To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the cost of educating a science student to Ph.D. level in a university in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Japan, (c) the United States of America, (d) Scandinavia and (e) the countries of the European Community.

The data requested are not available by subject and level of course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the figure for 1990–91 for planned capital expenditure for universities in the public expenditure White Paper, Cm. 1011, is on a basis consistent with that for polytechnics and colleges.

I regret that the figures for planned capital expenditure by the Universities Funding Council in table 11.1 of the public expenditure White Paper (Cm. 1011) are not shown on a consistent basis for each year. Figures on a consistent basis are shown in the following table. The percentage increase in planned capital expenditure in 1990–91 is broadly the same for each sector of higher education.

£ million
	1988–89	1989–90		1990–91
Universities
Funding
Council
Capital	141	139	152	(175)
Current	1,585	1,713	1,685	(1,661)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that his Department has budgeted to spend in the current year.

This Department spent £685,000 on computer and management consultancies in the 1989–90 financial year and has budgeted for £540,000 for 1990–91. Contracts awarded in 1989–90 were as follows:

• Peat Marwick McLintock—Financial management survey of SERC

• Peat Marwick McLintock—Student loans
• Price Waterhouse—Student loans
• PAS Limited—Parent awareness survey
• Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte—Financial computer system consultancy
• Peat Marwick McLintock—Financial computer system consultancy
• SCOLL—IT Specialist productivity
• FI Group—Grants payments system
• BIS—CRAMM Reviews
• Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte—Network security
• LBMS—INGRES
• Digitus—Desk Top Publishing
• Fernhart—Service Desk
• Butler Cox—Further Education Statistical Records
• BIS—Telecommunications Darlington
• Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte—Mainframe replacement
• Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte—Financial system testing
• ICL—CRIS-F Report writing
• CMG—Data modelling
• BIS—Data collection and electronic data interchange

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when he first received the draft of the final report of the history working party;(2) when he first received the final report of the history working party;(3) on what dates in the last year he has met Commander Saunders Watson, chairman of the history working party;(4) when he expects to publish the final report of the history working party.

My right hon. Friend saw a draft of the history working group's report just before Christmas, and received the final report on 31 January. He will publish it soon. He met Commander Saunders Watson on 4 August last year and 10 January this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the average pension paid to head teachers who retired in 1989; and what was the average pension received by head teachers who retired in (a) 1979 and (b) 1969;(2) what is the value at current prices of the average pension received by lecturers in higher education on their retirement in

[pursuant to his reply, 26 March 1990, c. 35-36]: The average rate of pension paid to teachers, head teachers and lecturers who retired in 1989 was as follows:

	£
Teachers	5,010
Head teachers	8,460
Lecturers	5,990

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list, for each of the years 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, the number of temporary traffic regulation orders made by local authorities under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to restrict or prohibit the use of footpaths or bridleways for which he gave consent under section 15(2) of that Act for an extension of the period for which the order was in force.

Temporary traffic orders affecting footpaths and bridleways are not separately identified from those affecting road traffic and no records are kept.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the infertility services provided by each health authority in Wales.

Information on infertility services provided by health authorities is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he proposes to charge-cap any Welsh local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

I will decide whether to introduce community charge limitation in Wales in 1990–91 in the light of my consideration of Welsh authorities' expenditure plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the rules he intends to use for poll tax-capping in Wales.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give details of the number of additional staff employed to administer the community charge in Wales (a) in total, (b) by county council and (c) by district council.

This information is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the present pupil-teacher ratio for (a) primary and (b) post primary schools in Wales.

At January 1989, pupil-teacher ratio was 22·3 for primary schools and 15·4 for secondary schools.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what are the figures provided to him by each health authority in Wales in respect of (a) the authority's own estimate of the shortfall due to inflation in 1989–90 and (b) the figure by which each authority estimates it is underfunded for 1990–91.

My right hon. Friend and I have seen copies of reports from the treasurers of district health authorities in Wales to their chairmen's committee concerning the financial position of Welsh DHAs generally in the current financial year and their projections for 1990–91. These reports give estimates of shortfalls in funding in both years on the basis of estimates of inflation and other financial pressures. However, they fail to take account of the resources to be released to supplement allocations through the attainment of targets for cost improvements and income generation. They therefore understate the resources available to authorities to meet the financial pressures which they face. So long as minimum cost improvement and income generation targets are achieved—which should be possible in any well-managed authority—allocations in both years should be more than sufficient to meet these financial pressures.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total amount spent by the Welsh Development Agency in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by the Welsh Development Agency in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that the Welsh Development Agency has budgeted to spend in the current year.

The Welsh Development Agency has spent £139,534 on the following consultancy contracts in 1989:

Company	Assignment
Ernst and Young	Documentation for users of new computer systems and advice on implementing new systems.
P J Sullivan	Development of integrated data bases from existing computer systems.
Beaufort Research	Monitoring effectiveness of Agency marketing campaign in Wales
Numbers Research	Monitoring effectiveness of Agency marketing campaign outside of Wales.
Taylor Nelson	Monitoring effectiveness of Agency food initiative marketing campaign.
BJM	Customer attitudes monitoring.

The agency estimates that £150,000 will be spent on such contracts in 1990.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of people in each health authority area in Wales who have been affected adversely by the use of myodil in connection with X-ray tests.

I shall write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my reply in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1989 on management and computer contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that his Department has budgeted to spend in the current year.

My Department spent £618,000 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases, in the financial year 1989–90.Contracts placed with private sector firms and companies for management and computer consultancies during 1989–90 were:

Consultants	Subject
Price Waterhouse	Advice on, and implementation of, databases related to North Sea oil and gas activity.
KPG	Transfer of data from magnetic tape to optical disk.
J. P. Kenny	Advice on electronic storage of petroleum maps.
BIS	Advice on local area networks for computers.
Businessland	Advice on data communication links.
Specialist Services	Development of industrial capabilities
Scotland	database for the Offshore Supplies Office
Oracle (UK) Ltd	Development of a database for recording offshore safety incidents.
Saxton Bampfylde	Recruitment consultants for chairman of North Western Electricity Board.
Russell Reynolds	Recruitment consultants for chairman of National Power.
TDA Consulting group Ltd.	Management training.
Jonathan Coates and Associates	Management training.
TFC Ltd.	Management training.
Brewster Computer Training Ltd.	IT training.
FI Word Processing Services Ltd.	IT training.
PST Ltd.	IT training.

My Department has budgeted to spend an estimated £750,000 on management and computer consultancy in the financial year 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list all the current fora in which east-west disarmament talks are taking place.

NATO and the Warsaw pact are negotiating on conventional armed forces in Europe in Vienna, and at the open skies conference due to resume in Budapest next month; and (together with the neutral and non-aligned countries) on confidence and security-building measures in Vienna. Forty nations take part in the chemical weapons talks at the conference on disarmament in Geneva. The United States and the Soviet Union are negotiating on START and on nuclear testing, also in Geneva.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there is likely to be a conference on security and co-operation in Europe this year.

A meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the CSCE participating states is likely to be held in the course of this year. The CSCE intersessional meetings for 1990 agreed at the Vienna follow-up meeting will also take place.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department achieved the target of a 5 per cent. saving in purchasing costs in 1988–89 through use of the central unit on purchasing.

Yes. In 1988–89, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office achieved purchasing savings of 9·1 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the United States of America to restore normal relations with Cuba; and if he will make a statement.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request the Nigerian authorities to expedite the issue of temporary employment visas for United Kingdom nationals carrying out duties in Nigeria with a stay of less than 90 days.

Under Nigerian rules, applications for temporary employment visas have to be referred to Nigeria for decision. We regularly press the Nigerian authorities to reduce delays to a minimum, and have been able to help with some individual cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the elections in the German Democratic Republic.

We welcome the recent elections in the GDR, which all observers consider to have been free and fair. We look forward to developing relations with the new Government once formed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy towards self-determination in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

We have never recognised de jure the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the Soviet Union in 1940. We recognise the right of the Baltic peoples to say what their own future should be.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards political developments in (a) Lithuania, (b) Estonia and (c) Latvia.

We support the right of the Baltic peoples to decide their own future, and have welcomed the considerable progress made in the past two years.Against the background of recent developments we now think it vital that the dialogue between the Soviet authorities and the Lithuanians should continue. We attach particular importance to the repeated statements by the Soviet leadership that there is no question of use of force.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet leaders of the Sajudis Popular Front of Lithuania.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans for any such meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the political situation in (a) Lithuania, (b) Estonia and (c) Latvia.

The Soviet Union is well aware of our view that the Baltic peoples should be enabled to determine their own future. We have made clear to the Russians our concern about the situation in Lithuania and our firm view that continued dialogue between the Soviet authorities and the Lithuanians is essential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made by the Baltic states to the British Government concerning the Baltic gold deposited for safekeeping with the Bank of England at the outbreak of the war.

The criteria which we apply to the recognition of a state are explained in the answer which the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, West (Mr. Waldegrave) gave to a question by the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 19 March. It would be open to the Government of any future independent state in Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania to make representations on the subject of gold deposits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department has considered an application for an exhibition relating to Buchenwald concentration camp to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall.

I understand that, under procedures agreed by the Services Committee, arrangements have been made with the authorities of the House for the exhibition to be held in the Upper Waiting Hall from 11 to 15 June.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that his Department has budgeted to spend in the current year.

We estimate that our expenditure in the financial year 1989–90 on management and computer consultancy will be:

	£
Management consultancy	232,100
Computer consultancy	1,691,710

Individual contracts awarded during the year were:

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the number of cases where the Crown prosecution service has failed to prosecute when a coroner's court has brought in a verdict of unlawful killing during the last five years.

The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Attorney-General what was the total amount spent by his Department in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by his Department in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that his Department has budgeted to spend in the current year.

No expenditure on management and computer consultancy contracts was incurred by the legal secretariat to the Law Officers in 1989–90, and no such expenditure is expected by the Treasury Solicitor's Department. In 1989–90 the Crown prosecution service spent £550,000 on management and computer consultancy contracts, while the Serious Fraud Office estimates its expenditure to be nil in respect of management consultancy contracts, but £213,000 in respect of computer consultancy contracts in 1989–90. The contracts awarded by the Crown prosecution service in 1989–90 were as follows:

PA Management Consultants—staffing model development study,

The Human Science and Advanced Technology Research Centre, Loughborough University—evaluation of the use of information technology to present evidence in court,

Kinesis Computing Limited—assistance with legal information feasibility study,

Cumulus Software Limited—training and assistance with changes to case tracking software,

Aims Systems Limited—assistance with formal specification of SCOPE case management project,

Yale Data Management Limited—assistance with the production of the SCOPE operational requirement and procurement.

The computer consultancy contracts awarded by the Serious Fraud Office were as follows:

To ask the Attorney-General what was the total amount spent by the Land Registry in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by the Land Registry in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that the Land Registry has budgeted to spend in the current year.

Management and computer consultancy contracts were awarded by the Land Registry in 1989 as follows:

To ask the Prime Minister what was the total amount spent by the Cabinet Office in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if she will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by the Cabinet Office in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that the Cabinet Office has budgeted to spend in the current year.

The expenditure by the Cabinet Office on management and computer consultancies, excluding purchases of hardware and software, is estimated to be £163,900 in 1989–90. The management and computer consultancy contracts let by the Cabinet Office during 1989–90 are as follows:

Firm	Assignment
Coopers and Lybrand	Pilot study on evaluation
Infomet Ltd	System building for local area network
National Children's Bureau	Advice on the London Childcare Project
Nettel Ltd	Adapting software to user requirement
Oracle Corportation UK Ltd	Redevelopment of management information system
Peter Williams Associates	Advice on the London Childcare Project
Praxis Systems	Assistance in the analysis, design and formulation of software
Price Waterhouse	Advice on performance indicators and management information systems

Firm	Assignment
Price Waterhouse	Design and write database system
Psytech Ltd	Development of computerised system to support use of psychometric testing in recruitment schemes
Shaista Faruqi	Design of recruitment monitoring system
Systematika Ltd	Software development for personnel record system

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the reasons for the resignation of Dr. Jonathan Mann, the director and founder of the World Health Organisation's global programme on AIDS; and if he will make it his policy to freeze the British contribution to that programme until he is satisfied about the future effectiveness of that programme in the absence of Dr. Mann.

The reasons for Dr. Mann's resignation are a matter between him, the World Health Organisation and its director general. The Government's interest is to work for the continuation of an effective global programme on AIDS.An acting director of the WHO global programme on AIDS, Dr. M. Merson, has taken office. We shall be working closely with him and will continue to monitor carefully, with other donors, the progress of the programme. We shall consider future United Kingdom support and its timing in the light of real practical progress and developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many intravenous drug users in Her Majesty's prisons were HIV sero-positive in each of the last five years.

Because HIV antibody tests are carried out only with informed consent, the antibody status of intravenous drug users identified while in prison custody will not always be known. Since June 1987 prison medical officers have reported the risk category or categories of identified HIV-infected prisoners. In the last seven months of that year, 41 of the cases were reported to be in the intravenous drug user category. The corresponding figures for the full calendar years 1988 and 1989 were 60 and 44 respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the breakdown of known drug users on the Home Office notification index by enumeration districts of the small area statistics of the 1981 census in the last year for which figures are available.

The information requested is not readily available. The tables on addicts notified to the Home Office in 1989 published in "Statistics of the Misuse of Drugs: addicts notified to the Home Office, United Kingdom, 1989 Area tables", a copy of which is in the Library, break down some information by police force and local authority areas. Figures for district health authorities are also available on request, for England, from the Department of Health.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) black or other ethnic minority and (b) white drug possession offenders were (i) cautioned and (ii) charged for each police force in 1989.

Information on the ethnic background of drug possession offenders is not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many defendants found guilty of crimes of violence have been recommended for deportation by the courts over the past five years;(2) where the Home Office has served a notice to deport, in how many cases over the last five years this was following a drugs-related offence; and in how many cases it was following an offence of violence to the person.

I regret that this information is not readily available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what name Farzad Bazoft first entered the United Kingdom.

On entry the name was recorded as Farzad Robati-Bazoft.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on what grounds the recommendation of the judge for the deportation of Farzad Bazoft was overruled;(2) what evidence was available at the time the decision was made not to deport Mr. Farzad Bazoft to indicate that his life would be at risk if he were to return to Iran; and what was the source of that evidence.

It was decided not to deport Mr. Bazoft to Iran because of documentary evidence that he would be arrested by the Iranian authorities because of his political opinions. It is not the practice to disclose sources of evidence in individual asylum cases.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the result of the discussions he had with members of the South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority in respect of their 1990–91 financial situation.

My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State met at their request a delegation from South Yorkshire fire and civil defence authority on 15 January to listen to their concerns about the standard spending assessment for the authority for 1990–91, which is 11·8 per cent. greater than their grant-related expenditure assessment for 1989–90.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received concerning value added tax on food; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has received a number of representations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the implementation of a payroll tax similar to that in the United States of America.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has no plans to introduce such a tax.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost to the Exchequer at the 1990–91 tax rates announced in the Budget of the married couple's allowance; and how much of this cost is attributable to taxpayers aged below 65 years.

The direct revenue cost in a full year, at 1990–91 levels of income, of the married couple's allowance is estimated to be about £5·5 billion, of which £4·8 billion is attributable to married couples where both the husband and wife are aged under 65. The extra relief is worth £8·27 per week to a basic rate taxpayer not entitled to a higher, age-related, allowance.Estimates are based on a projection of the 1987–88 survey of personal incomes and are provisional.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the gain per individual arising from each relevant component of the 1990 Budget, both at current prices and net of indexation for those at one half and three quarters of average earnings, average earnings and one and a half, two, five and 10 times average earnings; and if he will provide comparable figures for each Budget since 1979.

Individuals will benefit directly or indirectly from many Budget measures. These gains will vary

Consultancy firm	Contracts
A. Palmer	Development Training
Aims Systems	SSADM
Alkemi	Standby Disaster Plan
Ashvent Limited	Computer Training

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Preston (Mrs. Wise) of 15 March, Official Report, column 654, if he will give for the years 1988 and 1989 the total amount of mortgage interest paid, distinguishing between changes due to changes in the level of interest rates and changes due to changes in the stock of mortgages; and what is the number of mortgages outstanding and their average size as at 31 December 1987, 31 December 1988 and 31 December 1989.

The latest estimates are that total mortgage interest payments grew from £22·1 billion in 1988 to £32·3 billion in 1989; 53 per cent. of the increase was due to the effect of the increase in interest rates on the stock of mortgages in 1988 and 47 per cent. to the effect of the increase in stock in 1989, including the effect of the rise in the interest rate on the increase in stock. Estimates of the numbers of mortgages outstanding and their average size in the last three financial years are given in the table:

Mortgages qualifying for income tax relief
	Outstanding mortgages (thousands)	Average size of mortgage (£)
1987–88	8,750	17,000
1 1988–89	9,100	21,000
1 1989–90	9,300	24,500
1 Provisional.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount spent by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that Her Majesty's Customs and Excise has budgeted to spend in the current year.

The total amount spent by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the financial year 1989–90 was £3,251,798.The consultancy firms awarded contracts in management and computer consultancy, excluding hardware arid software purchases, are as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount spent by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that Her Majesty's Stationery Office has budgeted to spend in the current year.

The total amount spent in 1989 was £290,000 and the budget for 1990 is £480,000.The following contracts were awarded in 1989:

Firm	Subject of Assignment
NCC	Advice on electronic data interchange
Batalas	Quality assurance audit (BS 5750)
Mortiboys	Quality assurance audit (BS 5750)
David Hutchins Associates	Total quality management
CCTA	General IT consultancy
OASIS	Business supplies development
Touche Ross	Data administration standards
Touche Ross	Preliminary accountancy system design
D. Harris Associates	Post implementation reviews of IT projects
Technigraphic Bristol Ltd.	Design and manage building works

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount spent by the Inland Revenue in 1989 on management and computer consultancy contracts, excluding hardware and software purchases; if he will list each management or computer consultancy contract awarded by the Inland Revenue in 1989, giving in each case the name of the consultancy firm and the subject of the assignment; and what is the total amount that the Inland Revenue has budgeted to spend in the current year.

The amount spent by the Inland Revenue in the financial year 1989–90 on management and computer consultancy contracts excluding hardware and software purchases is expected to be about £16·1 million.The Inland Revenue has awarded the following consultancy contracts in 1989–90:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the review of the operation and impact of the default surcharge has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

The review we announced in July 1988 has been completed. A very thorough examination of the operation and effectiveness of the default surcharge was carried out and very careful consideration was given to the submissions made by many interested parties. We have, however, no plans for changes at the present time, although the matter will be kept under constant review.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if Her Majesty's Government have plans to issue any new commemorative coins.

Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve my recommendation that a special £5 crown be issued to commemorate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. There will be a normal version of the coin issued at face value, and collectors' versions in precious metal and base metal, issued at a premium.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Finance Bill will be published.

The Finance Bill will be published on Thursday 19 April.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the responsibilities of each of the deputy secretaries in his Department and the numbers and ranks of staff reporting to each.

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

SEO

HEO

EO

AO

AA

Industrial

Total

Planning, inner cities and rural affairs

3·0

1·0

13·0

10·0

49·0

43·0

57·0

67·0

80·0

20·0

—

343·0

Local government and central finance

3·0

0·5

14·0

7·0

44·0

28·0

63·0

83·0

94·0

36·5

—

371·5

Environmental protection

5·0

—

22·5

33·0

123·0

48·0

60·0

85·0

95·0

23·0

—

494·5

Legal

2·0

—

10·0

10·0

15·5

—

1·0

6·0

10·0

2·0

—

56·5

Housing, construction and sport

4·0

—

21·0

14·5

77·5

27·0

81·0

127·0

149·0

40·0

—

541·0

Establishments

3·0

1·0

10·0

13·0

40·0

74·5

149·5

214·5

207·5

348·5

—

1,067·5

Heritage and Royal Estate

1·0

—

2·0

1·0

7·0

7·0

37·0

156·0

38·0

7·0

371·5

627·5

Planning inspectorate

1·0

2·0

11·0

114·0

85·0

4·0

24·0

68·5

160·5

100·0

—

570·0

Regional offices

6·0

1·0

19·0

14·0

105·5

85·0

149·5

212·5

222·0

77·5

—

892·0

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will announce his decision concerning the planning application for a Hindu temple to be built in the borough of Hertsmere.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my hon. Friend the Member for Hertfordshire, West (Mr. Jones) on 20 March at columns 600-17.

There are six deputy secretaries in DOE (central). Their responsibilities are planning, inner cities and rural affairs; local government and finance; environmental protection; legal services; housing, construction and sport; and establishments and the built heritage. The planning inspectorate and regional directors also report to the deputy secretary responsible for establishments and the built heritage. There are a further three deputy secretaries in the Property Services Agency.The numbers of staff by grade reporting to each of the deputy secretaries in DOE(C) on 1 February are set out in the table.There are also certain groups within DOE(C) which do not report through a deputy secretary. These consist of private offices (with 63 staff) and information (with 44 staff).The figures also exclude staff at the Historic Royal Palaces Agency which became an executive agency on 2 October 1989, and the Building Research Establishment, which it is proposed should become an executive agency on 2 April 1990.I will write to my hon. Friend with further information regarding the Property Services Agency.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps his Department is taking to encourage local housing authorities to provide home improvement agency services to disabled home owners where voluntary sector agencies do not operate.

My Department is currently reviewing the best way of using the provisions in section 169 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 relating to the provision and long-term funding of home improvement agency services, including those for the disabled. I hope to be able to make an announcement later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether his Department will take steps to place a duty on local housing authorities to replace properties sold to disabled people under the right to buy.

No. Such properties are not lost to the housing stock, and would in any case not be available for re-letting so long as the secure tenants remained in occupation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will publish a table showing the Government's percentage contribution to local expenditure for each year since 1978–79 together with a forecast for (a) the current financial year and (b) 1990–91 based on the budgets which have been agreed by the local authorities to date.

The available information is as given in the table:

Aggregate Exchequer grant as percentage of relevant expenditure
	Per cent.
1978–79	59·8
1979–80	58·6
1980–81	57·2
1981–82	54·9
1982–83	51·7
1983–84	50·1
1984–85	50·0
1985–86	49·0
1986–87	45·4
1987–88	44·4
1988–89	42·5
11989–90	40·5
1 Based on local authority budgets.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by local authority area the total amount paid in lieu of non-domestic rates by formula-rated properties in 1989–90 and the equivalent contribution being made to the non-domestic pool in 1990–91.

[holding answer 27 March 1990]: The information that the hon. Member has requested is not held centrally for 1989–90. For 1990–91 the aggregate of the rates bills of those industries appearing on the central rating list for England whose rateable values are set by order is estimated to be £863 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish figures showing how the contribution paid in lieu of non-domestic rates by Oxfordshire formula-rated properties is to be redistributed in Oxfordshire in 1990–91.

[holding answer 27 March 1990]: From 1 April rates paid by the industries whose rateable values are fixed by order will be collected by the Secretary of State and paid into the non-domestic rate pool. Attribution of rateable values to properties occupied by these industries in particular local authority areas will no longer be necessary. The proceeds of the non-domestic rate pool will be distributed to charging authorities in proportion to their population of community charge payers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he is next going to issue new regional planning guidance for the period up to the year 2006.

The current regional planning guidance for the south-east region is contained in planning policy guidance note PPG9. SERPLAN (the London and south-east regional planning conference) is conducting a regional review, and hopes to submit advice to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment after its July 1990 conference. After considering that advice, my right hon. Friend will issue a draft for consultation, before finalising his new regional planning guidance. This will probably occur during 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidance he has given to the West Midlands residuary body in relation to the disposal of land at Church lane, West Bromwich, known as the former Johnsons Rolls site; and if he will make a statement.

In response to a request from the board of the West Midlands residuary body I issued a direction on 20 March 1990, under section 65 of the Local Government Act 1985 requiring the residuary body to dispose of all its interests in the land at Church lane, West Bromwich to the Black Country development corporation on or before 30 April 1990. I have today placed a copy of the direction in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the future status of the Building Research Establishment.

I am pleased to announce that on 2 April the Building Research Establishment (BRE) is to become an executive agency in the Department of the Environment under the next steps initiative. This will provide the establishment with new freedoms and will improve its ability to serve the needs of Government, the construction industry and building users. I am placing a copy of the policy and resources framework document for the new agency in the Libraries of both Houses.The key performance indicators of the agency are set out in the framework document. The principal targets for 1990–91 are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will introduce regulations to change the layout of roll on/roll off ferries, in order to ease the evacuation procedure in case of emergency.

Evacuation procedures are governed by regulations made under the Merchant Shipping Acts. The Department of Transport has sponsored research into evacuation from roll on/roll off passenger ferries in an emergency. The results and recommendations of this research have been put to the International Maritime Organisation for consideration by the Maritime Safety Committee later this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has had on the poll tax rebate system; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has had concerning poll tax rebates; and if he will make a statement.

Ministers receive correspondence on a range of issues, both from hon. Members and from their constituents. In the last six months, 1,053 items of correspondence have been received by the Department about the community charge benefit scheme, but it is not possible to identify the number relating particularly to rebates in Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to extend the period for poll tax rebate.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Mr. Hayward) on 23 March at column 788.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people will benefit from the new measures to help disabled people who do not qualify for attendance allowance or mobility allowance.

We estimate that some 140,000 people will benefit from the new lower rate of the care component of the new disability allowance and some 150,000 from the initial rate of the mobility component.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many retired or redundant miners are eligible for an increase in their reduced earnings allowance following the successful appeal to the social security appeal tribunal on 8 March by Gerald Linsdell; and what steps he is taking to notify potential claimants.

The decision of the social security appeal tribunal dealt only with the circumstances of Mr. Linsdell's claim and is not considered to have wider implications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much the community charge of a pensioner couple, living in a district with a community charge of £380, will be reduced as a result of the Chancellor's statement, where their only income is the state retirement pension and they have savings of (a) £8,000, (b) £12,000 and (c) £16,000.

The information requested is shown in the table.

Pensioner couple aged 60 to 74, receiving state retirement pension for a couple of £75·10 a week, with a community charge of £380 each.
Savings £	Community charge benefit (per week) £
8,000	8·72
12,000	6·32
16,000	3·92

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will introduce regulations to pay the higher pensioner premium to all persons on income support who were in receipt of invalidity benefit when they reached retirement age; and if he will make a statement.

We have no plans to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is his estimate of the cost of paying higher pensioner premium to all those who fail to be entitled to it solely because they transferred from invalidity pensions to retirement pensions on the advice of his Department; and if he will make a statement;(2) what is his estimate of the number of people who fail to be entitled to higher pensioner premium solely because they transferred from invalidity pensions to retirement pensions on the advice of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

The formal and informal advice given by the Department reflects the contemporaneous position in law and any known forthcoming changes in it. Information on which to base the requested estimates, of people who are not entitled to the higher pensioner premium because they retired before the introduction of income support, is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the budgetary totals for (a) DSS offices relating to Leyton residents, (b) Londonwide and (c) nationally for (i) grants and (ii) loans from the social fund in 1988–89 and 1989–90 and his estimate for 1990–91.

Information about the social fund grants and loans budget allocations nationally, for each social security region and each local office for 1988–89 and 1989–90 is in the Library. I refer the hon. Member to my statement on Monday 26 March concerning the budget allocations for 1990–91. I have placed that information in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest figure for the total repayments of social fund loans in the current financial year.

Loan repayments in 1989–90 as at 28 February 1990 were provisionally £99 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the total expenditure for the independent living fund for the year 1989–90 for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the London borough of Lewisham.

The total expenditure for the independent living fund from 1 April 1989 to 28 February 1990 for the United Kingdom is £8·3 million. Information for Lewisham is not available separately.

Table 3
Staff-in-post in regional offices—1st March 1990
	Mids	LN	LS	Scot	NW	NE	WSW	Totals
Executive/Director	0·0	0·0	0·0	1·0	0·0	0·0	0·0	1·0
Assistant/Secretary	1·0	1·0	1·0	0·0	1·0	1·0	1·0	6·0
Senior/Principal	5·0	5·0	5·0	4·0	5·0	5·0	5·0	34·0
Principal	6·0	6·0	7·0	7·0	8·0	6·0	6·0	46·0
Senior Executive Officer	22·5	24·5	25·0	27·0	29·0	24·5	22·0	174·5
Higher Executive Officer	78·5	81·5	87·5	81·0	85·0	79·5	71·0	564
LOI	111·0	145·0	139·5	141·0	92·0	154·0	74·0	856·5
Executive Officer	116·5	83·5	118·0	117·5	141·5	85·5	111·0	773·5
LOII	123·0	139·5	77·0	137·0	26·0	145·5	5·0	653·0
AO	130·0	44·5	108·5	61·5	192·0	114·5	131·0	782·0
AA	9·0	60·0	58·0	38·0	49·5	33·5	27·5	275·5
Typ Manager	1·0	2·0	3·0	3·0	3·0	2·0	2·0	16·0
Typist	13·0	18·5	22·5	19·5	21·5	20·5	19·5	135·0
PES	8·0	4·0	6·0	7·0	8·0	10·0	4·0	47·0
MED/Board/Assistant	0·0	0·0	0·0	0·0	2·0	0·0	2·0	4·0
SM3	0·0	0·0	1·0	0·0	1·0	0·0	0·0	2·0
Supp Grade 1	1·0	2·0	2·0	0·0	3·0	6·0	4·0	18·0
Supp Grade 2	2·0	8·0	11·0	0·0	18·0	11·0	16·0	66·0
Professionals	2·0	2·5	2·5	0·0	2·0	3·0	0·0	12·0
TOTALS	629·5	627·5	674·5	644·5	687·5	701·5	501·0	4,466·0

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 26 February, Official Report, columns 16-17, when he expects to publish the inspectors' reports hitherto not published.

Of the inspectors' reports listed in my reply, the decision whether to publish remains under consideration in respect of 12 reports relating to the following companies:

• Alexander Howden Group plc
• British Anzani plc
• Medway Secondary Metals Limited
• Guinness plc (interim)
• Aldermanbury Trust plc (interim)
• Consolidated Gold Fields plc (two interims)
• Graylaw Holdings Limited and
• Link Service Stations Limited
• Bank Street Securities Limited
• Pennine Commercial Holdings plc
• The Animal Defence Society Limited
• Minet Holdings plc and
• WMD Underwriting Agencies Limited (final)

House of Fraser Holdings plc was published on 7 March. The other reports will not be published.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make it his policy as a condition of recognition, to require the accountancy

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what functions his Department carries out at the regional level; where the regional offices are located in each of the regions; what staff are employed and at what grades; what proportion of his Department's budget is spent in each of the regions; and what geographical boundaries determine his Department's regions.

[pursuant to her reply, 21 March 1990, c. 639-41.]: The information in table 3 was found to be incorrect. The corrected information is given in the following table.bodies seeking supervisory recognition under the Companies Act 1989 to hold their meetings in the open, with access for members.

No. It is for a supervisory body itself to decide what arrangements are appropriate for informing its members of matters of concern to them.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who advises him on the appointment of inspectors from accountancy firms.

I select the appropriate person for appointment as an accountant inspector; in doing so I take into account the views of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many applications by investment businesses for authorisation under the Financial Services Act have been rejected to date; and how many of those applications were made to each of the self-regulatory organisations and to the Securities and Investments Board, respectively.

This is a matter for the Securities and Investments Board and the self-regulatory organisations, but I understand that the figures are not available because of difficulties of definition.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many investment businesses are trading with interim authorisation under the Financial Services Act at the latest available date; and if he will provide an analysis of these showing (a) those subject to the appeals procedure, (b) those awaiting a memorandum of understanding with an overseas country and (c) any others; and a further analysis showing how many of these applications were made to each of the self-regulatory organisations and to the Securities and Investments Board, respectively.

At 21 March, a total of 98 businesses held interim authorisation:

	Interim authorisations
AFBD	7
FIMBRA	48
IMRO	7
TSA	34
SIB	2

The number subject to appeal is not available. Of the total, 10 applications to FIMBRA and 22 applicants to TSA are businesses incorporated abroad on which a decision is postponed awaiting entry into satisfactory arrangements with the regulatory authorities in the country of incorporation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any individuals as opposed to businesses are vetted when applications are made for authorisation under the Financial Services Act.

This is a matter for the particular regulatory body to which a business makes application for authorisation. I understand that all the regulatory bodies vet individuals of significance to the shareholdings or management of the business when they consider application for authorisation of that business. Some self-regulatory organisations have membership requirements that go further.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the dates in 1988 and those present when the tax arrangements governing the sale of Rover were discussed.

[holding answer 12 March 1990]: I understand that tax aspects of the sale of the Government shareholding in the Rover Group to British Aerospace were the principal subject discussed at the following meetings held in 1988:

Date	Organisations represented
29 February	DTI and Inland Revenue
8 March	DTI, Inland Revenue, Baring Brothers and Slaughter & May
10 March	Inland Revenue, Baring Brothers and Slaughter & May
24 March	DTI, Inland Revenue, British Aerospace, Slaughter & May, Peat Marwick McLintock and Linklaters & Paines
28 March	Inland Revenue, British Aerospace, Rover Group, Slaughter & May, Peat Marwick McLintock, Linklaters & paines and Ashurst Morris Crisp

Date	Organisations represented
28 April	Inland Revenue and Slaughter & May
29 June	DTI, Inland Revenue, Her Majesty's Treasury, Rover Group, British Aerospace, Slaughter & May, Peat Marwick McLintock and Linklaters & Paines
6 July	DTI, Inland Revenue, British Aerospace, Slaughter & May, Linklaters & Paines, Peat Marwick McLintock

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is the value of footwear and leather imports under the GSP scheme from Thailand into the United Kingdom since 1 January; and if he will make a statement;(2) what steps the Government are taking to restore full duties where imports of shoes and leather goods have already exceeded the European Economic Community ceilings; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 26 March 1990]: Footwear and leather goods enter the United Kingdom under a number of tariff headings and different categories are monitored differently, according to their treatment under the GSP. My Department has asked the European Commission to reimpose duty on footwear under tariff headings 6401 and 6402 from Thailand and Indonesia. The total value of imports from Thailand for tariff headings 6401 and 6402 from 1 January—14 March 1990 was 2,506,331 ecu. If the hon. Member requires figures for any other tariff headings, I should be happy to write to him.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had concerning repealing the Payment of Debt (Northern Ireland) Act.

The Government keep the working of the Act under review. We also receive representations about the Act from time to time, including a recent letter from the hon. Gentleman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside met to give him advice about the proposed Strangford Lough (ASSI) (Part 3) declaration; and whether such advice given is in written form.

The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland was advised on nature conservation matters by the Committee for Nature Conservation (CNC) until 16 May 1989 when that committee (and the Ulster Countryside Committee) was replaced by the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC).On 20 November 1986 the CNC endorsed the Department's proposals for an area of special scientific interest (ASSI) at Strangford Lough. A revision to the proposed boundary was agreed by CNC at a meeting on 12 October 1987. The ASSI was declared in three parts, the third part, the Strangford Lough (Part 3) ASSI, being declared on 21 April 1989.At a meeting on 7 July 1989 the CNCC endorsed the views of the CNC about the declaration of the ASSI. The views of the CNC and the CNCC were conveyed to the Department by means of copies of the minutes of their meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he received prior advice from the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside before he confirmed the Strangford Lough (ASSI) (Part 3) declaration; and whether he made available to the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside information about objections from private individuals and public bodies to the proposed ASSI.

At a meeting on 3 November 1989 the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside was informed by officials of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland about the representations and objections to the declaration of the Strangford Lough (Part 3) area of special scientific interest (ASSI). The CNCC advised the officials of its support for the confirmation of the ASSI. The ASSI was confirmed on 16 November 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for how long records of social security benefits paid to claimants are retained; and whether it is possible to obtain details of the period March 1985 to August 1987 relating to someone who qualified for and was in receipt of family income supplement in Northern Ireland.

The length of time records of social security benefits paid to claimants are retained varies with the benefit and with certain other circumstances (for example, the death of a claimant). Records of family income supplement are normally retained for two years after the last date of payment and it is therefore unlikely that details of a claim relating to the period from March 1985 to August 1987 are available. However, if the hon. Gentleman has a particular case in mind my noble Friend —Lord Skelmersdale—will be pleased to look into it.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish details of the criteria used to reach the decision to increase electricity charges in Northern Ireland by 8 per cent. from 1 April.