Written Answers of 9 February 1998

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS

  Pride of Bilbao
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will publish the Marine Safety Agency's report into the recent crossing to Spain of the Pride of Bilbao. [24057]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  I have asked the Chief Executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Mr. R. M. Bradley to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 9 February 1998:
  The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your Question about the vessel "Pride of Bilbao".
  The MSA's findings on this matter were not in the form of an official report but a Note has been prepared summarising the sequence of events, the actions taken and our conclusions. A copy of this Note is enclosed; in view of the public interest a copy has also been sent to the Editor of the Portsmouth News.

  Note by the Marine Safety Agency
  Passenger Ferry Pride of Bilbao: Voyage in rough weather: Portsmouth-Bilbao 3–6 January 1998
  1. The Marine Safety Agency has followed up complaints received about the voyage of the Pride of Bilbao from Portsmouth to Bilbao, departing from Portsmouth on 3 January 1998. Inquiries have included a visit by a Marine Safety Agency surveyor to the ship, an interview with the Master and telephone discussions with a number of passengers. This note summarises the main findings.

  Pride of Bilbao
  2. The Pride of Balbao is a UK registered ro-ro passenger ferry, managed and operated by P & O European Ferries. It has a passenger certificate issued by the Marine Safety Agency entitling it to carry up to a maximum of 2,335 passengers and up to 220 crew. It operates principally on the route from Portsmouth to Bilbao, and is also used on the Portsmouth to Cherbourg crossing. The usual crossing time from Portsmouth to Bilbao is about 36 hours.
  3. In terms of weather and sea state, there are no operating restrictions placed on the vessel. It is fully capable of withstanding the most severe weather conditions. During the winter months, gale force winds and rough seas are a common occurrence on the Portsmouth to Bilbao crossing; the Bay of Biscay in particular is renowned for storms. The ship is fitted with stabilisers and normal precautions including lashing lorries and freight to ensure that they do not shift in heavy seas.

  Voyage on 3 January
  4. In advance of the sailing at 2000h on 3 January, the Master of the Pride of Bilbao, took account of the weather forecast information, in line with the usual practice. The forecast weather was for gale force winds for the proposed route; consequently, the crew were advised to take normal heavy weather precautions, including double lashing of lorries. At the beginning of the voyage the usual passenger sailing announcements were made; passengers were warned that the crossing would be rough and that they should proceed with care when moving around the vessel. There were some 800 passengers on board, together with cars, caravans and freight.
  2
  5. The Pride of Bilbao was due for drydocking immediately on its return from Spain. Since it was apparent that the voyage was likely to take longer than usual, the Master did discuss with P & O shore staff the question of whether the vessel should sail and agreed that it should continue as planned. However, this discussion related to scheduling the advice to passengers on the forecast conditions. No questions were raised as to whether it was safe to sail; that decision was left, as is proper, to the Master.
  6. At mid-day on 4 January the weather became more severe and the Master informed the passengers that he would be slowing down and slightly altering course to ease sailing conditions. Passengers were also informed that the outside upper deck doors would be secured to avoid them causing injury or being damaged by the strong winds. At its peak the storm reached force 11 to 12, with waves of 30 metres.
  7. At 0130 on 5 January passengers were informed that the ship would be resuming its usual course for Bilbao. It subsequently reached port at 0030 on 6 January; this was some 16.5 hours later than timetabled.
  8. Accident reports concerning injuries to people sustained during the voyage were submitted, the most serious being a broken arm. These are being considered by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch. 2 or 3 damage reports were filed for minor damage to cars. A foc's'le ladder came adrift; the piano was damaged and a plate glass window was crazed. Overall, damage to fittings was minor and no damage to the structure of the ship was sustained.

  Conclusions
  9. It is clear that the crossing on 3–6 January was very stormy and that many passengers found the rough seas exceptionally unpleasant. However, the Marine Safety Agency has concluded that the safety of the ship, its passengers and crew was not compromised by the decision to sail, which was taken in the knowledge that bad weather was forecast. Having interviewed the Master, the Agency is satisfied that he acted in a fully competent manner, in preparing for the voyage and during it, in accordance with the principles of good seamanship. There is no evidence that he was placed under any commercial pressure to sail against his judgment.

  Airprox Incident, Heathrow
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list those measures taken by NATS following their internal review of the Airprox incident at Heathrow airport on 15 April 1996. [27016]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  NATS have supplied the following details about measures taken in response to their internal review of the Airprox incident in question:Controller simulation training was modified—additional "go-around"' events were added to simulator training and a specific video on go-arounds in a parallel runway situation was included in classroom training;
  Controller competency requirements were modified to require controllers to practise regularly calls to the Terminal Control facility in the event of a go-around;
  The layout of the telephone indicator system was reviewed and found to be optimum.
  1 A "go around" occurs when a pilot either decides (in liaison with Air Traffic Control), or is instructed by Air Traffic Control, to pull out of one landing and is repositioned for a further approach.

  Belfast International Airport
  Mrs. Dunwoody
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he expects an SSR system to be introduced at Belfast International Airport; and what contingency plans he has in the event of late installation. [27015]
  3
  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The decision whether or not to provide Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) facilities at Belfast International Airport is a matter for the airport authority, Belfast International Airport Limited. I understand that the present plan is for an SSR system to be introduced in the summer of 1999, after the radar display system has been up-dated to handle SSR data.

  Millennium Compliance
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what advice has been given by IBM to the Civil Aviation Authority on the work required to ensure that core air traffic management systems will be millennium compliant; and if he will make a statement. [27872]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  In conjunction with IBM, National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS) has carried out extensive test and assessment programme on its IBM machines and has established that, within the context of their use in NATS, these machines represent a minimal risk with respect to the millennium.

  Remedial work on CAA and NATS systems to deal with the millennium bug problem should be completed by July 1998. The systems will then be subjected to validation tests. The testing of all operational systems, and non-operational systems with significant impact, is scheduled for completion by the end of 1998.

  Radioactive Waste
  Dr. Cable
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what action he is taking to ensure that low-level radioactive waste disposed of in landfills or by incineration or recycling under European Commission Council Directive 96/29/Euratom does not create a health hazard. [27473]

  Angela Eagle
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) on 19 January 1998,Official Report, column 376.

  Computer Systems
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list each major new computer system that(a) his Department, (b) non-departmental bodies and (c) agencies under his responsibility have purchased in the last five years; what was the initial purchase cost and what was the final cost; what was each system's (i) planned and (ii) actual date of commissioning; what major computer systems will be purchased by bodies in categories (a), (b) and (c) in the next financial year; and what is their estimated cost. [27842]

  Angela Eagle
  The information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  Tree Planting
  Mr. Cox
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what Government financial help is available to local authorities in England and Wales to encourage tree-planting schemes within their areas. [27635]
  4
  Angela Eagle
  Local authorities may plant trees themselves or support planting schemes carried out by others. Any financial help is given at the discretion of each local authority from resources available to them through the local government finance system. Authorities may also be eligible to apply for the Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant Scheme, which offers grant aid for the establishment and management of woodlands.

  In addition, local authorities may be partners in Government sponsored programmes which involve tree planting as part of a wider strategy to improve the local environment, such as the Community Forest Programme and the Single Regeneration Budget. They may also work with voluntary organisations supported financially by the Government to encourage tree planting (such as the Tree Council) or who are engaged in planting trees (such as Groundwork and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers).

  Hedges
  Jane Griffiths
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to amend building regulations to limit the height to which hedges and trees around residential property may be allowed to grow. [27503]

  Angela Eagle
  I am considering whether some form of Government intervention in relation to such hedges and trees is justified, but there are no powers to limit their height under building regulations, which apply only to the design and construction of buildings.

  Mottram Tintwistle By-pass
  Mr. Levitt
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what proportion of land on the proposed route of the A625/A57 Mottram Tintwistle by-pass is currently in the ownership of the Highways Agency. [27447]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  The Highways Agency owns 13 of the 15 properties which should have to be demolished to build the road. The rest of the land, about 40 hectares, would be acquired under compulsory purchase powers, following the completion of the statutory procedures, if the scheme goes ahead. The scheme is included in the strategic review of Trunk Roads, the results of which we aim to announce later this year.

  Regional Development Agencies
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent representations he has received on the structure of regional development agencies. [27686]

  Mr. Caborn
  Since the publication in December of the White Paper, "Building Partnerships for Prosperity", and of the Regional Development Agencies Bill, I have received a number of letters about various matters relating to RDAs. In addition, I have regularly had meetings with interested parties, both in London and in the regions, to hear at first hand what people think about our proposals.
  5

  Rail Investment
  Miss McIntosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on levels of investment planned by(a) Railtrack and (b) the private train operators in 1998. [27638]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  Railtrack publishes its levels of investment for the maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the network in an annual Network Management Statement. The next statement is expected in March. No organisation is currently responsible for monitoring the total investment levels planned by all train operators, though the Franchising Director monitors contractually committed investment. Our proposed Rail Authority will help to meet the need for proper strategic planning in the industry.

  Roads
  Mr. Pike
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has received from local authorities on the adequacy of funding for(a) outstanding maintenance work on local authority roads and (b) improvement of transport infrastructure to meet current needs. [27886]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  Since my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport announced the local transport capital settlement on 17 December 1997,Official Report, columns 198–99, my Department has received eight written representations from local authorities about, inter alia, the adequacy of funding for the structural maintenance of local authority roads. A further 11 written representations have been received about the funding of other transport capital infrastructure in the local transport capital settlement. Officials of the Government Offices of my Department have also held a number of routine meetings with local authorities to discuss the settlement.

  Dr. Iddon
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has sought advice from the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment for the purposes of the(a) Roads Review and (b) Integrated Transport White Paper. [28452]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  In July, we asked SACTRA to contribute advice in time for the Roads Review and White Paper timetables. We are pleased to confirm that we have now received an interim report from the Committee and this will be taken account of in our deliberations on the Roads Review and Integrated Transport White Paper. Copies of the report will be placed in the House Libraries.

  Public Access
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the locations of privately-owned land which has been opened up to public access since 1996 as a result of a voluntary access agreement with a member of the Country Landowners Association. [27484]

  Angela Eagle
  This information is not held centrally.

  Property Standards
  Mr. Willis
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he 6
  has to introduce legislation to require owners to maintain their properties in a reasonable and safe state of repair. [27711]

  Mr. Raynsford
  Owners are first and foremost responsible for maintaining their properties in a reasonable and safe state of repair. Statutory provisions exist for local authorities to take enforcement action against owners whose properties are unfit for human habitation or in a state of disrepair. In the private rented sector we are committed to introducing a licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation where poor fire and safety and other health and safety standards often apply. Primary legislation will be needed to introduce a licensing scheme.

  Royal Bournemouth Hospital (Clinical Waste Incinerator)
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what has been the cost to public funds of the public inquiry into the appeal by White Rose Environmental against the enforcement notice of Dorset County Council Ref T/APP/C/97/C1245/646229/P6 and T/APP/C1245/A/96/275779/P6 regarding the clinical waste incinerator at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. [28183]

  Mr. Raynsford
  I have asked the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from David Hanchet to Mr. David Atkinson, dated 6 February 1998:
  The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions has asked me to reply to your question on the cost to public funds of the public inquiry into the appeal by White Rose Environmental against the enforcement notice of Dorset County Council (Ref. T/APP/C/97/C1245/646229/P6 and T/APP/C1245/A/96/275779/P6) regarding the clinical waste incinerator at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
  The Planning Inspectorate's cost in dealing with these appeals was £7,827.60 but as I have no record of the expenditure incurred by Dorset County Council I am unable to give the total cost to public funds.

  Empty Properties
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his estimate of the(a) annual cost and (b) total value of the empty properties owned by (i) his Department, (ii) his agencies and (iii) other public bodies for which he has responsibility, in (A) 1995–96, (B) 1996–97, (C) 1997–98 to date and (D) 1997–98 full year. [26656]

  Angela Eagle
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]The information requested is as follows:

  £000

  A 1995–96

  B 1996–97

  C 1997–98 (to date)

  D 1997–98 (estimate)

  Department

  (incl. Executive Agencies)

  Cost of empty property

  .5

  43.5

  46.4

  61.9

  Value of empty property Executive agencies

  5.0

  158.0

  377.0

  377.0

  Cost of empty property

  .5

  43.5

  8.9

  11.9

  Value of empty property

  .5

  158.0

  127.0

  127.0

  Note

  Information on NDPBS is not held ceatrally.
  7
  Buildings Refurbishment

  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his estimate of the cost of buildings refurbishment carried out by his Department in(a)1995–96, (b)1996–97,

  (c)1997–98 to date and (d)1997–98 full year; and if he will make a statement. [26658]

  Angela Eagle
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]The answer is as follows:

  £000

  (a) 1995–96

  (b) 1996–97

  (c) 1997–98 (to date)

  (d) 1997–98 (estimate)

  Department (including

  Executive Agencies)

  13,427

  38,422

  9,073

  12,605

  Executive Agencies

  4,321

  4,337

  2,952

  5,102

  The main costs are due to the need to relocate out of 2 Marsham street.

  Development (Easington)
  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the total acreage of brown-field sites available for development for(a)industry, (b)housing, (c)leisure and(d)reclamation in the district of Easington indicating the location of such sites. [28245]

  Mr. Raynsford
  This information is not held centrally. I understand, however, from the information held by the local planning authority, Easington District Council, that the total acreage of brown-field sites available and their location are shown in the following table.

  Brown-field sites

  Location

  Hectares

  (a) for industry, 156 hectares in total located at

  Blackhall

  5.0

  Cold Heseldon

  0.3

  Dalton Flatts, Murton

  16.0

  Dawdon Colliery

  14.0

  Hawthorn Cokeworks

  42.0

  Murton Street. Murton

  4.0

  Peterlee North East

  2.4

  Peterlee North West

  26.0

  Peterlee South West

  18.0

  Seaham Grange

  7.6

  Sea View, Horden

  15.0

  South Hetton

  2.2

  Thornley Station

  3.3

  Wingate Grange

  0.5

  (b) for housing, 123 hectares in total, located at

  Peterlee

  16.9

  Seaham

  50.0

  Castle Eden

  2.6

  Easington

  6.8

  Haswell

  3.7

  Hawthorn

  0.5

  Hesleden

  1.5

  Horden

  3.0

  Murton

  7.3

  South Hetton

  1.0

  Shotton

  3.3

  Thornley

  5.1

  Trimdon

  11.2

  Wheatley Hill

  4.8

  8

  Brown-field sites

  Location

  Hectares

  Wingate

  5.3

  (c) for leisure, 85.5 hectares in total, located at

  Easington Colliery

  30.0

  Haswell, Durham Lane

  3.5

  Murton Colliery

  7.0

  Dalton Flatts, Murton

  20.0

  Adjacent Leisure Centre, Peterlee

  3.0

  Vane Tempest Colliery, Seaham

  6.0

  Seaham Colliery

  8.0

  North Dock, Seaham

  3.0

  Parkside, Seaham

  2.0

  East of Seaham Town Centre

  3.0

  (d) for reclamation, 171 hectares in total, located at

  Easington Colliery

  30.0

  Hawthorn Cokeworks

  82.0

  Seaham Collier

  14.0

  Vane Tempest Colliery, Seaham

  25.0

  Easington Colliery, Spoil Heap

  10.0

  Horden Colliery Spoil Heap

  10.0

  Mr. Cummings
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the total acreage of brown-field sites and green-field sites in the district of Easington proposed for housing development in the next five years indicating the location of such sites. [28244]

  Mr. Raynsford
  This information is not held centrally. I understand, however, from the information held by the local planning authority, Easington District Council, that the total acreage of brown-field sites and green-field sites proposed for housing development in the next five years and their locations are shown on the following tables.

  Brown-field housing sites, 122.79 hectares in total

  Site

  Hectares

  Peterlee, Beverley Way

  3.19

  Peterlee, Acre Rigg

  4.04

  Peterlee, Westcott Road

  0.28

  Peterlee, Eden Lane School

  1.80

  Peterlee, Oakerside West

  5.00

  Peterlee, Edenhill Road

  0.10

  Peterlee, South of Yoden Way

  2.50

  Seaham, Seaham View

  0.30

  Seaham, Deneholm Miners' Centre

  0.67

  Seaham, Embleton Street

  0.18

  Seaham. Viceroy Street

  0.22

  Seaham, Dawdon Crescent

  0.15

  Seaham, Deneside

  2.90

  Seaham, Dalton Grange

  2.60

  Seaham, St. Mary Magdalene School

  0.85

  Seaham, Seaham Colliery

  13.44

  Seaham, Vane Tempest Colliery

  25.00

  Seaham, Deneside

  3.20

  Seaham, Lawnside

  0.20

  Seaham, Parkside

  0.37

  Castle Eden, south of Haswell—

  Hart Walkway

  1.70

  Castle Eden, Castle Eden Golf Club

  0.86

  Easington, Wordsworth Road

  0.66

  Easington, Easington Colliery

  2.00

  Easington, Cadwell Lane Depot

  1.50

  Easington, Village Green

  0.30

  Easington, Comet Hill

  0.10

  Easington, Cornwall Street

  0.40

  Easington, Thorpe Nursery

  1.77

  9

  Brown-field housing sites, 122.79 hectares in total

  Site

  Hectares

  Haswell, east of George Street

  0.30

  Haswell, west of Blossomfield

  3.10

  Haswell, Durham Lane

  0.25

  Hawthorn, West Farm

  0.47

  Hesleden, east of Station Road

  1.50

  Horden, former colliery site

  3.00

  Murton, Rex Cinema

  0.30

  Murton, Murton Colliery

  5.27

  Murton, Northern Bus Depot

  0.70

  Murton, west of The Avenue

  1.00

  South Hetton, Windermere Road

  0.27

  South Hetton, north of Fallowfield Terrace

  0.68

  Shotton, Victoria Street

  0.60

  Shotton, Windsor Place

  2.00

  Shotton, Dene Terrace

  0.10

  Shotton, Salters Lane

  0.38

  Shotton, Dene Crescent

  0.17

  Thornley, Thornley House

  0.75

  Thornley, north of Hartlepool Street

  2.04

  Thornley, School Green

  0.46

  Thornley, south of Hartlepool Street

  1.89

  Trimdon Station, east of Margaret

  Terrace

  0.50

  Trimdon Station, Margaret Terrace

  and east of Malvern Crescent

  1.66

  Trimdon Station, land north of Wingate Road

  9.04

  Wheatley Hill, Numbered Street

  1.50

  Wheatley Hill, Scrapyard, Back Lane

  0.50

  Wheatley Hill, Weardale Park

  1.40

  Wheatley Hill, Wingate Lane

  0.22

  Wheatley Hill, Church Park

  0.88

  Wheatley Hill, Quilstyle Road

  0.30

  Wingate, north of Rodridge Street

  2.50

  Wingate, Market Crescent

  0.62

  Wingate, former Auction Rooms

  0.90

  Wingate, Rodridge House

  0.46

  Wingate, Station Lane, Station

  Town

  0.80

  Green-field sites, 59.13 hectares in total

  Site

  Hectares

  Peterlee, north of Lowhills Road

  19.90

  Peterlee, Thorpe Hospital Site

  1.28

  Blackhall, land north of the B1281

  1.00

  Blackhall, land north of Hesleden Road

  3.10

  Castle Eden, Bankside

  0.10

  Castle Eden, south of Village Hall

  0.30

  Castle Eden, east of Dene View

  1.34

  Castle Eden, grounds of large dwellings

  1.00

  Castle Eden, The Paddock

  1.09

  Easington, land south of Seaside Lane

  6.22

  Haswell, west of Plough Farm

  0.20

  Hawthorn, Coop Farm

  1.88

  Seaton, north of Seaton Lane

  1.65

  South Hetton, Fallowfield Terrace

  2.00

  South Hetton, Oakwood/Hawthorn Rise

  2.10

  Shotton, north of Station Road

  3.64

  Trimdon Station, land south of Wingate Road

  4.70

  Wingate, Moor Lane

  2.55

  Wingate, north of A. J. Dawson School

  2.60

  Wingate, south of Wellfield By-pass

  2.48

  10

  Sellafield
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what inspections of Sellafield have taken place by Euratom inspectors since 1 May 1997. [28173]

  Angela Eagle
  Article 35 of the Euratom Treaty requires Member States to establish facilities for the continuous monitoring of the levels of radioactivity in the environment. The European Commission periodically arranges for groups of experts to visit Member States to verify the operation and efficiency of these facilities.

  The most recent verification visits to the UK took place in May and December 1993 and evaluated monitoring facilities in the vicinities of Dounreay and Sellafield respectively. The Commission concluded that the monitoring facilities met the required standard on both occasions.

  Sapphire
  Mr. Salmond
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress made so far on the consultation process he announced following the loss of the fishing vessel Sapphire; when this consultation began; how many officials in his Department have been involved in the consultation process; which organisations have been contacted; and when he expects the findings to be announced. [27533]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]The Consultation document which we propose to publish will address many complex issues and it is necessary to have the input of a number of Government Departments beforehand to ensure that it is as comprehensive as possible and correctly addresses all the relevant issues.

  This process is naturally taking some time and consequently I am not as yet in a position to be able to inform the hon. Member when the paper will be published or the findings of the consultation announced.

  Speed Cameras
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will install speed cameras in South Newton on the A36(T); and what additional traffic management measures he will introduce there. [28120]

  Ms Glenda Jackson
  [holding answer 6 February 1998]I have asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, to write to the hon. Member.

  Letter from Peter Nutt to Mr. Robert Key, dated 9 February 1998 Glenda Jackson has asked the Chief Executive of the Highways Agency to write to you in reply to your recent PQ about the installation of speed cameras on the A36 at South Newton. Lawrie Haynes, the Chief Executive, has asked me to reply as he is away from the office at present.
  You should have now received Lawrie Haynes' letter of 3 February on this subject. We plan to replace the traffic activated sign on the Salisbury bound carriageway of the A36 with a speed camera. We also plan to install signs on the A36 indicating the

  11
  presence of speed cameras. We have consulted the Parish Council and residents of South Newton on the environmental aspects and we hope that the equipment will be in place by the end of March.

  We are still awaiting the full report from Wiltshire County Council and we will look at further measures, including 'gateway' treatment, when we consider that report.

  Genetically Modified Organisms
  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is his Department's response to the representations from English Nature for a three-year ban on the cultivation of genetically modified herbicide-resistant crops; and if he
  will make a statement. [28130]

  Angela Eagle
  The Department invites English Nature to comment on all applications for research trials or marketing of genetically modified organisms. Their representations are taken into account in the Secretary of State's decision. In commenting on the specific genetically modified herbicide tolerant crops which have gone forward for marketing approval in the European Union, English Nature raised various concerns, but did not at that stage call for a three year ban.

  In responding to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on a discussion paper on genetically modified herbicide tolerant crops in September 1997, English Nature stated that
  "until the consequences of using GMHT crops become clearer through research the conservation agencies recommend that the precautionary principle is applied and that no commercial releases are approved for at least the next five years. With research not being available before 2000, we find it difficult to justify the addition of GMHT crops to the UK national list until 2002".

  The Ministry, along with my Department, is considering the large number of comments received about the discussion paper and will announce its conclusions as soon as it can.

  In response to the concerns of English Nature and other conservation bodies about the widespread introduction of genetically modified crops and the resulting changes in pesticide use and agricultural practice; off
  icials in my Department are considering the implications for the environment, particularly possible indirect effects on wildlife. We shall be having further discussions with English Nature and others on how these concerns may best be addressed.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's research into genetically modified herbicide resistant crops. [28131]

  Angela Eagle
  The Department's research to monitor releases of genetically modified oil seed rape is being carried out by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany. This study started in 1995 and we expect to receive the final report in March. We will assess the implications of the research and the results will be published by the Department as a research report.

  In September 1997, the Department commissioned NIAB to carry out a further three-year study into monitoring large scale releases of genetically modified
  12
  crops. This will include crops entered into the national list trials such as winter oil seed rape and sugar beet. The results of this study will be published in due course.

  Mr. Baker
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions at what stage the HSE review into the disposal of non-reproductive genetically modified organisms has reached; and if he will make a statement. [28129]

  Angela Eagle
  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) consulted interested parties last year on a proposal for an exemption certificate which would allow disposal of untreated liquid waste containing GMOs when, on the basis of a thorough risk assessment, they are judged not to pose a risk to human health and the environment. The sort of GMOs concerned are those which are capable of only limited survival in the environment. Non-reproduction would be one of the factors considered in the risk assessment. The consultation also included detailed related guidance on risk assessment.

  The Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification have evaluated the outcome of the consultation exercise. They advised that while no new issues about risk assessment had been raised in the consultation an independent review of the scientific literature should be commissioned, given the continual advances in knowledge in this area, to ensure that the very latest scientific information is taken into account. HSE has accepted this advice. Further consideration of the proposed certificate and guidance, by HSE and the Government Departments with an interest, has therefore been deferred pending completion of that review.

  Council Tax Discount
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to extend discretion to local authorities in determining the level of council tax discount to second homes. [28393]

  Mr. Raynsford
  All dwellings in England which are no-one's sole or main residence, including second homes, attract a 50 per cent, discount. Local authorities do not have any discretion to vary this. Since the election, we have received a number of representations about the council tax liability of second homes. We are considering these as part of our review of the council tax.

  Boundary Committee (Hertfordshire)
  Mr. Chope
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will implement the recommendation of the Local Government Boundary Committee in Hertfordshire prior to 1998 local elections. [28480]

  Mr. Raynsford
  No. The intention is to introduce the new electoral arrangements in Hertfordshire for the local government elections in 1999.

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list, by title, the publications produced by his Department and by the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26329]
  13
  Angela Eagle
  The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) produces a wide variety of publications covering the full range of responsibilities of the Deputy Prime Minister and his Department. I am placing in the Library of the House a list of titles for DETR from its formation on 16 June 1997 to 31 January 1998. The list also includes titles produced by the former Department of the Environment from May 1997, and the former Department of Transport from June 1997.

  Homelessness (Southampton)
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what is the total number of registered homeless people in the Southampton City Council area; [27555]

  (2) how many people have been accepted on to the homeless register of Southampton City Council in each of the last five years. [27554]

  Year

  Homelessness acceptances

  1992

  474

  1993

  442

  1994

  579

  1995

  584

  1996

  538

  19971

  398

  1 data for the first 3 quarters only.

  Under Part VI of the Housing Act 1996, authorities must establish and maintain a housing register for the purpose of allocating their housing accommodation but there is no statutory obligation for local housing authorities to hold a register of homeless applicants. Accommodation secured as a discharge of a homelessness duty need not be a tenancy allocated under part VI of the 1996 Act.

  Housing (Southampton)
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are on the housing transfer list of the Southampton City Council; and what were the equivalent figures at the same time in each of the last five years. [27899]

  Mr. Raynsford
  The information requested is not collected centrally.

  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are on the housing waiting list of the Southampton City Council; and what were the equivalent figures at the same time in each of the last five years. [27558]

  Mr. Raynsford
  Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing register/waiting list (excluding existing tenants awaiting a transfer) at 1 April each year in their annual Housing Investment
  14
  Programme (HIP1) returns. The data reported by Southampton City Council for 1997 and the previous five years are as follows:

  Year

  Waiting list

  1992

  5,915

  1993

  5,721

  1994

  5,704

  1995

  4,504

  1996

  6,233

  1997

  2,329

  Local authorities have different practices for compiling and managing their housing register/waiting lists which mean that simple comparisons between authorities can be misleading. The substantial change in the figures between 1996 and 1997 resulted primarily from a review exercise linked with revisions to the housing register in order to meet the requirements of the 1996 Housing Act.

  Government Property (Southampton)
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many properties formerly owned by Government Departments have been made available to(a)the council and (b)housing associations in the Southampton City Council area. [27560]

  Mr. Raynsford
  This information is not held centrally.

  Government Properties (Winchester)
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many properties formerly owned by Government Departments have been made available to(a)the council and(b)housing associations in the Winchester City Council area. [28332]

  Mr. Raynsford
  This information is not held centrally.

  "Rural England 1996"
  Mr. Jack
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list,with reference to the consultation exercise carried out prior to the publication of "Rural England 1996" Cm 3444, those individuals and organisations who attended each of the public consultation meetings, where each meeting was held and when. [28536]

  Angela Eagle
  A large number of conferences and seminars were held following the publication of the Rural White Paper, "Rural England: A Nation Committed to a Living Countryside" in 1995. "Rural England 1996" reported that these events were arranged by voluntary agencies, parish, district and county councils. Government Ministers participated in over 50 of such meetings. Records of the individuals and organisations who attended each of the meetings are not held centrally.

  Local Democracy
  Mr. Darvill
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will publish his proposals for reforming local democracy; and if he will make a statement. [28962]
  15
  Mr. Prescott
  I have published today the first in a series of papers inviting discussion on proposals to modernise English local government. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

  This first paper—on local democracy and community leadership—sets out proposals for modernising local electoral arrangements, for developing new ways in which councils can listen to their local communities and involve them in their decisions, for devising new ways in which councils can work, and for strengthening councils' roles as leaders of their local communities.

  Other papers in the series will cover our proposals for best value in service delivery, a new ethical framework for local government, and aspects of the local government finance system. Following what I hope will be a wide public debate, we will set out our firm proposals in a White Paper. Our aim is a reinvigorated local government playing its full part as a partner with central government in laying the foundations for stable economic growth and improving the quality of people's lives.

PRIME MINISTER

  Overseas Visits
  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list all overseas visits made since 1 May 1997 on which he has been accompanied under Rule 83 of the Ministerial Code, indicating(a) who accompanied him (b) the cost to public funds of each such visit. [23251]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 15 January 1998]My wife accompanied me on the following official overseas visits.

  20–23 June 1997: Denver and New York

  29 June-1 July 1997: Hong Kong

  8–13 January 1998: Japan

  4–7 February 1998: Washington

  Any additional costs incurred are minimal as was the case under the previous Administration.

  Mr. Redwood
  To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost to public funds of the trip to the Seychelles and Nairobi for(a) the travel and accommodation of accompanying staff and (b) the Prime Minister and Mrs. Blair. [23478]

  Mrs. Virginia Bottomley
  To ask the Prime Minister how many(a)
  officials and (b) security staff accompanied him on his trip to the Seychelles. [27151]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 16 January 1998]The costs of travel and accommodation for myself and my family were met by the Blair family. Other costs related to the Prime Minister's security and secure telecommunications. It has been the practice of successive Governments not to detail such expenditure for security reasons.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) when it was decided, and by whom, that the term spouse in paragraph 83 of the Ministerial Code should be extended to permit those not married to a Minister making an overseas trip to accompany him or her at public expense; [25773]
  16
  (2) when permission was first granted for someone not married to a civil servant making an overseas trip to accompany the civil servant at public expense; [25775]

  (3) when it was decided, and by whom, that the term spouse in the rules that govern the granting of permission for someone not married to a civil servant accompanying that civil servant on an overseas visit at public expense including partners. [25774]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 27 January 1998]I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Guildford (Mr. St. Aubyn) on 20 January 1998,Official Report, column 483.

  Mr. Wilshire
  To ask the Prime Minister (1) what was the public interest justification under paragraph 83 of the Ministerial Code when he granted permission to the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Mr. Fatchett), to take his wife to Australasia and the Pacific from 12 to 22 September; [25771]

  (2) what was the public interest justification under paragraph 83 of the Ministerial Code when he granted permission to the Minister of Agriculture to take his wife to the Netherlands from 25 to 27 May; [25864]

  (3) what was the public interest justification under paragraph 83 of the Ministerial Code when he granted permission to the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson), to take his companion to Luxembourg from 25 to 26 October. [25770]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 27 January 1998]I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 5 February 1998, Official Report, columns 732–33.

  Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
  To ask the Prime Minister what clear public interest was served by the visit of Miss Geraldine Daly when accompanying the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson) to Luxembourg. [26247]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 29 January 1998]I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr. Wilshire) on 5 February 1998,Official Report, columns 732–33.

  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list Government expenditure on Ministerial overseas visits at current prices(a) for the financial years (i) 1993–94,
  (ii) 1994–95, (iii) 1995–96 and (iv) 1996–97 and (b) from
  1 May 1997. [28964]

  The Prime Minister
  Expenditure on Ministerial overseas visits in real terms for the periods requested is estimated as follows:

  Year

  £ million

  1993–94

  6.5

  1994–95

  6.6

  1995–96

  6.9

  1996–97

  7.5

  1 May 1997 onwards

  4.7

  These figures do not include some expenditure falling to the Scottish Office, the Ministry of Defence, and the Welsh Office where the information is not available for the earlier years. Full information is available from

  17
  1996–97 and the full cost for 1996–97 was over £7.8 million and for the period since 1 May was less than £5 million.

  Ministerial Hospitality
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will list Government expenditure on Ministerial hospitality at current prices(a)for the financial years (i) 1993–94, (ii) 1994–95, (iii) 1995–96 and (iv) 1996–97 and (b)from 1 May 1997. [28965]

  The Prime Minister
  Expenditure on Ministerial entertaining and hospitality for official purposes for 1993–94 is not available. For the later years in real terms it is estimated as follows.

  Year

  £ million

  1994–95

  2.0

  1995–96

  1.8

  1996–97

  2.0

  1 May 1997 onwards

  0.9

  These figures for 1994–95 and 1995–96 do not include expenditure falling to the Ministry of Defence as figures are not yet available.

  Mr. Hawkins
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 28 January 1998,Official Report, column 342, what was the total cost of Government hospitality between 1 May 1997 and 1 February 1998; and what was the figure for the equivalent period in 1996–97. [26855]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 2 February 1998]I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane) today.

  Ministerial Residences
  Mr. MacShane
  To ask the Prime Minister what was the cost of maintaining and refurbishing Ministerial residences at current prices for the financial years(a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95, (c) 1995–96, (d) 1996–97 and (e) 1997–98. [28963]

  The Prime Minister
  Expenditure on Ministerial residences in real terms for the periods is estimated as follows:

  Year

  £ million

  1993–94

  1.1

  1994–95

  1.1

  1995–96

  1.4

  1996–97

  1.2

  1997–98 (forecast)

  1.1

  These figures include running costs and refurbishment costs of the residential areas of buildings.

  Correspondence
  Mr. Howard
  To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to answer the letters from the right hon. And learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe dated 22 and 28 January. [27268]
  18
  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 3 February 1998]My office have no record of letters dated 22 and 28 January.

  Millennium Compliance
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Prime Minister what initiatives he is taking with other Governments to tackle the problem of the millennium compliance of computer systems. [27870]

  The Prime Minister
  We are continuing to encourage other Governments to take action following the lead of the Government's Action 2000 campaign in the United Kingdom. The issue will also be discussed at the group of Eight Foreign and Finance Ministers in May.

  Departmental Spending Review
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the composition of the Departmental Spending Review steering groups set up as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review. [27490]

  The Prime Minister
  The terms of reference have been published and the final conclusions and the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review will be announced to Parliament in the summer. Secretaries of State and Departmental Ministers are overseeing the reviews in their respective departments but it is not the usual practice to identify individual civil servants providing advice to Ministers.

  MI5 Files
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 29 January 1998,Official Report,column 307,if the Data Protection Registrar will require MI5 to register files held on individuals and to make them available to them. [27483]

  The Prime Minister
  The Data Protection Registrar is independent of Government in the exercise of her functions under the Data Protection Act 1984 and it would therefore not be appropriate for Ministers to comment upon her intentions or actions in this regard.

  Ministerial Transport
  Mr. Malcolm Bruce
  To ask the Prime Minister what is his estimate of the cost of(a) Ministerial cars and drivers and (b) the Department's bill for taxis in (i) 1995–
  96, (ii) 1996–97, (iii) 1997–98 to date and (iv) 1997–98 full year. [27806]

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]Records of the cost of cars and drivers for my Office are shown below. Figures for taxis were not recorded separately until the current year.

  The Prime Minister
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]Records of the cost of cars and drivers for my Office are shown below. Figures for taxis were not recorded separately until the current year.

  £

  year

  Cars

  Taxi

  1995–96

  414,269

  —

  1996–97

  373,930

  —

  1997 to date

  252,164

  3,947

  19
  It is not our normal practice to provide an estimated outturn for the full year.

  Central Media Monitoring Unit
  Mr. Sayeed
  To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 4 February 1998,Official Report, column 668, if he will ensure that the output of the Media Monitoring Unit is be placed in the Library, as soon as it is produced. [28465]

  The Prime Minister
  The Media Monitoring Unit will add the Library to its automatic fax list as soon as the Unit is fully operational.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

  Computer Systems
  Mr. Clifton-Brown
  To ask the Attorney-General if he will list each major new computer system that(a)his Department, (b) non-departmental bodies and (c) agencies under his responsibility have purchased in the last five years; what was the initial purchase cost and what was the final cost; what was each system's (i) planned and (ii) actual date of commissioning; what major computer systems will be purchased by bodies in categories (a), (b) and (c) in the next financial year; and what is their estimated cost. [27851]

  The Attorney-General
  The position in relation to the Departments and other bodies for which I am responsible is as set out. All rely heavily on computers for such matters as word processing, case management and accounts. While equipment and software has been updated and upgraded as necessary this has not, in most cases, amounted to the acquisition of a major new system. The details given concern major new systems.

  Crown Prosecution Service
  For the purposes of this question as it applies to the CPS I have taken a major system to be one costing over £1 million.
  The installation of the case management system (SCOPE) was concluded in April 1997. The system was installed in 53, rather than the planned 93, branches at a final contractual cost of £10.6 million. The planned date of commissioning was April 1994 and the estimated cost £8 million. Variations between planned and actual costs and dates arose because of new requirements and organisational changes.
  A replacement finance system was also installed in April 1997 at a cost of £1.7 million. The cost and timing was according to plan.
  No major new systems (over £1 million) are planned for the year 1998–99.

  Serious Fraud Office
  In January 1998 the Serious Fraud Office awarded a contract for the provision of IT services under the Private Finance Initiative. Future IT systems will be provided under this contract. The cost of the services will depend on usage, but is forecast to be in the region of £800,000 in the financial year 1998–99.
  Treasury Solicitor's Department (including Government Property Lawyers) and Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers
  Future IT requirements in these Departments are currently under consideration. The outcome will be known shortly but current expectations are that work on replacement systems will take place in 1998–99 at a total cost in the region of £540,000.

  Diarmuid O'Neill
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Attorney-General if the Police Complaints Authority, in its investigation into the 20
  shooting of Diarmuid O'Neill, is required to take into account the findings of the European Court of Human Rights in McCann and others v. UK. [27417]

  Mr. Michael
  I have been asked to reply. The Police Complaints Authority investigation will consider all the circumstances leading to the shooting of Mr. O'Neill and any matters arising. It will take into account the issues arising from McCann and others v. United Kingdom.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list, by title, the publications produced by her Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26324]

  Clare Short
  We have produced the following publications since 1 May.

  White Paper

  Eliminating World Poverty: a challenge for the 21st Century (White Paper on International Development presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for International Development by Command of Her Majesty November 1997 Cm 3789)

  Eliminating World Poverty: A Summary

  24 pages

  Country Strategies

  British aid to Ecuador: Working to improve the quality of life for Ecuadorean people

  24 pages

  Development Partners: Britain and Pakistan

  14 pages

  Support for Transition Countries: A new strategy

  16 pages

  Issues

  Developments: The International Development magazine (issue 1 first quarter 1998)

  36 pages

  UK@earth. People: Poverty and the Environment

  64 pages

  Forests Matter: The DFID approach to forests

  5 pages

  Time for Action: Reducing the dangers of pregnancy in poor societies

  18 pages

  Towards 2015 Together: How the UK will use its Presidency of the European Union to work for a fairer world

  4 pages

  Six monthly newsletters on Water, Energy Efficiency, Urbanisation, Transport and Earthworks

  8–12 pages Reports

  Reports

  Gender and school achievement in the Caribbean (serial no. 21)

  126 pages

  Good practice in developing sustainable information systems

  74 pages

  Integrated Coastal Management: South Asia

  95 pages

  21

  Brazilian Mahogany
  Mr. Alan Simpson
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what amount of Brazilian mahogany has been(a) acquired and (b) specified by her Department in (i) 1996 and (ii) 1997; and for what purpose. [28387]

  Clare Short
  No Brazilian mahogany has been acquired or specified by the Department for International Development in 1996 or 1997.

  Development Education
  Mr. Bill Michie
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to recognise and support development education at a local level. [28234]

  Clare Short
  We attach great importance to strengthening our work in promoting development education and public awareness of development issues in the UK. Our strategy in this area will consider carefully the many different potential channels and partners for delivering our objectives, including at a local level. Local level groups will also be well represented on the new Development Awareness Working Group, which will advise us on our work in this area.

  EU Aid
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with her EU partners, concerning aid to(a) India, (b) Nepal, (c) Sri Lanka, (d) Pakistan, (e) Afghanistan, (f) Bangladesh and(g) other South Asian countries. [27946]

  Clare Short
  I have had discussions with EU partners about Afghanistan on which a common position was agreed at an early stage of the Presidency on 26 January. In particular, I discussed women's rights with Emma Bonino, EC Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs when the Commissioner visited London last month.

  In respect of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, my officials maintain regular contact with EU partners in Brussels, in other development forums and particularly in-country, both in the context of general donor co-ordination and in relation to specific projects and sectors.

  Congo
  Mr. Hancock
  To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what initiatives she has taken to encourage the regulation and auditing of mining investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [28966]

  Mr. Foulkes
  We continue to work closely with the World Bank as they seek to agree policy and economic frameworks with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which will ensure the environment needed to encourage private investment. In my own discussions with DRC Government Ministers, I have emphasised the importance of efficient and effective Government regulation wherever appropriate.

  Further Education Colleges
  Mr. Gorrie
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to improve the openness and accountability of the funding of further education colleges. [22270]

  Mr. Wilson
  We have completed over the last 8 months a thorough review of the way further education colleges are funded, followed by a widespread consultation with the further education sector on proposed changes to that methodology. The process itself has been conducted in an open and accountable way, with representatives of the colleges being involved at all stages, and our intention is that the end product will be a system which is as open and accountable as possible.

  Housing
  Mr. Jenkin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each year since 1978–79 the total amount of(a) public and (b) private money invested in public housing in Scotland in 1996 prices. [22399]

  Mr. Macdonald
  [holding answer 12 January 1998]The table contains information about the public resources invested in public housing in Scotland since 1978–791. No private finance has been invested in the housing stock while in public ownership.

  Year

  £ million

  1978–79

  941.162

  1979–80

  862.723

  1980–81

  724.993

  1981–82

  645.207

  1982–83

  652.726

  1983–84

  691.379

  1984–85

  540.998

  1985–86

  563.097

  1986–87

  612.002

  1987–88

  789.684

  1988–89

  698.059

  1989–90

  773.050

  1990–91

  717.613

  1991–92

  635.933

  1992–93

  576.777

  1993–94

  570.991

  1994–95

  575.924

  1995–96

  612.738

  1996–97

  432.000

  1 The term 'public housing' is taken to mean housing owned by local authorities, Scottish Homes (formerly the Scottish Special Housing Association), and the New Town Development Corporations. This does not therefore include investment by the Housing Corporation (pre-1989) and by Scottish Homes (since 1989) in housing association stock, in the private rented sector and in housing for sale. All amounts are in £ million at 1996–97 prices.

  Queen's Counsel
  Mr. Gordon Prentice
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many advocates are QCs; and what percentage of the Scottish Bar this represents. [27833]

  Mr. McLeish
  141 advocates are QCs, which represents 23 per cent, of the Scottish Bar.
  23

  Farm Incomes
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the average net annual income for farmers in Scotland from 1989–90 to 1996–97. [28282]

  Mr. Macdonald
  [holding answer 6 February 1998]Results from the Annual Survey of Farm Accounts in Scotland, averaged across all farm types are set out in the table.

  £ per farm

  Year

  Net farm income

  1989–90

  14,915

  1990–91

  14,143

  1991–92

  10,706

  1992–93

  14,974

  1993–94

  16,559

  1994–95

  21,151

  1995–96

  23,707

  1996–97

  19,482

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Prisoner Transfers
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long each transfer of prisoners to the Republic of Ireland has so far taken to complete; if he will list the stages in the transfer operation for which he is responsible; and what targets he has set for each stage and for the total average transfer time. [27409]

  Ms Quin
  Since 1 November 1995, 26 prisoners have been repatriated from England and Wales to the Republic of Ireland. Each case took the following number of days respectively to complete: 379, 764, 203, 779, 379, 379, 412, 764, 807, 757, 794, 196, 185, 178, 179, 178, 178, 555, 612, 644, 425, 618, 331, 463, 79, 316.

  Because each case is considered on its individual merits, and circumstances vary from case to case, it is not considered appropriate to set targets for the completion of individual stages in the repatriation process. As a second jurisdiction is also involved in the consideration of repatriation applications, it is similarly inappropriate to set a target for final completion.

  The United Kingdom authorities are initially responsible under the terms of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons for obtaining and collating relevant documentation required in support of each repatriation application, and where a particular request appears to meet the requirements of the Convention, for referring it to the receiving jurisdiction.

  If the other jurisdiction agrees to receive the prisoner, the United Kingdom is responsible for ensuring that the prisoner's sentence will continue to be enforced in the receiving jurisdiction, and for deciding whether to agree to the transfer. The United Kingdom is then responsible for providing the prisoner in writing with the details of the basis on which repatriation will take place, for obtaining the prisoner's written consent to repatriation, and for forwarding this to the receiving jurisdiction.
  24
  Mr. McNamara
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for prisoner transfer to the Republic of Ireland have been withdrawn or resolved without a transfer. [27412]

  Ms Quin
  Fifty-three applications for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland submitted by prisoners in England and Wales have been withdrawn or resolved without a transfer.

  Young Offenders Institutions
  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Mrs. Butler) of 22 January 1998,Official Report, columns 639–40, (1) if he will publish the available evaluation in respect of the relative effectiveness of the experimental regime at Colchester Young Offenders Institution against other initiatives; and with which initiatives the experimental regime at Colchester Young Offenders Institution has been compared; [26289]

  (2) how many offenders have passed through the programme at Colchester Young Offenders Institution experimental regime; and how many of these reoffended following their release; [26299]

  (3) if he will give an analysis of his costings of a place (a) in the experimental regime at Colchester Young Offenders Institution, (b) at Thorn Cross Young Offenders Institution and (c) in a typical young offenders institution. [26288]

  (4) what is the average rate of reoffending for offenders aged 17 to 21 years on release from (a)young offenders institutions, (b) Thorn Cross Young Offenders Institution experimental regime and (c) Colchester Young Offenders Institution experimental regime; [26296]

  Ms Quin
  At 20 January 1998, 36 young offenders had completed their sentence at Colchester Young Offender Institution, and information to date indicates that, of those, one is known to have been reconvicted. The reconviction rates for Colchester and Thorn Cross will not be available for some time. Home Office statistics indicate that 73 per cent, of male young offenders (ages 17–20) who were discharged in 1993 were reconvicted within two years. The cost per place is based on dividing the running costs by the certified normal accommodation (CNA) for the establishment. The CNA for Colchester, Thorn Cross High Intensity Training and a typical Young Offender Institution are 32, 72 and 363 respectively.

  It is our intention to publish the study of the experimental regime at Colchester Young Offender Institution carried out by the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge when it is complete.

  Asylum Seekers
  Mr. Allan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect on asylum applicants of his decision to withdraw special funding to the Immigration and Advisory Service and the Refugee Legal Centre in 1998–99.[27168]
  25
  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  A final decision will be taken when representations from both organisations have been fully considered.

  A very small proportion of those appealing against the refusal of asylum would be affected by a decision to discontinue the funding under the Spend to Save initiative. This funding is presently provided on an annual basis, in addition to their ongoing grant in aid, to the Refugee Legal Centre (RLC) and the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS). IAS and RLC were aware of the short-term nature of the provision when they accepted it.

  Immigration and Nationality Directorate
  Mr. Singh
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people currently awaiting a decision upon their application for British citizenship have been waiting more than a year since their application form was received by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [26517]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  On 23 January 1998, there were 37,029 applications for British citizenship in the Nationality Directorate which had been outstanding for more than one year.

  Anti-social Behaviour Orders
  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legal advice he has received regarding the compatibility of the Anti-social Behaviour Orders proposed in the Crime and Disorder Bill[Lords] with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will publish it. [27679]

  Deaths in police stations (1987–1996)

  Year

  Dyfed-Powys

  Gwent

  North Wales

  South Wales

  1987

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1988

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1989

  0

  0

  0

  1

  1990

  0

  0

  0

  1

  1991

  0

  1

  0

  1

  1992

  0

  0

  2

  0

  1993

  0

  0

  1

  1

  1994

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1995

  0

  0

  0

  0

  1996

  0

  1

  0

  2

  Total

  0

  2

  3

  6

  Child Prostitution
  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce modifications to the law to empower police to take positive steps to arrest and convict child abusers who entrap children into prostitution. [27175]

  Mr. Michael
  We are very concerned about the existence of child prostitution and the tragedy of the involvement of any child in prostitution. The principal aim of the law in this area is to protect the children concerned and to ensure that all those who
  26
  Mr. Michael
  I am satisfied that our proposals for establishing Anti-Social Behaviour Orders are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The question of the compatibility of the provisions in the Crime and Disorder Bill for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders with the European Convention on Human Rights has been carefully considered by Government lawyers but it is not normal practice to publish legal advice and we see no reason to breach this principle in this case.

  Mr. Clappison
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 12 January 1998,Official Report, columns 66–67, on the Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords], if he will make a statement on the compatibility of the proposed legal procedure for the Anti-social Behaviour Order in the Bill with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [27678]

  Mr. Michael
  We consider that the legal procedure for the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in the Crime and Disorder Bill complies with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Application for an order is a civil procedure. An order has prohibitory force only and involves no criminal record. Breach of an order is a criminal offence and carries with it the full safeguards of the criminal law.

  Police Cell Deaths
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have died in police cells over the last 10 years in each of Wales's police forces. [27442]

  Mr. Michael
  The table gives figures on the number of deaths occurring in police stations for each force area in Wales. From the information collected centrally it is not always possible to ascertain how many persons actually died in police cells.

  encourage, control or exploit the prostitution of children, are liable in the criminal law. It is, of course an operational matter for the police to investigate any allegations of a crime.

  We are satisfied that the law is adequate to deal with the evil of child prostitution. We will, however, consider any particular proposals to tighten the law further in this area if deficiencies are identified.

  Mr. Sheerman
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with chief
  27
  constables on ways in which police forces can more effectively protect children from abusers who entrap them into prostitution. [27174]

  Mr. Michael
  I have had no specific discussions with chief constables on this particular aspect of child prostitution.

  Under section 46(1) of the Children Act 1989, police have powers to take into protective custody any child at risk of significant harm. The child can then be referred to appropriate agencies. The Association of Chief Police Officers has now issued best practice guidelines for the police that emphasise that children caught up in prostitution should normally be treated as victims and in need of help rather than criminals. These guidelines were drawn up in discussion with the Children's Society and other agencies, and the Home Office.

  Domestic Violence
  Ms Moran
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure local authorities adopt best practice in their measures to tackle domestic violence. [27374]

  Mr. Michael
  The provisions of the Crime and Disorder Bill will place a statutory duty on local authorities and the police service to develop local crime and disorder reduction partnerships with other agencies. These will assess local crime problems, develop a strategy for tackling them and publish crime reduction targets. In areas where the local crime audits identify domestic violence as a problem, the local crime and disorder reduction strategy should address it.

  Care Homes (Crime)
  Mr. Burstow
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will ensure that crimes committed within care homes are incorporated within the British Crime Survey; [28356]

  (2) if he will introduce a category into the British Crime Survey to cover crimes committed against people with learning difficulties who live in residential care homes. [28355]

  Mr. Michael
  The British Crime Survey (BCS), which the Home Office conducts, is a survey of people living in domestic households in England and Wales. In its present format and structure, it would be inappropriate for the BCS to include offences committed against people who live in residential care homes. This would require a specialist survey. A feasibility study into a possible survey of communal establishments is being undertaken by Social Survey Division of the Office for National Statistics. As yet, no decision has been taken on the types of communal establishment that this would cover, whether victimisation will be covered or the funding arrangements for the survey.

  World Cup
  Ms Roseanna Cunningham
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 30 January 1998,Official Report, columns 395–96, on policing at the World Cup, if he will provide a list of the
  28
  representatives from Scotland and their organisations who (i) were invited and (ii) will be attending the Blackburn seminar; and if he will make a statement. [27905]

  Mr. Michael
  Invitations to attend the Blackburn seminar on the policing of football have been sent to a number of Scottish organisations and individuals, including the Scottish Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland), the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Federation of Football Supporters Clubs. I am pleased to say that all these organisations have agreed to send representatives.

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26325]

  Mr. Straw
  The list is being placed in the Library. The Home Office is the originating body for all the items listed. The material is either published internally or by a commercial publisher, in most cases the Stationery Office Ltd.

  The list includes publications available in print, but excludes audiovisual material, ephemera and the reports produced by the Constabulary, Fire Service, Prisons and Probation Inspectorates between the specified dates for which a separate list is being prepared. New editions and new titles published during this period are listed, but reprints are not. Publications produced by the non-departmental bodies and four executive agencies of the Home Office (Her Majesty's Prison Service, United Kingdom Passport Agency, Fire Service College and Forensic Science Service) have not been included.

  The list of Inspectorate reports will be placed in the Library as soon as it is available.

  Handguns
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects compensation to be paid to Mr. Michael We llum of Wren well Farm, Denbury, Devon, for his handguns surrendered on 18 August and whose claim for compensation was submitted on 21 August 1997; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay. [28352]

  Mr. Michael
  The Option A and B elements of Mr. Wellum's compensation claim in respect of large calibre handguns and his accompanying ex gratia application in respect of small calibre pistols were processed on 23 January 1998. The Option C elements of the claim and application will be considered at a later date under the published arrangements for processing compensation claims. There has been no "delay" in this case. I have explained to the House on many occasions why firearms compensation claims take time to process.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by grade the number of officials in his Department at grade 3 or above who have(a) taken early retirement, (b) taken official leave, (c) been dismissed, (d) changed jobs within the Department, (e) moved to another Department and

  29
  (f) been offered and rejected an alternative position (i) within the Department and (ii) in another Department since 1 May. [27463]

  Mr. Straw
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]No senior civil servants in the pay band covering posts at the level equivalent to grade 3 or above have since 1 May 1997(a) taken early retirement, (b) taken official leave, (c) been dismissed, or (d) changed jobs with the Department. Three have (e) moved to other Departments. None have (f) been offered and rejected an alternative position (i) within the Department and (ii) in another Department during this period.

  Crime
  Sir Brian Mawhinney
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 2 February 1998,Official Report, column 709, if he will specify those areas of local government activity which will show resource savings as a result of the implementation of statutory duties on local authorities as contained in the Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords], and estimate the amount of savings in each case. [27945]

  Mr. Michael
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]The nature and precise extent of such savings will vary from one local authority to the next, depending on the kind of crime and disorder problems in each area identified by the audit which the Crime and Disorder Bill will require, and the priorities of the crime and disorder strategies as agreed with key partners locally. It is not possible to put any meaningful figures on this yet, but we expect there to be potential for considerable savings. This point was broadly acknowledged by many of the local authorities which responded to our invitation to comment on these proposals before the Bill was published.

  Examples of local government activity which might benefit from these proposals include:
  Housing—reduced capital expenditure on repairs to property damaged by vandalism. Reduced time in pursuing complaints for which the remedies are adequate.
  Social Services—reductions in the costs associated with dealing with the incidence of youth crime and its aftermath.
  Education—reduced bills for repairs to school buildings, and savings arising from improved attendance rates and less disruption in the classroom.

  Just as importantly, the Crime and Disorder Bill will put local authorities where they should always have been—in the forefront of the fight against crime. Local surveys have shown time and again that this is seen as a core activity for local government by the people which it exists to serve. We are determined to give local authorities the powers they need, and want, to meet this wholly legitimate demand by local communities.

  Ethnic Minorities
  Mr. Fitzpatrick
  To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of section 11 teachers in each local education authority. [26754]

  Mr. Mike O'Brien
  The following table shows numbers of posts (in full-time equivalent terms) approved for section 11 funding, as at 31 January 1998, which are specifically designated as to be filled by qualified teachers.
  30

  LEA

  Number of posts

  Barking and Dagenham

  18.2

  Barnet

  49.544

  Bedfordshire

  54

  Berkshire

  64.5

  Bexley

  7.04

  Birmingham

  235.19

  Bolton

  52.1

  Bradford

  235.6

  Brent

  65

  Brighton and Hove

  9

  Bristol*

  39

  Bromley

  1

  Buckinghamshire

  59.2

  Bury

  21.5

  Calderdale

  29

  Cambridgeshire

  40.5

  Camden

  91.7

  Cardiff*

  29.6

  Cheshire

  5

  Coventry

  101.5

  Croydon

  74.1

  Darlington*

  9

  Derby*

  108

  Devon

  4.5

  Doncaster

  6.4

  Dudley

  46

  Ealing

  70.8

  East Sussex

  5.3

  Enfield

  80

  Essex

  2

  Gateshead

  2

  Gloucestershire

  18

  Greenwich

  45

  Hackney

  162.5

  Hammersmith and Fulham

  29.5

  Hampshire

  4.95

  Haringey

  150.05

  Harrow

  34.5

  Havering

  3

  Hereford and Worcester

  10.7

  Hertfordshire

  87.45

  Hillingdon

  18

  Hounslow

  76.5

  Hull*

  2.7

  Islington

  92

  Kensington and Chelsea

  43.5

  Kent

  71.59

  Kingston-upon-Thames

  7.08

  Kirklees

  143

  Lambeth

  128.1

  Lancashire

  163.8

  Leeds

  7.85

  Leicester

  69.1

  Leicestershire

  13.8

  Lewisham

  83

  Lincolnshire

  6.1

  Liverpool

  13

  Luton

  103

  Manchester

  96

  Merton

  18

  Middlesbrough*

  29

  Newcastle

  3.7

  Newham

  6

  Newport*

  18

  Norfolk

  8.6

  North East Lincolnshire

  2.1

  North Lincolnshire

  5

  North Tyneside

  10

  North Yorkshire

  4

  Northamptonshire

  35

  Nottinghamshire

  90.6

  Oldham

  70.75

  Oxfordshire

  37.1

  Poole*

  2

  31

  LEA

  Number of posts

  Portsmouth

  10.5

  Redbridge

  119.2

  Richmond

  4

  Rochdale

  54

  Rotherham

  18.5

  St. Helens

  0.7

  Salford

  4.6

  Sheffield

  88.5

  Shropshire

  6.89

  Somerset

  3.5

  South Tyneside

  8.5

  Southampton

  22.612

  Southwark

  45.2

  Staffordshire*

  39

  Stockport

  4.55

  Suffolk

  18.2

  Sunderland

  6.81

  Surrey

  17.5

  Sutton

  5.5

  Swansea*

  16

  Swindon*

  8.625

  Tameside

  19.4

  Tower Hamlets

  277.7

  Trafford

  19

  Wakefield

  18

  Walsall

  81.5

  Waltham Forest

  102.08

  Wandsworth

  83.5

  Warwickshire

  55.7

  Westminster

  105.5

  West Sussex

  13.5

  Wigan

  4.5

  Wolverhampton

  83.6

  Note:

  Since local government reorganisation in 1996 or 1997, LEAs marked * have managed section 11 provision in the areas of neighbouring local education authorities which are not listed separately in the table.

TREASURY

  School Children's Clothing and Footwear (Value Added Tax) Bill
  Mr. Loughton
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the Economic Secretary is not willing to meet the hon. Member in charge of the School Children's Clothing and Footwear (Value Added Tax) Bill to discuss its Second Reading on 6 February. [27936]

  Dawn Primarolo
  As Financial Secretary, I am responsible for the matter raised by the hon. Member. Other commitments, including preparatory work on the Budget which the Chancellor will present on 17 March, preclude a meeting at present.

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26335]

  Mrs. Liddell
  The list of the main publications produced by HM Treasury between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998 is as follows:32
  Titles published by HM Treasury and available from HM Treasury Public Enquiry Unit
  (All titles are free unless otherwise indicated)
  Budget and Pre-Budget Publications:
  The Pocket Budget: July 1997
  (available by sending a self addressed postcard to: Freepost Budget 97)
  The pocket pre-Budget 98: November 1998
  (available by sending a self addressed postcard to: Freepost Pre-Budget 98)
  Pre-Budget Report Publications
  A code for fiscal stability: November 1997
  The Economy and the Public Finances: supplementary material (November 1997)
  Fiscal policy: lessons from the last economic cycle (November 1997)
  The modernisation of Britain's tax and benefit system No. 1: Employment opportunity in a changing labour market (November 1997)
  The Public Sector balance sheet (December 1997)
  Tax Ready Reckoner and tax reliefs (December 1997)
  Central Unit on Procurement Guidances (Now Procurement guidances) All £3.00 each

  CUP 55: Ethics in procurement (May 1997)

  CUP 56: Debriefing (May 1997)

  CUP 57: Strategic Partnering in government (May 1997)

  CUP 58: Incentivisation (May 1997)

  CUP 59a: Documentation: Model appraisal questionnaire (May 1997)

  CUP 59b: Documentation: Pre qualification (May 1997)

  CUP 59c: Documentation: Model invitation to tender (May 1997)

  CUP 59d: Documentation: Model conditions of contract (August 1997)

  CUP 60: Supplier appraisal (May 1997)

  CUP 61: Contract management (May 1997)

  Procurement Guidance 1: Essential requirements for construction procurement (December 1997)
  Procurement Guidance 2: Value for money in construction procurement (December 1997)
  Procurement Guidance 3: Appointment of consultants and contractors (December 1997)
  EMU Publications
  The UK and membership of the single currency: an assessment of the 5 economic tests (October 1997)
  EMU: Practical guide for business (July 1997)
  Available in writing from: EMU Initiative, P.O. Box 506, London, SE99 7UY
  EMU: Report from the Business Advisory Group (January 1998)
  Pros and Cons of the EMU: summary of a report by David Currie (July 1997)
  Other titles:
  Cash ratio deposits: a consultation document issued by HM Treasury (November 1997)
  Comprehensive Spending Review—Terms of Reference (July 1997)
  Explanatory Notes: Summer Finance Bill 1997 £4.50 (July 1997)
  The Future of UK Government Debt and cash management: a proposal for consultation by HM Treasury (July 1997)
  The Future of UK Government Debt and cash management: a response to consultation by HM Treasury, 22 December 1997 (December 1997)
  The National Asset Register (November 1997)
  Publications in Print (August 1997)

  33
  Regularity and Propriety: a handbook ISBN 0947819 576 £2.50 (July 1997)
  Treasury Occasional paper No. 9: The VAT shortfall: report of the Working Group on VAT receipts and forecasts (September 1997)
  Private Finance Initiative publications:
  Treasury Taskforce Private Finance—Partnerships for Prosperity: the Private Finance Initiative (November 1997)
  Bates Recommendation No 10: Treasury Taskforce approach to model contracts (November 1997)
  Interim guidance on the application of FRS5 to accounting for PFI transactions in public sector accounts (September 1997)
  Policy Statement (Draft): Public Sector Comparators and value for money (September 1997)
  Policy Statement No. 1: PFI and Public Expenditure Allocations (October 1997)
  PFI Technical Note (Draft): Standardisation of information required from prospective tenderers and OJEC Notices (November 1997)
  PFI Technical Note No. 1: How to account for PFI Transactions (September 1997)
  Taking forward PFI in local government (September 1997)
  A Step by Step guide to the PFI procurement process (July 1997)
  Titles produced by HM Treasury and Published by The Stationery Office
  The main titles produced by HM Treasury and available from The Stationery Office (TSO) are:
  Equipping Britain for our long term future: Financial Statement and Budget Report: July 1997
  House of Commons Paper 85 (1997/98) ISBN 010 263398 3 £16.80
  Pre Budget Report: November 1997: Securing Britain's long-term economic future CM 3804 ISBN 010 13804 9 £20.00
  The Finance (No. 2) Act 1997 ISBN 010 545897 X £11.00
  Summer Finance Bill
  House of Commons Bill 29 (1997/98) ISBN 010 836045 8 £8.00
  EC finances: statement on the 1997 EC budget and measures to counter fraud and financial mismanagement
  CM3700 ISBN 010 137002 4 £6.50
  Supply Estimates: supplementary

  Individual Savings Accounts
  Mr. Lilley
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on tax revenues of setting the cap on tax exempt savings held in individual savings accounts at(a) £30,000, (b) £50,000, (c) £100,000, (d) £150,000 and (e) £250,000. [19704]

  Mr. Geoffrey Robinson
  [holding answer 8 December 1997]TESSAs and PEPs will cost about £l½ billion a year by April 1999. Under the proposals set out in the consultation document, funds currently held in TESSAs and PEPs will be able to transfer into individual savings accounts, subject to the overall £50,000 limit. People with PEPs and TESSAs whose value exceeds £50,000 will be unable to transfer the excess to ISAs.

  The estimated cost to the Exchequer of these proposals is broadly similar to the combined cost of TESSAs and PEPs, but estimates are sensitive to assumptions made eg on the level of take up. The effect on cost of varying the level of the cap will depend on the way in which people decide to invest the balance of their investments.
  34

  Agency Tax Rules
  Mr. Timms
  To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the draft legislation to implement the changes in the agency tax rules for construction workers announced by the Financial Secretary on 31 July 1997 will be published in advance of the Finance Bill 1998. [28961]

  Dawn Primarolo
  The draft legislation, which will implement this change, will be published today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. This will give agencies as much time as possible to alter their systems and procedures in advance of the change which comes into effect on 6 April 1998. The change will help to align the tax and national insurance treatment of these workers and is part of the Government's commitment to streamline and modernise the tax and benefits system.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

  World Cup (Disabled Supporters)
  Mr. Jim Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the(a) proportion of tickets available and (b) facilities for disabled supporters in each of the stadiums in which Scotland and England will play their first round World Cup matches. [27128]

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  I understand that the French World Cup organisers will set aside facilities for disabled supporters in the stadia at which matches will be staged. A decision on the number of tickets to be allocated for England and Scotland supporters will be taken shortly. The English and Scottish Football Associations have applied for tickets for existing members of the England Members Club and the Scottish Travel Club, who regularly attend away matches.

  Sport (Governing Bodies)
  Mr. Jim Murphy
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make a statement on the cost to public funds of the governing bodies for sport. [27127]

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  In 1997–98, the UK Sports Council and English Sports Council will provide Exchequer grants totalling almost £11.2 million directly to governing bodies of sport to help them develop strategies and a range of activities which support the Councils' objectives.

  A number of governing bodies are also eligible to apply for funding from the Lottery Sports Fund. To date, almost £23 million has been awarded to governing bodies under the English Sports Council's 'World Class Performance' Programme.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Duncan
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list by grade the number of officials in his Department at grade 3 or above who have(a) taken early retirement, (b) taken official leave, (c) been dismissed, (d) changed jobs within the Department, (e) moved to another Department and(f) been offered and rejected an alternative position (i) within the Department and (ii) in another Department since 1 May. [27464]
  35
  Mr. Tom Clarke
  [holding answer 5 February 1998]None.

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26321]

  Mr. Tom Clarke
  The Department for Culture, Media and Sport produced the following publications between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998:

  The Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice (England and Wales)

  The Treasure Act: Information for finders of Treasure (England and Wales).

  The BBC and the Future of Broadcasting: Government Response to the Fourth Report from the National Heritage Committee Session 1996–97.

  Export of Works of Art 1996–97.

  Public Libraries: A Vision for the Future.

  The People's Lottery White Paper.

  The People's Lottery Summary Leaflet.

  European Audiovisual Conference: Challenges and Opportunities of the Digital Age.

  Marking the Millennium in a Multi-faith Context.

  Cultural Connections Booklet.

  Cultural Connections Poster.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Official Cars
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many official cars are available for use by Ministers in his Department; and how many new cars have been acquired for the use of Ministers in his Department since 1 May. [25177]

  Mr. Fatchett
  [holding answer 23 January 1998]Five cars are provided for the five Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers under the Government Car Scheme. This Department has not acquired any new cars for its Ministers.

  Turkey
  Mr. Austin
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the British Vice-Consul in Istanbul will be permitted to give evidence to a Turkish court regarding incidents in Istanbul on 2 September 1997. [26042]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  [holding answer 29 January 1998]As set out in the answer given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd) on 29 January 1998,Official Report, column 385, our guidelines are that we generally expect British officials to co-operate with local judicial authorities. In this particular instance, no request has been made by the local courts. Under Article 44(3) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, members of a consular post are not obliged to give evidence on matters encountered in the exercise of their functions. We have concluded that it would be inappropriate for the British Vice Consul (Information) to give evidence because of the need for him to retain the status of impartial observer in attending subsequent court cases in his consular capacity.
  36

  Millennium Compliance
  Mr. David Atkinson
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration is being given by the European Union to the consequences of the failure of computer and safety systems controlling nuclear plants in the former eastern bloc to be millennium compliant. [28246]

  Mr. Fatchett
  The failure of a computer system would not directly affect the safety of any nuclear reactor power plants in the former eastern bloc. The control of these plants is carried out by analogue or electro-mechanical means. However, computers are used for data recording and plant management purposes, and the European Union has a programme to up-grade a number of these. The Health and Safety Executive publication "Safety and the year 2000" has been sent to the senior nuclear regulators in the former eastern bloc and it will form the basis of discussion at a meeting of these regulators with their EU counterparts in June 1998.

  Schengen Agreement
  Mr. Bercow
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 20 January 1998,Official Report, column 466, what was the date of the response by the United Kingdom permanent representative to the Dutch permanent representative's letter of 16 July; and if he will make a statement on his meeting with the Dutch Minister for Europe and his Irish counterpart on 22 July 1997. [28238]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The United Kingdom Permanent Representative replied to the Dutch Permanent Representative's letter of 16 July on 25 July. At a meeting on 22 July the Dutch Minister for Europe, the Irish Foreign Minister and I discussed Article 4 of the Protocol integrating the Schengen Acquis into the Framework of the European Union.

  Video Conferencing
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what use has been made by the British presidency of the European Union of interactive video conferencing; what responses have been received to date; what has been the cost to public funds to date; and what plans he has to make further use of video conferencing in this area. [28204]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  Video conferencing is being used extensively during the UK's Presidency of the European Union, particularly between London and Brussels. We are also exploring ways of encouraging greater use of video-conferencing for contacts with EU Partners, but it is too early to draw conclusions on the practical scope for this.

  The information requested on cost to public funds of video-conferencing is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  Military Technology Sales
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of items of British manufactured technology found by United Nations Special Commission inspectors at Iraqi sites used for the preparation or manufacture
  37
  of (a) chemical, (b) biological and (c) nuclear weapons of mass destruction; and if he will place in the Library the most recent UNSCOM report to the UN Security Council. [28169]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  British manufactured equipment has been found at a number of sites inspected by UNSCOM and the IAEA. Any evidence of wrongdoing is investigated and, if appropriate, will be a matter for the courts.

  A copy of UNSCOM's most recent (October) Report to the Security Council is already held by the Libraries of the House.

  Algeria
  Mr. Gareth Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the UK Government are taking to bring to the attention of the Algerian Government their responsibilities to protect the lives of civilians. [27993]

  Mr. Fatchett
  I led the EU Troika Mission to Algiers from 19–20 January 1998. We had talks with the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister. As part of the EU political dialogue with Algeria, we raised with them the need to provide adequate protection for their citizens. We believe that it is important that this dialogue should continue.

  Mr. Gareth Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to expedite action by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings in Algeria. [27994]

  Mr. Fatchett
  During the EU Troika Mission to Algiers from 19–20 January 1998, I and my Troika colleagues urged the Algerian Government to agree to a visit by the UN Special Rapporteurs. The Algerians stated that they are not ready to do so. We will continue to press them to issue an invitation as soon as possible.

  Mr. Gareth Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of the Government in relation to the future progress of the EU-Algeria Partnership Agreement with particular reference to Algeria's commitments under the humans rights clause in that agreement. [27992]

  Mr. Fatchett
  The EU/Algeria Association Agreement currently under negotiation will contain a human rights clause committing both parties to respect human rights and democratic principles. We support progress in negotiating the agreement, which will provide for political dialogue on a range of issues, including human rights, once it enters into force.

  Civil Servants
  Mr. Vaz
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many black and Asian persons have been recruited to the Foreign Office since 1 May 1997. [27949]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  FCO staff are not obliged to report their ethnic origins. According to the ongoing voluntary and confidential survey, the FCO has received returns from 13 Black or Asian people who joined the office since 1 May 1997. We know that many new entrants have not yet returned their forms. Irrespective of the actual 38
  numbers, the FCO is committed to increasing the representation of minority ethnic, and other under-represented, groups.

  Arms Sales
  Dr. Tony Wright
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what structures for parliamentary scrutiny and accountability in member states are contained in the UK proposals for an EU code of conduct on arms sales. [28175]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  Our proposals develop the EU's 8 Common Criteria agreed in 1991 and 1992, using language in the UK's national criteria announced by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on 28 July 1997. Neither set of criteria includes structures for parliamentary scrutiny and accountability and we are not proposing such structures in the Code of Conduct. The role of national parliaments in the export licensing process is a matter for Member States. At a national level, we are committed to reporting annually to Parliament on the application of strategic export controls in order to ensure transparency and accountability.

  Environmental Policy Co-ordination
  Mr. Llew Smith
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting he attended in January in Latvia with heads of European Governments on environmental policy co-ordination. [28203]

  Mr. Doug Henderson
  The Summit of the Council of Baltic Sea States took place in Riga on 22–23 January. The Deputy Prime Minister represented the UK as Presidency of the EU. The Summit discussed regional co-operation; enlargement of the EU; democracy and human rights; economic co-operation; investment; transport; energy; environment and sustainable development, including the outcome of the Kyoto Summit; information technology; and higher education.

  On the environment, the Summit supported ongoing work on sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region; reaffirmed its commitment to removal of pollution from the Baltic Sea and endorsed a strategy for improving reception facilities for ship-generated waste; and welcomed assistance from the European Union in combating pollution.

  Iraq
  Mr. Dalyell
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of potential damage to(a) karbala, (b) Najaf and (c) the Ziggarat at Ur in the selection of potential targets for military strikes on Iraq. [28617]

  Mr. Fatchett
  It is not sensible to speculate on potential military targets at a time when we are still actively pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis with Iraq.

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26327]
  39
  Mr. Fatchett
  Information Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office produces a range of publications designed to project Britain and British Government policies overseas, and present Britain's viewpoint on subjects of particular interest or significance to an international audience.

  127 such publications were produced during the period 1 May 1997 to 31 January 1998, details of which are as follows:
  FCO Publications produced between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998

  Publications

  1998 Calendar

  1998 Diary

  Backpackers

  Britain and Canada (English)

  Britain and Canada (French)

  Britain and India

  Britain and Japan

  Britain and Pakistan

  Britain and the Commonwealth

  Britain in Brief

  Britain's Automotive Components Industry

  Britain's Chemical Industry

  Britain's Clothing and Textile Industry

  Britain's Clothing and Textile Industry (language versions)

  Britain's Commercial Vehicles Industry and Britain's Motorsport Industry (Korean and Chinese)

  Britain's Construction Industry

  Britain's Design Industry

  Britain's Environmental Technology Industry

  Britain's Medical Technology and Equipment Industry

  Britain's Monarchy—a factual guide

  Britain's Oil, Gas, Petro Industry

  Britain's Security in a Changing World

  Britain's System of Government

  Britain's Tax System

  Britain's Telecommunications Industry

  Britain's Tourism Industry

  Checklist (Welsh)

  Checklist for Travellers

  Consular Annual Review

  Consular Services Abroad

  Consultancy Industry

  Do's and Don'ts

  EAB Recruitment

  EU leaflets for E Europe Posts

  EU Presidency Ambassador for day

  EU Presidency Flier

  EU Presidency Handbook

  EU Presidency Logo Booklet

  EU Presidency Statement

  Exercise Blue Hungwe

  FCO Open Day leaflet

  First Post

  Forces Marriages

  Getting to Know Britain Cards

  Hong Kong

  40

  Hong Kong Con-Gen

  Justice and the Law (Spanish insert)

  Legislation leaflet

  Lisbon Expo 98 Folder

  London

  Marshall Plan 50th Anniversary

  Media in Britain

  Open Entry Point (FCO Recruitment)

  Outline Britain

  Passing Legislation

  Peter the Great Folder

  Peter the Great Leaflet Policy Entry Point (FCO Recruitment)

  Prisoner Transfer

  Protected Areas Antarctica

  Public Diplomacy News

  Publications Catalogue

  Road Haulage

  Science and Technology

  SOS Press Pack

  Sport in Britain

  Survey of Current Affairs (August)

  Survey of Current Affairs (December)

  Survey of Current Affairs (January)

  Survey of Current Affairs (July)

  Survey of Current Affairs (June)

  Survey of Current Affairs (May)

  Survey of Current Affairs (November)

  Survey of Current Affairs (October)

  Survey of Current Affairs (September)

  Tackling Drugs Folder

  Tackling Drugs Leaflet

  Talking Points August

  Talking Points December

  Talking Points June

  Talking Points November

  Talking Points October

  Telecommunications Industry

  The British Royal Family Broadsheet

  UK Government Ministers

  UK in Asia booklet

  UK: 10 Centuries in the Making

  Victims of Crime Abroad

  Background Briefs

  What the British are good at (No.9)

  The Wassenaar Arrangement

  Adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

  Transatlantic Relations

  Europe and the EU's Fight against Serious and Organised Crime

  The Russian Orthodox Church

  Asia-Europe Meeting

  British Assistance to the Commonwealth

  Environment and Development: the UN Assesses

  Progress since Rio

  What the British are good at (No. 10)

  Britain and India: A Modern Partnership

  The Commonwealth Contribution

  41

  Britain and Pakistan in 1997

  The Growing Importance of China as a Regional and World Power

  Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe:

  An Implementation Update

  Religion in Russia: Legal and Constitutional Factors

  What the British are good at (No.l 1)

  Yemen: A Survey of Recent Developments

  Britain and Brazil: An Agenda for the Millennium

  Climate Change: The Road to Kyoto

  Tackling Poverty in the 21 Century: Britain's Role

  Nigeria: Human Rights, Human Wrongs

  Britain's Accession to the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea

  Briefing Papers

  Enlargement of the European Union

  British Policy on Anti-Personnel Landmines

  Facts about Modern Britain

  Some Facts About the European Union

  Fact About Modern Britain (revised)

  Britain's Growing Economy

  Scotland and Wales Opt for Devolution

  Britain's Presidency of the European Union

  Briefing Note

  The EUREKA Programme

  Debt 2000 Initiative: The Mauritius Mandate

  Factsheets

  British General Election: 1 May 1997

  Spotlight on Britain

  Britain's Department of Social Security

  Britain's Department of Trade and Industry

  Britain's Department for International Development

  Cambodia
  Mr. Steen
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed when he met the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia and the Adviser and Director of the Cabinet for Cambodia; and if he will make a statement about(a) bi-lateral British and Cambodian relations and (b) relations between the European Union and Cambodia. [28350]

  Mr. Fatchett
  When I met the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister on 21 January, our discussions covered the internal political situation, the forthcoming Cambodian elections, human rights and other issues. These talks were part of a continuing dialogue between the UK and Cambodia. The EU also takes a keen interest in events in Cambodia and is providing 9.5 mecu in election assistance, subject to political conditionality.

  Falkland Islands
  Mr. Key
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what offers of assistance have been(a) received, (b) discussed and (c) accepted from the Government of Argentina to assist British troops with mine clearance in the Falkland Islands. [28224]

  Mr. Tony Lloyd
  In 1993, the Argentine Government offered to assist with demining and to meet the cost.
  42
  The matter waslast discussed by Ministers at a meeting between the Foreign Secretary and Dr. di Telia in November 1997, and by officials at a routine meeting earlier this week.

  We are committed to meeting our obligations under the Ottawa Convention. It is currently considering how best to achieve this in the mined areas on the Falkland Islands. Comprehensive clearance work on the minefields was stopped soon after the conflict following a number of serious incidents involving clearance personnel.

  Single Market
  Miss Mcintosh
  To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he proposes to secure the completion of a single market; and to what timetable. [27682]

  Mrs. Roche
  [holding answer 4 February 1998]I have been asked to reply.

  The Single Market Action Plan produced last year by the Commission sets out the key priorities to ensure an effective Single Market. All Member States have committed themselves to a timetable to catching up with delays in implementing Single Market law by the end of this year. As chairman of the Internal Market Council during the UK Presidency, the Minister for Trade and Competitions in Europe will be leading the efforts to achieve this timetable. There has also been close co-ordination with Austria to ensure that momentum is kept up in the second half of the year. However, there will still be a need for work to ensure the Single Market is working effectively and responsive to new markets: also that the rales are being properly enforced and are not over-complicated. There will also be a need for legislation for new technologies as they emerge. Progress in these areas will be a top priority for the UK Presidency.

WALES

  Birth Defects
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many babies were born with serious birth defects in each health authority in Wales in(a) 1997,(b) 1987 and (c) 1977. [26988]

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  The number of voluntary notifications of babies born with congenital anomalies, by usual residence of mother, is shown in the following tables for the years 1977, 1987 and 1996, which is the latest year for which information is available. Data for 1996 are not comparable with the previous years as prior to 1990 all malformations were notifiable, but from 1990 onwards specified minor anomalies were excluded from notifications to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Additionally, prior to 1995 only those anomalies detected at or within ten days of birth were notified. Data for 1996 include anomalies detected after 10 days.

  Health Authority of residence of mother

  1977

  11987

  Clwyd

  89

  63

  Dyfed

  69

  —

  East Dyfed

  —

  69

  Pembrokeshire

  —

  39

  Gwent

  60

  70

  43

  Health Authority of residence of mother

  7977

  11987

  Gwynedd

  42

  48

  Mid Glamorgan

  98

  148

  powys

  26

  41

  South Glamorgan

  93

  70

  West Glamorgan

  74

  54

  Wales

  551

  602

  1 Dyfed figures for 1987 were provided by the health authorities of East Dyfed and Pembrokeshire

  Health Authority of residence of mother

  11996

  Bro Taf

  75

  Dyfed Powys

  19

  Gwent

  11

  Morgannwg

  9

  North Wales

  63

  Wales

  177

  1 1996 figures were provided by the reorganised health authorities which came into being on 1 April 1996.

  Hospital Closures
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many hospitals have been closed since 1979; and if he will make a statement; [27275]

  (2) how many hospitals have closed since 1 May 1997. [27274]

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  Since 1 January 1979, some 62 NHS hospitals have been closed and remain closed to date according to records held by the Welsh Office. Over the same period 15 NHS hospitals have been opened. No NHS hospitals have been closed, or opened, since 1 May 1997.

  NHS Ancillary Staff
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many ancillary staff are employed in the NHS in Wales. [27272]

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  The system used to classify directly employed non-medical NHS staff changed from groups which were based on payscales to groups which are based on new occupation codes. The staff group previously described as 'ancillary staff are now mostly in a group called 'support staff. At 30 June 1997, there were approximately 5,800 whole-time equivalent support staff directly employed by the NHS in Wales.

  Out-of-school Clubs
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many out-of-school clubs there are; and if he will make a statement. [27649]

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  The out-of-school child care Initiative has supported the development of 206 child care clubs providing 4,500 child care places since its inception in 1993.

  I have increased the level of funding for this initiative in 1998–99 by 300% to a new level of £900,000. I anticipate that this will support a further 30 child care
  44
  clubs and 650 more child care places for school age children. This demonstrates our commitment to the development of child care in Wales to enable women in particular to re-enter the labour market or re-train. This initiative helps support our Welfare to Work programme and will contribute to the Childcare Strategy for Wales.

  Truancy
  Mr. Barry Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he has instituted to reduce the incidence of truancy; and if he will make a statement. [27648]

  Mr. Hain
  The Welsh Office issued draft guidance on "School Attendance and the Role of the Education Welfare Service" in December. The consultation ends on 20 February. Final guidance will be issued shortly thereafter fulfilling the undertaking given in the White Paper "Building Excellent Schools Together".

  An OHMCI Report "Improving Attendance and Behaviour: An Evaluation of Welsh Office [GEST] Funded Projects in Nine LEAs" was published on 12 December 1997 with the aim of spreading good practice.

  LEAs in Wales have indicated they propose to spend about £0.5 million on truancy and discipline measures through the Department's Grants for Education Support and Training programme (GEST) in 1998–99. Authorities were informed of their individual allocations on 30 January.

  The Department's Youth Access Initiative 1998–99 has required local authorities and TECs to produce joint action plans to tackle the problems of disaffection among young people who are not receiving education or training and are not in employment. For young people below school leaving age the plans will help them to return to mainstream education. Welsh Office support in 1998–99 amounts to £1.6 million.

  Welsh Language
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children in Wales currently receive a Welsh language medium education. [27443]

  Mr. Hain
  At January 1997, 50,392 children in maintained primary schools were in classes in which Welsh was the sole or main medium of instruction and a further 7,649 were in classes in which Welsh was used as a medium of teaching for part of the curriculum. 49 maintained secondary schools were "Welsh speaking" schools (as defined by the Education Act 1996) but not all pupils in these schools would have been taught through Welsh. Of the 28,831 pupils in Years 7 to 11 in these schools, 21,372 were taught the subject of Welsh as a first language. This may give an indication of the number studying other subjects through the medium of Welsh.

  Town Centre Shopping
  Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he intends taking to protect town centre shopping facilities in Wales. [27445]
  45
  Mr. Win Griffiths
  Government planning policy on retailing and town centres is set out in "Planning Guidance (Wales) Planning Policy" published in May 1996. This includes a commitment to sustain and enhance town centres and established tests for new retail development which favour town centres sites. A revised version of "Planning Guidance (Wales) Planning Policy" is now being prepared following consultation and it is intended that this will emphasise the need to safeguard and promote town centre shopping.

  Tuition Fees
  Mr. Öpik
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the gross cost of setting up mechanisms for the means testing of citizens of other EU member states to assess their eligibility to pay tuition fees. [27716]

  Mr. Hain
  This is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment.

  Farm Incomes
  Mr. Alan W. Williams
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 2 February 1998,Official Report, column 532, what information he has collated on the net annual income for farmers in Wales during (a) 1996–97 and (b) the current financial year. [28284]

  Mr. Win Griffiths
  [holding answer 6 February 1998]The information requested is currently being collated, and will be published in a Statistical Release on Thursday 12 February 1998. I will write to my hon. Friend enclosing a copy of the Release and will also arrange for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26333]

  Mr. Ron Davies
  Between 1 May and 31 January 1998, the Welsh Office published 831 titles and the Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales, 747.

  A list of the publications will be placed in the Library of the House as soon as possible.

  Local Government Finance
  Mr. Gareth Thomas
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are his plans for local government revenue spending for 1998–99. [28981]

  Mr. Ron Davies
  Further to my announcement on 2 February, I am laying the Local Government Finance Report (Wales) 1998–99 (revised) with the Limitation of Council Tax (Relevant Notional Amounts) Report (Wales) 1998–99 (revised) today. These revised reports replace those two reports laid before the House on 2 February which have been withdrawn due to a small error in the calculation of the standard spending assessments. The Special Grant Report (No. 2) (Wales) 1998 has not been revised.
  46
  I am placing revised settlement details for individual local authorities in the Library of the House. The details for individual police authorities and the settlement aggregates have not changed. My decisions are subject to the approval of the House of Commons.

  Crickhowell House
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what rent his Department is currently paying to Associated British Ports for Crickhowell House in Cardiff; what is the length of the lease; and what are the break-points in the lease. [28339]

  Mr. Ron Davies
  For reasons of commercial confidentiality it is Government policy not to disclose information about rent levels for individual properties. The lease runs for 25 years from 31 August 1993 with no break provision.

  National Assembly
  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if those who made bids for the location of the National Assembly will be permitted to amend the detailed bids submitted; and if he will make a statement. [28340]

  Mr. Ron Davies
  It is open to those who made bids to amend the details as they see fit, but I expect to make a decision shortly.

  Mr. Wigley
  To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will(a) publish and (b) place in the Library the full details of the bids received for the location of the National Assembly. [28341]

  Mr. Ron Davies
  I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Swansea, West (Mr. Williams) on 3 February 1998,Official Report column 606.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

  Publications
  Mr. Gale
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26322]

  Mr. Hoon
  The Lord Chancellor's Department has published the following publications between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998.

  1. Lord Chancellor's Department Headquarters

  Green Paper:

  Who Decides? Making Decisions on behalf of Mentally Incapacitated Adults

  Reports:

  Review of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

  Review of Civil Justice and Legal Aid: Report to the Lord Chancellor by Sir Peter Middleton GCB

  Access to Justice publications:

  Civil Procedure Rules about Costs: A Consultation Paper

  Clinical Negligence Cases: Proposed New Procedures: A Consultation Paper

  Judicial Case Management: the Fast Track and Multi-Track: A Working Paper

  47

  Multi-Party Situations: Proposed New Procedures: A Consultation Paper

  Security for Costs: Proposed New Rules: A Consultation Paper

  Service of Court Process Abroad: Proposed Civil Procedure Rules: A Consultation Paper

  The Small Claims Procedure: A Consultation Paper

  Specialist Jurisdictions: Proposed New Procedures: A Consultation Paper

  Family Law Act 1996:

  Domestic Violence: The New Law: A Guide to Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 for family law practitioners

  Domestic Violence: The New Law: A Guide to Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 for agencies and professionals helping victims of domestic violence

  Help against Domestic Violence—free leaflet in English, Welsh and six other languages

  LCD Research Series:

  1/97 Monitoring the Rise in the Small Claims Limit: litigants' experiences of different form of adjudication (Professor John Baldwin)

  2/97 Delay inthe Criminal Justice System (Dr. Satnam Choongh)

  3/97 Resolving Civil Disputes: choosing between out-of-court schemes and litigation (Tamara Goriely and Tom Williams)

  4/97 Law-And-Economics: State of the Art and Questions for the Future (Professor Anthony Ogus)

  5/97 Regulating Legal Services (Professor Robert Baldwin)

  6/97 Judicial Appointments Commissions: The European and North American Experience and the possible implications for the United Kingdom (Dr. Cheryl Thomas and Dr. Kate Malleson)

  7/97 The Division of Marital Assets Following Divorce with Particular Reference to Pensions (Professor Antony Dnes)

  8/97 Household Indebtedness, voluntary and involuntary: a study of court summonses (Mike Hope)

  9/97 Expenditure on Legal Services (Mike Hope)

  10/97 Legal Aid Delivery Systems: which offer the best value for money in mass casework? A summary of International Experience (Tamara Goriely)

  11/97 Ethnic Monitoring of Defendants Appearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court in 1995 (Home Office and Professor Philip Bean)

  Magistrates' courts statistics:

  Information Bulletin Issue 2/97: Time Intervals for Criminal Proceedings in Magistrates' Courts: February 1997 (published June 1997)

  Information Bulletin Issue 3/97: Magistrates' Courts User Reaction and Waiting Times on the Day Surveys (published August 1997)

  Information Bulletin Issue 4/97: Time Intervals for Criminal Proceedings in Magistrates' Courts: June 1997 (published December 1997)

  Annual Reports:

  Judicial Studies Board Annual Report

  Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct Annual Report

  Others:

  Hearsay (LCD staff magazine—six issues per annum)

  2. Court Service

  Annual reports:

  The Court Service Annual Report

  The Judicial Statistics Annual Report

  Court users information leaflets:

  English and Welsh versions

  Small Claims Leaflets: Amended

  Ex 301 What is a small claim? can it help me?

  48

  Ex 302 How to make a small claim

  Ex 303 I've received a summons—what do I do

  Ex 304 No reply to my summons—what should I do

  Ex 305 The defendant agrees with the claim

  Ex 306 The defendant disagrees with the claim

  Ex 307 An arbitration hearing

  Registered Judgements Ex 320 What does it mean?

  Enforcing your Judgement

  Ex 321 I have a judgement but the defendant hasn't paid—What can I do?

  Ex 322 Warrant of execution—How do I ask for a warrant of execution?

  Ex 323 Attachment of earnings—How do I ask for an attachment of earnings order?

  Ex 324 Oral examinations—How do I ask for an oral examination?

  Ex 325 Garnishee and charging orders—How do I ask for a garnishee or charging order?

  Ex 326 I cannot pay my judgement—What do I do?

  Ex 327 I've got a maintenance order—but it's not being paid

  Ex 350 Small Businesses—A guide for small businesses to debt recovery through a county court—Going to court—can it help me?

  Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996

  Information Pack

  FL700 leaflet How can it help me?

  Family leaflets:

  D183 About Divorce

  D184 I want to get a divorce—what do I do?

  CB1 Children and the family courts

  Fees leaflets:

  Ex 50 Fees County Court Fees 15 January 1997 (amendment)

  Ex 50 Welsh version

  Attachment of Earnings Handbook for Employers

  Attachment of Earnings leaflet

  Leaflet—Ancillary Relief and you

  Leaflet—Making an application for Ancillary Relief

  Leaflet 5130 Guide to proceedings in the Court of Appeal— Criminal Division

  Ex 501 Welsh language information sheet

  Leaflet—Information about your Compensation award (Produced by Magistrates Courts Division) Welsh and English versions

  Public Information Notices: Welsh versions for Disabilities Discrimination Act

  Ex 104 Court information leaflets

  Ex 343 Complaints leaflets

  3. Public Trust Office

  Annual publications:

  Public Trust Office Annual Report

  Public Trust Office Corporate Plan

  Public Trust Office Business Plan

  Factsheets:

  Protection Division Accounts

  Protection Division Annual Enquiries

  Protection Division Investments

  Death of an Incapacitated Person

  Applications for the Direction of the Public Trustee

  A Guide to the Court Funds Office—Protection Division Payments

  49

  Booklets:

  Making an Application

  Duties of a Receiver

  Protection Division Fees

  Receiver's Handbook

  Information for Nursing Homes, Hospitals and Other Carers

  Handling the Financial Affairs of People Suffering from Mental Disorder

  Enduring Powers of Attorney Handbook

  How to Complain

  Charter Statements—for Protection Division, Receivership Division, Trust Division and Court Funds Officer

  Receivership Information Booklet for the Use of Clients

  Receivership Division Information Booklet

  Receivership Division Information for Nursing Homes, Hospitals and Other Carers

  Trust Division Executor and Trustee Services

  Trust Division Fees.

  Magistrates (Wales)
  Mr. Ruane
  To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the names of those sitting on advisory committees for the appointment of magistrates in Wales. [27111]

  Mr. Hoon
  The names of the members of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace in Wales are as follows, listed by Advisory Committee:

  Clwyd

  Sir William Gladstone Bt JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  Mrs. S. E. Glazebrook JP

  R. Evans Esq

  Mrs. C. T. Owen JP

  Mrs. L. C. Wilding JP

  Mrs. J. Jones JP

  A Blackwell Esq JP

  M. Pugh Esq JP

  T. Lloyd Esq JP

  Mrs. G. M. Peers JP

  Mrs. A. K Larsen JP

  Dr. J. P. Davies JP(m)

  Mrs. D. C. Ellis

  Dyfed- Ca rmarthen

  Sir David Mansel Lewis KCVO JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  Mrs. D. Evans JP

  Mrs. M. Lloyd JP

  T. G. Evans Esq JP

  Mrs. P. A. Williams

  Mrs. B. M. Jones JP

  Dr. H. Edwards JP (m)

  Mrs. E. E. Jenkins JP

  G. C. Price Esq JP

  J. H. Owens Esq JP

  Dyfed- Ceredigion

  W. R. G. James Esq JP (Chairman)

  Mrs. M. J. K.Davies JP

  G. R. Evans Esq MBE JP

  Mrs. M. R. E.Roderick JP

  I. I. Griffiths Esq JP

  50

  Prof. D. H. E. Roberts JP

  G. J. Morgan Esq JP

  H. P. Williams Esq JP

  Mrs. N. E. Davies

  Dyfed-Pembroke

  Mrs. C. F. Ramsden JP (Chairman)

  Mrs. P. A. Barker JP

  D. W. Banner Esq JP

  J. D. Harry Esq JP

  D. Fellows Esq

  G. Sizer Esq JP

  S. Watkins Esq JP

  G. L. Gibby Esq JP

  Mrs. M. L. J.Firmin JP

  Gwent

  Sir Richard Hanbury-Tenison KCVO JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  Mrs. A. Troath JP

  Mrs. J. E. Child JP

  Mrs. H. E. Murray JP

  G. Jenkins Esq JP

  W. D. Morgan Esq

  C. Perrott Esq JP

  Mrs. J. M. Anthony JP

  Mrs. P. E. Davies JP

  J. Graydon Esq JP

  Miss F. M. Hingley JP

  B. G. James Esq JP

  V. N. Waters Esq Jp

  S. J. Telling Esq

  Gwynedd Caernarfon

  R. G. Pritchard-Jones Esq JP (Chairman)

  Mrs. B. Lewis JP

  Mrs. K. Jones JP

  G. T. Roberts Esq JP

  D. Pugh Esq OBE JP

  E. Jones Esq JP

  J. Roberts Esq

  Mrs. P. A. Williams JP

  Mrs. J. BrysonJP

  H. T. Jones Esq JP

  Dr. H. Roberts (f)

  Gwynedd Meirionnydd

  R. E. Meuric Rees Esq CBE JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  The Hon. V. F. Williams-Wynne(f)

  R. Price Esq JP

  J. W. England Esq

  A. Morgan Esq

  E. C. Roberts JP

  Ms D. J. Jones JP

  Mrs. C. Lawson JP

  Mid Glamorgan

  M. A. McLaggan Esq JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  R. H. Knight Esq JP

  T. C. Challoner Esq JP

  C. Jones Esq JP

  A. V. Jenkins Esq JP

  A. A. Brookes Esq JP

  51

  B. W. Hancock Esq

  Mrs. J. A. Jarman

  Mrs. S. John JP

  Mrs. G. Servini JP

  Mrs. K. E. Thomas JP

  North Powys

  P. English Esq JP (Chairman)

  H. J. Tombs Esq JP

  Mrs. K. J. Hay JP

  Dr. L. H. Williams(m)

  Lady Davies

  T. D. Evans Esq JP

  Mrs. A. Jones JP

  Mrs. S. J. Jarman JP

  Ms L. Kretchmer JP

  G. S. I. Lloyd Esq JP

  South Glamorgan

  HHJ M. Gibbon QC (Chairman)

  Mrs. J. Sainsbury JP

  Mrs. M. E. Drake

  J. L. Jones Esq JP

  Mrs. M. A. Campbell JP

  Mrs. E. S. Williams JP

  Mrs. L. Pritchard-Jones JP

  M. G. Downs Esq JP

  South Powys

  M. L. Bourdillon Esq JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  The hon. R. Gibson-Watt

  G. R. Price Esq JP

  S. Vipond Esq JP

  W. M. Thomas Esq JP

  W. J. Elliott Esq JP

  Mrs. G. M. Powell JP

  Mrs. S. E. Thompson JP

  Mrs. C. E. Harvard

  Mrs. G. M. Riley JP

  West Glamorgan

  R. C. Hastie Esq CBE RD JP (Chairman, Lord Lieutenant)

  Mrs. M. L. Daley JP

  Mrs. S. E. Davies JP

  E. M. H. Evans Esq JP

  Mrs. M. F. Goodchild JP

  D. R. M. Thomas Esq JP

  Miss M. Hughes JP

  Miss M. Lody JP

  C. G. Jones Esq JP

  D. W. W. Thomas Esq JP

  Mrs. G. Thomas

  K. Rees Esq JP

  A. R. Richards Esq JP

  J. Warman Esq

  Mrs. S. M. Waller

  Dr. N. Lloyd JP(f)

  H. F. Jones Esq

  Ynys Môn

  G I. Jones Esq JP (Chairman)

  I. O. Davies Esq JP

  Mrs. P. A. Doble JP

  52

  Mrs. M. Williams JP

  A. M. Jones Esq

  Mrs. A. Jones JP

  T. A. Hughes Esq

  G. Morris-Jones Esq

  G. Williams Esq JP.

  NORTHERN IRELAND

    Poor People
    Mr. Pond
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will carry out an assessment of the impact of her Department's current policies on the(a) income, (b) employment opportunities and (c) living standards, of the poorest 30 per cent, of the population. [23344]

    Mr. Paul Murphy
    Government policies are continually evaluated using a variety of methods. We have a range of surveys and policy evaluation methodologies in place, some of which are targeted specifically at certain low income groups. In addition, various research studies on low income and deprivation have been commissioned from leading academics.

    The best way of improving the living standards of most people at the bottom of the income distribution is to help them into work and we are implementing a range of policies under the New Deal to achieve this aim. Our objective is to raise the living standards of the many, not just the few, and to offer educational and employment opportunities for all.

    We carry out a range of policies to stimulate growth in employment and to improve the opportunities for those seeking employment—including specific Action Plans for targeting measures on areas and people objectively defined as being in greatest need. The impact of these policies is regularly assessed by their degree of success in meeting specific objectives.

    The Standing Advisory Commission on Human Right's Report on Employment Equality published in June 1997 makes over 160 recommendations, a number of which relate to employment opportunities and social deprivation. Consideration of all the recommendations is well advanced and the Government's response will be published in the coming months.

    Civil Servants
    Mr. Forth
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants in her Department at each grade for grade 3 or above have(a) resigned, (b) retired before pensionable age and (c) moved to different responsibilities within the department since 1 May 1997; if she will indicate the Minister to whom each was responsible; and if she will make a statement. [26928]

    Mr. Paul Murphy
    The information for the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments is as follows:(a) Nil;

    (b) One Grade 1, one Grade 1A (both responsible to the Secretary of State); one Grade 3 responsible to Lord Dubs;

    (c) One Grade 2 responsible to me; one Grade 3 responsible to Lord Dubs.

    Preparatory Schools
    Mr. Robert McCartney
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the cost of withdrawal of funding to preparatory schools for the primary school sector; and if she will make a statement. [26738]

    Mr. Worthington
    I announced on 29 January that the subsidy paid towards the teaching costs of pupils attending preparatory departments of grammar schools would be reduced from 40% to 30% with effect from September 1998. This is expected to save around £250,000 to help improve standards elsewhere in the education sector.

    It is estimated that this change will mean on average an increase of about 8% on the existing level of parental contributions if a school decides to pass on to parents the full effect of the reduced subsidy.

    Security
    Mr. Robert McCartney
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will withdraw the security passes to Castle Buildings of political parties connected to paramilitary organisations that admit to ending their ceasefire; and what external advice she has sought on the status of such parties. [26735]

    Mr. Paul Murphy
    The Ulster Democratic Party was declared by the two Governments on 26 January to be no longer entitled to participate in the talks process, in view of the activities of a paramilitary organisation with which it is associated. Its members do not now have access to Castle Buildings. We have involved our legal advisers as necessary in considering the position of the party.

    Quangos
    Mr. William Ross
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the people who presently serve on more than one quango in Northern Ireland, indicating the bodies on which they serve, the position they hold on each such body, when they were first appointed and the number of terms for which they have served on each body. [26741]

    Mr. Paul Murphy
    A copy of the information requested has been placed in the Library.

    Water Services
    Mr. John D. Taylor
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what plans she has to amend the Water and Sewerage Service (Northern Ireland) Order 1973 in order to empower the Water Service to enter third party land for the purposes of laying a private supply pipe; and if she will make a statement; [27122]

    (2) if officials in her Department will meet the Ulster Farmers' Union to discuss the ability of the Water Service to lay private water supply pipes across a third party's land without the third party's consent; [27124]

    (3) on how many occasions in the last two years a landowner has notified her Department that he is unable to obtain water due to the refusal of a third party to allow the Water Service to enter for the purposes of laying a private supply pipe. [27123]
    54
    Mr. Paul Murphy
    Responsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Water Service under its chief executive, Mr. H. R. F. Plester. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

    Letter from H.R. F. Plester to Mr. John D. Taylor, dated 4 February 1998.
    The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your three recent parliamentary questions about private supply pipes. You asked if there are plans to amend the Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1973 ("the 1973 Order") to empower the Water Service to enter third party land for the purposes of laying a private supply pipe and if the Department's officials will meet the Ulster Farmers Union to discuss the ability of the Water Service to lay private water supply pipes across a third party's land without the third party's consent. You also asked me how many occasions in the last two years a landowner has notified the Department that he is unable to obtain water due to the refusal of a third party to allow the Water Service to enter for the purposes of laying a private supply pipe.
    While the Department has a duty under the 1973 Order to supply and distribute water, its powers of entry to private land are limited to the laying of watermains, which are vested in the Department and are for the purpose of giving a general supply of water. This is district from private supply pipes which belong to the owner of the land in which they are laid and which supply individual consumers or which, by agreement, cross a third party's land to supply an individual consumer. The Department's position reflects that under which the water supply undertakers in the rest of the United Kingdom operate.
    It is, therefore, the responsibility of individuals seeking a water supply from the Department's watermains to arrange for the laying of any necessary length of private supply pipe to the watermain. This includes making any access arrangements with the owners of any private lands which may need to be crossed in order to make a connection to a watermain. The Department's current powers are sufficient to enable it to exercise its functions under the 1973 Order and it would not be appropriate for it to seek a power to enter private land to carry out work solely on behalf of a private individual. There are, therefore, no plans to seek an amendment to the 1973 Order.
    As regards a meeting with the Ulster Farmers Union, the Water Service's Director of Operations would be happy to meet the Union to discuss any difficulties its members may have because they are unable to lay a private supply pipe across third party land. Perhaps the Union would contact my office to make the arrangements.
    It is an important consideration that we must be mindful of the rights and interests of those farmers whose lands may be traversed by any proposed private supply pipes. They are affected in significant degree as well as those individuals seeking the laying of such a connection across third party lands to a watermain.
    The Water Service does not maintain records of representations made to it by individuals who have been denied access to third party lands to lay private supply pipes. As I have explained, the Water Service would not seek entry to third party lands to lay private supply pipes as this is a matter for all the private property holders involved to resolve by negotiation and agreement. I am, however, aware of difficulty being experienced by one of your constituents in laying a service pipe across third party land and I wrote to you about this on 15 August and 22 September 1997.

    Policing
    Mr. McNulty
    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures she is taking to implement the proposals made in the Labour Party discussion paper "Policing in Northern Ireland—A Service for All People"(a) to reform the method of appointment of members of the Police Authority and (b) in respect of the role of community police liaison committees. [28959]
    55
    Marjorie Mowlam
    As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State informed the House on 15 December 1997,Official Report, columns 100–04, I intend to issue a consultation paper before the start of the Committee Stage of the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill, outlining some options for changes to strengthen the Police Authority, and the Community Police Liaison Committees so developing further the partnership between the police and the community, which is essential to combating crime of all kinds. Copies of that paper, "Your Voice—Your Choice", which is published today, have now been placed in the Library of the House. I have no set views on which, if any, of these options should be implemented, and I am keen to hear views on these important issues. Decisions must await the outcome of the consultation process; and developments in the talks.

  HOUSE OF COMMONS

    Minister without Portfolio
    Mr. Baker
    To ask the President of the Council what representations she has received on the advantages of extending the length of time available to the Minister without Portfolio to answer oral questions. [26137]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    None since I announced that the time for oral questions to the Minister without Portfolio about the Millennium Experience would be doubled with effect from Monday 16 February.

    Sitting Hours
    Mr. Hanson
    To ask the President of the Council what representations she has received on an extension to the number of morning sittings of the House. [26139]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    Several people have suggested such a change. The Modernisation Committee is currently considering proposals to extend morning sittings and hopes to report soon.

    Members' Smoking Room
    Mr. Sanders
    To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what measures he proposes to eradicate mice from the Members' Smoking Room. [28359]

    Mr. Dennis Turner
    Pest control is the responsibility of the Director of Works; however, good housekeeping is essential in the prevention of pest infestation. To this effect, the contract cleaning of the Members' Smoking Room is carried out during the night, as soon as possible after close of business.

    Although no reports of sightings of mice have recently been made to the management of the Refreshment Department or to the Parliamentary Works Directorate, the Refreshment Department will ensure that the cleaning contractors are aware of the importance of maintaining the correct standard of cleaning, and I have asked the management of the Department to ensure that particular attention is paid to the Members' Smoking Room.

    However, in my personal capacity, I am on record as having said that the traditional way of keeping down rodent infestation is best; it may well be that if chemicals prove ineffective, the House may wish to reconsider re-introducing a cat as a more effective deterrent.
    56
    Mr. Sanders
    To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee when the Members' Smoking Room was last checked for vermin infestation. [28358]

    Mr. Dennis Turner
    Bait is set in eight places in the Members' Smoking Room as a precaution against rodent infestation. The bait is checked monthly, the last inspection being 16 January 1998. The last time the pest control contractor found evidence of the presence of mice in the Smoking Room was in August 1997.

    I understand that staff of the Refreshment Department have been reminded of the correct procedure of reporting evidence or sightings of vermin.

    British Beef Industry
    Mr. Jenkins
    To ask the Chairman of the Catering Committee what steps the Refreshment Department is taking to support the British beef industry. [28709]

    Mr. Dennis Turner
    I am pleased to advise my hon. Friend that the Refreshment Department will be showing its support for the British beef industry by celebrating "British Beef Week" with a promotion of British beef in its cafeterias and in the Members' Dining Room during the week commencing 16 February 1998. A 'pledge' book will be provided in the Dining Room to enable all hon. Members to indicate their individual support for the industry.

    Additional Costs Allowance
    Dr. Lynne Jones
    To ask the President of the Council how many hon. Members claimed(a) additional costs allowance and (b) London weighting in 1996–97. [27321]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    (a)(b) 119 were paid the London Supplement.

    Dr. Lynne Jones
    To ask the President of the Council what was the cost of administering the additional costs allowance in the last year for which figures are available. [27323]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    The cost of this area of work is not separately identified as it forms part of the workload of a section with other responsibilities for payments to Members.

    Dr. Lynne Jones
    To ask the President of the Council how many hon. Members claimed additional costs allowance of more than £500 and less than the maximum in 1996–97.[27322]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    273.

  HEALTH

    Dental Services (Lincolnshire)
    Mr. Hogg
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the availability of NHS dental services in Lincolnshire. [26541]

    Mr. Milburn
    There were 135 General Dental Service dentists on Lincolnshire Health Authority's list on 30 September 1997. The health authority can refer patients to a dentist willing to register them for National Health Service treatment.
    57

    Haemophiliacs (Contaminated Blood Products)
    Mr. Goggins
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to be able to make an announcement with regard to the claim for recompense by haemophiliacs infected with Hepatitis C as a result of treatment with contaminated blood products. [27169]

    Ms Jowell
    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State expects to be able to write to the Haemophilia Society on all the issues they have raised in the course of the next few weeks.

    ME Association
    Mr. Green
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase support from his Department for the ME Association. [27253]

    Ms Jowell
    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for West Dorset (Mr. Letwin) on 2 February 1998,Official Report, column 508.

    Equity of Service
    Mr. Ivan Henderson
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that the measures taken by the Government to extend equity of service provided in areas covered by individual health authorities is not used by individual health authorities as an occasion to level down available services. [27244]

    Ms Jowell
    We will take action to ensure that the most effective services are available across the country. We will work with the professions to produce national clinical guidelines and service frameworks to improve national consistency. This will be backed up by our commitment to provide real-terms increases in the resources for the National Health Service and ploughing extra resources into patient care.

    AIDS Vaccines
    Dr. Tonge
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to encourage the international effort to test existing AIDS vaccines. [27246]

    Ms Jowell
    The United Kingdom is committed to encouraging international collaboration on AIDS vaccine research. The Medical Research Council and the Department are supporting collaborative research on AIDS vaccines. Although candidate vaccines are being tested, this is a complex area of research with no easy solutions; however, the UK research on AIDS vaccines is making a significant contribution to the international effort.

    HIV Testing (Pregnant Women)
    Dr. Tonge
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for routine testing of pregnant women for HIV. [27248]

    Ms Jowell
    We are committed to reducing the number of children born with HIV infection. Our purpose is to ensure that women are fully informed of the benefits of having an HIV test for themselves and their babies and to encourage the uptake of named voluntary HIV antibody testing on all women attending for antenatal care who may 58
    be at increased risk. We recognise, however, that knowing one is infected with HIV raises difficult issues for the individual.

    We have produced a leaflet to provide pregnant women with the necessary information to enable them to reach an informed decision about HIV testing. The leaflet will be piloted for acceptability and usefulness in the spring in a number of antenatal clinics.

    Free confidential access to HIV testing remains available to anyone who feels they may have been at risk of infection.

    Children's Affairs
    Mr. Cox
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what initiatives he will bring forward on the issue of children's affairs during the United Kingdom Presidency of the European Union. [27396]

    Mr. Boateng
    We have no plans to do so. The European Community currently has no legal competence to introduce measures to regulate policies affecting the child in the areas covered by my right hon. Friend's responsibilities. Such activities fall exclusively to the member states.

    Microbiologists (Visits)
    Mr. Campbell-Savours
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates microbiologists Doctor Nasser el-Hindawi and Doctor Tharner Abdul Rahman were invited to the United Kingdom; to what extent they were party to discussions on(a) anthrax, (b) gas gangrene,(c) botulism toxin, (d) brucellosis and (e) rabbit foot and tetanus; and by whom they were invited. [26398]

    Ms Jowell
    [holding answer 3 February 1998]Neither Doctor Nasser el-Hindawi nor Doctor Tharner Abdul Rahman were invited to the United Kingdom. They applied to attend an international scientific workshop on anthrax in response to publicity in several scientific publications. The workshop was held in Winchester in April 1989, and was organised by various institutions who have an expertise in the control of infectious diseases, including the Public Health Laboratory Service and the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research. The purpose of the workshop was to promote international understanding of anthrax as a naturally occurring disease which poses a significant threat to public health in many parts of the world. All presentations at the workshop addressed human health aspects of the disease and none contained classified information.

    The workshop contained no presentations or open discussions on gas gangrene, botulism toxin, brucellosis, rabbit foot or tetanus.

    AIDS Support Grant
    Mr. Gerrard
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce AIDS Support Grant allocations to local authorities for the next financial year. [27376]

    Ms Jowell
    We expert to annonce the 1998–99 AIDS Supported Grant allocations to local authorities shortly.
    59

    NHS Prescriptions
    Mr. Stunell
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the level of NHS payments to pharmacists for dispensing prescriptions. [27471]

    Mr. Milburn
    Since October 1997, we have received in the region of 120 letters on this subject from hon. and right hon. Members, and a very much smaller number directly from individual community pharmacists and representative organisations.

    Mr. Stunell
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the system of NHS payments to pharmacists for dispensing prescriptions; and if he will make a statement. [27472]

    Mr. Milburn
    We have no plans for such a review at present, but we remain keen to discuss with relevant bodies ways of making the best use of community pharmacists' skills within the National Health Service.

    Tobacco and Alcohol
    Mrs. Lait
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions are planned in the Health Council during the British Presidency on the effect on the health of the residents of the member states of differentials in excise duty on tobacco and alcohol. [27927]

    Ms Jowell
    There are no plans to raise this as a formal agenda item at the Health Council on 30 April 1998.

    Patient Records
    Mr. Todd
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the requirement on general practitioners to maintain manual notes on patients so as to allow more efficient alternatives. [28115]

    Mr. Milburn
    The Department has been discussing with the General Medical Services Committee of the British Medical Association a proposed change to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992 which would have allowed general practitioners (GPs) to maintain patient records on a computer as an alternative to manual records. The profession have requested that further work is done to develop a standardised electronic patient record and to facilitate the transfer of patient records electronically from GP to GP before the requirement to maintain records manually is removed. We will consider changing this requirement once work in these ares is suitably advanced.

    Cervical Cancer Screening
    Gillian Merron
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the quality of cervical cancer screening following the recall by Lincoln County Hospital of women whose smear test results were incorrectly reported. [28034]

    Ms Jowell
    [holding answer 6 February 1998]The regional quality assurance programme found lower than expected levels of reporting of smear abnormalities at Lincoln and Louth National Health Service Trust. On the basis of this, the trust took swift action in ordering a re-read of a number of smears, and some women have now been recalled. We are pleased that the quality 60
    assurance system in place in the Trent region did its job properly in identifying the problem, and that rapid action was taken to put it right.

    Wide ranging action to help ensure consistent high quality and dependability in cervical screening across the country was announced last year in the light of a failure of the cervical screening programme at Kent and Canterbury NHS Trust. We announced that there would be a review of the performance of all cervical screening programmes, and that, where necessary, action plans would be drawn up to help ensure national standards are met on 3 November 1997, Ojficial Report, columns 19–28. EL(97)67 was also issued. In addition, we are tightening up accountability for quality assurance. In December, we announced a package of measures to promote consistent high quality in laboratories undertaking cervical screening (EL(97)83 refers). In particular, all laboratories must apply this year for external quality accreditation and there will be targeted refresher training for staff in laboratories which do not meet key quality indicators. The Chief Medical Officer has set up an action team to monitor progress.

    Drugs
    Mr. Flynn
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 3 February 1998,Official Report, column 614, what are the percentages of(a) females and (b) males who have used an illegal drug by the age of (i) 16 and (ii) 24 years. [28195]

    Ms Jowell
    The information available centrally is given in the table.

    Percentage of males and females who indicated that they had ever taken drugs, 1996, England and Wales

    Age 16 to 19

    Age 20 to 24

    Males

    48

    57

    Females

    42

    43

    Persons

    45

    49

    Note:

    Percentages rounded to the nearest whole figure.

    Source:

    1996 British Crime Survey

    For males and females aged 15 to 16 a schools based survey conducted by McMiller and Plant (British Medical Journal 1996, 313, 394–97) found that 45 per cent, of boys and 40 per cent, of girls aged 15 to 16 in the United Kingdom reported ever using illicit drugs.

    NHS Care (Failures)
    Mr. Flynn
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 3 February 1998,Official Report, column 3 what contribution the number of patient deaths caused by failures of NHS services will play in his future assessment of the quality of NHS services. [28196]

    Mr. Milburn
    We are committed to improving the quality of National Health Service care and to minimising avoidable and premature deaths, whatever their causes. We are consulting on a new National Framework for Assessing Performance in the NHS and on an associated set of high-level performance indicators. The proposed
    61
    high-level indicators include "avoidable deaths" and "in-hospital premature deaths", though neither necessarily relates directly to failures of NHS services.

    Neuroleptic Drugs
    Mr. Flynn
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of trials recently undertaken in the USA into the effects on in-patients of withdrawing neuroleptic drugs. [28134]

    Ms Jowell
    We are not aware of these recent trials.

    Publications
    Mr. Gale
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26326]

    Ms Jowell
    This information is not collected centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    Sodium
    Mr. Jack
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what meetings his Department has hosted with non-governmental bodies or individuals to discuss the setting of targets for levels of human sodium intake; and if he will make a statement on the results of such meetings and list those who attended; [28535]

    (2) if he will publish the scientific advice presented to his Department showing the effect on health outcomes of introducing population consumption targets for sodium consumption. [28534]

    Ms Jowell
    The evidence on the relationship between sodium consumption and blood pressure was considered by the Government's source of independent expert advice, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy. It is cited in their report "Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease", published in 1994. As part of their consideration, experts were invited to present views and the names of those who gave oral or written evidence are also cited in the report. Copies of the report are available in the Library.

    The Faculty of Public Health Medicine, in collaboration with the British Heart Foundation, hosted a seminar at the request of the Department to bring together a wide spread of scientific opinion to consider the advisability of a reduction in sodium consumption for the general population. A report is expected later this year.

    Diet
    Mr. Jack
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the amount by which the average per capita consumption of fruit salads and vegetables would have to increase to have a measurable impact on those causes of mortality where poor diet is judged to be a significant contributory factor. [28537]

    Ms Jowell
    The Government's source of independent expert advice, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy, recommended in its report "Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease" published in 1994 that, on average, individuals should increase their fruit and vegetable consumption by 50 per cent. Copies of the report are available in the Library. It 62
    was on this basis that we now recommend that people should try to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

    NHS Trusts (Appointments)
    Mr. Maples
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the NHS trusts to which he appointed new chairs in the last round of appointments indicating the names of the new chairs. [28890]

    Mr. Milburn
    The information will be published in March in the Department's Public Appointments Annual Report.

    Mr. Steen
    To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the letter from Councillor Brian Yates of Jubilee Terrace, Kingswear, Devon, of 14 December 1997 concerning the nomination and selection of individuals to the boards of NHS trusts. [28351]

    Mr. Milburn
    We have no record of the letter from Councillor Yates ever having been received.

  PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

    Drugs
    Mr. Clappison
    To ask the President of the Council what representations she has received regarding the Government's strategy on the problem of illegal drug use among young people. [26134]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    Keith Hellawell—the UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator—is currently co-ordinating an extensive consultation process to inform his drafting of proposals for a new anti-drugs strategy, which he will submit to Ministers shortly. Since the announcement of his appointment last October, Mr. Hellawell and his Deputy, Mike Trace, have received over 2,000 letters from all sectors of society. They are also engaged in a comprehensive series of visits and meetings with professionals, young people and communities across the country.

    Privy Council
    Mr. Gordon Prentice
    To ask the President of the Council what criteria are used in appointments to the Privy Council. [26133]

    Mrs. Ann Taylor
    Appointment to the Privy Council is an exercise of the prerogative. Appointments are made by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. A range of factors are taken into account. Those appointed mostly comprise Ministers, other Parliamentarians and members of the judiciary.

  DUCHY OF LANCASTER

    Correspondence
    Mr. Ian Bruce
    To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how long on average it takes his Department to answer letters from hon. Members; what target date his Department sets; what percentage receive replies within
    63
    the target date; and what assessment he has made of how long it takes to deliver a letter after it has been typed. [27043]

    Dr. David Clark
    On average it takes 13 days for my Department to answer letters from hon. Members.

    The Cabinet Office (Office of Public Service) sets a target of fifteen working days from receipt to reply to all letters.

    From 1 May to 31 December 1997, 90 per cent. of letters from MPs received a full reply within the target date. A further 7 per cent. received interim holding replies within the target date.

    Once letters have been signed, they are dispatched without delay for delivery to the Palace of Westminster (or, when requested, the Member's constituency office). It is usual for letters to be delivered to the House within one working day of being signed by the appropriate Minister, and in many cases they will arrive on the same day.

    Publications
    Mr. Gale
    To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26331]

    Dr. David Clark
    The following publications have been produced by my Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998:

    Office of Public Service

    1995 Supplement to the chronological table of local legislation

    360° Feedback for the SCS

    Advertising Protocol

    An Evaluation of Investors in People in the Civil Service

    Annual edition of statutory instruments 1995 part III

    Annual edition of statutory instruments 1996 part I

    Annual edition of statutory instruments 1996 part II

    Annual volume of public General Acts and measures 1995

    Benchmarking Human resource activities—Review of consortium report

    Charter Mark Communication Guide

    Charter Mark Guide

    Charter Mark Nomination Form

    Charter Mark Schools Guide

    Charter Mark Style Guide

    Charter News Bulletin: Issue 1

    Charter News Bulletin: Issue 2

    Chronological table of the statutes 1235–1994

    Citizen's Charter Unit Quality Network Directory

    Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment report 1996–97

    Complaints Handling 1997 summary

    Compliance cost assessments 1 January 1997 to 30 June 1997

    Crown copyright in the information age

    Crown copyright in the information age, Cm 3819

    Development and training for Civil Servants—A framework for action—Update on key white paper statistics

    Direct Access Government

    Early retirement

    Equal opportunities handbook

    Evaluating Investors in People

    64

    Excellence in Action

    Finding Your Way Round Whitehall and Beyond

    Getting the best out of 360 degree feedback—A guide for Departments and Agencies

    Government Study Fellowship leaflet

    Guidance on CVs

    Increasing your benefits

    Injury at work

    Interlink

    Interview Training Programme for the SCS

    Introducing modern apprenticeships in the Civil Service

    Investors in People

    Jigsaw—Equal opportunities magazine

    Joining the PCSPS

    Leaving or opting out of the PCSPS

    List of ministerial responsibilities (including Agencies)

    Local Charter Guide: A Consultation Exercise

    Management matters magazine (quarterly)

    Opening up quangos

    Pensions manual revised versions (Volumes 2,4,5 and 6)

    Pensions update newsletter, 3 editions

    Principles of good regulation

    Public bodies 1997

    Re-packaging—making the most of your early retirement benefits

    Report of the working group on the Government Information Service

    Supporting the individual to manage and develop a career

    The Citizen's Charter: A Consultation Exercise

    The Courier (bi-monthly newsletter)

    Training and Development in the SCS "A Route Map"

    Various amendments to Pension scheme manuals

    Various amendments to Pension scheme rules

    Windsor Leadership Trust leaflet

    Your Pension scheme explained

    Your right to know—The Government's proposals for a Freedom of Information Act, Cm 3818

    Agencies of the Office of Public Service

    Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency:

    ITIL Service level management

    Prince 2 pocketbook

    Prince 2 outline

    Tackling the year 2000 (6 volume guide):

    Volume 1 An executive overview

    Volume 2 Managing the programme

    Volume 3 Kick starting the organisation

    Volume 4 Assessing the size of your problem

    Volume 5 Testing and compliance

    Volume 6 The legal implications

    Civil Service College

    Capability (newsletter)

    Civil Service College Scotland course directory

    Development for internal auditors folder

    Development Opportunities for consultants leaflet

    Directory update (4 editions)

    Equal opportunities brochure

    Financial and Accountancy training brochure

    Government Group promotional folder

    HSE training prospectus

    Marketing Folder

    65

    Personal development brochure

    Purchasing Folder

    Report and Accounts

    Senior Entrants programme leaflet

    User role in systems development

    Government Car and Despatch Agency:

    None.

    Property Advisers to the Civil Estate:

    CAV technical index

    Crown fire standards part (A-D)

    PACE leaflet—Planning post election

    PACE brochure—Adding value, saving money

    PACE Annual Report and Accounts

    Security Facilities Executive:

    Annual Report and Accounts 1996–97

    The Buying Agency:

    Pathfinder brochure

    TBA News—two editions

    Central Office of Information (COI):

    COI Annual report and Accounts 1996–97

    IPO Directory

    Mr. Gale
    To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list, by title, the publications produced under the authority of the Office of Public Service between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26336]

    Dr. David Clark
    The following publications have been produced under the authority of the Office of Public Services between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998.

    Produced jointly with other organisations
    Exploring Citizenship (A school's pack on the use and provision of Public Services), produced by the Centre for Citizenship studies in Education at the University of Leicester.
    Complaints Handling 1997, produced by MORI

    Produced under the authority of the Controller of HMSO

    15 Public General Acts

    4 Local Acts

    1 Church of England measure

    249 Statutory rules of Northern Ireland

    1,030 Statutory instruments

    7 Monthly lists of Statutory Instruments

    274 The London Gazette and supplements

    76 The Belfast Gazette and supplements

    153 The Edinburgh Gazette and supplements

    Independent Commissioners and Committees

    OPS also provide support for independent commissioners; for completeness their publications are listed here.

    Office of Civil Service Commissioners

    Civil Service Commissioners Annual Report 1996–97

    The Commissioner for Public Appointments

    Commissioner for Public Appointments: Second Report (1996/97)

    Advisory Committee on Business Appointments

    None

    Committee on Standards in Public Life

    Third Report on Standards of conduct in Local Government in England, Scotland and Wales

    Volume 1: Report cm3702-I

    Volume 2: Transcripts of oral evidence cm3702-II

    Summary of the Nolan Committee's third report on standards of conduct

    66

    Misuse of Public Office: A new offence? (Consultation paper)

    Fourth Report: Review of standards of conduct

    Issues and Questions: The funding of political parties.

  DEFENCE

    Strategic Defence Review
    Mr. Borrow
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications of the Government's defence diplomacy initiative for the Strategic Defence Review. [26108]

    Mr. George Robertson
    Defence Diplomacy is the use of our Armed Forces to promote conflict and crisis prevention, and more generally support and promote wider British interests. It is a major theme of the Strategic Defence Review and its importance will be clearly reflected in the United Kingdom's defence policy when we publish the conclusions of the Review in a White Paper.

    Mr. Amess
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to publish the White Paper on the Strategic Defence Review. [26124]

    Mr. George Robertson
    I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) on 25 November 1997,Official Report, columns 499–500.

    European Defence Industry (Restructuring)
    Mr. Ben Chapman
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress made towards European defence industry restructuring in response to the peace dividend. [26109]

    Mr. Spellar
    Since the end of the Cold War, the defence industries of the USA and Western Europe have seen major changes in structure and organisation. These changes have proceeded further and faster in the USA, and a similar process needs to take place urgently within Europe. This was reflected in the 9 December trilateral statement on restructuring which calls on industry to submit clear plans and a detailed timetable for restructuring and integration by 31 March 1998. In preparation for this, discussions are continuing between European companies, and between industry and Government officials.

    Dr. Cable
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what responses he has had from industry regarding the joint British, French and German call for restructuring of military aerospace manufacturing capacity; and if he will make a statement. [26128]

    Mr. Spellar
    The trilateral statement of 9 December 1997 called on companies to present a clear plan and detailed timetable for the restructuring and integration of the European aerospace and related defence industries by 31 March 1998. In preparation for this, discussions are continuing between European companies, and between industry and Government officials.
    67

    Merchant Fleet
    Mr. Bill O'Brien
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the latest defence estimates in respect of British merchant shipping for defence purposes. [26111]

    Mr. Spellar
    Current defence estimates on the availability of British merchant shipping indicate that there are, in general, sufficient militarily useful vessels for perceived defence needs. The position will, of course, be reassessed following the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review.

    British Beef
    Mr. Evans
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure domestic sourcing of food for the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [26112]

    Mr. Spellar
    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East (Dr. Kumar) on 4 February 1998,Official Report, column 654.

    Mrs. Betty Williams
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of meat purchased by his Department has been produced in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years. [26096]

    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries from which the supply of(a) beef and (b) sheepmeat were sourced for each year that the NAAFI held the Ministry of Defence's public-funded messing contract. [28348]

    Mr. Spellar
    Although unfortunately figures do not exist for previous years, our contractor, Booker Foodservice estimate that some 40% of meat procured over the 12 months ending September 1998 will be from UK sources.

    As the House has shown particular interest in our procurement of beef, I should add that in recent weeks we have been working with Booker, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and fanners' representatives on how the position might be improved. Furthermore, I am glad to tell the House that Booker's estimate of 13% for the percentage of beef we buy from UK sources and which I gave to the House recently has now been revised by Booker to around 30%.

    NATO Enlargement
    Mr. Donald Anderson
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the application of Slovenia to join NATO. [26113]

    Mr. George Robertson
    NATO has undertaken to review the process of its enlargement in 1999; the considerations set forth in NATO's 1995 Enlargement Study will continue to apply with regard to all aspirants. The UK views Slovenia as a strong candidate for any future enlargement of NATO. The priority for now is to ensure the successful military and political integration of the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary into NATO.

    Mr. Gardiner
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress towards NATO enlargement. [26122]
    68
    Mr. George Robertson
    The protocols for the accession of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to NATO were signed in December by NATO Foreign Ministers: all Allies now need to ratify them. NATO is continuing its work with the invited countries to ensure their effective military and political integration into the Alliance. The UK is also providing bilateral defence assistance to facilitate this process.

    Defence Diversification
    Mr. Savidge
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Government expect to publish their Green Paper on defence diversification. [26114]

    Ms Moran
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to publish his Green Paper on defence diversification. [26126]

    Mr. Spellar
    We will publish the Green Paper in March.

    Satellite Communications System
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will announce his decision between Trimilsatcom and Skynet 5 as a procurement option for the next generation military satellite communications system; and if he will make a statement. [26115]

    Mr. Spellar
    The planned next generation of UK military communications satellites is known as SKYNET 5. In December 1997, the UK, France and Germany signed a Memorandum of Understanding envisaging a collaborative programme, TRIMILSATCOM, for the procurement of a common solution for all three nations' operational requirements. Proposals from industry for a Project Definition phase have been invited and are due to be submitted shortly. Currently, TRIMILSATCOM is the preferred approach for meeting the UK's SKYNET 5 requirement, although a national programme remains an option. It is expected that a decision on the way ahead will be taken later this year.

    Ballistic Missile Defence
    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his Western European Union counterparts on European ballistic missile defence. [26116]

    Mr. George Robertson
    I have had no discussions with my Western European Union counterparts on ballistic missile defence.

    Armed Forces Pay Review Board
    Mr. Keith Simpson
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will publish the recommendations of the Armed Forces Pay Review Board. [26117]

    Mr. George Robertson
    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to my hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie) on 29 January 1998,Official Report, columns 307–10.
    69

    Bosnia
    Ms Dari Taylor
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the number of troops currently serving as part of Britain's contribution to SFOR in Bosnia. [26125]

    Mr. George Robertson
    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 12 January 1998,Official Report, column 10.

    Heavy-lift Aircraft
    Mr. Barry Jones
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning his plans for heavy-lift aircraft. [26127]

    Mr. Spellar
    One of the aims of the Strategic Defence Review is to ensure that the Armed Forces are properly equipped to undertake the tasks asked of them. Our air transport requirement is, therefore, being scrutinised closely in the Review.

    Courts Martial
    Mr. Blunt
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the future effectiveness of the court-martial system. [26129]

    Mr. George Robertson
    We are satisfied that the recent changes to the court-martial system will ensure its continuing effectiveness into the next millennium. However, we know that we cannot afford to be complacent and the system is kept under constant review to ensure its efficiency.

    Sexual Assault and Harassment
    Mr. Godman
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) officers and (b) non-commissioned officers have been found guilty in (i) courts of law and (ii) courts martial of sexual assault or sexual harassment in the last three years; and in which of the services they served. [26095]

    Mr. George Robertson
    Between 1995 and 1997, one naval and one RAF officer, three naval ratings and eight RAF non-commissioned officers were found guilty of sexual offences by the civil court. In the same period, three naval officers, five naval ratings, nineteen Army NCOs and four RAF NCOs were found guilty of such offences by Courts Martial.

    Firing Ranges
    Mr. Ainger
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the announcement made by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency on 23 January on the rationalisation of land ranges in the United Kingdom. [26120]

    Mr. Spellar
    The rationalisation of the land ranges operated by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency announced on 23 January is the outcome of the second stage of a review to address the problems of overcapacity and underutilisation. Subject to consultation with Trade Unions and MOD customers, the main changes proposed are that Pendine and Shoeburyness ranges would be 70
    maintained for access to their unique facilities on a trials campaign only basis, and as much work as possible would be undertaken at Eskmeals.

    RNAD Broughton Moor
    Mr. Campbell-Savours
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends next to visit RNAD Broughton Moor to discuss the future use of the site. [26119]

    Mr. Spellar
    I visited the site on 13 August 1997 and have no current plans to do so again. However, I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the future use of the site.

    Christmas Island (Nuclear Testing)
    Mr. Llew Smith
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the dossier of information on the health effects of nuclear testing in the 1950s atomic test programme at Christmas Island, a copy of which has been sent to him. [28201]

    Mr. Spellar
    I assume my hon. Friend is referring to a letter from The People newspaper dated 13 January 1998, addressed to the Secretary of State for Defence, which enclosed copies of their recent articles about nuclear test veterans and letters from a small number of ex-Servicemen who had served on Christmas Island in the 1950s–60s. The letter invited a response on nuclear test veteran issues, with particular reference to work carried out at Dundee University.

    'My officials responded to the newspaper on 6 February. The reply drew attention to the fact that the studies carried out by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) had proved conclusively that participation in the testing programme had not had a detectable effect on the participants' expectation of life or on their risk of developing cancer or other fatal diseases: and also referred to those matters which were covered in my response to my hon. Friend on 22 January 1998, Official Report, columns 625–26.

    Radiation-related Illnesses
    Mrs. Ewing
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on potential linkage between illness and radiation exposure for workers at (i) Rosyth and (ii) Faslane; what is his policy on levels of compensation for workers who have radiation-related illnesses; and what medical checks he is undertaking in respect of these workers. [26070]

    Mr. Spellar
    [holding answer 3 February 1998]: The risks of disease, including cancer, as a result of exposure to ionising radiation are well documented. Risk estimates for the UK population are published by the National Radiological Protection Board whose evidence is used to formulate national legislation. The exposure of MOD radiation workers at both Rosyth and Faslane has always been monitored and controlled in accordance with this legislation, the purpose of which is to limit the risk to workers to tolerable levels. As required by legislation, my Department's policy is to reduce risks to the lowest reasonably practicable level.
    71
    My Department's policy on compensation for radiation workers is to be a member of the nuclear industry's Compensation Scheme for Radiation Linked Diseases. This is a no fault scheme where there is no requirement for claimants to prove negligence on the part of the Department in order to receive compensation. The Scheme was set up and is run jointly by the participating employers and Trade Unions and does not affect the claimant's right to seek legal redress. It provides for the assessment of a case, on an agreed technical basis, in order to determine the probability that a cancer contracted by a radiation worker could have been caused by occupational radiation exposure. The amount of compensation payable in a successful case is determined by negotiation between the solicitors representing the parties, using as a basis the same guidelines as would apply if the case had proceeded to Court. However, the Scheme provides for payments to be made at lower levels of causation probability than would be allowed by the Courts. It does this by making a "full" payment at 50 per cent. causation probability similar to the Courts, and in addition making lesser payments down to a 20 per cent. causation probability. In this way the assessment of a case recognises that even below the balance of probability there is a chance that occupational exposure to ionising radiation played a role in causing the disease.

    Within my Department, medical checks are undertaken at the discretion of the Appointed Doctor when considered necessary as part of the annual health review of classified radiation workers.

    Precision-guided Weapons
    Mr. Hancock
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps he has taken to ensure that United Kingdom precision-guided weapons cannot be blinded by enemy multi-spectral smoke shells; [26776]

    (2) what assessment he has made of the extent to which multi-spectral smoke shells will obscure targets from targeting systems of precision-guided munitions. [26774]

    Mr. Spellar
    Research has been carried out into means of countering the effects of multi-spectral smoke shells on UK precision guided weapons. The effects of multi-spectral smoke shells on targeting systems have also been assessed in field trials using representative target acquisition equipment. The potential effects will be taken into account, where appropriate, in our future requirements for precision munitions. To release further details would harm national security or defence and I am therefore withholding them in accordance with exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

    Computer Hackers
    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many attempts by hackers to breach security in his Department's computers were detected in 1996 and 1997; and how many of these were successful. [27871]

    Mr. Spellar
    A comprehensive security policy on connectivity to public data networks is enforced throughout the MOD. There is no evidence of a successful incursion, from an external source, into any Departmental 72
    computer system in the period 1996–1997. There has been one instance known to us of a failed attempt over this period.

    Radioactive Waste
    Mr. Hancock
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what years Army personnel from 43 Command Workshop were ordered to dispose of low grade radioactive waste at Hilsea, Portsmouth; and what plans are available relating to the disposal. [27881]

    Mr. Spellar
    Army personnel from 43 Command Workshop disposed of low grade radioactive waste at Hilsea lines during 1978. Records dating from 1977 for this work are held in MOD files. The burial of the waste at Hilsea lines was approved by the Radiochemical Inspectorate of the then Department of the Environment. The Inspectorate then granted unrestricted access to the sites. Maps showing the locations at Hilsea lines of the buried waste were passed by the Ministry of Defence to the Property Services Agency of the Department of the Environment in 1985, prior to the sale of the site to Portsmouth City Council in 1986.

    Arms Sales
    Ann Clwyd
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the value to Britain of arms sales to each of the top 10 recipient countries in each year since 1990. [26842]

    Mr. Spellar
    I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

    Tomahawk Missiles
    Mr. Hancock
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department made of the(a) United States Navy exercise in January and June 1993 to test the accuracy of Tomahawk missiles and (b) the United States Defense Department publication Gulf War Air Power Survey findings in procuring Tomahawk missiles for Royal Navy submarines. [27505]

    Mr. Spellar
    The US Department of Defence has assured us that no Tomahawk exercise firings were conducted during either January or June 1993. The US Government reported in both January and June 1993 that Tomahawk attack operations were conducted against targets in Iraq under the auspices of UN Security Council Resolution 688. Information received from the US DoD about those operations was used with much other information in reaching the decision to procure the Tomahawk weapon system for the Royal Navy.

    There is no record of the US DoD publication entitled 'Gulf War Air Power Survey' being used in relation to procurement of Tomahawk.

    Publications
    Mr. Gale
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by title the publications produced by his Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26330]

    Mr. Spellar
    The information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The vast majority of MOD
    73
    publications, both those published internally and externally, are however processed centrally. In the period specified they dealt with 12,335 Computer controlled publications and 2,713 Manually controlled publications.

    MOD Publications are primarily Instructional Manuals/Technical Manuals and general Regulations including Complete Equipment Schedules, Naval Engineering Standards, Illustrated Parts Catalogues and Defence Council Instructions.

    The Manually Controlled category includes in excess of 300 Classified Publications.

    Conduct (Codes and Standards)
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the dates of publication of(a) the two previous and (b) the current paper from the Adjutant General on codes and standards of conduct. [28346]

    Mr. Spellar
    The Standards and Discipline paper for Army personnel was published by the then Adjutant General in October 1993. There were no previous papers specifically entitled codes and standards of conduct; but 'Man Management', a document which covers similar material, was published in September 1977 and was revised in 1986 and again in 1988.

    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the current edition of the Adjutant General's paper on codes and standards of conduct. [28347]

    Mr. Spellar
    Yes. A copy of the Adjutant General's current Discipline and Standards Paper will be placed in the Library shortly.

    Military Law Manuals
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when revised editions of the manuals of military law for each of the three services will be available; and if he will place them in the Library. [28342]

    Mr. Spellar
    The Royal Navy issued a revised edition of the Manual of Naval Law in April 1997. The Army's amendment to the Manual of Military Law is currently being printed and will be distributed shortly. The RAF are undertaking a major revision of the Manual of Air Force Law and Volume I, which contains the bulk of the primary legislation, is due to be published in early 1999. Each will be placed in the Library of the House.

    Tank Transporters
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) main battle tank and (b) light tank transporter vehicles are (i) in service and (ii) operationally deployable; and if he will make a statement. [28349]

    Mr. Spellar
    The Army has 121 main battle tank transporters in service of which 112 are currently in unit hands.

    There are 194 vehicles capable of being used to transport light armoured vehicles of which 43 are actually used for this purpose; of all these are unit hands.
    74
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many tank transporter vehicle drivers are(a) in service and (b) operationally deployed; and if this is designated protected A Trade employment. [28345]

    Mr. Spellar
    There are 477 tank transporter drivers in the Army. 39 are currently operationally deployed. This is not a protected trade, and I understand that the A Trade designation is no longer in use.

    Departmental Cars
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ford Mondeo cars his Department has purchased in the current financial year. [28488]

    Mr. Spellar
    Up to 6 February this financial year, my Department has purchased 134 Ford Mondeo cars.

    Sponsored Reserves
    Mr. Key
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his policy on sponsored reserves in Her Majesty's forces; and if he will make a statement. [28343]

    Mr. Spellar
    We believe that the Sponsored Reserve concept has much potential, and we have been encouraged by the interest shown by Industry. My Department is taking forward the concept in a number of areas as one of the ways of supporting operationally essential services in partnership with the private sector. As part of the Strategic Defence Review, we are actively progressing the application of the Sponsored Reserve concept in a thorough examination of the costs and operational risk. No decisions have yet been reached.

    Armed Forces (Morale)
    Mr. Spring
    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of morale in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [26123]

    Mr. George Robertson
    From my regular visits to Service units and those of my Ministerial colleagues, and discussions within the Ministry of Defence, I assess morale in the Armed Forces at present to be satisfactory. I greatly admire the achievements and sense of purpose of our Servicemen and women. In my experience, they are keen to get on with their jobs, are aware that they are highly valued by the nation and are committed to the operational challenges they face. There are undoubtedly some feelings of uncertainty, and problems in some areas caused, in large part, by longstanding overstretch and undermanning inherited by this administration. One of the main aims of the Strategic Defence Review is to balance our operational commitments and the needs of Service personnel and their families. The openness of the review process will have reassured our forces that it is different from other reviews.

  AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

    Farm Tenancy Agreements
    Mr. Öpik
    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the operation of the new farm business tenancy agreements; and if he will make a statement. [26995]
    75
    Mr. Morley
    An independent policy evaluation of the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995, commissioned by this Department and the Welsh Office, was carried out last year by the University of Plymouth, and the report was recently published. A copy was placed in the Library of the House. The results provide data for England and Wales separately and indicate that uptake of farm business tenancies has been encouraging.

    Food Standards Agency
    Mr. Wigley
    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he will take to ensure that the Food Standards Agency levy will be structured in such a way as not to penalise disproportionately small food producers and retailers. [27144]

    Mr. Rooker
    The Government will consult closely with key interested parties, including representatives of small businesses, in drawing up detailed proposals for a mechanism that would allow a greater part of the costs of food safety work to be passed from the taxpayer onto the food industry. In formulating their proposals, the Government will consider carefully the need to take into account the size of the business, among other factors.

    BSE
    Mr. Gray
    To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the Enfer scientific test available in the Irish Republic. [28622]

    Mr. Rooker
    We understand the test is capable of detecting abnormal PrP in central nervous system tissues of cattle which are already showing clinical signs of BSE. It has not been shown to be capable of identifying infected cattle early in the incubation periods as far as we are aware.

    The Department has been in touch with Enfer Scientific since March 1997, but has been unable to obtain detailed information due to intellectual property issues. Tissues from experimentally infected cattle at known stages of incubation has been offered to Enfer to validate the test by the Department, but the offer has not yet been taken up.

  SOCIAL SECURITY

    Benefit Integrity Project
    Mr. Swinney
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is her policy in respect of the timescale and opportunity for future reassessment of the benefit payments for those claimants who have had their benefit reduced or set aside as a result of the Benefit Integrity Project. [27908]

    Industrial injuries disablement benefit—chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema unsuccessful claims from 1 April 1997 to 31 December 1997 by reason

    Area Directorate

    Failed FEV1 test

    Failed 20 year1

    AD1

    East London and Anglia

    1

    6

    AD2

    Chilterns

    1

    2

    AD3

    London South

    110

    18

    AD4

    West Country

    14

    12

    AD5

    Mercia

    2,885

    183

    76
    Ms Harman
    The Benefit Integrity Project helps ensure the correctness of awards of Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Up-to-date information is being gathered from beneficiaries about their care and mobility needs, so that we can check that they are receiving the correct amount of DLA.

    It is important that decisions about benefit entitlement are made fairly and are seen to be fair. I am taking action to improve the quality of decisions made by the Project which involve a reduction or removal of benefit. In future, no decision resulting in reduction or removal of entitlement to DLA will be made solely on the evidence provided by the claimant—there will always be additional evidence to support the decision.

    We have been liaising closely with organisations of and for disabled people from the early stages of the Project. This new initiative underlines our determination to act properly to get the benefit right and to listen and act upon any concerns. We will continue to involve these groups in the evaluation of the Project as it develops.

    This Project is operating under the normal assessment and adjudication rules that are applied to all DLA cases. Anyone dissatisfied with a decision made in their case may ask for a review of that decision, on any grounds, within three months of the decision having been made. If they remain unhappy following review, they have the opportunity to appeal to an independent tribunal within three months of the review decision being made. Of course, a claimant may ask for a review of their entitlement at any time if they believe that there has been a change in their circumstances that may affect their entitlement to DLA.

    Publications
    Mr. Gale
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will list, by title, the publications produced by her Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26337]

    Mr. Field
    A list of publications, by title, produced by this Department between I May 1997 and 31 January 1998 has been placed in the Library.

    Respiratory Diseases
    Mr. Clapham
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applicants for an award in respect of chronic bronchitis and emphysema have failed the FEVI test since April 1997; and how many have been rejected since April 1997 because they did not meet the service qualification, broken down by coalfield area. [28265]

    Mr. Denham
    Figures are not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.
    77

    Industrial injuries disablement benefit—chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema unsuccessful claims from 1 April 1997 to 31 December 1997 by reason

    Area Directorate

    Failed FEV1 test

    Failed 20 year1

    AD6

    West Midlands

    246

    33

    AD7

    Wales

    1,606

    253

    AD8

    North West Coast

    146

    24

    AD9

    Greater Manchester

    276

    21

    AD10

    Yorkshire

    2,107

    75

    AD11

    Tyne Tees

    1,811

    102

    AD12

    West of Scotland

    595

    49

    AD13

    East of Scotland

    1,078

    75

    Total

    Great Britain

    10,876

    853

    1 Relates to those who failed to meet the 20 year underground work rule.

    Note:

    1. Data are not collected by coalfield area, but are available by Benefits Agency Area Directorate.

    Source:

    100 per cent. count.

    Mr. Clapham
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total number of applicants for chronic bronchitis and emphysema awards(a) between September 1993 and April 1997 and (b) since April 1997; and what was the number of awards made in each of those periods. [28266]

    Mr. Denham
    The total number of claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit in respect of chronic bronchitis and emphysema for the period 13 September 1993 to 31 March 1997 was 50,195 and in the same period 5,428 awards were made. Since 1 April 1997, a further 22,984 claims have been received and 6,752 awards made.

    Source:
    100 per cent. count of claims and awards.

    Industrial injuries disablement benefit—chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema, by area directorate and level of disablement assessment. Awards made in the period 13 September 1993 to 31 March 1996

    13 September to 1 October 1994

    2 October 1994 to 31 March 1996

    Assessment percentage

    Number of awards

    14–24

    25–34

    over 34

    14–19

    20–25

    over 25

    Anglia

    3

    0

    0

    3

    0

    0

    0

    Chilterns

    4

    0

    3

    1

    0

    0

    0

    South London and West Sussex

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    West Country

    6

    1

    0

    2

    0

    3

    0

    East London and Essex

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    South East

    34

    4

    3

    25

    0

    0

    2

    Wessex

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    —

    East Midlands

    736

    38

    52

    521

    5

    16

    104

    Midlands and South West

    56

    3

    2

    50

    0

    0

    1

    West

    409

    22

    43

    315

    4

    8

    17

    Wales

    1,530

    203

    223

    891

    4

    48

    161

    Merseyside

    50

    5

    18

    26

    0

    0

    1

    Greater Manchester

    32

    4

    8

    19

    0

    1

    0

    Lancashire and Cumbria

    157

    18

    25

    104

    1

    3

    6

    Tyne Tees

    640

    33

    83

    467

    2

    7

    48

    South Yorkshire and Humberside

    878

    57

    96

    620

    3

    15

    87

    North and West Yorkshire

    447

    61

    65

    294

    1

    3

    23

    Glasgow and Paisley

    8

    0

    2

    6

    0

    0

    0

    North, Central and West Yorkshire

    64

    3

    12

    45

    0

    0

    4

    East Scotland

    103

    1

    10

    83

    1

    1

    7

    Note:

    Figures are provisional and subject to amendment.

    Source:

    1. 100 per cent. counts from the BA Bronchitis and Emphysema computer system 13 September 1993 to 1 October 1994.

    2. BA Central Data Unit 2 October 1994 to 31 March 1996.
    78
    Mr. Clapham
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will provide a breakdown of the awards for chronic bronchitis and emphysema made between September 1993 and April 1997, by(a) coalfield area and (b) the level of disablement assessment, together with the same information for the period from April 1997 to date. [28264]

    Mr. Denham
    Information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the tables.

    Data are not collected by coalfield area, but are available by Benefits Agency Area Directorate. The Area Directorates were altered from 1 April 1996.
    79

    Awards made in the period 1 April 1996 to 31 March 1997

    Assessment percentage

    Area Directorate

    Number of awards

    14–19

    20–25

    over 25

    East London and Anglia

    —

    —

    —

    —

    Chilterns

    —

    —

    —

    —

    London

    1

    1

    0

    0

    West

    2

    0

    0

    2

    Mercia

    85

    2

    14

    69

    West Midlands

    2

    0

    0

    2

    Wales

    54

    4

    11

    39

    North West Coast

    7

    2

    0

    5

    Greater Manchester

    18

    1

    12

    5

    Yorkshire

    84

    2

    5

    77

    Tyne Tees

    12

    0

    1

    11

    West of Scotland

    —

    —

    —

    —

    East of Scotland

    6

    0

    1

    5

    Note:

    Figures are provisional and subject to amendment.

    Source:

    100 per cent. counts from the BA Central Date Unit.

    Awards made in the period 1 April 1997 to 31 December 1997

    Area Directorate

    Number of awards

    14–24

    25–34

    Assessment percentage over 34

    East London and Anglia

    —

    —

    —

    —

    Chilterns

    2

    —

    1

    1

    London

    66

    16

    10

    40

    West

    22

    5

    4

    13

    Mercia

    1,765

    119

    164

    1,482

    West Midlands

    127

    6

    15

    106

    Wales

    1,406

    163

    214

    1,029

    North West Coast

    112

    25

    22

    65

    Greater Manchester

    181

    18

    27

    135

    Yorkshire

    1,224

    75

    134

    1,015

    Tyne Tees

    963

    79

    161

    723

    West of Scotland

    257

    37

    46

    174

    East of Scotland

    628

    30

    115

    483

    Note:

    Figures are provisional and subject to change.

    Source:

    100 per cent count of BA Bronchitis and Emphysema computer system.

    Disability Living Allowance
    Mrs. Ewing
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were in receipt of disability living allowance for each month since May 1997. [27534]

    Mr. Denham
    The information requested is set out in the table.

    People in receipt of disability living allowance in 1997 by month.

    Number

    30 June

    1,915,600

    31 July

    1,930,600

    31 August

    1,943,700

    30 September

    1,955,000

    31 October

    1,968,200

    30 November

    1,979,900

    31 December

    1,988,600

    31 January

    1,996,200

    Notes

    Figures relate to all people with entitlement to benefit and include those where payment has been suspended.

    Source:

    Analytical Services Divisions: 100 per cent. data.

    Mr. Burstow
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants for disability living 80
    allowance, whose predominant disability is deafness, are in the age groups (a) 0 to 4, (b) 5 to 15, (c) 16 to 24, (d) 25 to 29, (e) 30 to 34, (f) 35 to 39, (g) 40 to 44, (h) 45 to 49, (i) 50 to 54, (j) 55 to 59, (k) 60 to 64, (1) 65 to 69, (m) 70 to 74, (n) 75 to 79 and (o) over 80 years. [28357]

    Mr. Denham
    The information requested is set out in the following table.

    People in receipt of disability living allowance whose main disabling condition is deafness1 2

    Number

    All ages

    17,580

    0–4

    1,740

    5–15

    7,340

    16–24

    1,980

    25–29

    820

    30–34

    840

    35–39

    880

    40–44

    680

    45–49

    680

    50–54

    880

    55–59

    660

    60–64

    700

    65–69

    280

    81

    People in receipt of disability living allowance whose main disabling condition is deafness1 2

    Number

    70–74

    100

    75–79

    —

    80 and over

    —

    1 Unrounded figures relate to 30 November 1997

    2 People who are deaf but do not list this as their main disabling condition may also receive Disability Living Allowance

    Source:

    Analytical Services Division: 5 per cent. data.

    Pensioner Incomes
    Mr. O'Hara
    To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the percentage and number of pensioners who have an annual income of £2,000 or less in addition to state benefits including the state pension. [28625]

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

    If pensioner units received a weekly income of £38.50 for 52 weeks of the year then their annual income would be £2,002.

    Pensioner units with weekly income of less than £38.50 excluding state benefits

    Percentage of pensioner units

    Numbers (million)

    52

    3.7

    Notes:

    1. The information is based on gross unequivalised weekly income before housing costs and benefit income at July 1995 prices.

    2. The Pensioners' Income Series gives estimates for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single person over State Pension Age (SPA) or a couple where the man, defined as the head, is over SPA.

    3. Numbers of pensioner units are rounded to the nearest 50,000, percentages to the nearest 1 per cent.

    Source:

    Pensioners1 Income Series 1995–6.

  CABINET OFFICE

    Ministerial Visits
    Mr. Wilkinson
    To ask the Minister without Portfolio in what capacity he attended the British-Spanish Tertulias in Cambridge in November; what public expenditure was incurred by his participation; and if he will make a statement. [27892]

    Mr. Mandelson
    I attended the British-Spanish Tertulias following official advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The cost to public funds of my visit was approximately £21.

    Ministerial Meetings
    Mr. Edward Davey
    To ask the Minister without Portfolio (1) how many meetings he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2 May 1997; [28025]

    (2) how many press briefings he has attended since 2 May 1997; [28015]
    82
    (3) how many meetings he has had with the Secretary of State for Health since 2 May 1997; [28014]

    (4) how many meetings he has had with the Prime Minister since 2 May 1997; [28026]

    Mr. Mandelson
    I attend meetings with the Prime Minister and other Ministerial colleagues on a regular basis in the course of my duties. I have attended very few press briefings.

  EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

    Achievement Targets
    Mr. Dorrell
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reasons he uses data based on eligibility for, or uptake of, free school meals in setting achievement targets for primary and secondary schools. [26802]

    Ms Estelle Morris
    [holding answer 4 February 1998]: The Government view is that poverty is no excuse for failure. It is for individual schools, in discussion with their LEAs, to set appropriately challenging achievement targets, which reflect national targets such as those for literacy and numeracy. All schools, regardless of the socio-economic characteristics of their pupils, are capable of improvement.

    Local Authority Budgets
    Mr. Don Foster
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the(a) overall education budget, (b) general schools budget and (c) aggregated schools budget for each local education authority in 1997–98. [27541]

    Mr. Byers
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: The following table sets out, for each local education authority in England, its education budget, General Schools Budget (excluding capital) and Aggregated Schools Budget for the year 1997–98. Capital and related expenditure has been excluded from GSB figures to ensure consistency with the education budget figures, which represent revenue expenditure only.

    1997–98

    £ million

    Local authority

    Education Budget1

    GSB less Capital2

    2ASB

    City of London

    3.2

    1.0

    0.6

    Camden

    83.7

    67.9

    51.1

    Greenwich

    112.5

    102.0

    83.3

    Hackney

    99.9

    83.4

    61.5

    Hammersmith and Fulham

    63.1

    48.7

    37.3

    Islington

    82.7

    70.4

    56.1

    Kensington and Chelsea

    50.8

    32.2

    24.7

    Lambeth

    104.7

    65.0

    49.9

    Lewisham

    114.6

    97.7

    78.0

    Southwark

    109.9

    82.2

    63.2

    Tower Hamlets

    126.3

    113.9

    82.1

    Wandsworth

    89.0

    60.2

    46.8

    Westminster

    73.1

    56.2

    42.5

    Barking and Dagenham

    75.2

    71.0

    56.6

    Barnet

    123.8

    87.1

    69.0

    Bexley

    86.0

    72.2

    58.9

    83

    1997–98

    £ million

    Local authority

    Education Budget1

    GSB less Capita2

    2ASB

    Brent

    103.8

    59.9

    46.9

    Bromley

    116.5

    48.6

    38.7

    Croydon

    127.8

    91.1

    71.1

    Ealing

    114.2

    86.7

    66.3

    Enfield

    123.3

    99.4

    77.3

    Haringey

    98.0

    95.5

    68.1

    Harrow

    77.8

    70.4

    58.8

    Havering

    90.8

    73.2

    62.2

    Hillingdon

    92.7

    49.2

    40.6

    Hounslow

    92.1

    86.1

    68.6

    Kingston

    53.2

    33.5

    27.8

    Merton

    58.3

    54.9

    44.7

    Newham

    126.7

    111.8

    82.9

    Redbridge

    101.0

    91.1

    74.5

    Richmond

    50.1

    46.6

    39.8

    Sutton

    69.9

    45.1

    36.7

    Waltham Forest

    97.7

    85.7

    67.9

    Birmingham

    475.3

    414.0

    327.1

    Coventry

    130.6

    123.2

    98.6

    Dudley

    112.1

    96.2

    79.9

    Sandwell

    123.9

    117.0

    93.4

    Solihull

    77.5

    77.9

    64.9

    Walsall

    112.6

    88.4

    70.3

    Wolverhampton

    104.7

    94.5

    72.0

    Knowsley

    74.9

    67.0

    53.5

    Liverpool

    206.1

    176.1

    140.0

    St. Helens

    73.2

    69.5

    54.0

    Sefton

    110.5

    109.8

    87.3

    Wirral

    128.6

    117.3

    91.0

    Bolton

    104.9

    96.4

    73.1

    Bury

    61.5

    62.2

    49.0

    Manchester

    178.3

    173.3

    133.0

    Oldham

    99.1

    98.3

    77.2

    Rochdale

    83.5

    70.4

    55.2

    Salford

    90.8

    83.7

    65.3

    Stockport

    91.3

    90.9

    73.1

    Tameside

    81.0

    73.0

    56.5

    Trafford

    87.3

    60.9

    47.1

    Wigan

    117.4

    120.5

    96.1

    Barnsley

    72.6

    73.4

    55.7

    Doncaster

    119.2

    121.0

    91.2

    Rotherham

    97.8

    97.3

    78.7

    Sheffield

    167.1

    159.5

    120.9

    Bradford

    201.8

    180.2

    135.7

    Calderdale

    77.8

    50.0

    37.4

    Kirklees

    145.8

    141.4

    105.2

    Leeds

    278.7

    260.3

    212.4

    Wakefield

    111.7

    112.1

    85.1

    Gateshead

    75.9

    71.5

    54.8

    Newcastle

    112.4

    96.0

    75.0

    North Tyneside

    71.9

    69.6

    54.9

    South Tyneside

    58.6

    55.6

    43.4

    Sunderland

    112.9

    108.5

    90.5

    Isles of Scilly

    1.3

    1.1

    0.8

    Bath and NE Somerset

    61.5

    56.3

    44.9

    Bristol

    134.6

    127.2

    101.0

    North Somerset

    64.8

    64.5

    50.8

    South Gloucestershire

    85.9

    87.7

    71.2

    Hartlepool

    35.6

    34.6

    27.4

    Middlesbrough

    55.7

    56.9

    44.4

    Redcar and Cleveland

    57.3

    57.4

    44.8

    Stockton on Tees

    69.2

    72.4

    56.8

    Hull

    102.9

    97.8

    76.1

    East Riding

    112.1

    114.5

    88.5

    North East Lincolnshire

    64.0

    65.1

    51.1

    84

    1997–98

    £million

    Local authority

    Education Budget1

    GSB less Capital2

    2ASB

    North Lincolnshire

    61.7

    60.3

    44.9

    North Yorkshire

    200.6

    197.0

    157.0

    York

    53.4

    53.2

    43.0

    Luton

    82.2

    63.0

    46.0

    Milton Keynes

    74.7

    59.2

    47.0

    Derby City

    84.1

    64.9

    47.0

    Poole

    45.0

    28.5

    23.4

    Bournemouth

    52.9

    34.0

    25.2

    Darlington

    33.9

    32.9

    25.4

    Brighton and Hove

    79.9

    70.8

    54.7

    Portsmouth

    64.0

    56.8

    45.3

    Southhampton

    78.5

    69.4

    56.9

    Leicester City

    117.1

    114.7

    87.5

    Rutland

    11.3

    5.2

    4.2

    Stoke-on-Trent

    86.8

    82.1

    64.1

    Swindon

    61.4

    48.2

    37.9

    Bedfordshire

    144.4

    125.5

    99.8

    Berkshire

    279.0

    220.8

    187.7

    Buckinghamshire

    181.0

    141.9

    115.4

    Cambridgeshire

    250.9

    184.4

    139.2

    Cheshire

    390.1

    350.8

    288.2

    Cornwall

    166.6

    157.1

    122.6

    Cumbria

    184.8

    134.9

    106.5

    Derbyshire

    242.9

    207.8

    156.0

    Devon

    352.4

    325.4

    256.9

    Dorset

    131.4

    104.7

    84.6

    Durham

    192.3

    179.4

    138.4

    East Sussex

    155.9

    151.1

    121.5

    Essex

    582.8

    326.8

    254.7

    Gloucestershire

    183.4

    107.1

    88.1

    Hampshire

    408.3

    356.6

    291.9

    Hereford and Worcester

    236.0

    206.7

    168.4

    Hertfordshire

    393.8

    316.3

    259.2

    Isle of Wight

    46.7

    43.4

    35.0

    Kent

    579.7

    384.4

    310.4

    Lancashire

    538.6

    499.6

    382.5

    Leicestershire

    209.8

    203.8

    159.1

    Lincolnshire

    228.1

    151.0

    120.3

    Norfolk

    256.7

    223.2

    177.9

    Northamptonshire

    222.3

    184.4

    153.9

    Northumberland

    114.2

    113.5

    88.2

    Nottinghamshire

    379.9

    358.6

    273.5

    Oxfordshire

    191.7

    182.1

    147.8

    Shropshire

    152.8

    132.2

    104.3

    Somerset

    166.0

    147.8

    121.6

    Staffordshire

    285.4

    266.2

    212.7

    Suffolk

    231.3

    224.8

    185.7

    Surrey

    319.5

    256.6

    201.5

    Warwickshire

    170.6

    152.7

    118.4

    West Sussex

    247.0

    234.4

    191.4

    Wiltshire

    144.0

    100.5

    74.3

    England Total

    18,414.4

    15,749.1

    12,438.1

    1 Taken from the Revenue Account (RA) returns which local authorities make to the DETR.

    2 The figures for the GSB and ASB are taken from the LMS budget statements which LEAs are required to submit to the Department under section 122 of the Education Act 1996 (formerly section 42 of the 1988 Act). These do not include expenditure on Grant Maintained Schools budgets which is recouped from LEAs.

    Publications
    Mr. Gale
    To ask the Secretary of state for Education and Employment if he will list by title the publications produced by his department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26328]
    85
    Dr. Howells
    A list by title of the publications produced by the Department of Education and Employment between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998 has been placed in the Library.

    Student Loans
    Mr. Bermingham
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the Education (Student Loans) Act 1998 will come into force; when he expects to make regulations; and if he will make a statement. [28960]

    Dr. Howells
    Sections 1, 4, 5, 6(1) and 7 came into force on Royal Assent on 27 January 1998. Sections 2, 3, and 6(2) and the Schedule to the Act will come into force on 1 March 1998. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Education and Employment and for Scotland laid the Education (Student Loans) Regulations 1998 before the House of Friday 6 February.

    The Regulations protect borrowers and debt purchasers by fixing the key terms of all loans taken out under the Education (Student Loans) Act 1990 both before and after 1 March 1998. The Regulations also provide for new repayment terms for disabled borrowers. These terms were formerly exercised at the discretion of the loans administrator.

    Employment Figures (Young People)
    Mr. Letwin
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what procedures he proposes to establish to monitor the number of persons under the age of 25 years leaving benefit and entering work; and when those procedures will be in place. [26148]

    Mr. Alan Howarth
    Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

    Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Oliver Letwin, dated 9 February 1998:
    The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question relating to procedures to be established to monitor the number of persons under the age of 25 leaving benefit and entering work and when these procedures will be in place. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Employment Service Chief Executive.
    It may be helpful to explain that data on the reason why a claim to Jobseeker's Allowance comes to an end will continue to be collected by the Office for National Statistics. This is gathered on their statistical systems from information on the Jobseeker's Allowance Payments System and records a code categorising the reason. This process captures the number of people leaving benefit and entering work. It is possible for this information to be analysed by age and duration of claim.
    The Office for National Statistics will be publishing a summary table at a national level in "Labour Market Trends" in February 1998. Further information will also be available through the National Online Manpower Information System. This information can be obtained on request from the Office for National Statistics.
    I hope this is helpful.

    Jobmatch Scheme
    Mr. Fitzpatrick
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of(a) the
    86
    costs and (b) the numbers who would gain if the jobmatch scheme was extended to people over 50 years who have been unemployed for six months. [26162]

    Mr. Alan Howarth
    Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

    Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Jim Fitzpatrick, dated 9 February 1998:
    The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the costs and numbers involved in widening the eligible age group for Jobmatch to those aged 50 years and over, and who have been unemployed for six months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Employment Service Chief Executive.
    Jobmatch currently targets jobseekers between the ages of 18–24 years who are unemployed for 2 years or more. Using figures from the current operational year (for the 7 months up to the end of October) and assuming similar levels of interest for those aged over 50 years and unemployed for six months, it is estimated that in the same 7 month period 3,300 clients from this latter group might have received benefit from jobmatch, at a cost of some £4.3 million.
    I hope this is helpful.

    Disabled People (Rehabilitation)
    Mr. Fitzpatrick
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many disabled people have started a rehabilitation programme in the last 12 months; and what is his estimate of the average cost per place on an employment rehabilitation programme. [26163]

    Mr. Alan Howarth
    Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

    Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Jim Fitzpatrick, dated 9 February 1998:
    The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply to your question relating to the number of disabled people who started a rehabilitation programme in the last 12 months, and his estimate of the average cost per place on an employment rehabilitation programme. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Employment Service Chief Executive.
    In the 12 months to December 1997, 14,262 people with disabilities started employment rehabilitation programmes. In the same period, £9,526,000 was spent on the programme.
    Unfortunately, the Employment Service do not hold information on the average cost per rehabilitation place as this is not a particularly meaningful measure in the context of this programme. This is because employment rehabilitation programmes are individually tailored to the needs of each person. The programme can therefore last a few days or a few weeks, and can be on a part time or full time basis. Whilst the majority of employment rehabilitation programmes are within daily travelling distance, there may also be instances where a period of more costly residential rehabilitation may be necessary.
    I hope this is helpful.

    Unemployment
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the United Kingdom Government will publish their proposals on tackling unemployment to be submitted to the EU meeting to discuss member states' plans. [28620]
    87
    Mr. Andrew Smith
    All member states have agreed to present Employment Action Plans by 15 April so that an initial assessment can take place at the Cardiff European Council. These plans will set out each member state's proposals for implementing the Employment Guidelines agreed at the Luxembourg Jobs Summit attended by the Prime Minister last November. We intend to produce and publish the UK Employment Action Plan well in advance of the deadline.

  TRADE AND INDUSTRY

    European Labour Markets
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade which regulations and directives being negotiated in the Council of Ministers during the British presidency will(a) impose and (b) remove restrictions or controls on European labour markets. [28621]

    Mr. Andrew Smith
    I have been asked to reply.

    The Government intend that all relevant dossiers being negotiated in the Social Affairs and Education Councils of Ministers during the UK Presidency should reinforce progress towards its objectives of employability, flexible and adaptable labour markets, fair minimum standards and job generation.

    In the field of health and safety, proposals for a Chemical Agents Directive, a Carcinogens Worker Protection Directive, a Scaffolding Directive and proposals to amend the Asbestos Worker Protection Directive either are or will be subject to proper assessment to ensure that they are well targeted or scientifically justified. While they are not considered to have a major impact upon current practice in the UK, they should have the effect of raising standards elsewhere and in particular help to reduce the toll of 6,000 fatal accidents and thousands of cases of fatal disease each year in the EU.

    The directive on part-time work, which is likely to be extended to the UK during our Presidency, will require employers to treat part-time workers no less favourably than equivalent full-time workers. By promoting part-time work and raising its status, the directive should increase flexibility in European labour markets. The Government are also consulting publicly about whether to seek amendments to the Acquired Rights Directive to make it more flexible, e.g. by allowing derogations agreed by the social partners in certain circumstances.

    The proposal for a Supplementary Pensions Directive, the co-ordination of social security regulations for migrant workers who are EU citizens and the proposal to extend those regulations to all insured persons would neither impose nor remove restrictions on the labour market but may allow more labour market mobility within the EU, which is a positive step forward.

    The Burden of Proof Directive would make very little difference to the way in which sex discrimination cases are in practice decided in the UK, or to the outcome of industrial tribunal cases. The European Company Statute would provide an alternative form of incorporation for companies but since it will be voluntary, it will not affect restrictions or controls on European labour markets.
    88
    Finally, the Government aim to secure a common position on the Commission's proposal for a third Directive on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, which will simplify procedures for seeking work in other member states. This proposal will further ease barriers to employment.

    Millennium Compliance
    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the nature of the service to callers using the Action 2000 telephone hotline to obtain advice on millennium compliance of computer systems. [27876]

    Mrs. Roche
    The "Millennium Bug" campaign telephone hotline is run for Action 2000 by ICL Sorbus. The service is currently equipped to despatch Information Packs and direct callers to centres of expertise where they can obtain help and support. Plans are underway to increase the breadth of information available and provide on-line advice and guidance specific to a caller's needs.

    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps she is taking to ensure that public sector computer systems involved in the introduction of European Monetary Union are millennium compliant. [25376]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 4 February 1998]: The Government attach major importance to tackling this problem effectively. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set up a Ministerial Group on the millennium date change (MISC 4) to drive action across the public and private sectors to ensure that the national infrastructure is not damaged by the failure of electronic systems related to the year 2000 date change.

    This objective applies to all public sector computer systems, including those which may be affected by Economic and Monetary Union.

    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans she has during the British presidency of the EU to propose the suspension or postponement until after 2001 of EU directives which would impede progress on the implementation of the action necessary to ensure the millennium compliancy of computer systems. [27879]

    Mrs. Roche
    I have no such plans at present, but propose to undertake a study which would enable the Government to assess the extent to which work on the millennium bug and other major tasks will absorb the skilled people available.

    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what controls her Department has on the use of the Action 2000 millennium computer compliance logo; and if she will make a statement. [27874]

    Mrs. Roche
    This scheme is the responsibility of Action 2000.

    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if her Department's initiatives to encourage awareness and action to ensure the millennium compliancy of computer systems take account of 2000 being a leap year; and if she will make a statement. [27880]
    89
    Mrs. Roche
    Yes, for example, the leap year issue is picked up in the advice and good practice material disseminated by Action 2000. This directs people looking for more detailed information on this topic to specify advice from the Computing Services and Software Association, the British Standards Institute, the British Computer Society and the National Computing Centre.

    Mr. David Atkinson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures have been introduced to indicate the millennium compliance of computer products for sale; and if they are subject to independent certification. [27877]

    Mrs. Roche
    Action 2000 is devising a scheme based on a Millennium Safe logo. I understand that no decision has been taken on whether it would involve independent certification.

    Mrs. Gillan
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many times the Ministerial Committee on the year 2000 computer problem has met. [25373]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 4 February 1998]: In accordance with long standing practice, information about proceedings of the Cabinet and Cabinet Committee is not made public.

    Mrs. Gillan
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps will be taken to prevent the Millennium Safe logo being used by businesses which are not millennium compliant. [27817]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: This is a matter for Action 2000.

    Mrs. Gillan
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what checks will be made on businesses before Millennium Safe logos are issued to them for use on their products. [27819]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: This is an issue which I understand to be under consideration by Action 2000.

    Mrs. Gillan
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what organisation is issuing the Millennium Safe logo; and how many have so far been issued. [27818]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: The logo scheme is the responsibility of Action 2000. I understand that the precise operation of the scheme has not yet been finalised.

    Mrs. Gillan
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade upon what basis the Millennium Safe logo will be issued to businesses. [27816]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: This is a matter for Action 2000. I understand that it is discussing the operation of the scheme with the Consumers Association.

    Commercial Tenants (Protection)
    Mr. Stunell
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures are in place to prevent excessive charges by landlords to commercial tenants for electricity and gas supplies; what plans she has for additional protection of commercial tenants; and if she will make a statement. [27469]
    90
    Mr. Nigel Griffiths
    In the case of gas, the Director General of Gas Supply has a duty to set maximum resale prices. The Current direction requires the gas to be re-sold at no more than cost in all cases.

    The Director General of Electricity Supply has a power to set a maximum resale price for electricity. He has, so far, only seen a necessity to do so in respect of domestic tenants.

    Trademarks
    Mr. Willis
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans she has to introduce legislation requiring the National Registry of Internet Domain Names to investigate each attempted registration for possible use by dealers to obstruct the company whose trademark the registered Domain Name is related to. [27710]

    Mrs. Roche
    There are no plans to introduce legislation requiring the National Registry of Internet Domain Names (Nominet) to investigate registrations in this way. Existing trademark law applies equally to domain names as to any other use of names, as illustrated by the recent "One in a million" judgment. Competition in the registration of domain names in the UK top-level domain is fully open, and Nominet has a dispute resolution procedure in place to deal with any conflicts over domain names. Nominet is also about to enter into collaborative agreements with conventional trademark watching services, so that they will be able to add domain names to the portfolios they oversee.

    Export Licences
    Mr. Faber
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to her answer of 10 December 1997,Official Report, column 596, what percentage of applications for export licences were processed by the Export Control Organisation according to their stated aims in the four week periods beginning (a) 15 November 1997 and (b) 13 December 1997. [26977]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 2 February 1998]: Further to my answer of 10 December 1997, the figures to the nearest percentage point for the two periods are as follows:

    4 week periods beginning

    15 November 1997

    13 December 1997

    Applications circulated to other Government departments according to their policy requirements and completed in 20 working days

    44

    41

    Applications not circulated to other Government departments and completed in 10 working days

    73

    73

    Nuclear Fuel
    Mr. Baker
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total volume of reprocessed spent nuclear fuel exported for each year since 1990 broken down to show(a) high level, (b) intermediate level and (c) low level waste indicating countries of destination. [26980]
    91
    Mr. Battle
    [holding answer 2 February 1998]: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer on 5 February 1998, Official Report, column 787. British Nuclear Fuels plc have, since 1990, imported 1,700 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel of reprocessing. The fuel is stored in ponds at the Sellafield site on receipt. The majority of the fuel imported since 1990 will be reprocessed during the coming years. Reprocessing involves using a number of chemical processes to separate the reusable uranium (96%) and plutonium (1%) from the 3% waste products contained in spent fuel. Reprocessing separates out the constituent parts of spent fuel, and material for export is not regarded as reprocessed spent nuclear fuel.

    The UKAE have, since 1990, imported almost 4 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing. The nuclear material which will be separated as a result of reprocessing of this fuel (namely uranium and plutonium) may be returned to the country of origin. The total amount of nuclear material exported since 1990 is 1 tonne and countries of destination include Germany, Netherlands and France.

    Since 1976, all new contracts for reprocessing of overseas spent fuel have contained option for the return of wastes. The Government intend that such options should be exercised and that such wastes should be returned to the countries of origin.

    Mr. Chaytor
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what attempts are made by Her Majesty's Government to assess the adequacy of disposal facilities and plans for radioactive waste management in countries using United Kingdom reprocessing facilities in advance of approving applications for the import of spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing under contracts which include a return-to-sender commitment covering radioactive waste arising from reprocessing. [279891

    Mr. Battle
    It has been the practice of successive Governments to obtain, before a contract for the reprocessing of foreign spent nuclear fuel is signed, assurances from the relevant government that it will take no legislative or regulatory steps to prevent the return of arising wastes under the contract. The adequacy of the facilities for managing those wastes is a matter for their owners and the regulatory authorities of the country concerned in accordance with the relevant legislation of that country.

    Mr. Alan W. Williams
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the forecast demand for the mixed plutonium and uranium oxide fuel from the MOX plant at Sellafield; and which countries(a) have signed contracts and (b) expressed interest in contracting for the purchase of fuel. [28272]

    Mr. Battle
    Details of particular contracts for MOX fuel fabrication are a commercial matter for British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) and their customers. However, BNFL have already supplied some of their European reprocessing customers with MOX fuel from the existing demonstration plant at Sellafield. As regards the expected demand for MOX fuel from the new plant, I refer the hon. Member to the report, produced by PA Consulting for the Environment Agency, entitled "Assessment of BNFL's Economic Case for the Sellafield Mox Plant: Public 92
    Domain Version" which is currently the subject of a public consultation being undertaken by the Agency. A copy of the report is in the House of Commons Library.

    Mr. Alan W. Williams
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the financial consequences of recovering plutonium from spent nuclear reactor fuel. [28278]

    Mr. Battle
    The financial case for recovering plutonium from spent nuclear reactor fuel is for the owners of the spent fuel to assess, taking into account the need to satisfy the requirements laid down by the United Kingdom's regulatory authorities.

    Theft and Fraud
    Mr. Malcolm Bruce
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is her estimate of the cost of theft and fraud to(a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies, in (i) 1995–96, (ii) 1996–97 and (iii)1997–98 to date. [27777]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: The estimated cost of theft and internal fraud to my department and its agencies in 1995–96 was £26,000 and £20,000 respectively and in 1996–97 was £1,000 and £260,000. Without incurring disproportionate cost, the data for 1997–98 will not be available until May 1998. Since 1 April 1996, we no longer hold the relevant data in respect of non-departmental public bodies.

    The Department takes fraud very seriously. We take immediate and vigorous action if fraud is detected which also helps to deter other frauds.

    We have in place procedures laid down by Treasury and regularly reviewed by Internal Audit and the National Audit Office that are designed to prevent fraud in the first place.

    Periodicals
    Mr. Malcolm Bruce
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is her estimate of the expenditure of her Department on newspapers and magazines in(a) 1995–96, (b) 1996–97, (c) 1997–98 to date and (d) 1997–98 full year; and if she will list the newspapers and magazines purchased or subscribed to on a regular basis. [26596]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: Excluding its agencies, the Department's expenditure on newspapers and mass circulation journals for the years requested was as follows:

    1995–96: £204,024

    1996–97: £208,027

    1997–98: £161,902 to date

    1997–98: £194,283 estimate of full year

    This includes expenditure on national daily and Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers, and mass circulation magazines and journals. A full list of titles cannot be supplied except at disproportionate cost. The titles taken change to meet the changing requirements of the Department. Changes in procurement procedures mean these figures are not directly comparable with those last provided to the hon. Member in January 1996.
    93

    Electricity Companies
    Barbara Follett
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what statutory provision covers changes to a public electricity supplier's licence in the event of a takeover bid for a regional electricity company. [28160]

    Mr. Battle
    Modifications to public electricity supply licences are subject to sections 11 to 15 of the Electricity Act 1989.

    Export Credits Guarantee Department
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of bad debts ECGD is assuming on its Asian risks; and what was the corresponding figure in May 1997. [27860]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: Records readily available indicate that the level of ECGD's outstanding Claims Balances on Asian markets fell from £70.2m at 31 March 1997 to £36.1m at 5 February 1998. Equivalent figures of the position at 30 May 1997 are not available.

    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of total Asian ECGD risk is sovereign risk. [27857]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: 84% of ECGD's exposure on Asian markets is classified as sovereign and other public buyer risk.

    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the average premium rate for Indonesian ECGD cover(a) before and (b) after the December 1997 risk assessment. [27856]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: The premium rate for a typical medium-term loan guaranteed by ECGD was £3.40% prior to the December 1997 review and £3.76 afterwards. As no business has been signed since the last review it is not possible to compare average rates.

    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of ECGD's Asian risk is Sovereign risk; and what proportion private sector. [28586]

    Mrs. Beckett
    84 per cent. of ECGD's exposure on Asian markets is classified as sovereign or other public sector risk, and the remaining 16 per cent. as private sector risk.

    Dounreay
    Mr. Savidge
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will assess the desirability of suspending particular categories of operations at Dounreay. [27999]

    Mr. Battle
    I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) on 2 February 1998,Official Report, column 484.

    Mr. Savidge
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade which nuclear waste storage facilities at Dounreay have been assessed to be unsafe; what is the estimated cost of clearing these up; which of these are still having waste added to them; and if she will estimate the effect of this on those costs. [27998]

    Mr. Battle
    All nuclear waste storage facilities at Dounreay are subject to strict independent regulation to ensure they do not pose an unacceptable risk to public 94
    health. No nuclear waste storage facilities at Dounreay have been assessed by the regulators as unsafe. Subject to continuing to meet the requirements laid down by the regulators, the operation of storage facilities at Dounreay is a matter for the UKAEA. All storage facilities on the Dounreay site, including the Wet Silo, will be emptied in due course as part of the programme of ultimate waste disposal and site remediation. As it is Government policy to ensure good value for money between a range of companies, the cost estimates for individual facilities are commercially confidential.

    Sellafield
    Mr. Alan W. Williams
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if it is her Department's normal practice to write off the capital cost of construction of a plant when considering its future viability; and what assessment she has made of the adoption of this practice by PA Consulting in its report on the MOX plant at Sellafield. [28279]

    Mr. Battle
    Responsibility for determining policy of the accounting treatment of fixed assets rests with the Board of British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). The report by PA Consulting to which the hon. Member refers was commissioned by the Environment Agency as part of its consideration of the business case for the Sellafield MOX plant following BNFL's application to operate the plant. It is for the Agency to decide whether to accept the advice in the PA report.

    Mr. Alan W. Williams
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will call in the plan to operate a MOX plant at Sellafield. [28275]

    Mr. Battle
    My right hon Friend has no powers to call in the application by BNFL for the commissioning and operation of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Plant at its Sellafield site. The Environment Agency is currently conducting a further public consultation on this application. It is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to decide whether to call it in for his decision.

    GDP (Cornwall)
    Ms Atherton
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the gross domestic product of Cornwall for each year since 1968. [28177]

    Mrs. Roche
    GDP figures for counties are available only for selected years and from 1977 onwards. The available figures for Cornwall are as follows:

    GDP at factor cost: current prices

    £ million

    Year

    GDP

    1977

    715

    1979

    926

    1981

    1,207

    1984

    1,547

    1987

    2,105

    1989

    2,689

    1991

    2,886

    1993

    3,212

    1995

    3,625

    95

    Lost and Stolen Items
    Mr. Malcolm Bruce
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list those items valued at more than £25 stolen or lost from her Department since 1 May 1997; and if she will make a statement. [27778]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 5 February 1998]: Details are not held centrally. The data of the year ending 31 March 1998 will be compiled from returns from each of my Department's Units and Agencies which will be used to complete the Annual Report to Treasury in May. It is the responsibility of each Head of a Management Unit or Agency to ensure that systems are in place to minimise the risk from theft and to ensure that appropriate action is taken should a theft occur.

    Photocopier Industry
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 3 February 1998,Official Report, column 611, what factors led the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs to describe the BEUA as advisers to the right hon. Member for Wokingham. [28125]

    Mr. Nigel Griffiths
    [holding answer 6 February 1998]: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to EDM 437 tabled in November last year.

    I note that there is no evidence of the right hon. Gentleman disputing the terms of the EDM which stated he relied on this organisation for his briefings.

    Minimum Wage
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment the Government have made of the impact of a minimum wage of £4 an hour on employment in the context of its evidence to the Low Pay Commission. [28128]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 6 February 1998]: We have asked the Independent Low Pay Commission to take into account all economic circumstances, including the likely effect on the level of employment, when formulating its recommendations to Government.

    Second-hand Gas Appliances
    Mrs. Brinton
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make it her policy to introduce tighter restrictions on the sale of second-hand gas appliances. [28569]

    Mr. Battle
    My Department is presently carrying out a detailed analysis following a formal consultation exercise on proposed safety Regulations for second-hand gas appliances. Decision on future policy will be made when the analysis is complete.

    In the meantime, the safety of second-hand gas appliances is currently regulated by a combination of Regulations covering specific products, the Gas Cooking Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1989 and the Heating Appliances (Fireguarding)(Safety) Regulations 1991. For other types of gas appliances the General Product Safety Regulations 1994 apply. Taken together, this legislation generally provides that suppliers of second-hand gas appliances must ensure that only safe appliances can be marketed.
    96

    Fair Competition
    Dr. Cable
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidelines are issued to(a) the Meteorological Office, (b) Companies House and (c) the Ordnance Survey to ensure that they engage in only fair competition with private information providers who are also their customers. [26707]

    Mr. Ian McCartney
    The Meteorological Office is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Defence. The Ordnance Survey is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

    Companies House is statutorily obliged to make information on companies, submitted to it under the provisions of the Companies Act, available to all who seek it. It does so through the offer of a range of products and services which are available to all, but which include some of particular benefit to private information providers and some equally appropriate to the needs of individual searchers.

    Companies House is guided by its Framework Document, by the annual business plan that is submitted to and approved by Ministers, and by a range of other specific or generic guidelines issued to it as an Executive Agency.

    British Inventors
    Dr. Cable
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals the Government have for supporting and promoting British inventors. [26708]

    Mr. Battle
    My Department has awarded the Institute of Patentees and Inventors (IPI) a grant of £30,000 for the period 1996/97–1998/99 to help them to maintain and improve the services which they provide. The Government have also introduced legislation to establish the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA). Funded by an endowment of £200 million from the National Lottery, NESTA will help talented individuals in the fields of science, technology and the arts to achieve their full potential and help to turn inventions or ideas into products or services. The Department' s expenditure programmes which support innovation in business are being reviewed as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

    Departmental Publicity
    Mr. Bercow
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the cost of media presentations and press conferences which he has given, other than those held at his Department. [25162]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 23 January 1998]: The cost of media presentations and press conferences which 1 and my Ministers have given outside my Department have normally been no more than the cost of a backdrop at most a few hundred pounds. The only occasions where the costs have been greater were the launch of the Business Link Enterprise Zone in November (£18k), and the regional events marking our EU Presidency in December (£6k).

    Agenda 2000
    Miss McIntosh
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action the Government will take to ensure
    97
    those sectors of the British economy previously benefiting from European Structural Funding will continue to benefit under the new Agenda 2000 proposals, with particular reference to KONVER. [25765]

    Mrs. Roche
    [holding answer 27 January 1998]: The Government welcome the European Commission's continuing support under the proposed new Objective 2 for regions undergoing restructuring. We would like to see a fair balance, ideally determined at the national or regional level, of the available resources between deprived industrial, urban and rural areas. The communication "Agenda 2000", published on 16 July 1997, outlined in general terms the Commission's approach to these regions. However, the details will not be clear until the Commission publishes detailed proposals for Structural Fund reform in March or April. In the negotiations that follow, we will be asking the Commission how the new Objective 2 will be sufficiently flexible in its approach to areas heavily dependent on a single sector, such as defence. The Government are currently undertaking regional consultations with interested parties to hear their views on the implications in the UK of Structural Fund reform.

    Counterfeit Goods
    Mr. Gordon Prentice
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the extent of the trade in counterfeit goods in the north west; and if she will make a statement. [23997]

    Mr. Nigel Griffiths
    My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has not made an assessment of the extent of the trade in counterfeit goods in the north west, but shares my hon. Friend's concern regarding the trade in counterfeit goods.

    Trading Standards Officers and the Police are responsible for the enforcement of measures against the counterfeit trade. However, my Department is in regular contact with groups representing the interests of trade mark and copyright owners to ensure that the legal framework is supportive of their efforts.

    Some information on the extent of counterfeit trade is available from the annual returns provided by Trading Standards departments.

    From the 133 reports

    Successful prosecutions

    received for 1996–97

    Total

    North West

    Trade Mark Acts 1994

    217

    41

    Copyright, Patents and Designs Acts

    91

    17

    Mr. Gordon Prentice
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the extent of the counterfeit trade in automotive and aerospace spare parts. [23999]

    Mr. Nigel Griffiths
    My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has not made an assessment of the extent of the trade in counterfeit goods specifically in the North West, but shares my hon. Friend's concern regarding the trade in counterfeit goods.

    Trading Standards Officers and the Police are responsible for the enforcement of measure against counterfeit trade contained in the Trade Marks Act 1994
    98
    and the Copyright, Patents and Designs Act 1988. Information from the annual returns provided by trading standards departments for 1996–97 show that there were 217 successful prosecutions under the Trade Marks Act and 91 successful prosecutions under the Copyright. Patents and Designs Acts.

    No cases were reported involving automotive or aerospace parts and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group were not able to supply data on this either.

    Coal Industry
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what meetings the Minister for Science, Energy and Industry has held with(a) mining managements and (b) mining unions since 1 November. [24403]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 20 January 1998]: My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Science, Energy and Industry has held several meetings with representatives from Mining Unions and Management since 1 November and will continue to do so.

    Special Advisers
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the annual cost of the support staff, accommodation, personnel salaries and other overheads of her Department's special advisers. [25816]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 27 January 1998]: I refer the right hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan), 27 October 1997, Official Report, column 685, and to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Mr. Hawkins), Official Report, 12 December 1997, Official Report, column 721, in relation to the salaries of my Special Advisers, and to the answer provided by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) on 30 June 1997, in relation to the cost of support staff.

    These are the only cost requested that are readily separable from other Department costs.

    Design Protection Directive
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the Government's policy on a repairs clause for the Parts Design Protection Directive. [26378]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 30 January 1998]: Last summer, when the Council adopted its Common Position on the proposed Directive on the legal protection of designs, following unanimous political agreement on this proposal at the Internal Market Council in March 1997, the United Kingdom made a formal statement regretting that the Council had been unable to agree harmonised provisions relating to the repair of complex products, such as motor vehicles and motorcycles. The proposed Directive is now to be the subject of conciliation which is likely to start during the current United Kingdom's Presidency.

    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans she has to seek to amend the Parts Design Protection Directive to allow competition in the supply of motorcycle parts. [26379]
    99
    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 30 January 1998]: The Council's Common Position on the proposed Directive on the legal protection of designs as agreed last year already includes a provision allowing Member States to provide for competition in the supply of motorcycle parts. The Common Position gives Member States the option of maintaining in force or introducing any provision to allow anyone to copy the design of a part of, for example, a motorcycle, when that design is dependent on the appearance of the motorcycle and the copy part is used to restore the motorcycle's original appearance. This proposed Directive is to be the subject of conciliation which is likely to start during the United Kingdom's current Presidency.

    Competition Bill
    Mr. Redwood
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the role of the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe in relation to(a) oil industry and (b) brewing industry issues in the Competition Bill [Lords]. [26390]

    Mrs. Beckett
    [holding answer 30 January 1998]: The Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney), the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs and I have policy responsibility for the Competition Bill. The Minister for Trade and Competition in Europe is the Minister responsible for the passage of the Bill through the House of Lords. The Bill applies to the economy at large, including the sectors referred to in the question.

    Military Equipment Export Licences
    Sir George Young
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of progress towards meeting her targets for issuing export licences for military equipment. [26118]

    Mrs. Beckett
    Licences to export strategic goods are issued by the President of the Board of Trade and the Export Control Organisation of the Department of Trade and Industry is the Licensing authority. Relevant individual licence applications are circulated by the DTI to other government departments with an interest, as determined by them in line with their policy responsibilities. These include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development.

    In his announcement of 28 July 1997, Official Report, cols 26–29 of new criteria of the assessment of export licence applications my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear that the criteria would not be applied mechanistically and that individual applications would be considered case by case. In the months following the announcement, this led to an increase in the time taken to assess some applications. The Government appreciate the inconvenience and uncertainty that results from any delay in the processing of individual applications and my department together with the other departments involved, is continuing to work to reduce processing timescales generally.

    Electricity Companies (Takeover Bids)
    Dr. Gibson
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade what methods she will use to examine bids for the Energy 100
    Group by (a) Nomura International and (b) Texas Utilities; if she will refer the bids to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and if she will make a statement. [28336]

    Mr. Nigel Griffiths
    Nomura International and Texas Utilities have separately announced publicly that each is in talks with The Energy Group which may lead to a bid for the Energy Group. Should either company make a bid, it will be necessary to establish which competition authorities have jurisdiction. If and to the extent that any bid falls to be considered under the Fair Trading Act 1973, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade will decide, in the light of the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading and the views of the Director General of Electricity Supply, whether or not to refer the bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) for investigation. She has said that her general policy continues to be to refer mergers primarily on competition grounds, but that where, as part of a wider public interest scrutiny, important regulatory issues are raised, she may decide that a reference is warranted. Each case is considered on its merits.

    Publications
    Mr. Gale
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list, by title, the publications produced by her Department between 1 May 1997 and 31 January 1998. [26334]

    Mr. Nigel Griffiths
    A list of those publications that have been notified to my Department's Publications Unit and published by my Department during this period has been placed in the Library of the House.

    Industrial Tribunal Hearings
    Mr. Boswell
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many industrial (employment) tribunal hearings were held in each of the last three years; in what categories; and what proportion of complaints were(a) upheld and (b) rejected. [27980]

    Mr. Ian McCartney
    The information requested is available in published form for all years before 1996–97 in "Labour Market Trends", copies of which are available in the Library. Figures for 1993–94 and 1994–95 are given in the July 1996 issue; figures for 1995–96 in the April 1997 issue. Figures for industrial tribunal outcomes for 1996–97 will be available in the spring.

    Insolvency Practitioners
    Mr. Vaz
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if there will be a consultation process in respect of investigations into remuneration of insolvency practitioners. [27294]

    Mr. Hoon
    I have been asked to reply.

    Although policy on insolvency is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, I have been asked to reply to this question because my Department is responsible for providing the secretariat for a working party, chaired by Mr. Justice Ferris, which is considering the way in which the remuneration of office holders, including insolvency practitioners, should be determined.

    101
    The working party, which itself comprises members from a range of interests, has no plans to undertake a formal consultation exercise on this issue.

    Mr. Vaz
    To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the progress of Mr. Justice Ferris's working party on remuneration of insolvency practitioners. [27293]

    Mr. Hoon
    I have been asked to reply.

    Although policy on insolvency is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, I have been asked to reply to this question because my Department is responsible for providing the secretariat for Mr. Justice Ferris's working party. The working party has met on three occasions and a further meeting is scheduled for 16 February, to consider the way in which the remuneration of office holders, including insolvency practitioners, should be determined. It intends to report to the Vice-Chancellor no later than the autumn of 1998.

  MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO

    Millennium Dome
    Mr. Livingstone
    To ask the Minister without Portfolio what studies(a) the Government and (b) the National Millennium Experience Company have undertaken on the impact of the Millennium Dome exhibition on other visitor attractions, with particular reference to those that do not benefit from central Government grants; and if he will make them available to those attractions. [27289]

    Mr. Mandelson
    [holding answer 6 February 1998]: In response to a recommendation by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, the Government have commissioned a study from the English Tourist Board, who in consultation with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will look at the impact of the
    102
    Millennium Dome on other UK visitor attractions. The study will cover a full range of attractions, not just those that receive funding from the public purse. When the study has been completed its findings will be made public.

    Mr. Wigley
    To ask the Minister without Portfolio what steps he will take to ensure that the culture of Welsh people is represented within the Millennium Dome. [27143]

    Mr. Mandelson
    The content of the Millennium Experience at Greenwich will appeal to, and be relevant to, people of all ages and interests wherever they may live in the United Kingdom. It will engage, inspire and educate all who visit.

    In addition, there will be a national programme associated with the Experience. This will have the same overarching theme of "Time to Make a Difference", and will encourage participation of individuals in all areas of the United Kingdom. The New Millennium Experience Company is setting up teams in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the nine regions of England. Once these teams are in place, I shall ensure all hon. Members have the relevant details.

    Mr. Baker
    To ask the Minister without Portfolio if he will give a breakdown by budget head of the sums allocated to the Millennium Dome projects by(a) personnel costs excluding consultants, (b) building costs, (c) external infrastructure costs, (d) consultants' costs, (e) design costs, (f) publicity costs and (g) other costs. [28133]

    Mr. Mandelson
    The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is currently finalising its Corporate Plan, which will contain budgets for the component parts of the Millennium Experience project covering the years 1997/98 (actual) and 1998/99 to 2000/01 (forecast). The aim is to publish the Plan at the end of this financial year following its approval by NMEC's Board and by the Millennium Commission. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House immediately on publication.

  International Development Strategy
  International Development Strategy
  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  Scottish Judiciary
  Scottish Judiciary
  British Coal Former Employees: Concessionary Fuel
  British Coal Former Employees: Concessionary Fuel
  Naval Training: Partnership Arrangement
  Naval Training: Partnership Arrangement
  Royal Household Helicopter Service
  Royal Household Helicopter Service
  Iraq: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programme Disclosure
  Iraq: Chemical and Biological Weapons Programme Disclosure
  Iraq Crisis
  Iraq Crisis
  Vehicle Stereo Systems: Excessive Noise
  Vehicle Stereo Systems: Excessive Noise
  Road Works Signs: Removal
  Road Works Signs: Removal
  Major Planning Applications: Publicity
  Major Planning Applications: Publicity
  Roads Review and Transport White Paper: SACTRA Report
  Roads Review and Transport White Paper: SACTRA Report
  Coastguard Stations
  Coastguard Stations
  English Local Government: Discussion Papers
  English Local Government: Discussion Papers
  Rendered Condensate on Farmland: Safety
  Rendered Condensate on Farmland: Safety
  BSE: Inquiry Remit
  BSE: Inquiry Remit
  Sugar Beet Research and Education Committee
  Sugar Beet Research and Education Committee
  European Union: Educational Material
  European Union: Educational Material
  Independent School Pupils Supported by Central Government Funding
  Independent School Pupils Supported by Central Government Funding
  GCSE: Analysis of Results 1994–97
  GCSE: Analysis of Results 1994–97