To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make representations to the examining boards to return the start of General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations to the end of May.

My right hon. Friend has asked for a meeting with the joint council for the General Certificate of Secondary Education to discuss this matter, among others.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consultations took place with him on the decision of the examining boards to bring forward to mid-May the start of the General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations; and if he will make a statement.

The General Certificate of Secondary Education examining groups, which are independent bodies and collectively set the timetable for examinations, have not so far held discussions with my right hon. Friend about this, though contacts have taken place at official level. My right hon. Friend has made clear to the joint council for the General Certificate of Secondary Education his concerns about the timetable and looks forward to an early discussion with them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if, in the light of the High Court judgment in the case of Beechen Cliff school in Avon, he will now reconsider Avon county council's plans for the number of overall places in the Bath area.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, under the terms of the model funding agreement for city technology colleges, he is precluded on termination of the agreement from requiring the repayment specified in paragraph 23(iv), so that the college continues to operate on a private fee-paying or any other basis with the characteristics set out in paragraph 4 of the model agreement.

I refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 54 to 59 of the model funding agreement which set out the course of action which the Secretary of State shall take in the event, inter alia, of the CTC/CCTA company not meeting the conditions and requirements of payment of grant to the CTC/CCTA by the Secretary of State. If, in these circumstances, the Secretary of State is not satisfied by responses sought and received from the CTC/CCTA company, paragraph 58 of the agreement provides that he shall give 12 months written notice of his termination of the agreement and that "He shall also give notice that the provisions of section 105(5) (of the Education Reform Act 1988) shall apply, and set out how the CTC/CCTA is to comply with them". Section 105(3) of the Education Reform Act provides that the conditions and the requirements in the agreement include that no charge is made for admission to the CTC/CCTA.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will review the availability and quality of pre-school education in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Pre-school education in Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. It is for local authorities in England to determine the most appropriate patterns of pre-school provision for their area. A committee of inquiry under my chairmanship is considering the quality of the educational experience offered to three and four-year-olds across various settings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Medway Ports Authority sought his approval under sections 60 or 73 of the Port of London Authority Act before commissioning dredging and associated works in the Medway approach channel; on what date approval was given; and whether he imposed any conditions or restrictions relating to the deposit or laying down of dredgings and spoil.

The Secretary of State's approval has not been sought to dredging in the Medway approach channel. I understand that the Port of London Authority granted a licence for such dredging to the Medway Ports Authority on 18 September 1989 under section 73 of the Port of London Authority Act 1968.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the Medway Ports Authority sought his approval, under section 36 of the Medway Ports Authority Act 1975, before dumping dredgings in the area known as Lappel Bank in the Medway approach channel; on what date approval was given; and whether he imposed any conditions or restrictions.

The Medway Ports Authority sought the Secretary of State's approval on 6 February 1990 under section 36(2) of the Medway Ports Authority Act 1973 to deposit 26,000 cu m of dredged spoil from within the port below the level of mean high water springs at Lappel Bank, Sheerness.The authority had already sought the Secretary of State's approval on 5 July 1989 under section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949 to reclaim 120·34 acres of the Lappel Bank foreshore, using 2·6 million cu m of spoil dredged from the Medway approach channel.The authority was advised on 22 September 1989 that there were no navigational objections to the proposed works. Approval under section 36(2) of the 1973 Act was granted to deposit material, as specified in the authority's application of 6 February, on 2 March without any conditions or restrictions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received about the importance of the Medway approach channel and Lappel Bank for wildlife and its fulfilment of the criteria for protection under the European Community Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.

None. The responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Transport in relation to the works on these sites were limited to considering their effects on safety of navigation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department received the draft report from the National Audit Office on the sale of the National Bus Company.

The draft report on the sale of the National Bus Company was submitted to the accounting officer by the Comptroller and Auditor-General on 12 February 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce further measures to curb speeding traffic; and if he will make a statement.

As I stated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 5 March, Official Report, column 165, I hope to introduce the new road hump regulations to come into force before Easter. In addition, we shall shortly be consulting on proposals to facilitate the introduction of 20 mph speed-limited zones in residential areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list (a) for May 1989 and (b) to date the establishment for the (i) Hereford, (ii) South Yorkshire, (iii) Worcester and (iv) Humberside valuation and community charge tribunals; and if any changes are envisaged for the near future;(2) if he will list for

The establishments of the three valuation and community charge tribunals are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what date he made the Community Charge Transitional Relief Report (England) available in the Vote Office.

[holding answer 7 March 1990]: The report was laid on 15 February and copies were placed in the Library. I understand that the Vote Office made the normal arrangements to obtain copies of the report and that 500 copies were made available on 17 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the amount of capital allocations which have been issued to each class of local authority for the years 1981–82 to 1989–90 for (a) housing, (b) personal social services, (c) education, (d) transport and (e) other services.

I have today laid tables giving the information requested in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements his Department has made to inform the blind and the deaf-blind about the community charge.

I have today announced that the Department of the Environment is providing funding of £60,000 to enable the Royal National Institute for the Blind to produce Government information leaflets on the community charge in forms accessible to blind and partially sighted people.Two key information leaflets will be produced on compact cassette tape and in braille and Moon writing. A further two leaflets will be produced, on tape only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give for Northern Ireland for each year since 1974–75 (i) total National Health Service expenditure, (ii) current expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (iii) capital expenditure on the hospital and community health services, (iv) expenditure on the family practitioner services, (v) expenditure on centrally funded National Health Service services, and (vi) expenditure on personal social services, giving each in (a) cash terms, (b) adjusted using the relevant pay and prices index and (c) adjusted using the gross domestic product deflator; and if he will place in the Library details of the methods used to make these adjustments.

The information requested is contained in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the annual expenditure incurred by the Eastern health and social services board is accounted for by the home help service.

The answer is 2·86 per cent. of the revenue expenditure in the year ended 31 March 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many families in Northern Ireland were in receipt of (a) family credit and (b) income support in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years.

The available information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to the number of families in Northern Ireland who have claimed family credit; what estimate he has as to what proportion of those eligible this represents; and what proposals he has for improving take-up.

The number of families receiving family credit at 21 February 1990 was 14,699. No reliable estimate of the eligible family credit population in Northern Ireland is available, but the position on take-up is being monitored and further publicity to improve it will be arranged as necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average length of time taken to process claims for family credit in Northern Ireland local social security offices.

Family credit is administered centrally by family credit branch, DHSS, and the average time taken to process claims is 14 days for claims by employed persons and 23 days for claims by self-employed persons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of his Department's consultation papers, "Metrication: Sales of Spirits on Licensed Premises", were sent out last September; to whom were they sent; how many responses he received; and if he will make a statement.

The Department of Economic Development issued its consultation paper "Metrication: Sales of Spirits for Consumption on Licensed Premises" to 35 trade and other bodies.Those consulted were: ACE Catering Equipment, Association of Wholesalers to the Licensed Trade of Northern Ireland, Bass Ireland Ltd., Belfast and Ulster Licensed Vintners Association, Bromac UK (Distributors) Ltd., CK Supplies Ltd., Catering Industry Training Board (Northern Ireland), Confederation of British Industry (NI), Council on Alcohol Related Problems, Department of Health and Social Services, Department of the Environment, Derry and District Licensed Vintners Association, Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade Northern Ireland, General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, W. A. Gilbey (Ireland) Ltd., Health Promotion Unit, Hollywood and Donnelly Ltd., Irish Bonding Co. Ltd., Irish Distillers Group PLC, James McAllister and Son Ltd., James McCabe Ltd., McGarry and Campbell, Nicholas McKenna and Company, John McKibbin and Son Ltd., T. McLaughlin Ltd., McNeill Glassware (Lisburn) Ltd., Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Northern Ireland Chamber of Trade, Northern Ireland Council on Alcohol, Northern Ireland Hotels and Caterers Association, Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Northlands Centre, Tyrone Bar Supplies Ltd. and United Bar Supplies Ltd.Five replies were received.We now propose to introduce legislation for a single metric measure of 25 ml.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual cost of maintenance of the equipment stored at Kilroot power station, Carrickfergus, for use on the second phase of this development; and what is the total cost of maintenance to date of this equipment.

The cost in 1989 of storing and maintaining this plant was £1·45 million, bringing the total cost since 1979 to £14·55 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representation he has made to BR about the London-Stranraer overnight sleeper service.

I have told British Rail of the adverse reaction in Northern Ireland to the decision. I understand that British Rail plans to provide a connecting service between Stranraer and the Glasgow to London sleeper trains.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information is available to indicate the record of each social security office's operation of the

[holding answer 2 March 1990]: The information is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he has taken, and what action he intends taking, to implement the recommendations within his area of responsibility of the European Commission's childcare network report "Caring for Children—Services and Policies for Childcare and Equal Opportunities in the United Kingdom."

[holding answer 5 March 1990]: The report was prepared by the European Community but no proposals have yet been developed. The Government believe that policy on child care is a matter for member states. The United Kingdom policy is that it is for families themselves to determine how their children are to be brought up and how parents who wish to do so can best combine paid work and family responsibilities. The Government through the Department of Health and Social Services and the ministerial group on women's issues have encouraged the development of a range of high quality child care options for both parents and employers in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to his answer of 1 February, Official Report, columns 342–43, and the letter of 12 February, concerning the real terms increase in social security expenditure, what information on the percentage of the real terms increase attributable to an increase in the number of beneficiaries is available to him without incurring disproportionate cost.

[holding answer 5 March 1990]: The estimated average numbers of claimants receiving the main social security benefits during the years in question rose or are expected to rise as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish statistical information, in table form, of confirmed incidences of cancer/leukaemia in each constituency in Northern Ireland by age group (a) up to five years, (b) five to 10 years, (c) 10 to 15 years, (d) 15 to 20 years and (e) over 20 years, respectively.

[holding answer 5 March 1990]: The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken to identify the cause of cancer/leukaemia in children in Northern Ireland and to protect children where possible from risk of exposure to cancer/leukaemia stimulating factors.

[holding answer 5 March 1990]: An investigation by an independent committee into patterns of disease with a possible association with radiation was published in 1989. It found no evidence of higher incidence or increased mortality from leukaemia in coastal compared with inland areas.Northern Ireland is now involved with other parts of the United Kingdom in epidemiological research on leukaemia. Environmental assessment of ionising radiation is carried out to ensure that the community is not exposed to excess levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the incidence of cancer/leukaemia confirmed in children in (a) East Antrim, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) United Kingdom, respectively.

[holding answer 5 March 1990]: The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is given in the table:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show the current length of waiting lists at each acute hospital in Northern Ireland; and what were the comparable figures in each of the last five years.

[holding answer 27 February 1990]: The tables show for each acute hospital in Northern Ireland the total number of inpatients on waiting lists at 30 September and by time spent on list for 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.Information on outpatient waiting lists has not been collected centrally since the introduction of Korner returns on 1 April 1988. Information relating to outpatient lists for earlier years could be extracted only at disproportionate cost.