asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by district health authority and by local authority (a) the number of people placed by them in privately run drug/alcohol abuse assessment and care units on a day care basis, (b) the number of people placed by them in drug/alcohol abuse assessment and care centres as a residential patient and (c) the average length of stay for patients placed in residential care in drug/alcohol abuse assessment and care units for each year since 1979.

This information is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by district health authority and by local health authority (a) the number of people placed by them in private psychiatric units on a day care basis, (b) the number of people placed by them in private psychiatric units on a residential basis and (c) the average length of stay for each patient placed in private psychiatric units for each year since 1979.

Information on the number of people placed in private psychiatric units on a day care basis and lengths of stay in any category is not available centrally.Since 1979, health authorities in Wales have placed two patients in private psychiatric units on a residential basis.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list by district health authority the amount spent on placing people in (a) private psychiatric units and (b) private drug/alcohol abuse and assessment units for each year since 1979.

The annual accounts of health authorities show their expenditure on all contractual arrangements for patient care in total only. The detailed information requested is not collected centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate is available to him of the cost of constructing the outer link, the local link or adding an extra lane in each direction on the present A494 where it crosses the river Dee at Queensferry; and if he will make a statement.

At present no firm estimate is available of the cost of adding an extra lane in each direction to the A494 where it crosses the Dee. The construction of outer and local links would be for Clwyd county council, as local highway authority, to consider.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list the numbers of entrants to her office from the ethnic minorities in the years 1985–86 and 1986–87; if she will also list the monitoring procedures used to ascertain the percentage of the work force represented by ethnic minorities and their patterns of promotion; and what are her methods of recruitment of minorities into the Civil Service.

The ethnic origins of new entrants to the Civil Service have been surveyed since October 1985. The latest available information for the period up to September 1986 for entrants to the Cabinet Office, which includes my office as well as those of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal, is as follows:

	Number
Total new entrants to Cabinet Office in period 1 October 1985 to 30 September 1986	180
Ethnic origins
White	100
Black/Asian	10
Not stated	70
(Numbers rounded to the nearest five to preserve confidentialitly)

A phased programme of departmental surveys of the ethnic origin of non-industrial civil servants by means of voluntary self-classification is being conducted. The majority of non-industrial staff in the Cabinet Office have been included in the regionally phased programme of ethnic surveys covering the areas of London, the south east and East Anglia. Consideration is being given to ways of using the data on the ethnic origin of staff in post to monitor promotion.All Departmental recruitment is conducted on the basis of fair and open competition and selection is on merit. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Privy Council Offfice, on 20 February 1987

asked the Prime Minister what response Her Majesty's Government have received to their representations to the Japanese Government seeking a full and fair opportunity for Cable and Wireless to participate in a consortium to operate the second international telecommunications service in Japan; what information she has about the progress of Cable and Wireless in this matter; and if she will make a statement.

The Government have been following closely the bid by Cable and Wireless to be involved through the International Digital Communications Planning Inc. (IDC) consortium, in the provision of alternative international telecommunications facilities in Japan and has made representations on behalf of Cable and Wireless.I understand that discussions are still in progress in Japan and that no final decision has been taken. I believe that this is an opportunity both for Japan to show that its market is becoming more open and to create an outstanding example of Anglo-Japanese industrial co-operation in high technology.

asked the Prime Minister when Her Majesty's Government intend to publish the comprehensive set of documents on agriculture and rural enterprise and development.

My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Northern Ireland, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Scotland will be publishing on Tuesday a series of documents entitled "Farming and Rural Enterprise". These will explain the Government's policies for farming and for rural enterprise and development as well as providing information on a wide range of assistance available for businesses in rural areas.Copies of the folder of documents will be available on Tuesday from the Vote Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will arrange for a reply to be sent to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne in response to a letter passed to his hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Mrs. Rumbold) on 3 December 1986, from Mr. F. H. McWilliams, of 17 South park, Redruth, Cornwall.

I replied to my hon. Friend today.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research is being sponsored through the various research bodies into possible damage to the hearing of young people caused by excessive noise from loudspeakers and earphones.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will amend the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations to ensure that in future all part-time university students receive grants from their local education authorities for their fees on the same basis as full-time students; and if he will make a statement.

The possibility of financial assistance for part-time students pursuing degree studies will be considered as part of the student support review.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what reports made by district inspectors of Her Majesty's Inspectorate contain assessments of the appropriateness of provision by each local education authority; whether such reports contain any breakdown or analysis of provision; if he will place copies of all such reports for the last year in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Each year, my right hon. Friend publishes a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate on the effects of local authority expenditure policies on education provision in England. The reports are based on evidence from Her Majesty's inspectors' routine and centrally programmed visits to schools and colleges in the previous autumn, together with returns made by district inspectors for each of the 97 local education authorities in England, except for the Isles of Scilly. The district inspector returns consist of statistical and financial information provided by each LEA about overall levels of expenditure and the distribution of resources in the authority; the district inspector's broad assessment of the appropriateness of that provision in each case; and of the impact of any changes. The information collected, while giving some indication of current issues and trends, and providing a reasonable picture of the general position in schools and further and higher education, does not allow judgments to be made about the quality of education in individual LEAs. Statistics for the district inspectors' returns are requested from, and provided by, LEAs in confidence. My right hon. Friend does not propose to place copies in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 3 March concerning expenditure eligible for grants, what grants for 1987–88 have been approved on such a cash-limited basis; what approximate proportion of such approved grant expenditure is likely to be spent on teachers' pay and allowances; what account has been taken of proposed increases in teachers' pay; and if he will make a statement.

The Secretary of State has informed local education authorities that he will pay grant of up to £114 million on expenditure of up to £200 million within the new LEA training grants scheme; and grant of up to £64 million on expenditure of up to £92 million within the education support grant programme. The proportions of expenditure estimated to consist of teachers' pay are 70 per cent. for LEA training grant, and 20 per cent. for ESG. The limits on this expenditure are cash figures, within which teacher pay increases will have to be accommodated.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, further to his reply to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 20 February, Official Report, column 838, concerning the formula used in determining capital allocations; what considerations were material in his not agreeing to place copies of the current formula in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

The reply of 20 February, Official Report, column 838 explained the basis of the formula in words rather than algebraically, in the interests of general intelligibility. A copy of the formula expressed in algebraic terms has now been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about support for dental schools in the United Kingdom; if he will list those that have been visited by the University Grants Committee during the past six months; what resources each dental school has been allocated as a result of the University Grants Committee's recommendations; how many students are currently in each; and how much additional capital expenditure is to be made available for each school.

Provision for dental schools in Great Britain is not separately identified in the University Grants Committee's recurrent grant allocations for their parent universities. The latest allocations were issued on 10 February 1987, a copy is in the Library. No dental school has been visited by the University Grants Committee itself during the past six months, but three in London— United Medical and Dental Schools, King's College Dental School and University College Dental School—have been visited by the committee's dental review working party set up to consider the future organisation of national provision for dental education, and to advise on rationalisation.The Department does not hold information on total student numbers in the form requested. The full-time equivalent student load in clinical dentistry for each university in Great Britain with a dental school in 1984–85 was as follows:

	Undergraduate	Postgraduate
Birmingham	254	6
Bristol	149	4
Leeds	184	11
Liverpool	214	8
London	914	219
Manchester	205	23
Newcastle	263	2
Sheffield	145	6
Wales	153	18
Dundee	124	—
Edinburgh	138	4
Aberdeen	221	13

The following new capital projects in dental schools have been approved by the University Grants Committee:

	£ million
Edinburgh
Academic accommodation in new hospital	0·27
Sheffield
Extension to dental school	2·07

The latter project is subject to the outcome of the dental review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is prepared to accept a further offtake of Vietnamese refugees in the current year for resettlement in the United Kingdom; and whether he will make a statement.

We hope to make an announcement shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on access to magistrates' courts for disabled Justices of the Peace.

This information is not held centrally at present. Arrangements are in hand to collect information from magistrates' courts which will include the number of registered disabled magistrates; the nature of their disabilities; details of any difficulties they may face in gaining access to court buildings and moving within them; and whether any special provisions have been made to make access and movement easier. It is planned to have this information compiled by the end of June this year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has as to what economic benefits will accrue to the United Kingdom if the Council of Ministers adopts European Economic Community Commission proposals for harmonising the dates of summer time.

The present directive does not expire until 31 December 1988. The Commission has yet to put forward any proposals for harmonising the dates for the end of summer time beyond this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to make an announcement regarding police manpower levels for West and East Sussex, including Gatwick airport.

My right hon. Friend is considering applications from the Sussex police authority for increases in the authorised establishment of the force, and hopes to announce the outcome shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consultations he has had with the Fire Brigades Union about fire safety of upholstered furniture.

The Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, on which the Fire Brigade Union is represented, discussed the fire safety of upholstered furniture most recently at its meeting on 25 November 1986, chaired by my noble Friend the Earl of Caithness. My noble Friend also corresponded with the Fire Brigades Union earlier this year about representation on a working party on the flammability of upholstered furniture set up by my hon. and learned Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prisoners were accommodated in the cells at Highbury magistrates' court on the nights of 3 and 4 March.

I am advised by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the number of female prisoners held in the cells at Highbury corner magistrates' court was nil on the night of 3–4 March and 18 on that of 4–5 March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to increase police manpower in Dorset; and if he will make a statement.

It is the responsibility of the Dorset police authority to determine the authorised establishment of the force, subject to my right hon. Friend's approval. Sixty-two additional police posts have been approved for the force since May 1979, bringing the authorised establishment up to 1,226. We are now considering an application for a further increase and hope to announce the outcome shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the immigration status on arrival in the United Kingdom of all those (a) granted refugee status or asylum and (b) refused it over the latest available 12-month period.

I shall reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many men have been

Table 1
Males proceeded against and found guilty at all courts for offences of rape1 and attempted rape by type of sentence—England and Wales 1985
	Proceeded against	Found guily	Sentenced to
			Immediate custody	Otherwise dealt with
England	785	398	376	22
Wales	41	28	25	3
England and Wales	826	426	401	25
1 Includes offences under s. 127, 128 of the Mental Health Act 1959.

Table 2
Males sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for rape1 and attempted rape by type and length of sentence—England and Wales 1985
	Sentence length				Total
	Up to 3 years	Over 3 years up to 5 years	Over 5 years up to 10 years	Over 10 years
England
Unsuspended imprisonment	92	95	51	15	253
Partly suspended imprisonment	4	—	—	—	4
Youth custody	45	39	21	1	106
Detention centre order	3	—	—	—	3
Detained under s.53 CYPA 1933	7	2	1	—	10
Total	151	136	73	16	376
Wales
Unsuspended imprisonment	4	8	3	—	15
Partly suspended imprisonment	3	—	—	—	3
Youth custody	3	3	1	—	7
Detention centre order	—	—	—	—	—
Detained under s.53 CYPA 1933	—	—	—	—	—
Total	10	11	4	—	25

[pursuant to his reply, 23 February 1987, c. 35]: The information requested for 1985 which may be incomplete is given in the tables. Comparable data for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information on offences of rape in England and Wales as a whole is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, supplementary tables, volumes 1 and 2"—in tables S1.1(A), S2.1(A), S2.3, S2.4 and S2.5, under offence classification 19. The figures for rape include aiding and abetting and attempted rape and some offences not under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much was spent by his Department on energy saving promotion during Energy Efficiency Year.

Energy Efficiency Year in 1986 marked an important stage in the continuing campaign of the energy efficiency office. Its aim was further to concentrate efforts in attaining the £7 billion energy savings available to the nation as a whole and to intensify the effect of all the initiatives undertaken.A major target was to create a campaign that would be picked up and reinforced by the promotional efforts of the energy supply and energy efficiency industries. In this it was an outstanding success.1986 covered two financial years. Estimated figures for the four quarters give a total of £11·8 million spent on energy efficiency advertising and other informational, promotional and marketing activity by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is his latest estimate of the number of occupied dwellings in each parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales not connected to the public electricity supply.

I regret that these numbers are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what estimate he makes of the percentage of power to the national grid to be provided through the cross-Channel link for 1987.

My Department does not make such estimates.

asked the Paymaster General if he will provide details of the numbers in the adult training scheme and a breakdown of the type, duration and cost per place of the training in which they are engaged.

I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Paymaster General if he will give (a) the number of people in receipt of unemployment benefits in St. Helens, North, (b) the number of people who have been unemployed for over 12 months in St. Helens, North and (c) the number of people in each of the employment and training schemes in the St. Helens, North constituency, at the latest available date.

On 8 January 1987 the number of unemployed claimants in the St. Helens, North parliamentary constituency was 6,792, of whom 3,282 had been unemployed for more than 12 months.It is not possible to give precise numbers of people in the employment, training and enterprise measures run by my Department and the Manpower Services Commission in the St. Helens, North constituency because of the various bases on which local information is collected. The numbers of people participating in these measures in the St. Helens area at the latest available date were given in a reply to the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) on 26 February 1987 at column

asked the Paymaster General (1) what technical and vocational education initiative extension grants have been approved for each local education authority; and if he will make a statement;(2) what technical and vocational education initiative grants have been made to each local education authority in 1986–87; when the pilot scheme started in each authority; whether in each case he has received an evaluation report of the pilot scheme; and if he will make a statement.

I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Paymaster General if he will provide the best available evidence of the growth in part-time male unemployment from 1979 to 1983 and 1983 to 1986–87; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available. People with part-time jobs are not separately identified in the monthly unemployment count.

asked the Minister for the Arts if, pursuant to his reply of 16 February, Official Report column 653, he will place a copy of the Royal Opera House's development land trust deed 1981 and the memorandum of agreement 1985 in the Library.

I am happy to do so today, with the assent of the Royal Opera House and the Arts Council.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial, technological and service improvements attachment of the Customs and Excise computer systems to the Government data network will bring to his Department.

The economies of scale in the development, implementation and running of a GDN are expected to save Customs money, compared with the cost of using public services or developing a network of its own. If proceeded with, the network would enable Customs data processing to be distributed between several sites. It would simplify the handling of data collected from traders and make it more available to Customs and Excise officials to use in their work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide information showing, for each stock

Privatisation	Date of flotation1	Offer price per share (pence)	Number of shares2 purchased for initial instalment cost of:		Total costs to Her Majesty's Government of financial and 'legal advice and other services, excluding VAT and stamp duty £ thousands
			(i) £1,000	(ii) £5,000
1. British Aerospace	20 February 1981	150	666	n/a3	4,970
2. Cable and Wireless	6 November 1981	168	595	2,976	5,778
3. Amersham International	25 February 1982	142	704	3,521	1,826
4. Britoil	23 November 1982	215 (instalments of 100 on application and 115)	1,000	5,000	10,994
5. Associated British Ports	16 February 1983	112	875	4,400

The information requested at (a), (c), (d) and (g) is given in the table. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) on 2 March (Official Report, column 522) for the information requested at (b) and (e). For information about pre-sale publicity costs, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 7 November (Official Report, column 628), the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Maples) on 12 December (Official Report, column 244) and that given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Mr. Brandon-Bravo) on 18 February (Official Report, column 628).No separate records of the administrative costs to the Exchequer of each privatisation are available: these are borne within the budgets of the relevant Government Department. No revenue was forgone as a result of special dealing arrangements for privatisation shares. The current estimated total value of special customer bill reductions for shareholders is £99 million for British Gas and £19·5 million for British Telecom. Bonus share arrangements were available on four privatisations, and the value of the shares at the offer price retained to meet this commitment was £107 million for British Telecom, £144 million for British Gas and £22 million for British Airways; final figures will depend on the number of eligible shareholders at the end of the qualifying periods. The value of Britoil bonus shares distributed in 1986 was £3 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been paid premium bond prizes incorrectly; and how many people have not received prizes who should have, for each of the last five years.

It is not possible to say how many people have been paid premium bond prizes incorrectly, since such errors will generally come to light only when revealed by a third party. Any such cases as arise are very few in number and confined to very small prizes. Errors might arise when a bond holder changed address or died without the bonds and stock office being informed. Mistakes are always corrected when discovered. Details of unclaimed prizes are set out in the answer given to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 17 February 1987 at columns 424–25.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new people have invested in personal equity plans in each week since the scheme's inception.

Latest available figures indicate that during January more than 15,000 people per week invested in personal equity plans.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 19 December 1986, Official Report, column 742 on the consultation document "VAT Input Tax: Origin and Scope of the Right to Deduct", if he will set out the main items and/or categories given to make up the estimate of £300 million tax recovered in 1987–88.

I regret that I can add little to the answer that I gave the hon. Member on 3 February at column 537: it is not possible to make any reliable apportionment of additional revenue yield between the main categories in schedule 6 of the Value Added Tax Act 1983 other than to say that groups 1, 2 and 5 (land, insurance and finance) are likely to be those most affected. An estimate of the further subdivision of this apportionment, to identify the revenue yield arising from the individual items which go to make up the various groups, would be even less reliable.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has any plans to visit Orkney or Shetland in the next six months.

I am currently considering the possibility of visiting Orkney and Shetland in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has completed his study of proposals for the provision of a new ferry service for the north isles of Orkney; and if he will make a statement.

Proposals for development of the ferry services in the outer north isles of Orkney are still under consideration, but a decision on the proposals will be reached shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the figures to be available as to how many homes were completed for local authorities and housing associations in Scotland in the year 1986.

A provisional figure for the numbers of new dwellings completed during 1986 by each agency should be available by the end of March.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the employment implications for Scotland of the recent reorganisations announced by the Dee Corporation; and if he will make a statement.

I will reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Scotland when, and for what reason, haddock quotas for non-producers' organisations vessels in the 40 to 60 ft class were cut from 30 tonnes per month to 45 tonnes over two months; what is the monthly quota for producers' organisations vessels; and if he will make a statement.

The management arrangements for this year's North sea haddock fishery were reviewed by fisheries departments at meetings with industry representatives on 9 January and 20 February.At the January meeting it was agreed that, for fishing vessels not in membership of producers' organisations operating sectoral quotas, a flat-rate vessel quota should apply for the month of February. This was subsequently set at 30 tonnes.At the February meeting, fisheries departments accepted a proposal by the industry representatives that for March and April a system of differential quota limits should be introduced, based on vessel length categories and notional crew numbers. These revised arrangements have resulted in quota limits for the two-month period ranging from 30 tonnes for the smallest vessels to 90 tonnes for the largest.It is for the producers' organisations to determine the quotas applicable to their members' vessels.The objectives of the fisheries departments' management arrangements are to achieve the overall reduction required in this year's North sea haddock catch, compared with 1986, to take account of the decrease in the total allowable catch, and to secure a 12 months haddock fishery for the non-sectoral vessels.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to make the use of residual current circuit breakers mandatory in England and Wales.

I have no plans at present to make use of residual circuit breakers mandatory in England and Wales.

Firework injuries in Great Britain Four week period in October to November
Year	1986	1985	1984	1983	1982	1981
Total	846	968	778	833	626	681
Place of accident
1. Family or private party	286	255	231	311	189	231
2. Semi-public party (eg scouts, cricket club)	72	76	65	84	53	58

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether, in the light of the further reports of continued interference to the radio, television and telephone reception of the residents of Tudor Close, Eastcote, Middlesex, from a nearby amateur radio transmitter, he will use his powers to withdraw the licence of this transmitter; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will make a statement on his Department's latest assessment of the level of interference to television, radio and telephone reception in Tudor Close, Eastcote, Middlesex from a local amateur transmitter about which he has received complaints;(3) whether, in the light of the alleged violations reported to him of the licence variation conditions of the amateur radio transmitter in the neighbourhood of Tudor Close, Eastcote, Middlesex, he will now use his powers to close down this transmitter; and if he will make a statement.

Further to my reply of 27 October (Official Report, column 55), I am advised that regrettably complaints of interference have since been received at a time when the amateur's station was closed down. In the light of the information before us the amateur has been advised that consideration is being given to revoking his licence. We are now awaiting representations from the amateur's legal adviser. I will write to my hon. Friend when a decision has been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the firework injury statistics for 1986.

According to reports from hospitals in England, Wales and Scotland, 846 people required treatment for injuries caused by fireworks during a four-week period in October and November 1986. The figures for 1986 and the preceding five years are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to extend from 28 February the deadline for comments by small businesses on the Securities and Investments Board rules governing FIMBRA under the Financial Services Act which were published on 12 February; and if he will make a statement.

No. The proposed rules submitted to my right hon. Friend on 10 February by the Securities and Investments Board reflected the results of consultation on earlier drafts published by the board and therefore I do not believe that it is necessary to extend the deadline for comments. All comments made before the deadline to the Department about the proposed rules will be fully considered in deciding whether to recommend to Parliament the transfer to the board of powers under the Financial Services Act 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has made to the Government of South Korea for the retrospective protection to be given to United States copyright work by South Korea to be extended to United Kingdom works; and if he will make a statement.

I most recently emphasised the need for the United Kingdom to receive equality of treatment with the United States of America on intellectual property rights when I met the Korean Vice-Minister for Trade and Industry last October; my right hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Information Technology will take up this issue during his forthcoming visit to Korea.The EC is also maintaining pressure on the Korean Government to apply retrospective protection multilaterally without discrimination in favour of the United States of America.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a further statement on financial support for the restructuring of Rover Group's commercial vehicles business.

I told the House on 19 February Official Report column 1059–60 that the Government intended to provide up to £750 million to write off the accumulated debts from Leyland Bus and Leyland Trucks left in Rover Group and the restructuring costs resulting from their sale. These costs can now be assessed with greater precision and are calculated to be £680 million. My right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is accordingly today laying before the House a Supplementary Estimate (class V, Vote 11-Vehicle Industry) for that amount.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will estimate the projected number of jobs in the shipbuilding industry from 1987 to 1990.

[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1987, column 654]: In January this year, employment in merchant shipbuilding in Great Britain was some 9,200. There is no reliable basis on which to forecast the position in future years.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the hospitals in England able to carry out discography of the neck.

This information is not held centrally. I understand, however, that this facility is available at both the Leicester royal infirmary and Leicester general hospitals.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the number of awards of free milk and vitamins which were made in 1985 to (a) pregnant women, (b) nursing mothers and (c) children under school age, showing for each group whether the grounds for the award were in receipt of supplementary benefit, family income supplement or low income; and if he will publish his estimate of the numbers of awards expected to be made to each group after changes in the Social Security Act to be introduced in April 1988.

The table gives the information requested for pregnant women and for children under school age in Great Britain at December 1984, the latest date for which figures are available.

Thousands
	Supplementary benefit	Low incomes	FIS
Pregnant women	40	10	10
Children under school age	720	70	130
Total	760	80	140
Rounded to nearest 10,000.

From April 1988, the low income scheme for welfare foods will end. Families receiving family credit, expected to be significantly higher than those receiving FIS, will not be entitled to free milk but the children's rates will be set at a higher level to give extra cash help instead. We do not expect significant variation in the numbers in these categories who will become entitled to income support.Nursing mothers are entitled to vitamins and their babies are entitled to free milk; the latter are included in the figure given in the above table for "children under school age". We estimate that about 3,000 nursing mothers, other than those whose vitamin tokens are issued when they are pregnant and which carry on after the baby is born, receive their vitamins at present. After April 1988, vitamins will be available free through health clinics.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has any plans to change the amounts of capital disregarded when elderly people enter (a) private residential homes, assisted by his Department's board and lodging payments or otherwise and (b) residential homes owned by local authorities.

The present rules are that residents in private and voluntary homes can claim supplementary benefit if their capital assets are not more than £3,000. When income support is introduced in 1988 new rules will apply. The capital cut-off point will increase from £3,000 to £6,000 but with a tariff income assumed of £1 for every band of £250 between £3,000 to £6,000. The joint central and local government working party on supplementary benefit and residential care, which is considering means of harmonising financial support for people in residential care homes, is also considering the future arrangements for financial assessement. Its report is expected at Easter.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many births there were in Sheffield, Heeley, in the last year for which figures are available.

During 1985 there were 237 live births to mothers living in the Heeley ward of the Sheffield metropolitan district.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list by district health authority and by local authority (a) the number of people placed by them in private psychiatric units on a day care basis, (b) the number of people placed by them in private psychiatric units as residential patients and (c) the average length of stay for each patient placed in residential care in private psychiatric units for each year since 1979.

I shall let the hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list by district health authority and by local health authority (a) the number of people placed by them in privately run drug/alcohol abuse assessement and care units on a day care basis, (b) the number of people placed by them in private drug/alcohol abuse assessment and care units as residential patients and (c) the average length of stay for each patient placed in residential care in drug/alcohol abuse assessment and care units for each year since 1979.

I am sorry that I cannot give the hon. Member the information that he seeks. It is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list by district health authority and by local health authority the amount spent on placing people in (a) private psychiatric units and (b) private drug/alcohol abuse assessment and care units for each year since 1979.

The information requested is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list (a) the private psychiatric units and (b) the private drug/alcohol assessment and care units used by district health authorities and local authorities for each year since 1979.

I am sorry that I cannot give the hon. Member the information that he seeks in precisely the form requested. The information available centrally is given in the table.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what additional funds he expects to be allocated to the Newham district health authority in respect of his programme for cancer screening.

Funds will be provided for a national breast cancer screening service to be established in England over the next three years on the basis of centres each serving a population of approximately half a million. It is for regional health authorities to decide in which districts the centres should be located and how the special allocations provided to establish them should be deployed. In 1987–88 each region will receive an allocation of about one third of a million pounds to cover the capital and revenue costs of establishing its first centre. Similar provision will be made for the remaining centres in the following two years.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the number of people in receipt of supplementary benefits in St. Helens, North at the latest available date.

St. Helens, North constituency is covered by the Department's local offices at St. Helens and Warrington but their boundaries are not conterminous with those of the constituency. The number of people receiving supplementary benefit from those offices on 10 February 1987—the latest available figure—was 38,454.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what immediate action he intends to take following the publication of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys report on incidents of leukaemia, lymphatic cancer and other cancers in areas around nuclear establishments; and if he will make a statement.

The lengthy and detailed report published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys provides a large volume of statistics which require careful interpretation. The report's authors indicate that the number of relatively high results is similar for the areas of interest and for their controls. The authors also conclude that certain findings may warrant further consideration, including checks on the validity of the results and consideration of the need for field studies. The report is being referred to the independent committee on medical aspects of radiation in the environment, which will in due course advise on the report's findings and the need for further investigations.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has about the risks of contracting AIDS from hairdressing implements; and what guidance has been given to hairdressers on these matters.

We are not aware of any case in which HIV infection has been transmitted through hairdressing implements. However, high standards of hygiene are needed wherever there is a possibility, however remote, that sharp instruments such as razors or scissors could accidentally draw blood from one person and transfer it and innoculate it into another person. The Department and the public health laboratory service are preparing guidance for hairdressers on this.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) when he expects to be able to publish details of the charges that institutions can make when providing personal pensions; and if he will make a statement:(2) when he expects to be able to publish details of the information which must be provided to employees interested in taking a personal pension; and if he will make a statement.

We shall make an announcement as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide full details of how he arrived at the estimate that allowing participants on the community programme to claim unemployment benefit would cost £2 million per week.

It is impossible to be precise about the benefit cost of allowing people working part time in the community programme to receive unemployment benefit for the days on which they do not work and in my statement on 3 March I referred to expenditure of "around £2 million a week". The actual cost would depend upon the numbers of part timers who had underlying title to UB, had exhausted entitlement, were able to requalify by virtue of the CP work, would in fact be available for work on the days in question and indeed on whether people would choose to claim for these days, bearing in mind that in most cases part-time earnings would be considerably higher than benefit entitlement before joining the scheme. Information is not available on many of these points. £2 million is an approximate mid-point between best and worst assumptions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what action he proposes to take following the judgment of the Court of Appeal, announced on 5 March, in respect of board and lodging regulations; and if he will make a statement.

The Court of Appeal gave judgment in three cases affecting supplementary benefit claimants in board and lodging, including homes.The court has dismissed the two appeals brought against the Secretary of State by the London borough of Camden and an individual claimant respectively. In those cases, the court unanimously upheld the validity of the regulations which governed payments of supplementary benefit to people in residential care and nursing homes during the period from April 1985 to July 1986, and to ordinary boarders during the period from November 1985 to July 1986.In the third case, the Secretary of State himself was the appellant. The court has confirmed that in respect of the period December 1984 to April 1985 decisions on amounts of benefit to be paid should have been made solely by the independent statutory adjudication authorities. The limits promulgated by the Secretary of State had been made under powers which were insufficient for the purpose.We accept the judgment. Action will be taken to identify cases affected by the judgment and arrears of benefit, where appropriate, including any increase in transitional protection dating from April 1985, will be paid.

Table 1
Estimate of number of hospital discharges and deaths due to injury by specified animals. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland 1980–84.
Type of animal injury	Year
	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984
Dog Bite	1,070	1,080	1,520	1,180	940
Hornet, wasp and bee sting	340	280	140	350	400
Other injury caused by animal	1,960	1,680	1,800	1,250	1,260
Note:
Figures may not add to previous totals because of rounding.

TABLE 2
Number of deaths with underlying cause of death as accident caused by animals (ICD(9) E905 excluding E905.7, E906) Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland 1981 to 1985
	Year
Area of usual residence\Animal	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Scotland
Bull	2	1	—	—	—
Dog	—	1	—	—	—
Horse	—	—	1	—	—
England
Bee (sting)	2	1	2	1	1
Bull	—	—	3	3	1
Cat	—	—	—	—	1
Cow	—	1	—	1	1
Dog	1	2	1	—	9
Elephant	—	—	—	1	—
Goat	—	—	—	1	—
Horse	3	1	3	3	5
Pony	—	—	—	1	1
Ram	1	1	—	1	—
Sheep	—	1	—	—	—
Wasp (sting)	2	—	3	2	—
Unspecified animal	1	1	—	—	—
Unspecified insect	1	I	1	—	1
Wales
Bee (sting)	—	1	—	—	—
Dog	—	—	1	—	—
Horse	—	—	1	3	—
Pig	—	1	—	—	—
Unspecified insect	—	—	—	—	1
Northern Ireland
Bull	—	—	1	—	—

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the reply by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South (Mrs. Currie) on 26 November, Official Report, column 295, whether he will give a breakdown of the figures provided in tables (1) and (2) by the type of animal which inflicted the injuries on the people concerned; and if he will also give the figures as to the total injuries caused to people by each category of animal; and what advice his Department gives on attacks by animals.

[pursuant to her reply, 4 March 1987, c. 623–4]: Exact figures on injuries by specific animal or category of animal are not available. However, table 1 shows for the three countries combined an estimation of the number of hospitals discharges and deaths resulting from injury caused by those categories of animals which may be identified separately. The number of accidental deaths caused by specified animals is shown in table 2.

	Year
Area of usual residence/Animal	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Bullock	—	—	1	—	1
Cow	—	—	1	—	—
Ram	—	—	—	1	—
Wasp (sting)	—	—	—	—	1

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply of Friday 16 January, Official Report, column 331, what is his estimate of the comparative public sector costs of housing homeless families who are in receipt of supplementary benefit by (a) providing them with temporary accommodation under the 1988 housing corporation programme involving mixed public and private sector funding, (b) providing them with dwellings acquired from the private sector and improved for letting under secure tenancies and (c) providing them with bed and breakfast accommodation.

The estimated public sector costs in the first year of providing accommodation of the kinds specified, on various assumptions and on as comparable a basis as possible, are shown in table 1. The table provides separate information for both London and non-metropolitan districts because mixed funding projects are expected in practice to be heavily concentrated on the London area. The figures are based on the latest statistics available and up-rated to 1987–88.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give figures for the years 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985o–86 for the average overall cost of a local government employee; and if he will break down the average cost into pay, national insurance, superannuation, and other costs, such as office space, heating, lighting, car allowance, travel allowance, etc.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Health on Tuesday 3 March 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the income other than rent income, which will be available to the Basildon district council following transfer of current housing assets of the Commission for New Towns in Basildon to the council; and if he will make a statement.

No decision has been taken to transfer any Commission for the New Towns housing at Basildon to the district council. If, following consultation with the tenants and others, the council were to take over some or all of the new town housing, under the transfer scheme procedure provided for in part III of the New Towns Act 1981, it would receive, in addition to the rent income, an increased level of housing subsidy. The exact amount of the increase would have to be settled in discussion with the council before any decision was taken to direct the preparation of a transfer scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the future of the Commission for New Towns housing assets in Basildon.

No decision has been taken about the future ownership of the new town housing at Basildon, and none will be made until tenants and others have been consulted. I want there to be a choice between transfer to the council and disposal of the houses to alternative landlords.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the rent income per year from the houses and flats owned by the Commission for New Towns in Basildon; and if he will make a statement.

The estimated rent income due to the Commission for the new Towns in 1986–87 in respect of the houses and flats which it owns in Basildon is £15,371,000. This disregards voids arrears and rent rebates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what number of dwellings are currently owned by the Commission for New Towns in Basildon; and if he will make a statement.

The total number of dwellings for rent owned by the Commission for the New Towns in Basildon was 14,907 on 31 December 1986, the latest date for which figures are available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Government intend to introduce the Bill to extend the rights of people living in privately owned flats in England and Wales announced in Her Majesty's Gracious Speech.

The Landlord and Tenant (No. 2) Bill was introduced on 5 March 1987.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further action he has taken in the light of the report "Faith in the City" on matters which are the responsibility of his Department subsequent to the action referred to in his reply to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey dated 9 December 1986 at c.95.

[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1987]: I had a useful meeting on 10 December 1986 with the bishop of Willesden and other members of the group which is following up the work of the archbishop's commission on urban priority areas. Among other things we discussed the importance of making it easier for people to find rented accommodation. Following the meeting, I provided the group with details of the assured tenancies scheme and amended rules on shorthold and fair rent tenancies, together with information about the new programme run by the Housing Corporation designed to use private money supplemented by 30 per cent. Government grant to provide more rented accommodation, which should provide about £15 million worth of schemes for shared housing for young people moving jobs in London and the south.My officials are also continuing to discuss with members of the follow-up group questions relating to the methodology of identifying urban areas of need.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to enable owners of mobile homes to qualify for insulation grants; and if he will make a statement.