asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many private schools ceased operation in each of the years 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983; how many pupils were involved; and how many private schools, involving how many places, were registered in each of the same years.

The numbers of independent schools in England which closed in each of the years 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983 are 43, 62, 46, 50 and 39, respectively; the numbers of pupils involved are not readily available. The numbers of independent schools and numbers of full-time and part-time pupils in January of each of the years are as follows:

	Number of schools	Number of pupils
1979	2,222	424,066
1980	2,216	433,537
*1981	2,339	527,020
*1982	2,338	520,988
*1983 (provisional)	2,342	516,347
* In 1981 a number of direct grant schools became independent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children currently are in classes of over 30, 35 and 40 pupils, respectively.

The provisional numbers of pupils in maintained schools in England in January 1983 who were taught in the class sizes specified were as follows:

	Maintained Primary* Schools	Maintained Secondary* Schools	Total
Classes with 31–35 pupils	873,083	411,278	1,284,361
Classes with 36–40 pupils	120,447	22,567	143,014
Classes with 41+ pupils	60,262	109,890	170,152
* Including middle schools as deemed.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport when he now anticipates the completion of the M25 London orbital road.

Subject to the timely and successful completion of the few outstanding statutory procedures, the entire motorway should be completed during 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will initiate studies into the effects on the safety of motor cyclists and cyclists of the practice of road resurfacing contractors of burning or scraping hack road surfaces to give a lengthwise corrugated road surface before re-covering with tarmacadam.

I am very much aware of the inconvenience and discomfort caused to motor cyclists and cyclists when travelling over longitudinally corrugated road surfaces before resurfacing. A meaningful study of the effects of such surfaces on safety would need to embrace all classes of roads, the majority of which are outside my right hon. Friend's direct responsibility, and would take an unacceptably long time to complete. I am therefore considering the possibility of issuing advice on the matter in a form which will reach all highway authorities reasonably quickly.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list all anticipated major road repairs on the M1 for the next six months; and whether any further service areas will have to be closed.

During the six months ending 30 April 1984 the following major maintenance works are expected to be in progress on the M1:

County	Location	Nature of Works
Northamptonshire	Junctions 15–16	Reconstruction of carriageways (work almost completed)
Northamptonshire	Junctions 16–18	Advance works (before end-1983) followed by start of reconstruction of northbound carriageway towards end of period
South Yorkshire	Junctions 30–31	Reconstruction and overlay to carriageways (work nearing completion
South Yorkshire	Junctions 36–37	Reconstruction and overlay to southbound carriageway. Work starting towards end of period.

None of the above schemes will require motorway service area closures during the six-month period. However, the scheme in Northamptonshire between junctions 16 and 18 will affect the Watford Gap service area later in 1984 and closures will then be necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Transport what studies have been made by his Department of fatal motor cycle racing accidents at Silverstone race track with a view to improving standards of crash helmets.

My Department has not made any studies of fatal motor cycle racing accidents at Silverstone. I am, however, aware of two recent fatalities at Silverstone where riders' helmets came off.At present the British Standards Institution committee responsible for the British standards on motor cyclist's helmets is considering a number of improvements to helmets, including additional requirements on helmet retention.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if projects relating to heat recovery from waste materials will qualify for consideration under the industrial heat recovery consultative scheme.

The scheme relates to projects for the recovery and re-use of heat produced during manufacturing operations. This could include the heat of waste discharges. Projects for the use of waste-derived fuel are not included.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what percentage output of manufacturing industry has fallen since May 1979.

Output of the manufacturing sector—divisions 2 to 4 of the standard industrial classification 1980—was 13·5 per cent. lower in the three months to August than during the first half of 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has completed his review of regional policy; and if he will make a statement.

The Government are continuing to review regional economic policy with a view to making it more effective in the creation of jobs. We shall publish the results of our review in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those firms in the county of Merseyside from which regional development grants have been reclaimed since May 1979 and the amounts involved in each case.

[pursuant to his reply, 24 October, c. 23]: Except for the details of grant payments published quarterly in British Business, details of the Department's dealings with recipients are confidential. This includes details of grant recoveries in individual cases.

asked the Lord Privy Seal on what date the decision to phase out the use of official paid envelopes between 1 April and 31 October was (a) taken and (b) first brought to the attention of hon. Members generally.

Proposed changes to the postal arrangements were considered by the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee of the Services Committee at a meeting on 16 November 1982 and agreed to by the Services Committee and published in its report dated 14 December 1982. It has, however, now been decided that in view of the large remaining stocks of official paid envelopes, their phased withdrawal should continue until March 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how much money has been paid in Northern Ireland by his Department each year since 1969 in settlement of claims either private or arising from civil court actions and relating to the death or injury of citizens or damage to private property.

This information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what further consideration he has given to the level of compensation offered to ex-marine Martin Ketterick.

Provision has been made for Mr. Ketterick under the terms of MOD and DHSS schemes on the same basis as for other Service personnel who are disabled and have to leave the Service. In addition, Mr. Ketterick receives the normal range of benefits available to disabled persons.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers and men from Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, the Philippines, Syria, Uganda and Zimbabwe, respectively, have received military training in the United Kingdom over the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

It is not our practice to reveal details of training which we provide for particular countries since such information is confidential between ourselves and the Government concerned. However, we provided some training in the United Kingdom for personnel from all the countries referred to by the hon. Member at some stage during the period 1981–83.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many of those aged under 25 years were on Government training schemes in October.

By 20 October, 222,660 young people aged under 25 had entered the youth training scheme. Estimated numbers of people aged under 25 who are currently on Government training schemes are as follows:

	Number
Youth opportunities programme	69,100
Training opportunities scheme	11,200
Training for skills programme	3,000
Computer threshold scheme	1,000

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the recent experiment on the Saturday openings of jobcentres.

The experiment took place over a period of 16 weeks in 38 Jobcentres and ended on 30 July. On the basis of results from the experiment, the Manpower Services Commission has decided that Saturday morning opening is not in general in demand, nor indeed is it cost-effective. However, the commission has decided that regional managers should have discretion to open particular jobcentres where there is a real public demand which can be met at reasonable cost by volunteer staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people in the metropolitan borough of Rotherham have left school in the current year; and of these how many are unemployed and how many have not yet been offered places in the youth training scheme.

A total of 3,353 16-year-old pupils left school in Rotherham in 1983. Of those whose whereabouts were known to the careers service at 20 October, 497 had found work, 480 had entered further education, 1,700 had accepted youth training scheme places and 462 were unemployed. Of these, 362 had yet to be offered a place but 212 were under submission for places. Similar figures are not available for older school leavers.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received concerning the effect of rescinding the 1946 fair wages resolution in relation to changes in the wages and holidays of workers employed by industrial cleaning companies on contracts in the public sector.

The fair wages resolution applied in terms to central Government Departments only, and not to other parts of the public sector.The minimum rates of pay and paid holidays of cleaners employed on Departmental contracts for the cleaning of Government offices were dealt with under Treasury arrangements which, in practice, were independent of the fair wages resolution.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will now set out the eligibility of redundant trawlermen for compensation for redundancy in the light of his Department's decision in the case of Mr. Dennis Miller of Hull; and on what basis Mr. Miller was paid.

The qualifying conditions for a statutory redundancy payment are the same for employed trawlermen as for other employees. They are set out in the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978, as amended by the Employment Act 1982. It is difficult for fishermen to meet these conditions if they work on the casual basis typical of the industry, that is under separate contracts on successive voyages of less than two years duration, and perhaps for different employers. Mr. Dennis Miller, however, had many years of service with the same employer with only very short gaps between voyages. His claim for a direct redundancy payment under section 106 of the 1978 Act was accepted because having studied his case, the Department's lawyers considered that he had been employed under a single contract of indefinite duration. Any other cases will be considered in the light of their own facts.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether, in view of his Department's decision to pay compensation to Mr. Dennis Miller for loss of his job as a trawlerman, he will now accept applications from all trawlermen with similar continuity of service who have been made redundant since 1976.

The decision to pay a direct redundancy payment to Mr. Dennis Miller does not set a precedent for other cases, as I have explained in answer to the hon. Gentleman's other question of today's date. If other trawlermen made redundant in the past took the necessary action to safeguard their rights within the time limits yin section 101 of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978, any claims they may now submit will be considered on their merits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds in the National Health Service are unused because of lack of health authority funds.

Information on unused beds is not collected routinely by the Department. Information on new hospital facilities awaiting opening was collected by special inquiry in March 1982. The position at these hospitals was as follows in April 1983:

University hospital, Nottingham	591 beds in 20 wards
Chase Farm hospital, Enfield	56 beds in 2 wards
Kettering hospital	34 beds in 2 wards
Whitney hospital	42 beds in 1 ward
Derriford district general hospital, Plymouth	30 beds in 2 wards
Walsgrave general hospital, Coventry	38 beds in 2 wards

The problem in these hospitals largely arises from overoptimistic planning assumptions made when the new buildings were authorised some years ago. The Government now will only authorise the placing of contracts for new hospitals when Ministers are quite satisfied that proper provision has been made for the revenue that will be required to open them. This should ensure that past errors are not repeated and the existing problem is steadily eliminated.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will state the estimated cost of auditing the accounts of the Newham district health authority for the years 1982–83; what arrangements are being made for the audit of accounts of 1983–84; and at what cost.

The cost of auditing the accounts of the Newham district health authority for the year 1982–83 was £11,500. We have made arrangements for the 1983–84 audit to be conducted by a firm of chartered accountants, Deloitte Haskins and Sells, as part of the extension of the use of independent firms which I announced on 21 July 1983. —[Vol. 46, c. 211–12.] I am unable to breach commercial confidence by divulging its fee, but I can state that the total cost of the audits comprising this extension will be £108,600 plus VAT as against £70,000 for 1982–83.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will consider instituting a dual system for the remuneration of dispensing chemists giving the pharmacist an option to accept a contract in which, in exchange for restricting himself to an inventory similar to that of a health centre pharmacy, he would receive higher overheads than prevail in the present mixed business pharmacy.

We are considering proposals for simplification of the pharmacists' contract, but I doubt whether the option of a separate contract for "restricted" pharmacies is a practical possibility. Health centre pharmacies accept the same terms of service as other pharmacies.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the total number of nurses to be dismissed in the 10 regions and the special health authorities with boards of governors by 31 March 1984.

The manpower targets which have been settled for each region and special health authority board of governors are global targets covering all staff groups. The distribution of the target across health authorities and staff groups is a matter for local decision, depending on local circumstances and priorities.There is no good reason to assume that where reductions in staff numbers are required this will lead automatically to dismissals. It is likely that much can be achieved through natural wastage. I have no evidence so far that any nurses at all have been or will be dismissed as a result of manpower targets.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he expects to make a statement on the increase in the death grant.

An announcement on the future of the death grant will be made in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the reduction of wages and holidays by the ICC (Cleaning Services) Ltd. to workers employed by his Department at Liverpool and Bootle, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside.

Wages paid by cleaning contractors and their employees' conditions of service are a matter for agreement between employer and employees. I am writing to the hon. Member about the details he has sent to me.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether his Department will grant-aid the Inter-NGO programme on street children and street youth.

As far as I am aware no application for grant-aid has been received, but if received it would be considered on its merits.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what directives have been given to the Trent regional health authority regarding his desire for cuts in the National Health Service; and what estimate he has made of their effects on the Barnsley and district general hospital.

None, as we have no desire for cuts in the National Health Service and no intention of making any cuts in provision for the Service as a whole. The Trent regional health authority, in common with the other regional health authorities in England, was informed of its revised revenue and capital cash limits for 1983–84 in July. The overall regional manpower target for Trent for March 1984 was settled with the regional health authority in September, and represents an increase of 520 on the March 1983 level.The allocation of resources to Barnsley district health authority is a matter for the regional health authority, and the allocation of resources within the disrict is a matter for the district health authority.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the size of waiting lists for all operations in the Barnsley and district general hospital; and what is the length of waiting time for each operation.

The total number of people on the waiting list in the Barnsley and district general hospital at 31 December 1982 — the latest date for which information is available — was 4,446 of whom 4,424 were awaiting admission to the surgical specialties. Information on waiting time for each operation at individual haspitals is not available centrally.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations he has had with the Health Service unions regarding his proposed cuts in the National Health Service; and whether the regional trade union officials within the Trent region and Barnsley district were consulted.

We have proposed no cut in funds for the NHS as a whole this year. I assume the right hon. Member has in mind the revised cash limits which were notified to regional health authorities in July and the manpower targets which have subsequently been settled with each regional health authority. These were matters for management decision, but the health service unions have expressed their views to us.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has indemnified local authorities against any claims against them from residents or other persons as a result of any accident or injury resulting from the employment of untrained and unqualified staff in residential homes during the current dispute.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many additional temporary staff each local authority has employed as a result of the residential social workers dispute; what is the estimated cost per month of this additional staff; and how many of them have any social work training or qualifications.

This information is not held centrally, as these are matters for the local authorities.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his estimate of the extra number of staff required by the Inland Revenue in order to tax invalidity pension; what is his estimate of the gross revenue from taxing invalidity benefit; how much of this would be offset by (a) administrative costs and (b) restoring invalidity pension to the rate of retirement pension; and if he will make a statement;(2) if he will state the reasons for the delay in bringing invalidity pension into tax; to what extent this is attributable to insufficient staff at the Inland Revenue; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. and learned Friend the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in 1981—[Vol. 1000, c. 771]—that, in part because of pressures on Civil Service staff numbers, we had decided to postpone for the time being our intention to bring invalidity benefit into tax. This remains the position. The yield from taxing invalidity benefit, including invalidity allowance and assuming that invalidity pension was payable at the rate of retirement pension, is estimated to be £140 million for 1983–84. The cost of restoring the abatement of invalidity pension is estimated at £60 million. It is not possible to estimate the administrative costs or the actual number of extra staff required until detailed administrative procedures have been worked out.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate figures for 1981–82 and 1982–83 showing (a) total income of individuals for income tax purposes, including income below the tax thresholds and income relieved of tax on account of the various allowances and reliefs listed in Inland Revenue Statistics Table 1.5, (b) as in (a) but excluding taxable social security benefit, (c) as in (b) but also excluding income contributed to pension schemes, (d) as in (c) but also excluding income contributed to self-employed retirement annuity payments and (e) as in (d) but also excluding income contributed to life assurance premiums.

I shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of illegal abortions in each of the 10 years prior to the introduction of the Abortion Act 1967; and what is his estimate of the number of illegal abortions that have taken place since the Act came into force.

The only information available is the number of recorded offences of procuring an illegal abortion which is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales"—offence classification 14 in table 2.8 of the volume for 1982, Cmnd. 9048. The Abortion Act 1967 came into force in April 1968. The number of offences recorded by the police in each of the 10 years 1958 to 1967 is given in the following table. In total, 2,382 such offences were recorded in the 10 years 1958 to 1967 and 967 in the 15 years 1968 to 1982, 716 of which were in the three years 1968 to 1970.

Offences of procuring illegal abortion recorded by the police England and Wales
Year	Number
1958	140
1959	154
1960	221
1961	245
1962	406
1963	239
1964	271
1965	184
1966	208
1967	314

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the local police authorities which have requested an increase in their authorised establishment of serving police officers during 1983; what increases he has approved; and when they will take effect.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mr. Proctor) on 15 July—[Vol. 45, c. 455–56] Since then, four additional posts have been approved for the South Wales constabulary: the Thames Valley police authority, which had been informed that the Home Secretary is prepared to approve 100 additional posts for the force, has applied for that number of posts; the Northumbria police authority has re-submitted its application for 25 additional posts; and the West Midlands police authority has applied for 14 additional posts.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there has been any change in the panel of three advisers appointed to consider representations from persons required to leave the United Kingdom on security or political grounds who have no right of appeal under the Immigration Act 1971.

I have recently appointed Mr. Justice Lloyd as chairman of the panel and Mr. David Neve and Sir Patrick Nairne as the other members. I have also appointed Sir John Garlick and Mr. Edward Hewlett as reserve members. I should like to record my thanks to the retiring members, Sir Derek Hilton, Sir Richard Hayward and Sir Clifford Jarrett for their service on the panel.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will obtain the most recent statistics for 1983 to date from each police force as to the number of occasions in each force when firearms were (a) used or (b) drawn (i) in cases of crime and (ii) in other cases.

The figures for the number of occasions on which firearms were drawn from holsters are not held centrally. The other figures are collated annually. The figures for 1983 will be available by about the end of February 1984.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the boundaries on which the 1984 elections for the European Assembly will be fought.

I understand that the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions for England, Scotland and Wales hope to submit their reports recommending new European Parliament constituencies by the end of March 1984, provided there are no unforeseen setbacks.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to ensure that local authorities make adequate civil defence provisions.

The new regulations now before the House require local authorities to undertake more intensive planning, training, exercising and volunteer effort in civil defence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to introduce legislation to amend the Fugitive Offenders Act 1967 to reflect the changes in the scheme for the rendition of fugitive offenders within the Commonwealth agreed by Commonwealth Law Ministers in Colombo in February.

The revised Commonwealth scheme was agreed by Law Ministers on the basis of recommendations put forward by a special conference held at Marlborough House in November 1982. A number of the amendments bring the scheme into line with the Fugitive Offenders Act 1967 or with current United Kingdom practice; others reflect recent developments in international practice. I would propose to consider the revised scheme in parallel with the recommendations of the working party on the law and practice of extradition before deciding on the need for legislation, so that, where necessary, law and practice in the two areas may be kept in step. Copies of the revised scheme have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional material he intends to make available on the publication of the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill.

I propose to publish tomorrow with the Bill a White Paper describing and explaining the ways in which the Bill reforms the police complaints and disciplinary procedures.A draft code of practice for the searching of premises and seizure of property which the Bill requires me to issue will be published at the same time, together with the revised drafts of the codes of practice for the detention, treatment, questioning and identification of persons by the police. Procedural guidance for the field trials of the tape recording of police interviews with suspects will be published separately. Copies of these drafts and of the procedural guidance will be placed in the Library and the Vote Office, and sent to a wide range of interested bodies. Copies will also be available, on request, from the Home Office, Room 531, Queen Anne's Gate.A briefing guide which is intended to promote a better understanding of the Bill's provisions, will also be available in the Vote Office and on request from the Home Office.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will bring forward proposals for the establishment of an independent prosecution service in England and Wales.

A White Paper, to be published tomorrow, will set out proposals regarding the functions and structure of a prosecution service independent of the police. These proposals are put forward with a view to consultation and discussion in advance of legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has made any investigations or taken other steps concerning the presence of asbestos in gas cookers now in use and purchased prior to the voluntary ban by manufacturers on their use of asbestos.

I am consulting the various interests concerned about any possible problems arising from the presence of asbestos in some mains gas cookers manufactured before 1977.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report a statement showing the profits earned and dividends paid to the Government by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. annually since its incorporation; and if he will make a statement as to its financial prospects for the current year.

The following table gives BNFL's profits available for distribution and dividends paid from these to the Government since the company's creation in 1971.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy how much heat is required to maintain comparable houses at a comfort temperature for the following places, taking Glasgow as the base: Dundee, Aberdeen and Dumfries.

Although I understand that some statistical information has been provided to similar questions in the past, in practice individual heating requirements can vary widely, depending on location, climate, needs and patterns of household behaviour, and the design of individual buildings. Accordingly I believe that it could be misleading to provide simplified information in the form requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy (1) how much coal was imported from third countries into the European Community during 1982;(2) what information he has as to whether any of the coal imported from third countries into the European Community during 1982 had been subsidised by the exporting Government.

Figures for imports of coal from third countries into the European Community during 1982 are shown in the following table:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the recent refurbishing and internal redecoration of Her Majesty's embassy in Washington commenced; when it was completed; and what was the final total cost.

The work on the ambassador's residence in Washington started in December 1981 and was completed in April 1982. The costs incurred by Her Majesty's Government totalled approximately £67,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a renewal of grant to the British Broadcasting Corporation external services conditional on black broadcasters, who have short-term contracts, being given opportunities equal with those of other employees in securing permanent pensionable posts.

No. The BBC external services are responsible for their own management and for deciding the terms and conditions of employment of staff having regard to operational requirements. I understand that people of many races are employed by them, and I have no reason to believe that black broadcasters on short-term contracts are the victims of discrimination.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, further to the reply to the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye on 12 May, Official Report, c. 437, he has made further representations to the Government of Zimbabwe about the continuing detention of those members of the Zimbabwe air force who are British passport holders; and if he will make a statement about their state of health and the opportunity for their families and his officials to visit them.

We made prompt representations about the re-detention of the officers after acquittal. These representations have been repeated. Three of the officers have been released. The intentions of the Zimbabwe Government concerning the remaining four officers are uncertain. We shall continue to press for their early release.As the four officers are all dual nationals with Zimbabwe citizenship we have no formal standing or right of consular access. However, we understand that the officers are in good health, though some have minor problems. They are allowed twice weekly visits by their families.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which members of the United Nations have contributed to the United Nations volunteer fund for torture victims, established by the United Nations on 16 December 1981; and how much the United Kingdom will contribute and when.

The following member states have contributed to the United Nations voluntary fund for victims of torture:

• Cyprus
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Federal Republic of Germany
• Greece
• Luxembourg
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden

The question of a contribution by the United Kingdom is at present under consideration. The fund is also open to contributions from individuals, which may be sent to the Centre for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, Geneva.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many police officers and men from Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, the Philippines, Syria, Uganda and Zimbabwe, respectively, have received law enforcement training in the United Kingdom in the past three years; and if he will make a statement.

As far as it has been possible to ascertain from official records, the numbers of police officers from the countries mentioned who have received police training in the United Kingdom since the beginning of 1980 are as follows:

Argentina	None
Chile	None
Indonesia	9
Iran	None
Iraq	10
Libya	None
The Philippines	None
Syria	None
Uganda	38
Zimbabwe	27

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to declare a fishery protection zone around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

This is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration is being given to the introduction of a fishery conservation programme in the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

Fishery conservation is one of the factors of which due account is being taken in the current consideration of the possible declaration of a fishery protection zone.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will arrange for an exhibition of the work of William Wilberforce to be displayed in the Upper Waiting Hall during the week commencing 31 October.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of aid goes to the poorest countries; and if he will make a statement.

There is no internationally agreed list of the poorest countries. Britain has for many years operated on a definition which includes all least developed countries (LLDCs) as defined by the UN plus those other countries with a GNP per head below a level originally set at $200 in 1972—the equivalent of $390 in 1981, the latest year for which figures are available.I have recently reviewed the use of this definition, and have concluded that it should be changed, essentially for two reasons. The first is that a growing number of LLDCs as defined by the UN now have incomes per head above $390, Botswana—$1010 in 1981—being only the most conspicuous example. The second is that the present listing is vulnerable to distortion by the effects of defining poverty in terms of a comparatively arbitrary absolute income level. For example, Kenya, which has recently achieved the level in question, nevertheless remains a poor country. I have therefore concluded that we will in future statements define "poorest developing countries" as the poorest 50 countries as defined by the World Bank, excluding states with a population under 100,000 and dependencies. We are at the same time changing the definition of British aid for this purpose from the basis of

	Percentages
	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982
Former definition (including Kenya in all years)	64	64	62	63	53
New definition	65	72	65	66	58

The 1982 figure is untypically low, and reflects the fact that, as already announced, aid to India in the calendar year 1982 was unusually low because drawings were concentrated in the final three months of the United Kingdom financial year in 1982–83. It is also affected by the substantial drawings in respect of a single major project in Mexico which took place in 1982.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many fish farms have been affected by whirling disease; what are the names of farms and areas affected; how many have cleared the disease from their areas and had the notifiable disease order lifted; how many are still subject to the notifiable disease order; when he anticipates that whirling disease will be eradicated in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement;(2) how many fish farms, and in which areas, have contracted whirling disease, slaughtered stock, disinfected and had a notifiable disease order imposed upon them again.

In the present outbreak of whirling disease, infected area orders have been applied on 62 sites. Details of 54 of these sites then still subject to such orders were given in my reply to the right hon. Member of 6 July 1983.By 6 July 1983 restrictions had already been lifted from a further six sites which remain free of movement controls:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will institute an investigation into the costs to fish farmers of eradicating whirling disease.

No. It is for the individuals concerned to take decisions on whether to institute programmes of eradication for whirling disease on their farms.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will seek information from water authorities to establish when, in cases where he has lifted a notifiable disease order on whirling disease and restrictions on the movements of fry and fish have since been lifted, the water authorities have not immediately complied; and if he will make a statement.

I shall reply to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with local authority representatives regarding grant levels; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend issued a consultation paper to the local authority associations last week setting out his proposals for the level of Exchequer grant to English local authorities next year. He is to discuss it with them tomorrow.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much Greater London council spending has risen between 1979–80 and 1982–83; and how this compares with the rise in prices.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment by how much Greater London council spending has risen between 1979–80 and 1982–83; and how this compares with the rise in prices.

The latest estimates that I have suggest that GLC's net current expenditure rose by 75 per cent. between 1979–80 and 1982–83. Over the same period, general prices in the economy, as measured by the GDP deflator, increased by 40 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made during the summer recess in connection with winding up the Greater London council.

On 7 October we published our detailed proposals for abolishing the GLC and the metropolitan county councils in April 1986.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce proposals to monitor the amount of lead in water and to publish these facts.

Statutory water suppliers in England and Wales already have programmes for monitoring the levels of lead in water. Facts about these monitoring programmes and remedial action being taken as a result are contained in the Government response, published this September, to the Royal Commission on environmental pollution's report on lead in the environment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the percentage by which the rents of local authority houses are likely to rise in April 1984.

My right hon. Friend will be issuing a consultation paper shortly about the proposed level of local contributions for housing subsidy purposes in England in 1984–85. Rent increases are a matter for decision by individual authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and which local authorities are making a profit on council house rents.

On information currently available from local authorities, 76 authorities estimate that they will make net transfers from their housing revenue account to their general rate fund, during 1983–84.The authorities are set out as attached. The source of this list is the second advance claim forms submitted by authorities. At todays date nine claims are outstanding.LIST OF AUTHORITIES WHO ESTIMATE MAKING NET TRANSFERS FROM THEIR HRA TO THEIR GRF IN I983–84

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with progress in setting up official sites for gipsies.

The responsibility for providing sites for gipsies rests with the local authorities concerned. The level of provision has slowed down after a considerable increase following the introduction of capital grants. I am satisfied that many authorities are making real efforts to provide sites.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of housing subsidies to Lambeth council; and what he expects the level to be in 1984–85.

Lambeth has claimed £34,537,000 in main housing subsidy for the financial year 1983–84. I am unable to estimate its likely entitlement for 1984–85.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with the progress made so far with the sale of council houses to sitting tenants.

Yes. Approximately 550,000 houses and flats were sold between April 1979 and June 1983 by local authorities and new towns in Great Britain, some 363,000 of them under the right-to-buy. The vast majority of these were to sitting tenants. In addition, housing associations sold 35,000, of which 26,000 were to sitting tenants. Many authorities have made good progress, but I am determined that the right to buy conferred on tenants by Parliament should be exercised speedily and without obstruction. My Department monitors those authorities whose performance needs to improve and all steps necessary to enforce the rights of tenants will be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of council flats and houses sold since May 1979.

Between April 1979 and June 1983, an estimated 555,000 dwellings were sold by local authorities and new towns in Great Britain. Separate estimates, available only from April 1980, are 477,000 houses and 17,000 flats.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses have been sold nationally, and in the city of Leicester, in 1983 to date.

It is provisionally estimated that 90,000 dwellings were sold by local authorities and new towns in Great Britain during the first half of 1983.During the same period 1,043 dwellings were reported as sold by the city of Leicester of which 1,042 were sold under the right-to-buy provisions of the Housing Act 1980.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he proposes to bring forward measures to improve the rating system.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further reforms he plans for the financing of local government.

Around turn of the year I will introduce a Bill to curb the rate increases of selected high spending authorities, with provisions for a fall back power to limit rate levels generally if necessary. The Bill will also contain a number of other measures to improve the operation of the rating system.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the White Paper on proposals for the rating system.

We are now considering the responses to our White Paper and will bring forward legislation as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consult Merseyside county council, the Merseyside district councils and the Merseyside chamber of commerce on the implications of his policy towards changes in the structure of local government on Merseyside.

The White Paper "Streamlining the Cities" (Cmnd. 9063) invites views from all interested parties.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the third report of the Environment Committee on the problems of management of urban renewal (appraisal of the recent initiatives in Merseyside).

The Government will reply to the Select Committee's report in due course and it would not be appropriate to make a statement anticipating that reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration his Department has given to the North of England County Council Association's document "The Fourth State of the Region" report; and if he will meet association representatives to consider the "Fifth State of the Region" report.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has yet studied the document "State of the Region" produced by the North of England County Councils Association.

My Department gave the fourth report very careful consideration, and my predecessor met representatives of the association to discuss it. I have already agreed to meet the association to discuss the fifth report after it is published.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many new housing starts there were in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

These figures appear in "Housing and Construction Statistics" part 1, No. 14, which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the number of council house building starts for the current year.

In the first eight months of 1983, 21,000 council dwellings were started in England.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total number of house building starts in 1982; and how this compares with the previous years.

The housing starts figures for England which appear in "Housing and Construction Statistics" part 1, No. 14, show that the total in 1982 was over a quarter higher than in 1980 or 1981.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many public sector housing starts there have been in the first six months of the current financial year.

Provisional figures up to August appear in my Department's housebuilding press notice (No. 413) release on 4 October, which is available in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further measures he will be taking to encourage privatisation of services by local authorities.

Local authorities should regularly consider whether services might be provided to the public at less cost and more efficiently by using private sector contractors. I will continue to urge this upon them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will initiate discussions with the Rugby Union authorities with a view to bringing about coordinated action to discourage amateur players from joining a professional rugby circus.

No. This is a matter for the governing body, the Rugby Football Union, and its counterparts in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to the statement by the Under-Secretary of State, Official Report, 15 July, c. 1182, whether he has now reconsidered the extension of the right to buy to some tenants of charitable housing associations and housing trusts.

My right hon. Friend and I are still considering how to respond to the representations that have been made to us.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he proposes any changes in the calculation of rate support grant so that it will reflect more quickly rises or falls in population.

The grants working group, involving officials from DOE and representatives of the local authority associations, has done considerable work on the question of population growth and GREs. These studies have not so far substantiated the claim that the expenditure needs of authorities with rapidly growing populations are generally understated. The question is, however, to be the subject of further study by the group, looking to the 1985–86 RSG settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied that local authority expenditure on the youth training scheme is not placing authorities in a position where grant may be withheld; and if he will make a statement.

Expenditure on youth training projects which is reimbursed by the Manpower Services Commission does not count against expenditure targets. Only additional expenditure, which is at local authorities' discretion, can lead to grant holdback. I would expect local authorities to take that into account in reaching their spending decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he is satisfied with progress of the inner city programme in Birmingham.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he proposes to take to maintain the standards of the housing stock.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress Her Majesty's Government have made in improving the quality of English housing stock as documented in the English house conditions survey 1981.

We have taken many steps to maintain and improve the condition of the housing stock. These include the special 90 per cent. maximum rates for repairs and intermediate grants in 1982–83 and 1983–84; the introduction in December 1982 of enveloping as a mainstream housing policy; the 20 per cent. increase in May 1983 in eligible expense limits for home improvement grants; and the availability of additional capital allocations to local authorities for spending on home improvement grants in 1982–83 and 1983–84.These measures have increased both the number of grants given and spending on grants. Spending, which was £90 million in 1978–79 and nearly £200 million in 1981–82 rose to £430 million in 1982–83 and is expected to reach £650 million in 1983–84. The Government's concern to tackle the problem of disrepair has been reflected in a significant rise in the number of repairs grants. In the 1970s these were numbered in hundreds a year. In 1981–82 8,000 were given; 47,000 were made in 1982–83; and this year the figure is likely to top 100,000.We shall continue to maintain the housing stock within the limits of available resources.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of rate support grant paid to Islington in the current year; and how it compares in real terms with each preceding year back to 1979.

The figures are as follows:

	£ million
1978–79	50·319
1979–80	49·488
1980–81	46·484
1981–82	31·928
1982–83	27·545
1983–84	27·868

The rate support grant arrangements changed in 1981–82, and the figures for earlier years are not comparable with those for 1981–82 onwards. The figures for 1978–79, 1979–80 and 1980–81 include needs element—the borough did not qualify for resources element—and payments under the London rate equalisation scheme, and are revalued to 1981–82 settlement prices. The 1978–79 and 1979–80 figures are final; that for 1980–81 covers payments made to date. The figures for 1981–82 onwards include block grant, after holdback, and payments under the London rate equalisation scheme, and are in cash terms. The 1981–82 figure includes grant paid in respect of the GLC, ILEA, and Metropolitan police. The 1982–83 figure includes grant paid in respect of the Metropolitan police; grant was paid direct to the GLC and ILEA in that year. If Islington had spent at target in 1982–83 and 1983–84 it would have received £38·909 million and £38·029 million, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to compensate the owners or tenants living in non-traditionally built accommodation, whose homes are in disrepair because of the failure of the building system used.

In February the Government introduced a scheme to assist private owners of Airey houses. My right hon. Friend is considering the findings of the Building Research Establishment's initial studies of certain prefabricated reinforced concrete houses and a statement will be made as soon as possible. Local authorities are responsible for repairs to their own housing stock and loan charges on capitalised repairs are taken into account in calculating entitlement to housing subsidy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total number of houses and other dwellings built by system building which are now in need of repair.