To ask the Attorney-General what steps he intends to take to speed up the process of hearing immigration appeals.

The Lord Chancellor is in the process of appointing an extra three full-time and 25 part-time adjudicators, with a corresponding addition to support staff. The multi-terminal case-tracking computer system is now also in operation.

To ask the Attorney-General if he has any plans to widen the remit of the Serious Fraud Office; and if he will make a statement.

The statutory remit of the Serious Fraud Office is to investigate and prosecute suspected offences involving serious complex fraud. I do not consider any revision necessary.

To ask the Attorney-General what consideration has been given to the introduction of performance targets for the Serious Fraud Office.

The Serious Fraud Office annual report for 1990–1991 set out performance targets for the investigative stages and completion of cases. The Serious Fraud Office is developing further performance indicators.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the case of the abduction of Alexander Saharievski from his home in Liverpool.

Both the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia, to which Alexander Saharievski was taken by his father, have signed and ratified the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction. An obstacle to the making of an application for Alexander's return to this country was presented by the fact that Yugoslavia has not yet been able to designate a central authority for the processing of applications under the convention. However, the staff of the child abduction unit of the Lord Chancellor's Department, which provides the central authority for England and Wales, and of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have been able to assist in finding a lawyer in Yugoslavia for Alexander's mother and in securing the agreement of the Macedonian Ministry of Justice to accept an application under the convention and the urgent assistance of the local authorities in Yugoslavia in tracing Alexander's current whereabouts. Staff will continue to assist in any way they can, and it is hoped that it will not be long before Alexander can be reunited with his mother.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on time taken from receipt of claim to the payment of solicitors in the No. 3 (southern) legal aid area.

Details on the time taken from receipt of claim to the payment of solicitors in the No. 3 legal aid area are kept in the form of percentages of set targets for the board. Legal aid area No. 3 experienced difficulties early last year but these have now been addressed and the area is now regularly surpassing its targets. Its oldest claim awaiting assessment and payment dates from 9 December 1991.Figures are available for a 12-month period and are set out in the table.

Payment within 6 weeks
	Civil Per cent.	Criminal per cent.	Other bills Per cent.
Office target for payment within 6 weeks	65	80	95
Actual achievement over last 3 months	90·1	97·2	97·5
Actual achievement over last 6 months	77·9	94·7	96
Actual achievement over last 12 months	64·8	92·7	94·3

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the amount of the subsidy that was collected into the general fund in 1989–90 and 1990–91.

Her Majesty's Treasury does not possess a general fund.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list all those companies where he has a right to appoint directors, whether as a result of special shares or otherwise; how those powers of appointment have been exercised, and whom he has appointed, since 1987.

There are no companies to which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has the right to appoint directors.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to allow a taxpayer to consent to, or be aware of, those uses and disclosures of personal information that are not obvious at the time the taxpayer provides the information; and if he will make a statement.

None. The circumstances in which information concerning taxpayers held by the Inland Revenue or Customs and Excise may be disclosed outside those departments without the consent of the taxpayer are very limited.Under section 182 of the Finance Act 1989 it is an offence for tax officials to make disclosures other than in the course of their duties. The circumstances in which such disclosures might be authorised are limited to occasions when the confidentiality obligation is specifically overridden by statute or where a serious crime such as murder or treason is involved.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will include in the citizens charter plans to ensure that the citizen's consent is obtained prior to the use and disclosure of personal information relating to the citizen that are not obvious at the time the citizen provides the information; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans to include such a proposal in the citizens charter.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he intends to take relating to the tax-exempt special savings account regulations in the light of the seventh report from the Data Protection Registrar; and if he will make a statement.

No action is necessary. The TESSA regulations are well suited to their intended purpose. The information requirements have been kept to a minimum to make the scheme as simple as possible. Use of the national insurance number as a tax reference is long established. As the report of the Data Protection Registrar acknowledges, the Inland Revenue has made it clear that such information may be used only for the purpose of validating applications.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many self-employed people had incomes (a) below £3,000, (b) between £3,000 and £5,900, (c) between £5,900 and £15,000, (d) between £15,000 and £20,000, (e) between £20,000 and £25,000, (f) between £25,000 and £33,000,

Shareholdings1 in privatised and former Government-controlled companies
	Size of share register
Company	Date of privatisation	Initial	Highest since privatisation	Current	Proportion of shares retained by HMG Per cent.	Proportion and dates of subsequent disposals
British Petroleum	2December 1977	n.a.	621,159 (December 1988)	569,183 (31 December 1990)	51	35·17 per cent./November 1979: 7·12 per cent./September 1983: 31·5 per cent./September 1987:0·09 per cent/October 1990 on 1 January 1991 HMG held about 1·88 per cent.
British Aerospace	February 1981	27,179	120,200 (December 1986)	91,700 (31December 1990)	48·43	48·43 per cent./10 May 1985
Cable and Wireless	October 1981	27,320	210,994 (31 March 1986)	166,179 (31 March 1990)	50·64	27·54 per cent./November 1983: 23·1 per./December 1985
Amersham International	February 1982	10,051	8,601 (June 1982)	5,904 (31 May 1991)	nil
NFC	February 1982	10,300	42,000 (October 1988)	60,000 (February 1992)	nil
Britoil	November 1982	37,257	245,556 (31 December 1985)	owned by BP	49	49 per cent./8 August 1985
Associated British Ports	February 1983	37,205	12,321 (July 1989)	12,000 (31 December 1989)	48·5	48·5 per cent./17 April 1984
Enterprise Oil	June 1984	13,695	14,166 (June 1985)	10,811 (31 December 1990)	nil

Estimates, based on projections of information from 1989–90 are as follows:

Estimated numbers of taxpaying individuals with main source of income from self-employment
Annual gross income1	Number in 1990–91	Number 1991–92
(£)	(000s)	(000s)
1- 3000	0	0
3,000- 5,900	340	280
5900-15000	1,500	1,490
15,000-20,000	350	410
20,000-25,000	180	200
25,000-33,000	150	180
33,000-40,000	70	80
40,000-50,000	60	70
Over 50,000	120	140
Total2	2,800	2,800
1 Income from all sources
2 To the nearest 100,000

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will update his answer to the hon. Member for Conventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist) on 14 November 1990, Official Report, column 150, as to the number of individual shareholders retaining shares in each of the concerns privatised since 1979.

The table shows the number of shareholdings in each of the companies privatised since 1979. Where Her Majesty's Government retained a shareholding on privatisation, together with the size and date of any subsequent share disposals, this has also been shown.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring up to date table F8 of the January 1992 issue of the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics."

The information for the table in question is provided by the International Monetary Fund. I regret that it has not been forthcoming from that source for recent quarters.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish his estimate of the import content of goods manufactured in the United Kingdom in 1970, 1979, 1985 and each of the years from 1989 to 1991.

The latest available analysis is for 1985. Central Statistical Office's published input—output tables for that year and the two earlier years (1) show the imported and domestic content of manufactures. These publications are available in the Library.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what plans he has for redundancy of staff at Recruitment and Assessment Services or any other civil service agency.

[holding answer 7 February 1992]: In view of the financial position of the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency the chief executive is looking at all options for improvement. Staff numbers are being reduced in various ways, including transfers to other Departments and the offer of early retirement. Other measures will need to be taken if these prove insufficient. There can be no undertaking at this stage that there may not be a requirement for redundancies.

To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the financial position of the Recruitment and Assessment Services civil service agency; and when he expects a report to be laid before Parliament.

[holding answer 7 February 1992]: Because of a sharp fall in the recruitment business placed with the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency, it is unlikely to cover its full costs by income from its customers in its first year. However, the agency aims to break even in the first three years of trading. The agency will publish its first annual report and accounts later in the year.

To ask the Minister for the Arts what was the amount of public subsidy spent on the arts in the South Hams parliamentary constituency in each of the last three years.

[holding answer 6 February 1992]: The amount spent by the South West regional arts board in the South Hams parliamentary constituency in each of the last three years is as follows:

	£
1988–89	36,408
1989–90	33,824
1990–91	37,433

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the local authorities in rank order of the additional community charge levied in 1991–92 to cover non-collection, showing which party, if any, is in overall control.

I am arranging for the available information to be placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount was subtracted from the standard spending assessments of London boroughs and the City of London, to reflect the fact that those authorities do not provide support for public transport, in 1991–92 and 1992–93.

The amount subtracted for 1991–92 was £160·037 million. For 1992–93 a different approach has been used which involves separate formulae to reflect the fact that public transport support is provided centrally in London but not in the rest of the country. As a result there is no comparable 1992–93 figure.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he proposes any changes to his Department's cash limits for Property Holdings for 1991–92.

Yes, subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII vote 7 will be increased by a token £1,000. Excess receipts, which were to be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund, will be used to offset increased expenditure on freehold acquisitions, accommodation services for the Houses of Parliament and a shortfall of property disposal receipts; the supplementary estimate will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure. The running cost limit of £57,031,000 will be reduced by £2,227,000 to £54,804,000 as a result of delays in filling vacant posts and to offset increased expenditure on other administrative subheads.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he proposes to make any changes to the cash limit on Property Services Agency Services vote in 1991–92.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class VIII vote 13 will be increased by £135,105,000 from £90,947,000 to £226,052,000. £50,000,000 of the increase will be offset by receipts from other Departments relating to the recovery of prior years' works expenditure. The remainder will be charged to the reserve. There will, therefore, be no addition to the planned total of public expenditure.The increase will enable PSAS to bring into account in its 1991–92 appropriation accounts any works contractors bills which will be paid by PSAS on behalf of other vote funded Departments but which, in the event, it will not have recovered in time for inclusion with those Departments' accounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total percentage of waste water (a) treated at inland works and receiving secondary or tertiary treatment, (b) treated at inland works and receiving primary treatment or less, (c) discharged at sea through properly designed long outfalls and (d) discharged into the sea without treatment in each water authority area in England.

I refer the hon. Member to the following three reports: House of Lords' Select Committee on the European Communities, Session 1990–91, 10th report, "Municipal Waste Water Treatment"—House of Lords paper 50-I of 14 May 1991; the study of coastal and sewage discharges carried out for my Department by Consultants in Environmental Services, a copy of which is in the Library; and "Waterfacts 1990" published by the Water Services Association, a copy of which is also in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will initiate new measures within his Department, in conjunction with English Heritage, to draw up a scheme whereby the reasons for the listing of buildings are fully examined when decisions are both positive and negative.

The Secretary of State has published national criteria for listing in DOE circular 8/87 and takes careful account of English Heritage's advice, and of any other representations, before reaching his decisions. When a building is listed, the list entry identifies the main features which are considered to justify the listing. When a building is not listed, reasons for the decision are given; but whether a building is or is not of special architectural or historic interest will inevitably often be a matter of judgment.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement about the funding of the proposed new concert hall in Manchester.

The Government have already set aside £15 million towards the cost of this project in the budget of the Central Manchester development corporation. Despite a proposed contribution from Manchester city council, there remains a funding gap. Discussions are continuing about how to bridge it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the air quality results for central London for June and December each year from 1980 to the present for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and low-level ozone and any other relevant measurements for which he has results.

The table shows the average figures for the months of June and December at the central London site, With the maximum hourly level reached in that month for carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃)and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). No measurement data in this format are available for carbon dioxide.

CO ppm
	Average		Maximum
Year	June	December	June	December
1980	0·6	0·9	3·1	4·6
1981	0·7	1·7	3·8	7·1
1982	0·6	1·0	3·3	3·4
1983	—	1·0	—	6·2
1984	0·8	1·4	4·3	11·5
1985	0·5	0·7	3·2	4·0
1986	0·7	—	3·8	—
1987	—	—	—	—
1988	0·7	1·5	2·5	8·1
1989	0·9	1·9	2·8	13·1
1990	0·9	1·5	4·2	11·7
1991	1·1	2·2	3·6	13·3

SO2 ppb
	Average		Maximum
Year	June	December	June	December
1980	26	21	150	152
1981	15	58	98	339
1982	24	36	281	238
1983	17	34	142	133
1984	16	16	295	379
1985	7	7	31	16
1986	16	16	178	68
1987	7	14	47	153
1988	6	14	76	57
1989	10	15	125	190
1990	9	11	86	72
1991	5	18	54	144

O3 ppb
	Average		Maximum
Year	June	December	June	December
1980	14	2	42	10
1981	13	2	63	16
1982	—	5	—	23
1983	13	—	49	—
1984	17	1	68	7
1985	22	12	84	59
1986	21	5	105	26
1987	6	3	35	21
1988	10	4	59	29
1989	19	5	108	33
1990	12	7	67	30
1991	13	4	47	18

NO2 ppb
	Average		Maximum
Year	June	December	June	December
1980	32	34	88	72
1981	—	42	—	103
1982	40	38	98	78
1983	37	39	101	114
1984	42	—	156	—
1985	34	29	108	75
1986	33	36	141	77
1987	37	38	90	239
1988	33	33	100	92
1989	40	34	108	125
1990	28	39	86	150
1991	34	56	84	423

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department has as to the percentage of those people taken to court for failure to pay poll tax that have (a) been receiving rebate and (b) have been on the maximum rebate of 80 per cent.

My Department does not collect this information.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake immediately to sign on behalf of Her Majesty's Government the Montreal protocol treaty on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

The United Kingdom was among the first 25 signatories to the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer in September 1987. The United Kingdom ratified the amendment to the protocol in December 1991.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make it his policy to give tenant-control initiatives similar status to initiatives such as housing action trusts, the city challenge and estate action schemes when allocating capital funding.

No. Housing action trusts, estate action and city challenge are all ways of better targeting resources, and tenant management or control of housing estates is one important ingredient in them. It would not be right to treat tenant control in isolation as a means of targeting scarce capital resources: tenants taking on such responsibilities need the support that comes from sound management, strategies and policies.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the allocated amounts for each item in the urban programme funding for Bradford announced on 16 January which make up the total of £4·491 million.

[holding answer 5 February 1992]: Bradford's initial allocation for 1992–93 is as follows:

	£ million
Capital	3·234
Revenue	1·257
Total	4·491

The authority will receive its final allocation when its urban programme is approved by the Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been on public order and trespass charges of persons protesting at breaches of the Sunday trading laws in the last six months.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give crime figures for Warrington for each year since 1979 in the categories: offences against the person, sexual offences against women, robbery, burglary (domestic), burglary (other), theft of vehicle, theft from vehicle, theft of pedal cycles, theft from shops, obtaining property by deception, criminal damage, drug trafficking and other crimes.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the amount of police time that is spent on investigating credit card fraud; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the amount of credit card fraud in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

A Home Office report "The Prevention of Cheque and Credit Card Fraud" published in June last year, estimated that the losses to the major retail banks from all forms of "plastic card" fraud amounted to £121 million in 1990; of this sum, about £68 million was attributable to credit card fraud.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what legitimate purposes he considers eavesdropping devices may be used by the general public as indicated in his letter to the hon. Member for Newport, West of 18 January.

Devices that amplify and transmit sound can be used for entirely innocuous purposes including birdwatching, monitoring the sleep of children or aiding those whose hearing is impaired.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the policy guidelines for the closure of magistrates courthouses; and if he will make a statement on the position of the Government with regard to the local provision of justice.

As part of their management responsibilities, magistrates courts committees, in consultation with their paying local authorities, must keep under review the number and location of their courthouses, paying close attention to the amount of work which is undertaken at them. It would be a mistake to think that arguments of efficiency would inevitably draw a committee towards closing smaller courthouses or that keeping courthouses open, whatever the circumstances, must inevitably be in the interests of providing a good quality of service for court users.So far as efficiency is concerned, in some cases it is clearly very difficult to justify keeping a courthouse open. There are a number of courthouses throughout the country that are used for only a limited period each week or even more infrequently, and which are costly in various ways to maintain. Some are only a short distance from other courthouses which have spare capacity.On the other hand, courts committees need to approach issues of efficiency in a broad and not a narrow way, recognising the interdependence of criminal justice agencies, practitioners and the courts. Committees will need to take account of the possible effects of a closure on the operation of other local services. It is also very important for efficiency improvements to be pursued across the whole range of magistrates courts operations, and not simply in relation to courthouse accommodation. Courthouses are an important local resource and should not be proposed for closure because other savings require more effort to achieve.But local justice does not and cannot mean that every town or community throughout England and Wales should have its own courthouse. It is also important that courthouses should offer good standards of facilities and service. Unfortunately many courthouses are old or unsuitable buildings, lacking even basic facilities for court users. It would simply not be realistic or affordable to expect that all could be brought up to an acceptable standard. Courts committees will need to consider the balance of advantage between maintaining unsatisfactory courthouses and providing good facilities and accommodation through selective closures.Each courts committee will obviously also need to take into account the amount of grant within the cash limit for its area. Courts committees can themselves influence that amount: the arrangements for the distribution of grant announced on 18 October are dynamic and not static. So if a higher volume of cases is completed in an area through improvements in efficiency and court management, the proportion of total grant available for that area will increase. This might enable the committee to maintain a courthouse which would otherwise be at risk of closure. The more that courthouses are productively used, the stronger the case for their retention.The Justices of the Peace Act 1979 provides for a paying authority to appeal to the Secretary of State if it opposes a committee's decision to close a courthouse. All such appeals are considered on the individual merits of the case and in the light of all relevant local circumstances. In addition to looking carefully at details of the grounds for the appeal, we look specifically at the long-term savings to be made, both in terms of running costs, whether they are realisable, as well as the cost of repairs and refurbishment that would otherwise have been met from capital grant; the cost penalties, particularly travelling costs, that would arise for all categories of court users; and the accessibility of alternative courthouses, particularly by public transport.As will be clear from the Home Secretary's recent reply on the future organisation of the service—20 December 1991,

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce proposals for legislation to allow an independent person, with the relevant security clearance, to access on behalf of a citizen the personal information held by the security service in order to assess whether the information is relevant for the purpose of national security and, if appropriate, to make representations to him; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the Security Service Act 1989 which established the Security Service Tribunal. The tribunal investigates complaints about the service from members of the public. If the tribunal finds that a complainant has been the subject of inquiries by the service it is required to investigate whether the service had reasonable grounds for instituting or continuing inquiries about the complainant in the discharge of its functions. If the tribunal determines that the service did not have reasonable grounds for instituting or continuing inquiries, it is required to notify the complainant that it has made a determination in his favour, and to make a report of its findings to the Secretary of State and to the Security Service Commissioner. In such circumstances, the tribunal may also order inquiries by the service about the complainant to be ended and any records relating to such inquiries to be destroyed, and they may direct the Secretary of State to pay compensation to the complainant.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received about the Royal National Institute for the Deaf's subsidiary Sound Advantage; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Secretary has not received any representations. This is primarily a matter for the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales. I understand from the Charity Commissioners that they have received some representations and that they have met with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf to discuss the charity's relationship with Sound Advantage, a commercial company which is not part of the institute.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated total cost of crime per annum.

[holding answer 6 February 1992]: No reliable estimate of the total cost of crime is available. The report of the working group on the cost of crime in 1988 —available in the Library of the House—gives various costs of different aspects of crime but states that these costs overlap and cannot be added to make a total. A recent CBI-Crime Concern report estimated the costs of crime to business to be around £10 billion per year: any realistic assessment of the total costs of crime generally would have to take into account the personal and social damage which it causes.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 3 December 1991, Official Report, column 94, whether those employed in executive agencies are also required to seek clearance before taking up posts with outside organisations and companies; and if he will make a statement.

Yes, where appropriate.

To ask the Prime Minister when Her Majesty's Government received the appeal from the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency for supplementary funds to continue the United Nations special commission on inspection in Iraq; and what response was made to the appeal.

No appeal has been received.

To ask the Prime Minister what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to halt the geographical proliferation of nuclear weapons by nuclear-armed states to their military allies.

As a depositary power for the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons—NPT —the United Kingdom has consistently worked to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to encourage other states to accede to and abide by the treaty.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the actions taken by Her Majesty's Government to support and strengthen each article, respectively, of the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

The information is not centrally recorded and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. In our role as a depositary power for the treaty, the United Kingdom has strongly supported the NPT since its inception, and has been consistently active to this end.

To ask the Prime Minister what is his policy in regard to South Africa on (a) the need for transitional arrangements for the Government during the negotiating process, (b) the continued detention of political prisoners, (c) the implementation of the national peace accord, (d) the introduction of regulations banning the carrying of weapons at political rallies and (e) the proposal to give the white electorate a veto through a referendum on any agreement reached at the convention for a democratic South Africa.

I welcome the negotiations which are taking place within the Convention for a Democratic South Africa-CODESA. I have discussed them with President de Klerk and Mr. Mandela in meetings this month. It is for the South African people to decide on constitutional issues and any transitional arrangements.We have urged the release of all political prisoners throughout South Africa: more than 1,000 political prisoners were released last year.I welcomed the national peace accord when it was signed last year. Since then I have urged all parties to work for its implementation.I welcome all measures designed to reduce the risk of violence.The South African Government have proposed a referendum to obtain the views of all South Africans. The procedure for this is a matter for discussion in CODESA.

To ask the Prime Minister what consideration he has given to the National party proposals published on 5 September 1991 on constitutional change in South Africa; and if he will make a statement.

I welcome the National party's intention to negotiate a democratic constitution which is non-racial and based on universal suffrage. These issues are being discussed in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his meeting with President de Klerk on 1 February.

I met President de Klerk on 2 February. We discussed the constitutional talks in South Africa. The President expressed his determination to see them through to a new constitution. On township violence, President de Klerk said that national peace accord measures were in place and beginning to prove effective. The Goldstone commission was examining allegations against the South African defence force. The President explained the progress made in integration in sport, and said that unification of control of rugby should be concluded by late March. We agreed to keep up our dialogue.

To ask the Prime Minister who will represent Britain at the meeting to be held between the European Commission and the member Community states on a draft Council directive on dietary supplements.

The meeting to which the hon. Member refers will be attended by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Health. I should add that no Council directive on dietary supplements has yet been drafted: the meeting is to examine a Commission discussion paper.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the latest reports of the pay review bodies.

In 1992 reports of the review bodies on the pay of the doctors and dentists, the professions allied to medicine, nursing staff, midwives and health visitors, the armed forces and school teachers have been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office. The Government are grateful to the members of the review bodies for the time and care which they have put into the preparation of the reports.The following table shows the increases recommended by the review bodies for each group, and their cost.

Review body	Pay bill increase l992–931 per cent.	Range of increases per cent.	Public expenditure cost £ million
Doctors and dentists (DDRB)2	6·0	5·5-8·5	3314
Nurses and allied professions (NAPRB)2 —nurses and midwives	5·8	5·6-6·0	3435
—professions allied to medicine (PAMs)	6·3	6·2-6·5	348
Armed forces (AFRB)4	5·9	5·9-7·9	274
Schoolteachers (STRB)5	7·8	7·5	765
1 Percentages by which the awards would increase the estimated 1992–93 pay bill.
2 Great Britain. Northern Ireland health service pay normally follows Great Britain but is described separately.
3 Includes cost of staff in NHS Trusts.
4 United Kingdom.
5 England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate pay regimes for school teachers.

The Government accept these recommendations and propose to pay them in full from 1 April 1992. The cost of implementing them will be met from within the public expenditure planning totals published in the autumn statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what strategic plans there are to assist moves towards the diminution of the amount of wood used as a fuel in the third world and rain forest countries, and to address the consequences of such wood use on the top soil.

Many developing countries have national plans for the energy sector, which are drawn up and implemented with external assistance. These plans typically involve a range of fuels, including wood, which, when it comes from sustainably managed sources, can play a valuable role in meeting energy needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current amount of aid given to Pakistan.

In 1990, the last year for which full figures are available, Britain's gross bilateral aid amounted to £47·6 million. The ODA provided £34·6 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received over the effectiveness of United Kingdom financial aid to India's economic reform programme.

The Indian Prime Minister and Finance Minister thanked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State during his recent visit to India for British support of their economic reforms, and for the £30 million of additional aid provided this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has met representatives of non-governmental development organisations during the last month to discuss their role in aid matters.

In the last four weeks my right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development has met voluntary agencies on five occasions. I have had two such meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in rank order the donor nations of the United Nations showing the proportion of gross national product donated to overseas aid for the most recent year available, and the cash figures in sterling.

The latest information is as follows:

Official development assistance by United Nations member countries in 1990 in oda/GNP percentage order
Country	Amount £ million	Per cent. of GNP 1990
Saudi Arabia	2,079	3·89
Norway	678	1·17
Netherlands	1,459	0·94
Denmark	659	0·.93
Sweden	1,133	0·90
France	5,281	0·.79
Finland	476	0·64
Libya	272	20·52
Belgium	501	0·45
Canada	1,391	0·44
Germany	3,558	0·42
Australia	538	0·34
Italy	1,911	0·32
Japan	5,106	0·31
Luxembourg	14	0·28
United Kingdom	1,485	0·27
Austria	222	0·25
Portugal	79	0·25
New Zealand	52	0·22
United States	6,399	0·21
Ireland	32	0·16
Spain	450	10·16
Venezuela	23	0·09
Qatar	22	20·08
Greece	121	20·07
Nigeria	28	20·05
China	1101	10·05
Algeria	127	20·02
Iceland	21	20·02
Kuwait	938	n/a
UAE	500	n/a
India	162	n/a
USSR	1,126	n/a
Israel	210	n/a
Yugoslavia	23	n/a
Other Central and Eastern Europe	184	n/a
1 Estimate by OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Secretariat whole or in part.
2 1988 figures given, being the latest year for which data is available.
n/a—GNP figures not available.

Other non United Nations donors	£ million	oda/GNP
Switzerland	422	0·31
Korea (Rep.)	43	0·03
Taiwan	34	0·04

Source: DAC Chairman's Report 1990 and 1991 (OECD, Paris).

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of the total ODA budget, bilateral and multilateral, for 1991–92 has been committed for direct support for good government in developing countries; what is the level of funding; and in which countries Her Majesty's Government are supporting such projects.

We plan to spend around £30 million of bilateral aid¹ this year in direct support of "good government" activities. This is 3 per cent. of total bilateral aid. Countries in which we are funding such projects include:

• Egypt
• Ethiopia

• Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Kenya
• Malawi
• Mauritius
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• Nigeria
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe
• Bangladesh
• India
• Malaysia
• Maldives
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Sri Lanka
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• St. Kitts
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent
• Turks and Caicos
• Eastern Caribbean
• Mexico
• Senegal
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• St. Helena
• Anguilla
• Antigua
• Barbados
• Belize
• British Virgin Islands
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

We also plan to provide in excess of £140 million—l4 per cent. of total bilateral aid—this year for balance of payments support to countries implementing IMF-approved economic reform programmes, which also fall within "good government".

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received since 1988, and from whom, opposing the need for a statutory requirement for companies to have audit committees.

None. Those opposed to a statutory requirement for companies to have audit committees had no call to make representations since the Government have not made proposals to introduce such a requirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he proposes to bring forward legislation to increase the powers and resources of independent company directors.

No. I would encourage companies to have high-calibre non-executive directors and to give all their directors adequate powers and resources. How this is done is best left to individual companies. All directors, in fulfilling their responsibilities, should exercise their judgment independently.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will review the proxy system of voting exercised at company annual general meetings.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how long each computerised system in his Department would take to return to full operation in the event of a disaster.

The Department's IT security policy requires that, for each IT system, appropriate measures are adopted to maintain availability. Measures are determined by means of risk analysis and include disaster recovery plans. Such plans will take into account the time-critical nature of the system, the various types of disaster—say, from loss of stored data to loss of a building—and the costs and impact of loss of service. Such planning provides a mechanism for dealing with different types of loss of service in a cost-effective manner. System recovery times following a disaster will vary in accordance with the size of the system, the recovery requirements established and the type and magnitude of any disaster that might occur.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will arrange to place in the Library the business plans of the executive agencies which come within his Department's responsibilities.

I am arranging for copies of the current corporate plans to be placed in the Library for Accounts Branch—now Accounts Services Agency—and for the Patent Office executive agency, together with the summary corporate plan for Companies House executive agency.In cases where commercial confidentiality, or the need to protect other sensitive information means it is not possible to make an agency's corporate plan public, information about its corporate strategy should be available from the annual report. In addition to the statutory reports required to be laid before Parliament, I am arranging for copies of the most recent annual reports to be placed in the Library for the following agencies:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline the differences between the proposals by the European Commission for the distribution of regional and other aids and the practice of the United Kingdom Government; and what proposals the Commission has for public authorities and other bodies to make direct application to Brussels for such aid or grants.

The Commission has suggested that the allocation of Community structural funds should be completely separated from other central Government allocations in the United Kingdom public expenditure system.The Government believe that expenditure financed by the funds should be approved by Parliament. The funds therefore feature in the supply estimates of relevant Departments.As regards the possibility of public authorities and other bodies making direct application to Brussels for grants, the Commission has made no such proposals formally. Article 14(1) of Council regulation (EEC) 4253/88 requires applications to be submitted by the member state concerned or by any body it may designate to do so. As it is not expected that the increase in the appropriations for the Funds will lead to any increase in the United Kingdom's receipts from them, the Government believes that Article 9 has no practical impact on the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will outline the nature of the changes agreed by the EC on the distribution of regional grants in 1988, and the impact these changes have for the established practices of the United Kingdom Government on the distribution of such grants.

Article 9 of Council regulation (EEC) 4253/88 provides that

"In establishing and implementing the Community support frameworks, the Commission and the Member States shall ensure that the increase in the appropriations for the Funds provided for in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EEC) No. 2052/88 has a genuine additional economic impact in the regions concerned and results in at least an equivalent increase in the total volume of official or similar (Community and national) structural aid in the Member State concerned, taking account of the macro-economic circumstances in which the funding takes place."

Article 12(2) of Council regulation (EEC) 2052/88 states, inter alia, that

To ask the Secretary of Slate for Trade and Industry whether the sums allocated by the EC for regional aid to the United Kingdom is spent only for that purpose.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much aid from the EC is being delayed on account of the procedural issues raised by the EC Commission; and if Her Majesty's Government will delay comparable amounts in their payments to the EC.

(a) Approximately £135 million; (b) No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from foreign telecommunications companies that wish to commence business in the United Kingdom.

The Government's pro-competitive telecommunications policy has already led to major overseas investment in the United Kingdom, most notably with a projected £5 billion commitment by cable television companies. Of the 24 applications for licences to run telecommunications systems since the duopoly review, 12 are from foreign companies or companies with a significant foreign shareholding. A further 30 firms, both British and foreign owned, have expressed an interest in applying for a licence. I welcome the investment and jobs that will be created by foreign companies and the wide range of innovative services they plan to offer. This further confirms that the United Kingdom is the preferred location in Europe for inward investment in telecommunications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the Financial Intermediaries, Managers and Brokers Regulatory Organisation and other regulatory bodies on the subject of home income investment bond schemes and related debt incurred by older people.

I have encouraged the Securities and Investments Board to take the lead in ensuring that everything possible is done to help clients who were sold unsuitable schemes, and to prevent such difficulties in the future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received concerning the losses incurred by pensioners taking out home income investment bond schemes.

I have received a number of representations on this subject, which I have referred to the appropriate regulatory bodies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress towards agreement on the proposed European directive on data protection and telecommunications.

Member states have given initial views on the directive in a working group of the Council, though detailed discussions have to date been delayed pending consideration of the draft general directive on data protection. The European Parliament's opinion on the directive is expected shortly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to implement the agreements on Eureka worked out at Helsinki in 1991.

The United Kingdom is actively involved in the Eureka high-level group, which is responsible for the implementation of the agreements worked out at The Hague in 1991. Current major issues under discussion are the new medium-term plan, strategic projects, interaction between EC research and development and Eureka, and new members. My noble Friend the Under Secretary of State for Industry and Technology and other European Ministers will review the progress made at the Finnish ministerial conference, which will be held in Tampere, Finland in May 1992.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action he is taking to involve small firms in the Eureka project.

Participation in Eureka projects is a matter for individual companies, but the DTI offers preferential rates of funding to small firms and is constantly improving the flow of information to enable them to consider the Eureka option.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations he is having with the CBI on framework programmes for Eureka.

My Department maintains good contacts with the CBI on European R and D issues. Over recent months, senior departmental officials have been involved in discussions with the CBI on the EC's framework programme for R and D—for example at the round-table meeting organised by the CBI in September of last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what help he is giving to British Industry by providing case studies on Eureka.

Twelve case studies have just been published to illustrate the benefits of Eureka collaboration to potential project participants in the United Kingdom. The case studies will be primarily targeted at United Kingdom industry to enable them to consider the Eureka mechanism in developing their own European and world market strategies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he is providing to British firms about potential partners across Europe for Eureka projects.

The main promotional tool for Eureka in the United Kingdom is the Eureka handbook which is produced by the DTI's Eureka unit. The handbook contains details of the Eureka database in Brussels, which can be used as a contact mechanism for potential partners, and of DTI feasibility studies which can be used for partner search activities.Also, through the use of consultancies, the DTI provides information to United Kingdom industry on Eureka in general as well as details of European partnering and marriage broking events in Europe aimed at generating Eureka projects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what encouragement he is giving to British industry to back large strategic projects in relation to Eureka.

In some cases, the DTI actively encourages United Kingdom industry to participate in large strategic projects by holding workshops, and launching targeted consultancy activities and mailshots. More generally, the DTI's Eureka unit is constantly improving the flow of information to United Kingdom firms to enable them to consider the possible role of the Eureka mechanism in developing their own European and world market strategies.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what help he is giving to British industry in clarifying the start-up procedures for the Eureka project.

The Eureka unit has produced a handbook, which details how Eureka works and summarises the process of seeking Eureka status and Government support for a project. Information on Eureka and copies of the handbook are available from the Eureka inquiry point.Staff in the Eureka unit regularly give presentations to industry covering the start-up processes in detail, while project officers from DTI line divisions give advice to companies on the specifics of Government grants when sought.Line divisions also run consultancies in their own areas of policy responsibility. This activity disseminates information on Eureka to companies having no prior knowledge of the Eureka initiative, in order to help them participate in new Eureka projects.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration he is giving to the conditions for the withdrawal of the Eureka grant if a project does not perform well over a period of years.

The assistance the Department gives to Eureka projects is governed by standard conditions.While the Department, in supporting projects, recognises the inherent financial and technical risks involved in pan-European collaboration, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State may, under the terms of the Department's offer letter, terminate payment of grant, and, if appropriate, reclaim grant already paid, if certain specified conditions are not met.Circumstances that might trigger withdrawal of grant include:

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to help management resources in small companies bidding to participate in European and Eureka projects.

There are no immediate plans to give additional help to small companies in this way.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the percentage difference in the volume of imports of intermediate goods recorded in December 1991, compared to December 1985; and what assessment he has made of the factors which led to this change.

The volume of imports of intermediate goods increased by 63 per cent. between the fourth quarters of 1985 and 1991. The change is due to decisions by United Kingdom industry to import goods at the later stage of manufacture, in order to obtain the best value for money and thereby maintain competitiveness.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what concerns have been expressed to his Department in relation to the advertising of interest-free credit; how many complaints about the advertising of interest-free credit have been received by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 4 February 1992]: The National Consumer Council and the Consumers Association are concerned that advertisements for interest-free credit should include information about repayments. In the last year there have been no complaints about such advertisements. I shall give careful consideration to the views on interest-free credit which have been expressed in reply to the consultation document "Revised Proposals on Credit Marketing".

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in improving the rights of lessees of photocopiers and fax machines by amending the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

[holding answer 7 February 1992]: A number of possible amendments to the Consumer Credit Act are being examined. However, no decisions have been taken. If it should be decided to amend the Act, implementation of that decision would have to await parliamentary time for primary legislation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to reply to the letter sent to him on 10 January 1991 by the information secretary of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents concerning alleged misrepresentation by salesmen of fax machines and photocopiers.

[holding answer 7 February 1992]: A reply was sent on 4 February.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the additional annual cost to the Exchequer of paying benefits while applying an earnings disregard for (i) child care costs, (ii) fares to work and (iii) other reasonable expenses connected with work.

In the absence of specific assumptions about the size of such disregards, information is not available to make a reliable estimate of the costs involved. However, the estimated additional annual cost of increasing earnings disregards by £1 per week for all claimants in income support, community charge benefit, housing benefit and family credit is around £25 million in total at 1991–92 prices and benefit levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether pensioner couples aged 60 to 74 years who are not entitled to income support since the April 1991 pension uprating will be entitled to cold weather payments for the current winter.

No. To qualify for a cold weather payment a pensioner must be getting income support with the pensioner premium.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, following the social security commissioners' decision CA/380/90, what are his plans to identify children who were under the age of two before April 1990 and refused attendance allowance under the pre-1990 law.

We have no plans to do so. Children who were refused attendance allowance on age grounds cannot benefit from the commissioners' decision. This is because legislation prevents the payment of arrears where claims have been adjudicated upon and a review is then sought following a reinterpretation of the law.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations have been received to date concerning payment of attendance allowance for a child under two in the period before April 1990.

We have received a number of representations on individual cases, to which we are replying.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are claiming maternity payment as a proportion of the people who are eligible for this payment.

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security 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 data information systems in use in the Department are detailed in the Information Technology Services Agency's annual business plan 1991–92 and reported on in the agency's annual report 1990–91 both of which have been placed in the Library. All the systems are registered under, and fully comply with, the Data Protection Act which compels the listing of all those to whom data might be provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what date he expects the Department's annual report to be available to hon. Members in the Vote Office.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 30 January at columns 634-35.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give (a) the total number of home visits to claimants, (b) the total mileage covered in carrying out those visits and (c) the total travel expenses paid out for home visits by staff at the Maryhill road, Atlas road and Pitt street, Glasgow Department of Social Security offices, respectively, in each year from 1979 to 1991; and also give the total number of (i) staff employed, (ii) benefit claimants interviewed and (iii) benefit claimants serviced at those offices in those years.

The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement explaining in full the action which was taken by (a) his private office and (b) his Department following the inquiry made in December on behalf of the hon. Member for Macclesfield in connection with the delay in the payment of benefits to Mr. Manning of 3 Renfrew close, Macclesfield.

I will write to my hon. Friend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement explaining the assistance to which Mr. Manning of 3 Renfrew close, Macclesfield is entitled in connection with his increased responsibilities and commitments in providing a home for his two nephews; and if he will set out the reasons why no payments have yet been made in this respect to Mr. Manning.