council and, in addition, the Council of Europe are known to have issued documents considering asylum application procedures.

  Karamjit Singh Chahal
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will grant temporary release to Karamjit Singh Chahal from Bedford prison; and if he will make a statement. [14124]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  My right hon. and learned Friend is satisfied that Mr. Chahal's continued detention is necessary.

  Illegal Working
  Mr. Madden
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of correspondence from the Data Protection Registrar seeking clarification of the data protection implications of the use of national insurance numbers as envisaged under the consultation document on prevention of illegal working; and if he will make a statement. [14131]

  Miss Widdecombe
  There has been no such correspondence. However, as I made clear to the hon. Member on 6 February, we are in touch with the Data Protection Registrar on this matter.

  Prisoners (Restraints)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the dates and origins of all representations which his Department received before 25 December 1995 concerning the use of restraints on women prisoners attending hospital; and if he will make a statement. [12418]

  Miss Widdecombe
  This information is not recorded centrally and could be supplied in the required form only at disproportionate cost.

  Prosecutions (Durham)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been referred by Durham police to the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three years; how many have been prosecuted; and how many have been successful. [13246]

  The Attorney-General
  I have been asked to reply.

  The figures shown in the tables represent the number of cases received from the police and the number of defendants whose case proceeded to a hearing in magistrates courts and in the Crown court during the calendar years 1993, 1994 and 1995, and of those, the proportion who were convicted. Convictions are inclusive of guilty pleas, as well as of contested hearings.

  In the magistrates court:

  Table 1 shows the number of defendants whose case was received by the CPS, and the number whose case was finalised; of defendants finalised, the number whose case was referred to the CPS for pre-charge advice, and the number of other, non-criminal, proceedings—such as forfeiture proceedings under the Obscene Publications Acts.

  Table 2 shows the number of defendants whose case was not proceeded with, divided into cases where the prosecution was dropped and cases which could not proceed—for example because the defendant had died, or could not be traced.

  Table 3 shows the number of those cases proceeded with, showing: the number of defendants bound over to keep the peace; the number of defendants' cases heard in the magistrates court; the number of defendants' committed to the Crown court; and the number of defendants' whose case was discharged at committal.

  Table 4 shows the outcome of the cases heard in the magistrates court, showing the number of defendants convicted and the number acquitted.
  317
  In the Crown court:

  Table 5 shows the number of defendants whose case was received and the number finalised. Of the number of defendants cases finalised, the table shows the number of cases which were appeals from the magistrates court or committed to the Crown court from the magistrates court for sentence.

  Table 6 shows the number of defendants' cases not proceeded with, divided into those in which no evidence was offered before the jury was sworn, prosecution dropped, and those which could not proceed and were written off—for example, because the defendant had died, could not be traced by the police, or had been found unfit to plead.

  Table 7 shows the number of defendants' cases proceeded with divided into the number bound over to keep the peace and the number heard in the Crown court.

  Table 8 shows the number of defendants' cases heard in the Crown court which resulted in convictions and the number which resulted in acquittals.

  Table 3

  Proceeded with of which…

  Bind over

  Per cent.

  Hearings in the Magistrates' Court

  Per cent.

  Committed to Crown Court

  Per cent.

  Committal discharged

  Per cent.

  1993

  233

  1.5

  10,027

  65.3

  1,229

  8.00

  34

  0.2

  1994

  291

  2.1

  9,664

  71.7

  1,245

  9.2

  25

  0.2

  1995

  344

  2.4

  9,916

  70.7

  1,073

  7.6

  8

  0.1

  Table 4

  Outcome of which…

  Convicted

  Per cent.

  Acquitted

  Per cent.

  1993

  9,801

  97.7

  226

  2.3

  1994

  9,369

  96.4

  295

  3.6

  1995

  9,709

  97.9

  207

  2.1

  Crown Court

  Table 5

  of which…

  Receipts

  Finalised

  Appeals and committals for sentence

  Per cent.

  1993

  6,591

  5,138

  986

  19.1

  1994

  1,538

  1,448

  271

  18.7

  1995

  1,402

  1,644

  309

  18.8

  Table 6

  Not proceeded with of which…

  Prosecution dropped

  Per cent.

  Written Off

  Per cent.

  1993

  222

  5.3

  37

  0.9

  1994

  56

  4.7

  6

  0.5

  1995

  94

  7.0

  8

  0.6

  318
  The Crown court figures for the year 1993 include Northumbria cases as it is not possible to distinguish the Durham cases from the Northumbria cases from the statistics available.

  Magistrates Court

  Table 1

  Case numbers

  Received

  Finalised

  of which…

  Pre-charge advice

  Per cent.

  Other proceedings

  Per cent.

  1993

  16,296

  16,381

  1,035

  6.3

  2

  0.1

  1994

  14,963

  14,654

  1,173

  8.0

  12

  0.1

  1995

  14,354

  15,110

  1,074

  7.1

  18

  0.1

  Table 2

  Not proceeded with of which…

  Prosecution dropped

  Per cent.

  Written Off

  Per cent.

  1993

  2,144

  13.9

  1,677

  10.9

  1994

  1,852

  13.7

  392

  2.9

  1995

  1,811

  12.9

  866

  6.1

  Table 7

  Proceeded with of which…

  Bind over

  Percentage

  Hearings

  Percentage

  1993

  75

  1.8

  3,818

  91.9

  1994

  11

  0.9

  1,104

  93 8

  1995

  21

  1.5

  1,212

  90.7

  Table 8

  Outcome of which…

  Convicted

  Per cent.

  Acquitted

  Per cent.

  1993

  3,494

  91.5

  324

  8.5

  1994

  1,032

  93.4

  72

  6.6

  1995

  1,126

  92.9

  86

  7.1

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Fishing Vessels
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many vessels are under investigation for failing to comply with their licence conditions in 1995. [13667]

  Mr. Baldry
  At 31 December 1995, 84 fishing vessels were under investigation by the Ministry for suspected fisheries offences, including breaches of licence conditions.

  Genetic Modification
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he has taken to monitor the long-term effects of the sale of genetically modified foods. [14151]

  Mrs. Browning
  The safety of foods produced using genetic modification is thoroughly assessed by the independent Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes before approval for their use is given. As a condition of this approval applicants are required to monitor routinely the genetic stability of the products that they market and provide this information to the committee.

  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to set up an ethics committee to examine proposals to develop and market genetically modified plants and animals. [14152]

  Mrs. Browning
  This matter has already been examined by two Government committees, the Committee on the Ethics of Genetic Modification and Food Use which reported in September 1993, and the Committee to Consider the Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies in the Breeding of Farm Animals, which reported in February 1995. Both reports are available in the House of Commons Library.

  Local Veterinary Inspectors
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the inquiry chaired by Divisional Veterinary Officer Hugh Morris in regard to certification procedures carried out by local veterinary inspectors. [11691]

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer 25 January 1996]: The report of the working party chaired by Mr. Morris, DVO was an internal discussion document not intended for publication. A copy will not, therefore, be placed in the Library.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  Student Loans Company
  Mr. Fatchett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many people were employed by the Student Loans Company on 1 January in each of the last five years; what were the grades of those employed; and how many loans were being administered on 1 January in each of the last five years; [13847]

  (2) if she will set out (a) the number of cases in which the Student Loans Company has issued county court summons against students, (b) the number of cases which have proceeded to a court hearing, (c) the number of cases in which the defendant has been either (i) ordered or (ii) agreed to repay the loan and (d) the
  320
  number of cases in which the Student Loans Company has agreed to withdraw a summons, and the reason for that decision. [13848]

  Mr. Forth
  These are matters for the Student Loans Company. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member with the information.

  Nursery School Inspections
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will place in the Library the names of the nursery schools visited by registered inspectors of education in school year 1994–95 under section 9 of the Education (Schools) Act 1992; and what is the public document which sets down the criteria used for these inspections. [14286]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  This is a matter for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, who heads the Office for Standards in Education. I have asked Mr. Chris Woodhead to write to the hon. Member.

  Nursery Vouchers Scheme
  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to her answer of 2 February,Official Report, column 983, concerning agreements entered into with non-statutory bodies or persons concerning her proposed extension to early years education, on what statutory authority she entered on 22 January into contract No. 0414/118/02 with Capita Managed Services Ltd. relating to the administration of phase 1 of a voucher scheme; how many responses were received to the published advertisements; and what is the value of the contract. [14284]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Secretary of State entered into the contract on behalf of the Crown in pursuance of the Crown's ordinary common law right to enter into contracts. This right does not depend on statute. One hundred and seventy companies expressed an interest in the contract. The contract was awarded by competitive tender. Its value is commercially confidential.

  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what budget has been allocated for phase 1 of the nursery voucher scheme in each of the four pilot authorities; and if she will give a breakdown of this budget with respect to(a) funding for new places, (b) publicity, (c) administration and (d) inspection. [14116]

  Mr. Squire
  The estimated cost of new places in the phase one authorities is shown in the table. The budget for publicity in phase one is £750,000. The estimated cost of inspection and administration in phase 1 is £5 million, much of this is expected to be accounted for by the preparations for inspection in phase 2.

  Local authority

  Estimated cost of new places £

  Wandsworth

  770,000

  Westminster

  880,000

  Kensington and Chelsea

  935,000

  Norfolk

  3,300,000

  321
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment she has made of the proportion of providers participating in(a) phase 1 and (b) phase 2 of the voucher scheme, capable of meeting the premises' requirements set out in the Children Act 1989 and the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981. [14117]

  Mr. Squire
  It is the responsibility of local education authorities and the governors of grant-maintained schools to ensure that all school premises comply with the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1981. They will also be responsible for ensuring compliance with the revised regulations that we expect to lay before the House later this month.

  The Children Act 1989 does not prescribe premises standards for registration. Local authority social services departments have regard to the space standards guidance set out in local authority circular LAC(93)1 when registering institutions.

  Reception Classes
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the(a) average class size, (b) average pupil-teacher ratio and (c) average pupil-adult ratio of reception classes in England. [14110]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  Information about pupils and staff in reception classes is not collected centrally.

  Under-fives Education
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what are the number and percentage of three-year-olds in(a) maintained nursery schools and nursery classes, (b) reception classes in primary schools, (c) private or voluntary sector provision an (d) pre-school provision overall. [14118]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The available information for schools in England is shown in the following table. We have no reliable estimates on three-year olds in voluntary or private provision.

  Pupils aged three years of age (1) in schools in England: January 1995

  School type

  Pupils

  Percentage of population2

  Maintained nursery schools and nursery classes

  277,353

  42

  Infant classes in primary schools

  1,309

  —

  Independent schools3

  22,075

  3

  All schools4

  303,467

  46

  —negligible (i.e. less than 0.5)

  1Full-time and part-time pupils aged three years of age at 31 August 1994.

  2 Full-time and part-time pupils aged three years of age at 31 August 1994, expressed as a percentage of the population aged three at 31 August 1994

  3 Includes pupils in direct grant nursery schools.

  4 Includes pupils in maintained nursery, primary and special schools, non-maintained special schools and independent schools.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress St. Helen's chamber of commerce, training and enterprise and Greater Peterborough and Kent TECs are making in meeting the criteria for the award of a three-year licence. [14640]

  Mr. Paice
  I am pleased to announce the award of three-year licences to St. Helens chamber of commerce, training and enterprise, Greater Peterborough and Kent TECs, which have now completed the process of meeting the rigorous standards that we set.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Housing Bill
  Mr. Robert McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons the provisions of the Housing Bill do not extend to Northern Ireland [12827]

  Mr. Moss
  Provisions on housing benefit in the forthcoming Housing Bill will extend to Northern Ireland. Separate Northern Ireland legislation on homelessness and other related issues is likely to be brought forward in due course in a way which accommodates the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland.

  Movilla Cemetery
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the Old Movilla road, Newtownards, is designated as an access to Movilla cemetery, Newtownards; what assessment he has made of the gradient; what research he has evaluated into the impact of snow and frost on the road; if he will make it his policy to implement gritting the Old Movilla road during periods of frost and snow; and if he will make a statement. [12941]

  Mr. Moss
  The main entrance to Movilla cemetery is on the Old Movilla road, Newtownards. The 120m section of Old Movilla road between Movilla road and the cemetery's entrance has a very slight gradient; the remaining 390m section has a gradient of approximately 1:8. The impact of snow and ice on this road is not considered to be significantly different from many other comparable minor roads and traffic volumes are not high enough to justify its inclusion in the winter maintenance programme. However, the Department proposes to provide a grit bin along the steepest section of the road.

  Strangford Ferry
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many days each of the two car ferries operated on the Portaferry-Strangford route during the month of January 1996: on how many days the passenger ferry operated in that month; what factors led to the absence of a ferry service on Monday 29 January 1996; if he will arrange an internal inquiry about the management of this ferry service; what proposals there are to provide a new ferry boat; and if he will make a statement. [12901]
  323
  Mr. Moss
  During January 1996 the MV Strangford was in service for 22 days, while the MV Portaferry was not in service at all as it was, and still is, receiving its annual refit, which is required for marine safety purposes; the passenger vessel, MV Isle O'Valla was in service for six days.

  No ferry service was in operation on 29 January 1996, when the MV Strangford and the MV Isle O'Valla suffered major mechanical breakdowns.

  While there are no proposals to carry out an internal inquiry into the management of the ferry service, a report on the recent breakdown is presently being prepared.

  Last year marine consultants carried out a review of the ferry service and, in the light of that, the Department is exploring the possibility of replacing the MV Portaferry. However, as this proposal will have to compete with other priorities it is not possible to state at this stage when a new vessel could be provided.

  Mr. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the net cost to public funds of the operation of the Strangford ferry, including maintenance and repairs, in the last financial year. [13170]

  Mr. Moss
  Approximately £333,000.

  Film Posters
  Mr. John D. Taylor
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his policy in respect of the

  £000

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  1996–97

  1997–98

  a. Not applicable in Northern Ireland

  b.

  217

  474

  628

  587

  528

  1,712

  4,335

  4,381

  c.

  6,376

  6,276

  4,749

  6,255

  6,249

  3,960

  2,390

  1,549

  d.

  —

  —

  0

  69

  113

  163

  272

  324

  e.

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  0

  350

  350

  f. Not applicable in Northern Ireland

  g.

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  0

  350

  350

  h.

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  0

  58

  60

  i. Not applicable in Northern Ireland

  Midwives
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many midwives are employed at each hospital in Northern Ireland in(a) permanent and (b) temporary posts; and how many of those employed in these posts are (i) Roman Catholic, (ii) Protestant and (iii) in non-determined categories; [13938]

  (2) how many midwives were appointed to (a) permanent posts and (b) temporary posts at each hospital in Northern Ireland to date during 1996; and how many of those appointed were (i) Roman Catholic, (ii) Protestant and (iii) non-determined at each hospital; [13940]

  (3) how many midwives were appointed to (a) permanent and (b) temporary posts at each hospital in Northern Ireland during the last 12 months; and how many Roman Catholic, Protestant and non-determined midwives were appointed at each hospital. [12939]
  324
  display of posters of an explicit sexual nature at (a) the property of the Department of Environment and (b) the property of Ulsterbus; what posters for the film "Showgirls" are on display at the bus stop at Carryduff; and if he will make a statement on the display of posters in public areas. [12914]

  Mr. Moss
  Neither the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland nor Ulsterbus permits the display of posters of an explicit sexual nature at their property; a poster advertising the film "Showgirls" on display at the privately owned bus shelter at Carryduff was removed by the owners in mid-January. The content of advertisements is controlled by a voluntary code of conduct supervised by the Advertising Standards Authority. It is an offence under the Indecent Advertisements Act 1889 to display publicly material which is of an indecent or obscene nature.

  Conservation Schemes
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the annual expenditure figures and forecasts for the(a) countryside access scheme, (b) environmentally sensitive areas, (c) farm conservation grant scheme, (d) farm woodland premium scheme, (e) habitat scheme, (f) nitrate sensitive areas, (g) moorland scheme, (h) organic aid scheme and (i) countryside stewardship for each year between 1990–91 and 1997–98. [13637]

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 5 February 1996]: The information is as follows:

  Mr. Moss
  The information requested is not held centrally.

  Cookstown Bypass
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to implement the provision of a Cookstown bypass. [12590]

  Mr. Moss
  [holding answer 7 February 1996]: A scheme to complete a bypass of Cookstown—the Cookstown eastern distributor road—is included in the Department's six to 15-year major road works programme, but its precise timing will depend on future funding levels.

  Omagh Bypass
  Rev. William McCrea
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to
  325
  provide the finances necessary to conclude the Omagh bypass. [12591]

  Mr. Moss
  [holding answer 7 February 1996]: The final stage of the Omagh throughpass is included in the Department's six to 15-year major works programme, but its precise timing will depend on future funding levels.

  Volunteer Drivers
  Mr. Robert McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultations his Department carried out with the voluntary sector before announcing the discontinuance of exemptions for public service vehicles and road service licensing of volunteer drivers and their vehicles; and what account was taken of the decision to be in line with the 1993 strategy document of the volunteer activity unit in coming to this decision. [13799]

  Mr. Moss
  The health and personal social services executive has had no consultations with the voluntary sector. However, it wrote to voluntary organisations on the 20 December 1995 informing them of the Department of the Environment's intention to withdraw, probably from May 1996, exemptions from public service vehicle and road service licensing requirements for volunteer car services under the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967. The HPSS executive at the same time indicated its intention to discuss ways of facilitating this change with the minimum impact on volunteers. The Department of the Environment is aware of the 1993 strategy document, but it has an overriding duty under section 6(1)(i) of the Transport Act (NI) 1967 to ensure fair competition among persons providing facilities for the carriage of passengers for reward. Volunteer car services which operate for reward are not at present exempt from road service licensing.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will specify those current European laws designed to promote fair competition which his Department assesses to be preventing volunteer car services from retaining public service vehicle exemptions; and if he will publish the legal opinion he has obtained on the subject. [13800]

  £000

  1979–80

  1989–90

  1991–92

  1993–94

  1994–95

  11995–96

  11996–97

  Northern Ireland Departments and Northern Ireland Office

  2372

  6,874

  6,157

  7,184

  7,072

  7,030

  33,842

  Agencies

  —

  —

  1,237

  1,959

  1,826

  1,655

  4105

  1 Estimated.

  2 Figures available for DHSS and DENI only.

  3 Excludes DED, DOE and DHSS as budgets have not been agreed to this level of detail.

  4 Figures available for the Valuation Lands Agency only.

  These figures include capital expenditure. Figures for the Compensation Agency are included in the departmental returns.

  Within the Northern Ireland Office, agencies have their own internal directories. The NIO internal directory is available to NIO core staff but not to staff in the agencies.
  326
  Mr. Moss: Whether the exemptions from public service vehicle regulations currently granted to volunteer car services conflict with European competition law has not been tested in the courts. However, the Department of the Environment has a duty under section 6(1)(i) of the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 to ensure fair competition among persons providing facilities for the carriage of passengers for reward.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will amend the Transport Act 1967 formally to exempt volunteer car services from the road service licensing requirements of that Act. [13801]

  Mr. Moss
  The Department of the Environment is examining the possibility of amending the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 with a view to creating special licensing arrangements for volunteer car services while continuing to provide for the proper regulation of public transport services to ensure fair competition among persons providing facilities for the carriage of passengers for reward. The Department does not intend to proceed with plans to phase out the existing concessions until it is known whether suitable arrangements can be made.

  Junior Sports Club Scheme
  Mr. Robert McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost to the Sports Council of the review by Price Waterhouse of the junior sports club scheme. [13801]

  Mr. Ancram
  The cost to the Sports Council was £5,500.

  Departmental Expenditure
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the annual telephone costs to(a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's non-departmental public bodies staff for each of the years (i) 1979–80, (ii) 1989–90, (iii) 1991–92, (iv) 1993–94, (v) 1994–95, (vi) 1995–96 and (vii) 1996–97; and if internal telephone directories are available to staff in all areas of (a) to (c). [11402]

  Sir John Wheeler
  [holding answer 25 January 1996]: The information for the Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland Departments and agencies is as follows.

  Within Northern Ireland Departments, departmental internal telephone directories are available to all staff within those Departments and their agencies. In addition, the Department of Finance and Personnel's Telecoms branch produce a paper network telephone directory for all Northern Ireland civil service buildings connection to the DIAL telecommunications network within Northern

  327
  Ireland. These directories are distributed at a ratio of one directory per three people. Government telecommunications network directories are also distributed for all buildings in the network.

  Information on non-departmental public bodies could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

WALES

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the estimated level of Government financial

  Government financial support for unitary authorities

  Central government support at constant 1995–96 prices (£ thousands)1

  Net of community care

  Inclusive of community care

  Unitary authority

  1995–962

  1996–973

  Percentage change

  1995–962

  1996–973

  Percentage change

  Anglesey

  48,805

  47,280

  -3.1

  51,847

  50,792

  -2.0

  Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire

  84,787

  84,493

  -0.3

  90,412

  91,115

  0.8

  Aberconwy and Colwyn

  68,819

  67,493

  -1.9

  74,766

  73,804

  -1.3

  Denbighshire

  61,226

  63,680

  4.0

  66,039

  68,712

  4.0

  Flintshire

  89,704

  87,472

  -2.5

  95,474

  93,694

  -1.9

  Wrexham

  78,626

  76,836

  -2.3

  84,010

  82,639

  -1.6

  Powys

  92,555

  90,351

  -2.4

  98,001

  96,859

  -1.2

  Cardiganshire

  46,862

  49,953

  6.6

  49,926

  53,605

  7.4

  Pembrokeshire

  79,745

  78,432

  -1.6

  84,412

  83,879

  -0.6

  Carmarthenshire

  120,020

  115,764

  -3.5

  128,068

  125,339

  -2.1

  Swansea

  156,525

  151,340

  -3.3

  166,929

  163,108

  -2.3

  Neath and Port Talbot

  98,393

  99,205

  0.8

  105,028

  106,790

  1.7

  Bridgend

  88,495

  85,476

  -3.4

  93,399

  91,705

  -1.8

  The Vale of Glamorgan

  74,708

  71,330

  -4.5

  79,263

  76,550

  -3.4

  Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

  172,578

  176,136

  2.1

  182,725

  189,516

  3.7

  Merthyr Tydfil

  46,985

  46,759

  -0.5

  49,505

  50,081

  1.2

  Caerphilly

  120,393

  119,816

  -0.5

  126,734

  127,684

  0.7

  Blaenau Gwent

  54,145

  57,144

  5.5

  57,285

  60,801

  6.1

  Torfaen

  64,245

  63,311

  -1.5

  67,720

  67,289

  -0.6

  Monmouthshire

  48,917

  47,089

  -3.7

  52,245

  50,924

  -2.5

  Newport

  96,171

  93,107

  -3.2

  101,632

  99,485

  -2.1

  Cardiff

  197,087

  198,101

  0.5

  208,794

  211,832

  1.5

  Wales

  1,989,794

  1,970,570

  -1.0

  2,114,214

  2,116,203

  0.1

  (1) Comprises revenue support grant and the distributable amount from non-domestic rates, and, for 1996–97, grant under the council tax reduction scheme.

  (2) Derived from indicative unitary authority standard spending assessments issued on 27 October 1995.

  (3) Estimates derived from the final 1996–97 local government revenue settlement.

  Provision for reorganisation costs is separate from, and additional to, the revenue settlement. For 1995–96 the Welsh Office has issued supplementary credit approvals—SCAs—of £23.1 million to county and district authorities and unitary authorities and is paying special grant of £17.6 million to the new unitary authorities to cover their running costs. For 1996–97 a further £40.0 million in SCAs is being provided to the new authorities and £2 million in special grant to meet the balance of 1995–96 running costs.

  The distribution of special grant resources is given in the following table. The distribution of SCAs for 1996–97 will not be known until later in the year.
  328
  support for each of the new unitary local authorities and for Wales as a whole in constant prices for (a) 1994–95, (b) 1995–96 and (c) 1996–97, indicating the percentage yearly change in each case and the overall cumulative change (i) net of community care and the estimated cost of local government reorganisation and (ii) including community care and the estimated cost of local government reorganisation. [8885]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  [holding answer 18 January 1996]: The figures for 1995–96, redistributed on a unitary authority basis, and final figures for 1996–97 estimated at 1995–96 prices are set out in the following table. No estimates are available for 1994–95.

  Special grant paid to unitary authorities

  £000

  Grant paid in 1995–96

  Balance to be paid in 1996–971

  Anglesey

  717

  80

  Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire

  848

  94

  Aberconwy and Colwyn

  843

  94

  Denbighshire

  782

  87

  Flintshire

  813

  90

  Wrexham

  801

  89

  Powys

  825

  92

  Cardiganshire

  715

  79

  Pembrokeshire

  795

  88

  329

  Special grant paid to unitary authorities

  £000

  Grant paid in 1995–96

  Balance to be paid in 1996–971

  Carmarthenshire

  881

  98

  Swansea

  867

  96

  Neath and Port Talbot

  862

  96

  Bridgend

  753

  84

  Vale of Glamorgan

  747

  83

  Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

  921

  102

  Merthyr Tydfil

  711

  79

  Caerphilly

  881

  98

  Blaenau Gwent

  719

  80

  Torfaen

  730

  81

  Monmouthshire

  724

  80

  Newport

  758

  84

  Cardiff

  857

  95

  Wales

  17,550

  1,950

  1 Subject to submission of audited claim.

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what is the annual increase in the 1996–97 standard spending assessment for each unitary authority excluding funding for the police and community care; [10281]

  (2) if he will list the standard spending assessment for each local authority and for Wales as a whole excluding the amount specifically provided for community care (a) for 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97. [10282]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  [holding answer 18 January 1996]: The information requested is given in the following tables. Table 1 gives the 1995–96 standard spending assessments excluding allocations for community care for counties and districts. Table 2 shows the indicative 1995–96 SSAs for unitary authorities and compares them to the final SSAs for 1996–97—excluding allocations for community care.

  Table 1: Standard spending assessments 1995–96 (excluding community care)

  £ thousand

  Alyn and Deside

  10, 296

  Colwyn

  8,520

  Table 2: Standard spending assessments (excluding community care)

  (£ thousand)

  1995–961

  1996–97

  Difference

  Percentage difference

  Anglesey

  56,029

  57,194

  1,164

  2.1

  Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire

  97,151

  99,599

  2,449

  2.5

  Aberconwy and Colwyn

  81,199

  83,563

  2,365

  2.9

  Denbighshire

  71,146

  73,384

  2,238

  3.1

  Flintshire

  104,391

  106,166

  1,775

  1.7

  Wrexham

  90,503

  92,595

  2,092

  2.3

  Powys

  105,907

  108,961

  3,055

  2.9

  Cardiganshire

  54,124

  56,162

  2,038

  3.8

  Pembrokeshire

  91,748

  94,833

  3,085

  3.4

  Carmarthenshire

  136,410

  138,519

  2,109

  1.5

  Swansea

  178,516

  181,451

  2,935

  1.6

  Neath and Port Talbot

  110,739

  112,657

  1,917

  1.7

  Bridgend

  100,955

  101,186

  231

  0.2

  Vale of Glamorgan

  87,991

  89,270

  1,280

  1.5

  Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

  190,489

  193,338

  2,850

  1.5

  330

  Table 1: Standard spending assessments 1995–96 (excluding community care)

  £ thousand

  Delyn

  9,339

  Glyndwr

  5,473

  Rhuddlan

  8,900

  Wrexham Maelor

  16,574

  Carmarthen

  7,869

  Ceredigion

  10,446

  Dinefwr

  6,027

  Llanelli

  13,294

  Preseli Pembrokeshire

  11,477

  South Pembrokeshire

  8,104

  Blaenau Gwent

  15,568

  Islwyn

  11,729

  Monmouth

  9,879

  Newport

  22,305

  Torfaen

  13,584

  Aberconwy

  8,609

  Arfon

  9,890

  Dwyfor

  6,035

  Meirionnydd

  6,187

  Ynys Mon

  11,242

  Cynon Valley

  13,659

  Merthyr Tydfil

  12,135

  Ogwr

  21,279

  Rhondda

  17,622

  Rhymney Valley

  15,879

  Taff Ely

  14,662

  Brecknock

  6,631

  Montgomeryshire

  7,679

  Radnorshire

  3,486

  Cardiff

  45,787

  Vale of Glamorgan

  15,063

  Port Talbot

  9,004

  Lliw Valley

  9,039

  Neath

  10,389

  Swansea

  32,710

  Clwyd

  247,421

  Dyfed

  225,558

  Gwent

  273,652

  Gwynedd

  149,413

  Mid Glamorgan

  345,059

  Powys

  85,432

  South Glamorgan

  252,734

  West Glamorgan

  224,574

  Total Districts

  466,373

  Total counties

  1,803,842

  Total local authorities

  2,270,215

  331

  Table 2: Standard spending assessments (excluding community care)

  (£ thousand)

  1995–961

  1996–97

  Difference

  Percentage difference

  Merthyr Tydfil

  51,315

  52,446

  1,131

  2.2

  Caerphilly

  134,227

  136,242

  2,014

  1.5

  Blaenau Gwent

  59,832

  60,738

  906

  1.5

  Torfaen

  72,584

  73,709

  1,125

  1.5

  Monmouthshire

  58,768

  60,104

  1,335

  2.3

  Newport

  108,999

  110,963

  1.963

  1.8

  Cardiff

  227,193

  230,924

  3,731

  1.6

  Wales

  2,270,215

  2,314,005

  43,790

  1.9

  1 Indicative SSAs released on 27 October 1995.

  Mr. Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list in(a) cash and (b) real terms the amount available to local authorities in Wales from non-domestic rates in each year from 1990–91 to 1996–97; and what proportion of local government revenue this was in each year. [10286]

  Mr. Jones
  [holding answer 18 January 1996]: The information requested is given in the following table.

  Distributable non-domestic rates (£ million)

  Cash terms

  At 1990–91 prices

  As a proportion of local government net revenue expenditure (per cent.)

  1990–91

  443

  443

  19.9

  1991–92

  525

  494

  21.1

  1992–93

  536

  485

  20.2

  1993–94

  470

  413

  17.9

  1994–95

  464

  400

  16.5

  Table 1: Standard spending assessments for Welsh local authorities 1990–91 to 1995–961

  £ thousand

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–962

  Alyn and Deeside

  6,910

  7,960

  8,882

  9,696

  10,125

  10,296

  Colwyn

  5,367

  6,117

  6,704

  7,655

  8,253

  8,520

  Delyn

  5,796

  6,811

  7,580

  8,615

  9,262

  9,339

  Glyndwr

  3,686

  4,422

  4,829

  5,377

  5,501

  5,473

  Rhuddlan

  5,807

  7,014

  7,603

  8,458

  8,717

  8,900

  Wrexham Maelor

  11,221

  13,935

  14,864

  15,671

  16,372

  16,574

  Carmarthen

  5,488

  6,421

  6,952

  7,723

  7,762

  7,869

  Ceredigion

  6,581

  8,030

  8,700

  9,684

  9,979

  10,446

  Dinefwr

  3,542

  4,335

  4,977

  5,602

  5,866

  6,027

  Llanelli

  8,366

  10,624

  11,581

  12,539

  12,868

  13,294

  Preseli Pembrokeshire

  7,019

  8,624

  9,747

  10,844

  11,273

  11,477

  South Pembrokeshire

  4,675

  5,526

  6,376

  7,342

  7,740

  8,104

  Blaenau Gwent

  9,934

  12,667

  13,843

  14,880

  15,185

  15,568

  Islwyn

  7,952

  9,390

  10,231

  11,133

  11,534

  11,729

  Monmouth

  6,570

  7,777

  8,574

  9,394

  9,765

  9,879

  Newport

  16,354

  18,905

  20,537

  22,585

  22,472

  22,305

  Torfaen

  9,717

  11,769

  12,256

  13,417

  13,702

  13,584

  Aberconwy

  5,341

  6,672

  7,410

  8,488

  8,740

  8,609

  Arfon

  6,174

  7,963

  8,394

  9,290

  9,826

  9,890

  Dwyfor

  3,734

  4,729

  5,108

  5,882

  5,996

  6,035

  Meirionnydd

  3,911

  5,099

  5,282

  5,757

  6,068

  6,187

  Ynys Mon

  7,218

  8,943

  9,539

  10,812

  11,248

  11,242

  Cynon Valley

  8,517

  10,524

  11,675

  12,966

  13,374

  13,659

  Merthyr Tydfil

  8,266

  10,192

  10,937

  11,974

  12,226

  12,135

  Ogwr

  14,782

  17,218

  18,121

  20,287

  20,598

  21,279

  Rhondda

  11,992

  14,739

  15,921

  17,225

  17,746

  17,622

  Rhymney Valley

  10,610

  13,426

  14,128

  15,410

  15,882

  15,879

  332

  Distributable non-domestic rates (£ million)

  Cash terms

  At 1990–91 prices

  As a proportion of local government net revenue expenditure (per cent.)

  1995–96

  520

  437

  17.6

  1996–971

  459

  375

  n/a

  1Revenue expenditure figures are not available for 1996–97.

  Mr. Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list(a) the total standard spending allocated to and (b) the amount spent by each local authority in each year from 1990–91. [10280]

  Mr. Jones
  [holding answer 18 January 1996]: Table 1 shows the standard spending assessments for each local authority from 1990–91 to 1995–96, table 2 shows the standard spending assessments for 1996–97 and table 3 shows the net revenue expenditure for authorities over the same period as table 1. No data on expenditure are available for 1996–97.
  333

  Table 1: Standard spending assessments for Welsh local authorities 1990–91 to 1995–961

  £ thousand

  1990–91

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–962

  Taff Ely

  9,991

  11,701

  12,771

  14,253

  14,644

  14,662

  Brecknock

  4,132

  4,904

  5,337

  5,960

  6,257

  6,631

  Montgomeryshire

  4,682

  5,420

  5,987

  6,669

  7,132

  7,679

  Radnorshire

  2,074

  2,493

  2,971

  3,281

  3,283

  3,486

  Cardiff

  30,461

  37,265

  41,644

  44,209

  45,765

  45,787

  Vale of Glamorgan

  10,325

  12,086

  13,309

  15,017

  15,257

  15,063

  Port Talbot

  6,348

  7,901

  8,336

  8,790

  8,896

  9,004

  Lliw Valley

  5,983

  7,322

  7,854

  8,647

  8,827

  9,039

  Neath

  6,991

  8,151

  9,284

  10,088

  10,148

  10,389

  Swansea

  23,580

  28,427

  29,857

  32,346

  32,781

  32,710

  Clwyd

  225,384

  258,105

  278,847

  266,580

  280,306

  266,705

  Dyfed

  202,326

  232,562

  251,704

  242,976

  253,355

  241,288

  Gwent

  248,388

  286,174

  302,433

  295,230

  306,932

  291,717

  Gwynedd

  142,239

  159,307

  168,892

  162,795

  169,002

  160,883

  Mid Glamorgan

  320,076

  363,783

  381,246

  376,664

  388,857

  366,613

  Powys

  77,653

  87,670

  93,187

  90,374

  93,656

  90,776

  South Glamorgan

  228,696

  258,854

  273,622

  269,164

  280,920

  268,620

  West Glamorgan

  205,437

  236,544

  254,570

  243,329

  255,622

  241,661

  Dyfed-Powys Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  23,431

  Gwent Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  25,280

  North Wales Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  33,329

  South Wales Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  77,734

  Total district councils

  310,100

  375,500

  408,100

  447,964

  461,071

  466,373

  Total county councils

  1,650,200

  1,883,000

  2,004,500

  1,947,112

  2,028,650

  1,928,262

  Total police authorities

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  159,775

  Total Wales

  1,960,300

  2,258,500

  2,412,600

  2,395,076

  2,489,721

  2,554,410

  1 No adjustments made for functional changes.

  2 For years prior to 1995–96, the SSAs for police authorities are included in the amounts for county councils.

  Table 2: Standard spending assessments for Welsh local authorities: 1996–97

  £ thousand

  Anglesey

  60,802

  Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire

  106,403

  Aberconwy and Colwyn

  90,048

  Denbighshire

  78,555

  Flintshire

  112,559

  Wrexham

  98,558

  Powys

  115,649

  Cardiganshire

  59,915

  Pembrokeshire

  100,430

  Carmarthenshire

  148,358

  Swansea

  193,543

  Neath and Port Talbot

  120,451

  Bridgend

  107,587

  The Vale of Glamorgan

  94,634

  Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

  207,086

  Table 3: Net revenue expenditure for Welsh local authorities 1990–91 to 1995–96

  (£ thousand)

  1990–91 outturn

  1991–92 outturn

  1992–93 outturn

  1993–94 outturn

  1994–95 revised estimate

  1995–96 budget1

  Alyn and Deeside

  5,875

  9,296

  9,750

  9,866

  10,509

  11,807

  Colwyn

  6,219

  7,091

  7,179

  7,672

  8,955

  9,070

  Delyn

  7,530

  6,247

  8,552

  8,473

  12,542

  11,138

  Glyndwr

  3,875

  4,036

  5,275

  6,075

  5,791

  6,815

  Rhuddlan

  6,964

  9,207

  9,162

  8,786

  9,378

  9,355

  Wrexham Maelor

  12,645

  13,301

  14,880

  15,988

  16,909

  18,061

  Carmarthen

  4,800

  5,019

  5,091

  6,598

  8,690

  11,560

  Ceredigion

  6,546

  8,968

  9,279

  9,693

  10,637

  11,361

  334

  Table 2: Standard spending assessments for Welsh local authorities: 1996–97

  £ thousand

  Merthyr Tydfil

  55,859

  Caerphilly

  144,327

  Blaenau Gwent

  64,496

  Torfaen

  77,796

  Monmouthshire

  64,045

  Newport

  117,516

  Cardiff

  245,034

  Dyfed-Powys Police Authority

  24,338

  Gwent Police Authority

  31,419

  North Wales Police Authority

  34,659

  South Wales Police Authority

  75,827

  Total unitary authorities

  2,463,649

  Total police authorities

  166,242

  Total Wales

  2,629,891

  335

  Table 3: Net revenue expenditure for Welsh local authorities 1990–91 to 1995–96

  (£ thousand)

  1990–91 outturn

  1991–92 outturn

  1992–93 outturn

  1993–94 outturn

  1994–95 revised estimate

  1995–96 budget1

  Dinefwr

  3,332

  3,878

  4,877

  5,667

  5,695

  6,410

  Llanelli

  8,795

  10,557

  11,775

  13,054

  15,544

  17,397

  Preseli Pembrokeshire

  6,971

  6,867

  7,275

  9,945

  12,632

  14,854

  South Pembrokeshire

  2,784

  4,346

  5,019

  6,959

  7,299

  8,349

  Blaenau Gwent

  12,336

  14,605

  16,443

  14,913

  16,260

  17,613

  Islwyn

  9,496

  9,401

  10,015

  10,079

  13,199

  16,499

  Monmouth

  7,516

  7,758

  8,507

  9,181

  11,183

  11,818

  Newport

  16,240

  20,587

  19,444

  17,727

  22,669

  25,038

  Torfaen

  14,251

  14,978

  12,688

  13,657

  14,124

  14,669

  Aberconwy

  6,478

  8,450

  9,129

  9,428

  9,087

  9,490

  Arfon

  4,980

  7,751

  8,672

  8,571

  10,752

  10,978

  Dwyfor

  5,699

  4,692

  5,106

  5,217

  7,138

  8,172

  Meirionnydd

  5,495

  6,505

  6,257

  6,003

  6,399

  7,075

  Ynys Mon

  9,688

  9,686

  10,253

  10,735

  12,514

  14,287

  Cynon Valley

  8,783

  10,334

  11,845

  12,078

  13,027

  15,248

  Merthyr Tydfil

  8,648

  10,580

  11,404

  12,033

  12,340

  12,240

  Ogwr

  18,657

  17,545

  18,747

  19,952

  20,697

  21,697

  Rhondda

  12,630

  12,287

  12,911

  16,746

  19,251

  23,543

  Rhymney Valley

  12,826

  13,988

  15,202

  16,863

  16,175

  16,178

  Taff Ely

  9,733

  10,429

  12,195

  15,443

  16,938

  16,183

  Brecknock

  4,273

  4,698

  5,077

  5,513

  7,502

  8,266

  Montgomeryshire

  4,476

  5,341

  5,671

  6,093

  7,683

  7,978

  Radnorshire

  2,095

  2,817

  2,948

  3,310

  3,733

  3,561

  Cardiff

  38,739

  41,397

  41,279

  44,737

  48,269

  48,945

  Vale of Glamorgan

  8,831

  12,057

  13,280

  15,579

  16,593

  17,330

  Port Talbot

  8,042

  8,212

  6,368

  6,282

  13,145

  13,737

  Lliw Valley

  4,903

  5,506

  6,585

  7,717

  8,432

  9,319

  Neath

  6,753

  8,942

  9,513

  10,699

  14,269

  15,160

  Swansea

  31,486

  36,201

  35,091

  32,116

  35,300

  35,904

  Clwyd

  241,714

  269,547

  291,250

  261,453

  288,281

  280,517

  Dyfed

  210,684

  234,897

  258,161

  253,894

  266,584

  261,088

  Gwent

  251,273

  283,716

  304,684

  299,215

  313,523

  301,405

  Gwynedd

  144,793

  158,369

  168,423

  164,470

  175,719

  170,079

  Mid Glamorgan

  323,255

  361,185

  378,157

  381,519

  408,049

  391,938

  Powys

  75,332

  86,954

  95,386

  92,917

  97,015

  97,284

  South Glamorgan

  232,522

  259,964

  272,136

  270,076

  280,334

  274,040

  West Glamorgan

  219,065

  238,965

  261,812

  252,306

  268,065

  258,048

  Dyfed-Powys Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  23,031

  Gwent Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  25,280

  North Wales Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  33,328

  South Wales Police Authority

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  n/a

  74,733

  Total district councils

  349,390

  393,560

  412,744

  439,448

  501,260

  537,105

  Total county councils

  1,698,638

  1,893,597

  2,030,009

  1,975,850

  2,097,570

  2,034,399

  Total police authorities

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  156,372

  Total Wales

  2,048,028

  2,287,157

  2,442,753

  2,415,298

  2,598,830

  2,727,876

  1 Police authority budgets adjusted to exclude police grant. For years prior to 1995–96, the expenditure for police authorities is included in the amounts for county councils.

  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each unitary authority area and for Wales as a whole in 1996 prices the overall central Government support net of community care costs in(a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97. [12431]

  Mr. Jones
  The figures for 1995–96, redistributed on a unitary authority basis, and final figures for 1996–97, estimated at 1995–96 prices are set out in the following table.
  336

  Government financial support for unitary authorities

  Central government support net of allocations for care in the community at constant 1995–96 prices (£ thousands)1

  Unitary authority

  1995–962

  31996–97

  Anglesey

  48,805

  47,280

  Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire Aberconwy and

  84,787

  84,493

  337

  Government financial support for unitary authorities

  Central government support net of allocations for care in the community at constant 1995–96 prices (£ thousands)1

  Unitary authority

  1995–962

  31996–97

  Colwyn

  68,819

  67,493

  Denbighshire

  61,226

  63,680

  Flintshire

  89,704

  87,472

  Wrexham

  78,626

  76,836

  Powys

  92,555

  90,351

  Cardiganshire

  46,862

  49,953

  Pembrokeshire

  79,745

  78,432

  Carmarthenshire

  120,020

  115,764

  Swansea

  156,525

  151,340

  Neath and Port Talbot

  98,393

  99,205

  Bridgend

  88,495

  85,476

  The Vale of Glamorgan

  74,708

  71,330

  Rhondda, Cynon, Taff

  172,578

  176,136

  Merthyr Tydfil

  46,985

  46,759

  Caerphilly

  120,393

  119,816

  Blaenau Gwent

  54,145

  57,144

  Torfaen

  64,245

  63,311

  Monmouthshire

  48,917

  47,089

  Newport

  96,171

  93,107

  Cardiff

  197,087

  198,101

  Wales

  1,989,794

  1,970,570

  1 Comprises revenue support grant and the distributable amount from non-domestic rates, and, for 1996–97, grant under the council tax reduction scheme.

  2 Derived from indicative unitary authority standard spending assessments issued on 27 October 1995.

  3 Estimates derived from the final 1996–97 local government revenue settlement.

  Community Care
  Mr. Llwyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each unitary authority area and for Wales as a whole in 1996 prices the budget for community care(a) 1995–96 and (b) 1996–97. [12430]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The information requested is not available. Local authorities' budget returns do not distinguish estimated expenditure on care in the community from expenditure on other social services. Local authorities have not yet set their budgets for 1996–97.

  Osteoporosis
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what sums were earmarked for(a) the treatment of, and (b) publicity about, osteoporosis in (i) 1994 and (ii) 1995. [12992]

  Mr. Richards
  (a) This information is not available centrally. The responsibility for providing services for osteoporosis is a matter for district health authorities. (b) No Welsh Office funds were earmarked for publicity about osteoporosis in 1994 or 1995.

  Mr. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy concerning the identification and treatment of sufferers from osteoporosis. [12994]

  Mr. Richards
  The responsibility for the assessment and provision of services for sufferers of osteoporosis is a matter for district health authorities in the light of local priorities and resources.
  338
  Mr. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of(a) the number of sufferers from osteoporosis and (b) the number of people treated for osteoporosis in Wales in each of the last three years. [12995]

  Mr. Richards
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Mr. Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional promotional measures he plans in connection with osteoporosis. [12991]

  Mr. Richards
  The Welsh Office does not at present have any specific plans for promotional measures aimed at reducing the impact of osteoporosis.

  School Transport
  Mr. Beggs
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which local authorities in Wales provide free transport to schools and colleges for pupils beyond the compulsory school-leaving age. [12894]

  Mr. Richards
  The information requested is not available centrally.

  Elderly People's Homes
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy concerning safety and security and the prevention of accidents in homes for the elderly. [13183]

  Mr. Richards
  The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for developing and providing guidance on health and safety standards nationally and for the enforcement of health and safety legislation in all nursing homes and in residential homes owned by local authorities. Local authority environmental health departments are responsible for enforcement in private and voluntary residential homes.

  Under the Registered Homes Act 1984 local authority social services departments are responsible for the registration of residential homes and health authorities are responsible for the registration of nursing homes.

  Baglan Hospital
  Mr. John Morris
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money has so far been expended on the site proposed for the Baglan hospital; and which body is bearing the interest charges for costs incurred. [13733]

  Mr. Richards
  West Glamorgan health authority has invested £5.1 million in the acquisition and initial preparation of land at Baglan moors. The funds were allocated as part of the authority's capital allocation and, as such, do not attract interest charges.

  Sheep (Radioactivity)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what considerations have led him to take the view that sheep in the area of north Wales hitherto restricted post-Chernobyl are now fit for human consumption. [13679]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Statutory restrictions are in place to prevent sheepmeat containing levels of radiocaesium in excess of 1,000 Becquerels per kilogram from entering the
  339
  food chain. A continuing assessment programme enables suitable areas affected by restrictions to be identified for an intensive monitoring survey to determine the level of radiocaesium activity in the sheep grazing there.

  When it can be shown, following intensive monitoring at the time of year when levels of activity are expected to be at their peak, that residual radioactivity has declined to acceptable levels restrictions may be removed from that area. The latest removal of restrictions form part of the north Wales restricted area follows the successful outcome of such an assessment.

  Junior Doctors
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the shortfall of junior doctors in each of the health districts in Wales. [13810]

  Mr. Richards
  The Department has been discussing with NHS trusts what action can be taken to address the problems arising from a shortage of junior doctors in some specialities. Information on the extent of the shortfall in each health district in Wales can be provided by individual trusts and is not held centrally.

  Spare Computer Capacity
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1987, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14074]

  Mr. Hague
  There are no cases in which the Welsh Office has sold spare computer capacity to other Departments.

  Health Service Materials Management
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 2 February,Official Report, column 980, if the sale proceeds of the existing Welsh Health Common Services Authority stores will be available for meeting (a) redundancy costs of existing authority employees in the procurement section, (b) costs of removal of the contracts division from Crickhowell house and (c) other restructuring costs. [14270]

  Mr. Hague
  Proceeds from the sale of stores will be available to meet restructuring and redundancy costs associated with the market test of materials management. The location of the contracting staff is a separate matter and is for the authority to decide.

  NHS EstateCare
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 1 February,Official Report, column 898, if he will list the date and means by which his predecessor's decision to privatise the EstateCare group of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority was (a) first formulated and (b) communicated to (i) NHS trusts and (ii) others with an interest; and if he will make a statement. [14272]

  Mr. Hague
  My Department wrote to health authorities and NHS trusts on 11 April 1994 letting them know that the privatisation of the EstateCare group was under consideration. Detailed proposals were subsequently 340
  drawn up by the Welsh Health Common Services Authority with the involvement of health authorities and NHS trusts.

HEALTH

  NHS Trusts (Statistics)
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce into NHS hospital trusts annual information on(a) the percentage for re-admission after treatment, (b) the number of patients who get infections and (c) the number of times the hospital has been closed to emergency admission. [13230]

  Mr. Horam
  No.

  NHS Pension Scheme
  Mr. William O'Brien
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the policy of payment of NHS pensions to employees who are certified as long-term sick and unable to return to their employment with the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [13564]

  Mr. Malone
  The purpose of the national health service pension scheme is to provide pension benefits to employees on retirement. I am satisfied that it should continue to be the case. Where satisfactory independent medical opinion states that he or she is permanently incapable of efficiently discharging the duties of his or her employment an employee shall be entitled to an ill health retirement pension.

  Adoption Home Studies
  Mr. Thurnham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each English local authority the amount currently charged for inter-country adoption home studies. [13477]

  Mr. Bowis
  This information is not available centrally.

  Fundholding Savings (Ownership of Assets)
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health who legally owns assets bought from fundholding savings; and if he will make a statement. [13720]

  Mr. Malone
  It depends on the use to which the savings have been put. For example, if equipment was bought for use in a trust, ownership would probably be with the trust; if the savings were used for developments in the practice, ownership would probably be with the practice.

  Such expenditure has to be approved by the regional health authority to ensure benefit for patients and value for money.

  Oral Cancer
  Mr. Battle
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what are the annual costs to the national health service of surgery for oral cancer; and what assessment he has made of the potential savings from earlier diagnosis of oral cancer; [13768]
  341
  (2) what steps are being taken by his Department to (a) set targets for reducing oral cancer incidence and to reduce death rates from oral cancer and (b) launch an extensive nationwide public awareness campaign of oral cancer and its risks factors and a programme for dentists to aid early identification of high-risk individuals. [13807]

  Mr. Malone
  Information on the annual cost of oral cancer is not available centrally. There are no plans at present to introduce set targets for reducing oral cancer morbidity or mortality rates. Dentists are trained in the early recognition of abnormalities in the mouth and will refer patients for the appropriate treatment. Oral cancer can result from excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption, the risks of which are widely publicised and recognised. The Chief Dental Officer chairs the National Advisory Group on Screening for Oral Cancer which was set up last October. The group seeks to co-ordinate various strands of work being undertaken in the field of detecting and preventing oral cancers.

  Department of Health

  Medicines control agency

  NHS estates

  Grade (including professional equivalents)

  Posts advertised

  Number applied

  Posts advertised

  Number applied

  Posts advertised

  Number applied

  UG2

  1

  24

  —

  —

  —

  —

  UG3

  3

  94

  —

  —

  —

  —

  UG5

  2

  90

  —

  —

  —

  —

  UG6

  1

  58

  —

  —

  6

  258

  UG7

  4

  106

  2

  104

  1

  71

  NO

  5

  104

  —

  —

  —

  —

  SEO

  —

  —

  1

  19

  5

  174

  HEO

  —

  —

  2

  108

  2

  18

  EO

  —

  —

  —

  —

  3

  220

  Unit Manager

  1

  14

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Groupworker

  6

  83

  —

  —

  —

  —

  AO

  7

  377

  4

  58

  —

  —

  AA

  —

  —

  1

  12

  —

  —

  PES

  —

  —

  1

  27

  —

  —

  City and East London Health Authority
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the difference between the spending plans of the health service providers in City and East London and the available budget. [13789]

  Mr. Horam
  Health authorities and general practitioners fundholders negotiate and fund an agreed level of service provision with national health service trusts. It is for each trust to provide those services using the available resources.

  Accident and Emergency Units (Doctors)
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of doctors from overseas working in the accident and emergency units of NHS hospitals. [14105]

  Mr. Malone
  There were 533 overseas-qualified doctors working in accident and emergency in England as at 30 September 1994.

  Note The total includes permanent paid, locums and honorary doctors, ie those in the field of academia and research.

  Newham Healthcare NHS Trust
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure early resumption of routine and clinically urgent operations by Newham Healthcare NHS trust. [13790]

  Mr. Horam
  This is a matter for the trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman, Rosemary Walters, for details.

  Job Advertisements
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many jobs have been advertised in each grade in his Department during the last three months for which records are available; and how many people have applied for each such job. [13831]

  Mr. Horam
  The following posts in the Department of Health and its agencies have been advertised externally since 1 November 1995:

  NHS Charges
  Mr. Peter Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase NHS charges and the value of optical vouchers; and if he will make a statement. [14830]

  Mr. Malone
  I shall shortly lay before the House regulations to increase national health service charges in England and Wales from 1 April 1996. The prescription charge will increase by 25p, from £5.25 to £5.50 for each quantity of a drug or appliance dispensed. The fees for prescription prepayment certificates will also rise by £1.30, from £27.20 to £28.50 for a four-month certificate, and by £3.60, from £74.80 to £78.40, for an annual certificate. This will result in savings for those needing more than five items in four months or 14 in one year.

  Charges for elastic stockings and tights, wigs and most fabric supports supplied through the hospital service will be increased proportionately with the rise in the prescription charge.

  There will be an increase in the maximum patient charge for a single course of dental treatment begun on or after 1 April 1996. Everyone under 18 will continue to receive free treatment and about 25 per cent. of adult treatments are provided free or at reduced cost. The

  343
  maximum patient charge will increase from £300 to £325. More than 99 per cent. of courses of dental treatment will not be affected by this change because fewer than three in 1,000 courses of treatment attract the maximum charge.

  From 1 April 1996, the range of optical vouchers issued under the NHS optical voucher scheme will increase in value by 1 per cent. on average. The old values reflected the application of value added tax to the full cost of finished spectacles. A recent decision means that VAT should not be applied to the part of this cost which relates to dispensing the spectacles.

  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will lay regulations to increase charges in Scotland by the same amounts. Similar arrangements will apply in Northern Ireland.

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

  Safety of Medicines
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the occasions on which(a) the Licensing Authority, (b) the Medicines Control Agency and its predecessor division of the DHSS and (c) the Committee on Safety of Medicines have taken legal action with respect to matters relating to the Medicines Act 1968; and what injunctions on what occasions have been sought preventing publication of any material relating to the efficacy or safety of medicines. [12977]

  Mr. Malone
  This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Oral Contraceptives
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 1995 to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce),Official Report, column 1153, if he will publish the full text of the advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines to the Licensing Authority. [12979]

  Mr. Malone
  Such advice is confidential. The recommendations made by the Committee on Safety of Medicines at the meeting on 13 October 1995 were published in a letter from the chairman dated 18 October 1995 which was sent to doctors and pharmacists. Copies of this letter are available in the Library.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) under what legislative provision the opinion of the committee for proprietary medicinal products on the safety of combined oral contraceptives, which was requested on 11 October 1995, is being obtained; [12976]

  (2) if he will publish the text of the formal referral made on 11 October 1995 by the licensing authority to the committee for proprietary medicinal products; and if he will state the legal basis for that referral. [12973]

  Mr. Malone
  The Medicines Control Agency has an obligation to keep other member states informed of issues on the efficacy, quality and safety of medicines. In accordance with these obligations, on 11 October 1995 the MCA requested in writing that the safety of combined oral contraceptives be placed on the agenda of the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products meeting of 17 to 18 October, after important new evidence about this 344
  issue became available. It is not normal practice to publish such documentation. The matter was not referred to the Committee for an opinion under article 12 of directive 75/319/EEC.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if those who made arrangements on 11 October 1995 for the meeting of the Committee on Safety of Medicines on 13 October 1995 were made aware of the formal referral regarding safety concerns relating to desogestrel and gestodene to be considered by the pharmacovigilance sub-committee of the Committee on Safety of Medicines; and what factors led to the referral. [12965]

  Mr. Malone
  No such referral was made to the pharmacovigilance sub-committee. I presume the hon. Member is referring to the written request made on 11 October 1995 that the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products place the issue on the agenda of its meeting of 17–18 October. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 19 December 1995,Official Report, columns 1149–50.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) of 19 December 1995,Official Report, column 1149, if the outside experts who attended the working group of the Committee on Safety of Medicines on 10 October and the meeting of the CSM on 13 October were informed that the proceedings were subject to the Official Secrets Act 1989. [12966]

  Mr. Malone
  No. Attendees of the meeting of the Committee on Safety of Medicines on 13 October 1995 and the working group meeting of 10 October 1995 were informed that the papers and proceedings of the meetings were confidential and should not be disclosed. The papers and proceedings are subject to section 118 of the Medicines Act 1968.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors precluded consideration between July 1995 and October 1995 of safety concerns relating to desogestrel and gestodene by the pharmacovigilence sub-committee of the Committee on Safety of Medicines. [12967]

  Mr. Malone
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 19 December 1995 at column 1151.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the licensing authority took prior to issuing the "Dear Doctor" letter of 18 October 1995 to establish the availability of oral contraceptives deemed to be suitable alternatives to those oral contraceptives which had given rise to safety concerns. [12972]

  Mr. Malone
  Appropriate steps were taken. The Committee on Safety of Medicines did not advise that all women on oral contraceptives containing gestodene or desogestrel should be switched to alternative preparations immediately. In a press release issued by the Department, women taking these pills were strongly urged to continue taking them, but to see their doctor, preferably before finishing their current cycle, to discuss whether a change of pill was necessary. Women who could not visit their surgery or family planning clinic before the end of their present cycle were advised to start the next pack. Discussions regarding supply were held with
  345
  pharmaceutical companies. We are not aware of major difficulties in the supply of alternative preparations that arose as a result of the CSM's advice.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received relating to safety concerns on combined oral contraceptives containing desogestrel or gestodene; and what steps he has taken in response to any such expressions of concern. [12974]

  Mr. Malone
  My Department has received representations from a number of sources, including doctors and other health professionals; bodies representing health professionals; members of the public; the pharmaceutical companies concerned and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, and has responded to the issues raised.

  Medicines Commission
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the chairmen of the Medicines Commission since the inception of the Medicines Commission and give for each chairman the dates on which the chairmanship started and finished, together with the total duration of the chairmanship and if the individual concerned had served as a member of the Medicines Commission other than as chairman. [12921]

  Mr. Malone
  The available information is as follows:

  Start and finish date

  Sir Derrick Dunlop MD FRCP FRCPed

  (Chairman) 1969 to December 1971

  Lord Rosenheim KBE MD FRCP

  (Member) 1969 to December 1971 (Chairman) January 1972 to December 1972 (1 year)

  Professor A. Wilson CBE PhD MD FRCP FPS

  (Member) 1969 to October 1974 (Acting Chairman) December 1972 to mid 1973

  Sir Ronald Bodley Scott GCVO MA MD

  (Chairman) Mid 1973 to December 1975

  Professor W. Butterfield OBE MA MD DM FRCP FACP

  (Member) January 1975 to December 1975 (1 year) (Chairman) January 1976 to December 1981 (6 years)

  Professor Dame Rosalind Hurley DBE LLB MD DUniv(Surrey) FRCPath FFPM(Hon) FRCOG

  (Chairman) 1982 to December 1993 (12 years)

  Professor D. Lawson CBE MD FRCPEdin FRCPGlasg FFPM

  (Chairman) January 1994 to Present (2 years 1 month)

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the occasions when the Medicines Commission has exercised its powers under section 3 of the Medicines Act 1968, and for each occasion give the date and nature of the issues examined, at whose request the powers were exercised, and if the results of the deliberations of the commission were published. [12923]

  Mr. Malone
  Section 3 of the Medicines Act 1968 sets out all of the general functions assigned to the Medicines Commission by or under the Act. To provide the information in respect of all the matters considered by the commission since it was established in 1969 would incur 346
  disproportionate cost. Details of matters considered by the commission are published in annual reports which are laid before the House and copies of which are available in the Library.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the occasions since 1968 when the Medicines Commission reviewed the committees established under section 4 of the Medicines Act 1968. [12975]

  Mr. Malone
  Under section 5 of the Medicines Act 1968, all section 4 committees are required to report to the Medicines Commission annually with respect to the performance of their functions. Copies of the reports are placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  Clinical Trials
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what clinical trials conducted under a clinical trials exemption certificate were terminated between 1 October 1995 and 30 November 1995 at the request of the licensing authority on grounds of safety; [12922]

  (2) if regulatory action relating to clinical trials involving the use of medicinal products containing (a) desogestrel and (b) gestodene has now been completed. [12971]

  Mr. Malone
  Any company, or investigator, wishing to conduct a clinical trial with third generation progestogens or their metabolites, would have to apply to the Medicines Control Agency in accordance with the Medicines Act 1968 and its secondary legislation, and would have to provide a justification for the use of third generation progestogens taking into account the recent advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines in its letter dated 18 October 1995. Any regulatory action relating to clinical trials is treated in confidence between the licensing authority and the company or investigator concerned.

  Medicines Act
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the sub-committees established under powers conferred by section 1 (c) of schedule 1 to the Medicines Act 1968 or section 6 of the Medicines Commission and Committees Regulations 1970, giving for each sub-committee the date on which ministerial approval was given for the establishing of the sub-committee, which Minister or Ministers gave such approval, the date on which the sub-committee first met and, where applicable, the date of the final meeting of the sub-committee. [12924]

  Mr. Malone
  The available information for sub-committees established by powers conferred by section 1(c) of schedule 1 to the Medicines Act 1968 is contained in the annual reports of the section 4 committees of the Medicines Act 1968, copies of which are available in the Library.

  Medicines Control Agency
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date arrangements were made by the Medicines Control Agency for the meetings with Professor Walter Spitzer and colleagues which were held
  347
  on Monday 9 October 1995 and Tuesday 10 October 1995. [12925]

  Mr. Malone
  The arrangements were made in late September 1995.

  Committee on Safety of Medicines
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what written reports from the transnational study were received by the licensing authority before to the meeting of the Committee on Safety of Medicines held on 13 October 1995. [12968]

  Mr. Malone
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) on 19 December 1995,Official Report, column 1149.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the scheduled and actual meeting dates between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 1995 of the Committee on Safety of Medicines and its pharmacovigilance sub-committee. [12969]

  Mr. Malone
  The scheduled and actual meeting dates of the Committee on Safety of Medicines were as follows:

  26 January 1995

  23 February 1995

  23 March 1995

  27 April 1995

  25 May 1995

  22 June 1995

  20 July 1995

  21 September 1995

  13 October 1995

  26 October 1995

  23 November 1995

  14 December 1995

  The scheduled meeting dates of the pharmacovigilance sub-committee were as follows:

  3 January 1995

  31 January 1995

  28 February 1995

  28 March 1995

  2 May 1995

  6 June 1995

  4 July 1995

  5 September 1995

  3 October 1995

  31 October 1995

  28 November 1995

  The meetings scheduled for 31 January 1995 and 28 March 1995 were cancelled.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list travel and subsistence expenses paid to the members of the Committee on Safety of Medicines for journeys in October 1995; and if, for each payment, he will identify the committee members concerned, the starting point, starting date, finishing point and finishing date for each journey, and list separately the sums of travel and subsistence expenses paid; [12920]
  348
  (2) if he will list travel and subsistence expenses paid to outside experts who advised the Licensing Authority of the Committee on Safety of Medicines for journeys in October 1995; if he will identify the recipient of each payment, the starting point, starting date, finishing point and finishing date for each journey and if he will identify separately the sums of travel and subsistence expenses paid. [12970]

  Mr. Malone
  No. This information cannot be provided for reasons of confidentiality.

  EU Legislation
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on which occasions in the last three years officials have vetoed draft EC legislation on the grounds that a fiche d'impact had not been correctly prepared. [13643]

  Mr. Horam
  The correct preparation of fiches d'impact is a very important part of our consideration of proposals for EC legislation. It is one of the factors taken into account when Ministers consider the United Kingdom's negotiating position on a particular proposal.

  Renal Services
  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of patients who die each year due to renal failure through the non-availability of dialysis machines to treat them; and if he will make a statement on the remedial measures he is taking. [14061]

  Mr. Horam
  This information is not available. It is for individual health authorities to allocate resources to renal services based on an assessment of the needs of their population and taking account of local priorities. Good practice guidance has been issued to help authorities to carry out a proper assessment of need for patients with renal failure. Purchasing guidance will be issued to health authorities shortly.

  Mr. Churchill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date he received the national review of renal services; and if he will now publish it. [14062]

  Mr. Horam
  My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State received the report of the national review of renal services in December 1994. We are currently considering a number of issues as to how to take this forward. This includes related guidance on purchasing renal services to be issued to health authorities in time for the next contracting round.

  NHS Finance
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide(a) for each region and (b) for the trusts in each region for each of the last three years (i) the original capital cash limits (ii) the net amount of subsequent transfers or adjustments, (iii) the consequent final cash limits, (iv) receipts from the sale of fixed assets and (v) capital cash payments to acquire assets excluding donated assets. [10933]

  Mr. Horam
  National health service trusts do not have capital cash limits. Total cash payments are controlled by external financing limits which represent the difference between trusts' internally generated resources and approved capital spend.
  349
  Health authorities and national health service trusts are not required to distinguish between the cash flows for purchased and donated assets in their accounts.

  The other information requested will be placed in the Library.

  Over the period the number of NHS trusts increased. As a consequence the capital resources available to trusts increased and there was a corresponding reduction in the capital resources available to health authorities.

  NHS Trusts (Return on Capital)
  Mr. McLeish
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the target figure in cash terms for the return on capital for each NHS trust annually since their inception and the actual return on capital annually; and how much of the actual surplus was(a) retained by the NHS trusts and (b) returned to the Government. [12621]

  Mr. Horam
  [holding answer 30 January 1996]: National health service trusts are required to make a six per cent. return on their net relevant assets, not a target figure in cash terms. Tables showing the actual return achieved in percentage terms by each trust, and their retained surplus, for the financial year 1991–92 and 1992–93 will be placed in the Library. The equivalent information for the financial years 1993–94 and 1994–95 is already available in the Library within reports on national health service trusts financial performance. Tables showing amounts paid by national health service trusts to the Consolidated Fund in interest and dividends for each financial year since 1991–92—the first year national health service trusts were established—will also be placed in the Library.

  NHS Trusts (Legal Costs)
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions the Department has met the legal costs of workers of the boards of health trusts; which trusts were assisted; what was the cost to the Department in each case; and where provision was made for these costs in his Department's estimates. [13806]

  Mr. Malone
  The Department contributed towards the legal costs incurred by the non-executives of Cornwall Healthcare national health service trust in the libel action brought against them by Mrs. Abigail Kirby-Harris the former chairman. The contribution made by the Department towards the legal costs of all the litigants was £250,000 for which provision was taken in the winter supplementary estimates for 1995–96 presented to Parliament on 16 November 1995.

  This is the only case in which such a payment has been made by the Department.

  Mr. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rules govern the payment by NHS trusts of legal costs incurred in actions involving members of the boards of trusts; and what sum has been incurred to date in meeting these costs. [13808]

  Mr. Malone
  National health service trusts meet their directors' litigation costs where required to do so under the National Health Service Act 1977, or where vicariously liable at common law for the directors' actions, or where—in appropriate cases—they have indemnified the directors against such costs.
  350
  No central record is kept of sums paid by NHS trusts towards legal costs.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  British Library
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to the letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow, JH/95/M/688, what actions he is taking to pursue the issue of oral scientific history with the national sound archive of the British library. [8247]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 22 January 1996]: I propose to discuss the subject of oral scientific history with the chief executive of the British library.

  Built Heritage
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when she expects to publish a Green Paper on possible reforms of legislation to protect the built heritage. [13677]

  Mr. Sproat
  I hope to do so within the next couple of months.

  Job Advertisements
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many jobs have been advertised in each grade in her Department during the last three months for which records are available; and how many people have applied for each such job. [13830]

  Mr. Sproat
  My Department has not advertised any jobs in the last three months.

  Departmental Publications
  Dr. Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which of her Department's administrative manuals and internal guidance are now made public; and which remain private. [14029]

  Mr. Sproat
  The following internal Departmental guidance is available to the public on request:

  DNH Procedural Note on Open Government

  Code of Best Practice for Board Members

  DNH Finance Guide

  Historic Buildings Conservation Guidance for Government Departments

  Guidance for Departments on Disposal of Surplus Historical Buildings

  Guidance on the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

  Design Guidelines

  Miscellaneous Guidance on Briefing and Drafting

  Miscellaneous Guidance on Personnel Policy

  Health and Safety Guidance

  "Green" Policy Guidance

  The following material is not available for public dissemination:

  DNH Security Instructions

  DNH Bomb and Fire Instructions

  DNH IT Security Policy

  DNH Guidance on Honours

  Spare Computer Capacity
  Mr. Miller
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list all cases where spare computer capacity has been sold to other Departments since 1992, giving the Department and value of each contract. [14085]

  Mr. Sproat
  The Department of National Heritage has never sold any spare computer capacity to other Departments.

  Teletext
  Mr. Austin Mitchell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps she is taking to ensure that providers of Teletext and other additional services, receive parity of treatment with other public service broadcasters in the allocation of guaranteed increased capacity in the digital environment. [13819]

  Mr. Sproat
  Teletext, the holder of the public service teletext licence, has been guaranteed sufficient digital capacity to simulcast its existing service. The Secretary of State recently met Teletex to discuss its digital service, and is considering further its request for increased capacity.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Prosecutions (Police Officers)
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list in each of the last 10 years the cases where the Crown Prosecution Service decided that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute police officers for(a) assault, (b) wrongful imprisonment and (c) malicious prosecution where a private prosecution subsequently produced a conviction; what damages were paid in each such case; and what disciplinary action was taken against each police officer in each of these cases. [13436]

  The Attorney-General
  The Crown Prosecution Service came into existence in 1986. It does not maintain statistics of allegations of criminal offences committed by police officers broken down by type of offence. Nor does it collect or maintain statistics about any private prosecution that may follow a decision not to prosecute whether or not that prosecution results in a conviction. Damages are normally only paid in the context of civil rather than criminal proceedings but are, like disciplinary proceedings, matters for the police force concerned and do not involve the Crown Prosecution Service.

DEFENCE

  Porton Down Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what have been(a) the nature and (b) the period of the collaboration between the Porton Down Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment and the common cold unit at Harnham Down, Salisbury since 1966; [13000]
  352
  (2) what research the Porton Down Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment has carried out into the common cold since 1966; and what were the conclusions of this research; [12998]

  (3) what experiments in conjunction with the common cold unit in Salisbury volunteers from the service volunteer programme organised by the Porton Down Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment have taken part in since 1966; what was the purpose of these experiments; how many volunteers were involved in these experiments; and what were the conclusions of these experiments. [12999]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  These matters are for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 8 February 1996:
  Your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what research the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment has carried out on the common cold; about collaboration between CBDE and the Common Cold Unit at Harnham Down; and about which experiments volunteers from the Service volunteer programme and the Common Cold Unit worked in conjunction, have been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE. I am answering all three questions in this letter.CBDE has never carried out research into the common cold. We understand that research on this subject was primarily undertaken by the Common Cold Unit at Harnham, Salisbury which is now closed. That unit was administered by the Medical Research Council and had no connection with CBDE. No collaborative work has been carried out between the two establishments and no experiments were conducted which involved the use of volunteers at CBDE in the work of the Common Cold Unit, nor did volunteers at the Common Cold Unit take part in studies at CBDE.I hope this information is helpful.
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 January,Official Report, columns 528–30, if he will give the full title of each research contract and the university department involved for each of the contracts listed. [13105]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 8 February 1996:

  Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking if he will give the full title of each research contract and the university department involved for each of the contracts listed in my letter to you of 16 January has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.

  As stated in my letter of 16 January nineteen contractors in ten universities have agreed to make their contractual relationships know to the public. The full titles of the agreements and the department in which they are being conducted are given below.

  University of Birmingham—three contracts

  Gas Phase Ion Molecule Reactions—School of Physics and Space Science

  Decontamination of Chemical Warfare Agents with Dendrimers—School of Chemistry

  Identification of the Biological Composition of Ambient Aerosols—School of Biological Sciences

  353

  University of Bristol—two contracts

  Behaviour and Sleep patterns—Department of
  Psychopharmacology

  Ocular Hazards from Microwaves—Department of Ophthalmology

  University of Durham—one contract

  Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study of Adsorption Processes—School of Chemistry

  University of Hull—two contracts

  Chemiluminescence Based Detection Systems for Liquid Chromatography—School of Chemistry

  Development of Chemiluminescence Based Detection Systems for Organophosphorus Compounds—School of Chemistry

  University of Leeds—one contract

  Effect of Infusion Fluids on the Host Defence Mechanisms—School of Medicine

  University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne—one contract

  Synthesis and Reactions of Therapeutic Nucleophiles—Department of Chemistry

  University of Southampton—two contracts

  EEG, Drugs, Brain Mapping and Cognition—Clinical and Neurological Sciences Group

  Adsorption and Desorption of Methyl Salicylate on Colpro Wall Finishes—Department of Chemistry

  University of Warwick—one contract

  Structural Studies of Peptides using Mass Spectrometry—Department of Chemistry

  University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST)—five contracts—all with the Department of Chemical Engineering

  Evaporation of Thickened Agency Simulant Droplets from Porous Surfaces

  Field Experiments on Secondary Source Generation by Obstacle Wake Entrainment

  Atmospheric Dispersion around Elemental Structures

  Wind Flow and Dispersion Model Evaluation

  Pressure and Temperature Swing Adsorption Model

  I hope this information is helpful.

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 11 January,Official Report, column 317, how many times in (a) 1993, (b) 1994 and (c) 1995, the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment placed requirements for volunteers in "Defence Council Instructions"; and if he will place copies of these in the Library. [13092]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 8 February 1996:
  Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking how many times in 1993, 1994 and 1995, the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment placed requirements for volunteers in Defence Council Instructions; and if he will place copies of these in the Library has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE.Requests for volunteers were published in Joint Service Defence Council Instructions (DCIs) on three occasions in 1995, four occasions in 1994, and twice in 1993. Joint Service Defence Council
  354
  Instructions are restricted documents and we do not normally release them. I have, however, set out below an example of one of these adverts.I hope this information is helpful.76/94 Volunteers for Studies at Chemical & Biological Defence Establishment Porton Down (R)1. Your attention is drawn to NAGO's Article 1095, AGAI Vol 3 Chapter 117 and RAF GA1 J5051, and the requirement for servicemen and servicewomen to volunteer to take part in studies and tests of Chemical and Biological defence equipment at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) Porton Down. Volunteers could earn additional pay up to £250 (less tax), or in special cases more, for a three week study and proportionately less for the shorter studies. CBDE is well aware of the many pressures on commanding officers and the difficulties of releasing personnel for duties outside the role of their command. However, it is stressed that this Service volunteer scheme plays an essential part in the development of Chemical and Biological defence equipment. Commanding Officers excluding RAF Germany units are therefore asked to give this requirement maximum publicity by repeating it in daily/unit routine orders and to release volunteers whenever possible to take part in these studies.2. The dates of assembly and dispersal for the formal programme for the period January to April 1995 are shown at the ANNEX. Additional special intakes are sometimes required which are notified by signal giving as much notice as possible.3. It should be noted that only regular members of HM Forces serving in the UK and BAOR can be accepted as volunteers.

  Annex: Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment Programme for the period 9 January-7 April 1995

  Duration

  Dates

  Number required

  Special requirements

  3 Weeks

  9 January–27 January

  4

  All the same sex

  3 Weeks

  9 January–27 January

  4M

  2 Weeks

  30 January–10 February

  2M

  3 Weeks

  13 February–3 March

  4

  All the same sex

  3 Weeks

  13 February–3 March

  4M

  2 Weeks

  6 March–17 March

  2M

  1 Week

  20 March–24 March

  4

  All the same sex

  2 Weeks

  20 March–31 March

  5M

  5'8"-6' tall (bare feet), no beards

  3 Weeks

  20 March–7 April

  4M

  1 Week

  27 March–31 March

  4

  All the same sex

  N.B. All volunteers are to be P2 or above and not on any medication.

  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what restrictions are placed by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment on the provision to volunteers of copies of the original laboratory reports of the experiments in which they participated; what factors underlie the imposition of these restrictions; and if he will make a statement. [13091]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 8 February 1996:
  Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking what restrictions are placed by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment on providing volunteers who took part in the service volunteers' programme with copies of the original laboratory reports of the experiments in which they participated, and what factors underlie these restrictions has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE.355 It would perhaps be helpful to explain clearly the type of records held by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment regarding the Service volunteer programme. Records of the volunteers involved in the Service volunteer programme from 1940 to 1990 are held in summary books. These summary books contain the volunteer's name, service number, date of attendance and a brief, often one word, description of the study in which they participated. In some cases this information is all that we have to describe the study. We are able to supply some additional details for most volunteers who took part in studies involving exposure to chemical warfare materials such as mustard gas and nerve agent from exposure record books. These laboratory records, containing some experimental detail, were working papers to be used in the preparation of technical reports.The technical reports on studies in which volunteers participated are themselves available for some areas of work although a number of these remain classified. These reports do not identify individual volunteers but can povide general background information on the type and nature of the study in which the volunteer took part. Since 1990 and the introduction of formal written volunteer protocols the record books identify the protocol number(s) for the trials in which volunteers participated and a cross reference can be made to copy of the protocol held in the archive to determine the experimental details.It has long been a policy of CBDE to make available to a volunteer's medical practitioner as much information as possible in order to assist with the medical management of the volunteer's case. It has also been policy to give, when they inquire, a general outline of the studies in which they participated to the individual volunteers.I hope this information is helpful.
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for
  Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 December 1995,Official Report, column 1172, if he will list the titles of each of the unclassified documents published under the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment technical papers series since 1991. [13108]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 8 February 1996:
  Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking if he will list the titles of each of the unclassified documents published under the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment Technical Paper series since 1991 has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE.As the list of Technical Papers accompanying this letter is too long to be printed in the Official Report, arrangements will be made for a copy to be deposited in the Library.
  Mr. Livingstone
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the titles and subject matter of the scientific papers in the Porton technical papers series produced by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment which bear the numbers 905, 911, 913, 916, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 930, 931, 933, 934, 935, 936 and 941. [12997]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under hits framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 8 February 1996:
  Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the titles and subject matter of the scientific papers in the Porton Technical Papers series produced by the Chemical Defence
  356
  Establishment bearing the numbers 905, 911, 913, 916, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 930, 931, 933, 934, 935, 936 and 941 has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency which includes CBDE.All the Porton Technical Papers referred to in your question are available in the Public Records Office at Kew with the exception of Porton Technical Paper 941 which will be released under the 30 year rule in 1997. The title of this paper is "Studies on model compounds related to inhibited cholinesterases". Since it may help your research I have listed below the Public Record Office piece numbers of the Papers that have been released.

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0905-WO195/15995

  PORTON TECHNICAL-PAPER-0911-WO195/15996

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0913-WO195/15984

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0916-WO195/16070

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0920-WO195/15985

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0921-WO195/15989

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0922-WO195/15988

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0923-WO195/15986

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0924-WO195/15987

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0925-WO195/15990

  PORTON-TECHNIC AL-PAPER-0926-WO195/16031

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0927-WO195/16032

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0928-WO195/16033

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0930-WO195/16085

  PORTON-TECHNIC AL-PAPER-0931-WO195/16084

  PORTON-TECHNICAL PAPER-0933-WO195/16087

  PORTON-TECHNICAL PAPER-0934-WO195/16149

  PORTON-TECHNICAL-PAPER-0935-WO195/16150

  PORTON-TECHNIC AL-PAPER-0936-WO195/16137

  I hope that this information is helpful.

  Low Flying
  Redmond
  Top ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list (i) the categories of(a) aircraft and (b) types of mission for which aircrew are required to book entry into a low-level operational training area and (ii) the controlling authorities for each of the low-level operational training areas. [13206]

  Mr. Soames
  Tornado F3 aircraft wishing to conduct intercept training within a low-level operational training area are required to book into that LOTA. LOTAs are solely a management tool for HQ No. 11 group and have no status in terms of airspace reservation or regulation. There are therefore no nominated controlling authorities for any of these areas. Any aircraft using a LOTA but wishing to operate at low level, is still required to book into the UK low flying system in the normal way.

  Mr Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the crew of the Belgium Alpha jet involved in an aircraft proximity incident over East Anglia on 25 August 1994 were found to have breached low flying regulations. [13257]

  Mr. Soames
  The Alpha jet entered the UK low flying system without authorisation during a transit flight which was intended to be conducted above 2,000 ft.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information is provided to the civil air traffic control authorities concerning levels of military air activity in low-level training areas; and how civil users of that airspace are informed. [13208]
  357
  Mr. Soames
  All intense or unusual military low flying activity is notified to both civil air traffic control authorities and civil airspace users by means of notices to airmen or aeronautical information circulars.

  In addition, general information on military low flying operations is contained in aeronautical information circulars which are widely available within the civil aviation community.

  Mr. Redmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for
  Defence if the United States air force F15 crews involved in a breach of controlled airspace at Newcastle airport on 27 June 1994 had received a briefing on the United kingdom low flying system from RAF personnel before flight; if the sortie involved planned interaction with any British military aircraft at low level and in which areas; and if the F15 crews had obtained authorised bookings into(a) low flying area 16, (b) low flying area 12 and (c) low flying area 11 before the flight. [13256]

  Mr. Soames
  My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence will write to the hon. Member.

  Job Advertisements
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many jobs have been advertised in each grade in his
  Department during the last three months for which records are available; and how many people have applied for each such job. [13837]

  Date

  Destination

  Aircraft

  Charge £

  Household

  1 July 1995

  Northolt

  BAe 125

  735

  HRH the Prince of Wales

  1 July 1995

  Aberdeen

  BAe 125

  735

  HRH the Prince of Wales

  1 July 1995

  Kensington palace

  Wessex

  1,215

  HRH the Duke of Edinburgh

  1July 1995

  Sandringham

  Wessex

  1,325

  HRH the Duke of Edinburgh

  3 September 1995

  Teeside

  BAe 146

  1,558

  HM the Queen

  5 September 1995

  Aberdeen

  BAe 146

  1,558

  HM the Queen

  10 December 1995

  Northolt

  BAe 146

  1,187

  HM the Queen

  1 January 1996

  Zurich

  BAe 146

  1,232

  HRH the Prince of Wales

  F16 Aircraft
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of leasing American F16 aircraft; and if he will make a statement; [14147]

  (2) what estimate he has made of the cost of upgrading Tornado F3s; and if he will make a statement; [14146]

  (3) what assessment has he made of the interoperability of American F16 aircraft within the Royal Air Force; [14148]

  (4) what is the cost per flying hour of (a) a Tornado F3 and (b) an American F16 aircraft. [14150]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  As I told the hon. Member in response to his question of 15 January 1996,Official Report, column 430, we are evaluating a proposal to upgrade the Tornado F3's weapons systems, and as a routine part of
  358
  Mr. Arbuthnot
  I will write to the hon. and learned Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  Services Sound and Vision Corporation (Cyprus)
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to(a) encrypt the SSVC service in Cyprus and (b) provide decoders for people on the bases; what estimate he has made of the cost; and if he will make a statement. [13497]

  Mr. Soames
  [holding answer 6 February 1996]: Encryption of the SSVC TV service in Cyprus is under consideration, as a means of ensuring that transmissions are not received by those who are not entitled to them under existing commercial rights agreements. The estimated cost of encrypting the TV signal and providing decoders to entitled personnel is £600,000. In addition, there would be an annual cost of about £40,000 in issuing, recovering and maintaining the decoders which would remain MOD property. No decisions will be taken about whether to proceed with encryption of the SSVC service until my Department has established if this could be cost-effective.

  Royal Flight
  Mr. Alan Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 1 February 1996,Official Report, column 849, if he will list the dates and destinations of the flights, the type of aircraft, the cost of each, if they were single or return journeys and which royal household was charged. [14038]

  Mr. Soames
  The information requested is as follows:

  this process we are examining the comparative costs of alternative options, including leasing F16 aircraft from the United States.

  Dr. Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with Air Chief Marshall Sir Michael Graydon concerning the leasing of American F16 aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [14149]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  Options for sustaining the effectiveness of our air defences, pending introduction into service of Eurofighter, are one of a number of subjects covered in discussions between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and Sir Michael Graydon.

  Defence Medical Training Organisation
  Mr. Butterfill
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the Defence Medical Training Organisation. [14737]
  359
  Mr. Soames
  Following my announcement in the House on 8 December 1994,Official Report, columns 304–5, in which I confirmed the recommendations made by the "Front Line First" medical study, it has been decided that the Defence Medical Training Organisation, is to be considered as a candidate for agency status under next steps procedures. Any interested party should address comments on this proposal to Mr. D. K. Reynolds, Head of Medical Finance and Secretariat, Ministry of Defence, Room 106, Lacon house, Theobalds road, London WC1X 8RY.

  Equerries
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January,Official Report, column 537, if he will list those responsible in each of the services for nominating equerries for members of the royal family. [14209]

  Mr. Soames
  The information is as follows:

  Royal Navy: the Naval Secretary.

  Army: the Military Secretary.

  Royal Air Force: the Air Secretary.

  Royal Yacht
  Mr. Tony Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost to his Department of the use of the royal yacht at Cowes between 28 July and 2 August 1995; and what use was made of her during this period. [14155]

  Mr. Soames
  The estimated total operating costs of HMY Britannia for the financial year 1995–96 are £8,933,000. Information on the marginal costs of individual deployments could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Britannia's attendance at Cowes continues the traditional and popular royal patronage of this event.

  Mr. Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January,Official Report, column 534, what factors led to the presence of the royal yacht in Walvis bay on 14 March 1995. [14210]

  Mr. Soames
  While sailing to South Africa, in support of the royal visit by Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, HMY Britannia stopped in Walvis bay, Namibia, to refuel. The opportunity was taken for the British high commissioner to hold a reception aboard for the Namibian Prime Minister.

  Mr. Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January,Official Report, column 535, what factors led to the presence of the royal
  yacht in Piraeus on 4 October 1995; what was the purpose of the reception; what were the costs to his Department; and what payments were received from other Government Departments. [14214]

  Mr. Soames
  In October 1995, HMY Britannia visited Pireaus in support of the "Britain in Greece" festival, at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Her Majesty's ambassador held a reception aboard Britannia, and British Invisibles held a seminar, lunch and evening reception, to promote British exports and attract inward investment to the UK. There were no additional costs 360
  incurred by the Ministry of Defence, over and above normal running costs, and no payments were received from other Government Departments.

  Mr. Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 29 January,Official Report,column 534, what amount was received in 1994–95 for
  the use of the royal yacht Britannia from (a) Government Departments and (b) other organisations. [14211]

  Mr. Soames
  Charges for the use of Britannia are not levied on the sponsors of commercial events when she is used to promote British exports and attract inward investment to the UK. There were no additional costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence, over and above normal running costs, and no payments were received from other Government Departments or other organisations.

  Unexploded Bombs
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he received in(a) 1994–95 and (b) 1995–96 in respect of unexploded bombs in the Bristol channel obstructing civil engineering operations. [14271]

  Mr. Soames
  My Department has received no representations on this matter.

  HMS Intrepid
  Mr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary' of State for Defence how much has been spent in maintaining HMS Intrepid in her current condition; and what time period would be required to bring the vessel into operational capability in an emergency. [14281]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  HMS Intrepid is currently undergoing a maintenance period, the total estimated cost of which is £8 million. Operational readiness states of Her Majesty's ships are classified.

  HMS Fearless
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been spent on HMS Fearless to bring her into operational capability; what exercises she will take part in over the next year; and how long she will remain operational. [14280]

  Mr. Soames
  HMS Fearless is currently undergoing a routine docking and essential defect maintenance period at Portsmouth to ensure the continuing satisfactory operation of the ship. The total estimated cost of this work is £32 million.

  After work-up and trials following her present maintenance period, HMS Fearless is scheduled to take part in Exercise Purple Star off the US coast in April, and then in other amphibious exercises in the Caribbean until the end of July. In October and November, she is planned to participate in exercises in the northern fleet exercise areas. She is also scheduled to take part in a series of exercises in the middle and far east during 1997.

  We are currently negotiating with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd over the replacement of HMS Fearless and her sister ship HMS Intrepid. Assuming a satisfactory outcome to these negotiations, we would envisage entry into service around the turn of the century. HMS Fearless is planned to remain operational until then.

  NATO Air Command and Control
  Dr. David Clark
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the NATO air command and control system program. [14273]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The ACCS programme will provide NATO with a fully integrated air command and control system covering the NATO Europe area and including a deployable capability. The procurement specification for the first phase of the system is being prepared. British industry has been fully informed of progress with the programme and will be invited to bid for a share of the work.

TREASURY

  Single Currency
  Sir Roger Moate
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England regarding a single currency. [12647]

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  I meet the Governor regularly to discuss a range of economic and financial issues.

  Taxation
  Mr. John Greenway
  To ask the Chancellor of
  the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total value to holders of deposit accounts of the proposed 20p tax rate. [12650]

  Mr. Jack
  The bulk of the £400 million full year cost of reducing the tax rate on savings is in respect of interest from savings accounts.

  VAT (Sanitary Products)
  Mr. Heppell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to reduce the rate of VAT on sanitary products. [12651]

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  None.

  Public Sector Borrowing Requirement
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the public sector borrowing requirement. [12653]

  Mr. Waldegrave
  The 1995 Budget forecast projected a public sector borrowing requirement of £29 billion in 1995–96.

  Inflation
  Sir Michael Neubert
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest annual rate of inflation. [12654]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  Underlying inflation, as measured by the retail prices index excluding mortgage interest payments, was 3 per cent. in December 1995. Inflation has now been below 4 per cent. for 39 months, the longest such period for almost 50 years.
  362

  Incomes
  Mr. Robert Ainsworth
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the quarterly figures for real personal disposable income for the first three quarters of 1995. [12655]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  Latest figures show that the level of real personal disposable income in the first three quarters of 1995 was 2 per cent. higher than in the first three quarters of 1994. The precise figures are published by the. Central Statistical Office in table A.9 of "UK Economic Accounts", No. 12, which is available in the Library of the House.

  Budget
  Mr. Janner
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received on his latest Budget. [12656]

  Mr. Jack
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor has received a number of representations, both written and oral, since he made his Budget statement in November.

  Taxation (Multinational Companies)
  Mr. Cousins
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the tax revenues lost in transfer pricing abuses by multinational companies in the past five tax years. [12657]

  Mr. Jack
  The Inland Revenue devotes significant resources to ensuring that the transfer pricing legislation is compiled with, and any evidence of non-compliance is carefully investigated. Over the past five tax years, the estimated total tax from inquiries made by the specialist section at the Inland Revenue which deals with the largest cases with international aspects, including transfer pricing, was £793 million. This does not include additional tax arising from work in the Inland Revenue's local offices or at the oil taxation office, separate records of which are not kept but which would significantly increase the total. It is not possible to estimate the amount of tax revenue lost through any failures to follow the transfer pricing legislation of which the Inland Revenue has not become aware.

  Company Taxation
  Mr. Bellingham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to meet small business men to disclose company taxation; and if he will make a statement. [12658]

  Mr. Jack
  The Government attach great importance to the role of small businesses in the economy, and Ministers meet small business men and their representatives regularly to discuss their concerns.

  As well as the cuts in income tax and the small companies rate of corporation tax, my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor announced in the Budget measures on inheritance tax, capital gains tax, employers' national insurance contributions, business rates, and VAT to help small businesses prosper. Representatives of small businesses continue to be fully involved in consultations on the introduction of self-assessment.

  Investments
  Mr. Hoyle
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received regarding investment levels. [12659]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  Treasury Ministers regularly receive representations on wide-ranging aspects of the economy including, from time to time, investment levels.

  Living Standards
  Mr. David Nicholson
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely change in living standards in the next year. [12660]

  Mr. Jack
  A family on average earnings will be about £450 better off next year after tax and inflation, if prices and earnings rise in line with the assumptions published in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report". This will take the total increase in real take home pay since 1978–79 for this family to over £4,500.

  Bank of England
  Ms Corston
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors he has taken into consideration in assessing the viability of the Bank of England regional branches; and if he will make a statement. [12643]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  Decisions on the Bank of England regional branch network are a matter for the bank. The bank has made it clear that it will maintain and enhance the work of its regional agents in gathering economic and industrial intelligence.

  Sanctions (Libya)
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what general estimate he has made of the cost to the Treasury of sanctions against Libya in terms of tax and import duties foregone. [12728]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  United Nations Sanctions against Libya impose no restriction on the importation of goods from Libya. It is not possible to estimate the effect on tax and import duties as a result of the United Nations sanctions on Libya.

  Regional Statistics
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if official statistics for the regions of England will in future be published on the basis of the Government office areas rather than the standard statistical regions used at present. [14716]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  Responsibility for general questions on the presentation of official statistics rests with the Director of the Central Statistical Office in his capacity as the head of the Government statistical service. However, I understand that it is now agreed that Government statistical service publications will use the boundaries of the Government offices for the regions as the primary basis for the presentation of statistics from 1 April 1997. Where possible, however, and if required, data will continue to be made available for the standard statistical regions.

  Earnings Statistics
  Mr. Denham
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals are currently(a) earning less than £7,500 per annum and (b) between £7,500 and £10,000 per annum aged (i) 21 to 25, (ii) 26 to 30 and (iii) 31 to 35 years in (1) the east midlands and (2) the west midlands. [13997]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  [holding answer 7 February 1996]: Information available from the New Earnings Survey is provided in the following table.

  New earnings survey 1995 Full-time employees on adult rates, whose pay was unaffected by absence

  Percentage1 earning:

  Area/age group

  <£7,500per annum

  £7,500–£10,000per annum

  West Midlands

  21–25

  12.3

  27.7

  26–30

  5.2

  14.6

  31–35

  3.9

  10.2

  East Midlands

  21–25

  16.4

  23.3

  26–30

  5.7

  14.9

  31–35

  4.8

  9.6

  1 Figures are based on gross weekly earnings.

  Economic and Monetary Union
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of(a) the benefits and (b) the disbenefits to the United Kingdom of joining the European monetary union. [12672]

  Mr. Kenneth Clarke
  At this stage it is not possible to make precise judgments about the benefits and disadvantages of joining a single currency. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, we would be operating on hunch rather than facts if we were to make a decision on any assessment now. This is the value of the opt-out. We will only agree to take part in a single currency if it is in our national interest to do so, given the circumstances at the time.

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (1) pursuant to his statement in European Standing Committee B of 12 December 1995,Official Report, column 3, what are the criteria he will use for assessing whether economic convergence has been arrived at to justify entry into economic and monetary union; [13437]

  (2) what are the criteria for the national interest which will be used by the Government to determine a view to recommend to Parliament on whether to opt in or out of economic and monetary union. [13441]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  The nominal convergence criteria are set out in the Maastricht treaty. All member states need to concentrate on achieving sustainable recoveries and getting unemployment down. The nominal convergence criteria require Governments to bear down on inflation and reduce fiscal deficits. These policies
  365
  represent sound economics. As well as the Maastricht criteria, the Government believe that measures to address differences in productivity growth and flexibility of labour markets should also be put in place to help ensure durable convergence. The treaty refers to indicators which reflect these structural differences: trade balances on the current account; the integration of markets; and the development of unit labour costs.

  Protocol No. 11, annexed to the EC treaty, means that the United Kingdom shall not be obliged or committed to move to the third stage of economic and monetary union without a separate decision to do so by the Government and Parliament. We will agree to take part in a single currency only if it is in our national interest to do so, given the circumstances at the time. Any decision will
  366
  be based on a hard-headed assessment of British national interest in terms of jobs, capital investment and ability to sell goods and services in world markets.

  Mr. O'Brien
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what have been the costs to Her Majesty's Government of participating in discussions in the European Monetary Institute and at all ministerial and other meetings to discuss economic and monetary union; and if he will list the costs to date and projected costs up to 1999 in each category of expenditure. [13438]

  Mrs. Knight
  Ministers and officials attend many meetings on economic or monetary affairs, some of which include discussions of economic and monetary union. It is not possible to separate the costs of participating in discussions on EMU.

  World Conference on Women, Beijing: Countries Entering Reservations
  World Conference on Women, Beijing: Countries Entering Reservations
  Cyprus
  Cyprus
  MED-TV: Alleged Jamming of Broadcasts
  MED-TV: Alleged Jamming of Broadcasts
  MED-TV: British Satellite News
  MED-TV: British Satellite News
  Landmines
  Landmines
  Emtryl
  Emtryl
  Sheep Scab Control: Research
  Sheep Scab Control: Research
  Statutory Redundancy Payments from Insurance Fund
  Statutory Redundancy Payments from Insurance Fund
  Mother and Baby Units in Prisons
  Mother and Baby Units in Prisons
  Drug Testing in Prisons
  Drug Testing in Prisons