To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the latest estimate of the balance of trade in information technology.

According to the latest estimates, the United Kingdom had a deficit of £685 million in the manufactured products of the electronics and information technology sector in the first quarter of 1990. This sector is defined as the principal products of activity headings 3301–2, 3441–4 and 3453–4 of the Standard Industrial Classification. These figures are for hardware only. There are no separate figures for trade in software.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will next meet his European counterparts to discuss Britain's trade deficit with the rest of Europe.

My right hon. Friend holds regular meetings with his counterparts in the European Community over a broad range of issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if his Department has any knowledge of the corporate involvement between the Technology Development Group (TDG) of London and the Swiss firm of Schmiedemeccanica of Lugano; and what assessment his Department has made of the role of TDG in exporting sensitive technologies to Iraq.

[holding answer 22 October 1990]: My Department is not able to confirm any information about possible links between TDG Ltd. and Schiedemeccanica SA. Exports of goods and technologies as described by the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1989 (as amended) require export licences. No applications for such licences have been received from TDG Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has initiated any investigation into the

Table 1
	Scheme name	Region	Length kms	Contract let date	Completion date	Cost £ million1		NPV	Originally predicted traffic flows for 1989 (annual average daily traffic)	Actual traffic flows for 1989 (annual average daily traffic)
						Estimated Outturn
A1	Penmanshiel Diversion	Borders	1·7	October 1981	September 1982	3·0	3·4	-0·834	5,800	5,700
A74	Johnstone Bridge	Dumfries and Galloway	1·8	April 1981	March 1983	1·2	1·8	-0·250	18,300	18,900
A75	Carsluith Diversion	Dumfries and Galloway	3·0	October 1981	November 1982	1·1	1·5	-0·521	2,700	3,200
A94	Syde and Pert Improvement	Grampian	2·9	February 1981	September 1982	2·6	3·	-0·911	27,000	11,700

[holding answer 22 October 1990]: Officials in my Department have had discussions with the Technology and Development Group. It is not our practice to disclose the nature of such discussions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will take steps to ban the import and sale of seeds of Heracleum Mantegazzianum.

[holding answer 22 October 1990]: No. There are currently no plans to ban the import or sale of seeds of Heracleum Mantegazzianum.However, under section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence for any person to plant or to otherwise cause to grow in the wild any plant which is included in part 2 of schedule 9 to the Act. Giant hogweed (Heracleum Mantegazzianum) is listed in the schedule.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for the 16 schemes in Scotland, identified by the National Audit Office as having a negative cost benefit analysis in its report of 27 October 1988 "Department of Transport, Scottish Development Department and Welsh Office: Road Planning" (a) location and name of each individual project, (b) length of road, (c) date of decision to build and date of completion, (d) capital cost, both estimated and outturn, (e) number of vehicles per day estimated, each way, (f) number of vehicles per day from recent census data, (g) the details of the negative economic appraisal or net present value and (h) in respect of the A74 only, estimated capital value cost and NPV for two-lane and three-lane motorway.

The information requested is given in the following two tables. Table 1 refers to the 16 schemes identified in the NAO report of 27 October 1988 as having a negative net present value. The originally predicted traffic flows for 1989 were based on the then current national growth projections. Actual traffic growth has generally been higher than predicted at that time.Table 2 gives the most recent budgetary estimates of costs and net present values for construction of the M 74 between Millbank and Gretna.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what penalty points have been awarded by Greater Glasgow health board against private contractors providing domestic, catering, portering and associated services to the board.

One hundred and three penalty points have been awarded against in-house operators; 21 have been awarded against private contractors. These were mainly incurred during the first six months as the new arrangements settled in.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many eye tests were carried out in the first three quarters of each year since 1983 in (a) Scotland, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Glasgow.

The information is set out in the table below.

Year	Scotland	Strathclyde	Glasgow
1983	589,182	284,978	126,559
1984	619,999	298,928	133,091
1985	679,756	330,267	147,735
1986	692,400	333,203	149,720
1987	742,883	359,374	160,490
1988	841,030	404,363	185,376

The total number of sight tests carried out in Scotland from 1 April 1989 is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set out in tabular format (a) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the planning, building and maintenance of roads, (b) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the development and maintenance of railways, (c) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the development of public transport other than railways and (d) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the promotion of cycling.

The roads directorate within the Scottish Development Department has 140 staff and deals with legislation, road safety, traffic regulation orders, road and bridge maintenance and new construction. It has executive responsiblity for the trunk road network in Scotland. The planning, building and maintenance of roads embraces provision for all road users and those employed on this work cannot be categorised by mode.The responsibilities of transport and local roads division of the Department include the issuing of capital allocations to regional and island authorities who have executive responsibility in Scotland for local roads and transport, and the discharge of the Department's functions relating to other transport modes, principally ferry and bus services. The division has 15½ staff. Thirty-one staff are also employed on toll collection and related duties at the Erskine bridge.The Department of Transport is the sponsoring Department for British Rail.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will specify what formal procedures for making complaints and representations, specifying where appropriate under which sections of what Acts, are available locally and nationally to children and young people under 18 years of age who wish to make complaints about matters which are the responsibility of his Department.

Under section 5(1) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 anyone of any age who claims to have sustained injustice in consequence of maladministration by the Scottish Office may ask a Member of Parliament to refer a grievance to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. If the complainant is for any reason unable to act for him or herself, the complaint may be made by virtue of section 6(2) of the 1967 Act by another person on behalf of the complainant. The PCA may also investigate complaints against the following bodies, listed in schedule 2 to the Parliamentary and Health Service Commissioners Act 1987, for which I am responsible or to which I make appointments:

• Countryside Commission for Scotland
• Crofters Commission
• Department of the Registers of Scotland
• Forestry Commission
• General Register Office, Scotland
• Highlands and Islands Development Board
• Red Deer Commission
• Scottish Courts Administration
• Scottish Homes
• Scottish Legal Aid Board
• Scottish Medical Practices Committee
• Scottish New Town Development Corporations
• Scottish Record Office
• Scottish Sports Council
• Scottish Tourist Board

Under section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 I have the power to take default action, on complaint by an interested person or otherwise, in respect of the failure of an education authority, school board or school managers to discharge any statutory duty under the 1980 Act.Persons, including children and young people under 18 years of age or those acting on their behalf, may make complaints or representations about their treatment by the national health service in Scotland in the following ways:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions since 1979 his Department has compelled education authorities to sell land that was being held for future school building.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements he proposes to ensure that testing in English and mathematics is carried out with P4 and P7 pupils in Scotland in 1991.

Guidelines containing arrangements for the conduct of primary tests in 1991 were issued by the Scottish Education Department on 10 October. A copy has been placed in the Library. To ensure a consistent and orderly approach to testing I have concluded that it would be helpful to place the conduct of testing within a regulatory framework. Accordingly regulations to this effect are being laid before Parliament today.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air misses have been filed relating to Coventry airport over the past four years.

Two—one on 8 March 1989 and one on 27 June 1989. The first was assessed by the joint air miss working group (JAWG) as a possible risk of collision. The second has still to he evaluated by the JAWG.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any plans to change the instructions concerning the investigation of air misses so that complaints notified by members of the public may be so recorded.

Reports by members of the public are ocassionally received by the Department and by the CAA. There is no standard procedure for dealing with them; each one is treated on its merits. None of the reports received from the public in recent years has been found on investigation to indicate any hazardous situation. The height of an aircraft can be accurately measured and maintained. The normal separation by height of aircraft at the lower levels is 1,000 feet, about 300 metres. This close vertical, but quite safe, proximity can mislead even an expert observer into believing that the aircraft are dangerously close. There are no plans to change the instructions concerning reports notified by members of the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the methods of recording air misses; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has had no discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority on the recording of air misses, which are incidents reported only by pilots. However, during 1987 and 1988 discussions between my right hon. Friend and the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority led to the introduction of aircraft proximity hazard (APHAZ) reports by air traffic controllers. The APHAZ reporting system, which began on 1 April 1989, closely parallels that for air misses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many notifiable accidents were recorded for Coventry airport, and how many of those accidents were attributable to controller error, over the past two years.

There have been two notifiable accidents at Coventry airport during the two years. On 23 August 1989 an undercarriage leg of a Cessna 172, a private aircraft, dropped into an unmarked pothole on the taxiway. The aircraft was substantially damaged, but there were no injuries. On 22 November 1989, a Cessna 150. a private aircraft, was blown on to its back during taxiing by the propeller wash of a DC6 that was running up its engines prior to take-off. The Cessna 150 was substantially damaged but there were no injuries.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether he will provide in the regulations for the testing or replacement of the three-way catalyst in cars after eight years' use;(2) if he will make three-way catalyst emission testing one of the conditions for granting an MOT certificate.

We are now consulting on proposals for an emissions check for introduction into the MOT test next year. We are proposing that this should include vehicles equipped with catalytic converters. A vehicle with a seriously defective catalyst would not pass the test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what considerations he has given to the introduction of modern trams into London.

No formal proposals for the introduction of modern trams in London have been submitted to the Department of Transport. The Department is cooperating in the study of a possible light rail system in the Croydon area which is being taken forward by London Transport in conjunction with British Rail and the London borough of Croydon. The study is considering options, including some street running.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current budget for road safety campaigning; and what percentage is allocated to responding to inquiries from members of the public.

Estimates provision on road safety publicity in 1990–91 is £4·254 million. About 1 per cent. of this is allocated to the provision of a freephone inquiry service in connection with the recent child road safety publicity campaign. Each year several thousand written and telephone inquiries on all aspects of road safety are received by my Department. The cost of responding to these is not separately identified in the Department's provision for running costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to his announcement on 14 June about the channel tunnel rail link project, what action he has taken to safeguard the route between the channel tunnel terminal and the north downs.

We have made initial safeguarding directions under the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988 for this section of route (between Cheriton and Upper Hailing). The directions came into force on 13 September to coincide with British Rail's launch of public consultations on the fine detail of this route section. We have invited comments from the local authorities concerned on any aspects of the initial directions that should be improved or changed in any revised directions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will specify what formal procedures for making complaints and representations, specifying under which sections of which Acts, are available locally and nationally to children and young people under 18 years who wish to make complaints about matters which are the responsibility of his Department.

There are no formal procedures specifically available to children and young people who wish to make complaints or representations about matters which are the responsibility of this Department. It is, however, open to members of the public, of whatever age, to write to the Department about any issue which concerns them.Complaints may also be made, through hon. Members, to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, under section 6 of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967, about the administrative actions of Government Departments and certain non-departmental public bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the transport and road research laboratory has made any study of the potential benefit of a traffic light system that allows an approaching bus to activate changes in traffic lights from red to green.

The transport and road research laboratory (TRRL) studied bus-activated signals in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s in both computer simulation and on-street studies. TRRL also participated in international bus priority studies.At unco-ordinated (non-linked) signals, trials in Swansea showed that average reductions in bus delay of six seconds per bus per signalled junction could be achieved.In a network of co-ordinated signals in Glasgow, reductions in bus journey times of between 2 per cent. and 15 per cent. were achieved depending on the signalling strategy and the time of day.Conclusions from the research were that modest net benefits could be achieved. Benefits were less where bus flow was high and where there were conflicting bus movements. Disbenefits to other traffic could outweigh the benefit to buses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to increase the mileage of (a) bus lanes and (b) cycle lanes in London.

Bus and cycle lanes are primarily for local highway authorities. My Department produces technical guidance to assist with their design.My Department is planning to develop a network of priority routes which will assist the movement of buses and we are also supporting London Transport's bus priority team. Both initiatives will result in more bus lanes which could also be used by cyclists.My Department is actively supporting the provision of a 1000-mile cycle network for London. We also consider the provision of cycle lanes and crossings when designing new trunk roads and improvements to existing ones.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he has on the effects of traffic-calming measures on road accident levels.

The final report of the Urban Safety Projects which was published in May (TRRL report RR263) indicated that traffic calming measures can reduce casualties in residential areas by an average of 13 per cent. If this approach were applied nationally approximately 5 per cent. of all casualties would be saved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents occurred in the Macclesfield constituency in the first six months of 1990; how many of these involved (a) minor injuries, (b) serious injuries and (c) fatal injuries; and what are the comparable figures for the same six-month period in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

The figures requested for the constituency of Macclesfield are available only at disproportionate cost. The figures below relate to the borough of Macclesfield and include accidents reported to the police in the first six months of each year. The data for 1990 are provisional.

Road Accidents in the borough of Macclesfield (January-June)
	Fatal	Serious	Slight	Total
1990	10	59	311	380
1989	7	75	293	375
1988	7	55	329	391
1987	3	56	277	336
1986	15	50	286	351
1985	7	47	273	327

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement outlining the circumstances of each of the road traffic accidents which took place in the Macclesfield constituency during the first six months of 1990 and which led to fatal injuries; and if he will indicate in each case what steps have been taken by the appropriate authorities to minimise future accidents.

Information on the detailed circumstances of particular accidents is not held centrally. Investigation of road accidents is the responsibility of the police. Devising appropriate remedial measures is the responsibility of the highway authority. The Department has a continuing programme of engineering measures to improve accident blackspots on trunk roads, as do local highway authorities for their roads. From the next financial year funds from central Government will be made available through transport supplementary grant for engineering remedies on all local roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out in tabular format (a) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the planning, building and maintenance of roads, (b) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the development and maintenance of railways, (c) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the development of public transport other than railways and (d) the number of civil servants in his Department devoted to the promotion of cycling.

My Department has the following numbers of civil servants dealing with:

	Numberk
Roads	2,300
Railways	135
Other public transport	20
Cycling	140
1Part of the time.

The substantially larger number of roads' staff reflects the Department's direct responsibility for the national roads programme. The development and maintenance of other transport modes is the responsibility of other bodies, for example, British Rail and London Regional Transport.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is considering to avoid repetition of the prolonged traffic delays experienced on the Severn bridge in the first week of October.

Delays on the Severn bridge occurred on 5 and 6 October due to a combination of road works, restrictions due to high winds, and traffic incidents.Resurfacing work will stop in November for the winter months thus easing traffic conditions. This work should be completed next year.Some windshielding is about to be installed adjacent to and either side of the towers of the existing Severn bridge, where most of the high wind accidents occur. Additionally the proposed second Severn crossing will be windshielded over its entire length.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will list the present members of the Tees and Hartlepool port authority.

The present members of the Tees and Hartlepool port authority appointed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport are:

• Mr. J. H. Peart (chairman)
• Mr. J. W. Cockfield, FICS
• Mr. R. M. Stewart, OBE, TD
• Mr. C. Godfrey
• Mr. C. Ward, MBE
• Mr. J. Newbold
• Mr. G. D. Saul
• Mr. G. Hall
• Mr. A. D. Frew
• Mrs. B. S. Lythgoe

In addition, two full-time officers of the authority have been appointed by the Tees and Hartlepool port authority to serve as members of the authority. They are Mr. J. P. Hackney and Mr. N. Britton, MBE.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what inquiries have been undertaken into the recent reported near-miss involving a Dan Air civilian aircraft taking off from Newcastle airport and two military aircraft.

An air miss report was filed with the Civil Aviation Authority concerning a Dan Air B737 and two Tornado aircraft. The incident took place at 8.14 pm on 10 October near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The 737 was at a height of 12,000 ft en route from Newcastle to Cos in Greece and the Tornados were flying to RAF Learning. in Yorkshire. Avoiding instructions were given to the Dan Air aircraft by Newcastle airport air traffic control and the Tornados passed above the 737.The precise details are being investigated by the CAA's safety regulation group. The information will then be sent to the joint air miss working group (JAWG) for assessment. The JAWG comprises representatives from all sectors of the industry, including operators, pilots and air traffic controllers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will hold a public inquiry into the sinking of the Derbyshire, following publication of the report of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) on Tuesday 23 October at column 98.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will undertake a further survey of the pedestrian and vehicle figures for the A595 at Bigrigg, and reconsider the case for a pedestrian crossing.

Yes. The Department's agent, Cumbria county council, has been given instructions to carry out a further survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the A595 Egremont bypass.

The next stage is for the compulsory purchase order to be made.

a. Regional rate: Percentage increase over the previous year in each of the last 10 years and the current year.
	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91
	17·9	9·8	6·9	2·9	7·9	8·1	9·4	2·9	7·98	12·63	7·39

b. Local rate by council area: Percentage increase over the previous year in each of the last 10 years and the current year.
Council	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91
Antrim	28·8	12·1	21·5	0·0	2·05	3·70	8·93	6·01	5·15	3·92	2·83
Ards	50	16·7	16·7	2·0	0·0	0·0	6·00	0·0	1·89	6·48	13·04
Armagh	25·8	7·7	8·9	4·9	4·07	2·99	10·14	0·0	7·89	7·32	7·95
Ballymena	17·3	11·1	8·3	4·6	40·4	2·39	4·54	4·87	7·53	2·68	6·82
Ballymoney	30·8	35·3	11·6	3·9	2·05	3·05	7·10	1·66	2·17	6·91	7·46
Banbridge	16·7	10·7	7·1	6·9	14·06	10·47	6·77	6·27	0·0	0·0	7·65
Belfast	30·06	16·0	18·1	10·4	7·00	6·46	10·60	4·81	4·91	0·0	4·91
Carrickfergus	29·3	24·0	8·6	2·5	3·09	4·27	4·55	3·32	5·20	4·2	5·70
Castlereagh	30·2	10·7	9·7	-2·9	-3·0	3·13	18·42	4·91	-2·68	-5·01	17·12
Coleraine	27·8	11·6	6·8	4·9	0·0	5·26	8·89	2·04	6·00	3·77	0·0
Cookstown	21·6	11·1	10·0	13·6	4·02	10·14	10·88	8·18	-0·58	11·7	8·38
Craigavon	15·6	14·9	10·0	8·0	4·09	3·8	9·61	5·22	0·0	6·5	4·89
Derry	35·1	12·9	10·5	8·9	2·06	7·99	12·61	3·73	4·39	5·86	9·38
Down	30·4	23·3	16·2	4·7	0·0	0·0	17·78	13·21	8·33	4·62	2·94
Dungannon	23·2	13·2	6·7	6·3	2·09	8·57	9·21	6·02	0·0	0·0	8·52
Fermanagh	25·5	11·9	8·3	6·3	5·03	6·88	14·04	4·10	5·42	3·74	3·60
Larne	16·7	11·4	7·7	3·6	0·0	3·45	9·44	6·70	6·09	1·79	13·97
Limavady	22·5	12·2	10·9	3·3	10·6	9·38	11·43	5·00	26·23	8·05	7·45
Lisburn	20·9	26·8	12·4	7·5	6·00	1·40	5·54	1·95	7·68	0·0	3·71
Magherafelt	18·75	14·5	13·8	17·2	3·08	9·77	10·65	12·28	5·97	6·53	5·74
Moyle	28	43·8	8·7	3·8	5·05	9·13	10·04	0·0	-0·38	4·43	8·51
Newry and Mourne	20	13·0	27·9	10·3	7·00	6·52	10·82	9·94	0·0	-2·85	0·0
Newtownabbey	18·75	7·9	4·9	4·7	6·07	9·58	4·77	3·86	4·93	6·73	0·92

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he has any proposals for law reform to enable householders to have the same right to purchase the freeholds of their property as exists in England; and if he will make a statement.

I have approved the publication of the final report of the land law working group which makes wide-ranging recommendations on the law of property in Northern Ireland, including recommendations on ground rents and the purchasing of freeholds. It is intended to publish the report before the end of the year, following which there will be a period of public consultation on its recommendations with a view to bringing forward legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the condition of the road surface at Commons Brae off Saintfield road in the borough of Castlereagh; and what proposals he has to improve this road surface.

The road surface at Commons Brae is in good condition. There are no proposals to improve it at present.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the percentage increase in each of the last 10 years and the current year in (a) the regional rate and (b) the local rate in each of the council areas of Northern Ireland.

[holding answer 22 October 1990]: The information is set out in the tables.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to improve co-ordination between the police and DVLA on the recording and sharing of information on the ownership, registration and keeping of motor vehicles to combat the resale of stolen vehicles.

We have no such plans. I understand from the police and the DVLA that they regard the existing arrangements for co-ordination as satisfactory.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted under section 49 of the British Telecommunications Act 1981 for each of the years since the Act came into force; and how many of those prosecuted were (a) men and (b) women.

The information requested is given in the table below. 1989 data are not yet available.

Persons prosecuted for offences under Section 49 of the British Telecommunications Act 1981, by sex. 1981–1988
England and Wales
Prosecutions	Males	Females
1981	—	—
1982	—	—
1983	3	1
1984	2	—
1985	1	2
1986	—	—
1987	—	—
1988	—	—

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) prosecuted and convicted in the Metropolitan and City of London police districts in the year ended December 1989 under the Vagrancy Act 1824 for (i) begging and (ii) sleeping out, (b) prosecuted and convicted in the rest of England and Wales in the same period for the same offences; and how many people at (a) and (b) above (i) were fined, (ii) received custodial sentences, (iii) served custodial sentences in default of payment of fines, (iv) received conditional discharges and (v) received probation orders.

Data for 1989 will not be available until November.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of domestic violence were reported to the police in the last year for which figures are available; and how many resulted in (a) committal proceedings and (b) convictions in the last year for which figures are available.

Information on notifiable offences of violence against the person is published annually in table 2.8 of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales". The figures for 1989 are published in table 6 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/90. Regular information on domestic violence is not reported separately to this Department by the police forces in England and Wales. However, detailed information on homicide is presented in chapter 4 of the above publication. Some incomplete information was published in "Criminal Statistics" in 1979 and 1980. In addition, results obtained from a special survey of violent crime recorded by the police and from the 1988 British Crime Survey were published in Home Office Research Bulletin No. 27. There is also some information in chapter 7 of "Domestic Violence" Home Office Research Study 107. Copies of all these publications are available in the Library. Information on prosecutions and convictions is not collected in sufficient detail to distinguish domestic violence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual police forces have dedicated domestic violence units.

This information is not collected centrally, but I understand that dedicated units have been established by three forces to date.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides per quarter have taken place in Brixton prison in the last two years.

The number of deaths of inmates at their own hand at Brixton prison in each quarter over the last two years is shown in the table.

Deaths at the prisoner's own hand at Her Majesty's prison Brixton between 1 October 1988 and 30 September 1990
Period	Number of deaths at own hand1
1 October to 31 December 1988	—
1 January to 31 March 1989	1
1 April to 30 June 1989	13
1 July to 30 September 1989	1 23
1 October to 31 December 1989	1
1 January to 31 March 1990	1
1 April to 30 June 1990	—
1 July to 30 September 1990	32
1 The figures in brackets give the number of deaths in respect of which a verdict of suicide was returned at the inquest.
2 Includes one death which occurred at Isleworth crown court.
3 Neither inquest has yet been held.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what child care provision his Department provides for the pre-school age children of Home Office employees or after-school or holiday care for children aged five years or over; and whether he has any plans to increase provision.

The Home Office is making day nursery provision available, for payment, for children of its staff in Croydon with effect from 30 October and in Bootle from 5 November. Consideration is being given, with other Government Departments, to making similar provisions in central London. Holiday play scheme places have already been made available for the children of staff in Bootle, Croydon, Peterborough and Westminster.

Force	Chief Con.1	Deputy Chief Con.3	Assistant Chief Con.3	Chief Supt.	Supt.	Chief Insp.	Insp.	Sgt.	Const.	Total male ranks
Avon and Somerset	1	1	3	12	38	68	147	467	2,044	2,781
Bedfordshire	1	1	1	5	15	19	50	137	677	906
Cambridgeshire	1	1	1	5	12	24	59	190	770	1,063
Cheshire	1	1	2	6	23	31	104	267	1,207	1,642
Cleveland	1	1	2	7	19	25	87	229	943	1,314
Cumbria	1	1	1	7	19	24	69	189	738	1,049
Derbyshire	1	1	2	7	25	34	94	254	1,171	1,589
Devon and Cornwall	1	1	3	13	34	46	132	440	1,915	2,585
Dorset	1	1	1	6	16	23	69	189	834	1,140
Durham	1	1	2	5	17	28	75	208	926	1,263
Dyfed Powys	1	1	1	7	13	21	38	149	618	849
Essex	1	1	3	12	31	59	121	416	1,897	2,541
Gloucestershire	1	1	1	6	14	20	54	171	782	1,050
Greater Manchester	1	1	5	27	91	128	388	1,022	4,477	6,140
Gwent	1	1	1	5	14	17	46	152	668	905
Hampshire	1	1	3	11	35	51	127	476	2,132	2,837
Hertfordshire	1	1	2	9	23	30	90	244	1,025	1,425
Humberside	1	1	1	8	23	37	204	315	1,345	1,835
Kent	1	1	3	12	36	50	170	419	1,943	2,635
Lancashire	l	1	3	13	40	72	158	507	2,059	2,854
Leicestershire	1	1	2	7	23	29	100	265	1,142	1,570
Lincolnshire	1	1	1	4	10	24	65	193	782	1,081
Merseyside	1	1	3	20	60	78	253	730	2,964	4,110
Norfolk	1	1	1	6	18	22	65	196	161	1,271
Northamptonshire	1	1	1	6	13	22	70	167	742	1,023
Northumbria	1	1	3	13	48	63	188	508	2,362	3,187
North Wales	1	1	1	7	24	27	66	206	863	1,196
North Yorkshire	1	1	2	7	17	26	75	206	926	1,261
Nottinghamshire	1	—	1	8	27	32	129	328	1,611	2,137
South Wales	1	1	3	14	42	64	178	525	2,028	2,586
South Yorkshire	1	1	3	11	40	43	156	437	1,954	2,646
Staffordshire	1	1	2	11	31	50	120	319	1,384	1,919
Suffolk	1	1	1	6	17	20	59	177	791	1,073
Surrey	1	1	2	7	23	24	94	246	1,048	1,446
Sussex	1	1	4	10	33	39	175	443	1,979	2,685
Thames Valley	1	1	3	12	35	46	174	485	2,476	3,233
Warwickshire	1	1	1	5	14	17	60	154	658	911
West Mercia	1	1	2	11	29	39	127	288	1,264	1,762
West Midlands	1	1	5	24	78	121	387	1,029	4,252	5,898
West Yorkshire	1	1	5	19	69	80	280	794	3,423	4,672
Wiltshire	1	1	1	6	16	23	58	180	739	1,025
City of London	1	1	1	6	11	20	53	117	491	701
Metropolitan	4	15	34	164	242	484	1,421	4,158	18,269	24,791
1 Includes ranks of assistant commissioner and above in Metropolitan police, and commissioner in the City of London police.
2 Includes deputy assistant commissioner in Metropolitan police and assistant commissioner in the City of London police.
3 Includes commanders in Metropolitan police and City of London police.

Force	Chief Con1	Deputy Chief Con.2	Assistant Chief Con.3	Chief Supt.	Supt.	Chief Inspector	Inspector	Sergeant	Con.	Total Female Ranks
Avon and Somerset	—	—	—	1	—	1	4	14	268	288
Bedfordshire	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	8	129	141
Cambridgeshire	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	5	115	122
Cheshire	—	—	—	—	1	2	2	22	191	218
Cleveland	—	—	—	—	1	1	8	7	131	148
Cumbria	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	4	115	120
Derbyshire	—	—	—	—	1	2	8	6	172	189
Devon and Cornwall	—	—	—	—	—	1	3	14	264	282
Dorset	—	—	—	1	1	—	3	7	134	146
Durham	—	—	—	1	—	1	—	4	107	113
Dyfed Powys	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	82	86
Essex	—	—	—	—	1	—	6	22	272	301

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) women and (b) men are employed by the individual police forces in Britain; and at what grade they are employed.

My right hon. and learned Friend is responsible for policing in England and Wales where the number of male and female police officers as at 31 August 1990 is as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual police forces have dedicated rape suites.

Information is not collected centrally, but I understand that well over half the forces in England and Wales have now established these suites.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the inquiry by the Devon and Cornwall police into the Birmingham pub bombings case to be complete; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) on 22 October at columns 19–20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will specify what formal procedures for making complaints and representations, specifying where appropriate under which sections of which Acts, are available locally and nationally to children and young people under 18 years of age who wish to make complaints about matters which are the responsibility of his Department.

This information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. If the right hon. Gentleman is aware of any instance in which a child or young person has been improperly or unlawfully refused a procedure for making a complaint or representation about a matter falling within my responsibility I will look into the matter if he will send me the details.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people had registered to vote by 10 October in the Finchley constituency.

The information requested will not become available until the electoral register is published on or before 15 February 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Bedfordshire on the requirement for citizens of the United Kingdom participating in the Ampthill games on 4 November to divulge their names and addresses to the Bedfordshire police; what information he has on any similar requirement imposed on internationally famous sportsmen when participating in similar games in the United Kingdom; and what is the Government's policy on such requirements.

The police have no power to require those who participate in sporting events to disclose their names and addresses. I understand that the police did not ask for this information in the case to which the hon. Member refers. The information was provided voluntarily by the organisers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the staffing by grade at the proposed Birmingham public inquiry office.

The most recent estimate indicated a requirement for two executive officers, five administrative officers, one administrative assistant and a custodian.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the likely workload of the proposed Birmingham public inquiry office.

It was estimated in 1985 that the proposed Birmingham public inquiry office would attract around 16,000 callers per annum.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the savings at other offices following the opening of the proposed Birmingham public inquiry office.

A study in 1985 suggested that there would be a reduction of around 6,500 postal applications per annum at Lunar house, with an approximate net saving at that time of £65,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his review of model byelaws for the regulation of dogs in the light of comments received in response to the Department of the Environment consultation document "Action on Dogs".

On 10 August 1989 the Department of the Environment published a consultation document, "Action on Dogs", which sought views on various issues including the content and operation of the Home Office model byelaws. Comments were submitted by 126 local authorities and other bodies and these have been carefully considered in the light of our experience in dealing with dog byelaw applications since the models were last reviewed in 1987.When reaching his conclusions, the aim of the Home Secretary has been to offer a wide range of possible byelaw provisions for dog control which can be used by local authorities in a variety of combinations to produce schemes tailored to meet local needs.By far the largest number of those commenting suggested making the "poop-scoop" byelaw more freely available. This makes it an offence for a person in charge of a dog to fail to remove any faeces it may deposit in designated parks, recreation grounds and open spaces. At present the byelaw may be applied to any children's playground or sports pitch, beaches and promenades in the summer season, trunk road picnic sites, and picnic areas in country parks, but it may be applied to parks and open spaces only where there are alternative uncontrolled areas. Experience of operating the byelaw has shown that, while it has been successful in designated parks, uncontrolled areas nearby tend to become heavily fouled. We consider that it is reasonable to expect dog owners to clear up after their pets in places used by other members of the public, including children. Therefore my right hon. and learned Friend has decided that he will be prepared to confirm "poop-scoop" byelaws for any park, recreation ground or open space, except heaths and woodlands where the local authority considers them appropriate and without the need to provide alternative uncontrolled areas. The byelaw will also be available for beaches and promenades all the year round. Parts of beaches which are subject to a dog ban during the summer season may be designated as "poop-scoop" areas for the remainder of the year.We have also considered the byelaws available to control fouling on highways. At present, local authorities may introduce a byelaw which makes it an offence simply to allow a dog to foul a pavement next to a carriageway or an adjacent grass verge up to 4 metres wide. Although most local authorities have this byelaw, it has been criticised on various grounds: it provides no protection either for footpaths which are not adjacent to a highway or for pedestrianised areas and, once the fouling has taken place, the faeces remain there. Since our aim is to encourage dog owners to remove dog mess from the environment, my right hon. and learned Friend proposes to replace the "no fouling" byelaw for pavements with a further extension of the "poop-scoop" byelaw.In addition to recreation grounds and open spaces, the "poop-scoop" byelaw will be freely available for local authorities to apply to any footpath in a built-up or residential area whether or not it is adjacent to a highway. The byelaw can also be applied to any grass verge which is maintained in good order and is adjacent to a highway. It will also be available for any pedestrianised area owned by a local authority such as a shopping precinct.My right hon. and learned Friend has also decided to make the "poop-scoop" byelaw available for the gutters of highways in urban areas. While it would be too hazardous to both the pet owner and the traffic to extend the "poop-scoop" byelaw to the carriageway itself, the "no-fouling" byelaw will become available for carriageways in built-up areas. This will prevent the transfer of the problem from the gutter to the carriageway and deter owners from permitting their pets to foul the highway. It will be open to local authorities to choose to use these byelaws for pavement, gutter and carriageways either individually or in combination to meet their local needs.We have also considered the operation of the "dogs on leads" byelaw. This compels owners to keep their dogs on leads at all times in designated places. It may be applied to parks and other open spaces where a need can be shown—eg ornamental gardens, children's play areas and bowling greens, promenades adjacent to beach ban areas during the summer months, and areas where the disturbance of wildlife is a consideration.There is a need to balance the interests of those who wish to visit parks without being bothered by loose dogs, such as mothers with young children and pet owners who wish to exercise their dogs off the lead at some time during the day. But the balance is, in general, best determined locally, bearing in mind the need to protect those, such as children, who are likely to be frightened or disturbed by loose dogs. In order to assist local authorities, my right hon. and learned Friend has decided that a wider range of byelaws should be made available to promote greater flexibility.First, the "dogs on leads" byelaw will be available in a wider range of circumstances than previously permitted, including promenades all the year round, where the local authority is able to justify the use of the byelaw, which will normally involve showing areas are available locally where dogs may be exercised off the lead at some time during the day. Secondly, two new model byelaws will be made available. Instead of imposing a requirement for a dog to be kept on a lead in a park or part of a park all day, it will be possible for a local authority to limit the lead requirement to certain times of day or days of the week, for example when young children are most likely to he there. Different times could be imposed in different parks in the same area to cater for various local needs. A second new byelaw will give powers to council officers to ask for dogs to be put on a lead if it is necessary to prevent nuisance or behaviour giving reasonable grounds for annoyance. This byelaw will be available to local authorities to apply to designated parks and open spaces, again where a need can be demonstrated.Finally, we have examined the byelaw which prohibits dogs from entering designated and enclosed grounds, enclosed parts of other grounds (children's play areas, bowling greens, etc.) and parts of beaches during the summer season. My right hon. and learned Friend has concluded that these measures should continue to be available on the same basis as before, but that a wider variety of byelaws should be available to the local authority. Two further model byelaws have been developed, first, a byelaw which enables dogs to be banned from a designated park or open space for a specified period of the day. This will be similar to the new time-limited "dogs on leads" byelaw and will be available for open parks as well as enclosed ones. Secondly, we have developed a new model byelaw which will enable local authorities to ban dogs from designated enclosed parks, apart from a specially designated and enclosed exercise area. The exercise area will need to be of a reasonable size and usually be subject to a "poop-scoop" byelaw. Owners will be required to take their dogs on the lead from the park entrance to the exercise area.When considering which combination of byelaws is most suitable for their areas, local authorities will need to bear in mind that, unlike the general law, the validity of byelaws, including their reasonableness, can be challenged in the courts. Local authorities will need to weigh up the needs of various sections of the community. These will include mothers with children and others who wish to be able to enjoy a visit to the park either free from dogs or free from boisterous loose dogs. There will also be pet owners who wish to exercise their dogs off the lead at least once a day, reasonably near their homes. These will include families with children and dogs who wish to go to the park

Outstanding cases
	Nationality		General immigration casework1 2	Asylum and related casework1 3
	Naturalisation1	Registration1
1989
January	6	6	45,237	6
February	6	6	43,774	6

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Boundary Commission intends to conduct any supplementary review of European parliamentary constituencies in England.

The Commission has informed me that it intends to consider making a supplementary report on the following two European parliamentary constituencies in England:

• Oxford and Buckinghamshire
• Bedford South.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will approve local authority byelaws to enable local authorities to control the use of jet skis.

[holding answer 22 October 1990]: My right hon. and learned Friend will consider any proposal from a local authority which wishes to make byelaws to regulate the use of jet skis, under any enabling power for which he is the confirming authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of outstanding cases for each month in 1989 and 1990 under the headings (a) naturalisation, (b) registration, (c) refugees, (d) asylum seekers and (e) general immigration work, and the numbers of new applications in each of those areas for each month.

The number of outstanding cases relates to casework in B1 and B4 divisions in the immigration and nationality department and is as follows: