asked Her Majesty's Government:Who inspects remand cells and makes any annual report to Parliament on size, use and degree of overcrowding.

The inspection of prison cells for remand prisoners in England and Wales is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. He has a duty to inspect, or to arrange for the inspection of, prisons and to submit to the Home Secretary each year a report which is laid before Parliament. He is required to report particularly on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons.Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland has similar duties in relation to Scottish prisons. The inspectorate for England and Wales also carries out inspections of prisons in Northern Ireland by arrangement between the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What plans they have for further reform or abolition of the wages councils.

The operation of the legislation is kept continually under review, but there are no plans at present for further reform or abolition.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether considerations other than the hope of increased efficiency and lower costs to the consumer have affected their policy towards the privatisation of the electricity supply industry?

Her Majesty's Government's aims in privatising the electricity supply industry will be based on the principle that the needs of the customer should determine the industry's structure and how it is run. The best way of achieving this will be to free the industry from the constraints of Government control and introduce commercial disciplines; competition and private ownership will lead to greater efficiency and lower costs, and so give the customer a better deal.Other considerations include the need for an effective form of regulation to protect the customer, coupled with new measures to ensure that he receives a satisfactory standard of service. It will be of vital importance to maintain a secure and safe supply of electricity, and we shall ensure that the industry's employees and the nation as a whole have an opportunity to share in the industry's success.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the estimated cost of the research and development of the fluidised bed combustion technology by the British Government and each of the foreign contributors to this development.

Department expenditure for British Coal's participation in the pressurised fluidised bed combustion work at Grimethorpe under International Energy Agency auspices amounted to £1 7 million during the period of 1976 to 1984. The National Coal Board contributed £3 million. The Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany each contributed £20 million during this period.Since 1985, the present £28 million three-year programme has been funded jointly by British Coal and the CEGB, and contract work for the US Department of Energy and the US Electric Power Research Institute has amounted to a further input of about £7 million.