Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Monday 25 February 1991

Environment

Crown Suppliers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many contracts have been extended by the Crown Suppliers in breach of EC/GATT regulations.

Some contracts appear prima facie to fall into this category, but the question of whether breaches have actually occurred can be conclusively established only by the European Court of Justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what restrictions exist, or he has placed, on the freedom of TCS board members to work for any of the companies which have been the beneficiaries of contract extensions in breach of EC/GATT regulations.

The general rules applying to the acceptance of outside appointments by civil servants after retirement provide adequate safeguards against any suspicion of impropriety. In particular the assent of the Department is required before any non-industrial staff member may accept an offer of employment by a company with which they have been directly or indirectly involved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at which board meetings in 1990 the Crown Suppliers sanctioned a number of contract extensions in breach of EC/GATT regulations.

Although in the course of considering future business, the question of extending contracts was discussed, at no point did the TCS main board sanction extensions in breach of EC/GATT regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what legal advice was obtained by his Department during 1989 concerning possible breaches of EC/GATT purchasing regulations by TCS.

In July 1989 the Department of the Environment provided legal advice that negotiated procedures were permitted by the EC/GATT regulations on certain grounds which did not include difficulties arising from privatisation. The legal adviser also pointed out the requirement to draw up a written report of any negotiated procedure.In September 1989 the legal adviser responded to a draft report relying on reasons of urgency of supply, or incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties resulting from a change in supplier. His advice was that none of the considerations given for further contract extensions could be justified under the EC directive.No legal advice was sought by the Department from any other source.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether the payments made to the personnel director of the Crown Suppliers included moneys additional to the baseline statutory requirements on termination of his employment with the Crown Suppliers;(2) whether payments made to the business director of building management, Property Services Agency, included moneys additional to the baseline statutory requirements on termination of his contract with the Property Services Agency.

Crown servants are excluded from certain parts of employment legislation providing for baseline statutory payments on termination of employment.

Ec/Gatt Regulations

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total value of contract extensions granted to PENTOS and Ernest Gill in breach of EC/GATT regulations.

Values of contracts with individual suppliers are a matter of commercial confidentiality.

Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish details of the performance of cash incentive schemes operated by local authorities under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988.

A report on the operation of cash incentive schemes in 1989–90, based on returns received from the local authorities, has today been placed in the Library. Local authorities will be reporting to the Department on the performance of 1990–91 schemes at the end of the financial year.

Severn Trent Water

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last met the chairman of Severn Trent Water to discuss his company's financial strategy.

As Severn Trent Water is a private sector company, it is the responsibility of its directors to deal with financial matters, within the framework of the obligations imposed on the company by its instrument of appointment as a water and sewerage undertaker. The Director General of Water Services ensures that the company complies with those obligations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the Property Services Agency (a) has been and (b) is eligible to be contracted to carry out work for the United States air force in the United Kingdom.

The Property Services Agency has carried out work for the United States air force in the United Kingdom for a number of years and continues to do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions have taken place on the post of the Property Services Agency chief executive following upon the decision to proceed with privatisation of the assets of the Property Services Agency.

It is envisaged that the post of chief executive, PSA Services will remain so long as PSA Services has the functions of a Government Department.

Environmental Protection Act

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) when he intends to implement sections 49 and 50 of the Environmental Protection Act;(2) when he intends to implement sections 63 and 73 of the Environmental Protection Act.

I shall announce a timetable for the implementation of part II of the Environmental Protection Act shortly.

Departmental Discipline

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps have been taken to ensure that disciplinary actions brought by his Department have been applied consistently at all levels of officials within his Department.

Both the Department of Environment and PSA Services maintain central registers of all disciplinary offences and the action taken. This is consulted by personnel officers before recommending penalties in each case to ensure uniformity of treatment.

Disabled Employees

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what arrangements will be made to ensure continuity of employment for those persons who are disabled in his Department.

The Department already operates an equal opportunities policy designed to ensure that disablement in itself is no bar to recruitment or advancement in the Department.

Assured Tenancies

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the average rent of assured tenancies let by housing associations during 1989 and 1990 within each economic planning region.

The available information comes from a survey by the National Federation of Housing Associations which provides average rents for assured tenancies let in each of the NFHA regions. Results for the fourth quarter 1989 to the third quarter 1990 have been published in the "NFHA CORE Quarterly Bulletin", and the relevant extracts have been placed in the Library.

Unleaded Petrol

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further initiatives the Government are taking to promote the sale of lead-free petrol.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Coombs) on 4 February at column 40. Since then, we have commissioned a survey of motorists in order to find out what barriers there may be to the further uptake of unleaded petrol. Any further initiatives will be guided by the results of the survey.

Local Government Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much he expects the 1991–92 community charge in Waveney to be increased from last year to take account of defaulters in 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

Authorities should have as their aim the collection of 100 per cent. of the charges due to them, and we have provided them with extensive enforcement powers. It is for individual charging authorities, when setting their charges, to decide to what extent to make provision for arrears which they consider are likely to be ultimately uncollectable.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many community charge payers in Waveney he expects will benefit from all the relief schemes in 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not yet available. However, if Waveney borough council sets its community charge next year at or above £350, a couple who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in a property of half average rateable value could look forward to a reduction of £395 between them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the effect that the community charge reduction scheme will have upon Congleton borough council and its charge payers.

No information is yet available on the numbers of people in each charging authority area who will benefit from a reduction. However, if Congleton borough council sets its community charge next year at or above £388, a couple who have not moved since 31 March 1990 living in a property of half average rateable value could look forward to a reduction of £398 between them.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that community charge payers in Waveney in 1991–92 are not penalised by non-payers in 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

From 1 April 1990 local authorities were given widened and strengthened enforcement powers which we would expect them to use to minimise the amount of unpaid charges.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of grant is to be paid by central Government to the Congleton borough council in the coming financial year; and what were the amounts paid in each of the previous five years for which figures are available taking into account any relevant changes in local authority responsibilities.

The following amounts of grant were paid to Congleton borough council or are due to be paid:

Year	Amount £
Rate Support Grant
1986–87	1,087,274·00
1987–88	883,317·00
1988–89	710,635·00
1989–90	619,947·00

Year	Amount £
Revenue Support Grant
1990–91	9,277,645·00
1991–92	8,348,987·00

The figures for 1990–91 onwards are not comparable with previous years since the grant is now paid into the collection fund on which Cheshire county council is entitled to precept.

Revenue support grant like rate support grant is not paid in support of particular services and it is not possible to adjust the above figures for any changes in local authority responsibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on what percentage of domestic properties for which rates were due domestic rates were not paid in the Chelmsford local authority area in the latest available financial year prior to 31 March 1990.

No information is collected centrally on the percentage of domestic properties for which rates were not paid.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish information on (a) poll tax receipts and non-payment and (b) non-domestic rate receipts and non-payment for all those local authorities which have made their third quarterly returns to his Department.

[holding answer 20 February 1991]: I am arranging for copies of the information to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the community charge reduction scheme will only apply during 1991–92; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 22 February 1991]: Regulations laid before Parliament on 14 February 1990 provide that the community charge reduction scheme in England will initially apply to 1991–92 and 1992–93.

St James's Park

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the contract was placed for the rehabilitation of the lake in St. James's park; when the work was scheduled to finish; and on what date it is now expected to be fully completed.

The contract for the rehabilitation of the lake was placed on 29 October 1990. The work was scheduled to finish on 29 March 1991, and is expected to be completed on about 12 April.

Bathing Beaches

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will approve a byelaw under the Public Health Act 1936 to designate beaches in Worthing as bathing beaches.

Worthing is already a designated bathing water under the European Community Bathing Water Directive and has met European standards for the past two years.

Fish

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the numbers of species of fish in the United Kingdom's coastal waters, and if he will list those species which are largely dependent upon estuaries for breeding and migration purposes.

I have been asked to reply.There are about 125 species of fin fish in United Kingdom coastal waters of which about half are of interest to fishermen. Leaving aside the non-commercial fish species, the species which take advantage of estuarine conditions at some stage in their lifecycle are bass, flounder, herring, sprat, eel, smelt, salmonids, mullet species and sandeel species.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

East Timor

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he is making to the Indonesian Government on the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in East Timor.

As my hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs informed the hon. Lady in reply to her question of 29 March 1990, column 289, the Indonesian authorities are well aware of our views on the need to respect human rights.

Iran

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iran about executions in the past year; and what representations he has made on the assassination of Dr. Kazem Rajavi.

We remain concerned at the high level of executions in Iran. We have made clear to the Iranian Government that we expect them to respond promptly to all the allegations made in the reports of the United Nations special representative on human rights in Iran, including those relating to executions.We have not raised with the Iranian Government the case of Dr. Rajavi, which is still under investigation in Switzerland.

Kenya

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he is making to the Kenyan Government on behalf of the British citizens of Asian origin who face difficulties with visa and entry regulations for that country.

Immigration procedures for entry into Kenya are a matter for the Kenyan Government. We make regular representations to the Kenyan Government on this issue in London and through our High Commission in Nairobi.

Arab And Islamic States

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings or telephone conversations he or ministers in his Department have had with Ministers or officials from foreign ministries in Arab and Islamic states since 15 January; and what matters have been addressed in each case.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and officials of this Department have been in touch with Ministers and senior officials of almost all Arab and Islamic countries since 15 January. A very wide range of bilateral, regional and internal matters has been discussed, including the Gulf crisis. The great majority of Arab and Islamic Governments firmly support the United Nations resolutions on the Gulf and the requirement for Saddam Hussein to withdraw all his forces immediately and unconditionally from Kuwait.

Yugoslavia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice he is giving tour operators and individuals over the safety of holidaymaking in Yugoslavia in the current year.

Our current advice is that we see no reason to discourage travel to Yugoslavia. We point out, however, that there have been localised disturbances in Kosovo and in parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. British nationals are also advised to avoid the area of Knin where there have been blockades on roads and railways. Visitors staying longer than one month are advised to register with the British consulates in Belgrade, Zagreb, Split or Dubrovnik.We are continually reviewing travel advice for all countries.

Security Policy

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the speech he made to the European Foreign Affairs Council on European security policy.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs set out our views on European security policy in his Churchill memorial lecture on 19 February, and in his speech in Berlin on 10 December. Copies are available in the Library.

Israel

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times the United States of America and the United Kingdom have vetoed proposed resolutions regarding sanctions against Israel in the United Nations Security Council.

None.

The Gulf

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he or his officials have had any meetings this year with members of (a) Kuwait and (b) Iraqi opposition political parties.

British diplomats in Saudi Arabia have kept in close touch with all strands of Kuwaiti society as represented, for example, at the Kuwait national conference held in Jedda on 13–15 October. Officials in London have held a number of meetings with the members of a variety of Iraqi groups.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the deployment of Patriot missiles in the Occupied Territories on the cohesion of the coalition against Iraq.

The coalition against Iraq remains firm. The deployment of Patriot missile launchers in defence of Israel is a matter for the Israeli Government.

The Gulf (Birds)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he has given to efforts to save birdlife in the Gulf area; and if he will make a statement on progress with these efforts.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire) on 15 February at col. 609. The main aim of the visit of the RSPCA team to the Gulf was to train local volunteers in the techniques of cleaning oil-contaminated seabirds. Nevertheless, the RSPCA team treated more than 500 birds in Saudi Arabia during their time there.

Hong Kong

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his estimate of the number of managerial and professional persons resident in Hong Kong in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on his current assessment of the likelihood of a drain of managerial and professional persons from Hong Kong.

[holding answer 20 February 1991]: The Hong Kong Government estimate that the number of managerial and professional people (including administrative and technical personnel) resident in Hong Kong in each of the past five years was:

	Number
1986	262,000
1987	279,000
1988	302,000
1989	318,000
1990	328,000

The Hong Kong Government estimate that the number of emigrants who fall into these categories in each of the past five years was as follows:

	Number
1986	2,600
1987	7,400
1988	11,200
1989	9,800
1990	14,500

The Hong Kong Government believe that, despite loss through emigration, the number of highly educated and professionally skilled persons in Hong Kong should not

fall in future years if the present trend of local young people graduating overseas continues. Furthermore, Hong Kong's own tertiary institutions are rapidly expanding their output of new graduates. The figures are:

	Number
1986	2,800
1987	3,000
1988	3,600
1989	4,300
1990	5,000

It is estimated that by 1996 Hong Kong will be producing over 17,000 new first degree graduates per year.

Education And Science

Geography

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list and give the reasons for his alterations to the recommendations of the geography working group and the National Curriculum Council's consultation report on geography.

My right hon. and learned Friend published a draft statutory order for geography on 14 January together with draft attainment targets and programmes of study. At that time he published a statement giving his reasons for making changes to the documents, as he was required to do by the Education Reform Act. Copies of the drafts and the statement of reasons were placed in the Library. I shall send a copy of the texts to my hon. Friend.

Chief Inspector Of Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will consider candidates for appointment to the post of chief inspector of schools from outside Her Majesty's inspectorate.

The new senior chief inspector will be appointed after an open competition organised by the Civil Service Commission. External and internal candidates have already applied, and the post will shortly be readvertised to increase the field from which the appointment can be made.

Teacher Training Institutions

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to reform teacher training institutions to take account of the Education Reform Act 1988.

The Secretary of State already requires teacher training institutions to take account of the Act. The revised course approval criteria, which have been in effect since 1 January 1990, reflect the changing needs of schools, including the demands of the national curriculum. The Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education advises the Secretary of State on whether courses satisfy the criteria. It is keeping the criteria under review and will be offering my right hon. and learned Friend their advice on possible changes to them later this year.

Schools Inspectorate

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has for the reorganisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of the Education Reform Act 1988.

The senior chief inspector regularly undertakes reviews of all aspects of the organisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools, within the arrangements applying to the DES as a whole. Such reviews take account of major changes and developments in the education system, for example, the Education Reform Act 1988 and along with the rest of the Department's arrangements are subject to the Secretary of State's oversight and agreements.

Higher Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much it cost to run the higher education section of Her Majesty's inspectorate in the last financial year; what the projected outturn is for the current year; and what the planned expenditure is for 1992.

All Her Majesty's inspectorate undertake a range of duties. In 1989–90, the manpower devoted to higher education inspection and reporting was the equivalent of 40 Her Majesty's inspectorate. The inspectorate's total budget in 1989–90 was £25 million and on a pro-rata basis, the cost of higher education inspection was £2·1 million.The expected outturn for the current financial year is £2·3 million and for 1991–92 is £2·5 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of reports on higher educational institutions and courses completed by Her Majesty's inspectorate categorised by length of time between inspection and publication; and if he will state the average time taken between inspection and publication for Her Majesty's inspectorate reports on higher education.

In 1990 Her Majesty's inspectorate published reports on 105 higher education institutions and 13 higher education surveys. The length of time taken between inspection and the publication of these reports is as shown:

Months	Reports
2	1
3	15
4	14
5	31
6	20
7	17
8	4
9	2
10	1

The average time taken between inspection and publication is five months.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what consultations he has recently undertaken with regard to the future structure and funding of higher education and the future system of student support;

(2) what proposals he is considering to award state scholarships to cover the costs of tuition fees for undergraduates; and what consideration has been given to making students personally liable for the costs of tuition fees.

My right hon. and learned Friend and I are listening with interest to the continuing debate about the future structure and funding of higher education. We do not rule out some changes over time, but these would require primary legislation for which the Government have no plans. Nor do we plan any change in the arrangements whereby standard fees are met from public funds for the great majority of students who are eligible for an award.

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what targets his Department works to in answering letters (a) from hon. Members and (b) from the general public.

The Department aims to reply to correspondence (a) within three weeks, and (b) within four weeks of the date of receipt; and to provide an interim reply when a delay is anticipated, for instance in the large number of cases which require an inquiry of an outside body.

Canterbury Estate, Bradford

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) to whom his Minister of State referred material he received from tenants during his visit to the Canterbury estate;(2) what recommendations his Minister of State made following his visit to the Canterbury estate in Bradford on 15 February; and if he will make a statement.

As Minister with special responsibility for Leeds and Bradford the purpose of my recent visit to the Canterbury estate was to acquaint myself better with that part of the task force area. I have referred the material with which I was presented by some residents to the task force, which will be following up the issues raised.

Teachers' Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will state, for each table in the written evidence given by his Department in the autumn of 1989 to the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (i) when those figures or statistics have been or will be otherwise published, (ii) the name or type of the relevant publication, (iii) the earliest date when the figures or statistics shown in the table were available for use, and (iv) whether the figures or statistics shown in the table were specially prepared in connection with the preparation of evidence to the committee;(2) if he will list the publications containing figures and statistics relevant to the consideration of changes in the remuneration and other conditions of employment of school teachers which he expects his Department to publish before the autumn of 1991, in each case stating the expected month of publication;(3) if he will state, for each table in the written evidence given by his Department in the autumn of 1990 to the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions (i) when those figures or statistics have been or will be otherwise published, (ii) the name or type of the relevant publication, (iii) the earliest date when the figures or statistics shown in the table were available for use, and (iv) whether the figures or statistics shown in the table were specially prepared in connection with the preparation of evidence to the committee.

I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Vocational Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will institute a study into the (a) funding problems, (b) viability problems and (c) survival rates in workshop-based vocational educational courses in colleges of higher education; and if he will make a statement.

No.

Grant-Maintained Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the number of schools for each education authority which have applied for grant-maintained status and the number which have expressed to his Department or to the Grant Maintained Schools Trust an interest in so doing.

The table gives the number of schools within each education authority which (a) have been approved for GM status; (b) have published GM proposals on which decisions are pending; (c) are preparing GM proposals following a ballot in favour of seeking GM status; and (d) are holding or are committed to holding a ballot.

Local Education Authority	(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)
Avon	1	1	—	—
Bedfordshire	1	—	—	—
Berkshire	1	2	—	—
Buckinghamshire	2	1	—	—
Cambridgeshire	—	—	1	—
Cheshire	1	—	1	2
Cumbria	—	1	2	—
Derbyshire	2	—	—	—
Devon	1	—	—	—
Dorset	2	—	2	1
Essex	1	1	—	3
Gloucestershire	4	—	—	1
Hampshire	1	1	—	1
Hertfordshire	3	—	2	3
Humberside	—	—	—	1
Kent	4	5	5	5
Lancashire	3	1	—	2
Leicestershire	1	—	—	1
Lincolnshire	6	2	—	2
Norfolk	1	—	—	1
Northamptonshire	2	1	—	1
Shropshire	1	1	1	—
Somerset	—	1	—	—.
Surrey	1	—	1	3
Warwickshire	—	1	—	1
Wiltshire	—	1	—	—
Hammersmith	l	—	1	—
Kensington	1	—	—	—
Lewisham	—	—	—	2
Southwark	1	—	—	—
Tower Hamlets	—	—	—	1
Wandsworth	—	1	1	1

Local Education Authority	(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)
Barnet	2	—	—	—
Brent	1	—	1	1
Bromley	1	—	—	4
Ealing	—	—	2	4
Hillingdon	1	2	2	4
Newham	1	—	—	—
Sutton	1	1	—	—
Waltham Forest	—	—	—	1
Birmingham	3	1	—	—
Dudley	1	—	—	—
Sandwell	—	1	—	—
Wolverhampton	1	—	1	—
Liverpool	1	—	—	—
Bolton	1	—	—	—
Rochdale	—	—	—	1
Tameside	1	—	—	—
Bradford	1	—	—	—
Calderdale	2	—	—	—
Kirklees	2	—	—	—
Total	62	26	23	47
Many other schools are considering whether to seek GM status. In the last four months we have sent out on request about 80,000 copies of our explanatory leaflet for parents "Grant-Maintained Schools: Questions Parents Ask".

School Governors And Managers

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what grants have been made to the National Association of Governors and Managers and for what purposes in the last two years.

The Department contributed £8,000 per annum in 1988–89 and 1989–90 towards the cost of improving the association's administration; up to £40,000 is available in the current year in support of longer term restructuring to enable it to become an effective national organisation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the number of governors of local authority maintained schools there are in England; and if he will give the membership of the National Association of Governors and Managers.

There are an estimated 300,000 governors in local education authority maintained schools. Approximately 3,000 individuals and 480 governing bodies are members of the National Association of Governors and Managers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what meetings have been held in recent months between Ministers and officials of his Department and representatives of the National Association of Governors and Managers; and who represented the National Association of Governors and Managers.

There have been no ministerial meetings with the National Association of Governors and Managers in recent months. Officials have met members of the association's national executive on a number of occasions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will indicate for Kent county council its ranking for the last 10 years in spending per pupil on school education as against other local education authorities.

The available information is shown in the table.

Year	Number of LEAs for which information is available¹	Kent LEA rank²
		Primary	Secondary
1979–80	96	84	61
1980–81	96	94	81
1981–82	96	94	79
1982–83	96	91	78
1983–84	96	95	84
1984–85	96	94	91
1985–86	96	95	96
1986–87	94	93	93
1987–88	97	³87	86
1988–89	93	³93	91

Notes to table:

¹ The rankings relate to authorities in England for which data is available, and are based on authorities' expenditure and pupil number returns to the relevant Government Departments. 1988–89 is the latest year for which data is available.

² The rankings relate to net institutional spending in primary schools and secondary schools, including the cost of salaries and wages, premises, and certain supplies and services. The cost of school meals, central administration and the financing of capital expenditure is not included. The highest spending authority is ranked as 1.

³ From 1987–88, separate information is not available for nursery and primary schools, and the rankings relate to spending in all such schools.

Kent County Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received details of the draft Kent county council budget for 1991–92; and if he will indicate the standard spending assessment.

The education component of Kent county council's standard spending assessment for 1991–92 is £533·3 million. My right hon. and learned Friend has received no details of the council's draft education budget.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set up an investigation into the quality of the education provided in Kent; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.

Education Authority Spending

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing for each education authority in England and Wales the latest information available on spending per pupil on school education, ordered by that spending.

The available information for England is shown in the tables. Information for Wales is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

¹Average net institutional expenditure per pupil in nursery and primary schools in England 1988–89²
LEA	£	Rank
ILEA	1,605	1
Ealing	1,385	2
Brent	1,375	3

LEA	£	Rank
Newham	1,360	4
Hounslow	1,270	5
Barking and Dagenham	1,255	6
Barnet	1,250	7
Waltham Forest	1,250	7
Sheffield	1,230	9
Newcastle upon Tyne	1,225	10
Merton	1,210	11
Walsall	1,200	12
Hillingdon	1,195	13
Wolverhampton	1,190	14
Croydon	1,180	15
Gateshead	1,180	15
Richmond-upon-Thames	1,180	15
Doncaster	1,175	18
Kingston-upon-Thames	1,175	18
Sandwell	1,175	18
Bromley	1,165	21
Knowsley	1,165	21
Bradford	1,160	23
Humberside	1,155	24
Leeds	1,155	24
Liverpool	1,150	26
South Tyneside	1,150	26
Calderdale	1,145	28
North Tyneside	1,145	28
Cumbria	1,140	30
Durham	1,130	31
Hertfordshire	1,130	31
Oldham	1,125	33
Oxfordshire	1,125	33
Rotherham	1,125	33
Bedfordshire	1,115	36
Harrow	1,115	36
Nottinghamshire	1,115	36
Tameside	1,115	36
Enfield	1,110	40
Kirklees	1,110	40
Bexley	1,100	42
Havering	1,095	43
Northumberland	1,090	44
Sutton	1,090	44
Leicestershire	1,085	46
Salford	1,085	46
Bury	1,080	48
Derbyshire	1,080	48
Cleveland	1,075	50
Shropshire	1,075	50
Norfolk	1,070	52
Redbridge	1,070	52
Wirral	1,070	52
Barnsley	1,065	55
Buckinghamshire	1,065	55
Coventry	1,065	55
Isle of Wight	1,055	58
Avon	1,050	59
Essex	1,050	59
St. Helens	1,050	59
Staffordshire	1,050	59
Surrey	1,050	59
Trafford	1,050	59
Wiltshire	1,045	65
Birmingham	1,040	66
Hampshire	1,040	66
Solihull	1,040	66
Stockport	1,035	69
Berkshire	1,030	70
North Yorkshire	1,030	70
East Sussex	1,025	72
Somerset	1,025	72
Warwickshire	1,025	72
Wigan	1,025	72
Dorset	1,020	76
Dudley	1,020	76
Suffolk	1,020	76
Bolton	1,015	79
Sefton	1,015	79
Cornwall	1,010	81

LEA	£	Rank
Gloucestershire	1,010	81
Cambridgeshire	1,005	83
Lincolnshire	1,005	83
Northamptonshire	1,005	83
Sunderland	1,005	83
West Sussex	1,005	83
Hereford and Worcester	1,000	88
Rochdale	990	89
Lancashire	985	90
Devon	975	91
Cheshire	960	92
Kent	935	93
Haringey	n.a.	—
Manchester	n.a.	—
Wakefield	n.a.	—

Average net institutional expenditure¹ per pupil in secondary schools in England, 1988–89 ²
LEA	£	Rank
ILEA	2,505	1
Waltham Forest	2,435	2
Brent	2,305	3
Ealing	2,145	4
Newham	2,140	5
Croydon	2,040	6
Knowsley	1,990	7
Barking and Dagenham	1,970	8
Coventry	1,940	9
Liverpool	1,905	10
Kingston-upon-Thames	1,900	11
Hounslow	1,895	12
Sandwell	1,885	13
Walsall	1,885	13
Hillingdon	1,870	15
Newcastle upon Tyne	1,870	15
Havering	1,860	17
Salford	1,860	17
Wigan	1,845	19
Dudley	1,840	20
South Tyneside	1,825	21
Barnet	1,820	22
Sheffield	1,810	23
North Tyneside	1,780	24
Bromley	1,770	25
Cleveland	1,770	25
Gateshead	1,770	25
Leicestershire	1,770	25
Derbyshire	1,755	29
Wirral	1,755	29
Hertfordshire	1,745	31
Nottinghamshire	1,745	31
Wolverhampton	1,745	31
Harrow	1,740	34
Redbridge	1,735	35
Bury	1,730	36
Stockport	1,730	36
Buckinghamshire	1,715	38
Enfield	1,715	38
St. Helens	1,710	40
Trafford	1,710	40
Rochdale	1,700	42
Shropshire	1,695	43
Humberside	1,690	44
Bexley	1,685	45
Cumbria	1,685	45
Calderdale	1,665	47
Oxfordshire	1,665	47
Sunderland	1,665	47
Merton	1,660	50
Tameside	1,660	50
Doncaster	1,655	52
Solihull	1,650	53
Barnsley	1,645	54
Birmingham	1,640	55
Richmond-upon-Thames	1,640	55
Bedfordshire	1,635	57

LEA	£	Rank
Bolton	1,635	57
Essex	1,635	57
Rotherham	1,635	57
Surrey	1,635	57
Warwickshire	1,635	57
Avon	1,630	63
Northumberland	1,630	63
Sutton	1,630	63
Kirklees	1,620	66
Lancashire	1,620	66
Staffordshire	1,610	68
Bradford	1,605	69
Sefton	1,600	70
North Yorkshire	1,595	71
Oldham	1,590	72
Norfolk	1,585	73
Hampshire	1,580	74
Durham	1,575	75
Berkshire	1,570	76
Somerset	1,570	76
East Sussex	1,565	78
Wiltshire	1,555	79
Cheshire	1,545	80
Gloucestershire	1,545	80
Leeds	1,545	80
Northamptonshire	1,545	80
Devon	1,535	84
West Sussex	1,530	85
Cornwall	1,525	86
Isle of Wight	1,495	87
Dorset	1,490	88
Suffolk	1,485	89
Cambridgeshire	1,480	90
Kent	1,475	91
Lincolnshire	1,475	91
Hereford and Worcester	1,440	93
Haringey	n./.a	—
Manchester	n./a.	—
Wakefield	n./a.	—
¹ Net institutional spending includes the cost of salaries and wages, premises and certain other supplies and services. The cost of school meals, central administration, and the financing of capital expenditure is not included.
² The figures are based on authorities' expenditure and pupil number returns to the relevant Government Departments.

National Finance

Interest Rates

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in sterling, how much Germany's contribution to (a) the United Kingdom, and (b) the allied coalition for the Gulf war has been reduced as a result of the increase in interest rates by the Bundesbank.

It is not possible to distinguish the effect of the increase in interest rates by the Bundesbank from other factors affecting the sterling-deutschmark and dollar-deutschmark exchange rates and thus the sterling and dollar values of Germany's financial contributions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to business of each 1 per cent. increase in interest rates.

The calculation of such costs is inevitably fairly approximate. But a one percentage point rise in interest rates may directly increase industrial and commercial companies' gross costs by £ ½–¾ billion a year. A 1 per cent. rise in wages may increase costs by about £1¾ billion a year.

Tessas

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the total level of personal savings has risen since the introduction of TESSAs.

TESSAs are proving to be very successful and are undoubtedly helping to encourage a climate of thrift. Any estimate of their effect on the overall level of personal savings would be speculative.

Swap Deals (Hong Kong)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on the British banking system of the decision of the Hong Kong Government that swap deals entered into by the Mass Transit Railway may not be valid and will now be validated by retrospective legislation.

This is a matter for the Hong Kong Government. It will have no impact on the British banking system.

Capital Gains Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what studies Her Majesty's Treasury has made of the effect on the overall revenue from capital gains taxation of reducing the rate; and whether he will consider the results of studies undertaken in the United States of America.

Estimates of the effect of changes in capital gains tax rates allow for likely implications for the volume of disposals. If rates were reduced, the volume would be expected to increase, but not to the point where there would be an overall rise in tax receipts. Some studies in the United States have suggested that reductions there in the rate of capital gains tax might, for a period, increase tax receipts, but the results are the subject of considerable debate and other studies have suggested that any increase in revenue would be short-term and would quickly be followed by a fall in tax receipts. In any event, studies in the United States are not of direct relevance to the United Kingdom, because of differences between the two countries' tax regimes. In particular, most of those paying tax on capital gains in the United States would be below the annual exemption (for which there is no United States equivalent) in the United Kingdom, and, for the remainder, indexation relief means that the tax liability on gains would commonly be substantially less in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Limitations on data would make it difficult to replicate the United States studies in the United Kingdom.

Value Added Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT was paid per annum by a family consisting of a married man on (a) half of, (b) three quarters of, (c) twice and (d) three times average male earnings, his wife and two children in 1978–79; and what is the most recent estimate.

Reliable estimates cannot be made outside the range of three quarters to one and a half times average male earnings. For estimates within this range, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) on 17 January 1991 at column 560.

Excise Duty

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the impact of indexation of excise duties by product on (a) inflation and (b) revenues in 1991–92 and a full year.

The impact of indexation of excise duties by product on the retail prices index and revenues in 1991–92 and a full year are as follows:

Duty Item	Retail price index	Revenue yield 1991–92	Revenue yield full year
	per cent.	£ million	£ million
Tobacco	0·20	445	515
Petrol	0·16	715	795
Derv.	0·1	185	215
Beer	0·08	150	175
Wine	0·05	55	60
Spirits	0·05	105	115
VED	0·07	280	290
Cider	¹—	5	5
Other (Rebated Oils etc)	¹—	15	15
Total	0·62	1,955	2,185
¹ Negligible.

Saving Ratio

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the saving ratio of reduced borrowing and additional savings in recent periods.

The personal sector saving ratio has risen from 4½ per cent. in the third quarter of 1988 to nearly 9 per cent. in the third quarter of 1990. Over this period, the year-on-year growth rate of real consumers' expenditure has fallen from nearly 7 per cent. to just over 2 per cent., while the growth of personal sector borrowing has fallen from over 22 per cent. to 13 per cent..

Recycling

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to tax incentives to encourage industry to engage in recycling.

[holding answer 22 February 1991]: I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.

Members Of The European Parliament

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation to ensure that Members of the European Parliament representing the United Kingdom are subject to tax on office and travel allowances in a manner identical to hon. Members of this House.

[holding answer 21 February 1991]: The European Court of Justice ruled in 1981 that expenses allowances paid by the European Parliament to its Members are not liable to United Kingdom tax.

Energy

Electricity Supply, East Midlands

11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish a report on the electricity supply crisis in the east midlands which resulted from the severe weather conditions of 8 December 1990.

East Midlands Electricity is preparing a report which is expected to be available during April. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Gas Industry (Competition)

13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next plans to meet the chairman of British Gas to discuss competition in the gas industry.

I meet the chairman of British Gas from time to time to discuss a range of issues.

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next plans to meet the Director General of OFGAS to discuss competition in the gas industry.

I meet the Director General of Gas Supply from time to time to discuss a range of issues.

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce details of the second non-fossil fuel obligation order.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on his plans for the second tranche of the non-fossil fuel obligation order.

My right hon. Friend proposes to make the second non-fossil fuel obligation order for renewable sources of electricity generating capacity in the autumn of this year.

Electricity Privatisation

15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the number of employees of the 12 regional electricity companies who became shareholders in the industry on its privatisation.

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what information he has on the number of employees of the 12 regional electricity companies who became shareholders in the industry on its privatisation.

About 84,000 employees and 21,000 pensioners of the 12 regional electricity companies, the National Grid Company and the Electricity Association applied for and received shares. Between them they were allocated almost 160 million shares, representing about 7·4 per cent. of the total equity of the 12 regional electricity companies.

Energy Efficiency

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had with community insulation groups regarding the progress of the home energy efficiency scheme.

The home energy efficiency scheme came into operation on 1 January and the initial indications are that it is being well received. Through Neighbourhood Energy Action, the community insulation groups were closely involved in the development of HEES.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what plans his Department has to promote energy efficiency labelling.

Since the White Paper on the Environment "This Common Inheritance" (Cmnd. 1200) my Energy Efficiency Office has consulted extensively on the practicality of appliance labelling schemes and encouraged the European Commission in its own consultative work on drawing up a proposal for a directive. We hope to introduce a voluntary scheme in advance of an EC scheme.There are two labelling schemes for housing currently available, both launched in 1990. The schemes are based on the Building Research Establishment's domestic energy model. The EEO is exploring with the organisations involved how the concept of home energy labelling can be more widely promoted.

Wave-Generated Electricity

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to commission a reassessment of the efficiency of wave-generated electricity.

A new study of the technical and economic prospects of the generation of electricity from wave energy began in the autumn of 1989 and will be completed this year.

Oil Production

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the level of global oil production in 1990.

The IEA estimates global oil production to have averaged 66·6 million barrels per day in 1990.

20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his estimate of the level of United Kingdom oil production in 1990.

United Kingdom oil production in 1990 is provisionally estimated at 91·6 million tonnes.

Offshore Oil And Gas

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what progress has been made in reducing the number of fallow blocks on the United Kingdom continental shelf.

Very good progress has been made. At the beginning of 1989, there were 125 blocks in the fallow category and at the end of last year the overall total was 41. I have been informed by those operators still holding fallow blocks that they expect to make further substantial progress this year.

Coal Imports

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy when he next expects to meet the chairman of British Coal concerning the level of coal imports after April 1993.

I meet the chairman of British Coal regularly to discuss all aspects of the coal industry.

British Coal Enterprise Ltd

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what has been the direct funding of British Coal Enterprise's job and career change scheme.

No direct Government funding is given to British Coal Enterprise. However, restructuring grants are made available to the British Coal Corporation, under section 3 of the Coal Industry Act 1987, to reimburse British Coal Enterprise for losses incurred by the Company in promoting new employment in coal mining areas. This includes the job and career change scheme.

Energy Imports

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if the United Kingdom was a net importer of energy in 1990.

The United Kingdom was a small net importer of energy in 1990, with net imports amounting to 16·2 million tonnes of coal equivalent. However, in financial terms, the higher value of our exports meant that the United Kingdom was a net exporter of energy to the value of £446 million.

Green Issues

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy who in his Department has been appointed to oversee and develop green issues; how many civil servants have been allocated new or additional responsibilities to deal with the management and development of green issues; and what additional allocation of resources has been made to support programmes related to green issues in his Department.

At ministerial level, I am responsible for considering the environmental implications of my Department's policies and spending programmes, and for following up the relevant parts of the White Paper "This Common Inheritance". As part of this responsibility, I chair the newly-established ministerial committee on energy efficiency which aims to stimulate improvements in all sectors of the economy.My Department has set up a steering group and an environment task force to co-ordinate and develop policy on energy and the environment. All relevant divisions are represented on the steering group, which is chaired by a deputy secretary. The task force, which is established within the Energy Technology Division, includes nine staff; it also calls on relevant expertise from other parts of the Department.Many aspects of the Department's work are related, either directly or indirectly, to environmental issues. Environmental considerations therefore play an important role in the work of a very much larger number of my Department's officials, but it is not practicable to identify what proportion of the Department's resources overall are allocated to these issues.My Department's programmes address environmental questions as appropriate. For example, expenditure on renewable energy R and D is due to increase by about 20 per cent. in 1991–92 over the level for 1990–91. In addition, the budget of the Energy Efficiency Office is being increased to £42 million in 1991–92.

Industrial Plant (Dust)

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of solid ceramic-based candle filters in dealing with dust within and from industrial plant flues.

British Coal has undertaken extensive work to develop candle filters for cleaning dust from pressurised combustors such as utilised at the Grimethorpe fluidised bed installation. Information on its work is within the public domain. British Coal has not funded comparable activity of non-utility scale industrial plant where it is felt candle filters would probably not be economic compared with current established technology.

Plutonium

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what volumes of plutonium arising from foreign nuclear fuel reprocessed at (a) Sellafield and (b) Dounreay remain (i) under safeguards in storage at each respective site and (ii) have been returned to the country or countries of origin.

I am advised that up to March 1990 some 3·5 tonnes of plutonium from the reprocessing of overseas spent fuel had been returned to its country of origin or sent to a country specified by the owner of the plutonium; all of this was from reprocessing of spent fuel at Sellafield. At the end of March 1990, British Nuclear Fuels plc held some 0·5 tonnes of extracted plutonium at Sellafield on behalf of overseas customers. None was held in store at Dounreay. All civil nuclear materials remain subject to Euratom safeguards and to the terms of the United Kingdom/Euratom/IAEA safeguards agreement.

Coal Mining Subsidence

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many editions of "Coal Board Arbitration Scheme on Coal Mining Subsidence" were in operation before 1 January; and how many cases were dealt with under each edition of the scheme.

This is a matter for the British Coal Corporation.

Electricity Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will take action to assist heavy energy-using industries which face significantly increasing costs of electricity.

The 1991 prices will depend on the outcome of commercial negotiations currently underway. The Government have created a competitive market for electricity supply in which large users are fully able to participate. I do not believe that it would be right for Government to intervene in the market to assist heavy energy-using industries.

Imports

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the cost of energy imports into the United Kingdom for the year 1990.

The value of energy imports to the United Kingdom, excluding the cost of freight and insurance, for the year 1990 was £7,383 million. This is £446 million less than the comparable value for energy exports of £7,829 million.

Offshore Gas And Oil Industries

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what was the level of direct employment in the offshore oil and gas industry in 1990; and what is his estimate of the number of jobs indirectly supported by the industry.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall).

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what external financing limit has been set for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for 1991–92; and what the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's capital expenditure programme is to be in 1991–92.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority's external financing limit for 1991–92 will be £23·6 million. I have also approved the authority's capital expenditure programme for the year at £27 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has set objectives for the new chairman of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

I have settled objectives with the UKAEA chairman, Mr. John Maltby, on the following terms:INTRODUCTIONPeter Walker wrote to your predecessor, John Collier, on 25 February 1987, setting out the objectives which the Government wished him to pursue as Chairman of the AEA. I am writing to up-date those objectives, taking account of developments both of policy and in the regulatory field, and in the light of the progress made by the AEA to fulfil the main aims of the Government in establishing the Trading Fund in 1986. The objectives represent the general direction in which the Government wishes you to take the AEA. Specific targets, which are referred to in this letter, will be set from time to time by the Government, after consultation with you. Nothing in these objectives over-rides your responsibilities as an Accounting Officer.STATUTORY FRAMEWORKThe AEA's activities are undertaken within the framework of the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954, the Science and Technology Act 1965, the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1986, and other relevant legislation.SAFETYFrom October 1990, the AEA has been subject to the safety requirements imposed on licensed operators by the Health and Safety Executive under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (Repeal and Modifications) Regulations 1990. You should ensure that the AEA continues to have arrangements which secure at all times the highest standards in safety that are reasonably practicable, in its day-to-day activities, in its decommissioning activities and in the management of radioactive waste.DECOMMISSIONING AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENTDecommissioning and radioactive waste management activities are growing in importance within the AEA's total sphere of operations. You should accordingly ensure that, with the funds made available for this purpose, the AEA carries out in the most cost effective way its decommissioning and radioactive waste management responsibilities, consistent with safety and other requirements of the regulatory authorities.

AEA TECHNOLOGY

Aims

Supported by Government, John Collier began, and you are carrying forward, a major restructuring of the AEA, which is aimed at increasing competitiveness, cutting costs, providing better value for money of its customers and increasing profitability. Since 1989, the AEA has been trading as AEA Technology.

Strategy

The AEA is operating in an increasingly competitive market, both for the work which it undertakes for the Government and for other customers. Within the above framework, your prime objective is to ensure that the AEA competes effectively in these markets, develops its business to meet the needs of its customers and, in doing so, earns an acceptable return on its assets. To this end, you should ensure that the AEA has a structure and cost levels that secure these objectives. The Government, whilst continuing to support the AEA in restructuring its operations, looks to the AEA to achieve returns that enable it to fund the costs of restructuring and make a return for the Exchequer.

Defined customer-contractor relations should apply to all work carried out by the AEA. As far as funding by the Department of Energy is concerned, this work will be specified in Programme Letters agreed with the Department and carried out in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the Letters. Subject to its statutory constraints the AEA should undertake work for customers, whether nuclear or non-nuclear, on the basis of an acceptable return after taking into account any waste management and decommissioning costs to which the work gives rise, and appropriate contributions to overheads (including the corporate research and application development programme). The AEA should have regard to the nature of the work involved in seeking such contributions.

Within the framework of legislation and Government policy, you should ensure that the AEA explores all options for exploiting its technology, including collaborating with other organisations where this is commercially justified or where I indicate that there is a national interest in doing so. You should ensure the AEA informs the Department, at an early stage, of its plans for such collaboration.

You should ensure that the AEA prepares annually a Corporate Plan covering the Public Expenditure Survey period consistent with the business strategy outlined in this letter and taking account of the likely development of each of the main business areas. This should be provided to the Department and contain Business Plans for each main business area. In particular, the Plan should identify those areas where increased resources (money, manpower, research and applications development) are justified by prospects of future profitable business and those where effort should be reduced. The Plan should include a Capital Investment Memorandum setting out the AEA's capital expenditure proposals. The Plan should include contingency planning showing how the AEA would respond to different market out-turns to those assumed in the Plan. I expect to review each year's Plan with you.

Performance Targets

You should propose suitable performance targets consistent with and complementary to the financial target (see below) for approval by the Department.

Financial

I expect you to ensure that the AEA stays within its External Financing Limit (EFL) as agreed from year to year.

I expect you to ensure that the financial target, as set by me from time to time after discussion with the AEA, is achieved. I also expect to require you to surrender distributions of agreed sums from time to time to the Consolidated Fund.

Conclusion

This letter sets out the main strategic objectives for the term of your current appointment. I expect to discuss each annual Corporate Plan with you, to review the AEA's achievements against the specific targets which have been set, and if necessary to set new targets in the light of this discussion and review. The objectives in this letter will be reviewed not later than the Summer of 1993.

Trade And Industry

Iran (Exports)

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to encourage British exports to Iran.

My Department, in conjunction with the Committee for Middle East Trade provides advice and information to British exporters to Iran. In order to improve our share of an expanding market, we are, with the assistance of the British Embassy in Tehran, attempting to identify new export opportunities. We are also improving our knowledge of market conditions for the benefit of companies wishing to break into the market. The fairs and promotions branch of my Department has offered financial support to companies wishing to participate in the Iran medical fair to be held in June and it is about to make an offer in respect of the Tehran international fair in October.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the totals, by value, of United Kingdom exports to Iran for each quarter of 1988, 1989 and 1990.

The value of United Kingdom exports to Iran for 1988, 1989 and 1990 was as follows:

£ million
	1988	1989	1990
January to March	69·1	68·4	71·6
April to June	62·2	53·3	84·6
July to September	63·3	56·9	107·1
October to December	52·5	78·6	121·4

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on Export Credits Guarantee Department cover for trade with Iran; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware of the interest being shown by British exporters in business with Iran. Cover is available from the ECGD for exports on credit terms of up to 360 days where payments are secured by irrevocable letters of credit.The resumption of cover for exports on medium term credit will need to take account of a number of factors including commercial considerations and conditions in the region generally. Some progress would also need to be made on the settlement of the debts outstanding to the United Kingdom on trade which took place prior to the Islamic revolution.

Exports To Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many licences for diesel generators to be exported to Iraq have been issued in the last five years.

The information needed to answer this question is not readily available and the resources required to obtain it would place an unreasonable burden on the Department and the public purse.

Monopolies And Mergers Commission

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will list the current members of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and give the relevant experience of each member; how many of the commission are female; and what percentage of the total membership they comprise.

Members of the MMC as at 22 February 1991
Name	Position	Relevant experience
Sir Sydney Lipworth	Chairman	Co-founder and former Deputy Chairman of Allied Dunbar Assurance pic and Chairman of Allied Dunbar Units Trusts plc. Barrister.
Mr. P. H. Dean	Deputy Chairman	Free-lance business consultant. A former Executive Director of the RTZ Corporation plc. Solicitor.
Mr. H. H. Hunt CBE	Deputy Chairman	Former Managing Director of PA Computers and Telecommunications Ltd (PACTEL). Accountant.
Mr. H. H. Liesner CB	Deputy Chairman	Former Chief Economic Adviser at the Department of Trade and Industry.
Mr. A. Armstrong	Member	Senior lecturer in Economics, Bristol University.
Mr. C. Baillieu	Member	Former Chairman and Managing Director of Ultrasonic Machines.
Mr. I. S. Barter	Member	Former Chairman and Chief Executive of Unigate International Division. Barrister.
Professor M. E. Beesley CBE	Member	Founding Professor of Economics at London Business School and Government Economic Adviser.
Mrs. C. M. Blight	Member	Solicitor and Economist. Member of the Law Society of Scotland, Lecturer at University of Edinburgh and Councillor for Gas Consumers in Scotland.
Mr. F. E Bonner CBE	Member	Former Deputy Chairman of Central Electricity Generating Board. Accountant.
Mr. J. S. Bridgeman	Member	Managing Director, Enterprises Division of British Alcan Aluminium.
Mr. L. Britz	Member	Executive Councillor of the Electrical Electronic Telecommunication and Plumbing Union (EETPU), Southern Region. Director of British International Helicopters.
Mr. K. S. Carmichael CBE	Member	Managing Partner of Longcrofts, Chartered Accountants.
Mr. R. Davies	Member	Former Chairman of the Thomson Travel Group.
Professor S. Eilon	Member	Former Head of Department of Management Science and presently Senior Research Fellow at Imperial College. Management Consultant.
Mr. J. Evans	Member	Former Chairman of the Press Association, of Times Newspapers and of the International Thomson Organisation. Solicitor and Barrister.
Mr. A Ferry MBE	Member	General Secretary of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Workers. Director of Harland and Wolff.
Mr. D. G. Goyder	Member	Consultant to Birketts Westhorp and Long of Ipswich and Colchester. Lecturer on Company and Competition law. Solicitor.
Mr. M. Hoffman	Member	Group Chief Executive, Thames Water. Chartered Engineer.
Mr. J. D. Keir QC	Member	Former Joint Secretary of Unilever. Chairman of Pharmacists Review Panel. Barrister.

:The current members of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission are listed together with a summary of their relevant experience. Two (6per cent.) are female.

Name	Position	Relevant experience
Miss P. K. R. Mann	Member	Vice-President of J. Walter Thompson (JWT) International. Editor 'Consumer Affairs'.
Mr. G. C. S. Mather	Member	General Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Solicitor.
Mr. L. A. Mills	Member	General Secretary of the Banking Insurance and Finance Union and a member of the TUC General Council. A Governor of London Business School.
Professor A. P. L. Minford	Member	Professor of Applied Economics, Liverpool University.
Mr. J. Montgomery	Member	Former Head of Legal Division and Company Secretary, Shell UK. Solicitor.
Mr. B. Owens	Member	Director of Welsh Water's land and leisure subsidiary and of the Cornish Brewery Company.
Mr. D. P. Thompson RD	Member	Former Director General of the British Invisible Exports Council and Director of Lazards. A Governor of Henley Management College.
Mr. C. A. Unwin MBE	Member	Former Regional Secretary (Midland and East Coast Region) of the General and Municipal Workers Union. A senior Governor of Welbeck College.
Mr. S. Wainwright CBE	Member	Director of Amdahl (UK) Ltd. Former Managing Director of National Girobank and Deputy Chairman of the Post Office.
Professor G. Whittington	Member	Price Waterhouse Professor of Financial Accounting and Fellow of Cambridge University.
Mr. R. Young	Member	An Executive Director of Beauford plc. Former Chief Executive of Plastics Division of McKechnie plc.
Mr. P. Brenan	Reserve Member	Chairman of the London Italian Bank. Accountant and Financial Consultant.
Mr. A. L. Kingshott	Reserve Member	Director of the Crown Agents and of The Private Bank and Trust Company. Former Director of International Banking at Lloyds Bank. Chartered Secretary.
Professor J. F. Pickering	Reserved Member	Vice-President (Business and Finance) of Portsmouth Polytechnic.
Mr. L. Priestly	Reserve Member	Board Member of the Civil Aviation Authority. Former Chairman and Chief Executive of Trustee Saving Bank, England and Wales and Secretary-General of the Committee of London Clearing Banks.

Company Fraud

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry of he will list those, apart from company directors, who have a statutory duty to report company fraud to any regulators.

[holding answer 11 February 1991]: There is in general no statutory duty on directors or others to report company fraud to regulators. Certain people, however, are under specific statutory reporting duties which may in some circumstances require them to report fraud. In the areas for which the Department of Trade and Industry is responsible, such duties include:

(i) The duty on a liquidator to report evidence of criminality by any past or present officer of the company, and on a liquidator, official receiver, administrator or administrative receiver to report conduct by a director of a company, which has at any time become insolvent, which makes him unfit to be concerned in the management of a company.

(ii) The obligation on investment businesses to keep their regulators informed of anything concerning the firm which might reasonably be expected to be disclosed to them.

(iii) the duty on listed companies to notify to the International Stock Exchange any information necessary to avoid the creation of a false market in the company's listed securities.

Export Licences

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West, 7 February Official Report, column 216, he will set out (a) the total number of export licences issued by his Department in each year between 1979 to 1988 inclusive and (b) the numbers of export licence applications refused in 1989 and 1990 respectively, giving the main reasons why such applications were refused.

[holding answer 20 February 1991]: In 1987 and 1988 my Department granted 94,613 and 86,605 export licences respectively. Statistics for previous years are not readily available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.The number of export licence applications refused in 1989 and 1990 was 281 and 283 respectively. In addition, 3,620 and 3,495 licence applications were cancelled by DTI or withdrawn by the companies concerned in 1989 and 1990 respectively. The main reasons for refusing to grant an export licence are the unacceptable risk to national and collective security and that the export is inconsistent with the Government's policy, in particular on nonproliferation, terrorism and human rights.

Hedgehogs

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to monitor the level of exports of hedgehogs to the United States and Canada and elsewhere; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply. Under the provisions of the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976, anyone wishing to export hedgehogs requires an export permit from my Department. In the last three years three such permits have been issued, authorising the export of eight live hedgehogs to zoos in the United States.

Health

Laboratory Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether it is his policy specifically to encourage health authorities to contract out pathology services;(2) what plans his Department has to increase resources to health authorities to ensure they can improve the efficiency and quantity of laboratory services.

We have given no specific instructions to health authorities about the contracting out of pathology services or about their level of funding, since it is for each health authority to consider the organisation and level of laboratory provision it requires within its available resources. However, to help improve the efficiency and quality of these services we have given assistance to the Royal College of Pathologists to develop an accreditation scheme for pathology laboratories, and we have commented on the Audit Commission's proposals for the improvement of those services. We are also contributing to the cost of introducing a system of medical audit which will include the pathology discipline, and are funding additional schemes in the national external quality assessment schemes (NEQAS).

Surgical Tights

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his plans for the provision of surgical tights under the NHS.

Elastic or surgical tights are available on the prescription of a hospital consultant when they are supplied through the hospital service. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

Social Surveys

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to launch a survey into the current state of family planning provision, consumer needs and attitudes.

We receive information from a number of sources about NHS family planning provision and the needs of those who use this service. I shall shortly be meeting representatives of the main family planning voluntary and professional organisations to discuss family planning issues.

Carers

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will publish a clear definition of the responsibilities of carers and ensure that such responsibilities are kept under constant review.

The Department has not sought precisely to define a carer nor their responsibilities. The care in the community policies are intended to make practical support for carers a priority and consider their views in community care planning and assessment.

Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has made any emergency preparations to assist the Iraqi medical authorities after the end of hostilities in combating the epidemic of water pollution diseases in Iraqi cities arising from the destruction of water supply and sewage systems.

No. We understand that a joint WHO/UNICEF mission visited Baghdad earlier this month to deliver emergency medical supplies and to assess the essential health needs of the civilian population. Additionally, the International Red Cross Committee has identified serious shortages of drinking water and after notifying the UN Sanctions Committee, dispatched water purification supplies to Baghdad. It is too soon to say what further international support the Iraqi medical authorities might require once hostilities have ended and what contribution, if any, the United Kingdom might make to such an initiative.

North Devon Health Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals there are for the purchaser of the North Devon health authority; whether there are any proposals to merge this authority with Torbay or Exeter; and if he will make a statement.

North Devon health authority is embracing the recent Government reforms. We have received no formal proposals to merge North Devon health authority with either Torbay or Exeter health authority. The preparation of any such proposals would initially be a matter for South Western regional health authority, annd the hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. C. Stuart the chairman of that authority for details.

Incontinence Pads

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make a statement on the guidance which he gives to regional health authorities regarding the supply of incontinence pads to elderly people in privately run residential homes.

Departmental guidance to health authorities on the supply of incontinence pads is contained in HRC(74)16. On 18 February 1991 the NHS management executive wrote to health authorities (EL(91)28), advising that existing incontinence provision should be directed to securing the best practice commended in HN(88)26. Where a change in the supply of incontinence aids is proposed, health authorities should first ensure that an alternative is in place. Copies of these letters are available in the Library. Officials will shortly be beginning a Departmental review of incontinence services.

Speech Therapy

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has agreed guidelines for speech therapy standards with the College of Speech Therapists.

I understand that the College of Speech Therapists has not yet finalised its guidelines on professional standards. The Department is being consulted about these guidelines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the public health needs assessments prepared for district health authorities mention the need for speech therapy services.

This information is not held centrally.

Irradiated Food

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice or guidance he intends to give to local authorities about the use of irradiated foods in establishments run by social services departments such as old people's homes and children's homes; and if he will make a statement.

No specific guidance on the use of irradiated food in establishments run by social services departments is being issued by the Department. In common with all other catering establishments, local authorities and social services departments who choose to use irradiated products will be required to inform consumers under the requirements of the Food Labelling (Amendment) (Irradiated Food) Regulations 1990.

Nhs Funding

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the allocations he proposes to make to national health service regions in England for 1991–92; and what these allocations would be if the weighted capitation funding were strictly adhered to.

1991–92 represented the second year of progress towards allocations based on weighted capitation. Table 1 shows the 1991–92 main revenue allocations for each region and the percentage increases over 1990–91. No region received less than a 10·24 per cent. increase.

Table 2 shows what each region would have received without a minimum 10·24 per cent. increase.

The figures exclude allocations for items such as the service increment for teaching and research, joint finance, and allocations for other specific purposes.

Table One
Region	1991–92 Allocation	Cash Increase
	(£000s)	percentage
Northern	985,319	10·24
Yorkshire	1,011,636	10·81
Trent	1,269,521	10·79
East Anglian	595,741	12·19
North West Thames	1,097,165	10·24
North East Thames	1,295,523	10·24
South East Thames	1,221,187	10·24
South West Thames	946,790	10·24
Wessex	872,078	12·45
Oxford	675,428	10·24
South Western	999,988	12·11
West Midlands	1,566,761	10·24
Mersey	775,235	10·24
North Western	1,294,972	10·24
Total	14,853,676	10·66

Table Two
Region	1991–92 Allocation Before 10·24 per cent. Minimum Applied (£000s)	Cash Increase Before 10·24per cent. Minimum Applied percentage
Northern	985,763	10·29
Yorkshire	1,128,391	11·54
Trent	1,415,769	11·52
East Anglian	599,670	12·93
North West Thames	1,087,134	9·23
North East Thames	1,283,835	9·25
South East Thames	1,228,938	10·94
South West Thames	945,281	10·06
Wessex	877,830	13·19
Oxford	679,167	10·85
South Western	999,988	12·84
West Midlands	1,566,761	10·37
Mersey	775,235	8·54
North Western	1,294,972	9·25
All RHAs	14,853,676	10·66

Dental Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have registered with dentists under the new dental contract.

The number of people in England and Wales registered with dentists under continuing care and capitation arrangements has grown steadily since the new contract started on 1 October 1990 and is now almost 12 million.Cumulative totals are as follows:

End of month	Cumulative total
October 1990	2,091,855
November 1990	5,780,346
December 1990	8,154,903
January 1991	10,592,019

At 19 February 1991, which is the latest date for which figures are available, the number of people registered with dentists was 11,995,665.

Nhs Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average expenditure per day per patient, in cash and constant prices, for food provisions for hospital in-patients in each year since 1980.

[holding answer 28 January 1991]: The information requested for the financial years 1980–81 to 1988–89 (the latest available) is shown in the table.

Hospital costs—England—average costs of catering provisions per patient day
Year	£	£
	(cash)	(at 1988–89 prices)
1980–81	1·09	1·56
1981–82	1·18	1·55
1982–83	1·24	1·54
1983–84	1·26	1·50
1984–85	1·32	1·50
1985–86	1·36	1·50
1986–87	1·41	1·50
1987–88	1·49	1·55
1988–89	1·56	1·56

Total revenue expenditure on hospital and community health services (HCHS)
£000 (cash)
Regions	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84	1984–85
Northern	337,996	437,025	482,670	520,838	553,996	586,852
Yorkshire	380,746	494,198	547,802	583,406	619,586	657,579
Trent	449,348	585,409	646,945	696,746	742,437	795,285
East Anglian	188,939	244,605	269,169	288,951	312,485	335,302
North West Thames	450,636	580,117	649,984	633,215	665,435	701,170
North East Thames	488,198	636,251	700,172	800,677	841,130	881,326
South East Thames	471,151	603,001	662,702	700,421	739,438	772,108
South West Thames	361,292	465,365	515,008	530,393	559,102	586,260
Wessex	271,164	349,377	389,027	418,407	449,145	482,636
Oxford	223,651	285,343	313,135	334,669	352,838	381,948
South Western	332,137	426,839	474,291	507,281	540,430	571,018
West Midlands	532,172	681,869	751,667	809,722	861,251	919,255
Mersey	287,489	368,928	407,417	436,241	456,590	483,314
North Western	463,250	603,630	679,828	729,550	769,183	814,490
Regions Total	5,238,169	6,761,957	7,489,817	7,990,517	8,463,046	8,968,543
SHAs	94,751	123,474	140,168	150,712	162,311	166,311
England	5,332,920	6,885,431	7,629,985	8,141,229	8,625,357	9,134,854

£000 (cash)
	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90
Regions
Northern	620,085	664,666	726,424	802,662	862,403
Yorkshire	699,526	748,109	817,426	901,280	971,646
Trent	843,156	914,488	1,009,393	1,121,344	1,211,905
East Anglian	358,247	389,423	431,278	487,095	528,194
North West Thames	728,848	777,781	832,775	945,712	1,024,712
North East Thames	914,188	976,100	1,048,946	1,178,457	1,276,820
South East Thames	807,525	857,088	928,872	1,039,270	1,115,590
South West Thames	608,276	650,071	744,435	829,204	903,224
Wessex	506,941	549,152	599,818	671,018	724,776
Oxford	402,374	433,809	478,889	537,279	587,380
South Western	603,266	650,026	710,039	788,652	852,097
West Midlands	973,915	1,049,734	1,149,328	1,266,424	1,381,172
Mersey	507,924	542,821	589,166	647,160	699,483
North Western	860,336	922,352	1,002,641	1,104,796	1,174,578
Regions Total	9,434,607	10,125,620	11,069,430	12,320,353	13,313,980
SHAs	174,792	191,546	207,281	234,692	259,397
England	9,609,399	10,317,166	11,276,711	12,555,045	13,573,377

Source:

The annual costing returns (financial returns for 1987–88 and 1988–89) of the district health authorities in England and those of the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals. (Predecessor authorities prior to 1982–83).

Note: The figures have been expressed at 1988–89 prices by the use of the provisions purchases sub-index of the health services prices index.

Health Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total funding for each health authority for each of the last 11 years; and what was the number of patients treated by each authority over the same period.

[holding answer 29 January 1991]: The following tables show the total revenue expenditure and the number of in-patients treated by each health region and the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals for the years 1979–80 to 1989–90.Equivalent information for each district health authority in England could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Number of inpatients treated—Regional totals—1979 to 1990
	Finished hospital stays (discharges and deaths)										Finished consultant episodes
Regional health authority	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987–88	1988–89	1988–89	1989–90
Northern	368,578	393,788	395,694	376,067	409,115	420,080	433,131	441,095	462,766	461,033	496,617	504,743
Yorkshire	433,783	456,885	465,514	454,013	490,644	499,895	517,543	525,296	549,847	551,458	607,203	607,332
Trent	464,917	497,306	511,888	505,247	543,221	557,930	578,370	592,398	612,890	626,102	678,061	698,776
East Anglia	201,867	216,878	219,585	213,297	229,580	238,332	250,343	253,483	264,117	269,637	301,631	316,710
North West Thames	403,264	412,723	418,144	394,415	408,474	415,559	418,753	419,008	421,582	416,153	462,539	473,930
North East Thames	455,851	473,469	474,758	512,655	526,398	534,760	541,080	530,372	527,585	521,291	588,983	606,278
South East Thames	438,889	453,149	462,239	461,394	477,283	487,772	501,557	495,246	504,666	487,815	546,047	541,962
South West Thames	312,264	320,149	324,683	315,210	329,334	338,587	344,430	347,089	351,932	344,259	394,860	387,551
Wessex	302,772	318,509	322,017	320,936	332,378	345,528	357,311	366,421	389,492	391,376	427,929	441,658
Oxford	251,898	264,990	269,685	266,304	276,523	284,583	297,524	299,270	300,416	296,433	329,661	344,782
South Western	338,890	357,966	365,849	370,348	385,293	399,018	408,004	417,443	443,179	451,586	515,394	521,726
West Midlands	547,773	575,105	582,892	591,061	619,743	644,202	666,217	673,375	708,225	689,457	790,913	810,513
Mersey	282,629	297,465	299,349	293,928	312,615	322,138	330,990	336,944	345,652	347,893	378,984	397,085
North Western	509,049	541,776	554,967	553,727	585,667	597,756	617,628	624,678	644,540	640,548	717,666	728,297
SHA's	87,696	89,843	92,613	91,032	92,317	91,405	90,931	91,671	92,465	90,941	98,960	95,283
England	5,400,120	5,670,001	5,759,877	5,719,634	6,018,585	6,177,545	6,353,812	6,413,789	6,619,354	6,585,982	7,335,448	7,476,626

Sources:

1. Annual accounts of regional and district health authorities in England together with those of the special health authorities for the London postgraduate teaching hospitals. (Predecessor authorities for the years prior to 1982–83).

2. Statistical returns submitted to the Department (SM12).

Notes:

1. Revenue expenditure on HCHS covers that on all services provided by the health authorities concerned including hospital, community health, patient transport (ie ambulance), blood transfusion and other services. Capital expenditure and expenditure on family practitioner services (now family health services) is excluded. However, the expenditure figures for all regions in the years prior to 1985–86 include small elements for the administrative expenses of family practitioner committees which were not separately identified.

2. Following the reports of the steering group on NHS information (the Körner committee) a new definition "finished consultant episode" was introduced to cover both the former in-patient and day case treatment categories. For 1988–89 information was collected under both the new and previous bases and is shown in the table accordingly.

Liverpool Health Authority (Chairman)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the salary of the chairman of Liverpool health authority and the contractual working hours.

East Cumbria Health Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the salary of the chairman of East Cumbria health authority and the contractual working hours.

[holding answer 11 February 1991]: With effect from 1 January 1991, chairmen of district health authorities receive remuneration in the range set out in the table. No specific working hours are required by contract, but most DHA chairmen devote an average of three to 3·5 days a week to their duties.

Teaching or¹ Non-Teaching District	Revenue²	Remuneration
	£ million	£
Teaching	45 or more	17,610
Non-Teaching	60 or more
Teaching	45 or less	16,659
Non-Teaching	30 to 60
Non-Teaching	30 or less	13,812
¹ "Teaching District" means one currently designated as such for the purposes of negotiations in Whitley Councils.
² "Revenue" means the annual revenue budget for the financial year 1985–86.

Northern Ireland

Social Workers

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action the DHSS is taking to assist in the recruitment and training of specialist social workers for the blind.

The Department of Health and Social Services presently provides funding for the award of 68 new social work bursaries per annum to enable students to obtain certificates of qualifications in social work. This generic qualifying training provides preparation for all aspects of social work. Specialist qualifying training For social workers for the visually impaired is not available. The recent announcement of a new training strategy for personal social services staff provides an additional £1 million for social services training improvements, a proportion of which will be used to increase the supply of qualified social workers through an additional 25 social work bursaries per annum.Continuing education and training for qualified social workers in specialist areas, including workers with the visually impaired, is provided by Health and Social Services Board and other employers through in-service and post-qualification training programmes. Additional funding to expand and develop relevant programmes of further training has been included in the training strategy funds and will be made available to appropriate employers in the forthcoming financial year.The Department also provides two bursaries per annum for students undergoing training as rehabilitation workers for the blind.

Farmers

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he will next attend a meeting with the Ulster Farmers Union to discuss the problems now facing Northern Ireland farmers.

The Secretary of State last met the Ulster Farmers Union on 17 October 1990; I met the union on 7 January. We both met representatives of the union at the Greenmount conference with Commissioner MacSharry on 15 February; I intend to continue to meet the UFU regularly in future.

Month of Release on Licence	Years served
	Sentence	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
February	Life	—	—	—	—	2	2	3	3	1	—
	SOSP	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—
April	Life	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
May	Life	—	—	1	—	2	6	—	2	—	—
	SOSP	—	—	1	—	—	2	2	—	1	—
July	Life	—	—	—	—	1	—	11	14	4	2
	SOSP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
September	Life	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—	—	—
October	Life	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
December	Life	—	—	—	—	1	1	3	4	—	—

Agriculture,Fisheries And Food

Whales

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has made any representations to his Japanese counterpart concerning the continued Japanese killing of whales in the south Pacific ocean and Antarctic seas.

In June 1990 the United Kingdom co-sponsored a resolution agreed by the International Whaling Commission calling upon Japan to reconsider her intention of conducting scientific research whaling in the Antarctic ocean. Japan is now proceeding with a programme to gather new biological data on the minke whale stocks which has been slightly modified in the light of comments by the IWC's scientific committee and is well aware of our views on scientific whaling.

Farm Sizes

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the average farm size in hectares by county in the United Kingdom.

The information is shown in the table.

United Kingdom average farm size by county¹
	Hectares
England	50·1
Avon	30·3
Bedfordshire	59·2
Berkshire	68·0
Buckinghamshire	57·3
Cambridgeshire	64·1
Cheshire	30·1
Cleveland	55·4
Cornwall	29·2
Cumbria	63·5
Derbyshire	39·1
Devon	40·7
Dorset	51·6

Life Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons sentenced to life imprisonment have been released on licence in each month of 1990; and how many years each such person had actually served in prison since conviction.

Sixty-six prisoners serving life sentences were released on licence during 1990. Eight other prisoners, detained at the Secretary of State's pleasure, were released on licence in the same period.The number of years served by these prisoners (including time spent on remand and awaiting trial) at the time of their release on licence is as follows:

	Hectares
Durham	60·6
East Sussex	42·7
Essex	57·5
Gloucestershire	46·8
Greater London	24·8
Greater Manchester	21·3
Hampshire	60·1
Hereford and Worcester	36·5
Hertfordshire	64·8
Humberside	68·8
Isle of Wight	44·1
Isles of Scilly	8·3
Kent	46·1
Lancashire	30·6
Leicestershire	58·3
Lincolnshire	69·3
Merseyside	34·3
North Yorkshire	63·1
Norfolk	62·5
Northamptonshire	81·0
Northumberland	144·8
Nottinghamshire	62·0
Oxfordshire	83·2
Shropshire	45·5
Somerset	35·5
South Yorkshire	44·6
Staffordshire	33·3
Suffolk	67·5
Surrey	30·5
Tyne and Wear	49·7
Warwickshire	52·5
West Midlands	24·6
West Sussex	48·3
West Yorkshire	22·9
Wiltshire	70·1
Scotland	158·8
Borders	222·1
Central	174·0
Dumfries & Galloway	144·2
Fife	90·8
Grampian	96·6
Highland	339·4
Lothian	105·6
Orkney	53·9
Shetland	55·2

	Hectares
Strathclyde	148·4
Tayside	208·4
Western Isles	28·6
Wales	41·4
Clywd	36·2
Dyfed	34·3
Gwent	32·6
Gwynedd	48·4
Mid Glamorgan	45·5
Powys	57·6
South Glamorgan	43·3
West Glamorgan	34·8
Northern Ireland	25·4
Antrim	28·6
Armagh	17·8
Down	22·0
Fermanagh	26·5
Londonderry	29·9
Tyrone	27·0
¹ Including minor holdings in England and Wales excluding minor holdings in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Note:

Minor holdings in England and Wales are those satisfying ALL these conditions:

1. total area less than 6 ha;

2. no regular whole-time farmer or worker on the holding;

3. annual labour requirement less than 100 standard man-days (smd) where 1 smd =8 hours productive work by an adult worker under average conditions;

4. glasshouse area less than 100 sq m;

5. occupier does not farm another holding.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the total numbers of confirmed cases of BSE by county in England, Scotland and Wales.

The information up to 15 February 1991 is detailed as follows.

County (County No.)	Cases
Northern
Cleveland (04)	32
Cumbria (08)	431
Durham (12)	87
Humberside (51)	106
Northumberland (31)	91
Tyne and Wear (30)	2
Yorkshire North (48)	880
Yorkshire South (47)	80
Yorkshire West (49)	103
Totals	1,812
Midlands and Western
Cheshire (06)	603
Derbyshire (09)	347
Hereford and Worcester (18)	444
Lancashire (21)	490
Leicestershire (22)	537
Manchester (44)	17
Merseyside (25)	12
Nottinghamshire (32)	150
Shropshire (35)	573
Staffordshire (37)	449
West Midlands (46)	15
Warwickshire (43)	239
Totals	3,876

County (County No.)	Cases
Eastern
Bedfordshire (01)	61
Cambridgeshire (05)	89
Essex (13)	99
Hertfordshire (18)	108
Lincolnshire (24)	195
Norfolk (28)	361
Northamptonshire (29)	200
Suffolk (38)	278
Totals	1,391
South-East
Berkshire (02)	150
Buckinghamshire (03)	210
Hampshire (15)	904
Isle of Wight (16)	174
Kent (20)	510
London (26/27)	9
Oxfordshire (33)	369
Surrey (40)	229
Sussex East (41)	315
Sussex West (42)	603
Totals	3,473
South-West
Avon (34)	478
Cornwall (07)	1,786
Devon (10)	2,566
Dorset (11)	2,027
Gloucester (14)	712
Somerset (36)	2,005
Wiltshire (45)	1,449
Totals	11,023
Wales
Clwyd (56)	231
Dyfed (55)	927
Glamorgan Mid (58)	56
Glamorgan South (57)	61
Glamorgan West (59)	11
Gwent (60)	175
Gwynedd (52)	67
Powys (52)	215
Totals	1,743
Scotland South
Borders (93)	34
Central (94)	25
Dumfries (99)	147
Lothian (92)	20
Strathclyde (95/96)	209
Scotland North
Fife (91)	51
Grampian (88)	161
Highland (87)	49
Orkney (83)	9
Shetland (82)	2
Tayside (90)	66
Western Isles (?)	1
Totals	774

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the number of (a) suspected and (b) confirmed cases of BSE by county in England, Wales and Scotland for (i) 1990 and (ii) to date in 1991.

The information requested is as follows:

Number of confirmed cases and total reported cases in 1990
County	Positive	Total
Eastern
Bedfordshire	38	42
Cambridgeshire	56	62
Essex	60	78
Hertfordshire	65	79
Lincolnshire	94	111
Norfolk	234	281
Northamptonshire	119	136
Suffolk	161	192
Midland and West
Cheshire	422	493
Derbyshire	240	275
Hereford and Worcester	243	307
Lancashire	330	442
Leicestershire	315	379
Manchester	10	13
Merseyside	7	10
Nottinghamshire	98	117
Shropshire	317	408
Staffordshire	293	362
West Midlands	7	8
Warwickshire	141	182
Northern
Cleveland	20	23
Cumbria	264	318
Durham	60	78
Humberside	77	94
Northumberland	49	63
Tyne and Wear	1	3
North Yorkshire	539	720
South Yorkshire	57	64
West Yorkshire	70	91
South East
Berkshire	63	82
Buckinghamshire	136	162
Hampshire	446	517
Isle of Wight	110	133
Kent	250	286
London	5	6
Oxfordshire	203	237
Surrey	117	148
Sussex East	178	214
Sussex West	329	378
South West
Avon	314	430
Cornwall	909	1,170
Devon	1,330	1,587
Dorset	1,129	1,369
Gloucestershire	350	471
Somerset	1,251	1,500
Wiltshire	806	1,081
Wales
Clwyd	144	310
Dyfed	582	690
Glamorgan North	38	43
Glamorgan South	22	24
Glamorgan West	8	10
Gwent	87	118
Gwynedd	30	47
Powys	126	170
Scotland
Borders	23	33
Central	13	20
Dumfries	90	134
Fife	39	49
Grampian	101	174
Highland	28	37
Lothian	10	16
Orkney	5	6
Shetland	0	1
Strathclyde	127	180

County

Positive

Total

Tayside

Total

13,828

17,327

Number of confirmed cases and total reported cases
1/1/91—15/2/91
County	Positive	Total
Eastern
Bedfordshire	0	8
Cambridge	0	7
Essex	0	10
Hertfordshire	0	13
Lincolnshire	4	30
Norfolk	9	60
Northamptonshire	2	22
Suffolk	8	51
Midland and West
Cheshire	14	108
Derbyshire	0	54
Hertfordshire and Worcestershire	4	63
Lancashire	7	84
Leicestershire	0	68
Manchester	1	10
Merseyside	0	0
Nottinghamshire	0	18
Salop	7	76
Staffordshire	3	56
West Midlands	0	3
Warwickshire	3	29
Northern
Cleveland	1	3
Cumbria	8	62
Durham	0	8
Humberside	1	10
Northumberland	1	19
Tyne and Wear	0	0
Yorkshire North	42	149
Yorkshire South	7	11
Yorkshire West	5	10
South East
Berkshire	1	20
Buckinghamshire	2	22
Hampshire	5	97
Isle of Wight	0	21
Kent	4	41
London	0	3
Oxfordshire	0	46
Surrey	1	15
Sussex East	4	50
Sussex West	3	84
South West
Avon	0	113
Cornwall	26	257
Devon	51	339
Dorset	51	273
Gloucestershire	3	116
Somerset	44	345
Wiltshire	19	221
Wales
Clwyd	3	59
Dyfed	29	169
Glamorgan Mid	0	5
Glamorgan South	0	6
Glamorgan West	0	2
Gwent	3	17
Gwynedd	0	8
Powys	6	33
Scotland
Borders	0	7
Central	2	3

County	Positive	Total
Dumfries	16	29
Fife	1	2
Grampian	6	22
Highland	4	8
Lothian	0	1
Orkney	0	0
Shetland	0	1
Strathclyde	13	32
Tayside	3	10
Total	427	3,519

Milk Marketing Scheme

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the report of the Consumers Committee for England and Wales on the milk marketing scheme 1933.

[pursuant to his reply, 14 January 1991, c. 391]: The report of the Consumers Committee for England and Wales of the milk marketing scheme 1933 is being published today. Copies of the report will be placed in the Library of the House.

Employment

Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the differences between the 1990–91 plans published in the 1990 public expenditure White Paper and the 1990–91 estimated outturn.

My Department's report, copies of which are available in the Library, contains in paragraph 20 the information requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what new commitments have been undertaken since publication of the 1990 public expenditure White Paper which will involve spending in years after 1993–94.

The new schemes undertaken are as follows:The job interview guarantee is a new initiative which guarantees all participants an interview for a specific vacancy: it aims to change employers' perceptions of long-term unemployed people and assist long-term claimants to cope more effectively in the jobs market. It is now being extended beyond the inner city areas where it was successfully piloted.Programme development funds pilots provide local flexibility of funding to tailor action to special inner city needs.Training credits are being piloted by 10 training and enterprise councils. The credits allow young people to "buy" approved training from an employer or specialist provider. The pilots will be evaluated and decisions made on whether to further extend the schemes.The teacher placement service, responsibility for which transfers from the DTI in April 1991, is expected to involve spending after 1993–94. It is the intention of the Government to transfer ministerial responsibility for offshore oil safety to my Department during 1991.

Capital Projects

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what major new capital projects have been started since last year's public expenditure White Paper; and what costs will arise from them in 1990–91 and future years.

Information on capital projects is collated yearly for the supply estimate. Listed in the table are the major capital projects over £500,000 which have been started since the publication of the 1990–91 supply estimate.

(£'000s)
Project	1990–91 expenditure	Future years expenditure
Sheffield DEHQ mainframe computer	500	3,284
Integration of Employment Service computer systems	1,007	3,022
Construction of Corby ES office	964	848
Construction of Great Yarmouth ES office	246	1,908
New ES area office Derby	106	796
New ES area office Nottingham	212	318
New Hackney, Victoria park ES office	22	1,588
Refurbishment Shoreditch ES office	96	858
Construction Everton ES office	423	796
Refurbishment Whytheshawe ES office	454	552
New Cheetham Hill ES office	158	848
New Wrexham ES office	451	1,957
New Rhyl ES office	424	1,060

Departmental Annual Report

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many measures of performance are contained in the current year's annual report; and how many there were in last year's; whether any measures of performance have been enhanced or dropped as a result of a review of performance indicators; and whether the previous year's targets have been met.

My Department now measures performance through labour market outcomes and end products rather levels of activity as in last year's public expenditure White Paper. Measures of performance in the two documents are therefore not comparable.For the Employment Service (ES), last year's public expenditure White Paper set out levels of activity in advance of its becoming a "next steps" agency. Performance targets to which ES has been working are set out in the 1990–91 annual performance agreement which was published in April 1990. The chief executive of the ES will report to my right hon. and learned Friend on ES achievements and use of resources at the end of the financial year. The report will be published in the summer. Discussions on the targets for the 1991–92 annual performance agreement are well advanced and I intend to place a copy in the Library by the beginning of April.Programmes administered through training and enterprise councils (TECs) will be increasingly measured by the achievement of outputs rather than simply activity. This is in line with the move to output related funding for TECs. The TEC network will be fully established by September 1991.

Performance measures for the Health and Safety Executive and ACAS are largely unchanged from last year and overall are being met.

The estimated performance for 1990–91 is shown in the tables in my departmental report, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Employment Legislation Tribunals

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether employers have access to the names of employees who have taken companies to tribunals under the Race Relations Act 1976, Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and other employment legislation.

As with cases heard by most other courts, applications to industrial tribunals, and the tribunals'

Employees in employment in manufacturing and in service industries in the Leeds travel-to-work area
	September 1981		September 1984		September 1987
Divisions of the standard industrial classification 1980	Number (000s)	Per cent.¹	Number (000s)	Per cent.¹	Number (000s)	Per cent.¹
2–4 Manufacturing industries	81·8	27·5	67·8	23·4	68·2	23·5
6–9 Service industries	187·5	63·0	195·6	67·4	197·0	68·0
¹ Percentage of all employees in the travel-to-work area.

Mining Accidents

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the annual average number of fatalities and major injuries in British Coal's mines in 1969–70, 1979–80 and 1989–90.

The information requested is as follows:

	British Coal Corporation's mines
Year	Average number of fatalities	Average number of major injuries
1969–70	96	677
1979–80	44	493
1989–90¹	15	580
¹ Figures for 1989 and 1990 are provisional. Statutory changes in the recording of serious and major injury reporting took place in 1981 and 1986, both widening the scope of reportable injuries. As a result of these changes, accidents recorded after 1986 are not comparable with earlier years.

Vocational Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he has any plans to encourage the extension of training facilities for unemployed people who wish to obtain heavy goods vehicle licences as a means of improving their job prospects;(2) if he will draw up proposals to provide for free driving lessons for unemployed people who wish to learn to drive as a means of improving their job prospects.

It is for training and enterprise councils to determine the vocational training provision they will support for unemployed people in the light of the local labour market.

Restart Courses

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will draw up proposals to include education studies falling within the 21-hour rule as an option for Restart courses.

decisions, are required by law to be entered on to a register which is held at the central office of the industrial tribunals and is open to inspection by the public.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number and proportion of the Leeds work force in (a) the service sector and (b) the manufacturing sector in each year from 1979 to 1990.

Employment estimates for local areas are compiled only when censuses of employment are taken. They cover employees in employment only and exclude then self-employed and also members of Her Majesty's forces.The available information from censuses of employment taken in 1981, 1984 and 1987 is given in the table.

No; since the two serve different purposes. The 21-hour rule enables unemployed income support claimants to follow part-time education courses for up to 21 hours a week while continuing to receive benefit. Restart courses are short-term courses designed to help longer-term unemployed people to build confidence and motivation and plan their way back to work. Many claimants who take up educational opportunities under the 21-hour rule can also benefit from a Restart course. People who are studying under the 21-hour rule can normally attend Restart courses without disruption to their studies, for example, during vacations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentages of those on compulsory Restart courses obtain employment at their conclusion.

Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service Executive Agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

Long-Term Unemployed

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of job vacancies is taken up by the long-term unemployed.

Questions on operational matters in the Employment Service executive agency are the responsibility of Mike Fogden, the agency's chief Executive, to whom I have referred this question for reply.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he has undertaken to encourage employers to provide jobs for the long-term unemployed.

We have in place an extensive range of employment and training measures to help long-term unemployed people compete more effectively in the labour market. The job interview guarantee specifically aims to encourage employers to consider long-term unemployed people for their vacancies and has had proven success in helping people back into jobs in the difficult labour markets of the inner cities. The Secretary of State for Employment has announced that, from April 1991, we shall be providing up to 100,000 additional opportunities in programmes such as the job interview guarantee and job club which provide help in securing job interviews and jobsearch.

South Glamorgan Tec

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what level of financial commitment he has made to fund the new South Glamorgan TEC headquarters; and on what terms.

My Department has not yet agreed the precise level of financial contribution it will make to the funding of the new South Glamorgan TEC headquarters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment on what date he first made a financial commitment to assist the new South Glamorgan TEC headquarters project.

My Department gave initial agreement to make a financial contribution to the cost of the new South Glamorgan TEC headquarters in September 1990.

Parliamentary Questions

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average cost of answering a parliamentary question for written answer to the Department of Employment.

The average cost of answering a written parliamentary question is not routinely recorded in the Employment Department. Estimates are, however, made where there is a likelihood of exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold (currently £250). However, following an interdepartmental exercise in 1972 in which the Employment Department participated an assessment was made of the average cost throughout all Departments of answering a written question. This assessment was based on staff time, using average rates of pay and associated costs for the grades concerned, together with a share of the cost of parliamentary sections and any substantial non-staff costs such as computer usage. This assessed figure is regularly updated and currently stands at £64.

House Of Commons

European Standing Committees

To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will take steps to give the members of the European Standing Committees notification of the dates which have been listed for consideration by the appropriate Councils of Ministers of documents which have been referred to the Standing Committees.

The expected timetable for Council consideration of an EC document is set out in general terms in the Government's explanatory memorandum on the document. In addition, monthly forecasts of the agendas for individual Council meetings are placed in the Vote Office (though these are subject to last-minute changes). However, the Government have stated their commitment to holding scrutiny debates early in the consideration of a proposal and certainly before its adoption by the Council wherever possible.

House Of Commons Accommodation

To ask the Lord President of the Council what inquiries he has made into the leasing of offices at 7 Millbank, London SW1, for use as staff or hon. Members' accommodation.

I understand that No. 7 Millbank is one of a number of properties at present under consideration by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to provide accommodation for the House.

Wales

Cardiff Bay Development Corporation

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his most up-to-date estimate of the number of jobs that have been created by the Cardiff Bay development corporation since its inception.

The activities of Cardiff Bay development corporation are aimed primarily at facilitating development by the private sector. The following table shows the result of the earliest and most recent surveys of businesses in the corporation's designated area since its inception.

Date of Survey	Number of Businesses in CBDC area	Number of Employees in Businesses Responding	Number of Businesses not Responding
January 1988	861	15,247	64
September 1990	901	17,032	87

Trunk Roads

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table showing each of the trunk road improvement schemes in Wales scheduled to start between the current time and April 1994 and which will cost in excess of £1 million; and if he will indicate the order of priority of these schemes in relation to the finance available.

The 1991 departmental report (Cm. 1516) published on 15 February indicated the following planned starts in 1991–92:

M4 Brynglas Tunnels and Malpas Relief Road
M4 Briton Ferry-Earlswood
A483 Welshpool Relief Road

Construction of the M4 Baglan-Briton ferry scheme is planned to start six months after the Briton FerryEarlswood scheme to achieve simultaneous completion.Other schemes in the short term programme, to start before April 1994, are shown in the 1991 supplement to "Roads in Wales: Progress and Plans for the 1990s", which was published on 25 February. The precise timing and order of starts will depend on completion of engineering, design and statutory procedures, and the availability of finance.

Bathing Beaches

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each designated beach in Wales for the 1990 bathing season (a) the date and time of each sample taken for total coliforms and E. Coli and (b) the actual levels of total coliforms and E. Coli present in each sample.

The data requested is on the public registers maintained by the Welsh region of the National Rivers Authority, and available for inspection during normal working hours at its offices. A summary of the information is contained within the report prepared under article 13 of the EC bathing water directive, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish in the Official Report for each non-designated beach in Wales for the 1990 bathing season (a) the date and time of each sample taken for total coliforms and E. Coli and (b) the actual levels of total coliforms and E. Coli present in each sample.

The data in respect of non-designated bathing waters monitored by the National Rivers Authority is kept on public registers maintained by the authority and available for inspection during normal working hours at its offices.

Aluminium

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps are being taken to reduce the ingestion of aluminium into the human body.

Aluminium is an abundant mineral to which all individuals receive widespread exposure from several sources. A review by the independent Committee on Toxicity in 1985 concluded that existing levels of aluminium in food were not a cause for concern. Intakes of aluminium through food continue to be monitored.

Site	Date of refusal	Date of appeal	Date report received	Date of decision	Result
Garnant Farm, Amman Valley, Dyfed	12 July 1984	28 November 1984	18 April 1986	22 July 1986	Allowed
Llanilid West, Llanharan Mid Glamorgan	14 March 1986	27 March 1986	5 June 1987	15 October 1987	Dismissed
Brynhenllys, Upper Cwmtwrch, Powys	24 March 1986	21 April 1986	4 August 1987	21 October 1987	Dismissed
Park Slip, Mid Glamorgan (Relaxation of condition)	4 August 1987	6 August 1987	Inspector decision	25 January 1988	Dismissed
Cheapside, Ewloe, Clwyd	24 February 1987	5 May 1987	23 May 1988	20 July 1988	Dismissed
Derlwyn, Glynneath, West Glamorgan	17 July 1987	30 July 1987	(2 reports) 1 September 1988	10 November 1989	Allowed
			17 August 1989
Llanilid West Revised, Llanharan, Mid Glamorgan	19 September 1989	12 December 1989	17 September 1990	—	Not yet decided
Bannel Bridge, Buckley, Clwyd¹	9 August 1990	10 December 1990	—	—	—
Brynhenllys Brecknock, Powys¹	20 July 1990	7 September 1990	—	—	—
Park Slip West North of Cefn Cribwr, Mid Glamorgan¹	2 November 1990	20 December 1990	—	—	—
¹ Inquiry not yet held.

Waste Disposal

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he intends to require local authorities in Wales to update their 1985 local waste disposal plans and to deposit those plans with his Department.

The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 1989 lay down a standard of 200 microgrammes per litre for aluminium in water. This standard is not related to toxicity but was set for reasons of water quality. There are no plans to reduce this level.

Fluorine

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on the link between certain industrial processes and the deposit of fluorine in the populations of those residing near such processes.

I am informed that Her Majesty' inspectorate of pollution is aware of the release of fluorides to air from works for which it has responsibilities. Emission limits for fluorides are specified at a level which, following dispersion, should not present any problems to local inhabitants. I understand there is no evidence to suggest that releases of fluorides from industrial installations in Wales represent any health risk to local communities.

Opencast Mining

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of opencast coal planning applications by British Coal that have been refused by the mineral planning authorities, and appeals that have been lodged by his Department; and if he will indicate for each case (a) the date of the refusal, (b) the date of the appeal, (c) the date that the inspector submitted his report to the Secretary of State, (d) the date when he announced his decision and (e) whether the appeal was granted or refused.

Information on applications refused by mineral planning authorities is not held centrally. Information on appeals to the Secretary of State which have not been subsequently withdrawn is as follows:

No. Under the provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 each authority will be required to prepare a waste disposal plan and to send a copy to the Secretary of State.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a list of planning applications for a landfill waste disposal site that he has called in for his own determination during the past 10 years.

None has been called in during the past 10 years.

Fish Farming

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his Department's current involvement with matters relating to fish farming in coastal waters.

The responsibilities of United Kingdom Fisheries Departments, including the Welsh Office, for fish farming are set out in the memorandum "Fish Farming in the UK" submitted to the House of Commons Agriculture Committee in October 1989.

Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will provide the figures for Wales corresponding to those given in tables 6.6 and 6.8 on employment and youth training published in Cm 1506.

Employees in employment
		Merthyr and Rhymney		Wales
	Year	Number	Percentage of total employees	Number	Percentage of total employees
Coal mining¹	1981	7,400	16·6	34,800	3·7
	1987	4,600	10·0	14,600	1·6
Manufacturing²	1981	14,500	32·6	238,100	25·4
	1987	14,300	31·1	224,300	24·3
¹Activity headings 1113–1115 of 1980 SIC.
² Divisions 2–4 of 1980 SIC.

Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the directors and principals of all the 'Welsh colleges selected for direct funding from I April 1992 to discuss the particular financial problems of sustaining workshop-based vocational educational higher education courses.

Officials from the Welsh Office are scheduled to meet the director of the Polytechnic for 'Wales and the principals of the higher education colleges concerned shortly to discuss a range of issues arising from the proposed transfer. Further meetings will be arranged as necessary.

Local Plans

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the date when each local authority in Wales deposited their local plans with his Department.

Local planning authorities are required to place local plans on deposit for public inspection and to send copies of those plans to the Secretary of State. The dates when each local planning authority in Wales deposited local plans were as follows:

The information requested is not readily available and I shall reply to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.

Farming

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to ensure that the basic hill livestock compensatory allowance form is sent out to all relevant farmers at the earliest possible date.

The HLCA claim forms were issued to farmers on 7 February.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has of the number of people employed in mining and manufacturing in Merthyr and Rhymney, and in Wales; what percentage these are of the total employed; and what the comparable figures were in 1979.

The latest available estimates for the Merthyr and Rhymney travel-to-work area, from the September 1987 census of employment, are given in the following table.Comparable figures for the Merthyr and Rhymney travel-to-work area are not available for years prior to 1981. Estimates from the September 1981 census of employment are provided as follows.

Authority	Local plan	Deposited
Aberconwy BC	Llandudno/Conwy	14 February 1980
Afan BC	Upper Afan Valley	14 August 1981
Arfon BC	Rural Arfon	9 December 1987
Arfon BC/Isle of Anglesey BC¹	Menai Strait	3 July 1980
Blaenau Gwent BC	Tredegar	1 September 1983
Blaenau Gwent BC	Abertillery	30 April 1987
Blaenau Gwent BC	Ebbw Vale	18 August 1988
Blaenau Gwent BC	Brynmawr, Nantyglo and Blaina	19 April 1990
Brecknock BC, Radnorr DC, Powys CC¹	Hay/Talgarth and District	13 January 1986
Brecknock BC, Radnor DC, Powys CC¹	Central Powys	13 January 1986
Cardiff CC	East Moors	7 December 1979
Cardiff CC	South Butetown	23 June 1980
Cardiff CC	West Ely/St. Fagans	11 December 1980
Cardiff CC	North Butetown	27 July 1981
Cardiff CC	Lisvane	3 April 1981
Cardiff CC	Radyr/Morganstown	19 February 1981
Cardiff CC	Canton/Riverside	24 November 1983
Cardiff CC	Adamsdown/Splott	1 July 1985
Cardiff CC	Tongwynlais and the Wenallt	7 October 1985
Cardiff CC	Grangetown	10 June 1987
Clwyd CC	Special Landscape Area	3 January 1984
Colwyn BC	Coastal Colwyn	28 July 1988

Authority	Local plan	Deposited
Cynon Valley BC	Hirwaun and District	4 November 1982
Cynon Valley BC	Abernant/Plasdraw	8 March 1984
Cynon Valley BC	Aberaman/ Abercwmboi and Cwmbach	8 March 1984
Cynon Valley BC	Cwmdare/Trecynon and Llwydcoed	8 March 1984
Cynon Valley BC	Aman Valley	8 March 1984
Cynon Valley BC	Ynysybwl	6 March 1986
Cynon Valley BC	Abercynon	10 November 1988
Delyn BC	Mold	28 January 1983
Delyn BC	Delyn	31 May 1990
Dyfed CC	Black Mountain	1 November 1984
Dwyfor DC/ Gwynedd CC¹	Porthmadog/Ffestiniog	4 November 1977
Dwyfor DC	Pwllheli	15 July 1988
Dwyfor DC	Rural Dwyfor	2 July 1982
Gwent CC	Brynmawr	4 January 1980
Gwent CC	Gilwern	15 December 1983
Gwynedd CC	Touring Caravans and Tents	4 November 1977
Gwynedd CC	Ardudwy	20 March 1981
Gwynedd CC	Llanelltyd	20 March 1981
Islwyn BC	Trinant and Pentwyn	10 August 1981
Llanelli BC	Wern Action Area	29 October 1983
Lliw Valley BC	Southern Lliw Valley	20 July 1984
Lliw Valley BC	Northern Lliw Valley	14 September 1990
Mid Glamorgan CC	Nelson and Treharris	9 September 1982
Mid Glamorgan CC	Central Aberdare	8 March 1984
Mid Glamorgan CC	Llantrisant	19 April 1985
Monmouth BC	Abergavenny	12 January 1989
Monmouth BC	Chepstow	15 March 1990
Newport BC	Marshfield and Castleton	15 December 1986
Newportt BC	South East Newport	23 July 1984
Ogwr BC	Ogmore and Garw	16 May 1983
Ogwr BC	Greater Bridgend	8 September 1983
Ogwr BC	Kenfig-Pyle	15 August 1985

Authority	Local plan	Deposited
Port Talbot BC	Cwmafan, Bryn, Goytre Valley and Rural Margam	20 October 1987
Powys CC/Brecknock BC	Brecon and District	31 March 1989
Rhondda BC	Rhondda	30 December 1983
Rhondda BC	Tonypandy and Clydach Vale	22 February 1990
Rhuddlan BC	Rhuddlan Borough	26 May 1988
Rhymney Valley DC	Caerphilly Basin	14 July 1982
Rhymney Valley DC	Mid Rhymney Valley	18 June 1985
Rhymney Valley DC	Upper Rhymney Valley	8 November 1985
Swansea CC	Swansea	9 May 1988
Torfaen BC	South East Pontypool	15 March 1982
Vale of Glamorgan BC	Barry	3 February 1982
Vale of Glamorgan BC	Barry-Penarth Coastal	3 February 1982
Vale of Glamorgan BC	Cowbridge	21 February 1983
Vale of Glamorgan BC	East Vale	12 October 1984
Wrexham Maelor BC	Wrexham Maelor	28 November 1986
¹ Denotes joint local plans.

"Roads In Wales"

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends updating the information given in the Welsh Office publication "Roads in Wales: Progress and Plans for the 1990s" published in April 1989.

I am pleased to announce that I have issued today a 1991 supplement to "Roads in Wales". Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

Transport

Rail Electrification

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to his answer of 1 February to the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Official Report, column 699, whether the 10 per cent. of routes electrified in Scotland include those under the control of Strathclyde PTE/section 20 areas.

My previous answer did not include electrified routes in Strathclyde. Including those increases the percentage of BR's total route mileage in Scotland which is electrified, including projects approved or under construction, to around 23 per cent. In the Strathclyde area some 203 out of 282 route miles (72 per cent.) are electrified.

M6

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list his proposals for widening the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester; what stretches will be affected; what consultations he intends to have on the proposals; and whether he will make a statement.

Schemes for the widening of the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester were announced as part of the Government's expanded trunk road programme in the White Paper "Roads for Prosperity", presented to Parliament in May 1989. Consultants are currently examining the various ways of providing extra capacity on this motorway. There has been discussion with local authorities and others as part of this process. I hope that we shall be able to announce detailed proposals towards the end of the year.

Auxiliary Coastguards

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of any increased danger to the public as a result of the reduction in manpower and equipment of the auxiliary coastguard service;

Falmouth coastguard region—Hope cove and Prawle sectors incidents by station 1986–1990
	Coastguard station
	Yealm	Bigbury	Hope cove	Prawle	Dartmouth	Totals
	(Hope cove)	(Hope cove)	(Hope cove)	(Prawle)	(Prawle)
1986
A	3	—	9	8	3	23
B	2	1	6	1	1	11
C	5	4	14	10	19	43
D	1	—	6	3	—	10
1987
A	1	1	4	6	2	14
B	—	—	2	2	—	4
C	4	5	8	13	17	47
D	2	1	10	1	—	14
1988
A	2	2	5	9	3	21
B	1	1	3	—	2	7
C	5	4	6	11	4	30
D	2	4	11	1	—	18
1989
A	5	19	4	5	2	35
B	1	3	2	3	2	11
C	2	3	6	2	1	14
D	1	—	11	1	—	13

(2) what changes are planned by way of manpower and equipment for Prawle Point coastguard centre.

(3) what changes are planned by way of manpower and equipment for Dartmouth auxiliary coastguard station;

(4) if he will initiate a study into the implications of savings in the coastguard auxiliary service for risk of injury or death to those in difficulties on the seas or along the south Devon cliff coastline;

(5) what changes are planned by way of manpower and equipment for Yealm auxiliary coastguard station;

(6) what changes are planned by way of manpower or equipment for Bigbury auxiliary coastguard station;

(7) what changes are planned by way of manpower a nd equipment for Hope Cove auxiliary coastguard centre;

(8) if he will make a statement about future manning levels at the Hope Cove auxiliary sector office;

(9) what plans he has over the next five years to alter levels of manpower and equipment along the coastline of South Hams.

Recommendations relating to changes to Her Majesty's coastguard's manpower and equipment were made by an internal review of the Coastguard Sector Organisation and Auxiliary Service. Local coastguard senior management is holding discussions with local interests and staff about the implications of these recommendations in each region. No decisions will be taken on the review's recommendations until the implications have been fully assessed, and full account has been taken of local circumstances and conditions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the incidents in the Hope cove and Prawle point sectors for each of the last five years which have involved the search and rescue teams of the auxiliary coastguards of Brixham district.

The number of actual and potential search and rescue incidents attended by auxiliary coastguards at the five stations in Hope cove and Prawle point sectors for the years 1986–1990 are as follows:

	Coastguard station
	Yealm	Bigbury	Hope cove	Prawle	Dartmouth	Totals
	(Hope cove)	(Hope cove)	(Hope cove)	(Prawle)	(Prawle)
1990
A	1	3	7	6	10	27
B	1	3	6	2	2	14
C	3	3	6	—	1	13
D	—	1	4	—	—	5
Five year total	42	58	130	84	60	374
Incident Legends:
A: Investigation/Coordination.
B: Cliff rescues.
C: Coastal searches.
D: Other rescues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the remit given to the chief coastguard to review coastguard sector organisation and coastguard auxiliary service; and by whom this review was initiated.

The review of the Coastguard Sector Organisation and Auxiliary Service was an internal review initiated by the previous chief coastguard as part of the marine directorate's programme of reviews of administration and operations. Its terms of reference were:

"To examine the nature of HM Coastguard's commitments on the coastline, reporting on the adequacy and value for money of the present arrangements; and proposing changes if necessary."

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes are planned by way of manpower and equipment for Brixham district controller's office of the coastguard.

No changes are contemplated in the manning or equipping of the district controller Brixham's district office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the use of the GP boat attached to the Hope Cove auxiliary coastguard sector office in the last two years.

During 1989 and 1990 the Hope Cove GP boat was launched on patrol every weekend and public holiday during the summer season, over 70 times in all. Although coastguard boats are not declared rescue facilities, during patrols 10 rescues were carried out of persons found to be in trouble. The boat was also launched:

five times to carry out rescues
15 times on exercise and training
20 times to provide offshore coordination of incidents and to assist with coastal searches
20 times when the number of sport divers active off Hope Cove justified a Coastguard presence afloat.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration underlay his decision to accept the review of coastguards with regard to the future of the Coastguard Sector Organisation and Coastguard Auxiliary Service in South Hams.

The review of the Coastguard Sector Organisation and Auxiliary Service was accepted as a consultative document not a statement of intent. The review proposes a framework for the future which offers opportunities to improve the availability, readiness, and training of the auxiliary and sector organisation to meet current requirements.

European Airworthiness Organisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to secure the location of the headquarters of the European Airworthiness Organisation in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority proposed that the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) headquarters should be located at Gatwick, and their initiative was endorsed by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State. The JAA board has since considered the eight candidates for the location of its headquarters, and decided on Amsterdam last December. I am confident that the United Kingdom will continue to play a prominent role in JAA.

Fenchurch Street Railway

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are British Rail's performance targets in the Fenchurch Street line; and what have been their achievements against these.

The table sets out Network SouthEast's quality of service objectives and the Fenchurch Street line's achievement for 1989–90 and for 1990–91 so far.

Quality of service (performance by percentage) Fenchurch Street line
	Objective	1989–90	¹1990–91
Punctuality ( 5 minutes)
AM Peak	88·0	76·8	85·4
PM Peak	88·0	79·5	76·8
All trains	92·0	87·4	87·6
(Punctuality targets revised 1 April 1990 from 87·5 per cent. AM and PM Peaks and 90 per cent. All Trains)
Service Provision	99·0	97·2	97·7
Cleaning
Heavy Interior (every 28 days)	100·0	96·1	89·3
Exterior (daily)	100·0	96·1	76·1
		1988	1989
Load Factors	am peak	²4·1	²1·6
sliding door: max. 135 per cent.
slam door: max. 110 per cent.	pm peak	²1·5	²0·9
¹Up to January 1991.
²Passengers in excess of capacity, per cent.

Autoguide

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has made an evaluation of the Autoguide pilot project in London; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what information he has in relation to any decrease in congestion and increased traffic speeds in London attributable to Autoguide;

(3) if he has issued a licence for an Autoguide pilot scheme for any areas of the country, excluding London;

(4) if he will list the roads covered by the Autoguide pilot project in London.

Negotiations with GEC Ltd. on the terms of a licence to install and operate an Autoguide system in London are continuing. Agreement has yet to be reached on the proposed pilot scheme and so it is not possible to say which roads would be included. Estimates made by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory suggest that drivers equipped with the Autoguide system could reduce their mileage by about 6 per cent. and their journey times by some 10 per cent. No applications have yet been received or invited for Autoguide licences in areas outside London.

Road Schemes

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all road schemes for which draft line orders were published before 3 July 1988, for which no environmental impact assessment has been carried out, and whose line orders have yet to be confirmed.

All schemes in the national trunk road programme have for many years been subject to a very full environmental appraisal before the line orders are confirmed. Within the requirements of the EC directive, a formal environmental impact statement has accompanied all draft orders published since 21 July 1988. Those schemes for which draft line orders were published prior to the implementation of the directive and for which line orders have yet to be confirmed are as follows:

A34	Newbury bypass
A40	Gypsy corner/Western Circus
A406	Regents Park Road
A406	Silver Street—Hall Lane

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the road schemes in which his Department has extended the distance limit for safeguarding purposes beyond the 67m limit specified in article 15(1)(b) of the General Development Order 1988.

[pursuant to his reply, 20 February 1991, column 182]: There is a second case in which the distance limit for safeguarding purposes has been extended beyond 67m. It comprised a two-mile section of the M6 in the east midlands, which forms part of the proposed motorway widening between junction 4 of the M6 and its junction with the M1. The basis for safeguarding is the same as that for the 80-mile section of the M1 referred to in my reply of the 20 February.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will request the chairman of British Rail to make available to interested parties the documentation being submitted to the inquiry commissioned by British Rail into the alternative routes for the channel tunnel rail link from the North downs to London;(2) if he will ensure that all parties making submissions to the independent inquiry into the channel tunnel rail link are given access to all the relevant documentation, including submissions and assessments by other parties.

No. It would be inappropriate for British Rail to make available documents relating to an internal study and which is not in the nature of a public inquiry. The results of the study will be published in due course if the project proceeds and there will be ample opportunity for discussion before statutory approval is given for a new line.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will request the chairman of British Rail to publish the inception report which set the terms of reference for the inquiry by the independent assessor into the route of the channel tunnel rail link.

I understand that British Rail expects to publish soon the interim report by W. S. Atkins on the methodology used by British Rail to compare alternative route options.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the chairman of British Rail to publish the report on alternative routes for the channel tunnel rail link.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Kent (Mr. Rowe) on 21 January 1991 at column 35.

Scotland

Natural Heritage Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the proposals to date for appointees to the regional boards of the proposed Scottish Natural Heritage Agency and their chairmen.

It will be for Scottish Natural Heritage to decide whether to have regional boards and, if so, whom to appoint to them.

Sites Of Special Scientific Interest

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many sites of special scientific interest are currently designated in Scotland; how many of these designations were objected to under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; and if he will make a statement.

As at 1 February 1991, 1,307 sites of special scientific interest had been notified in Scotland. A right of objection was introduced by the Wildlife and Countryside (Amendment) Act 1985, which came into effect on 26 August 1985. The Nature Conservancy Council's latest available figures are that 491 sites were confirmed during the period from 1 August 1985 to 30 November 1990 and that representations or objections were received in respect of 149 of those sites.

Tobacco (Children)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his policy for the enforcement of legislation controlling the sale of tobacco to children; and if he intends to introduce any amendments in connection with the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Bill.

As with all criminal offences in Scotland, it is for the procurator fiscal to consider reports of alleged offences in relation to the sale of tobacco to children under 16 with a view to criminal proceedings.We intend to consult Scottish local authorities about the introduction in the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Bill of powers to enable them to enforce such offences in a way which would be appropriate to prosecution procedures in Scotland.

Morar Bypass

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the outcome of the public inquiry on the Morar bypass, held on 20 March 1990, to be announced.

The inquiry report was submitted at the end of September 1990. It contained some recommendations by the reporter which have been the subject of detailed consideration. This is almost complete and it is expected that my right hon. Friend's decision will be issued shortly after the Easter recess.

Health Board Chairmen

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of occasions during the last 10 years on which a Minister of the Scottish Office has hosted a dinner for health board chairmen; and what were the venues in each case.

Dinners for health board chairmen were held on 8 July 1983 and 8 February 1991 in Edinburgh castle.

Electoral Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report the total electorate for each parliamentary constituency in Scotland as at 16 February.

This information is not yet available centrally. I shall write to the hon. Member in due course and place a copy of the information in the Library.

Nature Conservation

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for (a) each site of special scientific interest and (b) each national nature reserve the number of current management agreements between the Nature Conservancy Council and landowners; and if he will place a copy of each agreement in the Library.

I will write to the hon. Member.

Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time it takes each of his departmental Ministers to answer letters received from right hon. and hon. Members.

[holding answer 22 February 1991]: Disproportionate costs would be incurred in the preparation of an answer in the form requested. A survey carried out in my Department during a representative period in 1990 showed an average response time of 17 working days.

Sites Of Special Scientific Interest

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the additional funding given to the Nature Conservancy Council to facilitate renotification of sites of special scientific interest in Scotland.

[holding answer 22 February 1991]: The renotification of sites of special scientific interest is 97 per cent. complete. The allocation of funds to renotification is a matter for the Nature Conservancy Council within its budget.

Overseas Development

Africa

37.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have to give further encouragement to the pursuit of structural adjustment in African countries.

Support for the process of economic reform has been a central aspect of our aid policy for Africa for several years and will continue to be so. We pledged and provided a total of £250 million for the first phase of the World Bank's special programme of assistance for sub-Saharan Africa. We expect shortly to make a further substantial pledge for the second phase of this programme.

38.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the 27 African countries threatened with famine.

The Government are greatly concerned that 29 million people may be at risk of starvation in 25 African countries. Ethiopia, Sudan, Mozambique, Angola and Liberia are the most seriously affected with a total of over 20 million people at risk. HMG have committed over £118 million emergency assistance to these five countries since the beginning of 1989 and £22 million of relief aid to the rest of Africa. We are ready to do more through 1991.

Iraq

39.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of humanitarian needs inside Iraq.

None. Security Council resolution 666 charges the United Nations Sanctions Committee to make the necessary determination to establish whether or not humanitarian circumstances have arisen, and to keep the situation regarding foodstuffs in Iraq and Kuwait under review.Neither the ICRC nor the UNICEF/WHO team now in Baghdad have yet been able to conduct a full assessment for consideration by the United Nations Sanctions Committee. The ICRC have, however, identified a serious shortage of drinking water and, after notifying the United Nations Sanctions Committee, dispatched water purification supplies to Baghdad. The United Nations Sanctions Committee has authorised a consignment of food for ICRC distribution to Iranian internees and some other Asian nationals which the ICRC have identified as being in need.

Yemen

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the level of overseas aid to the Republic of Yemen will be affected by events in the Gulf.

With the withdrawal of aid personnel from certain parts of the middle east to ensure their safety, our aid programme to the Republic of Yemen is on hold, although certain activities are continuing in the United Kingdom. We hope to resume our bilateral programme in the Republic of Yemen as and when circumstances allow, although it is not possible to say at this stage at what level that might be.

Food Relief Flights

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many food relief flights his Department is sponsoring.

The ODA has provided financial support for four current food airlift operations, one each in Ethiopia, Sudan, Angola and Mozambique.In Sudan the airlift is operated by the Lutheran World Federation from Nairobi to Juba. I have just approved further assistance of £200,000 bringing our total contribution for this airlift since February 1989 to £1·2 million.

Somalia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Somalia.

The various groups who were opposed to the overthrow of Siad Barre's regime have been unable to agree so far on setting up a new Government. We are urging them to do so. Meanwhile fighting continues with the remnants of Siad Barre's forces and also reportedly between some of the rival groups.

Beef

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to propose environmental conditions into the beef protocol of the Lomé agreement; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 February 1991]: When the fourth Lomé convention takes effect (ratification is required by all member states in the Community and two thirds of the ACP countries), the provisions of the beef protocol will allow certain ACP countries to import beef into the EC at reduced levy, subject to national quotas. As environmental concerns are covered in articles 33–41 of the convention, the beef protocol is already subject to them.

Defence

Atomic Weapons Research Establishment

To ask the Secretary of State For Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that employees of AWRE are provided with the same opportunities to remain within the UKAEA pension scheme after privatisation as former AWRE employees who transferred to the employment of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and Amersham plc; and if he will make a statement.

The question of pension arrangements for members of the UKAEA principal non-industrial superannuation scheme (PNISS) employed at AWRE after contractorisation is under consideration.I have given assurances that nobody will suffer detriment to their pension arrangements as a result of contractorisation.

The Gulf

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on escapes of dangerous material from biological weapons depots in Iraq destroyed by allied bombing.

We have no reliable information regarding any environmental effects of allied bombing of biological weapons facilities in Iraq. The methods used in attacking such sites are designed to minimise the risk of contamination outside the sites. Any remaining risk must be balanced against the risk of Iraq using these weapons against coalition forces or civilian populations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the extent to which the suffering of the Kuwaiti population to which he referred in his answer of 18 February, Official Report, column 64, has been increased by the effect of allied bombardment.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 18 February, at column 64.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his answer of 18 February, Official Report, column 64, whether any military objectives have been discussed with Israel beyond those laid down by the United Nations Security Council.

Israel is not a member of the coalition in the Gulf and is not involved in the action to implement the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions British air sorties over Iraq and Kuwait have missed intended military targets and hit attendant civilian areas causing deaths and injuries to civilians; and what steps the British military commanders in Saudi Arabia have taken to avoid such civilian casualties.

It is allied policy to attack only military targets and facilities supporting Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. Great care continues to be taken during these attacks, both in the tactics and the weapons used, to minimise the risk of causing civilian casualties. Only a minority of the precision-guided munitions used by the RAF are assessed to have missed their intended target. There are indications that most of these have fallen well away from inhabited areas. Any civilian casualties that may have resulted are greatly regretted.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he now has on the number of consecutive days prior to the bombing of the Al-Amariyah bunker that it had been used for the protection of civilians.

None. The United States has made it clear that the bunker would not have been attacked if it had been known that civilians were inside.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) on 19 February 1991, Official Report, column 134, if he will set out the evidence that Iraq has nuclear weapons that are capable of polluting the Gulf region; and when Her Majesty's Government reached the conclusion that Iraq has a nuclear weapons capability.

We continue to assess that Iraq is not currently capable of constructing a nuclear explosive device.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the numbers of forces each country has (a) committed to service and (b) promised are available to the coalition forces in the Gulf.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin) on 12 February, at columns 382–83. The precise natue of the national contributions to the coalition force in the Gulf is a matter for the Governments concerned.

Teesside Development Corporation

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will supply a copy of the specification for facilities for the quality assurance unit to the Teesside development corporation.

A summary of area requirements sub-divided by category was sent to Teesside development corporation on 25 January 1991. Additional data were passed to Teesside development corporation on 28 January 1991.

Quality Assurance Unit

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current estimate of the cost of relocating his Department's quality assurance unit to (a) Preston Farm, Stockton-on-Tees, (b) ICI Billingham and (c) Portland in Dorset.

My Department is currently reassessing the scope of work to be relocated and the feasibility and likely cost of a number of locations. Current studies will be completed as soon as possible.

Prisoners Of War

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements exist to allow families resident in the United Kingdom to visit prisoners of war; and whether he has plans to alter the present arrangement.

Suitable arrangements are being made to allow visits by the close families of the Iraqi prisoners of war held at Rollestone camp. These will begin shortly.

Attorney-General

White Collar Crime

30.

To ask the Attorney-General if he has any plans to meet the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the prosecution of white collar crime; and if he will make a statement.

I expect to meet the director again shortly to discuss matters of departmental interest.

Crown Prosecution Service

31.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a further statement on the state of the Crown prosecution service.

The Crown prosecution service continues to strengthen both in numbers, effectiveness, and the working relationships with other agencies. The Crown prosecution service warmly welcomes the report of the working group on pre-trial issues.

Land Access

To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has to implement the Law Commission's recommendations on access to neighbours' land.

The Government have accepted the recommendations contained in the Law Commission's report "Rights of Access to Neighbouring Land" (Law Corn. No. 151), which they will seek to implement when parliamentary time allows.

Jury Service

To ask the Attorney-General (1) how catchment areas for jury service are determined; and whether there are circumstances in which those summoned for jury service can opt to fulfil their duties within adjacent catchment areas;(2) what measures are taken when females are asked to undertake jury service to ensure that there is

(a) a limit to the hours they need to be away from their homes, (b) coverage for any homework and child care responsibilities they might normally undertake and (c) that they are not vulnerable by having to resort to public transport at unsociable hours;

(3) what consideration is taken into account in determining whether a person is to be summoned to undertake jury service of (a) the distances they are required to travel to court, (b) the availability of public transport facilities and (c) the length of time a juror will need to be away from their home.

The Juries Act 1974 provides that the Lord Chancellor shall have regard to the convenience of persons summoned and to their respective places of residence and in particular to the desirability of selecting jurors from within reasonable daily travelling distance of the court which they are to attend. The area from which jurors are summoned to attend a particular location of the Crown Court usually coincides with the petty sessional areas from which the persons are normally committed for trial to that location when charged with a class 4 offence. However, jurors are normally only summoned from those parts of the catchment area which are within one or two hours travelling time. The court day normally begins at 10.30 am and concludes at about 4.30 pm and although they are normally expected to attend some time in advance jurors are usually away from their homes or places of work for a maximum of about nine hours. This, of course, varies with the length of the court day and the actual travelling time for a particular juror. No special arrangements are made for females who are performing this important public duty to which all those eligible are expected to contribute.Where public transport is not easily accessible jurors may receive an enhanced rate for use of a private vehicle. Those who cannot reasonably use public transport and do not have their own transport may, of course, apply for excusal. There is no provision for a juror to opt to attend a court which has an adjacent catchment area.Those with young children are entitled to receive jurors allowances including financial loss allowance in the same way as any other juror. Financial loss allowance is paid where a juror, in consequence of attendance has incurred any expenditure (other than travelling and subsistence costs which are paid as separate allowances) which he or she would not otherwise incur including any expenditure on child care costs or any loss of earnings or benefit. There is, however, an overall maximum of £35·30 per day which may be paid in respect of financial loss for the first 10 days of service. This increases thereafter to £70·60.Any person may apply for excusal from jury service and summoning officers are instructed to treat with sympathy applications on the grounds of the need to care for young children.

Mortgage Arrears

To ask the Attorney-General if he will give by year the number of court actions for mortgage arrears or repossessions, by petty sessions division, since 1987.

Mortgage possession actions are a civil matter and as such come within the jurisdiction of the Chancery Division of the High Court and the county courts in England and Wales which are divided into six circuits.The number of mortgage possession actions issued in the county courts since 1987 were:

	1987	1988	1989	1990
Midland and Oxford	18,123	13,965	17,075	28,651
North Eastern	11,248	10,866	10,656	13,331
Northern	12,276	11,547	10,771	13,818
South Eastern (London)	5,487	5,673	9,849	19,963
South Eastern (Provinces)	17,854	17,080	26,135	42,684
Wales and Chester	6,443	6,080	6,189	9,477
Western	7,749	7,444	10,743	17,554
Total	79,180	72,655	91,418	145,478

The number of writs for mortgage possession issued in the Chancery Division of the High Court since 1987 were:

1987	1988	1989	1990
1,203	1,206	1,981	2,818

To ask the Attorney-General if he will give by year the number of court actions for mortgage arrears or repossessions in the Mansfield court area since 1987.

The number of mortgage possession actions issued in Mansfield county court since 1987 were:

	Number
1987	518
1988	411
1989	445
1990	664

The Arts

British National Bibliography

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will list the number of titles included in the British National Bibliography in each of the years 1960, 1970, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990.

The number of titles included in the British National Bibliography is as follows:

Source of information	Year	Number
Estimate based on books on the on-line file published in that year	1960	18,892
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1970	28,042
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1980	41,043
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1985	38,997
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1986	27,513
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1987	50,924
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1988	60,175
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1989	53,902
Number added to the on-line file in that year	1990	61,053

Libraries And Information Services Council

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will list the reports produced by the Libraries and Information Services Council for England in each year from 1986 to 1990.

The Library and Information Services Council has produced the following reports:

	Published by
1986
The future development of libraries and information services: progress through planning and partnership	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 11 430011 9

	Published by
Library and Information Services in 1985: Review by the Library and Information Services Council (included in Report by the Minister for the Arts on Library and Information Matters during 1985)	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 10 223486 8
Professional education and training for library and information work: a review by the Library and Information Services Council	Library Association Publishing Limited
	ISBN
	0 85365 707 6
1987
Joint Enterprise: Roles and Relationships of the Public and Private Sectors in the Provision of Library and Information Services	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 11 430016 X
Joint enterprise: Roles and Relationships of the Public and Private sectors in the Provision of Library and Information Services. Report of a seminar held on Tuesday 21 July 1987.	Office of Arts and Libraries
Library and Information Services in 1986: Review by the Library and Information Services Council (included in Report by the Minister for the Arts on Library and Information Matters during 1986)	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 10 225287 4
1988
Financing Our Public Library Service: LISC's Response	J Whitaker and Sons
	ISBN
	0 85021 195 6
Library and Information Services in 1987: Review by the Library and Information Services Council (included in Report by the Minister for the Arts on Library and Information Matters during 1987)	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 10 233288 6
1989
The Minister for the Arts' Statement on Public Library Policy: LISC's Response	Office of Arts and Libraries
Library and Information Services in 1988: Review by the Library and Information Services Council (included in Report by the Minister for the Arts on Library and Information Matters during 1988)	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 10 223689 5
Role of Government in relation to the co-ordination of library and information services	limited circulation
1990
Library and Information Services in 1989: Review by the Library and Information Services Council (included in Report by the Minister for the Arts on Library and Information Matters during 1989)	HMSO
	ISBN
	0 10 222290 8
Public Library Services for Children and Young People: A Statistical Survey	British Library
	ISBN
	0 7123 3195 6

Prime Minister

Norwegian Prime Minister

To ask the Prime Minister what was discussed at his meeting with his Norwegian counterpart on 13 February.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 21 February at column 223.

Street Lighting

To ask the Prime Minister if he will seek to improve co-ordination between the Home Office and Departments of Environment and Transport to identify where early action can be taken to reduce the public's fear of, and to help prevent, crime by improving the standard of street lighting in towns; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office has just received a first draft of a report of a major research study undertaken by the University of Southampton to assess the impact of improved streetlighting on crime and the fear of crime in the London borough of Wandsworth. The results are being considered. The Home Office is also engaged in a monitoring exercise on the link between lighting improvements and crime in four urban areas. When all the relevant information is to hand Home Office Ministers will consider, in conjunction with other Departments as appropriate, what further action is necessary to try and reduce the public's fear of crime.

German Chancellor

To ask the Prime Minister what matters were discussed during his meeting with Chancellor Kohl in Bonn on 11 February.

Chancellor Kohl and I discussed a number of current issues, including the Gulf, relations with the Soviet Union and European Community affairs. I look forward to developing our close relationship.

Nuclear Accidents

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his progress in preparing a contingency plan to deal with the effects of any future nuclear accident overseas following the parliamentary answer to the hon. Member for Bedfordshire, North (Sir T. Skeet) on 30 June 1987, Official Report, columns 65–67.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley), the then Secretary of State for the Environment, announced in January 1988 that proposals for implementing the national response plan had been finalised. Details of the proposals have been published in a booklet: "The National Response Plan and Radiation Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET). A Statement of Proposals" published by HMSO, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.The radiation monitors for the first phase of the RIM NET system have been in operation since June 1988, and I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will be making an announcement shortly with regard to the award of the contract for installing phase 2 of RIMNET.

Electricity Prices

To ask the Prime Minister whether his office has been consulted about the proposed 13 per cent. increase in domestic electricity prices.

It is for the Director General of Electricity Supply to receive and consider the companies' proposals, and to satisfy himself that they are consistent with the companies' licence requirements.

The Gulf

To ask the Prime Minister what communications he, or his officials, had with the deputy director-general of the BBC on 13 February concerning BBC news coverage of the casualties caused to Iraqi civilians by allied air raids on Baghdad.

There is contact on a regular basis between my office and the media on a variety of subjects, including the coverage of the Gulf conflict.

To ask the Prime Minister if President Bush contacted Her Majesty's Government prior to his speech in Massachussets on 15 February calling for the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein; and what is the Government's policy in relation to the President of Iraq.

The Government's policy towards Iraq is to secure full, immediate and unconditional compliance with the Security Council resolutions.

To ask the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement on the progress of military action to liberate Kuwait in accordance with resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

The military action to free Kuwait is making steady progress, while attempting to avoid civilian casualties so far as possible. The forces of the multinational coalition deserve great credit for their performance.

Home Department

Young Offenders

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take immediate steps to deprive the courts of the power to remand 15 and 16-year-old boys in prison.

On 4 February, we published a consultation paper setting out our proposals for reforming the arrangements for the remand of alleged juvenile offenders. We propose to end the remand to prison custody of 15 and 16-year-old boys, as soon as enough places in local authority secure accommodation are available.

Metropolitan Police

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement outlining the current practice in respect of allowing the staff of the Metropolitan police time off in working hours for sporting and leisure activities;(2) what was the highest total number of hours given in time off for leisure of sporting activities to any member of the Metropolitan police force in 1990;(3) how many working hours were lost in the Metropolitan police force in 1990 because of sporting and leisure activities; and what was the cost to public funds;(4) if he will list the various sporting and leisure activities which the staff of the Metropolitan police force had time off work for last year.

The Deputy Commissioner has told me that officers representing the Metropolitan police at first or second team level, at sports affiliated to the Metropolitan Police Athletic Association are allowed up to four hours once a week in duty time to take part in matches, subject to the exigencies of duties. The sports involved are as listed.

American Football
Angling
Archery
Association Football
Athletics and cross country
Badminton Basketball
Billiards and Snooker
Bowling
Bridge
Canoeing
Chess
Cricket
Cycling
Darts
Fencing
Flying
Golf
Hockey
Judo
Lawn Tennis
Male Voice Choir
Martial Arts

Karate
Kung Fu
Aikido
Kendo

Motor Sport

Rallies
Motor Cycle
Racing
Old Vehicles

Mountaineering
Netball
Race Walking
Rowing
Rugby Football
Rugby League
Sailing
Shooting
Skiing
Squash Racquets
Sub-Aqua
Swimming

Water Polo

Table Tennis
Ten-pin bowling
Triathlon
Tug of War
Volleyball
Weightlifting
Wrestling

The Deputy Commissioner does not hold centrally the other information requested, which could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Gambling

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward legislation to outlaw the advertising of gambling and amusement coin-operated slot machines in such a way as to promote the exploitation of young people.

No. The results of the Home Office research study "Amusement Machines Dependency and Delinquency", published in July 1988, provided no grounds to justify additional controls on amusement-with-prizes and other coin-operated amusement machines. As regards "jackpot" machines, these are permitted only On premises either licensed or registered under the Gaming Act 1968 to which young people do not normally have access and which are already subject to controls on advertising.

Remand Prisoners, Manchester

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions have been held on the impact on the effectiveness of Greater Manchester police as a result of extra duties relating to the holding of prisoners in police cells and as to what effect it will have on the prisoners, their families, and on solicitors and the probation service; and what discussions there have been about finding alternative accommodation;(2) what discussions he has had with Greater Manchester Police about the number of people expected to be held in police cells in Greater Manchester for each of the next three years; how much this is expected to cost in police overtime; and how much will be spent in improving police cells during that period.

Officials are in daily contact with the Greater Manchester police with a view to minimising the use of police cells for prisoners and any impact on police effectiveness, the prisoners, their families, solicitors and the probation service. The elimination of the problem depends on the provision of new or refurbished accommodation and the resolution of industrial relations difficulties in certain prisons in the north-west, where I hope that staff will note the comments of Lord Justice Woolf in his report that is being published today. The prison service is also actively reviewing the use of the prison estate in order to make the most effective use of the available accommodation. It is not possible to estimate centrally the extent to which police overtime may continue to be needed, and the amount to be spent on improving police cells is a matter for the police authority to determine in relation to other priorities. The costs incurred by the Greater Manchester police in keeping in police cells people who should be in prison are reimbursed by the prison service.

Escaped Detainees

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether Molly Donalds, Karen Rhoden, and Patricia Weir, who escaped from Drake Hall on 24 January 1989, have since been recaptured;(2) whether Ikaete Margarita Jackson, Salamat Oliuvag-Benigun, and Florence Omawuaye Asore, who escaped from East Sutton Park in January 1989, have since been recaptured.

No. These six women are still unlawfully at large.

Female Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when new evidence is due to be issued about the categorisation and allocation of female prisoners to penal establishments; what factors gave rise to the review; whether it will consider the large numbers of absconders from open prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Guidance will be issued to governors shortly, following an examination of procedures which was prompted by the need to establish a more systematic and consistent basis for allocating female prisoners, particularly as between closed and open establishments. The risk of absconding is an important factor to be taken into account in considering an individual's suitability for open conditions.

Social Security

Concessionary Fuel

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) following the reply to the hon. Member for Rother Valley on 31 January, Official Report, column 633, concerning concessionary fuel, what action has been taken by British Coal to inform and give advice to concessionaires who have accepted the lump sum offer;(2) pursuant to the answer of 31 January,

Official Report, column 633, on concessionary fuel, what action his Department has taken in conjunction with British Coal; and if he will make a statement.

Officials contacted British Coal as soon as they became aware that a lump-sum option was being offered to recipients of cash-in-lieu of concessionary coal. That contact has been followed up with a letter confirming the importance of concessionaires obtaining benefit advice before making a decision. The Department will also be issuing appropriate guidance to Social Security offices and local authorities. We understand that British Coal is currently considering its position.

Pension Deductions

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many retirement pensioners during each of the last five years for which figures are readily available have had sums deducted from their pensions in respect of accommodation or national health service treatment after the statutory six weeks stay in national health service hospitals; and what was the total sum received by the national health service in consequence of these deductions during each of these years.

Figures are not available in the precise form requested. However, data are available on the number of people counted on specified dates in the past five years who had their benefit reduced as a result of receiving in-patient treatment under the national health service. The numbers are as follows:

	Number
31 March 1986	76,450
30 September 1987	73,250
31 March 1988	68,990
31 March 1989	66,220
31 March 1990	60,590

The money by which a pensioner's benefit is reduced is not paid directly to the national health service but remains within the national insurance fund which helps fund the NHS. In 1989–90 the fund paid £4·06 billion towards the cost of the NHS.

National Insurance Contributions

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the relative entitlements of (a) a widow who has paid full national insurance contributions for 35 years and then becomes unemployed and (b) a widow in the same position who has never paid national insurance contributions.

The information is as follows:

Widow (a)

If claims and satisfies conditions, payable rate of unemployment benefit reduced by amount of widows benefit (excluding additional pension).

Widow (b)

Not entitled to unemployment benefit. May be entitled to widows benefit based on late husband's contribution record.

Both have possible entitlement to income support, housing benefit and community charge benefit.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for how many years an individual has to pay full national insurance contributions to qualify for a state pension (a) in full and (b) other specific categories of pension.

To qualify for a 100 per cent. category A basic retirement pension a person must have paid full rate contributions for approximately nine-tenths of their working life. The working life is normally calculated as 49 years for a man and 44 years for a woman, but is reduced in certain circumstances, such as where home responsibilities protection applies. If the contribution record is insufficient to give the full rate, basic pension may be paid on a pro-rata basis at rates varying between 25 per cent. and 100 per cent. Below 25 per cent. no basic pension is payable.Other specific categories of retirement pensions are category B for a wife, widow or widower derived from their spouses contributions and calculated on a similar basis and categories C and D non-contributory pensions for elderly people, which have a residence rather than a contributory requirement. Further details on the entitlement conditions for all state retirement pensions can be found in leaflet NP46, which is available in the Library.

Local Offices (Industrial Action)

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what areas of work were affected, or not covered at all, as a result of the recent industrial action in (a) Wallasey, (b) Stockton, (c) Redcar, (d) Doncaster, (e) Hull, (f) Leicester, Yeoman Street, (g) Tottenham, (h) Ilford, (i) Bloomsbury, (j) Kensington and (k) Camberwell local offices.

As can only be expected when industrial action has been taken, all areas of work were affected to some degree in the local offices mentioned and local management had to prioritise work accordingly. The prompt payment of benefits remained the top priority for all these offices. Every effort was made by management and staff to ensure that their offices remained open to the public and to provide a telephone service (although this was necessarily limited in some cases).

Liable Relative Work

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list, by region, the allocated number of staff days for liable relative work during the period 1 April 1990 to 31 December 1990; and what was the number used.

The staff days allocated and used for liable relative work during the period 1 April 1990 to 31 December 1990 for each region are in the table.The figures are obtained from the Department's monthly statistical returns. Caution needs to be applied in making direct comparisons between allocations and usage. Allocations include management and common services (typists etc) which may not be included in liable relative usage figures.

Region	Allocated	Used
North East	59,634	42,249
Midlands	57,789	35,052
London North	60,984	34,951
London South	65,241	29,866
Wales and South West	45,423	30,018
North West	48,591	33,337
Scotland	36,126	26,196

Local Office, Norcross

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many forms DS 1060 were sent out by his Department's office at Norcross, Blackpool, in the period 1 January 1990 to 31 December 1990.

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average time taken by his Department's office at Norcross, Blackpool, to answer a letter from (a) a member of the public and (b) an hon. Member.

(a) A quality assessment study has just been completed at North Fylde central office, which includes Norcross, and this shows that in relation to inquiries by members of the public 62 per cent. of letters were answered in less than three weeks. The study shows an improvement over the findings in the last quality assessment exercise. Further positive efforts to improve this aspect of customer service will continue and the results will be monitored. This study also showed that 78 per cent. of those questioned considered the quality of service given to be good or very good.

(b) The precise information is not available in the form requested. However, across the span of the five different benefits the current average lies in the range of five to 12 working days.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will instigate a review of the level of performance of his Department's office at Norcross, Blackpool.

The North Fylde office at Blackpool is responsible for processing a wide range of diverse benefits each of which is regularly monitored to establish performance levels. Where deficiencies are shown management action is taken to improve the situation. In the case of a major problem recourse to a full review is available to management and such a step has recently been taken in relation to the War Pensions area of work. We are content therefore that satisfactory performance control mechanisms exist at the North Fylde offices.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many files have been recorded as lost at his Department's office at Norcross, Blackpool, in 1990.

The information is not available in the form requested.

Severe Weather Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total number of people who (a) were entitled to and (b) claimed severe weather payments in 1986–87 and, so far as the information is available, in the current winter; and how many in each case were pensioners.

We estimate that about 2·2 million households are eligible to claim cold weather payments this winter, of whom 1·25 million are pensioner households. Information on claims made this winter is not yet available.Cold weather payments in 1986–87 were made under the previous scheme. I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Moray, (Mrs. Ewing), on 14 February, at col

583, which lists the number of payments. Details are not available of the claims made, or of the numbers of people eligible for payments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cold weather payments were made each day from 1 February.

Information regarding the number of cold weather payments made is collected each calendar month. When it becomes available, the information for February will be placed in the Library.

Table A
Research currently underway
Project	Cost	Completion due
	(£ thousands)
Maternity rights and benefits	¹44	Final report awaited
Consumer views of the attendance allowance medical examination	In-house	Completed: final report received
Invalid care allowance	142	Completed: final report received
Disability working allowance research	32	April 1991
Survey of incomes in and out of work²—Econometric analysis of durations	67	Early 1992
Survey of incomes in and out of work—further analysis of attitude data	10	Autumn 1991
Survey of incomes in and out of work—replacement ratio analysis	In-house	Autumn 1991
Severe hardship payments for 16/17 year olds	119	Final report awaited
Impact of family credit	204	August 1992
National child development survey—5th sweep	¹175	July 1993
Operation of the social fund	330	December 1991
Survey of social fund review procedures	¹10	April 1991
Survey of credit and debt	¹11	April 1991
Preliminary study of people leaving certain long-stay institutions	5	Completed: Final report recently received
Improvements to family expenditure survey grossing up procedures	30	June 1991
Family credit and the self-employed	131	March 1993
Actively seeking work provisions	35	Awaiting final report
British household panel study	¹125	March 1995
Survey of retirement and retirement plans	828	Autumn 1991
Analysis of data from the survey of retirement, including econometric modelling	54	December 1992
Consumer perceptions of personal pensions	26	Completed: final report recently received
British social attitudes survey 1991, 1993, 1994	¹60	Late 1992 (for 1991 survey)
OPCS omnibus survey	¹41	May 1991
Information needs of informal advisers	39	Completed: report recently received
Forms design	70	October 1991

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the additional cost if the cold weather payments were paid to those pensioners who receive (a) £20 a week above the income support maximum and (b) £10 a week above that level.

[holding answer 15 February 1991]: The estimated costs are for (a) £5·5 million per week and for (b) £4 million per week.

Note: These costs are for payments to those benefit units which have at least one member who is 60 years or over and capital under £1000. These estimates assume all those entitled to a payment make a claim.

Source: Modelled using data drawn from the 1986–87–88 Family Expenditure Surveys.

Research Projects

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the research projects (a) currently underway and (b) planned by the Department in all areas excluding invalidity benefit, giving the title of the research, its estimated cost and its completion date in each case.

The tables set out the details of research under way and planned by the Department. A number of additional studies are under consideration to start in 1991–92 depending on available resources but details of these have not yet been fully considered.

Project	Cost(£ thousands)	Completion due
Evaluation of consumer consultations in the social security system	42	Final report awaited
Hard to place residents of resettlement units	47	April 1992
Survey of admissions to London resettlement units	In-house	July 1991
Assessment of women users of resettlement units and their needs	2	June 1991
Housing benefit reviews	100	Completed: final report received
¹ DSS contribution to joint funded research.
² Main stage of the survey of incomes in and out of work completed summer 1990. Results published in: Erens, B and Hedges, B: Survey of Incomes In and Out of Work (SCPR, 1990) and Garman, A and Redmond, G: The Changing characteristics of unemployed men, Employment Gazette, September 1990.

Table B
Planned research
Project	Anticipated cost(£ thousands)	Anticipated completion due
Changes in income and benefit status over time	103	To be decided
Structure of employers' national insurance contributions	To be decided	To be decided
Survey of incomes in and out of work—takeup of in-work benefit	In-house	Autumn 1991
Survey of incomes in and out of work—Econometric analysis of partner activity	16	December 1991
Survey of occupational pensions	Awaiting costings	To be decided
Information needs of and access to service by minority ethnic groups	50	To be decided
Information needs of and access to service by people with disabilities	50	September 1991
Annual independent national customer survey	To be decided	September 1991
Customer perceptions of resettlement units	37	July 1991
Effect of benefit availability on housing decisions	60	To be decided

Parliamentary Questions

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many parliamentary questions have not been answered because of disproportionate cost over the last year; and if he will list those that could now be answered due to the effectiveness of the operational strategy of computerisation.

There have been 33 questions receiving such answers over the last year. It would not be possible to undertake the type of analysis requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

Social Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how much money has been allocated for loans and grants under the social fund for 1990–91 in each district council area of Wales;(2) if he will publish the numbers of successful claims for

(a) grants and (b) loans under the social fund as a percentage of the total number of applicants for each, in every district council area of Wales in 1990;

(3) of the successful social fund applications for (a) grants and (b) loans, how many were allocated to (i) pensioners, (ii) single parents, (iii) disabled people, (iv) families and (v) single people for each district council area in Wales during 1990;

(4) how much money was (a) allocated and (b) utilised as (i) loans and (ii) grants under the social fund in each district council area in Wales during 1990; and in each instance what amount of money was set aside for cases which are pending in 1990–91.

Information is not collected according to district council areas. Statistics for all local offices of the Department on (a) allocations for loans and grants, (b) applications processed and awards made, and (c) expenditure, are in the Library.Awards are made from the year's budget in which they are paid, not the budget for the date of application.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many of those in receipt of income support are having deductions made to the repayment of social fund loans; and what is the average level of repayments by quintile to each of his Department's offices in Derbyshire.

The table shows the number of applicants repaying social fund loans at the end of November 1990. It is not possible to provide quintile figures on repayments.

	Number
Chesterfield	1,338
Derby (Becket Street)	630
Derby (Heritage Gate)	394

Number

Derby (London Road)

980

Ilkeston

646

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of those in receipt of income support are having deductions made for the repayment of social fund loans in each of his Department's offices in Derbyshire.

The information provided is for the quarter ending in November 1990.

	Per cent.
Chesterfield	7·6
Derby (Becket Street)	5·4
Derby (Heritage Gate)	6·2
Derby (London Road)	7·8
Ilkeston	9·4

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many local offices in Nottingham and the United Kingdom are currently giving community care grants from the social fund to (a) high priority applications only, (b) high and medium priority applications only and (c) high, medium and low priority applications.

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

Statutory Sick Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has consulted small firm organisations on the new instructions to be issued to employers following the implementation of the Statutory Sick Pay Act 1991.

We consulted the National Federation of the Self Employed and Small Businesses, the Forum of Private Business and the Confederation of British Industry on the draft statutory sick pay leaflet on small employers relief (NI 278). A number of useful comments were made and incorporated in the leaflet, which is now being distributed to all employers.

Industrial Injuries

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to add further categories of workers to those who can be assessed for industrial injuries disablement benefits when it is established they suffer from industrial deafness, including those whose industrial deafness arose from work in the coal mining industry.

The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council advises the Secretary of State on the prescription of occupations under the industrial injuries scheme. Work involving the use of pneumatic percussive tools for mining coal and work in the immediate vicinity of these tools when in operation are already prescribed occupations for occupational deafness purposes.

Benefit Uprating

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the reason for the interval between the uprating announcement and the payment of uprated benefits; and if he will make a statement.

The administrative complexities of changing the level of payment for several million beneficiaries receiving a wide range of different benefits means that a considerable period of time is required between the announcement and payment of uprated benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which benefits have been uprated in line with inflation since 1979; and which have not.

The Government are now spending more on social security, in real terms, than ever before. Expenditure increased by £14–5 billion in real terms at 1990–91 prices between 1979–80 and 1990–91, a real increase of 35 per cent.Taking the period since 1979 as a whole, all weekly benefit rates have been uprated in line with inflation, or better in some cases, with the exceptions of child benefit, statutory sick pay and sickness benefit. These have been uprated but not always in line with inflation.

Family Credit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he hopes to conclude his inquiries into the error in calculation of family credit for Mr. Mike Rawlinson of Totnes, South Devon (Ref. YR 008417C) and the delay in vetting the claim; when payment, together with arrears will be made; and if he will make a statement.

A revised maximum award of family credit of £54·15 a week is being issued today, including all the arrears due. Entitlement could not be recalculated until necessary further information regarding Mr. Rawlinson's employment had been received. I shall write to my hon. Friend with details of this case.

Mean-Tested Benefits

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further the answer to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Brown) on 19 February 1991 Offical Report, columns 105–6, what contribution each means-tested benefit makes to the £0·9 billion difference between (a) and (b).

The savings which would be made by the reduced payment of income-related benefits would approximately be of the following magnitude: income support, £250 million; housing benefit, £330 million and community charge benefit: £180 million. Where income-related benefits are raised to prevent loss of entitlement, there are some extra costs, approximately £100 million, associated with an increase in pensioner premiums.

Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what procedures exist to credit a pension to someone working in the United Kingdom who is (a) a United States citizen and (b) a citizen of another EC country.

A United States citizen who has worked and paid social security contributions in the United Kingdom will receive a retirement pension under United Kingdom domestic law if he has paid sufficient contributions to qualify. If he has not paid enough contributions for this purpose but he has also been covered by the United States insurance scheme, the social security convention between the United Kingdom and the United States of America provides for insurance in both countries to be combined to help him to satisfy the qualifying conditions for a United Kingdom pension. Any United Kingdom pension resulting from this calculation will be payable in the proportion that the United Kingdom insurance bears to the combined insurance.The United Kingdom pension for a European Community national who has worked in more than one EC country is calculated in accordance with Council regulation (EEC) No. 1408/71. The social security records of all the EC countries concerned are combined as though they were United Kingdom insurance and the pension rate is then calculated in proportion to the actual United Kingdom insurance in the combined total. A separate calculation is made of entitlement under domestic law alone and the United Kingdom pension is then paid at the higher of the two results. Special rules exist for cases where the person has been insured for less than a year in any one EC country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will issue to every state earnings-related pension holder an annual statement which will include the amount of pension to be paid on retirement.

The Department does notify certain national insurance contributors if their national insurance record is not sufficient in any one tax year for that year to count towards their basic pension entitlement, but there are no plans to issue annual statements to state earnings-related pension holders.People are able to obtain details of their current or future possible state retirement pension entitlement by requesting a pension forecast from the retirement pension forecast unit at Newcastle.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to allowing state earnings-related pensions participants to make additional voluntary contributions; and if he will make a statement.

Although people who have a reduced basic pension entitlement may, under certain conditions, be able to pay extra voluntary contributions to enhance their entitlement, there are no current plans to extend this to state earnings-related pensions.

	¹ Average weekly earnings adult males	Weekly upper earnings limit		Upper earnings limit as a percentage of average earnings
	£	£		Upper earnings limit as a percentage of average earnings
April
1978	89·10	120·00	1978–79	134·7
1979	101·40	135·00	1979–80	133·1
1980	123·80	165·00	1980–81	133·3
1981	140·50	200·00	1981–82	142·3
1982	154·50	220·00	1982–83	142·4
1983	164·70	235·00	1983–84	142·7
1984	178·80	250·00	1984–85	139·8
1985	192·40	265·00	1985–86	137·7
1986	207·50	285·00	1986–87	137·3
1987	224·00	295·00	1987–88	131·7
1988	245·80	305·00	1988–89	124·1
1989	269·50	325·00	1989–90	120·6
1990	295·60	350·00	1990–91	118·4
¹ Average weekly full-time earnings of all adult males.

Source: New Earnings Survey.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons over the age of 60 years are in receipt of state retirement pensions or other equivalent income; and how this figure would be affected if the entitlement to a pension was given to men who retired at 60 years.

[holding answer 21 February 1991]: There are aproximately 10 million people in receipt of retirement pension. It is estimated that there are around 1·4 million men between the age of 60 and 64 who might qualify for retirement pension if pension age for men is reduced to 60.

National Insurance Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what saving for the national insurance fund has been achieved by transferring out expenditure on industrial injury benefit, maternity pay and statutory sick pay;(2) which benefits have been transferred since 1979 to the Consolidated Fund from the national insurance fund.

The Social Security Act 1990 provided for expenditure on industrial injuries benefits to be met directly from the consolidated fund and for the national insurance fund to be reimbursed from the consolidated fund for the costs of statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay, these benefits being non-contributory. The relevant amounts for the 1991 tax year are estimated to be £574 million in respect of industrial injuries benefit, £956 million in respect of statutory sick pay and £332 million in respect of statutory maternity pay, making a total of £1·862 billion.Since 1979 there have been no other transfers of benefit costs from the national insurance fund to the consolidated fund.

Male Earnings

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of average male earnings the upper earnings limit represents; and what percentage it represented in each year since 1978–79.Mr. Jack: The information requested is in the table.

Non-Contributory Benefits

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost implications of abolishing non-contributory benefits and replacing them with their nearest contributory equivalent.

Many of the non-contributory benefits have neither direct nor approximate contributory equivalents. Even where there is a near equivalent, for example severe disablement allowance and invalidity benefit, it is not possible to abolish that benefit and transfer recipients to the contributory benefit without breaching the contributory principle, or diluting it to the point where it becomes meaningless. Such beneficiaries are very often receiving a non-contributory benefit because of failure to satisfy the contribution conditions for a contributory benefit. The scenario implied in the question would require a fundamental change to the social security system for which no cost estimates are available.

Volume 186: debated on Monday 25 February 1991

Written Answers To Questions

Environment

Crown Suppliers

Ec/Gatt Regulations

Housing

Severn Trent Water

Environmental Protection Act

Departmental Discipline

Disabled Employees

Assured Tenancies

Unleaded Petrol

Local Government Finance

St James's Park

Bathing Beaches

Fish

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

East Timor

Iran

Kenya

Arab And Islamic States

Yugoslavia

Security Policy

Israel

The Gulf

The Gulf (Birds)

Hong Kong

Education And Science

Geography

Chief Inspector Of Schools

Teacher Training Institutions

Schools Inspectorate

Higher Education

Correspondence

Canterbury Estate, Bradford

Teachers' Pay

Vocational Education

Grant-Maintained Schools

School Governors And Managers

Kent County Council

Education Authority Spending

National Finance

Interest Rates

Tessas

Swap Deals (Hong Kong)

Capital Gains Tax

Value Added Tax

Excise Duty

Saving Ratio

Recycling

Members Of The European Parliament

Energy

Electricity Supply, East Midlands

Gas Industry (Competition)

Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation

Electricity Privatisation

Energy Efficiency

Wave-Generated Electricity

Oil Production

Offshore Oil And Gas

Coal Imports

British Coal Enterprise Ltd

Energy Imports

Green Issues

Industrial Plant (Dust)

Plutonium

Coal Mining Subsidence

Electricity Costs

Imports

Offshore Gas And Oil Industries

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

Trade And Industry

Iran (Exports)

Exports To Iraq

Monopolies And Mergers Commission

Company Fraud

Export Licences

Hedgehogs

Health