asked the Secretary of State for Transport, how many environmental traffic management schemes which include or included a street closure have been submitted to his Department since April 1986; when his Department took power over designated and trunk roads from the Greater London council; and how many such schemes have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected, showing to which of the London boroughs the acceptance or rejection refers.

We do not keep central records of local authorities' environmental traffic management schemes or street closures.Since April 1986 I have approved 199 and objected to 13 of London boroughs' proposals notified to me under the designated road provisions in schedule 5 to the Local Government Act 1985. Designated road notifications involving street closures could be separately selected only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts are in course of negotiation between London Regional Transport and United Transport International; what is his policy towards the participation in contracted-out transport services of firms operating similar services in South Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Contracts involving London Regional Transport arc matters for the parties concerned. The international affiliations of those seeking contracts from LRT is not a material consideration in the award of such contracts.I understand that United Transport International operates bus companies widely in several countries in Africa, including South Africa and Zimbabwe.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether, as an interim safety measure for all roll-on/roll-off ferries, he will take steps to ensure that not only a warning light is fitted but also an audio signal in relation to loading doors.

As an interim measure my Department is recommending to all owners of roll-on/roll-off ferries that warning lights should be fitted on the bridge to show whether or not car loading doors are properly closed. This safety measure will be reviewed in the light of what emerges from the formal investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the implications of the Channel tunnel for the transport infrastructure in the north of England and Scotland.

British Rail is presently examining the scope for developing long distance services through the tunnel to all parts of the country. The Government will be ready to approve any commercially justified proposals by British Rail for infrastructure investment to facilitate such services when the time comes.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Leicester, East on 12 March, Official Report, column 283, what steps he takes to satisfy himself as to the completeness and accuracy of returns of the numbers of passengers carried in ships; if he has any plans to seek to amend the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Returns) Regulations 1960 so as to require such returns to include details of passengers' names, addresses and nationalities; and if he will make a statement.

The returns are required primarily for Customs purposes (which are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer) although they are later sent to my Department for the preparation of shipping statistics. A requirement to compile details of the names, addresses and nationalities of all ferry passengers would impose a considerable burden on the shipping companies, and an inconvenience to the travelling public without making any direct contribution to safety. Nevertheless I will consider the possibility further in the light of the disaster at Zeebrugge.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the impact of shared taxi schemes since deregulation of buses.

Deregulation is proving a success story across the country as a whole; services have been broadly maintained while many local authorities have achieved substantial savings in subsidy levels.Innovation in forms of public transport is also being introduced. Over 150 towns and cities now have minibus services, and taxi operators are running some 55 local regular services. The Department will be introducing a shared taxi scheme in London later this year. I have no doubt that the taxi trade and the local authorities will then make increasing use of the new opportunities provided by the Transport Act 1985 for both regular local services and shared taxi schemes as a means of improving services for the public.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has made to have the notice of application to the High Court to quash in whole or part the orders made to authorise construction of the A5 Shrewsbury bypass heard at an early date; and if he will make a statement.

Acting on my behalf the Treasury Solicitor has, after seeking and obtaining the agreement of the applicants to a joint approach to the court applied for an expedited hearing. This application to expedite will be determined on 18 March. I hope that the court will be able to hear this case at an early stage so as to bring to an end the continuing uncertainty.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Leicester, East of 11 March, he will provide comparable figures for accident rates at night on lit sections of the motorways referred to; and if he will provide comparable figures in relation to (a) lit and (b) unlit sections in those years prior to 1985 for which figures are available.

The following information is readily available.

	Night time accidents per kilometre
	Lit sites	Unlit sites
M1
1983	0·98	0·62
1984	1·28	0·64
1985	1·40	0·60
M6
1983	0·68	0·49
1984	1·07	0·50
1985	0·67	0·47
M5
1983	0·35	0·22
1984	0·52	0·43
1985	0·98	0·56

Night-time accidents are defined as those occurring between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to seek to amend the legislation on the use of car horns between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am; if he has received any representations on this exclusion; and if he will make a statement.

We cannot trace recent representations on this subject. We have no plans to amend the regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of disabled groups concerning the careline service between Heathrow airport and the London rail terminals.

An informal discussion was held on 4 February with the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee when proposals for London Regional Transport's careline service were being developed. The committee has since welcomed the new arrangements. We have also been in correspondence with a wide range of disability groups on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to review the current level of enforcement of section 7 of the Transport Act 1974; and if he will make a statement.

We are awaiting views from all those we have consulted about our recent discussion paper "Pavement Parking—Curbing an Abuse".

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish the results of the national road maintenance condition survey for 1986; and if he will make a statement.

I am today publishing the report of the survey. A copy has been placed in the Library. The survey is one in an annual series sponsored jointly by the Department and local authority associations. It involves a sample survey of defects in all classes of road other than motorways.The results of the survey indicate that, while conditions remain worse than when the survey started in 1977, recent deterioration has been concentrated on minor roads. In the case of trunk roads, for which the Department is responsible and which have been carrying a substantially increased volume of heavy goods vehicles, the previous trend of deterioration appears to have been halted. In the case of rural principal and classified roads, conditions are substantially what they were in 1977 when surveys started. There has been a significant deterioration since that year in the condition of urban principal roads. The condition of urban classified roads appears to be stable.The Government have already committed themselves to a programme of works to catch up on the backlog of maintenance on national roads. Priority has been given to motorways (not covered by the survey) where the annual rate of renewal has doubled since 1979. In the current financial year we have also stepped up renewal of other trunk roads. It is too early for this to be fully reflected in survey results. We aim to eliminate the backlog of repairs on the trunk roads system as a whole by 1992.In the case of local roads, we have increased provision for expenditure on maintenance by 13 per cent. for 1987–88, continuing a run of increases well above the rate of inflation. It is for local authorities to determine the priorities for spending the funds made available. We hope that they will give a proper priority to road maintenance.With the funds available at national and local levels and the measures we are taking to secure efficient use of resources at both levels there is a good prospect in the next four to five years of eliminating the effects of past neglect and securing high standards of maintenance on the network as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to issue his traffic management guidance for London; and if he will make a statement.

We hope to issue this shortly. Our aim will be to foster measures to handle London's existing traffic more efficiently, reliably and safely on the roads best suited for this purpose. This will be to the benefit of all road users, whether by public or private transport, in vehicles or on foot. It will also offer new opportunities to divert traffic from unsuitable residential roads, and to create a better and safer environment for all.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library a copy of his reply to a letter dated 23 February from the docklands consultative committee to his Department about urban development corporations and the docklands in London.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer of 27 February to the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire, Official Report, column 437, regarding the number of schemes for which derelict land grants have been paid in Staffordshire for the last five years, if he will publish in the Official Report full details of the schemes which have attracted a grant in the Mid-Staffordshire parliamentary constituency.

Statistics of derelict land grant totals for whole local authority areas are readily available. To produce similar totals for parliamentary constituencies which cover only parts of several local authorities would require disproportionate expenditure and would also divert staff from the priority task of processing current applications. I hope that the proposed computerisation of derelict land grant records will enable us to provide a better statistical service in the future.

£ million
	Cash terms HIP allocation expenditure		Real terms (1985–86 prices) HIP allocation expenditure
1978–79	47·685	47·301	89·951	89·227
1979–80	54·068	56·059	87·275	90·489
1980–81	41·747	42·166	56·804	57·374
1981–82	22·454	30·247	27·810	37·461
1982–83	41·472	46·474	47·900	53·677
1983–84	33·916	49·820	37·490	55·070
1984–85	30·967	37·015	32·826	39·237
1985–86	26·779	43·024	26·779	43·024
1986–87	31·767	151·027	30·842	149·541
1987–88	29·492	—	27·598	—
1 Estimated by the authority.

The figures for total expenditure reflect the use the authority has been able to make of the various sources of capital spending power available to it including, since 1981–82 its receipts from the sale of assets.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue a circular to planning authorities on the lines of that issued in Scotland, clarifying their locus, and emphasising the special relevance of water authority views on applications in respect of fish farms; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to issue a circular of this kind. There is already a requirement on local planning

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list in the Official Report the total rent roll for local authority dwellings in 1985–86 in each of the London boroughs, and the total rent roll for local authority dwellings in England as a whole;(2) if he will list in the

The figures requested are available in the Library. I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing, Urban Affairs and Construction to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Heddle), on 10 December 1986, al columns 188–89.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide figures for the housing investment programme allocation for the London borough of Southwark for each year from 1978–79 to 1987–88 (a) at current prices and (b) at constant prices.

Housing investment programme allocations and capital expenditure on housing for the London borough of Southwark for these years have been as follows:authorities in England and Wales to consult the relevant water authority when they receive planning applications for fish farms which involve works or operations either in the bed or on the banks of a river, and to take account of any representations received in determining the application. Water authorities control discharges from fish farms under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. Certain abstractions for fish farming purposes require licences from the water authority under the Water Resources Act 1963 and the Government have expressed their intention of bringing all such abstractions under control.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to what action is being taken by water authorities in England to rear fish to meet the restocking requirements of their rivers and waterways.

I have been asked to reply.Information on the restocking of salmon by the regional water authorities in England and Wales is published annually in summary form by my Department's fisheries laboratory at Lowestoft. A copy of the latest publication "Salmon and Migratory Trout Fisheries Statistics for England and Wales, 1985" is being placed in the Library of the House. Information on restocking and on the rearing of fish for restocking purposes is also published by some water authorities in their annual reports to Ministers, which are also available in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action has been taken by his Department in the light of the publication by the Thames water authority of the "Performance of Sewage Works—Annual Report 1985", with specific reference to the number of sewage works which failed to comply with their consents in 1985.

The reports compiled by water authorities on the performance of their sewage treatment works in 1985 were voluntary and did not have to be submitted to the Department. However, all water authorities will be submitting formal reports for 1986 on the compliance of these works with consent conditions. Some have already been received and the rest are expected in the near future. We shall be examining the reasons for non-compliance and discussing with individual water authorities the action they propose to take to remedy the shortcomings identified in these reports. I envisage that Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution — through its new water pollution inspection arm — will have an important role in this.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why he overturned the decision of the inspector at the public inquiry concerning the planning application to build elderly persons' dwellings on land off Petersham road, Poole Dorset.

The Secretary of State has not overturned any decision by an inspector relating to a proposal for elderly persons' dwellings on this site.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the achievements of the Commission for the New Towns since May 1979.

The Commission for the New Towns is currently responsible for the assets and liabilities in 13 towns in England, nine of which have been inherited from former new town development corporations since 1979. The commission's main task, set out in the New Towns Act 1981 (as modified by the New Towns and Urban Development Corporation Act 1985) is one of disposal of property.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to how many empty council houses there are in the ownership of Portsmouth city council at the latest available date.

Information on the council's housing stock within the city boundaries, including the number vacant. is contained in its HIP return, which is in the Library. For the total vacant, including overspill housing, the hon. Member should refer to the council's chief executive.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the proportion of the money allocated to the Housing Corporation in the coming year to be given to Portsmouth.

Allocations to particular local authority areas are a matter for the Housing Corporation. I understand that it has now allocated about 5 per cent. of the resources for new projects in its west region to schemes providing homes for rent and for sale in Portsmouth.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much derelict land grant has been paid in respect of the site of the former Ansell's brewery in Birmingham; and by how much this was affected by income from scrap.

Birmingham city council has not yet submitted a claim for grant payment in respect of this site, although reclamation works totalling £300,000 have been approved for derelict land grant. The contract for this work stipulated that all salvaged building materials obtained from demolition or clearance (except items specifically excluded) should become the property of the contractor and it was therefore up to the contractor to make any such allowance in the tender price he submitted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department has given a housing association grant to the Notting Hill Trust for the development of open land at the rear of Holsbury road east and Holsbury road west, Northolt, for houses and flats; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware that housing associations are interested in developing part of this site, but no grant-funded schemes have been submitted to the Department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has plans to introduce measures to protect the European pearl mussel, margaritefera margaritefera.

The Nature Conservancy Council has recently recommended protection for the pearl mussel (margaritefera margaritefera) following its quinquennial review of protected animals and plants covered by schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The Secretary of State is currently considering that recommendation in the light of representations received from other interested parties, with a view to announcing his decision by the summer.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information he has as to which local authorities (a) impose and (b) do not impose a test of previous local residence as a qualification for inclusion on the list of homeless people; what information he has as to the effect of such a test on the length of the list of homeless; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will introduce legislation to require local authorities to impose a test of previous local residence as a qualification for inclusion on the homeless list; and if he will make a statement.

Section 67 of the Housing Act 1985 provides for the reference to another local authority of homeless people who have a local connection elsewhere in Great Britain. The detailed definitions of local connection and the operation of referral arrangements are the subject of an agreement between the local authority associations. Some 800 households a year are transferred between authorities on the basis of this agreement. No national breakdown by type of local connection is available, but we expect to obtain some information through the Department's research into homelessness. My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to impose requirements in this field.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the current position of European Economic Community countries in the negotiations designed to formulate a protocol to protect the ozone layer under the Vienna convention.

The Environment Council last November gave the Commission a mandate to participate in negotiations, along with EC member states, on the basis

Inspector's report received	Local planning authority	Proposed development	Location
September 1986	Bracknell	Residential development	East of Wicks Green, Binfield
October 1986	Hillingdon	6 flats, 2 houses	Rickmansworth Road, Northwood
November 1986	Reigate and Banstead	Retail superstore	Reigate Road, Burgh Heath

that existing Community measures were intrinsically sound but that some modifications might be required. At the Council on 19–20 March, at which I shall represent the United Kingdom, Environment Ministers will consider the Community's position for the next round of negotiations in April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his current plans for the use of Richmond terrace and the new building on Richmond yard.

The Government have now decided that the majority of the space in Richmond terrace and in the new building on Richmond yard should be used to house the Secretary of State for Social Services and part of his departmental headquarters.

asked the Secretary of State for the: Environment if he has any plans to reduce the time taken to process planning appeals referred to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

The Government stated in their response to the fifth report from the Environment Committee, Session 1985–86, "Planning: Appeals, Call-in and Major Public Inquiries" (Cm. 43) that their principal objective with respect to the planning appeals system is to achieve a sharp reduction of the time taken in normal circumstances to reach a decision in all types of appeal, but without reducing the quality of decision. Many improvements in policy and procedure have already been made to achieve this objective. Detailed reviews over the last three years have identified necessary changes in legislation, guidance and administrative practice, some of which have already been implemented. Further changes are in train.I shall write to my hon. Friend with details of the intended acceleration in the median times for deciding the various types of case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the planning appeals currently awaiting his decision in the London and south-east region where his inspectors completed their reports in (a) September 1986, (b) October 1986, (c) November 1986, (d) December 1986 and (e) January 1987.

The following section 36 planning appeals recovered for determination by the Secretary of State are currently with the Department's Greater London and south-east regional offices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on the future of Play Board.

On 5 March Play Board resolved to withdraw from negotiation about the proposal that its role and functions be merged with the Sports Council, and to enter into liquidation. I am undertaking urgent discussions with the Sports Council about how best to take forward the Department's continuing support for children's play.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the amount of money available for the last round of bidding under the European regional development fund textile non-quota measures.

The Department is responsible only for the administration of non-quota measures for infrastructure projects within England. Out of a total of £21,529,000 originally made available for these measures over a five-year period, the sum of £11,218,235 remains to be allocated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further action he is taking in respect of Truscon RD27 houses in Storrington avenue, Liverpool. subsequent to the recent correspondence between his Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby.

I shall answer this question shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions have taken place between his Department and both the London residuary body and Thamesmead Town Ltd., regarding the terms of sale and a sale price for the land and buildings of Thamesmead; and what factors were taken into account when agreeing this price.

This Department has had full discussions with both the LRB and Thamesmead town regarding the terms of sale and sale price for the land and buildings at Thamesmead. In doing so, the Department has taken into account the need for the terms to be fair and reasonable

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what will happen to the receipts from the sale of Thamesmead; how much of the total sale price will be paid initially by Thamesmead Town Ltd. to the London residuary body; and how further payments will be arranged.

Receipts from the sale of Thamesmead will go to the LRB for distribution in accordance with the Local Government Reorganisation (Capital Money) (Greater London) Order 1987. We shall make an announcement shortly on the terms of the sale.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in the Official Report(a) the number of both tenants and owner-occupiers as a percentage of the population of Thamesmead and (b) the percentage of both tenants and owner-occupiers who voted in favour of a trust headed by Mr. Clive Thornton in October 1985 in the poll organised by his Department.

The population of Thamesmead comprises about two thirds tenants and one third owner-occupiers: according to 1985 figures, 5,500 dwellings are tenanted and 3,000 owner-occupied. During the consultation exercise the Department gave a commitment that voting patterns would not be disclosed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the adequacy of his Department's inspection and other machinery in relation to the control of fish disease; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.Legislative controls and the work of this Department in seeking to prevent the introduction and spread of fish diseases are kept under review. Important changes in the machinery for dealing with fish diseases were made as a result of the Diseases of Fish Act 1983, including a provision for the registration of fish and shellfish farming businesses which was implemented in 1985. Earlier this year controls on the import of ungutted salmon and trout came into operation to safeguard against the introduction of the serious fish diseases VHS (viral haemorrhagic septicaemia) and IHN (infectious haematopoietic necrosis).

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from Yorkshire and Humberside about the Sports Council's grant-in-aid for 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

[pursuant to his reply, of 16 March 1987]: My right hon. Friend received a letter from the chairman of the Yorkshire and Humberside council for sport and recreation on 9 March expressing the council's concerns about the level of the Sports Council's grant-in-aid for 1987–88. When the Sports Council was told of the £6,372,000 increase in its grant for 1986–87—an uplift of 16 per cent. in real terms over the previous year—it was made clear to it that it could not expect a higher figure in 1987–88. Between 1979 and 1986 the council's grant has gone up by 42 per cent. in real terms. Its effective work has our continued strong support and confidence.

	NIHE tenants	Private tenants	Owner-occupiers	Total
Armagh district council area	2,991	302	1,913	5,206
Dungannon district council area	2,908	492	2,251	5,651

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his answer of 24 February, Official Report, column 132, he will make a statement on the position regarding privatisation of the royal ordnance factories.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave yesterday, at column 376, to my hon. Friend the Member for South Ribble (Mr. Atkins).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has received any recent representations regarding the privatisation of the royal ordnance factories.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I have given him today.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has met trade union representatives to discuss the privatisation of the royal ordnance factories.

Further to a number of meetings over the last few years between Ministers and the trades unions, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence had a meeting yesterday with trade unions representatives to discuss the latest developments and to hear their views.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Czechoslovakia concerning the current trial in Prague of five jazz musicians, charged with the unlicensed communication of ideas; and it' he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dwellings are owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in the areas in which are located (i) Armagh and (ii) Dungannon; and how many householders in the categories of Housing Executive tenants, private tenants and owner-occupiers receive housing benefit in each of these two areas.

This is largely a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. I understand from the chairman that the total number of dwellings owned by the Housing Executive at 28 February 1987 is as follows:

	Number
Armagh district council area	4,517
Dungannon district council area	4,195

Details of the number of householders in receipt of housing benefit are as follows:

When the sentences on five leaders of the Jazz Section were announced on 11 March I issued a statement underlining the grave concern to which they were bound to give rise, and expressing the hope that the sentences would be reconsidered on appeal in the light of Czechoslovakia's commitments under the CSCE Final Act. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House. Her Majesty's embassy has made our views clear to the Czechoslovak Foreign Ministry in Prague.

asked the Paymaster General what was the number of authorised and filled community programme places in the inner city task force areas on 3I December 1986 and 31 January 1987, respectively; what is the planned number of authorised and filled places in those areas in 1987–88; and if he will make a statement.

On 12 December 1986 and 31 January 1987 the number of filled places on the community programme in the eight inner city task force areas was 4,330 and 4,711 respectively. The December figures were collected early due to the Christmas holiday period.Authorised places normally exceed the number of filled places in order to ensure that there are sufficient places available to replace the normal turnover in projects and to provide scope for increasing the range of projects funded in these areas of high priority. The number of authorised places on 12 December 1986 and 31 January 1987 was 5,638 and 5,608 respectively.Current plans provide for an increase in the number of filled places in the eight inner city task force areas to 6,350 next year, in line with the priority given by the MSC to the inner cities when allocating places on the programme. No targets are set for authorised places, although the number will also rise.

asked the Paymaster General how many workshops were built with assistance from the small workshops allowance during its two years of operation.

The small workshops scheme was in operation from March 1980 to March 1985. Comprehensive statistics on the number of workshops qualifying for tax relief under the scheme are not available. A review of the impact of the scheme was published by the Department of Trade and Industry in 1985. This concluded that from 1980 to 1983 the scheme had a major impact on the supply of workshops up to 2,500 sq ft in size, and that the private sector supply of such workshops was perhaps of the order of three times as great as it would have been without the scheme in this period. The extension of the scheme to March 1985 for workshops not exceeding 1,250 sq ft had had a further major net impact on supply.

asked the Paymaster General how many building trade workers were registered as unemployed in the Winchester-Eastleigh employment area at the latest convenient date; and how many vacancies were notified in the same trades.

The following information is in the Library. As a result of the change to a claimant-based unemployment count, statistics of unemployment by industry have not been available for local areas since May 1982, when there were 359 unemployed registrants at Winchester and Eastleigh jobcentres whose last employment had been in the construction industry (as defined by the 1968 standard industrial classification). On 7 November 1986, the latest date for which an analysis of vacancies by industry is available, the number of unfilled vacancies at Winchester and Eastleigh jobcentres in the construction industry (as defined in the 1980 standard industrial classification) was 36.

asked the Paymaster General what were the numbers of people under 25 years of age who were unemployed in Coventry in May 1979, June 1983 and at the latest available date.

Following is the available information, which is also in the library. The number of unemployed claimants aged under 25 years in the Coventry local authority area on 8 January 1987 was 9,164. The figure for July 1983 (not available for June) was 10,177. This comparison is affected by seasonal factors, and changes in the method of collection and compilation of the data. Statistics of unemployment for local authority areas are derived from the ward-based system and are available only from June 1983.

asked the Paymaster General if he will give the total number of employees in Coventry in May 1979, and at the latest available date, broken down by standard industrial classification division; and when he expects later figures to be available.

Employment statistics for local areas are available only for those dates when censuses of employment are taken. No census was taken in 1979 (or 1980) and the most recent figures are for September 1981; these are given in the table. More up-to-date census estimates for local areas, relating to September 1984, are expected to become available within the next month or so. Between censuses, employment statistics are based on small scale sample survey which cannot produce reliable results for areas smaller than the standard economic regions.

Employees in employment: Coventry local authority district. September 1981
Divisions of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980	Number
0 Agriculture, forestry and fishing	100
1 Energy and water supply	1,900
2 Extraction of minerals and ores other than fuels; manufacture of metals, mineral products and chemicals	3,400
3 Metal goods, engineering and vehicles	58,600
4 Other manufacturing industries	4,900
5 Construction	3,700
6 Distribution, hotels and catering; repairs	20,000
7 Transport and communication	3,700
8 Banking, finance, insurance, business services and leasing	7,600
9 Other services	36,000
0–9 All industries and services	139,900

asked the Paymaster General what is the number of people living in Coventry, the west midlands and nationally who have never worked since leaving school (a) all ages, (b) under 18 years of age and (c) 18 to 25 years of age.

Following is the available information, which is also in the Library. The table shows the numbers of unemployed claimants in the Coventry local authority district, the west midlands region and the United Kingdom of all ages who had not had a job since leaving full-time education, as at 8 January 1987, together with those aged under 18 years and those aged 18 years and over (not available for the 18 to 25 year age group).

Unemployed Claimants as at 8 January 1987
	Coventry local authority district	West Midlands region	United Kingdom
Under 18 years	778	9,880	89,190
18 years and over	2,559	25,213	200,018
All ages	3,337	35,093	289,208

asked the Paymaster General what safety regulations he has made since 1979 concerning machines located in public areas of shops, especially with regard to ensuring machines are securely fixed; and if he will make a statement.

None. I am not aware of any particular reason for concern on this matter, but the hon. Member may wish to write to me.

asked the Paymaster General when he will publish the results of the 1986 labour force survey.

My Department is publishing today the preliminary results of the survey, and revised employment estimates incorporating those results, so that the latest figures can be given to hon. Members in the "Financial Statement and the Budget Report". A copy of the information being published, which will be reproduced in the April edition of the Employment Gazette, is being placed in the Library.The 1986 results show that the number of those without a job, using a definition of unemployment which follows the recommended guidelines of the International Labour Organisation, still remains below 3 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what information he has as to how much British banks will forgo in payments from Brazil during each month that the current suspension of interest payments continues;(2) what information he has on sums which British banks received in interest payments on loans to Latin America by country in each of the past five years.

This information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the effect of his Budget on the economy of the north-west region.

The Budget will be good for the economy of the north-west region, just as it will be good for the economy as a whole.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of staff in post in central Government Departments at 1 January.

At 1 January 1987 there were 599,421 staff in post in central Government Departments. Of these 506,688 were non-industrials and 92,733 industrials.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the total amount payable under the Civil List Acts to the royal family in the calendar years 1986 and 1987.

The information on amounts payable to the royal family in the present and previous calendar year is as follows:

Cash Limits on expenditure not voted in Estimates 1987–88
Cash block	Department	Description of expenditure	Cash limit £ million
BOE1	Bank of England	Bank of England administration costs in respect of note issue, debt management and the Exchange Equalisation Account	86·5
DOE/HC1	Department of the Environment	Capital expenditure in England on housing financed through the Housing Corporation	637·0
DOE/LA1	Department of the Environment	Capital expenditure in England by local authorities on roads and transport, housing, schools, further education and teacher training, personal social services and other environmental services	2,834·1
DOE/NT1	Department of the Environment	Capital expenditure in England by new towns on housing, roads, commercial and industrial investment and certain water services	1-95·1

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide details of the cash limits set for 1987–88.

The cash limits on expenditure to be voted in Estimates are listed in the appendix of the "Summary and Guide to 1987–88 Supply Estimates" (Cm. 94), rounded to the nearest £1 million, and are shown precisely in the relevant booklets of Supply Estimates. The cash limits on local authority capital spending and other expenditure which is not voted are given in the table.

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," when he expects to publish the draft regulations which will provide the new rules for partial exemption.

Her Majesty's Customs and Excise issued draft copies of most of the proposed new regulations in early February 1987 to those who had responded to the consultation document. Following discussions between Customs and certain interested trade parties, some changes were made and the proposed regulations are now in their final draft form.: I have arranged for copies to be placed in the Library. The regulations themselves will be made and laid before the House on Tuesday 24 March, following approval by the House of the Budget resolutions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice his Department will issue to returning officers regarding the attestation of applications on RPF 9 for absent votes by electors resident in the same qualifying address on grounds which are common to all the applicants.

We have no plans to issue such advice. Under the Representation of the People Regulations 1986 each individual applicant for an absent vote at a particular election must have his application attested by a person who is aged 18 years or over, knows the applicant but is not related to him, and has not attested any other application in respect of that election.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from trade unions about the threatened deportation of Begam and Mariam Chummun; and if he will make a statement.

Deportation orders were made against Begam and Mariam Chummun on 16 March 1982. Representations received about the cases included one from a branch of a trade union. The deportation orders were quashed in a judgment of the Divisional Court on 25 March 1986. The Treasury Solicitor subsequently lodged notice of appeal against this judgment with the Registrar of Civil Appeals. The appeal has not yet been heard: meanwhile, no action is being taken against Begam and Mariam Chummun.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what languages, other than English, the leaflet "Your Right to British Citizenship" is being printed; whether advertisements about the leaflet and the need for eligible people to apply for British citizenship by 21 December are being inserted in the British ethnic minority media; what other action he is taking to ensure those eligible to apply know of the need to apply before the end of 1987; and if he will make a statement.

The leaflet is available in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Chinese. Advertisements have been placed in selected local newspapers and in ethnic minority newspapers published in this country. We will consider later in the year whether a further reminder is required. Every opportunity will continue to be taken through continuing contact with community organisations and representative bodies as well as public speeches to ensure that those who may be affected are aware of the provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the arrangements for the detention of persons wishing to enter the United Kingdom; and what proposals he has for housing them on redundant ships.

Persons awaiting further interview by an immigration officer or refused entry may be detained in control areas at ports and airports, in other approved detention accommodation (including that at Harmondsworth), or in prisons, remand centres, police stations, or (in the case of persons under 17) in a place of safety. The Home Office has been considering possible ways to supplement these arrangements, including use of a modern passenger ship moored in a dock area. The vessel under consideration would provide decent living accommodation with facilities for relaxation, recreation and visits. No decision has yet been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his reply of 23 February, Official Report, columns 34–35, what steps he has taken to ensure that the information seized in relation to investigations surrounding project Zircon is used by the police only for the purposes mentioned in his answer.

It is for the police to ensure that the procedures described in the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on 23 February are carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take in the light of the suggestion by the Court of Appeal in a recent judgment that it should be given wider powers to order a retrial.

Offences recorded by the police 1983 to 1985
Police force area	Number of offences recorded in the years 1983. 1984 and 1985		Offences per 100,000 population per year
	Homicide (excluding attempts)	Rape (including attempts)	Homicide (excluding attempts)	Rape (including attempts)
Avon and Somerest	38	103	0·9	2·5
Bedfordshire	22	67	1·4	4·4
Cambridgeshire	13	68	0·7	3·8
Cheshire	24	28	0·9	1·0
Cleveland	19	44	1·1	2·6
Cumbria	8	29	0·6	2·0
Derbyshire	23	60	0·8	2·2
Devon and Cornwall	41	75	1·0	1·8
Dorset	16	42	0·9	2·3
Durham	18	51	1·0	2·8
Essex	42	103	1·0	2·4
Gloucestershire	11	42	0·7	2·8
Greater Manchester	88	201	1·1	2·6
Hampshire	32	160	0·7	3·3
Hertfordshire	17	48	0·7	1·9
Humberside	23	104	0·9	4·1
Kent	52	78	1·2	1·7
Lancashire	48	57	1·2	1·4
Leicestershire	19	37	0·7	1·4
Lincolnshire	9	39	0·5	2·3
Merseyside	40	138	0·9	3·1
Metropolitan Police District and City of London	501	1,254	2·3	5·8
Norfolk	16	47	0·8	2·2
Northamptonshire	22	43	1·4	2·7
Northumbria	62	130	1·4	3·0
North Yorkshire	11	35	0·5	1·7
Nottinghamshire	33	80	1·1	2·7
South Yorkshire	46	131	1·2	3·3
Staffordshire	17	57	0·6	1·9

I have issued to interested organisations in the legal field a consultative paper seeking views on this issue by 17 April. A copy has been placed in the Library and further copies may be obtained from the Home Office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the three police authority areas with the highest murder and attempted murder rates in each of the last three years;(2) if he will list in the

[pursuant to his reply, 26 February 1987, c. 346]: In cases of homicide it is not always possible in the absence of a court decision to distinguish between offences of murder, manslaughter and infanticide. Attempted murders are too few in number to enable reliable rates for police force areas to be calculated and so are not included in this reply. The only available figures for rape also include attempted rape and aiding or abetting a rape. The following table gives number of offences of homicide and rape recorded in police force areas and average rates of offences per 100,000 population per year for the years 1983 to 1985 combined. Rates for individual years would he based on small numbers of offences which are subject to wide variation and can be misleading. Numbers of offences recorded in police force areas are published annually by type of offence in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables" (table S3.1 in volume 3 for the issue for 1985).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the daily cost to public funds of looking after (a) the 58 Tamils claiming refugee status and (b) the six to whom limited rights of stay have been granted.

[pursuant to his reply, 23 February 1987, c. 28]: The estimated daily cost is about £3,700. The eventual cost to public funds cannot be determined until the cases are resolved as expenses incurred in the custody, accommodation or maintenance of persons removed from the United Kingdom after refusal of entry may be recovered from the owners or agents of the ship of aircraft in which they arrived.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed in Wales against the person, of criminal damage and of thefts from dwellings in (a) 1978 and (b) 1986; by what percentage the crimes increased or decreased; and if he will make a statement.

Persons received into prison department establishments in the years 1970, 1975 and 1980 to 1985 under sentence for murder by year of reception under sentence, type of discharge and time spent under sentence in prison department establishments
Number of persons3
Year of reception under sentence and type of discharge	Number discharged by years under sentence1																	Population in custody December 1986
	Up to 1	Over 1 up to 2	Over 2 up to 3	Over 3 up to 4	Over 4 up to 5	Over 5 up to 6	Over 6 up to 7	Over 7 up to 8	Over 8 up to 9	Over 9 up to 10	Over 10 up to 11	Over 11 up to 12	Over 12 up to 13	Over 13 up to 14	Over 14 up to 15	Over 15 up to 16	Total discharged
1970
On licence	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	13	16	5	11	13	8	1	1	1	71	13
Other2	4	1	—	2	2	—	—	—	—	—	4	—	—	1	—	—	14
1975
On licence	—	—	—	—	—	2	3	4	9	8	11	3	..	..	..	..	40	55
Other2	4	2	1	3	2	—	1	1	2	—	1	—	..	..	..	..	17
1980
On licence	—	—	—	1	1	3	—	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	5	152
Other2	8	4	—	3	3	2	1	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	21
1981
On licence	—	—	—	—	1	—	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	1	123
Other2	3	3	3	2	—	1	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	12
1982
On licence	—	—	—	—	1	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	1	168
Other2	12	2	4	2	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	..	20

[pursuant to his reply, 9 March 1987, c. 30]: Statistics of notifiable offences recorded by the police in Wales in 1978 are published in table 32 of the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1978", (Cmnd. 7670). Statistics for 1986 were published yesterday in "Home Office Statistical Bulletin 4/87". In 1986, police in Wales recorded 7,100 offences of violence against the person, 1,017 sexual offences, 28,874 offences of criminal damage, 18,216 burglaries in a dwelling, and 1,950 thefts in a dwelling.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the average figures served for life sentences imposed for offences of murder in the years 1960, 1970, 1975, and each year from 1980 to 1985.

[pursuant to his reply, 3 March 1987, c. 538]: The following table shows the readily available information on time spent under sentence in prison department establishments by those sentenced for murder. It also shows the numbers received in each year who were still in custody on 31 December 1986. The corresponding information for persons received in 1960 is not readily available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will appoint inspectors to examine allegations of a concert party involving dealings in the shares of Westland plc in 1985–86.

No. After due consideration, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry reached a decision last year not to appoint inspectors to investigate and report on the membership of Westland under section 442 of the Companies Act 1985. No new information has become available since that time which would necessitate a review of that decision.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will give a figure for the annual industrial production in the United Kingdom of carbon tetrachloride;(2) if he will give a figure for the annual industrial production in the United Kingdom of methyl chloroform.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give a figure for imports to the United Kingdom of chlorofluorocarbon-113 in (a) 1984, (b) 1985 and (c) 1986.

Imports to the United Kingdom of chlorofluorocarbon-113 for the three years in question are as follows:

	£ million
1984	1·0
1985	1·5
1986	1·3

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has received any representations in relation to a possible breach by Lonrho plc of section 231 of the Companies Act 1985 in relation to its Liechtenstein subsidiaries, Northchart and Coronation.

Yes, representations have been received and are under consideration. The subsidiaries Northchart and Coronation are incorporated in Zimbabwe and South Africa, respectively, not Liechtenstein.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the up-to-date comparative figures of percentage manpower and capacity cuts taken by other European companies/countries concerning steel capacity.

the most recent figures available from the Commission are as follows:

Hot rolled capacity (maximum possible production, thousand tonnes-year)
	MPP 1980	MPP 1 January 1986	Percentage change
FRG	51,883	45,192	-12·9
Belgium	16,028	13,098	-18·3
France	26,869	21,502	-20·0
Italy	36,877	30,389	-17·6
Luxembourg	5,215	3,920	-24·8
Netherlands	7,597	5,865	-22·8
United Kingdom	22,840	18,064	-20·9
Denmark	941	875	-7·0
Ireland	57	333	+484·0
Greece	4,317	5,016	+16·0
Total EC(10)	172,624	144,254	-16·4