To ask the Attorney-General what are the rates of subsistence allowance payable to persons attending hearings of tribunals as chairpersons, tribunal members, appellants, appellants' representatives, members of the Council on Tribunals, tribunal officers and other officials; and on what basis these allowances are fixed.

Chairpersons, tribunal members, members of the Council on Tribunals, tribunal officers and other officials may, in certain limited circumstances, be paid a day subsistence allowance of £3.90 or £8.60, depending on the time spent on duty. They may also be paid an overnight subsistence allowance of £98.70 or £68–50 in London, or £85.85 or £63.15 elsewhere, depending on rank, if they are obliged to attend at a place not within daily travelling distance of their home. These are the rates generally applicable throughout the public service. Most tribunals do not pay subsistence allowances to appellants or appellants' representatives, but there are exceptions, for example, the social security commissioners, and in those cases the rates paid are generally linked to standard public service rates.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information he possesses and for what date of the approximate percentage of private car drivers entering or leaving central London each day during (a) weekday peak periods, (b) weekday non-peak periods, (c) at weekends and (d) any other period whose movement costs are not wholly met from their taxable income.

A survey in April 1989 found that 48 per cent. of cars entering central London on a weekday during the morning peak—7 to 10 am—were privately owned and 52 per cent. were paid for, owned or leased by an employer or company. The corresponding proportions during the off-peak—10 am to 1 pm—were 52 and 48 per cent. respectively.About three quarters of the privately owned cars in the peak period, and two thirds in the off peak, received some form of travel assistance from their employer or company for the journey being undertaken. Travel assistance could take the form of tax relief—for the self-employed—provision of parking, mileage allowance or payment for parking charges or fuel.More detailed information is available in TRRL research report 326, "Company Travel Assistance in the London area" and I shall arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to require all new saloon motor vehicles sold in the United Kingdom to have three cross-body safety belts in the rear seats.

One manufacturer has now introduced three point belts for rear centre seating on some models. I hope that other manufacturers will follow this lead. It would not be possible to make this compulsory without the agreement of the European Community.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of licensed vehicles in the United Kingdom, by region.

The records kept at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency show the total number of vehicles licensed in the United Kingdom, by region, as at 31 December 1990 were as follows:

Number of licensed vehicles
Region	Thousands
Northern	1,104
Yorkshire and Humberside	1,995
East Midlands	1,758
East Anglia	1,097
South East	8,229
South West	2,403
West Midlands	2,456
North West	2,566
Scotland	1,811
Wales	1,222
Not known	32
Total Great Britain	24,673
Northern Ireland	543
Total United Kingdom	25,216

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to his answer of 23 January, Official Report, column 270, when he expects to receive advice as the extent of his Department's liability to the present owners of the Cornelis Johanna.

I expect to receive advice in February.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals to equalise the tax treatment of waste oil disposed of as furnace oil with that of waste oil disposed of in other ways.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what limit will be imposed on the quantity of tobacco products which an individual may import into the United Kingdom from other EC countries for personal consumption after 1993.

From 1 January 1993 there will be no restriction on tobacco products purchased duty-paid in another EC country and brought into the United Kingdom by private individuals for their personal use. To help distinguish genuine private importations from those of a commercial nature liable to United Kingdom duty, the following indicative levels will apply in accordance with the agreement reached at the ECOFIN Council on 16 December 1991:

800 Cigarettes

400 Cigarillos

200 Cigars

1.0 kg Smoking tobacco

The December ECOFIN meeting also decided to retain duty-free shopping for travel within the EC until 1 July 1999. Travellers will be able to purchase duty-free tobacco products up to the level of the current duty free allowance, in addition to any goods they have obtained from duty-paid sources.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action the Customs and Excise will take to prevent smuggling of tobacco products from other EC countries into the United Kingdom after 1993.

Customs and Excise are planning a range of anti-smuggling measures for 1993. These will be largely intelligence based, allowing additional inland resources to be targeted to both detect and deter any growth in illicit trade. This strategy will be supported by the minimum indicative levels agreed at the 16 December ECOFIN which will help to distinguish private purchases for personal consumption from commercial trade.The Department of Health's Tobacco Labelling Regulations, which require health warnings in English on all tobacco products sold in the United Kingdom, will also aid identification of illicit importations.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the regional distribution of the number of taxpayers with total allowances and reliefs in excess of £10,000, £15,000 and £20,000 referred to in the reply given to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle), on 21 January, Official Report, column 128.

I regret that this information is not available on a regional basis.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the estimated receipts from privatisation, including debt repayments, in 1991–92, identifying the industry concerned in each case.

Estimated privatisation proceeds including debt repayments for 1991–92 are shown in the following table, by industry.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the estimated receipts from repayment of debt from privatised electricity companies have been varied in amount or timing from those given in the various prospectuses at the time of flotation.

No. the precise timing of redemption of such debt depends on future decisions.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total receipts by the Government from British Telecom loan stocks will be after 31 March.

The value of the outstanding BT loan stock held by the Government after 31 March 1992 will be £2,186 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total debt repayable to the Government by British Gas will be after 31 March.

The total debt repayable to the Government by British Gas plc after 31 March 1992 will be £350 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the 1992 departmental reports to be published.

Proposed publication dates for 1992 departmental reports are as follows:

• 1992 Departmental reports: proposed publication dates
• Statistical Supplement to the Autumn Statement—Friday 31 January
• Ministry of Defence—Thursday 6 February
• Department of Energy—Thursday 6 February
• Department of Education and Science—Thursday 6 February
• Department of Health and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys—Tuesday 11 February
• Office of Arts and Libraries—Tuesday 11 February
• Chancellor of the Exchequer's departments and net payments to EC institutions—Wednesday 12 February
• Home Office (including Charity Commission) Wednesday 12 February
• Department of the Environment—Wednesday 12 February
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office (including ODA)—Wednesday 12 February
• Department of Trade and Industry—Wednesday 12 February
• Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Intervention Board—Thursday 13 February
• Department of Social Security—Thursday 13 February
• Department of Transport—Thursday 13 February
• Cabinet Office—Friday 14 February
• Department of Employment—Friday 14 February
• Legal departments—Friday 14 February
• Scotland—Friday 14 February
• Wales—Friday 14 February
• Northern Ireland—Friday 14 February

Copies will be made available at the Vote Office.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial target he has set Her Majesty's Stationery Office for 1992.

I have today laid a further Treasury minute setting HMSO the financial target for 1992 of achieving a profit after interest in current cost accounting terms of £6 million. This compares with the target for 1991 of a profit after interest in current cost accounting terms of £4 million.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average rent paid by persons earning less than £10,000 per year.

I have been asked to reply.The latest information from the 1990 family expenditure survey shows that the estimated mean weekly rent of households in rented accommodation in England, where the head of household has an annual gross income of less than £10,000,is £27 or £14 net of housing benefit.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures showing the total (a) borrowing requirement and (b) indebtedness attributable to local authorities in the United Kingdom for each year since 1979; and what estimates he has for each year since 1979 of the total indebtedness repaid by the use of capital receipts from the exercise of the right-to-buy provisions.

I have been asked to reply.The borrowing requirement for authorities in the United Kingdom and The total indebtedness for all English authorities from 1979–80 to 1989–90 is as follows. The proportion of receipts generated by the right-to-buy provisions that have been applied to reduce local authority indebtedness are not available.

£ million
	Borrowing Requirement	Total Indebtedness
1979–80	2,969	30,187
1980–81	2,120	32,076
1981–82	-224	34,069
1982–83	83	36,231
1983–84	1,209	38,698
1984–85	2,387	40,554
1985–86	1,674	40,138
1986–87	149	43,033
1987–88	1,355	44,904
1988–89	339	47,295
1989–90	1,321	48,695
1990–91	3,431	n/a

(Source: Department of the Environment returns and Central Statistical Office.)

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list by standard region (a) the research institutes operated for, or on behalf of, his Department and the total employment thereat and (b) the total number of such institutes and the total employment therein; and if he will express the regional totals as a percentage of the national totals.

My Department is responsible for one such institute: The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority which operates from nine sites as follows:

Region	Number of sites	Numbers employed, end-1991	Region as per cent. Of national total employed
Scotland	1	1,650	18.4
North	1	512	5.7
North West	3	1,594	17.8
South East	3	3,912	43.6
South West	1	1,301	14.5
TOTAL	9	8,969	100.0

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had with the nuclear installations inspectorate regarding the anticipated date of completion of consideration of the long-term safety reviews of Sizewell A, and Dungeness A Magnox nuclear power stations.

None. However, officials in the Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate keep my officials informed about the progress of these reviews.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the organisations and individuals from whom his Department received comments on his departmental consultation paper on nuclear research and development; and when he expects to come to conclusions on the responses.

The Department has received substantive comments from almost 100 organisations and individuals.The largest group of responses, some 30 per cent. of the total, were from suppliers or potential suppliers of goods and services to the nuclear industry. Some 20 per cent. were from the research or higher education field. Ten per cent. came from the energy industries. The remainder of the comments came from other Government Departments or agencies, campaigning organisations, trade unions and professional associations and private individuals.I hope to publish a strategy for the Department's nuclear R and D programmes, which will take into account comments received on the consultation document, in the near future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether the existing nuclear operating regime will apply to the Sizewell B PWR nuclear power station.

The treatment of Sizewell B by the Government and the appropriate regulatory authorities will be no different from that of Nuclear Electric's existing stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what analysis has been made of the reasons why the fees paid out for advice on electricity privatisation in 1990–91 exceeded the original estimate.

The figure included in the main supply estimates for 1990–91 was based on the best estimate available in November 1989. Continuing and regular reassessments were made of the resources needed to complete the successful flotation of the electricity supply industry in that year. It was these that led to the additional provision which was sought, and approved by Parliament, in the 1990–91 spring supplementary estimates.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of sites of limestone pavement that have been notified for protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the number that have had orders made in north Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and any other part of England where pavements exist; and how soon the process will be completed.

I understand that the relevant authorities of Cumbria county council, the Lake District special planning board, Lancashire county council and the north Yorkshire county council have determined to protect by orders all those areas of limestone pavement notified to them by English Nature and the Countryside Commission. It is estimated that this programme will be completed by the end of summer 1994.So far orders have been made as follows:

	Number of orders
Cumbria (including the National Park)	22
Lancashire	10
North Yorkshire	9

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what forms of compensation there are for households in opencast mining areas for the effects of noise, pollution and heavy road traffic.

The planning system provides the basis on which the appropriateness of particular development proposals is assessed, and the effect on the surrounding area will be a material factor in that assessment. Apart from this, it is open to aggrieved people to undertake civil actions for nuisance.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to make it obligatory to evacuate a building constructed on the trade-off principle if the sprinkler system becomes inoperative for any reason.

Provision for the ongoing maintenance of sprinklers installed for the purpose of Building Regulations in non-certificated premises will be included in regulations to be made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department. These will be made under section 12 of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and are intended to take effect on 1 June 1992. Fire officers enforcing those regulations will wish to ensure that adequate alternative arrangements are made whenever a sprinkler becomes inoperative during the time a building is occupied. Such measures may include fire safety management procedures, and may need to involve a partial restriction or prohibition on the use of all or part of the premises.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list by standard region (a) the research institutes operated for, or on behalf of, his Department and the total employment thereat and (b) the total number of such institutes and the total employment therein; and if he will express the regional totals as a percentage of the national totals.

My Department's only research institution is the Building Research Establishment at Garston, Watford. It has been an executive agency since April 1990. It carries out work for other customers as well as my Department. It employs such staff as are necessary to carry out its work. Staff numbers are currently the equivalent of 703.5 full-time employees.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures will be required under the new building regulations to cater for any change in use of a building, its layout and its contents.

The Building Regulations 1991, which will come into effect on 1 June 1992, impose requirements on certain building operations including the making of a "material change of use", as defined in regulation 5. Regulation 6 sets out those requirements of schedule 1 to the regulations which must be satisfied where there is a material change of use, and provides that such work must be carried out as is necessary to ensure that the building, or that part of it where the material change of use is being made, complies with those requirements. The table sets out what those requirements are for each particular case of change of use.It is quite possible that changes in the internal layout of a building may adversely affect the building in relation to compliance with one of the relevant requirements, for example paragraph B1—means of escape. In such cases the change will be regarded as "material" for the purposes of the Building Regulations, and the building owner will be required to ensure that the work complies with the regulations and that the building as a whole is not made more unsatisfactory.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make home safety a mandatory function for local authorities.

My Department has no such plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many local authorities he expects to be awarded city challenge money in the current round of competition; and on what date he will be announcing the results.

The Department of the Environment and other Government Departments are currently considering the action plans submitted by the 11 city challenge pacemakers on 6 January. Points arising from the plans are being discussed with individual authorities so that decisions can be reached as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the reasons why no permanent site has been agreed to date for the European environment agency.

A decision about location has been delayed because the agency is one of a number of new EC institutions yet to be sited somewhere in the Community. Agreement on the siting of the agency is at present dependent upon agreement on the package as a whole. The issue of where the European Parliament should meet in the future in particular is holding up progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what specific account he takes of net expenditure by borough councils on homelessless as part of his structure of standard spending assessment for the year 1992–93.

The total of standard spending assessments has been set in the light of the spending needs of all authorities including an allowance for appropriate expenditure on providing for the homeless.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will tabulate the annual income and expenditure on disbursements into and from the national non-domestic rates pool for each year of its operation together with his estimates of such operations for the year 1992–93.

The amounts of non-domestic rates distributed from, and contributed to the central pool for England in 1990–91 were:

Distributable Amount (£000)	Contributions (£000)
10,428,500	10,733,421

The amounts which are being, or to be distributed and which it is estimated will be paid into the pool in 1991–92 and 1992–93 are:

	Distributable Amount (£000)	Contributions (£000)
1991–92	12,408,000	11,992,289
1992–93	12,306,000	12,339,000

The contributions for 1990–91 are currently being adjusted to reflect the amount of rates actually collectable from businesses in that year. It is estimated that those contributions will be reduced by about £127 million as a result of the adjustments. Contributions for 1991–92 will be adjusted during 1992–93.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what account he takes of the need for, or number of places currently provided in, nursery education in inner city areas when calculating his standard spending assessment for relevant local authorities; and if he will state the arithmetic or other formula used for any such calculations.

Provision for nursery education is made within the standard spending assessment for under-fives education. This is based on the numbers of children aged under five resident in each relevant authority with allowances for extra costs associated with additional educational needs and higher costs in London and the south-east. Details are given in the Revenue Support Grant Distribution Report (England), which is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out the ways in which Her Majesty's Government intend to work closely with the European Parliament in the coming months on environmental policy.

The Government already consult, brief and exchange views with Members of the European Parliament on a regular basis. However, to achieve the smooth passage of Environment Council business during the United Kingdom presidency in the second half of this year, we will be developing further our contacts with the European Parliament and its environment committee.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimate of the personal social services share of reductions in rate or revenue support grant for England as a whole for each year since 1978–79 at 1991–92 prices, when calculated by applying to the grant reductions the share that personal social services spending made up of total local authority spending each year and using relevant expenditure in each year except for (a) net expenditure met by rents, rates and balances for 1978–79 to 1980–81, (b) budgeted net revenue expenditure for 1990–91 and (c) standard spending assessments for the current year.

Revenue support grant, like its predecessor rate support grant, is paid to local authorities in support of general revenue expenditure. It would not therefore be appropriate to try to attribute amounts of grant to specific services.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish his Department's regulations governing the contained use of genetically modified organisms and outdoor releases of genetically modified organisms following his consultations; and if he will make a statement.

Consultations on the proposed regulations were completed on 22 January and my Department and other interested governmental parties are currently analysing the results. The regulations will be laid as soon as possible after the issues raised by the comments received have been considered and resolved.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will place in the Library the draft regulations on the council tax upon which the local authority associations are being consulted through the council tax technical sub-group.

I am arranging for copies of the draft regulations already sent to the local authority associations to be placed in the Library of the House and for further drafts to be placed there as they are issued.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table in the Official Report based upon the information contained in annex VIII of his local government statement of 26 November, showing for each local authority area listed on pages 2 to 13 (a) income from the community charge for standard spending, (b) business rate income and (c) revenue support grant in each case as a percentage of standard spending assessment, with each local authority being listed in ascending order according to the percentage size of its revenue support grant.

[holding answer 29 January 1992]: A table containing the information requested has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much Government grant has been paid to Thurrock borough council since April 1987 for expenditure on Thurrock borough council's housing stock.

[holding answer 20 January 1992]: Thurrock borough council was not entitled to housing subsidy for the financial years 1987–88 to 1989–90. Housing revenue account subsidy, introduced on 1 April 1990, replaced housing subsidy and incorporated rent rebate subsidy which was previously paid to local authorities by the Department of Social Security. The council has claimed housing revenue account subsidy as follows:

	£
1990–91	6,432,848
1991–92	7,170,427

In addition, Thurrock has received housing capital allocations, including housing investment programme allocations, part of which will have been used for expenditure on its own stock. These allocations may be supplemented by the authority's own resources, and for the years in question total:

£
1987–88	2,359,000
1988–89	2,044,000
1989–90	1,839,000
New Capital Finance System1
1990–91	3,305,000
1991–92	24,063,000
1 Changes made at the time of introduction of the new capital finance system in 1990–91 mean that the levels of allocations before and after that date are not comparable.
2 Provisional estimate of final allocation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will commission and fund a study on a case-by-case basis into which bird species are likely to benefit from the wild-caught bird trade, as recommended on page 3 of the recent Joint Nature Conservancy Council report on international trade in wildlife.

[holding answer 28 January 1992]: The Government already support studies of the potential impact of wildlife trade throughout the world through its subscription to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The JNCC and the royal botanic gardens, Kew, also monitor the wildlife trade generally on our behalf. We will keep the need for further research under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to introduce registration and possession controls for all Convention on Trade in Endangered Species appendix 1 species held in the United Kingdom, as recommended on page 3 of the recent Joint Nature Conservancy Council report on international trade in wildlife.

[holding answer 28 January 1992]: I wrote to the European Commission in October urging it to propose stricter controls on the trade in appendix 1 species. The Commission reported in December that it planned to publish proposals shortly, and my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside pressed for early progress on these. We shall be giving urgent attention to the proposals when they are published.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those birds species that (a) have benefited and (b) are likely to benefit from the international trade in wild-caught birds.

[holding answer 28 January 1992]: Comprehensive information on species which have benefited from trade is not readily available. Properly controlled trade can provide an incentive for the better management of many species. The same general principles can be applied to the bird trade as to trade in other species mentioned in the JNCC report.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are being taken to ensure that local authorities will receive sufficient information from the Ministry of Defence to ensure that land forming part of the defence estate is noted in their registers of potentially contaminated land.

I have been asked to reply.There is a close liaison between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of the Environment concerning the implications for the defence estate of the public registers of land which may be contaminated to be compiled under section 143 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. In addition, the MOD is working with the DOE to prepare a profile of potentially contaminative uses of defence land which is designed to assist local authorities to compile register entries. The MOD will respond positively at the appropriate time to local authority requests for information, subject to the constraints of national security.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the total number of deaths from lung cancer in Wales and the estimated proportion of deaths caused by exposure to radon gas.

During 1990 there were 1,976 deaths from lung cancer in Wales. It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of how many, if any, of these were caused by exposure to radon. The National Radiological Protection Board estimates that 5 per cent. of lung cancer deaths in the United Kingdom may be attributable to exposure to radon.Information on lung cancer deaths in years prior to 1990 is contained in the OPCS publication "Mortality Statistics: Area"—Series DH5—which is available in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects local authorities in Wales to finalise their new arrangements for waste disposal sites.

By September 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority concerning the date on which the children's ear, nose and throat operating theatres will be transferred from the Children's Ear, Nose and Throat hospital, Cowbridge road west, Ely, Cardiff, to the University hospital of Wales, the Heath, Cardiff; and if he will make a statement.

This is an operational matter for the authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of children in primary classes in Wales in (a) 1988 and (b) 1991, in classes of (i) 31 to 35, (ii) 36 to 39 and (iii) 40 and above.

Information on the number of children in primary classes is not held centrally in the form requested. The table gives the number of ordinary classes in primary schools by size of class. Data for 1991 are not yet available.

	31 to 35	36 to 40	41 and over
1988	1,602	132	8
1990	1,634	97	9

Figures relate to September of the academic year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the public opinion surveys carried out by his Department since 22 July 1991.

[holding answer 5 November 1991]: None.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 30 January.

I have been asked to reply.My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been having important discussions today with President Yeltsin on his first visit abroad as President of an independent Russia. My right hon. Friend will be meeting President Bush this evening after his arrival in New York to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the organisations invited, and the criteria for inviting them, to his meeting with non-governmental organisations on 5 February to explore the prospects for the United Nations conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in June.

I have been asked to reply.Participants in the seminar on 5 February have been invited in their personal capacity, not as representatives of organisations. Leading figures from environment and development groups and business were asked to nominate appropriate individuals to receive invitations to the seminar. The choice of whom to nominate was left entirely to them.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy, in his discussions with President Yeltsin on 30 January, to raise the outstanding verification problems that hinder the completion of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.

I have been asked to reply. No.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the National Alliance of Womens Organisations; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will provide financial support to the National Alliance of Womens Organisations.

We recognise the practical advice this body provides for some women's organisations. We have provisionally decided to give NAWO a small grant in 1992–93 to help with administrative costs. This is subject to approval by Treasury and by Parliament.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will authorise the replacement of the present police short truncheon with the American side handled baton.

The procurement of equipment is the responsibility of chief officers of police. We are prepared to arrange for a scientific evaluation of any equipment which might assist in public order control if chief officers request it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will carry out an urgent evaluation of a knife-proof vest for police foot patrols.

The Home Office police scientific development branch recently completed research on stab resistant materials. We are ready to undertake further scientific research into new products if requested to do so by chief officers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been carried out by his Department since the enactment of the Firearms Act 1982 of the extent to which imitation firearms now on sale can be converted to fire live ammunition without any special skill using tools in common use.

Under the Firearms Act 1982 any imitation firearm which is readily convertible to fire live ammunition is subject to the same strict licensing controls as a "real" firearm. Since that Act came into effect, it has been normal practice for manufacturers and retailers to submit model firearms to the Home Office forensic science service for an assessment of their status before releasing them for sale.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each month how many asylum applications were decided (a) by the granting of refugee status, (b) by the granting of exceptional leave to remain and (c) by the refusal to either; and, of those granted refugee status or leave to remain, how many were port applicants for asylum and how many were lawfully in the United Kingdom.

Available monthly information for 1990 and the first half of 1991 is given in the table. Corresponding information for the second half of 1991 is not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to provide body armour to all the police forces for the protection of officers; and if he will make a statement.

The procurement of equipment for forces is entirely a matter for chief officers. I understand that all forces have body armour available for officers when an operational need can be foreseen. The Home Office is ready to undertake scientific research into new products if requested so to do by chief officers.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy in respect of the retention of the paper copy of DNA profiles taken from persons cleared of an offence as part of the case record; and if he will make a statement.

Paper records of DNA profiles are retained by forensic science laboratories for audit and quality assurance purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce his conclusions on the further review of the prison estate.

I have considered very carefully the large number of representations received following my announcement on 24 July 1991, Official Report, column 596, of the proposals which had emerged from the review of the prison estate. The proposals included changes to the roles of 15 establishments, and the closure of seven establishments as well as units at Her Majesty's prison Drake Hall, Her Majesty's prison Highpoint and Her Majesty's prison Norwich.Since these proposals were made the prison population has risen and the prison service has had to resort to very high levels of police cell use to accommodate prisoners. Yesterday there were 1,244 prisoners in police cells. The use of police cells in this way is entirely unacceptable and I do not now believe that it would be right to continue with the proposed closures, except for Her Majesty's remand centre Pucklechurch and the open unit at Her Majesty's prison Highpoint in 1993–94. I therefore now intend that the establishments in the following list should continue in operation for at least the next two years and subject where appropriate to changes of role.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much government aid, other than humanitarian aid, was given to (a) Guatemala and (b) Ghana in each of the last three years.

United Kingdom bilateral aid to Ghana and Guatemala in the past three United Kingdom financial years was:

£ thousands
	Ghana	Guatemala
1988–89	33,558	12
1989–90	33,150	61
1990–91	25,193	72

These figures exclude disaster relief and food aid, being classified as humanitarian aid—Ghana £5,000 in 1989–90 and £32,000 in 1990–91; Guatemala £29,000 in 1989–90.The figures do not include Commonwealth Development Corporation funds—Ghana £4.2 million in 1990 calendar year—or the United Kingdom share of aid through multilateral institutions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much Britain contributed financially to (a) International Labour Organisation, (b) Food and Agriculture Organisation, (c) International Food and Agriculture Development, (d) United Nations Development Programme, (e) World Food Programme, (f) UNICEF, (g) United Nations High Commission for Refugees, (h) United Nations Food for Population Articles and (i) United Nations Environment Programme, in cash and real terms for each year since 1979.

Contributions were as follows, using Her Majesty's Treasury's GDP deflator for the real terms data:

United Kingdom contributions to multilateral agencies 1979–90 in cash terms
£ thousands
Organisations	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
International Labour Organisation	2,181	2,800	1,904	2,963	3,749	4,059	4,668	3,918	3,813	4,218	5,574	5,832
Food and Agriculture Organisation	2,482	3,217	3,616	5,592	6,195	8,153	6,779	7,358	5,760	8,518	8,611	9,626
International Fund for Agricultural Development	—	—	881	2,110	3,552	4,243	5,450	3,509	3,280	2,564	3,213	2,625
United Nations Development Programme	28,533	15,000	17,500	18,500	18,500	19,000	21,000	21,000	23,000	24,500	26,001	27,114
World Food Programme1	7,017	2,488	1,853	3,392	828	1,039	500	500	10,392	4,542	15,674	4,030
United Nations Children's	7,382	4,991	7,356	5,983	6,069	6,025	8,400	8,308	12,000	12,223	12,200	9,285
United Nations High Commission for Refugees	8,987	6,974	5,857	6,235	3,720	7,095	16,860	14,020	14,800	19,470	19,316	19,495
United Nations Fund for Population Activities	3,875	2,000	2,250	2,650	2,700	3,000	4,500	4,500	5,000	5,250	5,500	3,000
United Nations Environment Programme	599	593	600	600	750	750	750	1,000	1,000	1,250	3,000	3,000
1 Contributions to the World Food Programme include subscription payments, commodity purchase and, from 1987, food aid. Prior to 1987 the food aid channelled through WFP could not be distinguished from other food aid, and therefore is not included in this table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Indonesian Government in response to its national inquiry team report into the Dili massacre in East Timor; and if he will make a statement.

The Indonesians have been informed of the contents of our statement of 28 January, in which we noted the conclusions of the commission of inquiry and President Soeharto's prompt responses. We expressed support for the recommendation that all those thought to have broken the law should face legal proceedings and urged the Indonesian authorities to investigate thoroughly the responsibility of members of armed forces and see that those found responsible would be punished. We remain concerned about a number of other issues and have urged the Indonesians to take the necessary action both to investigate the fate of those missing and put in place policies designed to ensure that abuses of human rights in East Timor cease.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the human rights situation in East Timor.

[holding answer 20 January 1992]: On 28 January we issued a statement in which we noted the conclusions of the commission of inquiry and President Soeharto's prompt response. We expressed support for the recommendation that all those thought to have broken the law should face legal proceedings and urged the Indonesian authorities to investigate thoroughly the responsibility of members of armed forces and see that those found responsible would be punished. We remain concerned about a number of other issues and have urged the Indonesians to take the necessary action both to investigate the fate of those missing and put in place policies designed to ensure that abuses of human rights in East Timor cease.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people applied for places on the Indian FCO scholarship programme in 1991–92 and 1992–93; how many have been awarded places; and whether he has plans to extend the scheme.

A total of 152 FCO scholarships—39 new awards, 113 continuing awards—were made to Indian students in 1991–92. For 1992–93 the figure is 189–56 new awards and 133 continuing awards.Figures for the total number of applicants for FCO scholarships are not available since a large proportion of FCO scholarships are jointly funded with United Kingdom academic institutions to whom all applicants apply direct; and a large number of FCO scholarships are made from a pool of candidates applying for awards under other official, non-FCO, award schemes.There are no plans to increase the current provision of resources for FCO scholarships for Indian students, which, at £1,163,000 for 1991–92, already represents nearly 6 per cent. of the global budget of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office scholarships and awards scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts his Department has had with the Helsinki citizens assembly, based in Prague, established in 1990 to monitor progress in the 1975 Helsinki human rights accords.

A United Kingdom representative of the Helsinki citizens assembly for peace and democracy met FCO officials for the first time on 6 November 1990, to discuss attendance at the CSCE Paris sumit later that month. The representative is regularly sent information on CSCE matters and is invited, together with others interested in the CSCE process, to briefing meetings in the FCO.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of the testimony by Paul Leventhal, president of the Nuclear Control Institute before the Sub-Committee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held on 14 January on plutonium from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) at Sellafield.

Yes. A copy has been ordered and will be added to the FCO departmental library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is to be taken on the application by Thaira Parveen (Ref. G 321282; HUL/292/91) to enter the United Kingdom; whether a recommendation has been sent to the post in Islamabad; and if he will make a statement.

In accordance with the guidelines on the handling of representations by Members of Parliament in immigration cases, issued to Members on 14 December 1988, I have referred the question to the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hon. Member will receive a reply from the unit very soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Gulfraz Khan of Bradford applied to the post in Islamabad for a replacement of his British passport lost while travelling in Pakistan; when the post asked the Liverpool passport office for verification details; when his passport was handed into the post in Karachi; whether a new passport has been collected by Gulfraz Khan; and why no temporary travel document was issued to Gulfraz Khan to enable him to return to school in the United Kingdom.

[holding answer 16 January 1992]: An application for a replacement passport was made to the British high commission at Islamabad on behalf of Gulfraz Khan on 27 October 1991. Liverpool passport office was asked for verification of details of his lost passport on 28 October 1991. The British deputy high commissioner at Karachi advised Islamabad on 4 November 1991 that Gulfraz Khan's lost passport had been recovered, and arranged the same day for its dispatch to Islamabad by safe means. Mrs. Samina Akhtar, Gulfraz Khan's mother, collected his new passport from the high commission on 16 January. At no time did the family request the issue of emergency passport facilities to enable Gulfraz Khan to return to school in this country.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with contractors or consultants on the subject of remediation of contaminated land forming part of the defence estate at the Shoeburyness ranges.

It has not been necessary to seek advice on remediation techniques for contaminated land in connection with the Shoeburyness ranges. Consequently no discussions have been held with contractors or consultants on this subject.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department had during 1991 with contractors or consultants on the subject of remediation of contaminated land forming part of the defence estate at the Atomic Weapons Establishments at Aldermaston, Burghfield and Llanishen.

The AWE maintains regular contacts with land remediation contractors and consultants. Specifically, discussions took place during 1991 with a specialist contractor concerning pre-project planning of remedial work around an on-site sewage facility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the royal dockyards at Devonport and Rosyth.

Studies are in progress to review the future infrastructure and arrangements for the refitting and repair of the Royal Navy's ships and submarines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make it his policy to monitor the success of service personnel in finding housing after leaving the armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence is examining a range of options for improving housing opportunities for service personnel, with the aim of easing any difficulties service personnel may experience in finding housing at the end of their service career. It is not possible, however, to monitor effectively the housing circumstances of personnel once they have left the Services.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to his answer of 13 January, Official Report, column 514, what information he is able to provide about unused sleeping accommodation in the control of his Department in Greater London.

As at 31 December 1991, the latest date for which figures are available, 596 Ministry of Defence-owned houses and flats within the Greater London boundary were vacant. The majority of these properties were either already allotted to service families who were due to move in shortly or were undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work or modernisation. The remainder will be required for regiments being re-deployed from elsewhere in the United Kingdom and for personnel returning from overseas as part of the drawdown. In addition, 48 dwellings were in the process of being sold.The Ministry of Defence is also in the process of disposing of its interest in three sites—Furse house in Kensington and Chelsea, RAF Chessington and east camp, RAF Hendon—which could be used for accommodation purposes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a further statement about compensation for nuclear test veterans.

The Government are willing to consider claims for compensation from nuclear test participants where any evidence of exposure to radiation can he adduced.In the absence of recorded levels of exposure, it is only through the statistical studies of the National Radiological Protection Board that it can be determined whether causal links with cancers and leukaemias exist. Its report, published in 1988, demonstrated that no causal link had been found. The National Radiological Protection Board are currently working on a further report which is expected to be complete by mid-1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requirements his Department places on non-United Kingdom bidders for contracts for a replacement vehicle for its existing Land Rover fleet to provide undertakings on the United Kingdom content in the vehicles that they are proposing to supply.