To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the number of dioceses which (a) paid and (b) were unable to pay their full quota to central church funds for each of the last 10 years; and if he will express (a) as a percentage of (b).

This is not a matter for the Commissioners; a diocese's quota to central church funds is payable to the Central Board of Finance. However, I understand that no diocese has been unable to pay its quota in the last 10 years.

To ask the right hon. Member for Selby, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will list the number of parishes which were unable to meet their quota for each of the last 10 years; and if he will present these totals as a percentage of all parishes.

This is not a matter for the Commissioners; parish quotas are payable to dioceses and details are not held centrally.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will make a statement outlining the reasons for his policy of not appointing the spouse of a serving police officer to the magistrates bench; and what other categories of spouse are covered by this policy.

In considering the suitability of candidates for appointment to the lay magistracy the Lord Chancellor must have due regard to maintaining the perceived independence of the magistracy. Accordingly, his policy is not to appoint the spouse of a police officer. The Lord Chancellor's Directions for Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace, a copy of which is in the Library of the House (paragraph 4.21), sets out the other categories of spouse covered by a similar policy.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the anticipated cost of retraining magistrates in the light of the proposed changes to the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

Statutory responsibility for providing training and retraining magistrates lies with the 105 magistrates courts committees in England and Wales. At this stage it is not possible to say what retraining will be required in the light of the proposed changes in the Criminal Justice Act 1991 or to estimate its cost.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what safeguards are in place to protect the confidentiality of public records should their administration be contracted out to private sector companies under existing market-testing proposals.

The existing market testing programme within the Public Record Office does not extend to the function of the administration of public records.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the cost to date and the expected future cost of his Department's market-testing programme; how many staff are engaged full time in work relating to market testing; which firms of consultants have been used in connection with the market-testing programme; and how they were selected.

There are 12 staff assigned to the market-testing programme in the Lord Chancellor's Department. The programme has cost £505,000 since November 1991. These figures include those engaged on the review of enforcement agents and their cost, as well as the costs of those consultants engaged to assist with managing the programme.The estimated future cost of this year's market-testing programme to September 1993 is £297,000.The firms of consultants used by the Lord Chancellor's Department since November 1991 to assist with managing the programme, and to assist in-house teams to prepare bids are:

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many recorded instances of violence have occurred in Crown courts in each of the last 10 years.

The number of recorded instances of assaults on Crown court staff in each of the past 10 years is as follows:

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average cost of building a new Crown court room.

The average cost per courtroom of Crown court building schemes completed within the last 12 months is approximately £2·5 million. It is not possible to assess the cost of building a new courtroom in isolation from the supporting facilities provided in the remainder of the building.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when he will appoint the deputy chairman of the Boundary Commission for Wales.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) on 20 April, Official Report, column 45.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost of the consultancy exercise involving the privatisation of water services in Northern Ireland.

The consultancy study was commissioned under conditions of commercial confidentiality and it would therefore be inappropriate to disclose the information requested.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to change the system for charging for water services in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

The Government have already announced that they intend to introduce new charging arrangements and customer billing systems for water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland, thereby achieving a more direct commercial relationship between the Water Executive and those to whom it provides services. Work is going on at present to identify appropriate arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what initiatives he intends to introduce to encourage private finance into water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

As the Minister of State for Northern Ireland said in his statement to the House on 20 April, Official Report, column 296, we are looking currently at the scope to introduce private finance into the provision of water and sewerage services. At this stage it is too early to say how this involvement will be secured.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the cost to date and the expected future cost of his Department's market-testing programme; how many staff are engaged full time in work relating to market testing; which firms of consultants have been used in connection with the market-testing programme; and how they were selected.

Under present arrangements, information on the cost of the market testing programme cannot be accurately determined across the seven Departments covered by the Northern Ireland programme, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.There are four members of staff engaged full time in work relating to market testing; otherwise, staff in Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office contribute to the market-testing process as part of wider responsibilities.The following firms of consultants, which were selected using competitive tendering principles, have been used in connection with the Northern Ireland market-testing programme:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what protest has been made to the authorities in the Irish Republic about the terrorist attack on Caledon RUC station involving the use of the Knockaginny footbridge; if he discussed this incident during the recent meeting of the Anglo-Irish Conference; and what communications he has received from the Government of the Irish Republic.

It would not be appropriate to comment on specific terrorist incidents under investigation. However, cross-border security co-operation is a continuous concern of both the British and Irish Governments. At the most recent intergovernmental conference on 25 May, British and Irish Ministers restated their complete support for the efforts which the security forces north and south of the border are making to erode and defeat terrorism. Both Governments are determined to continue, and to enhance, their close co-operation on security matters with the aim of preventing attacks and bringing perpetrators to justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take immediate steps to amend articles 5.6a and 156 (46.2b) of the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989 in such a way as to create the social and educational flexibility which will ensure that siblings born within the same year are not required to be treated as twins.

The arrangements for commencement of compulsory education are designed so that children can learn and be taught with their peers, with the articles in question setting the boundaries for each class. In any class there will commonly be a wide span of individual birth dates within the 12-month range. This operates satisfactorily and there are no educational grounds for a distinction to be made, in this respect, between children within one family.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at which locations the Rural Housing Association has schemes under construction; and at which locations the Rural Housing Association proposes new schemes for the remainder of the year 1993, 1994 and 1995.

The Rural Housing Association was registered in March 1992 and does not yet have any schemes under construction. It has, however, purchased nine houses under the special house purchase initiative announced in last year's autumn statement.The association has the following new-build schemes in its development programme:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total number of private nursing home places available in County Fermanagh at 31 March.

Four hundred and ninety.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the residents in private nursing homes in County Fermanagh at 31 March had been, within three months or less of their admission, residents of the Irish Republic.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) district nurses, (b) community midwives, (c) health visitors, (d) community psychiatric nurses and (e) practice nurses are or were employed by health and social service boards in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Information on district nurses, community midwives, health visitors and community psychiatric nurses is available on a comparative basis only for the last three years and this is set out in the table. Information on practice nurses is not collected centrally.

The Western health and social services board estimates that at 31 March 1993 72 former residents of the Republic of Ireland were living in private nursing homes in County Fermanagh.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the health care obligations of the Western health and social services board and the Department of Health and Social Services in respect of those admitted from the Irish Republic to private nursing homes in County Fermanagh on or before 31 March.

The Department of Health and Social Services and the health and social services boards are responsible for the health care needs of all people who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland, regardless of their origin or date of arrival in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reciprocal provisions were available at 31 March in the Irish Republic, under EC regulations, of private nursing home accommodation and related health care for those previously resident in Northern Ireland or Great Britain.

European Community regulations allow for health care to be provided to persons moving between member states. The type of treatment and, where appropriate, accommodation to be provided were, at 31 March, and still are, matters for the authorities in the state of residence. Under EC regulations there is an annual reconciliation of costs between the Governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and this takes account of the cost of health care provided to state pensioners of one country who reside in the other.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many residents from the Irish Republic in private nursing homes in County Fermanagh at 31 March were discharged to these homes directly from Cavan general hospital or other hospitals in the Irish Republic.

The information requested is not collected centrally. The Western health and social services board estimates that at 31 March 1993 21 patients had been admitted directly to private nursing homes from Cavan general hospital.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what is the total cost to the Western health and social services board and the Department of Health and Social Services of maintaining those admitted from the Irish Republic who were resident in private nursing homes at 31 March;(2) what has been the cost of general practitioner care involved in providing health care for those admitted from the Irish Republic who were resident in private nursing homes in County Fermanagh on 31 March.

The information requested is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the extent of hospitalisation required by those admitted from the Irish Republic who were resident in private nursing homes in County Fermanagh at 31 March; and what has been the cost to the Western health and social services board or the Department of Health and Social Services.

The Western health and social services board estimates that for the period 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1993 it cost £32,125 to treat in hospital patients from private nursing homes in County Fermanagh who had previously been resident in the Republic of Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what special hospital equipment has had to be acquired or leased by hospitals in the Western board area in order to treat patients discharged from Cavan general hospital direct to private nursing homes in County Fermanagh; and what has been the cost.

The Western health and social services board purchased a specialist bed at a cost of £752 for a person who had been admitted to hospital from a private nursing home in County Fermanagh. The person had previously lived in the Republic of Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what extra financial and other resources have been made available to the Western health and social services board for acute hospital, community and family practitioner services, in order to cater for elderly people from the Irish Republic admitted to private nursing homes in County Fermanagh before 1 April; and what future provision will be made.

No additional resources have been allocated to the Western board specifically for the provision of services to such people. Within the total resources—including additional resources for community care—made available to the board for its resident population, it is for the board to determine how best to provide acute hospital and community services for the elderly people concerned. In so far as the provision of family health services is concerned this is demand led and funded accordingly. Future funding for the board will be determined in the context of the many competing demands on the health and personal social services resources at that time.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether European Community legislation obliges a unit of management, after 1 April 1993, to provide for and manage the health care needs of those admitted from the Irish Republic to private nursing homes in County Fermanagh, on or before 31 March 1993.

Health and social services boards are obliged under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 to provide health care to persons who are ordinarily resident in their areas, regardless of their origin or date of arrival in Northern Ireland. EC legislation does not affect this obligation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the number of persons over 65 years normally resident in Northern Ireland who live within the Omagh/Fermanagh unit of management catchment area; what percentage of Northern Ireland's over 65 years of age population this represents; and what percentage it is of the population within the Omagh/Fermanagh unit of management.

The latest available information, taken from the provisional 1991 mid-year estimates of population, is as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants and others are estimated to be involved with the production and implementation of charters; and if he will make a statement.

The charter approach is integral to the delivery of public services, so many civil and other public servants are involved with the charter programme as part of their normal duties. The citizens charter unit in the Cabinet Office has 32 staff.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what effect his work on setting and monitoring performance standards in Government are having on the people of Dover and Deal.

As a result of the citizens charter, the people of Dover and Deal—like people everywhere—now have published standards for their public services and better information about how these are performing.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress made in preparation of his White Paper on open government.

I hope to be able to publish the White Paper before the summer recess.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans his Department has to improve complaints procedures in the public services as part of the citizens charter.

We will shortly be announcing a citizens charter complaints task force with the aim of ensuring that all public services adopt the key principles of good complaints systems. People need to know how to complain and they must have confidence that their complaint will be dealt with quickly and fairly.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to place a statutory obligation on public services to operate a formal complaints procedure for service users.

I have no plans to place statutory obligations on public services in respect of complaints procedures. It is for individual organisations to ensure that their complaints systems conform to citizens charter principles. I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 17 March, when I indicated that we were going to establish a citizens charter complaints task force to encourage and support organisations in this aim. We will be making an announcement about this very shortly.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of the complaints mechanisms for public service users contained in the citizens charter programme have an independent element; and if he will list them.

One of the principles of the citizens charter is that public service organisations should have well publicised and easy to use complaints procedures with independent review wherever possible. Many public service organisations have an independent element in their own complaints procedures or are in the process of introducing one. By "independent" in this context, I mean a review procedure which is not part of the management hierarchy of the organisation concerned. Those which are known to my Department are:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the sections and organizations within his Department for which there are plans for relocation or amalgamation.

It is planned to move a limited number of staff from the Horse Guards road building in central London to enable refurbishment work to proceed. It is also planned to relocate most of the London office of CCTA, the Government Centre for Information Systems, to Norwich by 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received on the issue of social responsibility and the proposed national lottery with specific regard to (a) young people and (b) low-income groups; and if he will make a statement.

The Department has received a number of letters which reflect the views of the Jubilee centre, calling for controls on advertising to ensure that the lottery will not target young people or those on low incomes. The Government are confident that the operators who will bid to run the lottery will take a responsible approach to marketing and advertising which will be reflected in their response to the invitation to tender. This is one of the factors of which the director general of the national lottery will take account in assessing bids.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the sections and organisations within his Department for which there are plans for relocation or amalgamation.

Most of my Department has recently moved to a new headquarters building in central London. The rest of the Department will move to a building nearby later this year.The Royal Parks Agency has also recently moved to new headquarters at Hyde Park.There are no other significant plans for relocation.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is the cost to date and the expected future cost of his Department's market-testing programme; how many staff are engaged full time in work relating to market testing; which firms of consultants have been used in connection with the market-testing programme; and how they were selected.

My Department has spent £173,682 to date on its own market-testing programme. Future costs are likely to be considerably less. The Royal Parks Agency and the Historic Royal Palaces Agency have spent £147,833 and £9,000 respectively since becoming the responsibility of my Department in April 1992. The Royal Parks and HRPA expect future costs of £20,000 and £10,000 respectively.No staff are engaged full-time in work relating to market testing in the Department or its agencies.The Department employed PE International as its consultant. The Royal Parks Agency employed Cluttons and Watts and Partners and the HRPA employed Land Use Consultants. All were selected by competitive tender.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what measures he is taking to promote and support the work of the Museums and Galleries Commission.

The Department of National Heritage provides regular funding to the Museums and Galleries Commission, £8·9 million in the financial year 1993–94. This helps to support the work of the commission in continuing to promote excellence in the museum community.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will list the sections and organisations within his Departments for which there are plans for relocation or amalgamation.

The Crown prosecution service has plans to relocate some of its headquarters functions from London to York. It is also currently amalgamating its former 31 areas covering England and Wales to form 13 enlarged areas. There are no plans for relocation or amalgamation in the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department or the Serious Fraud Office.

To ask the Attorney-General what is the annual cost of Law Officers' foreign travel.

The cost of Law Officers' foreign travel during the financial year 1992–93 was £7,353.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has made to his French counterpart in relation to activities by the French security services in relation to British companies.

It is not Government policy to comment on security and intelligence matters.

To ask the Prime Minister (1) what consultation process has been set up to enable women to make an input to the formal United Kingdom report to be presented at the UN conference on women in 1995; and what sums have been budgeted to encourage full consultation and to inform people of the United Kingdom's participation;(2) if he will make a statement on the implementation in the United Kingdom of the UN convention on the elimination of discrimination against women;(3) who is responsible for compiling the formal United Kingdom report to be presented at the UN conference on women in Beijing in 1995; and who will represent the United Kingdom Government at the conference.

The Government will be responsible for compiling the United Kingdom report to the UN world conference on women in 1995. The draft report will be considered by the ministerial sub-committee on women's issues. Details of the consultation process are being finalised. The views of the Women's National Commission will be taken into account at an early stage and other organisations will be invited to contribute. The costs of the consultation and information will be absorbed in normal Government expenditure. United Kingdom representation for the 1995 conference has yet to be decided.The United Kingdom ratified the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) in 1986 and reports to the UN on its implementation every four years. The second report, made in 1991, was updated in presentation to CEDAW in January 1993. It explained that since ratification we have continued to make much progress in the fields of the articles of the convention. Recent developments contributing to equality include the introduction of the national curriculum, the investment of some £45 million to support child care for school age children, the introduction of targets for action to address health issues that particularly affect women, and action aimed at increasing women's representation at all levels in public and private employment and the decision-making processes.The United Kingdom has now been able to withdraw two reservations, those relating to the married man's tax allowance and the employment of women in underground work in mines.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise the subject of human rights violations with the Vice-President of India during his visit to London; and if he will make a statement.

I raised the subject of human rights in India with the Vice-President of India during my meeting with him on 24 May.

To ask the Prime Minister what actions have been taken by Her Majesty's Government in fulfilment of commitments made by the United Kingdom at the United Nations conference on environment and development in June 1992; and if he will place in the Library a report of work undertaken towards meeting those commitments.

The Government are taking a leading role in the follow-up to the conference in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. We have prepared a progress report which we shall be putting to the new United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development before its first meeting later this month. A copy has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to arrange for full copies of any statement made by Government Ministers to the Scott inquiry to be placed in the Library.

No. The general rule is that the statements are matters between the individual Minister concerned and Lord Justice Scott.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the names, in date order, of all those who have died in the United Kingdom and Europe as a result of the troubles in Northern Ireland since 5 October 1968, giving the location in each case.

A comprehensive list of people who have been killed as a result of the security situation in Northern Ireland, as well as those who have died in related incidents in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and, since 1978, in mainland Europe, is currently being compiled and will be placed in the Library in due course. The list will include the cause and location of each death.

To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce a citizens charter for the nuclear industry.

The nuclear industry sells its products and services to other industries, not directly to the public. There are no plans to introduce charters for industries of this kind.

To ask the Prime Minister if he will now make it the policy of the Government to give substantive answers to parliamentary questions relating to the actions of Ministers and officials between 1984 and 1992 in relation to the export of arms to Iraq.

No. These issues are being investigated by Lord Justice Scott, and it would be wrong for the Government to comment on them before publication of his final report.Lord Justice Scott is free to call for any papers and to call any Minister or civil servant to give evidence to his inquiry. It is the Government's policy that all Ministers and officials called to give evidence should co-operate fully. The Government are, therefore, making all the relevant facts available to the inquiry, and it is right that we should wait for Lord Justice Scott to present his conclusions before commenting publicly.

To ask the Prime Minister what matters in regard to nuclear proliferation were discussed during his recent visit to Paris.

Nuclear proliferation was not discussed.

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, column 372, if Her Majesty's Government intend to support proposals for a single-tier European Court of Human Rights at the Council of European Heads of State summit in October; and if he will make a statement.

The Ministers' Deputies Meeting on 28 May agreed by consensus the mandate for a draft protocol amending the control machinery of the European convention on human rights (UCHR). The Council of Europe steering committee for human rights will now draft the amending protocol. The United Kingdom will participate fully in the drafting process. Our position at the heads of state summit in October must depend on progress made by the steering committee.

To ask the Prime Minister who will be the United Kingdom's lead Minister in the discussions on objective 1 status within the European Community.

[holding answer 27 May 1993]: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for driving tests have been made to his Department's test centre at Norris Green, Liverpool; how many applicants have subsequently passed the test; and what percentage the passes represent of those tested, in each month since May 1991.

Information on the applications for tests at individual test centres is not available. The numbers of tests conducted and passed are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bypass roads have been constructed since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

One hundred and sixty-two bypasses have been constructed on the national road network since 1979. Most of the 250 other road schemes constructed since 1979 have also removed traffic from local communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the outcome of the consideration exercises and panel reviews on each of the agencies within his Department, and their framework documents; and when he will make an announcement on his intentions for the future of each agency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn) on 27 May 1993, Official Report, columns 685–86.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned into the impact of increases in the maximum tonnage for heavy goods vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

The road wear implications of heavier gross vehicle weights have been known for some time and were reported on in 1980 by the then Transport and Road Research Laboratory. The Department recently commissioned further research from the laboratory to examine the likely impact of the changes in weight limits due to take place in 1999 under EC regulations. The first report from this study was published on 4 June 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what has been the number of roadside checks on heavy goods vehicles in the Greater London area in the period January to April.

In the period 1 January to 31 March 1993—the latest financial year quarter for which figures are available—the Vehicle Inspectorate conducted checks on 5,079 heavy goods vehicles in Greater London. Of these, 1,237 were conducted for the purpose of enforcing roadworthiness, while 3,842 were for the purpose of traffic enforcement—which included operators' licence checks, driving licence checks, drivers' hours checks and vehicle weight checks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the cost to date and the expected future cost of his Department's market-testing programme; how many staff are engaged full-time in work relating to market testing; which firms of consultants have been used in connection with the market-testing programme; and how they were selected.

The current approximate costs to date are some £540,000, including consultancies, since November 1991. The future costs will depend on the size and scope of the forward programme which is not yet finalised. The equivalent of eight full-time staff are assigned to the market-testing programme. The consultants used by the Department since November 1991 are:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the expenditure on red route-related works to side roads leading to such; what formula is applied for this; and how much will be spent on each red route in 1993–94.

The latest estimate of expenditure on approved works on roads adjacent to the pilot red route is £2,784,000. The implementation of the remainder of the priority (red) route network is expected to start in the summer of 1994. Measures in side roads will be eligible for funding by the Traffic Director for London where he is satisfied they offer value for money and comply with the requirements of his network plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what was the approximate tonne-mileage of freight traffic carried by British Railways in respect of (a) minerals, (b) liquids, (c) containers and (d) other general freight in each year since 1988; and what is the estimate for 1993.

Statistics are not collected in precisely this form. Data for the transport by rail in 1991 of minerals, petroleum products and chemicals, expressed in terms of billion tonne kilometres, can be found in table 1.10 of Transport Statistics Great Britain 1992. A copy has been placed in the Library. Table 1.9(a) contains figures for the years 1981–91 for petroleum products; earlier figures for minerals and chemicals may be found in earlier editions. Figures for the transport of containers are not available.These are the latest available statistics.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral statement of 24 May, Official Report, column 712, concerning the extent to which certain contracts for rail freight were covering operating costs, if he will outline the basis of the calculations he has made in relation to the scheme of paying up to 100 per cent. of the track, or overhead costs, of future freight on rail.

The administrative guidelines for the new track charges grant scheme are being considered.Details will be published in time for the introduction of the scheme, which is subject to the enactment of the Railways Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contribution he expects his Department to make to the achievement of Britain's commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emission levels to the 1990 level in the year 2000; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Members for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) and for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Mr. Miller) on 24 May 1993 at column 417.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many non-United Kingdom-owned companies or subsidiaries of non-United Kingdom-owned companies are providing towing services in the United Kingdom.

One of the two major towing operators currently serving United Kingdom ports is a United Kingdom based subsidiary of a non-United Kingdom owned company. There are a number of smaller United Kingdom-owned operators.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of traffic on the inter-urban trunk road network is long-distance through traffic.

This information is not available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what implications the recent report "Reducing Transport Emissions through Planning", and the draft planning policy guidance note 13, have for the size and character of his trunk roads programme.

The trunk road programme will be developed in the light of latest information about forecast traffic, which will take into account existing and future settlement patterns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the planning of trunk roads currently takes into account the potential impact of road schemes on settlement and development patterns (a) prior to roads programme entry, (b) prior to the preferred route consultation and (c) as part of the environmental assessment.

The implications of trunk road schemes for land use planning are taken into account during the development of regional planning guidance, in the appraisal frameworks which are made available at public consultation on the road scheme and also as part of a scheme's environmental statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he has published to define long-distance through traffic as regards the planning of trunk roads in respect of the draft planning policy guidance note 13.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria he used to rule out the proposal contained in the "Trans-Pennine Study: Strategy" report for a dual carriageway across the Pennines in the A628 corridor.

The proposal for a dual carriageway in the A628 corridor across the Peak District national park was ruled out because of the Government's commitment to a policy of no major new development in national parks, save in exceptional circumstances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has commissioned into widening the M62 beyond eight lanes; and what are their terms of reference.

Consultants were commissioned in 1991 to investigate and report on the need for widening the section between junctions 18 and 24 and the options for achieving this. The work is still in progress and no conclusions have been reached about the extent of the widening or other aspects. The next step will be to consult the public about any proposals emerging from the work.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the sections and organisations within his Department for which there are plans for relocation or amalgamation.

The headquarters of the Surveyor General's Organisation and of the Marine Emergencies Organisation was relocated in Southampton in May. The Department's central services will be relocating to Hastings this June. A study into the possible relocation of the highways safety and traffic command (HST) was carried out last summer, but staff in HST HQ will remain in London for the time being, pending decisions on agency status. There are no other major plans for relocation, but the organisation of the Department is constantly being adjusted to reflect changing needs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the public may obtain road safety audits prepared in accordance with departmental advice note HA 42/90 and departmental standard HD 19/90.

Road safety audit reports for a particular trunk road scheme may be inspected at any public inquiry which may be held into that scheme or at other times by arrangement with the Department's local office responsible for managing the project. Copies of the reports may be obtained for retention through the same channels at the cost of copying.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Select Committee recommendations have been made about, and how many accepted by, his Department since April 1989.

In the 10 reports published by the Transport Select Committee since April 1989 to which the Government have responded, 270 recommendations were made. Of these, 214 have been accepted, in whole or in part, by the Government or have been noted where no further action was sought.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the buildings currently owned or rented by his Department, together with (a) the estimated value, (b) the annual rent and (c) the annual maintenance cost of each building in the current financial year.

The Department's staff occupy 1,353 properties throughout the United Kingdom with an annual rent of £29 million and annual maintenance cost of £9·3 million. The estimated value of the properties is not known.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether BR pensioners will continue to get no less favourable treatment than at present when the joint open fund for pensioners and BR employees becomes a closed fund.

I refer my hon. Friend to the response my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport gave to him during Report stage of the Railways Bill on 24 May at column 628. The objective will be to set up the fund so that pensioners continue to have an opportunity of real increases in their pensions. Subparagraph 3(3)(c) of schedule 10 would prevent the Secretary of State from making any amendment to an existing British Rail pension scheme that would to any extent deprive a member of that scheme of pension rights which had accrued to him under the scheme before the coming into force of the amendment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the revised "Manual of Environmental Appraisal" will be published.

We are hoping to publish the manual in July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the circular on bridge and tunnel orders under section 48 of the Transport and Works Act 1992.

Late in July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reinstate the diesel engine emission tests; and what financial arrangements have been made with MOT testing stations.

Metered checks of diesel smoke in the MOT test will be reinstated as soon as possible. Our proposals will be the subject of consultation with vehicle and equipment manufacturers, the garage trade, motoring organisations and other interested bodies. No financial arrangements have been made with MOT testing stations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how the Government calculate the funding for each grant-maintained school; and how they assess within that funding the element for additional educational needs.

Grant-maintained schools receive the bulk of their recurrent funding in annual maintenance grant. The majority element is calculated by reference to the local management scheme of the former maintaining local education authority, including any allocations based on additional educational needs. Annual maintenance grant also includes elements for central services and meals.Grant-maintained schools are also eligible to receive transitional, special purpose and capital grants direct from the Department. None of these includes a specific additional educational needs element.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his estimate of the total costs incurred to date in regard to the national testing of English in schools in England.

The total estimated cost for developing, producing and distributing the national curriculum tests in England for seven and 14-year-olds is roughly £6 million since 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received about inaccuracies in his recent letter to chief education officers in regard to national testing.

About 20 authorities requested clarification of the details about national curriculum testing which were asked for in a letter sent to all authorities on 7 May.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to use plain language in the instructions given to English teachers in regard to the key stage 3 assessment.

My right hon. Friend would as a matter of course expect all instructions issued by his Department or representatives to be in plain language. He has not received any representations on the clarity of the instructions given to English teachers on the assessments for 14-year-olds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to amend circular 11/88 on school admissions.

My right hon. Friend invited comments last December on the draft on a new circular on school admissions. He is considering the responses to that consultation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local education authorities admit primary children into reception classes (a) once a year only, (b) twice a year and (c) three times a year; and what is the average age for admission.

This information is not collected centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the cost to date and the expected future cost of his Department's market-testing programme; how many staff are engaged full-time in work relating to market testing; which firms of consultants have been used in connection with the market-testing programme; and how they were selected.

The cost of the programme, in direct staff costs and consultancy costs, has been some £328,000 since November 1991. It is not possible to estimate the future cost as this is dependent upon the nature of the components eventually chosen for the programme. Only one member of staff is currently engaged full-time on work relating to market testing; other staff working on the programme also have other duties. The following consultants, all selected by competitive tender, have been used in connection with the programme: KPMG Management Consulting, Coopers Lybrand, CSL Ltd. and Shreeveport Ltd.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to implement the proposals contained in chapter 6.2 of the European Commission's fifth environmental action programme of 1992 on support material on radioactivity and radiation for teachers in primary and secondary education.

To implement the proposals in this action programme, a series of EC meetings was held in 1992 with the aim of developing curriculum materials relevant to radioactivity and radiation protection: a representative of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools took part in this work. The materials have been produced and have been tested in schools in a number of member states (not the United Kingdom): the final version of the material will be made available towards the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to extending the scope of speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy to handicapped children in special schools; and what recent representations he has received from carers and parents on the matter.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has a general duty to provide therapy services to enable local education authorities to carry out their duties under the Education Acts. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I receive representations from time to time on the provision of therapy services. We consider those representations carefully.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the proposals that the GCSE religious studies syllabuses should enable three religions to be studied in future.

The criteria for GCSE subjects are a matter for the School Examinations and Assessment Council. The council has now produced criteria for syllabuses for GCSE in religious studies which allow for the study of a single denomination, a single religion or a

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list his reasons for the guidance given in his draft admissions circular that early applications should not be used as a criterion for giving priority.

The law requires LEAs and schools to operate an annual admissions cycle, and to publish relevant information for parents six weeks before the deadline for expressing preferences for applying for admissions. Many parents will want to take as much time as possible to study the information and consider which schools might be most suitable. To penalise such parents by giving a priority to early applications would be contrary to the Government's policy of encouraging the operation of informed parental choice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the buildings currently owned or rented by his Department, together with (a) the estimated value, (b) the annual rent and (c) the annual maintenance cost of each building in the current financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how often the advisory subject committees of the School Examinations and Assessment Council meet; and what are the dates of the last three occasions when each of them met.

The School Examinations and Assessment Council subject committees, which are the responsibility of the council itself, usually meet three times a year. The dates of the last three meetings of each of the committees are shown in the following table.

The Department does not own any of the buildings it occupies. I cannot provide details of their value.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the sections and organisations within his Department for which there are plans for relocation or amalgamation.

The Department's operational work of servicing grant-maintained schools has recently been relocated to Darlington. Subject to the passage of the Education Bill, much of this work will transfer on 1 April 1994 to the Funding Agency for Schools which will have its headquarters in York but also retain a significant presence in Darlington. Also in 1994, the work of the Department's existing architects and buildings branch will be absorbed into one of its schools branches, but will continue to be based in London.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list those secondary schools chosen in the first tranche to be examined by Her Majesty's inspectorate.

The choice of schools being inspected by Her Majesty's inspectors in the current academic year is a matter for Ofsted. Ofsted has published lists of the secondary schools to be inspected in the autumn 1993 and spring 1994 terms by teams led by a registered inspector, under the new independent inspection arrangements introduced by the Education (Schools) Act 1992.I have asked Professor Sutherland, the chief inspector, to send details to my hon. Friend.