Written Answers of 20 June 1996

ENVIRONMENT

  Mobile Homes
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for North-East Derbyshire (Mr. Barnes) of 4 June,Official Report, column 394, what powers he has under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to alter the valuation list bands for dwellings; and if he will use those powers to alter the council tax liability of residents of mobile homes. [33070]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  My right hon. Friend has powers under section 5 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to alter the number of, the ranges of values ascribed to, and the proportion of council tax payable in respect of the existing valuation bands, by order subject to affirmative resolution of the House of Commons.

  My right hon. Friend has, however, no plans to make such an order. He sees no grounds for reducing the contributions which residents of mobile homes make towards the cost of local services. This would, besides, entail increasing the liability of other council tax payers and would necessitate a massive, and expensive, re-banding exercise: there are over 5 million dwellings in band A alone.

  Uniform Business Rate (Sports Clubs)
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to exempt non-dividend-paying sports clubs from the uniform business rate; and if he will make a statement. [33171]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  None. Sports clubs which are not conducted for profit may already apply for up to 100 per cent. of discretionary relief from their business rates bill.

  Building Regulations (Consultation)
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many responses his Department received to its consultation on extending part M of the Building Regulations to residential dwellings; and how many of these(a) supported and (b) opposed the extension. [33367]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  One thousand and seventy-four responses were received. The consultation posed a number of questions, the responses to which cannot be summarised simply as numbers who either supported or opposed the extension.
  510
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library copies of the responses to the consultation on the extension of part M of the Building Regulations to residential dwellings. [33368]

  Mr. Jones
  Copies of the responses were placed in the Library in May 1995.

  Desalinated Water
  Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate his Department has made of(a) the cost per cubic metre of producing desalinated water and (b) the overall cost of providing desalinated water as a long-term solution to water shortages in Britain. [33536]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  In its 1992 report "Water Resources Development Strategy", the National Rivers Authority—now part of the Environment Agency—in considering options for meeting imbalances between public water supply and demand which might arise, estimated an indicative overall cost of between £4 million and £6 million for production of 1,000 cu m of water per day by means of desalination. The work which informed this report indicated water production costs generally in the order of 70p to 80p per cubic metre, although in plants featuring energy recovery—for example, from an adjacent power station—the costs might be in the range of 42p to 48p per cubic metre.

  Mr. Ian McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) on how many occasions in each of the past five years health and safety problems in his Department and its agencies have been reported via internal monitoring; and on how many occasions the Health and Safety Commission has become involved; [33476]

  (2) how many (a) minor, (b) major and (c) fatal injuries have been suffered by staff in his Department and its agencies in work-related incidents in each of the past five years, showing in each year how many were related to information technology and giving details of all incidents involving fatalities. [33477]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The numbers of accidents reported in my Department and the agencies for which it was responsible at the time are:

  Year

  Minor

  Major

  Fatal

  1991–92

  508

  2

  1

  1992–93

  277

  1

  0

  1993–94

  230

  1

  0

  1994–95

  176

  0

  1

  1995–96

  219

  0

  0

  Data on accidents related to information technology are not collected separately.

  The Department records accidents at the time of their occurrence and collects the data annually. As required by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995, the Health and Safety Executive was notified of all major injuries and fatalities at the time they occurred. Of the two fatalities, one was as a result of a fall from a window. The second occurred while a lift was being repaired.
  511
  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost in each of the past five years of rectifying working conditions that were the responsibility of his Department and its agencies, to bring them up to acceptable health and safety standards, detailing incidents involving information technology and those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33479]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  My Department has a continuing programme of maintenance and repair to its buildings, furnishings and equipment to ensure a good working environment for its staff and visitors. Expenditure specifically related to health and safety measures is not recorded separately.

  Energy Advice Centres
  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of each of the local energy advice centres in providing cost-effective advice to the public and on the need for the continued provision of such services(a) in those areas with local energy advice centres and (b) elsewhere. [33365]

  Mr. Robert B. Jones
  The Government passed control of the local energy advice centre pilot study to the Energy Saving Trust at the beginning of April 1996. The trust is assessing the pilot study, which will be completed at the end of the September.

  Previous market research results have demonstrated that the local energy advice centres are providing an effective and value for money service. Sixty per cent. of clients found the advice they received "very useful" and 90 per cent. of clients would recommend others to contact LEACs for advice. In 1994–95 around 57,000 clients visited LEAC offices. As a result of advice received, 21,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved; and the total savings per annum were £1.8 million.

  Mr. Raynsford
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the continued funding of local energy advice centres. [33366]

  Mr. Jones
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones) on Tuesday 18 June 1996,Official Report, column 402.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32733]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  The following information covers non-industrial permanent staff in the three next steps agencies as at 13 June 1996:

  Grade

  Female

  Male

  Total

  Building Research Establishment

  Grade 3 and equivalent

  0

  1

  1

  Grade 4 and equivalent

  0

  1

  1

  Grade 5 and equivalent

  0

  4

  4

  Grade 6 and equivalent

  1

  20

  21

  Grade 7 and equivalent

  7

  92

  99

  Senior Executive Officer and equivalent

  30

  112

  142

  512

  Grade

  Female

  Male

  Total

  Higher Executive Officer and equivalent

  38

  81

  119

  Executive Officer and equivalent

  29

  44

  73

  Administrative Officer and equivalent

  97

  26

  123

  Administrative Assistant and equivalent

  30

  2

  32

  Total

  232

  383

  615

  Planning Inspectorate

  Grade 3 and equivalent

  0

  1

  1

  Grade 4 and equivalent

  0

  1

  1

  Grade 5 and equivalent

  2

  4

  6

  Grade 6 and equivalent

  12

  178

  190

  Grade 7 and equivalent

  2

  22

  24

  Senior Executive Officer and equivalent

  1

  14

  15

  Higher Executive Officer and equivalent

  18

  24

  42

  Executive Officer and equivalent

  44

  49

  93

  Administrative Officer and equivalent

  103

  72

  175

  Administrative Assistant and equivalent

  40

  32

  72

  Total

  222

  397

  619

  Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

  Grade 5 and equivalent

  0

  1

  1

  Grade 6 and equivalent

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 7 and equivalent

  0

  3

  3

  Senior Executive Officer and equivalent

  1

  7

  8

  Higher Executive Officer and equivalent

  6

  8

  14

  Executive Officer and equivalent

  6

  3

  9

  Administrative Officer and equivalent

  17

  6

  23

  Administrative Assistant and equivalent

  4

  4

  8

  Total

  35

  32

  67

  Publications (Subscriptions)
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all(a) periodicals, (b) magazines and (c) journals received on subscription by his Department over the last three months. [33759]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  Titles received on subscription in the past three months include a range of trade, technical, scientific and professional journals and magazines covering the work of the Department. To list each would involve disproportionate cost.

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department intends to complete its review of measures required to ensure compliance with copyright law. [33767]

  Sir Paul Beresford
  It is anticipated that the review of photocopying procedures to ensure compliance with copyright law will be completed by the end of September 1996, after which legal advice may be sought.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Stephen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further action he proposes to take against those local authorities whose direct labour and direct service organisations failed to meet their statutory financial objectives in 1994–95. [34208]
  513
  Sir Paul Beresford
  On 2 April this year, 26 statutory notices were served on 22 local authorities concerning the failure of their direct labour and service organisations to meet the required financial objectives in 1994–95. My right hon. Friend has now considered the response to those notices, and has decided to give 22 directions to 20 local authorities.

  The directions take the following three forms:
  requiring the authority to retender the work and to seek the consent of the Secretary of State if proposing to award the work in-house: Calderdale MBC (vehicle maintenance), Castle Morpeth borough council (highways and sewers), the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (sports and leisure management).
  preventing the authority from carrying out the work if it fails to meet the financial objective in a specified year or years:
  1995–96 and 1996–97: the London borough of Hackney (schools and welfare catering).
  1997–98 and 1998–99: Watford borough council (building maintenance).
  requiring authorities to retender the work if they fail to meet the financial objective in a specified year or years, and to seek the Secretary of State's consent where the work has to be retendered and where the authority subsequently wishes to award work in-house:
  1995–96 and 1996–97: Bournemouth borough council (other cleaning), Broxbourne borough council (refuse collection, highways and sewers and grounds maintenance), Coventry city council (schools and welfare catering), Durham county council (building cleaning), Rochester upon Medway district council (grounds maintenance), Sedgefield district council (grounds maintenance), Selby district council (sports and leisure management), Southend-on-Sea borough council (grounds maintenance), South Kesteven district council (building maintenance), and Walsall MBC (grounds maintenance)
  1996–97 and 1997–98: Charnwood borough council (other cleaning), Corby borough council (highways and sewers), Reigate and Banstead borough council (building maintenance), and Sevenoaks district council (refuse collection)
  1996–97: North East Lincolnshire district council (refuse collection)

  The Secretary of State has also decided to take no further statutory action in respect of financial failure in 1993–94 by:
  Crawley borough council (building maintenance), and Rochester upon Medway district council (highways and sewers).

  The Secretary of State is still considering the response from Lichfield district council—other catering and sports and leisure managements.

  To date, 45 notices have been served by the Department on 30 local authorities for losses incurred by their DLOs-DSOs in 1994–95. Today's decisions follow those announced on 13 May this year. Further notices for financial failure will be issued later in the year, and we expect to have announced all our decisions by the end of October.

  This action continues our drive to ensure that taxpayers receive value-for-money services from their local authorities. Where authorities' in-house teams fail to achieve their financial targets, and where they do not seem to have taken the steps necessary to improve their performance, we will not hesitate to take statutory action in the interests of local taxpayers.
  514

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32727]

  Mr. Willetts
  Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the chief executives of the agencies. I have, therefore, asked the chief executives of the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate, Central Office of Information, Chessington Computer Centre, Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency, Civil Service College, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Occupational Health and Safety Agency, Recruitment and Assessment Services, the Security Facilities Executive and the Buying Agency to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from N. E. Borrett to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 17 June 1996:

  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question relating to numbers of employees in Next Steps agencies under his control; how many of those employees are women; and at what Civil Service or equivalent grade are they employed.

  The answer to each part in respect of PACE is shown on the attached table.

  Staff in Post as at 1 April 1996 for PACE

  Number

  Number of Employees

  329

  Male

  203

  Female

  126

  Staff in Post as at 1 April 1996 for PACE

  Civil Service grade/equivalent

  Male

  Female

  Grades at which they are employed:

  Grade 3

  1

  0

  Grade 5

  3

  0

  Grade 6

  14

  0

  Grade 7

  37

  2

  SEO Level

  43

  5

  HEO Level

  22

  10

  EO Level

  36

  47

  AO Level

  45

  49

  AA Level

  2

  13

  Total

  203

  126

  Letter from Keith Williamson to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 17 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply, on behalf of the Central Office of Information, to your Question on the employment of women in Next Steps agencies.
  The number of permanent staff in post at 1 April 1996 was 443, 184 of whom were women. A breakdown by grade is detailed below:

  Full time staff

  Grade level

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Senior Civil Service

  4

  —

  4

  Grade 6

  12

  —

  12

  Grade 7

  23

  11

  34

  SEO and equivalent

  76

  42

  118

  515

  Full time staff

  Grade level

  Male

  Female

  Total

  HEO and equivalent

  62

  44

  106

  EO and equivalent

  33

  22

  55

  AO and equivalent

  36

  49

  85

  AA and equivalent

  13

  16

  29

  Total

  259

  184

  443

  Letter from R. N. Edwards to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 13 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on the employment of women in Next Step Agencies.
  The total number of staff employed at Chessington as at 1 April 1996, was 409, of which 216 were women. Women are employed at all grades from SGB2 to Grade 7, which is the highest grade below Chief Executive at Chessington.

  Letter from Robin Guenier to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 13 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on the employment of women in each of the Next Steps agencies under his Departments' control.
  In CCTA the head count of staff as at 1 April 1996 was 270 of which 88 were women. The breakdown of women by grade is as follows:

  Grade

  Number of women

  Total in grade

  3–6

  0

  14

  7

  4

  41

  SEO

  15

  76

  HEO

  16

  55

  EO

  14

  35

  AO

  26

  36

  AA

  3

  3

  Secretarial

  10

  10

  Letter from S. H. F. Hickey to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 18 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on employment of women in Next Steps Agencies.
  The position in the Civil Service College at 1 April 1996 was that we had a total head count of 274 permanent staff, of which 163 were women. The women were employed in all grades from Support Grade Band 2 up to and including Grade 5. The number at each grade is:

  Grade

  Total

  Women

  SGB2

  15

  10

  SGB1

  3

  1

  Typist

  1

  1

  AA

  5

  3

  AO

  72

  60

  PS

  9

  9

  SPS

  1

  1

  Assistant Librarian

  2

  2

  EO

  42

  29

  HEO

  17

  11

  Senior Librarian

  1

  1

  SEO

  13

  10

  Grade 7

  68

  18

  Grade 6

  20

  5

  Grade 5

  4

  2

  Grade 3

  1

  0

  Total

  274

  163

  516
  Letter from Mike Lynn to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 17 June 1996:
  I have been asked to reply, in respect of HMSO, to your question to the Deputy Prime Minister about women employees.
  As at 1 April 1996, HMSO employed 2,745 permanent staff, of whom 928 were women.
  We no longer use the Civil Service grading system, but the numbers of women employed at different levels of responsibility were as follows:

  Senior Management:

  11

  Junior/Middle Management:

  174

  Administrative Staff:

  529

  Support Staff:

  97

  Operational Staff:

  117

  Letter from Dr. E. C. McCloy to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 14 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on the employment of women in Next Steps Agencies.

  For OHSA the information is:

  Total staff at 31 March 1996:

  118

  Total number of women:

  88

  Of which:

  Grade 3:

  1

  Grade 5:

  3

  Grade 6:

  3

  Grade 7:

  2

  SEO and equivalent:

  9

  HEO and equivalent:

  27

  EO and equivalent:

  8

  Clerical/Secretarial and equivalent:

  35

  Total:

  88

  Letter from Craig Muir to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 17 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on the employment of women in Next Step Agencies. Recruitment and Assessment Services are happy to provide the enclosed information.

  As from the 1 April 1996 Recruitment and Assessment Services employs 150 permanent/fixed term/loan staff, 106 of this number are women, they are in the following grades:-

  Grade

  Number

  6

  2

  7

  6

  Senior Psychologist

  2

  Higher Psychologist

  2

  Psychologist

  1

  Senior Executive Officer

  3

  Higher Executive Officer

  3

  Executive Officer

  18

  Administrative Officer

  40

  Administrative Assistance

  14

  Senior Personal Secretary

  1

  Personal Secretary

  4

  Typist

  7

  Support Grade II

  1

  Support Grade I

  2

  Total

  106

  517
  Letter from John King to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 17 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on the employment of women in next steps agencies under his Department's control.
  As at 1 April 1996 SAFE had 1191 staff of whom 97 were women. These were employed in a range of Industrial and Non-Industrial Civil Service Grades up to and including Grade 6.

  Letter from S. P. Sage to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 17 June 1996:
  The Deputy Prime Minister has asked me to reply to your question on the employment of women in Next Step Agencies.
  On 1 April 1996 the head count (not full time equivalents) for TBA was as follows:

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Grade 5

  1

  —

  1

  Grade 6

  2

  1

  3

  Grade 7

  3

  —

  3

  Senior Professional and Technology Officer

  12

  —

  12

  Senior Executive Officer

  5

  3

  8

  Higher Professional and Technology Officer

  17

  —

  17

  Higher Executive Officer

  5

  5

  10

  Professional and Technology Officer

  3

  —

  3

  Executive Officer

  4

  14

  18

  Senior Personal Secretary

  —

  1

  1

  Typing Manager

  —

  1

  1

  Senior Manager 3

  —

  1

  1

  Administrative Officer

  15

  23

  38

  Personal Secretary

  —

  2

  2

  Typist

  —

  5

  5

  Support Grade Band 1

  —

  2

  2

  Support Grade Band 2

  2

  —

  2

  Total

  69

  58

  127

  Citizens Charter
  Mr. Alfred Morris
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment has he made of the effectiveness of the citizens charter; and if he will make a statement. [32685]

  The Deputy Prime Minister
  The key criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the citizens charter is improvement in the standards and responsiveness of public services. A full account of this is set out in last year's charter White Paper "The Citizen's Charter: The Facts and Figures", Cm 2970.

  Cost Compliance Assessments
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how cost compliance assessments for legislation are arrived at; and what consultation there is with(a) business organisations and (b) representatives of small businesses before they are published. [33191]

  Mr. Freeman
  The arrangements for preparing compliance cost assessments are set out in "Checking the Cost of Regulation: A Guide to Compliance Cost Assessment", a copy of which is in the House Library. Responsibility for preparing the CCA rests with the official responsible for the policy proposal. A preliminary CCA should be prepared as soon as possible in the policy-making process. This should be refined as the policy proposal is developed, incorporating the views of business. Departments must consult business and representative bodies on the content of the CCA,518
  preferably on the basis of their initial assessment. Small businesses must also be consulted and the impact on them of the proposal must be separately identified.

  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has made to EU colleagues about consulting(a) business organisations and (b) small business representatives while drawing up cost compliance assessment for European legislation. [33192]

  Mr. Freeman
  The best way of calculating the costs of new regulatory proposals is to consult business and consultation with small businesses is particularly important. I take every opportunity to make this point in contacts with my EU colleagues.

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the terms of the photocopying licence proposed by the Copyright Licensing Agency; and what plans it has to purchase such a licence. [33760]

  Mr. Freeman
  My Department is still considering the terms of the photocopying licence proposed by the agency.

  Publications (Subscriptions)
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list all(a) periodicals, (b) magazines and (c) academic journals received on subscription by his Department over the last three months. [33757]

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

  Correspondence
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the latest figures showing the volume of correspondence received by Ministers and agency chief executives from hon. members, the targets set for reply and the percentage of replies sent within target. [34211]

  Mr. Willetts
  The 1995 correspondence figures are set out in the table. The table also sets out the figures for 1994, first published on 18 April 1995,Official Report, columns 21–24. Hon. Members' attention is drawn to the footnotes which accompany the table and which provide general background information on how totals have been calculated. In particular, the entry for the Benefits Agency shows a fall in the number of letters received from 21,411 in 1994 to 2,689 in 1995. This reflects a change in the way the figures have been presented. The 1995 figure excludes 13,981 letters from Members of Parliament sent direct to district offices where local officials have replied.
  519

  Correspondence from Members of Parliament to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives

  Department/Agency

  Target set for reply (working days)

  1994 Number of letters received

  Percentage of replies within target

  Target set for reply (working days)

  1995 Number of letters received

  Percentage of replies within target

  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

  15

  9,429

  80

  15

  8,533

  68

  Intervention Board

  10

  109

  96

  10

  16

  100

  Cabinet Office (OPS)

  15

  941

  71

  15

  1,526

  76

  Central Statistical Office1

  10

  70

  67

  102

  42

  67

  Crown Prosecution Service

  15

  206

  76

  15

  118

  81

  Customs and Excise

  18

  4,969

  62

  18

  34,914

  68

  Ministry of Defence

  15

  7,769

  69

  15

  7,109

  75

  Army Base Repair Organisation

  —

  —

  —

  15

  37

  100

  Defence Accounts Agency

  10

  51

  90

  10

  63

  93

  Defence Animal Centre

  —

  —

  —

  5

  18

  100

  Defence Evaluation and Research Agency

  —

  —

  —

  7

  103

  76

  Defence Postal and Courier Service

  —

  —

  —

  15

  13

  100

  Disposal Sales Agency

  —

  —

  —

  15

  15

  100

  Duke of York's Royal Military School

  —

  —

  —

  3

  17

  100

  Department of Education

  20

  12,615

  85

  20

  3,47,582

  81

  Department of Employment

  15

  6,821

  82

  15

  43,227

  90

  Department for Education and Employment

  —

  —

  —

  20

  3,58,111

  87

  Employment Service

  15

  1,156

  85

  15

  1,306

  97

  Teachers' Pensions Agency

  10

  70

  97

  10

  95

  100

  Department of the Environment

  15

  17,767

  57

  15

  18,138

  652

  Planning Inspectorate Agency

  8

  604

  80

  8

  7593

  89

  Foreign and Commonwealth Office

  10

  11,178

  89

  10

  7,364

  90

  Department of Health

  20

  16,311

  84

  20

  16,121

  79

  Medicines Control Agency

  —

  —

  —

  10

  11

  100

  NHS Pensions Agency

  8

  93

  100

  20

  81

  84

  Her Majesty's Stationery Office

  5

  11

  91

  5

  13

  100

  Home Office

  15

  14,830

  20

  815

  11,556

  26

  25

  12,845

  51

  825

  12,327

  51

  Her Majesty's Prison Service

  15

  1,569

  73

  15

  2,564

  76

  UK Passport Agency

  15

  172

  95

  15

  101

  86

  Inland Revenue

  18

  5,063

  50

  18

  3,9746

  47

  23

  1,048

  60

  23

  3,1036

  49

  Valuation Office

  —

  —

  —

  1123

  3,12221

  48

  15

  23

  78

  1315

  31

  51

  Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers

  15

  549

  76

  15

  14359

  75

  Lord Chancellor's Department

  20

  5,166

  83

  20

  4,641

  81

  Court Service15

  —

  —

  —

  20

  985

  46

  Her Majesty's Land Registry

  20

  31

  90

  20

  63

  100

  Public Trust Office

  15

  36

  75

  15

  45

  98

  Department of National Heritage

  18

  3,490

  83

  18

  3,834

  95

  Historic Royal Palaces Agency

  —

  —

  —

  10

  16

  100

  Royal Parks Agency

  18

  15

  80

  10

  20

  80

  Northern Ireland Office

  10

  3,468

  65

  1610

  34,237

  64

  (including Northern Ireland Departments)

  15

  1,924

  75

  1715

  31,857

  80

  Child Support Agency (NI)

  10

  48

  88

  10

  73

  74

  Compensation Agency (NI)

  7

  102

  94

  10

  94

  99

  Northern Ireland Prison Service

  —

  —

  —

  10

  54

  83

  Social Security Agency (NI)

  10

  28

  93

  10

  41

  63

  Overseas Development Administration

  15

  3,962

  93

  15

  3,941

  96

  The Scottish Office

  17

  5,562

  49

  17

  5,874

  49

  Historic Scotland

  17

  13

  92

  17

  39

  95

  Scottish Office Pensions Agency

  —

  —

  —

  17

  11

  100

  Scottish Prison Service

  17

  68

  76

  17

  81

  84

  Student Awards Agency for Scotland

  —

  —

  —

  17

  61

  95

  Department of Social Security

  20

  23,193

  64

  20

  1819,645

  71

  Benefits Agency

  20

  21,411

  93

  20

  192,689

  89

  Child Support Agency

  20

  9,092

  25

  20

  205,554

  63

  Contributions Agency

  20

  299

  67

  20

  21304

  48

  War Pensions Agency

  20

  522

  99

  20

  1,117

  100

  Department of Trade and Industry

  10

  23,171

  74

  10

  318,505

  72

  Companies House

  10

  79

  66

  10

  44

  85

  Insolvency Service

  10

  33

  88

  10

  29

  100

  Patent Office

  —

  —

  —

  10

  17

  100

  Radiocommunications Agency

  10

  38

  100

  10

  38

  100

  Department of Transport

  15

  20,905

  72

  15

  19,427

  65

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

  10

  357

  95

  7

  402

  99

  Driving Standards Agency

  10

  87

  87

  15

  122

  94

  Highways Agency

  15

  422

  47

  15

  665

  84

  Marine Safety Agency

  15

  21

  100

  15

  18

  100

  Transport Research Laboratory

  15

  10

  90

  15

  11

  100

  Vehicle Inspectorate

  15

  17

  100

  15

  42

  98

  Her Majesty's Treasury

  15

  4,728

  54

  15

  37,761

  62

  520 521

  Correspondence from Members of Parliament to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives

  Department/Agency

  Target set for reply (working days)

  1994 Number of letters received

  Percentage of replies within target

  Target set for reply (working days)

  1995 Number of letters received

  Percentage of replies within target

  Welsh Office

  12

  3,062

  73

  12

  2,987

  82

  CADW: Welsh Historic Monuments

  12

  47

  93

  12

  46

  93

  Total number of letters

  257,676

  222,797

  Average percentage of replies within target

  —

  —

  78

  —

  —

  82

  1On the 1 April 1996 the Central Statistical Office merged with the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to form the Office for National Statistics.

  2Represents target set for CSO to submit replies to HM Treasury.

  3Includes all ministerial replies, not only those letters to Members of Parliament.

  4The Department for Education and the Department of Employment merged on the 6 July 1995. Figures given are for the period from 6 July to 31 December.

  5 The Department for Education and Employment was established on 6 July 1995. Figures given are for the period from 6 July to 31 December.

  672 per cent, of letters were replied to within 20 working days.

  7Figure includes letters received direct from Members of Parliament as well as via Ministers' offices. Figure also includes 26 cases which relate to Wales.

  8Until April 1995 targets within the Home Office were expressed in calendar days and, because of bank holidays, performance was occasionally measured against fewer than the 15 or 25 working day target. The 25 day target is for replies in respect of subjects dealt with by the Immigration and Nationality Department, Prison Service and UK Passport Agency, and includes letters sent direct to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Board. The 15 day target is for all other subjects.

  9Head Office figures.

  10Local Office figures. In addition, the Inland Revenue processed 471 'delegated cases', where local officials replied direct to MPs. Of these 78 per cent, were replied to within the 23 day target.

  11Letters from MPs where the Chief Executive has replied on behalf of the Treasury Ministers.

  12Excludes 94 letters relating to caravans, where the Agency conducted lengthy negotiations with the Industry. MPs were made aware that the constituency correspondence had been held in abeyance pending the outcome of negotiations.

  13Letters from MPs sent direct to the Chief Executive.

  14This figure excludes letters received by the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers which were subsequently replied to by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

  15The Court Service became an executive agency on 3 April 1995. Figures given are for all correspondence replied to by the Chief Executive between that date and the 31 December.

  16Replies signed by the Minister.

  17Replies signed by the Private Secretary to the Minister.

  18Excludes letters replied to by the Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency on behalf of Ministers.

  19In addition, the Benefits Agency replied to 13,981 letters from MPs sent direct to district offices, of which 95 per cent, were replied to within the 20 day target.

  20Includes letters from MPs to Ministers where the Chief Executive has signed on Ministers' behalf.

  21In addition, the Contributions Agency replied to 158 letters from MPs sent direct to district offices, of which 96 per cent, were replied to within the 20 day target.

  22The 1994 figures are taken from the Official Report, 18 April 1995, columns 21–24. Please also refer to notes given with that reply. In addition the following Departments and Agencies received between 1 and 10 letters from Members of Parliament during 1995 but are not shown in the table.

  Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, Central Science Laboratory, Meat Hygiene Service, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (MAFF).

  Civil Service College, Occupation Health and Safety Agency (OPS).

  Army Technical Support Agency, Defence Analytical Services Agency, Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency, Meterological Office, Military Survey, Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation, Naval Recruitment and Training Agency, Queen Victoria School and the RAF Training Group (MOD).

  The Building Research Establishment Agency, the Buying Agency and Securities Facilities Executive (DOE).

  Export Credit Guarantee Department.

  Wilton Park (FCO).

  Medical Devices Agency (Health).

  Fire Service College (Home Office).

  Government Property Lawyers Agency (Attorney General).

  Public Record Office (LCD).

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (NI), Driver and Vehicle Testing (NI), Rate Collection Agency, Training and Employment Agency (NI) and the Valuation and Lands Agency (Northern Ireland).

  Scottish Records Office (Scottish Office).

  IT Services Agency and Resettlement Agency (DSS).

  Laboratory of the Government Chemist and the National Physical Laboratory (DTI).

  Coastguard Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency (DOT).
  522 523

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32736]

  Mr. Streeter
  The Lord Chancellor has responsibility for four agencies: the Court Service, the Public Trust Office, the Public Record Office and Her Majesty's Land Registry. As the question concerns a specific operational matter on which the respective chief executives are best placed to provide an answer, I have asked them to reply.

  Letter from M. D. Huebner to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply on behalf of the Court Service to your Question about the number of staff employed by Next Step Agencies.
  The number of staff employed by the Court Service is 10,390 and the number of women is 6,769. This is broken down by grade as follows:

  Per cent.

  Grade 5

  2

  18.18

  Grade 6

  10

  23.26

  Grade 7

  37

  31.09

  Senior executive officer

  91

  37.92

  Higher executive officer

  425

  54.84

  Executive officer

  1,199

  61.93

  Administrative officer

  3,243

  67.76

  Administrative assistant

  333

  70.85

  Support grades

  1,429

  71.31

  Letter from Julia C. Lomas to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply to you as part of the Lord Chancellor's Department's response to your Parliamentary Question, listed on 11 June 1996 for answer on the 20 June 1996 regarding the total number of people employed by the Public Trust Office divided into male and female.

  Grade

  Males total

  Females total

  GRD4

  0

  1

  GRD 5 SOL

  0

  1

  GRD 6 SPRN

  3

  1

  GRD 6 LGL

  3

  1

  GRD 7 PRN

  4

  1

  GRD 7 COP

  0

  1

  GRD 7 PPTO

  1

  0

  GRD 7 LGL

  0

  1

  SEO

  20

  9

  HEO

  50

  38

  EO

  77

  75

  SPS

  0

  1

  TYP MNR

  0

  3

  SM 3

  0

  1

  AO

  89

  103

  AA

  3

  2

  SGB 1

  4

  2

  SGB 2

  16

  6

  TYP

  0

  32

  Total

  270

  279

  524
  Letter from Stuart Hill to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question concerning the total number of people employed in H M Land Registry and the number of women by grade. The information you require is as follows:

  Grade

  Male

  Female

  Senior Civil Service (Formerly Grades 2–5)

  22

  5

  Senior Registration Administrator 1 (Grade 6)

  24

  0

  Senior Land Registrar (Grade 6)

  18

  2

  Senior Registration Administrator 2 (Grade 7)

  43

  2

  Assistant Land Registrar (Grade 7)

  54

  40

  Registration Executive 1 (SEO)

  224

  45

  Registration Executive 2 (HEO)

  409

  183

  Registration Executive 3 (EO)

  980

  1,388

  Registration Officer 1 & 2 (AO)

  970

  2,372

  Registration Assistant 1 & 2 (AA)

  469

  1,454

  Totals

  3,213

  5,491

  Overall Staff total (as at 12 June 1996)

  —

  8,704

  HM Land Registry operates its own grade structure following the delegation of pay and grading for staff in Grades 6 and below in April 1994. The Civil Service equivalent grades are noted against the Land Registry grade title.

  Letter from Sarah Tyacke to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  I have been asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply for the Public Record Office to your question about employees in the agencies for which he is responsible.
  The total number of people employed by the Public Record Office is 454.7, of which 190.2 are women who are employed in grades ranging from Grade 12 to Grade 3 (and equivalent grades).

  Senior Judges
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many senior(a) male and (b) female judges from an ethnic minority background sit in courts in England and Wales; and if he will state the position held by each such judge. [32913]

  Mr. Streeter
  The table sets out the figures for male and female holders of judicial office believed to be of ethnic minority origin as at 1 June 1996. The figures for ethnic minority office holders are believed to be correct, but as the ethnic origin of candidates for judicial appointment was not recorded prior to the autumn of 1991, the numbers may be incomplete.

  Judiciary

  Of ethnic minority origin

  Male (ethnic minority)

  Female (ethnic minority)

  Full-time Judiciary

  Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

  0

  0

  0

  Heads of Division

  0

  0

  0

  Lords Justices of Appeal

  0

  0

  0

  High Court Judges

  0

  0

  0

  Circuit Judges (including Official Referees)

  5

  4

  1

  District Judges

  2

  0

  2

  Stipendiary Magistrates

  2

  1

  1

  Part-time Judiciary

  Recorders

  13

  12

  1

  Assistant Recorders

  9

  6

  3

  Deputy District Judges

  12

  8

  4

  Acting Stipendiary Magistrates

  2

  2

  0

  525

  Children's Evidence
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if all courts in England and Wales now have a system of providing privacy for a child who is required to give evidence in court cases. [32875]

  Mr. Streeter
  I have asked the chief executive of the Court Service to reply directly to the hon. Member in respect of the operational arrangements for the Crown court, county court and High Court. The magistrates' courts are a locally managed service and responsibility for putting in place privacy systems for child witnesses rests with the relevant magistrates' courts committee. My Department is always willing to advise on such systems which include the provision of screens to shield witnesses, and the use of video and television links. Courts without such equipment can make arrangements with other courts to use their facilities. Where possible, every effort is made by court staff to comply with requests for a child witness to wait separately or to arrive and depart separately.

  Letter from M. D. Huebner to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, has asked me to reply to your Question about facilities for children giving evidence in court cases. As Chief Executive of the Court Service I can reply in respect of the county courts, Crown Court and High Court.
  It is for the judge presiding at the trial to determine whether it is appropriate for a child's evidence to be given by way of a live television link and whether to allow a video recording of an interview with a child to be allowed as the child's evidence in chief. 67 of the 92 Crown Court Centres in England and Wales have live television links to enable children to give evidence from a separate room and to play video recorded evidence. It is always open to the judge at a court centre without a live TV link to order a case to be transferred to a centre so equipped. Centres without these facilities can use screens which prevent the child and defendant seeing each other. The requirement for additional television link systems is kept constantly under review and additional systems are installed where a need is shown.
  The civil courts do not have television links. However, it is very rare for children to give oral evidence in civil proceedings or to be present in court. Instead, the child is represented by a court welfare officer or guardian ad litem who gives evidence on his or her behalf. If a child does have to give evidence, screens can be used. Most civil cases are held privately in chambers so that only the parties to the case and their legal representatives are present.

PRIME MINISTER

  Engagements
  Sir Peter Tapsell
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 20 June. [32547]

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 20 June. [32548]

  The Prime Minister
  This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
  526

TRANSPORT

  Airport Capacity (London)
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list, for each of the last three years, how many new-start airlines have been able to commence operations at(a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports under the EU rule that allows 50 per cent. of any additional runway capacity to be offered to new-start airlines. [32795]

  Mr. Norris
  The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the hon. Member to the Civil Aviation Authority document CAP 644, "Slot Allocation: A proposal for Europe's airports", which provides useful information on the proportion of slots allocated to new entrant airlines. A copy of this document will be placed in the Library.

  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the time allowance expresed in minutes per flight that airlines currently build into their operating schedules to allow for congestion at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. [32787]

  Mr. Norris
  This is a matter for individual airlines.

  Runway Capacity
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the conclusion of the runway capacity in the south-east—RUCATSE—study that a new full runway would provide for the equivalent of five years' traffic growth. [32908]

  Mr. Norris
  The RUCATSE study did not produce any general conclusion that a new runway would provide for the eqivalent of five years' traffic growth. The speed at which a new runway is taken up would depend on which site was chosen and when it was introduced. RUCATSE showed that, with new runways at either Heathrow or Gatwick in 2010, these would be full by 2015, with traffic being drawn in from the other London airports, but that the take-up of a new runway at Stansted would be much slower.

  Traffic Area Offices
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what contingency plans he has in place to amend the traffic area boundaries in the event of Parliament not approving secondary legislation; [33292]

  (2) if the Government's proposals to close the traffic area offices in Manchester and Cardiff can proceed before the secondary legislation to amend the traffic area boundaries has been approved by Parliament. [33292]
  527
  Mr. Norris
  There is nothing in legislation which requires the Secretary of State for Transport to provide an office in each traffic area, so the approval of new boundaries by Parliament is not necessary before the closure of offices. We would seek to make whatever arrangements for dealing with the work were most efficient. We will be consulting the Council on Tribunals.

  Heathrow Terminal 5
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he estimates a fifth terminal at Heathrow would be completed in the event of the inquiry finding in favour of its construction. [33360]

  Mr. Norris
  Following submission of the inspector's report, the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport are responsible forjointly determining whether BAA plc's application for planning permission for a fifth terminal should be approved. The construction timetable thereafter would be a matter for BAA plc.

  Fuel Taxation
  Sir Peter Fry
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he intends to take to protect United Kingdom coach and heavy goods vehicle operators from unfair competition resulting from lower fuel taxation in other EU countries. [33345]

  Mr. Norris
  Fuel duty is only one element of the costs that affect the international competitiveness of road transport operators. We have supported the introduction of minimum rates of fuel duty in the EU. The rate of duty on fuel in the UK is of course a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

  Satellite Navigation Services
  Sir Michael Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to ensure that the European centre for future satellite navigation services is based in the United Kingdom. [33255]

  Mr. Norris
  My Department is involved in discussion about the need for a European centre for future satellite navigation services. The case has not been established for such a centre, but if it is we will ensure that UK interests are protected.

  Aircraft Movements (Punctuality)
  Mr. Allen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he collates relating to the punctuality of aircraft leaving and arriving in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on trends over the last five years. [33109]

  Mr. Norris
  The information relating to the punctuality of aircraft leaving and arriving in the United Kingdom is available in the Civil Aviation Authority monthly and annual publication "Punctuality statistics". My Department issues quarterly press notices with summary tables and with comment on these statistics. The level of punctuality achieved in 1995 was higher than that for 1990 and 1991, although slightly lower than that achieved in 1994.
  528

  Excalibur Airways
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the country of registration for all aircraft operated by Excalibur Airways operating to and from the United Kingdom. [33533]

  Mr. Norris
  Excalibur Airways currently operates one aircraft to and from the United Kingdom, which is registered in Antigua.

  Air Accidents
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he has taken with regard to safety recommendation 95–25 of the air accident investigation branch, as detailed in paragraph 2.9.1 of air accident report 1/96. [33284]

  Mr. Norris
  The Department of Transport has accepted and implemented the recommendation to which the hon. Member refers. Permit procedures have been reviewed and changed in order to clarify permit and safety responsibilities regarding applications by foreign operators involving the use of wet-leased aircraft.

  These measures were announced on 10 January by my noble Friend the Minister for Aviation and Shipping. A copy of the announcement—Department of Transport press notice No. 9—was, at that time, placed in the House of Commons Library.

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Ian McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost in each of the past five years of rectifying working conditions that were the responsibility of his Department and its agencies, to bring them to acceptable health and safety standards, detailing incidents involving information technology and those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33523]

  Mr. Norris
  This information is not available.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions in each of the past five years health and safety problems in his Department and its agencies have been reported via internal monitoring; and on how many occasions the Health and Safety Commission has become involved. [33520]

  Mr. Norris
  My Department has carried out a survey in each of the past five years of health and safety incidents and produced an annual report for the permanent secretary. The Health and Safety Executive has been involved five times.

  London Underground (Serious Crimes)
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many serious crimes were recorded on the London Underground during 1995. [33107]

  Mr. Norris
  Crime figures on the London Underground are not collected by calendar year, but the figures for the most serious crimes in 1995–96, and as compared with the equivalent figures for 1994–95 were:

  Violent assaults: 418—down by 15.7 per cent.

  Robberies: 578—down by 5.9 per cent.

  Indecent assaults: 154—up by 3.2 per cent.

  529

  Small Ships Register
  Mr. Barry Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what representations his Department and the Marine Safety Agency have received about the delay in the awarding of the contract to run the small ships register by the agency; [33282]

  (2) what discussions he has had with the director of the Marine Safety Agency about the small ships register and the awarding of the contract for running this service; [33280]

  (3) what steps he is taking to ensure interested parties have the opportunity to bid for the contract for the small ships register from the Marine Safety Agency. [33281]

  Mr. Norris
  I have asked the chief executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write to my hon. Friend.

  Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Barry Field, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Questions enquiring: (a) what representations have been received about the delay in awarding the contract to run the Small Ships Register; (b) what discussions have taken place with the Marine Safety Agency about the Small Ships Register and the awarding of the contract for running this service, and, (c) what steps are being taken to ensure interested parties have the opportunity to bid for the Small Ships Register from the Marine Safety Agency.
  To date no representations have been received about the delay in awarding the contract for running the Small Ships Register. Nor have any discussions taken place with the Secretary of State about the Small Ships Register or the awarding of the contract as this is an operational matter which has been dealt with within the Agency.
  In the event that the contract for operation of the Small Ships Register is relet there will be a full competitive tendering exercise and all parties who have expressed an interest will be invited to tender together with any other parties who may be identified as potential suppliers.

  Street Works Advisory Committee Report
  Mr. Riddick
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the final report of the Street Works Advisory Committee. [34209]

  Mr. Norris
  The committee's report is published today, with the Government's response, which is set out in joint highway authority and utilities circular No. 1/96 (Department of Transport), 25/96 (Welsh Office). Copies of the report and circular have been placed in the Library.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32741]

  Mr. Norris
  The number of people employed by the Department of Transport in its agencies on 1 June 1996 is in the table.
  530

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Driving Standards Agency

  Grade 5

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 6

  1

  1

  2

  Grade 7

  9

  0

  9

  Senior Executive Officer

  16

  3

  19

  Higher Executive Officer

  108

  18

  126

  Executive Officer

  1,028

  110

  1,138

  Administrative Officer

  40

  62

  102

  Administrative Assistant

  75

  268

  343

  Total

  1,278

  462

  1,740

  Driver and Vehicle and Licensing Agency

  Grade 3

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 5

  3

  0

  3

  Grade 6

  8

  6

  14

  Grade 7

  16

  2

  18

  Senior Executive Officer

  39

  13

  52

  Higher Executive Officer

  98

  76

  174

  Executive Officer

  133

  291

  424

  Administrative Officer

  477

  1,236

  1,713

  Administrative Assistant

  355

  1,210

  1,565

  Total

  1,130

  2,834

  3,964

  Highways Agency

  Grade 2

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 3

  3

  0

  3

  Grade 4

  5

  0

  5

  Grade 5

  18

  2

  20

  Grade 6

  47

  1

  48

  Grade 7

  172

  11

  183

  Senior Executive Officer

  314

  23

  337

  Higher Executive Officer

  212

  52

  264

  Executive Officer

  191

  143

  334

  Administrative Officer

  142

  224

  366

  Administrative Assistant

  40

  70

  130

  Total

  1,145

  526

  1,691

  Marine Safety Agency

  Grade 4

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 5

  2

  0

  2

  Grade 6

  10

  0

  10

  Grade 7

  62

  2

  64

  Senior Executive Officer

  84

  3

  87

  Higher Executive Officer

  31

  13

  44

  Executive Officer

  15

  17

  32

  Administrative Officer

  23

  44

  67

  Administrative Assistant

  9

  35

  44

  Total

  237

  114

  531

  Marine Emergency Organisation

  Grade 4

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 5

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 6

  3

  0

  3

  Grade 7

  11

  0

  11

  Senior Executive Officer

  11

  3

  14

  Higher Executive Officer

  35

  3

  38

  Executive Officer

  56

  11

  67

  Administrative Officer

  355

  32

  387

  Administrative Assistant

  2

  14

  16

  Total

  475

  63

  538

  Vehicle Certificate Agency

  Grade 5

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 6

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 7

  4

  0

  4

  Senior Executive Officer

  11

  0

  11

  Higher Executive Officer

  22

  0

  22

  Executive Officer

  6

  2

  8

  Administrative Officer

  8

  9

  17

  Administrative Assistant

  5

  5

  10

  Total

  58

  16

  74

  531

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Vehicle Inspectorate

  Grade 4

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 5

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 6

  3

  0

  3

  Grade 7

  16

  2

  18

  Senior Executive Officer

  45

  4

  49

  Higher Executive Officer

  72

  6

  78

  Executive Officer

  552

  45

  597

  Administrative Officer

  169

  144

  313

  Administrative Assistant

  31

  252

  283

  Industrial

  191

  20

  211

  Total

  1,081

  473

  1,554

  Professional and miscellaneous grades are included in the mainstream equivalents.

  Fishing Industry (Accidents)
  Mr. Loyden
  To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have been disabled as a result of accidents in the sea fishing industry during the last four years. [32365]

  Mr. Norris
  I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 25 January 1995,Official Report, column 201, and 14 February 1995, Official Report, column 525. The position has not changed.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Firearms
  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of firearms-related crimes involved licensed pistols in the last available three years. [33244]

  Mr. Maclean
  Thirty per cent. of notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used in England and Wales in 1992 involved pistols. The figure for 1993 was also 30 per cent. and that for 1994, 23 per cent.

  Information is not collected centrally on whether these weapons are licensed. Most firearms used in crime are not covered or are untraceable because their serial numbers have been removed.

  Paedophiles Register
  Mr. Nicholas Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he plans to introduce a public register of paedophiles. [33112]
  532
  Mr. Maclean
  The Government published a consultation paper, "Sentencing and Supervision of Sex Offenders", on 17 June which proposed that convicted sex offenders should be required to notify the police of their address and any subsequent moves. This information will provide the police with a register of the current whereabouts of sex offenders.

  Crime (Hemsworth)
  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded crimes in(a) the Hemsworth constituency and (b) the relevant police divisional area were committed by those between the ages of 18 and 25 years; what proportion of the total crimes committed in the area, in the last available year, were committed by those aged 18 to 25 years; and how many of these crimes were directly or indirectly drugs-related. [33245]

  Mr. Maclean
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Police (Damages)
  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many actions for damages have been defended at trial in the civil courts by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for the past five years and the present year to date; what were the causes of the actions; how much the Commissioner was required to pay in(a) compensatory damages and (b) exemplary damages; and what disciplinary action was taken against the police officers involved. [33330]

  Mr. Maclean
  The information is as follows:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  1996 as at 8 May

  Actions defended at trial

  N/a

  N/a

  N/a

  34

  50

  18

  Amounts paid (£000s)

  21

  203

  53

  84

  267

  839

  The requested breakdown of actions for damages can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  As regards disciplinary action, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 8 May, Official Report, column 156. I understand that since that information was provided two cases have been recorded in 1996:

  Case 1: involving three officers, formal disciplinary proceedings and dismissal of the officers concerned; and

  Case 2: involving one officer, who has made subject to formal disciplinary proceedings.

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been the subject of an internal investigation on behalf of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis where no formal complaint has been recorded for the past five years and the present year to date; how many such cases arose from actions for damages brought against the Commissioner which(a) resulted in awards being made against the Commissioner at trial and (b) were

  533
  settled out of court (i) after and (ii) before proceedings were commenced; and what disciplinary action was taken against the police officers involved. [33332]

  Mr. Maclean
  The Commissioner informs me that information on internal investigations prior to 1994 is not readily available. This, and the other information requested, can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The following is the number of internal investigations in 1994 to 31 May 1996:

  Year

  Number of cases

  1994

  424

  1995

  424

  1996 (to 31 May)

  167

  Mr. Corbyn
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many actions or threatened actions for damages have been settled out of court for more than £10,000 by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for the past five years and the present year to date; what were the causes of the actions; how much the Commissioner paid out; and what disciplinary action was taken against the police officers involved. [33331]

  Mr. Maclean
  Information in the form requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The total number of actions and threatened actions for damages over the last five years is as follows:

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  1996 (as at 8 May)

  Action

  74

  85

  140

  174

  140

  50

  Amount (in £000s)

  390

  468

  1,332

  1,050

  1,051

  359

  Threatened Action

  38

  51

  74

  100

  72

  21

  Amount (in £000s)

  60

  84

  204

  209

  242

  37

  Monserrat Citizens
  Mr. Rooker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision is being made for citizens of Monserrat to seek temporary refuge in the United Kingdom during the present emergency caused by the volcanic eruption. [33338]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  Arrangements have been announced enabling Montserratians who can be accommodated by sponsors in the United Kingdom, and who can meet their own travel costs, to be admitted to the United Kingdom on an exceptional basis outside the immigration rules. To date, 103 people have registered an interest in these arrangements, 58 of whom have left Montserrat.

  Closed Circuit Television
  Mr. Anthony Coombs
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce the results of the latest CCTV challenge competition; and if he will make a statement about plans for future competitions. [34096]

  Mr. Maclean
  My right hon. and learned Friend will be announcing the results of the 1996–97 closed circuit television challenge competition on Friday 21 June. Details of the successful bids will be placed in the 534
  Library. The Government have stated their intention of making £45 million available for CCTV. Some £15 million of this will be available in 1997–98.

  Boundary Commission Review
  Mr. Amess
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take on the report of the interim review of the Boundary Commission for England. [34097]

  Mr. Howard
  I have today laid before Parliament the report of the interim review of the Boundary Commission for England together with a draft Order in Council for giving effect, without modification, to the recommendations contained in the report.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the policy of detaining certain asylum seekers in prisons; [32776]

  (2) if he will make it his policy to have immigration officers' decisions to detain asylum seekers in prison reviewed by an independent adjudicator after they have spent seven days in detention; and if he will make a statement. [32774]

  Miss Widdecombe
  Detention is carried out under the powers contained in the Immigration Act 1971. The overriding consideration is whether the overseas national is likely to comply with any restrictions upon him, including any arrangements for his removal from the country.

  Wherever possible, Immigration Act detainees, including asylum seekers, are held in immigration service detention centres. Prisons are used only when no places are available in an immigration service detention centre, or where the detainee is unsuitable for detention in these establishments. Immigration detainees in prisons are generally held separately or with unconvicted prisoners and are accorded the same privileges as those on remand.

  Currently, any detainee who has an appeal outstanding, or who has been detained for more than seven days for further examination having sought entry to the United Kingdom, may apply to the independent appellate authorities for bail. The Asylum and Immigration Bill contains provision to extend bail rights to everyone detained under Immigration Act powers.

  Mr. Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions over the last 12 months asylum detainees have been confined to their cells continuously for 48 hours; what were the reasons for such continuous confinements; and if he will make a statement. [32775]

  Miss Widdecombe
  Between 1 June 1995 and 31 May 1996, 54 immigration detainees were found guilty of an offence against prison discipline and given a punishment of cellular confinement of two days or more. Prison Service records do not distinguish between those who had sought asylum and those who had not. That information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
  535
  Mr. Henderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of asylum seekers currently detained under Immigration Act powers by(a) nationality, (b) gender, (c) place of detention, (d) length of detention and (e) immigration status at the time of application; and if he will indicate how many of these detainees' asylum applications have (i) yet to be determined, (ii) been refused with an appeal pending and (c) been refused and the appeal been refused. [33267]

  Mr. Kirkhope
  The information requested is in the tables.

  Table 1: Number of people recorded as detained on 31 May and 7 June 19961,2 who had sought asylum at some stage, by gender and immigration status

  Port

  Illegal entrants

  Deport

  Total

  Male

  418

  247

  32

  697

  Female

  44

  9

  1

  54

  Total

  462

  256

  33

  751

  1These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

  2Illegal entrants and deports figures relate to 31 May, port figures to 7 June 1996.

  Table 2: Number of people recorded as detained on 31 May and 7 June 19961,2 who had sought asylum at some stage, by stage of application

  Stage of application

  Total number detained

  Awaiting initial decision

  181

  Awaiting result of appeal

  400

  Awaiting removal after refusal

  170

  Total

  751

  1These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

  2Illegal entrants and deports figures relate to 31 May, port figures to 7 June 1996.

  Table 3: Number of people recorded as detained on 31 May and 7 June 19961 2 who had sought asylum at some stage, by length of detention and immigration status

  Length

  Total number detained

  0–1 month1

  201

  1–2 months

  133

  2–6 months

  287

  6–12 months

  112

  12 months+

  18

  Total

  751

  1 These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

  2Illegal entrants and deports figures relate to 31 May, port figures to 7 June 1996.

  536

  Table 4: Number of people recorded as detained on 31 May and 7 June 19961,2 who had sought asylum at some stage, by nationality and immigration status

  Nationality

  Total number detained

  Nigeria

  105

  India

  96

  Algeria

  72

  Ghana

  52

  Turkey

  39

  Sri Lanka

  38

  Zaire

  34

  Gambia

  29

  Pakistan

  29

  China Peoples' Republic of

  26

  Romania

  23

  Yugoslavia

  19

  Bangladesh

  17

  Iran

  13

  Angola

  12

  Colombia

  11

  Lithuania

  11

  Ecuador

  8

  Somalia

  8

  Afganistan

  7

  Ivory Coast

  6

  Czechoslovakia

  6

  Albania

  5

  Ethiopia

  5

  Jamaica

  5

  Liberia

  5

  Poland

  5

  Russia

  5

  Sierra Leone

  5

  Uganda

  5

  Kenya

  4

  Tanzania

  4

  Lebanon

  3

  Bulgaria

  2

  Cameroon

  2

  Cyprus

  2

  Georgia

  2

  Montenegro

  2

  Niger

  2

  Sudan

  2

  Zimbabwe

  2

  Others

  19

  Nationality doubtful

  4

  Total

  751

  1These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

  2Illegal entrants and deports figures relate to 31 May, port figures to 7 June 1996.

  Table 5: Number of people recorded as detained on 31 May and 7 June 19961 2 who had sought asylum at some stage, by location of detention and immigration status

  Prisons

  Total number detained

  HMP Rochester

  145

  HMP Haslar

  103

  HMP Birmingham

  33

  HMP Wormwood Scrubs

  15

  HMP Greenock

  11

  HMP Magilligan

  8

  HMP Bristol

  4

  HMP Wandsworth

  4

  537

  Table 5: Number of people recorded as detained on 31 May and 7 June 19961 2 who had sought asylum at some stage, by location of detention and immigration status

  Prisons

  Total number detained

  HMP Doncaster

  3

  HMP Armley

  2

  HMP Chelmsford

  2

  Others

  22

  Other places of detention

  Campsfield House

  156

  Harmondsworth

  83

  Gatwick Apt Det Suite

  44

  Police Cells

  26

  Dover Harbour PS

  24

  Queens Building

  15

  Tinsley House

  13

  Manchester Apt Det Suite

  11

  Port

  10

  Stansted Apt Det Suite

  8

  Dover West

  2

  Others

  7

  Total

  751

  1These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

  2Illegal entrant and deports figures relate to 31 May, port figures to 7 June 1996.

  Stalking
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new cases of stalking were reported to the police in(a) the Metropolitan police authority and (b) each other police force area for each year since 1990. [32585]

  Mr. Maclean
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Mrs. Jane Kennedy
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the issue of stalking since 13 May. [33720]

  Mr. Maclean
  Since 13 May, we have received representations on the issue of stalking from: the National Anti-Stalking and Harassment Campaign, NASH; the Suzy Lamplugh Trust; hon. Friends and hon. Members and noble Lords in another place; and 13 members of the public, including victims of stalking.

  Ms Janet Anderson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proposals he has to provide for a criminal offence of stalking; [33721]

  (2) what representations he has received about the Stalking (No. 2) Bill [Lords]. [33722]

  Mr. Maclean
  Of the representations we have received on this subject, only early-day motion 875 made specific reference to the Stalking (No. 2) Bill.

  The Government will be publishing a consultation paper shortly, which will put forward comprehensive proposals for legislation to deal with stalking.
  538

  Domestic Violence
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many separate incidents of domestic violence were reported to police in(a) the Metropolitan police authority and (b) each other police force area in each year since 1985; how many resulted in prosecutions and how many resulted in convictions. [32588]

  Mr. Maclean
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Assaults (Women)
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many physical assaults and robberies against women were reported to police in(a) the Metropolitan police authority and (b) each other police force area for each year since 1990; how many of these cases were taken to court; and how many resulted in convictions. [32589]

  Mr. Maclean
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Police (Sexual Harassment)
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many complaints of sexual harassment were made by women police officers in(a) the Metropolitan police authority and (b) each other police force for each year since 1993; [32689]

  (2) what steps he is taking to monitor levels of sexual harassment in the police service. [32688]

  Mr. Maclean
  Records of the number of complaints of sexual harassment made by women police officers are not kept centrally. All police forces in England and Wales have an equal opportunities statement and a grievance procedure, both of which will cover sexual harassment. Individual forces monitor the implementation and effectiveness of their equal opportunities policies, including those dealing with sexual harassment, and the operation of their grievance procedures. In addition, Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary pays close attention to this area during the inspection of individual forces.

  Prisons (Private Sector)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans for greater involvement of the private sector in the Prison Service and the targeting of regime activities. [33445]

  Miss Widdecombe
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Ms Anderson) on 4 June,Official Report, column 327.

  Prisons (Staff)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff inquiries about the exit package in the Prison Service have been received; how many staff will be taking the package during the current financial year; and if he will make a statement. [33446]
  539
  Miss Widdecombe
  Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from David Scott to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about exit packages from the Prison Service.
  Just over 3,600 staff have applied to be considered for voluntary early retirement or severance. Earlier this year, business plans produced by governors and heads of headquarters groups and units indicated a likely net loss of about 1,500 posts during 1996–97. However, some proposals are being reviewed in the light of changing circumstances. It is not yet possible to say, therefore, exactly how many staff will be offered, and will accept, the exit package during this financial year. We aim to start letting staff know the outcome of their applications shortly.

  Mr. Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average number of days spent on training by prison staff during 1995–96; and if he will make a statement. [33440]

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

  Letter from David Scott to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General, to reply to your recent Question about the average number of days spent on training by prison staff during 1995/96.
  In 1995/96, the Prison Service monitored staff training for prison officer grades. For these grades, the Service achieved an average of 6.2 days training per member of staff.
  In 1996/97, the Service is monitoring the training of all of its staff, and is committed through a new Key Performance Indicator to achieve an average of at least six days training per member of staff.

  Prisons (Morale)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on morale, job satisfaction and security in the Prison Service. [33447]

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

  Letter from David Scott to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about morale, job satisfaction and security in the Prison Service.
  Prison work by its nature is difficult and demanding. Nevertheless, a staff survey in 1994 indicated that two thirds of staff were satisfied with their jobs, and over half felt proud to work for the Prison Service.
  540
  At present the service needs to lose some posts, but we are seeking as far as possible to achieve this by a mixture of natural wastage and voluntary redundancy.
  The next survey is due to be carried out in 1997 and this will provide more up-to-date information.

  Police (Strength)
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed in each police force area for each year since 1980; and how many were employed as beat officers. [32587]

  Mr. Maclean
  Information on police strength from 1980 to 1995 can be found in the appendix to the annual reports of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, copies of which are in the Library. Details of police strength for each force at March 1996 are set out in table A.

  Information on the number of officers specifically assigned to beat duties is not available. Information on patrol strength in each force is available from 1991 and is set out in table B.

  Police strength in England and Wales as at 31 March 1996

  Force

  Total police ranks

  Avon and Somerset

  2,981

  Bedfordshire

  1,128

  Cambridgeshire

  1,238

  Cheshire

  1,975

  City of London

  869

  Cleveland

  1,420

  Cumbria

  1,115

  Derbyshire

  1,763

  Devon and Cornwall

  2,899

  Dorset

  1,263

  Durham

  1,401

  Dyfed-Powys

  991

  Essex

  2,884

  Gloucestershire

  1,133

  Greater Manchester

  6,938

  Gwent

  1,044

  Hampshire

  3,347

  Hertfordshire

  1,712

  Humberside

  2,041

  Kent

  3,120

  Lancashire

  3,171

  Leicestershire

  1,908

  Lincolnshire

  1,147

  Merseyside

  4,411

  Metropolitan police

  27,343

  Norfolk

  1,401

  Northamptonshire

  1,153

  Northumbria

  3,668

  North Wales

  1,378

  North Yorkshire

  1,324

  Nottinghamshire

  2,318

  South Wales

  3,027

  South Yorkshire

  3,073

  Staffordshire

  2,209

  Suffolk

  1,138

  Surrey

  1,644

  Sussex

  3,074

  Thames Valley

  3,674

  Warwickshire

  979

  West Mercia

  2,017

  West Midlands

  7,145

  West Yorkshire

  5,142

  Wiltshire

  1,219

  541

  Police strength—patrol1

  Force

  31 December 1991

  31 December 1992

  31 December 1993

  31 March 1995

  Avon and Somerset

  1,748

  1,693

  1,617

  1,625

  Bedfordshire

  603

  521

  580

  518

  Cambridgeshire

  665

  656

  649

  669

  Cheshire

  981

  1,007

  1,051

  1,024

  City of London

  394

  360

  355

  380

  Cleveland

  849

  836

  814

  816

  Cumbria

  719

  662

  673

  649

  Derbyshire

  943

  1,045

  988

  947

  Devon and Cornwall

  1,579

  1,728

  1,690

  1,661

  Dorset

  718

  746

  735

  727

  Durham

  747

  778

  762

  770

  Dyfed-Powys

  570

  593

  589

  605

  Essex

  1,591

  1,609

  1,533

  1,531

  Gloucestershire

  630

  645

  592

  628

  Greater Manchester

  3,555

  3,666

  3,577

  3,552

  Gwent

  616

  606

  611

  599

  Hampshire

  1,888

  1,703

  1,980

  1,980

  Hertfordshire

  966

  926

  996

  970

  Humberside

  1,008

  1,142

  1,099

  1,182

  Kent

  1,954

  1,900

  1,837

  1,531

  Lancashire

  1,733

  1,805

  1,726

  1,593

  Leicestershire

  1,087

  970

  1,003

  1,020

  Lincolnshire

  737

  713

  761

  736

  Merseyside

  2,389

  2,453

  2,488

  2,573

  Metropolitan police

  13,286

  14,392

  14,561

  14,684

  Norfolk

  811

  804

  799

  807

  North Wales

  818

  794

  796

  798

  North Yorkshire

  865

  811

  785

  781

  Northamptonshire

  649

  698

  729

  720

  Northumbria

  1,897

  1,756

  1,974

  2,149

  Nottinghamshire

  1,337

  1,311

  1,349

  1,284

  South Wales

  1,834

  1,953

  1,985

  2,023

  South Yorkshire

  1,724

  1,657

  1,694

  1,682

  Staffordshire

  1,091

  1,304

  1,234

  1,314

  Suffolk

  665

  713

  732

  706

  Surrey

  1,157

  1,007

  1,010

  879

  Sussex

  1,870

  1,799

  1,710

  1,543

  Thames Valley

  1,961

  2,017

  2,061

  2,104

  Warwickshire

  510

  475

  510

  471

  West Mercia

  1,320

  1,167

  1,256

  1,199

  West Midlands

  3,780

  3,702

  3,524

  3,546

  West Yorkshire

  2,865

  2,710

  2,616

  2,707

  Wiltshire

  621

  632

  661

  612

  1Based on returns provided by police forces, showing officers who spend more than 50 per cent, of their time on patrol duties. These include foot, car, beat and dog patrol, and mounted officers.

  Rape
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many rapes and sexual assaults were reported to police in(a) the Metropolitan police authority and (b) each other police force area for each year since 1990; how many of these cases were taken to court; and how many ended in a conviction. [32590]

  Mr. Maclean
  The available information relates to offences recorded by the police and is given in the table. Information on court proceedings for 1995 is not yet available.

  Notifiable offences of sexual assault1 recorded by the police, 1990 to 1995

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  Metropolitan police

  3,428

  3,331

  3,876

  4,300

  4,715

  4,303

  Avon and Somerset

  497

  481

  393

  659

  828

  672

  Bedfordshire

  225

  209

  171

  305

  295

  203

  Cambridgeshire

  264

  271

  303

  285

  305

  291

  Cheshire

  257

  306

  314

  328

  366

  387

  Cleveland

  209

  212

  187

  161

  148

  216

  Cumbria

  214

  149

  112

  171

  163

  165

  Derbyshire

  327

  315

  286

  351

  343

  392

  542

  Notifiable offences of sexual assault1recorded by the police, 1990 to 1995

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  Devon and Cornwall

  565

  577

  462

  729

  616

  570

  Dorset

  169

  249

  230

  214

  263

  248

  Durham

  264

  290

  298

  348

  346

  262

  Essex

  479

  410

  477

  556

  384

  515

  Gloucestershire

  222

  223

  188

  226

  286

  245

  Greater Manchester

  869

  1,033

  1,028

  925

  851

  934

  Hampshire

  621

  759

  701

  904

  700

  747

  Hertfordshire

  248

  279

  209

  193

  243

  199

  Humberside

  655

  696

  586

  616

  546

  583

  Kent

  565

  498

  740

  697

  696

  669

  Lancashire

  376

  408

  289

  349

  361

  445

  Leicestershire

  286

  302

  437

  349

  460

  403

  Lincolnshire

  306

  231

  216

  202

  268

  261

  London, City of

  24

  11

  26

  19

  21

  13

  Merseyside

  563

  504

  503

  584

  594

  671

  Norfolk

  296

  279

  280

  267

  254

  225

  Northamptonshire

  202

  180

  204

  184

  260

  229

  Northumbria

  474

  458

  552

  495

  547

  395

  North Yorkshire

  188

  142

  151

  202

  203

  179

  Nottinghamshire

  711

  802

  776

  816

  785

  681

  South Yorkshire

  459

  432

  428

  455

  481

  454

  Staffordshire

  342

  339

  285

  345

  358

  411

  Suffolk

  258

  298

  269

  259

  264

  284

  Surrey

  270

  246

  331

  289

  347

  295

  Sussex

  590

  532

  629

  514

  563

  533

  Thames Valley

  617

  687

  615

  566

  633

  553

  Warwickshire

  126

  119

  174

  262

  216

  171

  West Mercia

  303

  298

  350

  281

  329

  349

  West Midlands

  1,030

  1,053

  1,091

  1,045

  927

  856

  West Yorkshire

  1,090

  1,131

  924

  1,017

  1,013

  1,028

  Wiltshire

  292

  259

  315

  265

  255

  261

  Dyfed-Powys

  220

  244

  226

  247

  186

  186

  Gwent

  239

  176

  251

  227

  201

  203

  North Wales

  218

  265

  236

  361

  232

  258

  South Wales

  331

  325

  393

  402

  375

  392

  England and Wales

  19,889

  20,009

  20,512

  21,970

  22,227

  21,337

  1Offences of indecent assault on a male or a female and gross indecency with a child.

  Notifiable offences of rape recorded by the police, 1990 to 1995

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  Metropolitan police

  981

  1,158

  1,192

  1,314

  1,404

  1,495

  Avon and Somerset

  87

  98

  102

  134

  151

  164

  Bedfordshire

  46

  46

  45

  62

  60

  65

  Cambridgeshire

  33

  62

  74

  65

  69

  99

  Cheshire

  25

  37

  53

  75

  80

  63

  Cleveland

  32

  47

  45

  34

  55

  46

  Cumbria

  23

  19

  26

  26

  40

  34

  Derbyshire

  37

  34

  61

  54

  58

  87

  Devon and Cornwall

  59

  60

  69

  108

  127

  110

  Dorset

  23

  49

  36

  39

  83

  43

  Durham

  45

  45

  42

  51

  56

  75

  Essex

  91

  83

  71

  84

  95

  128

  Gloucestershire

  19

  23

  40

  44

  128

  47

  Greater Manchester

  177

  227

  193

  231

  236

  258

  Hampshire

  111

  136

  149

  138

  107

  136

  Hertfordshire

  21

  46

  33

  48

  31

  52

  Humberside

  49

  61

  81

  67

  71

  109

  Kent

  96

  115

  133

  108

  171

  175

  Lancashire

  65

  58

  31

  52

  61

  70

  Leicestershire

  21

  38

  37

  46

  77

  62

  Lincolnshire

  34

  38

  33

  41

  51

  45

  London, City of

  1

  0

  1

  2

  2

  1

  Merseyside

  87

  63

  87

  95

  117

  145

  Norfolk

  33

  62

  53

  60

  57

  56

  Northamptonshire

  45

  44

  46

  51

  48

  41

  Northumbria

  88

  93

  102

  116

  125

  106

  North Yorkshire

  13

  19

  22

  23

  29

  37

  Nottinghamshire

  108

  111

  112

  175

  181

  119

  South Yorkshire

  59

  74

  62

  89

  94

  83

  Staffordshire

  43

  53

  64

  68

  79

  69

  Suffolk

  50

  61

  51

  62

  47

  42

  543

  Notifiable offences of rape recorded by the police, 1990 to 1995

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  Surrey

  32

  41

  28

  46

  52

  30

  Sussex

  64

  73

  82

  70

  105

  118

  Thames Valley

  94

  99

  114

  106

  113

  140

  Warwickshire

  9

  18

  18

  9

  21

  16

  West Mercia

  39

  50

  53

  60

  56

  60

  West Midlands

  170

  214

  207

  204

  211

  237

  West Yorkshire

  153

  213

  206

  215

  260

  235

  Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for sexual offences1 by police force area 1990 to 1994

  Prosecutions

  Convictions

  Police Force Area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Metropolitan police

  614

  642

  688

  769

  810

  443

  424

  393

  398

  392

  Avon and Somerset

  135

  122

  100

  119

  115

  78

  69

  70

  65

  61

  Bedfordshire

  58

  38

  29

  58

  42

  37

  24

  21

  32

  33

  Cambridgeshire

  75

  56

  80

  59

  75

  57

  34

  54

  33

  44

  Cheshire

  72

  75

  100

  86

  73

  48

  58

  82

  59

  51

  Cleveland

  52

  56

  50

  36

  31

  42

  38

  26

  25

  25

  Cumbria

  47

  37

  33

  32

  35

  39

  29

  16

  27

  23

  Derbyshire

  113

  91

  72

  97

  88

  74

  58

  62

  56

  58

  Devon and Cornwall

  141

  117

  95

  99

  124

  118

  90

  64

  72

  80

  Dorset

  46

  65

  46

  54

  47

  30

  30

  29

  23

  32

  Durham

  67

  56

  52

  54

  51

  53

  42

  37

  41

  39

  Essex

  79

  92

  88

  85

  90

  55

  70

  53

  51

  46

  Gloucestershire

  45

  39

  43

  34

  30

  36

  23

  29

  26

  30

  Greater Manchester

  299

  288

  337

  269

  280

  190

  188

  202

  155

  157

  Hampshire

  154

  137

  141

  169

  143

  100

  88

  86

  95

  93

  Hertfordshire

  68

  60

  55

  45

  66

  48

  28

  29

  21

  30

  Humberside

  130

  125

  91

  78

  70

  96

  92

  79

  56

  55

  Kent

  126

  67

  63

  57

  96

  114

  75

  79

  46

  80

  Lancashire

  142

  109

  101

  111

  116

  101

  74

  72

  74

  79

  Leicestershire

  68

  81

  55

  83

  94

  45

  64

  32

  38

  47

  Lincolnshire

  78

  60

  43

  70

  58

  54

  30

  31

  38

  28

  London, City of

  20

  7

  8

  6

  8

  9

  5

  4

  3

  7

  Merseyside

  180

  165

  175

  172

  138

  95

  78

  91

  95

  68

  Norfolk

  79

  57

  48

  44

  43

  42

  50

  36

  28

  37

  Northamptonshire

  47

  55

  43

  47

  67

  35

  36

  32

  25

  37

  Northumbria

  143

  137

  160

  174

  162

  99

  88

  116

  112

  98

  North Yorkshire

  52

  51

  52

  68

  73

  36

  34

  33

  31

  39

  Nottinghamshire

  166

  179

  177

  145

  146

  117

  108

  104

  76

  79

  South Yorkshire

  125

  108

  116

  113

  125

  82

  77

  73

  66

  76

  Staffordshire

  107

  92

  72

  106

  91

  73

  68

  46

  58

  59

  Suffolk

  47

  60

  57

  31

  40

  31

  31

  38

  36

  47

  Surrey

  54

  56

  22

  37

  58

  33

  37

  20

  24

  27

  Sussex

  112

  94

  107

  79

  113

  85

  77

  62

  48

  61

  Thames Valley

  106

  137

  136

  104

  114

  83

  69

  87

  57

  64

  Warwickshire

  26

  29

  32

  45

  48

  28

  24

  27

  29

  29

  West Mercia

  83

  95

  83

  59

  87

  63

  58

  65

  40

  55

  West Midlands

  297

  310

  307

  272

  249

  228

  214

  210

  177

  190

  West Yorkshire

  262

  236

  205

  187

  199

  180

  172

  140

  117

  121

  Wiltshire

  46

  68

  51

  42

  56

  37

  42

  35

  27

  28

  Dyfed-Powys

  46

  38

  45

  52

  42

  28

  21

  26

  29

  32

  Gwent

  64

  53

  56

  47

  55

  33

  37

  31

  29

  32

  North Wales

  64

  56

  65

  72

  59

  43

  47

  40

  48

  47

  South Wales

  158

  136

  165

  151

  143

  106

  101

  90

  91

  86

  England and Wales

  4,893

  4,632

  4,544

  4,517

  4,650

  3,425

  3,102

  2,952

  2,677

  2,802

  1Includes offences of indecent assault on a man, indecent assault on a woman and gross indecency with children.

  Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for rape by police force area 1990 to 1994

  Prosecutions

  Convictions

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Metropolitan police

  241

  311

  281

  314

  353

  125

  111

  107

  84

  90

  Avon and Somerset

  36

  38

  33

  41

  44

  7

  4

  14

  5

  12

  Bedfordshire

  17

  18

  18

  22

  21

  3

  5

  7

  4

  3

  Cambridgeshire

  19

  23

  22

  32

  20

  3

  6

  5

  8

  4

  544

  Notifiable offences of rape recorded by the police, 1990 to 1995

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1995

  Wiltshire

  48

  46

  69

  61

  65

  64

  Dyfed-Powys

  34

  47

  42

  39

  16

  18

  Gwent

  39

  38

  42

  48

  33

  60

  North Wales

  27

  55

  47

  66

  51

  61

  South Wales

  80

  91

  88

  103

  94

  120

  England and Wales

  3,391

  4,045

  4,142

  4,589

  5,067

  5,221

  545

  Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for rape by police force area 1990 to 1994

  Prosecutions

  Convictions

  Police force area

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Cheshire

  13

  10

  31

  23

  19

  7

  6

  8

  15

  8

  Cleveland

  16

  30

  31

  26

  20

  6

  6

  8

  8

  5

  Cumbria

  11

  9

  9

  16

  16

  10

  2

  4

  4

  4

  Derbyshire

  26

  16

  31

  28

  29

  6

  9

  6

  11

  5

  Devon and Cornwall

  21

  27

  22

  24

  33

  7

  10

  3

  6

  9

  Dorset

  19

  20

  14

  16

  22

  5

  9

  2

  6

  10

  Durham

  22

  25

  16

  18

  25

  7

  11

  7

  9

  7

  Essex

  38

  39

  31

  49

  41

  16

  8

  7

  8

  6

  Gloucestershire

  10

  17

  11

  7

  14

  2

  3

  7

  4

  3

  Greater Manchester

  105

  131

  105

  138

  165

  30

  37

  35

  28

  39

  Hampshire

  44

  69

  46

  63

  48

  11

  17

  12

  13

  11

  Hertfordshire

  12

  20

  27

  10

  17

  2

  4

  4

  2

  4

  Humberside

  14

  15

  21

  18

  11

  4

  11

  4

  7

  3

  Kent

  38

  26

  32

  12

  32

  16

  16

  15

  15

  9

  Lancashire

  45

  32

  32

  31

  45

  9

  2

  8

  12

  9

  Leicestershire

  13

  11

  23

  18

  25

  6

  3

  11

  9

  2

  Lincolnshire

  20

  21

  15

  18

  24

  9

  4

  2

  4

  2

  London, City of

  —

  —

  1

  —

  1

  —

  —

  —

  —

  —

  Merseyside

  43

  29

  52

  58

  55

  24

  11

  11

  10

  14

  Norfolk

  17

  21

  23

  17

  23

  5

  3

  8

  5

  3

  Northamptonshire

  13

  34

  30

  24

  28

  8

  7

  7

  13

  2

  Northumbria

  63

  59

  57

  72

  83

  15

  22

  21

  7

  22

  North Yorkshire

  11

  12

  8

  17

  20

  3

  3

  2

  5

  3

  Nottinghamshire

  52

  68

  47

  58

  53

  20

  20

  4

  16

  13

  South Yorkshire

  45

  44

  37

  53

  42

  14

  11

  14

  6

  14

  Staffordshire

  33

  24

  25

  38

  43

  11

  8

  7

  11

  12

  Suffolk

  20

  29

  29

  15

  21

  4

  5

  5

  4

  3

  Surrey

  5

  12

  9

  11

  10

  1

  2

  2

  4

  2

  Sussex

  39

  26

  27

  28

  26

  12

  11

  10

  12

  7

  Thames Valley

  34

  45

  47

  33

  32

  5

  18

  11

  5

  4

  Warwickshire

  7

  10

  8

  10

  9

  1

  6

  —

  6

  3

  West Mercia

  33

  14

  25

  16

  26

  13

  3

  7

  5

  5

  West Midlands

  96

  125

  113

  102

  118

  40

  43

  33

  28

  32

  West Yorkshire

  69

  99

  93

  74

  60

  37

  34

  26

  28

  21

  Wiltshire

  20

  17

  33

  18

  14

  6

  8

  6

  4

  —

  Dyfed-Powys

  15

  21

  20

  26

  9

  2

  3

  10

  1

  3

  Gwent

  14

  25

  23

  26

  22

  8

  6

  3

  7

  7

  North Wales

  4

  22

  20

  17

  19

  3

  7

  7

  7

  6

  South Wales

  54

  67

  70

  67

  44

  18

  25

  24

  19

  20

  England and Wales

  1,467

  1,711

  1,648

  1,704

  1,782

  541

  540

  494

  465

  441

  Prisons (Programmes)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners completed (i) programmes accredited as being effective in reducing reoffending and (ii) the sex offender treatment programme in the last financial year; and if he will make a statement. [33439]

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

  Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about how many prisoners have completed (i) programmes accredited as being effective in reducing reoffending and (ii) the sex offender treatment programme in the last financial year.
  For the year ending 31 March 1996, 406 prisoners completed the core module of the sex offender treatment programme (SOTP) while a further 33 completed the SOTP booster programme (designed for men about to be released from very long sentences).
  746 prisoners completed cognitive skills programmes, 115 of these being the reasoning and rehabilitation programme and 631 being the in-house thinking skills.
  546
  In order to meet the criteria set for programmes to be accredited the standards of existing programmes have had to be improved. Although this work has been completed it is too early to say how many prisoners have commenced running the enhanced programmes or provide numbers for completion.

  Prisons (Disorder)
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on preparation for disorder in the Prison Service; and how he will update the contingency plans. [33444]

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

  Letter from David Scott to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the preparation for disorder in the Prison Service and the update of contingency plans.

  547
  The central Incident Intelligence Support unit monitors order in prisons and allows governors and area managers to identify those prisons with a rising trend of disorder in order to take corrective action.
  Each prison has contingency plans, which are tested and updated annually, to assist governors in managing disorder. The command suite at headquarters is activated whenever there is a potentially serious possibility of major operational difficulty. Incidents are then managed by a senior prison governor, and additional resources allocated as required. The command suite, like establishments' contingency plans, is regularly tested to ensure that procedures are as effective as possible.

  Restraint Cells
  Mr. Alex Carlile
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to develop a controlled restraint cell unit; where it will be located; and if he will make a statement. [33448]

  Miss Widdecombe
  A Prison Service study has examined the feasibility costs and benefits of concentrating the high security risk prisoners and those posing the most severe control problems in a top security prison. Ministers are considering the findings.

  Animal Welfare
  Mr. Morley
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for project licences have been refused under section 5(4) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 on the ground that the benefits likely to accrue as a result of the programme of research are not sufficient to outweigh the adverse effects on the animals concerned. [32812]

  Mr. Sackville
  [holding answer 17 June 1996]: Statistics are not kept.

  Project proposals which cannot be justified are almost always withdrawn by the applicant when challenged by the animals (scientific procedures) inspectorate. This precedes the formal application process and refusal is, therefore, necessary on only a small number of occasions.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Attorney-General what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32726]

  The Solicitor-General
  My right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General is responsible for two next steps agencies: the Treasury Solicitor's Department and the Government Property Lawyers. As at 1 April 1996, the total number of people employed by the Treasury Solicitor's Department was 383, of whom 183 were women, and the total number of people employed by the Government Property Lawyers was 129, of whom 67 were women. The number of women employed as at 1 April 1996 within each grade is in the following table.
  548

  Treasury Solicitor's Department

  Government Property Lawyers

  Senior Civil Service

  8

  —

  Grade 6

  11

  —

  Grade 7

  51

  5

  Senior Executive Officer

  6

  1

  Higher Executive Officer

  16

  3

  Executive Officer

  30

  15

  Administrative Officer

  24

  17

  Administrative Assistant

  3

  —

  Secretarial and typist grades

  26

  23

  Support grades

  8

  3

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

  United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of(a) the work of UNIDO and (b) the impact of the restructuring which has taken place within that organisation in terms of value for money; and what discussions he has been involved in concerning its long-term future. [33550]

  Mr. Hanley
  We have commissioned an external assessment of UNIDO's performance and value as a development agency. We are considering the conclusions of the review in the light of the restructuring that has taken place within UNIDO and in the context of wider UN reform.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

  St. Bede's College, Manchester
  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will investigate the proposal by St. Bede's college, Manchester, to introduce a fee-paying element for pupils at that school whose fees are paid by Trafford local education authority. [33551]

  Mrs. Gillan
  No. This is a matter for Trafford local education authority to resolve with St. Bede's college.

  University Lecturers
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many university lecturers took early retirement in each year since 1975. [33559]

  Mr. Forth
  This information is not held centrally.

  University Personnel
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many university personnel are on(a) full-time contracts and (b) part-time contracts. [33560]
  549
  Mr. Forth
  According to figures to be published shortly by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the number of academic staff employed on a full-time basis in UK higher education institutions in 1994–95 was 102,700. The number of part-time staff was 12,000.

  Students (Plagiarism)
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students have failed to complete their degrees or been awarded pass or third-class degrees after being accused of plagiarism in each of the last five years. [33561]

  Mr. Forth
  This information is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she is taking to ensure proper appeal structures are in place for students accused of plagiarism in their university coursework. [33562]

  Mr. Forth
  This is a matter for universities and colleges of higher education, which, as independent and autonomous bodies, are responsible for their own academic and administrative affairs, including any arrangements for considering appeals from students about the assessment of their coursework.

  Training and Enterprise Councils
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the percentage of the budget of training and enterprise councils spent on the enterprise aspect of their work. [33564]

  Mr. Paice
  Training and enterprise councils play a central role in local economic development by co-ordinating the training and business support activity in their areas. As such, all the programmes they deliver on behalf of the Department contribute to local enterprise.

  My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade also controls funds provided to TECs for a range of small business and enterprise activity including the business link initiative.

  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many TEC board members are women; and what steps she is taking to ensure women play a full part in TEC boards. [32691]

  Mr. Paice
  There are 139 female board members on English training and enterprise councils. As private companies, the appointment of board members is a matter for TECs. TECs are required to draw up and implement an equal opportunities strategy which relates to all their activities, including membership of the board.

  National Vocational Qualifications
  Mr. Bryan Davies
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when she last met with members of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications to discuss reform of the national vocational qualification system. [33737]

  Mr. Paice
  My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment last met Sir Michael Heron, the chairman of the National Council for 550
  Vocational Qualifications, on 27 March 1996. The Secretary of State conveyed her priorities for NCVQ—including measures to further improve the quality of the national vocational qualification system—to its council via her annual guidance letter, 29 January 1996, and my hon. Friend Lord Henley, the Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment is in regular contact with the chairman of NCVQ.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under her Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32731]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent staff in the Teachers Pension Agency and in the Employment Service at 1 April 1996, broken down by gender and grade or managerial level:

  Staff in the Teachers Pensions Agency at 1 April 1996

  Men

  Women

  Total

  Senior civil service by level of management

  Chief Executive

  0

  1

  1

  Director

  0

  0

  0

  Divisional Manager

  0

  0

  0

  Grades below the senior civil service by grade level

  Grade 6

  0

  0

  0

  Grade 7

  4

  0

  4

  SEO

  4

  5

  9

  HEO

  7

  19

  26

  EO

  20

  47

  67

  AO

  46

  130

  176

  AA

  53

  64

  117

  Total

  134

  266

  400

  Staff in the Employment Service at 1 April 1996

  Men

  Women

  Total

  Senior civil service by level of management

  Chief Executive

  1

  0

  1

  Director

  5

  0

  5

  Divisional Manager

  19

  5

  24

  Grades below the senior civil service by grade level

  Grade 6

  20

  10

  30

  Grade 7

  173

  51

  224

  SEO

  265

  169

  434

  HEO

  981

  846

  1,827

  EO

  3,681

  7,504

  11,185

  AO

  5,942

  16,160

  22,102

  AA

  777

  1,724

  2,501

  Total

  11,864

  16,469

  38,333

  Training
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many(a) women and (b) men received employer-funded training in each of the last five years. [32690]
  551
  Ms Paice
  From the labour force survey, the estimated number of women and men employees who had received employer-funded on or off-the-job training in the four weeks prior to the interview in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:

  Women

  Men

  Spring 1991

  1,152,000

  1,470,000

  Spring 1992

  1,148,000

  1,369,000

  Spring 1993

  1,139,000

  1,302,000

  Spring 1994

  1,254,000

  1,395,000

  Spring 1995

  1,131,000

  1,257,000

  Figures for spring 1995 are not comparable to those for earlier years because of a change in the survey questionnaire.

  The information for numbers training in a year is not available in the form requested.

  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the proportion of(a) national vocational qualifications, (b) general national vocational qualifications and (c) modern apprenticeships currently obtained by (i) men and (ii) women by subject. [32693]

  Ms. Paice
  Information from the Department's national information system for vocational qualifications on the proportion of men and women achieving NVQs and GNVQs by subject area is given in the following table. Modern apprenticeships were launched in September 1995 and it is too early to present information on successfully completed modern apprenticeships.

  Awards of NVQs and GNVQs to men and women by subject area: 1994–951,2,3

  Percentage

  Type of award

  NVQs '

  GNVQs

  Subject area

  Men

  Women

  Men

  Women

  Business and Management

  33

  67

  54

  46

  Arts, Crafts and Hobbies

  0

  0

  57

  43

  Culture, Society and Education

  11

  89

  8

  92

  Language, Communication and Self Help

  41

  59

  49

  51

  Music and Performing Arts

  0

  0

  0

  0

  Sports, Games and Recreation

  76

  24

  0

  0

  Food, Drink, Tobacco, Catering, Leisure and Tourism

  48

  52

  50

  50

  Environment, Security, Health and Safety

  86

  14

  0

  0

  Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care

  67

  33

  0

  0

  Science and Mathematics

  0

  0

  60

  40

  Health and Personal Care

  7

  93

  7

  93

  Architecture and Construction

  98

  2

  93

  7

  Computers, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

  56

  44

  81

  19

  Engineering, Production and Industrial Design

  97

  3

  94

  6

  Minerals, Materials and Fabrics

  61

  39

  0

  0

  Transport Services and Vehicle Engineering

  99

  1

  0

  0

  All subjects

  59

  41

  57

  43

  Source:NISVQ

  1 Subject area is based on the Superclass classification.

  2 Data have been obtained from City and Guilds, the Business and Technology Education Council and the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, RSA.

  3 Academic year from October 1994 to September 1995.
  552

  Female Ethnic Minority Pupils
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment she has made of the performance, by(a) subject and (b) ethnic minority of female ethnic minority pupils at (i) general certificate of secondary education and (ii) A-level. [32692]

  Mr. Paice
  The Dearing review of 16 to 19 qualifications included a recommendation for work on developing a framework for national monitoring of candidate achievement by ethnic origin, which my right hon. Friend remitted to the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority and National Council for Vocational Qualifications for further study and advice. We also intend to obtain information about the progress of minority ethnic pupils in individual schools, by means of information gathered by the Office for Standards in Education as part of its regular inspection cycle and to undertake research as necessary, to look in greater depth at particular issues.

  Nursery Voucher Scheme
  Mr. Blunkett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in respect of phase 1 and phase 2 of the nursery voucher scheme, how many inspectors she is aiming to recruit for each phase; how many applications to become a nursery education inspector she has received; how many such applicants have enrolled in the relevant training course; and of these, how many have successfully completed the course, to qualify as a nursery education inspector. [33539]

  Mr Robin Squire
  In phase 1, the chief inspector of schools aims to recruit, train and register 200 to 300 nursery education inspectors: to date, some 450 applications have been received and 320 have been selected to undergo a training and assessment course before the end of July. The number successfully completing will be known when all the courses have been received for phase 2 against a target of 2,000 to 4,000. This is very encouraging.

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when her Department plans to conclude its discussions with the Copyright Licensing Agency to ensure compliance with copyright law. [33764]

  Mr. Robin Squire
  The Department has been in correspondence with the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. but has had no reply since our last communication of 21 December 1995.

TREASURY

  Incapacity Benefit
  Mr. Alan Howarth
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new recipients of incapacity benefit paid income tax in 1995–96; how many of these had their tax deducted at source by the Benefits Agency; and what was the total tax yield for 1995–96. [32236]

  Mr. Jack
  It is estimated that there were about 175,000 new claimants of taxable incapacity benefit in 1995–96 who were liable to income tax. Of this number, about
  553
  25,000 had no other source of taxable income and had tax deducted from their benefit by the Benefits Agency. The estimated revenue yield for 1995–96 is about £30 million.

  Construction Industry
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are currently unemployed whose last registered employment was in the construction industry. [33749]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  The information available from the winter—December to February–1995–96 labour force survey, shows that in Great Britain, there were 263,000 currently unemployed persons whose last reported employment was in the construction industry.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32742]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  The information requested falls within the responsibility of the chief executives of the Royal Mint, the Office for National Statistics, the Valuation Office and Paymaster agencies. I have asked each of them to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Letter from Roger Holmes to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your Question about the employment of women.
  The Royal Mint currently employs a total of 1003 staff—624 Industrial and 379 Non Industrial—of whom 174 are women.
  The Royal Mint no longer employs staff under Civil Service Grades. I have nevertheless drawn broad comparisons. They are tabulated below:

  Civil service grade

  Number of women

  Grade 7

  1

  SEO

  3

  HEO

  9

  EO

  35

  AO

  76

  AA

  25

  Semi-skilled

  25

  174

  Letter from Tim Holt to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your Question on the total number of people, and the number by grade of women, employed by the executive agencies under the control of his department as far as it relates to the Office for National Statistics.
  The Office for National Statistics (ONS) was formed on 1 April 1996 with the merger of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) with the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS). With effect from 14 June 1996 the total number of people employed by the new agency was 3,434. This includes 3,229 permanent and fixed term appointment staff and 205 casual staff.
  2,045 of the staff employed by ONS are women. They are employed in all grades from Support Bands up to members of the Senior Civil Service (formerly Grade 5s). An analysis of the number of women employed by grade is attached to this letter.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.
  554

  Office for National Statistics Analysis of female staff by grade

  Grade

  Permanent staff

  Casual staff

  Total staff

  Grade 5

  5

  —

  5

  Grade 6

  4

  —

  4

  Grade 7

  58

  —

  58

  Senior executive officer

  47

  —

  47

  Senior research officer

  14

  —

  14

  Senior social survey officer

  11

  —

  11

  Assistant social survey officer

  7

  —

  7

  Higher executive officer

  197

  —

  197

  Higher graphics officer

  1

  —

  1

  Librarian

  1

  —

  1

  Mapping and charting officer

  1

  —

  1

  Social survey officer

  11

  —

  11

  Assistant librarian

  2

  1

  3

  Assistant statistician

  19

  —

  19

  Executive officer

  387

  5

  392

  Research officer

  5

  —

  5

  Trainee statistical officer

  4

  3

  7

  Administrative officer

  721

  45

  766

  Personal secretary

  51

  1

  52

  Senior personal secretary

  10

  —

  10

  Typing manager

  1

  —

  1

  Administrative assistant

  294

  52

  346

  Typist

  26

  —

  26

  Support manager three

  6

  —

  6

  Support grade band one

  23

  1

  24

  Support grade band two

  24

  7

  31

  Totals

  1,930

  115

  2,045

  Letter from A. J. Langford to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  In your question to the Chancellor (32742) you ask about the number of women employed in the Agency and the grades they hold.
  I attach a schedule detailing the information you require.
  Please let me know if I can assist further.

  Valuation Office Agency—staff numbers 1 April 1996

  Grade

  Total sip

  Female sip

  Percentage

  First class valuer (Grade 6)

  140

  1

  0.71

  Principal valuer (Grade 7)

  300

  20

  6.7

  Senior valuer (SEO)

  719

  173

  24.1

  Valuation executive (HEO)

  635

  156

  24.6

  Senior valuation executive (SEO)

  34

  2

  5.9

  Valuation technician (Executive Officer)

  913

  372

  40.7

  Valuation referencer (Admin Officer)

  761

  509

  66.9

  Valuation assistant (Admin Assistant)

  763

  632

  82.8

  Support staff 1

  38

  26

  68.4

  Total

  4,303

  1,891

  43.9

  1 Cleaners, messengers, security officers, porters.

  Letter from Keith Sullens to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply to your Question asking what is the total number of people employed by each of the next step agencies under his control; how many of those employees are women; and at what Civil Service or equivalent grades they are employed.
  PAYMASTER employs a total of 669 people of whom 480 are women. A table setting out the grades in which they are employed is shown below. I have also included the percentage representation per grade which I hope you will find helpful.

  555

  Grade

  Number of women

  Percentage representation

  Grade 7

  2

  40

  SEO

  4

  19

  HEO

  39

  48

  EO

  82

  62

  AO

  233

  81

  AA

  94

  89

  Typists

  3

  100

  SGB 1

  6

  86

  SGB 2

  12

  60

  Earnings
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are earning less than £2.50 per hour in(a) Dulwich, (b) Luton, (c) Swindon and (d) the United Kingdom, breaking the figures down by (i) age, (ii) gender and (iii) ethnic origin. [32682]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  Information from the labour force survey for the number of employees in Great Britain in 1995 who earned less than £2.50 per hour is shown in the tables. The information for local areas, such as Dulwich, Luton and Swindon, is not available.

  Employees earning less than £2.50 per hour by sex and ethnic origin

  All

  Men

  Women

  All employees

  911,000

  346,000

  565,000

  White

  864,000

  325,000

  539,000

  Ethnic minority groups

  46,000

  20,000

  26,000

  Employees earning less than £ per hour by sex and age

  All

  Men

  Women

  All

  911,000

  346,000

  565,000

  16–24

  440,000

  228,000

  212,000

  25–34

  145,000

  38,000

  106,000

  35–49

  183,000

  35,000

  147,000

  50+

  143,000

  44.000

  99,000

  Unemployment
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what was the total number of people registered unemployed in(a) Dulwich, (b) Luton and (c) Swindon, on 1 April 1996 and in each of the last five years; and what percentage this represented of the total work force; [32683]

  (2) how many people are unemployed and claiming benefit in (a) Dulwich, (b) Luton and (c) Swindon; and how many of these will qualify for the new jobseeker's allowance. [32686]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  The latest figures show that in May 1996, on the unadjusted basis, claimant unemployment in the Dulwich constituency, and the 556
  Swindon constituency stood at 4,539 and 4,147 respectively. The figures for Luton relate to the local authority area only and stand at 7,360.

  It is not possible to determine how many of the people who are currently claimant unemployed will be entitled to jobseeker's allowance in October. If, however, their circumstances remain unchanged until October, they will transfer to JSA.

  Further information on the number of people claimant unemployed in the areas requested can be obtained from the Nomis database accessed by the House of Commons Library.

  Comparisons with the April 1966 figures will be affected by the changeover in January 1996 from a 1981–based ward geography to a 1991—based geography. The estimated effect of this rebasing exercise on each of these areas was the change their (January 1996) levels as follows: Dulwich, -7; Luton, -34; Swindon, +96.

  Dewsbury Tax Office
  Mrs. Ann Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many letters his Department received in 1994(a) objecting to and (b) supporting the proposed closure of Dewsbury tax office. [33623]

  Mr. Jack
  The Inland Revenue has received 60 letters objecting to the proposed closure of Dewsbury tax office and none supporting it.

  Mrs. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost of the move of the Dewsbury tax district office from Dewsbury to Leeds. [33624]

  Mr. Jack
  The proposal to move Dewsbury tax office to Leeds is at an early stage and it is not possible at present to estimate the costs of this.

  Mrs. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated cost of running a tax shop in Dewsbury. [33625]

  Mr Jack
  The initial estimate of the annual cost of running a tax shop in Dewsbury is £90,000.

  Mrs. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people whose tax is currently handled by the Dewsbury tax office will be self-assessed for taxation in(a) 1996–97, (b) 1997–98 and (c) 1998–99. [33626]

  Mr. Jack
  Some 15,500 individuals whose tax is currently handled by Dewsbury tax office will become self-assessed for taxation in 1996–97. It is unlikely that this number will change significantly in 1997–98 and 1998–99.

  Mrs. Taylor
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have visited or telephoned the Dewsbury tax office, for information or advice in each of the tax years to April 1995 and April 1996. [33627]

  Mr. Jack
  Details of the number of people who visited or telephoned the Dewsbury tax office and tax inquiry centre in the years ended April 1995 and April 1996 are as follows:
  557

  Year to

  Personal callers

  Telephone inquiries

  April 1995

  9,132

  53,074

  April 1996

  9,442

  56,203

  Judicial Review
  Ms Hodge
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions in each Session since 1991–92 legislation has been introduced into Parliament by his Department with the purpose of(a) removing the effects of a judicial review decision or (b) implementing a judicial review decision; and if he will list the relevant legislative provisions. [33596]

  Mrs. Angela Knight
  [holding answer 19 June 1996]: None to date.

  Ms Hodge
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many decisions by his Department were challenged by way of judicial review in each Session since 1991–92; and if he will list in how many cases(a) the Department's decision was upheld by the court, (b) the court found for the applicant, (c) the Department submitted to the judgment and (d) the Department appealled successfully against the judicial review decision. [33567]

  Mrs. Knight
  [holding answer 19 June 1996]Two, both dating from 1993. Since in both cases issues of European Community law were referred to the European Court of Justice, decisions of the English courts are still awaited.

  Partial Birth Abortions
  Mrs. Peacock
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many partial birth abortions have been recorded as taking place in(a) NHS hospitals and (b) licensed premises in England and Wales. [33030]

  Mr. Horam
  [holding answer 18 June 1996]I have been asked to reply.

  We are not aware of this procedure being used in the United Kingdom.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32734]

  Mr. Hanley
  The only next steps agency under this Department's control is the Wilton House Conference Centre. A total of 33 people are employed there, five of whom work part time. The grade and gender breakdown is:558

  Male

  Female

  Assistant Principal (HCS5)

  1

  —

  Principal (HCS7)

  3

  3

  Executive Officer

  1

  7

  Administrative Officer

  —

  4

  Senior Personal Secretary

  —

  1

  Personal Secretary

  —

  1

  Catering Manager 3

  1

  —

  Chef 2

  1

  —

  Support Grade 2

  3

  5

  Total

  12

  21

  St. Helena
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 17 June,Official Report, column 327, if the teacher referred to will be given back her job after her confinement leave if she so wishes. [33719]

  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  The St. Helena Government have informed us that the teacher concerned will not be given her job back after her confinement because the vacancy created by her resignation has meanwhile been filled. Should a vacancy arise in the future, she will be able to apply for a job under the terms of the recently revised public service orders.

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department will decide whether it is obliged to purchase a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency. [33766]

  Sir Nicholas Bonsor
  We will take the necessary action concerning a licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency when discussions with the agency have been concluded.

  International Labour Organisation Conventions
  Miss Emma Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he proposes to take during discussions at the ILO and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and at the World Trade Organisation conference in Singapore, to promote ILO conventions on the right to freedom from slavery, servitude and forced labour with particular respect to low-income countries. [33041]

  Mr. Forth
  I have been asked to reply.

  The promotion of International Labour Organisation conventions is a matter for the ILO, in which the UK continues to play a full part.

  Miss Nicholson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to promote the International Labour Organisation conventions on freedom from discrimination, social security coverage and health and safety protection at the G7 summit in Lyons and the World Trade Organisation meeting in Singapore. [33042]

  Mr. Forth
  I have been asked to reply.
  559
  International Labour Organisation conventions are not on the agenda for discussion at the G7 summit in Lyon on 27 to 29 June or at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Singapore in December 1996.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

  National Lottery
  Mr. William Powell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list each of the grants made by each of the lottery boards in respect of which(a) projects, (b) organisations and (c) individuals in Northamptonshire may receive support. [32238]

  Mr. Sproat
  Information on lottery awards broken down by the areas of support requested is not available. For a full list of lottery awards in Northamptonshire, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 11 June,Official Report, columns 99–100.

  Television Licences
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to widen access to the £5 concessionary television licence for retired people and those living in warden-patrolled accommodation. [33114]

  Mr. Sproat
  The Government have no plans to extend general availability of the concessionary television licence scheme for those living in accommodation for residential care. However, we intend to correct the situation where a whole housing scheme applies for the concession but cannot qualify solely because of the ownership circumstances of a small proportion of dwellings within its boundary.

  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) how many prosecutions there have been against people for non-payment of the television licence fee for every year since 1990; and what is the average cost to the Exchequer of these prosecutions; [33317]

  (2) what estimate he has made of the gender and average income of those individuals (a) prosecuted and (b) found guilty of non-payment of the television licence fee. [33316]

  Mr Sproat
  According to figures provided by the BBC, the number of people prosecuted for television licence evasion in the United Kingdom for each year since 1990 was:

  Year

  Number of prosecutions (to nearest thousand prosecutions)

  1990–91

  183

  1991–92

  209

  1992–93

  232

  1993–94

  219

  1994–95

  210

  1995–96

  215

  560
  Information is not collected on gender or average income of those prosecuted for licence evasion, nor on the average cost to the Exchequer of prosecutions. Information on convictions for offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts is set out in the Home Office's annual publication "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", supplementary table Vols. 1 and 2, which is held in the Library of the House.

  Mr. Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what proportion of the revenue generated by the television licence fee was absorbed by the cost of its collection in the last year for which figures are available. [33327]

  Mr. Sproat
  In 1995–96, the costs of collecting the television licence fee comprised 5.2 per cent. of the income generated by licence sales.

  Sports Clubs
  Mr. Nigel Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to encourage non-dividend-paying sports clubs to increase their youth development programmes; and if she will make a statement. [33172]

  Mr. Sproat
  Following the publication of the sports policy statement "Sport: Raising the Game" in July 1995, the Sports Council's regional offices have made it a priority to provide advice and information to schools, sports clubs, governing bodies of sport and local authorities on how best to establish school/club links. The Sports Council itself will establish a £2 million challenge fund to help develop school/club links. It is hoped that applications will be invited from schools, sports clubs and governing bodies of sport including non-dividend-paying sports clubs this autumn.

  The sportsmatch scheme, launched by the Government in 1992 to increase the amount of business sponsorship going into grass roots and sport and physical recreation, has also earmarked up to £1 million for school projects. A great number of these projects could be aimed at improving links between sports clubs, other organisations and schools.

  Historic Buildings (Admission Charges)
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans she has to review admission prices to castles and historic buildings managed by English Heritage. [33641]

  Mr. Sproat
  This is an operational matter for English Heritage. I have no plans to intervene in its arrangements.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under her Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32729]

  Mr. Sproat
  My Department is responsible for two agencies, the Historic Royal Palaces agency and the Royal Parks agency. HRPA employs 419 staff, of whom 183 are women. RPA employs 250 staff, of whom 68
  561
  are women. The following table shows the grades women are employed in and their respective numbers in those grades. These figures do not include casual staff.

  Number of women—HRPA

  Number of women—RPA

  Civil Service grades incorporating equivalents

  Grade 7

  3

  2

  Senior executive officer

  8

  2

  Higher executive officer

  16

  5

  Executive officer

  34

  8

  Administrative officer

  54

  7

  Administrative assistant

  62

  —

  Sub-total

  177

  24

  Other grades which do not necessarily equate to Civil Service grades

  Inspector

  —

  1

  Police sergeant

  —

  2

  Police constable

  —

  39

  Horse manager

  —

  1

  Groom

  —

  1

  Industrial gardeners

  6

  —

  Sub-total

  6

  44

  Total

  183

  68

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage on what occasions her Department has signed a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency. [33765]

  Mr. Sproat
  None. The Department of National Heritage is currently discussing the terms of its photocopying licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency. We expect to sign the final licence shortly.

  Judicial Review
  Ms Hodge
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage on how many occasions in each Session since 1991–92 legislation has been introduced into Parliament by her Department with the purpose of(a) removing the effects of a judicial review decision or (b) implementing a judicial review decision; and if she will list the relevant legislative provisions. [33590]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 19 June 1996]: No such legislation has been introduced by the Department of National Heritage since its inception in 1992.

  Ms Hodge
  To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many decisions by her Department were challenged by way of judicial review in each Session since 1991–92; and if she will list in how many cases(a) the Department's decision was upheld by the court, (b) the court found for the applicant, (c) the Department submitted to the judgment and (d) the Department appealed successfully against the judicial review decision. [33572]

  Mr. Sproat
  [holding answer 19 June 1996]: One decision was upheld by the courts in each of the Sessions 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96. Additionally, in 1995–96 one application for judicial review against the Department
  562
  was struck out. In no cases during the periods in question have the courts found for the applicant; nor has the Department ever submitted to judgment. It follows that the Department had never appealed against a judicial review decision.

>HEALTH

  Prescriptions (Students)
  Mr. Jon Owen Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims for free prescriptions have been made by students; and how many have been successful for 1995–96 and in each of the previous five years. [29039]

  Mr. Malone
  During 1992–93, around 248,000 low-income scheme claims were made by students of which around 52 per cent. resulted in entitlement to free prescriptions. For 1993–94, the figures were respectively around 308,000 and 60 per cent. and for 1994–95 around 333,000 and 72 per cent. Information was not collected for years before 1992–93 and is not yet available for 1995–96.

  Mr. Tipping
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims for free prescriptions have been made by students; and how many have been successful for the latest year for which figures are available. [1059]

  Mr. Malone
  [pursuant to his reply, 21 November 1995, c. 66]: I regret that my previous answer was incorrect. It should have read as follows:

  "During 1994–95, around 333,000 national health service low-income scheme claims were made by students of which around 72 per cent. resulted in entitlement to free prescriptions".

  Oral Contraceptives
  Mr. Simon Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the members for the day who attended the meeting of the Committee on Safety of Medicines held on 13 October 1995; [31866]

  (2) how many full members of the Committee on Safety of Medicines were present at the meeting of the committee held on 13 October 1995. [31862]

  Mr. Malone
  Proceedings of the committee are confidential.

  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 1150, if he will list the factors which led to the choice of Professor Rawlins and Professor Langman to attend the meeting of the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products on 26 to 27 October. [31895]

  Mr. Malone
  Professor Rawlins and Professor Langman attended the meeting on the basis of their long-standing expertise in pharmacoepidemiology, and in their capacities as chairman of the Committee on Safety of Medicines and chairman of the Sub-Committee on Pharmacovigilance respectively.
  563
  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral statement of 23 October 1995,Official Report, column 701, of what data the Medicines Control Agency requested an expedited analysis. [31864]

  Mr. Malone
  The Medicines Control Agency requested an expedited analysis of the data on venous thromboembolism from the transnational case control study. The Medicines Control Agency discussed with the investigators the availability of information on the relative risks of myocardial infarction and stroke with different oral contraceptives and understood that substantive data would not be available for one to two years.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 1995,Official Report, columns 521–24, if he will list the members for the day of the Committee on Safety of Medicines during the period 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1995. [31860]

  Mr. Malone
  The information requested will be contained in the committee's annual report which will be published in due course.

  Mr. Hughes
  to ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 December 1995,Official Report, columns 520–21, if all members and co-opted members of the Committee on Safety of Medicines received at 10.30 am on 12 October the papers relating to desogestrel and gestodene which had been dispatched on 11 October. [31861]

  Mr. Malone
  I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave him on 1 April,Official Report, column 53, and on 16 April, Official Report, column 487.

  Mr. Hughes
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health which individual in the World Health Organisation in July 1995 made available preliminary results from the World Health Organisation study on oral contraceptives to the Medicines Control Agency. [31911]

  Mr. Malone
  The preliminary results from the study were provided to the Medicines Control Agency by the World Health Organisation in confidence.

  Capital Projects, London
  Mr. John Marshall
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the capital projects with a value of over £1 million which have been undertaken in London during the past four years. [31611]

  Mr. Horam
  The capital projects undertaken in London during the past four years with a value over £1 million are shown in the table.

  Unit

  Scheme

  Bethlem and Maudsley NHS trust

  Knights Hill—ESMI Unit

  Camden and Islington Community Health Services NHS trust

  Daleham Gardens Intensive Rehabilitation Unit/Health Clinic

  Central Middlesex Hospital NHS trust

  Central Middlesex Hospital Mother and Baby Unit

  City and Hackney Community NHS trust

  Medium Secure Unit

  Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS trust

  Vincent Square Health Care Centre

  564

  Unit

  Scheme

  Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS trust

  Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

  Eastman Dental Hospital

  Phase 2 Scheme 8

  Enfield Community NHS trust

  Medium Secure Unit

  Enfield Community NHS trust

  Reprovide Highlands Hospital

  Forest Healthcare NHS trust

  Whipps Cross Hospital Phase 2

  Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS trust

  Camelia Botnar Laboratories

  Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS trust

  Phase 1 redevelopment

  Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS trust

  Southwood balconies and fire exit stairs

  Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS trust

  Guy's hospital development phase 3

  Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS trust

  St. Thomas' hospital—A and E upgrade/extension

  Hammersmith Energy Centre

  Incinerator installation

  Hammersmith Energy Centre

  Mechanical and electrical installation

  Hammersmith Hospitals NHS trust

  Charing Cross hospital linear accelerator and new building

  Hammersmith Hospitals NHS trust

  Hammersmith hospital cancer centre

  Hammersmith Hospitals NHS trust

  Hammersmith hospital PACS X-ray system

  Homerton Hospital NHS trust

  Homerton development A and E extension

  Homerton Hospital NHS trust

  Homerton—relocation of services

  Homerton Hospital NHS trust

  Medium secure unit—Hackney

  King's College London

  Camberwell joint education centre

  King's Healthcare NHS trust

  Kings College hospital theatres

  King's Healthcare NHS trust

  Kings College redevelopment of A and E

  King's Healthcare NHS trust

  Radiology phase 1 Neurosciences

  Lewisham Hospital NHS trust

  Lewisham phase 2 redevelopment

  London Ambulance NHS trust

  Homerton ambulance station

  London Ambulance NHS trust

  HQ/control room

  Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS trust

  Redevelopments phase 3A

  North West London Mental Health NHS trust

  Park Royal acute secure unit

  Northwick Park and St. Mark's NHS trust

  Relocation of St. Mark's hospital

  Parkside Health NHS trust

  North Kensington Pembridge centre

  Pathfinder Mental Health Services NHS trust

  Springfield hospital forensic psychiatric clinic

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS trust

  Barnes ESMI phase 2 (Nucleus)

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS trust

  St. John's Twickenham redevelopment phase 1

  565

  Unit

  Scheme

  Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton Healthcare NHS trust

  St. John's Twickenham redevelopment phase 2

  Riverside Community Healthcare NHS trust

  Regent St. Nursing Home for the Elderly

  Royal Free Hampstead NHS trust

  Royal Free hospital renal unit centralisation

  Royal Hospitals NHS trust

  St. Bartholomew's theatres

  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS trust

  Royal Marsden hospital paediatric unit

  St. George's Healthcare NHS trust

  Atkinson Morley's hospital theatres

  St. George's Healthcare NHS trust

  St. George's combined heat and power

  St. Mary's NHS trust

  Special children's wing

  The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery

  Phase 1B (new building)

  University College London

  Relocate tropical diseases

  Wellhouse NHS trust

  Barnet general hospital

  West Lambeth Community Care NHS trust

  South Western hospital redevelopment

  West London Healthcare NHS trust

  Regional secure unit

  Whittington Hospital NHS trust

  A and E redevelopment

  Source:

  CIM Database and North and South Thames regional office records. This table includes all schemes situated within London boundaries i.e. with London post codes and with a works cost of £1 million or over.

  Residential Care (Mental Handicap)
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many residential places for adults with mental handicap have been purchased by(a) health authorities and (b) social services departments in the past year; [33068]

  (2) how many residential places for children with mental handicap have been purchased by (a) health authorities and (b) social services departments in the past year. [33067]

  Mr. Bowis
  The number of community occupied bed days purchased for patients with learning disabilities in England by the national health service in nursing homes, residential care homes or group homes in England in 1994–95 was reported to be 5.3 million, an average of 14,500 places on any one day. The figure is for all ages, including children; no age breakdown is available.

  English social services departments supported 23,000 adult residents with learning disabilities in residential or nursing care in England at 31 March 1995. Comparable information for children is not available centrally. For Wales, this is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Mr. Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on the funds and resources available to support people with mental handicap needing residential care of the closure of mental handicap hospitals and the sale of hospital sites; [33078]
  566
  (2) what steps he is taking to provide alternative provision for the care of those patients with mental handicap currently in mental hospitals which have already published locally their closure dates. [33065]

  Mr. Bowis
  It is for health and local authorities to work together to determine the best use of financial and other resources in planning the development of community based services for people with learning disabilities.

  Decisions about the provision of services to meet the continuing care needs of patients with learning disabilities in long-stay hospitals are for the relevant heath authorities in consultation with social service departments and in the light of departmental guidance contained in HSG(92)42, LAC(92)15 and HSG(95)8, copies of which are available in the Library. In Wales, this is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

  Mr. Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with mental handicap were in(a) mental handicap hospitals and (b) other residential provision, including local authority, private, or voluntary in (i) 1970, (ii) 1980, (iii) 1990 and (iv) the most recent year for which figures are available. [33069]

  Mr. Bowis
  Centrally available information for England is shown in the table.

  Adults with learning disabilities in hospitals and residential care, England

  National health service hospitals and units1

  Private hospitals, beds1

  Nursing homes, beds2

  Residential homes, places2

  1970

  55,400

  —

  —

  33,100

  1980

  44,400

  —

  —

  413,800

  1990

  24,900

  1,200

  —

  31,000

  1995

  11,400

  40

  3,200

  39,000

  Source:

  DH annual returns, HES, RHAs.

  1 The figures are not directly comparable over time because of changes in the method of data collection. The 1970 and 1980 figures are estimates of residents at 31 December derived from the mental health inquiry which covered NHS mental handicap hospitals and units. The 1990 and 1995 figures are estimates of those in hospital under the care of a learning disabilities consultant, at 31 March. They are estimates based on a combination of data from the hospital episodes system and data obtained directly from the regional health authorities.

  2Figures for beds and places have been given, rather than for occupied beds and residents, because the latter are not available before 1994 and 1987 respectively.

  3This figure is from 1969 and may not be the same basis as later data.

  4Includes children with learning disabilities in voluntary and private homes (of which there were 800 in 1983).

  Compensation
  Mr. Ian McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost in each of the past five years of(a) sick pay and (b) compensation paid to employees of his Department or their families, or members of the public, as a result of (i) minor, (ii) major and (iii) fatal injuries related to the work of his Department, detailing incidents involving information technology and additionally those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33486]
  567
  Mr. Horam
  The figures for sick pay in each of the past five years can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The cost of compensation paid to employees of the Department or members of the public in each of the past five years is as follows:

  Minor £

  Major £

  1991

  7,264.53

  —

  1992

  113.50

  —

  1993

  900.00

  7,067.38

  1994

  3,750.00

  —

  1995

  6,523.00

  79,834.98

  There have been no fatal injuries in any of the past five years.

  Two cases involved expenditure over £5,000. Both were settled out of court in the sums of £7,067.38 and £75,334.98 respectively.

  There have been no compensation payments as a result on incidents involving information technology.

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Ian McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions in each of the past five years health and safety problems in his Department and its agencies have been reported via internal monitoring; and on how many occasions the Health and Safety Commission has become involved. [33484]

  Mr. Horam
  Information is not collected centrally on the regular health and safety inspections and checks in accommodation occupied by the Department of Health and its agencies. We have no record of any involvement by the Health and Safety executive in health and safety issues within buildings occupied by the Department or its agencies in the past five years.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost in each of the past five years of rectifying working conditions that were the responsibility of his Department and its agencies, to bring them up to acceptable health and safety standards, detailing incidents involving information technology and those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33487]

  Mr. Horam
  Expenditure specifically related to meeting health and safety standards is not recorded separately.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) minor, (b) major and (c) fatal injuries have been suffered by staff in his Department and its agencies in work-related incidents in each of the past five years, showing in each year how many were related to information technology and giving details of all incidents involving fatalities. [33485]

  Mr. Horam
  Figures are available only for the previous three years. The numbers of minor injuries are as follows:

  1993–94: 85

  1994–95: 91

  1995–96: 76

  During this period, there were no fatalities and only one major injury—1995–96. Information technology, related injuries are not separately identified.
  568

  Beta-interferon
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost to the NHS per patient for a course of treatment of the drug beta-interferon. [33372]

  Mr. Malone
  The length of a course of treatment with beta-interferon is for the doctor to determine, and varies from patient to patient.

  Edgware Hospital
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the plans for the future provision of accident and emergency services at Edgware hospital. [33606]

  Mr. Dorrell
  Discussions about the future of the casualty service to be provided at Edgware have been proceeding for some months with local doctors and others. I expect these discussions to be concluded soon.

  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the exchange of correspondence between himself, the hon. Member for Hendon, North (Sir J. Gorst) and the hon. Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) on the future provision of accident and emergency services at Edgware hospital. [33612]

  Mr. Dorrell
  No.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32735]

  Mr. Horam
  The information is provided in the following tables.

  Medicines Control Agency

  Total

  Female

  UG3

  1

  1

  UG4

  3

  1

  UG5

  28.9

  7.3

  UG6

  14

  4

  UG7

  59.65

  21.65

  SEO

  10.2

  4.2

  PHO1

  12

  6

  SSO

  3.3

  3.3

  HEO

  20

  6

  PHO2

  2.1

  2.1

  HPTO

  1

  0

  HSO

  26

  15

  LIB

  1

  0

  TM

  1

  1

  EO

  45

  24

  SO

  16

  14

  ALIB

  1

  1

  SPES

  4

  4

  AO

  38

  23

  ASO

  11

  10

  PES

  40.5

  39.5

  AA

  22

  13

  TYP

  2.15

  2.15

  Total

  362.8

  203.2

  569

  NHS Estates agency

  Total

  Female

  UG3

  1

  0

  UG5

  4

  0

  UG6

  17

  2

  UG7

  54

  4

  SEO

  8

  4

  SPTO

  13

  2

  HEO

  14

  9

  HPTO

  11

  3

  IO

  1

  0

  LIB

  1

  1

  EO

  7

  1

  PTO

  1

  1

  Other1

  7

  7

  Total

  139

  34

  1 NHS regional office staff.

  NHS Pensions Agency

  Total

  Female

  UG6

  1

  0

  UG7

  1

  0

  SEO

  3

  0

  HEO

  19.8

  11

  EO

  60.6

  39.6

  AO

  240.8

  187.8

  AA

  53

  28

  PES

  3

  3

  Typist

  13

  13

  SM3

  1

  0

  SGB1

  2.5

  1.5

  SGB2

  29.9

  6.9

  Total

  428.6

  290.8

  Medical Devices Agency

  Total

  Female

  UG4

  1

  0

  UG5

  4

  1

  UG6

  6

  1

  UG7

  19.6

  1.6

  SPTO

  31.8

  4.8

  SEO

  3

  0

  HPTO

  12.4

  2.4

  LIB

  1

  0

  HEO

  7

  1

  PTO

  10

  4

  EO

  10.4

  5.4

  ALIB

  1

  1

  SPES

  1

  1

  TECH II

  1

  0

  AO

  17

  11

  PES

  6

  6

  AA

  5

  3

  TYPIST

  0.6

  0.6

  Total

  137.80

  43.80

  Agencies

  Total

  1,068.2

  571.8

  numbers are as at June 1996, are whole-time equivalents and exclude staff on loan or secondment or special leave without pay.

  Clinical Trials
  Ms. Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of those exposed to drugs and medicines in clinical trials prior to market release are(a) men and (b) women. [32694]
  570
  Mr. Malone
  this information is not available centrally.

  Private Finance Initiative
  Ms Harman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the proposed PFI contracts for(a) Norfolk and Norwich, (b) Amersham, (c) Carlisle, (d) Swindon, (e) North Durham and (f) Bishop Auckland have been signed. [33726]

  Mr. Horam
  Full business cases for Norfolk and Norwich, Amersham and Swindon have been approved, but contracts have not yet been signed. Full business cases for the other schemes mentioned are being worked up by the trusts concerned, with the advice and support of the national health service executive.

  Infections (Schools)
  Mr. Eastham
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department is pursuing to combat dermatitis infections in schools. [31622]

  Mr. Horam
  [holding answer 7 June 1996]: When a child has dermatitis the responsibility for managing his or her care and treatment rests with his or her general practitioner. If there are a number of cases of an infectious skin condition in a school, additional advice may be obtained from the local consultant in communicable disease control.

  Mental Health
  Mr. Milburn
  To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients with learning disabilities have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each year since it came into force. [33369]

  Mr. Bowis
  The table gives the number of formal admissions of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 who were classified as "mentally impaired" or "severely mentally impaired", in England for 1987–88 to 1992–93. These include admissions to national health service facilities and private mental nursing homes authorised to detain patients under the Registered Homes Act 1984; information for special hospitals is not available centrally. Data for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis. Figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95 will be published shortly.

  Admissions of formally detained patients with categories "mental impairment" or "severe mental impairment". NHS hospitals (excluding special hospitals) and private mental homes registered to detain patients.

  England

  Number admitted

  1987–88

  199

  1988–89

  268

  1889–90

  213

  1990–91

  227

  1991–92

  310

  1992–93

  252

  Figures are taken from Korner returns KH15 and KO37 and relate to financial years.
  571

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Recruitment
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what use his Department and its executive agencies have made of executive search agencies or employment companies in filling vacancies within his Department or executive agencies administered by his Department during the financial years 1994–95 and 1995–96; what agencies were employed; what was the cost in each case; how many staff were recruited in each case; and what was the total cost in each financial year of these contracts. [31416]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  No executive search agencies were used by the DTI in the financial year 1994–95. In the financial year 1995–96, three senior posts were filled with the assistance of executive search agencies. The details are as follows:

  £

  St. James's Management Recruitment

  25,962.34

  Korn/Ferry Carre/Orban International Ltd.

  29,551.25

  Saxton Bampfylde International Ltd.

  30,075.00

  Total

  85,588.59

  DTI headquarters made no use of employment companies for recruitment during the period in question. I have asked agency chief executives to reply directly to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Jim Norton to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 20 June 1996:
  The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply on behalf of the Radiocommunications Agency to the above Parliamentary Question.
  The Radiocommunications Agency did not use executive search agencies or employment companies for the filling of vacancies in either financial year.

  Letter from Seton Bennett to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 20 June 1996:
  The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to provide additional information on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory in reply to your question about the use of executive search or employment companies in 1994/95 or 1995/96.
  This Agency did not use an executive search company during this period. Two specialist posts were filled in 1995/96 with the assistance of employment agencies, and the details were as follows:

  £

  Capita Recruitment Services

  2,974

  Draft Personnel Ltd.

  2,645

  Total cost

  5,619

  Letter from Peter Joyce to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 20 June 1996:
  The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your question about the use made of executive search agencies or employment companies in filling vacancies within The Insolvency Service during the financial years 1994–95 and 1995–96.
  The Insolvency Service has not used executive search agencies or employment companies in any of its permanent recruitment during those financial years.
  572
  Letter from R. J. Marchant to Mr. Brain Donohoe, dated 20 June 1996:
  In the absence of the Comptroller General on official business overseas I am replying for the Patent Office to your question on the use made of executive search agencies and employment companies.
  The Patent Office has not used such means for filling its vacancies.

  Letter from John S. Holden to Mr. Brian Donohoe, dated 20 June 1996:
  I have been asked by the President of the Board of Trade to reply on behalf of Companies House Executive Agency to your Parliamentary Question.
  During the financial year 1994–95 and 1995–96 no executive search agencies or employment companies were used by Companies House to assist in filling vacancies.

  Pemed UK
  Mr. Macdonald
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade in what capacity his officials attended the inaugural reception for Pemed UK on 14 October 1993. [33300]

  Mr. Lang
  Among the principal guests at a reception organised by Pemed on 14 October 1993 was a delegation of business men from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia led by its Ministers for industry. This was the first major industrial delegation from that country to visit the UK. The official responsible for trade promotion with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia attended the reception in that capacity.

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Ian McCartney
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the cost in each of the past five years of(a) sick pay and (b) compensation paid to employees of his Department or their families, or members of the public, as a result of (i) minor, (ii) major and (iii) fatal injuries related to the work of his Department, detailing incidents involving information technology and those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33518]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Business Links
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his Department's business links publicity programme is scheduled to start; how much it will cost public funds; and how the money will be targeted. [33194]

  Mr. Page
  A publicity programme for business links has been in existence since the first business links opened, involving mainly local activities. Now that the network is nearing completion, it will be supplemented by a national business links advertising campaign, which will begin on June 24. The campaign will feature poster, radio and national newspaper advertisements and is designed to draw attention of companies to the potential benefits of the business links service. The campaign will be supported by a national telephone service, which will switch callers directly to their local business link. The total cost of the advertising and supporting publicity campaigns for 1996–97 is £4 million.
  573

  Small and Medium Businesses
  Mrs. Roche
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the actions taken as a result of the meetings of the group of Ministers across Departments responsible for small and medium enterprises. [33193]

  Mr. Page
  The aim of the group is to provide a forum for co-ordinated and cohesive policy across Whitehall Departments and to address the areas vital to the competitiveness of small businesses.

  The small firms Ministers have been closely involved in the "Your Business Matters" consultation and in co-ordinating a response to the issues which most recently were raised.

  A list of measures to assist small businesses is contained in "Your Business Matters—Government Response", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

  Coal Industry Records
  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the level of charges made for the inspection and copying of maps, plans and records of the British coal industry; and if he will consult the Coal Authority in regard to these charges. [32970]

  Mr. Page
  The Coal Authority is under a financial duty to recover through fees and charges the full cost of carrying out certain activities, including making information available pursuant to section 57 of the Coal Industry Act 1994.

  Mr. Hardy
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what charges are made by the British Coal Authority in regard to the inspection and copying of records concerning the coal mining industry. [33032]

  Mr. Page
  This is a matter for the Coal Authority. I have placed a copy of the authority's scale of charges concerning mining records in the Library of the House.

  Living Conditions
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people in(a) Dulwich, (b) Luton and (c) Swindon are living below the European decency threshold, expressed as (i) a total figure and (ii) a percentage of the total population. [32684]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The information requested is not available. Details of earnings are not available for areas smaller than a county or London borough, and information on income is derived from national estimates.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32740]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  The chief executives of the DTI executive agencies will respond direct to the hon. Member.
  574
  Letter from Seton Bennett to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to provide additional information on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory in reply to your question about the number of staff employed by this Agency.

  The figures you request are contained in the following table:

  Grade level

  Female

  Male

  Total

  Grade 5

  0

  1

  1

  Grade 6

  0

  0

  0

  Grade 7

  0

  4

  4

  SEO level

  1

  7

  8

  HEO level

  0

  11

  11

  EO level

  4

  8

  12

  AO level

  9

  0

  9

  AA level

  3

  1

  4

  Total staff

  17

  32

  49

  The figures are provided on a headcount basis by grade level. They exclude casual staff.

  Letter from Jim Norton to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  I have been asked to answer the question you raised on behalf of the Radiocommunications Agency.
  The following table shows the total numbers of women by Civil Service and equivalent grade employed in the Agency on 7 June.

  Grade

  Total

  Female

  Grade 3

  1

  0

  Grade 5

  6

  0

  Grade 6

  7

  0

  Grade 7

  33

  3

  SEO and equivalent

  59

  4

  HEO and equivalent

  95

  5

  EO and equivalent

  182

  22

  AO and equivalent

  96

  50

  AA and equivalent

  44

  32

  Total

  523

  116

  Letter from Peter Joyce to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  The President of the Board of Trade has asked me to reply to your question about the number of staff and the number and grades of women employed by The Insolvency Service.

  Grade

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Grade 3

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 4

  2

  0

  2

  Grade 5

  1

  1

  2

  Grade 6

  0

  0

  0

  Inss Grade A

  10

  0

  10

  Grade 7

  1

  0

  1

  Inss Grade B

  53

  4

  57

  SEO

  6

  1

  7

  Inss Grade C

  86

  29

  115

  HEO

  18

  13

  31

  HPTO

  1

  0

  1

  Inss Grade D

  201

  116

  317

  EO

  63

  61

  124

  PTO

  1

  0

  1

  Inss Grade E

  44

  35

  79

  AO

  134

  191

  325

  PS

  0

  13

  13

  SBG1

  1

  1

  1

  SM3

  0

  1

  2

  575

  Grade

  Male

  Female

  Total

  AA

  59

  84

  143

  SGB2

  19

  5

  24

  TYP

  2

  137

  139

  703

  692

  1,395

  Source:

  DTI PERMIS Computer Records. Date: 1 April 1996.

  Staff included in the data comprise permanent staff, staff on loan from other Government Departments, staff seconded from the private sector (who have been allocated to the grades which reflect their salaries) and staff on paid maternity and sick leave.

  The data does not include casual staff and those on short term appointments from agencies.

  Letter from John S. Holden to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  I have been asked by the President of the Board of Trade to respond to your recent Parliamentary Questions on behalf of the Companies House Executive Agency.
  I have set out on the attached page the information you requested, but please do let me know if you require any additional breakdown.

  Grade

  Male headcount

  Per cent.

  Female headcount

  Per cent.

  Total

  Grade 4

  1

  100.0

  —

  —

  1

  Grade 5

  2

  100.0

  2

  Grade 7

  7

  63.6

  4

  36.4

  11

  SEO

  12

  92.3

  1

  7.7

  13

  SPTO

  1

  100.0

  —

  —

  —1

  HEO

  31

  54.4

  26

  45.6

  57

  EO

  63

  54.8

  52

  45.2

  115

  AO

  113

  34.6

  214

  65.4

  327

  AA

  54

  41.5

  76

  58.5

  130

  SPS

  —

  —

  1

  100.0

  1

  PS

  —

  —

  3

  100.0

  3

  TM

  —

  —

  1

  100.0

  1

  Typist

  —

  —

  8

  100.0

  8

  SM2

  —

  —

  1

  100.0

  1

  SM3

  4

  40.0

  6

  60.0

  10

  SGB1

  10

  23.8

  32

  76.2

  42

  SGB2

  51

  18.5

  224

  81.5

  275

  Total

  349

  35.0

  649

  65.0

  998

  Figures exclude casuals, unpaid maternity leave, career break schemes, but include all part-time employees.

  Letter from P. R. S. Hartnack to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 20 June 1996:
  I am replying in relation to the Patent Office to your Parliamentary Question to the President of the Board of Trade about the staffing of next step agencies. The following figures give headcount by grade, excluding staff currently out of the office on loan, career breaks or similar arrangements.

  Grade

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Grade 3

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 5

  2

  1

  3

  Grade 6

  5

  0

  5

  Grade 7

  7

  2

  9

  Assistant comptroller

  1

  0

  1

  Superintending examiner

  5

  0

  5

  Principal examiner

  13

  3

  16

  Senior examiner

  125

  12

  137

  Examiner

  41

  3

  44

  SEO

  17

  4

  21

  HEO

  36

  18

  54

  576

  Grade

  Male

  Female

  Total

  EO

  88

  71

  159

  AO

  81

  123

  204

  AA

  47

  61

  108

  Support grades

  4

  6

  10

  Personal secretaries

  0

  7

  7

  Typists

  0

  7

  7

  Total

  473

  318

  791

  Bomb Bags
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will reclassify bomb bags as fireworks. [32687]

  Mr. John M. Taylor
  As stated in my written reply to the hon. Member on 15 May 1996,Official Report, column 494, "bomb bags" are toys and therefore subject to the safety requirements of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 1995. I can see no advantage therefore in classifying these items to treat them as fireworks, for example for the purposes of the general product safety regulations. The items do not fall within the definition of a firework in British standard 7114:1988.

  Euro 96 Merchandise
  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to ensure that Euro 96 merchandise is clearly marked if produced by child labour. [33156]

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 17 June 1996]: None. It is for the parties concerned to decide how to present their merchandise.

  Mr. Meacher
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade what reports he has received alleging that Euro 96 souvenir footballs have been made by child labour in Pakistan; and if he will make a statement. [33157]

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 17 June 1996]: None. As the Government have made clear previously, we remain firmly opposed to the exploitation of child labour. That is why we are supporting this week, at this year's general conference of the International Labour Organisation, a resolution concerning the elimination of exploitative child labour.

  Burma
  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade which British companies have current or planned investment in Burma of which he is aware; and what is its total value. [32359]

  Mr. Nelson
  [holding answer 18 June 1996]: It is not the practice of my Department to divulge information relating to British companies' individual investments overseas as this is considered commercially confidential. The British Government do not compile figures on the

  577
  UK's total investment in Burma. However, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend Lord Fraser of Carmyllie on 19 March, Official Report, House of Lords, column 95.

  Mrs. Fyfe
  To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to discourage tourism to Burma. [32358]
  578
  Mr. Hanley
  [holding answer 18 June]: I have been asked to reply.

  We have no current plans to discourage tourism to Burma. We do not think that this would be an effective means of achieving the principal objective of our policy towards Burma, which is to persuade the State Law and Order Restoration Council—SLORC—to introduce democracy and full respect for human rights.
  579

WALES

  Local Management of Schools (Funding)
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the deadlines, formal and informal, given to unitary authorities in Wales for production of section 42 statements of funding for local management of schools; and if he will list those authorities which(a) have complied and (b) have not complied with each deadline; [31924]

  (2) if he will set out action which is available to him to take in respect of authorities which fail to comply with statutory deadlines for the production of section 42 statements of expenditure under schemes of local management of schools; and what action he has taken in respect of authorities in Wales which have failed to comply with recent deadlines. [31925]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  Local education authorities are required by section 42(3) of the Education Reform Act 1988 and regulation 7 of the Education (School Financial Statements) (Prescribed Particulars) Regulations 1995 as applied in Wales by the Education (School Financial Statements) (Prescribed Particulars) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 1996 to publish, before the beginning of the financial year to which they relate, budget statements in respect of schools maintained by them.

  Recognising the additional pressures faced by authorities in the light of local government reorganisation, including late finalisation of some local management of schools schemes, the Department indicated to LEAs that, for its own purposes, it would be prepared to wait until 30 April 1996 for submission of budget statements.

  Complete section 42 statements were provided by 30 April by:

  Torfaen

  Blaenau Gwent

  Carmarthenshire

  Bridgend

  Monmouth

  The following authorities submitted budget details, but not complete statements:

  Conwy

  Cardiff

  Flintshire

  Vale of Glamorgan

  Reminders were sent to authorities on 20 May requesting finalised budget statements by the end of May.

  All authorities have now submitted budget statements to the Department, although in some cases they are incomplete. The Department is pursuing outstanding details with the authorities concerned.

  My right hon. Friend has powers under section 99 of the Education Act 1944 to direct authorities to fulfil their statutory duties under education legislation if he considers it expedient to do so. He will consider using those powers in any cases where outstanding information is not provided shortly.
  580

  Wind Farms
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much energy is generated by wind farms in Wales. [32890]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  In 1995 some 171 GW hours of electricity was generated by wind schemes in Wales.

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many wind farms there are in Wales; and in what locations. [32888]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  There are currently eight non-fossil fuel obligation wind farm developments in Wales. Their locations are as follows:

  Mynydd y Cemaes: Near Cemaes, Powys

  Penrhyddlan: Llandinam, near Newtown, Powys

  Llidiartywaun: Llandinam, near Newtown, Powys

  Rhyd-y-Groes: Rhosgoch, Anglesey

  Taff Ely: Near Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taff

  Llangwyryfon: Near Llanrustyd, Cardiganshire

  Bryntitli: Near Rhayader, Powys

  Dyffryn Brodyn: Near Trelech, Carmarthenshire

  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy on wind farms. [32887]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The Government's policy is to stimulate the development of renewable energy sources wherever they have prospects of being economically attractive and environmentally acceptable, in order to contribute to diverse, secure and sustainable energy supplies; a reduction in the emission of pollutants; the encouragement of internationally competitive renewable industries.

  Prostrate Cancer
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of prostate cancer have occurred in Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [32895]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The latest available information on the number of new registrations of prostrate cancer diagnosed in residents of Wales is given in the list.

  1981: 568

  1982: 546

  1983: 611

  1984: 690

  1985: 699

  1986: 680

  1987: 699

  1988: 728

  1989: 855

  1990: 858

  Motorway Lighting
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the location of the sections of motorway in Wales that have overhead lighting by parliamentary constituency; and if he will plot this information on a map and place a copy in the Library. [33037]
  581
  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  The following is a list of locations by parliamentary constituencies:

  Location

  Parliamentary constituency

  1. Junction 22 Newhouse

  Monmouth

  2. Second Severn crossing approach road Junction 29 Castleton

  Newport, East and Newport, West

  3. Junction 38 Margam—Junction 41 Pentyla

  Swansea, East and Aberavon

  4. Junction 41 Pentyla roundabout

  Swansea, East

  5. Junction 49 Pont Abraham

  Llanelli

  A map showing this information as at 13 June 1996 has been placed in the Library of the House.

  Schools (Selection)
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales in which schools in Wales there is a process of selection; and if he will make a statement. [33240]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  I am not aware of any maintained schools in Wales which operate a process of selection in admission arrangements. A number of independent institutions do, but comprehensive information on admission arrangements is not held centrally.

  Powered Outdoor Wheelchairs
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many powered outdoor wheelchairs have been provided to patients by each of the health trusts since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [33163]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  Some 664 powered outdoor wheelchairs have been supplied to Welsh patients by the artificial limb and appliance service since 1992. Management responsibility for this function transferred to three NHS trusts on 1 April 1996.

  Cancer Screening
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money he has spent on NHS screening for (i) breast cancer and (ii) cervical cancer; and if he will make a statement. [33160]

  Mr. Gwilym Jones
  I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

  School Budgets
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on (i) infant schools' budgets and (ii) primary schools' budgets. [33164]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  Budgets for maintained infant and primary schools are determined by application of the local management of schools scheme operated by the local education authority in whose area they are located. The amount of each school's budget depends on the resources the local authority concerned makes available to schools in its area.
  582

  Women's Refuges
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many refuges for women escaping domestic violence have been registered in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [33322]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  There is no statutory requirement for the registration of refuges for women escaping domestic violence, and information on the number of refuges is not held centrally.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32730]

  Mr. Hague
  The information requested for my Department's next steps agency, Cadw, is given in the table:

  Cadw staff by grade and gender

  Grade

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Grade 5

  1

  0

  1

  Grade 6

  2

  0

  2

  Grade 7

  6

  1

  7

  SEOs

  11

  3

  14

  HEOs

  10

  8

  18

  EOs

  15

  16

  31

  AOs

  8

  13

  21

  AAs

  15

  10

  25

  Industrial/museum support grades

  91

  28

  119

  Total

  159

  79

  238

  Information as at 1 April 1996.

  Ambulance Service
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance he has given the members of the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group on the requirement to align the boundaries of proposed new ambulance trusts with those of the new health authorities; and if he will make a statement. [33820]

  Mr. Hague
  None. The Welsh ambulance policy advisory group is an independent body operating under its own terms of reference.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) on what date he first(a) received notification from and (b) was consulted by the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group in respect of the proposed reorganisation of the trust structure for the provision of ambulance services in Wales. [33819]

  (2) if he will make a statement on the timetable for the (a) receipt, (b) consideration, (c) consultation and (d) confirmation of (i) new boundary and (ii) other changes in the trust structure for the provision of ambulance services in Wales. [33817]

  Mr. Hague
  I have not received any proposals to reconfigure ambulance services in Wales. These are currently matters for the relevant trusts in consultation with health authorities.
  583
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales at how many of the meetings of the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group on reorganisation of the ambulance trust structure his Department has been represented. [33821]

  Mr. Hague
  The Welsh ambulance policy advisory group invites one of my officials to attend its meetings as an observer. He has attended on three occasions when ambulance service configuration has formed part of the agenda.

  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what date he informed the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group of the nature of special financial provision for the South and East, Wales Ambulance NHS trust in the event of wholesale reorganisation of Welsh ambulance services. [33818]

  Mr. Hague
  I have had no such contact with the Welsh ambulance policy advisory group. The financial performance of individual trusts is a matter solely for the trust board and my Department.

  Social Services Inspectorate
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral statement of 17 June,Official Report, columns 521–24, what proposals he has to strengthen the social services inspectorate. [33825]

  Mr. Hague
  I shall announce my proposals shortly.

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's compliance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988; and if he will make a statement. [33768]

  Mr. Hague
  As far as I am aware, the Department's compliance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is adequate.

  Child Abuse (North Wales)
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral statement of 17 June,Official Report, columns 521–24, if he will include in the terms of reference of the Waterhouse judicial inquiry, the need for (a) a children's ombudsman and (b) a children's commissioner. [33824]

  Mr. Hague
  I have no plans to do so.

  Publications (Subscriptions)
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all(a) periodicals, (b) magazines and (c) academic journals subscribed to by his Department in the last three months. [33755]

  Mr. Hague
  A list of all newspapers, periodicals and journals subscribed to by my Department was placed in the Library of the House in January 1996. Since then, the following new titles have been subscribed to:

  Care Standard

  Dynamic Graphics

  Eurostat—Theme 1—Regions

  Gupta Pro

  584

  Home and School

  New Economy

  Nursing Times Research

  Office Secretary

  Programme on Education Building Exchange

  Property Letter

  Rent Officer Statistics

  Sheep Farmer

  Soundtrack

  Talking Points on Britain's Economy

  Training Education Employment

  UK Meat Market Review

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of confirmed BSE cases in each of the last 36 months. [33305]

  Mr. Jonathan Evans
  [holding answer 18 June 1996]: The number of confirmed BSE cases in Wales by year and month reported in the last 36 months, as at 18 June 1996, is as follows:

  1993

  Number

  May

  280

  June

  302

  July

  271

  August

  260

  September

  281

  October

  267

  November

  374

  December

  287

  1994

  January

  264

  February

  299

  March

  327

  April

  316

  May

  229

  June

  195

  July

  126

  August

  151

  September

  179

  October

  173

  November

  166

  December

  78

  1995

  January

  188

  February

  199

  March

  124

  April

  126

  May

  116

  June

  100

  July

  128

  August

  128

  September

  83

  October

  85

  November

  98

  December

  99

  1996

  January

  92

  February

  122

  March

  72

  April

  41

  May

  67 as at 18 June 1996

  585

  Supply Estimates
  Mr. Morgan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the dates of publication of the Supply estimates in(a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993. [30410]

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

  Financial year

  1991–92

  1992–93

  1993–94

  Publication date

  Main Supply estimates

  12 March 1991

  10 March 1992

  9 March 1993

  Summer supplementary estimates

  13 June 1991

  16 June 1992

  17 June 1993

  Winter supplementary estimates

  14 November 1991

  12 November 1992

  18 November 1993

  Spring supplementary estimates

  18 February 1992

  16 February 1993

  15 February 1994

DEFENCE

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32732]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The information will be placed in the Library.

  Defence Codification Authority
  Mr. Matthew Banks
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about defence agency status for the Defence Codification Authority. [34210]

  Mr. Soames
  I am pleased to report that the Defence Codification Authority became a defence agency of the Ministry of Defence on 17 June 1996. The aim of the DCA is to maximise the benefits of the NATO codification system by uniquely describing every item in the NATO inventory, thereby increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of logistics systems and operations, promoting interoperability and interchangeability, while reducing duplication and waste. The DCA currently has a staff of 161 civilians mainly based at Anderston, Glasgow with a small complement of staff at Didcot, Oxfordshire. The owner of the DCA will be Air Officer Communications and Information Systems at Headquarters Logistics Command, Brampton and its chief executive will be Mr. Ken Bradshaw.

  The chief executive has been set the following key targets for the first year of operation:

  1. To complete an annual policy evaluation by September 1996 and establish future policy direction to reflect strategic initiatives in NATO and the MOD.

  2. To increase the rate at which the number of duplicate NATO stock numbers (NSNs) are eliminated by 0.15 per cent. of the total number of NSNs.

  586

  3. To extend the DCA's NSN database file purification service to the Army and RAF by March 1997.

  4. To let a development contract for the item of supply information system ISIS2, by July 1996.

  5. To install a financial management information system to meet HM Treasury accounts direction by March 1997.

  6. To reduce the DCA's unit cost of NSN codification, assuming forecast levels of demand, to less than £61.

  7. To reduce agency running costs by 5 per cent.

  8. To reduce the number of post-codification queries to less than 14,000.

  9. To define an acceptable quality level for inclusion in contracts with external suppliers by September 1996.

  I am arranging for copies of the agency's framework document to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Ministerial Visits
  Mr. Harvey
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those constituencies he has visited in the last three months on official business and those constituencies he intends to visit in the next three months; and if he will make a statement. [32330]

  Mr. Portillo
  During the last three months, I visited the following constituencies on official business:

  Date

  Constituency

  6 March

  Yeovil

  8 March

  Solihull

  13 March

  Ruislip-Northwood

  19 March

  Grantham

  28 March

  Manchester, Central

  6–7 May

  Birmingham, Ladywood

  21 May

  Mid-Norfolk

  It is not my practice to give details of my future programme, but my office would normally write to hon. Members before visits to their constituencies on official business.

  Publications (Subscriptions)
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list all(a) periodicals, (b) magazines and (c) journals received on subscription by his Department over the last three months. [33758]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department plans to conclude its discussions with the Copyright Licensing Agency to ensure compliance with copyright law. [33769]

  Mr. Arbuthnot
  The MOD library in conjunction with the Directorate of Intellectual Property Rights are currently considering a licence with the Copyright Licensing Agency. The MOD is awaiting a reply to correspondence sent to the agency.
  587

SCOTLAND

  Compulsory Competitive Tendering
  Mr. Galbraith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many representations he has received regarding the removal of the compulsory competitive tendering moratorium for Local Government (Planning and Land) Act 1980 work; what discussions he has held with local authorities and their representatives concerning this decision; and if he will make a statement; [32576]

  (2) what factors underlay his decision to remove the moratorium on compulsory competitive tendering for Local Government (Planning and Land Act) 1980 work; and if he will make a statement. [32574]

  Mr. Kynoch
  My right hon. Friend and I have received representations from hon. Members, private contractors and six local authorities. Contractors welcomed the decision to bring forward the reintroduction of compulsory competitive tendering to 1 January 1997, and drew my attention to the fact that, in the absence of compulsory competitive tendering, there had been a decline in the amount of work subject to competition. Some local authorities have, however, expressed concern about the practicality of the timetable and, in addition, one council has lodged a petition for judicial review of that decision.

  My right hon. Friend and I remain strongly of the view that council tax payers should benefit from the introduction of competition as soon as is practicable. Nevertheless, in the light of the representations, and bearing in mind that we do not have powers to specify different dates for different authorities for the reintroduction of competition for work under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, we have now decided not to make regulations bringing forward the date for reintroduction to 1 January. My right hon. Friend announced this in a letter to Rosemary McKenna, the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on 13 June. Instead, we are consulting on that a practicable timetable for reintroduction would be, but clearly 1 January is no longer practicable.

  Electoral Registers
  Mr. Home Robertson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, per constituency (1) the number of overseas voters on the current Scottish electoral registers; [33050]

  (2) the number of electors attaining the age of 18 years on the current Scottish electoral registers. [33061]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  Electoral statistics collected from the 1996 electoral registers are based upon the new parliamentary constituencies which take effect at the next general election. The information on the numbers of overseas voters and of those attaining the age of 18 years is as follows:

  Attainers 1996

  Overseas electors 1996

  Scotland

  44,873

  1,055

  Aberdeen Central

  366

  16

  Aberdeen North

  735

  4

  Aberdeen South

  555

  42

  588

  Attainers 1996

  Overseas electors 1996

  Airdrie and Shotts

  656

  5

  Angus

  712

  12

  Argyll and Bute

  616

  10

  Ayr

  800

  17

  Banff and Buchan

  797

  9

  Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross

  468

  15

  Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

  1,009

  18

  Central Fife

  641

  2

  Clydebank and Milngavie

  692

  11

  Clydesdale

  702

  7

  Coatbridge and Chryston

  625

  5

  Cumbernauld and Kilsyth

  773

  12

  Cunninghame North

  787

  15

  Cunninghame South

  772

  3

  Dumbarton

  74

  16

  Dumfries

  673

  12

  Dundee East

  541

  17

  Dundee West

  504

  6

  Dunfermline East

  568

  19

  Dunfermline West

  675

  11

  East Kilbride

  751

  7

  East Lothian

  638

  11

  Eastwood

  1,022

  25

  Edinburgh Central

  296

  43

  Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

  486

  20

  Edinburgh North and Leith

  343

  40

  Edinburgh Pentlands

  744

  39

  Edinburgh South

  562

  74

  Edinburgh West

  669

  30

  Falkirk East

  678

  13

  Falkirk West

  618

  5

  Glasgow and Upper Nithsdale

  553

  23

  Glasgow Anniesland

  423

  9

  Glasgow Baillieston

  501

  1

  Glasgow Cathcart

  453

  11

  Glasgow Govan

  345

  13

  Glasgow Kelvin

  300

  32

  Glasgow Maryhill

  384

  10

  Glasgow Pollok

  466

  5

  Glasgow Rutherglen

  528

  7

  Glasgow Shettleston

  279

  1

  Glasgow Springburn

  357

  2

  Gordon

  834

  11

  Greenock and Inverclyde

  634

  8

  Hamilton North and Bellshill

  635

  1

  Hamilton South

  522

  1

  Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber

  718

  27

  Kilmarnock and Loudoun

  872

  8

  Kirkcaldy

  599

  10

  Linlithgow

  669

  11

  Livingston

  781

  3

  Midlothian

  534

  7

  Moray

  800

  11

  Motherwell and Wishaw

  529

  4

  North East Fife

  669

  40

  North Tayside

  689

  23

  Ochil

  791

  14

  Orkney and Shetland

  464

  7

  Paisley North

  598

  5

  Paisley South

  629

  9

  Perth

  685

  18

  Ross, Skye and Inverness West

  611

  15

  Roxburgh and Berwickshire

  557

  6

  Stirling

  636

  33

  Strathkelvin and Bearsden

  910

  6

  Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale

  684

  25

  West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine

  934

  29

  West Renfrewshire

  815

  16

  Western Isles

  269

  2

  Shotgun and Firearm Licences
  Mr. William Ross
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many revocations and cancellations there
  589
  were for (i) shotgun and (ii) firearm licences for each police force in Scotland, for each of the last five years for which figures are available; what were the reasons for such actions; how many appeals there were in each year and police force area; and how many were successful. [32955]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  The number of shotgun and firearms licences revoked or cancelled in Scotland in each of the last five years, for which statistics are available, is set out in the table. The reasons for such actions are not recorded centrally nor is the number of appeals.

  Force

  1990

  1991

  1992

  1993

  1994

  Shotgun certificates revoked

  Central

  5

  3

  5

  2

  4

  Dumfries and Galloway

  4

  11

  12

  1

  2

  Fife

  6

  12

  3

  6

  4

  Grampian

  22

  11

  12

  28

  16

  Lothian and Borders

  28

  13

  5

  9

  3

  Northern

  9

  8

  3

  10

  10

  Strathclyde

  20

  23

  28

  23

  17

  Tayside

  11

  14

  20

  15

  5

  All forces

  105

  95

  88

  94

  61

  Firearms certificates revoked

  Central

  2

  2

  1

  1

  1

  Dumfries and Galloway

  3

  4

  1

  0

  0

  Fife

  2

  1

  2

  1

  2

  Grampian

  10

  3

  4

  9

  5

  Lothian and Borders

  7

  4

  2

  5

  1

  Northern

  9

  6

  8

  10

  6

  Strathclyde

  7

  6

  4

  2

  4

  Tayside

  5

  6

  12

  5

  4

  All forces

  45

  32

  34

  33

  23

  Shotgun certificates cancelled

  Central

  564

  467

  310

  225

  246

  Dumfries and Galloway

  649

  717

  422

  295

  224

  Fife

  1,243

  610

  413

  215

  275

  Grampian

  1,521

  1,275

  997

  717

  714

  Lothian and Borders

  1,100

  1,312

  976

  586

  583

  Northern

  1,208

  997

  957

  593

  547

  Strathclyde

  2,707

  2,555

  2,007

  995

  966

  Tayside

  789

  708

  546

  431

  428

  All forces

  9,781

  8,641

  6,628

  4,057

  3,983

  Firearms certificates cancelled

  Central

  105

  85

  51

  63

  63

  Dumfries and Galloway

  375

  218

  197

  113

  106

  Fife

  334

  133

  111

  88

  88

  Grampian

  693

  697

  382

  283

  281

  Lothian and Borders

  529

  314

  328

  246

  205

  Northern

  594

  578

  430

  379

  300

  Strathclyde

  516

  456

  383

  273

  250

  Tayside

  266

  134

  215

  157

  160

  All forces

  3,412

  2,615

  2,097

  1,602

  1,453

  Statistics
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which statistics his Department has discontinued(a) the collection and (b) the publication of since 1989. [32863]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  (a) The following regular statistical surveys have been discontinued since 1989:Survey of initial police action against children involved in crimes and offences: (discontinued from 1989).
  Survey of detailed information from district courts on non-payment of police fixed penalties and non-payment of fiscal fines: (discontinued from 1990).
  590
  Survey of non-vocational further education in certain small centres: (discontinued from 1992).
  Survey of foreign and Commonwealth students in teacher training colleges: (discontinued from 1993).
  Survey of excesses and deficits in teacher supply: (discontinued from 1995).
  Survey of applications for teaching posts: (discontinued from 1995).
  Survey of number of cases dealt with by social work departments: (discontinued from 1995).
  Survey of housing owned by regional authorities: (discontinued from 1996).

  (b) Available information is that the publication of no other major statistical series has been discontinued since 1989: changes in the basis of publication of statistical series are made from time to time in response to requirements for information.

  Offshore Installations (Solway Firth)
  Dr. Godman
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his Department's role in respect of(a) consultations on the siting of the Esso exploration rig west of the Solway firth at the "Cod Hole" and (b) safeguarding the interests of commercial fishermen who currently fish there. [32373]

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  Esso is currently carrying out exploration drilling in block 112/15 to the west of the Solway firth which was awarded in the 14th round of offshore oil and gas licensing. This block is subject to strict conditions—agreed with, among others, the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department—to restrict the timing and scope of certain activities carried out under the licence. In accordance with these conditions, the company has kept SOAEFD fully informed in advance of each stage of its exploration work in the area. Esso also consulted a number of fishermen's associations—including the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, the Clyde Fishermen's Association and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations—prior to deciding the location and timing of its exploration drilling.

  Arrangements regarding the specific siting of drilling rigs are required by SOAEFD only when species that spawn in the sediment may be adversely affected by drilling activities. No specific arrangements of this nature were required in this case.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32738]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  The numbers of males and females employed in each of the agencies, expressed in full time equivalent terms, are shown in the tables.
  591

  Permanent staff in executive agencies of the Scottish Office at 1 April 1996 (full-time equivalent)

  Scottish Office Pensions Agency

  Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

  Student Awards Agency Scotland

  Grade equivalent

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Senior CS

  —

  —

  —

  1.0

  —

  1.0

  1.0

  —

  1.0

  Grade 6

  1.0

  —

  1.0

  4.0

  —

  4.0

  —

  —

  —

  Grade 7

  3.0

  —

  3.0

  17.0

  —

  17.0

  —

  —

  —

  SEO

  2.0

  —

  2.0

  39.0

  —

  39.0

  2.0

  1.0

  3.0

  HEO

  11.0

  3.0

  14.0

  41.0

  1.0

  42.0

  5.0

  1.6

  6.6

  EO

  17.0

  15.1

  32.1

  41.0

  3.0

  44.0

  9.0

  10.6

  19.6

  AO

  32.0

  37.5

  69.5

  7.0

  3.0

  10.0

  30.0

  41.6

  71.6

  AA

  27.0

  21.0

  48.0

  3.3

  20.4

  23.7

  8.0

  13.5

  21.5

  Industrials

  —

  —

  —

  59.0

  —

  59.0

  —

  —

  —

  Total

  93.0

  76.6

  169.6

  212.3

  27.4

  239.7

  55.0

  68.3

  123.3

  Scottish Agricultural Science Agency

  Historic Scotland

  Total (excluding SPS)

  Grade equivalent

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Male

  Female

  Total

  Senior CS

  1.0

  —

  1.0

  2.7

  —

  2.7

  5.7

  —

  5.7

  Grade 6

  2.0

  —

  2.0

  5.0

  —

  5.0

  12.0

  —

  12.0

  Grade 7

  10.0

  1.6

  11.6

  17.0

  5.4

  22.4

  47.0

  7.0

  54.0

  SEO

  7.0

  1.5

  8.5

  31.0

  11.0

  42.0

  81.0

  13.5

  94.5

  HEO

  17.0

  12.3

  29.3

  27.0

  6.0

  33.0

  101.0

  23.9

  124.9

  EO

  9.0

  12.3

  21.3

  46.6

  24.0

  70.6

  122.6

  65.0

  187.6

  AO

  5.0

  26.6

  31.6

  26.6

  37.6

  64.2

  100.6

  146.3

  246.9

  AA

  7.0

  8.0

  13.0

  51.9

  58.9

  110.8

  97.2

  119.8

  217.0

  Industrials

  15.0

  1.0

  16.0

  219.0

  2.0

  221.0

  293.0

  3.0

  296.0

  Total

  73.0

  61.3

  134.3

  426.8

  144.9

  571.7

  860.1

  378.5

  1,238.6

  Scottish Prison Service1

  Male: 3,838.8

  Female: 600.2

  Total: 4,439.0

  1 Due to a pay and grading review, Scottish Prison Service staff are no longer classified by the standard civil service grades and are now split into paybands. Consequently, no breakdown along the lines requested is possible for SPS.

  Health Service Estate (Revaluation)
  Mr. Gallie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements are being made following the periodic revaluation of the NHS estate which was completed last year. [34099]

  Lord James Douglas-Hamilton
  One of the requirements of these valuations is to provide an independent estimate of the net current value of newly built property and for property that has become surplus to requirements since the last independent valuation exercise. This allows new property to be valued on a consistent basis with the existing NHS estate, preventing pricing distortions in the NHS internal market, and for the book value of surplus assets to be adjusted to a level that reflects likely net disposal proceeds. These adjustments require submission of trust debt to the consolidated fund and are technical in nature and involve no loss to the Exchequer. Her Majesty's Treasury has today presented a minute to the House giving particulars and the circumstances of the remission which it has approved in principle.
  592

  Local Authority Spending
  Sir Hector Monro
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to cap Scottish local authorities in the current year. [34212]

  Mr. Michael Forsyth
  None.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of confirmed BSE cases in each of the last 36 months in Scotland. [33308]

  Mr. Raymond S. Robertson
  [holding answer 18 June 1996]: The information requested is in the table.

  Confirmed BSE cases

  1993

  June

  182

  July

  137

  August

  153

  September

  106

  October

  238

  November

  212

  December

  182

  1994

  January

  256

  February

  125

  March

  218

  April

  157

  May

  113

  June

  151

  July

  106

  August

  52

  September

  97

  October

  72

  November

  80

  December

  89

  593

  Confirmed BSE cases

  1995

  January

  100

  February

  94

  March

  75

  April

  80

  May

  63

  June

  34

  July

  60

  August

  66

  September

  52

  October

  39

  November

  67

  December

  36

  1996

  January

  34

  February

  68

  March

  53

  April

  5

  May

  48

SOCIAL SECURITY

  Expenditure
  Mr. Alan Howarth
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of gross domestic product is currently represented by social security expenditure. [32486]

  Mr. Burt
  On the basis of the latest available estimates of total expenditure in 1995–96, approximately 13 per cent.

  Child Support Agency
  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will give a breakdown of the percentage of total incoming telephone calls to the Child Support Agency client helpline which received(a) a personal answer and (b) a recorded answer for each month since September 1994; [31920]

  (2) what was the average (i) time to answer and (ii) call handling time on the Child Support Agency national client helpline in each month since September 1994; [31917]

  The total number of calls to the client helpline offered by BT analysed by the percentage of those personally answered, the percentage of calls which received a BT national screening centre message (NSC), the number and percentage of calls that were answered within 20 seconds and the average duration of the calls answered

  Date

  Total calls offered byBT

  Percentage of calls receiving personal answer'

  Percentage calls answered by NSC

  Calls receiving personal answer within 20 seconds

  Percentage of calls receiving personal answer within 20 seconds

  Average duration of calls answered (min/sec)

  September 1994

  432,203

  27.19

  65.35

  52,890

  45.00

  4.37

  October 1994

  397,372

  36.52

  64.34

  72,834

  50.19

  4.13

  November 1994

  479,023

  30.29

  68.21

  70,260

  48.42

  3.24

  December 1994

  327,678

  34.47

  67.53

  59,799

  52.94

  3.49

  January 1995

  438,484

  34.54

  50.15

  65,293

  43.11

  5.02

  February 1995

  339,999

  42.25

  25.22

  83,916

  58.41

  5.04

  March 1995

  354,955

  44.8

  2.12

  85,980

  54.07

  5.03

  594
  (3) how many call handling positions are (a) staffed and (b) available on the Child Support Agency national client helpline; [31919]

  (4) what percentage of calls were answered within the target time to answer on the Child Support Agency client helpline in each month since September 1994; and what was the target time to answer. [31918]

  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  [holding answer 12 June 1996]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Steve Heminsley to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 19 June 1996:—
  In the absence of Miss Chant, the Chief Executive, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency Client Help Line.
  Two of the questions refer to the "National Client Helpline". This section does not exist as such and appears to be a confusion of two titles: the Client Help Lines (CHL) which are based in the Child Support Agency Centres, and the National Enquiry Line (NEL). I have assumed that the intended reference is to the CHL.
  The information requested is shown on the attached table, apart from the average time to answer a call. This information is not available.
  When a client calls the CHL during opening hours they will receive a personal answer either immediately or after being held in a queue of calls. Like any other organisation where a great deal of contact with clients is by telephone, clients who do not receive an immediate answer may choose to hang up and ring at a later time, the later contact being successful.
  Where, therefore, the attached figures refer to calls offered by BT, this does not represent the total number of people trying to get through. Research has shown that at peak times as many as 90% of the calls being presented can be from clients who are calling again after not getting through earlier. It follows that the figure showing the percentage of calls receiving a personal answer does not equate to the number of people who receive a personal answer. It is not possible to identify the individual number of callers trying to get through.
  When the CHL is closed, clients will receive a recorded message provided by the BT National Screening Centre (NSC). Prior to February 1995 the BT NSC facility was used to provide a message for any calls that were unable to reach the CHL queue. This was withdrawn to avoid unnecessary charges incurred by the customer and the Agency. The percentage of calls shown to have received a recorded message since that date is as a consequence substantially lower.
  The CHL aims to answer 80% of calls within 20 seconds. The total staffing complement for the CHL is 288.5 posts. The current staff in post figure is 264.5; 15 of whom are still receiving training. Additional staff are being recruited to fill vacancies on the CHL. Not all the Helpline positions are manned at any one time due to flexible working arrangements and leave.
  595

  The total number of calls to the client helpline offered by BT analysed by the percentage of those personally answered, the percentage of calls which received a BT national screening centre message (NSC), the number and percentage of calls that were answered within 20 seconds and the average duration of the calls answered

  Date

  Total calls offered by BT

  Percentage of calls receiving personal answer1

  Percentage calls answered by NSC

  Calls receiving personal answer within 20 seconds

  Percentage of calls receiving personal answer within 20 seconds

  Average duration of calls answered (min/sec)

  April 1995

  924,117

  14.78

  1.48

  54,553

  39.93

  5.00

  May 1995

  359,153

  39.94

  1.65

  82,658

  57.63

  5.04

  June 1995

  257,961

  55.62

  2.37

  93,204

  64.96

  5.10

  July 1995

  260,179

  58.76

  3.37

  94,613

  61.89

  5.08

  August 1995

  348,954

  42.06

  2.26

  73,477

  50.06

  5.09

  September 1995

  558,743

  27.13

  1.84

  71,481

  47.16

  5.11

  October 1995

  374,765

  43.24

  3.03

  78,902

  48.70

  5.10

  November 1995

  612,847

  22.11

  2.72

  47,732

  35.22

  4.58

  December 1995

  487,236

  24.00

  3.00

  47,392

  40.54

  4.52

  January 1996

  776,796

  19.63

  1.84

  50,412

  33.06

  4.53

  February 1996

  518,573

  28.56

  3.40

  55,371

  37.38

  4.52

  March 1996

  423,383

  38.45

  3.46

  62,123

  38.16

  4.44

  April 1996

  701,051

  20.51

  2.68

  45,382

  31.57

  4.49

  1 The percentage of calls receiving a personal answer does not equate to the number of people who receive a personal answer.

  2 From February 1995 NSC answered out of hours calls only.

  Ms Lynne
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what consideration has been given to the replacement of the Child Support Agency computer system; [33346]

  (2) what meetings have taken place involving the chief executive of the Child Support Agency in the last three months where major changes to or replacement of the Child Support Agency computer system have been discussed. [33347]

  Mr. Mitchell
  The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Steve Heminsley to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 19 June 1996:
  In the absence of Miss Chant, the Chief Executive, I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the Child Support Agency Computer System (CSCS).
  The Agency has recently conducted an Information Systems Strategy review, which included an analysis of any new systems that may be required and examined the likely timetable for the routine replacement or enhancement of existing systems, including CSCS. The findings are still being assessed and refined and the Agency is not yet in a position to announce a decision.
  The Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency is involved in numerous meetings to discuss strategic issues for the Agency including CSCS.

  Caller Service Sites (Yorkshire)
  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which caller service sites in the Yorkshire area are to be lost; what are the Benefit Agency's plans for these sites; and what expenditure has been undertaken on each of these sites over the last five financial years. [33025]

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

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Jon Trickett, dated 19 June 1996:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking which Caller Service sites in the Yorkshire area are to be lost; what are the Benefit Agency's plans for these sites; and what expenditure has been undertaken on each of these sites over the last five financial years.
  596
  Local managers have been reviewing the provision of caller outlets within the District network in the Yorkshire Area but no decisions have yet been made to close any individual site.
  Should there be any proposals to close a particular site there would be local consultation in the usual way with customers, their MPs and customer representative groups.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Benefits Agency (Yorkshire)
  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what running costs savings will be required of the management team in the Yorkshire area by the charge programme in the next three years; and what will be the change in the budget for the Hemsworth area for each of the next three years; [33023]

  (2) what plans he has for staff reductions within the Benefits Agency in the Hemsworth area; and what estimate he has made of the numbers of staff who will be employed in the Wakefield district in each of the next three years. [33024]

  Mr. Burt
  This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Jon Trickett, dated 19 June 1996:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking what running costs savings will be required of the management team in the Yorkshire area by the Change Programme in the next three years; what will be the change in the budget for the Hemsworth area for each of the next three years; what plans he has for staff reductions within the Benefits Agency (BA) in the Hemsworth area and what estimate he has made of the numbers of staff who will be employed at the Wakefield District in each of the next three years.
  The Agency will carry out a wide-ranging review of its activities as part of the Departmental Change Programme. Such a programme of change will cover fundamental areas of the organisation's business and we are committed to achieve a 25% improvement in our productivity by 1998/99. In the first year it has been necessary to identify efficiencies and economies in excess of £200 million nationally.
  The BA in the Yorkshire area is examining all aspects of BA processes and business services. Until that examination is complete the impact on running costs for the Yorkshire Area Management Team and Hemsworth cannot be assessed.

  597
  It is also too early to assess the precise impact this will have on staffing at a local level. However, there are at present no plans for any reductions of staff for the Wakefield District in this financial year.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Mr. Trickett
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what decisions were taken at the recent meeting of the Benefits Agency management team responsible for the Yorkshire area relating to the departmental change programme. [33022]

  Mr. Burt
  This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Jon Trickett, dated 19 June 1996:
  The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what decisions were taken at the recent meeting of the Benefits Agency (BA) management team responsible for the Yorkshire area relating to the departmental change programme.
  The BA management team responsible for the Yorkshire area meet regularly to discuss all aspects of performance and service delivery in the Area they serve.
  At one of their recent meetings the management team discussed the potential impact of the Departmental Change Programme and a range of other issues that could have an impact on the delivery of benefit services in Yorkshire. This is part of a normal planning process within the BA and is intended to assist managers in setting priorities and in planning the effective use of resources.
  No firm decisions were taken at the meeting mentioned in relation to the Departmental Change Programme. However District Managers were asked to review their customer service provision in the light of the 1996/97 budget allocation to ensure they provide a high quality service at the lowest possible cost.
  I hope you find this reply helpful.

  Health and Safety
  Mr. Ian McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on how many occasions in each of the past five years health and safety problems in his Department and its agencies have been reported via internal monitoring; and on how many occasions the Health and Safety Commission has become involved. [33512]

  Mr. Burt
  The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Mr. McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State of Social Security what was the cost in each of the past five years of rectifying working conditions that were the responsibility of his Department and its agencies, to bring them up to acceptable health and safety standards, detailing incidents involving information technology and additionally those involving expenditure of more than £5,000. [33515]

  Mr. Burt
  The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Child Benefit
  Mr. Bayley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been(a) the number of child benefit recipients and (b) the expenditure on child benefit broken down into age bands and household income adjusted for family size for the latest year available. [33823]
  598
  Mr. Andrew Mitchell
  The information is in the tables.

  Estimates of expenditure include one-parent benefit; it is not possible to separately identify child benefit expenditure alone from survey data.

  Number of child benefit recipients by household equivalised net income and age of eldest child in the United Kingdom (thousands), 1992–93

  Household equivalised net income (per week)

  Age of eldest child

  £0to £100

  £100.01 to £200

  £200.01 to £300

  £300.01 to £400

  £400.01 and above

  All

  Under 5

  140

  670

  500

  230

  190

  1,740

  5 to 10

  230

  910

  510

  200

  140

  1,990

  11 to 15

  270

  970

  630

  240

  170

  2,280

  16 or over

  90

  340

  260

  130

  110

  930

  All

  720

  2,880

  1,910

  810

  610

  6,940

  1. Results are based on the 1992 and 1993 family expenditure surveys.

  2. All prices are given at January 1993 levels.

  3. Estimates are derived from survey data and are subject to sampling error. Figures are shown to the nearest 10000 benefit units, and £5 million. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

  4. Income is adjusted for family size (equivalised) using the McClements scale. For example, to have a similar standard of living as a couple without children with an income of £100, a single person would need an income of £61 and a couple with two children aged 5 to 7 years would need £141.

  Child benefit and one-parent benefit expenditure by household equivalised net income and age of eldest child in the United Kingdom, (£ million pa), 1992–93

  Household equivalised net income (per week)

  Age of eldest child

  £0to £100

  £100.01 to £200

  £200.01 to £300

  £300.01 to £400

  £400.01 and above

  All

  under 5

  100

  475

  325

  140

  115

  1,160

  5 to 10

  230

  905

  450

  180

  120

  1,880

  11 to 15

  295

  980

  540

  205

  140

  2,160

  16 or over

  105

  330

  205

  100

  80

  820

  All

  735

  2,685

  1,515

  625

  460

  6,020

  1. Results are based on the 1992 and 1993 family expenditure surveys.

  2. All prices are given at January 1993 levels.

  3. Estimates are derived from survey data and are subject to sampling error. Figures are shown to the nearest 10,000 benefit units, and £5 million. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

  4. Income is adjusted for family size (equivalised) using the McClements scale. For example, to have a similar standard of living as a couple without children with an income of £100, a single person would need an income of £61 and a couple with two children aged 5 to 7 years would need £141.

  Benefit Deductions
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households, from data taken for the annual statistical inquiry, in 1993, 1994 and 1995, are having weekly deductions made from their supplementary benefit or income support as appropriate, for(a) electricity and (b) gas (i) of under £2 per week and (ii) in each £1 band above £2 per week up to £50 per week. [33620]

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.
  599
  Numbers have been given, as requested, in £1 bands for deductions in excess of £2 per week, but only to a deduction level of £23 for gas and £24 for electricity. All higher amounts are banded together as numbers are too small to break down accurately.

  Cases with gas deductions

  £

  May 1993

  May 1994

  May 1995

  All cases

  204,000

  231,000

  214,000

  Under 2.00

  1,000

  1,000

  1,000

  2.00–2.99

  2,000

  1,000

  1,000

  3.00–3.99

  4,000

  4,000

  3,000

  4.00–4.99

  7,000

  7,000

  6,000

  5.00–5.99

  12,000

  14,000

  10,000

  6.00–6.99

  19,000

  20,000

  16,000

  7.00–7.99

  24,000

  26,000

  21,000

  8.00–8.99

  25,000

  29,000

  25,000

  9.00–9.99

  26,000

  30,000

  25,000

  10.00–10.99

  26,000

  31,000

  31,000

  11.00–11.99

  18,000

  20,000

  20,000

  12.00–12.99

  13,000

  15,000

  17,000

  13.00–13.99

  8,000

  10,000

  12,000

  14.00–14.99

  6,000

  8,000

  8,000

  15.00–15.99

  4,000

  4,000

  6,000

  16.00–16.99

  3,000

  4,000

  4,000

  17.00–17.99

  2,000

  2,000

  3,000

  18.00–18.99

  1,000

  2,000

  2,000

  19.00–19.99

  1,000

  1,000

  1,000

  20.00–20.99

  —

  1,000

  1,000

  21.00–21.99

  —

  1,000

  1,000

  22.00–22.99

  —

  1,000

  1,000

  23.00–50.00

  —

  1,000

  1,000

  Notes:

  1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand. Due to rounding, the totals may not tally.

  2. Sample size: 1 in 20.

  3. "—" denotes nil or negligible.

  4. No annual inquiries have been produced since 1993. Data are therefore taken from quarterly inquiries for 1994 and 1995.

  5. There will be cases where deductions are made in respect of both gas and electricity. These cases will be counted in both the gas and electricity deduction tables.

  Sources:

  Income support annual inquiry 1993.

  Income support quarterly inquiries May 1994 and May 1995.

  Cases with electricity deductions

  £

  May 1993

  May 1994

  May 1995

  All cases

  76,000

  74,000

  71,000

  Under 2.00

  —

  —

  —

  2.00–2.99

  2,000

  1,000

  1,000

  3.00–3.99

  2,000

  2,000

  2,000

  4.00–4.99

  4,000

  3,000

  3,000

  5.00–5.99

  5,000

  5,000

  5,000

  6.00–6.99

  7,000

  7,000

  6,000

  7.00–7.99

  8,000

  8,000

  7,000

  8.00–8.99

  7,000

  8,000

  7,000

  9.00–9.99

  7,000

  6,000

  6,000

  10.00–10.99

  6,000

  7,000

  6,000

  11.00–11.99

  4,000

  5,000

  5,000

  12.00–12.99

  5,000

  4,000

  4,000

  13.00–13.99

  3,000

  3,000

  3,000

  14.00–14.99

  3,000

  3,000

  3,000

  15.00–15.99

  2,000

  2,000

  2,000

  16.00–16.99

  2,000

  2,000

  2,000

  17.00–17.99

  2,000

  2,000

  2,000

  18.00–18.99

  1,000

  2,000

  1,000

  19.00–19.99

  1,000

  1,000

  1,000

  20.00–20.99

  1,000

  1,000

  1,000

  21.00–21.99

  —

  1,000

  1,000

  22.00–22.99

  1,000

  1,000

  1,000

  600

  Cases with electricity deductions

  £

  May 1993

  May 1994

  May 1995

  23.00–23.99

  —

  1,000

  —

  24.00–50.00

  2,000

  2,000

  2,000

  Notes:

  1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand. Due to rounding, the totals may not tally.

  2. Sample size: 1 in 20.

  3. "—" denotes nil or negligible.

  4. No annual inquiries have been produced since 1993. Data are therefore taken from quarterly inquiries for 1994 and 1995.

  5. There will be cases where deductions are made in respect of both gas and electricity. These cases will be counted in both the gas and electricity deduction tables.

  Sources:

  Income support annual inquiry 1993.

  Appeals Tribunals (Bradford)
  Mr. Rooney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what consultations have taken place on the operation of social security appeals tribunals in Bradford; [33723]

  (2) what proposals he has in respect of social security appeals tribunals in Bradford. [33724]

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The administrative arrangements for social security appeals tribunals is the responsibility of the independent tribunal service, which has been asked to write to the hon. Member.

  Mr. Rooney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals have been heard at Bradford social security appeals tribunals for each of the last five years. [33725]

  Mr. Evans
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.

  Social security appeal tribunal hearings in Bradford

  Year

  Actual number of appeals heard

  Approximate number of appeals heard1

  1991–92

  —

  900

  1992–93

  —

  900

  1993–94

  —

  750

  1994–95

  —

  750

  1995–96

  1,055

  —

  ' The independent tribunal service does not keep detailed records for periods before the previous financial year.

  Next Steps Agency
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number of people employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32739]

  Mr. Burt
  The information is in the table.
  601

  Benefits Agency

  Contributions Agency

  Child Support Agency

  Information Technology Services Agency

  War Pensions Agency

  Total

  Grade

  M

  F

  M

  F

  M

  F

  M

  F

  M

  F

  M

  F

  1–4

  7

  3

  0

  1

  0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  0

  8

  5

  5

  28

  5

  3

  0

  3

  0

  6

  0

  5

  0

  45

  5

  6

  222

  92

  11

  0

  6

  1

  16

  3

  23

  10

  278

  106

  7

  227

  62

  28

  5

  18

  9

  81

  10

  4

  1

  358

  87

  SEO

  484

  168

  111

  49

  46

  42

  199

  56

  10

  4

  850

  319

  HEO

  1,696

  1,436

  338

  251

  186

  200

  330

  188

  24

  33

  2,574

  2,108

  EO

  7,429

  12,865

  989

  1,406

  623

  1,414

  422

  249

  104

  245

  9,567

  16,179

  AO

  10,151

  30,311

  927

  2,473

  1,022

  2,716

  129

  165

  127

  359

  12,356

  36,024

  AA

  2,836

  5,974

  297

  1,026

  246

  535

  16

  21

  64

  152

  3,459

  770

  Spec/Pes

  0

  77

  0

  0

  0

  13

  0

  26

  0

  3

  0

  119

  Typist

  3

  683

  0

  1

  0

  13

  0

  4

  0

  70

  3

  771

  SM1

  1

  1

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  SM2

  2

  3

  1

  0

  0

  0

  1

  0

  0

  2

  4

  6

  SM3

  1

  18

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1

  1

  0

  0

  2

  19

  SGB1

  163

  143

  16

  18

  4

  0

  7

  1

  0

  0

  190

  162

  SGB2

  814

  394

  0

  0

  22

  1

  17

  41

  0

  4

  853

  440

  PROF

  3

  129

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  3

  129

  OTHERS

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  6

  32

  6

  32

  IND

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  7

  21

  7

  21

  Total

  24,067

  52,364

  2,721

  5,230

  2,176

  4,946

  1,226

  765

  374

  936

  30,564

  64,241

  76,431

  7,951

  7,122

  1,991

  1,310

  94,805

  1 Staff numbers quotes refer to staff in post figures based on a quarterly head count on 1 April 1996.

  2 The figures include temporarily promoted staff in the higher grade and fixed-term appointments.

  Severe Hardship Payments
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young people aged 16 to 19 were receiving severe hardship payments for each year since 1992. [32586]

  Mr. Roger Evans
  The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.

  Year

  Number of directions made

  1992

  83,406

  1993

  118,528

  1994

  111,797

  1995

  111,523

  1. Severe hardship payments are made only to 16 and l7-year-olds who are registered for youth training and would otherwise suffer severe hardship. Access to benefit is via a direction made by the Secretary of State, normally for a period of eight weeks. If the 16 and 17-year-old is still at risk of severe hardship when the direction ends, he or she can apply for a further direction. Information is available only on the number of directions made, not the number of individuals.

  2. Since 1988, the Government have further encouraged unemployed 16 and 17-year-olds to take the more positive option of youth training in place of dependence on benefit. Young people over the age of 18 have access to unemployment benefits as adults.

  Departmental Efficiency Targets
  Mr. Sweeney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received about the feasibility of his plans to increase the efficiency of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [34098]

  Mr. Lilley
  I have received a number of representations about my programme to increase the efficiency of my Department by 25 per cent. A number of projects are already under way which will contribute to the achievement of this target including the redevelopment of 602
  the Department's Newcastle estate to provide significant savings in running costs while improving the working environment for staff through the involvement of the private sector.

  Following the submission of proposals from three shortlisted suppliers, I am pleased to announce that a consortium consisting of AMEC Developments Ltd. and Building Property and Facilities Management has been selected as the preferred supplier to develop the Newcastle estate. Detailed negotiations will commence immediately and I expect a major contract under the private finance initiative to be signed later this year.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Elections (Postal and Proxy Votes)
  Mr. Robert McCartney
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will state, by constituency, the number of absent postal and proxy votes allowed in the 30 May elections and the equivalents figures in the 1992 general election. [32077]

  Mr. Ancram
  The figures are in the table.

  Number of postal papers allowed and issued

  Number of proxy votes allowed and issued

  Constituency

  1992

  1996

  1992

  1996

  Belfast, East

  486

  634

  195

  178

  Belfast, North

  374

  566

  241

  180

  Belfast, South

  675

  621

  181

  149

  Belfast, West

  443

  458

  271

  235

  North Antrim

  831

  1,105

  201

  163

  South Antrim

  676

  698

  286

  241

  East Antrim

  706

  575

  296

  228

  603

  Number of postal papers allowed and issued

  Number of proxy votes allowed and issued

  Constituency

  1992

  1996

  1992

  1996

  North Down

  755

  713

  293

  190

  South Down

  4,166

  2,115

  1,192

  555

  East Londonderry

  2,010

  1,517

  399

  275

  Fermanagh and South Tyrone

  5,417

  4,336

  430

  638

  Foyle

  1,285

  1,081

  246

  200

  Lagan Valley

  844

  1,065

  260

  195

  Mid-Ulster

  3,245

  2,676

  393

  443

  Newry and Armagh

  3,384

  2,174

  195

  349

  Strangford

  698

  872

  240

  180

  Upper Bann

  1,587

  1,546

  266

  178

  West Tyrone

  n/a

  1,913

  n/a

  410

  Totals

  27,582

  24,665

  5,585

  4,987

  Motorway Lighting
  Mr. Frank Field
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the location of the sections of motorway in Northern Ireland that have overhead lighting by parliamentary constituency; and if he will plot this information on a map and place a copy in the Library. [33038]

  Name of body

  Number of appointments

  Administered by

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Drainage Council for Northern Ireland

  18

  —

  —

  Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland

  Agricultural Wages Board

  15

  —

  15

  "

  Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority

  5

  2

  1

  "

  Pig Production Development Committee

  4

  3

  2

  "

  Livestock and Meat Commission

  3

  1

  3

  "

  Fisheries Conservancy Board

  2

  2

  2

  "

  Foyle Fisheries Commission

  —

  —

  2

  "

  Construction Industry Training Board

  —

  —

  —

  Department of Economic Development for Northern Ireland

  Enterprise Ulster

  —

  8

  7

  "

  Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland

  3

  2

  4

  "

  Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland

  2

  4

  3

  "

  General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland

  8

  —

  4

  "

  Labour Relations Agency

  1

  6

  2

  "

  Local Enterprise Development Unit

  4

  4

  2

  "

  Northern Ireland Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members

  —

  —

  1

  "

  Northern Ireland Commissioner for the Protection Against

  —

  —

  1

  "

  Unlawful Industrial Action

  Northern Ireland Tourist Board

  2

  5

  1

  "

  Ulster Sheltered Employment Ltd.

  2

  4

  —

  "

  Committees for the Employment of Disabled People

  1

  4

  —

  "

  Health and Safety Agency for Northern Ireland

  10

  —

  —

  "

  Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland

  1

  5

  6

  "

  Industrial Research and Technology Board

  1

  1

  12

  "

  Statistics Advisory Committee

  —

  —

  10

  "

  Training and Employment Agency (Advisory Board)

  11

  1

  1

  "

  Fair Employment Tribunal

  5

  1

  54

  "

  Northern Ireland Industrial Court

  9

  1

  0

  "

  Northern Ireland Industrial Tribunals

  12

  10

  166

  "

  Scheme of Compensation for Loss of Employment through Civil Unrest

  2

  0

  1

  "

  Law Reform Advisory Committee

  5

  —

  1

  Department of Finance and Personnel

  Citizen's Charter Advisory Panel

  —

  —

  7

  "

  Northern Ireland Economic Council

  5

  1

  4

  "

  Statute Law Council

  6

  1

  1

  "

  Historic Buildings Council

  —

  14

  —

  Department of Environment for Northern Ireland

  Historic Monuments Council

  —

  —

  14

  "

  Nature Conservation and the Countryside

  —

  —

  16

  "

  Northern Ireland Housing Executive

  5

  6

  9

  "

  Housing Benefit Review Board Panels

  —

  —

  54

  "

  604
  Mr. Moss
  Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Roads Service under its chief executive, Mr. W. McCoubrey. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

  Civil Servants (Duties Abroad)
  Mr. Donohoe
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent during the financial years 1994–95 and 1995–96 on sending civil servants accompanying Ministers from his Department on official duties abroad. [32421]

  Sir John Wheeler
  The Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments' expenditure on sending civil servants accompanying Ministers is as follows:

  1994–95: £47,825

  1995–96: £86,659

  Public Appointments
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many appointments are made to non-departmental and other public bodies in Northern Ireland annually; by which Departments these public bodies are administered; and how many of these appointments are annual. [32918]

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information is as follows:
  605

  Name of body

  Number of appointments

  Administered by

  1993–94

  1994–95

  1995–96

  Rent Assessment Panel

  33

  —

  —

  "

  NITHC/Belfast Harbour Commissioners/Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners

  3

  20

  11

  "

  Planning Appeals Commission

  5

  —

  3

  "

  Fire Authority for Northern Ireland

  16

  1

  1

  "

  Northern Ireland Operator and Vehicle Licensing Review Body

  5

  1

  —

  "

  Northern Ireland Water Council

  15

  —

  —

  "

  Northern Ireland Local Government Officer's Superannuation Committee

  —

  —

  17

  "

  Local Government Staff Commission

  15

  1

  —

  "

  The Laganside Corporation

  —

  1

  10

  "

  Arts Council of Northern Ireland

  15

  —

  15

  Department of Education (Northern Ireland)

  Council for Catholic Maintained Schools

  4

  1

  3

  "

  Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment

  18

  —

  —

  "

  Northern Ireland Higher Education Council

  12

  3

  —

  "

  Sports Council for Northern Ireland

  16

  —

  —

  "

  Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

  4

  1

  2

  "

  Ulster Museum

  3

  3

  1

  "

  Youth Council for Northern Ireland

  6

  —

  14

  "

  Northern Ireland Museum Council

  3

  —

  —

  "

  Staff Commission for the Education and Library Boards

  13

  —

  —

  "

  Belfast Education and Library Board

  37

  2

  1

  "

  North Eastern Education and Library Board

  35

  1

  2

  "

  South Eastern Education and Library Board

  36

  3

  5

  "

  Southern Education and Library Board

  36

  2

  2

  "

  Western Education and Library Board

  33

  2

  —

  "

  Mental Heath Commission for Northern Ireland

  2

  9

  —

  Department of Health and Social Services

  National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for Northern Ireland

  10

  —

  4

  "

  Northern Ireland Council for Post Graduate Medical and Dental Education

  7

  —

  17

  "

  Advisory Committee of the Therapeutic Professions Allied to Medicine

  —

  4

  —

  "

  Central Dental Advisory Committee

  —

  7

  1

  "

  Central Medical Advisory Committee

  3

  3

  8

  "

  Central Nursing Advisory Committee

  11

  —

  6

  "

  Central Personal Social Services Advisory Committee

  —

  6

  —

  "

  Charities Advisory Committee

  1

  2

  2

  "

  Clinical Engineering and Medical Physics Services Advisory Committee

  —

  7

  —

  "

  Clinical Imaging Services Advisory Committee

  3

  3

  4

  "

  Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board for Northern Ireland

  —

  —

  16

  "

  Distinction and Meritorious Services Awards Committee

  1

  6

  3

  "

  Laboratory Services Advisory Committee

  6

  1

  6

  "

  Poisons Board

  —

  —

  10

  "

  Child Support Appeal Tribunals (CSATs)

  280

  280

  130

  "

  Disability Appeal Tribunals (DATs)

  149

  15

  29

  "

  Medical Appeal Tribunals (MATs)

  85

  26

  —

  "

  Mental Health Review Tribunal for Northern Ireland

  1

  —

  20

  "

  Registered Homes Tribunal

  31

  —

  —

  "

  Social Security Appeal Tribunals

  9

  402

  105

  "

  Tribunal Under Schedule 11 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972

  10

  —

  —

  "

  Eastern Health and Social Services Board

  2

  2

  5

  "

  Northern Health and Social Services Board

  3

  —

  3

  "

  Southern Health and Social Services Board

  3

  1

  6

  "

  Western Health and Social Services Board

  3

  —

  4

  "

  Eastern Health and Social Services Council

  20

  3

  10

  "

  Northern Health and Social Services Council

  17

  2

  8

  "

  Southern Health and Social Services Council

  17

  —

  9

  "

  Western Health and Social Services Council

  16

  —

  11

  "

  Health and Social Services Trusts

  31

  12

  17

  "

  Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Services Agency

  —

  —

  3

  "

  Northern Ireland Central Services Agency

  1

  —

  7

  "

  Northern Ireland Health Promotion Agency

  2

  7

  13

  "

  Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency

  —

  2

  —

  "

  Central Services Agency (CSA)

  —

  —

  5

  "

  Probation Board for Northern Ireland

  —

  13

  —

  Northern Ireland Office

  Rathgael and Whiteabbey Training Schools Management Board

  —

  —

  12

  606 607
  The number of appointments for a term of one year is as follows:
  Historic Monuments Council—the appointment of 14 members in 1995–96 was for one year as a transitional arrangement. Appointments are usually for a three-year term.
  Nature Conservation and the Countryside—the appointment of 16 members in 1995–96 was for one year only as a transitional arrangement. Appointments are usually for a three-year term.
  Northern Ireland Housing Executive—Three appointments are on an annual basis.

  Child Support Appeal Tribunals (CSARs)

  Disability Appeal Tribunals (DATs)

  Medical Appeal Tribunals (MATs)

  Social Security Appeal Tribunals (SSATs)

  Appointments to the above tribunals are initially for one year, and thereafter renewable at three-yearly intervals, provided service is satisfactory. In 1995, 82 medical assessors were appointed for one year for SSATs. They are not members, but provide advice on medical interpretation as required by the tribunals.
  Central Medical Advisory Committee—a representative from the Northern Ireland Junior Doctor's Committee of the British Medical Association is appointed annually.

  Statistics
  Mr. Fisher
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which statistics his Department has discontinued(a) the collection and (b) the publication of since 1989. [32862]

  Sir John Wheeler
  Changes in the basis of compilation, presentation and publication of statistical series are made from time to time in response to the requirements of the Government and international organisations for statistical information. Other changes reflect changes in administrative systems on which some series are based, the development of new statistical techniques are technological developments affecting the compilation and dissemination of statistical data.

  When such changes are made, they are normally documented in the relevant statistical publications.

  Public Appointments (Salaries)
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the salaries of those members of non-departmental or other public bodies in Northern Ireland who occupy salaried positions. [32916]

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information is as follows:

  £

  Body

  Chairman

  Vice

  Members

  Law Reform Advisory Committee

  —

  —

  2,360

  Citizens' Charter Advisory Panel Northern Ireland Economic Council

  7,500

  —

  5,000

  Northern Ireland Economic Council

  17,670

  —

  3,550

  Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights

  8,550

  —

  —

  Livestock and Meat Commission

  12,884

  —

  4,818

  Fisheries Conservancy Board

  3,510

  2,715

  —

  Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority

  4,675

  —

  2,820

  Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Honoraria)

  12,093

  4,031

  —

  Council for Catholic Maintained Schools

  4,200

  —

  —

  Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (Honorarium)

  8,790

  —

  —

  608

  £

  Body

  Chairman

  Vice

  Members

  Northern Ireland Education Council (Honorarium)

  8,726

  —

  —

  Sports Council for Northern Ireland (Honoraria)

  10,146

  3,382

  —

  Youth Council for Northern Ireland (Honoraria)

  4,555

  3,430

  —

  Staff Commission for Education and Library Boards

  5,075

  —

  —

  Belfast Education and Library Board

  4,675

  —

  —

  Northern Eastern Education and Library Board

  4,675

  —

  —

  South Eastern Education and Library Board

  4,675

  —

  —

  Southern Eduation and Library Board

  4,675

  —

  —

  Western Education and Library Board

  4,675

  —

  —

  Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside

  7,010

  4,690

  —

  Northern Ireland Transport Holding Co. (NITHC)

  23,170

  —

  7,740

  Northern Ireland Housing Executive

  29,255

  11,710

  4,840

  Langanside Corporation

  22,760

  11,380

  7,585

  Local Government Staff Commission

  7,518

  —

  —

  Planning Appeals Commission

  50,814

  49,681

  37,107–38,721

  Fire Authority for Northern Ireland

  15,560

  7,780

  —

  Royal Group of Hospitals and Dental Hospital HSS Trust

  19,285

  —

  —

  Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust

  19,285

  —

  —

  Down Lisburn HSS Trust

  19,285

  —

  —

  South and East Belfast HSS Trust

  19,285

  —

  —

  Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust

  17,145

  —

  —

  Green Park HSS Trust

  17,145

  —

  —

  Ulster, North Down and Ards Hospitals HSS Trust

  17,145

  —

  —

  North and West Belfast HSS Trust

  17,145

  —

  —

  Craigavon and Banbridge Community HSS Trust

  17,145

  —

  —

  Newry and Mourne HSS Trust

  17,145

  —

  —

  Eastern Ambulance Service HSS Trust

  15,125

  —

  —

  North Down and Ards Community HSS Trust

  15,125

  —

  —

  Mater Infirmorum Hospital HSS Trust

  15,125

  —

  —

  Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSS Trust

  15,125

  —

  —

  Mental Health Commission for Northern Ireland

  10,125

  —

  —

  National Board for Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors for Northern Ireland

  21,100

  —

  —

  Child Support Appeal Tribunals (CSATs)

  159,800

  172,519

  —

  Disability Appeal Tribunals (DATs)

  159,800

  172,519

  —

  Medical Appeal Tribunals (MATs) Social Security Appeal Tribunals (SSATs)

  159,800

  172,519

  —

  Eastern Health and Social Services Board

  22,600

  —

  5,000

  Northern Health and Social Services Board

  14,835

  —

  5,000

  Southern Health and Social Services Board

  14,835

  —

  5,000

  Western Health and Social Services Board

  14,835

  —

  5,000

  Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service Agency

  6,000

  —

  1,500

  Northern Ireland Health Promotion Agency

  7,200

  —

  —

  Northern Ireland Regional Medical Physics Agency

  6,000

  —

  1,500

  Construction Industry Training Board

  6,000

  —

  —

  Enterprise Ulster

  14,975

  —

  —

  Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland

  43,000

  4,610

  3,640

  Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland

  52,550

  —

  4,620

  609

  £

  Body

  Chairman

  Vice

  Members

  General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland

  18,825

  —

  6,085

  Labour Relations Agency

  17,500

  —

  3,640

  Local Enterprise Development Unit

  18,125

  —

  6,085

  Northern Ireland Commissioner for the Rights of Trade Union Members

  6,625

  —

  —

  Northern Ireland Tourist Board

  26,470

  —

  5,095

  Health and Safety Agency for Northern Ireland

  11,074

  —

  —

  Industrial Development Board for Northern Ireland

  33,130

  —

  5,980

  Industrial Research and Technology Board

  7,976

  —

  3,513

  Training and Employment Agency (Advisory Board)

  22,365

  —

  4,065

  Northern Ireland Industrial Tribunals

  62,018 (President 88,266)

  75,978 Vice-President

  1 Joint appointments.

  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people of the Northern Ireland Office central list in the public appointments unit(a) currently serve on more than one non-departmental or other public body, (b) have never served on a non-departmental or other public body and currently do not and (c) have previously served on a non-departmental or other public body and no longer do so. [32917]

  Sir John Wheeler
  In respect of those currently appointed to public bodies, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Strangford (Mr. Taylor),Official Report, column 740. No changes have occurred since that date. The other information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  RUC Chief Constable
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the service criteria and qualifications which he and the Police Authority will be applying in selecting the next Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. [32521]

  Sir John Wheeler
  In accordance with the provisions of section 7 of the Police Act (Northern Ireland) 1970, the appointment of the Chief Constable of the RUC is a matter for the Police Authority for Northern Ireland, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State.

  I understand that, in relation to the appointment of the next Chief Constable of the RUC, the service criteria and qualifications decided upon by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland are set out in the public advertisement. They include:

  (a) to have served in the chief officer grades for at least three years;

  (b) to be suitable on medical grounds for the post;

  (c) to have served at chief officer level in a constabulary with a substantial complement of officers;

  (d) to have successfully completed the senior command course or the strategic leadership development programme or the chief police officers' course; and

  (e) to have relevant experience of operational policing, policy, planning and resource management at chief officer level and have displayed the capacity for leadership and vision essential to the demands of the post.

  610
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what different criteria apply to the appointment of the Chief Constable of the RUC from the appointment of chief constables elsewhere in the United Kingdom. [32522]

  Sir John Wheeler
  The criteria used for the appointment of chief constables in other parts of the United Kingdom are a matter for each individual police authority at the time of appointment. There is therefore no single comparator which could be used to identify differences in the criteria applied to the appointment of the Chief Constable of the RUC.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes in the service criteria and service qualifications in the appointment of the Chief Constable of the RUC have been made since(a) 1969 and (b) 1989. [32523]

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information relating to appointments in 1969 is not available as records relating to that period cannot be traced.

  In 1989, candidates for appointment to the post of Chief Constable of the RUC were required to:

  (a) have achieved a high level of all-round professional competence;

  (b) have held a post at chief officer level in a force with a minimum of 1,000 officers;

  (c) (i) have experience of a wide range of police post at command level which should desirably include operations, administration, personnel and financial management; and

  (ii) policing communities with complex social problems;

  (d) have proven ability to manage resources both financial and personnel;

  (e) have demonstrated the ability to be a team builder and have an understanding of the type of problems experienced in Northern Ireland.

  Comparison of these with the service criteria and service qualifications required today indicates no substantive changes.

  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what factors underlay the delay in publishing the criteria for the appointment of the Chief Constable of the RUC. [32524]

  Sir John Wheeler
  I an not aware of any delay in the Police Authority for Northern Ireland's publication of the criteria for the appointment of the Chief Constable of the RUC.

  Mr. Deva
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he plans to lay before the House the annual report for 1995 of the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. [34077]

  Sir Patrick Mayhew
  Copies of the Chief Constable's annual report 1995 have today been placed in the Library. It is a general report on the carrying out by the RUC of its functions during 1995, which is submitted to the Police Authority for Northern Ireland and transmitted to me for laying before Parliament in accordance with section 15 of the Police Act (Northern Ireland) 1970.

  Next Steps Agencies
  Ms Jowell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total number of people
  611
  employed by each of the next steps agencies under his Department's control; how many of those employees are women; and at what civil service or equivalent grades they are employed. [32737]

  Sir John Wheeler
  The information requested for the agencies under the Northern Ireland Office and Northern Ireland Departments is listed:

  Agency

  Total staff

  Female staff

  Grades of female staff (all grades include analogous ranks)

  Valuation and Lands Agency

  311

  108

  17 Staff Officer (SO)

  3 Executive Officer (EOI)

  9 Executive Officer II

  (EOII)

  48 Administrative Officer (AO)

  31 Administrative Assistant (AA)

  Government Purchasing Agency

  58

  26

  1 Deputy Principal (DP)

  5 SO

  1 EOI

  7 EOII

  12 AO

  Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

  122

  69

  1 Grade 7

  9 DP

  8 SO

  3 EOI

  6 EOII

  29 AO

  13 AA

  Forensic Science Agency of Northern Ireland

  123

  48

  11 DP

  3.5 SO

  8.5 EO

  17 AO

  1 Support Grade Band 1 (SGB1)

  7 Support Grade Band 2 (SGB2)

  Training and Employment Agency

  1,377

  674

  2 Grade 7

  18 DP

  24 SO

  171 EOI

  111 EOII

  255 AO

  1 SGB1

  5SGB2

  86 AA

  1 Industrial

  Industrial Research and Technology Unit

  158

  55

  1 Grade 7 2 DP

  5 SO

  2 EOI

  15 EOII

  24 AO

  2SGB2

  4 AA

  Northern Ireland Prison Service

  3,676

  530

  3 Grade 6

  6 Grade 7

  6 DP

  16 SO

  27 EOI

  25 EOII

  78 AO

  47 AA

  2SG2

  612

  Agency

  Total staff

  Female staff

  Grades of female staff (all grades include analogous ranks)

  1 Governor 4

  2 Governor 5

  4 Principal Prison Officer

  12 Senior Prison Officer

  174 Basic Grade Prison Officer

  5 Organist

  17 Auxiliary Officer

  15 Searchers

  1 Night Patrol Officer

  23 Cleaner

  Compensation Agency

  124

  79.5

  2.5 Grade 6

  3.5 Grade 7

  1 SO

  4 EOI

  18 EOII

  22.5 AO

  27 AA

  1 Other

  Child Support Agency

  1,097

  671

  2 Grade 7

  3 DP

  12 SO

  15 EOI

  109 EOII

  401 AO

  129 AA

  Social Security Agency

  5,826

  3,817

  3 Grade 7

  14 DP

  58 SO

  211 EOI

  785 EOII

  1,751 AO

  995 AA

  Health Estates Agency

  126

  30

  1 Grade 7

  1 DP

  1 SO

  3 EOI

  4 EOII

  10 AO

  10 AA

  Construction Service

  720

  143

  1 Grade 7

  6 DP

  4 SO

  10 EOI

  16 EOII

  64 AO

  7 SGB2

  35 AA

  Planning Service

  417

  182

  3 Grade 7

  7 DP

  20 SO

  23 EOI

  16 EOII

  65 AO

  10 SGB2

  38 AA

  Roads Service

  2,354

  412

  1 Grade 7

  3 DP

  18 SO

  33 EOI

  59 EOII

  179 AO

  14 SGB2

  100 AA

  5 Industrial Staff

  613

  Agency

  Total staff

  Female staff

  Grades of female staff (all grades include analogous ranks)

  Water Service

  2,398

  358

  1 Grade 7

  5 DP

  15 SO

  21 EOI

  59 EOII

  4 ASO

  185 AO

  185 AO

  8 SGB2

  58 AA

  2 Industrial Staff

  Environment and Heritage Service

  380

  131

  1 Grade 6

  1 Grade 7

  14 DP

  15 SO

  8 EOI

  20 EOII

  31 AO

  3 SGB2

  25 AA

  13 Industrial Staff

  Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency

  321

  95

  1 DP

  1 SO

  3 EOI

  4 EOII

  51 AO

  35 AA

  Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland

  256

  194

  4 SO

  6 EOI

  15 EOII

  111 AO

  58 AA

  Land Registers Northern Ireland

  224

  149

  1 Grade 6

  4 DP

  10 SO

  4 EOI

  25 EOII

  82 AO

  8 SGB2

  15 AA

  Public Records Office Northern Ireland

  81

  31

  2 Grade 7

  1 DP

  2 SO

  4 EOI

  1 EOII

  14 AO

  2 SGB 2

  5 AA

  Rate Collection Agency

  261

  163

  1 DP

  6 SO

  6 EOI

  19 EOII

  121 AO

  4SGB2

  6 AA

  Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

  192

  22

  1 SO

  11 EOI

  2 EOII

  6 AO

  2 AA

  Non-general service grades have been included with the figures for the equivalent general service grade.
  614

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Tyler
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the number of confirmed BSE cases Water Service Grade 7 in each of the last 36 months. [33307]

  Mr. Ancram
  [holding answer 18 June 1996]: The numbers of cases in the last 36 months are as follows:

  1993

  29

  32

  46

  28

  38

  45

  69

  1994

  52

  43

  49

  30

  11

  29

  21

  27

  28

  25

  29

  19

  1995

  21

  20

  16

  12

  12

  12

  13

  7

  14

  9

  21

  13

  1996

  13

  11

  14

  10

  4

  Copyright
  Mr. Maclennan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when his Department will enter discussions with the Copyright Licensing Agency with a view to ensuring compliance with copyright law. [33761]

  Sir John Wheeler
  No negotiations have yet taken place between the Northern Ireland civil service and the Copyright Licensing Agency.
  615

  Public Appointments
  Ms Mowlam
  To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are currently on the central list of the Northern Ireland Office public appointments unit for appointment to non-departmental and other public bodies. [32922]

  Sir John Wheeler
  [holding answer 18 June 1996]: The current number is 4,538.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

  Forest Enterprise (Disabled People)
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with Forest Enterprise regarding the continuing employment opportunities for people with disabilities in English woodlands previously owned by the Forestry Commission. [32370]

  Mr. Boswell
  While Forest Enterprise has no such responsibility for woodlands which it has sold, the new owners must comply with the statutory requirements for employing people with disabilities.

  Food Agency
  Mrs. Clwyd
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to set up an agency for food. [32371]

  Mr. Douglas Hogg
  No. Issues of food safety are best dealt with by the Government Department with responsibility for the whole food chain.

  Farming (Environmental Management)
  Mr. Thomason
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what programmes the Government have introduced to promote good environmental management by farmers; and what similar programmes were in existence in 1979. [32372]

  Mr. Boswell
  The Government's agri-environment programme provides a wide range of voluntary incentive schemes to encourage environmentally beneficial farming practices. There was no such programme in 1979.

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  Mr. Garnier
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to pay an official visit to Harborough to meet farming representatives to discuss BSE. [32374]

  Mrs. Browning
  I have no immediate plans to visit Harborough, but my colleague the Minister for Rural Affairs regularly meets the National Farmers Union county branch.

  Mr. Harry Greenway
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the costs of BSE measures. [32375]

  Mrs. Browning
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Southend, East (Sir T. Taylor).
  616
  Mr. Canavan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a further statement about the action he is taking on BSE. [32382]

  Mrs. Browning
  The UK Government have prepared a report setting out the detailed programme on which we are embarked to eradicate BSE in the United Kingdom. This report has been widely circulated at home and abroad and copies have been sent to all hon. Members.

  Food Safety
  Mr. Callaghan
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met consumer representatives to discuss measures to ensure the safety of food in the UK. [32376]

  Dr. Lynne Jones
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met consumer representatives to discuss measures to ensure the safety of food in the United Kingdom. [32389]

  Mrs. Browning
  The Minister held one of his regular meetings with the chairmen of consumer organisations on Wednesday 8 May. He also met the Consumers Association to discuss bovine spongiform encephalopathy on the same day.

  I met consumer organisations on 3 April and with the consumer panel on 25 April.

  Common Agricultural Policy
  Sir Sydney Chapman
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will report progress on reforming the community agricultural policy; and what further initiatives he intends to take. [32377]

  Sir Roger Moate
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what mechanisms are in place for taking forward proposals for fundamental reform of the common agricultural policy; when he expects there to be substantial negotiations about reform; and what is his target date for achieving such reforms. [33247]

  Mr. Baldry
  This Government very much welcome the Commission's acknowledgement that the CAP cannot remain as it is. At the Prime Minister's insistence, the Madrid European Council requested the Commission to come forward with more detailed ideas for reform and I expect to see these during the course of the year. Meanwhile, the Agriculture Council next week will address reform of the fruit and vegetables regimes.

  Countryside Stewardship Scheme
  Mrs. Lait
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to expand the countryside stewardship scheme. [32378]

  Mr. Boswell
  We are expanding the countryside stewardship scheme with £5 million additional funds for new agreements both this year and next year. A number of additional items will also be eligible for payment.

  Disability Discrimination Act 1995
  Mr. Touhig
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action is being taken to address the problem of discrimination against disabled
  617
  people in agriculture where the employer is not covered by the provisions of the Disability Discrimination act 1995. [32379]

  Mr. Boswell
  Employers not covered by the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will be encouraged to follow the guidance in the employment code of practice.

  Mr. Wareing
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action is being taken in respect of discrimination against disabled people in agriculture where the employer is not covered by the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [32387]

  Mr. Boswell
  Employers, including agricultural employers, who employ fewer than 20 employees are not covered by the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Such employers will be encouraged to follow the guidance in the employment code of practice. My noble Friend the Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment will be deciding when and how to promote this in due course.

  Cattle Cull Scheme
  Mr. Mark Robinson
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made in the implementation of the 30-month cow cull scheme. [32380]

  Mr. Baldry
  The scheme is now running at maximum throughput of 27,000 animals a week, taking into account the restrictions on rendering and incineration capacity.

  Mr. O'Hara
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to review the working of the over-30 month slaughter scheme. [32384]

  Mr. Baldry
  The scheme is under continuous review.

  Live Animal Exports
  Mrs. Bridget Prentice
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what new plans he has to safeguard the welfare of live animals exported from the United Kingdom. [32383]

  Mrs. Browning
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food gave to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Mr. Forman) on 22 May 1996,Official Report, column 211.

  Fishing Policy
  Mr. Michael Brown
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he next intends to discuss fishing matters with EC Commissioner Bonino. [32385]

  Mr. Baldry
  I most recently discussed fishing matters with Mrs. Bonino at the Fisheries Council on 10 June. No date has yet been fixed for our next discussion.

  Mr. Spearing
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what studies(a) he and (b) the Council of Agricultural and Fisheries Ministers of the European Community have commissioned in respect of the propagation and conservation policies adopted by Norway within their national territorial waters, and their possible adaptation for use by the European Community. [32388]
  618
  Mr. Baldry
  UK and other EU fisheries experts maintain close contact with their Norwegian counterparts and the measures applied by Norway: discussions take place on both a formal and an informal basis in various forums. No studies have been commissioned by the UK; nor, so far as we are aware, by the EU. However, Norway and the EU share concerns on the state of North sea stocks. Joint working groups are studying the issues with a view to improving management arrangements for jointly managed stocks. Equally, there are common interests in the production of salmon on which there are continuing contacts.

  Beef Ban
  Mr. Congdon
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his proposed timetable and procedure for the removal of the EU beef ban. [32386]

  Mrs. Browning
  We have already succeeded in removing any restrictions on the export of semen and on agreeing conditions for the export of gelatin and tallow. This is an important first step.

  Our policy on the next steps is to agree a framework which sets out clear and agreed conditions which have to be met to lift elements of the export ban and indicates the dates by which we expect to meet these criteria. Negotiations with our Community partners on this are proceeding and I will keep the House informed of progress.

  Fishing Fleet
  Mr. David Porter
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the current tonnage of the United Kingdom fishing fleet; how far this is from its targets under the multi-annual guidance programme; and if he will make a statement. [34076]

  Mr. Baldry
  Latest available figures from the UK register show the current nominal tonnage of the UK fishing fleet as 207,000 tonnes. This figures, which represents some vessels measured in gross registered tonnes and others measured in gross tonnes, compares with an overall target for the end of 1996 in our existing multi-annual guidance programme of 176,981 GRT. Figures published recently by the European Commission, ostensibly using GT units, show us at 247,198 tonnes as against a target of 209,370 tonnes.

  For a number of reasons, none of these figures give a correct picture of the actual position.

  The first reservation relates to the end 1996 target itself. This was set using provisional data for the size of the UK fleet as at the end of 1991. We now know that this failed to include a significant number of vessels, the effect of which is to overstate the degree of reduction which we need to achieve.

  The second reservation relates to the units of measurement used. Vessel tonnage is a volumetric measure which depends critically on the exact methodology. A valid comparison of fleet tonnage requires a consistent standard for the period in question. Consistency is, however, not readily achievable because the European Community is progressively altering the methodology used for the fishing fleet from the various

  619
  national and international standards, previously collectively called GRT, to a common standard based on the international tonnage convention 1969 and known as GT. A phased programme of conversion was introduced by Council regulation (EEC) 2930/86, amended in particular by Council regulation (EEC) 3259/94, using technical provisions laid down in Commission decision 95/84/EC. Copies of these instruments are available in the House library. This process is not due to be completed until 2003.

  There is no simple mathematical relationship between GRT and GT for any given vessel establishment of a GT figure can be done only by physical measurement or, in the case of smaller vessels, by the application of formulae designed to give an approximation. Moreover, although GT figures are often higher than GRT figures for the same vessel, the range of outcomes can be as low as 50 per cent. or as high as 300 per cent. of the original tonnage according to the individual vessel characteristics. It is therefore impossible to use general assumptions to convert either the end 1996 target, or the current nominal tonnage of our fleet, to a GT basis, since the true result will depend on the actual relationship between GRT and GT for each of the particular vessels included on each occasion. Thus conversion requires consideration of each individual vessel.

  The Commission's attempted conversion in their recent published figures noted above, does not allow for this and does not use procedures agreed by member states or laid down in EU law. Their figures cannot therefore be properly described as GT, nor can the relationship between them be assumed to be proportional to actual progress in reducing our fleet.
  620
  Detailed work is being carried out to arrive at an accurate assessment of the UK position—similar uncertainties arise in relation to the figures for other member states. But, because records relating to vessels already removed from the fleet are not always sufficient to enable GT equivalents to be determined, there will necessarily be a degree of imprecision. Similarly, some newer vessels will be measured only in GT and would need to be remeasured to arrive at a GRT figure. As things stand, it is not therefore possible to give a valid comparison of performance against target on either basis.

  These and other technical issues such as discrepancies between UK and Commission records of the number of vessels in our fleet, are being discussed bilaterally with the Commission. We are also passing full details of our calculations to it so that agreement can be reached on appropriate adjustments. The total impact of this technical review is quite substantial. Once completed and agreed, I anticipate we shall be within a handful of percentage points of our tonnage target.

  Dietary Supplements
  Dr. Marek
  To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at which Council of the European Union he expects the forthcoming draft directive on dietary supplements to be considered; and who will represent the United Kingdom at that Council. [33178]

  Mrs. Browning
  [holding answer on 17 June 1996]: If the EU Commission tables a draft directive on dietary supplements, we would expect it to be considered at the Internal Market Council. The UK is normally represented at such meetings by the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs, but other Ministers may attend if necessary.

  Beef Industry: Coopers & Lybrand Report
  Beef Industry: Coopers & Lybrand Report
  Beef in Intervention: Export
  Beef in Intervention: Export
  Beef Exports from EU
  Beef Exports from EU
  Beef: Lost Sales
  Beef: Lost Sales
  Nurse Numbers
  Nurse Numbers
  CJD and BSE: Evidence for Link
  CJD and BSE: Evidence for Link
  CJD in Young People: Post-mortem Diagnosis
  CJD in Young People: Post-mortem Diagnosis
  CJD: Comparison of Post-mortem Findings
  CJD: Comparison of Post-mortem Findings
  Prisoners: Religious Artefacts
  Prisoners: Religious Artefacts
  Education in Prisons: Central Management Information
  Education in Prisons: Central Management Information
  Cycling on Footpaths
  Cycling on Footpaths
  Boundary Commission Recommendations
  Boundary Commission Recommendations
  CCTV Challenge Competition
  CCTV Challenge Competition