Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Thursday 12 March 1992

Attorney-General

Lords Of Appeal In Ordinary

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary together with their date of appointment and the date by which they are required by law to retire.

The information requested is as follows:—

	Appointment Date	Retirement Date
Lord Keith of Kinkel	10 January 1977	7 February 1997
Lord Templeman MBE	30 September 1982	3 March 1995
Lord Griffiths MC	23 May 1985	26 September 1998
Lord Ackner	30 January 1986	18 September 1995
Lord Goff of Chieveley	6 February 1986	12 November 2001
Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle	9 February 1988	8 May 2000
Lord Lowry	5 August 1988	30 January 1994
Lord Browne-Wilkinson	1 October 1991	30 March 2005
Lord Mustill	10 January 1992	10 May 2006
Lord Slynn of Hadley	11 March 1992	17 February 2005

Polygamous Marriages

To ask the Attorney-General what plans the Government have to implement the recommendations of the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission in their report on "Polygamous Marriages: Capacity to Contract" (Law Comm. No. 146, Scots Law No. 96).

Following the publication of this report in 1985 the Government consulted on its recommendations, the main purpose of which is to ensure that those domiciled in England and Wales or in Scot land should not lack the capacity to contract a marriage which is in fact monogamous merely because it is celebrated in polygamous form according to foreign law. Marriages that are actually polygamous would continue not to be recognised as valid in this country. In the light of the views expressed on consultation the Government have decided to accept these recommendations and will introduce legislation to implement them when a suitable opportunity occurs.

Energy

Sizewell B

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations he has had, and what undertakings he has given to the European Commission, in connection with state aid requirements, regarding the commercial rules for operating Sizewell B nuclear power station.

The notification of commercial arrangements relating to Nuclear Electric plc's operations up to 1998 made to the European Commission in March 1990 under state aid notification procedures included Sizewell B.

Ministerial Visits

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many visits were made by the hon. Member for Lewisham, East (Mr. Moynihan) in his capacity as Minister in 1990, 1991 and the current year, respectively; and what were the places and duration of each visit.

I shall ask my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Mr. Moynihan) to write to the hon. Gentleman.

Home Department

Brixton Prison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the treatment of medical and psychiatric prisoners at Brixton prison.

It is the Government's policy that mentally disturbed offenders should receive care and treatment from the health and social services. They should be diverted from the criminal justice system at the earliest possible opportunity.However following adverse criticism of the arrangements in Brixton prison, we felt it entirely appropriate to develop enhanced activities and general support for patients undergoing observation or treatment. We are now in the final stages of developing an acute psychiatric unit to provide a high standard of medical and nursing care for acutely disturbed inmates, for whom transfer to hospital is not possible.The necessary building works are nearing completion and the unit is expected to be ready by the end of March for the receipt of patients in April.

"Custody, Care And Justice"

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have been selected for the pilot schemes of staff compacts described in paragraph 4.12 of the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice".

The commitment given in the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice" to providing a statement of the facilities for staff, and the standards expected of them, is being addressed alongside the work on a new staff handbook, and standards for the treatment and care of prisoners. Work is progressing on the most appropriate format for the delivery of these objectives, but is not yet sufficiently advanced to implement any pilot programmes.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the review of the reception and induction arrangements for prisoners referred to in paragraph 7.17 of the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice".

Guidance based on the review is to be issued to prison governors within the next few months.

Bail

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons he expects to provide bail units, and how many to provide bail information schemes, before the end of the current financial year.

All local prisons and remand centres have a bail unit or bail officer. Bail information schemes currently operate at 15 establishments. Two further establishments have schemes approved, but they will not be operational before the end of the financial year.

Male Prisoners

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many prisons male convicted prisoners are now allowed to wear their own clothes.

The White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice" announced the Government's intention to extend the wearing of own clothess by male convicted prisoners. A pilot scheme began at HM prison Belmarsh in April 1991 and this is expected to be extended to two further establishments later this year. In addition, some establishments already allow male convicted prisoners to wear certain items of their own clothing.

Criminal Justice Consultative Council

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate the immediate programme of work agreed for the Criminal Justice Consultative Council following its initial meeting in January.

The council's work programme will be considered by its members at its next meeting on 9 April, following a preliminary discussion at its first meeting.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Criminal Justice Consultative Council will hold its next meeting.

The Criminal Justice Consultative Council will hold its second meeting on Thursday 9 April 1992.

London Bridge Bomb

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those injured as a result of the London bridge explosion were injured by flying glass.

A figure for those injured specifically by flying glass as a result of the London Bridge explosion of 28 February is not available, but of the 30 people who went to hospital as a result of the explosion, 12 were suffering from cuts, bruises or other associated pains.

Retail Premises (Security)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters concerning its recommendations on appropriate security shutters for retail premises.

I have had no discussions with the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters and I understand that the institute has made no such recommendations.

Crime Statistics, Manchester

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest crime figures in the Greater Manchester police area.

The latest information is for 1991 and is published in table 3 of "Home Office Statistical Bulletin" 2/92, a copy of which is in the Library.

Name Badges (Prisons)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to introduce name badges for all staff on duty in prisons.

Work is progressing on the commitment given in the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice" to the wearing of name badges by all staff on duty in prisons. Procurement action will be initiated when the consultations with the trade unions about the detailed arrangements have been satisfactorily concluded.

Cardphones (Prisons)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether cardphones are now available in all prisons.

Cardphones for prisoners' use are available at all category C and D prisons, including equivalent female and young offender establishments.On publication of the Woolf report my right hon. Friend announced that cardphones would be installed in the rest of the prison estate. The installation programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of June 1992.

Prisoners (Television)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons he proposes to conduct experiments under which prisoners may have televisions in their cells or rooms.

The White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice" announced that closely monitored trials would take place at a small number of establishments to test the use of televisions in cells.A trial of battery-operated televisions began at HM prison The Mount in December 1991. Trials of mains-powered sets will be held at Manchester and Stockton prisons when the necessary cabling work has been completed in the summer. In-cell television will be tested in other establishments if the need arises.

Sexual Offences

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the average sentence imposed in each of the last 10 years upon offenders convicted of (a) indecent assault on a female, (b) unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16, (c) unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and (d) incest;(2) how many offenders convicted of

(a) indecent assault on a female, (b) unlawful sexual intercourse with

a girl under 16, (c) unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and (d) incest were given sentences of (i) immediate imprisonment, (ii) suspended imprisonment, (iii) community service, (iv) probation, (v) a fine and (vi) discharge in each of the last ten years.

Table A
Number of offenders sentenced lo immediate custody and average length of sentence imposed for certain sexual offences by type of court 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 ¹
England and Wales
		Magistrates' courts		Crown Court
Offence	Year	Total immediate custody	Average sentence length (months)	Total immediate custody	Average sentence length (months)
Indecent assault on a female	1980	141	4	275	16
	1985	172	4	489	18
	1987	134	4	821	22
	1988	131	3	866	21
	1989	91	4	913	23
	¹1990	73	4	885	23
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16	1980	22	4	64	12
	1985	33	4	70	13
	1987	25	4	88	12
	1988	13	3	94	12
	1989	8	3	73	12
	¹1990	13	4	72	11
Unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13	1980	—	—	50	31
	1985	—	4	69	25
	1987	—	—	82	36
	1988	—	4	95	33
	1989	—	—	61	38
	¹1990	—	3	65	40
Incest	1980	2	4	95	36
	1985	—	5	95	30
	1987	—	—	156	38
	1988	—	—	159	42
	1989	—	—	134	43
	¹1990	—	—	117	46
¹ Provisional

Table B
Number of offenders sentenced for certain sexual offences by type of court and result 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 ¹
England and Wales
Offence and year	Total sentence	Immediate custody	Fully-suspended	Comm. Serving Order	Probation order	Fine	Abs or conditional discharge	Other
Magistrates courts Indecent assault on a female
1980	1,937	141	149	22	407	609	326	283
1985	1,396	172	113	34	365	278	240	194
1987	1,176	134	93	34	337	232	181	165
1988	1,220	131	105	29	323	290	188	145
1989	1,245	91	103	31	335	296	222	167
1990¹	1,138	73	67	27	303	290	228	150
Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16
1980	414	22	49	18	34	188	69	14
1985	279	33	30	19	47	72	68	10
1987	191	25	24	19	31	59	33	—
1988	175	13	22	14	24	49	49	4
1989	139	8	8	8	21	58	35	1
1990¹	154	13	7	9	27	50	45	3
Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13
1980	10	—	—	—	1	1	—	8
1985	12	1	—	5	1	1	2	2
1987	5	—	—	—	—	1	—	4
1988	10	1	—	—	—	—	2	7
1989	8	—	—	—	—	—	5	3
1990¹	7	1	—	—	—	—	1	5
Incest 1980	7	2	—	—	2	1	—	2

The information for England and Wales for the years 1980, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990, which is provisional for the other years requested would involve disproportionate cost.

Offence and year	Total sentence	Immediate custody	Fully suspended	Comm. serving order	Probation order	Fine	Abs or conditional discharge	Other
1985	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	1
1987	4	—	—	—	—	—	1	3
1988	1	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
1989	4	—	—	—	—	3	—	1
1990¹	1	—	—	—	—	1	—	—
Crown court Indecent assault on a female
1980	507	275	92	8	58	35	15	24
1985	744	489	100	8	94	14	18	21
1987	1,151	821	137	12	119	27	14	21
1988	1,305	866	180	18	159	27	22	33
1989	1,427	913	216	16	196	27	22	37
1990¹	1,431	885	194	34	216	39	24	39
Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16
1980	147	64	33	9	10	24	7	—
1985	118	70	13	6	12	7	8	2
1987	156	88	29	10	14	6	7	2
1988	164	94	30	10	11	8	8	3
1989	123	73	22	7	6	7	7	1
1990¹	150	72	36	13	11	9	7	2
Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13
1980	92	50	14	—	15	7	5	1
1985	98	69	10	7	8	1	3	—
1987	97	82	8	—	4	1	2	—
1988	125	95	6	4	10	2	3	5
1989	88	61	9	1	7	3	2	5
1990¹	103	65	7	5	19	1	3	3
Incest
1980	138	95	20	1	15	1	3	3
1985	126	95	21	1	8	—	—	1
1987	190	156	18	1	12	I	—	2
1988	195	159	16	3	15	—	2	—
1989	162	134	6	1	17	—	3	1
1990¹	149	117	11	—	18	1	—	2
¹ Provisional.

Drug Abuse

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of drug addicts in each regional health authority each year since 1979.

The number of addicts notified by doctors to the Home Office are given for each regional health authority and the years 1987 to 1990 in table A7 of "Statistics of the Misuse of Drugs: Addicts Notified to the

Persons found guilty of drugs offences by police force area and year¹
England and Wales	Number of persons
Police force	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
England
Avon and Somerset	319	383	388	542	396	374	358	410	350	336	560	164
Bedfordshire	50	77	69	75	100	79	110	96	74	74	126	137
Cambridgeshire	317	300	275	169	152	108	151	164	159	132	156	234
Cheshire	110	171	144	184	206	298	223	209	411	395	511	324
Cleveland	104	118	84	58	41	57	98	78	69	90	95	93
Cumbria	130	174	246	374	288	289	335	293	290	364	376	326
Derbyshire	92	107	130	124	81	144	167	95	148	127	129	219
Devon and Cornwall	322	432	363	464	505	474	696	545	588	599	651	689
Dorset	115	161	162	224	183	222	197	129	91	64	132	165
Durham	51	60	49	59	89	76	62	34	63	67	80	61
Essex	129	240	219	259	249	323	344	162	204	255	325	400
Gloucestershire	157	202	183	207	213	248	194	128	143	108	167	154
Greater Manchester	410	519	886	769	874	919	1,019	880	1,006	964	1,301	1,356
Hampshire	397	332	432	282	336	339	315	342	250	328	241	214
Hertfordshire	167	197	222	224	256	295	313	213	194	205	371	336

Home Office, United Kingdom, 1990—Area Tables", a copy of which is in the Library. Figures for earlier years are not available by regional health authority.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-related convictions there were in each police area in England and Wales since 1979.

The information requested is given in the table.

Police force	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
Humberside	109	147	180	152	200	202	260	177	194	201	207	264
Kent	166	235	244	223	204	259	308	251	302	202	202	96
Lancashire	271	363	351	324	354	291	425	373	344	256	317	585
Leicestershire	253	249	225	55	164	178	211	224	178	199	183	192
Lincolnshire	62	72	65	58	82	42	51	46	77	77	116	186
Merseyside	247	269	237	276	434	586	1,059	724	725	845	1,078	1,399
Metropolitan Police (including City of London	4,315	5,608	6,033	7,485	8,469	7,925	6,678	5,341	4,476	5,810	6,672	6,329
Norfolk	195	263	156	114	197	153	176	202	162	217	272	391
Northamptonshire	87	117	105	68	73	66	77	89	67	52	58	105
Northumbria	179	122	203	169	134	159	221	169	183	175	223	289
North Yorkshire	84	86	122	135	125	165	162	145	162	67	94	109
Nottinghamshire	109	150	161	233	191	154	147	158	217	165	143	145
South Yorkshire	175	145	180	236	144	257	298	283	336	238	324	351
Staffordshire	59	93	65	56	66	160	220	116	114	156	180	235
Suffolk	146	242	200	188	196	155	157	160	211	195	272	244
Surrey	219	284	305	254	287	351	406	306	254	236	391	361
Sussex	489	516	578	521	631	519	458	364	506	431	731	860
Thames Valley	466	479	408	514	488	514	608	536	543	643	770	911
Warwickshire	64	83	78	127	74	88	86	82	82	120	131	171
West Mercia	166	263	187	152	230	233	156	354	224	285	266	376
West Midlands	234	288	393	452	612	702	663	508	469	771	823	1,148
West Yorkshire	327	347	362	432	607	361	395	552	573	608	596	942
Wiltshire	121	124	166	137	149	252	147	112	83	106	120	103
Total England	11,413	14,018	14,856	16,375	18,080	18,017	17,951	15,050	14,522	16,163	19,390	20,664
Wales
Dyfed-Powys	191	200	163	157	180	222	212	154	182	157	165	186
Gwent	103	124	111	152	101	132	134	125	114	131	118	144
North Wales	83	196	172	260	252	205	276	187	207	265	404	375
South Wales	228	278	319	418	575	736	597	419	532	586	657	578
Total Wales	605	798	765	987	1,108	1,295	1,219	885	1,035	1,139	1.314	1,283
¹ Excludes offenders prosecuted for offences dealt with by HM Customs and Excise, British Transport Police, British Airports Authority and Port of London Authority (England) and all those cautioned or dealt with by compounding for drugs offences.

Overseas Electors Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total cost to date, broken down into all expenditure heads, of the implementation of the overseas electors scheme.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 9 March to a question by the hon. Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist).

Crime Statistics, Merseyside

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for criminal offences on Merseyside were made in each of the years 1978 to 1991 inclusive; how many crimes were reported on Merseyside in each of those years; and what percentage of the crimes reported the convictions constituted in each of those years.

Information on convictions and cautions within police force areas is published annually in the Command Paper "Criminal statistics, England and Wales". Tables 3(a),7(a) and 35(a) of the 1978 edition, tables 3(a),7(a) and 34(a) of the 1979 edition and tables S3.2(A), S3.4(A) and S3.7(A) of the supplementary tables volume 3 from 1980 to 1989 refer. The 1990 Command Paper has yet to be published but provisional figures show 49,000 convictions and 9,800 cautions for all offences in the Merseyside police force area. This information covers offenders and the convictions data records the principal offence only—that is, does not take into account

additional findings of guilt or offences taken into consideration. Court proceedings data for 1991 are not yet available.

Information on offences recorded by the police is also published annually in the Command Paper. Table 32 of the 1978 and 1979 editions, table 2.5 of the 1983 edition and table 2.4 of the 1989 edition refer. Figures for 1990 and 1991 are published in table 2 of "Home Office Statistical Bulletin" 2/92. Copies of all the publications referred to above are available in the Library.

Because of the different collection basis, it is not possible to compare statistics on offences recorded by the police with those on court proceedings.

Travellers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the reasons why the officer commanding Southwark division Metropolitan police did not alert Kent county constabulary, Gravesend, that six traveller families were moving into the county of Kent; for what reasons the usual protocol was ignored, and on whose authority; and if he will make a statement.

The Commissioner accepts that Kent constabulary should have been told about the movement of these families and regrets that this did not happen. Police officers on Southwark division have been reminded' of the importance of inter-force co-operation in similar cases.

Ethnic Minorities

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated level of payments under section 11 of the Local Government Act 1966 to the London borough of Tower Hamlets and previously to ILEA in the current year and in each year since 1966.

The amount of section 11 grant provision payable direct to Tower Hamlets in respect of each financial year from 1967–68 to 1990–91 is as follows.The figures for each year up to 1989–90 relate to grant in service areas other than education. It is not possible to isolate precise figures for the grant payable to ILEA during this period in respect of education provision within Tower Hamlets. The figure for 1990–91 includes education provision transferred from ILEA. The figure for 1991–92 is not yet available.

Financial Year	£
1967–68	11,526
1968–69	10,618
1969–70	20,388
1970–71	19,010
1971–72	22,853
1972–73	26,651
1973–74	25,958
1974–75	20,473
1975–76	42,098
1976–77	39,860
1977–78	72,677
1978–79	78,830
1979–80	77,065
1980–81	633,466
1981–82	644,060
1982–83	841,531
1983–84	930,384
1984–85	116,519
1985–86	158,974
1986–87	234,680
1987–88	245,120
1988–89	199,843
1989–90	297,795
1990–91	4,732,150

National Lottery

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that the headquarters of the proposed national lottery be established on Merseyside; if he will consult the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the Football Pool Promoters Association in connection with the expertise they have available and the preservation of jobs of pools workers on Merseyside; and if he will make a statement.

The Government's White Paper published on 6 March invites views from all interested parties, including the pools companies, about the possible effect of a national lottery on their activities. Decisions about the headquarters of the national lottery cannot be taken at this stage, but the pools companies would, of course, be able to make a bid for a contract to operate the national lottery if they so wish. I should welcome comments on the proposals in the White Paper, which should be sent to my Department by 1 June.

United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in establishing a new body to supervise the work of the refugee unit of the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service.

At the joint invitation of my right hon. Friend and the London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a planning group has been established, which will be chaired by Mrs. Usha Prashar.Mr. Geoffrey Bindman and Ms. Janet Lewis-Jones have also agreed to participate, and the group may co-opt other members.The group has been asked to consult voluntary organisations and others concerned with the welfare of refugees, and to devise a constitution for a new organisation, whose objective will be to provide legal counselling for asylum seekers and representation in appeals against adverse decisions by the immigration authorities. These proposals will take account of the need for the trustees of the new body to be able to meet their responsibilities under charity law and to satisfy my right hon. Friend and the UNHCR that there will be proper accountability for grants received. When agreement has been reached on the constitution of the new body, it is envisaged that the group should play a leading part in its establishment. In the meantime, the director of the refugee unit will report to the group, which will assume responsibility for general oversight of the unit until the new body is established.I am grateful to Mrs. Prashar and her colleagues for taking on this task.

Fire Service College

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards establishing the Fire Service college as an executive agency; and if he will make a statement.

I am pleased to announce that the Fire Service college will be established as both a Home Office executive agency and a trading fund on 1 April. It will continue to be known as the Fire Service college under this new status. I shall be placing a copy of the college's framework document in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.The main aim of the Fire Service College will be to provide fire-related training and to promote fire safety awareness. It is recognised as being pre-eminent in its field and will therefore be starting from a sound basis in fulfilling this aim. I am confident that the enhanced freedoms and responsibilities which the framework document grants to the chief executive of the agency, together with the additional financial flexibilities of a trading fund, will enable the college to deliver further improvements in its services to customers by providing better value for money.The key targets which I have set the agency for its first year of operation are:

i) to break even financially with a return on capital employed of 6 per cent.

ii) to achieve a cost per student week of £787;

iii) to achieve a throughput of 16,650, 3,202 and 2,182 student weeks, or equivalent consultancy income, in respect of the United Kingdom fire service, the commercial and industrial sector and the international sector respectively;

iv) 85 per cent. of students to achieve a 70 per cent. pass rate in assessments;

The chief executive, Mr. Brian Fuller CBE, will be directly accountable to me for the performance of the Fire Service College. An advisory board comprising representatives of the Home Office, the Scottish Office and fire authorities, together with two independent members, will help me to assess the college's performance.

Magistrates Courts Rules

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the changes to the magistrates courts rules recommended by the working group on pre-trial issues are being implemented; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor has today made the Magistrates' Courts (Miscellaneous Amendments) Rules 1992 which give effect to the rule changes recommended by the working group. Of particular note are the new rules governing the service of summonses, which allow the courts to use more effective and economical procedures where appropriate.

Decisions^{1 2}made in December 1991 on applications for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality
	Granted Asylum	Granted Exceptional leave	Refused Asylum and Exceptional leave	Refused on third country grounds³	Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration rules⁴	Total decisions
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria	—	—	1	—	1	2
Colombia	—	—	—	—	—	—
Czechoslovakia	—	—	—	—	—	—
Poland	—	—	—	—	—	—
Romania	—	—	1	—	2	3
Turkey	10	21	16	12	—	59
USSR	—	2	—	—	—	2
Yugoslavia	2	—	—	—	—	2
Others	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total	12	23	18	12	3	68
Middle East
Iran	6	19	1	—	—	26
Iraq	9	20	1	5	—	35
Lebanon	—	5	3	1	—	9
Others	2	10	4	7	—	23
Total	17	54	9	13	—	93
Africa
Angola	—	2	8	5	241	256
Benin	—	—	—	—	—	—
Burkina Faso	—	—	—	—	2	2
Cameroon	—	—	—	2	1	3
Central African Republic	—	—	—	—	—	—
Chad	—	—	—	—	—	—
Congo	—	—	1	—	23	24
Ethiopia	1	14	—	2	1	18
Gabon	—	—	—	—	19	19
Ghana	1	—	6	2	4	13
Ivory Coast	—	—	—	—	4	4
Kenya	—	—	3	—	—	3
Liberia	—	—	—	2	—	2
Nigeria	1	—	3	2	—	6
Somalia	—	68	—	7	—	75
South Africa	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sudan	1	—	—	1	—	2
Togo	—	—	—	—	3	3
Uganda	—	10	6	—	14	30
Zaire	1	—	6	19	317	343

We have also taken this opportunity to bring the magistrates courts rules into line with the provisions of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 in respect of the tools and implements of trade which bailiffs may seize where a court authorises distress.

Asylum Applications

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on decisions made since December 1991 on applications for asylum in the United Kingdom.

On 1 December 1991 new arrangements were introduced to record, manually, decisions on asylum applications. Under these arrangements decisions are counted at the time they are made in the asylum and special cases divison. This provides a more up-to-date count of decisions than the information previously available, which is subject to delays in recording on the computer system.Figures for December 1991 and January and February 1992, produced under these new arrangements are given in the tables.

	Granted Asylum	Granted Exceptional leave	Refused Asylum and Exceptional leave	Refused on third country grounds ³	Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration rules ⁴	Total decisions
Others	—	1	—	—	139	140
Total	5	95	33	42	768	943
Asia
Bangladesh	—	3	6	—	—	9
China	—	4	1	—	—	5
India	—	45	38	11	6	100
Pakistan	—	27	31	—	7	65
Sri Lanka	—	38	—	1	—	39
Others	4	35	—	—	—	39
Total	4	152	76	12	13	257
Grand Total	38	324	136	79	784	1,361
¹ Excluding dependants.
² Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same time period.
³ Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country.
⁴ For failure to provide evidence within a reasonable period to support the claim. The majority of these refusals were on grounds of failure to respond to two invitations to interview.

Decisions ^{1 2} made in January 1992 on applications for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality
	Granted Asylum	Granted Exceptional leave	Refused Asylum and exceptional leave	Refused on third country grounds ³	Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration rules ⁴	Total decisions
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria	—	—	1	—	—	1
Colombia	—	—	—	—	—	—
Czechoslovakia	—	—	—	—	—	—
Poland	—	—	—	—	—	—
Romania	—	7	1	—	—	8
Turkey	8	27	9	9	10	63
USSR	—	—	—	—	—	—
Yugoslavia	—	—	—	—	—	—
Others	1	1	1	9	—	12
Total	9	35	12	18	10	84
Middle East
Iran	3	18	1	—	—	22
Iraq	9	18	—	—	—	27
Lebanon	—	6	2	4	—	12
Others	3	9	4	5	1	22
Total	15	51	7	9	1	83
Africa
Angola	—	—	16	—	299	315
Benin	—	—	—	—	47	47
Burkina Faso	—	—	1	—	20	21
Cameroon	—	—	—	—	90	90
Central African Republic	—	—	—	—	4	4
Chad	—	—	1	—	21	22
Congo	—	—	—	—	24	24
Ethiopia	3	16	1	3	10	33
Gabon	—	—	—	—	62	62
Ghana	—	2	19	—	37	58
Ivory Coast	—	—	—	—	147	147
Kenya	—	—	—	—	—	—
Liberia	—	—	—	—	2	2
Nigeria	—	—	5	2	5	12
Somalia	1	189	—	4	21	215
South Africa	—	—	1	—	1	2
Sudan	10	3	—	—	5	18
Togo	—	—	—	1	42	43
Uganda	2	3	4	—	45	54
Zaire	—	1	4	11	252	268
Others	—	—	6	—	16	22
Total	16	214	58	21	1,150	1,459

	Granted Asylum	Granted Exceptional leave	Refusd Asylum and exceptional leave	Refused on third country grounds ³	Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration rules ⁴	Total decisions
Asia
Bangladesh	—	3	9	—	7	19
China	—	—	—	—	—	—
India	—	62	40	8	17	127
Pakistan	1	46	30	2	25	104
Sri Lanka	1	76	—	1	1	79
Others	1	42	1	1	—	45
Total	3	229	80	12	50	374
Grand Total	43	529	157	60	1,211	2,000
¹ Excluding dependants.
² Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same time period.
³ Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country.
⁴ For failure to provide evidence within a reasonable period to support the claim. The majority of these refusals were on grounds of failure to respond to two invitations to interview.

Decisions ^{1 2} made in February 1992 on applications for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality
	Granted Asylum	Granted Exceptional leave	Refused Asylum and exceptional leave	Refused on third country grounds ³	Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration rules ⁴	Total decisions
Europe and Americas
Bulgaria	—	—	—	—	1	1
Colombia	—	—	2	—	—	2
Czechoslovakia	—	—	—	—	—	—
Poland	—	—	—	—	2	2
Romania	—	—	2	2	1	5
Turkey	15	24	10	4	18	71
USSR	—	—	—	—	—	—
Yugoslavia	—	—	—	6	—	6
Others	—	—	—	—	3	3
Total	15	24	14	12	25	90
Middle East
Iran	4	17	3	—	—	24
Iraq	9	17	2	1	3	32
Lebanon	—	15	1	1	2	19
Others	3	5	4	2	3	17
Total	16	54	10	4	8	92
Africa
Angola	—	—	1	—	203	204
Benin	—	—	—	—	47	47
Burkina Faso	—	—	—	—	27	27
Cameroon	—	—	—	—	82	82
Central African Republic	—	—	—	—	7	7
Chad	—	—	—	—	22	22
Congo	—	—	—	—	20	20
Ethiopia	—	4	1	3	16	24
Gabon	—	—	—	—	2	2
Ghana	1	3	20	1	44	69
Ivory Coast	—	—	1	—	106	107
Kenya	—	—	1	—	2	3
Liberia	—	—	—	—	1	1
Nigeria	—	—	2	—	5	7
Somalia	6	122	—	5	17	150
South Africa	—	—	—	—	1	1
Sudan	8		—	—	7	18
Togo	—	—	—	—	40	40
Uganda	—	1	—	—	2	3
Zaire	1	—	—	10	333	344
Others	—	—	1	—	22	23
Total	16	133	27	19	1,006	1,201
Asia
Bangladesh	1	2	8	—	18	29
China	—	—	—	—	—	—
India	—	59	99	7	23	188

	Granted Asylum	Granted Exceptional leave	Refused Asylum and exceptional leave	Refused on third country grounds ³	Refused under paragraph 101 of Immigration rules⁴	Total decisions
Pakistan	—	63	53	1	31	148
Sri Lanka	4	61	—	1	6	72
Others	4	20	1	—	2	27
Total	9	205	161	9	80	464
Grand Total	56	416	212	44	1,119	1,847
¹ Excluding dependants.
² Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same time period.
³ Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from a safe third country.
⁴ For failure to provide evidence within a reasonable period to support the claim. The majority of these refusals were on grounds of failure to respond to two invitations to interview.

National Finance

Interest Rates

18.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the business community on the impact which the current level of interest rates are having on its performance.

I have received a number of such representations.

Public Debt

19.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is Britain's public debt as a proportion of national income; and what are the figures for other EC countries.

The ratio of general Government gross debt to gross domestic product is lower in the United Kingdom than any other country in the European Community, except Luxembourg.

Inflation

20.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest assessment of the prospects for retail price inflation.

24.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest forecast of United Kingdom inflation in 1992.

The Budget forecast is for RPI inflation to be down to 334 per cent. in the fourth quarter of 1992 and 314 per cent. by mid-1993.

23.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of (a) United Kingdom inflation and (b) European Community average inflation in the third quarter of 1992.

In the Financial Statement and Budget Report my right hon. Friend forecast United Kingdom inflation of 334 per cent. in the final quarter of 1992. We have made no forecast of EC inflation but in January 1992 it was 4.7 per cent.

Taxation

21.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about his proposals for income tax.

The reductions in income tax I announced in the Budget on Tuesday have been widely welcomed.

26.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the overall tax burden for a married couple, both working on 100 per cent. of male average earnings in 1978–79; and what it was in 1990–91.

Over this period, the couple's real take-home pay would have risen by 31 per cent. Their overall tax burden is estimated to have risen from 3612; to 3812 per cent.

28.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the basic rate of income tax.

I have received a large number of representations on the basic rate of income tax reflecting a variety of views.

29.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many wage earners would benefit from a 1p cut in income tax.

Following the introduction of a 20p lower rate of tax which will now be the marginal rate of tax for almost 4 million individuals, a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax would benefit about 21 million individuals in 1992–93.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the change in revenue to the Exchequer from taxation over the remainder of the current financial year as a result of the proposals announced in his Budget.

The Budget measures will have a negligible effect on receipts in 1991–92.

Savings

22.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what further proposals he has regarding the taxation of savings.

On Tuesday, we doubled the PEP limits for qualifying unit and investment trusts. We intend to continue reducing taxes on savings and giving incentives on a wider range of investments.

Football Stadiums

25.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to fund the Football Stadia Advisory Design Council.

No.

Earnings Statistics

27.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the take-home pay of a married man with two children on average earnings increased (a) between 1974 and 1979 and (b) between 1979 and 1992.

A man on average male earnings with a wife and two children has enjoyed a 35 per cent. real increase in take home pay since 1978–79. The increase between 1973–74 and 1978–79 was a mere 1 per cent.

Business Investment

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of gross domestic product at current prices business investment in current prices represented in 1979 and in the fourth quarter of 1991.

The figures requested are 14.3 per cent. and 12 per cent. In volume terms, the share of business investment in GDP rose from 12¾ per cent. in 1979 to 14¼ per cent. in 1991.

Leisure Courses

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance he issues on the definition of leisure courses on which VAT is chargeable.

Customs and Excise have issued guidance on the VAT liability of supplies of education, and courses in sporting or recreational activities, in VAT leaflet 701/30–education. Additional guidelines for local authorities and higher education institutions have also been made available.

Gross Domestic Product

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer by how much the gross domestic product has increased in real terms since 1979.

Gross domestic product at constant 1985 factor cost increased by 23 per cent. between 1979 and 1991.

Ozone Depletion

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to introduce fiscal measures to prohibit the sale and export of ozone-depleting substances.

No. We have urged other countries to ratify the London amendment to the Montreal protocol. We are committed to phasing out the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances by the end of 1995 and are urging the Community to adopt this target.

Vat Control Staff

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many value added tax control staff will lose their jobs up to 1 January 1993.

Each year the reassessment of VAT visiting priorities results in the redeployment of staff engaged in VAT control work, but it is Customs' intention that no one will lose their job as a result.

Stamp Duty

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases were brought by the Inland Revenue involving evasion of house purchase stamp duty in each year since 1983; and in how many cases convictions were secured.

No such cases have been brought by the Inland Revenue.

Widowers' Benefits

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women have been disallowed tax relief in respect of the facility for women teachers to cover pre-6 April 1988 service for widowers' benefits.

The information requested is not available. Teachers, both men and women, may contribute up to 15 per cent. of their earnings to the teachers' superannuation scheme with the benefit of tax reliefs.

Value Added Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the amount of uncollected VAT in each constituency in England and Wales.

Customs do not maintain statistics for individual constituencies or countries within the United Kingdom. Information on average daily arrears of value added tax on the basis of financial years, can be found in "Volume 12: Classes XVIII to XIX" of the 1990–91 appropriate accounts, pages vii and xiii respectively. A copy is available in the House of Commons Library.

Ec Budget

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the value for money received from the European Community budget; and if he will make a statement.

I have written to Commissioner Schmidhuber to underline the importance which the United Kingdom attaches to the responsibilities of the Commission for the guidance principles of Community expenditure: economy and cost-effectiveness. These principles were endorsed at Maastricht.The recent Court of Auditors' report on the 1990 Community budget-Official Journal C324, volume 34 –shows that there is still a great deal of progress to be made in order to ensure that the taxpayer receives value for money even from current levels of spending. Sound financial management is of continuing importance; but assumes a particular relevance now in view of the Commission's recent proposals for Community expenditure over the five years after 1992. The need for progress bears directly upon the three major areas of Community spending in which the Commission's proposals envisage significant growth: the structural funds, external aid, and research and development. However, as the Court of Auditors emphasises, the principles of sound financial management are applicable generally to the Community's expenditure.The Maastricht treaty has consequences for the quality of Community expenditure, by placing responsibility for sound financial management firmly upon the Commission. Finance Ministers will discuss the Court of Auditors' report next Monday; and we shall be looking for clear evidence that the Commission is acting upon the criticisms of the court.I have placed copies of my letter to Commissioner Schmidhuber in the Library of the House, together with copies of the similar letters which I have written to colleagues on the Economic and Finance Council and to the chairman of the European Parliament's committee on budgetary control.

Bcci

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement on the fourth report from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee of the current Session on "Banking Supervision and BCCI" (HC 177).

The Government will consider the Committee's comments and recommendations carefully. The Government will, however, await Lord Justice Bingham's report on BCCI before reaching any conclusions on the Committee's recommendations.In response to the Committee's report, the Bank of England issued a statement yesterday, a copy of which I am placing in the Library.

Education And Science

Lip Reading

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make it his policy to ensure that lip reading classes are available as a right to all who need them.

It is not for the Government to prescribe which form of communication should be employed in schools where there are pupils with hearing impairments. Such decisions are best made locally by the governing bodies of individual schools.

Special Needs

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what importance he places on the personal and social development of children with special educational needs.

Schools have an important part to play in the personal and social development of all their pupils. Section 1 of the Education Reform Act 1988 requires that the curriculum of every maintained school should

"promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of its pupils and of society"

and prepare pupils for the

"opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life".

That applies equally to pupils with special educational needs, although there is provision for their curriculum to be considered on an individual basis where necessary. This might include more personal and social education where that is in their best interests and in keeping with the requirement that they receive a broad and balanced curriculum.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what arrangements are made for the procedures for, and personal teaching of, statemented pupils attending grant-maintained schools; on what basis their allocated personal teachers are supplied and paid; and what are the statutory responsibilities of local education authorities for such pupils.

Local education authorities have a statutory duty to arrange the special educational provision specified in the statements they issue for all children in their area. Arrangements will vary to meet an individual pupil's statement. School governors, including GM school governors, have parallel statutory duties to provide for their registered pupils with statements.

Degrees (Validation)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if the institutions previously accredited by the Council for National Academic Awards and the students registered with the CNAA for degrees will be transferred without interruption to other validating bodies by the date of closure of the CNAA without any increase in fees payable by institutions or students and under the same conditions.

As indicated in my answer of 5 March, Official Report, column 250, we remain confident that new validation arrangements for institutions without degree awarding powers will be in place for the academic year 1992–93, with no further fee charged to students for whom the full registration fee has already been paid to the CNAA in a previous year. The validation fee to be paid by new students will be determined, following consultations set out in the Department's letter of 15 January 1992 to higher education institutions.

London Regional Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the budget and forecast actual expenditure for 1991–92 and 1992–93 of his Department's London regional office.

With the exception of HM inspectorate's local offices, the Department does not have a regional structure. The Department's headquarters functions are undertaken jointly in its London and Darlington offices. In 1991–92 the Department's administration budget excluding that for HMI local offices, is £102 million and the forecast outturn £100 million. The planned budget for 1992–93 is £104 million on the same basis.

Departmental Programmes

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science since 1979, what has been the annual expenditure on (a) the professional industrial commercial updating programme—PICKUP—and (b) REPLAN, expressed (i) in cash terms, (ii) in constant 1991 prices and (iii) as a figure which indicates the amount of EC funding included in each programme.

The annual expenditure on the Department's PICKUP and REPLAN programmes in England since they began in 1982 and 1984 respectively is given in the table. Information on EC funding to individual further and higher education institutions which may have been used to support their PICKUP or REPLAN type activities is not held centrally by the Department.

	PICKUP programme		REPLAN programme
	Cash £ million	1991–92 prices £ million	Cash £ million	1991–92 prices £ million
1982–83	0.3	0–5	—	—
1983–84	1.0	1.6	—	—
1984–85	2.3	3.5	0.4	0.6
1985–86	5.6	8.1	2.4	3.5
1986–87	6.7	9.4	4.0	5.6
1987–88	5.9	7.8	4.5	6.0
1988–89	5.3	6.6	3.2	4.0
1989–90	6.1	7.1	1.8	2.1
1990–91	5.5	5.9	1.5	1.6
¹1991–92	6.8	6.8	0.6	0.6
¹ Estimates.

Notes to table:

1. The PICKUP figures include the salary costs of PICKUP regional offices.

2. They exclude funding by the Universities Funding Council (and its predecessor, the UGC) and the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (and its predecessor, the NAB) to meet the start-up costs of developing vocational continuing education: figures are not available on a basis that allows for a comparison over time or which is consistent with figures for the directly DES funded programme. It is estimated that the UFC will provide some £10 million to support the development of PICKUP provision in England in academic year 1991–92; and the PCFC will provide some £5 million in financial year 1991–92.

3. The figures include both the local education authority and the

Name	Kingshurst CTC Solihull	Emmanuel College Tyneside	Dixons CTC Bradford	Leigh CTC Dartford	Britschool CCTA Croydon	Djanogly CTC Nottingham	Macmillan College Teeside
Site	Kingshurst School site	St. John-Fisher School site	Newby Square, Bradford	Downs School site	Site of Selhurst Tertiary Centre	Sherwood Rise, Nottingham	St. Michael RC School, Middlesbrough
LEA	Solihull	Gateshead	Bradford	Kent	Croydon	Nottinghamshire	Cleveland
Opening dates	1988	1990	1990	1990	1991	1989	1989
Planned number of pupils	1,100	900	980	1,250	720	1,000	1,100
Total capital cost £ million	9.71	8.61	9.16	8.95	10.00	9.75	8.45
Exchequer contribution £ million	7.60	6.89	7.33	7.16	8.00	8.20	6.74
Sponsors' contribution
(i) committed¹ £ million	2.11	1.72	1.83	1.79	2.00	1.56	1.71
(ii) confirmed £ million	2.89	1.60	2.86	1.52	2.25	1.89	1.51
Principal sponsors	Hanson Trust	Peter Vardy	Dixons pic, Mr. Hakim Wong	Sir Geoffrey Leigh	The British Record Industry Trust	Mr. Harry Djanogly	BAT Industries plc
Contracts awarded to sponsors	None	Building contract Laings	None	None	None	None	None
School closure involved	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Has a ballot of parents been held and with what result	No	No	No	¹No	No	No	No
¹ Committed sponsorship contributions represent agreed percentage contributions to CTC capital cash limits as secured in formal funding agreements with CTCs.
² Public consultations were held by Kent on its proposals to close the Downs School. One statutory objection containing 62 signatures was made to the section 12 proposal subsequently published.

Name	Harris CTC Norwood	Bacon's College Bermondsey	Haberdashers' CTC New Cross	Brook CTC Corby	Landau Forte College Derby	Thomas Telford School Telford	ADT College Wandsworth	Kingswood CTC Bristol
Site	Sylvan School site Croydon	Bacon's School site Southwark	Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham School site	Great Oakley Corby	Wood Street Derby	Old Park Telford	Mayfield School	Kingswood Bristol
LEA	Croydon	Southwark	Lewisham	Northants	Derbyshire	Shropshire	Wandsworth	Avon
Opening dates	1990	1991	1991	1991	1992	1991	1991	1993
Planned number of pupils	1,100	1,100	1,100	900	900	1,000	1,000	900
Total capital cost £ million	8.66	15.47	9.15	10.19	10.20	10.75	11.32	To be determined

DES shares of expenditure on PICKUP and REPLAN supported by Education Support Grants, In-service Teacher Training Grants, LEA Training grants (LEATGS) and Grants for Education Support and Training (GEST).

Croydon College Of Art And Technology

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his prior approval was required of Croydon college of art and technology's establishment of a further education employers' forum; and what sums of money have been spent on this venture.

Neither the establishment of an employer's forum nor expenditure in respect of it would require the approval of my right hon. and learned Friend. The costs are a matter for those involved.

City Technology Colleges

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will update the table given in his answer to the hon. Member for Blackburn of 9 May 1991, Official Report, columns 562–64, giving the latest available information in respect of each city technology college or proposed and planned city technology college.

The table covers announced CTCs:

Name	Harris CTC Norwood	Bacon's College Bermondsey	Haberdashers' CTC New Cross	Brook CTC Corby	Landau Forte College Derby	Thomas Telford School Telford	ADT College Wandsworth	Kingswood CTC Bristol
Site	Sylvan School site Croydon	Bacon's School site Southwark	Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham School site	Great Oakley Corby	Wood Street Derby	Old Park Telford	Mayfield School	Kingswood Bristol
LEA	Croydon	Southwark	Lewisham	Northants	Derbyshire	Shropshire	Wandsworth	Avon
Exchequer contribution £ million	6.93	13.87	5.70	8.15	8.16	8.40	9.06	Not more than 80 per cent. of cost
Sponsors' contribution
(i) committed¹ £ million	1.73	¹1.60	3.45	2.04	2.04	2.35	2.26	At least 20 per cent, of cost
(ii) confirmed £ million	1.71	³1.00	⁴4.45	2.04	2.05	2.35	2.26	At least 20 per cent. of cost
Principal sponsors	Philip and Pauline Harris Charitable Trust	Philip and Pauline Harris Charitable Trust and Southwark Diocesan Board of Education	Haberdashers' Company as Trustees of Robert Aske Charity	Mr. Hugh de Capell Brooke	The Landau Foundation Forte plc	The Mercers Tarmac plc	ADT plc	Wolfson Foundation and Cable and Wireless plc
Contracts awarded to sponsors	None	None	None	None	None	None	None	None
School closure involved	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Has a ballot of parents been held and with what result	Yes Majority Against	No	Yes Majority in Favour	No	⁵No	⁵No	⁵No	⁵No
¹ Committed sponsorship contributions represent agreed percentage contributions to CTC capital cash limits as secured in formal funding agreements with CTCs.
² The sponsors commitment is stated net of the proceeds of sale of the site of the former school: the Exchequer contribution will be reduced by the amount of the proceeds of sale.
³ The confirmed contribution is net of the proceeds of sale of the former school site and of contributions to community provision and the chapel.
⁴ This figure includes the donation of the present site, which has been valued at £3.445 million.
⁵ In each case, LEA, local schools and other interests consulted on proposals to establish CTC.

Industrial Relations

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what restrictions exist on the use of Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council funds for the creation of companies to deal with further education industrial relations.

The activities eligible for funding by the PCFC are set out in section 132 (5) of the Education Reform Act 1988.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Incomes

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the level of income of those people employed in the agriculture sector in the United Kingdom and each other state of the European Community in each of the years since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

Data on incomes for people employed in agriculture in each member state of the Community are not readily available. Some information on the hourly earnings of regular whole time agricultural workers is contained in the Eurostat publication "Earnings in Agriculture".

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the level of income for those people employed in the agriculture sector in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for the United Kingdom as a whole, for each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The average weekly earnings for regular whole-time male agricultural workers aged 20 and over is given in the table.

Agricultural workers average weekly earnings for regular whole time men (aged 20 years and over)
Year	England	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland	United Kingdom
1979	—72.04—		72.02	57.46	71.90
1980	—86.48—		85.09	69.15	85.95
1981	97.21	93.02	93.40	74.41	96.29
1982	106.99	97.72	100.32	80.10	105.44
1983	118.37	106.65	112.25	88.41	116.57
1984	124.59	112.31	116.9	92.62	122.59
1985	136.50	124.16	126.18	99.74	134.10
1986	143.50	123.07	133.43	106.90	140.80
1987	150.95	131.89	137.86	110.26	148.00
1988	158.19	139.01	146.42	117.94	155.10
1989	170.81	147.83	156.99	126.85	167.40
1990	190.23	161.59	174.39	134.72	186.10
¹1991	—206.23—		191.21	151.13	202.20
¹ Forecast.

Wild Birds

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the latest average mortality rate among wild birds which are imported into the United Kingdom; and whether he has set a target rate for mortalities for wild caught birds (a) in transit and (b) in quarantine.

The latest statistics on mortality in imported captive birds, relating to imports in 1990, were published on 27 February and copies have been placed in the Library of the House. Average mortality, in transport and quarantine combined, was 12.3 per cent. compared with 12.7 per cent. in 1989 and 13.7 per cent. in 1988.Our objective is to reduce mortalities to the lowest possible level. As explained in the reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Mitchell) on 27 February, the Government are taking vigorous action to address this issue in international negotiations.

Contribution of agriculture to gross domestic product at factor cost by member state (percentages)
Year	Ireland	Denmark	Greece	West Germany	France	Italy	Netherlands	Belgium	Luxembourg	United Kingdom	Spain	Portugal
1979	13.3	4.7	15.3	2.1	4.8	7.5	3.8	2.4	2.8	2.2	n.a.	n.a.
1980	11.0	4.8	16.3	1.9	4.0	7.0	3.6	2.3	2.6	2.1	n.a.	n.a.
1981	11.0	5.1	16.8	1.9	3.9	6.4	4.3	2.5	2.7	2.2	n.a.	n.a.
1982	11.2	5.5	17.9	2.2	4.3	6.3	4.5	2.6	3.5	2.3	n.a.	n.a.
1983	11.5	4.7	16.3	1.8	4.0	6.6	4.4	2.8	3.0	2.0	n.a.	n.a.
1984	11.8	5.5	16.8	2.0	4.0	6.1	4.5	2.7	2.7	2.2	5.7	n.a.
1985	10.2	5.0	16.6	1.8	3.7	5.0	4.2	2.5	2.6	1.8	6.1	n.a.
1986	9.7	5.1	14.4	2.0	3.9	5.2	4.7	2.6	2.7	1.8	5.6	n.a.
1987	10.3	4.0	15.6	1.5	3.5	4.5	4.1	2.2	2.4	1.6	5.2	6.4
1988	10.9	3.8	16.4	1.6	3.7	4.1	4.2	2.2	2.3	1.4	5.1	5.2
1989	10.5	4.2	16.5	1.7	3.3	4.0	4.6	2.4	2.4	1.5	4.7	5.5

Source: Commission of the European Communities—'The Agricultural Situation in the Community' Reports 1982–1991.

n.a.—Not readily available on a consistent basis.

The contribution of agriculture to United Kingdom GDP by country at factor cost (£ million and percentages).
		Agricultural Gross Product (a)
	UK GDP average estimate	United Kingdom	England	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
1979	173,181	3,800.1	3,023.3	409.5	209.6	157.7
Percentage		2.2	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.1
1980	201,017	4,227.9	3,379.8	427.6	253.6	166.9
Percentage		2.1	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.1
1981	218,755	4,773.8	3,769.9	500.3	288.4	215.2
Percentage		2.2	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.1
1982	238,231	5,415.5	4,263.4	584.1	317.1	250.9
Percentage		2.3	1.8	0.2	0.1	0.1
1983	261,083	5,170.8	4,065.5	549.7	292.4	263.2
Percentage		2.0	1.6	0.2	0.1	0.1
1984	280,052	6,155.5	4,857.5	656.3	328.8	312.9
Percentage		2.2	1.7	0.2	0.1	0.1
1985	306,716	5,446.8	4,293.0	544.6	330.5	278.7
Percentage		1.8	1.4	0.2	0.1	0.1
1986	326,182	5,848.0	4,615.9	622.9	341.6	267.6
Percentage		1.8	1.4	0.2	0.1	0.1
1987	358,297	5,911.6	4,543.8	687.9	358.1	321.8
Percentage		1.6	1.3	0.2	0.1	0.1
1988	397,292	5,716.6	4,339.6	648.4	372.0	356.6

Gnp Statistics

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will give details of the contribution agriculture has made to the gross national product of each of the member states of the European Community, expressed in cash and percentage terms, for each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will give details of the contribution agriculture in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland made to the total United Kingdom gross national product, expressed in pounds sterling and in percentage terms, for each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is contained in the tables, which show the contribution of agriculture to gross domestic product at factor cost. The national currency values which underlie the percentages shown in the first table are available in the Eurostat publications "Economic Accounts for Agriculture and Forestry", which are available in the Library of the House.As the tables show, agricultural gross value added has declined as a proportion of total gross domestic product over the period in the great majority of members states.

		Agricultural Gross Product (a)
	UK GDP average estimate	United Kingdom	England	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
Percentage		1.4	1.1	0.2	0.1	0.1
1989	436,180	6,609.0	5,052.6	760.5	386.2	409.7
Percentage		1.5	12	0.2	0.1	0.1
1990	477,599	6,877.2	5,354.9	771.9	386.0	364.4
Percentage		1.4	1.1	0.2	0.1	0.1
1991¹	n.a	6,667.4	5,215.7	712.8	381.0	357.9
Percentage	n.a	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
¹ Forecast.

(a) The agricultural gross product figures are inclusive of landlords' expenses and the produce of gardens and allotments.

Defence

Bunkers, Iraq

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the number of bunkers in Iraq built to designs supplied by Her Majesty's Government's international military services organisation to the Iraqi Government; and how many of these bunkers have survived the allied bombing offensive.

No operational bunkers were supplied or designed by IMS for Iraq. IMS supervised the construction of a reinforced testing and servicing facility between 1981 and 1987. We have no record of the precise location of this facility and so cannot say whether it survived the coalition bombing offensive.

Merchant Shipping

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) of 14 February, Official Report, column 677, when he expects to make a statement on the review of the strategic and defence role of British merchant shipping.

I have nothing to add to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Shipping on 20 November 1991, Official Report, column 156.

Army Reservists

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 6 March, Official Report, column 336, when and for what reason the annual reporting exercise for Army reservists was suspended; when it will be resumed; what was the total expenditure on payment to Army reservists attending the annual reporting exercise in the last year for which figures are available; what assessment he has made of the effects of the suspension on the quick and effective mobilisation of reservists when required; and if he will make a statement.

The annual reporting exercise for Army reservists was suspended in January. A new strategy for individual reservists is being developed as a result of the restructuring of the Army and in the light of the consultative open government document "The Future of Britain's Reserve Forces" which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence published on 5 March. As part of this work we are looking afresh at arrangements for annual reporting. Payment of grant to Army reservists reporting during 1990–91 amounted to £4,700,000. The short-term suspension of annual reporting is considered acceptable given the changes in the threat, concept and readiness requirements.

South Korea

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has been involved in discussions with British Aerospace and South Korea, to allow South Korea to build Hawk fighter/trainer aircraft, or any other aircraft, under licence in South Korea.

No.

Metallurgy

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 March, Official Report, column 290, when the expert concerned made notes of his telephone conversation; and whether copies of these notes were made.

The notes were made in June 1988; so far as can be ascertained, no copies were taken at the time.

Air-To-Air Missiles

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 3 March, Official Report, column 161, when he estimates he will achieve a satsifactory agreement with British Aerospace regarding ASRAAM; how much money will be spent on the contract in each year for the next five years; and in which year he expects to take delivery of the first ASRAAM.

Subject to the agreement of satisfactory terms, we expect to place the contract by the end of this month. The first ASRAAM is scheduled for delivery in 1998. It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-to-year basis.

Naval Vessels (Replacement)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 13 February, Official Report, column 1142, how much money will be spent in each of the next five years on the replacement programmes for HMS Fearless and Intrepid; and in which year these new vessels will come into service.

It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-to-year basis. The planned in-service date for these vessels is 1999 for the first ship and 2001 for the second.

Procurement Programmes

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he is prepared to change his policy relating to the publication of details of the future levels of expenditure per year for individual procurement programmes; and if he will make a statement.

No.

Redundancies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army personnel who have applied for redundancy have indicated that it was their intention to find rented accommodation in (a) the private sector and (b) the public sector.

Of the 4,240 Army personnel who had indicated that they would be willing to be considered for selection for redundancy, and filled in a questionnaire on their future housing intentions, 289 indicated they might, amongst other possibilities such as purchase, look to housing associations and the private sector to rent; 770 indicated they would seek local authority housing. Work has now commenced to establish the housing intentions of those 3,338 Army personnel who were notified of their selection for redundancy on 26 February.

Anti-Radar Missiles

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 19 February, Official Report, columns 331–32, in which year he will order a further batch of air-launched anti-radar missiles; how much money will be spent in each of the next five years on that order; and what information relating to this order he has supplied to the management of Marconi Defence Systems, Lucas Aerospace, Irving and Thorn EMI.

Subject to the agreement of satisfactory terms, we expect to order the further batch of air-launched anti-radar missiles this year. It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-by-year basis, nor of our contacts with individual companies about prospective defence contracts.

Lynx Helicopter

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 19 February, Official Report, columns 331–32, when he will be placing a contract to convert the Royal Navy's Lynx mark three helicopter to mark eight standard; how much this will cost; how much money will be spent in each of the next three years on this conversion; and when it will be completed.

Subject to the agreement of acceptable contractual terms, we expect to sign a contract with Westland for conversion of the first seven Lynx mark three airframes to mark eight standard by the end of this month. The work is planned to be completed within three and a half years. The overall cost will be in the order of £20 million. It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-by-year basis.

Sea King Helicopters

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 19 February Official Report, columns 331–32, when he intends to order a further six Sea King helicopters; and how much money will be spent in each of the next four years on this order.

Subject to agreement of acceptable contractual terms, we expect to sign an initial contract with Westland in April and the main contract before the end of the year. It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-by-year basis.

Recruitment

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his letter of 3 March relating to his answer of 19 December, Official Report, column 285, if he will now change his policy relating to the release of information on the recruiting levels of individual units; and if he will make a statement.

No.

Amphibious Forces

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 13 February, Official Report, column 1142, when he expects to begin the overhaul and re-equipment programme for the three landing ships logistic to begin; and how much will be spent on it in each of the next three years.

Design studies are already under way. We expect work to begin in the summer of 1993. It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-by-year basis.

Private Housing

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 March, Official Report, column 293, when he began assembling information on the private housing arrangements of Army personnel who have applied for redundancy.

December 1991.

Housing Task Force

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 5 March, Official Report, column 290, which representatives of local authority associations he hopes to meet.

Precise representation from the local authority associations is yet to be determined.

Satellites

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral statement of 19 February, Official Report, columns 331–32, how many new satellites will be ordered; in which years they will be ordered; and how much money will be spent on their procurement in each year up to 1997.

We expect to place a firm-price, incentivised order for the production, launch and in-orbit testing of two Skynet 4 stage 2 satellites in autumn 1993. This order will be subject to the outcome of project definition, the contract for which was placed with British Aerospace plc. earlier this month. We expect the total cost of this programme to be in the order of £300 million at 1991 prices. It is not our practice to publish details of our future expenditure plans on a year-by-year basis.

Prime Minister

Income Tax

To ask the Prime Minister how many letters he has received in the past six months calling for cuts in the standard rate of income tax.

I have received a number of representations on a range of taxation issues.

Ministerial Visits

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the number and purpose of each of his and his predecessor's visits to Liverpool in each of the years 1979 to 1991 inclusive.

I am making plans for a series of visits to all parts of the country and hope to include Liverpool among them. My right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) made four official visits to Liverpool.

Mirror Group Pension Funds

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 2 March, Official Report, column 31, to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, if he has now made a decision on whether to meet a deputation from the committee representing the staffs of Mirror Group Newspapers about the recovery of pension assets from the banks which are holding them; and if he will make a statment.

My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury will be writing to Mr. David Thompson, chairman of the committee representing the staff of Mirror Group Newspapers, very shortly.

Engagements

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 12 March.

This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

Northern Region

To ask the Prime Minister whether he will list the Government's achievements in the northern region since 1987; and whether he will list by Government Department the principal aid given to the northern region since 1987.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Teignbridge (Mr. Nicholls) on 16 December at columns 22–25.

Defence Establishments (Information)

To ask the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to ensure that Ministers in Departments other than the Ministry of Defence do not release information about the proposed closure of or job losses in defence establishments prior to the work force being informed of those plans by officials of the Ministry of Defence.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: It remains the policy of the Ministry of Defence that such information should be first provided to the work forces at defence establishments by management.

Trade And Industry

Pre-Fitted Plugs

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will identify any obstacles to requiring pre-fitted plugs on electrical appliances to meet the requests of disabled people including those with wasting muscle and other difficulties in manipulating appliances.

The proposed regulations will retain the approval of safety requirement of the Plugs and Sockets Etc. (Safety) Regulations 1987. It is likely that manufacturers will ordinarily choose to fit the standard design 13 amp plug because this is the type that is commonly used in the majority of households. However, provided that the plug to be fitted has the necessary approval the proposed regulations will not prevent manufacturers from fitting plugs to their appliances that are adapted for use by the disabled.Moreover the type of plug and devices which assist the disabled will still be available for people who wish to continue to fit them to their appliances.

Expo '92

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements he is making for United Kingdom representation at the Seville Expo '92; what sponsorship arises directly, or indirectly, from public funds; and if he will list the bodies and approximate expenditure in respect of each.

I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes) on 23 January, Official Report, column 293. The public expenditure was provided by £7 million from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, £7 million from the Employment Department and the balance from my Department.

Regional Assistance, Merseyside

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total amount of financial regional assistance granted to (a) manufacturing industry and (b) services on Merseyside in each of the years 1978 to 1991 inclusive.

Financial regional assistance paid to companies on Merseyside is as follows:

	Manufacturing industry	Services
1978	24.8	0.5
1979	12.2	0.5
1980	6.1	0.5
1981	5.3	0.5
1982	5.2	0.5
1983	4.5	0.5
1984	6.2	0.5
1985	7.7	0.3
1986	11.1	1.8
1987	15.5	2.1
1988	30.0	2.7
1989	21.7	3.4
1990	18.9	1.9
1991	16.0	1.9

Manufacturing industry has been defined as division 2—excluding classes 21 and 23—3 and 4 of the standard industrial classification revised 1980.

Figures include expenditure on regional selective assistance; the revised regional development grants scheme which started in November 1984 and closed to new applications in March 1988 and the regional enterprise grants scheme which started in April 1988.

Grant was also paid to companies on Merseyside under the original regional development grants scheme which closed in November 1984. Information about that scheme was never recorded on a computerised data base and therefore unless the information has already been published it is available only at disproportionate cost. Published information on the scheme included a regional analysis which showed inter alia the amount of grant paid to companies in the north-west of England. For comparison purposes grant paid to those companies with projects in the north-west from 1977–78 was:

Year	£ million
1977–78	49.8
1978–79	64.3
1979–80	58.7
1980–81	105.7
1981–82	143.4
1982–83	97.3
1983–84	83.0
1984–85	79.9
1985–86	56.5
1986–87	82.9
1987–88	22.6
1988–89	4.9
1989–90	1.7
1990–91	1.2

Services are defined as divisions 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the standard industrial classification revised 1980.

Figures include expenditure on regional selective assistance; office and service industries scheme which closed to new applications in November 1984; the revised regional development grants scheme and regional enterprise grants.

Manufacturing Costs

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the percentage increase in manufacturing costs in each of the years 1978 to 1991 inclusive.

Changes in wages and salaries per unit of output in manufacturing, and in the costs of materials and fuel purchased by manufacturing industry, are shown in the table.

Changes from previous year
	Manufacturing wages and salaries per unit of output Per cent.	Materials and fuel purchased by man-ufacturing industry Per cent.
1978	13.4	3.5
1979	15.3	13.1
1980	22.3	8.5
1981	9.2	9.2
1982	4.3	7.3
1983	0.4	6.9
1984	3.1	8.2
1985	5.8	1.1
1986	4.0	-7.6
1987	1.8	3.1
1988	2.5	3.3
1989	4.6	5.7
1990	8.8	-0.2
1991	8.2	-1.2

Ozone Depletion

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department was represented at the conference on degreasing substances that deplete the ozone layer, held on 15 October 1991 in Birmingham; and if he will make a statement.

No, but a representative of the Department of the Environment, with whom my Department works closely on ozone depleting substances, did attend.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the United Kingdom consumption and production figures for hydrochlora-fluorocarbons for each year from 1986 to 1991.

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the regulatory measures that exist to prohibit the advertising, sale and export of ozone depleting substances; and whether he has any plans to strengthen or introduce such measures.

There are no regulatory measures to prohibit the advertising of ozone depleting substances. The production, consumption and export to non-parties of these substances is regulated by the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer and, in the European Community, by EC regulation 594/91.The Montreal protocol is due to be reviewed in November 1992 and it is likely that dates for phase out of these substances will be brought forward.

Aircraft Building, South Korea

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has been involved in discussions with British Aerospace and South Korea, to allow South Korea to build Hawk fighter/trainer aircraft, or any other aircraft, under licence in South Korea.

My Department has not been involved in discussions with British Aerospace and South Korea on the building of any aircraft under licence in South Korea.

Expenditure, London

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the budget and forecast actual expenditure for 1991–92 and 1992–93 of (a) his Department's London region office and (b) the London city action team.

(a) For the south-east regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry, which is the London region office, the estimated expenditure for the running costs for 1991–92 is £3.1 million compared with a budget of £3.3 million. For 1992–93 the budgeted expenditure for running costs is £3.6 million.

(b) The running costs of the London city action team together with the special budget for projects are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for the Environment.

Rover Group

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Government will take in the light of the European Commission's announcement that it is initiating new proceedings against the United Kingdom to secure the repayment of £44.4 million of aid in connection with the sale of Rover Group to British Aerospace.

The European Commission has formally notified the United Kingdom that it is initiating the procedure in article 93(2) of the treaty in respect of the repayment of £44.4 million of state aid provided as part of the sale of the Rover Group. This follows the recent judgement of the European Court of Justice annulling an earlier Commission decision of 17 July 1990 requiring the Government to recover this sum from British Aerospace and Rover. I can confirm that the Government will abide by and implement a new Commission decision resulting from the new procedure, in accordance with our Community obligations.

Wales

Heartbeat Wales

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 2 March, Official Report, column 34, if he will give the names of the evaluation advisory group from within the United Kingdom with reference to Heartbeat Wales; and if he will publish their terms of reference.

Due to the complexities of analysing a community-based heart disease prevention programme, Heartbeat Wales, when established in 1985 sought advice on the development of the evaluation strategy for the programme from a wide range of people including Professor Geoffrey Rose, Professor Andrew Henderson, Professor Michael Marmot, Dr. Tom Meade, Professor Michael Oliver, Dr. Edward Coles and Dr. George Davey-Smith. Since then, the evaluation strategy has been subject to scientific peer review by Professor David Murray and Professor Bosse Haglund. Advice has also been sought from the principal researchers of other community-based heart disease prevention programmes, such as Professors Henry Blackburn, John Farquhar and Craig Lefebvre.

Data from the programme are currently being independently analysed at the school of public health, university of Sydney and the school of psychology, university of Wales college, Cardiff. Papers from the programme are reviewed prior to publication by international experts such as Professor Leif Aaro and Cheryl Perry and Drs. Les Irwig and Bob Spassof, as well as by normal academic publishing procedures which includes peer review.

In 1987, the Heartbeat Wales programme was incorporated into the work of the Health Promotion Authority for Wales which also has a remit to develop initiatives in other areas such as cancer risk reduction and healthy sexuality. Within this broader remit, the authority identified a group of researchers known as the evaluation advisory group to support its research work. The remit of this group is

"to act as a resource for the Authority, providing scientific and technical advice concerning its research and evaluation strategies and individual studies".

Advice and support is sought from individual experts as appropriate to need. These experts include Professor Ray Hodgson, Dr. Beverley Littlepage, Mr. Robert Anderson, Dr. Gerald Hastings, Professor Geoffrey Rose, Professor Don Nutbeam, Dr. Ceri Phillips, Dr. Chris Skinner, Mr. Trefor Williams, Beaufort Research Ltd and Research and Marketing Ltd. Many other experts have been consulted informally, including the World Health Organisation which has recently designated the Health Promotion Authority for Wales, together with the university of Wales college of medicine institute for health promotion, as a joint collaborating centre, the only one of its kind in the United Kingdom and Europe.

United Nations Conference On Environment And Development

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what contribution is being made by his Department to the United Kingdom policy proposals to be put forward to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is directly involved in the consideration of United Kingdom policy proposals to be put forward at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June. Welsh Office officials are also being consulted on, and are making an appropriate contribution to, the Government's preparations for the conference.

Welsh Language Examinations

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish a table in the Official Report to show the number of students who passed Welsh language at (a) O-level or GCSE and (b) A-level in 1989,1990 and 1991.

The numbers of students who achieved grade A to G at GCSE or grades A to Eat A-level in the Welsh language in 1989, 1990 and 1991 are shown in the table¹:

	1989	1990	1991
GCSE	8,673	8,337	8,740
A-level	541	638	733
¹ Centres in Wales.

Source: Welsh Joint Education Committee

Planning Inspectorate Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in establishing a joint planning inspectorate agency for England and Wales under the "next steps" initiative.

I am pleased to say that the planning inspectorate will be launched as an executive agency in the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office on 1 April 1992. The agency will have a distinct Welsh team to deal with planning inspectorate work in Wales.A framework document setting out the organisational, financial and management structure of the agency will be published on 1 April. The Welsh Office will pay for the service provided by the agency in Wales.Key objectives for the agency will be to preserve the impartiality and quality of the inspectors' work while seeking to improve efficiency. A range of performance targets which will measure the efficiency and value-for-money of the service in Wales will be set out in the business plan for 1992–93.The agency's key performance targets in Wales will be:

Timeliness

Eighty per cent. of planning appeals by written representation to be decided within 19 weeks and to provide an inspector for local plan inquiries on request within six months of the end of the objection period;

Volume

To determine 1,340 planning and enforcement appeals subject to intake not declining;

In addition the activities of the inspectorate in Wales will contribute to the achievement of the following joint England and Wales targets:

Financial

Unit costs (average) of these appeals not to exceed £706 per case;

Efficiency

Generate a 2 per cent. efficiency improvement in the use of gross running costs compared with 1991–92;

Quality

High Court appeals and/or other justified complaints allowed against Inspectors' decisions not to exceed 1 per cent. of intake;

Information and guidance

To complete a customer survey by 31 December 1992.

Separate timeliness and volume targets for the agency's work in England are being announced today by my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning.

Land Drainage

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 28 January, Official Report, column 534, what consultations he has had with the Cardiff Bay development corporation on feasibility studies into the remedial land drainage measures required in residential areas affected by the proposed Cardiff Bay barrage; and if he will make a statement.

I do not expect my personal involvement in the technical issue of remedial drainage measures to extend beyond my acceptance in principle of the concept. The development corporation is pursuing this matter with its consultants and will keep my officials informed of developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the Cardiff Bay development corporation concerning the feasibility study being undertaken into de-watering wells as a remedial measure against groundwater rise in the areas affected by the proposed Cardiff Bay barrage; when he expects to receive a copy of the initial study report; when he expects the terms of reference for the full-scale study to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

My officials have discussed the terms of reference for the feasibility study with officers of the development corporation. I understand that initial computer modelling has been carried out, which will inform the further feasibility work now in hand. The report of the feasibility study is expected next month. Whether further work will be carried out depends on consideration of that report.

Hackney Carriage Licences

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information he has on (a) the number of hackney carriage licences issued by each district council, (b) the ratio per head of population in each and (c) the charge made by each district for the licence and associated annual charges.

This information is not collected centrally.

Wentloog Wading Birds

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Countryside Council for Wales, the Cardiff Bay development corporation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds regarding the search for an alternative site to the proposed Wentloog wading birds feeding lagoon.

My officials have held meetings with officers of the Countryside Council for Wales, Cardiff Bay development corporation and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to discuss mitigation measures for the birds which will be displaced from Cardiff bay by the construction of the barrage. These discussions are continuing.

Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish his estimate of the total number of discounts for (a) single person households and (b) other eligible groups he expects to be available under his council tax proposals.

It will be for billing authorities to decide which households qualify for discounts under the council tax. The Welsh intercensal survey estimated that in 1986 there were about 256,000 single-adult households in Wales. The other information requested by the hon. Gentleman could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the numbers of single people with incomes of over £40,000 per annum who will qualify for a 25 per cent. discount under his council tax proposals.

I have made no estimate of the number of single people with income over £40,000 per annum who will qualify for a 25 per cent. discount under the council tax.

Ambulance Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give for each year since 1987 and for each ambulance authority the number of complaints lodged.

This information is not held centrally.

Waiting List Initiative

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent financial provision he has made for the expenditure of waiting list initiative money on long waiting-list elective surgery cases at the Prince of Wales orthopaedic hospital, Rhydlafar near Cardiff; what arrangements he has made with the South Glamorgan health authority; and what the comparable follow-on arrangements will be for the same category of cases after 1 April.

The total level of funding made available in 1991–92 for the treatment centre at the Prince of Wales hospital, Rhydlafar is £654,777. This will enable a total of 250 operations to be performed. Under the waiting times initiative a further 40 operations have been funded at a cost of £64,000. The treatment centres will continue to be centrally funded in 1992–93 and district health authorities will shortly be informed of the arrangements.

Signposts

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he intends to erect signposts, indicating the way to the Pembrokeshire national park, on the western end of the M4, in line with similar signposting for English National Parks.

The Pembrokeshire Coast national park covers several geographical areas. This presents problems as to where drivers should be directed after leaving the M4.

Watershed Training Centre

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 28 January, Official Report, column 536, what proposals he has for the allocation of expenditure on the Cardiff Bay development corporation watershed training centre in 1992–93; when he expects further details of his 1992–93 spending proposals to be agreed with the training and enterprise councils; and when he expects to lay such details before the House.

My Department has no plans for direct expenditure on the proposed Watershed project. Details of the training and enterprise councils 1992–93 spending proposals are in the final states of preparation and my officials anticipate allocating funds shortly. Details of provision for training programmes for 1992–93 have been presented to Parliament in the Welsh Office departmental report, Cm 1916.

Children's Ent Hospital, Cardiff

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the South Glamorgan health authority regarding the alteration of the date of closure of the children's ear, nose and throat hospital, Cowbridge road west, Ely, Cardiff; and if he will make a statement.

None.

Emergency Calls (Wales)

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give, for 1987 and 1991, and for each ambulance service in Wales, the percentage of emergency calls responded to within (a) seven to eight minutes and (b) 14 to20 minutes.

The available information is shown in the table:

	1987–88¹per cent. response time within		1990–91 per cent. response time within
	0–8 minutes	0–20 minutes	0–8 minutes	0–20 minutes
Clwyd	62	99	59	96
East Dyfed	54	91	54	92
Gwent	61	98	50	100
Gwynedd	54	95	54	94
Mid Glamorgan	48	98	47	82
Pembrokeshire	33	68	37	92
Powys	46	86	44	82
South Glamorgan	66	99	56	95
West Glamorgan	55	94	64	97
Wales	83	99	83	97
¹ Data not available prior to 1987–88.

Higher Education Funding Council

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce the membership of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

The following have accepted invitations to become members of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

Professor Sir John Cadogan CBE FRS
Mr. Alan Cox CBE
Professor Sir Sam Edwards FRS
Mr. Michael Griffith CBE
Professor Richard Griffiths
Sir Philip Jones CB
Dr. Alfred Morris
Dr. Brynley Roberts
Dr. Ann Robinson

I expect that the appointments will be for three years from the date on which the council is established.

Overseas Development

Malawi

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what ways Her Majesty's Government's policy of linking aid and good government has been applied to Malawi.

I refer the hon. Lady to the answers to the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood), on 14 February 1992, at column 649; and on 2 March 1992, to my right hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Jopling), at column 2.As my right hon. and noble Friend, the Earl of Caithness said in another place on 20 November 1991, we have already cut our programme aid to Malawi from £10 million to £5 million because of lack of progress on human rights and good government. The Malawi Government are aware that we will place increasing emphasis on adherence to these principles in determining future aid levels.

Angola

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on United Kingdom aid and assistance for the Angolan peace process.

Following a troika visit by EC Development Ministers to Angola in February, the European Commission is preparing an assistance plan for consideration by Community representatives later this month. We shall be contributing our normal share of the cost of Community aid to be provided under the plan. Bilaterally, we have provided food and other assistance for soldiers awaiting demobilisation; we are assisting, through British non-governmental organisations, with resettlement and agricultural rehabilitation; and we expect to provide financial and technical assistance for the planned election process. Under military assistance arrangements, Britain is also helping with the formation of a new integrated army.

Food Aid

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been contributed by the United Kingdom towards the European Community's programme of food aid credit and food aid grants; how much the EC programme is in total; how much has so far been spent; and what representations have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the European Commission to prevent delays in allocating money to British companies willing to assist the former Soviet Union.

The Community programme for the former Soviet Union comprises:

(a) Technical assistance of 400 million ecu (£280 million) in 1991 which has been fully committed, and 450 million ecu (£315 million) in 1992 which is so far unallocated.

(b) Food grants of 450 million ecu (£315 million), which is mostly distributed.

(c) Loans and credits totalling 1.75 billion ecu (£1.225 billion), the first tranche of which is about to be distributed.

The United Kingdom's share of the aid and grants is some 18 per cent. The loans have made no charge on the EC budget. The United Kingdom has repeatedly pressed for both humanitarian food aid and technical assistance for the former Soviet Union to be released rapidly once a clear need has been established, and for companies in the United Kingdom to play a full role in these programmes.

Aid And Trade Provisions

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 27 November, Official Report, column 553, what further measures he proposes to take to promote the use of United Kingdom companies under the aid and trade provisions.

The aid and trade provision is currently the subject of an interdepartmental policy review.

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Eritrea

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Eritrea and the extent to which it is practicable for child refugees from that territory to be reunited with their families in safety.

Eritrea has enjoyed a very large measure of peace and stability since the collapse of the Mengistu regime in May 1991. The economy continues to suffer from drought and the consequences of the civil war, but I am not aware of any general factors which now need prevent Eritrean children refugees wishing to return, from being reunited with their families in safety. Cases of Eritrean children who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom will continue to be assessed on their individual merits.

Angola

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Angola and the extent to which it is practicable for child refugees from that country to be reunited with their families in safety.

Peace offers the potential for recovery in Angola and should be cemented by free and fair elections in September this year. But though the fighting has stopped there remains a serious law and order problem, the criminal activity plus the danger from unexploded mines still hamper the return home of people displaced by the war. The return of such people, especially children separated from their families, plus troop demobilisation are the highest priorities for international aid. We very much admire the excellent work of non-governmental organisations, such as Save the Children Fund which has a successful and expanding programme of child tracing in Angola. The European Community has just committed a substantial sum for assistance in these areas.

Ethiopia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Ethiopia and the extent to which it is practicable for child refugees from that country to be reunited with their families in safety.

Since the end of the civil war and the collapse of the Mengistu regime in May 1991, Ethiopia has enjoyed relative peace and stability. There is still some insecurity in the east of the country, but I am not aware of any special factors which need prevent Ethiopian child refugees wishing to return, from being reunited with their families in safety. Cases of the Ethiopian children who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom will continue to be assessed on their individual merits.

Uganda

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in Uganda and the extent to which it is practicable for child refugees from that country to be reunited with their families in safety.

Since President Museveni came to power in 1986, the security and economic situation has improved considerably in Uganda. Peace and stability prevail in most regions of the country, although there are still isolated pockets of rebel activity in parts of the north and north-east.Cases of Ugandan children who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom will continue to be assessed on their individual merits, but I am not aware of any general factors which need prevent Ugandan child refugees from returning to that country to be reunited with their families in safety.

European Union

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the articles in the draft treaty on European union which affect the prerogatives of the Crown of the United Kingdom.

The prerogatives of the Crown will remain unaffected by the treaty on European union.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the earliest and latest dates respectively when he expects the treaty on European union to be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office; and what arrangements he has made for members of the public to obtain, or to peruse, copies before those dates.

The treaty on European union will be published as a Command Paper as soon as it is possible to do so, and in any case before any legislation is put before the House. We expect it to be ready by the end of April. Members of the public will be able to obtain copies through Her Majesty's Stationery Office. In the meantime, copies have been made available to Parliament and may be obtained by members of the public on request.

Guyana

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions are being taken to ensure that free and fair elections are held in Guyana; and if he will make a statement.

The Guyanese Government have introduced electoral reforms and invited a team of international observers. We take every opportunity to impress upon Guyanese Ministers the importance that Her Majesty's Government attach to the holding of free and fair elections in Guyana as soon as possible.

Western Sahara

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to ensure that the United Nations sponsored referendum on the future of the western Sahara takes place; and if he will make a statement.

We remain concerned that a UN supervised referendum should be held soon and are encouraging the secretary-general in his efforts towards that goal. We have also made our views clear to the parties to the dispute.

Albania

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the holdings in the United Kingdom of gold owned by the current or former Albanian Governments so far as the affect United Kingdom-Albanian relations.

There is gold bullion and coin in the account at the Bank of England of the tripartite commission for the restitution of monetary gold. Some of this gold has been earmarked for eventual delivery to Albania.

E1 Salvador

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role is being played by representatives of Her Majesty's Government in the monitoring of the El Salvador ceasefire; and if he will make a statement.

Our ambassador in San Salvador is closely following developments in the peace process there, and is in regular contact with the chief of mission of ONUSAL, the body established by the United Nations to monitor all the elements of the peace agreement including the ceasefire.

Yugoslavia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the current position in respect of the quota arrangements for the import of wine from the six republics which formerly constituted Yugoslavia; if he will seek a review of these arrangements within the European Community in order to ensure an even-handed approach as between these republics; and if he will make a statement.

As part of the European Community's positive measures programme for those republics considered to be co-operating with the peace process, the European Community has restored to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro the quota arrangements which previously applied to Yugoslavia as a whole. The republics share a quota of 545,000 hectolitres. The extension of these privileges to Serbia or a review of these arrangements depends on Serbia's attitude to the peace process.

Health

General Practitioners (Budgets)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated over or undershoot in cash and percentage terms of general practitioner indicative prescription budgets nationally and in each FHSA area.

Copies of the Prescription Pricing Authority's breakdown of the total basic price of drugs and appliances prescribed by general practitioners in England and in each family health services authority showing monthly spend to January 1992; cumulative spend; projected annual outturn and percentage projected over/underspend, have been placed in the Library.

Eye Tests

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has been taking to monitor the pattern of referrals by general practitioners to consult ophthalmologists since the introduction of eye test charges.

Patients are referred for out-patient consultation, usually in a consultant clinic. The majority of referrals are made by GPs, although the referrals may be made by others, including self-referral by the patient. The information collected centrally on referrals is given in the table.

Consultant ophthalmology clinics National health service hospitals England
Year	Number of referrals seen	Did not attend	Total
1987–88	588,973	76,286	665,259
1988–89	574,532	82,822	657,354
1989–90	579,693	83,948	663,641
1990–91	599,520	82,626	682,146

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into the long-term effects of charges for eye tests.

Questions on sight tests have appeared in the general household survey in 1987 and in each year since 1990. In addition, figures on referrals to the hospital eye service are collected on a regular basis. These show that referrals rose by 3.6 per cent. in 1988–89, fell slightly by 1 per cent. in 1989–90 and rose again by 3.3 per cent. in 1990–91.

Blood Cholesterol Testing

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to be in a position to respond to the report of the standing medical advisory committee on blood cholesterol testing; and if he will make a statement.

The report of the Standing Medical Advisory Committee on blood cholesterol testing raised many complex issues and we decided that it should go out for public consultation. A large number of comments were received. The subject of cholesterol levels is also part of the wider issue of limiting the levels of coronary heart disease. This was one of the areas of health highlighted in the "Health of the Nation" Green Paper issued last June, on which more than 2,000 responses were received and are now being studied. A high proportion of these included comments on coronary heart disease in general and the relevance of cholesterol. In the light of these two consultation exercises, and continuing medical debate relating to cholesterol, the Government will publish their conclusions as soon as possible.

Opticians (Referrals)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of patients who were referred to doctors by opticians for each year since 1981.

This information is not collected centrally.

Barking, Havering And Brentwood Health Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 28 November 1991, Official Report, column 591, whether he can now give the total expenditure by the Barking, Havering and Brentwood health authority in the year 1990–91; and what estimate he has made of total expenditure in the year 1991–92.

Total expenditure attributable to the area covered by Barking, Havering and Brentwood health authority amounted to £148.2 million, cash, in 1990–91. This figure represents a cash increase of 9.8 per cent. on 1989–90.The information for 1990–91 is derived from annual accounts on the same basis. Expenditure information from the 1991–92 accounts should be available in the autumn.

Non-Cosmetic Surgery

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will indicate, for non-cosmetic surgery undertaken at Sheffield hospitals from outside the Sheffield health authority boundary within the Trent region (a) how many operations have been performed, (b) how many operations are planned, (c) the average waiting time for such operations and (d) how much money has been spent; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not held centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. J. Neill, chairman of Sheffield health authority, for details.

Skin Cancers And Cataracts

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the current cost of treating a patient with (a) non-melanoma skin cancer and (b) an eye cataract.

Based on hospital in-patient average lengths of stay, the estimated costs are:

	Cost per case (1990–91 prices) £
Non-melanoma skin cancer	1,200
Cataract	1,200

Health Staff, Wiltshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors, dentists and nurses there were in Wiltshire in 1979; and how many there were in 1991.

The information required is not collected by county boundaries. The earliest and latest available information in respect of Wiltshire family health services authority is given in the tables.

General Medical Practitioners

(Unrestricted Principals)

1 October 1979—224
1 October 1990—288

Dentists

(includes Principal Assistants and Vocational Trainees)

1 September 1979—117
1 September 1991—158

Practice Nurses

1 October 1988—48.6¹
1 October 1990—101.9¹

¹ Whole time equivalents

Private Health Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to reply to the letter of 18 February from the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby on the subject of Norwich Union health care.

A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 9 March.

Organ Transplants

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of the number of people currently awaiting for organ transplants in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and in each of the health regions in England; and if he will state the number of successful transplants carried out in those regions during 1991.

Information on the place of residence of patients awaiting transplants is not collated centrally. The table gives, by United Kingdom territory and English region, the numbers of people registered for transplantation according to the location of the unit with which they are registered and the numbers of transplants performed according to the location of the unit.

	People waiting [As at 28 February 1992 by location of unit where registered]	Organs transplanted¹[During 1991 by location of transplant unit]
Scotland	473	130
Northern ireland	76	47
Wales	113	65
England—Regions
Northern	317	199
Yorkshire	244	126
Trent	366	121
East Anglian	238	223
North West Thames	586	238
North East Thames	537	176
South East + South West Thames	407	387

	People waiting [As at 28 February 1992 by location of unit where registered]	Organs transplanted ¹ [During 1991 by location of transplant unit]
Wessex	111	83
Oxford	100	83
South Western	230	90
West Midlands	415	274
Mersey	135	70
North Western	415	140
TOTALS	4,763	2,452
Based on information supplied by the United Kingdom Transplant Support Service Authority.
¹ Provisional figures for transplants from cadaveric donors.

Whittington Hospital, Islington

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has received for a trust hospital at the Whittington in Islington; when he expects to consider them; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has approved the Whittington hospital's expression of interest in becoming an NHS trust, operational from 1 April 1993. A draft application is expected by the end of March and, in line with other applicants, the Whittington hospital will submit its final application by the end of April. All applications for NHS trust status are subject to a statutory public consultation period.

Ozone Depletion

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the annual consumption of CFCs used for essential medical purposes; if he will detail these individually; and if he will make a statement about how many of these uses could be replaced by non-ozone destroying products.

The figures of anual CFC consumption for essential medical purposes are not held centrally, but are believed to be a small proportion of total CFC consumption.The three main volatile anaesthetic agents for major surgery are CFCs, for which no acceptable alternatives are available. However alternatives are increasingly used for some day surgery procedures. The other essential medical use of CFCs is as propellants for certain pharmaceutical aerosols where measured dosage is an essential requirement. Pharmaceutical use of CFC propellants only accounts for ½ per cent. of all CFC aerosol use. The Department is supporting industry's efforts to find suitable alternatives which do not have adverse effects on drug stability, clinical efficacy, measured dose control and have acceptable overall development costs relative to use.

Ambulance Service

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for the years 1987 to the latest available year and for each ambulance authority in England, the number of complaints lodged with each authority.

This information is not collected centrally.

Meningitis

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will tabulate the number of incidents and fatalities for each type of meningitis (a) per district health authority and (b) per regional health authority, for each of the last 10 years, or the most convenient period.

[holding answer 9 March 1992]: The information is not available in the form requested. Cases of infectious diseases are notified by the doctor in attendance to the proper officer for each local authority area. Notifications of meningitis are therefore not generally available at the district health authority level. However, the number of cases notified for each type of

Notifications of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1981
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	25	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	12	13	50
Yorkshire	43	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	32	107	182
Trent	27	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	35	58	120
East Anglian	14	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	7	7	28
North West Thames	33	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	28	22	83
North East Thames	35	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	48	21	104
South East Thames	34	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	74	39	147
South West Thames	18	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	65	17	100
Wessex	38	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	18	11	67
Oxford	16	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	20	5	41
South Western	26	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	20	5	51
West Midlands	37	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	33	35	105
Mersey	24	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	55	12	91
North Western	53	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	60	27	140
Wales	41	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	28	15	84

Notification of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1982
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	20	3	9	17	0	11	60
Yorkshire	39	6	19	72	13	24	173
Trent	26	8	15	11	27	17	104
East Anglian	14	4	5	14	4	3	44
North West Thames	22	4	8	13	10	14	71
North East Thames	35	8	11	13	11	12	90
South East Thames	49	12	19	26	11	9	126
South West Thames	11	5	11	17	3	5	52
Wessex	25	3	10	4	6	4	52
Oxford	16	2	5	8	2	1	34
South Western	22	4	6	7	2	8	49
West Midlands	30	8	16	31	9	7	101
Mersey	30	4	13	36	10	10	103
North Western	48	10	18	42	6	14	138
Wales	23	6	12	10	17	6	74

Notification of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1983
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	11	7	11	12	7	5	53
Yorkshire	37	4	27	91	17	20	186
Trent	41	4	15	5	9	17	91
East Anglian	11	4	4	6	1	2	28
North West Thames	28	3	8	17	16	11	83
North East Thames	26	8	7	12	3	7	63
South East Thames	26	8	13	3	1	7	58
South West Thames	19	5	12	12	5	3	56
Wessex	29	3	10	4	3	7	56
Oxford	13	4	4	12	1	5	39
South Western	50	4	10	4	5	6	79
West Midlands	27	5	17	28	12	8	97

meningitis at regional health authority level for the years 1981 to 1990, is shown in the tables. The data for 1991 are not yet available.

The information in respect of fatalities could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Irregular and unexplained upsurges of meningitis, particularly of meningococcal infection, occur in the United Kingdom. The location of outbreaks cannot be predicted, although it is known that most cases occur in the winter months.

A vaccine—"Hib"—against invasive haemophilus disease, one of the major causes of bacterial meningitis, is to be added to the United Kingdom infant immunisation schedule from next October. This should help to reduce considerably the overall total reports of deaths and illness from meningitis.

Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Mersey	46	7	8	34	10	5	110
North Western	32	4	18	63	7	32	156
Wales	32	4	19	5	9	2	71

Notifications of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1984
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Menginitis influenzal	Menginitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	17	9	4	6	3	5	44
Yorkshire	19	6	21	75	23	23	167
Trent	33	3	21	12	21	13	103
East Anglian	16	1	11	0	7	3	38
North West Thames	33	6	10	13	2	7	71
North East Thames	35	9	12	16	10	5	87
South East Thames	31	7	18	14	14	16	100
South West Thames	20	1	8	12	0	6	47
Wessex	17	2	12	8	4	3	46
Oxford	13	2	12	16	5	12	60
South Western	20	2	12	11	9	14	68
West Midlands	37	5	21	17	14	4	98
Mersey	43	7	19	21	11	14	115
North Western	33	11	23	13	11	17	108
Wales	34	7	13	10	7	7	78

Notifications of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1985
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	20	6	6	5	9	10	56
Yorkshire	40	9	16	60	34	26	185
Trent	44	8	23	20	23	17	135
East Anglian	20	3	13	13	6	6	61
North West Thames	43	5	9	13	5	7	82
North East Thames	38	5	7	26	9	8	93
South East Thames	41	3	12	15	6	13	90
South West Thames	30	6	15	15	3	8	77
Wessex	32	6	13	9	5	5	70
Oxford	21	2	22	24	3	11	83
South Western	35	5	9	16	31	9	105
West Midlands	49	5	10	30	14	17	125
Mersey	41	5	12	33	10	10	111
North Western	56	7	28	31	22	30	174
Wales	39	7	11	13	6	8	84

Notification of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1986
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	59	8	14	26	6	14	127
Yorkshire	95	15	19	113	46	28	316
Trent	69	13	22	17	26	23	170
East Anglian	15	5	9	13	4	3	49
North West Thames	43	6	19	20	6	15	109
North East Thames	47	10	11	15	8	8	99
South East Thames	56	4	16	23	11	13	123
South West Thames	40	5	13	31	8	6	103
Wessex	42	4	19	32	3	9	109
Oxford	18	5	17	17	9	9	75
South Western	67	6	12	26	16	11	138
West Midlands	93	29	25	32	16	42	237
Mersey	66	8	22	31	15	17	159
North Western	93	16	22	33	23	24	211
Wales	67	9	28	21	12	10	147

Notification of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1987
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	71	6	19	30	9	18	153
Yorkshire	104	16	21	75	26	29	281
Trent	72	15	13	44	25	17	186
East Anglian	20	2	12	12	4	7	57
North West Thames	62	10	19	23	12	13	139
North East Thames	55	8	13	43	14	24	157
South East Thames	89	12	36	40	22	28	227
South West Thames	47	5	27	42	6	13	140
Wessex	62	9	21	11	15	7	125
Oxford	51	7	38	17	12	13	138
South Western	58	9	9	24	15	9	134
West Midlands	104	13	35	75	27	24	278
Mersey	95	11	18	23	10	9	166
North Western	119	7	34	25	14	24	223
Wales	71	6	29	9	13	10	138

Notification of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1988
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	72	12	28	20	21	13	166
Yorkshire	103	11	40	59	49	27	289
Trent	111	30	27	90	24	26	308
East Anglian	31	4	11	7	6	8	67
North West Thames	82	15	32	29	8	8	174
North East Thames	71	11	22	25	6	20	155
South East Thames	109	14	31	46	18	24	242
South West Thames	55	12	25	29	7	14	142
Wessex	44	11	24	14	8	3	104
Oxford	44	13	34	21	12	11	135
South Western	87	15	28	34	33	11	208
West Midlands	160	18	32	37	27	33	307
Mersey	104	15	22	24	14	15	194
North Western	129	19	46	34	28	27	283
Wales	102	9	34	21	34	13	213

Notifications of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1989
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	59	14	29	15	13	17	147
Yorkshire	67	13	20	56	48	31	235
Trent	105	11	44	54	20	26	260
East Anglian	18	2	17	7	4	13	61
North West Thames	81	9	27	19	13	10	159
North East Thames	65	8	21	10	18	22	144
South East Thames	105	17	38	22	11	29	222
South West Thames	38	5	21	19	12	14	109
Wessex	43	12	33	19	11	14	132
Oxford	57	7	27	20	7	14	132
South Western	79	11	45	40	32	13	220
West Midlands	130	25	57	48	21	30	311
Mersey	75	9	18	24	8	15	149
North Western	119	19	32	36	25	22	253
Wales	91	12	41	8	27	8	187

Notification of meningitis by Regional Health Authority 1990
Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Northern	76	10	23	13	9	15	146
Yorkshire	100	9	29	77	19	20	254
Trent	104	17	42	34	12	13	222
East Anglian	34	5	15	5	6	11	76
North West Thames	67	11	23	28	12	8	139
North East Thames	66	13	35	12	19	23	168
South East Thames	71	16	32	18	12	19	168
South West Thames	46	7	18	16	10	8	105

Regional Health Authority	Meningitis meningococcal	Meningitis pneumococcal	Meningitis influenzal	Meningitis viral	Meningitis other specified	Meningitis unspecified	Meningitis all forms
Wessex	49	5	24	8	10	11	107
Oxford	42	7	30	20	6	10	115
South Western	85	8	20	35	17	23	188
West Midlands	116	17	49	28	20	32	262
Mersey	78	7	22	28	13	14	162
North Western	133	11	36	21	22	34	257
Wales	71	13	33	20	40	26	203

Health Service, York

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent national health service (a) ancillary staff, (b) professional and technical staff and (c) administrative and clerical staff were employed by York health authority, and previously in York health district, in 1974 and each year since then.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: The available data are in the following table:

NHS directly employed staff by specific staff groups in post at 30 September each year
York district health authority—whole time equivalents
	Ancillary staff¹	Professional and technical²	Administrative and clerical³
1982	980	300	420
1983	930	300	510
1984	870	330	530
1985	780	340	460
1986	660	360	470
1987	610	360	490
1988	560	370	500
1989	400	370	520
1990	380	390	550

Number of residential care places in local authority staffed homes and private and voluntary homes in the North Yorkshire local authority and the York health district area 1981–1991
	Places in North Yorkshire			Places in the York health district area
As at 31 March	Local authority staffed homes	Private homes	Voluntary homes	Local authority staffed homes	Private homes	Voluntary homes
1981	2,148	867	838	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
1982	2,185	1,005	808	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
1983	2,180	1,198	822	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
1984	2,212	1,528	862	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
1985	2,218	2,088	781	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
1986	2,181	2,474	813	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
1987	2,197	3,147	846	813	511	174
1988	2,163	3,555	865	785	640	184
1989	2,130	3,717	925	778	709	199
1990	2,079	3,757	880	755	806	198
1991	2,023	3,843	938	742	843	235

Bone Marrow Transplants

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether those waiting for bone marrow transplants are included within waiting lists of patients for national health service treatment.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: Yes. If there is no suitable related donor available, an unrelated donor has to be found before a patient can be treated, and this can delay treatment.

Source: Department of Health (SM13) Annual Census of NHS Non-medical Manpower.

¹ All figures are rounded to the nearest ten whole-time equivalent.

² Includes Professions Allied to Medicine, and Scientific and Professional.

³ Includes General Managers.

Information is not available prior to 1982.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) registered private residential home beds and (b) part III home beds there were in (i) North Yorkshire and (ii) the York health authority area, and previously in York health district, in 1979 and each year since then.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: The information is not available in the form requested.The available information on the number of residential care places in registered private and voluntary homes, and local authority staffed homes in the North Yorkshire local authority and the York health authority area are set out in the table.

Northern Regional Health Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many operations were carried out by the Northern regional health authority in 1979, 1987 and the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 5 March 1992]: Operating theatre cases and sessions data have been collected annually since 1987–88 although the figures are not necessarily equivalent to the number of surgical operations carried out. Theatres are sometimes used for medical procedures requiring a sterile environment; some minor operations are performed outside a theatre.

Operating theatre activity figures

Cases treated in surgical acute specialties, Northern Regional Health Authority

Year

Cases

In-patients

Day cases

1979

—

¹137,014

¹29,718

1987–88

235,444

¹175,281

²—

1988–89

243,403

³174,101

³51,996

1990–91

250,864

³183,851

³58,688

¹ Hospital discharges.

² The quality of 1987–88 figures for day cases was adversely affected by the introduction of new collection systems in the National Health Service.

³ Finished consultant episodes.

Northern Ireland

Job Losses (East Antrim)

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken to reverse continuing job losses in East Antrim and to create alternative employment in manufacturing industry for those who have lost their jobs as a result of factory closures.

The east Antrim area benefits from the wide range of measures currently undertaken by the Government to promote economic and industrial development throughout Northern Ireland. Following the closures of GEC Alsthom in Lame, the Industrial Development Board is continuing to search for a viable project which could utilise the site of the former GEC operation.

Youth Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people have been engaged in employer-based YTP courses in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

The number of trainees fluctuates during the year but the average number was as follows:

Financial year	Average Occupancy
1987–88	1,495
1988–89	1,949
1989–90	2,864
1990–91	3,170
¹1991–92	3,473
¹ April to January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people have been engaged in YTP courses in community-based workshops in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

The number of trainees fluctuates during the year but the average number engaged in the YT programmes in community-based workshops was:

	Average occupancy
1987–88	3,291
1988–89	3,039
1989–90	3,229
1990–91	3,746
¹1991–92	4,427

¹ April to January.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many teachers have been employed by each of the education and library boards in YTP provision in each of the last five years.

The numbers are as follows:

Academic Year
Education and Library Board	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89	1989–90	1990–91
Belfast	144	147	150	156	116
North-Eastern	97	100	100	100	61
South-Eastern	94	101	101	101	77
Western	75	79	79	80	52
Southern	76	79	78	78	50

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many young people are presently engaged on youth training courses in Northern Ireland; and how many have been engaged in such courses in each of the last five years.

The number of young people participating in the youth training programme at 31 January 1992 was 14,702. The numbers engaged in such courses in each of the last five years were as follows:

	Average occupancy
1987–88	8,778
1988–89	8,881
1989–90	9,818
1990–91	12,914
¹1991–92	15,688
¹ April-January.

In addition, the average numbers in employment with training under the former YTP workscheme during each of the last five years were:

	Average occupancy
1987–88	2,841
1988–89	4,447
1989–90	2,411
1990–91	911
¹1991–92	4
¹ April-January.

Social Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total spend on social security in 1979–80, 1983–84, 1987–88 and 1991–92 in current and real terms; and what percentage that is of total Government spending.

The information requested is as follows:

Social Security expenditure—£ million
Year	Expenditure in current terms	Expenditure in real terms	Expenditure as percentage of total public spending
1979–80	589.7	1,371.0	23.7
1983–84	1,084.1	1,733.0	28.8
1987–88	1,491.8	1,976.4	30.9
1991–92	2,099.0	2,099.0	32.6

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list, for each year since 1978–79 the total number of households claiming for social security benefit, excluding the national insurance retirement pension and child benefit.

The information requested is not available.

Year	Total benefit expenditure £ million	Total administration costs £ million	Administration costs as percentage of total benefit expenditure
	£ million	£ million
1980–81	674	46	6.8
1981–82	815	56	6.9
1982–83	938	61	6.5
1983–84	1,033	64	6.2
1984–85	1,128	69	6.1
1985–86	1,248	74	5.9
1986–87	1,354.5	81	6.0
1987–88	1,403.6	89	6.3
1988–89	1,465.6	87.5	6.0
1989–90	1,557.1	95.6	6.1
1990–91	1,704.9	106.5	6.3
1991–92	1,977.8	115.6	5.8

The figures for 1991–92 are estimates only.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number of (a) claimants and (b) partners and dependent children on supplementary benefit or income support in each year from 1979 to the latest available date.

The information is as follows:

	Number of Claimants	Number of Dependent Partners	Number of Dependent Children	Total Number of Dependent
1979	115,400	26,300	64,800	91,100
1980	129,000	32,400	80,300	112,700
1981	150,000	38,100	93,600	131,700
1982	164,900	44,900	109,900	154,800
1983	174,500	48,800	117,000	165,800
1984	180,800	49,100	116,300	165,400
¹1985	184,200	—	—	—
1986	184,400	52,800	135,300	188,100
1987	190,800	51,800	134,000	185,800
1988	184,100	44,900	111,900	156,800
1989	183,400	42,400	121,900	164,300
1990	179,000	38,500	118,600	157,100
¹ The number of claimants based on 100 per cent. count of caseload at November 1985. Statistical information on dependants is not available for the 1985 year.

Source: annual statistical exercise—five per cent. sample of caseload.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his latest estimate of the average percentage rise in the number of claimants receiving the main social security benefits, or expected to claim, in the years 1978–79 to 1992–93.

The information requested is as follows:

Year	Caseload	Percentage yearly rise
1978–79	982,000	—
1979–80	974,000	-0.8
1980–81	1,011,900	+3.9
1981–82	1,054,200	+4.2

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the total administration costs as a percentage of benefit expenditure for social security for each year from 1978–79 to the latest year available.

The information requested is as follows. Administration costs for the years 1978–79 and 1979–80 are not available. The figures for administration cost include the costs of services provided by other Departments.

Year	Caseload	Percentage yearly rise
1982–83	1,019,300	-3.3
1983–84	1,290,200	+1.0
1984–85	1,311,200	+1.6
1985–86	1,316,000	+0.4
1986–87	1,323,300	+0.6
1987–88	1,342,200	+1.4
1988–89	1,305,500	-2.7
1989–90	1,299,600	-0.5
1990–91	1,308,700	+0.7
1991–92	1,431,300	+5.4
1992–93	1,509,600	+5.5

The average percentage yearly rise is + 1.5 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list, for each year since 1978–79 the total amount spent on social security, excluding expenditure on the unemployed, at current prices and in 1991–92 prices, showing the real terms percentage increase or decrease.

The information requested, which is available only for the years 1983–84 onwards, is as follows:

Expenditure on Social Security excluding the unemployed
Year	Current prices £000s	1991–92 prices £000s	Percentage increase or decrease
1983–84	835.2	1,335.1
1984–85	945.3	1,439.1	+7.9
1985–86	1,027.2	1,482.1	+3.0
1986–87	1,108.2	1,548.1	+4.5
1987–88	1,198.2	1,587.4	+2.5
1988–89	1,255.7	1,552.1	-2.2
1989–90	1,393.4	1,617.4	+4.2
1990–91	1,536.4	1,643.9	+1.6

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount spent on social security, in current prices and at 1991–92 prices, for each year since 1978–79; and what was the percentage real-terms increase or decrease in each year.

The information requested is as follows:

Social Security Expenditure
Year	Current prices £000s	1991–92 prices £000s	Percentage increase/decrease
1978–79	497.0	1,3482
1979–80	589.7	1,371.0	1.7
1980–81	716.9	1,408.6	2.8
1981–82	865.0	1,549.9	10.0
1982–83	994.	1,663.4	7.3
1983–84	1,084.1	1,733.0	4.2
1984–85	1,191.0	1,813.2	4.6
1985–86	1,298.7	1,873.8	3.3
1986–87	1,411.5	1,971.7	5.0
1987–88	1,491.8	1,976.4	0.2
1988–89	1,555.0	1,922.1	-2.8
1989–90	1,659.7	1,926.6	0.2
1990–91	1,814.1	1,941.1	0.8

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give, for the years 1979–80 and the latest year available, in cash terms and at 1991–92 prices, the social security spending on (a) elderly people, (b) sick and disabled people, (c) families, (d) unemployed people and (e) orphans and widows indicating the number of claimants in each category, and dependants in the household, and the percentage change in spending in real terms.

The information available is as follows:

Social security spending in cash terms and at 1991–92 prices—£000
	Cash prices
Year	Elderly	Sick and disabled	Families	Unemployed	Widows and orphans
1979–80	219,475	115,892	128,492	71,320	22,136
1990–91	578,000	374,000	338,000	251,000	31,000

1991–92 prices and percentage change in spending in real terms
Year	Elderly	Sick and disabled	Families	Unemployed	Widows and orphans
1979–80	595,386	314,389	335,009	193,475	60,050
1990–91	618,460	400,180	361,660	268,570	33,170
Change	+3.9	+27.3	+8.0	+38.8	-44.8

Mortgage Repossessions

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) families and (b) individuals accepted as homeless by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive became homeless as a result of mortgage repossessions; and what percentage of the total in each category and in total these figures represent.

I am advised by the chief executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive that in the period April to December 1991, 122 families, including couples with no children, were accepted as homeless or threatened with homelessness because of mortgage difficulties. This represents 6 per cent. of all families accepted and four per cent. of all applicants accepted. In the same period eight single applicants were accepted as homeless or threatened with homelessness because of mortgage difficulties. This represents 1 per cent. of all single applicants accepted and 0.2 per cent. of all applicants accepted.

Noise

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when circular 10/73 "Planning and Noise" will be adopted in Northern Ireland.

The Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland has drawn the advice contained in circular 10/73 to the attention of divisional planning officers in Northern Ireland and has issued guidance of its own to them on the question of noise as a planning consideration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he proposes to implement in Northern Ireland, the Noise Insulation Regulations which apply in Great Britain.

It is planned to introduce noise nsulation regulations relating to road schemes in Northern Ireland towards the end of this year.

Medical Cards

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of persons in Northern Ireland who still hold a medical card issued by the Northern Ireland general health services board and do not hold the more recent type of medical card issued.

It is not possible to estimate accurately the number of people who still hold a medical card issued by the former Northern Ireland general health services board.

Airports Authority

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the present term of appointment of the chairman of the Northern Ireland airports authority ends; and when he will announce the name of the chairman for the next period of office.

The present term of appointment of the chairman of Northern Ireland Airports Limited expires on 30 June 1992. The name of a chairman for the next period of office will be announced at a suitable time before that date.

Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the status of the Maryfield secretariat of the Anglo-Irish intergovernmental conference during the present periods of inter-party talks in Northern Ireland.

In my statement of 26 March 1991 I made it clear on behalf of the two Governments that, during the period when the Anglo-Irish conference would not be meeting, the secretariat at Maryfield would not be required to discharge its normal role of servicing such meetings, as provided for in article 3 of the agreement. Since the new talks are to be conducted on the basis of the terms of my 26 March 1991 statement, the same arrangement will apply again.

Environment

Sites Of Special Scientific Interest

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number and location of sites of special scientific interest in the County of Durham.

I am advised by English Nature that there are currently 76 sites of special scientific interest in Durham. I am writing to the hon. Member with the details.

Shops (Security)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he last consulted (a) the Civic Trust and (b) English Heritage on the best way to halt the spread of security shuttering in retail outlets.

There have been no consultations with the Civic Trust or English Heritage on security measures to protect shops and no approaches from these bodies on this matter.I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 10 March

Official Report, column 443 to this question on the establishment of a working group on security in city shopping centres.

Public Buildings (Security)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consultations he has had with architects and relevant experts on improving the design of public buildings following the recent terrorist attacks.

Measures to improve the design of public buildings so as to reduce the risks of injury from terrorist attacks are kept under review by my Department in consultation with others. Architects and relevant experts are consulted as part of this ongoing review.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to encourage the fitting of laminated glass in public buildings to reduce injuries caused by flying glass in terrorist bombings.

The use of laminated glass in public buildings is kept under review and general advice on this and other protective measures is issued from time to time. Individual advice is also available.

Coventry: Debt figures—at current prices
Year	Outstanding debt	Debt service charge	Debt repayment	Population	Debt per capita	¹DS per capita
	£ million	£ million	£ million	000s	£	£
1990–91	342.181	25.764	12.915	231	1,481	112
1989–90	427.832	21.972	63.123	231	1,852	95
1988–89	487.659	21.882	7.080	231	2,111	95
1987–88	383.880	18.633	7.262	232	1,655	80
1986–87	294.779	16.804	n/a	234	1,260	72
1985–86	266.919	13.349	n/a	234	1,141	57
1984–85	243.990	11.855	n/a	235	1,038	50
1983–84	234.504	10.250	n/a	235	998	44

Terrorist Attacks

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he has taken since January 1984 to eradicate the danger of flying glass injury as a result of terrorist attacks.

Protection against the danger of flying glass injury is kept under review, together with assessments of the efficacy of the protective measures available. General guidance is issued from time to time. Individual advice is also provided.

City Challenge

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what additional cash resources he proposes to make available to those authorities successful in the second wave of city challenge applications; what percentage of those resources will be new cash; and if he will make a statement.

A total of £150 million per year, for up to five years from 1993–94, has been allocated to fund the 20 winning authorities' action plans in round two of city challenge. This is additional to the £82.5 million allocated to fund the 11 round one 'Pacemaker' city challenge action plans. Round one resources are being top-sliced from DOE funding regimes which currently spend in inner cities. It is expected that similar arrangements will apply for round two.

Debt Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give, for the City of Coventry, for each year since 1979, if available, or for the most convenient years (a) outstanding debt, (b) debt service charge, (c) debt repayment, (d) adult population, (e) debt per adult and (f) debt service charge per adult, in current and 1992 prices.

The available information is given in the table. The figures for the outstanding loan debt are as at the end of each financial year, debt repayments are as made during the course of each financial year, population figures are mid-year estimates. Figures for earlier years are not available. Figures for outstanding debt at 31 March 1991 have been returned on an external debt basis, and are not comparable with previous years.

Coventry: Debt figures—at current prices
Year	Outstanding debt £ million	Debt service charge £ million	Debt repayment £ million	Population 000s	Debt per capita £	¹ DS per capita £
1990–91	366.134	27.567	13.819	231	1,585	119
1989–90	496.621	25.505	73.272	231	2,150	110
1988–89	602.778	27.048	8.751	231	2,609	117
1987–88	508.576	24.686	9.621	232	2,192	106
1986–87	411.767	23.473	n/a	234	1,760	100
1985–86	385.113	19 260	n/a	234	1,646	82
1984–85	371.454	18.048	n/a	235	1,581	77
1983–84	374 876	16.386	n/a	235	1,595	70
¹ Debt Service Charge.

Coal Clough Farm

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to decide whether to call in the proposed wind farm development of Coal Clough farm, Cliviger; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make a decision soon. When the decision is made, I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the proposed wind farm at Coal Clough farm, Cliviger; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received five representations direct from amenity groups and individuals against the latest proposal. Also, Burnley borough council has sent him copies of representations that it received following the public notice.

Private Rented Sector

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of housing was accounted for by the private rented sector for (a) 1980, (b) 1985 and (c) 1990.

Estimates of total stock by tenure are shown in table 9.3 of "Housing and Construction Statistics: Great Britain: 1980–1990". A copy is in the Library.

Humber Estuary

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will designate the Humber estuary as a special protection area.

Consultations with Government Departments and land owners are continuing on those parts of the Humber estuary which have been proposed as a special protection area. A decision on designation will be made as soon as these are satisfactorily completed. The announcement yesterday of the designation of the Exe estuary, Lindisfarne and Old Hall marshes illustrates the Government's firm commitment to the designation of further special protection areas.

Wild Birds

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the nature of the last three communications received by him from the European Commission on the subject of special protection areas under the wild birds directive.

The European Commission is in regular contact with officials over special protection areas under the EC birds directive. Such communications are confidential between Government and the Commission.

Travelling Showpeople

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what requirements his Department places on local authorities to assist travelling showpeople regarding winter quarters; how many local authorities provide sites; how many sites are known to be in dispute regarding planning permission; and what proposals he has to assist in the securing of suitable land for sites.

My Department's circular 22/91— "Travelling Showpeople"—gives advice to local planning authorities about planning consideration relating to travelling showpeople. Information about sites is not held centrally.

Ozone Depletion

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what advice he gives to consumers on purchasing ozone-friendly fridges;(2) what advice he makes available to consumers who wish to avoid purchasing products that contain, or have been manufactured, by using ozone-depleting chemicals.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Coombs) on 10 March 1992, Official Report, columns 450–51.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to use his powers under part I, section 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to prohibit the production and release of ozone-depleting chemicals.

My right hon. Friend does not intend to do so—the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances is controlled by EC regulation 594/91, which is directly applicable in United Kingdom law.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the amount in tonnes of chlorofluorocarbons recycled in the United Kingdom in each year from 1985 to 1991 inclusive.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish annually the United Kingdom consumption and production of ozone-depleting chemicals.

Figures for United Kingdom production of ozone-depleting substances are supplied to the Government on a confidential basis. Consumption figures are collected on a European Community basis and not broken down between member states. However, a 1990 Department of Trade and Industry study indicated that United Kingdom consumption fell by 50 per cent. between 1986 and 1989, a rate faster than that claimed by any other developed country.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement outlining his policy on the production and emission of hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

The Government have proposed a phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons early next century, together with controls on the level of consumption and on applications in which these substances can be used. These proposals will be considered by the EC Environment Council on 23 March.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all essential uses of ozone-depleting chemicals that would be exempt from currently proposed EC legislation.

Decisions on any essential use exemptions from the regulations controlling ozone-depleting substances will be made closer to the final phase-out dates. These will be taken at the European Community level, and no member state will be able to make unilateral decisions.

Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the numbers of single people with incomes of over £50,000 per annum who will qualify for a 25 per cent. discount under his council tax proposals.

I have no estimate of the numbers of single people with incomes of over £50,000 per annum who will qualify for a 25 per cent. discount when the council tax is introduced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the size of the council tax bill on a property located in Westminster worth £1,000,000 in April 1991 with (a) two or more adults and (b) one adult.

Illustrative council tax bills based on 1991–92 budgets were published and placed in the Library on 23 April 1991. I have made no subsequent estimates.

Air Pollution

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department will publish the results of the recent national nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube air pollution survey.

I hope these will be available by the end of next month.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been his response to the complaint by Commissioner Ripa di Meana in the European Parliament of 27 November 1991 regarding the adequacy of the United Kingdom air pollution monitoring network.

Signor Ripa di Meana's remarks related to the United Kingdom network for monitoring nitrogen dioxide for purposes of European Community directive 85/203/EEC. They were made in answer to a question in the European Parliament and were not addressed to the Government. The basis on which monitoring sites were selected for this purpose has been explained to the Commission in previous correspondence.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many times, and where, the EC directive limits for nitrogen dioxide have been breached since 1980.

The EC directive on nitrogen dioxide has been breached once at the west London monitoring site in 1989, in exceptional circumstances which were not truly representative of local air quality.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether the planned enhanced urban network will meet the regulations of the EC directive 85/203/EEC for monitoring nitrogen dioxide.

In the Government's view the existing arrangements for monitoring nitrogen dioxide already comply with the requirements of the directive. The enhancement of the urban monitoring network will however usefully supplement the data currently available on concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and a range of other air pollutants.

Environment Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make available a list of the responses to the recent consultation paper on the Government's proposals for an environment agency.

A list of the responses received has been placed in the Library of the House. Copies of individual responses may be obtained through the Library of the Department. In addition, responses were submitted by six individuals and bodies on a confidential basis.

Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to bring into force the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990; and if he will make a statement.

A commencement order has now been made, and regulations laid before the House, which enable the provisions of the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990 to be brought into force on 1 June 1992.The Act paved the way for important new planning controls over the storage and use of hazardous substances. It requires consent to be obtained from local authorities for the presence of these materials in prescribed quantities. This will give authorities the opportunity to consider whether the storage or use of a significant quantity of a hazardous material is acceptable in a particular location. The regulations define the substances and amounts to be controlled and contain detailed procedures for obtaining consent and for enforcement. These regulations will be followed by an explanatory circular for local authorities and a guidance booklet for industry.

Planning Inspectorate

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made in establishing the planning inspectorate executive agency under the "next steps" initiative.

The planning inspectorate will be launched as an executive agency on 1 April 1992. A framework document setting out the organisational, financial and management structure of the agency will be published at that time.The key objectives for the agency will be to preserve the impartiality and quality of the inspector's work while seeking to improve efficiency. A board of visitors will be established to ensure that quality standards are maintained. In addition, I have set the following key targets for the agency's work in England for 1992–93:

Timeliness: Eighty per cent. of planning appeals by written representation to be decided within 22 weeks and to provide an inspector for local plan inquiries on request within 26 weeks of the end of the objection period;

Financial: Unit costs (average) of these appeals not to exceed £706 per case;

Efficiency: Generate a 2 per cent. efficiency improvement in the use of gross running costs compared with 1991–92;

Quality: High Court appeals and/or other justified complaints allowed against Inspectors' decisions not to exceed 1 per cent. of intake;

Volume: To determine 24,600 planning and enforcement appeals subject to intake not declining;

Information and Guidance: To complete a customer survey by 31 December 1992.

These and other performance targets for the agency will be included in its business plan for 1992–93 which will be published shortly.

Separate targets for the agency's work in Wales are being announced today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.

Local Government Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to take his capping decisions; and if he will make a statement.

On 26 November 1991 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, announced his proposed capping criteria for 1992–93. On 23 January 1992 he reaffirmed that he was minded to adopt those criteria, and they remain his firm intentions for criteria for 1992–93.However, under the statute my right hon. Friend cannot take his decisions on the criteria to select authorities for capping, and the level of proposed caps for any authority designated, until he has considered authorities' budgets. Information on authorities' budgets must be submitted to the Secretary of State by 8 March in the case of precepting authorities and 18 March in the case of charging authorities.My right hon. Friend intends to take his capping decisions as soon as is practicable and appropriate after the receipt of budget information. However, such decisions are of a kind which by convention Ministers do not take during an election campaign. My right hon. Friend therefore does not intend to consider these matters until the earliest practical opportunity after the election.When he comes to take his decisions my right hon. Friend will have regard to all appropriate considerations including the budgets which authorities have set and his provisional criteria. In the light of information on the budgets he will decide on the principles for capping which he should adopt, on which his present intention is set out in the provisional criteria. On the basis of those principles he will designate authorities for capping. For each designated authority he will decide on a proposed cap. The proposed cap which he will set for any designated authority will represent my right hon. Friend's view of the appropriate and achievable level for that authority's budget in the light of all its circumstances.At that point each authority may accept either its proposed cap, and proceed with re-billing if that is necessary, or challenge the proposed cap seeking that the Secretary of State should vary his proposal as to the amount of the cap. Authorities have 28 days from designation in which to challenge their cap.

Outdoor Advertisements

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to issue the planning policy guidance on outdoor advertisement control, of which a consultative draft was circulated in July 1991.

We are today publishing planning policy guidance note 19 about outdoor advertisement control in England and Wales. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Library of the House.

Derelict Land Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total amount of derelict land grant made available by his Department in each of the last five years; and how many acres have been brought into use as a result for (a) housing, (b) industry, (c) recreation and (d) public buildings.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: The information requested is as follows. Statistics are not held on land brought back into use for public buildings.

1. Derelict Land Grant paid 1986–87 to 1990–91.
	£ million
1986–87	68.359
1987–88	75.295
1988–89	67.126
1989–90	90.804
1990–91	71.300

2. Land reclaimed for housing, industry and sport and recreation 1986–87 to 1990–91 (acres)
	Residential	Industry	Recreation/Public Open Space
1986–87	131	595	1,161
1987–88	124	615	1,635
1988–89	185	1,077	1,228
1989–90	104	842	1,252
1990–91	22	316	1,005

Employment

Disabled People (Employment Quotas)

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table of the percentage of (a) private sector employers and (b) public sector employers satisfying their quota obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944, in each of the last five years; and if he will also give the most recent available figures.

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. However, tables showing the number and percentage of registered disabled people employed by a wide range of individual public sector employers are published in the Employment Gazette,

Percentage of registered disabled people employed
	1986 per cent.	1987 per cent.	1988 per cent.	1989 per cent.	1990 per cent.
Private sector (approximate figures)	1	1	1	0.9	0.9
Public sector (based on gazette figures)	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8

Training Schemes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of youth training leavers in the London borough of Newham were unemployed immediately after leaving in each of the last five years.

Information is not available in the form requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the unit price for youth training places in each training and enterprise council and local enterprise company.

Unit prices per training week delivered and per national vocational qualification achieved in YT are agreed in contracts between the Departmental and individual TECs and are commercially confidential. Matters relating to LECs are for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of employment training leavers in the London borough of Newham in each of the last five years were unemployed within three months of leaving; and what percentage obtained qualifications.

Information is not available in the precise form requested.Employment training started in September 1988 and national follow-up of leavers started in July 1989. Results are given for the East London TEC area which includes the London borough of Newham. Those show that for the period July 1989 to June 1990, 57 per cent. of leavers were unemployed three months after leaving and 14 per cent. of all leavers gained a qualification or a credit towards one. For the period April 1990 to March 1991, 67 per cent. were unemployed three months after leaving and 23 per cent. of all leavers gained a qualification or a credit towards one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of youth training leavers obtained qualifications in the London borough of Newham in each of the last five years.

Reliable information is not available in the form requested. The results available are for the East London area office which included the London borough of Newham. Information is available for the periods April 1986 to March 1990 and shows that the percentage of YT leavers gaining qualifications was as follows: copies of which are in the Library. The most recent complete published set of figures, is in the February 1991 gazette and relates to June 1990, A partial set of figures, relating to June 1991, is in the February 1992 gazette.The percentage of registered disabled people employed, on average by employers whose individual figures are in the gazette, together with estimated comparisons for the private sector, for the years 1986 to 1990, are in the table later comparable information is not yet available.

April 1989-March 1990 38 per cent.
April 1988-March 1989 39 per cent.
April 1987-March 1988 25 per cent.
April 1986-March 1987 11 per cent.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently in work: what were the figures 10 and 15 years ago; and if he will make a statement.

The work force in employment in the United Kingdom stood at 24,835,000 in September 1976, at 24,198,000 in September 1981 and at 25,807,000 in September 1991. The number of people in work is now 442,000 higher than in June 1979.

Earnings

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by how much average male earnings have increased in real terms since 1979.

Information on average male earnings in April of 1979 and of each year up to 1991 is published in table 1 of part A of the new earnings survey report for the year concerned.Information on the retail prices index, all items, to convert 1979 figures to 1991 prices is published in table 6.4 of the latest

Employment Gazette for April 1991, and in table 26 of the annual supplement to "Economic Trends" for April of earlier years.

Copies of the publications are available in the Library.

Training And Enterprise Councils

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the new financial incentives for TECs in relation to people with learning difficulties; and whether the same unit price has been given by the Training, Enterprise and Education Directorate to TECs for the achievement of wordpower and numberpower as for any level of national vocational qualification.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 2 December 1991, Official Report, column 26.TECs contract individually for an agreed rate of output-related payment. TECs will receive multiples of the agreed rate for trainees achieving national vocational qualifications. In the case of wordpower at foundation, half the agreed rate of output-related payment is payable. An identical unit price is payable for achievement of foundation level numberpower. Where it is agreed that a trainee requires both wordpower and numberpower then the TEC will receive two payments of half the agreed rate of output-related payment. In addition, TECs will receive further output-related payment for any trainees who progress to achieve national vocational qualifications.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from TECs about the training of people with learning difficulties, with particular reference to special needs training being provided outwith the remit of TECs; and if he will make a statement.

I have received no such representations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide details of Government financial support to each training and enterprise council during 1990–91 and 1991–92; identifying separately resources made available after the beginning of the financial year and funding for each of (a) adult training, (b) youth training, (c) enterprise, (d) local initiatives and (e) management; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: The total figure allocated by the Government to training and enterprise councils in 1990–91 was £1,571.91 million and in 1991–92 £1,838.66 million.The breakdown of these figures requested in the question is available only at disproportionate cost.

Expenditure, London

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the budget and forecast actual expenditure for 1991–92 and 1992–93 of (a) his Department's London regional office and (b) the nine training and enterprise councils operating in London.

The total budgetary allocation for the Department's Training Enterprise and Education Directorate's London region in 1991–92 was £167.263 million.The budgets for the nine London TECs are shown in the table:

	£ million
AZTEC	10.742
CENTEC	11.951
CILNTEC	8.124
LETEC	27.618
NLTEC	9.690
NWLTEC	5.625
SOLOTEC	18.555
STTEC	20.510
WLTEC	8.945

Footnote:

The regional total figure includes expenditure by residual TEED area offices for those areas where TECs began operations during the financial year 1991–92, experience on technical vocational and education initiative, and regional office running costs.

Forecasts of outturn expenditure are produced for internal management purposes only. Budgets for 1992–93 are still subject to negotiation.

Scotland

Fur Factory Farms

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many arctic fox factory farms are currently operating in Scotland.

No official statistics are kept.

Upper Solway

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will designate the upper Solway as a special protection area.

The designation of the upper Solway flats and marshes as a special protection area under EC directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds is under consideration.

House Repossessions

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the annual figures for house repossessions in Scotland since 1985 by region.

This information is not available in the form requested. The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes statistics in its regular newsletters on various aspects of mortgage lending but this is on a GB basis and no corresponding information is available for Scotland only.However, the Scottish Office Environment Department has recently received figures specially collated by the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers from the Scottish branches of the four main banks in Scotland—Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank and TSB Bank Scotland. The figures as at 31 December 1991 were 0.77 per cent. of mortgages over six months in arrears and 0.13 per cent. of houses repossessed in the six months to 31 December. This compares with UK figures produced by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which excludes the four Scottish banks, of 2.8 per cent. and 0.40 per cent. respectively.

Fishing Industry

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate how much of the money recently allocated for a decommissioning scheme for the fishing industry will be spent in Scotland in the financial year 1992–93; and if he will make a statement.

The arrangement announced by my right hon. Friend on 27 February will now be the subject of consultation with the industry.

Crofters

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the Crofters Union; and if he will give details.

Although my right hon. Friend has not met representatives of the Scottish Crofters Union, my noble Friend the Minister for Agriculture arid Fisheries in Scotland and his predecessor have had meetings with them on a number of occasions to discuss various topics of interest to crofters. The most recent meeting with the director of the Scottish Crofters Union and the hon. Member for the Western Isles Mr. Macdonald took place on 21 November 1991 when assistance for crofter housing was discussed.

Common Agricultural Policy

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of representations he has received from (a) the Scottish National Farmers Union and (b) others in relation to the MacSharry proposals for the reform of the common agricultural policy; and if he will make a statement.

Various representations from the Scottish NFU and others have been received. We have stated clearly our opposition to the discriminatory features of the Commission's proposals, and our aim to achieve a reform which encourages a more market-oriented CAP; which applies fairly across all the agricultural sectors; which maintains financial discipline; and which builds in environmental objectives for the countryside. Discussions on CAP reform are continuing in the Agriculture Council.

Sssis (Advisory Committee)

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now announce the membership of the Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest; and if he will make a statement.

I have appointed Professor F. T. Last, FRSE as chairman of the committee along with the following members:

Dr. J. Morton Boyd, CBE, DSc, FRSE
Professor J. M. M. Cunningham, FRSE
Professor David Ingram
Professor John A. Raven, FRSE, FRS
Professor William Ritchie, FRSE
Dr. Charles D. Waterston, FRSE

The establishment of this committee fulfils an important requirement of the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991. The committee will have a significant to play role in ensuring, by its advice to Scottish Natural Heritage, that the highest scientific standards are applied in the selection and consideration of sites of special scientific interest.

Local Government Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much he estimates will be raised from standard community charges on empty properties and second homes in Scotland in 1992–93.

[holding answer 4 February 1992]: Such estimates are calculated from returns made by local authorities. These have not yet been received for 1992–93.

Foresterhill Hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland under what authority the Foresterhill hospital NHS trust may issue press releases under the name of Mr. Reid, public relations officer of Grampian health board, purporting to be on behalf of the trust, prior to 1 April.

[holding answer 6 February 1992]: Article 7 of the Foresterhill Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1991.

Data Information Systems

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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.

[holding answer 13 February 1992]: The Scottish Office has 95 data information systems holding personal data and all are registered under the Data Protection Act 1984. The Department complies with the data protection principles in relation to this information which is required to carry out effectively the business of the Department.None of these data information systems is linked to the police national computer nor directly to any other computer systems, with the exception of a link to the Government payroll centre at Chessington for staff payroll purposes.

Building Security

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what total central and local government assistance has been given to Govan Initiative for its secure communities project; and if he will break that figure down to show the expenditure on business premises and housing respectively.

[holding answer 10 March 1992]: Total support through the urban programme for the secure communities project has been set at £910,000, 75 per cent. of which is met by the Scottish Office and 25 per cent. by Strathclyde regional council and Glasgow district council.No breakdown of this figure on the basis requested is available, but I understand that, to date, £172,000 and £117,000 have been spent on housing and business premises, respectively.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is able to offer Govan Initiative additional financial assistance towards creating secure entry systems in high-rise flats.

[holding answer 10 March 1992]: Funding of secure entry systems in high flat housing is included in the secure communities project, which is funded under the urban programme. No application was received, in the current round of urban programme bids, for additional funding assistance, towards secure entry systems.

Departmental Properties

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many residential properties owned by his Department are (a) empty, (b) for sale on the open market, (c) intended for sale on the open market and (d) for sale to housing associations in terms of numbers and percentage of stock.

[holding answer 5 March 1992]: The information requested is as follows:

Number

per cent.

(a) 268

12.85

(b) 55

2.64

(c) 110

5.27

(d) 6

0.29

Local Enterprise Companies

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each local enterprise company and in total, the composition of boards, broken down by (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) industrial sector and (d) non-private sector representation broken down by (i) local authority (except education), (ii) local authority education, (iii) other education, (iv) trades unions, (v) voluntary sector, (vi) health employer organisations, (vii) ethnic minority organisations and (viii) others; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: At least two thirds of the board members of local enterprise companies are required to be drawn from the private sector. Subject to that requirement, individual appointments are for the local enterprise companies themselves. Board membership is listed in the published summaries of the companies' business plans.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of the budgets of each local enterprise company broken down by (a) adult training, (b) youth training, (c) economic development, (d) environment, (e) local initiatives and (f) management.

[holding answer 11 March 1992]: The responsibility for making allocations to local enterprise companies lies with Scottish Enterprise. I understand that the amounts available to local enterprise companies for their adult and youth training blocks in 1992–93 were notified to them last month; and that they were informed of the allocations for 1992–93 for the remainder of their activities earlier this week.The total budgets of local enterprise companies will also depend on the availability of funds from sources other than Scottish Enterprise, including the European Community.

Social Security

Merchant Navy Funds

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to the accounts and assets of (a) the Merchant Navy ratings pension fund and (b) the Merchant Navy war memorial fund; and if he will make a statement.

Responsibility for the accounts and assets of the organisations concerned rests with the respective trustees who have a fiduciary duty to act at all times in the interests of all the beneficiaries under the trusts.

Departmental Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update his answer of 2 April 1990, Official Report, columns 490–91, regarding expenditure by his Department, to include 1991–92.

Department of Social Security spending, in cash and real terms and as a percentage of central Government spending, is given in the table.

Year	Expenditure (cash) £ million	Expenditure (1991–92 prices) £ million	Central Government spending(cash) £ million	Percentage of Central Government spending per cent
1979–80	19,416	45,143	77,600	25.0
1983–84	35,159	56,205	120,400	29.2
1987–88	48,771	64,613	142,610	34.2
1989–90	52,182	60,572	162,764	32.1
1991–92	65,116	65,116	205,000	31.8

Notes:

1. 1991–92 figures are estimated outturn.

2. Figures for 1979–80 and 1983–84 are based on the old planning total; those for 1987–88 onwards are based on the new planning total.

3. The percentage of central Government spending for 1991–92 is reduced largely as a result of the transfer of rent rebate expenditure in England and Wales to the Department of the Environment and Welsh Office programmes.

Benefit Rules

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many existing claimants of income support in (a) the Monmouth constituency, (b) Cwmbran Department of Social Security office, (c) Gwent and (d) Wales will be afforded transitional protection when the 16-hour rule is introduced;(2) how many of the income support claimants who will get transitional protection are ineligible for family credit because they have no dependent children;(3) what is his estimate of the reduction in registered unemployment in the Monmouth constituency which will result from the introduction of the 16-hour rule.

I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that information showing the number of claimants entitled to protection in particular geographical areas is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Neither is it possible to say what impact the hours change may have on registered unemployment in any specific area.We estimate that, nationally, around 45,000 families with children and 15,000 people without children are working between 16 and 24 hours a week and receiving income support. All of them will be entitled under special protection rules to continue receiving income support from April when the 16 hours rule is introduced. Of the families with children, about 30,000 are expected to be better off on family credit and so may choose to claim that benefit instead of income support.

Widows

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the assistance and benefit available to widows.

Widow's payment, widowed mother's allowance and widow's pension are available, according to circumstances, to widows aged under 60 years of age whose late husbands had met the appropriate national insurance contributions conditions. Widows aged 60 or over are in most circumstances entitled to a contributory retirement pension based upon the late husband's national insurance contribution record. Both widowed mother's allowance and basic retirement pension can attract a dependency increase for children.My hon. Friend may like to know that the estimated expenditure on these benefits in 1991–92 is £983 million.Under the war pensions scheme administered by the Department, war widows pensions are available, in the main, to widows of men whose deaths were due to or substantially hastened by service in the armed forces, whether in war or peacetime; additions are also payable for dependent children. These pensions are paid at preferential rates.Further information can be found in DSS Leaflets NP45, MPL 152 and MPL 154; I will send copies to my hon. Friend.In addition other social security benefits are available to widows who make a claim and satisfy the necessary conditions for the award of the benefit and these include child benefit and income-related benefits.

Council Tax

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will rework the table shown as figure 20—"Marginal net income deduction rates"—in his Department's published plan for 1992–93 in the light of the present proposals for council tax benefit tapers; and if he will publish the results in a similar fashion.

The numbers with marginal net income deduction rates calculated for benefit units in receipt of income-related benefits, where at least one partner works 24 hours a week and where council tax benefit replaces community charge benefit are as follows:

Percentage	1991–92 Thousands
100 and above	0
90 and above	55
80 and above	220
70 and above	390
60 and above	395
50 and above	395

Note: Estimates are cumulative and rounded to the nearest 5,000.

Source: Projections based on the 1987 and 1988 Family Expenditure Surveys, and are not directly comparable to Figure 20 in the Departmental Report, which is based on Family Expenditure Surveys for 1986, 1987 and 1988.

Employment Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what conditions need to be fulfilled by participants in the employment training scheme to be able to claim in-work benefits including family credit; if he will explain what conditions the scheme has had to satisfy so that participants are able to make successful claims; and if he will make a statement.

Participants in the employment training scheme can claim housing benefit if they are liable for rent and community charge benefit if they are liable for the full personal community charge in the same way as any other person. To claim family credit the claimant, or his partner, must be in remunerative work of at least 24 hours a week 16 hours a week from 7 April and responsible for at least one child. For family credit purposes the employment training scheme counts as remunerative work only if the participant has employee status. Under the terms of their contracts with the Employment Department, training and enterprise councils are responsible for ensuring that trainees are informed of their status while undergoing training.

Child Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of youngsters between 16 years and 18 years of age whose parents claim child benefit for them in each year since 1981.

The information is not available in the precise form requested. The following information has been compiled from table G1.06, formerly table 30.36, of "Social Security Statistics". The table gives the estimated numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds for whom child benefit was in payment at 31 December in each year. This includes those in full-time non-advanced education and those who have left such education but for whom child benefit is still payable.

	Thousands
1981	1,012
1982	1,005
1983	967
1984	939
1985	924
1986	913
1987	925
1988	956
1989	952
1990	961
1991	¹n.y.a.
¹ Not yet available.

Students Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to alter or remove the access to income support and housing benefit of students who take a year out from their studies.

Students who temporarily suspend their studies should normally look to the education system for support. Those in vulnerable groups may qualify for income support and housing benefit. We have no plans to change the present arrangements.

Social Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether there is a full social fund section service in every benefit office in every benefit agency district.

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

Income Support

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients of income support are aged (a) 18, (b) 19, (c) 20, (d) 21, (e) 22, (f) 23 and (g) 24 years.

The information requested is in the table.

Age	Number of recipients Thousands
18	81
19	109
20	101
21	103
22	92
23	102
24	100

Source: annual statistical inquiry May 1990

Note:All figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients of income support who are responsible for mortgage etc. interest are aged (a) 18–19, (b) 20, (c) 21, (d) 22, (e) 23 and (f) 24 years.

The information requested is in the table.

Age group	Number of recipients in thousands
18–19	0
20	1
21	1
22	2
23	4
24	4

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. Number of claimants 0 denotes fewer than 499.

Source: Income support statistics annual inquiry May 1990.

To ask the Secetary of State for Social Security what proportion of claimants in (a) residential homes and (b) nursing homes have had their fees met in full by income support, discounting the personal expenses allowances, in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

[holding answer 10 March 1992]: The information requested is in the table.

	Fees met in full
Year	RCH Per cent.	NH Per cent.
1986–87	79	70
1987–88	52	68
1988–89	65	51
1989–90	61	53
1990–91	61	67

Notes:

1. Figures to nearest whole per cent.

2. Figures for 1987–88 are based over three quarters.

3. All other figures are based over four quarters.

4. Source Quarterly Statistical Enquiries February 1986 November 1991.

Opcs Disability Survey

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total gross cost of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys survey on disability in Great Britain at cash prices and at 1991–92 prices, respectively.

[holding answer 27 February 1992]: The total gross cost was £2.47 million at cash prices and £3.62 million at 1991–92 prices.

Tax And Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures similar to those in his Department's tax/benefit model table, showing net weekly spending power for a lone mother with two children aged four and six years under the benefit system based on upratings already announced for April 1992, and in each of the following circumstances (a) not working, after one year on benefits, (b) earning £20 a week from part-time working and (c) working full-time and earning (i) £60, (ii) £70, (iii) £80, (iv) £90, (v) £100, (vi) £110 and (vii) £120 per week.

[holding answer 28 February 1992]: The information requested is set out in the table. This takes into account the upratings announced for April 1992 in respect of family credit, child benefit, housing benefit, community charge benefit and income support, but all other data and assumptions are as for the published October 1991 tax benefit model tables.All tables of this kind are illustrative only and do not, except by chance, reflect the actual circumstances of the population at large. In particular, the hypothetical rents used do not reflect the wide range of housing costs individuals may pay. But the tables do indicate that, as a result of successive improvements in the tax and social security systems, it is now almost impossible for someone to be worse off as a result of an increase in gross pay.

Lone parent with two children aged 4 and 6
	£
(a) not working, after one year on benefit
Income support	67.57
Child benefit	23.30
Rent rebate	26.03
Community charge benefit	3.76
Total net income	120.66
Income after rent and community charge	89.93
(b) earning £20 per week from part-time earnings
Income support	62.57
Child benefit	23.30
Rent rebate	26.03
Community charge benefit	3.76
Earnings	20.00
Total net income	135.66
Net income after rent and community charge	104.93

Notes:

1. Child benefit includes one parent benefit.

2. Net income after rent and community charge includes the notional value of free school meals and welfare foods.

Lone parent with 2 children aged 4 and 6
Tax threshold=£96.44
Basic Tax rate=25 per cent.
Total net income on Income Support=£120.66
Net income after Rent and Community Charge on Income Support = £89
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Gross earnings	60.00	70.00	80.00	90.00	100.00	110.00	120.00
Tax	.00	.00	.00	.00	.89	3.39	5.89
N.I.	1.76	2.66	3.56	4.46	5.36	6.26	7.16
Take home pay	58.24	67.34	76.44	85.54	93.75	100.35	106.95
Family credit	61.80	61.28	54.91	48.54	42.79	38.18	33.55
Child benefit	23.30	23.30	23.30	23.30	23.30	23.30	23.30
Rent rebate	8.55	2.97	1.20	.00	.00	.00	.00
Community Charge benefit	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00
Total net income	151.89	154.89	155.85	157.38	159.84	161.83	163.80
Rent	26.03	26.03	26.03	26.03	26.03	26.03	26.03
Community Charge	4.70	4.70	4.70	4.70	4.70	4.70	4.70
Net income after Rent and Community Charge	121.16	124.16	125.12	126.65	129.11	131.10	133.07

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish tables, similar to those in his Department's tax/benefit model table, showing net weekly spending power for each of a single wage married couple (a) with two children aged four and six years and (b) with three children aged three, eight and 11 years earning (i) £60, (ii) £70, (iii) £80, (iv) £90, (v) £100, (vi) £110, (vii) £120, (viii) £130, (ix) £140, (x) £150, (xi) £160 and (xii) £170 under the benefit system taking account of the upratings already announced for April 1992.

[holding answer 28 February 1992]: The information requested is set out in the table. This takes

Married couple with two children aged 4 and 6
Gross earnings (£S)	Tax	National insurance	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
60.00	0.00	1.76	58.24	61.80	17.45	26.03	11.41	9.40	4.15	153.05	117.62
70.00	0.00	2.66	67.34	61.28	17.45	26.03	5.83	9.40	2.86	154.76	119.33
80.00	0.00	3.56	76.44	54.91	17.45	26.03	4.06	9.40	2.45	155.31	119.88
90.00	0.00	4.46	85.54	48.54	17.45	26.03	2.28	9.40	2.04	155.85	120.42
100.00	0.89	5.36	93.75	42.79	17.45	26.03	0.68	9.40	1.67	156.34	120.91
110.00	3.39	6.26	100.35	38.18	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	1.37	157.35	121.92
120.00	5.89	7.16	106.95	33.55	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	1.08	159.03	123.60
130.00	8.39	8.06	113.55	28.93	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.78	160.71	125.28
140.00	10.89	8.96	120.15	24.31	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.48	162.39	126.96
150.00	13.39	9.86	126.75	19.69	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.19	164.08	128.65
160.00	15.89	10.76	133.35	15.08	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.00	165.88	130.45
170.00	18.39	11.66	139.95	10.46	17.45	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.00	167.86	132.43

Married couple with three children aged 3, 8 and 11
Gross earnings(£'s)	Tax	National insurance	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
60.00	0.00	1.76	58.24	79.05	25.25	26.03	9.04	9.40	3.60	175.18	139.75
70.00	0.00	2.66	67.34	78.53	25.25	26.03	3.46	9.40	2.31	176.89	141.46
80.00	0.00	3.56	76.44	72.16	25.25	26.03	1.69	9.40	1.90	177.44	142.01
90.00	0.00	4.46	85.54	65.79	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	1.49	178.07	142.64
100.00	0.89	5.36	93.75	60.04	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	1.12	180.16	144.73
110.00	3.39	6.26	100.35	55.43	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.83	181.86	146.43
120.00	5.89	7.16	106.95	50.80	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.53	183.53	148.10
130.00	8.39	8.06	113.55	46.19	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.23	185.22	149.79
140.00	10.89	8.96	120.15	41.56	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.00	186.96	151.53
150.00	13.39	9.86	126.75	36.95	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.00	188.95	153.52
160.00	15.89	10.76	133.35	32.33	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.00	190.93	155.50
170.00	18.39	11.66	139.95	27.71	25.25	26.03	0.00	9.40	0.00	192.91	157.48

into account the upratings announced for April 1992 in respect of family credit, child benefit, housing benefit, community charge benefit and income support, but all other data and assumptions are as for the published October 1991 tax benefit model tables.

All tables of this kind are illustrative only and do not, except by chance, reflect the actual circumstances of the population at large. In particular, the hypothetical rents used do not reflect the wide range of housing costs individuals may pay. But the tables do indicate that, as a result of successive improvements in the tax and social security systems, it is now almost impossible for someone to be worse off as a result of an increase in gross pay.

Housing Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing the level of gross earnings in April 1992 taking into account upratings already announced for that time at which (a) a single householder, (b) a married couple and (c) a single parent with one child, aged three years, will lose in housing benefit, assuming full take-up of family credit, average rent and rates and other assumptions, as in his reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Clay), Official Report, 1 December 1987, column 566.

Single person: £22 a week.
Married Couple: £26 a week.
Lone Parent with one child aged three: £24.

Family type	Gross earnings at which housing benefit is lost(£ per week)	Gross earnings at which community charge is lost(£ per week)
Single Parent	92.00	80.00
Married Couple	123.00	150.00
Lone Parent with one child aged three	¹85.00	62.00
¹ Assumes Child Benefit of £9.25. One Parent Benefit of £5.85 and Family Credit of some £41.00 a week are in payment, in addition to Gross Earnings above, which would provide a total gross income of £141.50.
² Assumes Child Benefit of £9.65, One Parent Benefit of £5.85 and Family Credit of some £51 a week are in payment, in addition to gross earnings above.

Transport

Road Improvement Programme

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the cost to his Department's road improvement programme of the increase in VAT from 15 per cent. to 17.5 per cent.

It is estimated that, in 1991–92 total expenditure on VAT of £212 million will be incurred on section A (national roads system: capital—new construction and renewal) of the national roads, England, vote. This is expected to be offset by recoveries of £79 million.

Shipping Industry

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of the amount of money allocated by his Department for the Government assistance for training scheme in the shipping industry in each financial year since 1988–89; and whether the allocated amount was duly spent in each of the above years.

The money allocated by the Department for GAFT since the commencement of the scheme in 1988 is as follows:

Year	Allocation £ million	Spend £ million
1988–89	2.5	0.847
1989–90	3.5	1.756
1990–91	3.5	2.342
1991–92	2.754	¹2.665
¹ To date.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give details of what proportion of the total allocation for the Government assistance for training scheme in the shipping industry has gone towards (a) officer cadet recruitment and (b) financial assistance for existing officers to upgrade their qualifications, in each financial year since 1988–89.

The proportion of expenditure on officer cadet recruitment and higher grade certificates is as follows:

Year	Amount £	Per cent.
(a) Cadet recruitment
1988–89	612,000	24.5
1989–90	1,084,000	31.0
1990–91	1,572,000	44.9
1991–92 (to date)	2,064,000	74.9
(b) Higher grade certificates
1988–89	94,000	3.76
1989–90	490,000	14.0
1990–91	457,000	13.1
1991–92 (to date)	418,000	15.2

The remaining amounts being accounted for by publicity for the scheme in 1988–91 and the co-ordinating agents fees.

Cycling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the local authorities which included cycle schemes in their application for transport supplementary grant.

The following local highway authorities included cycling-schemes in their transport policy and programme statements for 1992–93:

Berkshire
East Sussex Hampshire
Isle of Wight
Oxfordshire
Surrey
West Sussex
Avon
Devon
Gloucestershire
Wiltshire
Birmingham
Solihull
Walsall
Wolverhampton
Bolton

Manchester
Oldham
Salford
Stockport
Trafford
Wirral
Cumbria
Newcastle upon Tyne
Durham
Barnsley
Doncaster
Sheffield
Leeds
Humberside
North Yorkshire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Nottinghamshire
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Norfolk
Suffolk
Brent
Camden
Croydon
Enfield
Greenwich
Hammersmith and Fulham
Haringey
Havering
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Kingston upon Thames
Lambeth
Lewisham
Merton
Newham
Redbridge

Number of passengers involved in injury accidents on the railways and buses and coaches: Great Britain 1990
	Killed (fatal)	Seriously injured (major injury)	Slight (minor injury)	Total
Railways
Train accidents	0	13	144	157
Movement accidents	37	107	2,551	2,695
Sub-total	37	120	2,695	2,852
Non-movement accidents	2	104	3,543	3,649
Total	39	224	6,238	6,501
Buses and coaches	16	721	8,555	9,292

Notes:

Train accidents are accidents to trains and rolling stock.

Movement accidents are accidents to people caused by the movement of rail vehicles, other than train accidents. The largest types of incident are falls from trains and from platforms. (The sum of train and movement accidents would be the equivalent of the accidents to passengers in buses and coaches).

Non-movement accidents are accidents to people on railway premises not connected with the movement of rail vehicles (eg slipping on staircases etc.).

For definitions of railway casualties see the Railways (Notice of Accidents) Order 1986; and for definitions of casualties on buses and coaches see Road Accidents Great Britain 1990.

Buses And Coaches

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total number of buses and coaches involved in road accidents in 1990.

The total number of buses and coaches involved in injury road accidents in 1990 was 12,200.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of buses and coaches failed their MOT test at the first attempt in the year 1990–91.

Southwark
Sutton
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Westminster

European Community

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what transport measures he intends to pursue with the European Commission and Parliament during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Community Council of Ministers and the United Kingdom chairmanship of the European Council of Transport Ministers.

Our top priority during the United Kingdom presidency will be the transport measures necessary to complete the single market. We also expect to deal with transport infrastructure issues; transport external relations; and transport and the environment. Those are the issues which we intend to pursue with the European Commission and Parliament.

Passenger Deaths And Injuries

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will tabulate for 1990 the number of passengers (a) killed, (b) seriously injured or (c) less seriously injured on (1) British Rail and (2) buses and coaches.

The information requested is given in the table. Information on railway passenger accidents is contained in the annual report on railway safety, copies of which are in the House Library. There are no separate figures for British Rail as the statistics for injuries relate to all railways.

Thirty-five per cent. of public service vehicles, which account for the great majority of buses and coaches, failed the public service vehicle roadworthiness test in 1990–91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the total fuel duty rebate available to buses and coaches for the fiscal year 1991–92; by how much this has changed in percentage terms since 1986–87; and how this subsidy is communicated in his Department's statistics.

The forecast outturn for fuel duty rebate on local bus services in 1991–92 is £200 million, 55 per cent. higher than the outturn in 1986–87, reflecting increases in both mileage operated and the rate of duty. Figures for the rebate are given in "The Government's Expenditure Plans for Transport 1992–93 to 1994–95" (Cm. 1907) and in the statistical pubications "Transport Statistics Great Britain 1991" and "Bus and Coach Statistics Great Britain 1990– 91".

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress in the allocation of resources for measures to promote bus use in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

I am pleased to announce the allocation of £200,000 of supplementary credit approvals in 1992–93 for bus priority measures in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Further allocations will be considered in 1993–94.

Marchioness Inquiry

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the name and qualifications of any assessor appointed to assist Mr. Hayes in his inquiry into the Marchioness disaster; if he will indicate the manner in which that inquiry will receive representations and conduct its business; and if it will be in public.

Mr. Hayes has two advisors assisting him with his inquiry. His safety advisor is Mr. Mike Henderson, who is the site manager of the north Tees works of ICI Petrochemicals. He is a chartered engineer, a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a member of the Institute of Petroleum. Captain Nic Rutherford is the inquiry's marine advisor, and is retired, after a seagoing career with BP. He is a past master of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, and is a former general secretary of the International Federation of Ship Masters Associations. He has been assessor for the Court of Appeal and the Admiralty court.The inquiry is not being held in public. Mr. Hayes has sought written submissions from interested parties and individuals and has invited interested parties and individuals to offer oral evidence to the inquiry. The precise conduct and form of the inquiry are a matter for Mr. Hayes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will add to the list of incidents to be considered by the Hayes inquiry into the Marchioness disaster the collision of the dredger Bowtrader with the northern terminal of the Woolwich free ferry on 30 January 1988.

I shall be pleased to draw this incident to the attention of Mr. Hayes.

Vehicle Ownership

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the figures for vehicle ownership in Greater London for each year since 1980; and what his projections are for the future.

The information requested is as follows:

Currently Licensed Vehicles with Registered Keeper in Greater London
Year	Number Thousands
1980	2,387
1981	2,410
1982	2,449
1983	2,493
1984	2,547
1985	2,583
1986	2,628
1987	2,653
1988	2,737
1989	2,796
1990	2,831

My Department does not forecast the total number of vehicles in Greater London. However, provisional estimates for 1990, the latest year for which figures are available, show that the proportion of households in Greater London with one car was 42 per cent. and with two cars or more, 19 per cent. It is forecast that by the year 2001, car ownership in Greater London will increase to between 64 and 68 per cent. of households.

London Regional Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the budget and forecast actual expenditure for 1991–92 and 1992–93 of his Department's London regional office.

Expenditure under the roads vote for 1991– 92 is forecast at £202.5 million against an April 1991 budget of £208.6 million. The budget for 1992– 93 is £241 million.

Passenger Journeys

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will tabulate in percentage terms for each of the last five years the number of passenger journeys outside London undertaken (a) by bus and coach and (b) by British Rail.

Passenger journeys by British Rail are not available by area.Figures for local bus services outside London are available in "Bus and Coach Statistics Great Britain 1990– 91", as follows:

Local bus passenger journeys (million) Great Britain outside London
Year
1986–87	4,179
1987–88	4,081
1988–89	4,001
1989–90	3,881
1990–91	3,654

Radioactive Materials

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what proportion of irradiated fuel flasks imported into the United Kingdom in (a) 1990 and (b) 1991, were monitored on arrival by (i) the radioactive materials transport division of his Department, (ii) the National Radiological Protection Board and (iii) employees of Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd and Nuclear Transport Ltd;

(2) how many consignments of irradiated fuel flasks were imported into the United Kingdom in (a) 1990 and (b) 1991.

One hundred and eight irradiated fuel flasks containing power reactor fuel were imported into the United Kingdom during 1990 and 92 during 1991. Three flasks of irradiated research reactor fuel were also imported during 1991. All flasks imported into the United Kingdom by Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd. (PNTL) at Barrow are monitored by staff of PNTL or British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. before trans-shipment to rail. Flasks imported by Nuclear Transport Ltd. from Europe remain on their railwagon under a canopy and are not routinely monitored en-route. All flasks are thoroughly monitored before dispatch and on arrival at the reprocessing site. During 1990 and 1991 respectively, four and two flasks were monitored on arrival by the National Radiological Protection Board on behalf of the radioactive materials transport division.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library the report prepared by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority with regard to a contaminated flask containing irradiated research reactor fuel from India which arrived in the United Kingdom on 30 January 1991.

The Health and Safety Executive fully reported on this incident in its statement of incidents at nuclear installations for the first quarter of 1991, announced in a news release of 2 July 1991. Release of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority documents should be for the authority.

Red Route (Islington)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received concerning the operation of the red route through the London borough of Islington.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 28 November 1991, Official Report, column 575. There has been very little correspondence since then.

Rail Investment

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out (a) the level of investment by Network SouthEast in each year since 1962 at current prices and (b) the total operating grant paid to (i) British Rail and (ii) Network SouthEast in each year since 1962 at current prices.

[pursuant to his reply, 11 March 1992, c. 535]: The information is as in the tables.

Network SouthEast Investment(Capital and revenue)
	£ million at 1991–92 prices
¹1982	192
1983	181
¹1984–85	168
1985–86	162
1986–87	183
1987–88	305
1988–89	381
1989–90	414
1990–91	323
³1991–92	380
¹ Network SouthEast was formed in 1986. Previous comparable figures are available only from 1982.
² 1984–85 was a 15-month period. The figures quoted is the 12-month equivalent.
³ Estimated.

Source: Network SouthEast.

(b)Grants paid to British Rail: 1969 to 1991–92 ¹
£million at 1991–92 prices
	PSO grant²	Level crossing grant	PTE grant	Other grants³	Total
1969	512.1	—	—	125.7	637.8
1970	490.7	—	—	95.6	586.3
1971	462.1	—	—	55.0	517.1
1972	404.1	—	55.3	452	911.4
1973	506.6	-	63.0	466.7	1,036.3
1974	899.4	—	84.6	-	984.0
1975	850.8	38.3	99.4	323.1	1,311.6
1976	1,005.7	35.3	97.0	152.6	1,290.6
1977	1,009.3	31.9	112.9	—	1,154.1
1978	1,040.1	32.3	119.4	—	1,191.8
1979	1,101.0	31.8	126.4	—	1,259.2
1980	1,111.4	32.0	131.4	—	1,274.8
1981	1,328.1	32.8	120.4	—	1,481.3
1982	1,336.2	32.8	125.2	—	1,494.2
1983	1,337.0	32.4	130.1	—	1,499.5
⁴1984–85	1,272.3	28.8	125.7	—	1,426.8
1985–86	1,161.4	29.2	110.8	—	1,301.4
1986–87	944.8	27.5	101.3	—	1,073.6
1987–88	989.2	30.0	102.8	—	1,122.0
1988–89	647.9	27.9	93.8	—	769.6
1989–90	568.2	29.8	106.0	—	704.0
1990–91	642.0	30.9	107.2	—	780.1
⁵1991–92	900.0	29.2	129.0	—	1,058.2
¹ Grant is paid to British Rail as a whole. It is for British Rail to allocate it between sectors. British Rail did not receive direct Government grants prior to 1969.
² Prior to 1975, grant was paid under section 39(1) of the Transport Act 1968.
³ This comprises:
(1) Transitional freight grant—paid 1975–76.
(2) Grant paid under Transport Grant Act to compensate for Government pricing controls—paid 1972.
(3) Special grants—paid 1972–73.
(4) Grant paid under section 40 of the Transport Act 1968 for temporary maintenance of surplus track and signalling—paid 1969–1973.
⁴ 1984–85 was a 15-month year. 12-month equivalents given.
⁵ Department of Transport estimates.

Source:British Railways Board annual accounts.

Volume 205: debated on Thursday 12 March 1992

Written Answers To Questions

Attorney-General

Lords Of Appeal In Ordinary

Polygamous Marriages

Energy

Sizewell B

Ministerial Visits

Home Department

Brixton Prison

"Custody, Care And Justice"

Bail

Male Prisoners

Criminal Justice Consultative Council

London Bridge Bomb

Retail Premises (Security)

Crime Statistics, Manchester

Name Badges (Prisons)

Cardphones (Prisons)

Prisoners (Television)

Sexual Offences

Drug Abuse

Overseas Electors Scheme

Crime Statistics, Merseyside

Travellers

Ethnic Minorities

National Lottery

United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service

Fire Service College

Magistrates Courts Rules

Asylum Applications

National Finance

Interest Rates

Public Debt

Inflation

Taxation

Savings

Football Stadiums

Earnings Statistics

Business Investment

Leisure Courses

Gross Domestic Product

Ozone Depletion

Vat Control Staff

Stamp Duty

Widowers' Benefits

Value Added Tax

Ec Budget

Bcci

Education And Science

Lip Reading

Special Needs

Degrees (Validation)

London Regional Office

Departmental Programmes

Croydon College Of Art And Technology

City Technology Colleges

Industrial Relations

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Incomes

Wild Birds

Gnp Statistics

Defence

Bunkers, Iraq

Merchant Shipping

Army Reservists

South Korea

Metallurgy

Air-To-Air Missiles

Naval Vessels (Replacement)

Procurement Programmes

Redundancies

Anti-Radar Missiles

Lynx Helicopter

Sea King Helicopters

Recruitment

Amphibious Forces

Private Housing

Housing Task Force