asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether users of garden care products purchased from garden centres or other retailers may be prosecuted under the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 if the use of products so purchased is illegal and whether in these circumstances such users have any defence in proceedings against them.

Users of garden pesticides would be in breach of the Control of Pesticide Regulations 1986 if they:

(a) had used a pesticide which had not first been approved by Ministers;

(b) had not complied with the conditions of approval for use as set out on the product label; or

(c) had not taken all reasonable precautions to protect human health, animals and plants, to safeguard the environment and in particular avoid the pollution of water.

In any proceedings for such an offence, it is a defence for the person charged to have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.Under the regulations, it is an offence for any retailer to sell products which have not been approved by Ministers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How much time elapsed between the submission of the draft replacement structure plan by the Berkshire County Council to the Secretary of State for the Environment and the publication of the Secretary of State's proposed modifications thereto, and how much time has been allowed for the people of Berkshire to make known their views upon the latter.

Berkshire County Council submitted their proposed replacement structure plan to the Secretary of State for the Environment on 9th January 1986. An examination in public was held between 8th and 26th July 1986, and the Secretary of State received the panel's report on 30th September 1987. The Secretary of State's proposed modifications to the replacement structure plan were published on 28th January 1988, four months after receiving the panel's report and just over two years after submission of the plan.The time allowed for representations on the proposed modifications to be made to the Secretary of State is laid down in The Town and Country Planning (Structure and Local Plans) Regulations 1982, and is six weeks from the date on which notice of the proposed modifications is first published by the County Council.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the number of new dwellings proposed in Berkshire and Cleveland respectively by (a) the County Councils, and (b) the Secretary of State for the Environment.

The total housing provision proposed by Berkshire County Council in their draft replacement structure plan, for the period 1984–1996 is 36,530 dwellings. The Secretary of State for the Environment has proposed modifications to increase the provision by approximately 7,000 dwellings to 43,500. Cleveland County Council have not yet submitted any formal proposals to the Secretary of State to alter their existing structure plans.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average freehold cost of (a) a three-bedroom house and (b) land for housebuilding in Berkshire and in Cleveland respectively.

I regret that reliable estimates of house and land prices are not available for counties.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the average infrastructure cost, including schools, policing, Health Service provision, and road and motorway construction, improvement and maintenance, per new dwelling in Berkshire and Cleveland respectively.

Information on local authority infrastructure costs can be found in Capital Expenditure and Debt Financing Statistics 1986–87, and on revenue costs in Local Government Comparative Statistics 1987. Both are published by the statistical information service of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and are available in the Library of the House. Information on completions of new dwellings can be obtained from the respective county and district councils in Berkshire and Cleveland.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will make a Statement on the outcome of the Environment Council on 21st March.

I represented the United Kingdom at this meeting. The council adopted a resolution on the close of European Year of the Environment which emphasised the need for continued efforts on environmental information and awareness. Notwithstanding disappointment that some important proposals had not yet been adopted, there was general agreement that the year had stimulated many and varied environmental achievements.The council reached agreement on a directive to control discharge of chloroform to the aquatic environment, in particular those from significant industrial sources. In connection with this agreement and at the UK's request the Commission undertook to bring to the council at an early date proposals for drawing up a list of the most dangerous substances for future priority consideration. A proposal for a directive to co-ordinate controls over discharges of chromium to the aquatic environment was also discussed. Due to divergences of opinion among member states, the council failed to agree draft guidelines put forward by the presidency for further work on harmonising national programmes for reducing pollution caused by waste from the titanium dioxide industry.A general welcome was given to the Commission's recently published proposals for ratification and implementation of the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. It was hoped that the proposed regulation on Community-wide measures could be adopted in June.Discussion of the large combustion plants directive focused on the emission standards proposed for new combustion plant and, in particular, the size threshold above which such standards would apply. It 'was necessary for me to stress that the German Presidency's "compromise" proposals were unrealistic and represented a step backwards from those recently presented by the Danish Presidency. Although I was ready to discuss the new plant standards and the requirements for reductions from existing plants, the presidency decided not to discuss anything further. Thus it was not possible to make progress at the council, although I look forward to more constructive discussions with the presidency in the near future.The council had an initial discussion of the Commission's recent proposal for standards for emissions from small cars, as required by Directive 88/76/EEC (the "Luxembourg package"). I made a statement welcoming a proposal to establish a European standard for replacement silencers for motorcycles.Further discussion of a proposal to establish a five-year Community-wide programme of projects illustrating how actions in the environment field might contribute to employment led to an undertaking by the Commission to consider alternative methods of financing such a programme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have received a report from the Director General of Fair Trading on the shareholding of the Kuwait Investment Office in British Petroleum plc and, if so, what action they propose to take.

No, my Lords. I will decide whether it would be appropriate to make a reference of the shareholding to the MMC in the light of the director general's advice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How many doctors approved under the Mental Health Act 1983, Section 12, have been appointed by each regional health authority; and what steps have been taken to ensure that regions are increasing the appointment and availability of Section 12 doctors in response to the recommendations of the Second Biennial Report of the Mental Health Commission.

I regret this information is not held centrally. New guidance to regional health authorities on the approval of doctors under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act will be issued shortly for consultation. It will stress the importance of having sufficient approved doctors, and regional health authorities will be asked to encourage adequate numbers of suitably qualified doctors to apply for approval. The Mental Health Act Commission will be one of the organisations consulted.