To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will identify the costs to his Department in 1989–90 to date allocated for 1990–91 of (a) maintaining the civil emergencies secretariat, (b) the employment of a civil emergency adviser and associated costs, (c) commissioned work by outside bodies relating to civil emergency planning and (d) other expenditure relating to civil emergency planning.

The costs are as follows:

	1989–90 £	1990–91 £
Civil Emergencies Adviser and Secretariat	60,000	107,000
Travel and subsistence for Adviser and Secretariat	13,500	16,500
Emergency Planning College Civil Emergencies Tutorial Group2	38,000	159,000
1 Estimated outturn.
2 Includes travel and subsistence.

No costs have been incurred for work undertaken by outside bodies. Other expenditure relating to civil emergency planning is incurred by the police staff college and the fire service college and other Home Office departments, but figures could not be broken down without disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the itinerary of conferences and meetings with outside bodies which his Department's civil emergency adviser has attended, or agreed to attend, in 1990;(2) if he will make it his policy to send his Department's civil emergency adviser, Mr. David Brook, to the conference for local authorities on disaster planning for the 1990s to be held on 15 March.

The functions of the civil emergencies adviser were set out by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) in answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Lester) on 15 June 1989 at columns 514–15; it is for Mr. Brook as civil emergencies adviser to determine how best to fulfil that remit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many houses are in the ownership of his Department in each district in Greater Manchester; and what percentage of these are empty.

The information is as follows:

District	Number of houses	Percentage empty
Bolton	—	—
Bury	—	—
Manchester	49	18
Oldham	—	—
Rochdale	4	0
Salford	—	—
Stockport	—	—
Tameside	—	—
Trafford	—	—
Wigan	27	89

Twenty-one surplus empty houses in Wigan and four in Manchester will shortly be placed on the open market for sale.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in regard to the investigations into the arson campaign in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the chief constable of North Wales police that a special squad was set up at Bangor in March 1988 to investigate these offences. Effective liaison has been established between all the forces concerned and police inquiries are continuing as a matter of priority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been made to local authorities during each of the past five years for which records are available for licences to hold pop concerts; and how many and what percentage have been refused.

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with what agencies he is, or his officials are, in consultation concerning what further guidance should be issued to local authorities about crowd safety at public musical entertainments; when such consultations will be concluded; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office is consulting the Health and Safety Executive, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of District Councils about this issue. The recent announcement from the Health and Safety Commission explained that work has been commissioned to produce new guidance on safety at pop concerts, but it is too early to predict when this will be available, bearing in mind the many factors involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of his Department on informing inmates in prisons in England and Wales who do not speak or understand English as to the rules existing in prison; and if he will make a statement.

All prisoners, when they are first received into prisons, are provided with an information booklet which they are allowed to keep in their possession during their sentence. There are versions of this booklet in English and 12 other languages.If a prisoner cannot for any reason understand this written information, the governor will arrange for an oral explanation using interpreting facilities where necessary.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he has any plans to strengthen present legislation on incitement to murder; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many prosecutions have taken place in the last 12 months for incitement to murder; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 15 February 1990]: We have no present plans to change the law on incitement to murder, but we keep it under review.In 1988 there were 30 prosecutions under section 4 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977: together, these provisions make it an offence to solicit or propose to another to commit murder or to conspire to do so. Figures are not kept separately for each provision. There were also 1,030 prosecutions under section 16 of the 1861 Act, which makes it an offence to make threats to kill with intention that the recipient of those threats should fear that they will be carried out. Information for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received by the Security Service Tribunal since 18 December 1989; and how many have been rejected because they referred to events prior to that date.

The Security Service Tribunal operates independently under the provisions of the Security Service Act 1989. I do not propose to make available details of its work. It will be for the Security Service Commissioner to decide in consultation with the tribunal what information might be included about the tribunal in his annual report to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about electricity tariffs in Northern Ireland.

The Government have decided to end the tariff subsidy arrangement whereby electricity tariffs in Northern Ireland are linked to the highest in England and Wales. This decision, which will have effect from 1 April, follows a detailed review of existing tariff policy. The review concluded that, on the basis of oil price projections, the tariff link arrangements are no longer appropriate. The review recommended that NIE should, therefore, return to setting its tariffs on the basis of its own costs rather than by reference to the tariffs of area boards in England and Wales. It is clear, moreover, that the privatisation of the electricity supply industry in England and Wales and the decision to privatise NIE also have made the link less appropriate.For the future, NIE's tariffs will have to be based on the economic price of producing and delivering electricity in Northern Ireland. In the year beginning 1 April 1990, a tariff increase of around 8 per cent. on average would, in the Government's view, be consistent with that objective.I expect to receive within the next week or so NIE's detailed proposals for the different categories of consumer. When agreement is reached on these, NIE will make a full announcement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the Government establishments in (a) the Coleraine council area, (b) the Magherafelt council area, (c) the Larne council area, (d) the Carrickfergus council area and (e) the Strabane council area, in which civil servants are employed at present, five years and 10 years ago, together with his projections for the next three years of the number of such employees in each establishment;(2) if he will publish a table in the

[holding answer 27 February 1990]: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. However, the table lists the total number of Northern Ireland civil servants employed in each district council area in Northern Ireland at present and five years ago. Given the extent of change, firm projections of numbers in district council areas cannot be provided for the next three years.

Northern Ireland civil service
District council area	Staff in post
	1985	1990
Coleraine	892	816
Magherafelt	169	209
Larne	185	189
Carrickfergus	153	245
Strabane	194	175
Omagh	1,061	1,080
Moyle	67	55
Ballymoney	145	164
Fermanagh	845	716
Craigavon	987	1,041
Dungannon	271	265
Banbridge	207	209
Armagh	916	832
Ballymena	907	914
Antrim	471	493
Belfast	14,167	14,763
Ards	267	239
Castlereagh	357	866
Down	728	815
Lisburn	863	805
Derry	1,065	1,117
Newtownabbey	328	279
Cookstown	389	375
North Down	969	1,018
Limavady	220	242
Newry and Mourne	647	520

	Organisation
Merchant Banks	N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd
	Goldman, Sachs & Co (US)*
	Wood Gundy Inc (Canada)*
	Swiss Bank Corporation International Ltd (Europe)*
	Nomura International Ltd (Japan)*
Brokers	Cazenove & Co
Underwriters	N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd
	Kleinwort Benson Ltd
	Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd
	Barings Brothers & Co Ltd
	Charterhouse Bank Ltd
	County Ltd
	Robert Fleming & Co Ltd
	Hambros Bank Ltd
	Hill Samuel & Co Ltd
	Lazard Brothers & Co Ltd
	Lloyds Merchant Bank Ltd
	Samuel Montagu & Co Ltd
	Morgan Grenfell & Co Ltd
	J Henry Schroder Wagg & Co Ltd
	S G Warburg & Co Ltd
Solicitor	Slaughter and May
Tax and Accountancy	Touche Ross & Co
Multiple Applicant Investigator	Touche Ross & Co
Reporting Accountants	Price Waterhouse
Public Relations Advisers	Dewe Rogerson*
Advertising Agents	Young and Rubtcam Ltd*

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the Government's position, from energy, environmental and financial aspects, on the Severn tidal barrage.

A Severn tidal barrage is by far the largest single renewable energy project which could be built in the United Kingdom. Its average annual output would be some 17 Twh, which constitutes 7 per cent. of present electrical energy consumption in England and Wales. Before a Severn tidal barrage could go ahead, a full environmental impact assessment would need to be completed.Over the next two years some further work on the Severn barrage will be undertaken. This will include some site specific environmental work and a study of the financing issues for a barrage. The Department is presently funding generic tidal R and D in support of site specific work on the Severn, Mersey and other estuaries. The total cost of generic environmental studies completed since 1986 and currently under way amounts to £1 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list all the organisations which advised his Department on any aspect of the privatisation of British Gas giving in each case the dates of their involvement and in each case the aspect on which they advised.

The lead organisations and the role they played during privatisation of British Gas plc are listed in the table. The dates of their involvement are not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has anything to add to his announcement on 1 March about Government help for the victims of the recent flooding in the area of Towyn.

Yes. I am pleased to say that the Government have decided to increase the donation to £150,000. As I made clear on 1 March, parliamentary approval for this expenditure will be sought by means of a summer supplementary estimate. Pending this approval, the contribution will be met by a repayable advance from the contingencies fund.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the information available to him on trends during the past six years in the incidence of leukaemia, lung cancer, colon cancer and stomach cancer (a) in Wales generally and (b) in each district in Wales.

The most recently available information on the incidence rates for these illnesses is presented in the Welsh Office publication "Cancer Registration in Wales, 1974–84"; a copy of which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will respond to the Welsh Affairs Committee report "The Channel Tunnel: Implications for Wales" published on 21 June 1989.

[pursuant to the reply, 22 February 1990, c. 861.]: I am pleased to announce that the response has been published today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he now expects to make a decision on the application by Bluecoat school, Liverpool 15, to increase its entry from three forms to four forms.

My right hon. Friend still has the matter under active consideration and will come to a decision as quickly as is compatible with a full and careful consideration of all the issues involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to be able to provide Buckinghamshire county council with a detailed breakdown of the capital allocation for Buckinghamshire for 1989–90 and 1990–91, showing the amounts attributed to each project as agreed at his meeting with the chairman of Buckinghamshire county council on 5 February.

I shall be writing to the chairman of Buckinghamshire county council shortly about allocations made to Buckinghamshire LEA. I shall send a copy to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which local education authorities in the seven counties of south-west England have joined in FEAST—fun eating at school today.

The information requested is as follows:

Avon	Gloucestershire
Cornwall	Somerset
Devon	Wiltshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he plans to respond to the proposals from the London borough of Ealing for local management of schools.

The scheme for local management of schools submitted by the London borough of Ealing was approved by my right hon. Friend, with certain modifications, on 1 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what, over the last five years for which figures are available, have been the proportions of University Grants Committee-Universities Funding Council grants to universities in the United Kingdom allocated to the university of Wales.

[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1990, c. 396]: Total University Grants Committee-Universities Funding Council grants received by the university of Wales were as follows:

Academic year	Wales (£ million)	All Great Britain (£ million)	Wales as a percentage of total
1984–85	76·45	1,258·0	6·08
1985–86	76·57	1,312·0	5·84
1986–87	80·61	1,367·0	5·90
1987–88	91·99	1,482·3	6·21
1988–89	93·07	1,619·6	5·75

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any proposals to give Gibraltar total independence.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the decision on whether to rejoin UNESCO.

We are currently looking at the question of United Kingdom membership of UNESCO. As part of the process we have consulted a large number of bodies with an interest in UNESCO activities. We are now assessing their replies. Before reaching a final decision we will also take account of the forthcoming report by the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Chadian Government concerning human rights in Chad.

We have not yet made any representation to the Chadian Government on human rights abuses. The Amnesty International report of 7 March has just been received and will be given careful consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the implications of the decision of the Soviet Union to move its nuclear warhead-testing site to Novaya Zemlya for Her Majesty's Government's policy on a verifiable nuclear test ban.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the United Kingdom to sign the third United Nations conference on the law of the sea treaty; and what reasons the Government have for delaying their signature.

The United Kingdom has not signed the United Nations law of the sea convention because the deep sea bed mining regime for which it provides is unacceptable to us. Nevertheless, we participate in the preparatory commission in the hope that within the long period before mining can start a regime acceptable to all can be achieved. We see many of the other parts of UNLOSC as valuable and as reflecting current state practice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about Britain's help with military training for Namibia.

In response to a request from the president-elect, we sent a fact-finding team to Namibia in January to assess the requirements for establishing and training an army after independence. I am glad to tell the House that, following discussions with the future Government of Namibia, we have agreed to help with military training for the new Namibian defence force under the United Kingdom military training assistance scheme. We shall be assisting in the establishment of a Defence Ministry and the creation of a Namibian defence force able to carry out the tasks placed on it and sustainable in resource terms. The advance party of our military training team arrived in Namibia today, 13 March, and will start work immediately. The main body of the training team is due to arrive shortly after independence. I believe that this assistance and other help, which we as friends of Namibia are providing, are important in helping Namibia to establish itself successfully as an independent country and as the newest member of the Commonwealth.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received calling for the railway inspectorate to become the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware of only two representations since the beginning of this year, one in favour and one against such a move.As my right hon. Friend said in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin) on 27 February,

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how much British Gas is expected to contribute to the cost of constructing the Jubilee line extension;(2) how much British Urban Developments plc is expected to contribute to the construction of the Jubilee line extension.

Agreement has been reached with British Gas on behalf of its joint development on the Greenwich peninsula. It will contribute towards the cost of the Jubilee line extension cash and benefits in kind that have been evaluated by the Department and its advisers as having a present value of more than £25 million in September 1989 prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the construction of the Jubilee line extension is expected to cost if built at current Underground gauge; and how much it would cost if built to BR gauge.

The cost of building the Jubilee line extension via Greenwich is estimated at about £1,030 million at September 1989 prices. This assumes the building and equipment of the extension to current LUL gauge and specifications. No estimate has been made of the additional costs if the extension were built to BR gauge and specifications, but they would certainly be considerably greater.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will discuss with the chairman of British Rail at their next meeting the amount of debris on railway land to the west of the M1/A406 junction.

The condition of railway land is a matter for the British Railways Board, so I would recommend my

			British Rail
Year	1AR	1ER	1LMR	ScR	SR	WR	LUL	Other	Total
1979	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	43
1980	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	32
1981	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	27
1982	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	27
1983	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	28
1984	—	5	10	4	1	1	3	1	25
1985	—	4	11	3	1	4	1	1	25
1986	—	0	6	4	4	1	1	0	16
1987	—	6	3	1	5	1	0	0	16
1988	0	4	5	1	4	2	0	0	16

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the number of vehicles being driven without third party insurance cover.

In 1988, the most recent year for which figures are available, there were 208,568 findings of guilt by magistrates courts in England and Wales for using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks. I am not aware of any reliable estimate of the number of vehicles actually being used without insurance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the present number of heavy goods vehicles taxed at the 38-tonne limit; and what was the number of such vehicles registered in the past five years.

The number of heavy goods vehicles licensed at the maximum gross vehicle weight was 58,094 as at the end of December 1989. Figures for the previous five years are as follows:

	Number
1988	50,453
1987	39,928
1986	32,967
1985	26,309
1984	19,071

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by region and by year for the last 10 years the number of railway staff who have been killed during their work.

The following details, which cover all railways, are for the period 1979–88; figures for 1989 are not available. I am unable to provide a regional breakdown for the years before 1984.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make the crash barriers along Britain's motorways of sufficient height to eliminate the glare from oncoming cars at night.

The purpose of central reserve safety fences is to mitigate the risks and consequences of errant cars crossing into the opposite carriageway. Their ability to reduce or eliminate glare on most of the motorway network is incidental.A trial involving the provision of an anti-dazzle screen on top of the safety fence has been carried out on 19 km of the M6 between junctions 2 and 4. The evaluation showed that while it further reduced or eliminated glare there was no significant effect on accidents. Nonetheless, where glare has been or is identified as a serious problem because of the alignment of a particular stretch of motorway, the Department erects such a screen if it is justified on safety and financial grounds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to limit the use of the chemical Atrazine by British Rail on railway tracks.

I understand that the use of herbicides containing Atrazine is an effective way of preventing weed growth on the railway tracks. British Rail regularly review the methods used by other railway organisations and conduct trials with other methods, but has not found any other as effective.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the regional distribution of spending by his Department over the three most recent financial years.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: Two thirds of the Department of Transport's own expenditure on transport is spent on the national roads system; that expenditure can be broken down between the Department's own administrative regions, as shown in table 1·20 of "Transport Statistics Great Britain". Transport supplementary grant, though paid to local authorities rather than regions, can be broken down according to the geographical location of those authorities in DTp regions. Statistics for the three most recent available financial years are shown in the table.The balance of central Government expenditure, as shown in table 7·1 chapter 7 of the "Government's Expenditure Plans 1990–91 to 1992–93" (CM 1007) is neither planned nor controlled on a regional basis, so a comparable breakdown cannot he made.

Regional expenditure on motorway and trunk roads by DTp region
	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88
	£ million	£ million	£ million
Northern	24·0	24·5	53·1
Yorkshire and Humberside	47·6	65·1	83·1
North West	54·1	83·4	88·9
West Midlands	117·1	122·5	116·1
East Midlands	73·4	72·9	65·2
Eastern	197·2	171·2	118·6
South West	47·0	64·5	98·2
South East	136·0	86·3	183·8
London	43·8	60·3	82·2

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are the latest figures for the number of staff presently employed, and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, in the press and public relations office of his Department; and what is the proposed complement for 1990–91.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: The Department has a current complement, within its information division, of 16 posts for press and public relations, with no vacancies. The proposed complement for 1990–91 is 16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total expenditure by his Department on press and public relations in 1979–80 and in each following year; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990–91.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: The total expenditure on the Department's press and public relations office since 1984–85 is as follows:

	£
1984–85	339,426
1985–86	354,393
1986–87	363,446
1987–88	389,473
1988–89	437,950
11989–90	451,214
21990–91	480,000
1 estimate
2 budget

These figures cover the overall costs of running the press office, calculated using HM Treasury simplified ready reckoner for staff and other costs. Before 1984–85 the information division was a common service of the Departments of Transport and of the Environment and the Property Services Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by his Department in 1979–80 and in each subsequent year; and what is his estimate for 1990–91.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: The information is as follows:

Privatisation	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	11989–90	11990–91
Sale of National Bus Company Operations	—	—	—	—	—	635	324	139	38	15
British Rail Privatisation Study (Consultants' Fees)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	94	542	270
1 Estimate.
No expenditure was incurred before 1981–82.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what were the figures for the spending by his Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979–80 and in each following year; and what is his latest estimate for the current year and budget for 1990–91.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: The spending by my Department on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising, (c) newspaper advertising and (d) other promotional material in 1979–80 and in each following year is as follows:

	Television	Radio	Newspaper	Other
	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s
1979–80	4,141	62	105	1,532
1980–81	3,502	336	129	1,737
1981–82	3,615	6	410	1,457
1982–83	2,319	98	816	1,415
1983–84	4,655	22	334	1,488
1984–85	1,723	207	476	2,873
1985–86	70	858	834	4,026
1986–87	72	520	738	4,489
1987–88	2,310	50	140	3,010
1988–89	1,867	110	365	3,367
1989–90	1,930	113	332	3,189

Detailed decisions have not yet been taken on expenditure by media for 1990–91, but the overall figure is expected to be £6·6 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the likely timetable for implementation of the proposal to dual the A2 road between Lydden and Dover.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: It is too early to forecast the timing of construction of the A2 Lydden (B2060)-Dover improvement scheme which has only just entered the national trunk road programme. Detailed programmes have not yet been prepared. Meanwhile the roads report, "Trunk Roads, England—Into The 1990s", shows "Preferred Route" as the next key preparation stage, with a target date of 1993. This would be followed by detailed design work, leading to publication of formal draft order proposals under the Highways Act.The first step will be the appointment of design agents to work up options.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 1 March, Official Report, columns 279–80, what are the peak hours on the M1 between junctions 6 and 12.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: Peak hours are 0700 to 1000 southbound and 1630 to 1900 hours northbound on most weekdays, Friday afternoons in both directions and Sunday evenings southbound.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the leaflet explaining the role of the traffic commissioners and the traffic area offices promised following the Palmer report will be available; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: The Palmer report recommended that the Bus and Coach Council should be asked to draw up a code of practice on complaints from passengers, covering in particular the provision of suitable notices notifying passengers where complaints should be addressed. The Bus and Coach Council has agreed to undertake this task, in association with my Department, and work is due to begin on it shortly. I will place a copy of the code of practice in the Library when it is ready.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions and for what purpose his Department has commissioned work from Kleinwort Benson since July 1988.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: None

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration is given to resident badger populations when (a) designing and (b) constructing new roads.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: We aim, where possible, to design trunk roads to avoid interfering with badgers. Where setts or runs may be affected, advice is obtained from the Nature Conservancy Council and local wildlife trusts about steps to be taken to move the badgers or maintain their runs. Badger-proof fencing alongside the road and badger tunnels under the carriageway are provided where appropriate. There are examples on the M3, M25 and M40.Badgers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the respective Secretary of State.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the latest figures of average mean household income in Britain for retired people; what are the latest comparable figures for each European Community state; and whether he will launch a survey to calculate costs facing pensioners as against those in full employment.

Analysis of data in the 1987 family expenditure survey shows that the average pensioners' total net income in 1987 was £99–90 a week¹. There are no comparable figures available for other European Community states. We do not see a need for a survey along the lines proposed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is his estimate of the cost of paying full retirement pension regardless of contribution record to persons who were excepted from liability to pay non-employed contributions to the original national insurance scheme;(2) what is his estimate of the number of men and women who are excepted from liability to pay non-employed contributions to the national insurance scheme from 1948, who, as a result of this are now receiving a reduced retirement pension.

I regret that the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the rate of child benefit at the present time if it had been uprated with inflation since 1987.

The rate would be £8.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the amount saved by his Department in respect of unclaimed benefit in the last financial year.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Moray (Mrs. Ewing) on 7 December 1989 at column 342. Information is available only for income-related benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the advantages that will accrue to people with disabilities in 1992 on completion of the single market in relation to any benefits, goods or services they receive in respect of their disabilities; if he will list them; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom is currently included in the European Communities' second action programme in favour of disabled people called HELIOS. A major component is the development of "Handynet", a multilingual, multinational computerised database of information for people with disabilities. The first module "Handyaids" is expected to have beneficial effects by stimulating consumption production and competition. This should give rise to economies of scale, leading to a reduction in the price of products and improving their quality.As for social security, the completion of the internal market will not in itself have any effect on the situation of people with disabilities in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are in receipt of invalidity benefit; and how many of those are also in receipt of income support.

At April 1988, the latest date for which information is available, there were 1,047,500 people in receipt of invalidity benefit. Information for income support is not available for precisely the same period, but in May 1988 there were 101,705 people in receipt of both benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy that, following the introduction of the disability allowance, children under two years with attendance needs will qualify for attendance allowance after a three-month waiting period.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the uptake of family credit in (a) the Liverpool area and (b) other areas in the north-west.

The latest available information about the families receiving family credit who, at the time their award was made, were living in the areas concerned is as follows:

(a) In the areas covered by the local social security offices in Liverpool—5,600;

(b) In the areas covered by all the local social security offices in the Department of Social Security's North Western Region—56,000.

Information about the total number of families eligible for family credit can be obtained only for Great Britain, and only retrospectively, from the family expenditure survey data.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of national insurance contributors are currently benefiting from the existence of the ceiling on contributions.

It is estimated that approximately 16 per cent. of contributors have earnings in excess of the upper earnings limit for class 1 primary national insurance contributions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many employers have been tried and found guilty of fraud in respect of national insurance contributions over the last 10 years; and what was the sentence in each case.

[holding answer 8 March 1990]: In the last five years, the number of employers against whom either civil or criminal proceedings have been taken by DSS in respect of non-payment of national insurance contributions is as follows:

Year	Number of cases
1984–85	2,896
1985–86	1,272
1986–87	1,523
1987–88	1,264
1988–89	1,528

Information for earlier years is not available. It is not possible to identify the number of these cases involving fraud.

To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations she has received relating to Government action to conserve biodiversity.

I receive many representations on a wide range of subjects concerned with the environment. These include the need to conserve biodiversity, particularly in tropical forests. The further £100 million which we have allocated over the next three years to tropical forestry activities will contribute to the maintenance of biological diversity. In my speech to the United Nations General Assembly last November I indicated my support for a global convention on the environment which would help to conserve biodiversity.

To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have received regarding proposals to reduce fishing effort in the North sea demersal fisheries from 1 March 1990.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland have consulted representatives of the fishing industry about the measures necessary to reduce fishing for North sea haddock in 1990 by 30 per cent. and they have taken careful account of the representations that they have received., The decision on the necessary measures was announced on 8 March at column 855.

To ask the Prime Minister what progress is being made towards fulfilling the Government's conditions for joining the exchange rate mechanism of the European monetary system; and if she will make a statement.

There has been significant progress on capital liberalisation, in competition policy and liberalisation of financial services, but further important decisions have yet to be taken. Further progress is needed to get inflation down.

To ask the Prime Minister what has been the number of letters sent to her by London residents (a) supporting and (b) opposing the London assessment studies; and if she will make a statement.

I have received several letters from residents of various parts of London. I have passed them on to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, who will consider them alongside the other comments he has received.

To ask the Prime Minister what is her policy on the use of Her Majesty's Government's armed services to guarantee the existing borders of Poland.

We have no such policy. We are committed to fulfil Britain's collective defence obligations arising from the North Atlantic and modified Brussels treaties within the areas covered by these treaties. We are also committed to the principles set out in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, including the inviolability of frontiers. The question of Poland's borders needs to be finally settled by a binding treaty instrument. We welcome the Federal German Government's intention to reaffirm the inviolability of Poland's borders.

To ask the Prime Minister how many representations she has received from British investors in South Africa supporting the lifting of sanctions.

A number.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has received any communications from President de Klerk following the release of Nelson Mandela.

We are in frequent contact with the South African Government at all levels on a wide range of issues, both here and through Her Majesty's ambassador.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will seek to persuade the South African Government to allow the free flow of funds from outside South Africa to the United Democratic Front.

I understand that there are no impediments to the flow of funds from outside South Africa to the United Democratic Front.

To ask the Prime Minister what methods it is her policy to use to facilitate the abolition of apartheid in South Africa; and if she will make a further statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence) on 7 March at column 692.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations the Government has made to South Africa about its activities in Mozambique; and if she will make a statement.

The South African Government have publicly declared that neither they nor the South African defence force are providing support for Renamo and that South Africa is committed to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. The South African Government are in no doubt of our views about the territorial integrity of neighbouring states.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 March.

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 13 March.

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. This evening I hope to have an Audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to confer on the Loch Lomond area the status of a national park.

There no such plans at present. The designation of the area as a regional park was confirmed by the Secretary of State in April 1988 and it would therefore be appropriate to allow this new arrangement to be developed.The Government will however carefully consider any proposals from the Countryside Commission for Scotland following its review of the management of popular mountain areas.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the number of people in Scotland who have had their property confiscated as a result of not paying the community charge.

Information as to the number of poindings and warrant sales undertaken in respect of community charge arrears is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students will be grant or loan funded by the Scottish Office in 1990–91 as against 1989–90.

For session 1990–91, the estimated number of students who will be assisted by the Scottish Education Department is 66,000. The latest available figure for session 1989–90 is 66,024. The number of eligible students who will take advantage of the loans facility in session 1990–91 is estimated at 52,600.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what will be the expenditure by the Scottish Office in 1990–91 (a) on student grants and (b) on student loans.

The information is as follows:

(a) £163·6 million

(b) £15·7 million

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been allocated in the Scottish Office budget for 1990–91 to meet the cost of balloting parents and preparing proposals for self-governing status in schools, and for transitional and special purpose grants to any schools which become self-governing in 1990–91.

Forecast expenditure of £300,000 has been included in financial plans for 1990–91. Actual provision will be published in the supply estimates for 1990–91 to be laid before the House shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what will be the cost of the assisted places scheme in 1990–91; and what it was in 1989–90.

The estimated cost of the scheme in the current school year is £6·8 million. Planned expenditure in the 1990–91 school year is £7·8 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning the funding of the Red Deer Commission; and if he will make a statement.

The report of the Agriculture Committee on land use and forestry recommended that the commission should be given the powers and resources necessary to achieve a programmed reduction in the open hill population of red deer. The Government's response to the Committee's report is currently being considered.My right hon. and learned Friend has also recently received the Red Deer Commission's annual report for 1988, which comments on the resources available to the commission. The annual budget for the commission's work is determined within the normal public expenditure procedures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received the report of the management consultants who were appointed to review health education in Scotland; and if he will make a statement on the position of coronary heart disease prevention in Scotland.

Touche Ross Management Consultants submitted their report on health education in Scotland on 21 December. A copy of their report has been placed in the Library.The consultants have produced a comprehensive study and detailed recommendations which will require careful consideration. In the light of their proposals, the Government intend to take the following steps:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was or is planned to be spent on city technology academies in 1988–89, 1989–90 and 1990–91.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: There was no expenditure on technology academies in 1988–89. In the current financial year, following the appointment of a project director in March 1989, around £100,000 has so far been spent, on salary costs, professional fees for site assessments and so on, and travel and office costs. Planned expenditure for 1990–91 is £3·3 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances the Treasury indemnifies private undertakings for their negligence; and if he will list the undertakings so protected.

As a general rule the Government do not indemnify private undertakings for their negligence.However, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Health and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales have, with the agreement of the Treasury, issued to certain water undertakers (i) statutory indemnities under section 172 of the Water Act 1989 and (ii) non-statutory indemnities in accordance with minutes laid before Parliament on 23 November 1989. These indemnities cover liabilities incurred by the water undertakers concerned in connection with the addition of fluoride to the water they supply. The indemnities specifically exclude any liabilities, costs, expenses or expenditure incurred in respect of any criminal proceedings.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what interest rate and for what amount the loan was given by the European Investment Bank in respect of the Channel tunnel; and when it will be fully paid back.

The European Investment Bank approved a loan of £1 billion in 1987 in respect of the Channel tunnel. The loan will primarily be at fixed interest rates and for a range of maturities of up to 25 years. The terms will reflect prevailing market conditions. Because the loan will be drawn down through a series of finance contracts phased over seven years, and not all the loan has been drawn yet, it is impossible to say at this stage when the loan will be fully paid back.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Government have underwritten or offered guarantees on the European Investment Bank's loans to the Channel tunnel promoters.

No.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will name the United Kingdom representative directors on the European Investment Bank board and the number of meetings each has attended in each of the years they have been directors.

The United Kingdom has three full-time representative directors on the European Investment Bank board—Mr. H. P. Evans from Her Majesty's Treasury, Miss E. Llewellyn-Smith from the Department of Trade and Industry and Mr. A. J. O. Ritchie from the Union Discount Co. plc. The number of meetings each has attended in each of the years they have been directors is:

	Years	Attendance
Mr. H. P. Evans	1989	2 meetings
Appointed in October 1989	1990	1 meeting
Miss E. Llewellyn-Smith	1987	4 meetings

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what loans or guarantees were given to United Kingdom projects by the European Investment Bank since 1979, with the amount in each case.

The total amount of loans given by the European Investment Bank to United Kingdom projects in each year since 1979 is as follows:

	£ million
1979	553·3
1980	417·3
1981	139·5
1982	273·8
1983	410·7
1984	547·0
1985	660·1
1986	873·8
1987	801·3
1988	790·2
1989	1,084·3

The European Investment Bank only rarely guarantees loans within the Community. As a general rule the guarantees on the bank's loans are provided by member states' Governments, public authorities or first-class financial institutions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will express the current level of corporation tax in the United Kingdom as a percentage of gross domestic product and provide comparable figures for other European Community countries and the United States of America.

On the first part of the question I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for

Stamp duty yield attributable to residential property and average house prices
	1985–86		1986–87		1987–88		1988–89
Region	Stamp duty yield	Average house price	Stamp duty yield	Average house price	Stamp duty yield	Average house price	Stamp duty yield	Average house price
	£ million	£	£ million	£	£ million	£	£ million	£
North	5	22,754	10	25,058	15	23,132	15	30,667
Yorkshire and Humberside	10	23,756	15	25,928	25	28,417	40	34,805
East Midlands	15	25,863	20	29,171	30	33,138	55	43,272
East Anglia	15	32,549	15	26,546	35	45,611	45	61,310
South East	145	46,392	205	57,102	295	68,093	360	80,249
Greater London	105	42,002	150	50,061	210	60,339	250	76,999
SouthWest	40	34,261	60	39,811	95	46,713	125	61,985
West Midlands	20	26,386	25	28,810	40	33,873	60	45,179
North West	15	25,654	20	28,072	35	29,989	50	35,583
Wales	5	25,333	10	27,502	15	30,210	25	36,007
Scotland	20	27,260	30	28,115	30	29,428	40	32,031
Northern Ireland		23,513		26,749		28,094		30,335
Total	400		570		820		1,065