To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what specific steps he has recently taken to limit extraterritorial control over United Kingdom high technology by the United States Government; and if he will make a statement.

There is no extraterritorial control on United Kingdom high technology as such. But when an element of United States origin, either physical or intellectual, is present the United States Government make claims, which we have rejected on many occasions, on the ground that United Kingdom sovereignty is infringed. We have made representations on the extraterritorial aspects of United States export controls on technical data, in connection with the review currently being undertaken by the United States Department of Commerce. We have also reached an understanding with the United States on export controls for supercomputers which respects our position on extraterritoriality.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the value of total United Kingdom corporate investment in Latin America in (a) 1980 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available; and in which five Latin American countries most investment was held, in each year.

The only available information on United Kingdom corporate investment overseas in particular countries relates to foreign direct investment. Figures giving the book value of direct investment overseas are compiled and published trienally in Business Monitor MO4 (Census of Overseas Assets). The latest data, for end-1984, and figures for earlier years are shown in table 2 of that publication. Figures prior to 1984 excluded the direct investment by oil companies. The five Latin American countries in which most United Kingdom foreign direct investment was held at end 1984 were:Brazil

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his Department's detailed assessment of the likely effect of comprehensive economic sanctions against South Africa in regard to (a) living standards and prospects for living standards of black South Africans and (b) British trade.

Assessments indicate that comprehensive economic sanctions against South Africa would be damaging to the interests of all South Africans, irrespective of colour, and to Britain's economy.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the change in the manufacturing trade balance since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Trade in manufactures on a balance of payments basis was in surplus by £2·8 billion in 1979 and in deficit by £6·5 billion in 1987.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans to introduce new measures to boost industry in Britain's regions.

My Department already offers a range of incentives under its recently launched enterprise initiative designed to encourage business development in all areas of the country. Regional selective assistance is available for investment projects undertaken by firms in assisted areas; regional enterprise grants are available for firms in development areas with fewer than 25 employees to support investment and innovation projects; and in all assisted and urban programme areas DTI will pay two thirds of the cost of consultancy projects designed to improve key management functions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of cars imported in each of the past three years are capable without adaptation of using unleaded petrol.

The information is not available.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will appoint inspectors under section 432 of the Companies Act 1985 to investigate whether the affairs of Savoy Hotel plc are being or have been conducted in a manner which is unfairly prejudicial to some part of its members.

I know of no reason for doing so.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give the amount of money spent or committed from the business development consultancy service initiative, introduced on 31 March for each standard region in the period 31 March to the most recent date for which information is available.

The business planning and financial and information systems consultancy initiatives were launched on 29 March 1988. So far no consultancies under either initiative have been completed. In the period from 31 March to 17 June 821 cases have been referred to the scheme contractors who are managing the two initiatives. The actual cost to the Department can only be known when the consultancies have been completed but estimates of the commitment for each DTI region^* and for Scotland and Wales are as follows:

DTI RegionjCountry	Commitment
	(£,000)
North East	145
North West	504
Yorkshire and Humberside	252
West Midlands	192
East Midlands	183
South West	113
South East:
Cambridge	132
London	406
Reading	107
Reigate	151
Scotland	164
Wales	117
Total	2,466

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the developing countries which are eligible for export credits from the Export Credits Guarantee Department.

On the list of developing countries accepted by the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, ECGD offers some cover against credit risks in all of the following:

• Cyprus
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Malta
• Portugal
• Turkey
• Yugoslavia
• Algeria
• Egypt
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Angola
• Benin
• Botswana
• Burkino Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Congo
• Djibouti
• Equatorial Guinea
• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• Ghana
• Ivory Coast
• Kenya
• Lesotho
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Mauritius
• Namibia
• Niger
• Nigeria
• Rwanda
• St. Helena
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• Swaziland
• Togo
• Zimbabwe
• Brunei
• China
• Hong Kong
• Indonesia
• Korea, Republic
• Macao
• Malaysia
• Mongolia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Afghanistan
• Bangladesh
• Bhutan
• Burma
• India
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Cook Islands
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Mauru
• New Caledonia
• Niue Island
• Pacific Islands (United States)
• Papua New Guinea
• Polynesia, France
• Solomon Islands
• Tokelau Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu
• Wallis and Futuna
• Western Samoa
• Anguilla
• Antigua
• Cayman Islands
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Montserrat
• St. Kitts-Nevis
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• British Virgin Islands
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Falkland Islands
• Guiana, French
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
• Uruguay
• Venezuela
• Bahrain
• Iran
• Iraq
• Israel
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Oman
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen Arab Republic
• Yemen, PDR
• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Guadeloupe
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Martinique
• Mexico
• Netherlands Antilles
• Panama
• St. Pierre and Miquelon
• Trinidad and Tobago

	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Immigration Appellate Authority	1,307	2,038	2,105	2,290	139
Grant-in-Aid to the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service	767	801	833	943	961
1 Responsibility for the immigration appellate authority transferred on 1 April 1987 to the Lord Chancellor's Department. The figures shown relates to residual expenditure from 1986–87.

To ask the Secretary of State for the I tome Department why David Gorton, W90252-D1-28, is being denied normal rights of a remand prisoner at Strangeways prison, Manchester.

Mr. Gorton is not being denied his rights as a remand prisoner. However, because he is in the highest security category, category A, he cannot for over security reasons be offered the full range of privileges available in Manchester prison.

Percentage of persons aged 17 and over sentenced for selected indictable offence groups who received immediate custody by police force area, type of court and age group
England and Wales 1986
Percentage of total persons sentenced
	Magistrates' courts				Crown court
	Burglary		Violence against the person		Burglary		Violence against the person
Police force area	17–20	21 and over	17–20	21 and over	17–20	21 and over	17–20	21 and over
Avon and Somerset	15	14	5	4	54	55	45	39
Bedfordshire	15	8	14	7	69	74	65	39
Cambridgeshire	19	25	9	9	75	81	56	45
Cheshire	26	22	13	9	80	77	63	46
Cleveland	24	19	17	8	65	54	59	53
Cumbria	22	25	10	9	72	79	54	50
Derbyshire	15	20	11	10	67	74	48	49
Devon and Cornwall	20	24	11	8	65	71	46	55
Dorset	18	24	6	8	71	69	39	33
Durham	29	17	10	7	52	57	57	48
Essex	12	19	7	7	85	78	69	63
Gloucestershire	11	17	4	3	58	69	20	33
Greater Manchester	23	22	12	9	65	63	61	52
Hampshire	19	13	7	6	52	56	43	50

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Government expect to publish the articles of association that will apply to British Steel plc after privatisation.

A draft of the post-privatisation articles of association has been placed in the Library. It should be noted that the wording may be subject to change; the articles have, for example, yet to be submitted to the stock exchange for approval.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the cost to his Department of the immigration appeals system for the last five years.

The cost of immigration department staff engaged in preparing and presenting appeals is not separately identifiable. Other associated costs were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) 17 to 20-year-olds, and (b) adults were sentenced to immediate custody for burglary and violence against the person in magistrates' and Crown courts, by police force area in 1986.

Information by police force area about the proportion of offenders aged 17 to 20 and 21 and sentenced for offences of burglary and violence against the person receiving immediate custody is given in the following table:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the nationalities and corresponding numbers of all the individuals arrested under the international provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984

Between 22 March 1984, when the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984

Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984
Persons detained in connection with international terrorism 22 March 1984 to 30 June 1988 by country or nationality
Country	l1984	1985	1986	1987	21988	Total
Algeria	5	—	1	—	—	6
Austria	—	—	—	—	1	1
Bahrain	—	5	—	—	—	5
Belgium	—	—	—	1	—	1
Cyprus	1	1	—	—	—	2
Egypt	—	—	—	1	—	1
France	—	2	2	—	—	4
Great Britain	2	9	2	5	—	18
India	—	18	12	7	—	37
Iran	2	2	2	3	4	13
Iraq	—	6	2	3	2	13
Ireland	—	2	1	—	—	3
Israel	1	—	—	4	—	5
Jamaica	1	—	—	—	—	1
Jordan	1	3	6	3	—	13
Kenya	—	—	—	1	—	1
Kuwait	—	1	3	1	—	5
Lebanon	—	—	9	1	—	10
Libya	17	6	1	2	—	26
Mauritius	—	—	—	2	—	2
Morocco	1	2	—	2	—	5
New Zealand	—	1	—	—	—	1
Nigeria	8	1	—	—	—	9
Norway	—	—	—	2	—	2
Pakistan	—	5	2	—	—.	7
Saudi Arabia	1	2	—	1	—	4
Seychelles	—	—	—	1	—	1

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Greater Manchester on inquiries made by the Manchester regional crime squad into the affairs of Barlow Clowes in early 1987; and if he will ascertain what information was passed on to the Department of Trade and Industry following those inquiries.

The nature of inquiries made by the police as a result of information received is an operational matter for the chief officer of the force concerned. I understand that the question of what information may have been passed to the Department of Trade and Industry is among the matters that will be considered in the course of the investigation which my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has invited Sir Godfray Le Quesne, QC, to carry out into his Department's handling of matters relating to the Barlow Clowes group.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from third parties concerning delays in completing investigations into (a) the shootings by the late Michael Ryan and (b) the grant and variations to the firearms certificate of the late Michael Ryan; and what reply he has sent.

We have received no such representations in respect of the investigation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from Mrs. Vickers of the Police Complaints Authority listing any difficulties and delays, and giving reasons for the delays, she is experiencing in the course of her inquiries into the shootings by the late Michael Ryan and the granting and variations to his firearms certificate;(2) if he will call for a report from Mrs. Vickers of the Police Complaints Authority as to on what date she commenced investigations into complaints arising out of incidents involving the shooting by the late Michael Ryan, in Hungerford on 19 August 1987; on what date she expects to report on her findings; on what date she commenced investigations into complaints regarding the procedures and the circumstances leading up to the grant and variations to the firearms' certificate of the late Michael Ryan; and on what date she expects to conclude her investigations and issue her report.

No. These are matters for the Police Complaints Authority. I understand that the authority continues to be satisfied with the co-operation which it is receiving from the officers of Thames Valley police who are carrying out the investigation under the supervision of the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for an appeal against a refusal to grant a section 5 firearms licence have been received in respect of (a) individuals and (b) dealers in firearms in each of the last three years for which figures are available; for the same years how many (i) individuals and (ii) dealers in firearms have had their licences terminated and of those terminated how many were restored in each case on appeal; and what was the cost to public funds of such appeals.

There is no right of appeal against the refusal of an application for, or revocation of, a section 5 authority, though any representations are carefully considered. Figures for the number of authorities revoked are not available in the form requested and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for section 5 firearms certificates have been received from (a) individuals and (b) dealers in firearms in each of the last three years; and for the same period how many applications have been made for renewal of such a certificate from (i) individuals and (ii) dealers in firearms.

The information is not available in the form requested and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to make it easier to contact the Glasgow passport office on the telephone; and if he will make a statement.

The number of exchange lines for incoming calls is being increased from six to 12 over the next two months. My reply to the hon. Member's question on 23 June, at column 679, outlined the measures that are being taken to reduce the present delays in handling passport applications which are causing the telephone inquiry system to be overloaded.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the most recent information he has on the numbers of asylum applicants in Western Europe.

Numbers of asylum-seekers in Western European countries from 1984–87 by country of application
	1984	1985	1986	1987	Total 1984–87
Austria	7,200	6,700	8,650	11,400	33,950
Belgium	3,650	5,300	7,650	6,000	22,600
Denmark	4,300	8,700	9,300	2,100	24,400
France	15,900	25,800	23,400	24,800	89,900
Federal Republic of Germany	35,300	73,850	99,650	57,400	266,200
Netherlands	2,600	5,650	5,850	14,000	28,100
Norway	300	850	2,700	8,600	12,450
Sweden	12,000	14,450	14,600	18,500	59,550
Switzerland	7,450	9,700	8,550	10,900	36,600
United Kingdom	3,850	5,450	4,800	4,500	18,600
Total	92,550	156,450	185,150	158,200	592,350

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of life sentences are mandatory and what proportion are non-mandatory; what is the average length of a mandatory life sentence; what is the average length of a non-mandatory life sentence; and how many people are serving non-mandatory life sentences;(2) how many people sentenced to non-mandatory life sentences have been in prisons for 10 years but under 12 years, between 12 and 15 years and over 15 years respectively.

[holding answer 20 June 1988]: Of the 244 offenders given life sentences in 1986, 73 per cent. were convicted of murder, for which life is the mandatory sentence, and 27 per cent. for other offences.The average time served under sentence in prison department establishments in England and Wales by those released on licence from a life sentence in the three years 1984 to 1986 was about 10⅔ years. The average was fractionally higher for those serving life sentences for offences other than murder, possibly because of the higher risk of reoffending associated with some offences of rape, manslaughter and arson and reflected in the court's original decision to impose a life sentence.The average figures do not take account of the longest periods being served by some of those given life sentences following the abolition of capital punishment in 1965 who have not yet been released. They also exclude persons who have died in custody or been discharged for other reasons. My right hon. Friend has made it clear that those convicted of the most heinous murders can normally expect to serve at least 20 years in prison and in some cases even longer; and no life sentence prisoner is released, no matter how long he or she has served, unless my right hon. Friend is personally as satisfied as it is reasonably possible to be that there is no risk to the public.On 31 March 1988, 521 prisoners were serving life sentences for offences other than murder. Information about their time served is given in the following table:

Years spent under sentence1 for the original life sentence	Number of prisoners2
Not released on licence
Under ten	338
Ten and under twelve	63

The latest information is as follows:

Years spent under sentence1 for the original life sentence	Number of prisoners2
Twelve up to fifteen	53
Over fifteen	47
Recalled from licence	20
1 Excluding any time spent on remand in custody or in non-prison department establishments.
2 The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the proportion of the United Kingdom's gross national product devoted to overseas development (a) in 1960, and (b) for the latest annual period for which figures are available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the proportion of the United Kingdom's gross product devoted to overseas development (a) in 1960 and (b) for the latest annual period for which figures are available.

The proportion of the United Kingdom's gross national product devoted to official development assistance was 0·56 per cent. in 1960 and 0·28 per cent. in 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will restore cuts made since 1980 in the real value of United Kingdom aid to the front-line states and the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference.

We are committed to the maintenance of substantial aid programmes in the region within an overall aid budget that is planned to grow in real terms. Aid expenditure to the member states of SADCC was £106·3 million in 1986 and £129·7 million in 1987.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on current Government support for programmes designed to protect the rain forests.

We are working with others internationally and through our aid programme to promote the sustainable management of this important resource. As I indicated on 9 May, in reply to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes), at column 9, our bilateral forestry projects include schemes in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of those declining a YTS place had a benefit reduction on grounds of voluntary unemployment for each month between June 1987 and May 1988; and how many of those leaving YTS early had a benefit reduction on grounds of voluntary unemployment for each month between June 1987 and May 1988.

I have been asked to reply.The numbers of people who had their supplementary benefit reduced for refusing a youth training scheme place, or for leaving a youth training scheme course early, in each four-week period between 6 May 1987 and 8 April 1988 are as follows:

For 4 weeks ending	Refusal of place	Early leavers
1987
2 June	6	85
30 June	9	67
28 July	4	65
25 August	3	80
22 September	2	64
20 October	1	85
17 November	8	94
15 December	10	65
1988
12 January	6	42
9 February	5	68
8 March	3	59
8 April (see note 3)	—	55

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on certain expenditures by North Staffordshire and Shropshire health authorities on private operations, being prepared for him by his Department's statutory auditor, group 4, Birmingham, when that report is completed; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the date of publication of the audit report of the plan by the West Midlands regional health authority for North Staffordshire and Shropshire district health authorities to purchase private operations; and if he will make it his policy to place a copy of the report in the Library as soon as it is available.

[holding answer 7 June 1988]: The statutory audits of North Staffordshire and Shropshire district health authorities are due to take place over the next few months. Audits take place annually and are not confined to specific areas of expenditure. Statutory auditors' reports normally consist simply of the formal certification of a health authority's annual accounts. They contain additional comments only when the auditors wish to raise matters which they feel are of particular concern. While the audits have yet to take place, there is no reason to believe that the pilot project to make use of the private sector facilities for treatment for National Health Service patients will be one.The advice issued to health authorities by the Department is that they should normally take any issues raised formally in such reports in open session. We do not consider it necessary, therefore, to place copies of the reports in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what plans he has to reduce student nurses' registered service contributions on National Health Service wards;(2) what plans he has made to deal with the staffing gap that will result from making student nurses supernumerary on National Health Service wards;(3) what percentage of the time student nurses presently spend working directly on wards in National Health Service hospitals is devoted purely to training as opposed to giving patient care; and how this calculation is made;(4) by what date state enrolled nurse training will be phased out;(5) whether all those state enrolled nurses eligible for conversion courses to train for qualifications to become state registered nurses will have those courses made available to them on request;(6) what is the level of the student nurse bursary being proposed in plans to implement Project 2000;(7) if he will make a statement as to the proposed role, annual remuneration and training programme to be carried out by nurse helpers, as defined in Project 2000.

In accepting the broad thrust of the project 2000 proposals put forward by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, my right hon. Friend indicated that further work needed to be done before final decisions could be reached on some of the proposals. We need to be satisfied that the UKCC's proposals for widening the entry gate to qualified nurse training and the development of proposals for the new support worker grade will successfully make good the gap in the work force resulting from the fall in school leavers, the cessation of enrolled nurse training and the lower rostered contribution of students.Implementation of Project 2000 will be phased over a number of years, with the new support worker grade being phased in, in parallel with the phasing out of enrolled nurse training. It is likely that the support worker will undertake a variety of roles, but the exact nature of the work and the training required have yet to be determined.My right hon. Friend made it clear that agreement to the cessation of enrolled nurse training would be dependent on the successful outcome of the further work that I have referred to. Meanwhile, health authorities will be encouraged to expand the already growing number of courses for enrolled nurses to convert to the first (registered nurse) level.We shall set the size of the proposed student nurse bursary, having regard to the level of support for other students among other factors, when we have received firm proposals from the statutory nursing bodies as to the duration and shape of the new courses.In work for the UKCC, management consultants Price Waterhouse estimated the current service contribution of student nurses to be 59 per cent. In arriving at this figure, it took account not only of the time spent in clinical placements as part of the establishment, but the relative efficiency of a student compared with a permanent member of the work force. While Project 2000 will not significantly lessen students' clinical experience, placements in the clinical environment will in future be determined by the educational needs of the students. The detail, and therefore the extent of the reduction in the service contribution which can be rostered and relied upon, has yet to be determined.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what basis it was decided to substitute local cost grants to India for debt relief to that country; and if he will give figures for the amounts of such grants for each year between 1978 and the latest year for which figures are available, both the calendar and financial years, and both for commitments and disbursements.

As provided for under the terms of UNCTAD resolution 165, Her Majesty's Government and the Government of India agreed in January 1979 that local cost grants should be provided for India as an equivalent measure to the retrospective adjustment of the terms of past British aid loans. This has enabled the British aid programme to finance poverty-alleviating projects and to increase the effectiveness of projects involving British exports. Prior to 1979, no such provision for local costs support existed.The amounts of such local costs grants, since 1979 when they commenced, and commitments and disbursements, by calendar year are as follows:

£ million
Calendar years	Local cost grant agreement	Commitments	Expenditure
1979	51·2	—	—
1980	33·2	9·5	7·9
1981	37·3	85·1	39·3
1982	39·0	110·6	31·7
1983	38·4	16·4	59·4
1984	37·7	100·4	57·9
1985	36·0	—	51·8
1986	34·0	—	28·9
1987	69·6	43·1	14·8

Only disbursement figures are available for financial years, and the amounts were as follows:

£ million
Financial years	Disbursements
1979–80	14·6
1980–81	28·4
1981–82	38·3
1982–83	49·1
1983–84	50·6
1984–85	45·4
1985–86	39·3
1986–87	31·4

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will define and describe the measures classified as debt relief in British aid statistics, and give amounts of debt relief given under each measure in each of the years between 1978 and the latest year for which figures are available, in both calendar and financial years.

The measures classified as debt relief in "British Aid Statistics" are defined and described in paragraphs 21 and 22 (p XII) of the "Introduction to British Aid Statistics 1982–86". Figures for debt relief, as published in "British Aid Statistics" on a calendar year basis, are as follows (financial year figures are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost):

	Debt	Debt	Debt
	Cancellation	Rescheduling	Refinancing
	£000	£000	£000
1978	2,100	—	5,818
1979	17,928	—	19,194
1980	68,403	—	7,929
1981	30,377	—	10,158
1982	22,444	—	3,327
1983	23,093	1,002	1,634
1984	26,127	14,192	—
1985	26,463	3,493	1,585
1986	26,660	2,527	—
1987	24,406	—	1,512

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to the United Nations headquarters.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to Harrow on the Hill in the county of Middlesex.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she has any plans to visit mid-Kent.

I have at present no plans to do so.

:. To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 5 July.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will discuss the Post Office Plans to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the British invention of photography by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1839, by the issue of a special set of stamps.

Special stamp issues are a matter for the Post Office which, I understand, has decided not to include this event in its special stamp programme for 1989.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the six Departments whose joint approval is required for pesticides, as indicated in the answer of 27 June, Official Report, column 85; and if she will specify the precise responsibility of each Department concerned.

The approval of pesticides under part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act is the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Department of Health and Social Security, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Employment and the Scottish and Welsh Offices.No precise responsibilities for individual Departments are laid down in legislation, but Departments consider their normal areas of responsibility in exercising their functions in relation to pesticides.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will name the companies that have now made definite commitments to fund the establishment of city technology colleges; which individual city technology college or colleges they will be funding; and how much they will pay in (a) cash and (b) goods and services towards these colleges.

It is for the sponsors to decide when to make public their commitment to sponsoring a CTC. Those which have already done so and the CTCs concerned are:

Hanson plc, which has pledged £1 million towards the establishment of Kingshurst CTC. A matching contribution of £1 million is being raised by Lucas Industries, and a significant number of other companies.

Sponsorship of £1 million has been provided by Mr. Harry Djanogly for the Nottingham CTC. Additional sponsorship of £0·4 million has already been raised by other companies.

BAT Industries has provided sponsorship of £ I million for a Teesside CTC. Additional financial support is being given by Cameron Hall Developments, British Steel and the Davy Corporation, taking the private sector commitment to nearly £1·7 million.

In addition, Dixons plc, the Philip and Pauline Harris Trust, the Mercers' Company and Thamesmead Town have each announced plans to provide sponsorship of at least £1 million each towards three more CTCs; and the CTC Trust has announced that Mr. Geoffrey Leigh, chairman of Allied London Properties, has made a personal donation towards the establishment of a CTC in Dartford.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what funds are spent by (a) the Medical Research Council and (b) the National Health Service on the development of advanced polymers and polymeric biomaterials for the close and continued association of such materials with human tissue.

The Medical Research Council is not funding any research in this subject. The council is, however, interested in the clinical acceptability and applicability of such materials.Since 1981 the Science and Engineering Research Council has supported a special programme in medical engineering, costing approximately £900,000 a year. An important component of this programme has been the development and use of polymers, including research on: polymers designed for drug delivery, the haemocompatibility of polymers, to evaluate their potential for use in cardiovascular devices, and the value of using polymeric materials for wound management.I understand that the DHSS is not aware of any research being funded by the National Health Service in this area.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department or the Medical Research Council were in any way involved in the provision of material for use in or financing for recent operations at the Midland Centre for Neurosurgery and Neurology which involved the use of foetal tissue in transplant operations as treatment for Parkinson's disease; and if he will make a statement.

Neither the Department nor the Medical Research Council was involved in any way with these recent operations at the Midland Centre for Neurosurgery. Both the Department and the M RC are keeping in touch with developments concerning this research.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if, on the basis of the information available to him, he will list secondary school term and holiday dates for each member state of the European Community; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he has any plans to encourage the harmonisation of school terms and holidays between the United Kingdom and other members of the European Community; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is not available. My right hon. Friend has no plans to encourage harmonisation dates within the European Community. In England and Wales, responsibility for determining these matters rests with local education authorities and governing bodies of schools and the Government have no plans to change these arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the implications for funding levels of maintaining simultaneously both a system of clinical/medical research separated from teaching activities and, in certain cases, a system of clinical/medical research linked to teaching in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

No assessment has been made of the costs of establishing and maintaining two separate systems of clinical/medical research: one linked with teaching and one not so linked. Under present arrangements the Medical Research Council—and other sponsors of medical research—consider the appropriate location for particular research projects: in university departments; in units and institutes linked with universities; or elsewhere. Medical researchers from all these locations may have teaching responsibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will detail the number of (a) claimants and (b) dependants claiming each means-tested benefit for which he is responsible.

The Department is responsible for the assisted places scheme, the music and ballet scheme and for mandatory awards. The latest available number of pupils and students claiming these benefits are giving in the following table:

Benefit	Claimants	Year
Music and Ballet	496	1987–88
Assisted Places Scheme	24,696	1987–88
Mandatory Award Holders1	403,110	1986–87
1 Of these about 8,000 claimed additional allowances for dependents.

Local education authorities operate their own schemes of assistance to pupils, for example, school clothing, and are required to offer free school meals to certain pupils. The numbers receiving free school meals in October 1987 were 1,101,132Details of the take-up of other schemes run by local education authorities are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the future of the Houghton research centre in the light of the working party report on publicly funded R and D, published on 4 March; and if he will make a statement.

The council of AFRC has over the past months carefully considered advice from a number of sources on the future development of its institute for animal health. At its meeting on 14 June the council decided to consolidate the institute over a five-year period on to one major site at Compton, with a centre for exotic diseases at Pirbright. This decision, which is subject to the provision of adequate restructuring funds, will involve moving poultry disease research from Houghton to Compton. The council believes that this development is essential to enhance scientific and operational efficiency and secure a strong science base for the benefit of the industry and the nation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to step up the campaign to alert the public to the dangers of AIDS and to promote better protective measures; whether he will liaise with the broadcasting authorities to seek to adjust their rules so as to permit the broadcasting of more informative advertisements; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for carrying forward the mass media AIDS public education campaign rests with the Health Education Authority.The authority's operational plan for 1988–89 includes provision for further campaigns aimed at the general public and specific groups in society. These will build on progress made so far.The content of advertising is a matter for the broadcasting authority concerned, and I am not aware that the provision of appropriate information is precluded by the existing guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how much is spent by his Department on funding research into child abuse, physical and sexual; how many such projects are funded; and if he will give the figures for each of the last five years.

The Department expects to spend a total of £157,200 in 1988 on research into child abuse: £90,600 will be spent on two projects concerned only with child sexual abuse, £16,600 on a project concerned with physical abuse and £50,000 on three projects researching both types of abuse. Figures for the last five years are as follows:

• 1987 £58,200–2 projects—physical and sexual abuse.
• 1986 £22,700–2 projects—physical abuse.
• 1985 £14,000–2 projects—physical abuse.
• 1984 £10,800–1 project—physical abuse.
• 1983 £3,200–1 project—physical abuse.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for (a) attendance allowance and (b) special hardship allowance are received daily at the Department of Health and Social Security centre at Norcross, Blackpool; what is the average processing time for each benefit; and how many applications for each benefit were waiting to be processed on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Special hardship allowance was replaced by reduced earnings allowance in October 1986. Claims are dealt with by local offices. The information requested for attendance allowance is in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the increase in real income between 1981 and 1985 broken down by (a) family type and (b) economic status for tables A1, 2, 3; C1, 2, 3; D1, 2, 3; and F1, 2, 3, from "Households Below Average Income: A Statistical Analysis".

[holding answer 21 June 1988]: I regret that a substantive reply can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps are being taken to maintain high quality scientific staff in the National Health Service.

It is for individual employing authorities in selecting candidates for appointment to ensure that the high quality of their scientific staff is maintained. The management side of the scientific and professional staffs council has agreed to undertake a review of the recruitment and retention of these staff in the light of service needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list in the Official Report for each tribunal area the number of outstanding appeals currently waiting to be heard and the average length of wait for appeals to be heard;(2) how many people are waiting for their appeal tribunal to be heard; and what is the average length of time before an appeal is heard.

The national administrative statistics for social security appeal tribunals, which are the source for average durations between the lodging of appeals and hearing, are not disaggregated for areas smaller than a social security region. The latest available figures for the quarter ending 30 September 1987 are given in the table.

Social Security Appeal Tribunals—All benefits quarter ending 30 September 1987
	Total number of Appeals held	Average time from lodgement to hearing
		(weeks)
Great Britain	124,027	23·2
North Eastern Region	23,160	22·8
London North Region	12,508	21·1
London South Region	11,303	23·2
Midlands Region	19,171	25·4
North Western Region	19,516	22·7

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to amend the mobility allowance regulations to permit payments to children aged between two and five years.

We shall bear in mind the representations which my hon. Friend has made for the reduction of the lower age limit for mobility allowance when we examine the performance of existing benefits in the light of the new information coming from the surveys of disability, undertaken for us by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. These surveys have covered both adults and children, whether physically or mentally handicapped, and whether at home or in communal establishments, and a series of reports will be published from next September onwards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when section 7 of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 will be implemented.

Officials resumed discussions with local authority representatives on section 7 on 4 July. The timetable for implementation will depend on the outcome of these and subsequent discussions and on discussions with health authority representatives.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which parts of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 have been fully implemented; and what assessment he has made of the Act's effectiveness.

To date sections 5, 6, 9, 10, 16, 17 and 18 have been fully implemented. As part of its current work programme the social services inspectorate is gathering information about the way in which the Act is being implemented by local authorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to ensure that training in brain injury rehabilitation and behaviour modification is included in basic nurse training.

The special requirements of nursing in brain injury form one part of basic nurse training. Additional specialist training is available in neurosurgical and neurological nursing. Twelve centres are currently approved to run those post-basic courses, of which seven provide courses for enrolled nurses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether he has received the report by the Medical Disability Society "The Management of Traumatic Brain Injury"; and if he will make a statement;

We welcome the report by the Medical Disability Society as an important contribution to the continuing debate about services for brain-injured people. We are aware of concern about existing services for people who have suffered traumatic brain injury. Officials are considering the report's recommendations about those services and examining a number of options regarding the best way to take the matter forward.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many full-time specialists, clinical psychologists and nurses are engaged in the rehabilitation of people with traumatic head injuries;(2) if he will list the special head injury units within the National Health Service;(3) what information his Department holds on the number of brain injured patients who are routinely cared for in acute surgical wards long after need for surgery has passed.

I regret that this information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information his Department holds on the number of mentally ill people who are routinely cared for in acute surgical wards long after their need for surgery has passed.

I regret that this information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the trustees of the Independent Living Fund.

The trustees are:

• Mr. Peter Cadbury
• Dame Mary Donaldson
• Miss Elizabeth Gallagher
• Mrs. Winifred Tumin
• Sir Michael Herries
• Mr. Joe Hennessey
• Mr. Stewart Lyon
• Mr. Jack McGregor
• Miss Gillian Micklewright
• Miss Pauline Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make it his policy to ensure that women whose foetuses may be stored in tissue banks following abortions are specifically informed of that fact before the operations is performed.

We have no plans to do so, but we will of course consider any recommendations that the committee which has been set up to review the Peel code of practice may make in this respect.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply of 21 June, OfficialReport, columns 541–42, on how many occasions between February and December 1987, the medical ethical committee to which he refers met to discuss the further information about the proposals before it to use foetal tissue in transplant operations.

I understand the ethical committee did not discuss Professor Hitchcock's research except at the meetings referred to.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether any formal vote was taken by the medical ethical committee to which he refers in his reply of 21 June, Official Report, columns 541–42, on the question whether permission should be granted to Professor Hitchcock to allow him to use foetal tissue for transplant purposes.

No. I understand that the chairman of the committee took the view that a formal vote was unnecessary because there was a clear consensus in favour of granting approval to Professor Hitchcock.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of the proceedings of the medical ethical committee to which he refers in his answer to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, West of 21 June, Official Report, columns 541–42, which gave permission for foetal tissue to be used in transplant operations.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Mr. Amos) on 14 June at columns 179–80.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services on how many occasions in the last 12-month period for which figures are available, advice or guidance was given by his Department to medical ethical committees about the value or ethical acceptability of proposals put before them.

Advice to ethical committees on the ethical acceptability of proposals put before them is a matter for the professions concerned and the appropriate professional bodies. The Department's guidance on the establishment of ethical committees (circular HSC(IS)153, a copy of which is in the Library), endorsed the recommendations on clinical research of the Royal College of Physicians.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if any action will now be taken against those opticians referred to in his answer of 2 February, Official Report, column 590, now that it is known that no procedure exists to pass the matter to the ophthalmic service committee of Manchester family practitioner committee.

The ophthalmic service committee of the Manchester family practitioner committee investigated allegations of breaches of the terms of service involving the opticians referred to in my earlier reply. It found that the opticians were not in breach of their terms of service and their decisions were later endorsed by Manchester family practitioner committee.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans exist to close the royal ear hospital at University hospital London; and if he will make a statement.