To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what progress is being made with the development of the statute law database; and what effect that work will have on the range of printed material published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office for the Statutory Publications Office.

Good progress is being made with the development of the database, which is due to provide immediate access to up-to-date statute law by April 1995. In order to meet this target, the Lord Chancellor has authorised the suspension of work done by the Statutory Publications Office in providing certain material for publication by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Newly enacted Acts in the "Statutes in Force" series will continue to be available as at present, as will the annual volumes of public general acts and measures and of statutory instruments. However, work has been suspended on revised material for "Statutes in Force" and on other tables and indexes. The Lord Chancellor and Her Majesty's Stationery Office will keep under review the balance between printed material and information available from the database, having regard to the potential for improved facilities which the database is expected to provide.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what changes will be made to the cash limit and running costs limit of class IX, vote 1, administration of justice in England and Wales.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary revised estimate, the cash limit for class IX, vote 1 will be decreased by £1,389,000 from £796,918,000 to £795,529,000 and the running cost limit will be decreased by £1,389,000 from £431,979,000 to £430,590,000.The revised estimate gives effect to a decrease of £1,466,000 in running costs, to allow for an increase in the external financing limit of the Land Registry Trading Fund.It is also required to give effect to running cost transfers of £77,000 from other Government Departments in relation to the Lord Chancellor's responsibilities in respect of the magistrates courts.

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the average length of time taken by the office of the Social Security Commissioners to determine individual cases referred to them.

The average time is 5·5 months from the date a case is referred to a commissioner as ready for determination.

To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to visit Durham city in 1993 for the ninth centenary of Durham cathedral.

[pursuant to his reply, 12 March 1993, c. 752]: I had the pleasure of visiting the Durham cathedral ninth centenary celebrations on 5 June, coinciding with the 60th annual general meeting of the Friends of Durham Cathedral.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of EC Home Affairs Ministers in Copenhagen on 2 and 3 June.

The meeting of immigration and police Ministers took place in Copenhagen on 1 and 2 June.Ministers considered progress in relation to the implementation of free movement of persons in accordance with article 8A of the treaty of Rome, and in pursuance of the conclusions of the European Council in Edinburgh, they considered the terms of their report to the European Council in Copenhagen.Ministers took note of several papers submitted by the ad hoc group of immigration concerning the asylum work programme and preparation for the implementation of the Dublin convention on asylum, and the draft external frontiers convention. They approved a resolution on the reception of particularly vulnerable groups of people from the former Yugoslavia.Ministers adopted a resolution on the harmonisation of national policies on family reunification, and a recommendation on checks on and the expulsion of third country nationals residing or working in member states without authorisation.Discussion at the meeting of Trevi Ministers on 2 June focused on the establishment of EUROPOL and in particular the EUROPOL drugs unit. Ministers signed the ministerial agreement on the establishment of the EUROPOL drugs unit and invited the forthcoming European Council in Copenhagen to come to a decision on its location. They also discussed reports and proposals from working groups on matters including terrorism, organised attacks on foreigners, environmental crime, international motor cycle gangs, money laundering and co-operation with eastern Europe.I am placing in the Library of the House copies of the recommendations and resolutions approved by the Immigration Ministers, together with the ministerial agreement on EUROPOL and the press communiqués issued following the meetings.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions exist on membership of gun clubs for persons who have had a licence to hold a gun withdrawn by the police.

Unless the club is one which my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has approved under the terms of section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988, members of a rifle or pistol club require a firearm certificate in order to shoot. Revocation of their certificate by the police would effectively debar a person from membership. A rifle or pistol club which wishes to be approved by my right hon. and learned Friend so that its members may shoot without holding a firearm certificate must satisfy him that the members are of good character. Any club which had among its members a person who had had a firearm certificate revoked would be unlikely to satisfy this test.Members of shot gun clubs should have a shot gun certificate. While individuals without such a certificate may, exceptionally, use a shot gun at a time and place approved by the local chief officer of police for shooting at artificial targets, this is not intended to provide opportunities for regular shooting by persons who do not possess a certificate. Before granting their approval to such shoots, chief officers must be satisfied that the arrangements involve no danger to the public.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all those organisations funded by him which give support and assistance to (a) perpetrators of crime and (b) their families; and in each case state what funding from Government they have received in each of the last three financial years.

The Home Office publishes each year a list of grants made by Government Departments to voluntary bodies. The list is broken down by subject area and includes a category comprising bodies working with offenders. The 1990–91 list has not yet been published, but I am placing in the Library, and sending the hon. Member, an extract setting out the Home Office's grants together with the index of categories. Full information about 1992–93 has not yet been collated, but I shall send the hon. Member the relevant extract as soon as it is available.The main schemes for funding work with offenders are the probation supervision grants scheme and the probation accommodation grants scheme. The former provides for grants to voluntary bodies working in partnership with area probation services which run non-residential projects for offenders under supervision in the community. The latter scheme funds voluntary organisations which provide supervised accommodation for offenders. About 130 supervision projects and 5,000 bed spaces are funded under these schemes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Trans-Pennine Consortium about the proposed private crossing of the Pennines along the A628 corridor; and if he will make a statement on the criteria to be applied to the project.

None. I would be willing to discuss any private sector proposal, but it would be considered in the light of current Government policy, including that on development in national parks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what further steps she intends to take to improve the employment prospects of disabled people.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State intends to announce as soon as possible the outcome of the review of the Employment Service's special schemes which will result in more effective arrangements for providing special employment help to disabled people. The Employment Service will also publish very shortly a document on the funding arrangements for sheltered employment with proposals which should increase the employment opportunities under the programme for severely disabled people.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals her Department has to introduce regulations which would require safety-at-work notices to be in a particular colour.

The Safety Signs Regulations 1980 require safety signs, which are defined as signs using shapes, symbols and colours to convey health and safety information, which are used at work, to conform to certain general rules regarding their shape and colour. These regulations implement EC directive 77/576/EEC.The Health and Safety Commission is currently preparing proposals to implement EC directive 92/58/EEC on the minimum requirements for health and/or safety signs at work. This directive replaces 77/576/EEC. It maintains the same general rules concerning the colour and shape of signs of the earlier directive. However, it also specifically requires safety signs to be used wherever there are risks to health and safety which cannot be controlled adequately by other means. The directive has to be implemented by 24 June 1994.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when the Health and Safety Executive expects to publish the guidance on golf course and range safety.

We expect that this document will be published in autumn 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what statutory provisions govern the extent to which or means by which a person can sue for damages or compensation for illness caused by passive smoking in the workplace; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 8 June 1993]: There are no statutory provisions expressly dealing with illnesses caused by passive smoking in the workplace. However,

—Regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, section 4 of the Factories Act 1961 and Section 7 of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963, which are in part repealed by the 1992 regulations, deal with the ventilation of workplaces;

—Regulation 25(3) of the 1992 regulations deals with the provision of suitable arrangements in rest rooms and rest areas to protect non-smokers from discomfort caused by tobacco smoke.

Breaches of duty under these provisions are actionable in so far as they cause damage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the work force has been employed in (a) service industries, (b) the construction industry, (c) manufacturing industry and (d) agriculture in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The available information is for Great Britain and covers employees in employment and the self-employed. Employees in employment data can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the Library. Historical data for self-employed people is available in the Library on page 54 of Historical Supplement Number 3, issued with the June 1992 edition of the Employment Gazette. Recent estimates for the self-employed are as follows:

Self-employed people—industrial analysis
Thousands
Great Britain	June 1992	1December 1992
Service industries	1,799	1,799
Construction	585	559
Manufacturing industry	279	285
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	247	236
1 Latest date available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to make a statement concerning the future funding arrangements for the agricultural training board in Wales; and what plans he has to increase funding levels.

The future funding arrangements for agricultural training in Great Britain were announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 1 April 1993. My Department is having discussions with ATB-Land Base to establish whether additional support should be provided for agricultural training in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future composition and role of the Agricultural Training Board for Wales.

This is a matter for the directors of ATB-Land Base, who are considering it, in consultation with my Department.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current (a) budget and (b) staffing of the Agricultural Training Board for Wales.

The direct administrative costs of the Agricultural Training Board-Land Base organisation in Wales in 1993–94 will amount to about £400,000 with additional overhead costs being borne centrally. There are currently 14 staff employed in Wales some of whom work on a part-time or short-term contract basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many farming apprenticeships are generated by the Agricultural Training Board for Wales; and if he will make a statement.

The agricultural apprenticeship scheme came to an end some years ago with the introduction of the youth training schemes. In Wales the board has continued to run a trainee of the year scheme, sponsored by National Westminster bank, and this draws on young people who are involved in YTS schemes, certificate courses and simply learning on the job interspersed with short courses.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to secure that the relationship between the Welsh Forum and the Agricultural Training Board in Wales is similar to the adopted arrangements in Scotland.

Yes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to introduce legislation to enhance the protection of wildlife and to give local authorities in Wales new powers to protect sites of nature conservation interest.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) on 26 May 1993, c. 553.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library a copy of the Newchurch report commissioned by the West Glamorgan health authority.

Copies of' the report "West Glamorgan and Environs Service Review" published by West Glamorgan health authority and West Glamorgan family health services authority have been placed in the Library of the House. The role of the consultants, Messrs. Newchurch, was to provide independent advice to assist the authorities in compiling their report. The only element of the report that reflects the consultants' own judgment is chapter 13, the critique.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 27 May, Official Report, column 711, how he assesses whether the target set in the St. Vincent declaration has been met without holding central information on the incidence of blindness among diabetics.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 17 May. However, the Welsh Office is committed to collecting information on a broad range of conditions, including diabetes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of pollution levels of rivers and streams in Wales in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Water quality of rivers and streams in Wales is regularly monitored by the National Rivers Authority and the results of samples obtained are recorded on public registers maintained by the authority. The authority publishes comprehensive river quality surveys every five years, and pollution incident reports annually, copies of which are placed in the Library of the House.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the current weight of plutonium, stored under safeguards, arising from foreign reactors (a) in spent fuel, (b) under reprocessing and (c) in separated form at Sellafield; what notifications to (i) the International Atomic Energy Agency and (ii) the European Atomic Energy Agency in regard to safeguards provision Her Majesty's Government have made regarding foreign origin plutonium at Sellafield; and if he will set out the responsibilities British Nuclear Fuels plc has to his Department and the respective international authorities in regard to safeguards.

Details of the civil plutonium stocks, broken down into the categories specified by the hon. Member, are given in the plutonium figures published on 4 February 1993 and placed in the Library of the House. As operator of the Sellafield site, British Nuclear Fuels plc meets the requirements of the Euratom safeguards authorities by supplying, via my Department, inventory change reports, material balance reports and physical inventory listings as laid down in Safeguards Regulation 3227/76. These reports are forwarded by Euratom to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of plutonium created in the Wylfa nuclear plant have been subject to application of export licences since 1975.

I cannot answer for previous Administrations. Irradiated fuel from Britain's various civil Magnox reactors is reprocessed together and therefore the plutonium arising, whether in store or exported, is not linked to the specific power station in which it was created.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what communications he has received from British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. regarding the future strategy for handling radioactive wastes from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant.

I receive communications from British Nuclear Fuels plc on a wide range of issues, including the arrangements for the management of waste arising from reprocessing at Sellafield.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 20 May, Official Report, column 288, what benefits and new information accrued to his Department as a result of the departmental representation at the European Safeguards and Development Association meeting; how many personnel from the Atomic Energy Authority were present at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the costs incurred by the attendance at the meeting.

The 15th symposium of the European Safeguards Research and Development Association included, inter alia, sessions on challenges and trends in modern safeguards, safeguards concepts and national programmes. These provided information important in the development of international safeguards policy, for which my Department has a responsibility. Other sessions dealt with technical aspects of safeguards implementation and technology. Full proceedings of the symposium will be published shortly.In connection with the United Kingdom's programme of safeguards research and development my Department funded participation in the symposium of four AEA personnel and contributed to that of a fifth. The cost of this and departmental attendance was approximately £9,000. Attendance of other AEA personnel at the symposium is a matter for AEA.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take following the National Audit Office report on decommissioning civil nuclear facilities.

The National Audit Office report of 4 June is being considered by the Public Accounts Committee. The Department's accounting officer will be giving oral evidence to the Committee on 30 June. The Government will give a detailed response to the subsequent PAC report in the usual way through a Treasury minute.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to examine the proposals put forward in the 17th report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (Cm 2181) on the use of waste as fuel for energy in incineration plants.

I welcome the 17th report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (CM 2181) and note its view that incineration will prove to be the best practicable environmental option for municipal waste requiring disposal. Energy recovery is accepted as a legitimate means of recycling and I have already agreed with my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside that we should re-examine the idea of setting waste-to-energy targets. The Government will be making a full response to the Royal Commission's report in due course.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how long after 5 November estimated figures for the number of firework injuries are made available to his Department.

[holding answer 27 May 1993]: Returns are usually received by the Consumer Safety Unit by the end of February the following year.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if consortia from the 14th licensing round who withdraw will be given the opportunity to resubmit their applications.

No consortium has withdrawn as a whole from any application made under the 14th offshore licensing round.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what account his Department takes of withdrawal of consortia from one bid for North sea licences when considering granting approval to that consortia for other bids.

No account will be taken of the withdrawal of a company from one or more of its sole or consortium applications under the 14th offshore licensing round when considering any other applications it has made.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what weighting he will give to factors other than statistical measures of unemployment in determining the outcome of his Department's review of the assisted areas.

[holding answer 27 May 1993]: The factors, other than statistical measures of unemployment, which will be taken into account in the review were set out in the review consultation document issued last year. A range of weights will be applied to these factors in determining the resulting status of the travel-to-work areas.

Date	Sample time	Location	Sample depth M.	Parts per million
8 January	1200	Quendale	Surface	100
8 January	1300	Garth's Ness	Surface	10,000
8 January	1430	Loch of Spiggie	Surface	Not analysed
9 January	0900	Ireland	Surface	715
9 January	1020	May Wick	Surface	18
9 January	0230	Hamnavo	Surface	115
9 January	1400	Papil	Surface	28
10 January	1200	Quendale	Surface	43

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many inward investing firms that had received financial assistance closed; how much grant they had received; and what was the total employment at the date of closure, in each region in each year since 1987–88.

[holding answer 8 June 1993]: Since the beginning of April 1987 to date 651 projects by foreign owned companies supported by either regional selective assistance or regional development grant, were completed. £95·8 million was paid in grant in support of 18,269 jobs. A check on whether all these companies now continue to trade since their projects were completed would involve disproportionate cost.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to make public the base line surveys carried out by oil companies in Cardigan Bay, St. George's channel and the Bristol channel prior to commencing exploratory drilling activities.

[holding answer 7 June 1993]: Any surveys carried out by oil companies are provided to the Government in confidence. Any further dissemination is a matter for the companies.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to make regulations relating to price indications given in connection with the resale of gas and electricity.

We have carefully considered this matter. There appears to be insufficient evidence to suggest that there is significant abuse. We therefore do not believe that there is a strong case for making regulations at this time. Nonetheless, we will keep the situation under review and we remain ready to reconsider the position at any time in the light of new evidence.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in full the details of all water samples analysed by Warren Spring Laboratory following the Braer disaster, together with the dates each sample was taken.

I have been asked to reply.The Department of Transport's marine pollution control unit was the customer for the sampling work carried out by Warren Spring Laboratory during the Braer spill.The information is as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on the retail prices index (a) during the 1994–95 financial year and (b) during the 1995–96 financial year, of increasing the rate of VAT on domestic fuel and power to 8 per cent. and 17·5 per cent. respectively.

The extension of VAT to domestic fuel and power is estimated to add just under 0·4 per cent. to the retail prices index in 1994–95, and just over 0·4 per cent. further in 1995–96.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average public sector pension in payment and the average length of service of public sector pensioners in the current year.

Information about average pensions and lengths of service of all public sector pensioners is not kept centrally. Estimates of the average pensions payable from the main public service schemes in the latest year for which information is readily available is as follows:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the total amount of revenue which has accrued to the Treasury from the development of North sea (a) oil and (b) gas in each year since exploration and development began.

Revenues raised from United Kingdom oil and gas production are as follows:

£ million
Year	Annual revenues
1968–69	1
1969–70	2
1970–71	5
1971–72	10
1972–73	15
1973–74	15
1974–75	20
1975–76	25
1976–77	81
1977–78	238
1978–79	565
1979–80	2,313
1980–81	3,743
1981–82	6,492
1982–83	7,822
1983–84	8,798
1984–85	12,035
1985–86	11,348
1986–87	4,783
1987–88	4,618
1988–89	3,168
1989–90	2,368
1990–91	2,312
1991–92	979
11992–93	1,278
1 provisional estimate.

It is not possible to subdivide these amounts as to those derived from oil production and from gas production, or those from areas outside the North sea.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of projects which have specifically been funded by revenues from North sea oil and gas revenues in each year since tax revenues accrued from exploration and development.

None. It is not the policy of this Government, or any other in recent history, to hypothecate tax revenue to particular projects.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total corporation tax paid by the 25 largest United Kingdom companies, measured by turnover, in each of the last five years.

The 25 largest United Kingdom companies and company groups, based on the levels of turnover in their latest accounts, had corporation tax liabilities, including advance corporation tax, as follows in the years 1987 to 1991:

£ billion
Year	Number
1987	3·1
1988	3·0
1989	3·5
1990	3·5
1991	3·3

Liabilities for 1992 are not available yet. Corporation tax liabilities exclude double tax relief for tax paid overseas.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans Her Majesty's Government have to issue new commemorative coins.

Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the recommendation of my predecessor, the right hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Lamont), that a 50p coin be issued featuring a special design to commemorate the 50th anniversary next year of the D-Day landings of June 1944. It is intended that the coin should be available in 1994 for general circulation. There will also be collector versions in base and precious metal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Government policy in regard to the current activities of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; and what action will be taken to ensure that human rights initiatives are maintained in that country.

We deplore the Khmer Rouge's refusal to co-operate with the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and the attacks on United Nations personnel and ethnic Vietnamese. We believe that the results of the election last month show that the vast majority of the Cambodian people reject the Khmer Rouge and its ways.We co-sponsored the resolution at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in February requesting the United Nations Secretary General to appoint a special representative to co-ordinate the United Nation's human rights presence in Cambodia and mandating the centre for human rights to run a human rights programme in Cambodia after the withdrawal of UNTAC. The former President of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino, has been nominated special representative.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government have to ask the United Nations to intervene in the case of the 400 Palestinians expelled from Israel last December.

We voted for United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 799 which calls for the return of the deportees. We welcome the recent Israeli Government announcement that they have no plans to resort to deportations and their hope that compliance with SCR 799 can be achieved.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the statement made by the head of the United Kingdom delegation to the first preparatory committee meeting for the fifth review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty held in New York in May.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 7 June, c. 86.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will implement the recommendations of the Third report of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs of Session 1986–87, HC 23, on Cyprus, in connection with contracts between northern Cyprus and the outside world.

Government policy on contracts remains as stated in the published observations on the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters were discussed and decided during his most recent visit to Paris.

Discussion between the French Foreign Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs concentrated on the situation in former Yugoslavia. They agreed to continue to work closely together for a solution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the subjects discussed with the French Foreign Minister at the meeting in Paris on 1 June.

Discussion between the French Foreign Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs concentrated on the situation in former Yugoslavia. They agreed to continue to work closely together for a solution.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will call for a specific investigation of alleged Croatian atrocities and war crimes in the former Yugoslavia at the next meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

The investigation into violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia, by all parties to the conflict, is being conducted by the United Nations Commission of Experts established under United Nations Security Council resolution 780.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the principle of trials for suspected war criminals in the former Yugoslavia regardless of the ethnic origins of either the perpetrators or the alleged victims; and if he will make a statement on the United Nations Security Council's decision to set up an international tribunal to deal with such war crimes.

We fully support the UN Security Council's decision to establish an ad hoc tribunal to try those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia. The tribunal is mandated to bring alleged perpetrators from any of the parties to justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support the reconvening of the London conference on the former Yugoslavia; and if he will make a statement.

There may be a case for reconvening the London conference at the right time. But, before going ahead, there would need to be prior agreement among all parties on objectives and a clear idea of the desired outcome. We would give particular weight to the views of the co-chairmen of the steering committee of the international conference on the former Yugoslavia, Lord Owen and Mr. Stoltenberg.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Croatian Government following the establishment of road blocks around the village of Kruscica; and if he will make a statement.

None. We are investigating reports which suggest that Kruscica is being blocked.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Lord Owen since the Foreign Ministers' meeting in Washington DC on 22 May; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs had an informal meeting with Lord Owen on 6 June and on 8 June attended the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, which Lord Owen briefed on his efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement in Bosnia. The normal arrangements will be made to inform the House of the outcome of the Council.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to receive the financial results of the Doncaster Health Care Trust for the year 1992–93; and if she will make a statement.

Doncaster health care trust, in common with all other national health service trusts, is required to present its annual accounts to an annual public meeting no later than 30 September following the year-end accounts.For the financial year 1992–93, the trust will need to hold this meeting on or before 30 September 1993.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on hospital closures in the North Western regional health authority.

This is a matter for North Western regional health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact Sir Bruce Martin, the RHA chairman, for details.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the equal opportunities guidance from the Department of Health management executive requires the completion of a job description prior to (a) advertising, (b) interviewing or (c) appointing persons to a post within a hospital or medical school.

Departmental guidance EL(91)71, a copy of which is available in the Library, recommends that job descriptions should be issued to members of all hospital appointments committees to provide an objective basis for shortlisting and interviewing. Appointments to medical school posts are made by universities, which are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current status of the consultation exercise being undertaken by the United Kingdom central council in conjunction with her Department concerning proposals to amend the criteria for community nurse status; and when she expects the United Kingdom central council to produce its final proposals.

The United Kingdom central council's current consultation on its proposals for the reform of post registration education and practice finishes at the end of September. We would expect to receive its final proposals in the autumn.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the decision of the United Kindom central council not to recognise courses and seminars taken by practice nurses for accreditation towards community nurse status.

This is a matter for the United Kingdom central council as the body with statutory responsibility for the type and standard of nursing, midwifery and health visiting training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is (a) the population and (b) the standardised mortality rate for each health region.

The information for 1991 (the latest year for which information is available) is shown in the table:

Population and standardised mortality ratios for England and Wales by regional health authority for 1991
	Provisional estimate of resident population at mid-1991 (thousands)	Standardised mortality ratio11991
England and Wales	50,954·8	100
England	48,068·4	100
Wales	2,886·4	101
Northern	3,084·2	113
Yorkshire	3,661·5	103
Trent	4,700·4	102
East Anglian	2,091·9	92
North West Thames	3,560·4	95
North East Thames	3,756·7	99
South East Thames	3,686·2	96
South West Thames	3,023·1	92
Wessex	2,983·0	91
Oxford	2,559·9	94
South Western	3,298·0	92
West Midlands	5,254·9	103
Mersey	2,407·5	108
North Western	4,000·7	111
1 A standardised mortality ratio (SMR) is a single figure measure of mortality and is used to examine the relationship between: (1) the actual number of deaths in any given area and for any given period, and; in this instance (2) the number that would have been expected had that area experienced the sex and age specific mortality rates observed in England and Wales as a whole during that year. England and Wales in this instance is the 'standard' by which the other areas arc measured and accordingly has an SM R of 100.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will discontinue the payments of salaries to health authority and trust chairmen and non-executive directors and replace them with payments for loss of earnings.

We have no plans to do.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the availability of products containing triazolam in the United Kingdom.

All licences for triazolam products, including the brand named Halcion, to Upjohn Limited are being revoked on 9 June 1993. Triazolam products, which were available for the treatment of insomnia between 1978 and 1991, will therefore remain withdrawn. On the advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, licences for Halcion were suspended in October 1991 on grounds of safety and all triazolam products were withdrawn from the market at that time, pending proceedings to revoke the licences.The three bodies who have heard representations from Upjohn against the proposed revocation of the triazolam licences have given conflicting advice. The Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Commission were both concerned about the safety of triazolam and advised that the 0·25 mg product licences should be revoked but they differed as to whether or not the 0·125 mg licences should be revoked. In contrast, a panel of persons appointed by the licensing authority under the Medicines Act 1968 concluded that the benefits of both dose forms of triazolam outweigh the risks and appeared largely reassured by the revisions of the product information proposed by Upjohn.The licensing authority has based its decision on consideration of the safety of triazolam. It has taken into account the views of each of the advisory bodies in reaching the decision and carefully considered the underlying reasons for the differences in the conclusions and advice received. The licensing authority has not accepted the conclusions of the panel and is not reassured of the safety of triazolam.The licensing authority has examined measures alternative to revocation of the licences for triazolam but has concluded that restrictions in the dose, duration of treatment or availability of triazolam would not provide adequate safeguards against its hazards in normal use.The first concern must be for patients. Because we are not satisfied as to the safety of triazolam, we believe it is right to be cautious.In summary, the licensing authority has considered the basis of the panel's conclusions carefully but remains not reassured of the safety of the triazolam products, and considers that the risks of triazolam outweigh its benefits in normal use.Copies of the report of the panel of persons appointed and detailed reasons for the licensing authority's decision are available in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the plans for the NHS Estates executive agency.

We are pleased to report that the National Health Service Estates Management and Health Building Agency (NHS Estates) has had a successful year as an executive agency of this Department. We have agreed the agency's 1993–96 three-year corporate plan and the annual business plan. Targets for 1993–94 are to:

(i)Deliver all products and services on time and within cost.

(ii) Review with customers the quality of services provided, frequency and style depending on the nature of the contract terms.

(iii) increase revenues from the NHS and private sector to 67 per cent. of the cost of services purchased. (100 per cent. in 1995–96).

(iv) increase income from United Kingdom consultancy services by 5 per cent. to £640,000.

(v) Untie £725,000 of Agency resources to the NHS (market test) and recover through sales. (Total £1·2 million now, £2·4 million 1995–96).

(vi) Achieve BS5750 quality assurance accreditation by 31 March 1994.

(vii) Explore the scope for market testing functions carried out on behalf of the NHS Management Executive by 30 September 1993.

(viii) Keep within agreed Public Expenditure Survey baselines and additionally make 4 per cent. (£400,000) efficiency savings on the running costs element.

(ix) Complete relocation of new headquarters to Leeds, saving £1·1 million per annum.

(x) Co-ordinate an induction and training programme for all staff (75 per cent. of agency staff are new personnel). This will be ongoing and will be incorporated in the appraisal programme.

(xi) Develop an overall measure of efficiency based on a cost weighted activity index by 1995–96.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement about her plans to publish new advice to staff in the national health service about relations with the public and the media.

Sir Duncan Nichol has now issued new advice, "Guidance for staff on relations with the public and the media", under cover of executive letter (93)51. The guidance has been issued to national health service employers, including regional, district and family health services authorities and national health service trusts. The guidance provides a framework within which local procedures can and should be developed to enable staff to raise legitimate concerns about health care issues in a responsible way. Copies of the executive letter and accompanying guidance have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS employees acting as non-executive directors of trusts may receive remuneration from both sources.

National health service employees who are eligible to act as non-executive directors of trusts are entitled to receive the standard level of remuneration of £5,000 per annum, regardless of any other earnings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's policy about NHS employees being provided with foreign-produced cars.

The decision as to which vehicle to provide to national health service employees required to travel regularly on official business is entirely for local management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the latest available response times for ambulances dealing with 999 calls in Bordon, Hampshire.

Information on the Bordon area is not available centrally.In 1991–92, the Hampshire ambulance service as a whole responded to 97 per cent. of emergency calls within the 19-minute patients charter standard.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received about providing paramedic cover in ambulances serving Bordon, Hampshire, in response to 999 calls.

I have received one letter from my hon. Friend the Member for Hampshire, East (Mr. Mates).Hampshire ambulance service, which includes the Bordon area, is well on the way to meeting the Government's target of having one paramedic on each front-line ambulance by the end of 1995.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what he estimates will be the increase in social security costs in the next year; and what is the breakdown of those costs between increases due to costs related to (a) unemployment and (b) other factors.

The estimated increase in social security expenditure from 1992–93 to 1993–94 is £6,152 million, of which £2,035 million is due to costs related to unemployment

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many men and women paid both class 1 and class 2 national insurance contributions in 1991–92 and 1992–93; and what those figures represented as a percentage of the combined total of both classes of NI contributions in each year.

Figures for 1991–92 and 1992–93 are not yet available. The latest figures are in the table.

1990–91	Men	Women	Total
Mixed class ½1number of contributors	242,000	70,000	312,000
Percentage of total class 1 and 2	1·7 per cent.	0·7 per cent.	1·3 per cent.
1 Figures show the number of contributors who paid at least one class 2 contribution and some class 1 contributions during the tax year. It is not possible to distinguish between those who were concurrently or consecutively employed and self-employed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to change the situation whereby a self-employed person who also works part-time for another employer is required to pay both class 1 and class 2 national insurance, regardless of the level of the combined incomes; and if he will make a statement.

We have no such plans. The current arrangements ensure that where someone has earnings from more than one employment, regardless of the level of the combined incomes, the total contributions payable under class 1 and class 2 are subject to an annual maximum; currently £1,795·84.If someone works for an employer and earns less than the lower earnings limit, currently £56 a week, no class 1 contribution is due. Similarly, self-employed people who expect their earnings to be less than a prescribed level, currently £3,140 a year, can apply to be excepted from paying class 2 contributions.Where contributions from more than one occupation are payable, they are aggregated for the purposes of calculating entitlement to contributory benefits.

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many awards of the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance have been made to date under the severe mental impairment regulations which took effect from 1 April 1992.

As at 31 May 1993, 2,062 such awards had been recorded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the current three-mile rule for free transport for children to schools was introduced; what plans he has to revise it; and if he will make a statement.

The present definition of "walking distance" —two miles for pupils aged five to seven, three miles for eight to sixteen-year-olds, measured by the nearest available route—was introduced in the 1944 Act. Section 39 deals with the grounds on which a parent is not guilty of an offence if his child fails to attend school regularly. It, along with other factors, is taken into account by local education authorities in considering, under section 55 of the 1944 Act, when free transport is necessary.The Government have no plans to revise the present provisions.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proposals he has regarding the qualifications necessary before an individual may embark on a teacher training course; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has issued a consultation document today, containing proposals for reforming courses of initial training for primary teachers. The only major change proposed to entry qualifications is that there should be a new requirement that with effect from 1 September 1998 all entrants to such courses who were born on or after 1 September 1979 should have attained a standard equivalent to GCSE grade C in science. The qualifications for entry to initial training courses for secondary teachers were set out in DFE circular 9–92 and are unchanged. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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 information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.Available information is detailed in Northern Ireland Estimates and United Kingdom Supply Estimates which are held in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) business and (b) domestic rate payers are in arrears with their 1992–93 rates payments in Northern Ireland.

Rate collection operational matters are the responsibility of Mr. David Gallagher, chief executive of the Rate Collection Agency. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the recommended complement of staff for the Northern Ireland fire brigade in each of the last five years.

The recommended complements are as follows:

	Whole-time	Retained	Control	Others
1988	731	803	62	228
1989	733	980	62	229½
1990	733	980	59	218½
1991	831	980	59	225½
1992	847	980	59	222½

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents the Northern Ireland fire brigade has responded to in each of the last five years.

The number of incidents was as follows:

	Whole-time pumping appliances	Retained pumping appliances	Emergency tenders	Aerial appliance	Foam tenders	Emergency support units
1988	5	6	5	3	2	2
1989	5	6	5	3	2	2
1990	5	6	5	3	2	2
1991	5	6	5	3	2	2
1992	5	6	5	3	2	2

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fire stations have been upgraded in each of the last five years; and if he will list those stations which have been recommended for upgrading but have still to be upgraded.

	Number
1988	22,970
1989	28,109
1990	25,099
1991	30,299
1992	27,288

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the operation of the pay formula as it applies to the Northern Ireland fire brigade and the impact of the 1·5 per cent. pay increase; and what steps are proposed to reinstate the departure in the current year from the agreed pay formula.

The Government are not a party to the firefighters' pay agreement and have no role in the negotiation of firefighters' pay, which is negotiated on a United Kingdom basis within the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades, on which employers' and employees' organisations are represented. The current pay agreement provides for annual increases in firefighters' pay to be linked to the upper quartile of movements in pay for skilled manual workers. However, the Government have made it clear that the fire service employers are expected to comply with the policy on public sector pay, that any increases in the 1993 pay round should not exceed 1·5 per cent. Resources for the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland for the 1993–94 financial year have been determined accordingly. It is too early to speculate about the operation of the fire service pay formula after the current year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to how many incidents retained firemen responded to with below the Home Office recommended level of crews in each of the last five years.

I am advised by the Chief Fire Officer that accurate figures on the number of incidents retained firemen responded to with below the Home Office recommended level of crews are not available on a Province-wide basis. However, I am assure that the number of such incidents in each of the last five years was negligible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish details of manning levels in the Northern Ireland fire brigade over each of the last five years.

The information is as follows:

Ballymena fire station was upgraded in 1990, Bangor in 1991 and Lisburn in 1992.The following stations recommended for upgrading have still to be upgraded.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the names and locations of the maintained schools and the controlled schools within the area of the Belfast education and library board which are excluded from the "making Belfast work" initiative.

The information is as follows:

Maintained schools within the area of the Belfast education and library board which are outside the catchment area for the "making Belfast work" initiative:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many future pensioners in Northern Ireland have received forms requesting information as to the payment of retirement pensions; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.The administration of retirement pensions is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.