asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether religious instruction will be included in the national core curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Religious education is already a compulsory subject for pupils in maintained schools under the provisions of the Education Act 1944. The Government's recent consultation document on the national curriculum reflects our strong conviction that religious education must continue to be taught in schools and makes clear that time must continue to be found for it for all pupils. We shall seek to ensure that the present statutory requirements relating to religious education are enforced as effectively as those proposed for the foundation subjects of the national curriculum.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the case for a general teaching council; what consideration he has given to this proposal; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received no representations recently about the establishment of a general teaching council. Our position has been for some time, and remains, that we are prepared to consider the case for such a body if a specific proposal made is likely to command widespread support from all the interests involved.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the latest progress in research into schizophrenia.

I understand from the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant-in-aid from the Department, that the Council's schizophrenia and allied conditions committee has recently reviewed the current state of research in this area. A report of the committee's findings, including recommendations for future research, will be published shortly.In addition the Department of Health and Social Security is funding epidemiological research on morbidity and mortality in schizophrenia at the unit of clinical epidemiology, Oxford and is also supporting studies on community-based services for people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much the Medical Research Council spent of its 1986–87 budget on research on (a) mental health and (b) schizophrenia; and what percentage these figures represent of the Medical Research Council's total budget.

It is for the Medical Research Council to determine its priorities from within the annual grant-in-aid which it receives from the Department's science budget. I understand that in the financial year 1986–87 the Medical Research Council spent £9·4 million, 8 per cent. of its overall budget, on research on mental health, including research on addiction. Out of its expenditure on mental health, the Council spent £506,000, 0·4 per cent. of its budget, on schizophrenia. The Council is also funding other work in which mental health and schizophrenia are minor components.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what efforts are being made to maintain provision of courses of training for social workers specialising in work with the deaf; how many colleges are providing such courses; and if he will list them and provide comparable figures from five years ago.

Initial training courses for social workers do not include any specialist element related to working with the deaf, but the development of a two-year post-qualifying Open University course by distance learning is under consideration.Some local education authorities provide training courses in colleges of further education on communication with the deaf, as part of their adult education programme; also, charitable bodies offer courses for people working with the deaf and hearing-impaired. The number of such courses is not known, nor are the figures for five years ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are being taken by the Government to provide or encourage the provision of conductive education for children with motor disorders; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has agreed to provide grant assistance of £326,000 to enable Birmingham university to carry out a research evaluation of the conductive education project being established in Birmingham by the Foundation for Conductive Education. In the Government's view, it would be preferable to await the outcome of this assessment before coming to any decisions about wider provision of conductive education for children with motor disorders.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number and names of all city areas in England which do not have any schools with sixth forms within their city boundary.

Information on schools in city areas is not readily available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many representations he has received (a) in favour of and (b) against the proposals of Derbyshire county council for the reorganisation of post-primary education in the Derby city area.

My right hon. Friend received around 800 representations objecting to the proposals. In addition, a number of statutory and non-statutory objections were lodged with the LEA.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has to fund CERN; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom's subscription to CERN is paid by the Science and Engineering Research Council from its grant-in-aid. Following the report of the Kendrew review into United Kingdom participation in high energy particle physics, the United Kingdom proposed a review of CERN with a view to identifying savings that would reduce the subscription of member states. The CERN Council agreed to set up such a review under the chairmanship of Professor Abragam and the final report is expected within the next month.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the current annual cost to public funds of educating a child at a maintained secondary school.

The latest information available is for the financial year 1985–86. The net recurrent institutional expenditure per secondary school pupil in England in that year was £1,175. This figure includes the cost of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services. It does not include the cost of school meals, central administration and inspection, debt charges and revenue contributions to capital outlay.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has considered the report of the working group on the collection of ethnically-based statistics on school teachers; and if he will make a statement.

The report of this working group, which was set up by my predecessor in answer to a recommendation of the Swann committee, recommends that I should require local education authorities to provide aggregate and anonymous data on the ethnic composition of their school teacher forces. I accept this recommendation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales agrees that the proposals should apply to Wales as well. We now intend to consult all interested parties on the arrangements for data collection. A draft circular has been issued for consultation today and copies have been placed in the Library together with copies of the working group's report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further proposals he has for improving educational standards; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have published consultation documents setting out their detailed proposals for educational reform. Copies of these and of the main responses to have been placed in the Library. We hope to introduce an Education Bill embodying our proposals in the next few weeks.

asked the Prime Minister whether she has any plans to visit Crayford.

I have at present no plans to do so.

asked the Prime Minister, pursuant to her reply of 23 October, Official Report column 905, why she will not refer to the Security Commission's allegations concerning improper access by security service officers to national insurance files.

These allegations relate to matters of a kind which do not come within the Security Commission's terms of reference.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to publish urgently a consultative paper regarding a Welsh Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will instruct his Department to give grade one listing to the theatre at Craig-y-nos castle.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend on Monday 26 October.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales why sales details for Craig-y-nos castle are not currently available to prospective purchasers from the nominated estate agent's office.

Now that we have decided that the theatre should be listed grade I and the remainder of the building listed as grade II the property will be placed on the market. Sales details will then be available to prospective purchasers.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will change the terms of sale for Craig-y-nos castle from freehold to leasehold in order that his Department may retain its interest in the long-term future of the building.

No. A previous attempt to sell the leasehold of this property did not produce a satisfactory offer. The freehold of Craig-y-nos is soon to be offered for sale, with the theatre subject to a grade I listing and the remainder of the building at grade II. This should realise the maximum financial benefit for the NHS while offering the protection listed status affords.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many farms in Wales have been affected by restrictions on the sale or movement of livestock due to excessive levels of radiation since the nuclear plant explosion at Chernobyl.

Around 5,100 holdings in north Wales were affected when restrictions were first introduced on 20 June 1986. Currently some 416 of these holdings are still subject to restrictions. Schemes to permit the movement and marketing of sheep from restricted holdings were introduced in August 1986 and are continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the air companies his Overseas Development Administration has contracted to deliver emergency aid in each of the years 1979 to 1987.

Information in the form requested is not readily available. Civil and military airlines used in our disaster relief operations include the following:

MISR Overseas Airways	Cargolux
ZAS Airlines	Martinair
Trans Arabian Air	Lufthansa
Transport	JAL
AER Turas	Aeroflot
ARAX Airlines	Sabena
African International	Air France
Airways	PIA
Belgian Air Force	Polish Air Force
Flash Airlines	Varig
Air Atlantique	St. Lucia
Air Botswana	MEA
KLM	TMA
UTA	Ford Vlahos
GASAIR	Iran Air
Gemini Airlines	LAP
Heavylift Cargo Airlines	TAP
Southern Air Transport	SAA
Transamerica	Korean Air
Qantas	Air Algerie
Flying Tigers	La Point
German Cargo Services	Yemen Airways
Alitalia	British Airways
Iberia	British Caledonian
TAROM	Sudan Airways
TAAG	Garuda
Panamerican	Royal Jordanian Airlines
Airbridge Carriers	The Royal Air Force
Anglo Cargo Tradewinds	The Queen's Flight

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will issue instructions that the Overseas Development Administration should enter into no further contracts with Southern Air Transport.

No

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what non-commercial considerations are used in selecting an air company for the delivery of emergency aid.

Each disaster response is considered on its merits. The primary concern in the delivery of disaster relief, irrespective of the mode of transport used, is the speed, effectiveness and cost of the operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the estimated cost of building a heat grid of insulated hot water pipes for London.

The Government have no estimates of the cost of building a heat grid of insulated hot water pipes for London as a whole.However, following publication of the Marshall report on "Combined Heat and Electrical Power Generation in the United Kingdom", the Government commissioned W.S. Atkins and Partners Ltd. to carry out a study on the feasibility of combined heat and power district heating in nine cities.The report of this study, published as Energy Paper No. 53 in 1984, estimates that the cost of laying heat mains in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Southwark alone could be of the order of £174,574,000 at 1982 prices.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what improvements he seeks in the performance of the national elecricity generation and supply system.

The industry has a statutory responsibility to provide efficient and economical supplies of electricity. It is our intention that privatisation should lead to improvements in this service which will benefit the consumer.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he now expects to receive the final report of the Severn tidal power group; how much public funding has been committed to this investigation; and if he will make a statement.

The Severn tidal power group expects to produce its report towards the end of 1988. The study is expected to cost £4·26 million and the cost is being shared equally between the Severn tidal power group, the Central Electricity Generating Board and my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what contacts there have been between Ministers or officials in his Department and representatives of the London office of the South African coal industry; and if he will make a statement.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the actions he has taken in his capacity relating to the areas damaged by the hurricane on 15–16 October;(2) if he will list the areas damaged by the 15–16 October hurricane which he has visited in his capacity as coordinator of relief operations; and what procedures he has adopted to secure advice on the nature and extent of the damage.

The immediate test of responding to the damage caused by the storms on 15–16 October fell to the emergency services, the local authorities and public utilities. In order to ensure that they were fully supported in their attempts to deal quickly and effectively with the consequences of the storms, I obtained regular situation reports, from early on 16 October, from the areas most badly affected. In the light of the initial reports on the morning of 16 October, I called an immediate meeting of the Ministers most directly concerned, which reviewed in detail the information available and the action which each Minister was taking in the field of his own responsibilities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make it his policy that the laminate chosen to protect the personal details page of the new European Community common format British passport be the most secure available;(2) if he will make it his policy to give the highest priority to the level of security in choosing the laminate used to protect the personal details page of the new European Community common format British passport;(3) if he has had discussions with the Governments of Australia and Canada regarding the most secure laminate used in their passports and as to what level of security was thereby obtained.

The laminate chosen will need to meet exacting security requirements. The Government are aware that the type of laminate used by the Governments of Australia and Canada offers a satisfactory standard of security.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department currently takes when, in relation to a patient to whom section 73 of the Mental Health Act 1983 applies, a mental health review tribunal includes in its written decision a recommendation that a patient be granted leave of absence or be transferred to another hospital or be transferred into guardianship.

Any such recommendation received in the Home Office is acknowledged, and any comments are offered which can usefully be made at that stage. Correspondence with the tribunal is copied to the patient's responsible medical officer, since it is for this officer to consider the recommendation in the first instance. If the responsible medical officer submits a proposal based on a tribunal's recommendation, full account is taken of the tribunal's views. At any subsequent hearing of the case, the statement which the Home Office provides will explain the outcome of any recommendation which the tribunal had made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to seek the amendment of section 73 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to give mental health review tribunals statutory power to make recommendations that a patient to whom section 73 applies be granted leave of absence or transfer to another hospital or transfer into guardianship.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those convicted of crimes in England and Wales in each of the last five years have ever been admitted to National Health Service mental illness hospitals and units with a main diagnosis of schizophrenic psychosis.

The information requested is not available centrally. The readily available information, which is given in the following table, relates to persons compulsorily admitted to hospital under part V of the Mental Health Act 1959, part III of the Mental Health Act 1983 or the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1984. They provide for the admission to hospital by the court of a person convicted of an offence or under certain circumstances of a person who the court is satisfied did the act but did not convict him. Further details are given in "Statistics of Mentally Disordered Offenders England and Wales 1984"—Home Office statistical bulletin 31/85; it is planned to bring this bulletin up to date early next year.

Persons classified as suffering from mental illness compulsorily admitted to National Health Service hospitals under a hospital order, after transfer from a Prison Department establishment or recalled following an earlier discharge; England and Wales, 1982–86
Number
	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
Subject to special restrictions on discharge	128	113	143	136	152
Without special restrictions on discharge	529	661	758	644	624
All	657	774	901	780	776

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made in the staffing levels at Frankland, Durham and How Newton prisons from the levels agreed between the manpower team, local management and Prison Officers Association representatives.

The fresh start review teams did not set and agree complements with local management and staff. Their task was to make recommendations about management structure, working arrangements and complements for consultation locally, regionally and at headquarters. Final complements have not yet been promulgated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the adequacy of staffing levels proposed for prisons under the fresh start scheme.

Trade union representatives have been consulted about staffing levels under fresh start at each establishment. Discussion at local, regional and national level has in most cases brought about a resolution of any differences. Staffing matters have been raised in two recent meetings which I have had with representatives of the Prison Officers' Association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the recruitment of prison officers in one area for posts in another; and how many vacancies have (i) occurred and (ii) been advertised in (a) Durham and (b) London in the past year.

Recruitment for the England and Wales prison service is on a national basis as prison officers are a mobile grade. Advertising, whether in the press or jobcentres, is therefore for mobile posts and not for specific vacancies in particular establishments.While account is taken where possible of an individual's preferences and domestic circumstances, officers may be required to fill posts in any establishment in England and Wales. In the 12 months October 1986-September 1987, 24 new entrant prison officers were posted to establishments in County Durham and 216 to the London area.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison staff have accepted the interim measures under the fresh start scheme; and what proportion of prison staff will be on the fresh start pay structure from 1 November.

Over half—53 per cent.—of prison staff in the unified grades were on fresh start working on 25 October, including 17 per cent. working under transitional local agreements. We remain firmly committed to a cut off date of 1 November for introducing fresh start at all establishments. The extent to which this is achieved depends on the outcome of local discussions. The position is not yet clear.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what compensation will be available for the owners of automatic firearms which he proposes to ban;(2) if he has any plans to restrict the magazine capacity of registered automatic weapons;(3) if he will make it his policy to have individual shotguns registered;(4) if he will make a statement on the implication for gun control or the absence of present certification for ammunition loading kits.

As my right hon. Friend announced in the House on 26 October in the debate on firearms, we are considering suggestions in addition to the proposals already announced for strengthening the controls on firearms. These include the matters raised by the right hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Mr. Steel) which will he carefully examined. We hope to announce comprehensive proposals by the end of November with a view to introducing a new firearms Bill before Christmas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to his policies for more effective control of firearms, he will offer refunds for the unexpired portion of firearms licences; and if he will make a statement.

No. The fee reflects the cost of issuing a certificate and a refund for an unused period of its validity would not be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is proposed that the police national computer be linked with his Department's computer centre at Bootle; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans to link the police national computer with the Department's computer centre at Bootle.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute an urgent inquiry into child prostitution.

We have no present plans to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will instigate an immediate inquiry into the number of children reported to the police as runaways from home or local authority care.

Responsibility for investigating reports of missing persons, including children who run away from home or local authority care, is a matter for chief officers of police. The Association of Chief Police Officers has set up a working party to review police procedured for dealing with inquiries relating to missing persons and in the light of its report we will consider the need for action by the Home Office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when and in what form he proposes to amend the legislation on dog licensing.

I have been asked to reply.Clause 32 of the Local Government Bill would have the effect of abolishing the duty on dog licences in Great Britain, and part IV of schedule 6 to the Bill would repeal the various references to dog licences which would be redundant on abolition of the duty. The Bill is currently being considered by Standing Committee A.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the nature of the dispute between the European Economic Community and Israel which led to the visit to Israel on 10 October by Mr. Cheysson; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that M. Cheysson took advantage of his routine visit to Israel to discuss the Community's concern to secure early implementation by the Israeli authorities of the measures for access to EC markets for produce from the occupied territories, agreed by the Community last year. He also raised some outstanding difficulties about the operation of the Tamah tax which is imposed on imported goods that compete with domestic Israeli products.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iraq about their use of chemical weapons in the Gulf conflict; and if he will make a statement.

The Iraqis can be in no doubt of our condemnation of the use of these weapons. We have raised the question on a number of occasions recently, for instance when my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Iraqi Foreign Minister in New York, and during the new Iraqi ambassador's introductory calls at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise at the Security Council of the United Nations the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in the Gulf conflict; and if he will make a statement.

We raise at every suitable opportunity the deplorable use of chemical weapons by Iraq. We strongly supported the statement by the president of the Security Council on 14 May, demanding a halt to the use of their weapons in accordance with the 1925 Geneva protocol. We played a leading role in obtaining SCR 598 which deplores, inter alia, the use of chemical weapons in the conflict.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is (a) the proportion of working time allocated to his departmental equal opportunities officer for equal opportunities duties, (b) the other duties carried out by the departmental equal opportunities officer, (c) the proportion, and the amount, of the departmental budget which is allocated to equal opportunities work, (d) the number of occasions when the departmental equal opportunities officer meets equal opportunities officers from other Government Departments each year, (e) the guidelines issued to his departmental training officers and equal opportunities officers to promote the use of section 47 of the Sex Discrimination Act and (f) the action taken to facilitate jobshare, part-time working and parental leave.

There are two equal opportunity officers in the diplomatic wing and one in the aid wing. The proportion of their time allocated to equal opportunity work is 15 per cent., 10 per cent. and 10 per cent. respectively. They combine their equal opportunity duties with personnel management, policy and training responsibilities as assistant heads of departments.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of the Republic of Ireland following the recent decision by the EEC Commission that the Dublin Budget restrictions on shoppers visiting Northern Ireland are in conflict with EEC legislation; what effect the Budget restrictions have had on the economy of border towns in Northern Ireland; and if he will request an urgent removal of these budgetary restrictions to cross-border trade in Ireland before Christmas in the current year.

We made clear to the Commission in April that the measures taken by the Irish Government were in our view inconsistent with EC law. The Commission has now instituted legal proceedings against the Irish Government under the EC treaty. We hope that these proceedings will lead to the measures being rescinded. Although this is primarily a matter of EC law, we have also taken up the matter directly with the Irish Government, on a number of occasions. The issue of what impact the measures have had on the economy of Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government intend to sign the European convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when the convention is opened for signature on 26 November.

Yes.

asked the Attorney-General if he has any plans to review the use made of the legal aid system in Northern Ireland; and what is his assessment of the current level of abuse to the system.

The legal aid system and the criteria determining the availability of legal aid in Northern Ireland are broadly similar to those pertaining in England and Wales. The relevance to Northern Ireland of the proposals contained in the White Paper "Legal Aid in England and Wales: A New Framework" (Cm. 118 published on 26 March 1987) is currently being assessed.Legal aid legislation in Northern Ireland incorporates certain safeguards against abuses. There is no evidence of major abuse of the system.

asked the Attorney-General what information he has in regard to the meaning of the word commonhold used as the title of the Law Commission's report, Cm. 179, and when it was first used in relation to property occupied as flats.

The word commonhold has at present no dictionary meaning. It was adopted by the working group responsible for the report Cm. 179 at the start of its deliberation as being apt to describe a form of freehold tenure involving common rights and obligations. At the time of its adoption the group was unmindful of its earlier use by my hon. Friend in a series of private Member's Bills on co-ownership of flats going back to 1978.

asked the Attorney-General if it is the Government's intention to take steps to implement the recommendations of the Law Commission in regard to freehold flats.

The working group report Cm. 179 to which my hon. Friend refers was published by the Law Commission as recently as July last. A decision on implementation will he taken when the recommendations have been fully considered.

asked the Attorney-General what steps are taken before appointment to ensure that magistrates and judges are free from racial prejudice.

Before appointing or recommending the appointment of a candidate to judicial office the Lord Chancellor carries out wide-ranging consultations with the judiciary and senior members of the legal profession in order to assess the personal and professional suitability of all candidates.In the case of lay magistrates the Lord Chancellor and the Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster receive annual recommendations from their local advisory committees about new appointments to magisterial benches within their respective geographical areas. The persons appointed are required to be personally suitable for judicial work and one of the purposes of the interviews which candidates undergo is to satisfy the committees that they possess the necessary judicial qualities.Anyone who is found to be racially prejudiced would be excluded from further consideration for either a professional or a lay appointment.

asked the Attorney-General how many judges have been reprimanded by the Lord Chancellor in the last 12 months.

Two.

asked the Attorney-General when the provisions of the Family Law Act 1987 which relate to illegitimacy will be implemented.

Membership of the Judicial Studies Board
	Qualifications	Committee responsibilities
Chairman
The Right Hon. Lord Justice Mustill	Lord Justice of Appeal
Members

The Lord Chancellor intends to bring the Family Law Reform Act 1987, which reforms the law relating to the consequences of birth outside marriage, into force when the necessary resources arc available. Bringing part II of the Act (Rights and Duties of Parents etc.) into force will require considerable expenditure in terms of staff and legal aid, for which resources will not be available until after 1988. Other plans and priorities will determine when resources can be made available thereafter, but the Lord Chancellor will keep the matter under close review.The Lord Chancellor hopes to bring the rest of the Act, which does not involve the expenditure of significant resources, into force by early 1988.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will make a statement as to the progress of the inquiry into Marconi.

Inquiries by the Ministry of Defence into allegations of fraud in connection with Ministry of Defence contracts with Marconi have been in progress since March 1987. The investigating officers have recently sought and received advice from the Crown Prosecution Service fraud investigation group, and the inquiries are expected to continue for some months under the direction of the fraud investigation group.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will (a) list the members of the Judicial Studies Board, (b) state the criteria for selection of members, (c) list the relevant qualifications of present members, (d) indicate the number of Trades Union Congress-nominated places, and (e) indicate how many Trades Union Congress-nominated places are held by women.

The information requested is as follows:

(a) Present members of the Judicial Studies Board are shown in the list.

(b) There are no formal criteria hut, because of the nature of its work, membership of the board and its committees mainly comprises judges and judicial officers with relevant experience. Membership also includes academics, civil servants from the Home Office and Lord Chancellor's Department and, in the case of the magisterial committee, representatives from bodies involved in the provision of magistrates training.

(c) Relevant qualifications are set out in the list.

(d) None.

(e) None.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when the Royal Herbert hospital buildings at Woolwich were acquired by the South-East Thames regional health authority from the Property Services Agency; at what cost; and for what purpose.

The Royal Herbert hospital buildings at Woolwich were transferred, without payment, to the South-East Thames regional health authority in March 1981. The authority planned to use part of the site as a residential centre for the mentally handicapped and severely disturbed and to dispose of surplus land not required for this purpose. I understand that another location was subsequently chosen for the residential centre and that the site has remained unused. The authority plans to dispose of it and is investigating the planning position prior to a sale on the open market.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the charge for the installation of the compulsory water meter is to be passed on by the proposed privatised water authorities to the customer; and if he will make a statement.

The Public Utility Transfers and Water Charges Bill which has now received its Second Reading stipulates that the undertaker will bear all the costs arising out of the installation of a meter and any associated equipment if it is installed at the request of the water undertaker.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he envisages any change in his policy of granting licences for the taking of wild peregrine falcons; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The Government intend to follow the advice given by the Nature Conservancy Council that, save in exceptional circumstances, licences will not be given for taking wild peregrine falcons after 1988.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many licences for taking wild peregrine falcons have been issued in 1985, 1986 and 1987 to date.

The number of licences issued by the Department and the Scottish Office for taking wild peregrine falcons was:

	1985	1986	1987
England and Wales	2	2	1
Scotland	3	2	8

These 18 licences resulted in 12 birds being taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many quarry licences for falconry were issued in 1985, 1986 and 1987 to date; and what quarry species were involved.

The number of quarry licences issued for falconry was:

	1985	1986	1987
England and Wales	68	72	59

The quarry species involved have been blackbird, skylark, meadow pipit, lapwing, song thrush, black-headed gull, moorhen, fieldfare, redwing. I understand that the details in Scotland are:

	1985	1986	1987
Scotland	3	3	5

involving song thrush, blackbird, skylark, and meadow pipit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the value of county hall, London; and if he will make a statement as to its future use.

It is not possible to give a precise estimate to the value of the county hall complex in advance of the results of the marketing exercise which the LRB is conducting. The future use of the buildings will be for the new owners to determine, subject to the appropriate planning and listed building consents. My right hon. Friend, granted permission on 20 October for the change of use of the county hall complex to offices. He also indicated that hotel use of the main block could be appropriate in the event of a satisfactory resolution of listed building considerations. Copies of the decision letter and of the inspector's report on the planning appeals have been deposited in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what current estimates he has for the numbers of publicly-owned empty properties.

The latest estimates derived from local authorities' annual housing investment programme returns for 1987 are as follows:

Vacant dwellings at 1 April 1987—England
	Thousands
Owned by:
Local housing authorities1	112
Other public sector bodies2	15
Total publicly-owned	127
1 Includes overspill estates.
2 Includes housing owned by new towns, county councils (for example, police houses). Government departments and nationalised industries and other public bodies. Many of these dwellings are vacant because of operational requirements, notably those owned by the Ministry of Defence, and others have been acquired for demolition, for example, by the Department of Transport. The Government are encouraging the sale of housing which is not required and many of those that are vacant are in the process of disposal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses have been empty for six months or more during the last five years.

This information, which local authorities were asked to provide for the first time in their 1987 housing investment programme returns, is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the names of the members of the Telford development corporation, together with the period of office that each one has served and the date when their term of office expires.

The names of the board members of the Telford development corporation, together with the periods of office that each one has served and the dates of expiry of their appointments, are as follows:

Appointment	Service at 1 October 1987	Present Term Expires
Chairman
Lord Northfield	12 years 5 months	31 October 1987
Deputy Chairman
F. J. Jones	10 months	30 November 1990
Members
P. Court	3 years 5 months	31 July 1988
Councillor M. J. Davies	10 years 11 months	16 January 1989
Dr. I. F. Gibson	12 years 9 months	Non-finite appointment
R. Hall	7 years 9 months	31 May 1988
Sir Fred Hardman	7 years 8 months	30 April 1988

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to restrict the use of chlorofluorocarbons; and if he will make a statement.

On 16 September the United Kingdom, together with the European Community, most member states and some 16 other countries, signed the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. This provides for consumption of chlorofluorocarbons to be halved by the end of the century and for the halons to be held at the 1986 levels. This is a major environmental agreement in the negotiation of which the United Kingdom played a full part.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will introduce legislation for the payment to objectors at public inquiries of their reasonable costs on the issue of a certificate that the issues in question raise matters of sufficient public interest, such costs to be mandatory when an objector produces an acceptable alternative to the acquiring authority.

Successful statutory objectors at inquiries into compulsory purchase and analogous orders are normally awarded their costs, as explained in DOE circular 2/87 issued on 17 February. Otherwise, the Government remain unconvinced of the case for public funding of objectors, for the reasons set out in paragraphs 63–65 of its response to the fifth report from the Environment Committee, Session 1985–86.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the extent of illegal trading in endangered wild animals in (a) Britain and (b) the European Community; and what proposals Her Majesty's Government have to curtail this activity.

The Department cannot estimate the extent of illegal trading in endangered wild animals. The European Commission has undertaken a review of the implementation of CITES throughout the Community. A report is expected in the new year; any further measures thought necessary to curtail illegal trading will be considered in the light of that report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions the Yorkshire water authority has applied for a change in consent limits in regard to the effluent from one of its works; and on how many occasions such consent has been refused.

The Department's records of sewage discharge consents do not readily distinguish between limits for new discharges and changes in the limits for existing discharges: the information is available in the register maintained by the water authority.The Department has granted about 500 consents to the Yorkshire water authority since the present arrangements came into effect in January 1985. No applications have been refused outright, but not all applications are granted in their initial form.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of Yorkshire water authority sewage treatment works in South Yorkshire produces discharges which exceed the required consent limits in more than 5 per cent. of the samples taken; and what action is being taken to reduce pollution from sewage works.

The information requested is not available in this form. Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution is conducting inquiries with all water authorities to determine the reasons for the non-compliance of sewage treatment works.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the proportion of fish deaths caused by sewage pollution in South Yorkshire rivers; and on how many occasions prosecutions were undertaken.

In the past 12 months, five out of 18 fish kills in South Yorkshire rivers were attributable to sewage pollution. Several hundred coarse fish died in the five incidents. Of the five incidents, three led to formal inquiries by the water authority into the operating practices at the sewage works that caused the pollution. Remedial actions have been implemented in all five instances. No prosecutions have been undertaken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the Rivers Don, Rother and Dearne to be clean enough to support fish; and what plans the Yorkshire water authority has to restock these rivers.

The Yorkshire water authority is working towards improvements in the quality of three rivers so that by the year 2001 they should all be capable of supporting good coarse fisheries. Some stretches should be supporting fisheries well before then. The water authority has no current plans for restocking these rivers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will (a) list the dates on which the current structure plans for each non-metropolitan county in England were approved by his Department, (b) tabulate the period of time for which each county structure plan is relevant, (c) indicate the number of new houses proposed to be built during the lifetime of the plan and (d) indicate the levels of housing for each county already reached at the latest available date.

Information on housing provision in structure plans, as at 31 March 1987, will be contained in a paper to be published shortly by my Department. I shall arrange for a copy to be sent to my hon. Friend as soon as it is available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to encourage local authorities to privatise the offices of district valuer or city valuer.

I hope that in all their activities local authorities will consider the possibility of achieving better value for money by using private firms as an alternative to direct employment by staff. But we have no plans at present to make authorities expose their valuation services to competition.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he is giving to the establishment of a national land use survey with a view to setting up a land use register; what survey methods he is evaluating; and what priority he proposes to give to designation of land suitable for new housing in inner cities.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave him yesterday.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many article 10 notices his Department has issued in (a) 1986 and (b) 1987; and if he will list them.

Article 10 of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1977 empowers me to issue directions restricting the grant of planning permission by a local planning authority in any particular case. The power is most often used to give time to consider whether to direct under section 35 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971 that a particular application be referred to me for decision. A total of 135 Article 10 directions were issued in 1986, and a further 59 up to the end of June 1987. Detailed information on the cases concerned is not held centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the scope of agricultural derating; and whether it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government that derating should apply to buildings used to store EEC intervention stocks.

Agricultural derating is limited to land and buildings used solely in connection with agricultural operations. We have no plans to change that position. Buildings used to store intervention board produce, including farm buildings, do not qualify for relief and are liable to be assessed for rates under normal valuation procedures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his proposals for amending the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisement) Regulations 1984, in the light of the response to his Department's consultation paper issued last July.

Comments on the consultation paper were received from 33 representative organisations and a considerable number of individual firms with an interest in the Government's proposals. These comments have been thoroughly considered and I am arranging for a copy of the submissions to be placed in the Library of the House where the originators have given their consent.Many of the Government's proposals concerned administrative provisions to improve and simplify the practical operation of the present advertisement control regime and were generally welcomed. I propose to introduce these provisions into the Control of Advertisements Regulations in due course.Most interest centred on proposals for granting deemed consent for five additional categories of outdoor advertisements and for stricter limits on the deemed consent for the display of boards advertising the sale or letting of residential property.I intend to lay before Parliament as soon as possible regulations, under section 63 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971, to amend the Control of Advertisements Regulations on the following lines:(1) to grant deemed consent for—

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to amend the Compulsory Purchase of Land Regulations 1982.

The Department wrote on 24 September to the local authority associations and others inviting comments on the drafts of regulations to replace those of 1982. The revisions are needed to implement section 43 of the Housing and Planning Act 1986 — compulsory acquisition of land on behalf of parish or community councils—and to correct various errors and omissions. I have placed a copy of the consultation letter in the library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department was first notified of the conditions of the Wimpey No-Fines dwellings in the Blakenall area of Walsall; and whether those conditions exist in such properties in other boroughs.

[pursuant to his reply, 21 October 1987, c. 830]: Walsall metropolitan borough council informed the Department in August 1984 of an income support scheme that it had initiated for tenants of Wimpey No-Fines houses with high heating costs. But it was not until 22 July 1987 that a deputation of residents from the Blakenall estate, led by the hon. Member for Walsall North, (Mr. Winnick) complained about the condition of their Wimpey No-Fines housesThese conditions are not unique to the Wimpey No-Fines houses in Walsall, although they do not appear to be particularly severe on the Blakenall estate. By today's standards, many Wimpey No-Fines houses are inadequatley insulated and inefficiently heated, and poor maintenance of the external render, windows and doors can allow water penetration into the walls, thus increasing the problems of internal damp and condensation. Many other houses of traditional construction suffer from similar defects, but whereas building professionals arc generally familiar with both these problems and their remedies in traditional houses, this is not so for houses of non-traditional construction.The Building Research Establishment—BRE—has under way a number of research programmes aimed at providing owners of non-traditional houses, and their professional advisers, with accurate information on their forms of construction, and authoritative advice on good practice in their inspection, assessment, repair, maintenance and improvement. Over the next year the BRE plans to extend its work to houses made of poured—"in situ"—concrete, including Wimpey No-Fines. Officials from my Department have already suggested including the Blakenall estate in this programme, if an empty house can be made available for survey by Walsall MBC.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the source of the reference to Japanese inhabitants in the discussion of overseas local government taxes in the Green Paper "Paying For Local Government" (Cmnd. 9714).

The source, which is given in a footnote to figure K1 in the Green Paper, is "Local Public Finance in Japan", Jichi Sogo Centre, Tokyo, 1982.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how users of non-commercial night shelters will be assessed for poll tax purposes.

Community charges registration officers will be able to designate properties with a rapid turnover of residents for the collective community charge. The landlord of a designated property will be liable for the charge and will recover a contribution from each adult who stays in the property.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimates he has made of the extra postage cost to local authorities of sending out monthly poll tax demands compared with domestic rate demands.

Community charge demands will, like rate bills, be sent out at the beginning of the year or when a person becomes liable to pay.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will be taking powers to carry the present system of rate capping through the proposed new system of local government finance, in order to discourage councils from levying excessive community charges.

The main incentive for local authorities to restrain their spending under the new system will be the greater accountability to the local electorate which the community charge will establish. My right hon. Friend believes that it would be proper, however, to retain some form of safeguard against the possibility of a few reckless authorities having no regard to the consequences and seeking to levy an excessive charge to pay for high spending. The legislation that the Government are bringing forward this Session will therefore contain provisions for an authority's charge to be reduced, subject to affirmative resolution of the House, if my right hon. Friend determines that it is excessively high or represents an excessive increase over the previous year. The scheme will operate within the same financial year, so that charges which first fall for payment in April will, if they are found to be excessive, he reduced during the summer. Charge payers will either receive a refund or will have their payments for the rest of the year appropriately scaled down to achieve the same effect.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will reconsider his plans to alter the role of the civil engineer in carrying out construction contracts, in view of the opposition of the professional bodies concerned; and if he will make a statement.

No. In his reply of 23 July 1987 to my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), my right hon. Friend made it clear that he had carefully considered the views of all concerned before reaching his decision to introduce the new arrangements on a trial basis. There will be further consultation on the details of these arrangements before they are introduced next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has now received the report of the inspector for the public inquiry into the route of the M66 of Denton to Middleton; and when he will announce his decision.

Yes. The report raises complex issues which we will have to determine. I shall make a further announcement as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation as soon as possible to require private contractors to fit rear seat restraints when transporting children.

Seat belts or child restraints are required in the rear of all new cars and taxis first registered after 1 April 1987. I have no plans to extend these requirements to older vehicles. It is up to those negotiating contracts to consider whether restraints should be provided as a condition of the contract.We strongly encourage the fitting and use of appropriate rear restraints in cars and for exposed seats in coaches.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received recent representation from trades unions about the introduction of cabotage in 1992; and if he will make a statement.

On two occasions in the last six months my right hon. Friend has received written representations on road haulage cabotage from members of the Transport and General Workers Union. I met a deputation from the union on 22 October.My right hon. Friend reiterated the Government's policy on road haulage cabotage in his speech to the Freight Transport Association on 14 September. We are aiming for a European Community in which United Kingdom hauliers can trade as freely as they now trade within the United Kingdom. To achieve this we must ensure that the conditions of competition under which hauliers operate are brought much closer together. Internal restrictions on road freight and compulsory tariff regimes are incompatible with a truly liberalised system. This policy was endorsed in a debate in the Standing Committee on EC documents on 18 March.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the estimated cost of the present widening scheme for the M5 south of Birmingham.

The estimated cost of the present widening works on the M5 between junction 5 (Rashwood) and junction 6 (Warndon) is £19·1 million. Works costing £700,000 are also in progress between junction 4 (Lydiate Ash) and junction 4A (Catshill) in preparation for widening that length starting next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the additional cost of providing three-lane capacity on that section of the M40 for which he is currently proposing two lanes; and what this represents as a percentage of the total cost of the proposal for this section.

The estimated cost of the published proposals for the dual two-lane Waterstock to Wendlebury section of the M40 is £57·5 million. This includes provision for earthworks and structures to accommodate a dual three-lane motorway when traffic justifies it. It would cost an additional £4 million—7 per cent. of the cost — to provide the third lanes at the outset.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to commence on the A49 trunk road improvement at the junction with A533, Barrington Cross roads; and if he will make a statement.

Next year. We have asked our agents, Cheshire county council, to complete the design of a traffic signal control system. The options which we have been considering since I wrote to my hon. Friend in July proved to be less satisfactory than signals which can be installed at a significantly lower cost than was then thought.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport which principal local roads in Leyton will require strengthening within the next 10 years.

Local roads in Leyton are the responsibility of the London borough of Waltham Forest.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how much money was allocated to local authorities to tackle disrepair on local roads in each year for the last eight years.

Public expenditure provision for local highway maintenance since 1979–80 has been as follows:

Year	£m
1979–80	591
1980–81	708
1981–82	710
1982–83	799
1983–84	844
1984–85	902
1985–86	972
1986–87	1,115
1987–88	1,264

asked the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department provided additional funding for the A1(M) tunnel construction at Hatfield in excess of the cost for a normal road in cutting, and as a contribution to the annual running costs; and if he will make a statement.

The tunnel scheme, selected following public consultation, was more expensive than the open cut option also put to the public and there are greater maintenance costs. Both options offered a good economic return but the tunnel scheme had environmental advantages and provided potential for redeveloping a wide area over and on both sides of the new road.At the request of the local authorities, the original tunnelled section was lengthened and the design strengthened to accommodate the redevelopment. The authorities contributed towards the extra costs involved. The Department has also recovered some of the scheme costs through disposal of land, or legal interests in land, on and adjacent to the tunnel lid.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the powers available to British Rail which enable it to withdraw sleeper services from the east coast route without ministerial authority.

No. My right hon. Friend's consent is required where there are objections to any proposals from BR for the withdrawal of all passenger services from a particular line or station. But whether or not to provide sleeper services is properly a commercial matter for British Rail.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review with the appropriate authorities whether to keep main routes into and out of London free of parked vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Parking control and enforcement is one of the options being considered in the second stage of the London assessment studies announced in July. The assessment studies cover four areas of London with particularly severe transport problems and are intended to identify practical options for tackling them within a reasonable time scale.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review with the appropriate authorities the value of the bus lane system in London; and if he will make a statement.

We expect London boroughs to accord priority to public transport vehicles when this is justified on overall economic grounds. Bus lanes in London have been the subject of recent studies. We are consulting the appropriate authorities on new advice on the design and assessment of bus lanes.