To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what was the pupil-teacher ratio in Staffordshire (a) in all schools and (b) in secondary schools in each year since 1979;(2) what was the pupil-teacher ratio in each shire county in England in the most recent year for which figures are available

The pupil-teacher ratios for the categories requested are shown in the following tables.

Pupil-teacher ratios in Staffordshire local education authority 1979 to 19911
	Maintained secondary schools1	All maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools1
1991	15·8	17·7
1990	15·7	18·0
1989	15·9	18·0
1988	16·3	18·0
1987	16·4	18·0
1986	16·5	18·3
1985	16·1	17·9
1984	16·3	17·8
1983	16·4	18·0
1982	16·5	18·7
1981	16·4	17·7
1980	16·5	18·5
1979	16·7	19·2

Pupil-teacher ratios in non-metropolitan counties, in England, as at January 1991
	Maintained primary schools1	Maintained secondary schools1
Isles of Scilly	15·1	8·0
Avon	22·4	16·0
Bedfordshire	21·6	16·8
Berkshire	23·4	15·6
Buckinghamshire	22·9	16·0
Cambridgeshire	23·0	16·1
Cheshire	24·2	16·4
Cleveland	23·4	14·9
Cornwall	23·3	16·3
Cumbria	22·2	15·0
Derbyshire	21·7	14·1
Devon	22·7	16·1
Dorset	22·9	16·4
Durham	22·3	16·1
East Sussex	22·2	15·8
Essex	23·1	16·6
Gloucestershire	21·3	15·7
Hampshire	22·8	15·8
Hereford and Worcester	22·4	16·5
Hertfordshire	22·0	15·4
Humberside	22·6	15·7

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent per pupil in Staffordshire in each year since 1979 (a) in primary schools and (b) in secondary schools at 1992 prices.

Spending per pupil in primary schools and in secondary schools in Staffordshire is shown in the table. The table shows actual spending from 1979–80 to 1989––90, the latest year for which the information is available, at 1991–92 prices.

Net institutional expenditure1per pupil at 1991–92 prices2
Year	Primary (£)	Secondary (£)
1979–80	1,000	1,400
1980–81	1,085	1,470
1981–82	1,145	1,510
1982–83	1,170	1,505
1983–84	1,215	1,565
1984–85	1,175	1,555
1985–86	1,175	1,625
1986–87	1,230	1,755
1987–88	31,310	1,895
1988–89	31,300	1,990
41989–90	31,340	2,080
1 Net institutional expenditure covers the direct costs in schools of salaries and wages, premises and certain supplies and services. It does not include the costs of school meals, home to school transport, LEA central administration, and financing costs of capital expenditure.
2Figures for earlier years have been repriced to 1991–92 prices using the GDP (market prices) deflator index.
3/ Spending on nursery and primary schools was not collected separately for years after 1986–87, so per pupil figures for these years cover both nursery and primary schools.
4 The figures in the tables are derived from local education authorities' returns of their spending to the Department of the Environment and of their pupil numbers to the Department of Education and Science.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils attended schools in Staffordshire in each year since 1979; and how many of these attended secondary schools and how many attended primary schools.

Information on the number of full-time equivalent pupils, who attended maintained schools in Staffordshire local education authority, for each year since 1979 is given, by type of school, in the following table.

Full-time equivalent of pupils in maintained schools in Staffordshire local education authority 1979 to 1991
	Nursery	Primary	Secondary	Special	Total
1991	1,500	88,400	67,200	2,100	159,200
1990	1,400	87,000	67,400	2,000	157,800
1989	1,500	84,300	69,400	2,000	157,200
1988	1,400	80,800	75,000	2,100	159,300
1987	1,400	79,200	79,800	2,200	162,600
1986	1,400	79,100	83,800	2,200	166,500
1985	1,400	78,200	88,600	2,300	170,500
1984	1,400	80,300	91,600	2,400	175,700
1983	1,400	84,600	89,900	2,400	178,300
1982	1,400	89,300	90,500	2,400	183,600
1981	1,400	94,700	90,800	2,500	189,400
1980	1,400	100,100	88,600	2,500	192,600
1979	1,400	104,800	86,700	2,500	195,400

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent on school education in Staffordshire in each year since 1979 at constant prices.

Net recurrent spending on nursery, primary and secondary school education in Staffordshire is shown in the table. The figures are shown at 1989–90 prices, the latest year for which actual spending information is available.

Year	Net recurrent expenditure (£ million)
1979–80	201·3
1980–81	211·1
1981–82	216·8
1982–83	212·8
1983–84	215·5
1984–85	209·5
1985–86	206·6
1986–87	214·0
1987–88	221·3
1988–89	221·2
1989–90	229·6

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much was spent per pupil in each shire county in England in the most recent year for which figures are available (a)in primary schools and (b) in secondary schools.

In 1989–90, the latest year for which figures on actual spending are available, spending per pupil in nursery and primary schools and in secondary schools for each shire county in England was as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last received a report on the standards of education at the Ko Hsuan school in Chawleigh, North Devon.

Her Majesty's inspectors last visited the school in March 1990 in order to inspect, in particular, the boarding accommodation and the occupation and supervision of pupils after normal school hours. Before that, the school was visited in September 1988 when all aspects of its provision, including education, were inspected in order to advise the Department about final registration, which followed in April 1989.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the current levels of surplus produce in store within the EC in connection with the operational activities of the common agricultural policy; and if he will provide separate figures for each commodity and separate figures for each year since 1988.

Tables showing current levels of surplus produce in store within the EC have been deposited in the Library of the House at monthly intervals throughout the period in question.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions during 1990 and 1991 illegal drug residues were identified in meat or animals destined for human consumption at (a) slaughterhouses, (b) retail outlets, (c) farms and (d) other locations; and what number of such incidents resulted in successful prosecutions.

The number of cases of illegal drug residues detected in Great Britain by the Ministry was as follows:

	1990	1991
On farm	1	4
At slaughterhouses	22	—
At retail outlets	n/a	n/a
Other locations	—	—
n/a = Not available.

In all positive cases identified at Great Britain slaughterhouses, follow up visits to the farms of origin are made by members of the state veterinary service. Whenever firm evidence is obtained, action is then pursued through the courts. One successful prosecution was taken in 1991 which resulted in a fine of £2,400 plus £5,234 costs.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has about the amount of each foodstuff and fruits which were destroyed in the United Kingdom and the EC respectively in connection with the operational activities of the common agricultural policy in the most recent annual period for which figures are available.

The relevant information in respect of the EC relates to the 1988–89 season and is as follows:

			Drigg3		Sellafield14
Year	Albright and Wilson1	Glaxochem2	Total Alpha	Total Beta	Total Alpha	Total Beta
1980	22	17·9	2·3	27	39·00	4,306·0
1981	14	127·0	2·2	38	30·00	3,800·0
1982	22	118·0	3·1	44	28·00	3,528·0
1983	40	31·9	3·2	46	14·00	2,489·0
1984	43	37·0	3·1	56	14·00	1,190·0
1985	44	109·0	2·8	58	6·00	587·0
1986	38	256·0	4·3	73	4·40	118·0
1987	44	160·0	<3·0	82	2·20	89·2
1988	64	151·0	<2·0	92	2·10	81·3

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he took part in party-political activities in addition to official duties on his visit to Hong Kong in October 1991.

I have been asked to reply.My right hon. Friend does from time to time meet fellow Conservatives in the margins of public duties. He also often meets opposition leaders of all political persuasions both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the level of radioactive discharge from Glaxochem of Ulverston, British Nuclear Fuels Drigg site, Albright and Wilson and British Nuclear Fuels Sellafield to the sea along the coast of Cumbria, separately, in each year since 1980.

The information requested is as listed:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to hold a Planning Inquiry Commission to consider any proposals from UK Nirex for a deep repository for intermediate and low level radioactive waste.

No. I am satisfied that a normal planning inquiry could deal satisfactorily with any planning application that Nirex may make.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the current proposals by UK Nirex for the development of an underground repository for intermediate and low level radioactive waste; and if he will make a statement.

None. UK Nirex Ltd. is currently consulting widely on its extensive revision of the design for a deep disposal facility for low and intermediate level radioactive waste.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of landfill sites in County Durham at present used for dumping colliery waste; and when the dumping of colliery waste into the sea will cease.

Information concerning the number of landfill sites used for dumping colliery waste is not held centrally.Disposal on the beaches and at sea is licensed by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. On 14 June 1990, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced that the dumping of colliery waste on to beaches in the north-east of England should stop as soon as practicable. No application would be approved to permit the dumping of minestone on to beaches beyond December 1995, or offshore into the sea beyond December 1997, unless use of the planning system has shown that no practical land-based methods of disposal were available. This timetable allows for alternatives to be identified, necessary planning permissions to be sought and a chosen method to be identified.The pipeline discharge of liquid tailings is carried out under consents given by the National Rivers Authority (NRA) under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. The NRA has also told British Coal that it expects early progress to be made on the identification of alternative disposal methods.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if people exempt from paying the community charge in the category "severely mentally impaired" will have to reapply for this status under the council tax.

People who are severely mentally impaired will be eligible for discounts under the council tax. Local authorities will be required to take reasonable steps to ascertain whether discounts apply. Where such a person has been exempt from the personal community charge, a local authority should not need any further evidence that he is severely mentally impaired.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to bring forward regulations defining the conditions necessary to qualify as severely mentally impaired under the Local Government Finance Bill.

The local authority associations are currently being consulted about draft regulations. Copies of the draft were placed in the Library pursuant to a question on 31 January (column 642). Regulations will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible after the Bill receives Royal Assent.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will review the provisions of the Caravan Sites Act 1968 so far as they apply to the obligation placed on local authorities to provide sites for gipsies and other travellers.

I know that the operation of the provisions for gipsies in the Caravan Sites Act 1968 gives rise to some difficulties, and the Government have the matter under review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information is available to his Department about the composition and numbers of gipsy communities in England and Wales.

The Department asks local authorities to carry out a twice yearly count of gipsy caravans in their area on two specific days, in January and July each year. The statistics provided to the Department by local authorities in July 1991 showed a total of 12,316 caravans in England. The Welsh Office has responsibility for gipsies in Wales.I am arranging for a copy of the July 1991 count to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many housing association properties were empty on the last date for which figures are available; and for how long.

Information collected by the Housing Corporation shows that in March 1991, 16,400 housing association properties in England were empty (2·7 per cent. of the total stock).The breakdown by duration of vacancy is as follows:

thousands
	Vacant and available for letting	Vacant and not available for letting1	All vacant
Less than six months	6·7	3·5	10·2
Six months—one year	0·4	1·8	2·2
Over one year	0·2	3·8	4·0
Total	7·3	9·1	16·4
1 Many of these are dwellings which have been purchased and require rehabilitation before they are suitable for occupation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will establish an inquiry into the alleged breaches of competition rules by private contractors with regard to compulsory competitive tendering in local authority sports and leisure management; and if he will make a statement.

If the hon. Member wishes to provide details of the allegations to which he refers, then my right hon. Friend will consider whether action is appropriate.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a list of all legislation introduced since October 1988 relating directly to local government.

[holding answer 20 January 1992]: I attach a list of Public General Acts which have received Royal Assent since October 1988, and which relate directly to local government. Part I lists those Acts for which my Department has been responsible; part II lists those Acts for which other Departments have been responsible; and part III lists consolidation legislation (both DOE and other Government Departments).

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many responses he has received to his consultation paper "Competing for Quality"; what proportion of responses were broadly against the proposals contained in the consultation document; if he will place those responses in the Library; and when the Government will publish their final proposals.

[holding answer 6 February 1992]: To date my Department has received some 470 responses to the consultation paper "Competing for Quality—Competition in the Provision of Local Services". We have started to analyse those responses. We have indicated that we may wish to place in the Libraries of Parliament copies of all responses whose authors have not asked that they be treated as confidential. We shall publish our final proposals in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has plans to extend the requirement to report on employee involvement in company annual reports so as to include a report on employee involvement in any merger decisions.

No. The existing provisions in schedule 7 of the Companies Act 1985 that companies with more than 250 employees should include a statement in their directors' report on their arrangements for informing and consulting employees on matters of concern to them in effect already cover this point.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what controls the Government have over the sale of children's toys which carry cigarette brand logos.

My Department has no controls over the sale of toys carrying cigarette brand logos. The use of cigarette brand logos on toys is a moral issue rather than a safety one and is not covered by the Toys (Safety) Regulations.However, I understand that tobacco companies have not given permission for the use of their logos on toys.Consumers can make it clear to suppliers of toys that they will not buy toys which bear cigarette brand logos.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the date of each briefing his Department has afforded to hon. Members prior to visits to the former Soviet Union since 1979.

[holding answer 6 February 1992]: Detailed records for the whole period since 1979 are not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to consult interested parties on the draft regulations to implement the European Community package travel directive.

Following the consultation period we initiated in July 1991, my Department has today issued for consultation draft regulations covering articles 1 to 6 of the directive. These lay down minimum standards for the way that consumers of packages are to be treated by the travel organiser and travel agent. In particular, the legislation:

sets out the information to be included in brochures, and other information which must be supplied to the consumer before the start of the holiday;

defines the circumstances in which changes may or may not be made to the particulars in the brochure;

lays down the matters which must be included in the contract;

regulates the circumstances in which surcharges can be made and provides that no price increases may be made within 30 days before departure;

places the liability for the package on the other party to the contract with the consumer (usually the organiser).

These requirements will be backed up by a combination of new criminal offences and civil liabilities.The circumstances under which surcharges are allowed have been brought into line with the voluntary code of practice operated by members of the Association of British Travel Agents. This has been done under the provision in the directive which allows us to adopt more stringent provisions to protect the consumer.I expect to consult shortly on our proposals for implementing article 7 of the directive which requires organisers and/or retailers to show evidence of security for the refund of money paid over and for the repatriation of the consumer in the event of insolvency.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were prosecuted for driving a vehicle whilst uninsured for the last three available years.

The following table shows the number of court proceedings for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks.

Proceedings for the offence of using motor vehicle uninsured against thrid party risks in England and Wales 1988–1990
Year	Number of offences
1988	294,966
1989	304,432
11990	317,797
1 Provisional

The number of people involved is likely to be less because some may have been proceeded against for more than one of these offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received and if he will refer to the Court of Appeal for review of the sentence against Jeremiah Miller, presently a prisoner at Garth prison; and if he will make a statement.

I have received and considered representations on the case from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill and from one other hon. Member. In the absence of anything new that appears to touch the safety of the conviction, there are not on present information grounds to justify intervention. I am always ready to consider any alleged new evidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has undertaken of re-offending on bail.

I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Newark (Mr. Alexander) on 6 February at column 247.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the claim of Mr. and Mrs. D. N. Eastwood, who used to live at 33 Buxton road, Rock Ferry, Birkenhead, was first registered with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; when he expects the board to come to a conclusion on the claim; and what is the average length of time the board now takes to settle claims.

The administration of the criminal injuries compensation scheme and the determination of individual applications is entirely a matter for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. I am accordingly asking the board to reply directly to the hon. Member about this case.The board does not produce statistics on the average time taken to settle claims. But percentages of cases resolved within certain periods of registration are given in the board's annual report, copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department received a telex from the high commission in Islamabad inquiring about the outcome of an appeal by Mr. Abdul Rauf (Ref. IMM/V/24399/89; TH 19383/89) against refusal to grant him a visa to visit the United Kingdom; what reply has been sent; and if he will make a statement.

A telex from the high commission in Islamabad about the outcome of Mr. Abdul Rauf's appeal was received on 12 December 1991. The Immigration and Nationality Department replied by telex on 19 December 1991 confirming that the appeal had been allowed, that the adjudicator had issued no directions, and that a further copy of the determination would be sent. A copy had been despatched to the high commission on 15 October 1990 but does not appear to have reached its destination. I very much regret that as a result the issue of Mr. Rauf's visa was delayed.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Turkish nationals have (a) sought asylum in the United Kingdom and (b) been granted asylum in each year since 1980.

Information is given in the following table.Information on applications in 1991 is available only for principal applicants excluding dependants, while for 1980–84 it is available only including dependants. Figures are therefore shown on both bases, where available, for comparison.

Applications1by Turkish nationals for refugee status or asylum in the United Kingdom and numbers granted11980–91
	Applications		Granted refugee status or asylum
	Excluding dependants	Including associated dependants2	Excluding dependants	Including associated dependants2
1980	. .	21	. .	1
1981	. .	1	. .	1
1982	. .	38	. .	6
1983	. .	43	. .	18
1984	. .	61	. .	46
1985	27	34	10	12
1986	86	1ll	9	13
1987	121	210	3	5
1988	337	705	5	5
31989	2,380	4,500	205	390
31990	1,100	1,455	235	530
31990	2,100	. .	4—	4—
1Grants in a particular year do not necessarily relate to applications made in that year.
2 Including dependants applying with the principal applicant and those to date, arriving subsequently but before the principal application was decided.
3 Figures rounded to nearest 5.
. . Not available.
4 Not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what allowances or payments in compensation for loss of earnings are available to lay visitors to prisoners held in police cells.

Home Office guidance to police authorities is that travelling expenses will be payable to lay visitors on the same basis as to members of authorities when travelling on authority business.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the expenditure on mortgage interest tax relief for the calendar year 1991.

Tax relief is calculated for the fiscal year. Provisional estimates of the cost of mortgage interest tax relief for 1990–91 and 1991–92 are £7·7 billion, and £6·1 billion respectively.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher-rate taxpayers in 1992–93 he estimates will be using the married couple's allowance; and what proportion of higher-rate taxpayers this represents, assuming statutory indexation for 1992–93 limits and allowances.

It is estimated that 1·1 million higher rate taxpayers—70 per cent. of the total—would be entitled to the married couple's allowance in 1992–93, assuming statutory indexation.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees participated in live registered profit-related pay schemes in the last period for which figures are available; how many schemes are in operation; and what is the estimated total value of those schemes.

[holding answer 6 February 1992]: There were 581,000 participating employees in 2,049 live registered profit-related pay schemes at the end of December 1991. On the basis of the latest information provided by participating employers, the total annual value of the distributable PRP pool for these schemes is tentatively estimated at about £400 million.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the names of all persons who have served as special advisers to Ministers, by Department (a) from June 1987 to November 1990 and (b) since November 1990; and if he will indicate where possible the individual's prior profession or employment.

Information on the names of special advisers, including part-timers, and their Departments is as follows. Information on prior employment or profession is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Special advisers serving from June 1987 to November 1990
Name	Department
K. Adams	Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
R. Gueterbock	Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
N. R. Blackwell	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
G. D. Bourne	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
Sir P. Craddock	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
A. J. Dunlop	Cabinet Office (including No. 10) (formerly Defence)
Miss R. Z. Finlay	Cabinet Office (Chief Whip's Office)
Mrs. T. Gaisman	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
Professor B. Griffiths	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
G. R. J. Guise	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
R. D. R. Harris	Cabinet Office (including No. 10) (formerly Lord President)
H. Harris-Hughes	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
V. E. Hartley-Booth	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
A. J. O'Sullivan	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
Mrs. A. Ponsonby	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
I. K. Whitehead	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
J. B. Wybrew	Cabinet Office (including No. 10)
K. R. Simpson	Defence
T. Kerpel	Education and Science
Mrs. E. Laing	Education and Science
W. M. Lightfoot	Employment
J. Derrick	Energy
N. D. Martin	Energy
G. Black	Energy
T. Collins	Employment (formerly Environment)
R. Marsh	Environment

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the respective responsibilities of the Minister of Agriculture and the Secretary of State for Health in ensuring that foreign imports of eggs are free of salmonella infection and satisfy the quality requirements of United Kingdom produced eggs.

The Secretary of State for Health has lead responsibility for the Imported Food Regulations 1984 which contain measures for the protection of public health in relation to imported food, including eggs. Responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations lies with local authorities and port health authorities. The Minister of Agriculture acted jointly with the Secretary of State for Health in the making of the regulations.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) what specific procedures he has laid down for Ministers and Departments for the answering of hon. Members' urgent correspondence;(2) what response times have been or will be established for departmental replies to hon. Members' letters under the citizens charter;(3) what is the average time taken by Ministers to reply to hon. Members' letters in each Department.

Following the publication of the efficiency scrutiny of ministerial correspondence in December 1990, the Government have reinforced their efforts to ensure that letters from hon. Members receive proper consideration and replies within a reasonable time. These include extensive use of targets for reply times, monitoring and publication of performance against targets, and more efficient ways of dealing with letters within Departments and agencies. Departments will each publish their performance against targets for replies to ministerial correspondence.

To ask the Prime Minister what data information systems his Office has (a) agreed and (b) been consulted about with a view to taking part in; what are the criteria for inclusion in such systems; whether they will be linked to (i) the police national computer and (ii) other computer systems; what data protection provisions apply to them; and if he will make a statement.

The Cabinet Office and 10 Downing street each have data information systems.We have not been consulted with a view to taking part in other data information systems, and there are no current or planned links to the police national computer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of (a) men and (b) women under the age of 21 years who were registered as unemployed in the London borough of Wandsworth on 31 January.

Unemployment figures by age and duration are available on a quarterly basis and for standard age bands only. In October 1991, the latest available date, there were 500 male and 306 female unemployed claimants aged under 20 years in the London borough of Wandsworth.Figures relating to January 1992 will be released on 18 February 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the total number of firms in Great Britain employing (a) fewer than 20, (b) fewer than 10 and (c) fewer than five employees; if he will list these totals as a percentage of the total number of firms registered in Great Britain; if he will provide similar information For European Community and OECD countries; and if he will make a statement.

The available information for the United Kingdom is given in the following table. I regret that comparable information for other countries is not available.

Number of businesses1by size band United Kingdom; end 1989
2Employment size band	Number of businesses thousand	Share of total businesses per cent.
1 to 5	2,621	87·7
6 to 10	181	6·1
11 to 19	92	3·1
1includes all businesses, whether registered for VAT or not.
2Total employment, including self-employed proprietors.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what data information systems his Department has (a) agreed and (b) been consulted about with a view to taking part in; what are the criteria for inclusion in such systems; whether they will be linked to (i) the police national computer and (ii) other computer systems; what data protection provisions apply to them; and if he will make a statement.

The Cabinet Office (Office for the Minister for the Civil Service) has a number of networked data information systems in its buildings in London and Basingstoke.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the number, for each regional health authority, of in-patient residents in health service facilities for patients with a mental handicap for each year since 1981; and what proportion of the reduction in numbers is due to discharge and what proportion due to death, in each regional health authority.

The information is not available in the exact form requested. There are no regional health authorities within Wales. The table gives information in respect of NHS hospital facilities in Wales for patients with a mental handicap. Deaths and discharges of patients from such facilities relate either to those patients resident at the end of the previous year or those who were admitted during the year.

Year	Resident patients1	Discharges2(Per cent.)	Deaths2(per cent.)
1981	2,153	96·4	3·6
1982	2,103	96·3	3·7
1983	2,064	97·5	2·5
1984	1,962	97·5	2·5
1985	1,883	97·5	2·5
1986	1,792	97·5	2·5
1987	1,692	97·4	2·6
1988	1,582	97·1	2·9
1989	1,470	97·0	3·0
31990	1,335	97·5	2·5
1At 31 December, in NHS hospital facilities for patients with a mental handicap.
2As a percentage of all death and discharges during the year from NHS hospital facilities for patients with a mental handicap.
3Provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what representations have been made to the end of 1991 by West Glamorgan health authority for assistance with its waiting list for ophthalmic cases.(2) what bids for funding under the waiting list initiative has been made by each health authority to clear waiting lists for ophthalmic operations.

To help with its ophthalmic waiting lists, West Glamorgan health authority made a bid for funds under the 1991–92 waiting times initiative. Out of the £1·3 million available at the all Wales level the authority received a total of £256,000, including £49,000 specifically for ophthalmic lists.In addition, between March and December 1991, 85 West Glamorgan residents were referred to the two ophthalmic treatment centres at Bangor and Bridgend, and benefited from the opportunity to receive earlier treatment through this initiative which is unique to Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales for which specialties West Glamorgan health authority has sought Welsh Office funding in each of the last five years and during 1991–92.

Since April 1991, all health authorities have been funded to secure services for their resident population. Prior to the introduction of the National Health Service reforms, health authorities were funded on an historic basis, reflecting the level of specialties and services which they inherited in 1974 at the time of the National Health Service reorganisation.Prior to the de-designation of regional services from 1 April 1991, West Glamorgan was also centrally funded to provide the following regional specialties:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the present work programme of the NHS management executive on the improvement of district purchasing functions; and how their purchasing functions are kept under review.

A range of project-based work is in progress which includes work on creating healthy alliances for joint purchasing between district health authorities, family health services authorities, local authorities and others; developing an intelligence capability; ways of involving local people in purchasing; setting priorities and monitoring and evaluating contract effectiveness. A series of epidemiologically-based needs assessments have also been commissioned and 11 learning networks have been sponsored with over 55 district health authorities purchasing teams participating. The management executive is also working closely with the regional health authorities in the development of regionally specific comprehensive purchaser development programmes for 1992–93.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of acute NHS hospital beds that would become vacant if people who are medically ready to leave hospital, and who have been made a firm offer of a place in a residential/nursing home, and were given a social fund community cost grant to bridge the financial difference between the residential fees charged by the receiving home and the current levels of DSS residential/nursing home fees.

Information is not available to prepare such an estimate.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 6 November, Official Report, column 180, if he will list the blood and plasma products in addition to source plasma exported from the United Kingdom by the bio products laboratory, or by a broker on behalf of the bio products laboratory, in each of the last two years; and if he will give the number of units of each product exported in total from the United Kingdom.

This information is commercially confidential.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many district health authorities have renegotiated contracts for geriatric care outside their authority boundaries; and if he will list them;(2) for each district health authority, how many extra-contractual referrals for geriatric cases have been

This information is not available centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect of the National Health Service internal market on cross-boundary flows for geriatric cases.

We are satisfied that the contractual arrangements introduced by health authorities provide for the great majority of referrals and that, where no contract is in place, there are arrangements for making extra-contractual referrals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the budget for the Health Education Authority between 1 April 1990 and 30 September 1991.

The total allocation to the Health Education Authority for 1990–91 was £28,749,000 and for 1991–92 is £31,427,000. There is no specific budget for part of a financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the expenditure by district health authorities on health promotion between 1 April 1990 and 31 September 1991.

Financial returns submitted to the Department by district health authorities in England for the financial year 1990–91 separately identify revenue expenditure on health promotion and education totalling some £71 million—a provisional figure at this stage. Equivalent information is not collected on an in-year basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the number of (a) in-patients, (b) day patients and (c) total patients treated in the year 1990–91 on a basis (i) comparable to the published figures for 1989–90 and (ii) comparable to the figures published in the review of the six months April to September 1991.

The information is in the table. Figures published in the Department of Health "Statistical Bulletin" are from the KP70 annual statistical return. Those used in the review of the six months April to September 1991 are from NHSME regional monitoring returns. These two returns are collected through different processes and some groups of patients are included in one but not the others (eg. well babies who appear in the KP70 returns but not the NHSME returns). Discussions are held with regions each year to validate the difference between the two sets of figures.

('000s)
	KP70 1990–911	NHSME Returns 1990–911
In-patient cases	5,779	5,717
Day cases	1,236	1,258
TOTAL	7,015	6,975
1 Provisional.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are made for the sale of information obtained through the official national census.

[holding answer 5 February 1992]: Printed census reports to Parliament are sold at HMSO bookshops. Other statistical information for areas in England and Wales from the census is available on request to the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. A charge is made to recover the cost of extracting such information from the census data base and presenting it in the form required.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information obtained through the national census is distributed in any form which gives details of postal codes.

[holding answer 5 February 1992]: Statistics from the 1991 census will be available for postcode sectors (containing about 2,000 households each on average). An enumeration district to postcode directory will be available for England and Wales, enabling census users to relate statistics for census enumeration districts to the aggregations of postcode units which most nearly approximate those districts. Census users will also be able to request statistics for areas defined by them as particular aggregations of postcodes. These will be provided only if the areas requested are sufficiently large, and sufficiently different from standard areas, for confidentiality to be safeguarded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what income is received from the sale of information obtained by the national census for the last five years for which figures are available.

[holding answer 5 February 1992]: The income received by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys from the sale of census statistics over the five financial years from April 1986 to March 1991 is as follows:

Financial year	Income (£ thousand)
1986–87	346
1987–88	194
1988–89	110
1989–90	62
1990–91	53

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organisations or companies have directly purchased information collected by the national census in the last 10 years; and what public record is kept of such usage.

[holding answer 5 February 1992]: In the last 10 years the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys has met approximately 12,000 requests for census statistics from central and local government, health authorities, public corporations and banks, and from insurance, retail and other commercial companies, and the academic sector.Records of all sales of specially commissioned statistics are held by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys for public viewing in St. Catherine's house, London and at Titchfield in Hampshire.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the net weekly spending power of a man, wife and two children aged 13 and 16 years, and that of a single parent family with two children aged 13 and 16 years whose income in both cases is (a) £150 per week, (b) £175 per week and (c) £200 per week, on the same basis as shown for the two-parent family in the taxation benefit model tables pages 108-110.

The information is given in the tables. All assumptions are set out in the published tax/benefit model tables. Each family is assumed to live in council property appropriate to its size and to pay estimated average rent and community charge.In recognition of the fact that lone parents have different employment opportunities available to them compared with couples, income tax personal allowances and the adult credit within family credit is the same for both family types. In addition a lone parent receives one parent benefit at £5.60 a week.It should be noted that the results in the tables remain arbitrary. They cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people, and cannot claim to

Married Couple with Two Children Aged 13 and 16 years
Tax Threshold =£96·44Basic Tax Rate = 25 per cent.
Total Net Income on Income Support = £154·46
Net Income after Rent and Community Charge on Income Support = £119·03(£ Per Week)
Gross earning	Tax	NI	Take Home Pay	Family Credit	Child Benefit	Rent	Rent Rebate	Community Charge	Community Charge Benefit	Total Net Income	Net Income after Rent and Community Charge
150·00	13·39	9·86	126·75	29·30	16·75	26·03	0·00	9·40	0·33	173·13	137·70
175·00	19·64	12·11	143·25	17·75	16·75	26·03	0·00	9·40	0·00	177·75	142·32
200·00	25·89	14·36	159·75	6·20	16·75	26·03	0·00	9·40	0·00	182·70	147·27