Written Answers

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of amniocentesis tests which were undertaken in Wales in the most recent year for which the information is available.

The information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the numbers of forestry grant or felling licence applications currently referred to him by the Forestry Commission and the dates when they were so referred; when he expects to be able to announce a decision for each one; and for which cases further consultation is still being considered.

I am considering two forestry planting grant applications to which objections have been raised. The sites are at Bwlch-y-Garreg and Bara Ceirch in Dyfed, and relate to the proposed planting of some 97 hectares in each case. These applications were referred to me on 30 December 1987 and I intend to advise the forestry commissioners on my views shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which courses at each of the institutions of higher and further education in Wales are available to students to study (a) partly and (b) entirely through the medium of the Welsh language.

The board for Welsh medium teaching of the University of Wales has reported that in 1986–87 students of the university were pursuing courses partly or entirely through the medium of Welsh as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimates his Department has made of the additional teachers required in (a) the primary sector and (b) the secondary sector in each local education authority area in Wales to teach each of the foundation and core subjects outlined in the Education (Reform) Bill at present before Parliament.

It is too early to make precise estimates. Local education authorities will be expected to plan on the basis of the national curriculum being implemented incrementally over a number of years broadly within the framework of the present planned resources. That framework includes plans for the overall pupil to teacher ratio to continue to fall from its present level to reach 17:1.Within primary schools where the majority of teachers teach right across the curriculum supply is not expected to be a problem. In secondary schools measures will be necessary and plans are in hand to boost teacher numbers in particular subjects, but an increase in teacher numbers overall may not be necessary.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the co-ordination of the Government's policy for community care of the elderly, mentally ill and mentally handicapped.

All the relevant Departments work closely together to achieve the necessary co-ordination for community care policies.

To ask the Prime Minister what action she intends to take in response to the representations she has received in favour of putting the clock forward by one hour to restore British standard time and double British summer time.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Hogg) to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas) on 2 March 1988, at column 567.

To ask the Prime Minister if the European Council has now received the necessary assurances on stabilisers to enable it to finalise the provisional agreement reached on 11 and 12 February; and if she will make a statement.

The meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 22 February endorsed the non-arable stabilisers proposals (paragraph 4–11 of annex I to document SN 461/1/88, a copy of which is in the Library of the House), thus enabling the overall agreement reached by the European Council on 11–12 February to be finalised, subject to detailed legal texts being agreed on all points.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to make an official visit to Thurlaston, north Rugby.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 10 March.

This morning I presided over a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today, including one with a delegation from the National Pensioners Convention. This evening I am attending a reception for the winners of the 1987 Queen's awards for export and technology.

To ask the Attorney-General if legal aid will still be available to women suffering from violence in the home, following the changes proposed in the Legal Aid Bill [Lords].

Yes, subject, as now, to the applicant's means being within the qualifying limits and to the application being judged reasonable by the legal aid authorities.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will bring up to date the information provided in his answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 22 October 1987, Official Report, column 839, on legal actions in respect of "Spycatcher"; and if he will provide details in the same form in respect of Mr. Anthony Cavendish's memoirs.

The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received about the standards in education.

We have received over 10,000 responses to our consultation paper on the national curriculum. A number of respondents have noted that many children now fail to do as well as they could and should, and recognise the importance of a curriculum which sets clear and appropriate objectives for all pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to publish proposals to extend the support of special educational needs into the 16 to 19 years further education sector.

Clause 81 of the Education Reform Bill puts beyond doubt the duty of local education authorities to provide full-time education for all who seek it up to the age of 19, including those with special educational needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list for each local education authority the number of schools which do not have a daily act of worship.

This information is not collected by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers have been seconded for training as teachers of the deaf in the academic year 1988–89 under the new grant related in-service training scheme; and what steps he has taken to ensure that at least the minimum number of teachers necessary to maintain the current supply will be trained in that year.

Figures are not yet available for courses starting in September 1988. We have made provision through the LEA training grants scheme to support the training of 110 specialist teachers of the deaf through in-service training. This, with the numbers qualifying through initial training, is sufficient to maintain supply broadly at current levels. LEAs have, however, forecast that they will spend some 50 per cent. more in 1988–89 than the sum allocated under the training grant scheme to provide for the 110 trainees.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many qualified teachers of the deaf are employed in maintained and non-maintained schools; and how many teachers not having a specialist qualification are employed to teach hearing-impaired children.

Information in the form requested is riot available. The available information, which covers England and Wales as at March 1986, is as follows:

In maintained and direct grant special schools there were 704 full-time teachers who were recorded as holding qualifications for teaching the hearing-impaired. In main-tamed nursery, primary and seconday schools there were 692 full-time teachers teaching classes for hearing-impaired or visually handicapped children. Of these, 477 were recorded as bolding qualifications for teaching the hearing-impaired, 26 for teaching the visually handicapped and 189 had neither type of qualification recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many students from (a) Northern Ireland, (b) countries within the EEC and (c) countries outside the EEC are currently attending higher education courses in (i) Scotland, (ii) England and (iii) Wales.

The information is shown in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools of chiropody will remain under local education authority control following the establishment of the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council; what proportion of state registered chiropodists in England and Wales they account for; what safeguards will be introduced to ensure that funding of the chiropody course will not be adversely affected at these schools as a result of the new proposals and that the numbers of chiropody students will be maintained; and if he will make a statement.

In England and Wales there are 11 institutions which offer courses leading to qualification as a state registered chiropodist. One school falls within the National Health Service. Of the 10 schools at educational institutions, six will remain in local authority control. In the current year the students enrolled at these six institutions represent about 70 per cent. of the total. Under long-standing guidance by education departments to local education authorities, the non-clinical elements of courses in chiropody at educational institutions are a charge to the education service. I do not expect that arrangement to change. LEA institutions will settle the levels of funding of their courses within the total resources made available by the authority. But authorities' expenditure on such courses of higher education will score as grant-related expenditure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the provisions for civil defence in Swindon; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for civil defence planning rests with county councils which are assisted by district councils. We are satisfied that Wiltshire county council, and the district councils within the county, are making good progress towards meeting their statutory obligations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been disqualified from driving in each of the past 10 years; and what is the present total number of disqualified drivers.

The number of disqualifications imposed by the courts in each year from 1977 to 1986 is published in table 16 of Home Office statistical bulletin, issue 36/87, "Offences Relating To Motor Vehicles, England and Wales 1986", copies of which are in the Library. It is estimated on the basis of records held on the police national computer that about 240,000 persons are currently disqualified from driving in Great Britain.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted murderers in prison now have served (a) 30 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 20 years, (d) 15 years, (e) 10 years, (f) five years and (g) under five years.

Information on the time spent under sentence in prison department establishments in England and Wales by sentenced murderers held in such establishments on 30 September 1987 is given in the table. More detailed information about all life sentenced prisoners is given annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales", table 1(f) of the latest issue, for 1986, (Cm. 210), a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will estimate the net annual costs to public funds of policing Football League matches.

The information on which to base such an estimate is not available centrally. It is for police authorities to determine the charges for providing police officers for duty inside the ground and to ensure that, so far as possible, they recover the full cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many orders have been made by the courts imposing financial penalties on parents for crimes committed by children in their care, in each of the last five years.

The readily available information, which may be incomplete, is given in table 7·16 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1986" (Cm. 233), a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the member states of the European Community which broadly operate on the same time zone as the United Kingdom and those one and two hours in advance, respectively, together with their total respective populations and the total population living in advanced time zones in Europe west of the Greenwich meridian.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list all the complaints made to the Equal Opportunities Commission of discrimination against women in the last five years, together with the names of the complainant and the organisation complained against and the subsequent outcome; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will list all the complaints of discrimination in employment made to the Commission for Racial Equality in the last five years, together with the names of the complainant and the organisation complained against and the subsequent outcome; and if he will make a statement.

Information about complaints made to the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality is, consistent with considerations of confidentiality, included in the commissions' annual reports, copies of which are in the Library. It is not possible to list details of the complaints because in many cases this would involve a breach of confidentiality between the individual and the commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for the past five years for which figures are available the bodies investigated by (i) the Commission for Racial Equality and (ii) the Equal Opportunities Commission, and the subsequent outcome.

Information about the formal investigations conducted under the powers contained in section 48 of the Race Relations Act 1976 and section 57 of the Sex Discrimination Act is included in the annual reports of the Commission for Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities Commission, copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken, following publication of the report in the "Fire and Safety Journal 12 (1987)" on housing factors and fires in two metropolitan boroughs, to reduce the incidence of fires in the home.

The findings of the report corroborate the approach which the Home Office has followed in directing its fire precautions publicity primarily at those groups most at risk from fire in the home. Local authority fire brigades use Home Office printed publicity extensively especially when associated with television, radio or press advertising campaigns designed to target selectively the most vulnerable groups. New ways of directing fire precautions advice to those most at risk are being explored.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase funding for fire services to Clwyd county council to a level sufficient to ensure that the Buckley fire station does not close and that the Queensferry station does not suffer cutbacks; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to his question on 8 March, at column 109, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to who was in possession of the Panamanian consulate premises in London when the police responded to an alleged bomb scare; what advice was given to them; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the date and the time at which the message was received by the Metropolitan police that a bomb had been placed in the Panamanian consulate premises in London; who received the message; who was consulted; what action was taken; and if he will make a statement.

A telephone call was received by British Telecom at 11 pm on 2 March from an unknown male who stated that there was a bomb at the Panamanian consulate in Tudor street, London, EC4. The message was passed at 11·2 pm to New Scotland Yard and the City of London police were alerted immediately. There were two security guards on the premises who were advised in accordance with normal practice that the decision whether the consulate should be evacuated and searched, with police assistance, rested with them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what communications Sir Lawrence Byford, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, had with Sir John Hermon, the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in May 1986; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from Sir Lawrence Byford that there were none.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he received up to 31 May 1986 about the implications for the morale and efficiency of the Royal Ulster Constabulary of the inquiries being conducted by Mr. John Stalker; and if he will make a statement.

None. My right hon. Friend has no responsibilities for either the morale or the efficiency of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there has been any improvement since the answer of 20 November 1987, Official Report, column 716, in the length of time taken by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to process cases; and if he will make a statement.

The latest annual report of the board, (Cm. 265), copies of which are in the Library, shows at paragraph 7 that 50 per cent. of cases resolved in the financial year 1986–87 were decided within a year of application. The increase in the time taken to resolve cases reflects the backlog of cases caused by a large rise in applications over recent years.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, when he next meets the chairman of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, he will raise with him the reasons for the number of apologies sent to applicants because of delays in dealing with cases; and if he will make a statement

Delays in dealing with applications arise from the board's substantially increased work load over the last few years. The number of applications received in 1986–87 was about 42,300, higher than in any previous year and about 2,500 more than in 1985–86. To help reduce the delays in dealing with applications the Government provided £77 million for the criminal injuries compensation scheme in the Estimates for this financial year — an increase of £33 million over previously planned provision — and plan to make £81 million available in 1988–89 and £89 million in 1989–90. This increased privision will finance a rise in the number of compensation payments and has enabled the board to recruit 90 additional staff at its new office in Glasgow who will help to deal with the backlog of claims.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise the case of Miss Elena Gurevich of Moscow with the Government of the Soviet Union; and if he will make a statement.

We regularly raise the plight of refuseniks with the Soviet authorities and shall continue to do so. We understand that Elena Gurevich may already have received permission to leave the Soviet Union.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States of America in respect of the current situation in Panama.

The situation in Panama has been discussed in the course of our normal contacts with the United States Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy for consolidating Britain's long-term presence in the British Antarctic territory in advance of the revision of the Antarctic treaty in 1991; and if he will make a statement.

There is no automatic requirement for the Antarctic treaty to be reviewed in or after 1991. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science announced on 13 November 1987, at column 322, additional funding totalling £30 million over the period 1988–89 to 1990–91 for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), funded through the Natural Environment Research Council. The greater part of this provision will purchase a research and supply ship to replace RRS John Biscoe. The new vessel will make important contributions to research in the Southern ocean and will support more scientists in Antarctica. Halley and Signy stations will be rebuilt, and a fourth Twin Otter purchased to augment the BAS fleet.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to his answer of 7 March, he will list the eight individuals whose cases were raised by Mr. Shevardnadze during his recent visit to Moscow.

It is not our practice to reveal details of individual prisoners without their consent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action he proposes to take to compensate Greenham Common peace women who have been convicted through the use of Ministry of Defence byelaws which have been ruled by Mr. Justice Lait at Reading Crown court as being invalid.

I have nothing to add at this stage to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 3 March 1988 at column 687.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 23 February Official Report, column 142, if he will list the three types of dual-capable aircraft currently in service with the Royal Air Force.

The three types of dual capable aircraft currently in service with the Royal Air Force are the Tomado, the Buccaneer and the Nimrod.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which Royal Navy vessels were used to convey passengers to the Isle of Arran during the current ferry dispute; on whose authority they were used; and at what cost.

On 5 March a request was received from a field study centre on the Isle of Arran for RN assistance in transporting to the island a group of schoolchildren who had travelled from all over the United Kingdom to participate in a course at the centre.This was a last minute request as, it was claimed, an industrial dispute had prevented the children from travelling on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry. Commodore Clyde authorised the use of RMAS fleet tender Crick lade which was already in the area and able to fit the task into its planned programme. There was, therefore, no extra cost to public funds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when, pursuant to his answer of 7 March, Official Report, column 60, he expects his inquiry into the loss of pieces of a Vanguard submarine on 5 to 6 February to be completed.

The inquiry referred to is being carried out by the company concerned and not by my Department, but I expect to be able to give further information shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many complaints of racial discrimination have been taken to the Commission for Racial Equality in respect of soldiers serving in the British Army; and how many have been found to be proven;(2) how many complaints of racial discrimination have been taken to the Commission for Racial Equality in respect of soldiers serving in the Prince of Wale's Division; and how many have been found to be proven.

[holding answer 9 March 1988]: Under the Race Relations Act 1976 the Race Relations Board and the Community Relations Commission were replaced by the Commission for Racial Equality. Section 75(8) and (9) of that Act provides that a complaint of racial discrimination which is made by a person subject to the Service Discipline Acts and which is concerned with any aspect of that person's service in the armed forces will be dealt with under the redress of grievance machinery provided for in the Service Discipline Acts. There have been no cases of redress of grievance of a racial nature which have been referred to the Ministry of Defence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to change present levels of financial support for British R ail in the light of increasing demand for rail services.

The objectives agreed with the chairman of the British Railways Board in October 1986 provide for a reduction in public service obligation grant to the board to £555 million (at 1986–87 prices) in 1989–90. Increasing demand reflects well on the board's efforts to improve the quality and marketing of its services, and rising revenues from passengers make a valuable contribution towards reducing the cost to the taxpayer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what response the Government are making to the call by the Economic and Social Committee of the European Economic Community in April 1987, repeated at the Mannheim conference in October 1987, for member states to quantify and apply in their transport policies the environmental, energy and safety advantages of rail over road transport; and if he will make a statement.

The Government do not at present intend to respond formally to the views expressed by the Economic and Social Committee, since it is for the EC Commission to decide whether to submit proposals for Community legislation to the Council of Ministers.However, the Government accept that where investment in the grant-aided passenger railway would have significant benefits for the community, for example in reducing road congestion by attracting more passengers to the railway, and which could not be paid for through fares, those benefits should be included in the project appraisal. Furthermore, the Government recognise the substantial environmental benefits that the transfer of road freight to rail can give in certain circumstances. Grants are available from the Government under section 8 of the Railways Act 1974 for consignors towards the capital cost of the necessary facilities, where without grant the proper decision would be to use road.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department proposes to seek to amend the requirements for a public service vehicle licence for vehicles so as to include those carrying 11 or more people; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to amend the current requirement that anyone who operates a vehicle with more than eight passenger seats has to comply with the licensing requirements for public service vehicles unless they are specifically exempted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to monitor the ethnic and gender composition of staff employed by companies contracted to provide goods and services to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the total value and tonnage of freight carried by British Rail in Scotland (ScotRail) in each of the years from 1979–80 to 1986–87; what percentage of this was from the supply of coal to Scottish power stations: and what percentage of British Rail's (a) total income and (b) freight income this represents for each of these years.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he is yet able to announce the date for the public inquiry into the Brockworth bypass.

Recent work has indicated that there may be a need for some redesign to the junction layouts, on account of both objections received and the latest estimates of traffic growth. I have deferred the arrangements for an inquiry while these points are considered further. I shall make a further statement as soon as I can.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his discussions with British ferry owners about the safety of ferries.

My officials hold regular meetings with British ferry owners to discuss the Government's ferry safety programme. I am glad to say that the General Council of British Shipping, and British ferry owners generally, have been co-operating fully with the Government in the implementation of this programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which recommendations of Mr. Justice Sheen regarding older ferries he has decided not to implement; and if he will make a statement.

None. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) on 3 March, at column 653, in which I stated the current position in relation to roll-on/roll-off ferries built before 1980.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the number of inspections performed by marine inspectors (a) in the two years prior to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise and (b) since that date to the latest date for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

In the two-year two-month period prior to the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise 1,501 inspections of United Kingdom ships and 5,823 inspections of foreign ships were made. From 6 March 1987 to 29 February 1988, 1,178 inspections of United Kingdom ships and 2,256 inspections of foreign ships were made.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the future of the Settle to Carlisle railway line; and if he will make a statement.

I continue to receive many representations from Members of this House, local authorities and others with an interest in this Line. I expect that a decision will be announced very shortly now.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the effects upon the delivery of service to the public of the recently announced reforms in the management of the Civil Service.

The aim of the "Next Steps" proposals is to produce a better service to the public and the Government by improving management in the Civil Service. Better management should lead to improved value for money for the taxpayer.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will publish a further report on business appointments of former Crown servants.

I have today placed copies of a statistical report entitled "Acceptance of Outside Appointments by Crown Servants—1987" in the Libraries of Parliament.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement about the discretionary pay scheme for grades 2 and 3 staff in the home Civil Service.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 23 April 1987 the introduction of a scheme of discretionary increments for staff in grades 2 and 3 and said that the increments would be in payment with effect from 1 October 1987. Awards have been made to 27 Grade 2s and 84 grade 3s (respectively 20 and 17 per cent. of all those in each grade). The cost of the awards in the current financial year is £117,750, equivalent to £235,500 in a full year, or about 1 per cent. of the annual pay bill for the grades concerned.

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will visit the county of Durham to meet the East Durham Arts Committee.

I have no immediate plans to do so.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the location and status of all buildings within his Department located in London, and the annual cost of rents, rates and maintenance of each.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 3 March, by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment. In the case of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department occupies accommodation in 23 buildings in the London postal area, ranging from its main HQ building at 1–19 Victoria street, down to the small offices of the inner city task forces. The following list gives the name and location of these buildings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the merger of GEC and Plessey.

On 29 January my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State announced his decision not to refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the proposal by GEC and Plessey to establish a joint venture company to handle the telecommunications interests of both companies. His decision was in accordance with the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading.My right hon. and noble Friend has asked the Director General to negotiate with GEC modifications to the undertakings given by GEC following the MMC's report of August 1986 on the proposed merger between GEC and Plessey, to the extent that such modifications are necessary in order to allow the proposed joint venture to proceed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the Government grants available to the clothing industry in areas with full development and intermediate development status.

The clothing industry is eligible for a range of Government assistance which is available to firms through my Department in development and intermediate areas, namely, regional selective assistance, and in development areas (as from 1 April 1988) investment and innovation grants for firms with fewer than 25 employees. (Until 31 March 1988 firms in development areas may apply for regional development grant.)In addition, the clothing industry is able to benefit from assistance which is available on a national basis under the enterprise initiative: grants towards consultancy under the business development initiatives (available at a higher rate in assisted and urban programme areas); and support for exporting, collaborative research, and partnerships between manufacturing companies and higher education institutions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business development initiative (support for consultancy services) to be paid out in Scotland for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;(2) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure of the business development initiative (consultancy services) to be paid out in each of the standard English regions and Wales, for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;(3) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business development initiative (consultancy services) in assisted areas and non-assisted areas for each of the years 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

Spending on the consultancy initiatives in each region will depend on the response of firms to them. We are giving additional encouragement to firms in assisted areas and urban programme areas through a higher rate of support. The public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 288) does not make provision for spending in regions separately. Total provision is £74 million in 1988–89, £91 million in 1989–90 and £109 million in 1990–91.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the businesss innovation grant scheme to be paid out in Scotland for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;(2) if he will estimate the amount of expenditure on the business innovation grant scheme to be paid out in each of the standard English regions and Wales for each year 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91;

The new grants for small firms employing fewer than 25 to help finance investment and innovation projects will be available from 1 April in the development areas (DAs) of Great Britain. My Department is responsible for expenditure on investment projects in English DAs and for expenditure on innovation projects in DAs in England, Scotland and Wales. The public expenditure White Paper includes provision of £14 million in 1988–89, £42 million in 1989–90 and £55 million in 1990–91 for DTI expenditure on new incentives for the development areas which form part of the enterprise initiative. The provision for Wales is contained within the Welsh Office expenditure plans for industry, energy, trade and employment, which are £194 million for 1988–89, £180 million for 1989–90 and £180 million for 1990–91.The amount of expenditure which will be paid out in any particular area will depend on demand for the scheme and the appraisal of individual applications.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action has been taken by the European Commission on the state aid offered by the French authorities to secure a contract to build a ship for Brittany Ferries in a French yard.

In January 1987 we asked the European Commission to investigate any state aid the French authorities might offer to secure an order for a cross-Channel ferry for Brittany Ferries from Chantier Navales de L'Atlantique. The opportunity for this was article 4(5) of the new sixth directive on aid to shipbuilding. British Shipbuilders Govan yard was bidding for this order, as was a Dutch yard. French entry late in the competition followed the loss of another order by its yard.The Commission has now written to the French authorities to say that the aid that they proposed to make available in support of this order contravenes the sixth directive and must be trimmed to the level that would have been available in support of an order from Holland. The result is that the French yard is set to suffer a significant loss, since it decided to proceed with building in advance of the Commission's decision. Although the Commission is not in a position to prevent orders being taken, the result is a salutary warning to other yards of the dangers of contracting in advance of decisions on cases referred to the Commission. I welcome the decision as an important step in securing fair competition among Community shipbuilders.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he intends to take to protect the interest of consumers attending motor auctions in circumstances which preclude many of the civil claims which purchasers would otherwise enjoy against fraudulent dealers.

No action is being contemplated. Vendors at auction who are acting in the course of business are subject to the requirements of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Such vendors cannot restrict or exclude a purchaser's rights in respect of faulty goods by reference to a contract term, unless the term satisfied the requirement of reasonableness set out in the 1977 Act.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what measures exist to ensure that motor auctioneers maintain sufficiently accurate records to enable police and trading standard officers to carry out their statutory duties relating to dangerous, misdescribed or stolen vehicles.

Although there is no specific legal requirement for motor auctioneers to maintain records about the vehicles which pass through their hands, I understand that the majority of them do so, and the Society of Motor Auctions requires this of its members.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he proposes to take arising as a result of his meeting with the Director General of Fair Trading, representatives of the local authority organisations, the motor industry and consumer groups.

It was agreed at that meeting that it was desirable to amend section 60 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 to make it easier for trading standards officers to deal with the sellers of unroadworthy vehicles. It was also agreed that a number of other suggestions to help combat the sale of unroadworthy vehicles and the fraudulent alteration of odometers would be examined further. My Department and the Department of Transport are keeping in touch with the Office of Fair Trading and the various interested parties will be kept informed of progress on this matter.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what legislative measures he intends taking to control fraud dishonesty and negligence in the used car trade as highlighted in recent reports published by local authority associations and the Consumers Association on abuses in the motor trade.

Fraud, dishonesty and negligence, are already extensively controlled by the criminal and civil law and I do not consider that any major new legislative measures are necessary or desirable. However, my Department and the Department of Transport are looking at a number of suggestions for making the existing law easier to enforce and apply.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish in the Official Report the amount of regional preferential assistance paid to each standard region of England, Scotland and Wales in 1986–87, identifying separately the main forms of assistance: and if he will publish equivalent data for each year since 1978–79.

[holding answer 8 March 1988] The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many people suffered industrial accidents from which they were (a) temporarily and (b) permanently injured (i) in the Northern regional health authority area and (ii) nationally, during the period 1979 to 1987;(2) how many people died as a result of industrial accidents

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 16 December 1987, at column 578, in which I gave the available national information on reported industrial accidents. Figures for the Northern regional health authority could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people died as the result of recognised industrial diseases (a) in the Northern regional health authority area and (b) nationally, during the period 1979 to 1987.

The latest statistics available show 7,181 deaths in Great Britain during the period 1979 to 1986 which can be attributed to recognised industrial diseases. This figure has been obtained by combining figures for death benefit awards under the industrial injuries and pneumoconiosis, byssinosis and miscellaneous diseases benefit schemes with figures of certifications that death was due to pneumoconiosis made under the workers' compensation scheme. I regret that there are no separate figures for the Northern regional health authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the percentage annual in unit labour costs in manufacturing in each year since 1979 in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) the United States of America, and (e) Japan.

The following table sets out the available information. Annual figures for 1987 are not yet available:

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the annual percentage increase in real wages in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) the United States of America, and (e) Japan in each year since 1979; and what has been the aggregate percentage increase in real wages in each of these countries over the period 1979 to 1987.

The following table sets out the available information published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development covering real earnings in manufacturing industry. Figures for 1987 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many permanent registered dock workers in the Middlesbrough and Hartlepool dock labour board area in each year from 1980 to 1986 have been dismissed by their employer for an offence justifying summary dismissal under the disciplinary provisions of the dock labour scheme; how many of these men have been reinstated by order of the local dock labour board and appeal tribunals; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 7 March 19881: The figures requested are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of places on the community programme sponsored by the voluntary sector, local authorities and private industry for each of the years 1986–87 and 1987–88 and for Scotland, England and Wales.