To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total cost to central Government funds of the community industry scheme in 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89; what was the cost per young employee; and how much each young employee was being paid on average in each year.

The information requested is given in the following tables:

Table 1
Community Industry Scheme—total costs to central Government funds in 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89
Year	Amount £
1986–87	25,011,000
1987–88	25,513,000
1988–89	25,203,000

Table 2
Community Industry Scheme—cost per young employee in 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89
Year	Amount £
1986–87	3,682
1987–88	3,870
1988–89	4,000

Table 3
Community Industry Scheme—average pay per young employee in 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89
Year	Amount £
1986–87	1,915·08
1987–88	1,819·65
1988–89	1,666·64

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether employment training trainees who opt to take up voluntary work organised under the community options programme will be required (a) to sign on as unemployed and (b) to satisfy the availability for work condition; and whether they will continue to receive the £10 training premium.

People who choose to take up community opportunities after employment training, and who wish to claim unemployment benefit and/or income support, will be required to satisfy the appropriate legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to merge the community industry scheme with employment training; and if he will make a statement.

There are no plans to merge the community industry scheme with employment training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to how many employees of (a) the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, (b) the community task force and (c) the Apex trust, supported by funds from the community programme or job training scheme, have been issued with redundancy notices during the transition from CP/JTS to ET; and how many have been issued with redundancy notices during the operation of ET to date.

Information is not available in the precise form requested.The following figures are for employees declared redundant, within the meaning of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978, during the transition from the community programme and the job training scheme to employment training and during the operation of employment training to date:

Organisation	Number of redundancies
National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders	250
Community Task Force	150
Apex Trust	7

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the proposed amendments to the regulations on health and safety in the mines are intended to leave these matters within the discretion of management rather than subject to the authority of Her Majesty's inspectors.

No. Responsibility for health and safety continues to rest primarily with management. It is the duty of HSE's inspectors to ensure that the law is being observed and advise on working practices. Any new regulations proposed by the Health and Safety Commission will maintain or improve safety standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will reconsider his Department's regional employment policies in the light of the unemployment figures released by his Department on 13 April.

The policies of my Department are kept under continuous review in the light of changing circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Siemens ND3 printers are used by his Department, either in-house or through a private contract; and what is the location of each.

There are no Siemens ND3 printers in either the ODA or Diplomatic Service wings of the FCO.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made, or plans to make, to the E1 Salvadorean Government concerning the case of Eliseo Cordova Aguilar, vice-president of the Salvadorean Institute of Social Security Co-operative, abducted by E1 Salvadorean authorities on 12 July 1988.

We understand that Sr. Cordova Aguilar was sized by armed men in civilian clothing on 12 July 1988. He has not been seen since.We have made no specific representations to the Government of E1 Salvador on this case. However, we have made plain the importance we attach to proper respect for human rights both to the present Government in E1 Salvador and to President-elect Cristiani, as well as in international fora, most recently at the UNCHR in February 1989.We remain in close touch with human rights organisations and other interested bodies in E1 Salvador, and we shall continue to monitor the situation closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Mr. Aushad Iqbal is to be issued with a visa by the post in Islamabad to join his wife in the United Kingdom; when Mr. Iqbal's appeal, No.—TH/36030/87/6216 was upheld by the immigration appeal tribunal; and when the post was instructed to issue a visa to Mr. Iqbal.

The information required is not immediately available and a further reply will be sent to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council held on 24 April.

The Foreign Affairs Council met in Luxembourg on 24 April. I represented the United Kingdom.

To ask the Attorney-General how many additional judges he has appointed in the East Anglian region; what additional court rooms and related resources and staff have been provided to support them; and at what cost.

In the period 1 January 1988 to 31 December 1988 the number of judges assigned to the Chelmsford courts administrator's group within the south eastern circuit increased by two. The salary of a circuit judge is £48,100. During the same period, a combined court centre was opened in Norwich, being a net addition of one courtroom at a cost of a little more than £7 million. There has been no change in the complement of staff.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what action he is taking to seek to bring to an end the current payments of 50 per cent. grant in Greece on the purchase of new knitwear machinery in that country.

I understand that assistance of this type would be permissible for investments in the Attica and border regions of Greece. Regional assistance is a legitimate form of assistance under article 93(2) of the Treaty of Rome. Under certain circumstances, United Kingdom knitwear companies investing in particular areas of the United Kingdom could be eligible for similar support.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many Siemens ND3 printers are used by his Department, either in-house or through a private contract; and what is the location of each.

There are no Siemens ND3 printers in use in my Department.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress his Department has made in the recent GATT negotiations in Geneva; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) on 10 April at column 396.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster under what section and subsections of the Companies Act he initiated his Department's inquiry into the affairs of the House of Fraser Holdings.

The inspectors were appointed to investigate the affairs of House of Fraser Holdings plc under the provisions of section 432(2) of the Companies Act 1985.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the inspectors who considered the report dated 15 July 1988 submitted by buyers acting for the House of Fraser considered that report prior to its presentation to Ministers on 23 July 1988.

The inspectors considered fully and carefully all information and evidence received by them before submitting their report to my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he is satisfied that the interests of passengers are fully protected in travel schemes to the Caribbean offered by companies such as Airtours; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. Airlines operating charter flights originating in the United Kingdom and carrying United Kingdom passengers are required to operate aircraft in accordance with the airworthiness standards of the state with whom the aircraft is registered. Such standards must be equal to or above the airworthiness standards specified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Operators are also required to maintain adequate insurance cover. Charter flights of this nature must also be organised through a travel organiser holding a valid Air Travel Organisers Licence issued by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many E. coli per 100 ml. of water were found in the 1988 bathing water survey at Saundersfoot.

The information is shown in the following table:

Sample
Date	Time	E. coli per 100 ml
18 May 1988	1145	20
1 June 1988	1215	110
8 June 1988	1215	800
15 June 1988	1200	10
22 June 1988	1200	170
29 June 1988	1230	15,000
6 July 1988	1230	<100
13 July 1988	1200	200
20 July 1988	1200	1,300
27 July 1988	1200	600
3 August 1988	1045	500
10 August 1988	1215	500
11 August 1988	1210	100
17 August 1988	1145	600
24 August 1988	1150	400
31 August 1988	1200	600
13 September 1988	1215	600
14 September 1988	1145	100
21 September 1988	1200	155
26 September 1988	1230	300

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the actual E. coli figures for the three samples in Swansea bay which failed the EEC coliform directive in the summer of 1988.

The information is shown in the following table:

Sample
Date	Time	E. coli per 100 ml
28 June 1988	0945	2,100
31 August 1988	1200	11,000
27 September 1988	1200	5,200

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what was the highest level of E. coli per 100 ml found in the 1988 bathing water survey at (a) Cold Knapp, Barry, and (b) Oxwich bay;(2) what was the highest level of total coliforms per 100 ml found in the 1988 bathing water survey at

The information requested is contained within the 1988 bathing water survey report, a copy of which, as the hon. Member will know, has already been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report the details of those samples in (a) Kinmel bay, (b) Rhyl and (c) Cold Knapp, Barry, sampled during the 1988 bathing water survey which failed to conform to the standards of the EEC coliform directive; and if he will make a statement.

The information is shown in the following table:

Date	Time of sample	Total Coliforms per 100 ml	E Coli per 100 ml
Kimnel Bay1
4 July 1988	1140	24,500	3,100
29 August 1988	1130	11,000	2,940
1 September 1988	1130	>50,000	4,400
28 September 1988	1120	12,200	4,700
Rhyl1
5 May 1988	1150	23,600	—
29 July 1988	0850	>30,000	5,300
29 August 1988	1055	17,400	8,400
I September 1988	1240	11,300	2,600
28 September 1988	1045	10,700	2,090
Cold Knapp2
26 September 1988	0935	12,100	4,700
27 September 1988	1350	32,000	20,000
1 Total number of samples taken 21.
2 Total number of samples taken 18.

The samples which failed account for only a small proportion of those taken throughout the 1988 season. The medians were much lower. The Welsh water authority has in hand a programme of remedial works to ensure full compliance with the EC bathing water directive of all listed bathing waters in the Principality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action his Department will be taking to minimise delays to traffic during the construction of the M4 between Baglan and Lonlas.

Only that part of the A48 trunk road between Earlswood and Lonlas is likely to be significantly affected by construction of this final section of the M4. Detailed traffic management measures will be taken by the appointed contractor to ensure the continuing free flow of vehicles along it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information his Department holds that enables him to assess the extent to which potable water in Wales complies with the European Community directive relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption (80/77/EEC).

Welsh water authority has the responsibility for ensuring that potable water within the Principality meets the standards of the directive.The Welsh Office holds information concerning time-limited derogations and delays, which have been granted under articles 9 and 20 of the directive, in respect of sources which do not fully meet the standards. The water authority's progress in achieving compliance where derogations and delays have been granted is regularly reviewed.The authority and the water companies in Wales have also submitted preliminary programmes of remedial work in relation to the proposed drinking water quality regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost at current prices to the Welsh water authority of complying with the European Community directive relating to the quality of water for human consumption (80/77/EEC).

The full cost of the programme is still being evaluated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the cost at current prices to the Welsh water authority to bring the 11 bathing beaches which failed to comply with bathing water directive (76/160/EEC) into conformity.

The authority is currently reviewing its programme of remedial works which aims to achieve compliance of all listed waters. The full cost of the programme has yet to be evaluated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was his Department's response to the Countryside Commission's consultation papers "Paths, Routes and Trails" and "Changing the Rights of Way Network."

The Welsh Office received copies of both papers but did not comment on either since it was neither necessary nor appropriate to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he will publish his next report on the development of the oil and the gas resources of the United Kingdom (the Brown Book).

My right hon. Friend has today published the latest edition of the "Brown Book", and has arranged for copies to be placed in the Library of the House and the Vote Office. The report gives a detailed account of oil and gas development during 1988.

To ask the Prime Minister whether Sir Leon Brittan cleared with No. 10 Downing street his statement on Channel 4 television, broadcast on 7 April, that Mr. Charles Powell and Mr. Bernard Ingham had expressly approved the decision to disclose a Law Officer's letter in the Westland affair.

I have nothing further to add to the many answers given in statements and in reply to questions on this subject.

To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to visit Penrhiwceiber.

I have at present no plans to do so.

To ask the Prime Minister what information she has concerning an offer by the French Government to provide free office accommodation and diplomatic immunity to the International Sugar Organisation if it moves from London to Paris; what benefits accrue to Britain from the location of the sugar, wheat, cocoa and coffee organisations in London; what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards this matter; and if she will make a statement.

I understand that the International Sugar Organisation is examining a number of locations, including proposals from France and other countries as well as alternative sites in London. Her Majesty's Government welcome the location of these organisations in London which reflects the merits of London as the leading international trading centre in these products. We already provide diplomatic immunity and rates concessions for these organisations as we do for all international organisations of similar standing.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 25 April.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 25 April.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 25 April.

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 Minister for the Civil Service when he last met the general secretary of NUCAPS; and what topics were discussed.

I have meetings from time to time with representatives of Civil Service trade unions both centrally and during visits to Departments. Matters of mutual interest are discussed.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which major issues of debt have come up for redemption in the financial years (a) 1987–88 and (b) 1988–89; and which are expected in 1989–90.

The information is as follows:

Per cent.				£ million
(a) The stocks of over £500 million redeemed in 1987–88 were:
10½	Exchequer	Stock	1987	1,550
6½	Funding	Loan	1985–87	559
10	Treasury	Stock	1987	1,600
3	Treasury	Stock	1987	950
12	Treasury	Stock	1987	1,950
7¾	Treasury	Loan	1985–88	500
2	Index-linked Treasury	Stock	1988	1,352

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the rules relating to the holding of Government debt by insurance companies and pension funds.

I do not know which rules the hon. Member has in mind.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with respect to the support grades in his Department (a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are in London and elsewhere and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.

The number of support grades employed in the Treasury is 241; the number of vacancies in London and elsewhere are five and none respectively, of which two have existed for over one month and three have existed for over three months; there are no temporary appointments and 1 casual appointment; in 1988–89 about 49,500 hours overtime were worked in London and 1,600 hours overtime elsewhere.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with respect to the support grades in his Department (a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.

The number of support grades employed in the Treasury is 241; the number of vacancies is five, of which two have existed for over one month and three for over three months; there are no temporary appointments and one casual appointment; in 1988–89 about 49,500 hours of overtime were worked in London and about 1,600 hours overtime elsewhere.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many instances have been detected in his Department of computer (a) hacking, (b) viruses, (c) logic bombs, (d) trojan horses or (e) other types of computer misuse, whether perpetrated by authorised or unauthorised users of computers; and how many unsuccessful attempts have been recorded.

[holding answer 24 April 1989]: It is not the policy of the Treasury to make public details and circumstances of computer security incidents, their perpetrators and their success or failure, since such information might be of assistance to potential attackers.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what level the interest elements of capital charges are set for public sector capital assets; how this figure is arrived at; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 24 April 1989]: I assume my hon. Friend has in mind the returns the Government expect the public sector to earn on capital assets. I refer him to my statement on 5 April, at column 187.Fees and charges for non-trading public bodies will normally be set to recover a cost of capital of not less than 6 per cent. in real terms. This is based on the real pre-tax costs of capital to a private sector company raising funds for low-risk purposes.Trading bodies such as nationalised industries are required to earn a real rate of return of 8 per cent. on their new investment programmes as a whole. This is derived from the average pre-tax real rate of return achieved on assets in the private sector.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of properties owned by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and suitable for residential accommodation have been empty for (i) up to a year and (ii) over a year; and where these properties are located, by region of the United Kingdom or local authority area.

[holding answer 20 April 1989]: Her Majesty's Customs and Excise does not own any property. Apart from a few properties which are provided by traders as a condition of the grant of privileges, the freehold or leasehold of all properties on the Department's estate is vested in the Secretary of State for the Environment.Only one building on the estate can be regarded as suitable for residential accommodation. This is situated in the Isles of Scilly and has been vacant for almost one year pending the appointment of an officer to the post for which the accommodation is provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the level of spending on special education needs, as a proportion of the education budget, in each of the last three years.

Local authority current expenditure on special education was 4·23, 4·25 and 4·26 per cent. respectively of total local authority current expenditure on education in 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will visit the Henry Mellish school, Nottingham, to speak to parents and children about the Government's education policies.

My right hon. Friend has no present plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many local education authorities in the course of compiling their strategic plans for further education under the requirements of the Education Reform Act and the guidance of his Department's circular 9/88, have sought and received advice from his Department.

Representatives of 73 local education authorities have received advice on the preparation of their schemes for planning, funding and delegation under circular 9/88 at meetings with officers of the Department. A large number of authorities have also received advice over the telephone and in writing.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science with respect to the support grades in his Department (a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.

The Department employs a total of 140 staff in the support grades in London and Darlington, including 12 casual appointments. There are seven vacancies, all of which have existed for over three months. On average these staff work a total of 93 hours of overtime a week.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he plans to encourage more teaching of the Russian language; and if he will make a statement.

The national curriculum will include a modern foreign language as a foundation subject at secondary level to be studied by all pupils between the ages of 11 and 16. Russian is among those modern foreign languages specified as eligible for inclusion in the national curriculum, within the framework of the proposals announced by my right hon. Friend in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) on 3 March, at columns 338–39. Within this framework, my right hon. Friend is encouraging schools to offer a greater diversity of languages, including Russian, and we are providing education support grants for pilot projects in some local education authorities in England to promote the preparation and implementation of plans for language diversification.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the numbers of foreign language assistants, by subjects, in maintained schools for each year from 1978–79 to the last year for which figures are available.

The numbers are as follows:

Year	French	German	Spanish	Italian	Russian	Total
1978–79	1,710	668	162	17	4	2,561
1979–80	1,783	718	187	16	4	2,708
1980–81	1,558	640	150	16	2	2,366
1981–82	1,314	539	145	16	4	2,018
1982–83	1,279	524	127	12	3	1,945
1983–84	1,301	523	138	11	1	1,974
1984–85	1,241	537	132	8	2	1,920
1985–86	1,211	502	126	7	2	1,848
1986–87	1,260	522	149	7	2	1,940
1987–88	1,503	556	186	12	2	2,259
1988–89	1,371	539	163	7	2	2,082

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that representatives of the management and trade unions are treated equally in establishing links between industry and educational institutions; and if he will make a statement.

The Department welcomes the involvement of all sections of industry in the establishment of links with schools. The management of such links is for local determination; however, the DES guides for employees and schools on "Education at Work" recognise the role of trade unions in the workplace and the TUC's strong support for workplace activities for school pupils. The TUC is also involved in education through, for example, its participation in the school curriculum industry project, which is developing teaching material for schools and teacher training, and its work with the National Curriculum Council "Educating for Economic Awareness" initiative.

Home full-time students in higher education in Great Britain
Thousands
	Academic year beginning in
	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987
Total all students of which	451·2	465·0	488·4	504·6	517·5	525·1	530·6	540·0	549·7
Arts	253·1	256·8	267·3	273·0	278·2	278·8	281·2	286·8	293·3
Sciences	198·1	208·2	221·1	231·5	239·3	246·3	249·4	253·1	256·5

Figures may not sum due to rounding.Sciences are defined as medicine, engineering and technology, agriculture, science and professional and vocational studies while arts includes education, business and social studies, language, arts other than language and music, drama, art and design.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any proposals to shift the balance of public funding of higher education towards the tuition fee.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has for the future funding of higher education.

Higher education funding councils and other interested bodies have today been sent a paper seeking views on proposals to increase the full-time undergraduate tuition fee met through mandatory awards from its 1989–90 level of £607 to £1,600 in 1990–91 and to

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made on his plans for city technology colleges; and if he will make a statement.

The CTC programme is making excellent progress. Kingshurst opened last year. The Nottingham and Teesside CTCs will open in September, with those in Bradford, Gateshead and Dartford together with the London school for performing arts and technology due to open in 1990. Further announcements will be made soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he plans to encourage more disabled people to become teachers; and if he will make a statement.

The Department's action campaign on teacher recruitment aims to encourage more potentially good teachers to join the profession, including disabled people. Teacher training institutions and employers would of course need to satisfy themselves that all entrants to the profession possess the mental and physical capacity for the demanding job of teaching.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the numbers of students in higher education in (a) arts and humanittes and (b) sciences in each year from 1978–79 to the last year for which figures are available.

Readily available information is shown in the following table: introduce, from 1991–92, fees differentiated by the cost of groups of courses. Copies of the paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest available figure for the number of pupils in secondary schools to whom music education is available only upon the payment of fees.

This information is not available. The Education Reform Act prohibits charging for all tuition provided during school hours, with the sole exception of individual tuition in the playing of a musical instrument.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to encourage the recycling of paper; and what advice is given to schools and colleges on this.

The statutory attainment targets for science in the national curriculum include a requirement for children to know that some waste materials can be recycled. The recycling of paper, and the use of recycled paper, by educational institutions is a matter for them and, as appropriate, their maintaining LEAs. I hope they will consider the matter sympathetically. The Department is currently considering the use of recycled paper for its own purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he proposes to make additional funds available for the Derbyshire county council's capital expenditure on education as a consequence of the recent visit of a delegation to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

As I said at the meeting on 6 April, the application of our normal criteria resulted in Derbyshire receiving 52 per cent. of its submitted plans for prescribed capital expenditure in 1989–90 compared with a national average for LEAs of 34 per cent. There are no extra resources over and above those notified for distribution to LEAs for the financial year 1989–90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money was spent per pupil in Derbyshire in (a) special education, (b) primary schools, (c) secondary schools and (d) tertiary education from each of the years from 1978–79 to the last year for which figures are available.

The available information is given in the table:

Net institutional expenditure1per pupil2
	Primary £	Secondary £	Special £
1978–79	340	490	n/a
1979–80	395	565	n/a
1980–81	500	705	2,445
1981–82	575	795	2,985
1982–83	635	870	3,305
1983–84	690	950	3,450
1984–85	730	1,020	3,855
1985–86	780	1,125	5,060
1986–87	875	1,305	5,495
1987–88	3990	1,530	6,220
1 Net institutional expenditure includes the cost of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services. It does not include the cost of school meals, central administration and inspection, debt charges or revenue contributions to capital outlay.
2 The figures are based on LEA expenditure returns to DoE and pupil number returns to DES.
3 The figure for 1987–88 includes nursery school pupils.

Separate figures are not available for tertiary education which forms a part of further education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will report on progress on monitoring, by ethnicity, applications to universities and polytechnics.

I understand that the Universities Central Council on Admissions and the Polytechnic Central Admissions System will include an ethnicity question on application forms for candidates applying for full-time degree course places in autumn 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on steps taken by his Department to secure improved access to higher education by people from ethnic minorities.

The Department has made clear the priority it attaches to increasing participation in higher education, particularly from groups that are currently under-represented and it has taken a number of measures to that end. The Universities Central Council on Admissions and the Polytechnic Central Admissions System will include an ethnicity question on application forms for candidates applying for full-time degree course places in autumn 1990. In addition, my right hon. Friend announced on 12 April at column 528, the establishment of a national framework for the recognition of access courses for students who lack the traditional qualifications for entrance to higher education. Some access courses are specifically targeted at ethnic minorities and staff are funded under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966.We are funding a number of projects which are investigating and developing ways of enhancing the provision of access courses. Initial teacher training institutions have also developed a range of courses specifically aimed at people from ethnic minorities which are designed to build on their previous experience.All these measures should help to improve access to higher education for people from ethnic minorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much has been spent on student unions in each of the last 10 years by (a) central Government and (b) local government expressed in (i) cost terms and (ii) real terms with 1979 = 100.

This information is not available. I shall write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much his survey on student unions cost to compile

As I indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Mr. Amess) on 1 December 1988, at column 356, work on the survey was undertaken by a team of officials which includes student affairs among its normal responsibilities. This was supplemented, from 9 December, by overtime payments and part-time assistance, the total cost of which was £1,720.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason a traffic census point was established at the north end of the Rotherhithe tunnel on the morning of 11 April.

This is one of a number of sites being used for a traffic survey to collect data needed to develop proposals for improving the A 13 trunk road in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Newham.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he has received a request for a meeting with the chairman and members of the board of Manchester international airport to discuss the introduction of an airports departure tax; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will consider revising the existing methods of funding security methods at airports; and if he will make a statement;(3) if he will support measures to introduce the funding of security costs at Manchester international airport through the imposition of an airports departure tax; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received a letter from the chairman of Manchester Airport plc proposing the introduction of an airport departure tax and requesting a meeting to discuss the matter. He has replied as follows:

"Thank you for your letter of 22 March proposing a meeting to discuss your proposal for an Airport Departure Tax to finance aviation security.

This ground has been gone over many times in recent years. As you say, from 1978 to 1983 aviation security was financed through the aviation security fund, set up under the powers which are now contained in part IV of the Aviation Security Act 1982. This proved to be bureaucratic, complicated and costly to administer, with the Department collecting money from the industry with one hand and paying it out to it again with the other, and it provided little incentive to efficiency. Consequently, a review undertaken in 1982, at the request of the industry and in consultation with all sections of it, concluded that the financing of aviation security would be more straightforward, that unnecessary and complex procedures would be avoided, that incentives to carry out security measures effectively would be increased, and that cross-subsidisation would be eliminated, if the fund were abolished. The fund was wound up accordingly in 1983, and the airports and airlines became responsible for financing aviation security costs from their revenue, in exactly the same way as they meet other operating expenditure.This arrangement has much to commend it. It is simple and logical, and it is consistent with the arrangements in other areas, such as aviation safety. It ensures that costs fall where they are incurred, and thus produce an incentive to avoid waste and inefficiencyThe whole matter was reviewed again most thoroughly after the publication in 1986 of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee's report on airport security. It recommended that an aviation security fund should be re-established, and that it should be financed by a levy on passengers which should be clearly itemised on the ticket price. In their response to this report the Government rejected these recommendations, pointing out that the arguments against financing aviation security through a Government-administered fund were still as strong as when the original fund was wound up.However, the response went on to say that, as some sections of the industry had recently proposed a variety of possible alternative arrangements, the Department would look at these suggestions further in consultation with the industry. This review was carried out through the National Aviation Security Committee, It examined in detail all the suggestions put forward, including some very similar to the arrangement you now seem to be proposing. It found that there was no widespread support for any of these schemes, and no grounds for believing that any of them would be more satisfactory overall than the present arrangements.In connection with the various proposals put forward for some kind of airport departure tax the review noted that security costs are not necessarily directly proportional to the number of passengers passing through a particular airport. Consequently either such a tax would have to be set at different levels for each airport—in which case considerable accounting resources would need to be devoted each year to working out the appropriate level at which it should be set for the coming year at each of the 50 airports in the national aviation security programme and in checking that the money was being properly used; or the tax would have to be the same as each airport—which would involve virtually the same arrangements as did the aviation security fund for the Government collecting the money and paying it out again against authorised expenditure.After considering the findings of the review, Ministers reaffirmed their belief that the current arrangements were the most satisfactory and effective ones possible and that they should not be changed. That remains our position, and I must tell the hon. Gentleman frankly that I can see no point in meeting him to discuss his proposal for a departure tax unless and until he can demonstrate that:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss the imposition of a total ban on the carriage of personal radios on aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

It is not just personal radios, but a whole range of portable electrical items, from pocket calculators, through electric shavers and hair driers, to lap top computers, which pose particular security problems.A complete ban on the carriage of such items on aircraft is not practicable.We have reinforced the advice to airports and airlines about the dangers, and instructed that such items should be examined particularly closely. Passengers will be prevented from retaining them in cases where the security staff are unable to satisfy themselves that they are harmless.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what actions he has taken, consequent to the air disaster on the M1 motorway adjacent to the east midlands airport, to review the rules and practices concerning the siting of residential, commercial, or industrial buildings and public transport facilities beneath, or adjacent to, the flight paths to and from airport runways.

Department of the Environment circular 39/81, a copy of which is in the Library, already requires planning authorities to refer to the Civil Aviation Authority or the Ministry of Defence for advice details of proposed developments close to busy airports. The 1989 review of accident statistics relative to public safety zones will pay particular regard to roads and railways running through such zones.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which stretches of road are currently subject to negotiation with Staffordshire county council on trunk road status; and whether he will require standards currently adopted by Stoke on Trent city council for principal roads to apply on roads which change to trunk road status.

We are discussing with the county council proposals to trunk part of A500 and to detrunk parts of A34, A5 and A449 in Staffordshire. The improvement and maintenance of trunk roads is carried out to the Department's standards.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has received any recent representations seeking amendment of existing international marine law regarding the carriage and protection of dangerous chemicals at sea, in the light of the recent sinking in the English Channel of a tanker carrying toxic material; and if he will make a statement.

Following the recent incident in the English Channel I have received one representation seeking amendment to the international marine law. I have also received a number of suggestions on how the marine environment can be protected when such an incident occurs. Some of these have been foreshadowed by the International Maritime Organisation and will become part of the regulatory regime in the near future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the report of the inspector on the proposed route of the Stockport north-south A6 (M) bypass.

The inspector's report is being considered. We hope to announce a decision soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Siemens ND3 printers are used by his Department, either in-house or through a private contract; and what is the location of each.

None. Nowhere.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish a consultative paper on the private financing of roads.

Shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with British Rail about the midland mainline electrification.

The midland main line already has a good service which is being improved. It is for British Rail to consider whether the very large cost of electrifying the line would be justified by operating improvements and revenue gains, and to put forward a case if it believes it to be worthwhile. The completion of the single European market in 1992 is unlikely to have a significant effect on this essentially business decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has completed his review of the operation of the orange badge scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The review raised many complex issues. We are grateful to all those who commented, and in particular for the report from the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC). A copy of its report has been placed in the Library.The rate at which badges are issued has increased rapidly since 1986. Between March 1986 and March 1988, the number of badges rose from about 800,000 to about 1 million. The scheme is losing the respect of the general public, who see apparently able-bodied people using cars bearing badges. Without changes the scheme will become unworkable.The parking concessions provided by the scheme are essential to those with the greatest mobility problems. We propose to accept the DPTAC's main recommendation —that eligibility for badges should be more closely related to eligibility for mobility allowance. This will concentrate badges on those severely disabled people who need them most.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the vehicle inspectorate executive agency business plan for 1989–90 will be published.

The business plan has been published today. Copies are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many privately operated electricity generating turbines are installed on rivers in Northern Ireland; and which Government Department has responsibility for permitting and overseeing their operation.

No central register of privately operated electricity generating turbines is held by Northern Ireland Government Departments and thus the information sought is not available.No one Government Department has overall responsibility for privately operated electricity generating turbines on rivers. The Northern Ireland Departments of Agriculture, Environment and Economic Development have statutory responsibilities for installations affecting the flow in a particular watercourse for water abstraction and for health and safety at work considerations arising from the operation of such turbines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) when his Department last conducted a survey of the ethnic origin of its employees; when it next plans to do so; and whether he will make a statement;(2) what steps he has taken to recruit members of ethnic minorities in top grades of employment at his Department.

Within Northern Ireland religious affiliation is a more significant consideration for equality of opportunity than ethnic origin. The Northern Ireland Civil Service therefore records details of religious affiliation together with sex (and disabilities if any) of applicants. It does not monitor the ethnic origin of staff nor has it any plans to do so.The home Civil Service conducted a programme of ethnic origin surveys over four years, covering all staff, and these surveys were completed in June 1988. The Northern Ireland Office in London took part in these surveys.The Northern Ireland Office continues to monitor staff as they join and to update its records. The home Civil Service and the Northern Ireland Civil Service are fully committed to ensuring equality of opportunity for all applicants including any from ethnic minorities.The Northern Ireland Office is an equal opportunity employer and this is emphasised in all our recruiting campaigns and advertising.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount, in grants, paid out by the Department of Agriculture, Northern Ireland, under the agriculture improvement scheme in each of the years since 1985 to applicants from each of the parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland.

The information requested is not available by parliamentary constituency. It has been given by county.

Agriculture Improvement Scheme
Agriculture Improvement Regulations
Agriculture Improvement Scheme (National)
Counties	Grant 1986–87	Grant 1987–88	Grant 1988–89
Antrim	2,706,655	1,711,213	545,763
Armagh	1,240,358	1,016,101	445,891
Down	361,852	452,119	265,245
Fermanagh	708,371	730,625	618,072
Londonderry	839,608	582,122	416,779
Tyrone	2,567,134	2,320,384	1,561,530
TOTAL	8,423,978	6,785,564	3,853,280

Agriculture Improvement Regulations (European Community)
Counties	Grant 1986–87	Grant 1987–88	Grant 1988–89
Antrim	396,137	972,419	1,479,959
Armagh	357,520	1,158,318	1,849,241
Down	206,003	682,963	859,574
Fermanagh	191,618	604,120	1,139,423
Londonderry	282,782	785,043	826,249
Tyrone	439,408	1,424,132	2,142,174
TOTAL	1,873,468	5,626,995	8,296,620

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the number of jobs promoted by the Industrial Development Board and its predecessor, the Department of Commerce, for (a) indigenous firms and (b) overseas firms in Northern Ireland since 1978–79; how many of these jobs are the result of (i) new enterprise or (ii) expansion; what is the average cost per job; and how many of these jobs promoted were actually realised;(2) how many jobs have been promoted by the Industrial Development Board or its predecessor the Department of Commerce in the following industrial groups

[holding answer 21 April 1989] : Job promotion figures for the period April 1978 to December 1988 inclusive are as follows:

	Job promotions
	Indigenous firms		Overseas firms
	New	Expansions	New	Expansions	Total
Department of Commerce
1978–79	357	1,204	4,165	1,364	7,090
1979–80	308	1,793	3,100	2,333	7,534
1980–81	430	769	178	1,928	3,305
1981–82	131	381	348	815	1,675
1982–83 (from 1 April 1982 31 August 1982)	41	312	—	513	866
Industrial Development Board
1982–83 (1 September 1982 31 March 1983)	224	751	159	1,791	2,925
1983–84	715	1,191	539	1,111	3,556
1984–85	394	1,478	548	2,847	5,267
1985–86	204	1,224	224	1,258	2,910
1986–87	208	1,124	415	2.440	4,187
1987–88	183	2,616	867	1.634	5,300
1988–89 (9 months to 31 December 1988)	329	1,071	1,664	1,428	4,492
Total	3,524	13,914	12,207	19,462	49,107

In this period offers of assistance have been made with the intention of safeguarding employment as well as promoting new jobs. In such cases the assistance offered is not disaggregated between various job categories and

Jobs promoted by industrial group
	Engineering	Textiles clothing and leather	Food drink and tobacco	All other industries	Total
Department of Commerce
1978–79	4,634	1,282	144	1,030	7,090
1979–80	4,802	1,786	325	621	7,534
1980–81	1,494	1,092	264	455	3,305
1981–82	667	450	89	469	1,675
11982–83	542	204	16	104	866
Industrial Development Board
21982–83	1,773	394	551	207	2,925
1983–84	1,276	1,425	545	310	3,556
1984–85	1,615	1,286	1,309	1,057	5,267
1985–86	465	1,194	401	850	2,910
1986–87	1,678	1,177	507	825	4,187
1987–88	836	1,839	1,452	1,173	5,300
31988–89	2,038	1,124	547	783	4,492
Total	21,820	13,253	6,150	7,884	49,107
1 From 1 April 1982 to 31 August 1982.
2 From 1 September 1982 to 31 March 1983.
3 9 months to 31 December 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many representations he has received about the denial of human rights or the use of torture in Northern Ireland; and which organisations made these representations.

I receive representations on a wide range of matters but no central record is kept of those which allege denial of human rights in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what correspondence he has received from Nithsdale road consequently it is not possible to identify separately the average cost per job promoted. The average cost for all jobs assisted during 1987–88 was £9,362. Job realisation figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.link-up group expressing concern about supervision of children in school playgrounds; what reply he has sent; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend has received representations from the Nithsdale road link-up group and many other expressions of concern from parents and parents' groups about the absence or inadequacy of playground supervision in education authority schools generally.Local arrangements for playground supervision are for education authorities, who have a duty of care at common law for pupils at their schools. The Government share the concern of parents that children should be properly cared for, and have made provision of £4 million within total education provision for 1989–90 to enable authorities to discharge their duty in this matter.A new clause—which would have the effect of putting a statutory duty on authorities to provide adequate levels of supervision of pupils—has been tabled for discusion by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart) in the Committee which is currently considering the Self-Governing Schools Etc. (Scotland) Bill. The hon. Gentleman may wish to attend the public gallery to listen to the debate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if, when evaluating contracts in competitive tendering of ancillary services, the cost of redundancy and early retirement is set against the private tender.

Yes. Redundancy payments are real costs to the Health Service and boards are specifically instructed to have regard to them in the final assessment of all bids relating to competitive tendering. Similarly premature retirement costs, if any, are also required to be taken into account.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press releases have been issued by himself, his Minister of State and each of his Parliamentary Under-Secretaries since June 1987.

The total number of news releases issued by the Scottish Information Office in the period 1 June 1987 to 31 March 1989 covering the activities of myself and my ministerial colleagues was 2,078. The number issued on behalf of each Minister was as follows:

	Number
Secretary of State for Scotland	561
Minister of State (Commons)	426
Minister of State (Lords)	238
Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment	331
Minister for Education and Health	522

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 14 April, why a separate meeting was held with the manager and chairman of Highland health board.

To discuss matters of common interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland with respect to the support grades in his Department (a) what is the number of staff employed, (b) how many vacancies there are and how many of these have existed for over one month and over three months, (c) how many temporary and casual appointments there are and (d) how much overtime was worked by them in London and elsewhere.

The Scottish Office (including Scottish Prison Service) position at 1 April 1989 is as follows:

a. 318·5;

b. 26, of which 20 had existed for over one month and 14 for over 3 months;

c. 7·5 (all casual appointments);

d. since May 1988 overtime hours worked amount to 1,097 (London) and 28,762 (elsewhere).

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Siemens ND3 printers are used by his Department, either in-house or through a private contract; and what is the location of each.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the numbers of forest workers employed on forest management activities and harvesting activities by the Forestry Commission in each conservancy area since 1979.

The information is given in the following tables:

Conservancy	Total1
19792
North East England	391
North West England	387
East England	418
South East England	254
South West England	370
North Wales	474
South Wales	445
North Scotland	547
East Scotland	358
West Scotland	440
South Scotland	552
Great Britain	4,636

Conservancy	Forest management	Harvesting	Total1
1984
North East England	170	121	291
North West England	125	184	309
East England	146	180	326
South East England	134	69	203
South West England	142	168	310
North Wales	183	177	360
South Wales	204	106	310
North Scotland	275	135	410
East Scotland	129	132	261
West Scotland	214	101	315
South Scotland	295	211	506
Great Britain	2,017	1,584	3,601

Conservancy3	Forest management	Harvesting	Total1
1989
North England	222	129	351
East England	188	159	347
West England	166	108	274
Wales	276	149	425
North Scotland	298	114	412
Mid Scotland	215	61	276
South Scotland	234	134	368
Great Britain	1,599	854	2,453
1 The figures do not include contractors.
2 The 1979 figures arc not available by activity.
3 The number of conservancies was reduced from 11 to 7 on 1 April 1985.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information his Department gave to Nirex which enabled Dounreay to be placed on the short list as a possible site for the disposal of radioactive waste; and if he will make a statement.

The decision by Nirex to include Dounreay on the short list of sites for investigation was taken as a result of their own site selection procedure. I am not aware of any information provided by the Scottish Development Department which was material to this decision.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has made any predictions of the economic effects upon the local economy of Caithness should Dounreay be chosen by Nirex for the disposal of solid low and intermediate-level radioactive waste; and if he will make a statement.

The economic effects would depend on the nature of any disposal facility which might be established. As a basic guide Nirex has suggested that, if construction were phased, some 350 jobs on construction and operation would be created during the 50-year operational life of the repository, without taking account of associated secondary employment.