to ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what safeguards he is proposing to put in place to ensure that the provisions of section 105(5) of the Education Reform Act requiring capital repayments on discontinuance or change of character of a CTC or CCTA will continue to have effect after termination of the agreement with the Secretary of State and subsequent continuation on a fee-paying basis of the school in the same buildings, and so on.

Paragraphs 54 to 59 of the model funding agreement between my right hon. Friend and a city technology college/city college for the technology of

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Devon, North of 12 March, Official Report, column 63, if he will list the programmes of technical training and education which are being funded over the next three years in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.

The information requested is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about the level of parental contributions to the fees of pupils in the assisted places scheme in 1990–91.

Subject to parliamentary approval, the parental contribution scales will be adjusted upwards for the school year 1990–91 as set out in the table. Total parental contributions for families with four or more assisted pupils will be limited to the amounts payable at any given level of income by parents supporting three assisted pupils.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if non-United Kingdom consortiums will be allowed to bid for the new Severn bridge infrastructure project; and if he will make a statement.

Applications from consortia wishing to bid for the second Servern bridge project were invited in December 1988. There was no restriction on the nationality of bidders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to introduce provisions whereby blind people travelling within the EEC by any form of transport will be allowed a travelling companion to accompany them free of charge.

Such provisions already exist for rail travel and, in some cases, for ferries in countries within the European Community. Concessionary schemes on other forms of public transport, where they exist, are of national or local application only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions exist in the EEC enabling blind people travelling by rail across internal EEC national boundaries to be accompanied by a sighted companion free of charge; and if he will make a statement.

Reciprocal rail travel concessions for blind people are available between member states of the European Community. These allow a companion to travel free of charge with a blind person who has purchased a ticket (subject to some restrictions on the type of ticket).

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now introduce legislation to make it mandatory for local authorities to provide a uniform concessionary free bus scheme for those aged over 60 years in their area; and if he will make a statement.

Local authorities are best placed to decide what is appropriate for their area, and they already have powers to provide concessionary fares on local bus services for those of state pensionable age.We have no plans to interfere with these arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give consideration to a special scheme for compensation for damage to farmers and horticulturalists arising from the storm and floods in February.

The Government do not normally compensate for losses which are insurable or which are the result of weather abnormalities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to advise health and social services boards that intrusive or inquisitive questions irrelevant to the requirements of the post should not be put to candidates in interviews.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: We should be grateful for information of any specific complaint.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what guidance he has issued to health and social services boards regarding the information which they require from applicants for medical staff appointments and research fellowships; what guidance his Department issues as to whether health and social services boards should require from applicants information on the primary school attended;(2) what information he has as to the inclusion by health and social services boards of questions as to the primary school which a person may have attended in application procedures for medical staff appointments and research fellowships.

[holding answer 12 March 1990] : None. As a result of the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, health and social services boards in Northern Ireland are required to monitor the religious composition of all those who apply to fill vacancies for employment.Monitoring must be carried out in accordance with regulations made under the Act and guidance on the provisions is contained in the code of practice issued by the Department of Economic Development and which came into operation on 31 December 1989. Copies of the code have been made available to each health and social services board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the figures recently supplied to him by the Ulster Farmers Union on the financial position in relation to the finishing of beef cattle in Northern Ireland during last winter and the present winter.

[holding answer 13 March 1990] : The figures supplied by the Ulster Farmers Union were extracted from "Farm Business Data 1989" which was published by the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland in May 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he intends to take to improve the financial returns to the finishers of beef cattle in Northern Ireland in respect of cattle finishers during the present winter season.

[holding answer 13 March 1990]: The Government are seeking a substantial devaluation of the United Kingdom green pound in the context of this year's price-fixing round. We have sought to optimise beef intervention in Northern Ireland in recent months.Substantial tonnages of beef have been taken off the market recently. This should help to raise producer prices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trainees entered the nursing profession in 1989; how many nurses are at present employed by the National Health Service; and what is the estimated number of nurses necessary to staff the National Health Service.

20,877 people entered pre-registration nurse training in England during the year ended 31 March 1989. At 30 September 1988, the latest date for which this information is available, there were 241,800 (whole-time equivalent) qualified nurses and midwives employed in the National Health Service in England. The planning and setting of staffing levels is a matter for individual health authorities. Decisions on appropriate levels of staff must be based on local needs and priorities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to issue guidelines to National Health Service employees with private practice interests in potential competition with their work in income-generating departments in the National Health Service.

As I stated in reply to the hon. Member on 5 February, at column 489, we are currently considering whether further guidance is needed in this field.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision is being made for independent inspection units as proposed in the White Paper "Caring for People".

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of progress in implementation of his plans for independent inspection units proposed in the White Paper "Caring for People".

I refer my hon. Friends to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr. Carttiss) on 24 January at column 714.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) individual patients and (b) families are on waiting lists for admission for in-patient psychotherapy treatment (i) in the North West Thames region and (ii) nationally.

Information about the numbers of patients awaiting specific types of treatment is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any proposal for the Cassel hospital, Richmond, to become a self-governing hospital trust.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will introduce a standard set of guidelines in relation to the clinical grading structure for nurses;(2) if he will issue a standard set of guidelines agreed by both management and unions on the clinical grading structure for nurses; and if he will include a provision that Macmillan nursing sisters be on grade H.

The grading definitions in the clinical structure introduced in 1988, and any joint guidance relating to them, are a matter for the Nursing and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council. Following prolonged discussions, it was not possible to reach agreement on such guidance between the staff and management sides of the council. It is for health authorities to decide how particular posts should be graded, including those occupied by Macmillan nursing sisters, in the light of the grading definitions agreed by the council, the management guidance which has been issued, and the specifications of the particular post.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will take steps to establish a timetable for negotiations for those still appealing at district or regional level to deal with the cases of nurses throughout the country who are still awaiting appeals into their grading;(2) if he will take steps to speed up the grading appeals process into the new clinical grading structure for nurses.

The procedures for handling NHS appeals are a matter for the General Whitley Council, not Ministers. Health authorities are making efforts to operate the appeals process as quickley as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the current staff vacancy levels and staff turnover rates for the pathology MLSO grades in the National Health Service.

We do not hold this information centrally. At 30 September 1988, the latest date for which data are available, there were 15,180 (whole-time equivalent) medical laboratory scientific officers (including unqualified grades) in post in the NHS in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the aims of the income generation unit, together with the costs of its operation and details of its staffing levels.

The unit's aims are to develop policy on income generation; provide a central source of advice on this for health authorities and the private sector; assist health authorities to develop and implement income generation projects; monitor their achievements; and disseminate information and good practice.The income generation unit's running costs in 1989–90 will be approximately £152,200. This is calculated using the average salaries, plus on-costs for accommodation, office services, travel etc. for each staff grade in the unit. In addition, almost £35,000 will be paid for outside consultancy work resulting in operational costs for the unit of approximately £187,200 in 1989–90.Current staffing levels for the income generation unit are 0·5 grade 5, 2 grade 7s, 1 higher executive officer, 1 executive officer and 0·5 administrative officer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many, and what representations he has received from general practitioners in south Yorkshire about the proposed changes in the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement.

We have received a number of representations from a wide variety of sources. Many ask questions, and many are in favour of some or all of our proposals. Others comment only on specific elements. However, it is not possible to distinguish them in the way the hon. Member requests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the latest waiting list figures within the Trent regional health authority for persons (a) waiting more than one month for an urgent operation, (b) waiting more than one year for non-urgent operations and (c) awaiting out-patient consultations.

Following the implementation of the recommendations of the steering group on Health Service information (the Korner committee), starting in April 1987, no distinction is now made between urgent and non-urgent cases since the committee regarded such distinction as unreliable. On 31 March 1989, there were 54,870 patients on surgical specialty waiting lists in the Trent regional health authority of whom 20 per cent. had been waiting more than one year. No information is held centrally on numbers awaiting out-patient appointments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest figure for hospital waiting lists in the Trent regional health authority; and what it was for each of the last five years.

The information requested is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has as to how many local authorities are closing down part III accommodation for the elderly and transferring residents to private homes and as to the number of such local authority homes closed in the last five years.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of private patients using pay beds in the Trent regional health authority; and what was the corresponding figure for each year since 1980.

The information requested is given in the table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are delivering care in their communities; and what further measures he is taking to improve co-ordination between all the various agencies involved.

The White Paper "Caring for People", the proposals of which are currently before the House in the NHS and Community Care Bill, made it clear that local authorities will have to draw up and publish plans for community care services. Those plans will have to be open to inspection by the social services inspectorate. Directions and guidance concerning personal social services will be issued to local authorities to help ensure the proper delivery of community care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by district and regional health authority the location of each regional specialist unit carrying out cardiothoracic surgery; what was the number of patients treated in 1987–88 and 1988–89 in each; and what was the total annual expenditure incurred by each of these units in dealing with their annual patient load for each year.

[holding answer 6 March 1990]: The number of cases treated by specialists in cardiothoracic surgery for the years requested are shown as follows by district health authority. The hospitals named in the second column are those where a specialist cardiothoracic unit is located. Activity in a district may not be confined to the specialist unit.Information on expenditure by individual specialities within hospitals is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements will be made for inner-city funded posts under the new local government finance arrangement (a) for posts within the first three years' funding and (b) for posts for which funding will end during the next financial year.

The new local government finance arrangements will have no effect either on posts currently funded by urban programme revenue grant or on the freedom of local authorities to choose to continue funding those posts when grant aid expires.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the increase in the commercial rate for Bournemouth between 1979 and 1989 in real terms.

The increase in the commercial rate for Bournemouth between 1979 and 1989, in real terms, was 9·4 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to bring forward legislation to ensure that private landlords reduce rate-inclusive rents by an appropriate amount with the introduction of the poll tax on 1 April.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 8 February (Offical Report, Vol. 166 column 756).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his best estimates of the amount that private landlords will gain when tenants pay rate-inclusive rents with the introduction of the poll tax on 1 April; and if he will make a statement.

I have made no such estimate. Most tenants paying rates-inclusive rents can ensure that they do not continue to pay the rates element after 1 April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he has given to the position of YTS trainees with special training needs endorsements and their liability for the poll tax.

The position of YTS trainees with special needs endorsements is similar to that of other YTS trainees. They receive the same allowances and may in addition be paid wages by the employer with whom they are placed. Virtually all non-employed trainees, and a proportion of employed trainees, would be entitled to community charge benefit where their income is low.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will reproduce in the Official Report the mathematical calculation of the assumed personal community charge of £227·69 per head in Tonbridge and Mailing for the purpose of the transitional relief scheme.

The assumed personal community charge of £227·69 in Tonbridge and Malling for the purpose of the transitional relief scheme was calculated in accordance with the formula in paragraph 2.2 of the Community Charge Transitional Relief Report (England). The relevant figures are:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state for each charging authority in Kent the percentage amount by which its assumed personal community charge for the purpose of the transitional relief scheme is less than the average assumed community charge of £278 per head.

The table shows the percentage amount by which the assumed personal community charge for each charging authority in Kent for the purpose of the transitional relief scheme is less than the community charge for standard spending of £278:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list for each London borough (a) the amount levied per head of its adult population for the precept of the Metropolitan police; (b) the relevant borough community charge; and (b) as a percentage of (a).

[holding answer 14 March 1990] : This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what information he has on the proportions of housing association schemes which are represented by (a) rehabilitation work and (b) purchases of new-build schemes from builders; and whether there has been any change in each proportion over the past two years;(2) what is the percentage reduction in rehabilitation work undertaken by the Housing Corporation in 1989–90 in the south-west.

Relevant information available to the Secretary of State is set out in the table. It shows housing association rehabilitation work as a proportion of the Housing Corporation's programme of new approvals nationally and in its west region.No comparable information is currently available on the number of new-build schemes purchased by housing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether a planning application which concerns land falling within more than one local planning authority's area constitutes one of more than local importance.

Not necessarily. In any event, a development proposal falling in the area of more than one local planning authority would require more than one planning application.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether a planning application which gives rise to objections on the ground that an European Community directive or international treaty is likely to be breached constitutes one which raises issues of greater than local importance in the context of criteria for call-in of planning applications under section 35 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971;(2) whether a planning application which gives rise to objections on the ground that an European Community directive or international treaty might be breached constitutes one where the interests of foreign Governments are involved.

Whether to call in a planning application for the Secretary of State's decision is a matter of judgment to be exercised in each case against the criteria to which the hon. Lady refers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether a planning application which threatens irreversible damage to all or part of a site of special scientific interest constitutes one which might conflict with national policy on important matters;(2) whether a planning application which threatens irreversible damage to all or part of a site of special scientific interest constitutes one which raises issues of greater than local importance in the context of criteria for call-in of planning applications under section 35 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

Such a threat might conflict with national policy on an important matter, and would be a material consideration in deciding whether to call in a

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether national planning policies relating to the determination of planning applications affecting sites of special scientific interest apply within the geographical area known as the Serplan East Thames Corridor Initiative.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether it remains his policy that it would not, in general, be acceptable for one area of a site of special scientific interest to be traded off in exchange for the protection of the rest; and if he will make a statement.

Planning authorities are advised to consider each case on its merits in accordance with the guidance in departmental circulars and policy guidance notes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review Tameside safety net grant for the community charge and the effect of the housing revenue account contributions being used twice.

Before making the Revenue Support Grant Report (England) 1990–91 and the other reports associated with the 1990–91 settlement, which were approved by the House on 18 January, my right hon. Friend considered all the representations he had received including those on Tameside's safety net grant and the effect of the housing revenue account contributions. He is satisfied that his decisions on the 1990–91 settlement are fair and reasonable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the Association of County Councils; and what matters were discussed.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met the Association of County Councils on 26 February. The Association of District Councils and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities were also present. They discussed environmental matters.

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

The Department of the Environment does not own any houses in the Manchester area. There are, however, three flats held for the Lord Chancellor's Department, of which one, a caretaker's flat in Manchester Crown court, is vacant. Due to improvements in the Crown court security system there is no longer a need for a caretaker, but as the flat has no separate access it is not possible to offer it on the open market.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the advice issued by his Department to destrict councils on the awarding of grants under the procedure introdure by the Local Government and Housing Act for the processing of applications for the county council to fit stairlifts.

We are considering the final form of our advice to local housing authorities on stairlifts in the light of reponses from organisations consulted on the draft circular, "House Adaptations for Disabled People". We shall issue this before the new disabled facilities grant arrangements come into operation on 1 July.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what would be the administrative cost of introducing a system of local income tax in place of the community charge.

I have no estimate of what the cost would be of introducing a local income tax. However, I believe that the cost of collecting such a tax would be up to twice the cost of collecting the community charge.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines his Department issues to local authorities in providing support for widowers of working age with young families in the immediate bereavement period and later.

[holding answer 5 March 1990]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security on 5 March [Official Report, column 533].

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans Her Majesty's Government have to ban raw sewage outflow and sewage sludge from being dumped into the Irish sea.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: The announcement my right hon. Friend made on 5 March, set out in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. French) (Official Report, Volume 168, column 452) on the elimination of all significant discharges of untreated sewage and the termination of sewage sludge dumping by the end of 1998, applies to all UK coastal waters including the Irish sea.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on Sunday trading in the past six months.

In the past six months, 111 written representations have been received. Of these, 65 have been broadly in favour and 46 against.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on his consideration of the new material submitted to him on the Birmingham Six.

My right hon. and learned Friend is still considering very carefully the further material presented to him by a solicitor on behalf of the six men, and will decide as soon as possible whether it justifies any intervention on his part.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes now operate in England and Wales.

At the end of December 1989 there were estimated to be over 81,000 neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales, covering more than 4 million households.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the practice of obtaining psychiatric reports on prisoners held on remand.

A court requiring medical advice on a defendant's mental condition may remand that person to prison for a report. The Government encourage the use of other means of obtaining such reports including bail or remand to hospital where custody is not necessary in the public interest.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure he has incurred in the production and distribution of the official pamphlet "Victim's Charter".

The cost of the design, printing and distribution of the charter were £26,284.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information he has about the ownership of real estate and other assets in the United Kingdom by members of the former communist Administrations in (a) East Germany, (b) Romania, (c) Bulgaria and ( d) Czechoslovakia;(2) what information he has about the ownership of real estate and other assets in the United Kingdom by members of the present communist Administrations in

Such information is not held by my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Sunset Radio and the future of ethnic minority broadcasting in Manchester.

Sunset Radio was the first of the IBA's "incremental" radio contractors to begin broadcasting. It opened on 22 October 1989, six months after being awarded the contract. It broadcasts on 102·0 MHz (VHF/FM) for 24 hours a day, serving a number of ethnic minority communities within the Manchester area. I understand that some internal reorganisation has taken place recently; this is a matter for the station itself, under overall IBA supervision.The Broadcasting Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in December 1989, paves the way for further expansion of independent radio. The new Radio Authority will be able to offer licences for many more local stations catering for a range of listeners' tastes and interests, including services for ethnic minorities. The location of the services will depend on demand and the availability of suitable frequencies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of prisoners in each prison in England and Wales who were employed in prison workshops or kitchens on 5 March.

Information is not collected in precisely the form requested. The average daily number of inmates employed in prison workshops and kitchens during the week ending 27 January, the most recent period for which complete information is available, was as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the percentage of prison officers and other prison staff who have been vaccinated against hepatitis B.

[holding answer 9 March 1990] : No central record detailing this information is maintained. The prison service's present policy is to make available hepatitis B preventive vaccination on request to all staff who routinely come into contact with prisoners.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the level of capital investment in the North sea in 1989; and what are the prospects for 1990.

Capital investment in the production of the United Kingdom's oil and gas in 1989 was £2·6 billion (provisional), an increase of well over 20 per cent. on the level achieved in 1988. The industry has indicated that capital investment in 1990 could reach a massive £3·7 billion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the total value, in the latest available year, of national subsidies paid to the nuclear industry in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) the Federal Republic of Germany and (c) France.

The Government have paid no subsidies to the electricity industry in the United Kingdom in respect of nuclear generation, nor have they paid any subsidies to British Nuclear Fuels. I have no information on Government subsidies to the nuclear industries in the other countries mentioned.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, what is the estimated value of Sudbury house and Bankside power station.

The estimated value of these sites is commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what scale of guarantees are needed to prevent Nuclear Electric from trading while insolvent.

On 6 March I laid before the House a minute which set out my intention to provide a letter of assurance to Nuclear Electric plc.As my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Mr. Baldry) explained in an answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 26 February

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department was consulted about the allocation of (a) Sudbury house and (b) Bankside power station to Nuclear Electric plc.

I took the decision that Sudbury house and Bankside power station should be allocated to Nuclear Electric.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth of 13 March on information on cancer in Wales, for what reason no figures for the incidence in Wales of (a) leukaemia, (b) lung cancer, (c) colon cancer and (d) stomach cancer are available for any year since 1984; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 15 March.